The Second Great Patriotic War, Conclusion: Chuck Bangley's Last Stand
And finally, the Conclusion.
The Second Great Patriotic War: An Inexplicable Short Epic.
Conclusion: Chuck Bangley's Last Stand.
The two leaders of the world stood at about 12 feet from each other. One, Emperor Chuck Bangley, was wearing black armour of some kind, shrouded in a black cloak of some kind, held a prototype of what was considered to be a lightsaber. The other, Chairman Brady, was wearing some standard military vests and armour, wielding a jian in his left hand tempered by nanotechnology, with a second sword (and old FN2000 rifle) in tow. The two stood still for about a minute.
Finally, the Emperor made his move, launching forward at such a quick speed that a normal person would have been unable to react efficiently. However, the Chairman was not normal. He simply parried the opening blow, and struck a quick counter that sent the Emperor back a few steps. Thus was the duel for about five minutes or so: A string of advancements by the Emperor that were parried by the Chairman. The Chairman maintained a defensive stance for a reason: He did not trust the jian he was wielding, in comparison to the energy-based blade that the Emperor wielded.
Throughout this duel, there was some discussion between the two. The Emperor, as usual, opened it up. “Why did you reject my offer so many years ago? We wouldn't be in this mess if we did.”
“I prefer the mess over being a subordinate to someone like you,” the Chairman coyly quipped. “At least I can clean it up.”
“Oh really?”
“I'm not gonna fall for that one.”
“No matter. You would be living the high life. No problems, no fussing over who controls what...”
“Honestly, you think I came into these positions of power and control because I was ambitious and wanted power? You're wrong, Chuck, you know me better than that.”
“But it's been 10 years since I last saw you, and at least seven before that. Seventeen years can change anyone.”
“Certain things can change,” the Chairman said, running up a column and landing behind the Emperor, “but not everything. Attitudes, for example. I only go where my feet take me, do what my hands are working with. That's what I've always been.”
“So you're just another machine,” the Emperor responded.
“I wouldn't say that. A machine would not be aware of such things. I am, on the other hand, aware of where I'm going, what I'm doing, with whom I'm speaking to. Sometimes, more aware than most people would find comfortable.”
After a few more strikes, the Emperor took a large swing. In the attempt to deflect it, the Chairman's jian was broke into two pieces.
“Wow, Chuck,” the Chairman said solemnly, “You give your toy soldier Curley a blade that yours can break? What are you, some gyp?”
“A leader should never try to make his subordinates more powerful than he is,” Emperor Bangley responded. “You yourself said it earlier.”
“You were listening?”
“Just because I was mourning the loss of my love doesn't mean I can't hear what you're saying.” He took a swing at the Chairman. Brady quick pulled out his other sword, the sword handed to him by the stranger many months ago, and parried with it. He trusted this blade much more, and began his offensive thusly.
“Your lover....oh right, that advanced AI thingy that you were supposed to merge with,” the Chairman said. “I take it failed?”
“DON'T CALL ANGELIQUE A 'THINGY!'” The Emperor was enraged, and began swinging wildly, contradicting his more elegant approach earlier.
“Well, it is an AI. Not really flesh and bone. Was that why approached you?”
“Silence, fool. Besides, since when was this conversation about me?”
“It's about both of us, Chuck. Besides, why did you go about all this?”
“What do you mean, 'all this?'”
“You know...betraying then killing the Empress, trying to kill me back in Boston, trying to rule the world with an iron fist and an army of flesh and metal...” By this point, the Chairman clearly had the upper hand.
“That's obvious. Power.”
“Power?”
“Yes, power, you silly.” The Emperor attempted to regain some poise. “All the Empress wanted was some New World Order, wanted to change people for the better.”
“Perhaps that's because she actually believed that other people existed in this world and needed help, and she didn't want to get herself killed in the process. At least she made an attempt at being benevolent. You seem to care less about people at all. No wonder you failed to pick up any chicks, even after becoming Emperor. Seems the only two beings close to female that cared about you were those that wanted to use you as well.”
“That's wrong!”
“Are you that dense?” With that, the Chairman swung upward, connecting and sending the Emperor's lightsaber skyward. Emperor Bangley attempted to reach it, but Chairman was the faster of the two. Brady thusly had their blades in both his hands. He positioned them around his opponent's neck.
“Guess I didn't fight like a pussy, did I, predecessor,” the Chairman said smugly.
The Emperor simply laughed, then raised his hands. He fired what seemed to be some force blast at the Chairman, sending him back a few feet and both blades away.
“Fool,” said the Emperor. “That was only a warm-up. You haven't even tasted what powers I've developed all these years! Ha haaa!”
