Fan:The Nightfall Incident

The Nightfall Incident
Author:	Formic
Completion Status:	Complete

Chapter 1 >>>

Loading LEGO Universe takes longer today, due to the new content. We've been promised this for months, and it's finally here. Rank 4 Faction Gear! LU finally finishes loading, and I hit play. I decide to watch the opening video today, and then log in to my account. I select my main minifigure, and Nimbus Station begins to load. Luckily, I had the foresight to quit right in front of my faction vendor, so I can get my gear that much faster. As I view the new gear, my mouth waters at the epicness of it. I immediately buy and equip it, and am awed at the abilities, stats, and appearance. Wanting to get a feel for my new gear, I rocket off to Gnarled Forest. I land on the beach, and start to head inland, when I freeze. In real life and in game. Because coming towards me are hundreds—no, thousands—of Maelstrom-infected Pirates, Admirals, and Apes. And before I even think about protecting myself, I'm trying to figure out how this is happening. There's never been this many Maelstrom in GF, not even across every dimension of every server, at any one time. And then I realize that they shouldn't even be on the beach. "This wasn't in the update notes!" I think to myself. I know I can't hold off this crowd, so I rocket back to Nimbus Station. It's only when I land that I see the Maelstrom waiting for me. And the crowd here is even bigger than the one in Gnarled Forest.

Chapter 2 >>>

I land in Nimbus, and I know I can't afford any distractions. I use "Last Blast" to give myself some room to move around. Then, before the Maelstrom can react, I run to Red Blocks, with one thought in my mind: get out of bounds. I know that, once there, the Maelstrom won't be able to follow. Reaching Red Blocks, I run to the stage, leap onto the platforms, and activate a speed boost. I see a few others had the same idea, and I see my friend, Jon002, showing people how to get out. I don't even have time for a hello, as Mechs, Spiderlings, and Hammerlings are all shooting at us. I jump, land on the tree, then jump again to get out of bounds. I wait for a few minutes, trying to shoot any Maelstrom with my Sorcerer Staff, when I notice something. Players that smash aren't rebuilding. This is strange, I think to myself. By now, everyone is either smashed or out of bounds. Jon002 was the last one out, and the moment he's up, he shouts, "We need to move. Now." No one argues with him, because we all know of his experience with exploring out of bounds. He leads us to the area of the FV Launchpad and tells us to stop. He then tells us to tell all of our friends to meet us here, if they're in Nimbus, or to stay where they are if they're in another world. We all do this, but we're dying to know what is going on. When everyone is here, Murphy asks, "Well, you going to tell us what's going on, dude?" "Yeah, what IS going on?" NineWellsFromStorm asks. "Alright, alright," Jon002 says. "I'll explain it to everyone. It's long and complicated, so be patient. Let me start at the beginning..."

Chapter 3 >>>

Basically, Jon002's story is this: one day, while exploring the NS Infinity Plains, he had seen a few Mythrans talking. He had assumed that they were talking there because it was safe, and they couldn't use team or private chat. So, he had immediately hid in a tree, and had listened to what they were saying. It turned out that these Mythrans were planning to destroy LU. Some of the other Mythrans had gone along with them. Some, however, like Elementron, Imaginatrix, and Figmentia, and a few others, hadn't even been approached by the Mythrans that were rebelling, because they knew, due to their interaction with players, they would never join. The rebelling Mythrans had decided to do it on the update that would contain the Rank Four Faction Gear, as due to all of the new content, their small changes to the game code would go unnoticed. Jon002 had also heard their motives. They were tired of being taunted for working with a game for little kids. After saying this, Flambridge can't help saying, "I'm an adult, and playing LU doesn't make me a little kid." Everyone quickly agrees with him, as there are a few adults in the group, and many people in their teens. Then Jon002 resumes his story. The rebelling Mythrans put a virus in the game, that would, when a player was smashed, reveal an image that would transform them into a real life Stromling. In the real world. This gets an even bigger reaction than the last one. We're all shocked by this. "WHAT?!?!" Murphy shouts. We're all shouting, asking Jon002 how it works, and he replies, "I have no idea." And as if to prove Jon002's point, a Stromling knocks down my door. In real life.

Chapter 4 >>>

I grab my 1,000+ page Social Studies textbook, and throw it at the Stromling. it connects with it, and the Stromling staggers around, as if stunned. Ouch. I guess history really DOES hurt. In the time the Stromling is stunned, I have time to run to my kitchen, and grab a cheese knife. By now, the Stromling has pulled itself together, and is zombie-walking towards me. I throw my knife at it, and the Stromling is no more. I'm not sure what I'm expecting. It to explode into coins and power ups, or to die like a real person. But I don't expect it to slowly vaporize, which is exactly what it does. As if nothing has happened, I grab a hammer and nails to fix my door. I'm so glad no one was home tonight, as I have no idea how I would explain this. When I'm done, I walk back to my laptop, and proceed to tell everyone, "I was just attacked by a Stromling. In real life." It's like I've dropped a bomb. Everyone is shouting again, until Jon002 shouts, "QUIET DOWN! Has anyone else been attacked? This is deadly serious." Most people say they're fine, but, in the commotion, a few people have gone missing. Some return to tell their stories about being attacked, others never do. No one knows what to do, so we all agree to meet tomorrow at 7 EST to discuss our next move. Before turning off my laptop, I always check the boards, and today is no exception. I'm expecting some news article about the attacks, but all I see is something Elementron posted about it being a great launch. "Have they even checked the game?" Is my first thought. Then I realize why they aren't posting anything. Because of the cost to fix it. But there's another reason, which is much kinder, and the reason Elementron posted it. They don't want to worry us. After all... We're just players of a game, right? There's nothing special about us, is there? Little do I know that there very well is.

Chapter 5 >>>

I'm having trouble focusing in school the next day. I'm still so shocked with the realization that I could die at any moment. It's also tough for me to pay attention to something about Woodrow Wilson's Presidency when I'm constantly turning around in my seat to check the door, to make sure a Spiderling doesn't burst through it. When I get home, I immediately go onto the computer, to check the news, both about LU, and the real world. There's nothing about the incident of yesterday anywhere. Even on the boards, there's nothing players have posted concerning what happened yesterday. There's actually nothing new posted at all, besides Elementron's news article from the day before. I want something to do, so I boot up LU, log in, and select Milligan. NS loads, and I see a few other people. Yesterday, I hadn't gotten a chance to look at names, let alone talk to anyone. I see Hurricane; a Daredevil, ThatchGears; an Engineer, GoldenCrazyDragon; a Paradox Member, along with a few others. Everyone says hello to me, and they ask what we are going to do. I have no idea; I just wanted to log on, to see who I could talk to. Then, I see something. Something that shocks me more than an electrical shock. It's Butterscorch. But not just one of it. We didn't get that lucky. It's five of them, flying in a V shape, like birds do. And then we're all blasted backwards be a string of fireballs.

Chapter 6 >>>

Fortunately, most of us are at full or near to full Armor, so we don't smash. Because of the knockback, we land at the bottom of a trench like place, near the edge of the Infinity Plains. My first instinct is to exit the game, to save myself, but then I realize the consequences that action will bring. Others will be logging in, and, if they aren't prepared, they'll be smashed. So, we have to smash the Dragons. I use a Paradox Power Potion to replenish my stats, and charge up the trench, closely followed by Golden and Hurricane. I wonder where ThatchGears is, and what he's doing, when I see him setting up his Rank Four Turrets, both his Personal Fortress and his small one. By now, the Butters have landed, and start firing more fireballs at us. We run parallel from them, to use the old trick to dodge their attacks. We pull a 'U' turn, and run towards the nearest Dragon. Hurricane sets himself on fire, and uses his powerful weapons to do damage to the dragon. Golden and I attack from range, and a few people run up to the Dragon, attacking it with Hurricane. ThatchGears runs towards us, and starts repairing everyone's armor. With our devastating attacks, the Dragon falls within half a minute. "Only four more to go," I think to myself. We turn towards the remaining four dragons, but, this time, we don't charge towards them. Because they've made a square. It's almost like they are learning from their previous mistake-or as if someone is controlling them. A move like that would take a strategic genius to do, not the AI of the Dragons. Making the square was smart, because then, they can all attack us, and keep using they knockback attacks to keep us away. I'm about to tell everyone to retreat, when everyone does that, even before I say it. I guess they were all thinking the same thing. So, we run back to the trench that we were hiding in before.

"We need a plan," I say. Everyone agrees with me.

"So... Any ideas?" Golden askes. I glance around, and see that there only six of us remaining. Hurricane, ThatchGears, Golden, two Knights, and myself. Then, it hits me. How we can defeat them.

Chapter 7 >>>

Whoever is controlling the Dragons must be surprised at our tactics. Hurricane, ThatchGears, and the two Knights all approach one dragon from a different angle. We had circled around to get in position before. The Dragons are confused. They each shoot a string of fireballs at their attacker. But, the Knights block it, Hurricane uses his Fig on Fire 4 Ability to get a speed boost to dodge it, and ThatchGears places his big turret, protecting himself, and dealing damage to the Dragons. After the Dragons attack, Golden and I each jump up on opposite sides of the plains, and attack the Dragons. After our charge at the Dragons, each of the four attackers run away, in opposite directions. Just as I hope they would, the Dragons follow them. One Dragon for each person. "Our plan is working perfectly..." I think to myself. ThatchGears's big turret has recharged, so he turns around, drops it, and does enormous damage to the Dragon that is following him. Hurricane turns around, and using Fig on Fire 4 and his weapons, attacks his Dragon. The two Knights both stop running, activate their Armor Improve ability, and begin to duel their Dragons. ThatchGears equips a Spike Hammer, to do more damage than his Wrench, and Golden and I Charge towards the Knights, to help them. We use our Space Maurader Valiant Weapons to attack, due to their 2 damage every 1/2 second. Even though I don't have time to look at how the others are doing, when I'm blasted back by a Ground Pound attack, I'm turned around to face Hurricane. I see him smash his Dragon, and run to help ThatchGears. The Dragon I'm fighting is close to being smashed, and as I run up to it, the Knight I'm fighting with lands the smashing blow. "Help Golden! I'm going to the others!" I shout to the Knight. He doesn't respond, just runs towards Golden. On my way to Hurricane and ThatchGears, I see their Dragon smash. I turn around, and see the other remaining Dragon smash. "Great work, guys!" I say. Then, we see some people heading towards us in the Infinity Plains. Fortuanately, they're not more Maelstrom, but some players. "About time!" I shout at them. I'm mad that they didn't show up until just now, until after we took about the Dragons. "What happened?" asks Murphy. I hope we didn't miss the party." "Oh, you missed something, alright," I say. "We just smashed five Butters!" "Whoa! Beast, dude!" Murphy exclaims. "Sorry we weren't there to help," BerserkFusionDude says. "We all just got on, and were taking a stroll through the plains, waiting for others." "It's alright," Hurricane says. I guess he wasn't as mad at them as I am. I'm so tired now. Even though I've been battling on a computer, I feel like I've really been in the battle. "Bye, everyone!" I shout. "Remember, be back here at 7 EST for our meeting," Berserk says. "Ok, ok," I say, and log off. As I shut down my laptop, I wonder what will happen at our meeting tonight. For some reason, I have a feeling that Jon002 will have uncovered even more data. And that just might be the difference between the salvation or destruction of Humanity, and Earth itself.

Chapter 8 >>>

At six o'clock, I go back on the computer, even though it's an hour before the meeting. I check the boards, nothing. Nothing in the real world news, either. I don't feel like fighting for my life again, so I play chess some against the computer. It's a bit before seven, and log I on, so I won't be late. Only a few others are here, and we sit in uncomfortable silence until seven, when Jon002 shows up.

"Hello, everyone!" he says. Everyone greets him.

"So..." OkamiDarmano, a Knight, says. "What is our plan? We've all been waiting for you."

"Ok, guys, I know this sounds crazy..." Jon002 says. "But, we need to capture one of the Mythrans that rebelled."

"What?" Murphy shouts. "How are we supposed to do that?" That's exactly the same thing I'm thinking. I mean, Mythrans can just teleport away. Then, I think of something else. "Why?" I ask. "We need to find out how we can stop them, and how they got their ability to turn players into Stromlings," Jon002 says.

"Alright," Golden says. "But, how do we catch a Mythran? They'll just teleport away!"

"Not if I can help it," Jon002 says. I have no idea what he means, but I'm going to trust him. "How will we capture a Mythran, though?" Golden asks again. "Yes, tell us, please," ThatchGears says. "Alright, alright," Jon002 says. "Here's how we'll do it..."

Interlude 1>>>

There's two figures clad in black robes talking. "All is going according to plan, Master," one says.

"Good! Good!" the other murmurs. The first figure looks up, and I'm blinded by the glow of its face. It's a Mythran! Then, the other figure steps out of the shadows, and I see something even more shocking: A figure in a top hat, with an evil grin on its face. It's Baron Typhonus.

"Master?" The Mythran says. "Yes?" "You should keep an eye on that Milligan minifigure. He could be... troublesome." "Nonsense. You think a meager minifigure could interfere with the plans of Baron Typhonus?" "No, Master," the Mythran says, reluctantly. "Now, we must set the next step of The Plan into action." "Yes, Master," the Mythran says, and teleports away, to do his Master's bidding. Typhonus waits a minute, and then says, "Milligan, I know you're there. He slowly walks towards me, and I can't move. He laughs, and strikes at me with his Staff. I wake up drenched in sweat. We hadn't had time that night to put Jon002's plan into action. So, we had all logged off. I fell asleep almost immediately, and I had dreamed this. Well, I sure hope it was only a dream. If not, we're in a whole lot more trouble than we're already in...

Chapter 9 >>>

I log onto LU the next day a bit before Noon. It's a Saturday, so everyone can make it. When everyone on, we set our plan into action. We know a Mythran would never come to fight us themselves, so we have to destroy enough Maelstrom for them to come and stop us. We all get a team of four, one from each Faction, but, due to a not equal number of each Faction members, some aren't equal. Like my group. I'm with Hurricane, ThatchGears, and Golden again. I'm glad, as we proved we could fight well together before. Once everyone's in their teams, we jump down from the Infinity Plains and into the sea of Maelstrom below. A bunch of Sorcerers use Last Blast and Dark Thunder to give everyone some space, and then we fan out, destroying as many Maelstrom as we possibly can. A few Minifigures fall, but, we're rapidly overpowering the Maelstrom. As we had jumped out near the FV Launchpad, we've cleared the entire launch area, and the steps up to it. One team is left behind to guard it, but the rest of us push forward. We've mostly been facing Stromlings, Mechs, and Pirates up to then. But, some tougher enemies come charging out. No Dragons or Apes, but, every other non-Crux Prime enemy comes at us from Brick Annex. NineWellsFromStorm, who was elected to be our commander for the battle, shouts, "Go to Brick Annex! That's where they're coming from!" The problem is, we can't. With hundreds and hundreds of Horsemen, Spiderlings, Admirals, Ronin, other enemies fighting now, we can't make it. Now, we're the ones being forced to retreat. Back to the Paradox and Sentinel Vendors. Back to the edge of the pathway to the FV Launchpad. We're across the bridge, now. We can't get back Out of Bounds, either, as the Mythrans had fixed this way ages ago. Horsemen and Spiderlings are in the front of the Maelstrom Army now, and, even with Rank Four Gear, hundreds of them isn't easy to defend against. We're at the Launchpad now. And then it hits me. The Launchpad. We can escape to FV! "Guys! Go to FV," I shout. NineWellsFromStorm jumps down from his perch, to join us. Everyone launches their rockets. At last, the Maelstrom is completely overrunning us, and I'm the last person to launch. I land in FV, in the place you would without the Ninja Hood on, to see the others there. Almost everyone is low on health, but we use charge ups, consumables, abilities, and activateables to restore our stats. Finished healing, we slowly walk towards the Raven Cloud Gate, and pass through it, using our Ninja Hoods. Behind it is a Mythran, who is barely glowing, and is pulling itself towards us. Behind it is an army of Maelstrom, only slightly smaller than the one in Nimbus. "Help me!" the Mythran shouts. And the Maelstrom army rushes towards us.

Chapter 10 >>>

The Maelstrom army runs over the Mythran, and we begin our epic battle with them. We're all good fighters, but, the Maelstrom has us outnumbered. We're losing ground, and they've cut us off from the Property Launchpad and all ways to the Launchpads. At least, until a group of players rush at us. They've come from the Great Tree, and I don't recognize any of them. They hack and slash at the Maelstrom, pushing it back, and, with our help, we destroy or chase away most of the army. Finally, there's no Maelstrom around, and I ask, "Who are you guys? And, how did you survive?" "By fighting," says BrickBuild, one of the ones who helped us. "Our base was where Numb Chuck is in the Great Tree." "We'd like to combine our forces, to better defeat the Maelstrom," NineWellsFromStorm says. "Good idea," I think to myself. "We accept your proposal!" another minifigure from the FV Minifigures says, and I see his name is Cobalt. I can see why. Their force is smaller than ours. Jon002 steps forward, and asks if they want to know what we've found out. "Yes please," another of the FV Minifigures says, who I find out if TheCobra. While Jon002 tells his story, I remember the Mythran that was on the ground, and rush over to him. He's not talking, but, when I ask if he's still alive, he says, "Yes..." "Come over here, guys!" I shout. Everyone rushes over. "Alright. What's your name?" I ask the Mythran. The Mythran says, "My name is..."

Chapter 11 >>>

"Elementron," the Mythran finishes. It immediately dawns on me that Mythrans must be invincible, and, even in player form, if they were hurt, they'd just have less armor and life. Not be really injured. "How did it happen?" I ask. "Figmentia, Imaginatrix, and me... we... tried to stop them. After we heard of the rebellion, we told them not to, and they... put us into the game," Elementron says. "How? How?" I ask. I'm shocked. How could he be in the game? "They posted on my account, that article... And... You players... you never knew what LEGO Universe really is... It's... a real place... LU actually exists... And, to stop the rebelling, evil Mythrans, and their malicious leader... you all must go there, also..." Elementron says. He's stammering, I guess. He must be talking in the real world, and his voice is read, and typed here. "Take me there," I say. I don't know about others, but I'll do whatever it takes to stop them. "Who's with me?" No one steps forward. At least, until Golden does. "I'm with him," he says. A few more people step forward; Hurricane, ThatchGears, Murphy, NinewellsFromStorm, Jon002, and then everyone does. "Alright. We're ready," I say to Elementron. "How do we get into the game?" "Thank you, thank you," he says. "Do not worry about your world... I have the power to stop time there…" "Alright, thanks," I say. I hadn't even thought of this problem, our parents being worried about our safety. "We're ready to go." "If you're sure then," Elementron says. I feel my body vaporizing. I'm turning into cells, atoms, smaller, smaller and smaller, until I'm just... nothing. I black out.

Chapter 12 >>>

I wake up lying face down on a rocky surface. I slowly push myself up, and see the others have done the same. I'm in Sorcerer Robes, with a metal chest protector, and a wizard hat. I'm carrying a Staff and Orb. I wonder how to use my abilities, when I think about my staff blasting out it's attack, when it really does, destroying a rock in the process. I try it with my other abilities, and, unlike in game, there's no cool down for them-instead, they use my energy, so I can only use so many at once. This means that I'll have to eat often to keep my energy up, so I can use my powers. I explain this to everyone else, and then, we remember Elementron. He's lying down, barely glowing, and he's too week to even talk. I'm wondering how we'll get him anywhere, when I have an idea- rockets! Only, I have no idea how we could use rockets. I'm obviously not carrying around rockets in my nonexistent backpack. So, I walk over to the Launchpad, and find a controller on it. Perfect! It allows you to select your rocket from available choices, based on your fingerprint. I select my Pirate Ship Rocket, and it materializes on the Launchpad. This is... well, epic. I climb in, and I glance at the controls. I think I can handle this, so I start it up, and take a practice flight. Bad idea. I can't control it, and I'm heading right towards the bottomless pit, that FV floats in.

Interlude 2 >>>

"Master, they've made it to the real place of our world," a Mythran says to Baron Typhonus. The Baron is outraged at this. He slams his staff into the ground, and storms around, shouting his head off. "How... Did... They... Get... In...?" he asks, pausing with each word. "Elementron got them there," the Mythran replies. "That... That... Elementron! I should have killed him when I had the chance!" "What shall we do, Master?" "Crush them, because they are weaklings. We are the rightful rulers of the Universe, and they will attempt to take it from us! And, even though they've been playing their 'game' of our world for more than a year, they'll soon find that the real world we live in is much, much darker..." "Yes, they certainly will." "Now, go! And prepare my forces!" The Mythran leaves, and, just like before, The Baron walks over to me, and strikes me with his staff. I wake up. I must have blacked out from the G-Forces. I don't even have time to think about what I've learned, because I see the floor of the pit, and I realize that I'll crash in a few seconds.

Chapter 13 >>>

The ground's approaching fast, and I close my eyes. I hear rocket engines behind me. I don't know who it is, but I jump onto their rocket. It's Golden! For some reason, he lands at the bottom instead of going back up. The noise of the rocket has died down. "How come you landed?" I ask. "Not enough fuel," he replies. "How will we get back up?" "I don't know. No one saw me, or you go down here. I did, but, I'm stuck here, too!" He laughs as he says it. "Let's wait, to see if anyone comes for us," I say. Golden agrees, and we sit and wait. After more than an hour, no one has come. I wonder if everyone's ok, when I start to feel hungry. For some reason, I hadn't imagined food being an issue here. It's been another hour now, and we're both getting really hungry. There's really nothing more interesting than flat nothingness down here, along with fog, so we won't be finding any food. Just then, we hear a noise. It's a hissing sound, and it seems to be coming closer. Somehow, we both know it can't be good. We both leap up, grab our weapons, and prepare for battle.

