Splat Force V: Final Frontier; Chapter 15

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! I hope all is well today! Well, you know what to expect by now: it's Sunday, which means that it's time for a new Chapter of Splat Force V: Final Frontier!

Last week's Chapter was fairly... dramatic to say the least. The team's trip around the multiverse came to an end, and for most it was a success, for a certain duo, not so much. This Chapter will see how the whole team reacts to this devastating news.

I won't lie, the opening scene of this Chapter was meant to be the final scene of the last Chapter, however, I ended up running out of room, meaning that I wasn't able to fully have that scene close it like I planned, hence why I moved it to the start of this Chapter.

One last thing, this Chapter will be the conclusion of the second volume of this story. Next week will be the second intermission before the final five Chapters.

So without further ado, let's get into this!

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(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 1 5 : T H E F I N A L H O U R

Magnus and Samantha were stood by the pedestal awaiting another arrival. Zane was by the front door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed an eyes closed. Shauna was by the training area, close to Drift who was sat on the stairs, staring at the ground. Ami was sat on the desk at the back whilst Bolton leaned against the door to the bunker.

B E E P , B E E P , B E E P ! ! !

After a press of the green button at the pedestal, both Rex and Platinum were back alongside Frederick and Alyssa. As the suits came off, Alyssa took a step back, nervous. Frederick ired the base around him.

"You've done pretty good for yourself."

He told Rex.

"It's smaller then what I'm used to, but it works."

"Well, you gotta make the most of what you have, right?"

Rex replied. All of sudden, Rex grabbed his N-Zap and pointed it straight at Bolton.

Bolton, who was used to this type of reaction by now, slowly held his hands in the air.

"Commander Allen, you don't have to worry... I'm on your side."

"Can confirm!"

Magnus called out from the pedestal.

"He spared me back in his dimension and seems to be an ally of the Splat Force in that world."

Rex looked at Magnus, focusing on the confidence on his face before looking back at Bolton and putting his weapon away.

"You know what, sure, this has already been the weirdest day of my entire life."

He said before glancing to his left and seeing Drift sitting on the stairs. He took a few steps forward to get a better look at him.

"Drift?"

"He's a bit unstable."

Shauna told him, pausing her work out session to face her Commander.

"He had a bit of a freak out earlier upon arrival."

"Right, I see..."

"Are you Rex Allen?"

Ami called out from behind, now stood up and standing in front of the platform.

Rex turned to face Ami. He noticed her upon arrival, though he did not recognise her until getting a much closer look.

"Ami? Is that really you?"

"Yeah?"

Ami answered.

"Sorry, I never got to meet the Rex Allen from my world..."

"I see..."

Rex replied before giving her a welcoming smirk.

"I know you don't know me, but, it's good to see you again, Ami!"

Rex's welcoming presence made Ami feel more at ease. She smiled at him, giving him a little nod, feeling much safer then she had been feeling ever since she first arrived onto this universe.

Meanwhile, both Magnus and Samantha had their eyes fixated on the nervous, Alyssa. She was hesitant to come over to them.

"Alyssa?"

Magnus called out.

The curiosity in Magnus' voice was what made Alyssa finally come over to them.

"I'm guessing that I know you two here?"

Samantha nodded.

"Yeah, you were a hero in this world."

"And so I've been told."

"No, she means it."

Magnus said before elaborating.

"Your acts of good made a huge difference in this world. Without you, we'd be in a much worse position right now."

"Right..."

Alyssa muttered, still feeling doubts about herself.

Seeing the look on her face, Magnus thought that it would be nice to share a small compliment with her.

"You look good, by the way. Just thought I should let you know that."

Magnus said with a smiley face. The compliment got a very small smile out of Alyssa.

Meanwhile, Rex was looking around the room counting heads. Once done, he looked over to Magnus and Samantha.

"We're just missing Emily and Fisk."

B E E P , B E E P , B E E P ! ! !

"Speaking of them..."

Magnus whispered to himself before running back to the pedestal and looking at the screen.

"Emily's coming in!"

The announcement of Emily's arrival was what got Zane to wake up and slowly re the others. By the time he arrived, Magnus had pressed the green button, bringing what they believed to be Emily back through the platform.

The moment the woman arrived on the platform, they quickly found out that they had brought in someone else entirely.

