Long ago, before the Mallali, Rodaks, and other Sentients were anything more than a speck in the Creator's eye, Terrans ruled the Milky Way. Their complete domination of the second-largest galaxy in the Local Cluster did not come as a result of luck or happenstance. They overcame relentless odds, defeating a powerful Type III galaxy-spanning civilization to achieve fifty lengthy eras of galactic supremacy.

However.

Before Terrankind defeated the Volgrim, they learned a horrible truth. The Volgrim were not the scariest monsters in the Milky Way. There was, in fact, a civilization of horrifying, unspeakable mutants that not even the Volgrim could defeat. Were it not for these creatures existing, Terrankind might never have defeated their overlord adversaries.

That being said, the Terrans did not unite with these creatures, these... aberrants. They joined hands with their enemies, the Volgrim, to absolutely crush the fearful monsters from the deepest corners of space.

The Kolvaxians.

Volgrim and Terran alike set aside their wars for a time, uniting to stop the Plague from spreading across all the different universes and all the different timelines. It was only because they united that they did not both perish to the Kolvaxians, for their monstrous foes would have certainly pounced upon them if they weakened one another.

But what were the Kolvaxians? What created them? What dreadful part of the cosmos birthed these nigh-unstoppable horrors?

Some might know the answer. However, humanity's last survivor, Supreme Commander José Rodriguez, cannot count himself among them.

He, like all of Ramma's Chosen, knows more than most about the broad details surrounding the Kolvaxians. Taught about their characteristics from a young age, he and all the other Terrans knew to keep an eye out and to make sure the Plague never resurfaced.

Unrelenting. Unafraid. Unstoppable.

These words, among many others, barely described the horrors a few random Kolvaxians could unleash upon a populace.

And now, as José Rodriguez endures a brutal pummeling from the faceless monster, he finally understands the truth.

The legends far understated a Kolvaxian's might.

José switches his gun to its highest power-output, turning it into a makeshift railgun. He takes potshots at the Kolvaxian, but to his alarm, the monster's intellect seemingly increases over time. It dodges several of his attacks, while taking little to no damage from those that hit.

"Die! JUST DIE!" José screams, the blood vessels in his right eye bursting from rage. The Kolvaxians rushes at him, its feet making no sound as it crosses the hundred-foot distance in a single breath. Like a ghost flickering through the wind, the eerily silent creature makes all the hair on José's neck stand up in terror.

BOOM!

A fist crashes against José's helmet, making him spin violently through the air. He smashes into a wall and flops to the floor, his brains rattled. Fluid leaks from his ears. A dull roar, like a whale moaning from deep within the sea, assaults his ears. The ringing sound quickly fades away as José's nanite-filled blood rushes to repair his worst injuries, but even the seemingly magical abilities of 50th-Era nanotechnology can only do so much.

José shakily rises to his feet. The Kolvaxian stands fewer than twenty feet away, watching him, toying with him like a cat with a ball of yarn.

"I'm... I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOUUU!!" José screams. He aims at the monster's head, but the instant he pulls the trigger, the Kolvaxian sidesteps, causing the railgun round to fire into the wall behind it.

THUNK!

José involuntarily vomits as the monster's fist smashes into his stomach. His broken and tattered Enforcer armor does little to protect him. He crashes into and grinds against the wall for several dozen feet before bouncing off and falling to the floor.

Seconds pass.

The Terran's consciousness swims. Compared to his fights against Demon Emperors, this battle truly brings him to the edge of helplessness.

"Ouuhhh..."

Tears of blood drip from José's right eye. He shakily rolls over, unable to lift his arms. Countless alarms ring inside his cerebral monitors.

Admiral Rodriguez's body integrity has fallen below 50%.

Admiral Rodriguez has suffered a level 2 concussion. Seek medical treatment immediately.

WARNING: Kolvaxian detected in the immediate vicinity. Retreat at once. Seek assistance from all local military forces. Do not engage alone. Request backup from all hostile and non-hostile factions. All internal Terran wars are hereby rescinded until the alien menace has been exterminated.

José coughs.

If only he could.

He is alone. There are no other soldiers who can assist him. If he does not kill the Kolvaxian, trillions will perish.

The Varot, those living on the world formerly known as Ramaldius, will be the first to fall.

Once the Kolvaxian has absorbed and replicated enough hosts, it will mutate into its higher stages. Civilizations located within the nearest several lightyears will be the next to fall as it travels across interstellar space.

