Chapter 60: Apocalypse

News From Around The World

Religious Debate Erupts Around the World As Footage From "Ghosts Of History" Show Has Everett's Team Fighting Spirits

Daredevil Dies In Attempt To Jet Ski Around The Mouth Of The Pacific Charybdis

UNDF Military Showing Massive Global Movement

Warning Systems Being Set Up To Warn The Public Of Other-World Transfers

UNDF Releases Guidelines To Dealing With The Undead

"Zombie Bites Themselves Are Not Fatal," Says UNDF Spokesman

VVVVVV

Tom stood on the black sand beach of his island home and watched the sun rise up in the distance. He reveled in the feeling of the warm air blow by him and the water splash his feet. His companions were still asleep and were not expected to wake up for another hour.

This world is truly beautiful.

"Yeah, it is," Tom said. "Stood out here dozens of times and I still can't seem to get over this view."

What happened to that other safehouse?

"I didn't pick a good enough of a hiding spot for it. Last time I checked, some squatters took it over. They don't seem to be using it to make drugs, so they can have it. I didn't invest as much into that house as much as this one." Tom took in a deep breath and released it. "We're close to the end aren't we?"

We are.

"How are you feeling?"

I can feel myself fade away more with each passing day. Mordiggian is accelerating the merger process.

"Does it hurt?"

You are very kind to be concerned, but no, I don't feel any pain. What I'm feeling... It's more like I'm becoming more sleepy, but unable to sleep.

"Are you scared?"

I'm terrified.

"I know that when people die, their souls move on and are eventually reborn. What happens to a god?"

The godly essence and power is dispersed and used for the creation of other universes. Non-sentient and sapient animals spirits are a partial result of this energy. The consciousness of the god, free of its power, joins the soul cycle just like any mortal.

"Wait! Does that mean everyone was once a god? Even me?"

Don't let it go to your head. It's the natural order of the multiverse. What saddens me is that my power is gone. It won't be used towards the creation of more life.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you, Kara. I promise you that Hastur won't get away for all the harm he has done."

I was hoping if you could make another promise for me.

"What promise?"

When the time comes... When my life ends. Will you be there by my side? I-I don't want to die alone.

That request brought a painful memory to the forefront of Tom's mind. It was several years ago, during the peak of the Samoan Flu pandemic. He visited the Royal Elizabeth Hospital during the pandemic to see his parents who were dying from the flu. Special tents were set up around each entrance of the hospital so the flu could not escape the building.

Tom was made to wear a biohazard suit before he entered the hospital. He immediately went to his parents room where his parents stayed. The most common cause of death from the flu was either dehydration from severe diarrhea or physical exhaustion from violent coughing. That is how he found his parents. Both in bed coughing more than they could breathe in.

When Tom got into the room, his parents looked at him and smiled before the exhaustion got to them and they both passed away.

Tears came to his eyes and Tom said to Kara, "Of course. When that time comes, I will be there for you."

It really makes me happy to hear that.

"After everything you have done for me, it's the least I can do."

Tom's satellite phone started to vibrate and made chiming noises. He reach for it and answered, "Commander?"

"Good the phone is working properly. We have prepared our forces for a global assault on the obelisk network. We need your team here."

"I'll go wake them and be over as soon as possible."

"Don't take too long. We believe they are aware of us. Scouts have found the undead moving into defensive positions around the obelisk."

"Understood." He ended the phone call and said, "It's time for the mission to begin."

I wish you luck. I know the girls and you can do it. Believe in yourselves and each other, and victory is certain.

VVVVVV

Manhattan Island

In an alleyway with grey concrete walls on both sides, a manhole cover just past a green dumpster started to shake. The cover popped off and jumped into the air by a couple meters and landed to the side. Mordiggian emerged from the darkness of the hole and transformed into his main form. He looked up at the sky and saw that morning has arrived.

Back at ground level, Mordiggian saw that the street to the side was not busy as only a few cars had driven by. At the other end of the alley, Mordiggian spotted a sleeping Human. The man was dressed in jeans and gray hoodie. He slept on a blue tarp and inside an old sleeping bag. To his side was a large backpack that contained his personal belongings.