"Wh-Where... where am I?!"

Helena Court exclaimed as the suit came off of her, revealing herself to the others.

All eyes went onto Helena.

"Who are you?"

Platinum asked.

"Helena..."

Bolton muttered. His crisp voice immediately attracted the attention of Helena.

Helena was in pure shock. Of course, this wasn't the first Bolton variant that she had come across, but this one was the first normal Bolton she's seen ever since she lost her own.

"B-Bolton..."

She stuttered as she jumped off of the platform and onto the ground. The pair of them met in the middle, eyes fixated on one another.

"I-It's been so long..."

Bolton whispered.

Helena nodded.

"I-It has..."

She whispered, holding out both of her hands, allowing Bolton to take them.

B E E P , B E E P , B E E P ! ! !

"Fisk is comin'!"

Magnus informed them before bringing him in with the press of the green button.

This time, there was no alternative surprises. It was really Vincent who showed back up on the platform. As the suit retracted, he fell to his knees, tears in his eyes. All eyes were now on him.

Rex and Platinum climbed back onto the platform and approched him.

"Fisk, where's Emily?"

Rex asked.

Vincent gave no response. He just sat still, lips trembling. Panic quickly filled the room. Shauna then ed them on the platform, giving Vincent a worried look.

"Where is she? Where is Emily?!"

She asked, getting progressively more anxious.

Vincent remained quiet, terrified over the thougnt of having to tell them what happened. At last, Zane went onto the platform, agitated.

"She asked you something, asshole!"

He exclaimed, stopping right in front of them.

"Where is my cousin?!"

Now feeling the full pressure of everyone in the room to spill everything, Vincent had no choice but to tell them.

"Sh-Sh-Sh-"

He stuttered before finally getting it out, choosing to look directly at Rex as he spoke.

"Sh-She didn't make it..."

It hit everyone. Emily was dead. Rex looked at Vincent with pain in his eyes. Once again, someone close to him has been killed. Shauna gasped as the realisation settled in.

"N-No... no..."

She whimpered, tears already falling down her face.

"N-NO!"

Magnus quickly ran onto the platform and embraced Shauna, allowing her to cry loudly into his shoulders as he too cried into her's. Platinum embraced her father tightly, not wanting to believe that Emily was gone. Samantha stood at the back on the ground, covering her face with her left hand.

Zane fell to his knees, anguish in his eyes. He then fell onto all fours, both palms pressing against the platform. His metal hand then tightened into a fist before punching the platform.

S L A M ! ! !

The sound of the punch echoed loudly for the next few seconds, followed by Zane letting out a loud, painful roar followed by sobbing. His cousin was gone. He had once again lost someone close to him after just getting her back.

Watching all of this from above was The Beholder. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"N-No... it can't be..."

He muttered to himself before leaving Earth 20.

The Beholder began searching for the universe that Vincent and Emily were at to see if he could find anything. After quickly scanning through each universe, he eventually came across Earth 8171.

It didn't take long for him to find Emily's dead body. He stood over her.

"This shouldn't have happened, n-not yet!"

He said to himself as he began pacing around the area.

"She shouldn't have died like this! She was meant for so much more! She was meant to lead..."

After pacing around for a short moment, The Beholder then turned back to Emily, an idea hitting him.

"She can still lead. She can still play her part. But, is it worth the risk? I-I won't be able to use to again for..."

He whispered to himself before arriving at Emily's body. He looked down at her and pondered for a moment. After a few seconds of thinking, he took away Emily's body via a portal.

"I have to take this risk..."

It was then that The Beholder left Earth 8171. He arrived back at his Storage Room. Emily's body was on the floor at the top center of the room between the Future Sight and the gateway to Earth XX020.

The Beholder made his way to the Orb Of Life. He held out both of his hands, the aura of the orb getting attached to the presence of them. He turned towards Emily and stepped forward.

"I'm putting the multiverse in grave danger by doing this, but you're the only one who can lead them, Emily Rogue."

He muttered out loud. He then held out the Orb. The bright green orb began floating out of The Beholder's grasp and made it's way over to Emily's body, hovering above her heart. The Beholder shut his eyes.

"      ,      ,               ,         !"

