Chaos In a Nutshell: Fresh-ish Start

25. Villain

"Hey, what time is it?" Troy asks

"4:55" Metal answers

"Good" Troy continues walking

"...Is that a shooting star?" Clara points at the sky

"I thought they only came out a night" Jason stares

"A meteor?" Troy asks

"Maybe, there wasn't a warning of one" Carry shakes her head

"That's weird" Mar shrugs

"What time is it now?" Troy asks

"A minute later" Yami replies

Another asteroid soars across the sky

"What the...?" Kyron squints

"Hey, is that coming towards us?" Flake points at a "meteor"

"GET DOWN" Troy shoves Flake and Kyron away

The meteor hits feet away from the group

Troy pulls out his guns, aiming at the dust

"Is that the thing?" Yami asks

"It d*mn sure is" Troy squints

"Troy? How are you back?" A voice asks from the smoke and dust

"I...know that voice" Troy slowly lowers his guns

"YOU'RE ACTING SURPRISINGLY CALM FOR ALMOST DYING" Metal yells

"Eh, we've dealt with worse, like actually dying" Yami laughs

"I see you've made new friends" A man about Troy's size covered in Blue and Black armor emerges from the smoke

"What the hell are you doing here?" Troy stares at the man

"It's not my fault I thought you were dead" The man smiles

"Do you know him?" Flake asks

"I wish I didn't" Troy locks his eyes on the man and the man alone

"Who's that guy?" Kyron asks

"I had news you were dead, I guess those sources were wrong" The man examines Troy

"Ain't no rest for the weary" Troy grits his teeth

"What happened to your playful stuff?" Putty asks

"There's nobody in the world other than him that I despise to my very core" Troy blows steam from his mouth

"So, Troy, who are your little friends?" The man asks

"Don't worry about them, worry about me" Troy stands his ground

"You-" Yami puts her foot out, like she was about to take a step

"Don't take another step" Troy cocks his head to the side

Yami's eyes widen

"You despise the guy but you're looking away from him?" Metal asks

"I don't trust him in the slightest, but I know even he has standards" Troy explains

"Aww, Troy, I never th-" The man almost takes a step

"IF YOU GET ANY CLOSER TO THEM I'LL MAKE YOU HAVE AN EVEN MORE PAINFUL DEATH" Troy snaps

"Still have a grudge over me, I see?" The man asks

"She took me in, it isn't my fault you got jealous and decided to kill her in cold blood, then after that, you had to kill Rhyka and we had to have an entire mission to bring her back to life, but in the end, I guess she really is dead, but you killed her when she was the happiest in her life, she just turned into an aunt...I remember the humanity and happiness in her eyes, her soft lips...but no, it's gotta be about you all the time, is that right?" Troy scoffs

"To be fair, mother left me back in the shadow realm and took you with her, it was me exacting revenge on you because you took her away from me" The man explains

"Oh, bullsh!t, mom was related to you by blood, she took me in because she didn't want me to die in the wild, I owe her my life, I did everything I could for that woman and that household, BUT YOU JUST HAD TO ADD THE SORROW SHE HAD IN HER LIFE, BEING STUCK IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP-" Troy starts

Flake looks down

"-BEING SHUNNED OUT BY EVERYONE ELSE-" Troy continues

Metal puts his hand on his own arm

"-LOSING HER REAL HUSBAND TO A CAR CRASH-" Troy keeps going

Kyron widens his eyes

"-FROM NOT EVEN KNOWING WHO HER PARENTS WERE, HAVING TO KILL, BE A PROSTITUTE, AND BE A WAITRESS JUST TO MAKE YOUR LIFE SPOILED, I DID MY ABSOLUTE BEST TO CARE FOR HER AND TRY NOT TO LET HER KILL HERSELF-BEFORE YOU SAY JUST HOW TERRIBLE YOUR LIFE WAS, THINK ABOUT HOW SHE FELT, I WAS MORE LIKE A SON FOR HER THAN YOU WERE" Troy finishes

The rest of the group gets hit right in the feels

"...I never introduced myself, did I?" The man asks

"No, you didn't" Putty replies

"My name is Ultimas, I spent years and years preparing to conquer this galaxy, whenever I heard its protector, the one you know as Troy, perished, I came here to rule it, I suppose that was foolish of me" Ultimas explains

"I'm being overloaded with information, huh?" Yami stares

"We had a deal, and you broke it, I can't believe I forgave you after we killed that one guy, biggest mistake of my life" Troy crunches his teeth

"Here's the plan, I will give you 3 minutes before I officially start the invasion, come up with a plan, I have conquered galaxies just to conquer your homeworld, good luck" Ultimas sits down in a chair, drinking tea

"You realize now's a great time to kill him, right?" Flake asks

"He's got a shield up, if you try to penetrate it, you'll implode, I've usually got mine off, it's complicated" Troy shakes his head

"Whatever your plan is, I'll be with you for it" Yami puts her arm around Troy

Troy sits in an invisible chair, thinking intensely

"Clock's ticking" Ultimas tempts

Troy sighs

"You got a plan?" Putty asks

"I need to get everyone s-...no, that's impossible in 3 minutes, I'd need at least 20" Troy puts his hands on his face

"Wait" His eyes widen

"Tell us" Kyron stares

Troy gets up

"Troy?" Yami asks

"Remember back at the shadow realm?" Troy asks

"How could I forget?" Yami asks

"I'm gonna need to cash in a favor from you" Troy glances at Yami

"Anything" Yami nods

Troy waves his hands in a peculiar way

A portal appears

"Go through the portal, it should be to a safe place where Ultimas hasn't conquered completely yet" Troy explains

"What?" Jason asks

"Yami, go through the portal, I'm leaving them in your care, stay safe, I just...can't believe this is the last time we'll see each other" Troy shakes his head

"Troy, I'm not going through there" Yami shakes her head

"Back at the bar, you said you trusted me, and just a few sentences ago, you said you'd do anything, I need you to go through this portal before I force you all through it" Troy rubs his forehead

"Please, we just got back together" Yami shakes her head

"Yami, don't make this harder than it has to be, if you stay, you'll all die" Troy holds back his tears

Yami stares

"...Just stay alive, please, I've lost everyone else, I don't want to lose you too" Yami tears up

"For a hard motherf*cker, I'd never think that she'd cry" Jason stares

"Thanks Troy, we owe you" Kyron pats Troy on the back

"Go through it, for me, I'll do my best to stay alive, okay?" Troy's voice cracks

"5 seconds" Ultimas pokes his wrist

"Bye, kid" Troy smiles

"I'll miss you so much" Yami shakes her head

"4" Ultimas looks around

"I'll send someone else over there, just stay where you're teleported, okay?" Troy asks

"3" Ultimas sips his tea again

"Goodbye, you psycho killer" Yami waves

"2." Ultimas grunts

"GO" Troy yells

The group shoots through the portal, Metal and Flake first

"O-" Ultimas starts to say

"1" Troy closes the portal

"Good call" Ultimas stands up and spaceships shadow over him

"LET'S FINISH WHAT WE STARTED" Troy yells, charging at him

"MY REVENGE WON'T BE SWIFT" Ultimas soars towards Troy