Chapter 14 >>>

Out of the fog comes a pack of what look like wolves. But, they have mechanical parts. Their claws are enormous, and they are wearing body armor. It's even stranger when one of them stands up on its rear legs, and talks. "Dessstroy them!" it says. It hisses as it talks, and elongates it's s's. The wolves rush forward, and Golden and I run. I wish I knew how to equip other items, because I could really use a Bat Lord Helm Speedboost right about now. The wolves are gaining on us, but I've got a plan. I grab Golden, and we stop short. The wolves jump, and at the apex of their jump, I throw him to the ground, and I fall down, too. The wolves jump over us, and we hop back up. We blast the wolves with our Staff Blasts. One of the wolves leaps towards us, so I use my Orb's power, Knockback. It throws the wolf back some, but, not nearly as much as it should have. It's because I'm low on energy, so I can't use my abilities, as powerfully, at least. Sensing weakness, the rest of the wolves surround us. "You ssstill have a chance to sssurener," the alpha wolf says. "You'll just kill us if we do!" I say, defiantly. "You have chosssen unwisssely," says the alpha wolf. The wolves move in, preparing for the kill, when Golden uses Last Blast. It blows back the wolves, and they all look injured. One of them disintegrates, but, due to the high use of energy, Golden collapses from the strain. I don't have time to make sure he's alive, though, because the wolves have recovered, and are closing in again. I attack with my staff, and a few more wolves fall. I counted about a dozen at first, now there's only eight. VROOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!! The sound of rocket engines blare, and I look up to see a large force of rockets coming towards me. A few fire shots at the wolves, killing them. A few escape, though, including the alpha wolf. The rockets land, and I run over to them, expecting to see my friends in them. Instead, I see Mythrans in them. One steps out, and extends his hand. "Hello, Milligan. I am the head of the LEGO Corporation. I'd like to offer you a deal."

Chapter 15 >>>

I immediately dislike him, and I slowly say, "What kind of deal?" "I am sure you understand what has happened. LEGO Universe is based upon the real life location, which we are in, now. Of course, back on Earth, governments will be... unhappy about this. So, we need someone to tell everyone on Earth that the Mythrans that rebelled are the only cause of this, that they knew of this from the first concept idea of LEGO Universe," he says. "And is this true?" I ask. "Well, not exactly," he says. 'Why should I lie?" I say. "What's in it for me?" "You will be handsomely paid. And... we won't come looking for you," he says. "What happens if I refuse?" "Well, you will be returned to your friends. But, with your memory wiped of this occasion. And, then, even if you do defeat the Maelstrom and the Mythrans, you won't survive. Because you are necessary to defeat the Maelstrom and the Mythrans." "Why are you asking me to do this?" I ask. "Because, you are very influential on the population of LEGO Universe. You know the right people, and are famous. So, every player will go along with you. LEGO Universe players will be considered the best source of information about this, so, everyone will go along with what you and others say. And, you are smart enough to understand why it will be better for you to go with us on this." I think for a moment, and say, "Alright, I accept your proposal." "Good! Well, then! We have an accord!" the head of LEGO says. "We will teleport you and your friend back to everyone else." "Thank you," I say. I feel like I did when I was teleported to where LU really is. I re-appear up at the top of FV, with Golden next to me. "Did no one notice we were gone?" I shout. "Yes, we did," BrickBuild says. "Unfortunately, we had our own issues to deal with." I'm wondering what those issues were. And, even now, I know that the head of LEGO will plan to double-cross me. But not if I can double-cross him first.

Chapter 16 >>>

BrickBuild tells me about why everyone was distracted. While a few people were talking to him, Elementron had vanished. They had searched all of FV, but, hadn't found him. They had found some people who, in the LU game, were allied NPCs. Those NPCs had agreed to come with the players of LU, as neither group stood a chance against the Maelstrom alone. Eventually, they had noticed that Golden and I were gone, and had searched for us. They had given up all hope of finding us again, and had returned here, and we had reappeared. I decide not to tell them anything about our meeting with the Head of LEGO, and no one asks how we reappeared. "So... What are we going to do now?" I ask. "Well, we need to train. In the LU game, we could do flips and be a masterswordsmen and use a blaster. But now, we can't. And, as you can see, everyone looks how they do in real life. I look around, and see most people are around my height, some adults, but, not many less than twelve or so have made it. Or are here, at least. Maybe some are on other worlds. "So, how do we do that?" I ask. "Well, we have the NPCs to help us," Jon002 says. He and BrickBuild must have worked together to get this to work. "I'm ready! When do we start? And where?" I ask. "We're going to start now. Every player will be graded on skill level, and will either be placed in the Great Tree, the Paradox Refinery, or at the Race Place for training. Those three locations are the most defendable we could find," BrickBuild explains. "Let's head to the Great Tree, then!" I shout. A few minutes later, we're at the Great Tree. A few people are elected to serve as judges. Jon002, BrickBuild, Flambridge, NineWells, Murphy and I are elected, and we stand at the top of the Great Tree, seeing everyone. Surprisingly, there's electricity here so we can use a treadmill and computers, and everyone is timed on their speed, agility, strength, swordsmanship, and gunning. After everyone's gone, we're divided by our skill. Great Tree for beginners, Paradox Refinery for advanced, Race Place for Elites. Even my fellow judges and I do the tests, to place ourselves. We all make the cut for Elite training. We tell everyone where to report for training, and we set off for the Race Place. Along with the judges, there's Hurricane, ThatchGears, and a few other people whose names I forget. We walk towards the Race Place in science, and take a bridge to the Race Place, not the bouncers that are in game. We stand around, glancing at models of cars, abandoned vendor stalls, and the always interesting rocks, waiting for our trainer to show up. I walk towards the entrance to the race, and then towards the edge of FV. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow move, and before I know it, I feel a knife at my neck.

Chapter 17 >>>

I can't talk for risk of dying, but everyone runs over, seeing my predicament. The minifigure holding a knife to my neck then lets me go, and shoves me towards everyone else. NineWells catches me, and helps me to my feet. I look towards my attacker, and find a ninja. "Greetings. My name is Numb Chuck. This proves you should never let your guard down," he says, emphasizing certain words to make his speech sound very odd. He has dark skin, and is easily seven feet tall. He seems like NBA superstar Dwight Howard. He's wearing sleeveless robes, with bulky body armor underneath. On his arms are two small Paradox Eye tattoos. He wears a helmet, much like a Rank Two Sorcerer's, but, with a Dragon mouth on it. On his shoulders sits a small Dragon, with red and black scales. "So, I'm supposed to... train you," he says. "So, what are your skills? Can any of you do a flip?" "What?" I'm thinking. "He should learn our names, and start simple! Not with flips!" "I can!" Murphy says. "Actually, I can't," he whispers in my ear. "Step forward, and do it!" Numb Chuck commands. "I can't," he says. "I was just kidding!" "Do it now!" Numb Chuck yells at him. "You volunteered! There shall be no joking or goofing off!" Murphy reluctantly steps forward, and does a jump, not even trying to do a flip. "You call that a flip?!" Numb Chuck howls. "Let me show you!" He does a double backflip in one leap, and then does a front handspring, ending with a dive roll. "That, my students, is a flip!" he proudly says. We're all amazed, but, no one says anything, as he's been cruel to two of us now. "So... what do we do?" NineWells asks. "Well, I'm supposed to train you in a variety of weapons, and to become more athletic," Numb Chuck says. "But, today, it's too late, so, let's just get some rest." We're so stunned he's trying to be nice to us, and we all sit down, and start to talk. "No, no! Not here! There is a better place!" Numb Chuck shouts. "But first..." He jumps towards the pathway to the rest of FV, and pulls a lever. It drops the pathway to the rest of FV. It's like a drawbridge. Then, he goes over to the entrance to the race track, and opens a secret door in a wall, and leads us all down into a huge maze of tunnels. He shows us to our rooms, one for each of us, and we all settle into. The moment my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep. It really has been a tough day.

Interlude 3 >>>

I see the four Faction Leaders, sitting around a table. I'm guessing it's in Nexus Tower. Because I know that the Faction Leaders won't harm me, I step out of the shadows that I'm hiding in. Doctor Overbuild is staring right at me, but doesn't notice me. I walk over to him, and wave my hand in front of his face, saying, "Hellllllloooooo?" No one notices me. I step backwards, and lean against a wall. Duke Exeter stands up, and starts to speak to the other Faction Leaders, "Well, as I am sure you have heard, the people who have been playing our game on Earth have come to our world. This is not good. You all must remember how the LEGO Corporation asked us if they could use our world in a video game, right? They offered us one thing: Not to let the rest of Earth find out where we are. It, by all means, was blackmail." "Aye, and we accepted! To keep our world safe!" says Hael Storm. "Well, I don't think it was a good idea anymore,' Duke Exeter says slowly. "Because now those people who played our game in the real world have come here, and they will threaten our way of life! I think the LEGO Corporation has betrayed us!" "That's a very serious accusation," Doctor Overbuild says. "No, I'm with Exeter," Vanda Darkflame states. "I don't think that the LEGO Corporation would betray us," Hael Storm counters. "Seems we're at a stalemate," Exeter says. "But, think about it! Now, we're still fighting the Maelstrom, and I don't think any of you will disagree; these new people who have come to our world will threaten our way of life." Yes's from Overbuild and Vanda, and an aye from Hael. "So, what shall we do?" Vanda asks. "We must crush them! While we are not in agreement that the LEGO Corporation has betrayed us, this might have simply been an action of one of their employees, we do know that the players of their game and the Corporation are not in league. We know because we have seen many high ranking officials from the Corporation coming into our world." "What about our war with The Baron?" Vanda asks. "We must forget about that for now. Because if we do not defeat the invaders to our world, neither us nor The Baron will survive." "How do you know?" Vanda asks. Everyone around the table grins, Overbuild lets out a jolly chuckle, and Hael bursts out laughing. "Vanda...," Exeter says, struggling to keep his voice from breaking, "You weren't with us when we foound the Imagination Nexus. We found something there, that revealed to us many things we had no idea existed. And the answer to your question was also found. Let me tell you the tale of our journey..." I wake up in the room I was given by Numb Chuck. I had thought the Faction Leaders would be on our side. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Chapter 18 >>>

Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone's pounding on the door of my room. I quickly get up, and un-hook my Staff and Orb from my belt. "Who's there?" I call. "Numb Chuck here. Please, come quickly. It's very urgent," he says quickly. I run to my door, open it, and follow Numb Chuck. He's already awakened some of the team, others we still have to. I ask what time it is, but, no one knows. When we're up at where the Race Place is, Numb Chuck turns around, and says, "The Faction Leaders want you all dead. They have sent a message to every one of their fighters. They think you threaten their way of life. I don't agree with this. I need to get you out of here." There's gasps all around, and everyone starts talking. "Quiet!" Numb Chuck says. "This island is a ship. Zip Lash and I made it." He pulls out a remote, and taps a button on it. With that, metal extends from all sides. Above us is a dome, and floors roll out from the sides. "This is it!" Numb Chuck says proudly. He leads us up to the next level of the ship, and he fires up the ship. There, a control panel lights up. Along with a bunch of random buttons I have no idea what function they perform, there's a map of the ship in a holographic projection. The ship's shaped like a cone turned on its point, with a dome on top. Like an ice cream cone. There's about ten levels to the ship, including the control room, sleeping quarters, and a large number of training areas. I turn back to Numb Chuck. I look out the windows, and see the ship lifting off. Once we're floating a few hundred feet high, Numb Chuck takes his hands off the controls, and says, "We need to go back." There's tears in his eyes. "Why?" I ask. "Think of everyone we're leaving behind. Some of my friends will side with the Faction Leaders, but, others won't. And, your friends, too, are back there," he says. "I agree," I say. Everyone slowly voices their consent, and we set about planning. "We can't take too long," Numb Chuck warns. "Because once the Faction Leaders realize that our friends don't know what they're looking for... they will kill them."

Chapter 19 >>>

"Guys, I just received a transmission from Zip Lash. There's a battle going on! And, without our help, they will never win it!" Numb Chuck shouts. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Flamebridge says. "WAIT!" Numb Chuck yells. "Faction Gear won't work. The Faction leaders created the gear, so, they can turn it off. Milligan, blast me with you Staff. I will prove my point." I un-clip my Staff, and aim it at him. I concentrate, and think, "Fire!" Nothing happens. Everyone else tries out their weapons. Nothing is working. We can only use them without abilities. "As your gear won't work, take these," Numb Chuck says. He goes down an elevator, and comes back up with a crate of supplies. He opens it, and hands each of us a jumpsuit, what seems like a bullet-proof vest, and white robes. After we've changed, Numb Chuck gives us each a sword, dagger, blaster, and a few grenades. "Well, you all have your gear. Follow me," Numb Chuck says. He sprints down the stairs, to a landing platform. With a click of his remote, a huge door opens. All we can see is a huge battle going on outside, between Ninjas, Nexus Force Troops, and Players slugging it out. We charge out, and join in the fighting. All of the Players are using their weapons in unconventional ways, since we can't use abilities. Sorcerers are using their staffs like clubs, Daredevils whacking sidearm with their guns. Our coming has turned the tide, however. We have a few good fighters on our side. Numb Chuck, Zip Lash, and Kenjin the Wise are all fighting for our side. Kenjin is ancient, but, he sure can swing a staff when he needs to! He has greying hair, and a black conical hat. He carries a staff, which he leans on when he walks, and a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Zip Lash is big. While Numb Chuck is tall and lanky, Zip Lash is tall and... Colossal. He's probably a bit over six feet, and weighs about three hundred pounds. He looks like a Rank Four Space Marauder. Only a little, though. He has a grey helmet and grey body armor, and carries a massive machine gun and sword, both of which he wields expertly. Despite his massive size, he's still very fast and athletic, able to keep up with most anyone else on the battle field, and can do flips and wall-run-ups. I run around the battle field, attacking anyone on the other side. I see one of the Ninja Masters, who resided in the Great Tree. I slash at him, but he counters it, and pushes me to the ground. I push myself up, and see Numb Chuck dueling the Ninja "Master". Numb Chuck has infinitely more skill than the Ninja, and ends the battle quickly. He rushes off to take on more opponents. I feel a sharp pain in my ribs, and, before I even can see my attacker, I black out.

Interlude 5 >>>

I'm back with the Faction Leaders. Duke Exeter has begun his tale, and I can envision when the Faction Leaders first found the Imagination Nexus... The Four Explores had been brought together by strange coincidences, and had at last found the Temple on Gallant V. Unfortunately, the First Builders, who had constructed the Temple, did not want mere humans discovering it. So, they decided on one of the Four Explorers to corrupt. The one that was the most innocent, the one who wanted it for himself not at all, but for the betterment of every other human in the Universe. This was Baron Typhonus. It was the First Builder's own cruel joke. Because of his corruption, he envisioned a monstrous Spiderling to be created from the Nexus. But, he was dragged into the Nexus, unforeseen by the First Builders. They had only wanted to punish humans, not destroy one of their greatest creations. Because of the backfiring of their act, they wanted to punish humans, so, they created the Mythrans, who were intended to destroy the human race. As a result of The Baron's actions, the planet exploded, but, before it did, the remaining three explorers found a book in the temple, and escaped with it. The First Builders still lived on, plotting their next move, and the Mythran Experiment also backfired. Partially, at least. Some Mythrans decided to help humans, while others decided to help the First Builders regain power. And, the book that the explorers had grabbed was, in fact the key to the universe... "And, we've found many things in that book," Exeter finishes. "Including the secret to immortality." "And, how come I never heard of it?" Vanda shouts. "I've been aging all this time, and you've never told me?" "Ah, well, you weren't among us when we found it," Exeter says. "Um, you never told us either," Hael says. "We never even knew about a book! Right, Overbuild?" "Yes," Overbuild says, almost shocked. "Oh, did I not tell you?" Exeter says, in mock surprise. "I'm sorry!" "I'm leaving you... you..." Vanda can't find the word for Exeter. "Oh, sure! Go if you wish!" Exeter says. "We'll hunt you down. You yourself know the capabilities of the Nexus Force." Vanda draws her katana, and Overbuild and Hael look like they would like to go with Vanda. Vanda then turns on her heal, and sprints out of Nexus Tower. "Well, we're down one member of the Nexus Force!" Exeter happily exclaims. "Now, it's off to eliminate all those pesky others not part of our perfect organization."

Chapter 20 >>>

I wake up to see Numb Chuck's face staring at me. "Are you ok?" he asks. "I... couldn't be better," I say. And, it's the truth. I feel fine. "Well, then, get up, and come on!" I get up, and follow him out the door of the room I'm in. "So, what was I hit by?" I ask him. "You were hit by shuriken, thrown by a Ninja," he answers. We walk in silence until we reach a room. Some others are already there, and others are showing up. Surprisingly, no one is injured. Or, at least, like me, they all look fine now. There's about two dozen of us here, along with Numb Chuck, Zip Lash, and Kenjin the Wise. The room is carpeted, with steps that we sit on one end, and a white board at the other. After everyone's filed in, Numb Chuck stands in front of us, and says, "Alright. You all survived some combat. But, many of you were injured in it, and if not for us three here," he gestures at Zip Lash and Kenjin, "The battle would have gone a completely different way. So, we need to train you guys in how to use weapons." He starts pacing, and then continues, "How well you pay attention in the next few days will determine your entire future." Numb Chuck hands out swords to all of us. "So, I suppose you're all wondering why we learn to use swords at all, or any other melee weapons. We've got guns, so why use them at all?" he says. We all nod our heads. "Well then..." he says, and goes on to explain. The reason is cost and rarity. Because of the body armor worn by everyone, made of a mineral called Obsidian, which is both light and strong. I'm reminded of the Obsidian Armor in the Lego Club. The only material that can cut through it is Plutonium, which is extremely rare and costly. I'm assuming that these aren't the same materials they are on Earth. So, a few ways were found to get around this. One was to use melee weapons, as you get infinite uses out of it. Another was to use arrows, as you can pick them up, and use them again after firing them. A third was to use guns, just limitedly, and use some other weapon. Numb Chuck explains that even Hael Storm's pistol has only six shots in it at any one time. And he's probably the richest man in the Universe! The final method was to use a technique used by the Space Marauder's blaster. It can go through Obsidian, but, to get through, it requires the blast be very, very weak. So, it does little damage. Numb Chuck finishes explaining, and it finally makes sense, why they use melee weapons here. Then, we start training. Chapter 21 >>>

Over the next few weeks, Numb Chuck and company train us in how to use a large variety of weapons. An hour of theory, then an hour of live training, and finally an hour of combat, where we do "games" in the giant combat arena. We use fake weapons, that only can connect with other weapons and the body armor we wear. This is to prevent injury, and, they keep track of our running score. We do two weapons a day, one in the morning, then a lunch break, then another in the afternoon. We've finished training with all the weapons, and Numb Chuck starts to give a short speech. "Well, you've all been trained in all the weapons we have available to us. You must choose which weapons to become better at using," Numb Chuck says. "Now, the true battles are about to begin." And at the other end of the Universe, a dark figure, shrouded in shadow, says, "Yes, Numb Chuck. The true battles are just beginning." Then, it laughs, and disappears. All is silent as the grave once more. End of Book One

Author's Note >>> So, I have finished the first "Book" in the Nightfall Incident Series. Each "Book" will have a title. The one I have just finished is called "The Nightfall Incident". To better tell the story I will be switching over to third person, past tense for the next "Book". I am not sure how many "Books" I will write. All I can say is, they will all be longer than this one. I should start writing the next "Book" a few days after Nexus Tower comes out. I had come up with the idea for a story like this about a month before I started writing. It was originally going to take place on Earth, with only the players of LU able to stop the Maelstrom. When I started writing, I only had a vague idea for the end of the entire series, a few chapters ahead, but nothing in the middle. I must admit, now, I still don't have tons planned! But, I've got the basic plot. And, I've written the next few chapters in my head. I hope everyone enjoy the next "Book"!

Chapter 1 >>>

Elementron woke up, lying in a rough, white, cloth hammock. He stepped to his feet, and glanced around. He was in a square room. Three walls were solid concrete. But, knowing the technology LEGO Universe-or where ever he was-had, he figured that it would be at least ten times stronger. The fourth wall was made of metal bars, which he doubted even a shot of Plutonium could shatter. Elementron looked down at his hands, and saw that he was still a Mythran. He remembered how he had wound up here. When he, Imaginatrix, and Figmentia had found out about the Mythrans' plans to rebel, they had sought them out in game, as none of them knew where the Mythrans' real world locations are. They had found them on a private property of a player whose membership had run out. He, Imaginatrix, and Figmentia had confronted them, and told them to stop their schemes. Then, the rebelling Mythrans had attacked, teleporting him, Imaginatrix, and Figmentia to the real life location of LEGO Universe. They had wound up in Forbidden Valley, where the rebelling Mythrans then teleported. Even though the rebelling Mythrans were still in on Earth, he could see them. Imaginatrix and Figmentia had both been captured, but he had been able to escape. The Mythrans then released an army of Maelstrom on him, which he was able to outrun-at least until he was shot by a Horseman in the back. Fortunately, he had spotted the players of LEGO Universe, and they had defeated the Maelstrom Army. Then, Elementron had teleported them into the game. And, he had disappeared, and awakened here. Elementron snapped out of his recollection. He had just remembered something: when he had teleported the players of LEGO Universe into the game, he had stopped time on Earth. For Mythrans were Fourth-Dimensional beings, and they could control time. But, he had had to lie. He knew that the only hope for Earth not to be destroyed by the Mythrans was the players of LEGO Universe. He could only control time on himself, not anywhere. Even now, Earth was facing huge panic. After all, about sixty computer game players had suddenly vanished, along with the Head of the LEGO Corporation, and Mythrans. Only one thing connected all of these people: The game of LEGO Universe. Elementron could already imagine the panic that Earth was experiencing. But, this problem had one good quality: It had offered him a way out: Using time.

Chapter 2 >>>

Duke Exeter stormed through the Nexus Tower, Doctor Overbuild and Hael Storm cautiously trailing behind him. "I will never give you the book!" Exeter shouted at them. When the other Faction Leaders found out the Exeter had a book that gave the secret to immortality, and had never shared it with any of them, they had all been shocked. Vanda Darkflame had even left the Nexus Force. As a result, Exeter had issued an arrest warrant for her, and placed a large bounty on her head. "We were all equals in this, Exeter," Overbuild said quietly. "Well, not anymore," Exeter said, a sly grin across his face. "Exeter, if you don't give us the book," Hael said, drawing his sword. "We'll have to take it from you." "And, what makes you think you two can defeat me?" The Duke asked. Suddenly, he drew his double edged sword, and swung it at Overbuild. The Doctor never had time to dodge or block the blow. The blade hit him with fantastic force, and his body instantly froze. "What have you done? Killed him?" Hael said, stunned. "Of course. The same thing I will soon do to you," Exeter said, shattering the ice block that contained Overbuild with his sword. "Well, I'm not an easy person to kill," Hael muttered, drawing his gun, and getting into a combat stance. Exeter lunged forward, and Hael parried his thrust with his own blade. Exeter swung again, and Hael black flipped away from Exeter, firing his gun in mid-air. Exeter dodged the bullet, and dived at Hael, who shot again, and missed. "Ha!" Exeter yelled. "You're the worst shot I've ever seen!" But, while Exeter had been gloating, Hael had lined up a shot. He fired, and hit Exeter's left shoulder. Exeter couldn't even feel his left arm, and knew he'd have to continue the battle with one arm. Or end it another way. Hael checked his gun. He had three bullets left, but, he didn't have any in his pouches. Hael advanced on the wounded Exeter. They both thought the battle was about to end. But, each thought it would end in a different way. Hael knocked Exeter's blade out of his hand, and pointed his blade at him. But, before he could make the killing blow, Nexus Force Troops burst in, and started to battle Hael. He knew he had no chance to win the battle, so, he decided to escape. The Nexus Force Troops had locked the doors behind them, and they guarded the exits, so Hael's only option was a window. The problem was, he was on the tenth story. Hael blasted the window with two of his remaining shots, and stood in the frame, ready to jump. Before he did, though, he wanted to say something. "Exeter, know this: I've got one shot left in this gun. And I'm saving it for you," Hael said, as he turned on his heal, and jumped out the window.