Mordiggian marveled at the Human. He was familiar with vagrants. Xoth had many vagrants. What he marveled at was the luxury these Humans had. Even these Humans at their lowest point in their lives could clothe, feed, and shelter themselves far better than any vagrant on Xoth. They could even do better than some of the commoner population of Xoth.

It was qualities like this that made Mordiggian anxious, no, fearful of Humans. When he came to Earth, he found the local population devoid of any magical abilities whatsoever. Mordiggian thought that this quality would have made this race easy to conquer. Over the months, he discovered the truth was contrary to his assumptions.

While the Humans were magic-free, this forced them to develop along a different pathway than Xothicans. They had to overcome their obstacles and limitations using science and technology. Through this direction, they were able to achieve magic-like abilities. These Humans could fly through the air, communicate instantly across the world, and travel in the void beyond the sky. They are even capable of destruction on a scale comparable to a god.

To Mordiggian's sides were tall buildings that stretched into the sky. Wendigo told him that the Humans called these structures skyscrapers. An apt name. There's no buildings as tall as these on Xoth, it's impossible for anyone on Xoth to make them, but the Humans make buildings like this every day like it's nothing but an everyday job.

With these new discoveries, Mordiggian knew that Humanity could not retain their strength after the merger. If they combine their knowledge of technology with magic, they could easily become the dominate race of Xoth and a major threat to Hastur. His master came to the same conclusion when he reported to him. Only one solution remained. A culling.

The Old One returned his focus on the sleeping homeless man. Mordiggian approached the man and impaled his stomach using his hand. The attack was so fast that the man had the luck to instantly die. Mordiggian lifted the limp body up. He made gestures with his other hand while whispering an ancient language.

"Orr'e nog."

The body shook violently as the man's soul was tore from it. The spiritual energy formed into a ball inside Mordiggian's free hand. It shrank until the energy became opaque and turned solid. A Soul Axis was formed.

Mordiggian gave the crystal a quick look before it placed the crystal into the void of its chest.

"Y' ymg' ulnah l' nafl'fhtagn."

The body twitched on Mordiggian's hand before its head jerked forward and let out a wheezy groan. The colour of the man's pupils were dulled from the soul theft. Mordiggian lowered the creature to the ground and allowed it to stand on its own. The creature briefly stumbled but quickly found its footing.

"Go," Mordiggian casually ordered. "Spread the infection."

The zombie walked down the alleyway. His movements, while were not as smooth as his living self, they were not as slow or clumsy as a zombie in classic films. It moved like someone who had just woken up.

The walking corpse exited the alley onto the sidewalk. A car drove by and the zombie watched it in interest and tried to go after it. It continued until the car disappeared in the distance and the zombie lost interest.

While it walked down the road, a car approached it from behind. The zombie heard the car and turned around. The car attempted to drive around but the zombie moved into its way.

The driver stopped with a bit of adrenaline as she didn't expect the man to move in her way. When she got close enough, she saw the wound on the man's chest. The man was severely injured. Due to her compassion, she couldn't just leave the man, but she didn't want to risk getting out of her car.

The woman cracked her car window and asked, "Are you okay? Do you want me to call nine-one-one?"

The zombie suddenly jumped onto the car's hood and quickly punched the windshield. The glass cracked from the initial attack. The driver, in fear, drove forward while she screamed.

Unable to pay attention to the road, the woman drove her car into a metal light post. The crash sent the zombie across the ground away from the car.

The woman was out for a minute as the impact of the airbag had knocked her out. She opened her eyes and found her vision blurry and head throbbing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move around her car. The driver looked up and her vision cleared in time to see the zombie smash her driver-side window open.

"No..." She weakly uttered as glass showered on her.

The zombie dove into the car and tore the woman's neck out. Blood splattered across the inside of the car's windows.

VVVVVV

UNDF Headquarters

One Hour Later...