It is not one, but many.

The Kolvaxians are more than mere monsters, yet less than an intelligent species.

They are a self-replicating plague. A ball of bio-terrorism on a multiversal scale.

José grits his teeth.

"I can't... can't die here... I have to save them all."

He forces himself to his feet, feeling momentarily relieved the Kolvaxian has not yet attacked him. In the back of his mind, a sense of warning comes from this thought, but he pushes it down, as his damaged brain simply cannot exhaust itself any more while also dreaming up military tactics.

"Nobody knows. Only me. I can't connect to Umi. I can't warn anyone. If I die, it will escape."

His arms tremble. He lifts his head to see the monster once against standing a short distance away, as if silently laughing at him.

"Did Yama only bring one? It doesn't matter. Even one Kolvaxian is one too many. I have to exterminate it. I have to kill it at all costs!"

The Admiral presses a button on his rifle. It changes forms once again, this time shifting into a one-time-use particle grenade. This weapon, capable of eradicating all the biomatter in a 3-meter vicinity, ends up being the only thing the Admiral can think of to wipe out the monster from the Timeline Wars.

"Come here, you motherfucker..." José hisses through his blood-stained teeth. His one still-functioning eye locks onto the Kolvaxian as he waits for it to move toward him. "What are you waiting for? C'mere. Hit me. Hit me!"

Somewhat worryingly, the Kolvaxian remains in its place, its faceless head trained on the Admiral's position, yet no caution or alarm lingers in its body language.

What thoughts might be running through its head?

Could it be laughing at the inferior Terran?

Could it be entirely brainless, acting on instinct?

The Terran pauses as that last thought flickers through his mind.

"Wait. Something... isn't quite right..."

The Admiral's eye flickers slightly as doubt appears in his gaze.

"Why isn't it attacking me? I'm wide open. It's hit me plenty of times..."

He quickly replays the last several minutes of brutal beatdowns he's suffered at the Kolvaxian's fists, and even thinks back to when it attacked the Fire-Shellers.

"Is there a pattern? Have I overlooked something?"

He recites hundreds of memories related to his Academy classes from his youth. Despite those classes being from thousands of years ago in his bio-existence, he still recalls them easily thanks to his eidetic memory, aided heavily by his cerebral processors.

"Hivemind. Bio-mass. All consuming. Instinctive."

"Instinctive..." He repeats. "Kolvaxians aren't stupid. That much is clear from my academy lessons. They're frighteningly intelligent and can out-think even some of the best military leaders. It was only when citizens from the multiverse united that we managed to eradicate these bastards once and for all. But if that's the case, then why is this one different?"

The Admiral clenches his particle grenade with sweaty palms.

"Hey... hey you! Can you hear me? Can you understand me? Why are you just standing there, looking at me? Don't you want a piece of my human-flesh? I know you're hungry!"

José taunts the Kolvaxian, but still, it remains in place, merely staring at him.

"...Is it really just toying with me?" José muses out loud. "Maybe there's more to this monster than I thought. I should have paid more attention to my studies. I'm definitely missing something. Could it be... this monster only attacks things that attack it first? Does it only move to action when immediate threats bear down on it?"

This hypothesis crosses José's mind. He once again repeats the past battles and comes to a tentative answer.

"It attacked the Fire-Shellers when they aimed their guns at it. Then it attacked me multiple times when I shot it. Son of a bitch. Is that why it's just standing there, staring at me? Is this some sort of autonomous drone? Kolvaxians aren't supposed to act this way!"

The more José thinks, the less his body aches, and the greater the amount of clarity that returns to his mind.

"Kolvaxians are a hivemind. Maybe... since this is the only Kolvaxian in my universe... it lacks a controller to guide its actions?"

The longer José spends thinking without the Kolvaxian attacking him, the more comfortable he grows with that hypothesis.

"Yeah. Yeah! That must be it. It's only an autonomous drone. Maybe... maybe I can grab Soren and leave. I can slip past the bastard and return later."

However, the Admiral quickly shakes his head.

"I can't do that. If I leave, this thing could go anywhere. It has a whole planet of juicy natives it could consume. One Kolvaxian is dangerous. Two or more will... I don't even want to think of the consequences."

Resolving himself to take any action necessary, a bit of fear disappears from José's heart. He tightens his grip on the grenade while slowly nodding.