Chapter 3 >>>

Baron Typhonus was pleased. After a long war, he finally knew victory was near. For the Nexus Force had internal problems: Exeter had taken over leadership, killed Doctor Overbuild, and had issued arrest warrants for Hael Storm and Vanda Darkflame. The Baron knew how to defeat the Nexus Force. But, he needed his Master's guidance first. Defeating the Nexus Force could destroy the Universe. Typhonus reached into his coat pocket, and drew out his cell phone. He dialed his Master's number. It was picked up on the first ring. The Baron had no idea who his master was. All he knew was that his Master was ancient and extraordinary powerful. "Yes, Xilinis?" Typhonus's Master answered, using The Baron's true name, which he had never told anyone. Typhonus wondered how his Master knew it. "Master, I know how to defeat the Nexus Force. but, I need your permission to do so," The Darkitect said, struggling to keep his voice steady through his fear. "Yes?" "I must ask you for permission to release Ollogothis. He his older than you, Master!" "I wouldn't be so sure that he's older than me. I am much, much older than you think I am." Typhonus wondered how old his Master really was. He had asked on numerous occasions, but, his Master had never told him. Nor could he tell by looks, he had never seen his Master face to face. "Master, do I have your permission to release Ollogothis?" "Yes, Typhonus," his Master said slowly. "I give you permission to release the Spider Boss."

Chapter 4 >>>

Numb Chuck was troubled. He had chosen a side, he knew it was the right one, but, he wasn't sure that they could win. During the battle at Forbidden Valley, most of the Players of LEGO Universe had been injured. Out of the about sixty that had been teleported to Earth, only about two dozen remained. Too many had fallen, and, Numb Chuck knew, with absolute certainty, that, without his, Zip Lash, and Kenjin the Wise's help, the battle would have gone much, much differently. Then, he had begun to train them! With only a three hour block for each weapon! At the end of three hours training with swords, not a single student could even hold one correctly. After two hours with nun-chucks, everyone had knocked themselves out at least once. One, Murphy, Numb Chuck thought his name was, had knocked himself out so many times, no one even glanced over when they heard a thud on the floor. He had tried to keep track, he had lost count at twenty. So, after such a short time training with weapons, he was now telling the students to pick a few to train with, and to each get a special outfit. He caught himself. If he started thinking like this, he would start to believe that it would be best to give them each the same weapons, and then just not care about their lives. He would be no better than the Nexus Force or Maelstrom, then. He snapped back to reality. He had gone to his private chambers, and had told the students that he would talk with them each in the morning. He immediately fell into a deep slumber. Waking up in the morning and going to talk with the students was hard for Numb Chuck. Even though none of them remotely deserved the right to being a distinct warrior, with their own uniform, weapons, and fighting style, he had to. It would keep the moral up, and some of the students weren't very pleased with the rate of training. Along with moral, it was the only thing that made them better than the Nexus Force and the Maelstrom. It was the only reason Numb Chuck fought for this side. Because both the Nexus Force and the Maelstrom deserved, were destined, were doomed to be destroyed. Numb Chuck then recalled the man he had long ago talked to, about the fall of the two most powerful organizations in the Universe, and how it would happen...

Chapter 5 >>>

Milligan sat down at a table, after grabbing his breakfast. On his left was Hurricane, who was deep in conversation about battle plans with Ninewells, and on his right was EmperorFred, who was munching on a biscuit, staring off into space. Milligan sat down, and greeted everyone. "Hello Milligan. What do you think you're going to choose for gear when Numb Chuck asks us?" Fred asked. Hurricane had heard, and turned around, along with Ninewells. "I've got no idea. I liked what we wore back in Forbidden Valley, actually," Milligan answered. Everyone started to discuss what they wanted to have for their gear. Milligan, however, had remembered something. If Mythrans existed… "Wait a moment. Mythrans exist, who can use magic. Why couldn't we use it?" He voiced. "Kenjin the Wise did mention that magic does exist," Murphy, who had joined the conversation, said. "Exactly, you are correct." Everyone turned around, and found themselves staring at Kenjin the Wise. "Now, don't ask me how it works. Only Mythrans, First Builders, and those who came before them know the secrets of magic. They are the only ones who can use it. And it isn't magic. Magic itself doesn't exist. Instead, technology that is so advanced it is indistinguishable from magic is what they have access to. The only problem is this: Mythrans who support humans have all been imprisoned by the Nexus Force, the First Builders and the other Mythrans would kill any of us on sight, and Those Who Came Before them are on the edges of the Universe, and many of them would kill you on sight too," Kenjin said. "So we aren't going to be helped by any magic? "That is not true. There is one Mythran who will be able to help you." "Who is that?" "He is a native of our world, and went to yours for a short time to help the LEGO Company. The reason he is not imprisoned is because he was able to fight off the Nexus Force Troops sent to capture him. His name is Inventrius."

Chapter 6 >>>

Hael Storm leaped out of the window, catching a pole on the side of the building. He slid down the pole, and jumped the remaining few yards to the bottom of the tower. Hael glanced around, and pulled out his sword and knife, which he had sheathed before. Suddenly, a loud bang erupted from the front doors of the tower, and Nexus Force Troops exploded from within. Hael noticed, to his delight, that there were no elite Faction Troops, only the weaker ones. The normal Nexus Force Troops looked vaguely like a Rank One Space Maurader, but, instead of a gun, carried a spear. Their body armor was white, and they had lines on their suits, indicating their Faction by color. With a shout of triumph, the Nexus Force Troops charged at Hael. He ran to where his classic car was parked right outside the Nexus Tower, hopped in, turned the key, and drove off. Hael quickly outdistanced the troops, but, had no idea where to go. The planet that had Nexus Tower on it was the Capital of the Nexus Force, though Nimbus Station had a much larger population. The planet of Nimbus Station was a type of city-planet. The planet on which Nexus Tower sat had a few scattered island-cities, with large oceans in the other areas. Hael figured his best chance for survival was to not just escape this city, but to escape the planet all together. Just as the thought occurred to him, he heard the sound of a Nexus Force ship, guns shooting at him. Hael swerved the car, barely dodging the phaser blasts. Then..., "BANG!" A phaser shot had hit the engine of Hael's formerly pristine condition classic car. The car had exploded, and Hael had flew through the air, and landed on the ground, as good as dead. Up above in a plane, a communications officer picked up his microphone, and spoke into it, "Exeter, we succeeded. The target is dead." The pilot turned the plane around, heading back to Nexus Tower, their mission accomplished.

Chapter 7 >>>

Numb Chuck remembered...

Himself as a boy, with his parents. He had loved them... Enemies attacking his clan of ninjas, which his father was the leader of... Enemies killing his parents... Numb Chuck fleeing his clan... Traveling around, all alone, the huge chains of islands that made up the planet of Forbidden Valley... One day, meeting a man who kept his head in an enormous hood, who's face Numb Chuck never saw... The Hooded Man telling him the future of the Universe... The Hooded Man telling him that he would fight against the two most powerful organizations in the Universe, and that those organizations would fall... Numb Chuck thanking the man, and leaving... The Nexus of Imagination being corrupted, and Numb Chuck joining the Nexus Force... Snapping back to reality, Numb Chuck now knew who those two most powerful organizations in the Universe were. Standing up, he walked out the door, ready to talk to the students. Ready to train them to defeat the Nexus Force and the Maelstrom. Ready to avenge his parents deaths. Ready for anything... Except for what was waiting outside his door.

Chapter 9 >>>

Beck Strongheart had been stationed in Avant gardens since the beginning of the war. Officially the mission of the army he headed on the planet was to "Reduce Maelstrom activity on the planet and protect citizens of the planet". In fact, the real purpose of the Nexus Force presence on the planet was to contain the Spider Boss. The Spider Boss was thought to be the creation of The Baron's mind, and its destructive potential was so great that it was one of the most heavily guarded beings in the Universe. With the click of a button, the entire planet and all of its inhabitants would be sucked into a black hole that would be created. Beck had that button on his cell phone. He hoped he would never need to use it. As Beck Strongheart remembered, he scanned the horizon for any sign of a Maelstrom attack. While with the size of the army he had at his command, no attack without the spider boss would even be a threat, it was better to be safe than sorry. Just the norm. A few Stromlings and Mechs trying to get past the guards, who mowed them down the moment they crossed an imaginary line, dubbed by the soldiers "The Bubble". A few tougher Maelstrom enemies were farther away, waiting to destroy anyone who ventured too far away from the safety of the fort. There was nothing to be concerned about, and just as Beck was about to turn his back, and walk away, he saw something. The cave that housed the Spider Boss started to rumble, and then it burst apart. Spiderlings scurried away from the rubble, and behind them loomed the shadow of the Spider Boss. The explosion of the cave had demolished some walls, which Stromlings were pouring through. Nexus Force Troops, each of which was a match for a Stromling, were locked in combat. But when Mechs and tougher enemies showed up, trouble started to arise. "Send in the Elite Troops! Now!" Beck screamed into his cell phone. (Elite Troops were what Rank Three was in the LEGO Universe game. There were no Rank Ones and Twos in the real life location of LEGO Universe. There were twelve different styles of Elite.) Beck hoped they would be enough. They were all armed with high quality gear, a main hand weapon, offhand weapons, and a two handed Valiant. A platoon of Elites came rushing in, each using their skills to the max. Unfortunately, a Spiderling was more than a match for an Elite. Beck knew he had to do something to end the battle, and it had to be done soon. He pulled out his cell phone, just about to hit the black hole button, when it was knocked from his hand, and crushed beneath a long spider like leg. Beck looked up and saw the unmistakable Spider Boss standing over him. Beck blinked his eyes, and stared at the Spider Boss for a second. Then one of its long, smooth, armored legs was brought down on Beck, and he knew no more.

Chapter 9 >>>

Elementron stood in the center of his cell, and closed his eyes. He would need all his concentration for what he would be about to attempt. He envisioned himself moving back in time. Back, back, back until the prison he was in didn't exist. When he opened his eyes, he was free. There was no prison. Elementron then closed his eyes, and envisioned himself flying. And just like that, he was. Then, he closed his eyes again, and envisioned himself going forward in time-back to when he was before his imprisonment. Opening his eyes, Elementron found himself floating a yard or so above the roof of an enormous building. He stopped himself flying, and fell to the roof. "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" And alarm started blaring, and doors on the roof burst open. Pouring out of them came numerous Dark Ronin, Hammerlings, and even a few Spiderlings. Elementron knew he was in trouble, but he was surrounded, and he knew if he tried flying, he would be shot down by the automated turrets that had also popped up on the roof. Gathering his energies, Elementron imagined fire flowing from his hands...And it happened! While it was only a small stream, and not very hot flames, they did their job. Maelstrom monsters lay everywhere, smashed. Taking advantage of this, Elementron raced through the crowd of Maelstrom, heating his body on fire, reached the edge of the building, and... Jumped. He glided to the ground, and glanced behind him. Out of the doors of the building came dozens of Stromling Apes. He doubted a blast of fire would defeat these ones. Howling, the Apes charged, and reached him in an instant. One grabbed him, and despite Elementron's best efforts to escape, the Apes dragged him back through the doors of the building. Waiting for them was an Admiral. One of the Apes grunted, and started talking. Well, not really talking. The Ape used its hands and grunting sounds. Seeming to understand, the Admiral stepped forward. The Admiral wore a blue coat, epaulets, had a huge had over his head, with an enormous feather sticking from its brim. Unlike all of the other Maelstrom creatures he had seen today, this person looked uninfected. The Admiral stepped forward, and extended his hand. "Hello, Elementron. I'm glad to see you're here." "Who are you? And what do you want?" "Second question first, first question second. I want to take you to Baron Typhonus. Now, I know what you're thinking: Why should you come? Why is this uninfected person helping The Baron? Well, The Baron is not a bad man. He has grown even kinder since he "Corrupted" the Imagination Nexus. Do you think HE would ever do that? What ever you have heard from the Nexus Force are just lies. My side, The Baron's side is the right side to be on in this war." "But, why-" The Admiral cut him off. "Now, I will answer your second question, as to who I am. In the game of LEGO Universe, I was made into the evil Admiral Flogmore. Just like the side I am on is called the Maelstrom, and portrayed to be evil. You know me by a different name. I was the first President of the United States of America. My name is George Washington."

Chapter 10 >>>

"What? How are you still alive? You died over two hundred years ago!" Elementron shouted at Washington's startling revelation. "I'm afraid I can't really explain. The only one who can is Typhonus," Washington said. "And, I give you my word of honor no harm will come to you by coming with me. I come from an age that a man's word is worth a lot more than it is during your time. Will you come with me?" "Yes," Elementron cautiously answered. "Good then. Come with me." Washington led the way to a smaller building outside, which contained a large ship. Washington got some crewmen for the ship, and soon afterwards, they took off. A little over an hour later, the ship arrived at Crux Prime. After landing at The Baron's main base, the unlikely pair exited the ship, and walked toward an entrance to an underground compound. "The Baron has to stay protected," Washington explained. They reached an imposing door, and Washington dialed a number on his cell phone. After a quick exchange, the doors opened, and the pair entered. "Hello, good to see you!" A figure said, stepping out of the shadows. The figure wore a black top hat and a black cape. Under that was a black suit. In his left hand, he carried a scepter. The man's face was lined with stress, but his pale blue eyes sparkled with intelligence. He had laugh lines on the corners of his mouth, and he seemed to have an ever-present, good natured smile. "Ah, I'm sorry Elementron. I see you don't trust me. I am sorry to hear that," The Baron frowned, and stared perplexedly at Elementron. "Typhonus... If you don't mind, I'd like to know what this is all about," Elementron said slowly. 'Alright then. First off, whatever you have heard from the Nexus Force is a lie. Yes, I know you should ask why you should trust me at all. Well, just for a moment, assume I am being truthful with you-which I am." "Ok." "Now, I will begin my tale..." When the Four Explorers discovered the Imagination Nexus, the First Builders didn't want humans finding it. So, they corrupted The Baron, and made him corrupt it. Only a few days after The Baron's corruption, a mysterious, Hooded Man approached The Baron, and freed him from the Maelstrom's influence. While Typhonus could have gone on with his life from before his search for the Imagination Nexus, he knew he was forever indebted to the Hooded Man-as the man had made Typhonus immortal, and saved him from eternal enslavement to the Maelstrom. For all the years of the war against the Nexus Force, The Baron's actions had been guided by the Hooded Man. From his recruitment of George Washington as a General (using Necromancy, and making Washington immortal in the process), to the decision to recruit Apes into the Maelstrom Army. "So, there you have it. The truth. Unfortunately, my decision to release the Spider Boss, Ollogothis, was a very bad idea. Because my Master, the Hooded Man, created the monster, but has no control over it. And Ollogothis is the only reason the Maelstrom follows me! While it was in slumber, I was first in command. But now... Well, with it on the loose, I'm expecting an attack by the Maelstrom any day now," Typhonus said sadly. The first few bars from the LEGO Universe Theme started playing on The Baron's cell phone, and he picked up the call. Only Typhonus could hear what was said, and due to the quizzical looks on Washington's and Elementron's faces, he told them what had happened. "That... That was my Master. The Spider Boss has regained control of the Maelstrom forces. It's... Out to kill me." With those words, a flood of Maelstrom poured into the room.

Chapter 11 >>>

Duke Exeter had been rejoiced to hear the Hael had been eliminated, but Vanda Darkflame had proven to be a greater problem. Before he had been able to issue an arrest warrant for her, she had escaped Nexus Tower and stolen a ship. Exeter had been healed in an instant by chemicals doctors used, but they suggested a full day of rest for him before he did any strenuous activity. He sat in his chair in his office, listening to real time reports from the pilots as they pursued Vanda. "Sir! Sir!" A high-ranking officer shouted into his microphone. "What?" Exeter asked. "We've caught her." "Then bring her in!" "Well, not entirely. With a shot of our blasters, we could demolish her ship, and she's far too close to the planet to risk a gravitational jump." "Let me talk to her... Initiate a connection." "Yes sir. Right away sir," the officer said. On Vanda's ship, her communicating radio bleeped, and she picked it up. "Hello?" "This is Duke Exeter, I'm talking to you to offer you your options," said a voice from the radio. "I don't care for your options! All of them either involve me being captured or killed, probably!" "That is not true. You can either try to fight or run, and be destroyed by my ships. Or, or can come quietly, and I will share my secret with you... how I am immortal." "Wow, that's a tough choice!" Vanda said sarcastically. "I'm glad you're thinking my way, Vanda." "Oh, I'm not coming quietly. I left the Nexus Force because I know now how little you care for the soldiers that give their lives for our cause. I was just waiting for the right time to leave." "What?!" Exeter's voice ran hallow and desperate. "Regardless, my ships will still destroy you." "Oh no, Exeter. I'm not going with either of your options. I'm going with a third option." And with those words, Vanda pushed her hand on the gravitational jump button, and hit it. Even though her ship was so close to a large, mass wise, object, she was willing to take the risk of too great a gravitational factor, and still risk a jump. The gravitational jump capability could only be done with little gravity around, as when a ship jumped, they were whisked into the Zeroth dimension, when time and space do not exist, and would come out anywhere in the Universe, as long as it was in a straight line, and not through any physical objects. Back at Nexus Tower, Exeter was shocked. "She did NOT just jump, did she?" Exeter shouted into his microphone. "Yes sir," said officer said. "Yes she did." Chapter 12 >>>

"Ok... You're telling me that Inventrius is an Alien?!" Hurricane shouted, in disbelief.. "Well, what difference does it make?" Kenjin said defensively. "Regardless, how could we find him? We could use his help!" Milligan said. "I do not know. Numb Chuck probably will, though. How about you wait for him to rise, and go train in the meantime." The students grumbled, but obeyed, heading down to the training area. Once there, they grabbed some weapons, and started to train against each other and with the practice challenges. Suddenly, the ship shook, the lights flickered, and went out. "What's going on?!" Milligan yelled, as the ship continued to shake. The lights came on. "Must be the backup power," he muttered. "Let's go check what happened," ThatchGears said, already heading towards the stairs, as the elevator would be unsafe to use if the power happened to fail again. The rest of the students followed, racing up to the dining hall of the ship. "Oh my Mythrans...," Flamebridge gasped at the sight that they beheld. Numb Chuck saw a gun pointed at his head. It wasn't half as disturbing as who was pointing it. "I surrender," he said, already formulating a plan as to how to escape. "We don't want you alive," the being who wielded the gun said. The being leveled its gun, and prepared to pull the trigger... When its gun went clattering out of its hand, and fell of the floor, and releasing its bullet, which hit the being who had held it. Because in the instant before it shot, Numb Chuck had slapped it away with his Nun-Chuck. He stepped over the lifeless body, and headed towards the dining hall. Breaking into a run, he shouldered open the door to the dining hall, and was not at all surprised at the sight that greeted him.

Chapter 13 >>>

Hael Storm lay face down, playing dead. He realized that the only reason he was still alive was because he had armor that the Those Who Had Come Before had created. The armor used the technology of antimatter to negate attacks, by creating a force field of the substance around the user. Hael had always marveled about the technology that was present long ago, and was not available at this moment in time. When at last the sound of the ship's engines had drained off, Hael waited another few minutes, and then pulled himself to his feet. He glanced at what remained of his car, and was devastated to see its sorry condition. It wasn't drivable, so he figured he had to find another mode of transportation. With none available, he started using what every human had available to them-walking. After a few minutes, Hael was within sight of water, and a few ships. There were sailing, air, and space vessels. Hael decided on a small ship that looked fast. Walking up to the man who ran the port, he inquired, "Who may it be who owns that vessel?" He questioned, pointing at it. "Hey... wait a minute!" The man said. "You're Hael Storm! There's an arrest warrant out for you!" The man pulled out his sword, and Hael laughed. "Do you really think you stand a chance against me?" he asked. "Well... yes," the man replied. With one fluid motion, Hael pulled out his sword, disarmed the man, and held his sword to the man's neck. "Listen here. I don't want to harm you. Can you just please tell me who owns that ship, and if I can have it?" The man, willing to do anything to get out alive, lied, and said he owned it, and that Hael could have it. "Alright then!" Hael exclaimed. "I'll be off. And, to make sure you don't talk..." The man cowered in fear, but Hael simply flipped the man a credit card. As he boarded the vessel, Hael silently laughed to himself that the credit card he had given the man had the grand total of zero on it. It was fake. Hael took off, and was glad to escape the range of the planet without encountering any Nexus Force Ships. Hael knew where he was going to go. He was going to get an old friend to pay him an old debt... He was going to ask Inventrius to raise the Koi.

Chapter 14 >>>

Inventrius sat back in his chair in his office, reading the news on his laptop. Duke Exeter Takes Over Nexus Force, Two Faction Leaders Dead! Read the headline. Inventrius clicked on the article, and started reading. Duke Exeter, now sole leader of the Nexus Force, has killed Doctor Albert Overbuild and Hael Storm in his quest for being the supreme leader of the Nexus Force. Citizens are worried that with only one person in charge, the government could... Inventrius stopped reading. Hael dead? No, it couldn't be... He reread the sentence. Yes, it was. Exeter had killed Hael, and Inventrius was devastated to hear the news. He owed Hael a debt, as the Pirate had saved his life on one occasion. Inventrius just sat in stunned silence. Until his phone rang, and a voice he thought he would never hear again rang through it. "Hey, Inventrius! What are you up to?" "Hael?" Inventrius sputtered. "Aye, it's me! You didn't think Exeter's henchmen would kill me that easily, did you?" "Well, the news reported you had been killed..." "Well, here I am! Anyways, I need to lie low for a few days. Can I stay at your place?" "Sure!" "And... Well, I'll need a ship. And... you know which one is my favorite. The Koi. So, could you raise it for me? Please?" And Inventrius sat there stunned, and at last gave Hael his answer.

