Chapter 31 - The Last Sup

Becca stood on a lilypad, the platforming barely holding her above the vast deep swirling below. It ebbed and flowed with the current like a thin wafer, a series of crashes forcing her to vacate it to the next pad, a subsequent diluge of water speeding towards her another still. She swam beneath the current, flapping her legs like a frog to swim to safety. Her clothes were already saturated, the water slipping from her hair and pooling around her body. It was impossible not to absorb it. Long shadows were cast from towers made of coral thousands of meters high, the only architecture visible among the ocean surface on this planet. She looked up to see Diane and Hyde struggling against the coming flood, downpours settling over them and sending them crashing beneath the water. She breathed heavily and looked ahead.

"You won't take what's mine! With this I can return ontop again, I deserve this! This power is MINE!" She was wearing one of the God Shards as an earring.

"This bitch.." She bit her tongue. Wave Mistress, so-called as she was held a trident shaped like a spoon with a sharp split down the moddle, forming a two-pronged spear.

"It's a 2-stabby trident! A Bi-dent!" Bliss yelled, swinging from tower to coral tower on web. "This is ridiculous." Becca pulled herself out of the water with a sudden kick of her legs,

pushing herself back to the surface. She took out a K-29 electrical carbine and fired ahead, jets of air

and heated plasma were blocked by a swinging of the woman's weapon. Her pastel-pink suit the sheen of Petals with purple accents, a silver crown atop her head. Along her arms and ankles were boots and

gloves that looked like they were made of flattened scales The woman swung again, her spear deflecting each shot. One of the shots exploded in a small plume of water near the gem of Envy, a fellow spirit in the ways of water, spraying her in the process and causing her to stagger back.

"Kaz!" Becca shattered, distraught at the friendly fire. "Shit shit shit."

Maisma, Bliss and Petal attempted to attack from behind, leaping from a coral tower. She turned around and swung her Bident upwards towards them, a wall of water erupting out that sent all three girls flying into the ocean.

Pyra charged forward. "Stay back." She said. Her arms swung as she leapt from a coral tower and she punted Wave Mistress hard, her body went tumbling deep into the abyss. The ocean rippled, louder and faster still. With an eruption like a rocketing geyser the aquatic woman surfaced, her arm

clutching Becca's throat as she held her up. Her grip tightened, as if ready to snap every bone in her body with a single squeeze.

"Becca!" Pyra shouted. She leapt for the floating girl's rescue but Becca was pulled out of her grasp.

"Ugh, Becca you're fucking useless you useless.." Diane bit her tongue as she she erupted in flames, her blossoming form taking on its signature horns and hooves, her spear swung upwards. Wave Mistress caught it and held it, lifting it as if it was a ragdoll in her hand.

"The sea repulses you filthy intruders." She felt the Mistress point her Bident at her chest and

with a twist, a jet of hydrogen blasted through the air, a sudden eruption of water throwing her far back. Diane caught her legs on a tower, cracking the coral before her wings flapped and she leapt back, clawed fingertips swiping rapidly at the aquatic nemesis. "Know your place!" The Mistress shrieked as she swung her Bident downwards, water rising upwards and then crashing down on her like an avalanche.

Still being choked, Becca's reached her shaky arm towards the earring. Her hands clutched the golden earring and she ripped it off her fingers pulling back as blood and hurt spurted from the enemie's ear. "AAAaaargh! You filthy..!" Wave Mistress's legs felt water wrap around her like jelly, her whole body going limp and being pulled beneath the surface. Behind her Kaz swung her arms around and

squeezed, lassoing her and yanking them both towards the ocean. Wave Mistress struggled with a gurgle as she held her down. "Yooooou biiiiiiiiitch!"

The oceanic storms that had been so furious before started to become a paltry stirup, her power fading fast. Lake wrapped a gigantic bubble around them both. "You guys go on, take back the shard!

I'll handle her!" Her eyes wild and pure-white. They were being pulled underwater but Lake now able to manipulate the liquid stronger than her, shifting the currents like a whirlpool to drag them into the deep and blue depths.

"L-lake!" Petal cried, watching the two disappear. Behind her, the ocean recededed, its powerful waves no longer thrashing against the coral monoliths. Soon the planet went calm and serene, one could see the horizon of the oceans end to end with a sense of repose. "Woah!" Maisma shouted, splashing up and swimming towards a lilypad. They clambered back towards a gigantic tower and looked out, the Wave Mistress and Lake completely gone. "She took Kaz! We have to go dive and find her Mr. Hyde!" Bliss said, her webbing lifting Becca high to the tower's top. Hyde turned to Diana, who folded her arms. "We have to trust her. Let's get back to the ship." They headed for the dropship as White Nebula

piloted down and they left the ocean, a faint trail of light visible out of the sky forming an airry halo.

☆☆☆

 

In Orchid, the streets had finally quelled. The chaos and blood split weeks prior had become a

penance on its civic body, a trivial trial in the midst of a new regime. Boys and supporters of Nathan had desecrated and torn down statues of the previous Domina, while Lyra’s last political and military holdouts were meeting a grim surrender. Within the Inner Harmony Chamber the Flora Church's top governing archons, witnessed by surrendering clerics and council members had witnessed Rava kneeling before

Nathanael. "To see woman prostrating herself before a man, how low have you sunk Rava?" Bahima Amiri, an Archon shook her head.

"He won a recognized challenge. It's his new divine right to rule as he pleases." She replied. "And pray tell, why was a boy allowed to challenge anyway?" She asked.

Nathan smirked. "I suspect my aunt's bribes did a great deal towards that. The church's corruption is nothing new, if you're still complaining then acknowledge you cared more about your greed than keeping one off the throne."

"But for a boy to actually win-" Amiri shouted.

"Sit." Nathan had demanded, his soldiers surrounding the church with swords at the ready. They were purely symbolic of course, there wasn't a single person in the room that could possess any threat to

him.

She spit. "A child, you're a child! You'll fall! You're no leader!" Amiri couldn't believe the other Archons had agreed to this meeting, that everyone was surrendering. "I've got ten years before I take the pledge to accept Flora's blessing. Why don't you take the throne from me in that time if you're so

insistent on fighting me?" Nathan replied.

In the back behind him, Astrid stood loyally with her staff. "MEN WILL NEVER BE RULERS OF WOMAN!" When a cleric ran forward with a dagger, she swiftly bashed her down and slammed heel on the back of the woman's shoulders. "You WILL show respect in front of the Domina." She said, her

one eye looking down upon the cleric as if she were a mere a louse.

She looked out the cathedral, boys lining every street as they looked upwards. They all wore

golden vests with a crest of Gaia, symbolic of their new allegiance, and many held swords at their sides as they marched in rows. The masses looked up towards the sky as Jetti stood at the top of the highest tower of the church, her hand upwards and a fist raised. Caleb sat, cradling his knees with a drink in hand, looking out at the cheering crowd.

As Nathan forced the clergy to sign over authorization for the legal levers, military and head of all religious functions Astrid stepped out onto the balcony and looked down at her people. "And in our name, we'll free these men of their fetters! For their sisters! For their mothers! For the women of the

land! For our glorious future." She smiled. "For the Domina! To Domina Nathaniel! We PLEDGE!" She shouted.

"WE PLEDGE!" The men chanted, many woman even joining in.

Astrid turned to the councilors, her heart fluttered. The boy she'd guided, the shining prince taking his gilded throne. His fist up in the air. "Let us not forget that we are a people's regime. We must unite

together, for our love and our land and our glorious new age under the goddess's light." She cried out, her eye glittering and the blood coursing through her veins like the riverflow of liquid gold. When

Nathan finished the paperwork, the Archons had their hands cut and made a hand press, signaling their new allegiance in blood. He rolled up the scoll and turned to the people, a thousand white doves

launched and floated around them. "A new era of peace and happiness has begun for all!" The crowd was ecstatic. "Men are free! Females are our equal! No gem shall be in chains, no boy shall be denied their freedom. Do we not thank Gaia for this victory? Has she not given us the world with her dirt bosom on her very terran?"

Everyone shouted. "The new era has begun! Praise Gaia! Praise Gaia! Praise Gaia!" "Thank Gaia! Heed her blessings!" He cried with arms outspoken. The entire speech was

improvised, he didn't care at all for this ridiculous charade, but the group ate it up, as if he hadn't just killed countless souls with a fiery moon crash and injured Gaia himself.

