MVR - Round 2

R15

BOOM

"Mommy! Daddy!" I screamed, as I ran into my mother's arms.

"It's going to be okay, Johnny. Mommy wants you to run from this house. Don't look back. Everything is going to be okay!"

I watched as the sky became swarmed with... metal things, as people were slaughtered left and right.

Dad ran up to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Son, starting today, you need to go and survive on your own. Listen to that voice in your head. He will guide you. Our great Paladin of War will always be there for you. And so will we. But you need to live. You must!"

I snapped awake, as the lights from the curtains of the run down shack shone in my eyes.

"Gah. Blasted sunlight. Ugh." I muttered, as I shifted off of the couch, making my way to the desk, where I picked up my gun, performing usual maintenance and cleaning.

"You're awake." A woman's voice called out to me. I turned around.

"Yeah. How was your morning, Corey?"

Corey smiled weakly, as she made her way to the living room. She was still in crutches.

"Seeing you grow up everyday is enough to make me happy, John."

Corey noticed the weapon in my hands, and pursed her lips.

"I still don't approve of you playing around with firearms. A 15 year old boy shouldn't be owning a gun."

"That's not up to you to decide." I said, as I strapped the handgun to my belt.

"It's big bro's decision. And he would have wanted me to master it."

Corey sighed, as she poured some coffee into a cup.

"That's the problem. I don't want you to end up like Sparty." Her bottom lip quavered.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to trigger it, Corey."

It has been ten years, since Ben had rescued me from those crazy fools. We had been on the run since then, running from them. And running from Mogul. The entire world had become a wasteland, and in the ten years since the Iron Council invaded our world, mankind did nothing to fight back.

Because there was nothing we could do.

I left the living room and chugged some coffee, as I looked at myself in the mirror.

Corey told me guys turn super hot once they became 24-25 years old. I guess in my case, another ten years?

"Hey, Decen." I muttered, staring at myself. Ever since Ben had rescued me and fought off the entire Iron Council Specialist force on his own, buying time for the rest of us to escape, I had made it a mission to grow strong for his sake. I got myself a razor and began trimming my hair to look like his. A buzz cut. But even so, my face, remained unchanged. Still a kid. Still naive. Still weak.

I grimaced.

"It's about to be the 121st month since you stopped contacting me. What's going on, man. I'd really appreciate it if you even showed up to say hi once in a while."

I gripped the sink, as I left the bathroom. This was stupid. I made my way to the med room, to visit my brother.

"Sup, Big Bro." I said, as I sat in front of Ben, who remained catatonic. His face emotionless, as I could still see the servos and components from his body trying their best to come together, but his brain was still missing a huge portion from when Turbo set off an explosive on his face.

My vision flashed to that memory, as I clutched my head.

Go! Get outta here, John!

"No! Ben I can't leave you! Please!" I pleaded, sobbing and trying to grab Ben's leg before Corey ran up to me and scooped me up.

I watched as Ben turned around to try to fight off Turbo, but it was too late, as the more superior cyborg smashed my brother in the side of the face, deforming his metallic endoskeleton and stuffing the charge in the gap. I watched as Ben's eyes widened, realizing what was going to happen. The explosion, tearing and ripping away at both his flesh and his components.

Ben's look of desperation to get me back.

That was what ultimately made me determined to get stronger.

My vision flashed back to reality, at Ben's empty eyes, as he stared at the dusty floorboards. Slumped on the ground. Half of his body missing.

I needed to find more components. If it meant repairing Ben, I'd have to keep killing and hunting those damn Angels one by one. I glanced at the pile of electronics next to us. Pieces of the angels that Corey helped me slay. Even if we had all the tech in the world, was it enough?

I didn't know jack shit about tech. Only Corey knew, and her knowledge of electronics was still limited. After all, undergraduate engineering was as far as her degree took her.

I clenched my fist.

"If only I was smarter. Dammit." I grumbled.

I took out my gun. It was a modified SPARTAN battle pistol, with multiple firing options. Ben's classic and iconic firearm before he ended up like this. I didn't have his power to fuel it, so since then, I'd been using energy cells from fallen Iron Council angels, converting it into a usable form of energy supply. Something like that. Really, it was Corey who made the conversion device for me.

She surely was amazing.

Guess I could sorta see how Ben fell in love with her.

The old version of me woulda found that sort of thing gross. Back when the two of them kissed and made love, I would always close my eyes and to make sure I didn't hear the sounds of "adult playtime". But now, even just hearing the two of them flirt, would make me a little bit happier.

I missed those days of just the three of us and the other Ben.

I went up to Ben and kissed him on the forehead.

"Gotta head out. Gonna go on another hunt. I'll be back for you Ben."

I followed Corey out as she drove on Ben's motorcycle. I held on tight to make sure she didn't fling me off the bike as we raced to a potential Council camp.

"You know the drill. I go in, and cause the distraction. You pick them off at a distance. No doing anything reckless." Corey shouted.

"Yeah." I replied.

I wished she would stop treating me like a little kid. I was after all, stronger than her. I was a Remnant of Decen. She was just an ordinary human being. But Ben would have wanted me to listen to her.

We approached the camp, as Corey got off the bike, planting explosives in the proximity of the camp and lit a flare.

"Hey, Iron Bastards!" She shouted.

The Angels turned to her direction.

"Dispatch Orion and Enya to her position. Most likely a diversion. The rest of us will stay-"

"You're half right, idiots." I said, as I took the moment of their battle planning to shoot them all down with my gun.

Orion and Enya fell flat on their faces, bullet holes in their face as the other Iron Council members turned to me.

"Kill him." The leader said.

It is only when a warrior is backed in a corner, do their true colours show.

That saying, first told to me by Decen himself, then by Ben.

Maybe ten years ago, I would have cowered, and ran to Corey in fear.

But that was ten years ago. The Jonathan Ko now is a different breed.

"Soul Link: Paladin Decen 60%"

My hand extended, as red and black glowing shards replaced the skin. I slammed the ground, creating a Spike Clad shield to block their energy blasts.

I ripped off pieces of the Clad and fed them into the device Corey made, and converted the pieces into bullets as I took aim.

"Get wrecked, BITCHES." I said, as I set my gun to full auto mode, spraying and peppering the Angels with the clad bullets.

The squad stumbled back.

"Foolish. Do you think such human technology can stand in the face of-"

I smirked, and closed my fist. The bullets expanding into massive starbursts of spikes, impaling and killing the Angels as their corpses littered the ground.

One of the members, the Leader, I'm guessing managed to survive, but barely, as he tried to crawl away. But I put my boot on the top of his head.

"You ain't getting away." I said, coldly, as I reloaded my gun, and set it to Charged Shot mode. There was no surviving a Charged Shot point blank.

"Wait. We can... negotiate. Please spare me. Please." The leader pleaded, as I aimed the barrel to his head.

A maniacal smile showed up on my face.

"I love it when they beg. Revenge is the best feeling ever." I said, as I began to squeeze the trigger, when suddenly, Corey ran in front of me.

"John. That's enough."

I paused, looking at Corey.

"What do you mean that's enough? I'm going to kill him, just like I did with the others. We need the parts to save Ben."

"That look on your face. Killing is never a good thing. But what's worse is when you enjoy it. Give me the gun. I'm finishing him off."

I clenched my fist, as I glared at the leader, who began hyperventilating in terror and sobbing. Heaving.

"Before you die. Know this. A member of ASCENSION, who went by the codename, SPART205, fell victim to your people. This man, was my older brother, and is the only family I have left. I watched as you Iron Council bastards tore away at him. And now he's comatose. I'll also let you in on another fact. I am Jonathan Ko, the Fifteenth Remnant of Decen.

