Battle Of the Old Men

Night Two Hundred And Twenty Three

Age 0, the time before even the war.

Mother was...

Mother is...

Mother does...

The Core of the world...

Far below the surface of the planet that was known simply as Earth two people could be seen. The first was Row Storm the current head of a new group he invented called the Enforcers. A Group he had many plans for. A group that would be used to save this world. The second... She was a tall woman. Nearly ten feet tall. She had long pink hair and she was well endowed. Her eyes were a bright yellow and she had a small smile on her lips. She wore a long white dress and stood next to the man. She was Mother... Mother of all of the 'humans' the race of man.

When mankind was swept away during the end of the world very few remained.

But from that Life Force and Equation of Life she was brought force. The Mother of all. And she remade man, in the image of God, and in the image of man did we make God.

Row had his arms stuffed in his pockets staring ahead at something. The core of the planet had been removed by Orion Vil long ago. As such they needed something new to power the planet. A new life force to provide heat. Within the arms of Row he held a small baby clothed in a pink blanket.

"Are you sure about this..." Row asked slowly turning to look at the Godly Woman as his electric blue eyes seemed to crackle for a moment. "After all this child is..."

"I have dubbed her with the name of Eve." Mother said her smile never fading but... There was a look in her eyes. One of sadness. "And yes. I am sure. Through the loss of Eve this planet will remain. And through her will they can live. God. The Bestia Macht. The Old Humans. And the New Ones. Through the first human her power will grant the Life Across the World..."

Row nodded his head for a moment.

They stood in what looked like a large stone cavern with a massive black void of darkness, the empty core. What was once a place where warmth resided was now a blank cold void the world slowly freezing more than it could handle.

Slowly Row stepped forward holding the baby up. Than...

He let go allowing her to fall into the black void below as she vanished out of sight.

"Goodbye Eve, first of the race of new man..." Master Strom said bowing his head. "May the loss of your life bring joy to the rest of the world." There was a faint silver light as the core of Earth began to slowly light up... And the world lived.

Mother turned away having done the thing no parent should. "It better be worth it." The woman said as she slowly began to walk away. "The death of my first daughter better be worth the cause you fight for."

Row nodded his head staring into the void. He slowly turned back ignited in the silver light as lightning began to crackle out of his body. "Trust me... It will."

***

Age 1991

Gladious City...

The Fields...

"Hey Despair..." Hero asked turning to look at the teddy bear in Daughters arm as Shelly was over with Ken.

The stuffed animal glowed and reverted back to normal.

"What?" The girl yawned as Kitsune, Arthur, Curro, and Daughter stared at the woman with wide eyes.

"Sissy!" Hope yelled turning back to normal. "You weren't supposed to reveal yourself."

"That's not important." Hero said as Despair waved her hands and the chains around Kitsune, and Hero vanished. "Despair. I have a favor to ask..."

***

The Enforcer Stands...

A massive wave of blue and red energy crackled off of the two old men as they slammed into each other sending out a burst of power that blew Ava back and made the Empress of the Red Nation wince.

"They're really going at it with everything they got huh?" She noted.

Master Aka balanced on one leg creating a blood leg, as well as two blood arms. He slammed both of his hands forward as his hands changed into what looked like the barrel of a shotgun. The barrels glowed finding out waves of rapid fire blood bullets that blasted through the air towards the old man. Master Storm brought his hands up together in a prayer gesture. As he separated his arms he palmed out at the air slamming them into the many bullets and launching them all away from him. The electricity seemed to flow out of him like a barrier of lightning blocking several of the bullets.

"What happened to the old wise man I knew." Master Aka hissed out his arms creating red whips that wrapped around several of the seats and he used them to pull himself towards the old man swirling his body around. He lifted his blood leg up as it grew larger and thinner becoming a massive blood greatsword which he slammed down into the old man as hard as he could. "What happened to the person I respected! The man who was going to save the world!"

The ground underneath Storm began to crack as he was sunk in. Lightning flowed off of his body flowing like water as it spun and twisted around becoming the large body of a crow which raised its head up using the beak to block the red sword. The force of the attack still sent out shock waves so strong the barrier they were in began to slowly crack shocking Ward, since as far as he knew his barriers were unbreakable.

There were three in total. One around all the civilians which blocked out light, and sound, so they couldn't see or hear, what was happening outside. One around all the Captains, Vice Captains, and Four Beasts, that was made to keep them in. And the last barrier was the strongest one. A large square box shaped barrier keeping Master Storm, Master Aka, and Empress Aka, all inside. That one had the most energy put into it, and yet only a few attacks and it was already cracking looking as if it would shatter at any moment.

"I didn't change." Master Storm said the bird of lightning beginning to push Master Aka back. "I never changed. And neither did my goals. You couldn't even begin to understand the things that I've seen. The things I had to do. Everything that had to be done. I will never, and I mean never, ever, stop following the goals that I hold dear. The ones that I believe in. My plan is only just beginning. The plan I made since the first Age. The plan that I won't let fail. The plan that costed the life of a baby. I've crossed so many lines. Lines none of you will even have a chance to have. So if it makes me evil. I'm okay with that. As long as I can bring 'them' back."

"What are you talking about..." Master Aka asked ramming himself forward and slamming his mask into the face of Master Storm pushing the man back.

"You couldn't even begin to understand if I told you." Master Storm hissed grabbing the good leg good leg of Master Aka. He spun his body around slamming the man into the floor of the barrier that they were in.