“Do we not thank Gaia for our blessings? Does she not provide for us, our mother of soil and mud that gives us strength over the oppressing sex! Do we not respect her by declaring equality among man and woman, bug and plant, gem and Set?”

"Gaia! Gaia! Gaia!" They shouted. Astrid folded her hands smiling. Behind him she stood, proud, smiling. Pride still swelled deeply within her, she could see the light of her life in front of her. Nathan

glanced back as the crowd cheered, Astrid stood behind him with a smile. She watched him give a wild sermon, before standing inches from his

backside. "A new age is upon us! For Gaia! HEED THE NEW DOMINA! HEED THE REVOLUTION" The crowd cheered and went wild at the assistant's, Astrid had become 2nd only to Nathan and her decrees held weight, her words sang wild, faithful and true.

"Praise Gaia!" "Praise Gaia!" "Praise Gaia!" "Rule of the Gaians!" "Gaian supremacy!" "PRAISE GAIAAAAAAAAA!" They shouted, the crowd going wild.

She threw her arms around Nathan from behind, hugging him and pressing into his body. Her

head laid on his shoulder as she felt his body and the warmth of his skin. For the first time ever, Nathan did not feel the warmth of his caretaker right behind him in turn. But to Astrid, this was real. This was his dream, everything they’d been working towards, everything she wanted. To make Goliath’s dream

soar. A new beginning. The world was right. "We did it." She said with a smile to her holy prince. "We?" Nathan replied.

"Gaia! Gaia! Glory to Gaia!"

Their voices were like thunder, a symphony of harmony and praise. As Nathan bowed his head to the audience in gratitude to take his leave, Astrid saw the boy smile, a gleam in his eyes as he looked

back at her. He glanced at her, a look of adoration but a faint gleam of sadness in his eyes. "I must go now, I have matters I must attend. Go, take the church and restore her former glory." He looked briefly at Caleb and Jetti. "I know we just got hold of things, but I'd like to move quick. Let's send a message to our dear friends in Xi.."

 

 

☆☆☆

 

“The Domina wants me to do WHAT?” Sandra gripped her juicebox so hard it bursts, spraying into the air like a volcano of acidic sprinkling droplets. Ameisa held the communication line, the envoy on the other end. “They’re threatening sanctions if we don’t comply. Embargos. Nothing that would effect us, but they own sync’d part of the juncture between the gateways, AU and Solar Society. If they cut us off, we get cut off from them. Should we try to negotiate?”

“Like fuck we will. Absolutely out of the question. Tell the high and holy we’re shipping their little brat off too the nearest holding bay once we retrieve her. Then we can have a conversation.” She folded her arms, the ire on her brow turning her forehead to knots. “They want us to deal with that

hellhole? Going there of all places...” “Her?”

“Who do you think.” Ameisa looked up, the digital projector showcased an image of a park, Thatti standing near Miss Mallory and her sister. “Where the hell was this?”

Sandra asked. Ameisa pressed a button and Raquel manifested right behind the two.

“Raquel, locate Becca for us.” Send out all search parties and scout ships we have to retrieve her immediately.

"Do it!" Sandra yelled. "Have security stand her down and try to be discrete. Be careful with it.” The Xistress crossed her arms. “The last thing I need is them accusing me of kidnapping some royalty brat in their custody and getting political flack from her injuries. ” She groaned. “I told you those brats are troublesome.”

“Not wrong about that.” Raquel agreed. "But there's no chance we'll catch up with her if she's on the outer rim of the galaxy. All our ships have Cascade-powered drives and quantum bandwidth. The Enigma has made navigation and highspeed travel a nightmare right now."

Sandra nodded. “I need all the information I can get my hands on then. We need to take this

seriously. This girl is dangerous. Until then, tell the new Domina and their lackies we're not negotiating until we have the runt in custody.”

Raquel was dismissed. Soon Ameisa and Sandra walked the halls, clipchart in the former's hand. "So what do you think of this new Domina nonsense?" She asked.

"I could give a rat's ass who is in charge of Flora's cult right now." Sandra shrugged. "But I'll be honest, I don't like that our main suspect for the Enigma happens to be the one person related to them, somehow. They've got a lot of power."

"Yeah, they do." Ameisa pondered, tapping the clipchart. "I can't believe he's going to be the first male Domina. I wonder what his agenda is, if it's any different than Lyra’s.."

They soon arrived at their station's cafe and Sandra ordered a big meal. "W-what?" Ameisa asked. "You've been blushing. Why?" Sandy asked.

"You always blush whenever that Domina is brought up."

Ameisa scratched her head "It's...a long story. I never liked that bitch. I swear!" she lied.

Sandra's eye was wide and she bit her tongue. "Oh come on, tell me. I know there's a good reason." Ameisa sighed. "Okay okay I.. I always found her kind of hot okay? Lyras usually had me to

handle negotiations, you never cared to talk with her. She's quite enthusiastic when it comes to the Flora Church, you should see the video mashups and treaties she's read. It's kind of.. dorky in a way? We

really got into it one time during diplomatic meetings." Her face was bright red. "You were...flirting with Lyras?" Sandra asked. "Ameisa!!"

"She kept mentioning her assistant Astrid, who was the one that kept interrupting our meetings.

And...I kinda had a crush on her!" Ameisa blurted out, her face beet-red and aching. "You...what?! You're joking, right?" Sandra blinked. "You've got a thing for a girl?"

"Well.." Ameisa sighed. "If it helps, I'm not the only one. Half the female-identified population in the Orchid galaxy had a crush on her. She was the most powerful woman next to Flora, isn't that kind of sexy?"

Sandra sneezed. "Stupid maybe."

"It was more than that." Ameisa sat, looking up at her partner's surprised expression. "We just

clicked alot okay? I'm just saying, if I wasn't your Elderdragon." her fingers pressed together nervously.

"She's someone I'd hang out with, get to know. Maybe go to a spa or something after doing her

paperwork and organizing her agenda. I've always wanted to do that." Ameisa scrolled through digital charts as they waited.

Sandra rolled her eyes. “You and Lyras? I don’t know Ameisa, I don’t really see it working out. That sounds like the worst pairing ever.”

She looked away. "Still, I suppose that's better than sleeping with her." Sandra bit her tongue. "Anyway she's dead now so it doesn't matter."

She was handed a tray of food and bit from a carrot. "What do you think of the new Domina?" Ameisa asked.

"Who cares?" Sandra said. "I don't think the new leader's really going to make a difference. Male or female. We just need to negotiate with the Flora Church as a political body. I say we tell them to fuck off, maybe a few people from their religion can move here if they're that upset at a guy taking charge."

Sandra said, nibbling on a sandwich. "But it's probably better to wait until we find this bratty kid."

☆☆☆

Long ago

 

Goliath and Astrid ventured through the ancient halls of the Hex Church’s artifact archive. The Solar Society had offered a colorful brim abound of sights, from the exotic

multicolored architecture to the statues of the Prophet. The neon and assortment of dark spectrum hues felt distinct from the all-too-gold and saturated religiosity of Orchid. The two souls, fused in Astrid's flesh started to pull out scrolls and artifacts they'd long thought lost.

"The church history with the Nathan's mother is far older than we ever guessed." Goliath said, opening a tome. "And if I'm right...this is going to blow her mind when we get her."

"GET WHO?" A booming voice shouted, before a mist launched at their body like a missile and sent them flying into a pillar. Astrid didn't have time to react at all. The voice was female, and she didn't have to turn around to recognize the accents or hear it twice. She wiped some blood from their mouth and coughed as she got up.

"H-hi Mercy.." Astrid said.

"Don't 'HI MERCY' me you friggin weirdo. This is the third time I've caught you sneaking in here you freak." She Astrid got up as Mercy charged her, a sword in hand and a shield on her arm. Mercy was a warrior, and they were no match for her in a straight duel. Astrid ran away from her. "Why would you sneak around in here?" She said, running to an alleyway.

"It’s complicated." She said.

"You're making it complicated. And you had a lot of help too." Mercy said, kicking a trash can and sending it flying at her. The can boinked Astrid on the head and sent her tumbling to the floor, Mercy caught up to her in no time at all and held her to a wall. "What do you want? Speak."

"I want..." She sighed.

"What's your reason?" Mercy squeezed. "I can chop your skull open with a sneeze. And if you escape, I will hunt you like a dog this time."

"I want your help! We. do." She said, coughing as Mercy released her. "My help? With what?" Astrid got down on her knees and bowed her head, looking away. "To save Nathan."