Chapter 15 >>>

Rutger Hemoglobin stood in his booth in Nexus Tower, hoping something exciting would happen. All day, every day, he would stand in his booth, having a few people stop and buy food from him. Unfortunately, because he was a Vampire, not many people stopped by.

Being a Vampire was tough. Duke Exeter had gotten the other Faction Leaders to agree to pass all sorts of regulations that Vampires had to follow. But Vampires were just like other humans! Unlike popular movie myth, garlic didn't ward off Vampires, and they could cross running water. Rutger figured that why people disliked Vampires was because of fear. Being a Vampire did have its perks, though. He was immortal and almost invulnerable. He could fly, and never had to eat or sleep. He also was lethal in combat, with fangs, and like all Vampires, he had physical ability that was greater than any normal human. Despite the fact, that with all these powers, the very small group of Vampires still living could fight their way to the top, the just wanted to live peacefully within society. The problem was, society didn't want to live with them. Rutger only knew a few people who he could count as friends. Every day, Vanda Darkflame would stop at his booth for a large coffee and a short talk with Rutger. Also, Mr. Ree was the only Vendor that would set up shop near him. Mr. Ree really wasn't supposed to be In Nexus Tower, and Duke Exeter was constantly sending soldiers after him, but Vanda Darkflame didn't mind him hanging out in the Paradox Area. Mr. Ree sold items that the Nexus Force had deemed too dangerous for their agents to use, but Vanda Darkflame said that they were so useful that there was no reason not to use them. Rutger looked up from the book he was reading, and saw Mr. Ree run into the room. Mr. Ree always had new information that he had secretly heard to tell Rutger and Vanda. "Rutger! Rutger!" Ree said in a hoarse whisper. "What?" Rutger asked. "Duke Exeter has killed Doctor Overbuild! And Hael and Vanda both ran from Nexus Tower! Exeter has taken over the Nexus Force! Here's the paper." Ree pulled out a paper from his pocked, and handed it to Rutger. Rutger read. Duke Exeter Now King Exeter? Duke Exeter, in response to the other three Faction Leader's attempt to assassinate him, has become the sole leader of the Nexus Force. Doctor Albert Overbuild has been found dead, and arrest warrants for Hael Storm and Vanda Darkflame have been sent out. "But I saw what really happened!" Ree went on. "Exeter had the secret of immortality, and wouldn't share it with the other Faction Leaders! Vanda ran out, and then Exeter killed Overbuild! Hael barely escaped!" "I believe you, Ree. Just… what can we do about it?" "Only one thing. We attempt to assassinate Exeter… And then run."

Chapter 16 >>>

"Well...," Rutger said. "Alright. Let's do this!"

"Good then," Ree said. "Here's how we'll do it…" Rutger and Ree waited until nightfall, and then darted through the shadows towards the Sentinel area of the Tower. Whenever they saw a guard, Ree would use his Overcharged Blaster to bring them down, but he set it to stun, so as not to kill innocent soldiers. They entered the Sentinel area, and started walking more slowly, to avoid detection. Suddenly, Ree whispered, "Down!" An automatic sentry had activated. Its shot's hit the wall, where Ree's head had been moments ago. Rutger took to the air, and dived at the sentry. It shot at him, but Rutger was too quick. He then suddenly stopped flying, and dropped to the ground-right on top of the sentry. The one place it couldn't shoot. Rutger smashed his fist into it, and it shattered. "Good job. Now let's get going!" Ree whispered. The Shady Vendor led the way through the halls, at last arriving outside Exeter's office. They both knew the plan, and they immediately set it into action. Ree shot the bolts off the door, while Rutger ran in, his broadsword drawn. Rutger saw Exeter, who was getting to his feet. "I know what you're after," Exeter said. "My death. I won't put up a fight, because I can't win it, with my injury. But there is one thing I can do." The floor tile Exeter was standing on vanished, and as if Exeter had been swallowed by the floor. Ree fruitlessly shot at the tile, but it wouldn't shatter. "We have to get out of here. Now!" Rutger shouted. The bolted back through the door, and jumped the twenty feet down to the next floor, Rutger flying, Ree using jump jets on his feet. The spun around... And saw Achilles Plutarch and Honor Accolade both pointing guns at them.

Chapter 17 >>>

"Oh, it's you guys," Achilles said, lowering his gun. Honor did the same.

"What's going on?" Ree asked. "We were going to try to assassinate Exeter too!" Honor answered. "But when we saw you guys going in, we decided not to interrupt. Didn't want us to all fight each other while Exeter escaped." "OK, but we have to get out of Nexus Tower!" Rutger said. "How?" Honor asked. "Rutger and I have a plan…," Ree replied. "Follow me." They walked in silence, Ree stunning any guards they encountered. He led them to the ground floor, and then shot at a tile on the floor. It seemed to vaporize. "Quick! Through the hole!" Ree whispered. The group jumped in, Ree going last, to shoot where the tile should have been, where it materialized again. "So… What's down here?" Achilles asked. It was pitch black, until Ree handed Achilles and Honor night vision glasses, turned his own on, which he always wore. Rutger didn't need them, being a Vampire. "Oh my Mythrans…," Honor whispered in shock. The chamber was a large circle, stocked with weapons, gear… and a ship. "Welcome to my stockpile and home," Ree said. "Are we going to escape?" Honor asked. "Yes," answered Rutger, who knew the plan. "Along with all these weapons and gear. We're going to escape in the ship. And on our way out, we're going to smash as much of Nexus Tower as we can." Rutger smiled, showing his fangs. "Well, are we ready to go?" Ree asked. "Help me load all this stuff into my ship." The foursome all loaded the supplies on. "Ree…," Honor said, sounding tired, as he was carrying an enormous crate. "What's the name of this ship?" Ree's ship was about fifty feet long, and fairly narrow. It had powerful weapons, and was in the shape of a spike on the end of cylinder. "I'll tell you when we take off," answered Ree. After all the supplies were loaded, they entered the ship. It was lavishly furnished, with carpeted floors. Everything was painted black. Ree led the way to the pilot room, and sat down at the controls. A device scanned his eye, hands, and brain to make sure it was him. Then, Ree pushed forward the throttle, and the ship burst forward and up, smashing through the floors of Nexus Tower. Ree piloted the ship straight up, his goal to destroy as much as the Tower as possible. They ship burst out of the top of the Tower, and Ree glanced at the others, smiling. "This ship, my friends, is named The Nightfall." Then Ree turned back to the controls, and the ship rocket out of the atmosphere, away from the planet, and finally, the ship Jumped, landing on the other side of the Universe.

Chapter 18 >>>

The Head of the LEGO Corporation paced around the makeshift fort, that he had ordered set up. It was located deep in Gnarled Forest, and they had cleared a large area. Well, the Head of LEGO hadn't helped. He had just sat on the ground, yelling at the workers to speed up. At stopped pacing, and glanced around at his workers. He had all of the highest-ranking officials with him, but no one else. And because he had his highest-ranking officials with him, that meant that back on Earth, the Company was going to be shattered to pieces by lack of leadership. But it didn't matter; if his plan worked he wouldn't need his company any more, ever again. He thought about his plan, and how he had talked to that player of the game, Milligan. Milligan must have known that he would double cross him, so Milligan would plan to double cross him first. But he had planned that way. Nothing could go wrong. From the moment that he had first heard of the idea of LEGO Universe, he had known how to turn it all to his advantage… He remembered when he had first heard of LEGO Universe… Some of his employees had come up with an idea for a game called LEGO Universe, with worlds like YouReeka, and he had agreed to begin development. But when enough of it was ready to play, he had tried it, and hadn't liked it. He let development continue however, because he had hoped that the kids that would play the game would like it-And that meant more money for him. At the same time, the Head of LEGO had decided to continue one of his childhood dreams, to become an astronomer and an astronaut. So, he had spent an incredible sum of money, and worked with rebel scientists to develop a telescope that could detect planets- And he had built his own private spaceship to fly to them. The telescope had found a world that would seem to have habitable life. So, using the technology that he had bought, he launched his rocket-And arrived at the planet in days because of the futuristic propulsion system. He had landed, and seen people just like him, and had walked to the largest building, and asked for directions to the Capitol Building. The lady at the desk had looked at him like he had suddenly grown a second head, and told him, "This IS the Capitol Building." He had asked for an encyclopedia for reference, and the moment he got it, he bolted out of the building. He was immediately caught by the Nexus Force, though he didn't know what it was called at the time. Then, a man named Duke Exeter had told him that he knew he wasn't from the area, and shouldn't be there. But the Head of LEGO had lied, and told him that, if he didn't return to his ship within fifteen minutes, it would explode, taking the planet with it. So Exeter had let him go, and the Head of LEGO had returned to Earth, with the information needed to create a new game, as long as he didn't tell everyone on Earth about the Nexus Force. The scrapped the idea of worlds like YouReeka, and started developing worlds based on the world he had visited with the information from the encyclopedia he had stolen. The Head of LEGO was snapped back to reality by the shouts of his employees. "Sir! Sir! The Maelstrom is attacking!" This had never happened before, but the employees took their posts, and grabbed weapons. And then the gate exploded. And through it came a gorilla like figure. Then it pounced, and the Head of LEGO saw what it was. Kinga Hurl had come. And he had come to smash.

Chapter 19 >>> Behind Kinga came two more enormous Stromling Apes, and thousands of regular Stromlings, along with some Spiderlings. The employees made a valiant effort to fight them off, but even though they were Mythrans, they had no idea how to use their powers. The Maelstrom quickly overran them, but when they reached where the Head of Lego had been when they had burst in, he was gone.

The Head of Lego, whose real name was Craven Dominique, raced through the forest, just trying to get away from the Maelstrom. As he ran he became increasingly angry. He hadn't planned for this, and now he was all alone, trying to defeat all the sides in the war … alone. But he knew that the reward was far greater than the risk that he was taking, and he was determined to continue with his plan. Behind him, Craven heard crashing. The Maelstrom was gaining on him. He turned on his heal, and faced the Army. Craven then saw the Maelstrom burst through the underbrush, and Kinga Hurl, bring in the lead, leapt, and landed on Craven. But Craven had expected this. He imagined a giant hole in the ground appearing directly below him-and both he and Kinga fell in. Kinga lost his grip on Craven. The Head of Lego, being a Mythran, could fly out. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Kinga. As Craven flew out of the hole, some Spiderlings shot at him, but he evaded their shots, and then continued flying, heading towards the coast on the planet of Gnarled Forest. Craven flew to the coast, and then beyond. He was heading to the hidden isle of Pirate Cove.

Pirate Cove was a large collection of black rocks, with cannons appearing in caves on the outside. Craven flew towards it, but in his haste to get there, he didn't see the cannons being pushed out and being aimed at him-until he was hit by every cannon that could be aimed at him… With enough force to punch through ten feet of Obsidian Armor.

Chapter 20 >>> Mythrans were almost invulnerable to attacks. Which was why it was amazing the Craven could be hurt so badly, he was knocked out. As he had been flying towards Pirate Cove, he had been hit by hundreds of cannon balls. Because of their power, he was knocked into the water. He sunk like a stone.

The Pirates cheered. They didn't have any idea who it was, but Pirates had never needed a reason to fight. The only reason they allied with the Nexus Force was because Hael Storm had been the Pirate Emperor before he left on the quest for the Imagination Nexus. By the laws of the Pirate Order, the Emperor's First Mate would become the Pirate Emperor, as long as a supermajority of Pirate agreed on it. If not, then they would elect a new leader. Jack Knife, Hael's First Mate, had been elected. Because of the Pirate's loyalty to Hael, when Exeter had reportedly killed him, they had started firing at anyone who came, who wasn't flying the Pirate Flag. So when Craven had flown to the Cove, they had shot him down.

Craven sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The pressure would have killed any human, but Mythrans were much more powerful. The jolt of hitting the bottom knocked Craven awake. He glanced around, and saw he was underwater, and started swimming towards the island. He soon encountered a large rock wall. It extended in a circle, and Craven figured it must be the edge of the Cove. He pressed his hand to the rock, and then envisioned it melting away. It did just that. Craven swam through the hole, and reformed it behind him.

Craven quickly swam as high as he could, but was stopped by another rock wall. He figured this one was a floor, however. Using the same trick he had used before, he snuck out of the floor, and crept along the floor and walls. To avoid detection, he had dimmed his light to be very low, so he was as near to invisible as anyone could get. Craven walked through a doorway, and alarms went off. He tried to run, but was quickly surrounded by Pirates. "ARRRRRG!" The Pirate growled at him. "Surrender, landlubber!" "You can't beat me," said Craven, getting into a combat position. "I'll, as young people say now day, OWN you." "ARRRRRG! Never!" The Pirate shouted. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you…," Craven muttered, as he gathered his energies for the coming battle.

Chapter 20 >>> Mythrans were almost invulnerable to attacks. Which was why it was amazing the Craven could be hurt so badly, he was knocked out. As he had been flying towards Pirate Cove, he had been hit by hundreds of cannon balls. Because of their power, he was knocked into the water. He sunk like a stone.

The Pirates cheered. They didn't have any idea who it was, but Pirates had never needed a reason to fight. The only reason they allied with the Nexus Force was because Hael Storm had been the Pirate Emperor before he left on the quest for the Imagination Nexus. By the laws of the Pirate Order, the Emperor's First Mate would become the Pirate Emperor, as long as a supermajority of Pirate agreed on it. If not, then they would elect a new leader. Jack Knife, Hael's First Mate, had been elected. Because of the Pirate's loyalty to Hael, when Exeter had reportedly killed him, they had started firing at anyone who came, who wasn't flying the Pirate Flag. So when Craven had flew to the Cove, they had shot him down.

Craven sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The pressure would have killed any human, but Mythrans were much more powerful. The jolt of hitting the bottom knocked Craven awake. He glanced around, and saw he was underwater, and started swimming towards the island. He soon encountered a large rock wall. It extended in a circle, and craven figured it must be the edge of the Cove. He pressed his hand to the rock, and then envisioned it melting away. It did just that. Craven swam through the hole, and reformed it behind him.

Craven quickly swam as high as he could, but was stopped by another rock wall. He figured this one was a floor, however. Using the same trick he had used before, he snuck out of the floor, and crept along the floor and walls. To avoid detection, he had dimmed his light to be very low, so he was as near to invisible as anyone could get. Craven walked through a doorway, and alarms went off. He tried to run, but was quickly surrounded by Pirates. "ARRRRRG!" The Pirate growled at him. "Surrender, landlubber!" "You can't beat me," said Craven, getting into a combat position. "I'll, as young people say now day, OWN you." "ARRRRRG! Never!" The Pirate shouted. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you…," Craven muttered, as he gathered his energies for the coming battle.

Chapter 22 >>>

Craven formed a giant staff out of his imagination. He slashed at a Pirate, but the Pirate swung his cutlass, blocking the blow. Now all the Pirates were attacking him. His natural Mythran defenses kept him alive, but for how much longer? Craven was losing using his staff alone, but he hadn't gotten to where he was by using brute force. Craven knew how to fight intelligently. He glanced at the room he was currently in, and raced towards a doorway. He melted the door way with a blast of fire, and sprinted through it. The moment he was through, he reformed it, trapping the Pirates on the other side. He turned around, and ran down the tunnel, towards where he hoped his target would be. A crash. That would have been the Pirates, finally getting through the door. They would catch up with him soon. And they probably already knew where he was, with security cameras covering the complex. Craven turned a corner, and saw the Pirates standing there. He glanced behind him, and more streamed up the tunnel. And every one of them had a massive gun pointed at him. "Ye going to surrender now?" Growled one. Craven answered with action. He ran towards one crowd, but as the Pirates pulled their triggers, he dove to the ground, blasting through the ranks of them, and their shots hitting their allies. As Craven continued down the tunnel, he whispered, "See? I said I would own them."

The next part of his journey was uneventful. The Pirates must have been mostly knocked out or smashed, and the remaining ones probably decided it was best for their health not to challenge him. Craven had a general idea of where he should go. He wanted to get to the center of the rocks, which was where he figured he would find his target.

When the automated sentries started firing upon him, he knew he was getting close. He quickly dispatched them with a burst of fire. Along the corridor. Through a door. And then a blade at his neck. "I know you're a Mythran. And it's almost impossible to harm you," A voice said. "But at this range, I can, very, very easily."

Chapter 23 >>>

It wasn't every day one saw a former President, a Mythran, and Baron Typhonus running towards you. So Butterscorch could be forgiven for her slow reaction time. And during those crucial seconds that Butterscorch was stunned, Elementron had been able to blast a burst of fire at her, smashing her. The odd trio then ran towards Caldera Mar, Elementron firing bursts of flames at any Maelstrom who attacked them. The Nexus Force was normally content to just hold their positions at their twenty for bases, one from each Faction, which Elementron noticed were named after the twenty four Greek letters. This meant that there weren't any Nexus Force soldiers attacking them too.

As the Baron led the way, Washington followed close behind, while Elementron was at the rear. He now thought that Typhonus might be telling the truth. After all, he had just had Elementron smash Butterscorch. His thoughts were interrupted by the Baron, who whispered, "We're here." They were on the top of a high cliff, with floating rocks in front of them. The walls were coated with lava, dried and wet, and the floor contained jets of flames shooting up. And unlike in Lego Universe, not a single Maelstrom was in the pit. "So… What do we do?" Washington asked, curiously. "We go down into it. See, no one is there because of the danger. But I have heard rumors of an ancient and powerful… something down in the pit. I am not sure what it is, but I believe that be must go and find it. Elementron, would you be kind as to form us a ladder to get down?" The Baron answered. Elementron did so, and they climbed down. When they reached the bottom he dissolved the ladder.

Typhonus in the lead, they set off across the floor, being careful to avoid the flame jets on the floor. Elementron had formed them all body armor to protect them; it was better to be safe than sorry. The floor started to slope downward, but the three continued on. For safety, the Baron told Elementron that he should be prepared to fly the three of them out at a moment's notice. The farther down they went, the more flame jets and lave there were. Soon, the floating islands above them were simply dots, as they trekked farther and farther down. "Typhonus?" Washington eventually asked. "Are you sure there's something down here?" "I have only heard rumors. But I fear that whatever is down here may be our only means of escape," the Baron replied. "Or you doom," a deep, dark voice said, as all three suddenly blacked out.

Chapter 24 >>>

Milligan followed the rest of the pack as they ran up the stairs. When he heard Flamebridge say, "Oh my Mythrans…" he knew it couldn't be good. Unfortunately, he couldn't see what was there, until the others charged. It was the Nexus Force. A giant hole was in the wall of the ship; with a tube leading too what he supposed was another ship. And Nexus Force soldiers were pouring in. Milligan saw Numb Chuck burst in, and start swinging his Nun-Chucks. Zip Lash and Kenjin the Wise also arrived immediately, and started fighting. But the Troops here weren't the ones they had faced at Forbidden Valley. These all carried Valiants and regular weapons, and looked much more menacing. And they were more highly trained. While each of the three master fighters on their side were more than a match for one, or even dozens, hundreds was just too much. Not a single Player of Lego Universe had started fighting yet. But then a Space Marauder started firing upon them, and they took action. And while they were outnumbered, and it took two of them to defeat one Nexus Force Trooper, they were actually winning. Or at least holding their own. But even though the Nexus Force relied on brute force to win their battles, it almost always did win. And it did just that. Three quick strikes knocked out Kenjin, Zip, and Numb Chuck. Then the Nexus Force Troops moved in, snatched the bodies, and retreated to their ship. But there were still hundreds more Troops still on the ship, fighting. And eventually, every defender would fall.

Milligan woke up, and glanced around, trying not to let anyone know he was awake. Apparently the two people next to him, Gortee and SupaCoopa, had had the same idea. Suddenly lights flashed on, and a voice spoke. "We know you are all awake. There is no sense hiding it. Please answer my questions, and you will not be harmed. My name is Emperor Exeter. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? But you know me as Duke Exeter. I trust that you will trust me. Am I correct?" "You invade our ship, fight us, capture us, and you expect us to TRUST you? Are you crazy?" Milligan shouted at him. "Um… Well… Um…," Exeter stuttered. "That was an honest mistake! Anyone could have made it!" "Wow. I always admired you," Gortee shouted at him. "But you're just a cruel…" He paused, trying to find the right word for Exeter. "Anyone could have made it?" SupaCoopa yelled. "Not unless you are either crazy, evil, or power hungry!" "Well, I'm all three," Exeter replied.

Chapter 25 >>>

Numb Chuck awoke in a prison cell, chained to the bars. He lay there for a few minutes, straining to hear sounds. While he heard none, he knew he had to escape. It was his duty to protect the students. Numb Chuck flipped over, rattling his chains. In mid leap, he pressed his feat against the opposite wall. Now he was suspended in midair. He started to climb up, and when he could climb no more, he kicked the ceiling. The force of his kick made the roof shudder, but nothing else. Again. Cracks were starting to form. Again. A tile came slightly loose. On his next kick, the ceiling exploded. The bars that he was chained to collapsed. He slipped his hands out of the broken bars, and reached into his pocket for a special potion he kept that could liquidate solid matter. He popped it open, and let is spill over his handcuffs. It liquidated them, and he was free. But the noise he had made when he freed himself had attracted unwanted attention. Guards were rushing down the passage on either side, weapons drawn. Numb Chuck grabbed at his Nun-Chucks. They hadn't taken any of his weapons. "Newbies," he thought. He jumped at the ceiling, bashing at it with his Nun-Chucks. The ceiling exploded once again, and Numb Chuck scrambled through it…

Daki waited on the floor, staring at "Emperor" Exeter. Exeter had just proclaimed that he was crazy, evil, and power hungry. As Daki stared at Exeter, something strange was happening. The floor around Exeter was grumbling. And then it exploded. Exeter was smashed against the wall, and Numb Chuck scrambled through the hole. Numb Chuck glanced around, and then said, "Well, hello everyone. I think it best if we exit this establishment immediately." And with that, they ran.

Exeter lay stunned for a few moments, and then got to his feet. After some people had destroyed Nexus Tower, he had set up a new base at Nimbus Station, underground this time. He had then set about to capture the rebels. And now they were escaping. "At least I destroyed their ship," he thought. But he had a plan still. A plan to rule the Universe.

Daki and the others met up with Kenjin the Wise and Zip Lash a short way down the corridor. "How did you get away?" Numb Chuck asked them. "Long story," they replied in unison. Taking random turns, they arrived at a large set of doors. Zip Lash gunned it down, and it revealed multiple ships. The party boarded one, and with Numb Chuck at the controls, they set off.