"I am the Remnant of War. I don't take lightly to those who disrespect my loved ones. Know that your kind picked a fight with a Paladin's Remnant. I'm coming for all of you."

The leader looked at me in terror as I smiled, pulling the trigger. The angel's head burst into green fluid and tech as I killed the last of the squad.

Corey and I spent the next ten minutes picking up as much tech components as we can, and loading them into the bag on the motorcycle.

"John." Corey said.

Great. Here it comes.

Corey got up and closed the trunk to the bike compartment.

"I know whatever I say won't influence how you live your life. But finding joy in other's suffering is never a good thing. It'll turn you into the very monsters you hate."

I crossed my arms.

"You're not my mother. I don't need to hear that from you."

Corey tensed up as she gripped the handlebars of the motorcycle.

"I... I know." She muttered, as we drove back to the shack.

I watched Corey kneel down in front of Ben and began to inspecting his components, and made modifications to the tech we had in the pile. She occasionally cursed and sighed. Clearly, the frustration was getting to her. But she tried to remain calm.

"John, fetch me the pliers."

I handed Corey the pliers as she tried to pry off the cover to a component.

"Need some help?" I asked. Corey handed me the part as I ripped it off with my bare hands.

Corey smiled.

"Are all Remnants showoffs?"

"You can say it's a Decen thing." I responded, leaning back and taking the sunset.

Corey paused.

"God, you look so much like Ben. From back then."

"Wasn't the Ben from back then like 20 something?"

"22. Yeah. But he had a childish face. Hard to distinguish."

"You miss him a lot." I said.

"What gave it away?" Corey let loose a weak laugh.

"We'll get him back up and running soon. Then he can give you that thing you wanted so badly."

Corey's cheeks flushed.

"John! Such things are extremely inappropriate."

"Come on. Literally it's just the two of us here. And I've seen enough shit to get an excuse. Besides...

"Ain't nothing wrong with wanting a baby. I mean. I don't mind being an uncle."

Corey sighed as she set down the screwdriver. "The last thing I want is my children to see someone like you as an uncle figure."

"Is that a roast?" I joked.

Corey scooted closer to me.

"You're still young, so you don't fully understand it. But Ben and I can't have kids. I don't want my kids to grow up knowing they won't ever see their father again."

"My dad got himself killed and that was how I was born."

"Well, you're different, John."

"I like to use the word special."

I left Corey alone with Ben as I went to my room, putting my gear on the desk and sitting on the mattress.

Another day another batch.

I wanted to feel like I was making a difference but I couldn't tell if what I was doing was working. I could only hope.

Ah shit. I forgot to say goodnight to Corey. That was one of the things Ben wanted me to do.

I got up from the bed and went downstairs, knocking on the door.

"Yo." I said.

No response.

"Hey Corey? You in there?"

My heart began to race. Come on. This wasn't happening now. I opened the door.

"Corey, I'm coming in-"

I paused, my eyes full of terror, at what I was seeing.

Ben and Corey, both being carried by a familiar towering orc. A horribly scarred face, and red demonic eyes.

"What... the hell..." I whimpered, as I took a step back. My body trembling as the Prime Aspect regarded me.

AH. THE FIFTEENTH. WONDERFUL. LET US HAVE A HEARTFELT DISCUSSION. LOCATING THE PALADIN'S TWO TIME DISPLACED REMNANTS WAS NO EASY TASK.

R15

I put my hand on my gun, but I suddenly realized. I had no gun.

Mogul smiled at me sinisterly, as I fell on flat on my ass. I wasn't able to move or do anything. Blood leaked from the corner of Corey's face, as Ben was still catatonic. Mogul sat down in front of me.

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE SECOND'S PAST SELF WAS ELIMINATED.

I clenched my fists.

Yes. The past self of Benjamin Fong. Corey's Ben, was dead.

I remembered.

It was Ben or me. And Ben made the choice to jump into the reservoir to activate the kill switch and disable the higher functions of the Iron Council Specialists. That was how the older version of Ben managed to fight on par with them, albeit for a brief time.

"Wha... what do you want." I said.

IT WAS MY PREROGATIVE, TO HUNT DOWN THE REMNANTS ONE BY ONE. BUT NOW, I AM CURIOUS. TO SEE IF ALL FIFTEEN OF DECEN'S SPAWN CAN MATCH MY POWER TOGETHER. IN ONE BODY. ONE MIND. ONE FORCE.

"Are you going to spare us then?" I asked.

Mogul regarded Ben, who passively flopped around in his enormous hand.

THAT WILL BE UP TO YOU TO DECIDE, FIFTEENTH.

The house began to rumble, as the roof ripped off, revealing several Iron Council members hovering from the sky.

"No way..."

I stared at the soldiers.

"You and Mogul..."

CORRECT. THE IRON COUNCIL SERVES ME. AS IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN. PROVE YOUR WORTH. IF YOU SURVIVE THIS, YOU DESERVE VENGEANCE FOR YOUR PROGENITOR.

Mogul got up, as the angels surrounded me.

The Prime Aspect dropped Ben like a sack of potatoes, but held on to Corey.

THE LOVER OF THE SECOND WILL BE IN MY POSSESSION. COME FOR HER WHEN YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF. BOTH OF YOU.

A portal formed before Mogul as he stepped through. I finally got the backbone to get to my feet.

"Wait! Give Corey back!"

I ran forward, but an angel materialized in front of me and knocked me through a wall. My back exploded in pain, but I managed to grab the gun on the desk and take aim, firing blasts of energy at the angel.

"Dammit!" I growled, as I ran behind cover.

"Soul Link Paladin Dec-"

My incantation was interrupted as a massive appendage ripped through the wall, nearly cutting me in half. I ran out of the way, but was intercepted by another Iron Angel.

I had to get out of here.

I ran up the steps and tried to blockage myself as I searched for an opening.

Usually, running away is a sign of defeat. But in your case, you need to be smarter with the way you fight. Because you lack combat prowess. Find a way to turn a fight in your favour. Using wits.

If only Ben's teachings covered being outnumbered. I couldn't find a single opening. There was no way to turn this fight in my favour when I'm faced with a bunch of bastards who could outnumber and outgun me. I didn't even have time to summon my soul link.

Corey.

With Ben in this state, I was the only thing keeping Corey safe, and I let her be taken away by Mogul.

"Dammit, if only..."

I dodged another swipe from an Angel as I retaliated, firing the columns and supports to the house, collapsing the ceiling in on one of the opponents. But it was useless. The Angel brought his arm up and blasted everything away with a black electrical wave. I fell back.

"If only..."

I ran to the side and smashed through a window, pursued by the horde of Angels after me.

"If only I was stronger."

I leapt over the van that Ben had used to try to transport his past self and I out of the Iron Council Specialist Stronghold that day. I fell backwards as one of the Angels picked up the car with one hand.

I took aim.

Nanotech is my power. Marksmanship was always a skill I had. If you feel that the shot you need to take cannot be missed, you need to think less of it. The pressure will make you lose focus.

I readied my firearm.

Take a deep breath.

I took aim, breathing in and out deeply.

Count to three.

I cleared my mind, counting in my head as I aimed the barrel to the gas tank.

And squeeze that trigger, John.

I fired, as the bolt of energy ignited the fuel in the car, causing a massive explosion.

I scurried out of the way, breathing heavily, when suddenly, the Angels emerged from the flames, unharmed.

Figures.

I ran fired another round at a nearby support beam, distracting them as I ran to Ben. I had to escape somehow. If I could get him on the bike I might be able to get out of here.

I tried to lift Ben, but he was too heavy.

"Damn. Come on, body. Don't fail your boy now." I growled as I tried everything I could to make him budge. The Angels had already figured out my distraction and was making their way to me.

