The Equestrian Prime

The Equestrian Prime

Chapter 11: Meeting Lex Justine Part 2

Artemis woke up in his, Twilight's, and Kara's room, wondering what happened. All he remembered was passing out after battling Unicron, but he couldn't remember why he passed out. He felt a heavy weight on his left and right sides of his chest. When he looked down, he smiled.

Twilight was on his left, her head on his chest with her left wing draped over him. Kara was on his right side, her head on his chest as well. He leaned his head down and kissed Twilight on the forehead just below her horn and kissed Kara on the top of her head. They both squirmed at the action as they began to wake up. They looked up at Artemis, seeing him smiling at the two of them.

"I could get used to waking up like this." Artemis said as he gave their rear ends a firm squeeze.

"Considering your reaction to that group near Earth, I suspect that wasn't the only thing that woke up," Kara giggled.

Cianán groaned softly before he blinked a couple of times as he could feel a weight on one arm as all he could see was light orange. "What the fuck?" he muttered in confusion before he felt something flop onto his free arm before he heard a yawn as he felt whom he was almost certain was Sunset shift before he blinked in surprise at whom he saw… as the last one he expected was

Diana… Princess of the Amazons.

"So want to tell me why I found the 13th Prime on one of Poseidon's colony planets?" Diana asked politely, implying by the nature of ponies that they were the descendants of the original horses created from seafoam as the myth went. "We've been aware of Cybertronians for a long time, especially since they've visited Earth on multiple occasions in the past. In fact a certain Prime of time named Vector visits my mother every few hundred years and gives The Grecian gods information about the goings on in the Galaxy through this friendly arrangement."

Cianán shrugged."Hell if I know. Though I didn't expect to see you again, Diana… especially after that shit with Darkseid after we ran off Brainiac… but I do have a suspicion that Ol' Rockface is gonna have a grudge for me… considering I somehow stripped a good bit of power from his Avatar… though I have no clue how. I do know what he tried to do with Bruce after that incident you called the 'Final Crisis' where he supposedly died but reappeared elsewhere hours later… he no longer has," he said quietly. He knew that would get her attention as a mortal capable of absorbing and stripping divine power was… unusual… to say the least.

"You must have some Radion in your blood. That's the only thing that could explain how you could take a New God's power since it works the same as the green kryptonite to a Kryptonian. Still to have such a devastating radioactive element within your body and survive easily makes you very unique." Diana mentioned remembering the one time Bruce used an actual firearm and what the bullet was made of when he used it.

"Speaking of… if I remember correctly, wasn't that mess kicked off with Orion's death? If so… how the fuck was it that he was the one that dropped me on Equis… after those damn Parademons mistook my legs for chicken legs," Cianán commented. "That reminds me… I noticed you didn't comment on the birthmarks," he commented wryly, flexing his wrists as the metallic Chinese Dragons glittered.

Brother, not to interrupt your little moment with the Aμαζον Pρινκεσδ, but get your ass up. Artemis said through their link, Artemis' use of Ancient Greek catching Diana off guard. Uncle Ed just contacted me through a copy of his Token that showed up in my room which scared the crapbaskets out of Twilight and Kara. He's bringing Lex Justine and Sonbasūta for a visit.

I'm guessing he doesn't know we found one of his Tokens already. Speaking of, I wonder what Ye Ol' Sandbag's reply was, Cianán sighed. Though apparently a certain kitten's mother is rather clingy… 'cause she's stuck to me like super glue, he sighed.

Alexis groaned, hearing the telepathic communication pretty clearly even half awake. Seriously? Geez… he really needs to come up with a dimensional clock that syncs to whichever Equis he's on so he doesn't, you know, wake people up at the crack of dawn… she grumbled.

Amen to that Lexi. Artemis said with a yawn. Especially when it's inopportune. You don't wanna know what he interrupted when my copy of his Token rang and I had to get up to answer.

I don't need to know which part of you was up, you ass, nor how deep, Cianán and Alexis groaned simultaneously.

Sunset blinked before she snorted a laugh at that. Grumbling in Stereo. Could be a new hit on the music charts, she teased.

You weren't saying that when you were stuffing and getting stuffed by Sunny-Side Up Bacon-head, now were ya, aye? Artemis cackled in his old Scottish blood.

Sorry, did you say something? I couldn't hear you, Cianán quipped innocently as gagging was audible.

