Helter Skelter

Prologue - Cold Open

In the course of one iteration of BZPB, the tension between the entirety of the main forces broke out into total pandemonium. Zev, Ynot, and Klak waged war on Blackout and the ZFT, and Malygos's armies. This would become known as the War of the Peerless - a war named not only for the extraordinary heroes that arose, but also for the scale of devastation it wrought.

The combat shook the Universe, killed trillions, and led to the deaths of such figures as Axl Lo, Iron Beast Tager, Nefelpitou (whose last act was to pass on the Spirit of Lightning to Prudence Franklin), Xeno, D-Klak, Jinx, Hydraxis, Barricade, and David Robert Jones. In the end, a small number of individuals - Edward Wong Hau Lu Pepelu Tivruski III, Aster, Dorothy R. Wayneright, Poe, Laros, and the army leader Klak himself - managed to bring a short stop to the fighting, long enough for the groups to sort out a treaty.

The space from the ZFT headquarters up until the borders of Ctarl-Ctarl space were to be allotted to Blackout. The space between Jurai, Home/Ctarl Prime, Datrio, and the star Hei Fon Majoris, along with Ctarl-Ctarl space were to be under Zev's domain. Klak's domain was centered around Malchior IV, Ynot was given a huge swathe of open space, interrupted by hostile, violent planets with which to devise new methods to grow stronger, and Malygos's empire remained virtually unchanged. The other major individuals who had not picked a side, such as Ferret and Osseron, were permitted to come and go how they pleased between any domains.

This is how the Postwar Era began. Each of the Peerless, so powerful and profoundly set in their own ways that they could not be compared even amongst in each other, set themselves to the task of rebuilding the damage they had wrought. Zev supplied food and medicine to those caught in the crossfire, whilst Ynot and Blackout worked together - yes, a frightening prospect - to rebuild the structures decimated. Meanwhile, Malygos rose to the task of redistributing the innumerable sacred texts and historical sites that he had protected, and Klak - as the only one of them who had been able to settle their disputes - began to build a new Galactic Government, and via massive, multi-media broadcasts, reassured the shaken peoples and kept up their spirits.

However, there are some who thrived in the War of the Peerless...Some who profited from, fed on, or simply delighted in the carnage and mayhem. Those who wish to return to the constant violence and chaos of the War have become the Scarlet Crimson Vermillion (or as it has been shortened to, Scacriver) Order, and have been denounced as terrorists by Klak and his allies.

Still, in the Postwar Era, it remains to be seen as to whether or not peace can be maintained...

Interesting concept! I like it.

Indeed! I like this concept! Looking forward to more centered around this alternate universe.

Thanks!

I'll go ahead and post Chapter 1 proper.

WARNING: Descriptions of gore ahead, be warned.

~ ~ ~

Chap. 1 - The First Murders

It was a cold, foggy morning, as Blackout stood on a precipice. This mountainous planet had been in his domain for millions of years, long before the war to end all wars, and no one had yet dared to act against him here. Yet as the fog slowly rolled away, warmed into fading by the sunrise, his eyes narrowed. This was truly unforgivable.

Below him were seven or eight of his subjects, researchers who had never been intended to see combat. Each of them were bloody, their clothes and skin torn, some of their bones exposed. The two biomechanical members of the group were in no better shape, their armor shattered and shorn to shreds, their innards splattered all over. Yet as Blackout nimbly leaped down, and got a look at one who was yet obscured by fog, he snarled.

The young woman - in her early twenties, by comparitive standards - was made into a fallen angel. Her back had been split open, and her shoulder blades snapped out to make grotesque 'wings' for her. Whomever had done this was especially sadistic - not to mention potent. These researchers had been doing work on a dangerous project, and in case its subjects were able to fight back, they had been taught to use suppression magic. Eight experts in a magic specifically designed for incapacitating and containing hostile, dangerous targets now lie dead, scattered about Blackout's feet like matchsticks.