"Ben, you gotta work with me here!"

It was too late. We were surrounded.

My heart began to race as I held out my gun.

"Get back! Stay back!" I shouted, knowing full well my threats held no weight. I was boned.

Prove my worth. That was Mogul's words.

And here I was being unable to hold off these guys from killing both me and my brother. Corey was out there somewhere. I was all that was left of our little squad, and when they needed me the most...

I was utterly useless.

"I gotta do the soul link. There's no choice." I muttered, as I held out my hand, my silver eyes glowing from my reflection.

"Soul..."

The Angels began to close in with frightening speed.

"Link..."

I closed my eyes. This was the end. I couldn't finish the incantation in time.

SLICE

I slowly opened my eyes. Was I dead? No. That sound... it wasn't from my body.

I looked up as I stood face to face with a taller guy. He had long white hair, and a scary looking mask. Kind of like Jason Voorhees from the movie Friday the 13th. But this guy looked dangerous. Much more dangerous. He looked like he could fight.

A black trench coat rippled in the wind as the guy turned to me.

"Remnant 15? Is that hunk of metal supposed to be my elder brother."

My eyes went wide.

"You're a... you're a..."

The Remnant regarded the remaining Angels, and I watched as a flaming projection dissipated. It looked just like a bladed tendril.

Decen's Tendrils.

"Kanade. Tend to our brothers."

"Yes, Fury."

The one called Kanade ran up to us. He had long flowing white hair which reached his shoulders and an innocent face. But it was a face that was undoubtedly one that had seen war. Just like I had.

"You're Remnant 15, right?" Kanade asked, as he put his hand on my chest. I felt my body revitalize.

"Ben." I gasped.

"I'm sorry?"

"Ben, my brother. He needs your healing more than I do."

Kanade looked at Ben and frowned. "I cannot heal him. His body is more machine than Remnant. We will need someone with technological expertise."

I watched as the one called Fury stood before the Angels, his hands in his pockets, but his one glowing orange eye penetrating and piercing.

"Good work bullying my youngest brother. Do you feel proud? Now you are dealing with the third eldest. Let us see if you can put up that same bravado, Mogul slaves."

Fury raised his hand, as five tendrils flew out of his body and chased after the Angels, who tried to evade, but the sheer speed of the slashes cut into them in quick succession.

Fury lowered his body and began to glow black and orange.

"Meaningless. All meaningless. There's no point killing a puppet devoid of soul." Fury said, as he shot towards them, hand held back, until he brought his foot backwards and launched a powerful flaming strike.

Angelbreaker Smash

Angel Breaker alright. Because the moment he sent that strike, he created a massive black and orange explosion that instantly disintegrated the squad that I had so much trouble dealing with.

"So... so strong..." I stammered.

Fury calmly turned to us, walking from the mass chaos he had created.

"For a Remnant, you are weak." Fury said, as he slowly removed his mask, revealing a face similar to Ben and I.

I gnashed my teeth.

You don't have to tell me I'm weak, Fury.

"But."

I looked up in surprise.

"But?"

Fury put his hand on my head as a rush went through my body. Similar to when Ben used to do it.

"You're still young. You have the potential."

"You..."

Kanade propped Ben up as a tendril wrapped around him, lifting him into the air.

Kanade narrowed his eyes.

"They're not dead. As far as I know, these guys are reanimated with the Corruption. As long as Mogul is alive, so are they. We need to retreat."

Fury held out a hand, generating a massive floating fiery hammer in the air where the Angels stood.

Vulcan's Hammer

The hammer smashed into the ground, sending the Angels into the abyss.

"This should buy us some time. We're getting out of here."

Fury and Kanade walked off with Ben in their grasps, when I quickly ran forward and grabbed Fury's coat.

"Wait."

Fury turned around, his fiery eyes, ironically, emitting the coldest expression I had ever seen.

"Do not touch me."

"S- Sorry." I yelped, letting go.

"But... there was a woman, that Mogul took. She's currently hostage. We need to save her. She means a lot to Ben-"

"No. We're returning you two to the rest of us. To the rest of our brothers. This is the safest option."

"We can't just leave Corey along with that freak!" I shouted.

Fury raised an eyebrow.

"And do you think if we went like this, we can defeat Mogul and save our elder brother's bride to be? Happily ever after? You've been here long enough, to know what the Prime Aspect of Sin is capable of. Fighting him as we are now, with only three and a half Remnants, is basically suicide. Considering you can't even do anything."

My heart hurt.

Kanade sighed.

"We need to regroup. As we are now, we're in no shape to rescue this Corey girl. Please, just calm down."

My fists shook.

"You two don't get shit! You have no idea what it's like to have a loved one pulled from you guys!"

Fury clenched his teeth.

"Hm. Ignorant and temperamental. He is a Remnant of father all right."

Kanade walked up to me.

"What are you doing. Get your hands off of me. I'll kill you." I growled.

Kanade put a hand on my forehead.

"No. You need to calm down."

A rush suddenly flowed through my body. A different kind, as Kanade's face doubled. Then tripled. Then quadrupled as I watched a word slip from his lips.

"Sleep."

R15

An explosion.

Before that day Ben ripped his way through thousands of Iron Council Angels, explosions always triggered that memory of Mom and Dad telling me to run. When the Council came to this planet from the skies, killing everybody.

But since then, hearing explosions was different.

It didn't remind me of the pain of losing my adopted parents.

It reminded me of the pain of Ben.

"John! Ben!" Corey shouted after me, as Ben held out two grenades in each hand, throwing them outwards and generating massive blasts of frost, slowing down the guards.

Ben reached into his pockets and took out two Desert Eagles, transforming them into the SPARTAN battle pistols, picking off each enemy left and right while Corey ran up to me and tried to wrestle with the controls.

I was freed as Corey ordered me to stay by her side while she worked to free Ben.

"Corey? Is that you?" Ben asked, groggily, while the future Ben. My Ben, continued fighting off the enemies.

"ASCENSION soldier in floor size with the proxies." One of the guards spoke into the coms, before a bullet penetrated through his face with deadly accuracy.

Ben dodged a slashed from a guard, spinning in the air and firing his two guns in quick succession, dispatching the remaining guards.

Corey helped Ben to his feet as he limped beside me.

"We're getting out of here. Sparty?"

Sparty, or our Ben, regarded me as he approached with one of his guns in his hand.

"Ben?" I asked.

Sparty knelt down in front of me and put the gun in my hands.

Remember our lessons. Defend yourself. This is what this weapon is for. Use it wisely.

"I will."

Corey and I followed Sparty as he drew his assault rifle, powering it up with SPARTAN technology and firing cyan energy bursts at any enemy that came our way while Ben shifted on Corey's shoulder, limping with his leg injury.

"Can you stand?" Corey asked.

Ben grimaced. "Yeah."

Another squad of Council members intercepted us as we entered a large room. Corey pulled Ben and I behind cover as a rocket caught Sparty square in the chest, sending him flying into a metal beam, bending and crushing it. But Ben simply got back up, and aimed his assault rifle with one arm, spraying and catching every enemy square in their weak points through their armour.

"SPART205 has infiltrated the generator room. I repeat. SPART205 has reached the generator. Deploy the specialists."

I saw Sparty grimace as he turned to Corey with a grim expression.

Corey nodded.

"We can't get out of here. The only way is through them. Ben and John, keep your distance, make sure you're well hidden while Sparty and I fight our way through."

Sparty tossed a shotgun to Corey as he drew his Desert Eagle with his other gun hand. His irises began to glow cyan as a targeting reticule began rotating within his eye.

Keep your distance, John. Don't engage the enemy. You're our ranged support.

"Well. If it isn't dearest Mom and Dad." A woman's voice said coyly, as I watched a curvy figure enter the room.