Damn, looks like the older kitty wants protein, Sunset commented. Oh, fuck, she groaned a moment later as more gagging followed.

Ugh…. I would end up with two horny kittens… speaking of. Anypony know how we got back? Cianán hummed.

I sure as the Pit don’t, considering I remember passing out, but not from what. Artemis said, sounding pensive as he thought about how in Tartarus they all got back to Equis.

I'd wager if it wasn't John or Hal, it could have been Kyle, Carol, or Saint Walker, Cianán mused.

That would be my doing, a Voice said in everyone's head. It was the least I could do to thank you all for protecting my daughter.

Then in a flash of white lightning Valencia, Ella, and Maya appeared in the room. "Brrr he's right, using the Voice freezes you." Dr. Martinez said.

And who are you? Artemis asked the unknown voice.

"Mom!" Max shouted as she rushed into the room. "I heard you using The Voice! MARK RIAS GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE! MOM FOUND US!"

A rather loud crystalline crash sounded as a groan followed. "Really, Max? My head was already pounding from finding out a couple of… well… let's just say they could come in handy against Wesker and his bitches," Mark deadpanned, grimacing as he stood, brushing shards of shattered crystal from his chest and face.

"Really bad timing, you know," Rias groaned as she was busily drying her hair. Her gaze, for a moment, flicked to Mark. "And what exactly did you find out?" she commented.

"Let's just say that Ddraig isn't the only partner I've got… though I do hope their personalities don't slip into mine," Mark commented wryly.

"Wesker is a good guy, remember? We need not worry about him turning. Nem though is still on my shit list." Max reminded her siblings. "Ever since uncle Sparda saved us I've been looking for the beast."

A glowing bluish purple slash opened before Alexis stepped through, the spatial rift sealing behind her. Her ears twitched twice at a crackling hiss as she spotted a dark red webbing form, blocking the exits. "Shit! Demons incoming!" she barked sharply as she spotted Hell Prides as well as Empusas.

"Draconis release!" Ayumi shouted as she became engulfed in her unique twin flames, her presence revealed in the process, scaring the crap out of everyone. "Copied that ability from Max's herm girlfriend Fang. Just like in Canon both she and I can blend in while motionless."

Alexis chuckled. "Looks like he sensed us… took the motherfucker long enough," she chuckled. Her eyes drifted half lidded before snapping open.

Chakra swirled around her feet as she clenched her fists. "I'm sure you can guess whose bloodline I'm from," she deadpanned dryly, her gaze flicking to the group.

Her muscles tightened before she pushed off in a powerful Wushu Qìxuántī. Her kick, which impacted with her heel and the outer edge of her foot, followed by a swift second snapping side kick, caught the haft of one of the scythes of one of the Hell Prides and snapped it with a sound like a metallic shotgun blast.

"How difficult are these shits to fight, Lexi?" Artemis asked as he showed up in his Battle Form Armor, taking a couple of pot shots at the Hell Prides with his Ion Blaster.

Alexis snorted. "From what I'm sensing? These are probably threefold stronger than those my nephew Nero ran across before they ran across Urizen… but compared to us? Not too much of a challenge," she commented as she turned just in time to catch a scythe into her chest which she glanced down at with annoyance before she headbutted the Hell Pride hard enough for a visible shockwave to erupt from the impact before she reared back a right hand and coldcocked the demon into the floor, the impact tolling out a boom not unlike a cannon blast as the demon's head exploded from the impact. "Motherfucker… this was one of my favorite qipaos," she growled, cracking her knuckles.

"Is it just me, or was I the only one reminded of a certain cherry kunoichi?" Mark commented wryly.

"Well just in case, I think I know someone whose specialty is hunting demons." Artemis said, chuckling. "Let me see if I can contact him. I don't have as much experience as Cianán with clairaudience." Artemis closed his eyes before snapping them back open, his eyes shining whitish gold. "If you have a problem with the forces of Hell, I will help you out. Call my name, and you will know why I'm called the Doom Slayer, the Hell Walker. Time to Rip and Tear. I call upon Aaron Blazkowicz."

A distinctive heavy click of a shotgun being chambered followed, though it surprisingly came from a female Slayer. The only hint as to whom was beneath the helmet was a Hawaiian Flower on one shoulder of the Praetor Suit before the Super Shotgun was unloaded, the blast blowing apart two leaping Empusa demons.