The door to the Intelligence Centre opened and Tom's team entered inside. Everyone inside the room paused in their current task and looked up in their direction with awe before they returned to their job. Steele stood at the front of the centre with a map of Earth displayed on the wall monitor. On the map were multiple purple dots to indicate where each transfer storm was in the world.

"Everyone," Steele greeted. "You made it."

"No way we can miss this," Vivian said. "There's glory to be had."

"What's the current status of the undead around the obelisks?" Sylmae asked.

"They have not strayed from the obelisk, but they have changed their positioning," Grace replied as she walked away from another door.

"Holy shit, Grace," Tom exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"The UNDF needed some people with experience in Intelligence," she replied. "Considering the importance of the UNDF, I volunteered to come here."

"It's nice to see you again," Reia said. "Glad to hear things are working out for you."

Grace looked at Amber and said with her hand out, "I don't believe we met. I'm Grace Cooper. I was the one who found out the secret identities of your friends."

Amber grabbed her hand and shook it. "I'm Amber Everett. I'm a Dryad who has joined Tom's team. Among other things."

"Among other things," Grace slyly repeated. She looked Tom up and down and said, "You sure like to keep busy in your off-time. Don't you?"

"So anyway..." Tom quickly changed the subject. "What is our current plan, Commander?"

"Our forces are in position to attack the obelisks at the same time," Steele explained. "We have M777 Howitzer artillery set up about ten kilometers away from the obelisks. We don't know how durable these structures are so we've prepared ground soldiers and armoured units to protect each artillery group. This is where your team and the other SYSTEM teams come into play. We don't know where Wendigo or Mordiggian are. At any time, they can appear and attack any of our military groups. We need you to be ready to teleport to those locations to counter-attack against them."

Tep suddenly teleported into the room next to Steele. Steele, Grace, and several other soldiers reached for their pistols and took aim at the intruder.

"Hold your fire!" Tom yelled out. "It's Tep!"

Steele, Grace, and the soldiers relaxed their stance and put their guns away.

"You're Tep?" Steele asked.

"A pleasure to finally meet everyone here," Tep said. "But I'm afraid we don't have the time to exchange pleasantries. Since you all took down Umbra, I have spent my time trying to find Mordiggian and Wendigo. I eventually found them and spied on their activities. Long story short, he knows that you have found the locations of his obelisks. He plans to finish his ritual and fuse our worlds today."

"My god..." Grace muttered. "How does he plan to finish the ritual?"

"He is going to plant the last two obelisks in Manhattan and Beijing. There he will use his army of undead to collect body and souls to power his obelisks. These obelisks will then connect to the other obelisks around the world and greatly accelerate the merger. If not stopped, our worlds will fuse today and Hastur will have a massive undead army at his beck and call. Xoth will be as good as his."

Grace turned to Tom and asked him, "Can we trust what he says?"

"We can," Tom replied. "He has saved countless lives, including ours, with his information. If he says that Mordiggian and Wendigo are in Manhattan and Beijing, then they are there."

"Change of plans with the reserves," Steele announced. "Half will go to Manhattan. Half will go to Beijing. Do we know where Mordiggian and Wendigo are exactly?"

"Mordiggian is in Manhattan. Wendigo is in Beijing. You might be getting reports of civil unrest by now."

"Can someone confirm what he said?" Steele called out to the room.

"We have found reports of riots in both cities," one of the Intel agents said. "Injuries and deaths reported. Police are on the scene but have found current tactics ineffective against the rioters."

"Send word that the rioters are no longer Human but are actual zombies. Tell them to focus on evacuating civilians."

"Understood, sir."

"Now there's the issue of targets," Reia said. "Both Mordiggian and Wendigo will be hard to take down."

"You all should go after Mordiggian," Garza said. She was leaning against the wall in the back. "The other two SYSTEM teams can handle Wendigo."

"Is everyone going to enter our conversation dramatically?" Vivian asked out loud. "How long were you there for?"

"Just before Tep showed up," Garza answered. She pushed herself off of the wall and walked over. "We've been on plenty of missions and training exercises together, Everett. We can handle Wendigo. Mordiggian is the one who needs your full attention. The UNDF soldiers can handle the zombies and evacuating the civilians."