"It's Arachnid." I whimpered. Julia Jensen. She tortured the present Ben and me relentlessly. Every day, while we were held captive, we had a rotating cycle of tortures come in and beat us up. But of all of the specialists, Julia was the scariest.

And it wasn't just that. She had a twisted reason too.

I remembered that day she told me her true identity. Her surname.

She was the future daughter of Ben and Corey. But apparently, Ben never came back to help Corey raise their daughter. She ended up stealing the time warp tech that Ben had left behind to travel back in time. And join the Iron Council to mess with her dad. Who was with ASCENSION.

Ben took aim, the rifle's laser pointer square at his future daughter's forehead.

"Ugh. Cold as ever. You ruin all the fun, dad."

Sparty's eyes were fixed and emotionless, but Corey's was different.

"Julia, please. It doesn't matter what the reason is. Please, let us go. You can't just kill your own father!"

"Oh, you don't get it. It was after all, you who wished the worst on your baby daddy. You're only saying that because you haven't given into despair yet. But when you do, you will thank me for disposing of this useless excuse of a father."

Suddenly, a clap appeared from the hallway, as more and more specialists entered. With them, was Turbo.

"Damn. Sparty. Still kickin? I guess I'll just have to beat the shit out of you all over again."

Sparty grimaced, as he put distance between us.

There was no way he could fight them all at once. After he got his ass kicked by Turbo. He couldn't fight all eight of the specialists at once.

"No. Stop Ben. STOP!" I screamed as I woke up, my hands flailing while Kanade restrained me.

"Hey. Calm down kid."

I stopped flailing as I sat up. Kanade gave me a cup of warm water as I realized we were inside a small cave along the side of a mountain. A fire was crackling as Fury tended to it.

"Where's Ben?" I asked. Kanade pointed at our elder brother who was propped up against the stone wall.

I readjusted myself on the cold floor.

"How long was I out?"

"Can you handle the answer?"

I paused myself, before retaliating aggressively.

"Yes. Yes I can."

"Three weeks."

My heart dropped.

"Three..."

Fury turned to us.

"Yes. Sammy still hasn't arrived to pick us up. Don't know if that idiot got himself in trouble again. But I doubt even Mogul can catch his elusive ass."

"Sammy?"

Kanade smiled.

"The fourth eldest. He's an astral projection user. It was all thanks to him that we were able to locate you two. Being time displaced and everything. I never thought the Power of the Paladins could reach that far in the spacetime continuum."

"You guys seem to have been rounding up pretty well. Are Ben and I the last ones?"

Kanade shook his head.

"No. We're still missing Remnants 7, 8, 10 through 14."

"So seven Remnants?"

Fury knelt down in front of me.

"Seven. And Arman."

Kanade's face looked pained.

"I shouldn't have chastised him all those years ago. Only Sammy can visit him and he can't even stay long-"

"It wasn't your fault. Arman made the choice to leave us to 'grow stronger'. After everything he said, that Messiah complex he put himself up with. Went ahead and threw it all away. Don't ever feel responsible for that hypocrite's actions."

Fury glanced at Ben, who had slumped over.

"I heard our big brother over there was quite a soldier himself."

"Yeah. He was a member of ASCENSION. Cybernetic army responsible for fighting off the Iron Council."

"Hm. Looks to me he still has a bunch of power he hadn't tapped into. Because he wouldn't be in this state in the first place."

"What did you just say?!" I growled, as I rushed towards Fury, but Kanade held me back.

Fury sighed.

"I'm saying, if he used his full potential, he would have ended the Iron Council. Singlehandedly. I guess there was something holding him back. There's no ill will in what I said, it's just fact."

Fury opened his hand, and a burst of black flame appeared.

"Each one of us possesses the power of the Paladin of War. As Remnants, we are significantly stronger than the average warrior. Arman Wan, the Firstborn, the eldest of all of us, was capable of taking down three Greek Titans at once while he was still learning his powers. Then, proceeded to defeat the Paladin of Light with his Phoenix Form."

My mouth hung open.

"He beat... Icarus?"

Fury's serious expression told me he wasn't joking.

"Each one of us fighter types is capable of many things. Kanade himself, is capable of defeating an entire legion of enemies simply by putting them into an endless trance. Well, that is, after he abandoned who he was-"

"Deacon." Kanade muttered, holding out his hand.

"Sorry." Fury replied. "But what I mean, is we all have untapped potential. Maybe with you two here with the rest of us, you guys can grow. Then, once you've evolved as warriors, you can go back and rescue Corey."

Fury got up and began to tend to Ben, wiping him off with a cloth.

"That dumbass protege of mine better know how to fix this." He grumbled.

"He has a protege?" I asked Kanade.

"Yes. Thomas King. The Floating Man, the fifth eldest."

"I have a lot of catching up to do then."

Kanade managed a small smile, as his shirt shifted, revealing a cross necklace.

Kanade caught me staring and quickly put the pendant back into his shirt.

"Hey uh. I've been meaning to ask. Are you religious by any chance?"

Kanade pursed his lips.

"Once."

"Why? What happened?"

Kanade gave me a split second annoyed look. But his expression resumed to normal.

"I get you are in your teenage years, but you need to learn to be more mindful of others."

"Sorry. I have a bit of a mouth."

Kanade leaned back against the rock.

"I used to be an avid follower of the Lord. I guess I still believe. But... over time, I just struggle to keep up that faith. At least to the same intensity that I used to. Back then I believed I could live my life without harming a single soul. That pacifism was the way forward. But the older I got, and the worse things became because I could have stopped it if I didn't just sit in the sidelines and watched. It hurt. And the pain just kept getting worse until...

"One day, one of our brothers, Lucius Cassidy, ended up taking a near fatal hit for me. Because I wanted to talk things out with one of Mogul's acolytes. Believing I could use the power of love to get through him. I watched as Lucius nearly lost his life, his body almost entirely disintegrated. Then I realized... I was useless the way I was. I needed to change. I needed to change because I was weak and couldn't bear the pain of seeing my family get torn apart from my choices."

Kanade gripped his necklace.

"I sullied my hands. From the day I was created to avenge our progenitor, I was already dirty. There's no such thing as claiming to be pure if you got your hands involved with another person's death. Even if you weren't the one directly dealing the fatal blow. I took part in it. I am a sinner. Just like the rest of the people I fight with."

Kanade suddenly perked up.

"Acolyte."

"Huh?" I asked, but Kanade put his hand on my mouth.

"Mmf!"

"Quiet." Kanade hissed, as he peeked out of the cave.

"I sense it. Corruption at higher intensities. This level of power is beyond the normal Iron Council Angels he has deployed."

I peeked from within the cave as well, and saw it. Some hooded figure emitting dark mist from his robe. Something about him made me want to curl up into a ball and die.

"Should we wake Fury?" I whispered. "He should be able to take an acolyte, right?"

Kanade looked at me.

"Deacon needs his rest. As you are now, you are no match for the acolyte. I will fight him."

"Can you though? I mean isn't your whole schtick putting people to sleep or something? What if that thing doesn't sleep?"

Kanade leapt from the rock and landed on the ground, running to the figure as I tried to reach out to him.

"Dude!" I yelped. I quickly grabbed my handgun and ran off after him.

By the time I caught up to my older brother, he had already engaged in confrontation.

"Identify yourself, acolyte." Kanade said.

The acolyte glanced at the Remnant.

"The Sixth. Ah... Yes. The one who was pure. The one who rejected his nature of violence."

Kanade gritted his teeth as he took a step forward.

"I wouldn't act all high and mighty." He warned, as he held out his hand. Something like energy particles began to exit the acolyte's body as it entered Kanade, as the acolyte fell to his knees.