After finishing the chant, the Orb Of Life began glowing so bright that even The Beholder had to squint his eyes. Emily's body began levitating as the Orb began to do it's job. The wounds she sustained from battle began healing. All of the burn marks began fading away. Her right arm started growing back full until it was completely healed. Even the scar on her belly and the liver was healed.

Lastly was what was left on the inside. All of the damage caused over the years of fighting had began healing, including her new liver, which was now younger and more suitable for her age. At last, the healing reached her heart, healing it fully and allowing to to once again start beating. It wasn't long until all of her bodily functions were restarted.

As the healing came to an end, the light from the Orb Of Life began to dim. Emily's body remained in the air for a couple of seconds before The Beholder sent her away in a portal.

B A C K O N E A R T H 2 0 . . .

Alone in the bunker, Rex had set up a camera standing that faced him and the sofa. After positioning it correctly, he switched it on, the camera now recording him. He sat down on the sofa and took a deep breath.

"In life... you lose people. It could be anyone. It could be someone you by on the street, it could be a teacher, a role model, a friend... hell, it could even be your own family."

Rex said to the camera before taking a small pause, trying to refocus his thoughts.

"I've lost far too much in my life. My wife, Fred, everyone I knew during The Gifted Wars, and so much more. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but, to be honest, the hardest part isn't the fact that they're gone, no, the hardest bit is trying to live with it, especially if they die saving you."

Rex took another small gap in between sentences as he tried to think of what to say.

"Then again, I suppose that's the beauty of it, right? They lay down their lives just so you can live in peace, happiness, freedom. Their memory live on inside of you and their deaths will never be in vain..."

Rex said before taking another pause to think of what else he wanted to say, feeling the need to get everything out of his chest as soon as possible.

After finishing his video, Rex returned upstairs to the main room. By now, everyone was spread out and doing their own thing. Drift was still by the staircase, Bolton and Helena were having a sparing session with their respective weapons, Ami was meditating against the left wall, Frederick was looking at the memoriam portraits, and Alyssa was sat by the desk once used by this universe's version of her.

Upon seeing Rex exit the bunker, Alyssa turned to him.

"What were you doing?"

It took a couple of seconds for Rex to process the question, but once he did, he had a bit of a stumble.

"O-Oh!"

He stuttered before turning to her.

"I was just... taking care of some unfinished buisness."

"Right, okay..."

Alyssa responded, having a scent of suspicion in her voice, feeling as if there were more to the story, but for now, she let him be.

Rex moved forward and met with both Platinum and Samantha by the pedestal, both of whom still trying to process the loss of their friend.

"How are you two holding up?"

Platinum faked a smile.

"Been better, if I'm honest."

She answered with a light sniffle.

"Just wasn't expecting to lose someone so soon."

"She wasn't supposed to die, not now, not like this..."

Rex muttered back before quickly shifting the topic.

"Where are the others?"

Samantha was the one who answered this one.

"Fisk is making adjustments to his and our weapons over there."

She answered as she pointed to the stationary area, and there was Vincent, doing exactly that as he added nanotech attachments to his weapon to make the hits much stronger. Once Vincent's presence was known, Samantha then turned to look at the front door.

"Magnus and Shauna are outside, and I think Zane is as well. They're not taking it well, I think it's best that we leave them be for now..."

Rex sighed.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll check on them later. If you two need anything, let me know."

He told them before leaving them to themselves and walking over to the memoriam wall where Frederick was.

"Are you alright, Fred?"

Frederick quickly turned to Rex, giving him a light smirk.

"Yeah, just a lot to process, this whole multiverse thing."

He answered before turning back to the portrait of himself.

"Whilst you were in that back room, my mind started showing me thing, memories I didn't live."

"I had those too when I was on your world."

He told him.

"From what I've learned, those memories are from the version of me from that world, and thus you experienced-"

"The memories of me from here."

Frederick answered, finishing Rex's sentence. After a second, he turned and looked at Bolton, who was holding back was sparring with Helena.

"That man is the one who kills me, yes?"

"Yeah. From what I gathered, he killed me on your world. Here, it was Jamie who died that day and Chester and his group of men later died trying to take him down, well mostly, Peter Watson got away."

"The kid?"

"Yeah! Well, I'm sure he's much older in your world, but yeah, he was the sole survivor. Granted, he later died during our final showdown with him."

"Huh..."

Frederick uttered, feeling slightly overwhelmed by how different things had gone.