"The little bastard?!" Mercy said, her eyes flaring. "That's, inside you?" She'd remembered them explaining as such the last break-in.

"Very weird way to put it." Goliath said from within, moving her lips. "Let me explain, kay Astrid?" He asserted control, and Astrid submissively felt her consciousness slipping and sliding

between consciousness. Goliath's mind slowly took control of her body, his brain-patterns becoming her own, as she watched the familiar blue flame erupt in her head. Astrid knew the boy's voice, the two were one and the same, and now they shared a body. He felt the sensation, the strange sensation of the Flora Church's magic flowing through him and feeling Astrid's connection.

"I need an artifact your church found, maybe you even. I'm in danger right now, it's something with my soul. If I don't get this artifact.. I won't be okay." He brushed Astrid's body abit, sensing the differences in weight and movement with her firm breasts and agile form. "This thing looks like a

glowing golden shard. It is an enchanted jewel that holds fragments of Rose Quart. I know from sources there are quite a few in the Solar Society- you found and documented one in fact. I know where they

came from, there's a long story but.. I need your help." He bowed his head towards her. "I'd like you and the church's cooperation.

Mercy contemplated his words as the boy continued to explain through Astrid. She'd recalled the stone. The Church had a long history with these powerful shards. There were many throughout the Solar Society's pocketed galaxy, among the Hex Church's greatest artifact was one they called the Sunstone, and a large collection of them were found on the world. They could be used to create new technology and a power source, a key tool in their developmental efforts for the Holy Order. She'd held one once within her own hands long ago, writing with a quill pen its properties. And when the time came, she'd hidden it from the church and sealed it away.

It wasn't hers to keep or wield, but it was hers to hide and bury. If Mercy had intended to use the power, she would've, but she wouldn't let others use it for their own ends.

"And what makes you think I'll believe you? I didn't trust you before, and I still don't." Mercy said, shaking her head.

"Fair point, fair point. You're welcome to bring me in for questioning."

"Nah, not gonna happen. But if you're telling the truth, then by all means. I'm here to help." She said, smiling. "If." She sighed, looking around the archives.

"There are, way more dangerous artifacts. Scrolls with ancient secrets, weapons of unimaginable

destruction. If you were truly trying to raise hell, I think a truly bad person would've taken one of them instead. So maybe I can trust you?"

She threw aside her shield. "But don't you give me that 'little boy in a woman's body' sob story bullshit. You've still got her body, you can use it however you like. I will break you both if you try

anything." Mercy pointed her sword at Astrid, a sign she was to comply. "Understood." Goliath said, hands raised in surrender. "I'm not a wolf."

"Well I am." Mercy gritted her teeth. "Why don't you come with me to see someone, I think she can help sort this out."

"Who?" Goliath asked.

Mercy pushed Astrid's forehead. "My mother."

As Mercy guided the pair out of the underground and through the streets, they looked up to the bright neon lights and bright colors of the Solar Society's architecture. Goliath looked at a shop filled with strange exotic alien animals, like a purple-blue crustacean and a bipedal bird with a fox-face.

"This reminds me of home." Goliath said. "Kinda feels weird, all the stuff I left behind."

"My mom would say the same." Mercy walked forward until they reached a street alley covered in graffiti. "Thru here." She licked her lips and pressed in, creating a portal into the Voiden planes where Protlyn and the Void Queens were waiting.

 

 

A year later

Goliath in front of the 3 Tri. Delilah. Monique. Pigpen. They three had never seen the Shadow King with his helmet off, the sight taking them by surprise. "Is it really so bad?" Goliath said. "I am who I say I am." He told them. They nodded like loyal school children, Monique was gently rubbing her

buttocks with her finger like a horny stag caught in Lilith's spell.

Astrid was sitting in a room, in a chair, listening as they discussed. She was in complete control of her emotions, she told herself as her nails scratched against the chair and carved scars into the wood. At one point her and Goliath had encountered these 3 while traveling in a realm known as the Void. Their objective was to take shards and plant seeds of influence in a sideways region of Orchid, a planet known as Aethel. The world was known to be distinct from the Domina's holy hand, due to the Meridans and

strange beasts that circled beyond the atmosphere and temporal distortion across the atmosphere. When the two went, they attempted to recruit Astrid's old mentor, a retired professor now taking care of kids. Although they weren't successful, they'd found a place where Jack could spend her early years,

undetected. It was in those days they'd ended up within the Void when pursued by the Church's assassins, a series of Tri.

By helping the 3 escape, Goliath won over their begrudging respect, which turned to loyalty. These conditions seeded lust, and from lust blossomed reverence and fawning for the boy, until he became a man and the three had resolved to be his underlings.

The obsidian gem watched annoyed, not out of jealously like her own mother but from what looked like a lecherous assault, fondling over his armored stance. "Dad your 3 sluts are on your lap

again." Jack said, watching them crawl over again. Delilah inresponse grabbed Jack's arm and patted her on the head. "Now, now, little monster. You're going to grow into a cute goth witch later. I've heard you're taking lessons in glitterbitching, that's very cute. That's what your mom says. But for now you

should get in line. If you want to be a demon, then you've gotta have the power. And you'll have the power soon. You'll see." She smiled. "But I'm the Shadow King's big sister right now! How can a little brat like you get the job?" Monique interrupted and shook her head. "No? The Shadow King is going to promote ME to his wife before long!"

She yelled, causing Jack to turn away.

Astrid's eyes fluttered. "What a shame, those poor deluded creatures." She scratched her chin.

Goliath held his arms up, his eyes red with an ominous glow. "What a shame that these Tri... I guess it was a pretty stupid idea to have any of these in my power, right?" He said, eyes glowing red. "Yes master! We're the most idiotic henchwoman ever!" Pigpen yelled.

"The Apex dolts. Monique said. "Pitiful before your witness." Delilah agreed. "Forgive us, savior!" The 3 announced.

Mercy started to pull them off one by one. "Oh no no. You want forgiveness? Go to church! Let the holy woman bring the great Shadowking redemption." Mercy said, slowly waving her fingers and tossing her arms around him, Goliath looking at her oddly and then rubbing the back of his head and

closing his eyes.

His eyes closed and he sighed. Jack drew near, turning her umbrella to its crowbar formation. "He's MY dad! Get your own your daddy you little blond nega-nun!" Her rainbow eyes swirled with malice and want. Mercy stuck her tongue out, griding her breast and chest against Goliath and waving dismissively at Jack. "Sorry, looks like daddy got a new groovie boobie." Jack's body shifted as she started to transform, her spine and chest grew, her clothes turned into a firetruck red latex dress, she gained heels and opera gloves and she shapeshifted into a buxom luxurious woman bustier and taller

than Mercy, her crowbar returning to an umbrella she guided sensually overhead. "Shutup and now go away. I'm not sharing." Jack said, looking at Mercy. "Go away you!" Mercy spat back, the two glaring each other like tigers over a piece of meat right in front of Goliath.

Monique jumped up and wrapped the two in a headlock, the other two Tri biting at their ankles and wrists. "LET GO OF OUR MASTER!" Monique shouted, twisting and wrenching their bodies. "Little demon!" Mercy spat, shoving Jack away.

"Stop biting us!" The founder of the Hex kicked at them. They hissed and cried. "Get off of him or the Shadow King is going to have your ass!" Mercy laughed. "No, he's not yours! We saw him first you dumb slut!" Delilah shouted. "I'm not a slut." Monique said. "You're just a slut, no more." Jack

squeezed and pryed the others inches off, only to get slapped and pushed back. She started hitting them with her umbrella. "Get her under control and clean her pussy, you stupid brat!" Monique shouted,

pulling Jack away from Goliath and trying to throw herself to him. Jack made an 'O' shape with her mouth and shot a heated line of color at Monique's forehead.

"You bitch!" Monique yelled, kicking her repeatedly in the face.

Astrid rolled her eyes, not listening to this nonsense. Jack rolled her eyes and her head snapped with violent force against Monique's jaw, Monique taking a sword and stabbing Jack rapidly everywhere until she was a fountain of blood. "You greedy gem, so what if he's your father? Haven't you ever heard to share?" She rolled off her body and Monique landed to the side, Jack landing a bit away, her umbrella snapping shut with force.