Chapter 26 >>>

Exeter was discouraged. Nexus Tower destroyed, his prisoners escaped. He was tempted to believe that his efforts to capture the rebels had no effect. But it had had one. They no longer had their ship. "Guard, come here!" He shouted at one of his soldiers. "Yes sir, Duke Exeter," the guard replied. "That's Emperor Exeter to you! Ha!" Exeter shouted at the guard. "Yes sir, Emperor Exeter," the guard said. "What is it you require?" "Bring me a piece of Doctor Overbuild. You know, one of the ice fragments." "Yes sir," the guard answered, and ran off.

After a few minutes, the guard returned, and handed Exeter a glass fragment. Exeter dismissed him, and then walked to the Paradox Area, where the Shadow Orb was located. Exeter grimly smiled. The Shadow Orb was one of his favorite devices. When a Nexus Force Recruit looked into it, a shock knocked them out, and then images of an evil and monstrous Baron Typhonus were shown to them. But there was another function that the Shadow Orb served. When one looked into it, it did a retinal scan. For anyone except for the Faction Leaders, it would do its false purpose. But when they looked into it, a man with an enormous hood talked to them. It was assumed that he had a device which enabled him to talk through the Shadow Orb. And today, Exeter needed to consult with him.

Exeter powered up the Orb, and let it scan his retina. A voice spoke to him. It sounded young, but as if it had experienced much more than its years. "I have seen what you have done, Exeter," the man said. "Emperor Exeter! Yes! I am an Emperor now!" Exeter shouted in rage. "You are not a real Emperor," the man replied. "And I do not approve of what you have done." The man knew, though, that anything that happened could be turned to his advantage. "What will you do? I am infinitely more powerful than you. If you knew who I am, you would know it was true." "No one is more powerful than me!" "Many are, Exeter. But I will still help you. What is it you need to know?" The man like humoring people by asking, it was clearly visible to him, as he could read minds. "When I smashed Doctor Overbuild in… Self-defense… he had on him the last spark of pure Imagination in the Universe. And I need that Spark. So… How can I get it back?" "You will have to use Necromancy to bring him back. But only one trained in the magical arts will be able to do such a thing. And where can you get someone like that?" "With the Mythrans I captured!" "You are correct. Now I will leave you." With that, the man broke contact with Exeter, who was stunned by the daunting task before him.

Chapter 27 >>>

After an hour of uneventful spaceflight, Numb Chuck had the ship to jump, as it was away from sources of strong gravity. In an instant, the ship emerged from the Zeroth Dimension. And Numb Chuck saw a ship on the scanner. The ship was small, but he shouted over the intercom, "Ship spotted! Man the guns!" This was really a message just to Zip Lash, as he was their gunner. Then Numb Chuck initiated contact with the ship. "Who is this?" he asked, not wanted to identify himself. "Vanda Darkflame," the voice replied. "I trust you weren't going to blow me out of space, were you?" she continued with a chuckle.

In a few minutes, Vanda had docked her ship, as the vessel Numb Chuck and the others were on was large. After greeting everyone, Vanda asked Numb Chuck what was going on. He explained to her that they were training the students, and trying to fight the Nexus Force. "But we lost our ship!" Numb Chuck finished. "Exeter blew it up! Now we don't have any weapons." "Well, I know where you can get some," Vanda replied. "Starbase 3001."

Below the first few floors of control, luxury hotels, and enormous malls, Starbase 3001 was hundreds of floors of rundown rooms where the farther one got away from the top floors, the more rundown it was. Up high were where the craftsmen and their families lived, doing (generally) honest work. Farther down was where poorer people lived, trying to work for the rich to pay for their food and shelter. Then below them was where the criminals and masterminds behind raids resided. There were weapons sold here, but only if you were the right person. The people here generally disliked the Nexus Force, for ruining their way of freedom before it came to power. And that was why, when a ship piloted by rebels fighting against the Nexus Force asked to dock, they allowed it to.

Chapter 28 >>>

Ree leveled off the ship, after running through the full of Nexus Tower. He looked down, and saw that the entire Tower had collapsed. "Excellent job, Ree!" Honor Accolade applauded. "Well, we'd better get going," Ree said. "Because I'm not too sure the Nexus Force is going to give us a raise when they find out that we destroyed their Head Quarters."

A blast shook the ship. They had exited the atmosphere, and were close to being able to Jump soon. Ree punched a button, and quad powerful laser cannons were revealed. Ree then hit another button, and they started firing. He did a loop, coming out pointing at the Nexus Force Ships. BLAM! One exploded. Another. Another. Until there were no more. "Good, they're gone," said Ree. "So now… we're heading to Starbase 3001. The best place for us to meet other Rebels fighting against the Nexus Force."

A few days later, and after numerous Jumps, they arrived at the Starbase. The intercom of the ship flashed, and Ree answered. "Hello. Ree here. What do you want?" "Why are you approaching the Starbase? Please state your purpose." "I'd like to dock. Just let me. OK?" "You may dock." "Well, that was a wasted thirty seconds of my life," Ree muttered. He started taxiing into the Starbase.

The ship arrived, and they foursome unloaded. "Any of you ever been here before?" Ree asked. "Yeah, the upper floors, but," Achilles said, until Ree cut him off. "No, I mean the real Starbase. Down here. There's people like me. People who've been fighting against the Nexus Force for years. And I see it's also the place where all of us Rebels are going. I see Numb Chuck here, as well."

Chapter 29 >>>

Even as Ree spotted Numb Chuck, he dove to the ground. An explosion destroyed the tile his head had been in front of a second ago. Another shot fired straight at Ree, but he jumped from his flat position, drew his blaster, flipped, and fired half a dozen shots before he hit the ground. All six found their mark, smashing the people who had attacked him. One of them fired another shot from his rocket launcher, but Ree rolled to the side, and fired another shot that made the rocket launcher explode. The remaining attackers had started to close in, drawing knives and swords. Ree blasted a few more times. Four left. One of them stabbed with his knife, but Ree caught his hand, flipped him, and fired his blaster at point blank range. Another then tried to swing his sword, but Ree knocked it away with his blaster, and then shot. During all this, one of them had circled around Ree, and was ready to stab, when Ree back flipped over him, kicked, and fired. The last one just stood there in shock. But Ree wanted this one alive. "Who sent you to smash us?" He asked. "The…. The… Nexus… Force…," the man said in terror. "And why did you listen?" "Because we were all living in poverty. We needed the money Emperor Exeter was going to give us." "He wouldn't have given you the money. When you asked for it, he would have smashed you." "Really?" "Yes. Now, go home to your family. And take this." Ree pulled out a large sum of money from his pocket, and handed it to the man. The man was speechless. Then he mumbled something about thank you, and ran off.

"How did they know we were here?" Achilles asked Ree, when he had found them. They each been attacked, and had had to defend themselves. "I kept one alive," Ree said. "He said that Exeter had sent them." "I should have known!" Rutger exclaimed. "But we need to find Numb Chuck. We saw him before, right?" Honor said. "Well, not if he finds you first!" Numb Chuck said, happily, as he walked towards them. Then he gasped, and lunged right at Ree.

Chapter 30 >>>

The figure stepped out of the shadows, mumbled a few words, and the three bodies lifted into the air, hovering a few feet above the rocky ground. It walked down the slope of the pit of Caldera Mar, holding its hand in front, making the figures continue to hover. But it wasn't an endless pit, even though Caldera Mar took up a sizeable part of the planet. And at last the figure with its three victims reached the bottom. The ground had flattened out, and if one of the captives had looked up, they wouldn't have even able to see the rocks floating high, high above. The figure continued tirelessly walking, until it reached an archway in the wall, and passed through it. The room they entered was relatively small, dominated by a large stone basin in the center, containing… Well, something. The figure set down the three others, and waved his hand. They instantly woke up. "Who are you?" Said the one who had some Admiral or General's clothes. "That is not of concern," the figure replied. "But I must talk to you." "Well, talk to us please!" Said the one who was glowing. "I have existed since the beginning of time. I came before the First Builders. Though they should really be called the Second Builders, as my kind did so before them. But we were each a separate race. For they were the First Builders… and we were the Mystics."

Chapter 31 >>>

Elementron was shocked. When the Head of Lego had told him to have the Hood of the Mystic as a prize for a contest, he had done so. He had never realized what the Mystics really were. And now he was staring at one. The Mystic continued, "When the First Builders came into being, some of us, like me, decided to go into a semi-eternal sleep. We would rise again one day when we had to restore the Universe to its balance of good and evil. Others decided to remain awake, and cause mayhem. We tried to persuade them not to, but decided it wasn't worth a war to do so. And now I sense that we, the Mystics, are needed again. I know all that is going on. I heard it in my sleep. "Emperor" Exeter is now leader of the Nexus Force, Ollogothis, the Spider Boss, is the leader of the Maelstrom. And then there are the rebels. There are a lot of them, including you. But nowhere near the amount in either of the other groups." "So, what are you going to do about this?" Washington asked. "I will fight. Who, I do not know. I need to look inside your minds," the Mystic replied. He approached Typhonus, and touched his forehead. A spark of pain shot over Typhonus, and he yelled. The Mystic, in his mind's eye, raced down Typhonus' mind, and reached the part of his brain where memories are stored. Then, after doing something, he flew back out. In effect, if Typhonus' mind had been a computer, he had just hacked into it, gone to the folder marked "Everything", copied it, and pasted it in his own brain.

The Mystic continued with the same thing with Elementron, muttering that this man was not born in this area of the Universe. When he approached Washington, he said, "Something is seriously wrong with you. While that Mythran over there wasn't born in this part of the Universe, you weren't even born in this time period. You were born three hundred years ago." And then he reached out and touched Washington's forehead. And was given knowledge that no one besides Washington had ever had.

Chapter 32 >>>

The Mystic took a second transfer all of the information. Then he started going through it. Washington, surrendering at Fort Necessity… Washington, victorious at the Battle of Yorktown… Washington, at the Constitutional Convention… Washington, at last passing away… The next two hundred years passing in a blur… Then Baron Typhonus using Necromancy to bring back Washington, asking him to become the General for his Army. Washington accepted… But there was something else in there too, at the Constitutional Convention. It was Washington's thoughts about how the Government should have been run. And despite his warning at his Farewell Address, Political Parties still formed. The Mystic filed this information away for later use.

"Well. I know what is going on in the Universe now. We will now travel out of Crux Prime, and go to Starbase 3001. That is where I believe the rebels will go," The Mystic said. "We?" Elementron said, skeptically. "Yes. What do you think I will do with you? Smash you? "Well… Yes," Elementron answered. "I am on your side in this war. Its three sides. The Nexus Force, led by Duke Exeter. The Maelstrom, led by Ollogothis, the Spider Boss, and the Rebels. Led by no one. At the moment. Now I ask you. What side will you be on?" "The Americans!" Washington shouted. "I mean the Rebels!" "The Rebels," Elementron answered. "The Rebels," Typhonus replied. "So why not come with me?" The Mystic asked.

A few minutes later, they had stepped out of the cave. "So how are we going to get out of here?" Typhonus asked. "Wait!" A voice called. The foursome glanced at the figure who had shouted. He had long, grimy, blonde hair, and a huge beard. His blue and silver robes were falling apart, and he looked as if he was about to fall over. But even through all this, the figure's piercing blue eyes remained the same. It was Duke Exeter.

Chapter 33 >>>

"Who are you?" Craven said quietly. "Captain Jack Knife," The man holding the knife to his neck said. "Well Snack Rife, or whatever you name is, let me go." "One, that's Captain Jack Knife. Two, no. And Three, what are you doing here?" "I need allies. We're all in this war together. Fighting against the Nexus Force and the Maelstrom." "Why should I help you? You're a dirty, lying, stealing, piece of-" But Craven cut him off, by forming a whip of flames, and lashing it at Jack. Jack dove away, and threw his knife, which Craven melted. Jack drew his cutlass, and Craven cracked his whip. It was an even battle. A middle aged man, out of shape, who had never held a whip before, but had practically impenetrable armor and an unbreakable whip. Facing a man ten years younger, who practiced sword fighting and exercised for hours a day. Jack thrust with his sword, and it hit Craven. Such a blow would have smashed anyone besides a Mythran. But it just glanced off Craven, who snapped the whip, forcing Jack back. Jack then lunged, back flipped while Craven attempted to snap the whip. In the air, Jack caught the edge of a chair, and flipped it upwards, crashing into Craven, who wasn't fast enough it melt it. With Craven stunned for a minute, Jack raced up to him, and held another of his knives to Craven's neck again. "Come with me," Jack said. He led Craven down to a prison cell, and locked the door. But this was a cell where the inhabitant could not use powers, unlike the general one Elementron had been kept in. "Good bye, Craven," Jack said. "You will never see the light of day again."

Chapter 34 >>>

"Why… Yes," Inventrius said to Hael. "But why? I know you loved that ship. But…" "I need something on it. I never thought that it would crash. And on it I had stored something. Something that I can use to defeat Exeter." "Well, Alright. Head to my place, and we can talk there."

Hael piloted his stolen ship over the next few days to the planet Inventrius called home. He knew that the planet was a jungle world, and Inventrius lived in a tree house, that was made of metal, and covered many square miles. But most of it was the vast fleet of ships Inventrius kept. Hael landed his ship on one of the docking pads, Inventrius already out to meet him. "Hello, old friend!" Inventrius said, happily. He was clad in black robes, and in his human form. He had on a cape and hood, as it was raining hard. "Come in, Hael!" The ship exploded. The rain and wind suddenly picked up speed, as a group of Nexus Force Gunships roared into sight. "Get in! Now!" Inventrius commanded. He fired a few bursts of fire to cover their pursuit, which flew at the Gunships, despite the rain. The doors closed automatically behind them. "I will raise the Koi while you hold them off. It will appear here, at the Launchpad." "OK," Hael replied. Inventrius ran down the hall, his robes fluttering behind him. Hael drew his sword and knife, just in time for the first troops coming. "There he is!" A Space Marauder shouted, as he opened fire with his Wormholer. Hael threw his knife, silencing him forever. With the leader of their squad down, the rest of the Troops in this wave were less organized. Hael ran, their shots ricocheting off the walls. He slammed his hand on a button, and a set of doors fell down, blocking the Troops. He then raced down the hall a bit further.

Inventrius had reached the most defensible part of the building, and set to work. He estimated he needed about fifteen minutes. He sent the information telepathically to Hael.

Hael suddenly knew it would take fifteen minutes for Inventrius to raise the Koi. He had to raise the Pieces from Crux, and then move them here. "Clang!" That must be one of the doors being broken down. Hael figured it had been five minutes now. By the time another five had passed, all but the last door was broken down. Hael waited for it, and then let them see him. They charged, and Hael ran. It wasn't in fear that he ran. He knew he could take them on any day. It was out of necessity. He had to lead them away, and then double back. Hael was faster, and was able to round a corner and hide before they saw him. He heard them run past him. He then ran out, and headed to the launch area. The Koi, shining like new, was sitting there. Inventrius was standing nearby, shooting a stream of fire at the Gunships. "Get in the Koi!" Inventrius shouted at him. Hael raced in, and took the controls. He lifted slightly off the ground, and fired his lasers at the ships. Out of the four that were sent, three had remained; Inventrius had taken down one already. Hael's lasers took down another. He then opened the hatch of the ship, and sent the Koi towards Inventrius, who dived on. The Gunships' shots decimated the ground where Inventrius had been standing moments before, and in the time the Gunships were too surprised to dodge, Inventrius fired two bursts of fire, turning the Gunships into fireballs, which spiraled towards the swamp below. Inventrius walked to the cabin, and told Hael, "Destroy my home. We can't let them have what is in it." Hael turned the Koi, and fired a missile at Inventrius' home. It instantly was destroyed. And then the shock wave carried to the planet. All bits of life suddenly were smashed, and the planet along with them. Nothing remained of the planet. Nothing.

Chapter 35 >>>

"Step on it Hael!" Inventrius commanded. Hael floored the accelerator, and the ship shot forward. Inventrius was taking the destruction of his world well. But the Gunships were only used in the atmosphere of planets. There had to be something that had dropped them off. And that something was waiting right up ahead. Hael piloted the Koi expertly. When he had been a child, his parents had hated him, and he had run away at age ten. He signed on as a cabin boy for a ship in the Royal Navy, but quickly abandoned that for a life of pirating. He had joined the crew with a young Captain and Crew, though he was still the youngest on the ship. After years serving aboard the ship, he decided to get his own. But he wasn't going to settle on some old ship from the junkyard, or even a model from the catalogue. He decided to build his own. It was to be the best ship in the Universe. The Koi was a brilliant red, with three engines, each running off the Dark Matter and Dark Energy of Space, giving it unlimited Energy Supply. With this as its energy source, it also made it so that no space was taken up by power sources. This lift space free for weapons. The Koi carried Antimatter Missiles, Lasers, and was shielded by Armor and a Deflector Shield, much like Hael's personal one. Hael snapped back from his recollections. He was quickly approaching a fleet of Nexus Force Ships. It was a Flagship Cruiser, flanked by two smaller Spear Ships, and two dozen Fighter Ships. And Hael, without hesitation, headed straight for them, a smile on his face, a glint in his eye. His days of Politics and Debates were over. It was a Pirates life for him once more.

Chapter 36 >>>

Hael pulled the Koi into a dive, the lasers launched by the Nexus Force ships completely missing. Two of the smaller ships were following him. Good. They were trying to flank him, but he put on a burst of speed, outdistancing them. He then headed back towards the Flagship. A heat Seeking Missile from one of the Spear Class Ships raced after him. He skimmed over the hull of the Flagship, and dived off the edge. But the Missile didn't have that maneuverability. Half of the Flagship exploded. Hael then piloted the Koi towards one of the Spear Class Ships, five of the smaller ships following him. They fired their lasers, and wiped each other out, as Hael sent the Koi spiraling upwards. One of the smaller ships raced after him, as Hael headed towards the remains of the Flagship, which was being guarded by the rest of the ships. The ship following him fired, and it's lasers destroyed one of the other smaller ships. Hael headed straight towards the Flagship, and suddenly dived down, having the smaller ship crash into it, destroying the remains of the Flagship.

Only one of the Spear Class Ships chased him, flanked by the remaining three smaller ships. Hael then pulled a flip, turning the Koi to face the ships, charging towards him. They weren't going to stop, but Hael wasn't about to go and crash his newly returned Koi into them. Two of the smaller ships turned in opposite directions, and crashed into each other. The last small ship stopped, and turned to flee, but the Spear Class Ship plowed into it. But not on its spear at the front of the vessel. So both exploded. Hael glanced at Inventrius, who suddenly started applauding while laughing hysterically. Throughout the entire battle, Inventrius had sat his eyes wide, a look of terror on his face. "You beat them all without firing a single shot! How did you manage that?" Inventrius said, almost choking from laughing. It was true. Hael hadn't fired a single shot. Hael responded, smiling, "You've forgotten one very important thing, mate. I'm Captain Hael Storm!"

Chapter 37 >>>

Inventrius laughed. "True, old friend!" "So, where are we headed?" Hael asked. "Well… I have seen that two of my former colleagues have been kidnapped by the Mythrans what rebelled, and we must free them!" "What?" Hael asked. "Just… Give me a moment." Inventrius concentrated, and did a complete scan of straight lines in front of him infinitely. Eventually, he found them. Imaginatrix and Figmentia. "To the Guadalupe Star System!" Inventrius shouted. Hael pulled the accelerator forwards, and after a few minutes, made the Jump.

The Koi Jumped back to normal space, close to the Guadalupe Star System. "Now we approach slowly," Inventrius said. "Aye, I'll activate the stealth field," Hael responded. He activated it, and sent the Koi heading towards the sun of the Star System. After a while, Hael asked, "So… What Planet?" Inventrius pointed to one on the HuD of the ship. Hael headed towards it.

Now very close to the planet, the passed one of its Moons. The Planet was approaching fast, and in another few minutes, they entered the atmosphere, and headed down to the surface. Hael glanced at the HuD, and saw a large building. He motioned at it, and Inventrius nodded. "Should we destroy it, or raid the place?" "Raid it. Land a few miles away, then we'll approach on foot." Hael did so, and they stepped out into the sunlight.

The world was a Jungle, with enormous trees, exotic wildlife, and extreme natural, formations. The building they were trying to infiltrate was atop a high cliff. Guards were stationed around it, and heat seeking missiles were mounted on top. "Inventrius, make me a megaphone." "Um… OK…" Inventrius did so, and handed it to Hael. "Surrender! It is the Captain Hael Storm! I am giving you one chance to surrender! If you wish to, send answer with your own Megaphone! I am not loaning mine!" "Hael! You fool! They'll smash us now!" Inventrius yelled, but still managed to whisper. A loud voice responded, "Hello Hael Storm. Yes, we DID find our own Megaphone. And your answer is no." The figure was at the top of the cliff. Another Mythran. He was holding a huge Megaphone. "Ah, darn! Inventrius, make me a larger one, will you? His is bigger!" Inventrius did so, smiling. Hael grabbed it, and the old one disintegrated. "OK," Hael shouted into it. "Your answer is no. Fine. But, you better be ready for this…" Hael turned on his heal and ran into the forest. He startled a few birds, and they streamed away from him. Up on top of the cliff, the Mythran was laughing. "Hael Storm! I thought you more brave that that!"

Hael was in the forest a bit, but the birds had made it seem like he had run even farther. He turned around, and slowly headed back, right to the edge. Then he activated his boot jets, and soared up to the cliff, and landed in front of the Mythran. "One, that's Captain Hael Storm. And two. You're done for," Hael said, as he slashed the Mythran with his sword.

Chapter 38 >>>

"Well, hello," Emperor Exeter said smugly as he walked to the cells of his captured Mythrans. "What do you want from us?" One of them shouted at him. "Nothing, nothing at all," Exeter replied, with an obvious lie. He walked to a small room, and went through the door. There was a small switch. Exeter waited a second, savoring the moment. When he threw the switch, all of the Mythrans power would come to him. Unfortunately, it would smash the Mythrans. But it was all in the name of profit and power. Exeter threw the switch. The Mythrans suddenly slumped, and Exeter looked at himself. Nothing had changed. But then he imagined that he was in a ball of fire. It suddenly appeared around him. Exeter now had the power of the Mythrans he had captured. He laughed, grabbed the ice fragment of Overbuild, and poured power into it. Instantly Overbuild burst into the air. "Give me the Papers and the Spark. Now," Exeter commanded. He had lied to the Hooded Man of his intentions. Well partially. There was something along with the Last Spark of Pure Imagination. Exeter needed both, and the new Nexus created in the Tower had been destroyed. He was very pleased with his own brilliance, but Exeter didn't know that the Man could read minds. "And what will you do to me if I don't? I'm already smashed," Overbuild replied. "You don't want to know." Overbuild, sensing a threat reached into his robes and handed Exeter two things. A scrap of parchment and his Robot Dog. Exeter laughed wildly, and smashed to Dog. It's Spark drained into his own. Then he read the papers. They said exactly what he had feared. He melted them with a burst of fire. But while Exeter had been gloating, Doctor Overbuild had run. Exeter glanced at where he had left the Doctor, and saw he was gone. He howled with rage, but wasn't too angry. "Where was Overbuild to go?" He thought to himself. "After all, now I have the three things necessary to ultimate power. And true Immortality."