"Ah, damn… something tells me we're gonna have to air out the place after this. Demonic blood smells foul," Alexis grumbled before she pushed off, the gauntlet and greaves of the Devil Arm Beowulf forming before she tagged a leaping Empusa with three somersaulting kicks before she slammed it into the ground with the Lunar Crescent combo. It exploded on impact.

"Trust me, that ain't as bad as those fucking H-Ks and Endos after 'terminating' them since Skynet was due to Hell's influence." Lilo grimaced, remembering a far worse smell. "The Hell energy and burnt electronics smell combined is way worse."

"Can't be worse than Khandarian Demon blood merged with Changeling blood. Ugh… not to mention the ones Sigma 'upgraded'... Talk about a foul stench. Smelled like burnt motor oil mixed with rotten eggs, soaked in shit on a hot summer day," Alexis replied. "And those were the ones Sigma didn't upgrade… them… they smelled like that plus the foulest wet fart you could come up with times ten," she grumbled.

"Trust me, if you want foul times ten plus one, try having to sleep with seven other guys in an archeological dig camp after a hot chili night… let's just say that we never had to worry about mosquitoes… 'cause those nights took bug bombs and made them look like firecrackers compared to the Hiroshima bomb," Cianán quipped innocently before a large hand swatted him in the back of the head, slamming him into the floor before he rebounded in time to kick a Hell Pride in the face as he tightened his core, somersaulting to land on his feet.

"I thought we agreed on never speaking of that again, o' brother of mine?" Artemis said with a growl before a distinctive warp appeared in reality. Artemis recognized the warp and smirked.

"So you finally showed up. Took you long enough, you demon-slaying bastard." Artemis said with a huff.

"Sor-ry, ya jackass!" A slightly deeper voice identical to Artemis' said as a bulkier black Praetor Suit that looked like an Alicorn mix with a red visor stepped through the portal. "You should know from Lord Beerus, interdimensional travel takes a bit. Ya jackass."

"Time to show my claws," Cianán muttered gruffly as he slid the Advent Deck into the V Buckle. "Henshin," he growled as his armor formed in a rippling mirrored outline before solidifying.

Suddenly all of the group were engulfed in the same fire Max and Ayumi produced. "So you finally master the twin flame cloak reinforcement?" Ayumi asked Max.

"Took for-fucking-ever but yeah I mastered it." Max replied with a chuckle. "Everyone you got a chakra cloak like boost, don't waste it!"

"I don't need it because I got something better." Artemis said, deactivating his Battle Form Armor and going straight to Super Saiyan 3 before he flew at one of the Hell Prides and drop kicked him into the wall with such force, he was scattered and splattered. Unbeknownst to Artemis his Saiyan lightning had turned to the white and black of the flame cloak.

Cianán, as Kamen Rider Tiger, swiftly scanned his Strike Vent card into his axe the Destvisor, gaining heavy clawed gauntlets before he pushed off, the flames condensing as reddish white flames not only around the edge of the axe but the Destclaws as well before he lashed out, trailing blue flames as no less than four Empusa and a Hell Pride exploded into fireballs with the trio of slashes he delivered as he held the Destvisor in his helm's 'mouth' not unlike a certain swordsman pirate known for his Santōryū. His head tilted as he sensed stronger, corrupted Ki rising before a dozen far uglier demons materialized, looking like dark reddish black skinned lizards with vicious looking forearm blades.

"Fury Demons… ah… they're gonna be fun. Fast and pretty nasty with hit-and-run tactics. If they were with Chaos Demons, whose primary attack makes them the demonic version of biological buzzsaws, we'd be in a bit of trouble… but it doesn't look like we have those to deal with. Usually, Fury Demons only show up in groups of three or four. A dozen… should be a good warm up for my girls," Alexis commented with a smirk as she pulled out a pair of pistols… that looked scarily like a certain bloodthirsty Vampire's dual pistols. Their names: Veritas and Thanatos.

Alexis hummed softly before she cocked her head before her arms were sheathed in silvery metal from wrists to shoulders as purple demonic lasers pelted her specifically as one of the walls near the ceiling fractured from the blasts. Her head turned slowly, her eyes narrowing before a dangerous malicious look entered her gaze. The demon hovering over the rest had six wings, each with thirteen eyes from which it fired its laser bolts.

"So you want this?" Max asked Ayumi extending her demonic hand to the others. "Or should we just sit back and support?"

