"Hey, Hirito. Come on. We have more orders of Banana sundaes. Stop dozing off." Said Libellus as she came to get some drinks.
"What?" Asked Hirito as he opened his eyes, looking around him all confused. "What's going on? Why are we in the café? Weren't we at The Valley of The Abyss fighting Verkonis?"
"Fighting who at where?" Asked Chibi as he decided to help make the sundaes.
"You need to step up your game bro. We're in the middle of a rush hour. It's all hands on deck." Said Briggs as he was washing some plates.
"Uh yeah. Sorry. Must have imagined it." Said Hirito as he got back to work.
"Welcome master. Table for one?" Said Katie as she welcomed another customer.
"No. I'm not here to stay. I came for you. Now take me to the Spirit Realm." Said the man as he grabbed Katie by the throat.
"AHHHH!!! HELP!!!" Shouted Katie as she tried to break free.
"GET AWAY FROM HER VERKONIS!!!" Shouted Hirito as he ran out of the kitchen.
"It's too late." Said Verkonis with an evil grin.
A great, bright light began emitting from his hand and enveloped the entire café.
"KATIE NOO!!!" Said Hirito as he stood up from a bed, sweating buckets.
"Looks like you had that dream too." Said Recon who was sitting up in his bed.
Hirito then looked around him. He saw Melody and the rest of his friends smiling at him.
"Guess that's all of us." Said Evan.
"What happened?" Asked Hirito as he took a sip from the glass of water that was handed to him by Mental Quorum.
"Well let's see now. We defeated Verkonis…." Said Briggs.
"Finally." Said Nux drawing a chuckle from everyone.
"What he said. We then unfused and passed out. Thanks to Aki and the rest of the God-Level mages of the world, we, along with everyone else in the World's Army were transported back to the Setran Empire. As for us ten, we've been passed out for a little over a week now." Explained Briggs.
"A week?!!!" Asked Hirito in shock.
"Yup. We all began waking up one by one from this morning. And we all had the same dream you had."
"Most probably, it was due to the split second where we saw Verkonis going for Katie when we came back from deep space." Said Animak. "And since we were all fused as one being, we shared all our senses."
"I see. That makes sense."
"Well, now that we're all up, how about we go meet up with the royals? You all have a lot of catching up to do." Said Melody.
"And get some food. I feel like my stomach is going to cave in on itself." Said Evan.
"You said it." Said Recon.
They all stood and followed Melody out of the room and towards the large living room of the palace where the royals and the Guardians were gathered and discussing the process of rebuilding their world. There were three other individuals there with them that they didn't recognize.
"Your majesties, our heroes are awake." Said Melody as she walked in followed by the twenty-six.
"Moe Crew. Oh, thank the Alpha. You're awake." Said the Setran Emperor.
"We were incredibly worried about you all." Said Osval.
"Indeed. We were worried that you will never come out of that coma." Said the succubus queen.
"We're sorry to have worried you all." Said Animak as he and the rest bowed.
"No need for apologies. What is important is that you are all alive and well and that Verkonis has been vanquished." Said the head chief of the elves.
"I still can't believe he's gone for good." Said Melody.
"Moe Crew, allow us to introduce to you, the vampire queen, Queen Onyi, the Great Dryad, Lady Vashti, and the ruler of the demigods, the mighty Hercules." Said the Setran Emperor.
"HERCULES?!!" Asked the ten in shock.
"Yeah. That's pretty much how we reacted when he showed up." Said Connor.
"Ha ha ha. So, these are our famous saviors." Said Hercules as he stepped forward. He was a tall muscular man with thick orange hair and ancient Greek clothing. "You have my eternal gratitude for saving us from Verkonis."
"We saved you?" Asked Johnny.
"Indeed, you have." Said Queen Onyi. She was a beautiful and slender woman with long black hair and red eyes. She wore a long maroon gown with black fur around her neck and long black gloves. "When Verkonis first came thirty years ago, his armies attacked our realms led by the ten Fatalities."
"His armies, as you know, numbered in the billions." Said Lady Vashti. She was a slender woman with long green hair and a green dress with leaves on it. She was surrounded by a small green aura. "The Natural Realm was the first to fall as we did not have the fighting capabilities to stand against his might."
"When we heard the news, the vampires and the demigods came together and went on the offensive. We clashed with the demon army before they left the Natural Realm. But they knew we were coming. What we did not expect was for Verkonis to be there." Said Hercules.
"What? But Verkonis was fighting Serbus over here, wasn't he?" Asked Hirito.
"That's right. But what we did not know was that there were two." Said Queen Onyi. "And the Verkonis we fought was a Celestial Level as well."
"But that would mean that the original Verkonis would have had to be at least a Calamity Level." Said John.