"What..."

"Is that all Mogul has on me? A pacifist? Perhaps this was true, eight years ago. But unfortunately, that information is terribly outdated. For one thing, my abilities is not just mere healing."

More energy began to stream into the Remnant as he took more and more steps to the acolyte, who struggled to even get to his feet.

"Healing. Energy replenishment. These are all just byproducts from what I am truly capable of. I am able to give life and energy to others. But it was only until I embraced my nature, did I discover the other half, the true nature of my powers."

What did Fury say? That each Remnant was significantly stronger than the average warrior?

Kanade was capable of putting an entire army to sleep.

Those were his words.

And now, I was beginning to see why.

"I can give these things, and I can take them away. For trying to hunt me and my brothers, I will be taking away your energy. You are defenseless and powerless, acolyte." Kanade said, as he closed his fist, his body glowing white.

Kanade brought his foot back, and leapt forward with blinding speed. So the energy he had taken from the acolyte was being used to fuel his own physical abilities.

"This is over!" Kanade shouted, and slammed his fist down, but not before the acolyte evasively zipped out of the way.

"Reckless and foolish, just like your progenitor." The acolyte cackled, throwing several knives which embedded themselves into my brother's chest. Kanade grunted as he stumbled back.

"Kanade!" I shouted, but Kanade held out his hand, gesturing me to stop.

"Don't get involved, John."

"Like hell I'm letting this creep hurt another brother of mine!" I said, as I took aim and fired at the acolyte, who simply took this moment of chaos to close the distance.

My eyes widened as his talons went super close to my face, but not before Kanade dove in and shoved me out of the way, causing the acolyte to slice the grass.

"Two Remnants for Lord Mogul" The acolyte hissed as he spun around, but Kanade managed to regain his footing and blocked his strike, beginning a hand to hand exchange.

"Know your place." Kanade said, as he went low and struck the acolyte in the midsection, then went high and kicked him across the face with astonishing force, sending him into a boulder.

"Heh." The acolyte said, as he struggled to his feet.

"I like you. Kanade Asaoka. Show me the fruits of your eight year transformation!"

Kanade turned to me, his eyes glowing white as I felt the strength in me leave my body.

I fell to my knees, reduced to a mere spectator.

"When Deacon fails to become the one to dispose of you, I must take his place. To protect our brothers."

The Acolyte blasted forward with black electricity, the Corruption, but Kanade took a step back and blocked his strike.

The Acolyte continued laying down pressure, but it was like nothing was fazing Kanade, who calmly blocked and dodged. Evasive and clean. His style was different from Fury's. Even though Fury's style was calm, it was like he was suppressing immense power. Like he was hiding the beast.

But Kanade's style was just that. Just calm. Tranquil.

What was Kanade like in the past? Judging from how he described it, he was a pacifist. Whatever had caused him to turn into something like this must have been major.

Lucius, huh?

"Come, retaliate! What are you waiting for, Remnant!" The Acolyte jeered, as Kanade spun around and leapt into the air, bouncing off the tree trunks in the forest as the Acolyte followed him. A white streak of light bouncing into the night sky trailed by a black electrical comet.

Kanade closed his eyes, seemingly in prayer, as he brought his hands together.

"Forgive me, for what I am about to do." He muttered, as his eyes went wide, releasing a powerful strike with the palm of his hand. White gusts of energy and wind blasted from his palm and shattered the Acolyte. I could feel his bones break as the Acolyte screeched pain, smashing into the ground.

Kanade flew inwards, as his eyes were wide, extremely focused and concentrated.

"By the Paladin Code of Acadia, you have been eliminated. Contract Complete, Acolyte of Mogul."

The Acolyte's eyes widened as Kanade slammed into him, releasing a massive bright light as I instinctively covered myself, keeping myself from being blinded.

By the time I had recovered, Kanade had regained his position. I walked to his side, and saw the smoking body of the Acolyte, alongside a burning crater in the ground.

"H- How...?"

Kanade smiled and patted me on the head, much to my annoyance.

"It looks like we might need to find a way back without Sammy's help."

R3

"Benjamin Fong and Jonathan Ko." Lucius said, as he handed me their photos.

"Remnant 2 and Remnant 15. Took a while, but Sammy finally pinpointed their location. Try to get them and extract back here, top priority. If Sammy can't breach you four back, try to hold out as long as you can."

I inspected the file for Remnant 2.

"A ranged soldier, huh."

"Yeah. Unparalleled marksmanship. Possibly surpassing Meena's."

I paused. "That's a really bold claim."

"Not possibly. He definitely surpasses mine." Meena said, as she crossed her arms, her ponytail following her movements as she inspected Ben's file.

"Judging from the way this kid is built, and his accomplishments. It's humanly impossible to be able to shoot down twelve targets at that distance with a single Desert Eagle. In that short of a timeframe, that level of reflexes can't be achieved even by me."

I paled.

"And if he refuses to comply? Fighting something like that as a mid-close range fighter puts me at a severe disadvantage."

"He doesn't have any say." Merrow said, as she leaned across the table.

"What do you mean?"

Merrow flipped through the pages in Sammy's report.

"Says here that he's in a critical and unresponsive state. I guess he was put in that condition while he was still learning his powers. He's not the one to watch out for. It's your youngest brother. Jonathan Ko. The kiddo is still young and extremely confrontational. Not to mention he still believes Ben is the only family he has, he is understandably very protective."

"Confrontational, huh. I guess we have a guy to smooth out things like that." I looked at Kanade, who regarded me.

"I'll try, Deacon. But don't expect the same theatrical performance I had eight years ago."

"It doesn't matter. You're the only level headed one out of all of us. At the very least, you're the least likely to start a fight."

Meena walked up to me and kissed me, as I ran my hand across her back.

"Hey, you better come back to me. Dickless Deacon."

I smiled.

"Yeah. Better not sleep with anybody else. I'll hunt them down. Every single time."

"That would've made contracts so easy back then."

"Funny girl."

Kanade joined me at the portal that Sammy had made. Sammy eyed me.

"Lucky bastard, landing that bombshell. I wonder if I grew my hair out I'd tap something like that."

"Call Meena that again and I'll kill you."

"Sorry." Sammy said, quickly.

Being a leader of this operation. I never thought I would be one to carry this much responsibility. Not eight years ago. Not even before my time with Kallas. This was all new to me.

"Hey, Deacon." Lucius said, as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Think of it as a learning opportunity. Maybe after this, you'll start to appreciate the role of being leader a bit more."

My face paled, remembering the time I snapped and tried to kill him and Arman.

"I... uh..."

Lucius laughed. "Don't worry. You've changed. We all have. You've got a family waiting for you now. Come back soon. I'd love to meet our brothers!"

I smiled, as Kanade and I stepped through the portal, entering a new reality.

"Hey. Where are we going?" John asked me.

"Someplace away from here." I replied. "Extraction is delayed."

"Does that mean we can find Corey now?"

"No."

John ran in front of me and held out his hands.

"The hell do you mean no? We have this window of opportunity. We can save Ben's girlfriend."

"You're being hasty, kid. There's no way we can retrieve her with just Kanade and I."

"Kanade kicked that Acolyte's ass! Dude has the power to steal other people's energy and life force! Isn't that enough to beat Mogul?"

"You haven't seen a lot of fights, then."

"I know much more than you think."

"That's something someone who hasn't seen many fights would say."

John's face turned red. "Hey! You trying to pick a fight? Unlike you two, I fully understand how important Corey is to Ben. I'll find her, to hell what you two think."

I clenched my fist as I grabbed the kid's collar and lifted him into the air, eyeing him dangerously.