Chapter 39 >>>

"I… I'll tell you what happened," the man that looked like Duke Exeter said.

The other four glanced at each other, and in silence, they agreed to let him speak. This was very interesting, after all.

"I… I had been consulting with The Hooded Man, and he had told me that Typhonus was good. He was not evil anymore." Then Exeter froze. He pointed at Typhonus. "You! What are you doing here?" Then he snapped back to his tale, as if he had done nothing strange. Washington pointed at Exeter, and rolled his finger around his head. It was a clear sign that he thought that Exeter was crazy. The other three agreed. "So, I decided to go and find him. I only gave a piece of paper to Doctor Overbuild, as he was the only one of my friends around, to only open if I were gone for more than a month. Then I left for where we thought his base was. And… Someone shot my ship down! I was going alone. My ship was vaporized, and I fell into this pit. And I've been living here for a month now." "Wait…," Elementron said. So… You're Duke Exeter. The REAL one?" "Well, are there any others?" And then Exeter went crazy again. He was yelling, his eyes wide, and froze again. Then he snapped back to normal. The other four glanced at each other, half ready to laugh, and half ready to be terrified. What could have the power to make Exeter act like this? They all knew he had defeated armies, wandered a desert planet for over a year before being rescued, captured planets without firing a single shot. What could be more powerful than the Duke? Because it was obvious that something had made him crazy, besides living here for a month. "Um… Yes…," Typhonus said. "Who is he?!" Exeter shouted. "I will smash them!" Exeter reached for his sword, but it wasn't there. "They took my sword?" He asked quizzically. "All is lost!" He howled. The other four had started backing away, but Exeter then cried, "Wait! Take me with you! I am the real Exeter! Whoever is impersonating me is an imposter! What do I have to do to make you believe me?" Typhonus turned around, and walked back to Exeter. "If you can answer me this one question, we will take you with us." "Ok," Exeter said. "I'm ready." "What were the last words I said to you before I was controlled by the First Builders?" "Well, that's easy!" Exeter chuckled. "You said: We're finally here. The Nexus of Imagination. This is what I have worked for my entire life." "Ok!" Typhonus shouted. "He's the real Exeter alright! Even if he is crazy, we're taking him. And besides, he's my friend. Could you betray a friend to a fate like this? Wandering to the end of eternity in the terrible pit of Caldera Mar?"

Chapter 40 >>>

Ree ducked, and Numb Chuck soared over him, tackling the assassin who was about to stab Ree. Numb Chuck then bashed the assassin with his Nun-Chuck, stunning him. "Well, now that that's taken care of, let's get down to business," Numb Chuck said. He went on to introduce all of the students, Vanda, Kenjin, and Zip Lash. "Well," Ree said," Here are Rutger Hemoglobin, he's a vampire, Honor Accolade, he's a retired war Admiral, who's as famous here as…" Ree paused, trying to find the right person that the Students would know. "As George Washington?" Murphy said. "Not like he's here or anything." "Whoever he is, OK. I doubt I'll ever meet him, though," Ree continued. "This is Achilles Plutarch, and I am Ree. Mr. Ree." "What's your first name?" a few students asked. But Ree ignored them. "So now we all know each other," Numb Chuck said. "We need a plan. We need to buy weapons here, and then start fighting the Nexus Force." Everyone voiced their consent. "So how will we get weapons?" asked Milligan. "Right here," a voice replied. A figure stepped out of the shadows, and said, "I'm against the Nexus Force too. I will give you weapons. But the ones I have are the only ones on the Starbase. Because the Nexus Force just raided here, and took everything they could find." "Um… Thanks?" Honor said. "You are welcome. Take these." He handed Numb Chuck four packages, each containing a weapon and obsidian body armor. "Thank you very much," Numb Chuck said. "But who are you?" He was sure he had heard the voice before. "You will always know me as the Hooded Man. Nothing else. Good day." And with that the Hooded Man disappeared into a puff of black smoke.

A few hours later, the large group had gotten a conference room to themselves, and started planning strategy. "None of us, the so called, "NPCs" can go," Numb Chuck explained. "Rutger, being a vampire would be searched to thoroughly, Kenjin has been around forever, so everyone knows him, Ree and I are well known because we're so stealthy, Honor is as famous as the Weorge Gashington, Zip Lash is a Universe famous racer, and Achilles is famous for his days in the army," Numb Chuck explained. They were trying to determine who could go on a mission to raid a Nexus Force base on a nearby planet, to get supplies. "And we only have enough gear for four to go," Achilles said. "So who's willing to lead this dangerous, life threatening mission? You probably will not return alive." Murphy raised his hand slowly. "Where are my free nachos?" He asked Cobalt, who was sitting next to him. Murphy had been sleeping throughout the entire meeting, and must have been dreaming about nachos. "Excellent! We have a volunteer!" Zip Lash said. "And he has chosen someone to go with him! Now, Murphy, choose two more people!" Murphy and Cobalt stood up. "'Do you see what you've gotten us into?" Cobalt whispered in Murphy's ear. "Nothing. Besides free nachos," Murphy responded.

Chapter 41 >>>

Cobalt did a facepalm, while Murphy asked, "Wait… If I'm not getting free nachos, what does it mean? Free pizza?" "No, Murphy. You just volunteered for a dangerous mission. Weren't you listening?" Zip Lash responded. Murphy hesitated, and answered, "No." "Well, this was our plan. We are going to break into a Nexus Force Base on a nearby planet. But we need a small team to break in first to shut off security and open the doors. For certain reasons, none of us," Zip Lash motioned to all of the NPCs, "Can go. So we asked for a volunteer, and you did so! You are the team leader! You have to go. You volunteered. But you can still make someone else the leader." "Alright…," Murphy said. He pointed at Milligan. "You're leader, Mill.I.Gan!" Milligan stood up, looking half angry, half exasperated. It was obvious that he hoped that Murphy had been smashed long before this point. "Anyone else?" Milligan asked. "Golden, you come. I know I can trust you not to goof off, start break dancing, or singing random songs." "Good. We have our team," Numb Chuck said. "Now, here are the packages the Hooded Man gave us." He handed the team the packages. They put on the armor, and each grabbed a weapon. Cobalt received a Longsword, Murphy a Cutlass, Golden a Wormholer like weapon, and Milligan a Bow and Quiver. "Wait, before we go," Cobalt asked. "We trained for… two weeks? And now we're supposed to go and raid a Nexus Force Base?" "Yeah, pretty much," Ree replied. "'But you'll be fake joining the Nexus Force. So after they let you in, that night, you shut off security, and open the doors! Simple!" "Ack, whatever," Cobalt said. "But if we smash here, I'm going to smash YOU, Murphy!"

Chapter 42 >>>

Inventrius flew up to land beside Hael. "That… was… AWESOME!" Inventrius shouted. "Well, that you, thank you, thank you very much," Hael said, bowing. "Put your hands up! We're sending out troops to capture you!" Shouted a voice from within the compound. "Get ready," Hael commanded, just as the doors burst open, a half dozen Mythrans running out, in full body armor, and carrying gigantic swords. Hael darted forwards, and quickly smashed one. Inventrius called down a rain of fire, smashing two more, and busting up the compound. Hael turned from the Mythran he had just defeated, and ducked, as a blade soared over his head. While the Mythran was recovering from his swing, Hael stabbed, smashing him. Two to go. They were both surrounding Inventrius, who was attempting to shoot bursts of fire at them, but they kept blocking. "Inventrius, over here!" Hael shouted. Inventrius ran to Hael, and they rushed into the compound. The two Mythrans raced after them, but Inventrius and Hael left them in the dust. They rounded a corner, and saw prison cells, with two Mythrans in them-Figmentia and Imaginatrix. Inventrius fired a burst of fire at the doors, but they didn't melt. "They're indestructible!" Figmentia called. "Hit the button over there!" She pointed to a corner. Hael rounded on the two Mythrans approaching. The corridor was narrow enough so that only one could come at a time. Hael slid under the legs of the first one, holding his sword above his head, smashing them both. By this time, Inventrius had hit the button, freeing Figmentia and Imaginatrix. "Thank you for rescuing us!" Imaginatrix said. She and Figmentia gave a quick hug to Inventrius. "What, I helped too!" Hael said, after they ignored him completely. "Come on, let's get out of here!" Inventrius shouted, also ignoring Hael's complaint. He had noticed pounding sounds in the hallway. The foursome sprinted outside, Inventrius summoning the Koi as they ran. When they exited, the Koi was only a mile away. But the doors of the compound had burst open again. An enormous crowd of Mythrans had run out, and charged at the group. "Ah!" Screamed Hael, who took a running start, and jumped off the cliff, fired his grappling hook at the Koi, and pulled himself up. He took the controls, blasting the building to bits, and forcing the Mythrans to take cover in the trees. Inventrius, Figmentia, and Imaginatrix then jumped onto the boarding ladder, as Hael flew by. The scrambled into the main body and Hael shut the door. "Hael, I have a question," Inventrius shouted. "Do you plan it all out, or make it up as you go along?" Hael simply laughed at the question, and turned on the speakers of the ship. "Alas, my Mythran not so much friends! This is the day you will always remember as the day that you almost caught Captain Hael Storm!" And with that, Hael piloted the Koi out of the atmosphere, and took the Jump at an extremely close distance to the planet. "This is what I love," Hael thought. "Pirating, adventuring, risking it all for the thrill. It's a Pirates life for me."

Chapter 43 >>>

Emperor Exeter was extremely pleased with himself. He had finally achieved it. Immortality. And he had the three items that gave him ultimate power. The Sword of Elemental Power, The Book of Knowledge, and The Spark of Imagination. And when brought together, they gave the user Immortality. His reign would never end. The Maelstrom would tremble before his might, and the little rebellion couldn't defeat HIM. Ultimate power would be his. He walked over to the shadow orb, and opened communications with the Hooded Man. "Hello. I have achieved Immortality," Exeter said, smugly. "Congratulations." "I just wanted to rub it in your face. Now what do I need to do next?" The Hooded Man told him. Exeter closed communications, and walked away, without a thank you. "And now to talk to my true master," Exeter muttered. He closed his eyes, and thought, "Master, I need to talk." Suddenly, a voice rang through his head. "Ah, good, Exeter." "Thank you, master. The Hooded Man has told me what I must do. And as you must already know, I have achieved Immortality." Exeter then told his master what the Hooded Man had said. "Do you agree? He finished." "The Hooded Man. He's always causing trouble. Why didn't you discuss with me before taking his advice? But he is right. Keep communicating with him. It will only help us." "Yes, master." "And now, the next stage of our plan will begin. Soon, we will be rulers of the Universe. Emperor Exeter and the Overlord." Exeter said good bye, and the voice left his head. He shuddered. As much as he respected the Overlord, he just creeped him out. And not for the first time Exeter found himself wondering, "Who are the Hooded Man and the Overlord? Their powers are beyond imaginable. It's obvious they aren't fully human, Mythran, First Builder, or Mystic." A chill went up Exeter's spine. End of Book Two

Authors Note >>>

Two books, a thousand replied, twenty five thousand views. Thank you guys. You've made this the second longest topic, third most viewed topic, third longest series, third most rated… Thank you guys. This means a lot to me. I've always know that I don't really have the patience for making a lot of great props, and I ok at battling. But I've wanted to write a story for… like two years, and the Lego MBS gave me a place to do so. I hope you enjoy the third book in The Nightfall Incident Series, coming September third, after a week of awesome Nightfall Incident related activities!

Chapter 1 >>>

Duke Exeter sat on the railing of the newly rebuilt Nexus Tower. Using his new powers he had reformed it in less than five minutes. "And it took the Doc a Month to build it," he thought.

It had been only a day since he had talked with the Hooded Man and the Overlord, but had learned much about the Universe. Reading the Book, he learned that his sword could not only freeze people and objects, but could channel his power, and had abilities of its own. And with the power granted by the Spark of Imagination, it gave him the power to destroy a planet if he wished to do so.

He glanced down. A thousand feet below, battles between the Nexus Force and the Maelstrom were taking place. At the moment, no one was hunting down the rebels. His master had a plan for them, that relied on them making it to Exeter. But then something caught his eye. Through the smoke of explosions, rubble of buildings, and shouts of the fighters, came the Spider Boss. Exeter blinked hard, but it didn't go away. But it wasn't heading towards the Tower. It scuttled off towards Caldera Mar. After a moment of hesitation, Exeter jumped the thousand feet, and followed.

The Spider Boss continued to scurry along, without a backwards glance. Exeter, though, still made sure to hide behind a rock or piece of rubble at every opportunity. Soon, he began to feel the heat from the Pit. He summoned a cooling mist, and went on. The Spider Boss was unaffected however, and Exeter had to run to keep up. Then, it stopped. Exeter figured it must have reached the edge. Then, the Spider Boss jumped. Exeter rushed forwards, and glanced down. Along with the Spider Boss, four more figures were standing there. One was some very large guy in black robes, who suddenly had a sword in his hand, at the sight of the Spider Boss. The second was a man dressed as some admiral or general, with epaulets, an enormous hat, and who carried a sword and pistol. The third was a large shock. It was Baron Typhonus, who was instantly recognizable by his black top hat and robes and his walking stick sword. But as much as a shock as it was for Exeter to see Typhonus, it was an ever bigger shock to see the fourth figure. It was someone Exeter had thought he had killed, when he had destroyed the real Exeter's ship, grabbed his body in a tractor beam, stolen his sword, and then let the body fall. But it was Exeter. He stared up at Exeter with bloodshot eyes, and he looked as if he hadn't eaten for a month. Then the real Exeter shouted, and the fake Exeter jumped, blasting some of the floating rocks in the process. He came up in a roll, his sword pointing at the real Exeter. "Well. Look at this. We have someone from each side in this war," Exeter said. "Indeed. It is true," Typhonus said. "And I'm not even going to try to show my hate for you with words." Then, the Spider Boss spoke. "If you are trying to get us to surrender, Exeter, it will not work. For as you are the Master of Death, there are other Masters. The ruler of the Maelstrom is the Master of Chaos. And Chaos must have a Master." Its voice was echoy, as if thousands of voices were talking at the same time, out of one mouth, and all saying the same thing. "Chaos has no Master!" Exeter shouted, repeating the old proverb, and backing away. "Oh, but it does, Exeter," The Spider Boss said. "I am here to smash these four," It motioned with its leg, "but now that you're here as well, I will end your existence as well." Exeter then turned where his sword was pointing, and fired a burst of lightning at the Spider Boss. It growled, and charged at him, firing laser blasts, which Exeter rolled to the side, dodging. He thrust with his sword, but it was parried by a blow from a leg. He sprinted through its legs, and attempted an attack from the rear, but the Spider Boss was too quick, turning around before Exeter was even through its legs. Exeter jumped, and landed on the Spider Boss's large head and torso. But before he had his balance, he was knocked off by a massive leap by the Spider Boss, which flung him about a hundred feet away. He raced back to the site of the battle, but the Spider Boss had its Cannon charge, and fired a blast that, while Exeter dodged it, knocked him back. He slowly got to his feet, and quickly parried a blow from its leg. Then Exeter rolled backwards, and felt his back against a pillar, as the Spider Boss slowly advanced for the kill.

Chapter 2 >>>

The plan was simple. Fake join the Nexus Force, shut off security, and open the doors for a fully armed assault by everyone else. Unfortunately for Cobalt, Golden, Murphy, and Milligan, it was very life threatening. Mr. Ree had just set them down on the landing platform, and headed away, and they stood there, dumbstruck, until Milligan said, "Well, come on. We don't have all day." He walked up to the door, and knocked. A man opened the door and said, "What do you want?" "We're here to rock the Nexus Force!" Murphy shouted. "You're here to what?" Asked the man. He spoke in a British accent. "You know, rock the Nexus Force, join it, make it beastly?" "Beastly? But, whatever. People like me don't understand your young people's slang. But aren't you a little young to be joining?" "Well, the Maelstrom got our parents," said Cobalt, thinking quickly. "Oh, so you have special reason to want to fight it." "Yes," said Golden. "Well, come in. I will take you to your room." The man led them through a hallway, and led them through a door, then closed it behind them. "Here are your rooms, please settle in, dinner is at six," the man said, and left. "Wow, that was easy," Cobalt muttered. "This is strange. It's almost as if that doorman was trying to help us. He just immediately lets us in. You know?" Milligan noted. "Yeah, I thought that too," Golden said, his chin cupped in his hand. The team fell silent, Murphy humming tunelessly, Cobalt pacing, Milligan examining his bow, and Golden taking out all the drawers, and putting them back in again. Finally, the butler guy knocked on the door, and came in. "Come, its dinner." He led them to a room filled with tables, grabbed five trays, handed one to everyone, and they went through the line, choosing what they wanted. The butler guy then took a seat, and the team did so to. "Hello, my friends," the man whispered. "I'm on your side in this. And I am from Earth. I'm not as famous as some of the others trapped here, but you may know me. I am Winston Churchill." Milligan gasped, but turned it into a cough. "Wow. Oh my… Mystics, this is crazy. And you say there's others from Earth stuck here as well?" "Oh yes. It is a long and complicated tale, but let me finish eating first. I'll tell you in your rooms."

Chapter 3 >>>

"There is a plot to destroy the Universe," Churchill said as they sat in the team's room. "The Overlord somehow brought the worst dictators from Earth here. I don't know how that will help him. But in response, the Hooded Man helped Baron Typhonus bring back George Washington, and then the Hooded Man brought back some of the other um… I suppose best leaders in history." "Don't be modest, man!" Milligan said. "I've read all about you in my History Textbook I threw at that Stromling!" The team laughed. "Well, alright. So he brought us here. But I'm not sure why. It seems like we're all pawns in chess, and the Overlord and the Hooded Man are the Chess Players. I don't mean to scare you, but I don't know who's good and who's bad. I do believe that the Overlord is evil, and the Hooded Man is trying to accomplish something less devious," Churchill said.

Chapter 4 >>>

The Hooded Man stood at the steps of a dark building. It was raining bricks (figuratively), but he still strolled towards the door, without a care in the world. His robes were dry. He flipped out a blaster, and the door exploded. He walked through the door, and drew his sword. The door reformed behind him. He rounded the corner, and saw a door. He raced down the hallway, and leapt through it, breaking it down. The room was dominated by a high backed chair, turned away from the Hooded Man. "Hello," said the man in the chair. And then he spun around. It was the Overlord. "I know your plan has failed," the Overlord said. "Not yet. And, did you know that Ollogothis and Emperor Exeter are both locked in combat? Last time I checked, The Spider Boss was about to smash Exeter," the Hooded Man replied, a smirk crossing his face. "What?" The Overlord stood up, and thought through the dimensions, the reaches of Space and Time, and saw that it was true. "So you have two choices," the Hooded Man said. "Stay and fight me, and possibly lose. Or go and stop the battle, and save your little Emperor Exeter." The Overlord cursed the turned to face the Hooded Man. "You broke in here so easily. But I thought you should know…" The Overlord took out his sword, and plunged it through the Hooded Man before he could react. The Hooded Man looked down at the blade. "I am not the Overlord. I am just an illusion." And then the Illusion of the Overlord disappeared, and the Hooded Man was left speechless. Then he cursed, and sprinted through the wall of the mansion. He had spent months looking for the place of the Overlords residence, and now it had proven to be false. But he still had a plan. It would just take longer to complete. But now, time was finally running out.

Chapter 5 >>>

Emperor Exeter attempted to get to his feet, but he was too weak. He rolled to the side, but Ollogothis started charging up its laser, and was about to fire when… "Blam!" A puff of smoke appeared, as the Spider Boss reeled after being hit. The smoke cleared to reveal the Overlord. "Exeter, you fool," He said. "I apologize, Master," The Emperor replied. The Overlord ignored him. "I look around, and see the three sides in this war: The Rebels, the weakest, the Maelstrom, the middle, and us, the Nexus Force, the most powerful. I believe you should all surrender to me. It will lead to no lives of people from Earth, which will soon be conquered, being lost, or those foolish enough to side with them. It will lead to no purple ponies or cabin boys or big, useless, hairy spiders…" But the Overlord didn't get to finish thinking up rude names for the Maelstrom forces. Ollogothis had charged, and in an attempt to stop him, Emperor Exeter had shot lightning, but had missed, hitting the real Exeter instead. The Rebels immediately drew their weapons, and watched at Ollogothis started attacking the Emperor and the Overlord. Washington glanced around at who was on his side. He quickly evaluated it, and then started taking command. "Mystic, go after the Overlord! Exeter, stay here! The rest of us, to the Spider Boss and Exeter!" Everyone obeyed the orders.

The Mystic approached the Overlord slowly, and then charged forwards, slamming at the Overlord with a gigantic hammer that had suddenly appeared, but the Overlord had dodged. "Do you know what is strange about this?" The Mystic said. The Overlord formed a giant cannon and fired it. The Mystic drew out a shield that had not been there a moment before, and reflected it, destroying the cannon. "Yes," the Overlord said. "Multiple Masters in one place. Masters of the world, not how the Emperor calls me "Master." Chapter 6 >>>

"So Hael…," Inventrius said. "What is that item you had in the Koi?" "Well, let me get it." Hael responded. They had already made the Jump, and were relatively safe. He got up, went to a small compartment near him, and used a key he got from his pocket to open it. He drew out a black cube. "THAT is your secret weapon?" Inventrius asked. "Brick yeah," said Hael, without any trace of being at all put down. He placed it down on the table, and then placed his hand on it. Instantly, the walls of the ship were covered with light, the floor, the ceiling, and everything in between. "Oh my bricking Mystics," Inventrius said. "How did you get this?" Hael ignored him. "See here, my friends, this is a map of the Universe. And on it is everything. EVERYTHING. Nothing hides from it. Say I want to see who is on the planet… Jorjong. I can just think of the planet, and then we can see it larger, and I can see who is on it. There's Earth… Wow, I bet there's some real problems there right now, right?" "This is amazing Hael," Figmentia mumbled. "Thank you. But the real feature of this is the fact that it shows where the Masters of the Universe are," Hael said in almost a whisper. Figmentia didn't say anything, as she had no idea what that meant. But Inventrius gasped. Hael said, "Yes, I see you've heard of them. Well, let me explain. There are Items of Power, which give whoever has them power beyond imagination. For example, at the moment, the Spider Boss, Ollogothis, is the Master of Chaos. The fake Emperor Exeter is the Master of Death. But we need to find these Items of Power. Because if they are all together… Well, no one knows what would happen. But I can figure it would be extremely powerful."