Raising a communicator to his lips, Blackout took a moment to compose himself before he spoke. Starscream asked what it was that he intended to do. Blackout thought it rather obvious, so obvious that he could sum it up in one word:

"War."

This seems interesting. Looking forward to more!

Thanks! : D

Onwards, ever onwards!

Chapter Two has arrived!!

~ ~ ~

Chap. 2 - A Line from Bassizi

In his office, in the dark, dark night, Klak was leaned with purpose over his work. His desk was installed with various computational devices, as well as a microphone for his broadcasts, and a single weapon by his side. He needed that weapon, as he had not come out of the war unscathed. His right leg had been struck by a curse from Mephistroth, and was thus destined to never work again, or be replaced. As well, he had been nearly blinded by Starscream, and his mask now had little glowing green lines curving below either eye; special devices that one Touko Aozaki had made for him, to enable his proper vision.

As he at last finished signing and sending the bills for reconstruction projects far out in his domain, he looked out of his window. The armored, enchanted barrier protected him, but trapped him. It dulled the light, and robbed the view of the city at night of the splendor he was accustomed to. However, he would never object to his own safety - for now, he knew that his life carried incomprehensible purpose. He had to live, to guide the reconstruction. The Postwar Era was a chance for them to start over, and he now would stop at nothing to make sure that the lives of the innocent were restored to normal.

His reverie was broken by a quiet tone. Turning on the communicator on his desk, he raised it to his mask. For a while, there were the tiny beeps and whirrs of the line connecting proper - then, he heard heavy panting. Before he could speak: "Klak, this is Makoto Nanaya! My group has just - just stomped down that Scacriver cell on Bassizi! We broke open their base, and they, they - they have a miniature Cauldron!!" Klak froze, as she went on. "We've killed its power thoroughly, and I bashed its controls and everything that could assist in repairing it - it will never work again. But, but - okay, calm, Makoto, calm...

"Sir, if they have anymore of these, then we need to make a definitive point: we can no longer give them any second chances! We have to wipe these rats out!" Klak went to speak. "I'm sorry, sir, I know! We were all going to make a peaceful Universe! But I've contacted the rest of the big bosses, and they've all recently found researchers massacred on their turf! The Scacriver are getting uppity, and that's not okay!" Staring flatly ahead, Klak tried to get a word in edgewise. "Please, sir, I can't stand by and - "

"General Nanaya, please, let me join in your conversation," Klak said calmly. He could hear the squirrel girl's mouth snap shut in mid-sentence over the line. "Now, what I was about to tell you is that you're drilling for struck oil. I've contacted Commanders-in-Chief Nadle and Sasuken, and Fleet Admiral Viriathus. They have been training their forces in how to deal with the Scacriver, and I have sped up the rebuilding of military defenses. As well, Kokonoe, Washu, and Malygos have collaborated, and begun producing devices for permanently deactivating such Cauldrons. We ripped a copy of the schematics from Scacriver files, two days ago." He smiled wryly. "Alright?" In anticipation, he moved the communicator away slightly.

Makoto squealed, and the faint swishing of air sounded like her tail flailing in excitement. "You are AWESOME, Boss! Yes! Yes yes yes!! I'll get down to rounding up the files from this base's computers, and head back to base! Whoop whoop!!" She quickly disconnected.

Klak chuckled, and set the communicator back in its rest.

How she reminded him of Zev, as he once was.

Interesting chapter. You captured an aging Klak quite well.

WARNING: The next three chapters contain Badass Makuta Content.

They are to be ingested as a set, and will be initially delivered with a certain designated interval between each.

If you experience light-headedness, rapid heartbeat, and a hot blush, you are probably mad crushing on these two Brokuta.

If you experience an erection lasting longer than four hours, whoa. Seriously. Whoa.

If you cough up blood, go to a damn doctor!

Let's get this train a-rollin' again!