"Are you not least bit worried about him being here then?"

"I am."

Rex answered.

"However, I trust that Magnus made the move he thought was right. If he trusts him, then I do, even if it's someone like him."

Meanwhile, both Shauna and Magnus were sat again the wall by the sea. Zane was sat by the front door arms wrapped around his knees. Shauna tilted her head to the left, getting Magnus attention.

"I-I should've g-gone with her..."

Magnus then turned his entire body to the right so that he was fully facing her

"N-No! Don't say that, okay?! It is NOT your fault! It isn't anyone's fault, okay?!"

He assured her, sounding as if he were about to break down again.

"There's nothin' any of us can do about it now, okay? W-We just have to... w-we gotta..."

Tears fell down Magnus' face as he tried to speak. Unfortunately, the words just weren't coming to him now.

"D-Dammit..."

He muttered before wiping the tears away.

Just before the conversation could continue, and inevitably cause the pair of them to go down an emotional spiral, The Beholder appeared before them.

"I know this may not seem to be the most appropriate time, but..."

The Beholder greeted them before pausing, allowing both Magnus and Shauna to process him being there. Once their eyes were on him, he continued.

"I have a task for the pair of you. I figured it'd be a distraction for you two, though I understand if-"

Magnus stood up.

"Oh no, I'm interested."

He spoke calmly before helping Shauna up.

"Like you said, I could use a distraction."

"Good."

The Beholder responded before detailing the task.

"There are three more heroes we need to gather. I've already made plans to visit one of them, the other two, however, they will be your mission."

"What world are you taking us to?"

Shauna asked.

"Oh no, all three of them are from this world.."

He clarified.

"Alright then."

Magnus said, taking a confident step forward.

"Who are we meetin'?"

M E A N W H I L E E L S E W H E R E . . .

Nemo Island, a small peaceful island within the most isolated part of the sea. Coming out from a portal, both Magnus and Platinum landed on a wooden deck leading out to the sea. Up ahead was a round grassy area with a stone walkway and two buildings, the one on the left being a small wooden shed and the one on the center right being a two floored house fully made from dark red wood with a dark brown wooden roof as well as a staircase leading up to the front porch.

One of the residents of the home was sitting at the kitchen table, her long magenta hair going down her back. The woman then began sensing the arrival of Magnus and Shauna alongside the excitement her son was feeling. She turned herself around, her yellow eyes staring at the front door for a moment before standing up and walking to it.

As Magnus and Shauna entered the premise, they were greeted by a young Octoling boy who's undeveloped body was sand-colored.

"Uncle Magnus!"

He called out as he jumped into the older Octoling's arms, embracing him in a hug.

Magnus laughed as he hugged the child. Shauna, not knowing who the child was, simply give him a friend wave and a smile. After a couple of seconds, the mother ed them.

"Well, this is a surprise!"

Melissa Sabrina said, approaching Magnus. The pair of them hugged as they spoke.

"How are you?"

"Much better right now."

"That's good!"

Melissa replied as the hug came to an end. It was then that she looked to her left and saw Shauna standing there. She gasped.

"Shauna?!"

Shauna giggled before quickly going up to Melissa and accepting her hug from her.

"Long time, no see, huh?"

"Yeah, no kidding!"

Melissa replied.

Just as their hug came to an end, the small group were ed by one last person.

"Forgetting someone?"

Led Levin called out, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Hey, man!"

Magnus called back, rushing over to Led and giving him a small hug as well, Shauna did the same.

Once all hugs had concluded, Led gestured to the house, his long sand-colored hair flowing in the breeze.

"Wanna take this inside?"

"Yeah! That would be nice!"

Magnus responded. With that being said, all of them made their way inside of the house.

Before long, everyone was in the kitchen. Melissa was sat in the seat she was sat in before, gentlely playing around with her small left braid, the braid on the right was bigger and longer. She was wearing black gym leggings, light grey socks, and a light grey t-shirt.

As for Led, his fringe was no longer covering his whole right eye, but was slightly swept to the side. He wasn't wearing his red bandana so his purple scarred mouth was on display. He was wearing a dirty white vest along with baggy charcoal glasses and was bare feet. He was a bit taller nowadays, but still on the shorter side.