With that he used his hands and fired a blast of lightning from his hands at the Chairman.
This time, however, the Chairman was aware of what was going on. He simply stood there, as the lightning arced past him and beside him, one streak arcing between his legs. Emperor Bangley was confused, and fired a more powerful arc, with the same result. He became increasingly frustrated, and fired an even more powerful arc.
Chairman Brady simply yawned. “When are you gonna cut out all the Emperor Palpatine crap already,” he asked?
“What?” The Emperor was stunned. “You're supposed to shocked, dead by now!”
“I guess,” the Chairman responded. “But, you know...”
“But how...” Emperor Bangley then remembered Duchess Southworth's last words. He started asking himself questions: “Could it be true...was what she saying correct...are the prophecies about him correct...how did she know...is he really...?”
“Quit yapping to yourself, dammit.” The Chairman was already annoyed with the antics. “If by her you mean the Empress, yeah, she knew because some recon patrol managed to slip past my defense array in Nairobi and discovered the site at Lake Turkana. Biggest blunder in my military career...”
The Emperor was stunned, then became enraged. “How could this be possible?” He then threw his most powerful arc of lightning yet. Getting annoyed with the affairs, the Chairman decided to concentrate this arc into one spot, where it formed a softball-sized globe. He then grabbed the globe and hurled it at the Emperor, who was sent flying through his throne and against the wall.
The Chairman started to walk away, until he heard the Emperor groan loudly, and then get up. He was still a bit shocked, but was otherwise fine. He dusted himself off. “You think something like that would kill me?”
“For a second there,” Chairman Brady said, “Yes, yes I think it would.”
“You're pathetic, even for a “god,”” the Emperor mocked. “I'll show you what power is.”
With that, he clenched his fists together. He began to float, higher and higher, until he disappeared into the ceiling above. While he waited, the Chairman decided to check in on his troops. “Are all troops out of the Angelique?” He asked General Swanson.
“Yes, except for my squad,” said the general. “We're waiting for your return.”
“Don't wait for me, I got an escape pod here,” the Chairman lied. “Just get out of there, now! I suspect this place will blow soon.”
“Understood, Chairman. Get out of there alive!” At that point, a screen went on near the throne. It was the Emperor.
“Escape pod? Wow,” he said. “I'd love to see you find one, much less escape here.” He laughed, initiating the self-destruct sequence of the Grand Sub. Then, as he activated it, he started some engines of some sort. Various cables detached, and the ship he was in lowered. He then launched and flew off, blasting some doors in the process. The Chairman wasn't surprised: The ship was a TIE Interceptor.
“Showoff,” he grumbled. He then decided his time to exit was now, and seeing that there was no feasible means to get out of there in sixty seconds normally, he took the easy way out: Using his powers, he phased through and flew out of the sub, rocketing out of the Atlantic Ocean just before the sub exploded.
Chairman Brady reappeared on the RMS Weapon, assessing the situation and looking for the Emperor's ship. The Bridge Commander said upon his reappearance, “Sir, the Leviathan-II has been destroyed, we...wait, how'd you get back here so suddenly?”
“Commander, it's best that you don't ask questions about certain things,” the Chairman said. “Have you per chance seen a ship resembling something out of Star Wars?”
The Commander thought for a moment, then spotted something. “You mean...that?” he said, pointing to the Interceptor weaving in and out between various ships, taking shots as need be.
“Yes...is my Mecha ready?”
“Yes, but sir...”
“Tell the Armadas to keep up the fight, and tell the Marines to enforce a surrender and MAKE SURE that there has either been no contact with the Imperial Navy, or that they are ordered to maintain position. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right, I got a fly to swat out of the sky. Be back.”
As the Chairman walked away, the Bridge Commander thought, “This has been too weird...”
As the Emperor flew through the various ranks of Republic ship (as by now, they had begun to outnumber Imperial ships), he took as many shots he could, and managed to score a few kills. He was doing relatively fine, until suddenly a Mecha fist punched the Interceptor skyward.
“Gahdammit, Brady, can't I have some fun?” thought the Emperor. “Ah well, I guess I can begin the real fun...” With that, he breaks his attack pattern, and flies northward, with the Mecha giving chase. They flew for several miles, returning to the mainland. After several minutes, with the Chairman taking pot shots here or there, the Interceptor broke its cruise, and flew down towards the ground. It landed in familiar ground. The Mecha landed with it, and both leaders jumped out.
“Look familiar?” said the Emperor.
“Hatchery Road,” the Chairman responded. “Some memories here, I know.”
“Wow, I'd thought you'd be more...sentimental, nostalgic?”
“Chuck, you know I hate this state with a certain passion.” A stray dog passed by, being chased by a bipedal bear.