"Support for now," Ayumi replied. "If they get overwhelmed we jump in. Plus we have plenty of backup nearby."

"Oh, now we're playing with fire… looks like we've got an Artemis in play… this is mine… now let's dance," Alexis said with a giggle as the ruby and golden bronze ring on her left middle finger shone before a surge of blood red smoke billowed out to reveal a Vampiric form of Mileena.

As she rolled her shoulders, a familiar glowing green staff formed in her grasp in a maelstrom of burning emerald flame as her deep bluish gray eyes became a deep, slightly glowing emerald. To those who knew of Mortal Kombat, they'd recognize the staff as that of the Edenian Assassin Jade.

"I see you guys got yourself in quite the pickle, hm?" Uncle Ed's voice came out of nowhere as a Void portal opened up, Lex Justine and Sonbasūta walking through. "Luckily I brought a couple of people who can help, since she's been bugging me nonstop to meet Artemis and Cianán."

Cianán facepalmed before he sighed. "You would make a joke about that dickless wonder. Though in my opinion, he's more like a dickless case of mental flatulence," he commented dryly, his voice slightly muffled before he pushed off, clashing blades with two of the Fury Demons. His head tilted before he smirked slightly before he flicked a card up, breaking the clash as he spun, the card sliding into the Destvisor before he twisted, striking the back of the haft against the inside of his knee, scanning the card.

"Final Vent," the V Buckle invoked as Destwider, a large bulky anthropomorphic armored weretiger, tackled and impaled both Fury Demons from behind as it leaped from the crystalline wall before they were impaled by Cianán and decapitated from the front.

He noticed bluish purple orbs rising from the demonic corpses before Destwider consumed both before he let out a belch before he leaped back into the crystalline wall, vanishing.

All of a sudden, a scream from one of the Fury Demons sounded before what sounded like a flamethrower sound hit everyone's ears. Said Fury Demon was burned to ash as Aaron's Flame Belch retracted. Aaron then looked over to Ayumi as he quirked up an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?" Aaron asked Ayumi. "I thought you were still back in my Equestria taking a nap after our last battle against the Demons?"

Cianán facepalmed as he pulled free the Advent Deck, dismissing his transformation. "Take a wild guess. Because time in different Equestrias flows at different rates." His fist clenched as a deep purple flame ignited in his palm before it blossomed into an orb with arcs of shadows forming overlapping rings before he hurled it at the Demons. It was the Titan's Shadow technique that consumed the demonkyn before he slashed his hand in an arc, the orb condensing as it sped at the larger demon as Alexis dropped to the ground moments before the orb detonated in a blast of purple flames and smoke on impact with the Artemis Demon before it dropped, stunned, towards the ground before Alexis tagged it with a vicious upward slash. To their surprise, a nude young woman dropped from the demonic shell, revealing it to be an artificial Demon as it crystallized and shattered.

Cianán's eyes widened fractionally before he pushed off with inhuman speed and strength, vaulting up onto the damaged wall and catching Twilight. Sunset, here, now! he barked over their Bond, amused as he heard her yelp.

Son of a bitch!?! she cursed. He noticed the distinctive scent of peaches and nectarines.

Sorry, luv, but you may want to hurry your shower up. Seems that more than one Twilight has been missing, he relayed.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" Ayumi shouted in the RCV causing all the others to cover their ears as she rushed forward grabbing SciTwi while her flames shifted to cover the human girl, rapidly healing her while pulsing as if it was about to blow. "DON'T FUCK WITH MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!" In a flash Ayumi and SciTwi disappeared.

Without her anchoring the flames the twin fires expanded to cover the rest of the area causing the demons to scream in pain while refreshing the cloaks Max and Ayumi had placed on everyone, even those who had their own aura. Leaving distinct traces of the extra power imbued into them.

"Well that's her trigger apparently." Max said as soon as she could hear again. "Don't fuck with anyone Ayumi deems family got it."

"Note to self… let Droiae castrate Urizen when I see him," Alexis growled. Her eyes were narrowed, slitted, and blood red. "She's not the only one," a feminine voice snarled from Alexis. "Really, Kuramai?" she grumbled before she pushed off, somersaulting before landing within the castle. "Damn… that's one thing I really hate about demonkyn… no sense of subtlety nor keeping shit neat," she sighed, shaking her head.