Magnus and Shauna sat opposite from Melissa, who had her son by her side eating a cucumber slice. Led was washing the dishes behind Magnus and Shauna.

"So, any updates on the baby?"

Magnus asked.

Melissa smiled, moving her hands down to her belly and gently holding it.

"The doctor came by and did a check up. He said the baby is looking healthy. She's due in May."

Magnus leaned forward, catching on to one of the words said in that last sentence.

"She?"

Melissa's smile grew wider as she nodded.

"When my gifts came back, it was overwhelming at first. I heard Led's thoughts, Junior's thoughts, and then my own thoughts. What calmed me down, however, was when I felt our little baby girl. She seemed at peace, a feeling I focused on."

She explained, still looking down at her baby bump. Her attention was then briefly taking by her son chewing loudly with his mouth open.

"Mouth closed, Junior."

After washing up a dirty pan, Led ed them, sitting on the edge of the table between Magnus and Melissa.

"It was a shock when my gifts came back. I thought that part of my life was over, but like my mother used to say, the world has its plans."

He said to them, raising his left hand a little. Small electric sparks began flickering around his finger tips.

"It was easy to regain control of it, although it did come at the expense of our living room light."

"Mostly the same case for me."

Shauna said, raising her hand and causing it to glow bright for a moment before dimming the light. As she stared at her light, she felt herself getting more and more worked up over everything. She couldn't mask her feelings as well. She frowned as the light dimmed out.

Being the empath that she was, Melissa picked up that something was wrong the moment they arrived, though she hid well until now.

"Shauna."

She called out. Shauna looked her way.

"You feel great pain. What's wrong?"

Shauna didn't want to answer. All she could do was shake her head. Seeing this, Magnus took it upon himself to be the one who answered.

"We were on a mission, well, it's still ongoin' but I'll get to that part soon, and durin' it... w-we lost Emily..."

Melissa frowned, saddened to hear of her death.

"I'm so sorry..."

Led gave them a sympathetic look, knowing full well how losing a loved one too soon felt. Noticing that Shauna was another mention away from breaking down completely, Led decided to shift the topic.

"What do you mean by ongoing?"

Magnus leaned forward.

"Okay, this is gonna be a lot to take in, okay? So there's this dude called The Beholder, he's kinda like this big space man who watches over the multiverse-"

Led flinched at the meer mention of the multiverse.

"I'm sorry, the WHAT?!"

Magnus took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he tried to find a way to quickly discuss the whole thing. He then looked to Melissa.

"Can you... you know?"

"Of course!"

Melissa answered with a nod.

Magnus held out his hand across the table, leading Melissa to reach out and grab it. Led then extended both of his hands so that Magnus and Melissa could hold them too. Once all hands were held, everyone closed their eyes and Melissa reached out.

Upon doing so, she was met with Magnus' memories from the past week, well, the important ones anyway. From the return of the gifted, to the shadow creatures, to the meeting of The Beholder, both Melissa and Led got to see everything. They learned about the Tale Of Malefor, as well as the mission and the existence of the multiverse.

By the time that the journey through Magnus' memories came to its end, both Led and Melissa had learned everything that they needed to know. The three of them opened their eyes.

Almost immediately, everyone's attention was taken by The Beholder, who stood by the front door.

"It's you..."

Melissa uttered.

The Beholder nodded.

"You have learned everything that you need to know."

He responded.

"Now you understand why we've come here."

Led had a doubtful look on his face.

"I don't understand... why us?"

"Because, Led Levin, you two will play important roles in the defeat of Malefor."

"B-But why can't you just find another me and another Mel? Why does it have to be us two?"

"Very few Led Levins and Melissa Sabrinas have had the history that you too share, and those who do, their worlds aren't under his radar yet, and thus don't have the power."

He explained.

"I understand your frustration, Led Levin, but without the history, the power, and the resilience and care that the pair of you possess, I fear that the multiverse's chance of survival dims."

The couple turn to each other, both troubled, Led being the first to speak between them.

"We've worked so hard for this life, especially after all we've been through..."

He whispered.

Melissa reached out and gently held Led's right hand, giving him a reassuring look.

"I know."

She replied calmly.

"But if what he says is true, we should be there with the others, or else we risk losing everything, including the future of our children."

The mention of the children was what finally got Led to sign on. After a couple of seconds of contemplation, he turned back to The Beholder.