“Fine then.” The Emperor smiled. “Then you won't mind me doing THIS!”
He raised his arm. Nothing immediately happened, except for the bear tripping up and falling, and the dog running around in circles yapping wildly. The Chairman laughed for a while, only to be startled back when the earth started to shake. Out of the ground came a large mecha, five times the size of Brady's mecha. It was crimson red, had a demonic shape to it, and large wings on the back to boot.
“Behold this prize whose designs we acquired from the former Duchess herself,” The Emperor said, “THE DEVIL'S HAND!”
The Chairman was stunned. Truly, the Emperor had lost his mind. This titan, which design was excavated by the Duchy's spies, was also known as Weapon. So vast its power, it was capable of leveling New England in a single blast. Weapon was the one thing that the Chairman feared was leaked, for the extent of damage that could be possible in one flight alone was dangerous. As the Emperor floated once again upward towards the cockpit, the Chairman made desperate measures, firing shots from his rifle, even hurling his sword at the Emperor. But a barrier, using similar technology from the “Mind of God,” was built around the titan, so it was futile. The Emperor laughed maniacally as he launched and went straight towards the Citadel Tower, but not before firing a shot at Brady's Mecha, destroying it.
Chairman Brady was desperate and worried now. He had to stop the Emperor before his fleet was completely wiped out, as well as anything else in the Republic (something he would no doubt target next). He then realised that there was something stronger than Weapon. He himself could take on the titan, since he had limitless powers, but it was best that he fought with a titan of his own.
He raised his left arm and screamed, “GUARDIAN, AWAKEN!” His arm glowed, and he floated skyward, as the armour of the titan surrounded him. Guardian was less a Titan-based mecha and more a set of detached parts bounded together by the user, as well as one of the twelve guardian obelisks that protected the “Mind of God.” It carried a massive sword as well. Chairman Brady was at the heart of the machine, which resembled both a golem and a seraphim. It was slightly larger than Weapon, but channeling on the ether power that originated from the monolith, it had limitless power. He flew off as fast as he could towards the Citadel Tower.
When Brady arrived ten seconds later, much damage was already done by Weapon. Half the 1st Armada was gone. He had just begun to toy with the 2nd Armada, taking down several cruisers by swinging a carriership around. He launched furiously at the devilish titan, and took a swipe at it, sending it reeling back a few miles. He repaired and restored the carriership's balance, then proceeded to go at the titan with his sword. The Emperor kept trying to go at the remnants of the Armadas, but the Chairman kept him away, and pushed him farther into the mainland.
Thus began an hour long fight between the two titans. They flew and clashed at various points on the globe, from New York and Plano, to Guangzhou and Lhasa, to Munich and Vienna. Their battle was seen by millions of people. At several points did the Emperor try to strike at the Chairman in such a way as to cause Guardian to crash into a city and slaughter people, but he reeled back just in time to stop before impact.
Finally, after an hour passed, Brady came up with an idea. He began luring Weapon towards Africa. They kept battling in the skies, until finally, the Chairman felt he was close enough. He decided to break the attack fly off, and the Emperor, amused, decided to chase him. Guardian finally stopped at Lake Turkana, and landed at the very site where he had placed the key so many years ago (he actually remembered: It was 15.6 years ago. The NE calendars were off by one month from the original time). He dropped to the ground, and waited for Weapon to land. Instead, it hovered.
The Emperor asked, “You know that I could kill you in one shot with this beast, right?”
The Chairman responded, “I don't think you want to, since there's something you might want to see.”
“What could possibly be better than this machine?”
“I'll take that as an affirmative.” With that, the Chairman raised his arm. Two seconds later, the events that led to Brady's ascension and merging with the “Mind of God” repeated itself. The Emperor himself was blinded by the splendour of the monolith, but the Chairman restored his vision immediately. He was awed by its splendour.
“What...what is this?”
“This,” said the Chairman, “this is the Gate of Souls, also known as “The Mind of God.” It is the source of all Ether in this universe, and the place where all souls leaving this plane of existence for another. I am its guardian...and avatar.”
“What do you mean?”
“Shortly after the Sun was born, this monolith, which has been in existence since before the Big Bang, had entered the Sun's gravitational field. It crashed into a newly formed rock, this planet. From there, it had begun to manipulate the planet's growth. About 2.4 billion years ago, when life was still relatively basic, simple-celled organisms, an ancient civilisation had arrived here (which is reasonable, considering the universe was around for about 11 billion years before then), around the same time oxygen became too abundant in the atmosphere, and believe me, there is such a thing as too much oxygen.