Alexis cocked her head before she shifted her weight, Aèviternus whistling through the air before it was blocked by a single finger before a single drop of blood fell to the floor before the speaker hummed as the other blade was blocked with a kneepad in a burst of sparks.

"Not many can sense me before I tend to show myself. Cereza and Jeanne can because of our long working relationship… hmmm, but you… have almost as much potential as them, girlie," the speaker commented with a smirk. He had never revealed to Cereza nor Jeanne that he'd become a Void Dweller.

"Huh… Rodin. Cereza told me about you in passing when I ran across her. Heh… in her words, you're 'a stubborn ass bastard who plays his cards closer to his chest than his gold chain, but he's loyal enough'," Alexis commented as Rodin pushed away the blades, both the katana and wakizashi. She shifted her weight, sheathing both blades. She didn't say that she'd noticed that Cereza had held her soul in her body despite where she was.

"So how's my second favorite hell smith?" Max asked of the fallen angel as she landed having sensed Rodin herself thanks to her devil bringer reacting to anything demonic near her. "Nico is still the first by the way."

Rodin snorted. "How do you think Nico learned that shit? She had to have a teacher too, and the Inferno ain't exactly known for being a place for kiddie gloves as Devil Alicorn Girl there knows. Hell, she did somethin' even I thought damn near impossible… she fought her way out. And as I hear, made a hell of an impression down there. It ain't easy getting respect down there… an' she took on Sammael and cowed his ass… which I've only seen two other than myself pull off," he deadpanned.

Alexis snorted. "And make no doubt about it… I sent the bastard who sent me there down on a one way trip. Still got the fucking scar," she grumbled. "Made me suspicious when he wanted to meet about a job but had no evidence or proof," she grumbled with a wince, rubbing just beneath her sternum.

"Oooh, can I see? Can I see?" Pinkie commented with a giggle, bouncing on the tips of her hooves.

Alexis cocked an eyebrow, rolling her eyes. She seemed unplussed by Pinkie's 'Pinkieness'.

"In fact Rodin, Nico learned most of her gunsmithing from her grandmother the 45 virtuoso and the creator of Luce, Umbra, Ebony, and Ivory. The demon shit she learned from her father's research and don't go saying that you helped him otherwise I might just behead your ass. That man was so bad I don't even care if you're a friend of Cereza's." Ayumi said with a serious look on her face. Said look was reminiscent of a certain abominable fist that turned against God. "Don't doubt that wouldn't kill you but it'll hurt a lot, even playing by Spawn rules you're a fallen angel not an undead or natural born demon so a beheading will most likely incapacitate you at most."

Rodin tilted his head. "You'd be surprised at some who've found me. Cereza and Jeanne are just the more well known… but far from the only ones," he chuckled. "And I ain't into that shit. Humans deserve their lives, as short as they are," he deadpanned dryly.

"You know, I'd sooner not tick off someone with the nickname 'The Infinite One', hmm?" Cianán deadpanned dryly, rolling his eyes. To him, it seemed like common sense. His head tilted as he could tell that Rodin had already known about Ayumi's 'correction' though he didn't see how. Based on Rodin's lack of surprise at her correction, I'm almost certain that he didn't just know it already, but he knows something else he ain't saying, he commented.

His head tilted as he saw Rodin's hand slip into his jacket before he flicked out two things, one aimed at himself and the other aimed at Alexis. He instinctively let his hand snap across, catching what Rodin had tossed him.

His eyes narrowed fractionally as his eyes flicked up to Rodin.

"He holds but one set of infinity." Ayumi said calmly revealing that she had a very good idea of the shit she was stirring up. "What is one set of infinity to a being powered by all sets of infinity, or for one such as myself multiple sets of infinity. Before you ask, I don't care if he helped him, I just don't want to hear it." The mare then revealed that she still held onto the human Twilight. "Let's drop this for now. She's sleeping. Luckily my healing got to her and repaired any physical damage powering that thing caused her but I don't know what traumatic effects it caused her mind so for now let's let her rest."

Alexis' head tilted at the case Rodin had tossed her. It wasn't the Devil Arm Pandora, though she could sense some intense energy inside it.

"That implies that I give a fuck about things regarding 'infinity' as you put it," Cianán commented with a roll of his eyes.

"I got to go." Ayumi said calmly. "there's a certain Blazkowicz I need to talk to." In the burst of black fire Ayumi disappeared. The shape of a black flaming dragon in the distance was the only indication she had left.