Goliath's eyes started to turn gold and body filled with Astrid's power, his mass started to grow, with his arms he took hold of the 3 Tri in a bearhug and forced them on their sides, their heads spinning as their eyes rolled over and turned red. "You want my forgiveness? I'm going to give it to you." Goliath said, turning his eyes fully white and turning away, a blue glow covering him. He was no longer Goliath,

he was the Shadow King. He looked at each one and nodded. "Monique, you want forgiveness? I forgive you." He said, looking into her eyes. She smiled and shook her head. "I don't know who I am. I'm not a

slut, I'm not a whore, I'm not a bitch. I want to be the Shadow King's wife!" The others cried and shook. "I'll tell you what you are, you're a whore!" "I'm going to be his wife!" "I found him first!" "He's so handsome, but he clearly has eyes for me!" "Nuh uh, he made more eye-contact with me, we're

soulmates!" "He's my dad!" "I'm the Prophet!" "Prophesize me kicking your ass!"

"ENOUGH!" The Shadowking yelled. Goliath folded his arms, and looked at Mercy. The girls were

silent. Goliath glared at them and his eyes glowed gold once more. "If you want to change, you have to be willing to change." The girls nodded. "Okay. We want to change. We're going to be kinder, sweeter and nicer! We're going to be your loyal 3 Tri!" The girls smiled, "We promise to be on our best behavior, daddddddy!"

"ONLY I CAN CALL HIM DADDY! RAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Jack's weapon became a knife and she started attempting at stabbing the three in an angry riot.

Mercy finally stepped away. She'd been investigating these 3 and their attacks on Solar Society for awhile, but she never suspected the Shadow King to be someone like this, someone so similar to her own mother and her operations. "Alright kids. Ride the line and listen. Here's the scoop. I'm gonna tell you everything I know about what's happening. I don't have much time, so I need to give the whole story before we're all blasted into atoms." Mercy sighed. "My mom and your Shadowking are going to have an alliance. But see, my dad was already the Shadowking and isn't too thrilled with Goliath going around like this, so he's going to challenge him and kill him."

Goliath's mind was focused and the group was all quiet, listening to what she said. Delilah shook her head. "Dumb broad! Kill your scruples." Delilah yelled. "I'm gonna kill this brat and take over.

You'll be dead and I'll rule the Universe. I'm the true heir to the Shadowking." She cackled. "Heir? I thought that was going to be me!" Monique shouted, grabbing Delilah's wrist. "Quiet, all of you." Mercy said, folding her arms.

As Astrid listened, Jack slowly popped up behind her. "Mom, what are the Tri Aunties and Mercy arguing about?" She asked.

Astronomica looked at the girl and pulled her close. "Our whole agenda here was to make peace between the Solar Society and the Flora Church and form an alliance, but it looks like we're going to

have to keep doing what we've been doing and keep things a little secretive." "So what's happening?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "We kind of took the Shadow King alias and throne from another person, Mercy's dad. She's not mad, but she wants to talk to her parents and sort this all out."

Jack folded her arms and frowned. "Is this going to be a big fight?" She asked.

Astrid looked at Mercy, who was throwing her arms around Goliath to the ire of the 3 Tri. Her blood pressure rose and she felt like her soul would boil beneath the surface.

The woman longed for the days when that boy was all hers.

 

 

From ago to back again

Fully grown and walking in the armored boots of a man, Goliath showed Caleb and Jetti to the top of a tall golden tower. The hallways seemed to stretch on endlessly, his and Astrid’s guidance taking

them past underlings from every universe they knew. Orchid.

AU. Bedlam. Abyss. Rubbery, slick and slinky Jezinkahs strut around the halls past the group, Caleb turning his head to admire his own reflection in their glossy bodies.

Fully grown and walking in the armored boots of a man, Goliath showed Caleb and Jetti to the top of a tall golden tower. The hallways seemed to stretch on endlessly, his and Astrid’s guidance taking

them past underlings from every universe they knew. Orchid. AU. Bedlam. Abyss. Rubbery, slick and slinky Jezinkahs strut around the halls past the group, Caleb turning his head to admire his own

reflection in their glossy bodies.

"So what, the new Dominus has his own personal army?" Caleb said, looking around. "Having helping hands is par the course of any operation." Goliath told them.

"We've been gone for some time.” Jetti asked. “The Xi seem to be figuring things out and Enigma's been quiet."

"Don't worry, once we take care of Harvest, the Enigma will be eliminated." Goliath told her and Caleb.

"That's not t-" Astrid paused when Nathan shot her a deadly look. "Oh right right." She corrected herself.

"The Xistress right now is hunting for Becca, who is still looking for the same shards we are.

But I'm sure our bumbling star queen out there intends to use Becca as a

bargaining chip. There's just one thing.." Goliath said, looking to the sky. "I'm not sure they can find her so easily with the Enigma right now. We have a way around it"

"How so?" Caleb asked.

"With your gem." Goliath said, turning to Astrid.

"What about it?" Astrid asked, looking at the godshard embedded in her staff. "We can use an Analemma to track the ones they've collected."

"The way the shard works, it stores your energy in little pieces and rewrites it with its own

magical frequencies. It basically copies whatever magic is inside you in some form and spits it back out into the world amplified." Goliath explained. "Think of it like a microphone that radiates energy." He finally reached the end of the hallway where a huge electronic steel gate was. Astrid pressed buttons on the keypad and they were let in, the doors sliding open with a lumbering heave.

As the light from the hall expanded in, the group greeted the organization members already inside, sitting on chairs around a floor painted with a holy sigil, several Obsidian gems working on

completing the inscriptions and a spiky crystalline orb on an ancient pedestal. Cal's eyes went around the room.

A woman with blue hair, and a sea-green jacket with sneakers. Ramona smoked a cig and leaned back. "About time you got here. Are we ready to start?"

Next to her, a crocodile like figure in a suit and trilby hat, his giantic snout gnarling on a cigar. "You're all out of time." The crocodile bellowed, his scaled-tail tapping on the ground and looking

up to the group with a bored look.

"The new Dominus got some nerve being late! Late late late as always Davie." A woman with

cherry red hair, orange fur and bar codes around plastic doll joints said. A pair of deer antlers extended outside the top of her head, she wore a sash and close-fitting robes. Several purple shards floated over her head and antlers, rotating ever so slowly like a crown.

Paradox sat patiently, holding out were hands. "We're all in the same boat, Melanie. Kismet waits for our own invitation." Sitting next to her was another armored figure, the gem across the front of her

helmet and grey armor contrasting Paradox's white.

"As long as you are ready to work, it doesn't matter what time it is. A fairer world cannot be left to fate." Harmonizer said.

In the farthest seat of the room was a spunky girl with blond hair wearing a neon tracksuit made of rubber and a woman in a black latex gown and crown behind her. "Sup Goliath." Mercy said. Behind her Protlyn sat cross.

"What can I say, I'm never late. I just don't rush Merc." Goliath smirked.

She leaned back, a look of boredom on her face. "Yeah right. You weren't dealing with 'that'

again weren't you? But I'll let you keep your secrets." She looked up to Goliath with a jabbing out of her tongue. "Now who would like to start with some progress reports? We have a lot to do." She asked.

Goliath took a step forward, but a glowing gem in Harmonizer's eye-socket shot him back with a

beam.

"Harmonizer, you're not on rotation." Ramona said, waving her hands.

"I was just going to speak." He replied, shrugging. "I don't think things are going as well as planned. Thatti didn't exactly take too well to my little re-management of Orchid.

Never say I let it all go to my head! I just need to talk to her and get things sorted out." He took a seat and folded his hands on his lap. Caleb and Jetti listened attentively. "The Xi'ans will capture her soon, we'll retrieve whatever shards her and her little rock crew are gathering. I'd like to introduce you

all to our newest members." He eyed Caleb, nudging his head for him and the Glitterkiss member to join in. "This is Caleb Hayes, and his dear friend, miss Jet. They're going to be working th Xi angle."

"Thank you." Jetti said. "Our mission is to search and find as many shards as possible, if not just to avoid the same disaster again and again. We're currently making our way to a project that can destroy Harvest, to stop the Hololive Enigma. I'm really looking forward to working with you all and the Domina."

Mercy folded her arms, her eyes rolling. "Yeah, sure."

"Anybody ever call you the boy with a woman's body?" Melanie said leaning in, sighting Caleb and outing her very suddenly.