Chapter 7 >>>

Craven Dominique paced in his cell, waiting for nightfall. Once it was dark, he could use his powers to escape. In five minutes, the guard told him he was going to leave, and left, putting the keys nearby on a hook. Craven waited another minute, and then focused on the keys. He closed his eyes, and then felt the keys go into his hand. He unlocked the door, and was free. But how would he get out? He first doused his glow, to make himself stealthier. He then ran through the hall the way he had come, and then started going up, farther and farther. Soon, he could see out the windows and see Ships like dots. Then he couldn't go up any more. It was a dead end. So he went to a window, and bashed the glass once. An alarm pierced his ears, but he jumped out, and started flying. He floated to the ground, and hit it running, sprinting to the edge of a cliff, and leaping off, landing in the water. He controlled the water to push him away, and eventually wound up on a beach, tired and soaking wet. Nearby was a dark jungle, probably inhabited with Maelstrom. Craven go up, and walked in. The darkness was inviting to him. Being in it made him stronger. He found that he was not tired, and had no need for sleep. He continued plowing on until day break. Then, the sun shining, he became tired, and instantly hit the ground, asleep.

A shaking awoke him. A gigantic Maelstrom Ape was prodding him. It saw his eyes flash open, and roared. Craven jumped to his feet, and backed away slowly. The ape advanced, and attempted to punch him, but missed. Craven then felt desperate, and held his hands out in front of him. Instantly, a burst of… Darkness burst from them. The Ape instantly smashed, and Craven looked at his hands, stunned. He saw them… But it could not be. He tried changing back to blue, but he couldn't. His body was made of shadows. They moved across his form, and he found he could manipulate his form, as if he had none. He could fly, dart quickly, and form weapons out of nothing. He was the Master of Shadows.

Chapter 8 >>>

"So, Hael, what are all the Masters of the Universe?" Inventrius asked. "Well, let's see…," Hael said under his breath. He glanced around, and then thought of all the Masters being large red dots on the map. Instantly, it happened. "So, here we go… Duke Exeter is… A Master of FOUR!?" Hael shouted. "That gives him power that is unrivaled! He has the Book of Wisdom, the Spark of Power, and the Sword of Courage. And he has some other object that makes him Master of Death. Wisdom gives him great knowledge. But he isn't using it properly. He has to actually READ it. Power gives him… well, Power of Magic. This is basically Telekinesis and Elemental Powers. Courage gives him what the Real Exeter prided himself in. Being the most courageous being in the Universe. But he has not Mastered it yet. For Courage only adds on to one's. It does not make one Courageous in itself." "Where have I heard those three powers before?" Figmentia said with a smile. Neither of the others laughed. "I'll continue. Death makes him Immortal. That is all. But it does NOT make him invincible. So we will have to take whatever the object is that gives him his power, or smash him," Hael explained. "Now there are other Objects and Masters of Power. There is the Master of Time. They are the only being in the Universe who can Time Travel. There is the Master of Chaos. This person controls the Maelstrom. But unknown to many, the Maelstrom has always existed. It has just taken other forms. It is not always evil, but it generally is." "So when Craven had said for us to put "Chaos has no Master" in our news articles, he was wrong!" Figmentia exclaimed. "Precisely. There is the Master of Shadows. This being is made up of shadows and control them. And the Master of Freedom. This is very strange. Because it gives the user whatever he or she most desires. When George Washington had it, he led America to victory and founded a nation dedicated to Freedom. When I got it… Well, it gave me this ship here. And what is even more amazing about all of these is the fact that they have all adapted over the course of time. The Sword of Courage was probably some stone spear at one time, then a machine gun, but now is a Sword once more." "So, we have to find these artifacts!" Inventrius shouted. "Yes, we must," said Hael. And I can see exactly where they all are. And six of them are in the Pit of Caldera Mar. Chaos, Death, Time, Wisdom, Power, and Courage," Hael responded. He swept up the Black Cube with his hand, and put it in his pocket. He rushed to the controls, and thrust the accelerator forwards. "Why are you driving like that?" Inventrius yelled at Hael, angrily. "Because time is running out," Hael said. "If Exeter and the Overlord get six of the Objects of Power, they will only be two away from Universal Domination. The only ones not there are Shadows and Freedom. And on the way, we are going to stop at Gnarled Forest, and pick up the Master of Shadows."

Chapter 9 >>>

"Here we are," Hael mumbled, as he dove the Koi at the planet Gnarled Forest. Inventrius and Figmentia had strapped themselves into seats. Inventrius had halted his constant complaints about Hael's reckless piloting, and Figmentia was too busy almost being sick to care. Hael pulled up the Koi, skimming the tree tops. They broke the trees, and landed on a wide open beach. Hael ran out, followed by Inventrius and Figmentia. "Where is the Master of Shadows?" Inventrius asked. "Um…," Hael said. Truthfully, he had no idea, but led the way into the jungle. He knew the Master of Shadows was nearby. Hael drew his cutlass, and slashed at the undergrowth, to clear the way. They passed red eyes in the shadows, palm trees, coconuts, and the occasional wild boar, who ran at the sight of them. They continued for hours. It wouldn't have been possible if they hadn't been the way they were. Hael was perhaps the most fit person in the Universe, and Figmentia and Inventrius had their Mythran power to help them. A dark form slipped through a beam of light. Hael motioned for the other two to stay, while he investigated. He walked forward, his cutlass held before him. Suddenly, a clump of… Darkness hit him, but nothing happened. His personal shielding device had blocked it, but Hael knew it did have its limits as to what it could block and how long it could withstand power. A second blast raced at him, but he rolled forward, avoiding it. He knew that only one being could throw and control Shadows- The Master of Shadows. Hael struck with the flat side of his blade at where he thought the assailant was. He connected with something, and heard a grunt as the figure flew a few feet. He then moved in closer, and saw a figure made up of shadows lying on the ground. Hael pointed his gun at the figure. "Get up. I will shoot if you do not move, or make a threatening move," Hael said. Hael would actually never fire; he wanted to save that bullet for Exeter. But no sense in telling this person that. The figure stood up. "What do you want?" He asked. "Come with us. We can give you a way to fight." "And what if I want to go back to Earth?" Hael laughed. "Who would accept you back there!? No one! You cannot go back! You are stuck here until you either give up your power, or die." "I'm Craven Dominique," Craven said. "I'll come." "Good!" Hael shouted. Inventrius and Figmentia came out of the shadows to join Hael and Craven. They turned around, and marched to the Koi. They broke through the trees, and saw the red gleam of the Koi directly ahead of them. But something was wrong. The ship was surrounded by a dozen wolves, with mechanical parts. One, larger than any of the others, turned to Hael and the others. "Hello," It said. "We've been expecting you." And then, with all the others behind it, it charged.

Chapter 10 >>>

The Alpha Wolf knew what he was doing. He knew why he was here. Before, they had been sent to Forbidden Valley, and a few of the Wolves had been smashed. But enough thinking. Alpha watched the rest charge ahead. Alpha directly controlled the others; none of them could do much without his help. His mind was outstanding, able to control all twenty-four at once. "Well, previously twenty four," He thought to himself. The one with the Cutlass had already smashed two of the wolves. The one made of Shadows was hurling clumps of it at them, but the Wolves kept dodging. The two Mythrans were racing towards the ship, the Koi. A dozen of the wolves were pursuing them. Alpha glanced back at the one with the Cutlass. He had smashed half a dozen, and made a break for the ship, carrying the one made of Shadows on his back. Alpha called all the Wolves to the ship. The Mythrans were standing outside the ship, but the moment the one with the Cutlass arrived, the door opened. He raced in, followed by one of the Mythrans. The other stood outside and formed a shield of pure energy around the opening. The Wolves lunged, desperately trying to get through, but were knocked back. Slowly, the hatch closed. Alpha sprinted towards the ship, and he and all the others jumped onto it. The clawed, smacked, bit, tried everything they could to break through. But nothing worked. The ship spiraled upwards. It was going to be too high to breath anymore soon, so Alpha and the pack leapt off. He tucked, rolled, and landed on the beach, avoiding impact. The rest did the same. Suddenly, a high pitched sound filled their ears. A missile from the Koi rammed into the pack. A cloud of smoke appeared. And it died away. Alpha walked through the smoke, the sole survivor. He glanced at the sky, and spoke in a language not heard for millennium. Then he spun on his heal and vanished in a Storm of Darkness.

Chapter 11 >>>

The Hooded Man thought about his next course of action. He knew that the Overlord would be in Caldera Mar, but should he go there? He had had a plan when he had charged into where he thought the Overlord had been. Even though it wasn't the real Overlord, he now knew where he was… At least for a short time, anyways. Typhonus was there, and he knew he had a small group with him. So maybe if he went, he could help them win. He decided then. He would go. He put his right hand forwards, and twisted it. A dark shape emitted from it, expanding until the Hooded Man could step through it. He walked through, and appeared through an identical one in the Pit of Caldera Mar, a short run away from the battle. He ran towards it, evaluating how it was going. Two Duke Exeters were there. One was fighting, and looked in perfect health and shape. The other was sitting on the ground, staring at the Hooded Man. The Hooded Man went to the tired looking Exeter, and touched him, allowing him to read his mind. He saw all that had happened, and glanced around. The Mystic and the Overlord were locked in combat, but the Rebels side in the Ollogothis-Exeter-Rebels Battle wasn't doing so well. He cautiously approached, and flung a fireball at the Spider Boss. It turned, and charged towards him. The Hooded Man executed a perfect mid-air flip, landing on its head. It flung him off, but he grabbed a bit of rock on one of the floating islands above, and slowly fell to the ground. During the short time he had been out of the battle, however, Ollogothis had reentered the fray. Washington had been knocked out. Elementron kept trying to charge up a massive fireball, but kept being interrupted. Typhonus was doing well, but he was older, and he wasn't a Master of the Universe. Then, something amazing happened. A roaring sound suddenly was heard, and it grew louder and louder. A flash of red appeared in the sky, and then it spiraled downward. It was the Koi.

Chapter 12 >>>

LEGOCastleBuilder was half happy, half sad. He hadn't vanished to Mythrans knew where, but he couldn't play Lego Universe. In fact, no one could. For after a few days, the United States had been almost overwhelmed by Stromlings. No one knew where they were from. But now, everyone knew that they were the same things in the game Lego Universe. As a result, the Government had shut down the game. The Stromlings in the Real World had set siege to Washington, DC. Federal Troops and National Guards were defending the city, but beings like Dragons weren't falling to normal guns. Or anything the USA threw at them, for that matter. Now, during time Castle used to play LU, he would play other games. But none of these games seemed as exciting as Lego Universe. He had just set down his game controller when the phone rang. He picked it up. "Hello?" "This is the United States Government. We have evaluated you to be one of the best suited persons who used to play the Computer Game Lego Universe to help us defeat the so called Maelstrom. Do you accept?" Said the voice. "Um…" Castle said, thinking about it. His parents would never let him, but he would be doing something that could help many others. And they weren't due home for a while… "Alright." "Good, we've already sent a helicopter. They should be landing shortly, and you will rendezvous at your place of residence. Good luck." "Oh my Mythrans, oh my Mythrans!" He thought to himself. "I'm going in a Government Helicopter to Washington DC!" He was so excited, he didn't realize him back door blowing open. He didn't notice the Admirals walk in. he didn't notice them launch their hooks, charge up their cannons, and…

Chapter 13 >>>

The door flew open, and a Navy Seal dive rolled in, shooting the Admiral, smashing it. Castle turned around, and saw the Admiral vaporize, and the rest of the Navy Seal Team walk in. "Wait, let me get this straight. The government sent a Navy Seal Team to get me?" Castle asked. "Um… Yeah," the one who had saved his life said. "By the way, I'm Colonel James Parker. We've come to take you to the Capital. And we called your parents. After a bit of persuasion, they allowed you to come. After all, this is vital to the security of our nation." Colonel Parker motioned for everyone to come. Castle was surrounded by some of the Team, but others were scurrying ahead or lagging behind to spread everyone out and to see if anyone was going to attack them. Helicopters were in an open area nearby. Castle got into one with Colonel Parker. Pilots at the controls immediately took off once everyone was aboard, lifting upwards towards the sky.

The helicopters set down in the middle of the Mall. Colonel Parker darted out, scanning the area. No Maelstrom in sight. He motioned for everyone to follow. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines had set up a giant blockade around the City. National Guards had also been called in, but they had generally stayed in their home states because of Maelstrom Invasion there. Around the DC area, however, most of the Maelstrom had gathered. Although Colonel Parker didn't know this, even though the Maelstrom had started out with only a few people on Earth, Ollogothis, Master of Chaos, has created many more Maelstrom and set them to attack Earth. And while American suffered, other countries did not. It seemed as if the entire Maelstrom had come to America. But fortunately, other countries had offered their aid. So it was the world against the Maelstrom. And Republicans and Democrats agreed on what to do for once. They had to defend America.

Chapter 14 >>>

Colonel Parker called for everyone to come. It was the almost Nightfall, shadows loomed high. They were headed for the White House, which had become the center of Military Operations after the Pentagon had been destroyed by the Maelstrom. They all had to get clearance to go beyond the White House Gates. Normal Soldiers would have their weapons taken from them, but the Navy Seals Team was allowed to keep theirs. A doorman showed them inside, but only Parker and Castle went in. "They're going to stay guard outside," Parker explained. Barack Obama was waiting for them. "Hello. Thank you for coming, Castle. We'll just wait a moment while Extreme and Imaginatrix arrive." Over the next ten minutes, the doors flew open twice. Each time, another person arrived. "So, Mr. President, what do you want us to do?" Castle asked. "Well, our Armed Forces are not doing too swell against the Maelstrom. Our problem is information. We don't know how to defeat them. We can't use a Nuclear Bomb, because they're too close, and it would be a horrible thing to do, even to these non-living… zombies." Parker nodded his agreement. "So we need to know how to defeat them! Otherwise, we're just wasting lives," Obama continued. "Ok, well, we can help," Extreme said. "But… Do you know where our friends went? I mean they just disappeared, but do you have ANY idea?" "Well," said Obama. "There is something. Many years ago, a mysterious object crashed on Earth. It was during a meteor shower, so the Government didn't have to cover it up. But what was found was amazing. It's in Area Fifty-One right now." "What was it?" Parker asked. Even though he wasn't one of the people that was supposed to be called upon to help get information, he felt that he could ask the President. He had known him for a long time, and they had been good friends. "An alien spacecraft," Obama responded. "With an alien body."

Chapter 15 >>>

Hael felt a slight thud as the Koi landed. It had taken all his skill to avoid the floating platforms upon the descent. Out of the windows, he saw everyone had stopped fighting. "Stay here," he said to the other four. He got up from the pilot's chair, walked to the door, opened it, and marched out. "Hello friends!" Hael shouted at everyone. "Hael!" Typhonus shouted, and rushed to embrace him. "Um, why is the leader of the Maelstrom hugging me?" Hael said, again shouting. "I'm not the leader of the Maelstrom anymore! He/She/It is!" Typhonus said with rage, pointing a trembling finger at the Spider Boss, Ollogothis. "Well, I'll give it a hug then," Hael once again shouted, and started walking towards Ollogothis. He took a look at it, and gave it a quick pat on the leg. "Or not." "What are you doing, Hael Storm?" Ollogothis asked in a menacing whisper. Hael ignored the question. "I'd like to point out that we have all eight Masters of the Universe here right now," he said. Everyone glanced around, surprised. Who were they? "See, we all know Ollogothis, my good friend here, is now the Master of Chaos, Exeter has four of the eight, which I don't feel like naming. I am the Master of Freedom, which is pretty awesome." Hael laughed at his own joke. No one else did so. He continued. "In my ship, I have the Master of Shadows. But right there." He pointed at Elementron "Is the Master of Time." "Wait, I'm this Master thingy, and I didn't even know I was?" Elementron exclaimed. "Exactly," Hael said. "But what am I here for? To get a few people to come with me. Random Admiral! One of the Duke Exeters, the guy I went to Gallant V with, Typhonus, I guess Typhonus too. Elementron, whoever you are. And the Mystic. Come on guys, we're leaving." The Mystic grabbed everyone with chains of energy and put them in the ship. He then ran in himself. "Goodbye, my friends!" Hael shouted as he ran into the Koi. At the same time, Alpha, the Wolf from back at Gnarled Forest, suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke. "You're mine!" Alpha shouted, and lunged at Hael. The Pirate turned around, and slashed at Alpha with his cutlass, but Alpha knocked the blow aside with his claw. While the battle had started, many things had happened. Exeter had charged towards the ship. Ollogothis followed, launching blasts at Exeter, but even when his shots hit, they were just absorbed. The Overlord was screaming at Exeter, urging him on, and was charging up a blast do destroy the Koi. It looked to be the end of all hope for the rebels.

Chapter 16 >>>

Hael was being pressed to the ground by Alpha, the Wolf's claws digging into his skin. He couldn't even muster the mental energy to turn on his person protection device. His sword had rolled out of his hand. His pistol was in his holster, no use to him. He closed his eyes, trying to summon enough energy to at least roll away, or die fighting. But he couldn't. He was literally being pushed into the hot ground of Caldera Mar; it was giving away before Alpha's strength.

Away from Hael and Alpha, the Overlord had charged up a blast of immense power, and had let it go. It traveled slowly, heading towards the Koi. But as it was about to hit it, the Hooded Man leapt out and held out his hand. The gigantic ball of energy was slowly sucked into his hand. It grew smaller and smaller, until it disappeared. Then, the Hooded Man practically glowing with power, spread his arms, and the ball reappeared, launching right back at the Overlord. It hit him, sending him flying back into the wall. He yelped, and jumped away, but when he tried regaining his footing, he couldn't.

Duke Exeter had passed the Hooded Man on his way to the Koi, neither trying to stop each other. He rushed to the door, but was propelled back by a blast of energy from the Mystic. He rolled on the ground, and got to his feet. "That all you've got!?" He taunted, but the Mystic simply replied with another blast, sending Exeter tumbling away towards the Overlord.

Up above, watching the whole scene with mild interest was Doctor Overbuild. He glared at Exeter, and when he saw him slam into the wall, he laughed out loud. He timidly jumped from platform to platform, until he was directly above the Koi. Then, he hung onto the edge of the platform with his robotic arms, then let go, falling near it. He glanced around. Hael Storm was on the ground, with a… Wolf thing forcing him down. Overbuild ran over to him, striking the Wolf with his robotic arms. It shouted, and flipped away. Overbuild reached down and helped Hael up.

Ollogothis ignored the Hooded Man and the Mystic as he raced towards the Koi. Exeter had been thrown away, but not the Mystic was distracted, he and the Hooded Man slowly approaching the Overlord and the false Exeter. The Spider Boss crouched and peered inside the Koi, but a bolt of lightning shocked him, forcing him back. Baron Typhonus strode out, launching more bolts of lightning at Ollogothis. Typhonus shouted at the Spider Boss, "You may be the Master of Chaos, Ollogothis! But let me tell you this! Chaos has no Master! It never will! I learned that the hard way! Get it in your mind, fool! Chaos has no Master!"

Exeter looked at his Master, the Overlord. "What will we do? We are losing!" "Exeter, use your brain for once. If you have one in that overly thick skull of yours. We get our Army! Once we're on Crux, we can defeat these rebels and the Maelstrom!" They looked up, and saw the Hooded Man and the Mystic approaching them. "Oh bricks," said the Overlord.

Chapter 17 >>>

The Overlord and Exeter got to their feet. "Good day, gentlemen," the Mystic said in his rumbling voice, the Hooded Man echoing him. "Go ahead try to destroy us! You won't be able to!" Exeter said. "If I wanted you smashed yet, you would be already. No, we have come to tell you something. Gather your troops, your power, your energy. Because there will soon be a new battlefield. Earth," the Hooded Man explained. "How!?" The Overlord shouted. "See, my Mystic friend here has some pretty amazing powers. For example, he just sent us, and all the inhabitants of our worlds, to Earth. Fine, smash him now, but it won't work. A small wormhole is sending everyone to Earth. Afterwards, he will bring everyone back. Well, whoever still lives, at least," the Hooded Man said. As if to prove his point, one instantly formed, sucking Doctor Overbuild in. "He's one of the first, it goes in Alphabetical Order," the Mystic said.

One moment, Hael Storm had been fighting Alpha, and the next, Overbuild was gone. He began trading strikes with Alpha, but both were such good fighters that none landed. And suddenly… Alpha was gone. Hael glanced around, to see if the Wolf had darted off, but he was nowhere to be seen. By now, everyone had exited the Koi, and Elementron vanished. Then Hael did, and soon everyone was gone. Then a dark figure walked out of the shadows. Alpha. He cackled, then said to no one (As no one was left to hear him), "As a non-human, I wasn't included in the Mystic's teleportation." Alpha had teleported away, after hearing everyone was disappearing in Alphabetical Order, to make it look like he had been sent to Earth as well. But now, he was the only sentient being left in that part of the Universe. Alpha then ran towards the wall, leapt up, and headed back to Nexus Tower. "Soon, all will bow before me," he thought to himself. "I will be the ultimate power in the Universe."

Chapter 18 >>>

Alpha soon arrived at Nexus Tower. The huge doors were closed, but he raced at them, and annihilated them with his claws, bursting through them. Even in the few minutes that everyone had left, Chaos had occurred. Turrets had popped from the walls, and were racing around wildly, firing shots randomly. And the sky was darkening. Even though it was the middle of the day, Nightfall had occurred. Alpha experienced all this as he walked through the deserted corridors of Nexus Tower. He soon found the stairs, and, with a turn of his heal, teleported up them. Again, he teleported up another flight, then another, then another. He then ran up the final flight. The roof was above him, but no worries. He jumped, and tore through the ceiling, spinning and spinning, tearing through the metal that made up the Tower. Then he was on the roof. He reached up his hands, staring at the sky… And paused. He looked down. Nothing. He wiped his brow, and raised his hands again, staring at the sky… "My Ancient Masters, I summon you! Upon this day all will rue! You will rise to claim your domain. You will crush all those who oppose your reign! The worlds will fall! Smashing is the answer for all! Eternal Darkness will reign supreme! This Nightfall Incident is what is seems!" Alpha cried these words at volume that would have let everyone on Crux Prime know… If anyone had remained. Alpha waited for a moment, gazing at the heavens for a time, before staring at the ground, and the back at the sky. "Did I do it wrong?" He thought to himself. "No, I memorized it all. It can't be so." Rumblings in the sky began, and soon, Alpha felt the entire planet shaking. He had a maniacal smile on his face, and stared at the atmosphere. Then a darkness so absolute spread over the horizon, it was impossible it could be natural. His Ancient Masters, the Mystics, had at last arrived.