"You're walking a thin line with me, kid. I told you over and over again. Kanade and I can't beat Mogul on our own. It's like everything I say goes from one ear and comes out the other. Maybe I should just leave you here for dead-"

"Deacon." Kanade cut me off, as I slowly lowered John, who's eyes began to brim with tears.

"Corey..." John muttered.

Kanade knelt in front of John. "Look. We just need to hold out for a bit longer. At least until Sammy figures out how to pinpoint here. We're just moving locations, because it's not safe for you two."

The rest of the journey was silent and awkward.

John tripped and stumbled, as he insisted on dragging the cart carrying Ben along on his own.

I remembered what Merrow told me.

"John's a teenager. And a Remnant of Decen. Decen himself was aggressive enough, so I can only imagine how aggressive a teenage Decen must be. Just try to be nice with him. Okay?"

"How am I supposed to be nice, Merrow. Look at me."

"You were nice before you were Fury. I know there's still that part of you in there. In the end, he's still a little kid who wants his big brother to be well and happy."

"I think you have me confused for Arman-" I stopped myself, as Merrow stared at the ground.

I put my hands on her shoulders.

"Hey. Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Honest."

I brought her in a hug, as she buried her head in my chest.

"Sorry. I'm the oldest here, and yet I'm always crying and losing my cool. Haha."

I stroked her hair.

"It's okay to cry, Merrow. Nothing wrong with that."

I returned to reality, as I glanced at John, who began to slow down more and more.

"Tch. You're going to get some serious back pain when you're older." I said, as I walked next to him.

"Give me that."

John glared at me. "Like hell I'm letting you put your hands on my big brother-"

"He's my big brother too. This is non-negotiable."

John reluctantly let go of the handle as I took it. My hand pulled and I was momentarily stopped.

"Huh. He's heavier than I thought."

John smirked. "Course he is. Dude is 75% machine. Carrying him isn't the easiest thing ever."

I readjusted my stance and pulled a bit harder, and regained the momentum of our pace, as John's mouth hung open. Then returned to its usual scowl.

I looked at John.

Just try to be nice to him.

"Uh." I muttered.

John turned to me.

"This is pretty heavy. I'm surprised you were able to drag him along all this time. Well done."

John's face began to blush as his eyes turned wide.

"I- You- Er. Whatever." He stammered.

We showed up in a motel. It was completely run down.

"Heads up guys. There's a chance that there's people insi-"

John kicked open the door.

"John!" Kanade scolded, as John threw his hands up in the air.

"What! There's no one inside! Why would anybody stay in this dump-"

A gasp appeared from within the desk.

We all gave John an exasperated look.

"Sorry." John muttered.

I peeked inside, as the figure returned into its hiding spot, trembling.

"It's okay. We're not hostile." I said, as I entered the room, and knelt down.

The figure was a little girl, maybe around John's age. She looked absolutely terrified as she yelped and scurried even further into her corner. I took in the situation. Her clothes were in rags. In the corner was a half open can. My time back with Meena in Blackwater gave enough experience for me to know what was going on.

She was sustaining herself by eating the contents of that can. In an attempt to keep it from going bad, she tried to open it part way, and eat very small quantities at a time. This meant she was low on food. I picked up the can as the girl held out her hand, but retracted it quickly upon seeing the rest of us.

"Dog food? Gross!" John said, but was whacked on the top of his head by Kanade.

I went back to the girl.

"Is it okay if we stay here for a while? We won't hurt you. I promise. We are all talented fighters..." I looked at John. "For the most part..."

I sat down on the ground.

"Come on out. We can protect you."

The girl hesitantly crawled out of her hiding spot, as her red hair glowed in the sunset. She looked around 15 to 16 years old, but it was hard to tell from all the soot on her face.

"Kanade?"

"I'm on it." Kanade said, as he sat next to the girl and held out his hand, but the girl quickly flinched.

"Hey. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl softened as Kanade healed her up.

A few hours later, we made camp in the busted motel, as the girl clung onto me.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Stella." Stella murmured.

"That's a pretty name." I remarked, as Stella blushed.

"What is yours?" Stella asked.

"Deacon." I replied.

"It's nice to meet you, Deacon." Stella whispered.

"Did you stay here all by yourself? How are you still alive? How many more of you are there?" John asked, in rapid fire succession. Each question causing Stella to hide behind my back and cling onto me harder and harder.

"John. Lay off with the questions." I ordered.

Stella buried her face in my back.

"I was here with my older brother. But the Angels found us. They toyed with us, and violated me in front of my brother. When my brother tried to save me from them, they killed him in cold blood."

I turned around and put her in an embrace.

"It's okay. You're safe now."

John's eyes went empty. I knew what it felt like. Many of the people I had seen during my Blackwater days went through something just as traumatic. No one deserved this.

That night, everybody went to sleep, and I volunteered to do night watch duty, since Kanade did it last time.

Stella was unable to sleep.

"You should probably sleep too. It's fine. I can keep watch."

"I can't." Stella muttered. "Whenever I close my eyes, I see my brother."

I sighed, as I sat down on the ground next to her.

Stella grabbed my arm again.

"Deacon... do you have anyone special to you?"

"Yeah."

Stella's face looked disappointed. "What's her name?"

"Her name's Meena Kennedy. The toughest woman I had ever had the pleasure of working with. She inspired me to become strong. She scared me at first, then as I grew up I came to respect her, then I fell for her."

"Do you like strong women?"

"You can say that, yeah."

Stella stared at the ground.

"I can never be strong. I'm... defiled... Impure. I'm not even a virgin anymore-"

"What does that matter? Whether you're strong or not depends on the actions you take moving forward. The past serves to strengthen you, not pull you down. You have the potential to be strong, Stella."

Stella looked at me. "Me?"

"Yeah. Why? Do you disagree?"

Stella looked away. "No... I just don't... know if I can do it."

"You can't if you keep moping around like that. I know you've been through a lot, but the first step is often the hardest."

"You seem to know a lot about strength... Deacon Chow." Stella said, as she buried her face into my chest.

"Not really. I just know how to tell if someone needs it. After all..."

My eyes began to glow a deadly orange, as black tendrils burst from my back, the blades aimed directly at Stella.

"Someone who has to rely on deceiving their enemy can never be strong."

Stella grinned sinisterly, as she leapt back and evaded all of the slashes, as she reached into her rags and threw several knives at me. My body superheated, burning them to ash as I got to my feet.

"Kanade."

Kanade snapped into action as he grabbed my tendril and borrowed a portion of my strength, then took Ben and John and ran out of the motel.

John stared at Stella, his eyes in complete disbelief.

"Wha- What is this?"

"I suppose it was foolish of me." Stella's eyes turned black as she began to transform, her body turning wretched and witchlike, as numerous knives appeared in thin air, flying to me as my tendrils flew around, cutting and retaliating.

"Attempting to deceive one who has seen two hells. Once in Blackwater. The other with the Halakite. It was never going to work. At least I managed to scar one of the Remnants."

I turned to John, who's face was pale in terror.

"Why... why is she..."

I sighed, as I spun around and slashed at Stella, who materialized across the motel.

"Be grateful, Fury. I have decided to descend into this place myself. The lower acolytes were clearly not enough to deal with you. Perhaps it was necessary to bring an Acolyte on Ksenia's calibre to dispatch you two."

I shot forward, slicing and swinging with my tendrils as Stella evaded quickly and perfectly, breaching my defences and jabbing me in the chest with one of her knives. I choked out blood as Stella used this momentum to fling me into the motel, smashing and destroying the place.

"Deacon!" John shouted, but Kanade held him back.

I struggled to my feet as Stella zipped in, laughing hysterically as she zoomed all around me, landing successive slashes with her hundreds of knives as my body exploded in a ceremony of blood.