"Indeed. Verkonis thought he could kill two birds with one stone. Take down the three great races and defeat the mighty Serbus at the same time. I managed to defeat the Verkonis that came for us, but I was already too injured and weak to keep fighting. And Queen Onyi could not deal with the Fatalities on her own. So, in the end, our races were captured along with the Dryads." Said Hercules.
"We have been forced into labor for the demons. Forced to give our technology and resources to boost up their military and territory." Said Lady Vashti.
"For thirty years we have labored, suffered, and died at their hands. Living in absolute slavery." Said Queen Onyi as she bit her lip. "But thanks to you all, after all this time, we are free again." She said as she bowed before them. "Thank you, Moe Crew."
Hercules and Lady Vashti bowed as well.
"And thank you for saving us as well." Said the royals and the guardians.
The Moe Crew was short of words. These great beings were bowing to them.
"Please. We didn't fight alone. You all were fighting with us. We took down Verkonis and his armies together." Said Animak.
"Indeed. But it is all thanks to you ten that that monster is long gone." Said the elf chief.
"That might not be the case." Said John.
"What might you mean?" Asked Hercules.
"What happened to the Verkonis you fought?" Asked John.
"After our heated battle, both Verkonis and I laid unconscious on the battlefield. By the time I woke up, I was in chains of dark magic along with Queen Onyi and Lady Vashti. We were taken to the planet Astarte where we were forced into slavery for thirty years." Said Hercules.
"And what happened to him after you defeated him?"
"I…do not know." Said Hercules as he finally understood.
"So that could mean that…"
"Verkonis is still alive." Said a voice that echoed across the room.
"Who said that?" Asked Briggs as he and everyone else got into battle mode.
"Do not fear. I mean no harm."
At that moment, a man with long golden hair and white royal robes appeared in the room. An overwhelming feeling of warmth and calmness took over everyone.
"Who are you?" Asked Connor.
"My name is Deius. I am the Alpha."
Everyone instantly bowed as they heard that.
"Please rise brave heroes of the multiverse. We have much to discuss."
They all did as they were told, but all were left speechless.
"Deius. Verkonis mentioned your name a couple of times." Said Hirito.
"I am sure he did. We know each other quite well."
"You have fought him before?" Asked Mental Quorum.
"Indeed I have. Even more, than that, he is my brother."
"WHAT?!!!" Asked everyone in shock.
"Yes. Verkonis is indeed my brother. Both of us were alphas. We ruled the multiverse together. Until he got tired of sharing the throne and doing tedious jobs such as expanding the universe." He said as he smiled at the ten.
"You were there." Said Animak.
"Indeed I was. When Verkonis sent you ten to the ends of the universe, I was there. I was watching all of you. Since thirty years ago. I watched all your battles, struggles, and suffering at the hands of Verkonis. But I could not directly interfere."
"Why is that?" Asked John.
"Verkonis and his men turned against me billions of years ago. He sought to kill me and recreate the multiverse as he saw fit. He wanted supreme control. He wanted to take away the freedom of choice of every civilization to ever exist in the millions of universes we have created together."
"But doing that would require an infinite amount of power." Said Hercules.
"He would have had to suck out the magical energy and lifeforce of the Alpha to do that." Said John.
"Precisely. That was his plan. Our battle lasted for a few dozen centuries. I eventually managed to defeat him but at a price. Defeated as he was, with his last bit of strength, he placed a killing curse on me and escaped."
"A killing curse? What's that?" Asked Nux.
"It is a curse that would instantly kill me if I were to ever attack Verkonis again. And I could not risk it for I am what keeps the multiverse alive. If I were to die, the multiverse would collapse. Cosmic storms would take over the multiverse killing every galaxy, planet, and star. But the curse was a double-edged technique. By doing that, he lost his powers as an Alpha and his power level went down to that of a Calamity Level."
"How come he split himself in two?" Asked Joey.
"As Hercules said, he wanted to deal with the two greatest threats as well as find a way to gain more power. He planned to suck out the magical energy of both Serbus and the three great powers. But he was defeated on both occasions. The major difference is that Hercules did so much damage to the Verkonis that attacked him that he could not use his magical energy suction powers and was taken down to God Level. On the other, the one that fought Serbus was sealed in another dimension. Unfortunately, so was Serbus. But I spoke to Serbus while he was fighting Verkonis and told him to not fear. That I would send help."
"Us." Said Libellus.
"Indeed. I told him about all of you. As I said, I could not interfere directly, but I could use other methods." Said Deius.
To the shock of everyone in the room, Deius went on his knees and bowed his head.
"Forgive me for putting such a burden on all of you. You have made a lot of sacrifices because of my negligence and mistakes."
"Great Alpha, please stand. You have no reason to apologize." Said the King of Exforia.