"W-wait, hey-"

"Easy. A little Jack-in-the-box told us." The deer girl giggled, as Paradox gave Melanie a 'how about we keep it professional' look. "Oh relax, Caleboob. Should we call you

Caleboy? It was the same way for Goliath, he was a boy in a girl's body too sort of. You probably have it easier, I doubt you're sharing a body with anyone."

Caleb sighed and rubbed his face. "This is going to be fun." He said. Goliath turned to Mercy. "Any luck on convincing 'her'?"

Mercy crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Afraid not. We're taking abit of a, separation. For our own sakes."

Astrid said pointing her staff at Mercy. "What are your priorities Mercy?"

"Easy, lay the frick off freaky." She pushed the staff away. "I'm in. Always have been. The Masquerade stands in alliance with the Domina, his church and operation 'Destroy Neme-sis."

"Neme-sis? What's that?" Caleb asked.

"Theorized entity related to the Hololive Enigma. We believe it to be the result of some sort of, Cascade singularity or coalesce of information. None of us knows what it looks like, what it can do or how it will emerge. We have some investigations that it's related to an artificial intelligence, but we just don't know how or whose behind it.”

"So... what's your plan Harmo on your side of things?" Ramona asked. "Is 'the Garden' ready for us?"

"Garden?" Caleb was confused. "It's in a pocket dimension in Orchid." Astrid answered, whispering in his ear. "Harvest exists across two planes, the one in Orchid is a gem holdout."

Harmonizer, the gleaming crystalline mask seemed to refract everyone's reflection. "I ran into

some resistance. Once we've got our hands on it, we'll be able to take care of alot of our own problems abroad. There seems to be some opposition and holdouts there. Even my own daughter seems to be opposing the Church, but she'll come around." They turned to Paradox. "It was the same for you and yours, wasn't it Paradox?"

When addressed, Paradox paused. "Yes, the templars, guilds and other groups of AU are refusing

to get with the program." She paused, her eye sockets shuffling in her head. "There are also some..

things." She said, her voice wavering and pausing in its flow. "Harvest has... made some strange new allies recently. It's not just pirates we'd be dealing with."

"Allies?" Doctor Bon Von Caiman said, his leathery green muzzle grumbling.

"Metahumans. That was always the case, but their culture is strange, they seem to worship these metahumans and have advanced some truly bizarre technology." She said.

"I say we just combine all our forces and head there right now! We can crush them! Boom bam!

No more Enigma, no more Neme-sis!" Mercy bellowed, as the other members in the room groaned.

"I'm afraid that's not that simple." Paradox said. "We're all pretty stretched thin, most of us were in a conflict with the Enigma and the rebellious forces attempting to take back the Church. Incoming threats have been a constant problem for us. And even with their crippling at the moment, Xi wouldn't stand by and let us do that."

"And we're going to need more forces. Specifically in Xi itself." Goliath said. "Caleb and Jetti will work on that operation to increase out influence there. I'm thinking something big like an invasion or

attempt to strong-arm will cause a major pushback. Xi, in terms of the big stick is rather stacked right now. It might be gentler with the Enigma disrupting things, but a lame dragon is still a dragon. We

cannot take out Harvest by force either with just what we have, so we'll need to subvert Xi first and gradually make our operation possible." Goliath told the group.

"We'll also be seeking out all the shards we can find, although that witch isn't exactly making it easy for us." Astrid created a hologram of White Nebula with her staff.

"We have a lot of work cut out for us, especially you." She told Jetti.

The other members agreed with one another. Harmonizer gave a speech about gathering and protecting information and resources, Melanie spoke of how they were going to synchronize their

logistics, Paradox outlined her issues with the metahumans in AU, and Ramona made it clear that while no one trusted Xi- and none in Xi trusted them- they would do what it took to find a victory. In the back, Mercy complained about a lot of the meetings and wasted time. Caleb sat curious, like a lark watching the sunrise with growing fascination.

"Uh, I'm still a little lost on alot of the politics here. Didn't you already take over Orchid? Or, G- gaia I guess? Didn't they surrender?"

"The planet and church did." Goliath told him. "But the two galactic fleets are independent from both this world and its authorities. The Solar Fleet took direct orders from the previous Domina. Now

that she's gone, they won't extend the same right to me. As far as they're concerned, this entire planet is a now hostile entity with everyone on it traitors, and they'll stop at nothing to grind is us into the dirt." He rolled his eyes. "Or mud even."

"Ah, got it." Caleb shook his head and rubbed his face.

"Why don't we go in-depth into Orchid's side of things first? I can explain to you the gameplan for subverting Xi later." Goliath placed his hands over a round spherical device, that when rotated opened a starchart across the ceiling. In Caleb's vision swirled a multitude of moving, circulating colored petals and bead-like discs, moving rapidly around tiny white circular lights that twinkled above. "This is our

'Corolla Map.' When Astrid first brought her into our operation, she was able to re-route some of our systems to make the maps accessible to her. It's been vital in a lot of our recent work."

"Corolla Map?" The lights danced in Caleb's eyes, like a kaleidoscopic vision of things to come. "Oh right, you're an Xi'an." Goliath cleared his throat.

"In Xi, you have two major cosmic phenomenon. Passive space-time distortions that bend through the fabric of space, and Cascade which actively flows that distortion out in a manifested turbulent manner. These used to present a huge panic for Xi in, much older times. At this point however the phenomenon is understood pretty well, and taking control of Cascade has allowed galactic travel in weeks or even days time." He said, rotating the light to highlight a cluster of small dots. "There are also phenomenon in Orchid, but unlike Xi Orchid has yet to master their rhythm. We understand them but

can not manipulate or do away with them. The dots represent stars, and the clusters are star systems." Caleb nodded, having a similar layout in his mind.

"See these colorful lights? We call them Tempestuous Corolla or 'Cosmic Hymn.'"

Along the room, Ramona's face was lit up by the passing lights, streaks of red and gold across her face followed by vivid splotches of blue and purple. "Hymn is the active component that emerges from a sort of unique magnetic or attractor field between planets, affecting the flow of time and space, that

moves across the universe like an ocean wave or river. Almost as if all the planets of the universe are singing. Because of this, Tempestuous Corolla forms powerful ripples and currents throughout the

galaxy, a sort of spacial wind that makes travel a little difficult. While you have Cascade in your

universe to speed up travel, we don't. The fusion cores and light-drives that Orchid use are similar on a technologically advantageous level to the Array Systems that use and distort gravitation to travel, but

going into Interstellar Thrust to jumpskip through the cosmos has more limitations. Like trying to speed up a sailboat through crashing waves and hurricanes in space. These pathway trails are called Meridians, and their invisible ocular flows are called Leylines. Merdians have strong winds, Leylines have strong

energy. The basic navigation principle is find less wind, more energy as you chart a path- but

unfortunately they tend to coincide quite abit." His finger traced veins the moving lights on the table, to Caleb they looked like trails of of red and yellow blood.. "To get around this, Leylines have to be

followed carefully- specific trails of spacial currents that move 'with' and not 'against' fleets and traveling ships. Safe navigation is limited to following these routes. This red and yellow trail in the

center that surrounds Gaia and goes out is called the Bloom Meridian, it's the largest connective current they rely on. Think of it like a highway."

He poked the spherical device and tiny black dots lit up on the map.

"There are two superpowered galactic fleets, both the main one and the rebellious one. Both are in a state of high alert with regards to us, and are trying to take out our assets and power. There's a

smaller, third galactic fleet belonging to their allies, the Tri. We have 3 combined fleets aswell- The Boy's Liberation, Archnomidnight and Veena's Daybright Fleet. Even our combined forces are barely larger than the Tri Fleet however. This is our war. In a head to head, the odds are stacked heavily against us." Goliath said.

Mercy was visibly agitated. "I don't see why we can't just blow them up already, like right now!" She said. Goliath shook his head, Mercy only made him more frustrated at his inability to work with the woman. "We can't take something that large." The reality sank in, his hands never leaving the red and

yellow flowing pathways of light.

"But that's not our style. Since we cannot contest them, we have a different plan. See without our

intervention, it'll take them 2-3 years to get here. Their ship's Leyline receptors work off a principle called Harmonic Conversion Therapy. They utilize energy from the Leylines collectively, collecting

with receptors and then using ambient generators to distribute them to the entire fleet. In other words, the more ships are concentrated at once, the more fuel and power they have, the fast they can go. Think

of it like every ship in a sea fleet, also equating to rowers on said fleet. If they have more ships, they can travel quicker." He looked at his crew, everyone giving the Domina their full attention. "Because of that, we'll have to fight for time and weaken them using a war of attrition to our advantage. We cannot just

attack, but we can slowly undermine their strength in a very surgical manner. If we can force them to divest ships from their fleet, they'll slow down buying us time." He said, turning to Ramona, who

coughed.