"So be it. Perhaps this is why Ramma brought me to this time. Whether saving the Sentients from a Demon Emperor or a Mallali, trading my life for trillions is a worthy sacrifice."

With nothing left to fear except failure, José resolves himself to make the deadliest move of his life.

"As long as I can bring you down with me, it will all be worth it..."

The Terran takes a step forward, then pauses. He waits for the Kolvaxian to react, but it continues to stand in place, gazing at him seemingly without any thoughts running through its brain.

"Here, little plaguey-plaguey..." José whispers. "I've got a treat for you. Do you like to play catch? I love it. It's my favorite game."

He takes another slow step toward the Kolvaxian. Then another. And yet another.

As the Terran cautiously narrows the gap, the Kolvaxian doesn't even twitch. Its head remains locked onto his, as if watching him with its invisible eyes.

"You are one creepy motherfucker..." José mutters. "I bet Nick would chicken out if he were here. Guy hated darkness and crawly-critters alike. You would have been his worst nightmare."

José closes the distance. Ten feet. Five feet. Two.

Soon, he arrives within arm's reach. He stops talking, fearful that any movement will make the monster attack him. Still, it remains locked in place, unmoving.

The Terran slowly presses his thumb onto the grenade's activation button.

Beep.

Then, he gently raises his arm, as if to offer the Kolvaxian a cookie.

"H-here, buddy. It's a present. Because we're beeeest friends. Just you and me. You like presents, right? Everyone loves-"

Just as José starts to lift his finger off the detonator, the Kolvaxian's arm lunges out, seemingly at the speed of light. It grabs onto the Terran's wrist, making his eyes shrink to pinpricks.

"Fuck."

The Kolvaxian yanks with all its strength.

RIIIIP!

José's arm tears out of his shoulder socket, along with an ungodly amount of bodily entrails and other unmentionables.

Time freezes for a split-second. José watches dumbly as the Kolvaxian hurls his arm and the grenade behind itself. An instantly later, a light like the sun explodes in the darkness.

THOOM!

José's retinal implants adjust to the light, allowing him to watch as his arm evaporates into nothingness. A perfect sphere of destruction engulfs a two-meter area, shredding all the bio-mass in its explosive radius while leaving all inanimate matter untouched.

After the explosion ceases, the Kolvaxian remains in place, unharmed.

"AAAARRRGH!" José screams, when the pain of losing an arm finally hits him. He stumbles back and falls to the floor, howling bloody murder as every one of his pain-suppression implants struggles to adjust to the flood of neurological stimuli. A sensation of grogginess washes over his mind once his cerebral inhibitors activate, but before the Terran can fully adjust to the phantom pain ravaging his right side, the Kolvaxian moves.

Silently, like a jungle cat pouncing onto its prey, the monster grabs the Terran by his throat and pins him to the floor. José's eyes widen in fear as the monster's formerly club-like fist splits into two huge 'fingers, each one twining around his neck to hold him in place.

Then, with its other limb, the Kolvaxian grabs onto his bloody stump, where fresh plasma spews from his ripped-off shoulder.

"Aaaah! Get off! Get off me!" José screams. He grabs onto the Kolvaxian's wrist with his remaining arm, but fails to pry it away. His pathetic, feeble muscles do not avail him. The plague-monster possesses far superior strength even compared to many Demon Emperors.

The Admiral jerks his head to the right. He watches in horror as the Kolvaxian wraps its claws around his blood-spewing wound. Like a vacuum cleaner, the monster greedily 'slurps' up his plasma. A moment later, the sensation of something 'swimming' inside José's chest makes his heart skip several beats.

No, no, no!! It's assimilating me! I have to fight back! I can't die like this! I CAN'T LET IT CONSUME ME!!

He struggles. He fights. He claws at its rubbery skin to try and rip it apart with his fingernails, yet no matter what the Terran attempts, he fails to get even an inch of leverage on his monstrous enemy.

"No... please... please, not like this... Ramma, help me... help me!"

His vision begins to fade. As the monster swallows his blood, its body shimmers and shifts, slowly adjusting in color from muddy-moss to a bright grassy-green texture.

Just before the Admiral's life reaches its end, the creature flinches.

The Kolvaxian jerks its head back, like a dog sprayed in the face with water.

"???"

A guttural sound, something vaguely echoing of confusion, erupts from its body. The Kolvaxian instantly detaches from José and pulls away, then falls to the deckplates and begins writhing like a snake that has fallen onto hot pavement.