~ ~ ~

Chap. 3 - Heavy Metal Thunder, First Part

In Ynot's territory, his fortress ship - the Eternal Ironclad - was coasting along through an asteroid field. Due to its massive size and high-powered shields, none of the debris was of any issue to the vessel. Within one of the many training rooms, Ynot was at work - refining his combat arts against Sasuken.

In one hand, he wielded Ka-Oni-Santsu: Mugen. It was an improvement upon perfection - a constantly-released Bankai that could bring forth any one of its forms in a heartbeat. In the other hand, G.'s Archery: Anima Edition. It was a cross between a katana and a bayonet, with a steeply curved handle and a high-power Storm Flame blaster affixed to the blade. As for Sasuken, he wielded one of the weapons he had picked up in his travels - a pair of blades, both with prongs angling up from the back, that amplified his Lightning.

Both wore solemn expressions, far different from their ways ages ago. Now, they were not a master battling his student, nor a commander personally training his second-in-command - they were two equal warriors, with respect for each other, and the capacity to learn from each other in these sparring matches. Wordlessly, Ynot stomped the floor, causing hidden pillars of adamantium to rise. Ka-Oni-Santsu superheated them, and Ynot sent the molten streams surging towards Sasuken.

Sasuken responded by sending countless tiny arcs of electricity outward, causing the streams to crackle and glimmer oddly. Using his mastery of lightning, he deflected the magnetized adamantium away in a number of bullet-sized droplets. Then, once it was all floating around him in a huge field, he sent them screaming back in to surround Ynot. Ynot simply adjusted his grip on G.'s Archery, and raised it overhead.

One shot of Storm Flames, a shot that exploded into a violent twister. Fedele roared, his face forming within the mass, and redirected the Storm Flames in a dome around Ynot. As soon as a molten adamantium bullet impacted the barrier, it was disintegrated; its atoms scattered into the air. When at last the flames faded, and Fedele - with his new crimson visor, his silver necklace, and his flaming paw-bracers - padded around to bat a paw playfully at Ynot's foot, Ynot gave a brief smile, and knelt down to pet him.

Then, the haze began to form. The dark, odd-colored fumes condensed from a huge area around Ynot, into various spheres. When it was at last completed, the adamantium was reconstituted into half as many spheres, yet with twice the size. Rising up, Ynot twitched Ka-Oni-Santsu. The spheres all sprung into new shapes as hiltless daggers, and began to rocket in towards Sasuken.

Sasuken closed his eyes, breathed calmly, and grew still. Then, just as one dagger closed in on him, his eyes flew open - sparks dancing at the edges. In a split second, he had captured the dagger using one blade's prong, and sent it flying into the wall with the same movement. Using this technique, he sent every last dagger piercing into the walls to the sides. Then, he and Ynot stopped to look at the words that had formed:

I CAN SHOW OFF, TOO.

At that, the two stared at each other. They stared long and hard. Then, both promptly broke down into laughter. Sitting back on his haunches, Fedele quizzically licked a paw. Yet when the two Makuta Anima went to leave, he followed after.

"I'm impressed that you used proper punctuation for both," Ynot mused.

Sasuken just chuckled.

Quite the story. You've captured Ynot and Sasuken quite well, repertoire and all.
Anima Approved

Indeed, excellent chapter.

The Proclaimers have got me in a good mood.

Guess what that means, babies?

~ ~ ~

Chap. 4: Heavy Metal Thunder, Middle Part

In the main cockpit of the Eternal Ironclad, several personnel milled about. The original Makuta Anima and Cicero manned the controls, while the Toa Idiotas tended to various scanners and transmitters. Each of them were Major Generals, now, and thus trained on how to respond to all manner of emergencies. As Ynot and Sasuken walked up to their stations, they regarded a lonely patch of climatically-maintained grass and flowers near Cicero. There, hovering on its little island, was a single marker.