"We understand that you are the Alpha and it is true that we lost a great deal, but we also have the responsibility of fighting and protecting our home and our loved ones. And now, the multiverse too. It is thanks to you that we are here. The least we could do is lend a helping hand." Said Briggs.
"Well said Sir Briggs." Said the Seran emperor.
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Said, Johnny.
Deius rose his head and looked at everyone standing before him. Briggs stretched out his hand and smiled. Deius smiled back and took his hand.
"You have my humble thanks."
"But now the question is, where is the other Verkonis?" Asked John.
"I do not know." Said Deius.
Everyone was shocked.
"Oh boy. Looks like we won't be getting a vacation after all." Said Nux.
"We might not know where he is, but he will not be making a move anytime soon." Said Deius.
"How do you know that?" Asked Gaby.
"Because now there is an Alpha who can actually fight him and potentially defeat him."
Everyone in the room turned their eyes to the ten heroes.
"Yugojuu." Said Poxal.
"Precisely. I might not be able to fight him, but you ten can. You managed to defeat him in his Alpha form. Your existence is a serious threat to him. So, as it stands, no matter where he may be, he will not be making his move anytime soon."
"That's a relief." Said Rustage.
"I realize that after saving the multiverse from annihilation, I have no right to ask you for anything more, but nevertheless I have a request for you ten." Said Deius.
"Of course. How can we help?" Asked Briggs.
"As it stands, my existence is what is keeping the multiverse alive and constantly expanding it. It is no easy feat. I may be an omnipotent god, but even gods get tired. With all that you have accomplished and the great service you have done for the multiverse, you ten are more than qualified to become an Alpha."
"WHAT?!" Exclaimed the ten in shock.
"And as such, I would like to leave this universe in your hands."
Everyone was silent. Everyone in the room looked at their ten friends, waiting to see what their response would be.
"Do you accept?"
"This is so much to take in right now." Said Dono.
"Are you sure we'd do all right? This is a huge responsibility." Said Sos.
"Without a doubt, I believe that you ten are suited for this task."
"Well, if the Alpha says so, I'm in." Said Nux.
"Of course, you'd be in." Said Tekking,
"I'm in too." Said Recon.
"Do we have a choice?" Said Hirito as he looked at the rest of them.
"At this point, I don't think so." Said Evan.
"We'd be honored." Said Animak as he and the rest of The Moe Crew bowed.
"Wonderful. And as a gift for what you have done, I shall restore this universe to how it was before Verkonis came."
With that, he began to shine brightly. The light engulfed the entire universe. The worlds that were affected by Verkonis, their world, the Natural Realm, Astarte, and even Earth whom Verkonis absorbed to become an Alpha were brought back to how they originally were. The people who lost their lives because of Verkonis, the Elemental Gods, the Immortal Being who was the core of their world, and even Serbus, were brought back to life. Everyone in the room then opened their eyes but the Alpha wasn't there anymore. Suddenly, his voice resonated across the planet.
"I will always keep watch over you all. Call out to me whenever you need me and I will be there. Once again, great heroes of the multiverse, I the Alpha, offer you my eternal gratitude."
"I sure did not see that coming." Said, Serbus.
"Serbus old friend. Am I ever so glad to see you." Said Osval as he hugged his friend.
"Moe Crew, you did it." Said Aeolus.
"You vanquished that monster." Said Ifrit.
"Indeed we have. And we couldn't have done it without you all." Said Briggs as he shook the hand of Ifrit.
"Glad to have you all back." Said Evan.
"You have our humble thanks, brave heroes. We will never forget this debt." Said the Elemental Gods as they opened up a rift to the Spirit Realm.
"Zomok, make sure to come for a visit more often." Said Erebus.
"I will, my friend." Said the dragon still in his sword form.
"So what now? One Verkonis is long gone and the other is currently hiding in fear somewhere." Asked Jordan.
"We could go back to Earth if we wanted to." Said Steve.
Everyone in the room looked at them in silence. They knew very well that they couldn't ask them to stay. They had a home to go to. The twenty-six friends looked at each other and laughed.
"We can go back and visit anytime." Said Chibi.
"Yeah. I mean now, we can literally fly there." Said Nux.
"Or teleport." Said Evan.
"So what do you guys plan to do?" Asked Melody.
"Isn't it obvious?" Asked Steve.
"We talked about this before." Said Noble.
"It's about time we open up the Moe Café in another world." Said the twenty-six friends.
THE END... Or is it?
Somewhere, beyond the ends of the multiverse, in a small, rogue planet floating aimlessly, was a single fortress. Inside was a single being, sitting on a throne. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed. Suddenly, his eyes opened and his red pupils flashed. An evil grin formed.
"I'll be back."