"???"

"!!!"

"???"

José, too weak to move, lulls his head to the side. He watches distantly, confused and alarmed, as the monster makes strange, incomprehensible sounds. Some of them resemble metal sawblades crashing against each other. Others vaguely remind the Terran of noises sea-creatures might make when skewered by meat-hooks.

"!!!!!!!!"

The Kolvaxian screams. It rolls around on the floor. It twists and bends, causing its body to transform from a bipedal figure into something blob-like, resembling a mass of mud.

"??!!??!!"

Several minutes pass. José groggily regains a bit of his brainpower as his internal nanites work to restore his body to basic functioning order.

"...Whuhhh...?"

The more time that passes, the slower the Kolvaxian blob's movements become. The creature writhes and wriggles less and less.

Eventually, it stops altogether. It makes no more sounds, and its green-coloration begins to fade.

The monster falls inert. Its blobular body rapidly decomposes until it becomes flaky and granular, like ash from a fireplace.

Ten minutes become thirty. José slowly pulls himself to his feet. His arm no longer bleeds. Instead, a thin layer of skin covers his stump, cutting off the blood loss and allowing him to recirculate what's left inside himself to heal his other injuries.

"Ugh... ugh... oh, gods..."

The Terran shakily waddles over to the pile of Kolvaxian ash. He nudges it with his foot, which causes it to crumple and fall apart, scattering across the floor.

José's retinal sensors tell the full story.

Kolvaxian life-form defeated. Top-Secret Project [REDACTED] successful. [Redacted] [redacted] [redacted]. Please inform Professor [ERRORNULLNAMENOTFOUND] of the project's success.

"...Whud?" José mumbles, his words slurred due to his exhaustion. "Project... huh? I dun't get it. Whud habbened?"

His eyes lazily blink open and closed. A deep sense of exhaustion takes him, making him want to collapse to the deck and sleep for a week.

However, as one of Ramma's Chosen, his willpower stands leagues above that of ordinary humans. He clumsily reaches into his shattered armor's contours to retrieve a thumb-sized device. He presses it against his neck, and it melts into a liquid-like substance, leeching into his throat.

After a few moments, the device fulfills its duty. His mind becomes more alert, thanks to the proprietary neuro-stimulants belonging to his faction. He shakes his head to try and rid himself of the nausea wracking him, then he staggers over to Soren.

"Hey. Soren. Soren! Come on, girl. I can't carry you back to the surface. I only have one arm."

He lightly smacks her face a few times, but she doesn't react. The two of them both lack their right arms, making them appear remarkably similar in that one regard.

"Well... I hope these work as well on you as they do me," José mutters, before pulling out another neuro-stimulant. He clumsily presses it against Soren's neck and waits a few moments for it to dissolve. Luckily, it does, and within twenty seconds, Soren blinks her eyes open.

"Aaaooo... kyargh..."

"Rise and shine," José mutters, forcing a smile. "I've got good news and bad news."

Soren tries to pull herself up, but the lack of a right arm causes her to momentarily panic. "Aah! Kyargh! Kyargh! M-my arm! Where is it?!"

"We'll grow you a new one," José replies. "And me, too."

Soren pauses her screaming to stare wide-eyed at the Admiral. Unlike him, her Enforcer armor still remains in relatively pristine condition, aside from her entire missing limb and tail section.

"What... what happened? How long as I out? Ah! Yama! José, we have to stop Yama!"

José purses his lips. He eyes his First Officer for a moment before gesturing to the pile of ash behind himself.

"Don't worry. I got him."

Soren follows his gesture.

"What? That's Yama? You killed him all by yourself?!"

The Admiral shrugs. "I, uh... I took care of him. He had a big surprise in store for me. It nearly cost me an arm and a leg, but I got a '50% off' deal, so I kept the leg."

The Admiral's morbid joke doesn't make Soren laugh. "...José, are you okay? Your face is... it's completely ashen. You look like you can barely stand."

"Hah... hah..." The Admiral weakly laughs. "I'm... pretty fucked up. Don't know how much longer I can stay awake. We need to get back to the Bloodbearer to seek medical attention. Then, we can come back down here to clean up whatever's left."

Soren clenches her jaw. "There's something you're not telling me. Don't lie to me, José. What happened with Yama? Is he dead? What about his Shades? What about the Buzor?"