A note was left in the spot where she had been for Artemis, who picked it up and read it, which said simply, "I'll tell him that you said hello."

"Huh, I always was wondering how he was doing, or in this case, you, ya jackass." Artemis said with a laugh, looking at said demon slayer.

Aaron's only reaction was giving Artemis the bird.

"You know, I'd wager he's gotten off more on dealing with demonkyn than a certain bookworm Princess," Cianán quipped innocently in a deadpan tone. His head tilted as the BFG was pointed in his face almost immediately before he smirked slightly before the afterimage faded away. "For a Demon Slayer, you're too slow," he quipped before he was tagged in the face so hard that he did the impression of a gargoyle in the wall.

"Ye were saying, ye bloody cunt of a faker?" Was Aaron's simple reply.

Cianán somersaulted with the impact, tumbling twice before he hit the wall. "Seems I'm not the only one with a little Chaos, eh?" he chuckled with a smirk.

"When you train with your previous life on Taras Nabad, and live with Shadow there and live with Amy on Equestria, you pick up a trick or two." Aaron said with a smile. "Though Shadow's attitude may have bled into mine a bit. And Amy, surprisingly, wasn't affected by the dark magic of the 'you-know-what'." Aaron said, not wanting to say the artifact's name in front of Artie's Twilight, Cadence, or Flurry Heart, having noticed the latter two of them in hearing range.

"From the sound of it, you ran across a certain crystalline Demon Hedgehog… which means he may show up here," Cianán deadpanned dryly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"That's not what I was referring to, ya jackass, and ye bloody well know it and know what I was referring to, ye bloody cunt." Aaron said with a deadpan Scottish brogue.

Cianán tilted his head. "Ah, so you weren't referring to being a horndog, eh?" he commented wryly, referring to a certain Umbran stallion turned usurper of the Crystal Empire.

"I'm giving you about five seconds to change your tone before I Hakai your ass straight to the Void, smart-ass." Aaron said, a slight animalistic growl coming from him.

"Huh, so he can use that power too." Artemis said with a laugh. "Sounds like he took a little too much after Lord Beerus, though."

"Looks like you picked up more than just Shadow's tricks with Chaos Energy, you also picked up his sense of humor. Wonder where he dropped it," Cianán teased with a far too familiar smirk before a hand swatted him in the back of the head before he blinked, looking up to see a familiar Mobian female chipmunk lying on top of the wall, flexing her wrist.

"And it looks like you picked up Sonic's sense of humor. Where did you find them?" she said with a pointed look, her blue eyes staring into his.

Cianán blinked once, then twice, not realizing that the ring of green bleeding into his irises from the edges receded. He shook his head as he shivered. "Okay… ugh… talk about disorienting," he said slowly, wincing. He shook his head. "Makes sense if Sonic used them as often as the games implied that they might gain some sort of imprint of him in them… but I'd really prefer if he doesn't do that again," he muttered. "And 'where' I found them wasn't quite right… so much as 'when'," he sighed.

What? Too much Hedgehog for ya? A voice said in Cianán's head before the male voice snickered.

Not really, Sonic, but the fact that I found it after getting hit by lightning may have something to do with it… and, ironically… it was in the depths of a hollowed out tree trunk, Cianán deadpanned dryly.

You really had to bring up Longclaw like that? Not cool bro. Sonic said in a sorrowful tone.

Different tree, ya idjit pincushion… there was one down the street from the house I lived in for a good while. Though when I hopped into that stump… let's just say I found something unexpected… Sonic, Cianán deadpanned dryly. As he spoke to the 'Blue Blur' mentally, he was still staring at Sally Acorn.

"You know… I do have something that will interest both of you," he commented. He saw Sally's eyebrow rise at that comment.

He half turned before he blinked as he noticed a familiar Mobian Echidna as well sitting on the edge of a rooftop.

"So you can already use Chaos Sense, kid?" Knuckles deadpanned dryly.

"That, and your footfalls are as loud as a jackhammer to a gong, Knuckie. I mean, you ain't exactly quiet, but then neither is Rouge. I always wondered something, though… did she really get named after makeup?" Cianán commented wryly.

A thud sounded from a nearby bush before a feminine grumble followed. "Really? I'll have you know I'm not as delicate and airy as that makeup, you ass," a feminine voice grumbled.