"Okay, I'll do it."

Melissa smiled at Led before turning back to The Beholder.

"Count me in too!"

"Good."

The Beholder replied. His tone of voice sounded pleased.

"The three of you will make a great difference in the coming conflict."

Led hopped off his seat and steadily approched The Beholder, eyes squinting.

"Three?"

"He should be arriving any second now."

The Beholder said before slowly fading away.

The moment that The Beholder disappeared, Melissa began picking up another presence, one that made her gasp with excitement, causing her to immediately run out of the house.

"Mel, wait!"

Led called out before running after her. Magnus, Shauna, and Led Levin Jr. all chased after them as well, wondering what the cause of her sudden shift in behaviour was.

Running across the grass to the front wooden deck felt like running down a hill, a shallow hill, but a hill none the less. Everyone stopped at the deck and watched the sea, Melissa kept that smile on her face the entire time.

All of a sudden, Bruce Hammerhead, or King Nanaue II as he's known by his people, leaped out of the sea and landed onto the wooden deck, towering over the others. The Hammerhead Shark wore a long red, fluffy cape alongside a dark blue crown. In the grasp of his right fin was a dark blue trident, the weapon of a king.

"Bruce?!"

Led called out. Melissa didn't say anything, instead chosing to instantly go in for the hug. Once the shock of Bruce being there wore off, Led ran to him as well.

"Bruce!"

"FRIENDS!"

Bruce exclaimed, opened his arms out and pulling both Led and Melissa in for a tight hug.

"I miss you!"

"We missed you too, buddy!"

Melissa said back to him as the hug came to a close.

Led Levin Jr. then ran up to Bruce, hugging his right leg tightly. Seeing him, Bruce kneeled to his level and patted his back with his open fin.

"Godson."

He whispered to him.

Both Magnus and Shauna ed the others and the deck, both of them taking a knee for the King of The Shark Kingdom.

"Your majesty, you come here often?"

Magnus asked.

"Yes. They my friends, and Junior is godson."

Bruce answered before giving them the explanation for why he came at this time.

"Magic man come to kingdom. He tell me about imminent battle and to meet friends here."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Shauna replied. As Bruce looked her way, she gave him a slight smile and a playful wave, to which he did the same to her.

"I'm guessing you're gonna take us... somewhere?"

Led asked.

Bruce nodded.

"Magic man tell me go to Splat Force base."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Melissa muttered before asking another question.

"Are we gonna have to be in your mouth again?"

"Wha-"

Magnus said before stopping himself, realising the reason.

"Oh yeah, you don't have nanotech suits."

"Yeah, we don't, so yeah we kinda don't have a choice here."

Led replied with a light snicker at the end before looking back at Melissa.

"Before we get going, I think it's best if w-"

"We get out of these clothes? Yes, you're right."

Melissa answered, not even having to read his mind to know what he was going to say. She then looked to Magnus and Shauna.

"Please excuse us!"

"Oh no, of course!"

Magnus replied, stepping aside to let the pair of them change.

B A C K A T T H E B A S E . . .

After sitting alone outside for thirty-five minutes, Zane walked back into the base, completely nonverbal, walking across the room until he reached the bunker door, ing by Bolton and Helena, who were having another round of sparring. He began leaning against it, arms closed and head tilted downwards.

On the top railing outside, Alyssa was staring out into the sea, eyes locked on the purple sky. She was ed by Frederick, who stood to her left.

"When we first met, your instincts were to kill me."

Frederick said to her.

"What happened between us on your world?"

"You and Rex went to war against each other. A second meteorite struck, causing more dangerous gifted enemies to spawn, which led to some of our finest dying, ultimately leading you two to war."

Alyssa said to him, giving him the backstory before getting into the really heavy topic.

"One day, you overstepped your mark and attacked our home. I was pregnant at the time with her our daughter, who you recently met. I lost the baby... you then came from behind and tried to put a bullet in me, but Rex stepped in the way and took it."

"Oh my..."

Frederick muttered, appealed that there was a version of him that stooped that low during such a hard time in his life.

Alyssa nodded before turning to face Frederick, eyes becoming watery.

"I-I was distraught and unleashed all of my rage and fury onto you."

Alyssa said. If that sentence wasn't enough to horrify Frederick, then what came next most certainly did.