"Am I too much for you, Fury of the Halakites? Have you lost the fire you had when you were under Malakai's influence? Where is the ruthlessness. Where is the Wrath of Decen?" Stella taunted as I clenched my teeth, concentrating and keeping myself from passing out from all the blood I was losing.

It was true. She was a bit too fast for me as of now.

I put on my mask.

"Vessel of Diablos, Quarter Skull."

My body superheated as my eye became hollow. I held out my hand, which was now skeletonized, as Stella's knives disintegrated before me.

"Tch. Well, to be expected, from the third eldest." Stella said, as she flew into the air and summoned even more knives.

Empirebreaker Slash

I brought my foot back as my tendrils came together as one, to form a massive blade which slashed the air, delivering a huge inferno which overwhelmed Stella.

Stella flew into the ground as I regained my footing.

"Is she dead?" John asked.

"No." I replied. "Someone who claims to be on Ksenia's level can't possibly be dead. After all, Ksenia managed to defeat Arman's Phoenix Form."

"Yes. Correct. Very. Correct." Stella said, her voice quadrupled, as she began to glow purple, manifested multiple eyes on her face.

"You are worthy. To fight me. Deacon Chow."

I braced myself as Stella blasted forward and landed a devastating blow at me. Even blocking it was not enough. I flew backwards and smashed into numerous motel buildings in the area as Stella laughed, grabbing my throat and hurling me into the air.

"Are you not going to use your full Vessel powers? How insulting. If you don't you're going to die!"

If I used my full transformation, I will use up all my energy. It was true that Kanade could restore my energy, but there was no way Kanade could fight on par with Stella. There was no time to absorb her energy or life force with that level of speed.

I did have a trick up my sleeve, though.

Infernal Legerdemain

The blood that was all over the place from her last knife volley began to levitate, as I held out my hand. Stella turned around.

"What is this-"

The blood clumped together all around her as I closed my fist, causing a massive black and orange explosion.

You... little brat. Stella growled, from within the smoke as her eyes became pure darkness.

I will tear you apart.

Stella and I clashed in the sky, as I attempted to get a read on her fighting pattern, but there was none. She was way too erratic. I guess that was her style.

Stella won the clash, as she managed to cut my face, then my chest, then my back, as I fell from the air, my body exiting my transformation.

"What a pathetic display of your powers, Deacon! How can you claim to be a Remnant? Decen would be most displeased."

I smirked. I loved fighting enemies who had egos. Especially the crazy ones. It meant when they had an opening, it was super obvious.

Meena Kennedy.

The woman that I loved.

Almost everything she had tried to teach me went in one ear and out the other. But there were certain things that stuck. After all, she inspired me. And continued to do so. It was about time my style was influenced by hers.

I reached into my coat pockets and took out two guns. Polished silver. Just like hers. The Organization mercenary standard, made popular by Kennedy herself.

"This is the fruits of my labor. Of those eight years. I hope you're ready, Stella." I said, as my body began to glow.

Angelbreaker Blast - SHARPSHOOTING

I took aim, as the guns began to change shape due to the influence of the Demonfire surrounding it, turning demonic as I readjusted the barrels, firing blasts of flame at Stella, who was taken aback with my new fighting style that she was unable to react in time as the first few blasts sliced her body open.

"Bleh! You-"

Another bolt got her in the leg as Stella screamed in pain.

I flipped in the air as I continued firing while Stella descended, taking damage with every shot until her body smashed into the ground, defeated.

I walked up to Stella and regarded her. Stella's eyes went wide as she screeched into the air.

Kanade ran up to me.

"Deacon, what are you doing? She's going to alert Mogul!"

"That's the point."

"Are you mad?"

I pointed at the sky, as a portal formed. Hundreds of Iron Council Angels emerging from the singularity as a flood of them came after us.

John walked up to me.

"Uhh, isn't this, like, the LAST thing we want?"

"Yeah."

"Then why-"

"You'll see."

We watched as a massive platoon of soldiers descended from the skies, when suddenly, a huge black dragon's head appeared, chomping them down.

"What the hell-" John shouted, as the force of the bite blew us all back.

Stella looked at the dragon in disbelief.

"What is tha-"

The dragon dissipated into black mist, as the armies were disintegrated instantly. From within the portal was a guy barely younger than me. Remnant years.

"Sup boys." Sammy said, as another figure appeared next to him. A woman in her thirties, with flowing green hair.

"I have come to save you all!"

R3

Sammy went up to me and put his arm on my shoulder.

"Where's my thanks, big bro?"

"You insolent fool." I grumbled, as I pointed at the portal.

"You opened a portal directly to them?!"

Sammy turned around, eyes wide.

"HEH?!"

Merrow went up to us and took out her spear.

"You must be Jonathan Ko."

John scratched his head. "Yeah. What about it, lady?"

"Do you not remember me? From your visions?"

"From wha-"

John suddenly doubled over, clutching his head.

"There's no time. We need to transport everybody back to the house."

Merrow turned to the armies of Iron Council Angels, as they continued amassing in number from the portal.

"I'll deal with them." She said.

John stared at Merrow. "Uh. What? Do you see how many of them there are-"

"John." Kanade said, cutting him off.

"Merrow Rivenlight is more than capable of taking down something like that. She's our progenitor's Guardian after all."

Merrow walked up to the massive army, spinning her spear elegantly, as two prongs opened up from the sides, revealing a trident. Wind and Hydropower all around her brewing up a massive storm as her beautiful green hair fluttered with the currents.

"Leave. My. Beloved's children alone." Merrow's voice boomed from within the storm as we all scrambled to the portal Sammy had made.

The entire Iron Council armies charged, as Merrow spun around, delivering a massive tsunami that engulfed the thousands and thousands of soldiers, destroying them instantly.

"OH MY GOD. Is this the youngest?!" Skylar squealed as she ran up to John and grabbed his cheeks.

"Mmf!" John struggled, trying to resist Skylar's meltdown.

I dragged Ben's body to Thomas, who was busy playing video games. I grabbed his head and yanked him out of his seat.

"Fix this." I said.

Thomas glanced at our older brother.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?!"

"You're a telekinetic. You should be able to repair the broken components. With Kanade repairing the organic parts. You should be able to bring Remnant 2 back to life."

Thomas threw his hands in the air.

"Dude. I'm not a genius. I don't know how to fix the damn toaster in this house. Much less this Halo reference!"

"You studied engineering. And graduated."

"With Skylar's help, man. Have you SEEN my grades?!"

I tilted my head.

"Then what you're saying is if we find another guy with a better aptitude, he can coordinate your abilities."

"Well, I guess so..."

Merrow clasped her hands together.

"Sam! Your old roommate. Perhaps you can contact him!"

Thomas gave Merrow a very exasperated look. "God. Please. No. Not him. Please."

We all gathered at the main dining hall for the big meeting.

"I'm going with Thomas to retrieve his old engineering roommate. Then we can work on restoring Ben." Merrow said.

"How are the others doing?" I asked.

Merrow smiled as she put a scroll on the table, revealing a magical projection of Lucius and his wife, Sophia.

"Sophia! Did you hang up the clothes to dry yet?" Lucius called out.

"Yes, dear." Sophia responded, walking in.

John got up from his seat and pointed. "Your wife is so fat! HAHAHA!"

Kanade walloped John over the head.

"Fool! She is pregnant. How could you say something so insensitive."

Sammy broke down laughing. "Oh my god. We have another socially awkward Remnant on our hands. Damn. Thomas, ya hear that? You got company my dude!"

Thomas got up from his seat. "The hell?! How am I socially awkward! You're even more awkward than me!"

"I guarantee you that I can land a girlfriend before you. The day Thomas King gets laid will be the day Kanade gets a haircut."

I slammed my fist on the table, generating a blast of Demonfire.