"Right, but if they're physically gonna slap our shit, how are we supposed to pick them off and seperate them? They'll never fall for such a tactic."

"We won't divide them. They'll do it themselves." With a tap of the sphere's side, other triangles popped up in the map, too numerous to count around every star. "We'll attack their empire. The colonies. We have ships which can travel without relying on Leyline collection- but they travel much slower.

Their ships on the other hand can travel almost three times as fast as our ships that travel with the

Hymn's currents, but the price of that speed is they can only follow said currents, to veer off would lose them that momentum. If they were to travel outside the Leylines to head to their colonies they would run off said Leylines and into Meridians, including this red and yellow lifeline they hold so strategically

sacred and tactically blessed. Meanwhile the ships we'll send, their path will look like.." He adjusted the chart further. Everyone looked as thin white lines started circulating in sharp angles overtop the entire

galaxy, forming concentric octagons, each one encompassing the next and connecting with sharp lines.

The sight reminded Caleb of a spiderweb, every single triangle and star like skittering flies caught in a web.

"This is what we use to travel through our galaxy, this is what they use to travel through theirs. Our own Leylines, utilizing a theory proposed by Beauvoir de Croix called Hypo-Systemata are that there are hundreds of unseen and undetected access routes that can be charged through, that go 'around' their pathways. If they're rowers, think of these as submarines. We merely have to go around them,

behind them, everywhere 'but' their paths. This way we can reach their worlds and attack elsewhere."

"Kay, so I'm not sure I'm following. We're just abandoning Gaia and trying to conquer the rest of the galaxy then?" Caleb asked.

"Nono, but that's what we want them to think." Goliath winked.

Ramona cleared her throat. "The goal is to strike a decisive blow at their momentum. Thanks to Archnomidnight, we can launch a guerilla war against the entire holy empire, heading to planet after

planet while their initial primary aim is returning to Gaia. Taking the bait and diverting their forces to save said worlds will cost them rowers, so to speak. It'll waste manpower, ships and resources to retake planets they can easily overwhelm. In other words, it will slow them down and cost them precious,

valuable time- that they don't even know is so precious."

"This has already begun." Ramona said, looking at Mercy who made a small smile. "The earliest wave of forces are already waging an open war across the empire, hitting and running. It's hit and miss, but so far they're taking bait nicely. The Boy's and Daybright Fleets have deployed to take out major

points and choke points on routes to planets we'll focus on later."

Astrid, standing next to Goliath loyally nodded. "This strategy relies on a major tactical advantage we're using against them: Ignorance. As far as they know, we're just fighting barbaric, trying a moronic siege to grab as many planets as we can, and using up our entire fleet to do-so. Think of it from their

perspective: They have the numbers, and it's only a matter of time before they crush us. They're under no strict time-crunch. Whether they win in 5 years or 10, or even 30, they'll arrive at Gaia with our forces

extirpated. The factor of the Xi'ans, their own allies, joining us and overwhelming them is non- possibility to them at the moment, meaning they're ignorant of the countdown in place."

"And if they don't take the bait and head directly to Gaia before that happens?" Caleb objected.

Everyone went dead silent, before looking to Goliath. As the red holographic lights flashed over his face, daring between his eyes they appeared as neon scars.

"We're planning on it." He turned to Astrid, who typed on a thin slice of light projected from an arm bracelet, as if clacking away at a smooth unseeable set of buttons. Another hologram popped up,

displaying a grainy image of Gaia, its moons and a blue light around it.

"This is something we're working on. As Mercy has shared, the Solar Society has a dimensional province around their entire solar system. We plan on doing the same using an old outmoded dyson

sphere, if we're successful we can cloak and displace Gaia, Sol and the surrounding planets dimensionally. It'll be as if we just vanished from space."

"Putting.. the solar system in another dimension?" Caleb asked. "A pocket dimension to be specific." Mercy added.

His eyes darted across the room. "It won't hold forever, they'll definitely be onto us and start to find a way to dart in somehow. But it'll buy us time. Time is the one thing we need to win this war. . There are two factors to this time-sensitive conflict they're completely ignorant to: A)That of the Xi-ans, who will have a clear endgame of extermination of our enemies. B)That my true coronation at the end of my Decade will be the end of everything for them. Once I gain my ascension to Domina proper, it'll all be over."

"Huh? W-why's that?" Caleb watched as Goliath turned off the eerie holographic display.

"This is going to be one very big factor that will make even taking over Xi irrelevant, assuming Neme-sis doesn't strike first." The Domina told him. Everyone looked at the ground as the preparations had long since finished.

"We'll have one more member joining us, and their power backing this." Goliath told the group as he stepped forward. Paradox got up and went towards him, Astrid protectively leaping inbetween.

"It'll be alright." He told her, everyone staring at Astrid awkwardly. She was about to make a joke. "Oh right. Forgot timey-wimey is needed to help sooth things." She slapped her forehead and sighed, before sitting back down. With a holy prayer and drop of blood, Goliath activated the mechanisms on the floor, the glowing energy rising up. "I'll go touch base with her, see that we're on track." He said, standing next to the giant portal to the holy dimension beyond. "Keep vigilant my chooms." The group was silent for a moment as the portal opened up with a rush of dark winds, and he stepped inside, out of sight.

☆☆☆

He entered into a room surrounded by Christmas lights taped to the wall, a queen-sized bed in the middle with a golden frame. Several windows were visible, where one could see any spot in Orchid if they wished. A girl with white hair and golden eyes turned to him from a computer chair, dressed in a grey sweatshirt hoodie and golden metallic lingerie below, shiny enough that he could see his own

reflection in it. He felt an instant flood of familiarity wash over him. "Nathan!" She greeted him,

jumping off the chair and wrapping her arms around his neck. The woman was several feet taller than him. The thick smell of sweat penetrated Goliath's nostrils as he was glomped by the goddess. "Oh, wait wait. One second." She hopped back to her chair and hit 'pause', then went towards a lock-in-closet. "Sorry, was unprepared. Let me get into my regalia, don't want to do business all flippant-like.

"Oh.. is that why you're.." He looked down at her form, the extra weight in her arms felt earlier when she embraced him. "Oh right right, take your time. Flora went into the closet and he sat on her bed for twenty minutes. When she came out, she was in metallic-golden robes with a diadem, and sandals instead of sneakers. Golden makeup accented her face, and airy perfume had replaced the scent of sweat. The air felt a bit chilly. "Ohh.. alright, alright! Now I look like a queen should." She folded her arms and smirked. "Come with me."

Goliath followed her out into the halls and after a minute, he guided her to a huge chamber with an open sky and a huge ornamented throne. Flora hopped on it, taking a scepter as if it were a toy and

clapping her hands giddily. "Sorry if this is a bit crass but, I'm so excited! You did it boy! You showed that bitch whose boss, you're the new Domina. Sorry, Dominus, was that the male term you invented? That's weird, I'm still getting used to that! And now I get to really work in the galaxy with you, under your church. What an opportunity!" Her eyes were brimming with excitement.

"You're, happy that I survived and came out on top?" Goliath asked.

"Happy!? Oh my god Goliath, no. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not merely happy. I'm relieved. You have NO idea how suffocating your mother was. I blessed her with a son to stick it to her stuffy ways and

switch it up, but I never in a million eons would've guessed you'd dethrone her and take the lead!" She said, the scepter dropping to her lap. "Not that I care about her feelings, I don't. Just, as my church is whatever, I need that, and they do too! It's so, so satisfying!" She said, her face lit up with delight.

Goliath crossed his arms, as a look of content and satisfaction washed over his features. He remembered the Pact Lucy has given him- Whoever is pledged to him, he'd gain their strength and powers. This would change everything.

"So now what?" Goliath said. "How do you want to, proceed?" He asked.

"Well, we've still got a hurdle to crawl. You're the Domina in-trial, You've got to keep your

place, we can't have another Domina or Dominus trying to oust you!" Flora said. "Until your 10 year

trial tenure ends, I cannot intervene yet. But the second that ends, I've got your back. You're my boy, and I won't let anything happen to you. My blessing. It will be your sword and shield. You got mommy Flora in your corner bae."