"We all have scars, Rouge. I'm not going to ask about yours nor those of 'Knuckie'," Cianán commented wryly before he pushed off the ground as a fist half again the size of his head fractured the ground. "Really, Knuckles? Let me get you a bit of air," he commented, catching Knuckles around his neck before twisting his hips into a Hurricanrana, dislodging his fist and tumbling him onto his back before Cianán flipped onto his feet.

Artemis walked up to Rouge, who stood there with a faraway look in her eyes. When she looked at Artemis, who was roughly seven inches taller than her, all she saw was a fierce gaze, but instead of anger, it was filled with sympathy and compassion.

"Come with me." Artemis said, holding his left hand out to her. She looked unsure at first, but then nodded as she took his hand, after which he put his right middle and index fingers to his forehead and they disappeared in a blur of motion.

"Idjit. Pretty sure Rouge would have been most interested… other than you, Sal," Cianán quipped, cocking an eyebrow.

I'm just going to talk to her in confidence like I did with Black Arachnia, dumbass. Artemis said through their link. I get the feeling of some trauma not unlike what Black Arachnia went through. So I'm taking her somewhere where she'll be calm to talk about it. Hentai. After which Artemis promptly cut the connection, leaving only silence.

Heard that before… promptly before you creamed Weiss, Cianán deadpanned bluntly. So don't blame me for calling you out, he quipped before he purposely blew a mental raspberry. He could hear Sonic snickering in his head as well. He had a rather big secret he'd kept deeply hidden for good reason… and it was, as Pinkie might say, 'one hell of a doozy'. But we all have shit we don't talk about… and Pamela doesn't realize she broke a seal I'd deliberately placed on myself, he thought to himself.

The group paused as they sensed a large amount of power approaching rapidly before seeing a black flaming dragon diving towards them. Suddenly a red streak rose up to meet it giving off an energy not unfamiliar to Artemis and Aaron. "The heck?! Did someone accidentally summon an Alduin Displaced?"

Cianán's eyes narrowed fractionally, unaware his irises bled to a rich sapphire-aquamarine. "If they're here to start a fight," he muttered gruffly, his Ki aura igniting. He knew they'd notice how dense his Ki was, however, if they looked closely, they'd notice hints of greenish gold within his aura… giving away whom he was descended from. He did know two whom were descended from Alduin. He took a slow breath as his fingers curled inward.

His head tilted as he noticed Lady Beerus looking his way with an interested look.

Stand down, it’s Ayumi in her dragon form. Artemis’ voice came telepathically to everyone.

Cianán's head tilted fractionally as he focused, pushing his roiling Ki down, his Ki receding. However, it revealed several facts that hadn't been noticeable… namely the fact that his clothes were in tatters and that his shoulders, sides, hamstrings, and almost all of his back and arse were covered in slashing scars clearly from whips, quite a few scars overlapping each other. He heard a startled gasp behind him, spotting Rarity and Fluttershy staring at him, the former at his clothes, the latter at his back with tears at the corners of her eyes.

“Dayum!” Artemis said, having re-established the link, seeing the scars, but it was one-way only so he could see what had Flutters so mortified. He was mortified himself at what he saw. Apparently Cianán never told him about the existence of those. Something happened… but it was something he didn’t remember.

“What?” Rouge asked, seeing Artie’s reaction.

“That’s not for me to discuss.” Artemis said, looking back at Rouge, who was sitting on a bench in a park in Canterlot that Artemis took her to. Then he snapped his fingers as a shimmering dome that was barely visible made itself appear. “As I told a friend, this is a soundproofing spell. Nothing outside of this dome will hear what you tell me. I can tell you have been through something traumatic. Is that why you changed your name to Rouge… Alicia?” Rouge’s head snapped to look at Artemis with wide eyes, wondering how in Chaos he figured out her real name… her birth name. “It’s okay, take your time, and I promise I won’t tell anyone what your real name is. This will be strictly in confidence. But take your time. I’m all ears… as a friend.”

Rouge jerked at his words, her eyes widening slightly. However, as a trained spy and government agent, her reaction might as well have been the equivalent of openly gaping at him. "That's more complicated than you know. What happened to create Mobius was a race known as the Xorda… they tried to wipe out humanity, yet unknowingly enhancing animal life in the process, giving rise to Mobians. However… there were some humans that neither regressed to what Mobians call 'Overlanders' like a certain gear-headed, egocentric doctor, but mutated themselves into Mobians… the odds… well… we don't quite know, but it couldn't have been more than one or two humans out of a few hundred million. You can imagine how traumatic that would be," she said slowly.