XENO: The Greatest Brother a Sister Could Ask For, a Peerless Warrior, a Hero

There had been nothing left of Xeno to bury. He had stolen a fusion bomb from Ynot's armory, and used it to take down Hydraxis and a gigantic portion of Malygos's armies. They could still hear his cry, as Hydraxis asked him if he feared death..."A hero ne'er dies!" He was a one-of-a-kind hero, and Cicero had directed Trixtin to use magic, and permanently change her colors to a solid black. She would spend the rest of her days in a hue of mourning. Today, as always, she was silently tending to her task. She never spoke more than one or two sentences in a conversation, anymore.

Stopping by Blade, who looked quite confused, Ynot knocked him on the shoulder. The leader of the Idiotas didn't give so much as a flinch, looking up at Ynot. "Sir," he said quietly, "We received a distress beacon from one of our ships earlier. It was recovered, and is being brought back here to the Eternal Ironclad." He seemed troubled. "Sir...I don't think that any general personnel should be sent to handle it. I don't trust this." His gaze met that of Ynot.

The Makuta of Iron nodded. "I agree," he mused. "I'll bring Kurenitsu and Hokagetsu. Keep the personnel out of harm's way." With that, he left Blade at his post. With a nod to the Toa of Lightning, Sasuken followed after.


In the hangar, the drones had safely brought the wayward ship back. Ynot and Sasuken both were ready to send Chain Lightning at the ship, whilst Kurenitsu and Hokagetsu were ready to spring at either side of the door. It was clicking, whirring, unlocking, opening, then -

"AAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!"

Both Hokagestu's and Kurenitsu's cries were almost unheard, over the sonic blast that blew the door off of its hinges. As the soundwaves began to subside, they became distinguishable - and at that, Ynot and Sasuken both heaved a sigh.

"Gibson EB-0," they droned, "1961 Model."

That's right!

You get double the chapters, double the mystery, double the magic - !!!!

ROLL U~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~P

ROLL UP FOR THE MYSTERY TOU~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~R

LET'S SEE HOW MANY MUSIC REFERENCES I CAN MAKE

HIT IT!!!!

~ ~ ~

Chap. 5: Heavy Metal Thunder, Last Part

Kurenitsu and Hokagetsu attempted to rise, but Ynot swept them to safety by carefully distorting the metal in the floor. Meanwhile, Sasuken summoned to his hands a huge pair of double-bladed sickles, and crossed them before himself protectively.

Just in time, as a figure came flying out - slamming a teal bass guitar into him. She had fair skin, short, straight red hair, and wore a skimpy, dark blue outfit with an uncanny witch's hat. Hopping back, she immediately charged in, and threw a high kick for Sasuken. The Makuta Anima of Lightning blocked her, and sent a charge into her leg. She was thrown back, but in a swift motion, she flipped through the air and landed atop the ship.

Ynot summoned both of his weapons, immediately. "I don't suppose," he sighed, "that you'll be such a Shonen stereotype as to give us your name and intentions?" The girl blew a raspberry at him. "Charming." He sent a bolt of Storm Flames right for the assailant. She hopped into the air, and darted towards Sasuken - riding close to her guitar, which seemed to be propelling itself. The Commander-in-Chief Makuta blocked her, but this time, a slicing red shockwave sent him skidding back.

The mystery girl played a screeching note on her guitar, sending a narrow bolt of crackling energy spearing towards Sasuken. He expertly rolled out of the way, and with a swing of his scythes, sent a vicious cyclone of Vacuum towards her. Once again, she used her guitar to propel her to safety - this time, trying to plant her foot squarely into Ynot's gut.

Face unchanging, Ynot liquified the metal floor before him, rose it into a barrier, and solidified it. The metal was so harshly dented that it was bulged out of the opposite side, towards Ynot. Using Ka-Oni-Santsu: Mugen, Ynot rendered the wall molten, and attempted to snare the attacker. However, her hat opened up its stitched mouth, and spat out a ball of sickly green flames. It caused the molten metal to orbit it in six rings, and closed in on Ynot.