Chapter 19 >>>

Dozens of figures suddenly descended from the sky. They were slowly rotating, spinning down to the planet. They had blank looks on their faces, and looked lifeless. As they neared the ground, Alpha jumped from the top of Nexus Tower. The wind rushed in his face, and he angled his body to be almost an arrow. As he neared the ground, he turned upwards, and hit the ground, almost shocked from the fall. The Mystics were floating above the ground, all of them, staring blankly. Alpha hesitated. When he touched them, they would awaken. But when they were awake, what would they do? He owed his loyalty to them. But what was the morally right choice? "Free them, "Alpha decided. "They must reward me for my service." Alpha slowly brought his hand forwards to touch Jabreth, the leader of all the Mystics. Slowly, his body became renovated. Jabreth, like all the Mystics, was huge. They were ten feet tall, and weighed an average of three hundred pounds-All of it muscle. Jabreth, however, was the most powerful. He wielded an enormous weapon. It was a double ended sword, which could be split into two blades, or combined to make a bow, with unlimited ammunition. Like all the Mystics, he wore black robes, with a hood drawn over his face. Alpha understood Jabreth's power as he awoke. The Mystic stared long and hard at Alpha. "You have summoned us. We have returned to rule the Universe once more. None will stand in our path. Including you," Jarbreth said in his booming voice. But as Jabreth drew his sword, Alpha was already spinning, and teleporting off. "Earth! Earth! I must get there! Or I will perish!" Alpha thought. Jabreth swung his blade just as Alpha disappeared. He cursed. Alpha would prove to be a problem. He knew it. But no sense in worrying about that now. Jabreth turned around, and touched all the Mystics in turn, awakening them. He wouldn't mention Alpha to them. Alpha had been his creation, and he would punish him later. Jabreth was deep in thought, but he still counted correctly. But when he was done… "What?!" He shouted. "TWO of us are gone! I know out old leader left us for our enemies, but who else abandoned us?"

Chapter 20 >>>

"What's going on?" Milligan thought as he got to his feet. "What's going on?" He glanced around. Nearby, everyone that had been on the Starbase was getting up. Winston Churchill was nearby, and he was laughing out loud. "I remember this place!" Churchill said. "We're in Washington, DC!" "Yeah… But I'm pretty sure those dark clouds aren't supposed to be there," Milligan, who was walking towards him, shouted. "Yeah, but this is still a nice place…," Churchill added under his breath. Numb Chuck ran up to them. "I don't know who you are, but Milligan, we've got to get everyone together. I also noticed Hael Storm and a few other around here." "Alright," Milligan said to Numb Chuck. Then, in a louder voice, he shouted, "HEY EVERYONE! COME HERE!" Everyone soon gathered in front of Milligan, Numb Chuck, and Winston Churchill. Numb Chuck stood up to his full (And considerable) height, and began speaking. "According to this man, Winston Churchill," He motioned to Churchill, "We are where many of you come from, Earth. We are in the United States Capital, Washington, DC." From somewhere in the crowd, a voice rang out, "Whoa! They named this place after ME?" Then, another voice, whose speaker's name began with an M, and ended with an urphy, said, "No, it's named after Murphy Washington, the twenty ninth president of the United States." Ignoring the exchange, Numb Chuck continued. "So, as a huge battle has not broken out, I'm guessing we're all on the same side. Against the Nexus Force and against the Maelstrom? Say aye!" "AYE!" Everyone shouted back. "So, what we do now, I do not know. But we must find whoever lives here," Numb Chuck shouted. "And so you have!" Colonel James Parker said. While Obama had been getting clearance to show the alien spacecraft and body, he had sent Parker to see who had showed up, along with the Navy Seals Team. "I heard you conversation before moving in. We know of the Maelstrom, and are against them, but the Nexus Force? What are they? And how do we know we can trust you?" Parker said, drawing his gun. Behind him, the Navy Seals did the same. Chapter 21 >>>

Suddenly, someone stepped forwards from the crowd. "Wait. Wait, Wait, Wait. You're going to fire on me? George Washington? I'm the first President of the Unites States for Mystics sakes!"' "Ummm, how do we know you're our famous general?" Parker said. He was still holding his gun. "Because we can all vouch for him!" Someone shouted. "Just trust us, we're against the Maelstrom, the Nexus Force, and LEGO! We're on your side!" Parker's hand trembled. He sighed. But the decision was made for him. A burst of Maelstrom energy hit him. Everyone turned, and saw a Maelstrom Horsemen crashing through the Lincoln Memorial. Following it was a legion of Horsemen. Backing them up were a troop of Apes, Dragons flying overhead, and everything else flowing between them. It was like an Alpha Strike by the Maelstrom. The Navy Seals fired a wave of bullets at the Maelstrom, but had little effect. "Advance to the rear!" Parker shouted, knowing they had no chance of winning or even holding them off for more than a minute. Everyone raced towards the White House, where the largest portion of the Armed Forces was located. Then a whirring sound. A fleet of planes were diving at the Maelstrom Forces, and as they flew over them, they dropped bombs, crippling the forces. The Maelstrom started focusing their attention on the planes, unaware that ground forces were advancing upon them. The Navy Seals and people from Lego Universe watched on, and then ran for the White House once again. They stopped at the gates, when soldiers started pointing their weapons at them. Parker stepped forwards, and said, "It's me, let us through." After a minute of identification, Parker led everyone (Except for the rest of the Navy Seals, who stayed outside to protect the White House) inside. President Obama himself led them in. Everyone (Regardless of their political views) shook his hand. "Parker, I've just gotten the alien body and spacecraft to be flown in. It should be here within the hour. We must hold out," Obama said. "I'd like to say something," the Hooded Man said. "My friend the Mystic, here, the real Duke Exeter, and I must confront the Overlord, the false Exeter, and Alpha. I will reveal my identity to them." "Alright," Exeter said. The Mystic simply nodded his agreement. Then the Hooded Man grabbed each of them by their arms, and they disappeared. "Well, what do you know?" Obama said to no one in particular. "You see something new every day."

Chapter 22 >>>

Hael Storm swore. The Hooded Man, the Mystic, and the real Exeter had gone, and he, Hael Storm, had to confront the false Exeter. He had to smash him. Hael turned to the crowd, and shouted, "We must start to fight! The Maelstrom and the United States Armed Forces have already started to battle! But the Nexus Force will soon join in the fray! We must also, to provide a spark, so we can win!" Everyone responded with enthusiasm. Hael waited a moment, during which no one ran forward. "Well, what are you waited for?" Then Hael charged forward, his sword in the air. Everyone followed him, and then Hael stopped, letting everyone flow past him. The only people remaining were Parker and Obama. They were staring at him oddly. "Hey, I had to get them going!" Hael said, in a defensive voice. Then he ran off.

Hael glanced around at the battle. Even in a few seconds, everyone from Lego Universe had joined in. The Nexus Force was also running in from one side, charging down a hill, with Exeter and the Overlord on top. The Hooded Man, the Mystic, and the real Exeter we running up it, fighting as they advanced. Hael made his way in that direction, when he was tackled by Alpha. "You're mine!" The Wolf howled. Hael said nothing, simply kicking his feet up, hitting Alpha. Alpha's momentary jump gave Hael the opening to slip away. He drew his sword as Alpha leapt up. They circled each other, each ignoring the battles going on around them. "I'm here to finish the job, Hael Storm," Alpha whispered. "But even if I am gone, you will still die soon. I set a curse on you. It is unbreakable. You have exactly one day from… about eight hours ago. Nothing can save you." Then Alpha cackled, staring Hael down. Then the Pirate gripped his sword in two hands, and started a savage attack, which Alpha could barely counter. Hael chopped down, which Alpha rolled away to avoid. Then he swung towards Alpha's legs. Alpha jumped up to avoid the blow, and swung at Hael's head. Hael jumped back, with Alpha only swiping air. All around them, the battle raged on. It was an ocean, a sea, a whirlpool, a Maelstrom, of Chaos, of war, of fighting, death, evil and good facing off in one, last, epic battle.

Chapter 23 >>>

Ollogothis glanced around. He had already defeated anyone who had come his way, but he wasn't interested in them. No, he was after Exeter and the Overlord. Then, on top of a hill, he saw some movement. There! Ollogothis turned, and scurried off in that direction.

Typhonus was troubled. The Hooded Man had left. And Typhonus had to talk to him. He saw at the summit of a hill a gathering of figures, and figured that was the place to be. He teleported off, and began climbing the hill.

Hael decided to run. Alpha would pursue him, but he could use him where he was going. Up the hill. Off to the side, Ollogothis was also running up. And at the top… Five figures stood there. Two Duke Exeters, the Hooded Man, the Mystic, and the Overlord. "We have all arrived. A truce, just for us here, while we discuss," the Hooded Man said. "Alright…," said Alpha. "But after this, the Pirate is MINE." Everyone else agreed, setting aside their differences. "Alright," said the Hooded Man. "We need to stop this fighting. There is no sense in having lives lost for no reason." "Disagreed," said the false Exeter. "You just don't want to lose. You know, get on with it, or it's over for you. We have more power here." "Hear me out. Fine, no withdrawals. But I am going to get rid of two of the Objects of Power. Right now," the Hooded Man said. He then closed his eyes, and two figures slowly rose from the battlefield, and were set down on the ground. They were Elementron and Craven Dominique. "Craven, Shadows have no Master," the Hooded Man said. He then lunged forwards with his sword, and Craven crumpled. "They are an evil curse. But your heart is even darker than your Shadows. You are no more." Then the Hooded Man touched Elementron. A small "V" shaped object came out of his body, but nothing more happened. "Elementron, you are a kind soul, and pure at heart. You may keep your Mythranic Power, but Time should not be meddled with." The Hooded Man then looked at Ollogothis. "Chaos has no Master, Ollogothis. But without you, we cannot call back your Minions of Chaos. So you will stay. But Chaos has no Master! Today is the last day Chaos will stand!" "I highly doubt that," the Spider Boss said in his rumbling voice. "Exeter, Overlord, what are you after?" the real Exeter asked. "I am the true Duke Exeter." "We're after Universal Domination. Everyone will live better after we rule all!" Exeter replied. "And do you truly believe that?" Exeter asked. There was no response. Exeter continued, "I'm after freedom for all. Equality for all. I defend the weak. I would never smash Overbuild. And I have no quarrel with Typhonus now, as I know he is cured from Maelstrom Infection." "Yes. I stand beside Exeter against you. You are an evil villain, who shames the good name of Duke Exeter," Typhonus said, who had reached the top of the hill. "Typhonus, as much as I appreciate your support, I will take this imposter alone!" Exeter exclaimed. And with those words, he lunged forwards. He drew his sword and shield, as did the false Exeter draw the real Exeter's rightful weapons. "Your time draws near," said the false Exeter. "Yes, but I don't care about my life anymore. I'm going down with you," Exeter said in a dark voice, filled with hatred.

Chapter 24 >>>

"Exeter, NO!" The Hooded Man shouted, as Exeter dove at the false Exeter. The two grappled for the sword, but the false Exeter came away with it. The real Exeter backed away, but backed into a tree. "Exeter, get the brick out of there!" The Hooded Man yelled. He threw a bolt of lightning, and it hit the false Exeter, stunning him. The Hooded Man ran in, and started dueling with the false Exeter. He pressed Exeter back and back, and then leapt away, leaving Exeter wondering where he was. By then, the real Exeter had charged again, but the false Exeter was ready this time. He had his sword drawn, and thrust it through the false Exeter. "YES! Victory is mine!" Exeter shouted, standing over Exeter's smashed body. "Exeter, why…," Hael said, as he stared at Exeter's body. The still living Exeter raised his sword in victory, than stared around at everyone. "Who's next?" He taunted in a casual voice. "He didn't even have a weapon!" Shouted Hael. "I'll smash you, Exeter!" "Hael, wait," muttered the Hooded Man. "Let me take care of this." "Overlord, Exeter, Ollogothis, everyone, you must know who I am," The Hooded Man said. At the same time, he was sending telepathic messages to two others. "Yes, we must know," said Exeter in a baby-voice. "You're probably some two-year-old under that Hood of yours, or some ancient person who can barely stand, or some hideous half-breed like Alpha there…" Alpha responded to that comment with a growl, his fur bristling, like other talking canines do when they see a squirrel. "No, you are incorrect, Exeter," The Hooded Man said. "I am…" And just as the Hooded Man pulled back his Hood, someone drew a gun and fired it. The bullet hit, smashing someone. Another person used a blast of magic, smashing another. A third person used magic to smash a third. And a fourth died by their own hand. In a second, four were smashed. The Hooded Man had pulled back his Hood. Someone screamed for a long, long time.

Chapter 25 >>>

At the moment when the Hooded Man had pulled back his Hood, two people had used magic. The first was the Mystic, who used it to smash the Overlord. The second was Typhonus, who used it to smash the Spider Boss, and in the process, Chaos had no Master. The Hooded Man sent a telepathic message to Alpha and the Wolf couldn't stand it, so much that he smashed himself. The Hooded Man himself had been the one to shoot the gun. The bullet had hit the false Exeter, smashing him. And the gun was Hael's. And the Hooded Man's face was Hael's. And Hael Storm screamed, as the Hooded Man looked on. Eventually, Hael stopped screaming. "You're… me?" He asked. "Yes," said the Hooded Man. "You must do what I have done, or the Universal Space-Time Continuum will be destroyed. Here, you will need this." The Hooded Man gave Hael the Object that enabled him to control Time. But when the Hooded Man looked up, Hael was pointing his gun at him. "You aren't me. You aren't! You know magic! This Time Travel makes no sense! It can't be true! You're an imposter! I'll… I'll… Kill you!" Shouted Hael. "This Token is the only way to travel through time. I can't explain it better than that. And Mystic… Please give Hael magic, as long as he accepts his duty to become me," The Hooded Man said. "Why do I have to do this?" Hael asked, in a menacing whisper. "You want your revenge on Exeter! And that curse Alpha put on you. Even though you should still have fifteen hours left to live, when we came to Earth, time passed! You have… Five Minutes," the Hooded Man explained. "I don't believe you!" Said Hael. "Fine," said the Hooded Man. "If you want to wait five minutes, and then DIE, fine by me. Then, we'll both disappear. Thanks a lot, Hael." "If you answer me this, I'll believe you," said Hael. "What did I say to Exeter before I escaped Nexus Tower?" "Easy: ‘You said Exeter, know this: I've got one shot left in this gun. And I'm saving it for you,'" The Hooded Man said. "You're… me… really. I have to become you to survive," Hael said. "Yes. You are correct," The Hooded Man said. "Now quickly! Mystic, grant Hael magic. Always keep the Token on you. And when you go through your own time, give it to the next Hooded Man." The Mystic held Hael's head in his hands, and flowed magic through them. "Hael, take this," the Hooded Man said. He lifted off his robes, and gave them to Hael. Under the Hooded Man's robes, he wore exactly what Hael did. "It is done," the Mystic said. "Hael, you have no time, in one minute, you will die! You must go!" "Hael, learn to use your powers," the Hooded Man said. "Stay strong. And go back to when Lego Universe was first created! The Game, I mean!" Hael turned to look at them. He still didn't really understand, but he knew he had to go, or die. He wondered what would happen to the Hooded Man, now that he no longer had the Token. But maybe Alpha was lying about killing him not ending the curse… "Hael go! Five, four, three!" The Hooded Man shouted. Hael concentrated on the token, which he held in his hand. "Two!" Hael concentrated harder, and suddenly felt his feet leave the ground. He spun around and around… "One!" He was gone, just as he heard the Hooded Man yell, "Zero!"

He stumbled onto the ground outside the Temple on Gallant V. He hid in the bushes as he saw himself, Typhonus, Exeter, and Overbuild run through. He quickly put on his Black Robes, and pulled the Hood over his head. He watched the four as Typhonus was corrupted, and then the other three try to seal it off. He ran towards the Temple just before it exploded, being on the same chunk as the Maelstrom. Somehow, he knew this was the right thing to do.

Over the next week, Hael met Typhonus, and cured him of Maelstrom Infection. Typhonus never knew who Hael was, after all, how would he react if he found out? Hael learned to use his powers, and helped guide everyone. Eventually, he went to Earth for the confrontation with the Overlord, Exeter, Alpha, and everyone. After that, Hael continued to live as the Hael Storm that had become the Hooded Man. No one noticed, or cared. The only ones who knew were Washington, who was very loyal to him, Elementron, who was so kind that he never would reveal his secret to anyone, and the Mystic, who he had become great friends with. So there was no need for anyone to know what Hael had done. By smashing Alpha, the curse had been lifted. Alpha had lied. Hael could live in peace. He was mortal now, as he had given the new Hooded Man the Token, but he still was Master of Freedom, and had the Koi, to do what he loved until the day he died.

Chapter 26 >>>

The Maelstrom turned on itself. One moment, it was brawling with everyone, the next, they were fighting each other. The Nexus Force and the Armed Forces stopped fighting, and looked at each other. No one wanted to be the one to resume the needless fighting. Everyone started to mingle, chat, and watch the Maelstrom destroy itself.

Up on the hill, The Hooded Man had become Hael Storm. He will now be referred to as such. Washington, Elementron, and the Mystic were staring down at the field. The Maelstrom had destroyed itself, because of the destruction of the Token that allowed Ollogothis to control the Maelstrom. The four walked down the hill. Upon seeing them, Overbuild, Vanda, and Inventrius walked up to them. "Where's Exeter?" Vanda asked. "Let me at him!" "He's… Dead. But the evil one was impersonating him. It wasn't the real Exeter. Exeter was a good man. I'm sorry he died," said Typhonus. "I'm…," Overbuild began, but stopped. They all remembered and had been friends with Exeter, him leaving them was very emotional. "Now, who will be the leader of the Nexus Force?" Hael asked. "I opt out, I'm just going to spend my days relaxing and pirating. "I'm not even a member," Typhonus said with a grin, "But I'm getting on in the years, I just want to retire, you know?" "You should hold free elections…," Elementron chuckled. "Then, people will actually support you. And give Earth some technology. So they can reach you, and trade." "I agree with Inventrius," said the Mystic. "It is the morally right thing to do." And it was as it happened. Doctor Overbuild was elected President of the new nation. It encompassed where the Nexus Force used to occupy, but now, it wasn't ruled by the military. The new government became allies with Earth, and helped solve problems there. Technology was shared, and soon, Earth joined the Nations among the stars.

Chapter 27 >>>

The Mystic had brought back everyone to the area of Caldera Mar. The Nexus Force Troops were returned to their positions. The Maelstrom no longer existed. "You, people from Earth! Come here!" Hael shouted. All the Players of LU gathered around him. "You want to go back. So Elementron, come here," Hael said. Elementron came forth. "Alright, Elementron, can you send them back?" Hael asked. "I can," Elementron said. "But don't they deserve something for their work?" "And our parents will kill us when we get back home," Murphy added with a grin. "When you are old enough, you can move out here. We know who you really are on Earth. Just… We'll send you a message. And we'll keep in touch. Even though Lego Universe is gone, the game lives on in all of you. And besides, our technology will soon be in your world. And maybe we'll open it back up. After all, it's based on our world," said Hael. "So… This is it?" Asked Milligan. "For a few years. You'll be the first to be offered to move onto our planets here. Just a few more years for you. Some of you, the adults, can even stay now," said Inventrius. "Now, I'm sending you back," said Elementron. "What about you?" Asked Hurricane. "I'm staying. So is Figmentia. And Inventrius. And Imaginatrix. We belong here. We're Mythrans. We wouldn't fit in on Earth anymore," answered Elementron. "And Washington? And Churchill?" "We're staying to help out with the new Government. After all, we're masters at that!" said Washington. "Goodbye!" Everyone shouted, just as Elementron set them off. At the last moment, they saluted, just as they did before LU Closed.

It's the same feeling I felt when we were transported to the Worlds of Lego Universe. I find myself sitting in my gaming chair, staring at my computer screen. It's open, and I'm at my desktop. I click on the Icon of Lego Universe, and it opens up. But no more message saying, "The adventure is coming to an end…" Instead it says, "Lego Universe is BACK! Come hit PLAY, to get started!" I click on "PLAY". The Game launches, with the old cinematic trailer at the beginning. And the log in screen. Same thing as always. I type in my username and password, and click "PLAY". Milligan is waiting for me, smiling. I click on him, and he turns, walking away from me. He eventually reaches the edge of the screen, and he disappears. Then, it opens up- Into a new world. It's the real place, just like I remember. I reunite with my family, and just four years later, I'm off to another planet. Back where I remember being, despite my short experience in Lego Universe.

One day, walking around Nexus Tower, I see a monument. It's a soldier, holding a Sword to the sky. Behind the statue is a wall. It's black. And it has the names of… Millions on it. They are those who died against the Maelstrom, the Nexus Force, and from Earth in the War I fought in. On that list I find the names of those I knew. And those who I didn't know. All killed in the name of profit and power. Just because someone wanted to rule the Universe. I find myself wishing Lego Universe had never existed. I walk away, my head bent down. Then, someone calls my name. I look up, and see a group of people, my friends from Lego Universe. I slowly walk towards them, smiling broadly.

THE END

Authors Note/Acknowledgements >>>

Well, it's been a great journey, writing this Story, and playing Lego Universe as a whole. Before writing this Story, I had dreams of being an author. Now I have an actual career in mind. Who would have thought that this story would go this way? To answer this rhetorical question, not me. A joke one of my friends said (I'll refrain from saying his name, just so no one hates him [:P]), "You know where your Story's going Milligan?! That's like The Dude posting a Chapter every day! :P ." Before I thank you all, I'd like to tell you guys where I'll continue writing. I will do a rewrite on the Boards. This will just change a few things, like why we end up in the Game, names of players, and the like. I'll also write a short story or two about LU Closing, they'll be a mix of comedy and adventure. After this, I'll stay on the Boards (The LU Forum, if it exists, and a few others probably), the LU Wiki, and the LU Stories Wiki. So I'll tell you guys there (On the Wikis, I mean) where I decide to continue writing. But now, I'd like to thank you. My loyal readers. Thank you. It's been a great journey, and I'm sorry it has to end.