"Are you sure your teams can handle this?" Steele asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm trusting your judgment, Captain. We'll have some personnel who are trained with explosives to join the mission. We don't have the time to move in artillery, and aircrafts are a no go. Demo teams will need to plant explosives on any obelisk that appears. I'll try to get some assistance from local military in both location. In the mean time, this will rest entirely on us. Everyone go suit up."

VVVVVV

Outside, on the UNDF base's grounds, hundreds of UNDF soldiers were making last minute checks of their equipment before they entered the APCs for the mission. The APCs slated for Beijing would be quickly teleported by Tom. During this transfer, the APCs for Manhattan would use the UNDF Portal and exit out of the UN HQ Portal.

The natural light in the area began to dim as clouds drifted in front of the moon. If it weren't for the base's lights, the area would have been pitch black. Steele stood in front of the crowd of soldiers with the three SYSTEM teams by his side. At this point, everyone was fully equipped in their armour along with the helmet.

Tep stood next to Tom with his arms crossed.

"So where are you going from here, Tep?" Tom asked him while they waited.

"Well, on the bright side, I am not wanted for questioning anymore so I'm free to do what I please," he answered. "I plan to keep in better touch with the UNDF in the future and assist in Intelligence. It seems my knowledge of Xoth is woefully out-of-date. I'd like to see how much the world has changed since I left."

"Eh..." Reia muttered while shaking her right hand in a so-so gesture.

"There's no more dragons to fight, so there's that," Vivian said.

"Commander, we just got two new transfer storm alerts," Grace said over the communicator.

Steele pressed his fingers to his ear.

"Beijing and Manhattan?" Steele asked.

"Yes. Our estimates have the Beijing obelisk in the Temple of Heaven Park, and the Manhattan obelisk in Central Park. Both cities are still evacuating the civilian population."

"It seems Tep's Intel was confirmed," Steele said to the people by his side. "New storms have appeared over Beijing and Manhattan."

"That means the obelisks are up," Sylmae said. "We don't have much time."

"Everett, do you have anything you want to say to our soldiers before the mission begins?"

"I do, sir," Tom replied.

Steele adjusted his communicator so that his words would reach everyone in the area. "Atten-shun!" he yelled.

The communicator doubled as a universal translator so that every soldier in the area, regardless of origin, understood what was said. With Steele's words, all of the troops in the area stopped anything they were doing and stood up straight with their hands to their sides.

"At ease," Steele said.

The soldiers relaxed their posture but stood still to listen to their Commander.

"You all know the situation. In a surprise attack, Mordiggian and Wendigo have unleashed the undead in Beijing and Manhattan. Just now, we confirmed the appearance of obelisks in both cities. Each team here has been assigned their cities and their roles in this battle. Before the mission begins, Specialist Everett has a few words to say. Listen well."

Tom took a few steps forward and coughed to clear his throat.

"In a few moments," he said, "our mission will begin. We will be launching strikes against obelisks all across our world. Regardless of what happens in today's battle, our planet's fate is set in stone. It is going to merge with Xoth. Our battle won't stop it. But it will delay it. And buy us time. Time to train. Time to build. Time to adapt. On April thirtieth, Hastur had hoped to sow terror in our race by unleashing a hundred monster attacks around our world. He thought that a race with no access to magic would crumble under the strength of his magical beasts. He was wrong!"

The soldiers in attendance showed more confidence in their stance and determination on their faces.

"Mordiggian was left behind to continue his campaign of terror, but in that time, he has watched how we adapted to our new reality. In the past eight months, our defenses against monster incursions rapidly improved. We destroyed Phoenix. We took down Umbra. Mordiggian has watched all of these accomplishment with dread. That's why he's rushing this ritual! Again they want to catch us off guard. And again we will stop them! Today we will make Hastur regret ever involving Humanity in his war!"

The soldiers in the area roared with cheer at the conclusion of the speech.

Notice Your speech has rallied an army for an upcoming battle. This accomplishment has earned you the title "Leader". This title increases your Wisdom, Intelligence, Strength and Luck by 5 points each.