He merely sighed, and grabbed the leading ring. He spun around, and threw it with even greater speed towards the assailant. "Here's a tip," he barked, "try not to give a master of metals his own element back to fight with." His attack rushed towards the girl, and then, met thin air. She was gone.

Ynot tried to detect her, but in an instant, something wire-thin and razor sharp was wrapped thrice around his neck. The garotte tightened, and though he had no need to breathe, Ynot could feel it biting through his armor. In seconds, it would meet his antidermis, and -

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"

A huge blast of Chain Lightning had struck the attacker, causing her garotte - a guitar string manipulated by sorcery - to snap itself in twain, then reform into its proper shape. Smoldering, she stumbled back.

From his spot nearby, Hokagetsu lowered his hands, and fainted. The guitar-wielded girl was ready to charge him, when Storm Flames exploded at her feet. Ynot crossed his weapons, and prepared to behead the woman.

She swore loudly, and with a sudden blip, disappeared. Ynot allowed his blades to meet thin air, then dismissed them, incensed. As Sasuken checked on Hokagetsu, Ynot went to see about Kurenitsu.

He saw her sitting up, rubbing her head while facing away. "Are you alright?" No response. "Hey," he grunted, resting a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she spun and looked up at him. "Are you alright?" Her head tilted slightly.

Kurenitsu half-shouted, "What?" Ynot felt a cold, gnawing dread. "Speak louder!"

Then, she began to realize that she couldn't hear her own voice.

O.O

Very intriguing. You have again captured Ynot and his merry men quite well.
I've already told yo my only gripe, so no need to revisit it.

I'mma just leave this here.

~ ~ ~

Chap. 6: Asteroid Blues, A-Side

The space between Datrio and its nearest sister planet, Naltra, was largely empty. Shipping had come nearly to a halt in the Postwar Era, as they had to focus on using the funds and materials from the Galactic Government to rebuild. During this solar cycle, only one ship was traveling through the sparse field of asteroids: the Bebop II, former ship of Fleet Admiral Viriathus.

Onboard, in a lonely, dark room, a shirtless figure practiced his martial arts. He was wiry and lean, with a messy, fluffy head of dark green, almost black hair. Focused, controlled, he was intently driven to hone his forms. So one-minded was he that when the light was flicked on, he almost leapt to attack. That was until he saw the friendly, weathered face, and the comically out-of-place apron.

Chuckling, Jet Black said simply, "Dinner's ready." He went to undo the apron on his way back into the kitchen. Staying in the room for a while, Spike let the adrenaline rush slowly ebb away. Then, when he was calm again, he put on an old, button-up shirt and went to follow Jet to dinner. There, he found Faye already seated, eating a bowl of some kind of stirfry. Across from her, Jet had finished setting Spike's plate, and had taken his own seat.

Sitting down, Spike began to eat. The group were all silent. Wisp and Ghost were both asleep, Chrome was in a video conference with the Vongola Famiglia, and Minagi had already left to handle a simple bounty that the group had found out from an old acquaintance. These seven were the only ones left on the Bebop II - the rest had either died in the war, or had gone on with Vi to bigger and better things.

Well...Except for one, and none of the group felt like discussing that mystery. At last, however, Faye spoke up. "So," she said, "how long has it been since we were supposed to bite the dust?" Jet and Spike both glared flatly at her. "I'm not complaining, it's just that there seems to be a lot less to do after you've lived a few centuries past your mortal standards! Is it just me? It isn't, is it?" The other two glared a while longer, before returning to eating. Faye sighed. "Ed would have made this a lot more fun," she said forlornly.

Abruptly, Spike rose with a clatter. "I'm going to read the news," he said bluntly. "I'm not hungry." As he left, Jet sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. Faye rolled her eyes, but the guilt was apparent on her face.

Three centuries of extended life down, an eternity to go.