Master Aka kicked back with his good leg throwing the other elder man back. Master Storm spun through the air catching himself. Lightning covered his body and he slammed his hands together in a prayer gesture as the lightning fired off forming into what looked like a large bird which slammed forward wrapping its claws around the blood controlling man. It raised him up and exploded in a hail of lightning. The force of the attack slammed Master Aka into the roof of the barrier and made him fall towards the floor slamming into the barriers floor. Before he could even attempt to get back up Master Storm flipped through the air slamming his leg into the glass mask of the old man and shattered it into hundreds of shards of glass.

Master Aka stumbled back going to cover his face but it was to late.

"Gramps?" Empress Aka asked with wide eyes.

"D... Don't look Lillian." Master Aka said which was impressive as he didn't have lips.

The again the man didn't have any face. The flesh from the top of his scalp all the way to his chin was gone looking as if it had been peeled away. Even most of the muscle was gone showing off his skull. Tendrils of bones were wrapped around the skull keeping it held together. All his teeth were gone as well replaced with his own blood teeth. Even his tongue was gone now having a red blood based tongue. It was a disturbing sight and even seemed to catch Master Storm off guard. Blood poured out of Master Aka's body wrapping around his head and forming a helmet.

"Old friend... Who did that to you?" Master Storm asked.

Master Aka was silent at first. "His name was Row Law."

"..."

Master Aka continued. "Your plan is foolish Storm." Aka said simply. "Part of your plan hinges on weaponizing Row... You keep Hope around to watch Hero and if Row comes out she's to kill him if he proves to be unstable but what you don't get is that is Row. Row is a child. A child with God like power, that since the day he was born was taught that he was better than everyone, and yet also worse than humans, taught that it was up to him to kill God, and told that he was going to be the one to save the world. Your plan is to kill Row if you can't use him, but control the sane Row. I hate to break it to you. There is no sane Row."

"If that's how you feel then why is he alive?" Master Storm asked. "Why haven't you killed Row. After all the best time to do that would have been when Hero was a child and untrained."

"I tried once." Aka admitted. "I shoved Hero into a volcano. That's what led to the state I was in before Hero took control of his body once more."

"Okay... Then why train Hero..." Master Storm asked.

"...Because..." Master Aka was silent for a moment as if he needed to think the question through. "Because... Hero is... My student."

"You've grown soft."

"I thought I was going to die that day. But I didn't. Because an idiotic boy with snow white hair spent hours working on me closing my wounds and fixing me up. He saved me... Hero is Hero... Your plan will fail Storm. I don't know why it is you need Row. I don't know why you want to kill God. I don't know why you want to keep the heart away. I don't know why Row is important but trust me... When the day comes you won't be able to use that man. And... I'm confident. You won't get the chance. Because there's no way in hell my student will fail and become that thing. Hero Law is going to stay Hero Law."

Master Storm let out a small growl. "You know nothing. I'm going to save so many people. So many worlds. Orion was... A tool. He was neither evil nor good. He simply existed to keep the world safe. The Bestia Macht were made to deal with balance. Now however... God has changed. God is without a doubt evil. He no longer views this world as Earth. Now he wants to set up a plan... A plan to rewind time and insure the old humans never died. Insure the planet was never frozen over. Insure his world, he came from. It's funny. Orion and I aren't so different. We're both trying to return to other worlds. If Orion wins he would undo every life in this time. He'd erase over 2000 Ages of history. All so he could revert time to the Year 2025, the Year mankind found the Equation of Life from the Squid. The year the Squid came into this universe and devoured everything in this universe and the year that in their panic Mankind fired off everything they had and wiped themselves down by up to 98% of the population. That was the only time Orion ever cried. The loss of his world. He wants to go back to that time. He thinks that by preventing the Equation from coming into this World he can save the Universe. But all that would happen is he would doom mankind."

"Then what of your goals."

"My goals go further back then even his." Master Storm noted. "I do not wish to end history or even mess with time. I have another goal. I am not of this world. I come from another... Another world. My world was devoured by the Squid. I want to slay the Squid. The Squid itself has the secrets to the Equation of Life. If Row can take the place of God, and if Row gains the Heart, the power of time, the firstborn, and the Equation of Life, than Row can save the Multiverse. Row can bring back those worlds which have been loss. You claim I can't control him. I say you're wrong. Row is, and has always been on my side. The proof in that lies in the fact he spared Labby and the others from Otokos world. Even promised to bring them back. Row is the one who's going to save the Multiverse!"

"You're putting that kind of pressure onto a child?" Empress Aka hissed.

"It's for the Greater Good. All of this has been. The loss of those in the lab. Piero adopting Row. God breaking. The Heart being in her... There were a few curve balls such as that Daughter. When I saw her my plan was to actually kill Hero and Row, and use her instead. After all she wanted the love of a father figure. Love I could provide but this works out even better. I have Hero who will one day turn into Row, and I have Daughter as well. With them both I've jumped years ahead. So yes. It was worth all the sacrifices. Even the loss of Ms. Hero Law. I never expected her to survive and become the Jester. She was supposed to have died in that lab. She was getting to close to Alpha and it made it harder to control him."

"I suppose that's what Hero was waiting for..." A voice yawned making Master Storms face pale when he heard it. Out of nowhere Despair stood. "Did you hear that Alpha." She asked a tiny smirk on her lips.

The barrier behind her vanished using her powers showing the area where the four beasts and the Enforcers were all of which stared at the old man.

Alpha stepped forward a purple aura glowing off of his body as he glared at Master Storm. "You mean... You're the reason... The woman I loved nearly died and went insane running a terrorist organization. You're the reason Hero ended up in the state she's in!" He yelled.

"Alpha!"