Protectors- Wrath of The Stranger

Chapter Three: The Coming Storm

Jester hung in mid-air, surrounded by his purple aura as Apis stared him down, his own crimson aura sapping the vitality from the air itself,

"Jester," Apis growled, "you have landed a clean blow to my godly body, so I shall give you a choice. Leave now, and I shall not pursue you. You can have a few more months of life,"

"I came back from the dead to save these people," he replied, "even workshopped a name for crying out loud. So, yeah, I'm just gonna walk away so I can have a few more days of life,"

"I have given you a chance, mortal," Apis responded, "and as you failed to take it, I will not fail to take your life,"

Apis flew after Jester, breaking the sound barrier as he did. Jester appeared behind The Stranger and with a kick, sent him tumbling once again,

"How are you able to push me with those attacks?" Apis asked, "your strength is not even that of the shapeshifter,"

"I'm a lot more powerful than I let on," Jester replied, a smirk on his face, "and I'm about to show you what I can do,"

Apis drew his arms back, preparing for another vacuum wave, but Jester teleported away, below the dirt, to where the Protectors were hidden,

"You guys alright?" Jester asked,

"How did you come back?" Draedon asked, "we watched Zavant kill you,"

"The cartilage barely missed my brain, and with a little surgery, I was good as new," Jester replied, "then I got my ass over here to help deal with that monster, and just in time, too,"

"He killed Insomniac," Spirit lamented, "I was actually starting to like that guy,"

"Well, we just have to get revenge, then," Metamorph interjected, "we'll destroy Apis,"

Back in the bar, Zavant was the only person awake. The bartender had fallen after his third beer, complaining about long hours and the end of the world. Noctum Prime had just paid his tab, standing to leave, when he was overcome with a deep despair. It felt as if his stomach was churning like an angry sea, the horrible sensation worse than death itself,

"Fuck it," Zavant said, "if I'm going to hell, I'll take that bastard with me,"

Outside of the bar was a car, which Zavant ignored, jogging towards the SCD compound. He pulled out his mobile device, punching in a number that he had memorised,

"Agent O," Zavant greeted,

"Adam, how can I help?" Agent O asked,

"I need to know the status of the artificial Chrysalis," Zavant ordered,

"It's nearly operational," Agent O replied, "why do you need to know?"

"I think I've worked something out," Zavant replied, "a way to kill that fucking bastard,"

"What's the plan, boss?" Agent O asked, excitement in his voice,

"I don't want to spoil the surprise," Zavant replied, a steely determination echoing through the mobile device,

The Stranger dropped some energy, the size of a mere baseball, its power still immensely destructive. The blast shook the ceiling of the damp cave that the five sheltered in, causing the wall behind the tablet to cave in,

"What's that?" Jester asked, pointing out the entrance to a deeper cave,

"I've never seen that before," Shaine answered, "maybe there's something important down there,"