“The civilisation studied the monolith for billions of years, got as much information as they could out of it. Nearly two billion years later, they sealed off their machinations, and left for the stars again, using the knowledge to evolve into bodies that rendered them impervious to the cosmic vacuum and radiation. In the process, they predicted that around this time would be the time to raise this monolith, and empower a new species to become as advanced they were. To help with this, they set off the events that created the Cambrian Explosion 542 million years ago. They also set it that the most intelligent of species would originate here, thus, our creation.
“What is beyond this monolith is another realm...a realm that an abled being would be able to absorb all the power and knowledge contained by the souls that exist in there. It would render the beings into gods. I am the avatar, the being that was chosen for this by the monolith, as well as the ancient civilisation.”
He let it sink in. The Emperor, then awed by what was there to offer, moved his mecha closer to the monolith.
The Chairman flew after him. He saw Emperor Bangley jump out of his cockpit and march towards the monolith. He immediately moved in front of him.
“I suggest you stop right now...”
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” was all the Emperor could exclaim. He kept moving towards the monolith.
“You don't understand, do you? It is a power of infinite capacity. No simpleton could grasp it, much less control it within his system. You certainly cannot!”
“What do you mean?” This stopped the Emperor short.
“It chose me for a reason,” said Chairman Brady. “It saw me as the perfect template as the avatar and guardian of it, as well as the one who empowers us humans.”
“You mean rule?”
“I wouldn't say that. If anything, I would simply be a guide.”
“But why? Why did it chose you over, say, me? Someone who could actually make use of that power? Or even Taylor?”
“It's because I didn't want power. I never wanted this power. You do, and so does practically everyone else in this world. Thusly, you would abuse the powers you were given, even if your intentions were good. They chose those who they felt didn't want or need power, in a sense forcing it on them, knowing they would not abuse it.”
“Then what do you want, if you got all this power and such?”
“Interestingly,” said the Chairman, looking at the monolith, “That was the main question I kept asking myself as I left Boston the first time. One of the questions I wanted answered. And I got not only an answer, but as a result, what the answer partook: Freedom.”
“What do you mean?”
“Absolute freedom from control, manipulation, and everything else. By having all this, I have the freedom to do as I please, without consequence or burden. I could be as I am, with nothing to worry about.”
The Emperor looked at him strange. “That's pathetic,” he said, and turned toward the monolith.
“I must warn you,” said the Chairman, “that in all likelihood it will either reject you, or the power will be too much for you. 99.9999999999% chance you will die if you continue walking. Even when it did accept, I still went through trials and tribulations just so my mind and body could accept the power and knowledge. You can turn around now, and I will cease fire and negotiate a peace agreement between my Republic and your Empire, at whatever cost.”
He stood there for a moment. It seemed he was interested in the offer, which would be a huge setback for Brady, should he choose to accept it. He then looked at the monolith again, and walked toward it once more. He kept walking. The Chairman began to weep.
When he got as close as he could with monolith, it seemed as those he were plucked from the ground. When he was well above the ground, the monolith began to interact with him. Ether in copious amounts began coursing through his veins.
“So...much...power,” he groaned, as more and more were coursed through him. Another ten seconds passed, and finally he was glowing like a man on fire. Then, in an end that seemed fitting to him, His Glorious Eminence, the Almighty Emperor Charles Bangley of the Glorious Banglorean Empire and Providence Plantations, disintegrated, various particles of him floating upward towards the monolith. All that was left of him was his black armour and cloak.
The Chairman broke down on this sight.
Just then, an alarm went off. The death of the Emperor signaled the self-destruct sequence of Weapon, which Chairman Brady knew had enough energy within it to destroy Africa and the Arab Peninsula whole. He flew back to Guardian, launched, and quickly moved to grab Weapon. He then flew as far away from Earth as he could, and hurled Weapon away. He watched as it exploded, an explosion so large it engulfed Guardian.
It was an explosion large enough to be seen as far away as the Citadel Tower, where the hostilities ceased upon surrender by the highest ranked official of the Empire (though at time she didn't know it), General Katharine Johnson. The Earth was, in a way, rewarded for the fall of the Emperor with this golden “meteor shower” of sorts. The Republic would reign in the remaining elements of the Banglorean Empire for another year before ending hostilities completely, but that didn't matter. The worst was over.
Earth had suffered many losses over the past two decades. Many people understood what chaos and war were by this point, and were weary of it. They just wanted to start over again. The fall of Emperor Chuck Bangley was the opportunity they were given. With or without the Republic's help, humanity was given the chance to start anew, and return to normalcy. It would be many years before civilisation would prosper again. But it was a start. A New Era for mankind had begun.
I hope you enjoyed this. Feliz Novo Ano!