Enough.

Everybody zipped up real quick.

Lucius turned around. "Oh, sorry you guys. I guess I should have been more prepared for this meeting. Nice to meet ya, kiddo. I'm Lucius Cassidy, the Ninth Eldest. And yeah, Sophia back there's my wife and pregnant."

John's face was a mixture of surprise and intrigue.

"Is that what women look like when they're pregnant?"

"Um... yes."

Sammy smirked. "Does that mean Merrow was half pregnant when we landed that free fast food dea-"

Merrow shot Sammy a death glare disguised as a smile.

"My bad."

A vein popped on my forehead.

"Guys. Can we get back on topic here."

I turned to Lucius.

"What's your status right now?"

Lucius flipped through a bunch of scrolls.

"A couple of the seers in Corinth have been trying to locate those three Remnants that I had seen in that vision. They looked like a hive mind. But we're still searching."

"Run into any Acolytes?" Merrow asked.

"Not yet."

"Well, that's a relief." I sighed. "We ran into two Acolytes. Kanade killed one. And I defeated the other."

Lucius raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you spared it?"

I looked down. "Erm. Yes. Yes I did."

Meena scooted closer to me.

"The old Deacon is slowly coming out. How adorable."

"Shut up."

Michael, Merrow's boyfriend, appeared in the call on Lucius' end.

"So I hear we got ourselves two more Remnants, yeah?"

"Yes." I replied. "Remnant 15, and Remnant 2. But Remnant 2 is in a non-responsive state."

Merrow stood up and scribbled on the board.

"So that's Remnant 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 15. The hive mind knocks off three more Remnants. So that's eleven of the fifteen?"

I clenched my fist.

"So that leads us to the most troublesome Remnants of them all."

The mood went sombre.

Merrow looked at me sympathetically.

"Arman isn't going to be easy to convince with force."

Sammy stared at the table. For someone so hyperactive as him, having him like this was a clear red flag.

"I have a means of getting to him in that universe. But..."

"I know." I said, as I remembered the last time I had interacted with our eldest.

His Phoenix Form. It was too much for me.

The one Remnant who did what our progenitor was unable to do.

Defeat Icarus, the Paladin of Light. The number one ranked Paladin of Acadia.

Merrow gritted her teeth.

"Arman is adamant on not coming with us, still. Huh."

Sammy sighed. "He's already chosen to be with Rei. And the whole Tsuyuki Dorm. Once he crosses the universe, his age will automatically change to Remnant years. He'll become too old for Rei."

That's right.

There's a reason why things are the way they are.

Chronologically, the ages of us would have been dictated as told in each respective universe. But things were a lot more complicated than that. Because us Remnants were brought up in different universes and different time dilated places, we were all bound to a simple Remnant age system.

Time flowed differently depending on the universe. For Arman's universe, the reason why it was so hard to get there and to be found there by Mogul was because it was so time dilated. The eight year timeskip in this universe where most of us reside, would only equate as eight months in Arman's world.

When we all come together, our ages would realign, to be more consistent with how old we truly would be, depending on how variable each one of us was time displaced.

In my case, I would be technically 26. As third eldest.

Sammy is 25. Fourth eldest.

Thomas, 25. Fifth.

Kanade, 24. Sixth.

Lucius, 23. Ninth.

And now we had Ben and John. John would be 15. And Ben would be 27.

If Arman were to return to us, from a universe so time dilated, to him, he would have aged from 16 to 27-28 years old. While his girlfriend, Rei, would remain 16.

It would never work.

Yet the two of them were in love, when they were both 16 years old.

From what Sammy had gathered, Arman had lived in this universe, but at some point, after an encounter with the Acolyte Ksenia, he had lost his memories. During this time, Samuel Mace was the name he lived by, and soon he became attached to the people of the Tsuyuki Dorm, and fell in love with one of the Tsuyuki Cleaner Prodigies: Rei Tsuyuki.

I could tell, from the way Sammy had described it, that Arman would not give that up for anything.

Even if it meant forsaking his real family. He would never leave Rei behind.

The logical side wanted to force him back. But there is no way to force back the Firstborn.

The simple answer?

Because none of us were strong enough.

I, as the current eldest, was no match for his Phoenix Form when we first fought. And now, he had unlocked its second version. Added with the fact that he had decided to renounce his Argen nature, that left him ruthless, and no longer the same hesitating pacifist we once knew him as.

Two more years.

We only had two more years left before Mogul returns and our final confrontation will begin. And here we were still missing so many of us. Ben was damaged. John was a reckless teenager. And Arman...

I gripped the table so hard the edge began to crack.

"Hey, Deacon." Meena said, as she put her hand on my arm.

"Sorry." I muttered, sitting down.

"I just... don't know what to do. I'm just... just..."

"Hey." Lucius said, from the hologram.

I looked up.

"Don't pile all of this pressure on yourself like that. Just because you're the oldest. We're all in this together. I will find a way to talk to Arman when the time comes. Let's focus on the things we can do. Alright?"

A smile appeared on my face.

Classic Lucius.

I hated him at first. But then he grew to become this dependable leader figure. One we could all count on.

It wasn't a matter of just strength or power. Lucius was Lucius. And that was the one thing that I loved about him.

"Hey. So uh. Let's bring up another important matter." John said, breaking the silence.

"What's up?" Lucius asked.

"We need to save Corey."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Corey?"

"Yeah. She's Ben's girlfriend. Mogul took her. We need to get her back. We're all assembled here right? Let's all go-"

"We can't." Lucius said.

"What?" John growled, and drew his gun, but Meena smirked and did an instant fast draw with her own, knocking the weapon out of John's hand and then fired another blank at his leg, causing the kid to collapse. This all happened in a blink of an eye.

"You've got a lot to learn, kiddo." Meena said.

"Don't lecture me, bitch!"

Meena smiled and turned to me, her eyes glittering.

"He's so damn adorable! Oh my god. I want him. Please. Let me adopt him."

I rolled my eyes.

Lucius held up his hands.

"The simple answer is we all can't just rush in and save her guns blazing. Mogul is too strong. Even with Arman's help, we were no match for him. We need everybody assembled to battle Mogul, and even then..." Lucius' eyes lost its light for a fraction of a second, but he regained his composure.

"But. There is a chance to get her back. If we do it stealthily. But I don't want any of us to be captured."

Sammy held up his hand.

"I'm the most stealth based person in this group right now. But I'm not gonna lie. Mogul scares the shit out of me."

I looked at Sammy.

"Are you sure? We're not sending you alone."

"I know. It's just, if it comes to that, I'm always willing to-"

Save...

We all turned to the sound of the broken voice, and John's face was full of shock. His eyes brimming with tears.

"B- Ben...?"

We watched in horror as Ben's body shifted, momentarily, as his mouth moved incrementally.

Mine to... save. Corey is mine to save...

Ben's eyes went back to being catatonic.

Lucius regarded Ben.

"Ben wants to be the one to save his girlfriend. I can relate to that. Ideally, we don't want to delay the rescue of Corey any further, but if we prioritize getting Ben back on his feet, we can-"

"NO! We need to save Corey NOW!" John shouted.

Lucius held out his hand. "John, do you think that is what Ben wants? For us to send just Sammy alone and risk Corey being executed if found out? He loves her with all his heart. The one person who he wants to be by her side and free her from the Prime Aspect's clutches... is himself. We need to prioritize getting Ben back first."

John clenched his fists.

"I... I don't... This is unbelievable. We're all Remnants of Decen. Why are we so cowardly?! To run is weakness!"

"I used to think that, John. Believe me. I've walked this road before. But you need to trust us on this. We want Corey back for Ben and your sakes too. But please. Trust us, John." Lucius said.