"What about Xi and any war with their forces?" Goliath asked.

"Gotta stay in Orchid sweetie! It wouldn't be called the 'Trial of God' if that trial was just running off and avoiding challengers or assassins for a decade." Flora told him.

"But good news, Xi is a pig stuck in a mudpit right now with this, Hololive-nonsense. Believe me, my favorite game servers are from there. They will be in no position to do much for a good long while, so it's your time. Your time to shine! Your time to get stronger!" Flora said, patting his shoulder.

"Also, I'm here to make sure your enemies with the Xistress don't overreach and try something. I can back them off and force them to back down! Trust me, I'm good friends with her, if I tell her to step aside she'll listen." Flora said. "But that, won't be for another 10 years or so. When you become the

Domina officially, I can. Just, try to live day to day as best we can and survive, you can wait out those 10 years." Her radiant eyes poured adoration and a determined glare into his soul. "Trust me, you've got this."

She held his hand and squeezed it.

"Ok.. yeah. That's fine." He said, his mind racing. In ten years, Caleb and Jetti would be almost 30, and Becca's current body older aswell. A lot could happen. But, all of it for the better, for his side of things and against theirs. "Thanks." He said, her gaze of excitement making him beam with joy. "And every time you need me, I'll be right there." She said, hugging him with a strong grip. "Pray to me

anytime!

"You must get back to the business, of running a church." She said, as Goliath bid her farewell. "No rest for the weary!" Flora winked, raising her arms and wiggling her fingers to the Orchidian sky

above. A burst of light enveloped the throne room, and it was nothing but dark and light that surrounded Goliath, back in the tower room on the floor, everyone looking at him. The imagery of the goddess stayed powerful in his mind upon returning to the mortals who looked upon him for command.

Goliath looked down at himself, a bit dazed. "How is she?" Astrid asked.

"She's really satisfied I'm Domina. This will be a long operation, and we'll be doing a lot of work.

I'm sure she'll stick with us and trust us."

He got up and raised his fists to the air. "To stopping the Enigma. To slaying Neme-sis!"

"To slaying Neme-sis!" Mercy repeated. The rest joined in Harmonizer bellowing his command for unity and Paradox giving a prayer for all their sakes. Just wait for me, Lucy..

☆☆☆

Becca, Diane and Petal ran from a hail of gunfire from behind. In the aisles of Stationmart,

only shelves of merchandise served as their shield and cover. The three flinched as the gunshots cracked through the air and glass shattered. A man dressed in Starguard uniforms scanned row after row of

shelves that went 30 meters high into the domed ceiling, helicopter drones with cameras following above.

Petal turned on the woman with a shotgun, the girl only 5'1. "Come on you little b-" The girl

screamed in terror as Petal smacked her gun with a punch and flipped her over, landing on top of her and pinning her to the floor with her legs and hands. Thatti and Diane looked at another, before a cadet

shouted "Freeze!"

He turned, a rifle pointing at Becca's face. "The heck is their deal?!" She shouted.

"Come with us." The man said. "By the orders of the Xistress. Don't make us shoot. We're just following orders." A door whooshed opened and a tall figure of a woman in a black uniform stepped forward. The three raised their hands up.

"Wonderful. I'll take this as you choosing to cooperate." A tall woman with shoulderpads said, her red-and-black eyes glowing. Her silver hair was tied in a ponytail with green pins, her uniform and white skin contrasted with her glowing sclerae and brightly colored iris. She wore a star-crest badge on her vest.

She made eye contact with Petal, who was holding Becca back. "I'm Lieutenant Sho-Haru Haruka. Former Idol, and Star Guard INTER-GALA agent. You're under arrest, Thatti."

"I'm not Thatti!" Becca yelled. "So just screw off!"

The woman took out a handheld device and scanned her biometrics. "Your genetics say Thatti, so you're the one we'll be taking with us. Your gem friends, well they can go." Becca stood

cross. "Well, this is just some-!" The world inside the station flashed.

Everyone in the galaxy gave pause as the power went offline. "What?!" Becca said, as every system and projector had turned off in an instant, a cluster of unsuspecting merchant terminals, displayed flickering screens, garbled data streams as the lights went dim and nothing was functioning. Holographic displays in the Stationmarket glitched and flickered. Across the entire galaxy technology because a vice and vanguard of terror. Sentient lifeforms, their cybernetic implants malfunctioning, screamed in agony as their minds were assaulted. The Exchange's security drones, their programming overridden, turned on their masters, their weapons firing indiscriminately. Even Haruka's handheld device malfunctioned in her grip, readings going into useless white noised. She blinked at the sudden darkness. "The.. power just.."

The galaxy watched in horror, fearing the worst as the Enigma continued its relentless spread

across the stars. Everything was endlessly transformed by storms of gravity and a shrill madness echoing through the technoscape everywhere that electricity reigned supreme, ready to haunt those foolish enough to depend on it.

Petal looked to her friends. "What happened?"

"We're sorry. But the Hololive Enigma must end, the world can't keep living like this. Your

mother's doing her part to stop this madness." The woman, Haruka, took out a gun and pointed it at her. Becca gasped and pulled out a gun from her hoodie, pointing it back at Haruka.

"What the hell!"

"This is a Star Guard mission, we can't have witnesses or loose ends like this!" Haruka said.

Before she could fire, Petal tackled Becca, the two falling down a flight of escalators. Haruka gave

chase, shooting the gun in her hand before the escalators and walls began to ripple like water and distort, multiplying right before the Lieutenant's eyes. "W-what, how in the world?" She watched the world in the Mart melt and shift around her.

"It's.. not possible." Petal said, looking around and seeing fifty rows of escalators, and dozens of floors made up of merchandise isles and racks, all reflecting what they were standing on at the moment. Becca looked down at the vending machine which was going up an escalator,

opposing escalators on the ceiling shifting the Starguard soldiers upside down. "How.. did we-!" Becca panicked. "Isn't it obvious? It's the Shard's doing. Let's take the opportunity to escape." Petal cried out, seeing Haruka jump from parade of floating vending-machine platform to platform to try to catch up to them. Becca ran up the new upside-down escalators, which were like a Mobius strip, before exiting through a door that seemed to be at the center of every floor. A door that lead into a small alley. "C-come on!" She shouted, Petal in hot pursuit, the Stationmart's security drones and officers taking shots at them. They ran down a hallway trying to shake their pursuers.

"Is this a portal? Or another dimension or something?" The two stood together, as the hallway melted and distorted around them, the streets and alleyways of Stationmart melting away and shifting

until there were in a labrinth of geometrical absurdity. uildings morphed as they shifted, gravity bending and transforming in the most bizarre ways around them. "Holy-" The gem was immediately tasered by a Peridot in a Star Guard uniform, her form glitching as the electricity warped her until she popped, gem falling to the floor with a 'clank.'

"Thank goodness THIS still works." The Peridot gloated, three other Peridot's like her joining to retrieve Petal's gem.

"Petal!" Becca shouted. The world shimmered around them. She ran away from the pursuing patrol, soon finding the escalator she was on was a twisted ring that lead in an infinite loop, she spun on it like a wobbly carousel attempting to dodge the patrol members. Haruka finally caught up to her.

The woman stood and glared at her, staring. The power suddenly came back on, the world

returning to its original order. "So you made it." The lieutenant said, glaring. "You're my prisoner now." Haruka said.

"W-what?" The world reverted, back to its orderly state. Everything was running as usual,

nothing seemed to be changed. "What the hell did you guys do to the world?" She asked. "If we bring you back to the Xistress, maybe she'll be able to figure out why you circus animals are messing

everything up." She started to march towards Becca, gun cocked.

Suddenly she fell through the floor, the portal beneath her dropping her into a warehouse lot miles long. Diane crawled out of the portal, arms glowing. She held in her hands a golden shard. "I got it, it was causing everything to go topsy turny for awhile. Let's bounce." She looked at Becca. "Where's Petal?"

"She, uhh, got captured."

Diane pinched her forehead in agony. "We'll figure out later. C'mon." She pressed against a

nearby wall leading to the far end of the Mart where their escape shuttle was. The two ran away as the portal closed. The two hopped in and soon flew off. Behind them, a Star Guard Asylum Mark IV laid next to the entire Stationmart "Why isn't their ship pursuing us?" Becca asked.

"Seems like larger electronics take longer to come back online, and Cascade powered engines nearly indefinitely."