Note: An Epilogue has been written for this piece. It may be released at a later time, depending on if you want it or not.
The Second Great Patriotic War: An Inexplicable Short Epic.
Conclusion: Chuck Bangley's Last Stand.
The two leaders of the world stood at about 12 feet from each other. One, Emperor Chuck Bangley, was wearing black armour of some kind, shrouded in a black cloak of some kind, held a prototype of what was considered to be a lightsaber. The other, Chairman Brady, was wearing some standard military vests and armour, wielding a jian in his left hand tempered by nanotechnology, with a second sword (and old FN2000 rifle) in tow. The two stood still for about a minute.
Finally, the Emperor made his move, launching forward at such a quick speed that a normal person would have been unable to react efficiently. However, the Chairman was not normal. He simply parried the opening blow, and struck a quick counter that sent the Emperor back a few steps. Thus was the duel for about five minutes or so: A string of advancements by the Emperor that were parried by the Chairman. The Chairman maintained a defensive stance for a reason: He did not trust the jian he was wielding, in comparison to the energy-based blade that the Emperor wielded.
Throughout this duel, there was some discussion between the two. The Emperor, as usual, opened it up. “Why did you reject my offer so many years ago? We wouldn't be in this mess if we did.”
“I prefer the mess over being a subordinate to someone like you,” the Chairman coyly quipped. “At least I can clean it up.”
“Oh really?”
“I'm not gonna fall for that one.”
“No matter. You would be living the high life. No problems, no fussing over who controls what...”
“Honestly, you think I came into these positions of power and control because I was ambitious and wanted power? You're wrong, Chuck, you know me better than that.”
“But it's been 10 years since I last saw you, and at least seven before that. Seventeen years can change anyone.”
“Certain things can change,” the Chairman said, running up a column and landing behind the Emperor, “but not everything. Attitudes, for example. I only go where my feet take me, do what my hands are working with. That's what I've always been.”
“So you're just another machine,” the Emperor responded.
“I wouldn't say that. A machine would not be aware of such things. I am, on the other hand, aware of where I'm going, what I'm doing, with whom I'm speaking to. Sometimes, more aware than most people would find comfortable.”
After a few more strikes, the Emperor took a large swing. In the attempt to deflect it, the Chairman's jian was broke into two pieces.
“Wow, Chuck,” the Chairman said solemnly, “You give your toy soldier Curley a blade that yours can break? What are you, some gyp?”
“A leader should never try to make his subordinates more powerful than he is,” Emperor Bangley responded. “You yourself said it earlier.”
“You were listening?”
“Just because I was mourning the loss of my love doesn't mean I can't hear what you're saying.” He took a swing at the Chairman. Brady quick pulled out his other sword, the sword handed to him by the stranger many months ago, and parried with it. He trusted this blade much more, and began his offensive thusly.
“Your lover....oh right, that advanced AI thingy that you were supposed to merge with,” the Chairman said. “I take it failed?”
“DON'T CALL ANGELIQUE A 'THINGY!'” The Emperor was enraged, and began swinging wildly, contradicting his more elegant approach earlier.
“Well, it is an AI. Not really flesh and bone. Was that why approached you?”
“Silence, fool. Besides, since when was this conversation about me?”
“It's about both of us, Chuck. Besides, why did you go about all this?”
“What do you mean, 'all this?'”
“You know...betraying then killing the Empress, trying to kill me back in Boston, trying to rule the world with an iron fist and an army of flesh and metal...” By this point, the Chairman clearly had the upper hand.
“That's obvious. Power.”
“Power?”
“Yes, power, you silly.” The Emperor attempted to regain some poise. “All the Empress wanted was some New World Order, wanted to change people for the better.”
“Perhaps that's because she actually believed that other people existed in this world and needed help, and she didn't want to get herself killed in the process. At least she made an attempt at being benevolent. You seem to care less about people at all. No wonder you failed to pick up any chicks, even after becoming Emperor. Seems the only two beings close to female that cared about you were those that wanted to use you as well.”
“That's wrong!”
“Are you that dense?” With that, the Chairman swung upward, connecting and sending the Emperor's lightsaber skyward. Emperor Bangley attempted to reach it, but Chairman was the faster of the two. Brady thusly had their blades in both his hands. He positioned them around his opponent's neck.
“Guess I didn't fight like a pussy, did I, predecessor,” the Chairman said smugly.
The Emperor simply laughed, then raised his hands. He fired what seemed to be some force blast at the Chairman, sending him back a few feet and both blades away.
“Fool,” said the Emperor. “That was only a warm-up. You haven't even tasted what powers I've developed all these years! Ha haaa!”
With that he used his hands and fired a blast of lightning from his hands at the Chairman.
