The God of Time

"Tell me, Envoy. What do you think is the most important advantage to have in war?" Phantom asked telepathically.

"Manpower." Envoy stated matter-of-factly. "The greatest strategist in the world wouldn't stand a chance against an army of Nexusites. We saw that in the last war, did we not?"

"I have seen more battles than probably anyone alive, and I'm sorry to say that you are incorrect. Yes, you cannot win without superior manpower, this is true but shortsighted. Allow me to pose another question that may help you understand my point. Who do you think is the most important Mask to keep under control?" Phantom asked.

Envoy thought for a moment, entertaining the idea. "Besides yourself, the obvious answer would be Gladiator, although it appears we have lost him. I don't think anyone else could take him on."

"I'm flattered, but you are wrong again. The answer is Plague." Phantom said.

Envoy laughed, thinking it was a poorly timed joke, but Phantom couldn't be more serious. "Plague is probably the weakest of all! He's the most expendable soldier we have, how could he possibly be anywhere near the most important to control?" Envoy asked.

"Yes, Plague is objectively quite weak, at least physically. But at this moment, Plague and his followers are the biggest threat to Nexdria we have seen in decades. You see, Envoy, the most important advantage to have in war is influence. If you can corrupt the mind of just one influential person, you can turn the tide."

"I see your point, but what does it matter? We have already lost Plague and have just sent Morningstar to kill him. Speak plainly, what exactly are you suggesting we do?" Envoy asked.

"Plague may die, but he will be a martyr. If he falls today, it will only ignite the conflict in Sector D faster than we've anticipated. I have a plan that I have already set in motion that should allow us to influence Plague to make decisions that hand us Sector D on a platter. If you give me the go-ahead, I can step in right now and end this meaningless fight between him and Morningstar before it gets out of hand." Phantom said.

"Very well, I will allow you a few minutes to try it, but only a few minutes. After that, I will give the kill order. Don't mess this up." Envoy replied.

Beneath his mask, Phantom smiled. Phase Two of his plan was about to begin.

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"Let's talk strategy" Gargoyle said, turning to look at Plague. "Neither of them are steady on their feet, and neither are you. I can take on Rainblazer until you recover enough to finish off Morningstar. Sound good?"

"Yeah" was all Matt said, still in a lot of pain from being slammed into the ground by Kordelle.

"You're dead." Rainblazer said nonchalantly, rushing towards Gargoyle.

The two exchanged blows for what felt like forever. Matt watched intensely as both landed hit after hit on each other, seemingly never getting tired. "What a stroke of luck" Matt thought to himself. He almost couldn't believe that yet another Mask was coming to his side. Is his cause truly so just?

After a few more minutes, Rainblazer had finally gained the upper hand. He landed a strike on Gargoyle's head that sent him to the ground. Quickly, Matt jumped into action to protect his new ally, and turned his fist into the metallic surface of his knife, sending a punch at Rainblazer's head that was easily dodged. How could he have such reflexes and stamina after that long fight?

After Rainblazer dodged, Matt reached down to help Gargoyle stand back up, but all he felt was asphalt. He turned his gaze downward to see that his hand had gone straight through Gargoyle, as if he weren't even there.

"Did you learn nothing from our past, Matthew?" A voice said from behind him as he felt the cold touch of a revolver on the back of his head. "Reality… History… These two things are what motivate you to push endlessly toward your goals, and you still have yet to realize that it was I who created them as you know them."

"Phantom?! When…" Matt began to ask, but the answer appeared in his mind. Phantom, the self proclaimed God of Time that toys with people to alter the world as he sees fit. He must have been nearby and activated his Nano to make Matt hallucinate Gargoyle and Rainblazer. Despite the situation, Matt couldn't help but laugh. "Neither of them were ever here, huh? That was good, I let my guard down for just a moment and you caught me."

"Who would have thought the four of us would all be together again, right? It feels nostalgic to see you all, those days in 'Pestilence' were truly some of the best of my life." Phantom said, motioning for Kordelle to come closer.

"Did you say four?" Matt asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"Oh yes, Emily has not escaped my vengeance. But this is all irrelevant. I'm here to make a deal with you two. I want you to seriously consider this, my goodwill is the only thing saving you from joining Gloria in the next life."

Matt flinched at that name. It had been a few years but that wound clearly still pained Phantom deeply. "I don't have much choice, but I'll hear you out for old time's sake. And for what it's worth, what happened to Gloria is something that eats away at me every single day. I hope you know that."