She said. "Luckily we got a bit of a head start before we were detected. That's good, the Xistress is not going to get an easy win over us." She said. "And maybe this wasn't so bad. But then, we had to friggin leave Petal behind." She looked at the empty seat beside her. "How can I just.. leave her there? How.." Her face glowed, her tears turning into diamond that shattered and fell to the floor. The Xistress was going to pay, Becca decided. She stood up, glaring at the cockpit and out the viewscreen. Her fists

balled up, as she bellowed. Becca was silent the entire trip, and soon they were back on White Nebula's station. Bliss was sleeping from the ceiling, the rest sent off on separate missions.

Before they were standing in a dark room, in the shadows cast by their lanterns. The room was filled with gears and rotors, the cogs turning like wheels beneath their feet. "What happened?" They asked, looking around. White Nebula stepped forward. "We were using an exotic energy source to avoid detection, but after the Enigma hit that shutoff the power. We're stranded until we can scale back a way to turn everything on without reconnaissance scanning and spotting us."

White Nebula said. "How long until we get back up?!" The three asked.

"Not soon." The girl said. "My power-armor sheeth is working. But we're cut off from all

communication channels, so we have to come up with something. For now, there's a nearby planetoid that's as safe as it gets, since it's uncharted outside some minor towns and settlements." She looked at Diane and Becca.

The two rode with White on her broom to a planet in the distance, eventually flying down to the surface to a town where people in ratty clothes kept their heads down and advanced tech was scarce. "We'll have to go stealth for a while, so don't go making a scene while we're here. "She told them. The two followed her to a dark house in an alleyway, where they stood in the pitch black dark. The entire

town was quiet, the only light visible was a flickering candle. "I'll make the connection, but everyone has to be silent." She whispered. The group entered into a door from the alley leading into a tavern. White

sat down and in a language they didn't understand, conversed with the barkeeper, dropping some currency they'd never seen at the counter. She was handed keys.

"I'm going to checkout our stay, you two should get friendly with the locals. I told him to get us a room and you two a drink, cheers." She left out a door up a flight of stairs.

The two sat on barstools. The bartender handed Becca a cold bottle and Diane a mug.

Everything felt tense, Becca looking around the room repeatedly. She turned to her missing limb,

shame and humilation donning at first. This turned to anger as she thought of the bastard that took it from her.

"Hey Dee.. do you ever uh.."

"Yeah?" Diane looked forward, crossing her legs.

"Do you ever regret dating prince douchebro? I mean gem for gems I get it, but is he realllllly worth it?"

Diane rolled her eyes and drawled, not really looking forward to this conversation. "I chose to

explore a variety of romantic landscapes in my past. You simply settled for the first vaguely humanoid creature that showed you the slightest affection. And now that asshole is trying to takeover Orchid and kill us."

"I, I don't know if he wants us dead." Becca replied.

Diane slapped the back of her head. "Becca, be real with me. You're going to have to realize Goliath and those human friends of yours, you cannot run back to. Not now."

"W-what?!" She shouted. "There's nothing between me and Cal, so you can take that back! Who

even says that?" Becca said.

"I was trying to be nice. But ok then.." She glared at Becca and took a sip. "You went back with him at the beach, to hang with him and his friends, why would you even do that if you didn't care?"

"C'mon, y-you were there!" She shouted, others in the bar whispering. "I was there to lookout for you. We ALL were, the crystal gems."

She said. "You're just.. an emotional mess.." Diane looked at her face. "Why did you try to protect him by dropping him off in Orchid exactly?"

The mint-skinned girl looked around the room, trying to figure out the reason. "I was just.. angry.. Angry at Goliath, myself for erasing his memories, and it was just too soon. I wasn't just going to abandon him."

"And impersonating Thatti?" Diane asked.

"I was being stupid, I know it was stupid.." Becca said. She sat back up, a few patrons looking at her. Diane sighed, looking to the side.

"Just, be careful. We're trying to take care of this problem, and you.. you still have him in your head." She sighed. "Just.. go easy on him, ok?"

Becca looked at the floor. "I don't know what you mean." She said. "I told you, I don't think about Cal."

Diane smacked her upside the head again. "I WAS TALKING ABOUT GOLIATH." She turned Becca's face towards her and looked in her eyes, girl to gem. "You better not be thinking about any fucking ridiculous nonsense like 'I can still save him' or 'I can talk him down and we'll all be peachy keen.'"

"W-what?" She whispered. Diane glared at her.

"Stop it. We've got too much shit to be doing right now. I'm trying to be nice, so I can keep my sanity and not have a panic attack." She said. "Don't mess things up by doing that shit, ok?"

"Fine." She whispered meekly with sass. "NO. Not 'fine', I'm serious. Don't screw us over by a

simple-minded insane plea to be loved or by running back to him. You can NOT run back to him after what he's done." She laced her words with a toned rasp that made her voice hoarse, as if trying to

emphasize how serious she was. "Oh, simple, am I?" Becca leaned forward, resting her elbows on the mahogany bar. "Funny, coming from the woman who couldn't keep her man straight to save her life. At least the love of my life didn't resemble a revolving door. And are we pretending Hyde wasn't on the so called 'Shadowking's' side for awhile? The one you're lovestruck with?" Her hands made airquotes as

she said shadowking. She looked back and forth, as if hiding a dirty secret. "I need to see Goliath, to settle.. the score." Diane looked at her with a raised brow.

"The score? That's what you're really here for? To get revenge?"

 

 

Becca shrugged. "No. Well maybe, I don't know yet. I.. might want to confront him."

Diane gave her a look of discomfort, then continued on. "I'll tell you the truth.." Diane leaned in. "That, Thatti was nothing like you. She was a sweet girl who's always had a kind word for everyone,

she'd do anything to help people out of any sort of trouble they were in. Compared to me or you, she was an innocent little girl who has a lot to learn about this world, and is trying to figure it out. Not someone who's done any kind of crime in her life, much less murder." The barkeeper crossed his arms, looking at Diane before heading to the backroom. The gem with a look of compassion, looked worried at the

bottom of her glass. "She really was.. different from you." She clawed Becca's cheek a bit. "Even she knew not to run back to Hyde when it was dangerous for her. Can you say the same?"

Becca's face turned a shade of red. "Goliath.. he killed the Domina. He practically flattened

Orchid. Is still going to kill all my friends in the world if he gets the chance, even if I wasn't involved in the whole situation and am no threat to him. Nezra is DEAD TO ME, do you understand?"

Diane crossed her arms. "And yet, I still don't get why you're like this."

Becca became irate, taking a large swing of her bottle. "Bitch you shutup. I really think you don't have the right to be judging me. If you were smart, you'd know it's the same old pattern, I'm not Thatti, he's not Nathan, everything's not just the same, but with a different name y'know." She banged her bottle against the counter. "This whole shebang is not about THATTI OR NATHAN. It's about me, and fucking Goliath. It always was."

"What do you mean?" Diane asked.

"Honestly? I can't tell." She said, slumping. "I.. don't want to believe it, but, I think he did part of what he did for me. Partially. Maybe in some sick twisted way. But, maybe not. When I recovered his memories, before he went bonkers.. he said Lucy's name. It was because he thought I could become his.. second chance at things. The future, he told me. I don't think he actually cared about me. I think it was

all some sick scheme. A.. test or some-"

"Stop." Diane cut her off. "It's not your fault. Goliath's a crazy asshole, but it doesn't mean you're anything like him, or that he has the right to hold your soul hostage over all this. Your conscience doesn't belong to him." The gem manifested her spear and brandished it forward, her tattoos on full

display. "I'm the oldest gem, I've been alive for hundreds of years and you're the dumbest of dumbs, so I need you to stay in line and don't get distracted. Can I trust you, can I count on you?" She said. "No

running back to your boyfriend. Got it?" She looked at her blankly.

"H-he's not my boyfriend.." Becca mumbled. "I'm not a boycrazy idiot like you or Thatti." "Good. Be glad for that." Dee pat her back firmly.

She looked away and drank. "I need a few drinks to forget males even exist." She said, gulping down her beer. Becca had just one, her mind still not entirely at ease.

The gem gave one last pep talk. "And Thatti.. She's a victim in all this too, but she doesn't have to be your identity. Please don't compare yourself to her either." The air went dead between the girls. The two sat in silence for a bit, before Diane took a drink. "This sucks." The two drank in silence, Diane drinking red liquor and Becca a hard rum-cider.