“You’re saying that you’re… one of those humans?” Artemis said slowly, starting to get the picture. His hand instinctively went to hers, to which she squeezed his hand back in comfort.

"I was. Mobians were found to be immune to the gas that the Xorda were using to try to eliminate humanity. Moreover, some were found, such as the Echidna Race amongst others, to gain very potent powers. To my knowledge, however, not many recall those horrific days, which is probably for the best… though I can say that adjusting suddenly to the enhanced hearing and flight of a bat… Oi… that had to be the most annoying," she commented. "It's also why when Sonic got out his guitar, I didn't stick around as some pitches of music are, quite literally, physically painful for me. But I have little doubt that bastard Ixis is going to show up… considering he's the reason Sonic isn't here.”

“Well he’ll find it harder than the Master Emerald trying to imprison us in the Zone of Silence.” Artemis snickered. “Considering that the moment he shows up, I’m Hakai’ing his chimeric ass straight to the Void, which is worse than Hell itself. Because you’re surrounded by nothing and no one.”

Rouge snickered back. "What do you think the Zone of Silence was? It's a dimensional 'bubble' within the Void. And he knows how to escape from there," she commented.

“Then we'll make sure there's nothing left to bring back," Cianán commented through the communicator. "And that, I can definitely do," he commented before the sound of him faceplanting was heard over the communicator.

“What have I said before, brother? This is an A and B conversation, so C your way out of it. Before D jumps over E and Fs you up.” Artemis said, growling. “This is in confidence. So zip it and butt the fuck out before I make you faceplant all the way to Equis’s version of Mars, ye bloody cunt!”

"That implies that I would share this. Which I have no reason to. However, when Pammy broke the Seal… I remembered… and not much of it's pretty," Cianán deadpanned dryly. What he precisely recalled, he wasn't saying yet.

“We’ll talk about that in private, brother to brother, no one else, but later.” Artemis said.

“Is it odd that I find it highly arousing when you affected him from miles away just to plant his face in the dirt without touching him physically when he just butted in like he did?” Rouge asked, her legs squirming indicating what was going on between them.

Cianán exhaled softly as he let his legs cross in a lotus position, hovering not unlike a certain Namekian, letting himself hover slowly higher before his ears twitched, his head tilted as a bolt of red light shot past his head before his eyes opened. "Are you that eager to die, Kano?" he muttered.

"You killed No Face and Tasia, mate. So I'm taking your head off," Kano snarled before he fired another laser bolt, this one through Cianán's chest before he blinked, as Cianán didn't even react to blink.

"Better men than you have tried. And Tasia tried to kill me first, so with that pûta, it was self-defense… No Face… had no business trying to set that orphanage on fire… so I snuffed out his flame permanently. Maybe you'll meet them in the Netherrealm," he heard Cianán's voice behind him before an uppercut sent him airborne, a few teeth dislodged from the blow before a hand caught his ankle before he was slammed brutally twice into the ground before he felt himself whipped into the air, the whiplash disorienting him badly. A bead of emerald light formed in his hand, forming into an orb before his hand rose as his aura surged, his hair rising in wild spikes as it turned golden before he fired off the Eraser Cannon at Kano's distant airborne body. The detonation was loud as if a bomb went off.

"Why am I getting the smell of spicy cinnamon?" Artemis muttered, before he looked towards Rouge, seeing her legs squirming as she refused to look at Artemis directly. "Rouge, are you… going through a cycle right now?"

"Is it that obvious?" Rouge asked, not wanting to look at Artemis, even though, despite the fact that he listened to her as a friend, she found him attractive.

"Take my hand." Artemis said, holding his left hand out to her. "I believe I can help relieve that itch, if you will allow me."

Rouge looked at Artemis with wide eyes, her attraction for him growing. But then she smirked, giving him bedroom eyes.

"Do you think you can handle me, big boy?" Rouge asked in a challenge.

"I don't think…" Artemis said, grabbing her hand and using Instant Transmission to teleport the two of them to his room onto the bed. What surprised Rouge was that he was able to do so and remove their clothes all in the span it took to appear in the room. "I know I can."

"Just shut up and let's do this." Rouge said, smashing her lips against his as the curtains were drawn and the lights were dimmed.