"Yes, it is a shame that you let her die, but unfortunately I am no true God, her being gone still is evidence enough." Phantom said, before sighing. "Okay, here's my offer. All of us here clearly have very different goals and ideals, but we should be able to agree on one thing: Anthony Westbrook needs to die. I want to revive 'Pestilence' for one final mission. Matt, Kordelle, please help me kill him. If you do this, I am willing to appease you both by installing Emily as president of Nexdria in his stead. From there, I don't care how you two settle your petty issues, I simply want Westbrook out of the picture."

A long silence followed, only broken by the chilling sound of rain hitting the asphalt. The three men all considered their positions quietly. Finally, Kordelle was the one to speak up.

"Does Envoy know about this plan of yours? I find it hard to believe that you would move forward with something like this on your own." Kordelle said with a hint of anger in his tone. "Regardless, I want nothing to do with Pestilence anymore. Do you think Gloria would want us to do that?!"

Phantom calmly raised his pistol and shot Kordelle in the same leg he was already bleeding from. "Do not speak of her. The next one is going in your skull." he said without any kind of emotion. He spoke those words as if they were simply fact, and that was much more intimidating than any anger could have been.

"We disagree on pretty much everything, but on this, I stand with you Zev. If you can help me along with my allies to complete our goal, I can personally guarantee you Westbrook's head" Matt said.

"Zev, huh? It feels like I haven't heard my own name in years. Very well, and Kordelle, you're certain you don't want in? You know what happens to Pestilence's enemies." Phantom asked.

"Pestilence died with Gloria, Matt made sure of that. I'll be standing with my country, traitors." Kordelle said.

"I did warn you about speaking her name." Phantom said, firing a shot directly at Kordelle's head.

The sound of the pistol firing was fully silenced by a deafening gust of wind. The next sound was the bullet clattering to the ground. Phantom looked behind Kordelle and noticed a small group had arrived. Vixen stood directly behind him, palm facing toward the gun. She had used her elemental Nano to block the shot with wind. Behind her, he could see Gladiator, Oni, and a little girl.

"So these are your 'allies' Plague?" Phantom asked loudly. "You trust those who protect the man sent here to kill you?"

"I trust those who would protect my family." Matt said. "If Kordelle dies, this deal is off. I would never sacrifice my closest friend for my goals, Zev. You're the only one who would do something like that."

"And yet you had no problem sacrificing the love of MY life?! I should have known better than to trust you with such a task. NOW!" Phantom yelled.

From the shadows of the dark street, a pale face with an unsettlingly large smile appeared. The eyes were black and the smile was the only visible feature on the face as the figure walked closer.

"Oh shit." Kordelle muttered.

"Who the hell…?" Oni questioned, hand on her sword's handle.

"Happy, she's one of the Masks but supposedly nobody has met her." Kordelle answered.

As Happy got closer, the group realized she held a large weapon in her hands. Large enough that it required both hands to hold.

"No! Astoria, get behind me!" One yelled, charging into danger.

A chill was sent down the spine of every person present, as Happy let out the most inhuman laugh any of them had ever heard. Then, they all heard a loud explosion as they came to the realization that the weapon was a rocket launcher. Happy intended to kill every single one of them then and there.

As One charged toward the rocket in the air, he hoped that he could allow it to hit him, which would make it explode and likely save the others. A single thought crept into his mind at this moment. He recalled the conversation he had with Astoria in the apartment earlier that night. She was right. Searching for a moment to die was ridiculous. The point of life is to live it! He chuckled at the dark irony of this realization. Here he was, about to die, and he finally realized that he wanted to be alive. He hoped that he could make peace with this in whatever comes after this life.

As One came face to face with the explosive, he closed his eyes, accepting his end. He stood there for a few moments in wait, but then the end didn't come. Did he die so quickly that he never felt it? He slowly opened his eyes and saw the explosive somehow going backwards, heading back to Happy. How is this possible? He turned around in absolute bewilderment and saw the same look of absolute disbelief on everybody's faces. Everybody except for a single person.

All the way at the back of the crowd, One spotted Astoria, holding her hands in a praying position with an intense concentration on her face, staring at the rocket. Then, as the rocket returned to where it was launched from, Astoria collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

To be Continued in Chapter Nine, October 29th.