José sighs. After deliberating internally for a moment, he shakes his head.

"Alright. I can't lie to you. Not to you, Soren."

He shakes his head. "Yama... well, he's not dead, but he's not in our universe anymore. He escaped."

The Admiral recounts his battle with the Kolvaxian to Soren, making her more and more horrified by the minute.

"Krargh! Great ancestors! José, that's beyond terrible! You saved the entire galaxy from a catastrophe! Everyone... everyone owes you their lives!"

He shrugs. "Probably. I don't care, though. So long as I can purge heretics, I've lived a life worth living."

The Admiral pauses.

"Soren. Can you walk?"

She grimaces. "Yes. Just... give me a minute."

The crocodile awkwardly climbs up, helped by her Admiral. When she rises to her feet, she wobbles uncertainly as panic flashes across her face.

"Ah! Ahh! I can't- ah!"

She tumbles backward and crashes to the floor, rolling around while wincing miserably.

"What's wrong?!" José asks. "Are you alright?"

"I don't have a tail!" Soren wails. "I can't balance without my tail! It's impossible. I felt sick to my stomach the moment I stood up!"

"Sure, you can," José chuckles, feeling slightly relieved. "Here, you can lean on me. I'll help you walk."

"Okay... I'll try."

Once again, José helps Soren up. She wraps her left arm around his back, staggering awkwardly as they make their way to the exit.

"There, see? You hold onto me. I only have one arm, so I'll need to use it to blast any Buzor in our path."

"Are you in any sort of fighting condition?" Soren asks worriedly. "José, you look awful. Your skin even has a sickly hue to it."

The Admiral sighs. "I don't know. I felt awful earlier, but now that I've caught my breath, I'm doing better. I just need some fresh air. Can't stand this stale, creeping darkness."

"...Well, alright, then." Soren replies.

The two of them slowly shuffle out of the Rip-Gate chamber. José shoots one last look at the Kolvaxian's remains before continuing toward the exit. His previously shaky knees slowly regain their strength as the nanites in his body work to repair a fraction of the terrible injuries he's suffered.

"When I get back to the Bloodbearer, I'm sleeping for a month..." José grumbles.

Soren nods. "Kyargh! Same."

As they walk, Soren's scales flush with color.

"This is, um. This is kind of nice, José."

"What is?" He asks.

"You and me. Together, like this."

The Admiral falls silent.

"...Don't get too used to it. Yama may have sabotaged the Rip-Gate, but I'll repair it soon enough. I've accomplished my mission. Once I'm back to optimal condition, I'm leaving this timeline. I don't belong here."

"You saved countless lives," Soren counters. "Once people find out, they'll treat you like a hero."

"Haha... a 'Hero,' am I?" José chuckles. "Mmm. Not quite."

"José?"

"It's nothing. You wouldn't understand."

As the two of them walk, not a single Buzor appears in their path. Just when José starts feeling suspicious, the sound of footsteps rushes toward him.

"Bogey, incoming," He growls, before aiming into the distance.

His hearing, normally far superior to Soren's, this time proves roughly equal. She still wears her Enforcer helmet, custom-made to fit her crocodilian snout. She perks up her ears and narrows her eyes to peer into the distance.

"Wait, José. Look. Isn't that...?"

The two of them watch as a giant figure runs toward them from the darkness. José lowers his gun and smiles.

"Grundle. It's you. Thank god."

The giant crocodile screeches to a halt as he spots his Admiral and Soren, both missing their right arms.

"Graugh! Admiral! Terrible, no-good news! Graugh! Graugh!"

Clearly flustered, the Kraktol soldier's huge frame makes his panic seem even more dire.

"What's wrong?" José asks.

"Th-the Bloodbearer! It's under attack!" Grundle growls. "The Mallali! They've attacked us!"

"What?!" José howls. "That... those bastards! What the hell are they thinking?!"

"They brought all kinds of powerful warships!" Grundle continues. "I didn't even know they had them! Crazy strong! Bigger than the Bloodbearer! You have to hurry! Umi says she will not leave the planet until she has guaranteed your safety. That stupid AI is putting everyone on board in great danger!"

The Admiral's eyes turn to steel.

"Fucking Mallali! Why would they attack now, right in the middle of a Buzor invasion?! Stupid, worthless, greedy heretics! Come on, help me along! I'll get up there and take them down myself if that's what it takes!"

Grundle nods. "Graugh! Yes, Admiral!"