This time, however, the Chairman was aware of what was going on. He simply stood there, as the lightning arced past him and beside him, one streak arcing between his legs. Emperor Bangley was confused, and fired a more powerful arc, with the same result. He became increasingly frustrated, and fired an even more powerful arc.
Chairman Brady simply yawned. “When are you gonna cut out all the Emperor Palpatine crap already,” he asked?
“What?” The Emperor was stunned. “You're supposed to shocked, dead by now!”
“I guess,” the Chairman responded. “But, you know...”
“But how...” Emperor Bangley then remembered Duchess Southworth's last words. He started asking himself questions: “Could it be true...was what she saying correct...are the prophecies about him correct...how did she know...is he really...?”
“Quit yapping to yourself, dammit.” The Chairman was already annoyed with the antics. “If by her you mean the Empress, yeah, she knew because some recon patrol managed to slip past my defense array in Nairobi and discovered the site at Lake Turkana. Biggest blunder in my military career...”
The Emperor was stunned, then became enraged. “How could this be possible?” He then threw his most powerful arc of lightning yet. Getting annoyed with the affairs, the Chairman decided to concentrate this arc into one spot, where it formed a softball-sized globe. He then grabbed the globe and hurled it at the Emperor, who was sent flying through his throne and against the wall.
The Chairman started to walk away, until he heard the Emperor groan loudly, and then get up. He was still a bit shocked, but was otherwise fine. He dusted himself off. “You think something like that would kill me?”
“For a second there,” Chairman Brady said, “Yes, yes I think it would.”
“You're pathetic, even for a “god,”” the Emperor mocked. “I'll show you what power is.”
With that, he clenched his fists together. He began to float, higher and higher, until he disappeared into the ceiling above. While he waited, the Chairman decided to check in on his troops. “Are all troops out of the Angelique?” He asked General Swanson.
“Yes, except for my squad,” said the general. “We're waiting for your return.”
“Don't wait for me, I got an escape pod here,” the Chairman lied. “Just get out of there, now! I suspect this place will blow soon.”
“Understood, Chairman. Get out of there alive!” At that point, a screen went on near the throne. It was the Emperor.
“Escape pod? Wow,” he said. “I'd love to see you find one, much less escape here.” He laughed, initiating the self-destruct sequence of the Grand Sub. Then, as he activated it, he started some engines of some sort. Various cables detached, and the ship he was in lowered. He then launched and flew off, blasting some doors in the process. The Chairman wasn't surprised: The ship was a TIE Interceptor.
“Showoff,” he grumbled. He then decided his time to exit was now, and seeing that there was no feasible means to get out of there in sixty seconds normally, he took the easy way out: Using his powers, he phased through and flew out of the sub, rocketing out of the Atlantic Ocean just before the sub exploded.
Chairman Brady reappeared on the RMS Weapon, assessing the situation and looking for the Emperor's ship. The Bridge Commander said upon his reappearance, “Sir, the Leviathan-II has been destroyed, we...wait, how'd you get back here so suddenly?”
“Commander, it's best that you don't ask questions about certain things,” the Chairman said. “Have you per chance seen a ship resembling something out of Star Wars?”
The Commander thought for a moment, then spotted something. “You mean...that?” he said, pointing to the Interceptor weaving in and out between various ships, taking shots as need be.
“Yes...is my Mecha ready?”
“Yes, but sir...”
“Tell the Armadas to keep up the fight, and tell the Marines to enforce a surrender and MAKE SURE that there has either been no contact with the Imperial Navy, or that they are ordered to maintain position. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right, I got a fly to swat out of the sky. Be back.”
As the Chairman walked away, the Bridge Commander thought, “This has been too weird...”
As the Emperor flew through the various ranks of Republic ship (as by now, they had begun to outnumber Imperial ships), he took as many shots he could, and managed to score a few kills. He was doing relatively fine, until suddenly a Mecha fist punched the Interceptor skyward.
“Gahdammit, Brady, can't I have some fun?” thought the Emperor. “Ah well, I guess I can begin the real fun...” With that, he breaks his attack pattern, and flies northward, with the Mecha giving chase. They flew for several miles, returning to the mainland. After several minutes, with the Chairman taking pot shots here or there, the Interceptor broke its cruise, and flew down towards the ground. It landed in familiar ground. The Mecha landed with it, and both leaders jumped out.
“Look familiar?” said the Emperor.
“Hatchery Road,” the Chairman responded. “Some memories here, I know.”
“Wow, I'd thought you'd be more...sentimental, nostalgic?”
“Chuck, you know I hate this state with a certain passion.” A stray dog passed by, being chased by a bipedal bear.
“Fine then.” The Emperor smiled. “Then you won't mind me doing THIS!”
He raised his arm. Nothing immediately happened, except for the bear tripping up and falling, and the dog running around in circles yapping wildly. The Chairman laughed for a while, only to be startled back when the earth started to shake. Out of the ground came a large mecha, five times the size of Brady's mecha. It was crimson red, had a demonic shape to it, and large wings on the back to boot.
“Behold this prize whose designs we acquired from the former Duchess herself,” The Emperor said, “THE DEVIL'S HAND!”
The Chairman was stunned. Truly, the Emperor had lost his mind. This titan, which design was excavated by the Duchy's spies, was also known as Weapon. So vast its power, it was capable of leveling New England in a single blast. Weapon was the one thing that the Chairman feared was leaked, for the extent of damage that could be possible in one flight alone was dangerous. As the Emperor floated once again upward towards the cockpit, the Chairman made desperate measures, firing shots from his rifle, even hurling his sword at the Emperor. But a barrier, using similar technology from the “Mind of God,” was built around the titan, so it was futile. The Emperor laughed maniacally as he launched and went straight towards the Citadel Tower, but not before firing a shot at Brady's Mecha, destroying it.
Chairman Brady was desperate and worried now. He had to stop the Emperor before his fleet was completely wiped out, as well as anything else in the Republic (something he would no doubt target next). He then realised that there was something stronger than Weapon. He himself could take on the titan, since he had limitless powers, but it was best that he fought with a titan of his own.
He raised his left arm and screamed, “GUARDIAN, AWAKEN!” His arm glowed, and he floated skyward, as the armour of the titan surrounded him. Guardian was less a Titan-based mecha and more a set of detached parts bounded together by the user, as well as one of the twelve guardian obelisks that protected the “Mind of God.” It carried a massive sword as well. Chairman Brady was at the heart of the machine, which resembled both a golem and a seraphim. It was slightly larger than Weapon, but channeling on the ether power that originated from the monolith, it had limitless power. He flew off as fast as he could towards the Citadel Tower.
When Brady arrived ten seconds later, much damage was already done by Weapon. Half the 1st Armada was gone. He had just begun to toy with the 2nd Armada, taking down several cruisers by swinging a carriership around. He launched furiously at the devilish titan, and took a swipe at it, sending it reeling back a few miles. He repaired and restored the carriership's balance, then proceeded to go at the titan with his sword. The Emperor kept trying to go at the remnants of the Armadas, but the Chairman kept him away, and pushed him farther into the mainland.
Thus began an hour long fight between the two titans. They flew and clashed at various points on the globe, from New York and Plano, to Guangzhou and Lhasa, to Munich and Vienna. Their battle was seen by millions of people. At several points did the Emperor try to strike at the Chairman in such a way as to cause Guardian to crash into a city and slaughter people, but he reeled back just in time to stop before impact.
Finally, after an hour passed, Brady came up with an idea. He began luring Weapon towards Africa. They kept battling in the skies, until finally, the Chairman felt he was close enough. He decided to break the attack fly off, and the Emperor, amused, decided to chase him. Guardian finally stopped at Lake Turkana, and landed at the very site where he had placed the key so many years ago (he actually remembered: It was 15.6 years ago. The NE calendars were off by one month from the original time). He dropped to the ground, and waited for Weapon to land. Instead, it hovered.
The Emperor asked, “You know that I could kill you in one shot with this beast, right?”
The Chairman responded, “I don't think you want to, since there's something you might want to see.”
“What could possibly be better than this machine?”
“I'll take that as an affirmative.” With that, the Chairman raised his arm. Two seconds later, the events that led to Brady's ascension and merging with the “Mind of God” repeated itself. The Emperor himself was blinded by the splendour of the monolith, but the Chairman restored his vision immediately. He was awed by its splendour.
“What...what is this?”
“This,” said the Chairman, “this is the Gate of Souls, also known as “The Mind of God.” It is the source of all Ether in this universe, and the place where all souls leaving this plane of existence for another. I am its guardian...and avatar.”
“What do you mean?”
“Shortly after the Sun was born, this monolith, which has been in existence since before the Big Bang, had entered the Sun's gravitational field. It crashed into a newly formed rock, this planet. From there, it had begun to manipulate the planet's growth. About 2.4 billion years ago, when life was still relatively basic, simple-celled organisms, an ancient civilisation had arrived here (which is reasonable, considering the universe was around for about 11 billion years before then), around the same time oxygen became too abundant in the atmosphere, and believe me, there is such a thing as too much oxygen.
“The civilisation studied the monolith for billions of years, got as much information as they could out of it. Nearly two billion years later, they sealed off their machinations, and left for the stars again, using the knowledge to evolve into bodies that rendered them impervious to the cosmic vacuum and radiation. In the process, they predicted that around this time would be the time to raise this monolith, and empower a new species to become as advanced they were. To help with this, they set off the events that created the Cambrian Explosion 542 million years ago. They also set it that the most intelligent of species would originate here, thus, our creation.
“What is beyond this monolith is another realm...a realm that an abled being would be able to absorb all the power and knowledge contained by the souls that exist in there. It would render the beings into gods. I am the avatar, the being that was chosen for this by the monolith, as well as the ancient civilisation.”
He let it sink in. The Emperor, then awed by what was there to offer, moved his mecha closer to the monolith.
The Chairman flew after him. He saw Emperor Bangley jump out of his cockpit and march towards the monolith. He immediately moved in front of him.
“I suggest you stop right now...”
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” was all the Emperor could exclaim. He kept moving towards the monolith.
“You don't understand, do you? It is a power of infinite capacity. No simpleton could grasp it, much less control it within his system. You certainly cannot!”
“What do you mean?” This stopped the Emperor short.
“It chose me for a reason,” said Chairman Brady. “It saw me as the perfect template as the avatar and guardian of it, as well as the one who empowers us humans.”
“You mean rule?”
“I wouldn't say that. If anything, I would simply be a guide.”
“But why? Why did it chose you over, say, me? Someone who could actually make use of that power? Or even Taylor?”
“It's because I didn't want power. I never wanted this power. You do, and so does practically everyone else in this world. Thusly, you would abuse the powers you were given, even if your intentions were good. They chose those who they felt didn't want or need power, in a sense forcing it on them, knowing they would not abuse it.”
“Then what do you want, if you got all this power and such?”
“Interestingly,” said the Chairman, looking at the monolith, “That was the main question I kept asking myself as I left Boston the first time. One of the questions I wanted answered. And I got not only an answer, but as a result, what the answer partook: Freedom.”
“What do you mean?”
“Absolute freedom from control, manipulation, and everything else. By having all this, I have the freedom to do as I please, without consequence or burden. I could be as I am, with nothing to worry about.”
The Emperor looked at him strange. “That's pathetic,” he said, and turned toward the monolith.
“I must warn you,” said the Chairman, “that in all likelihood it will either reject you, or the power will be too much for you. 99.9999999999% chance you will die if you continue walking. Even when it did accept, I still went through trials and tribulations just so my mind and body could accept the power and knowledge. You can turn around now, and I will cease fire and negotiate a peace agreement between my Republic and your Empire, at whatever cost.”
He stood there for a moment. It seemed he was interested in the offer, which would be a huge setback for Brady, should he choose to accept it. He then looked at the monolith again, and walked toward it once more. He kept walking. The Chairman began to weep.
When he got as close as he could with monolith, it seemed as those he were plucked from the ground. When he was well above the ground, the monolith began to interact with him. Ether in copious amounts began coursing through his veins.
“So...much...power,” he groaned, as more and more were coursed through him. Another ten seconds passed, and finally he was glowing like a man on fire. Then, in an end that seemed fitting to him, His Glorious Eminence, the Almighty Emperor Charles Bangley of the Glorious Banglorean Empire and Providence Plantations, disintegrated, various particles of him floating upward towards the monolith. All that was left of him was his black armour and cloak.
The Chairman broke down on this sight.
Just then, an alarm went off. The death of the Emperor signaled the self-destruct sequence of Weapon, which Chairman Brady knew had enough energy within it to destroy Africa and the Arab Peninsula whole. He flew back to Guardian, launched, and quickly moved to grab Weapon. He then flew as far away from Earth as he could, and hurled Weapon away. He watched as it exploded, an explosion so large it engulfed Guardian.
It was an explosion large enough to be seen as far away as the Citadel Tower, where the hostilities ceased upon surrender by the highest ranked official of the Empire (though at time she didn't know it), General Katharine Johnson. The Earth was, in a way, rewarded for the fall of the Emperor with this golden “meteor shower” of sorts. The Republic would reign in the remaining elements of the Banglorean Empire for another year before ending hostilities completely, but that didn't matter. The worst was over.
Earth had suffered many losses over the past two decades. Many people understood what chaos and war were by this point, and were weary of it. They just wanted to start over again. The fall of Emperor Chuck Bangley was the opportunity they were given. With or without the Republic's help, humanity was given the chance to start anew, and return to normalcy. It would be many years before civilisation would prosper again. But it was a start. A New Era for mankind had begun.
I hope you enjoyed this. Feliz Novo Ano!
Note: An Epilogue has been written for this piece. It may be released at a later time, depending on if you want it or not.