"When they came to take the bodies away, they had to carry you in multiple small boxes."

That sentence activated Frederick's fight or flight feeling. He took a step back and turned around, taking a deep breath as he tried to process what he had just heard.

Seeing his reaction, Alyssa's eyes stayed locked onto Frederick. She saw the absolute fear in his eyes when she told him about what he had done to her. Of course, there was no way she'd ever be healed after what her Frederick did, but that's the thing, he wasn't HER Frederick. Seeing his reaction was what finally made her realise that.

"Not too long ago, I had these memories play in my head."

Alyssa spoke.

"I saw so much. I saw the birth of my daughter, the rise of the Splat Force, the beginning of a reign of terror, and I even saw my own death. I also saw you, Frederick. I don't know my full history here, but we seemed like friends. Judging by how you are and how you look and speak to Rex, I suspect you were the same for your Rex.

"Yes, you're right."

He muttered back. Eventually, Frederick turned back around, facing her after having cooled off.

"That man you described to me... I hope he rots for the pain he caused! He is everything I feared I'd become during those days. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that, truly! If there is anything you need me to do, anything, even if it's staying out of your way, then I promise that I-"

All of a sudden, Alyssa placed a hand on Frederick's left shoulder, showing signs of trust.

"I'm glad you're not him."

She whispered to him, giving him a reassuring look for a couple of seconds before heading inside, to which Frederick followed.

T H U D ! ! !

After a few minutes, everyone at the base was put on high alert following a sudden thud that happened outside. For all they knew, it was one of the shadow creatures once again. Both Bolton and Helena got their respective blades out in their hands, ready to strike, both of Ami's fists froze into sharp ice knuckles, Drift remained where he was, Alyssa's fists started glowing, as did Platinum's, and the non-gifted s all grabbed their weapons, with Zane summoning his blade.

S K I T ! ! !

All of them waited in silence for the monsters to start coming from the front entrance. They all tensed up as the door began open, thankfully, everyone became at ease when they saw Magnus, Shauna, Led, Melissa, and Bruce all come through the door.

Both Led and Melissa were wearing their old costumes, Led being a bright blue jacket with a brown beanie and his signature red bandana, and Melissa being her old black suit with the purple lines. The baby bump was more visible then how it was on her t-shirt, but Melissa was still able to operate just fine.

As the all came in, Rex met them halfway and extended his arm.

"Long time, no see!"

He said to Led, who shook his hand.

"Hey, Commander."

Led greeted, to which Rex responded with a smirk and a wink.

Rex then took his attention to Melissa, extending his hand towards her.

"How are you two?"

"We're much better now that we're here with you! How are y-"

Melissa was about to ask before stopping the moment their hands made . She immediately sensed something from within Rex. He had a much different vibe and mood compared to everyone else, though it was unclear as to why. Their handshake came to an awkward close as Rex stared at her, looking confused on the outside, though she felt anxiousness from within him. She ended up stuttering her way out of it.

"S-Sorry about that! I-I don't know what happened there, ahaha!"

Rex chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry about that!"

He said before taking a step back to ire the pair of them.

"I see that the pair of you are still wearing those outfits, huh?"

Led chuckled.

"It's kinda of our "going out" style, really."

"Led...?"

Bolton called out from the left of Led.

Hearing that voice call his name again after so many years sent shivers down Led's body. He slowly turned to look at his left, and there he was. He went through several different emotions within a couple of seconds, raging from shock, to fear, to sadness, and finally, to anger.

"You..."

He hissed, both hands sparkling with electricity.

Z A P , Z A P ! ! !

Two strong lightning bolts were sent flying towards Bolton, who quickly avoided the first with a well timed front flip and then blocked the second with his blade.

Running from Bruce's side, Magnus rushed to the middle of them, stopping the conflict.

"Magnus, what are you doing?!"

Led asked as his fingertips sparkled faster.

"He is not our enemy!"

Magnus exclaimed back, hands in the air.

"Trust me! He wants to help."

"He's right!"

Melissa chimed in, reading through Bolton's emotions.

Led turned around, looking at Melissa as if she had violated some unspoken contract.

"What?!"

Slowly and steadily, Melissa began making her way closer to Bolton, having her right hand held up to get a better reading on him as she got closer.

"I don't like that he's here either, Led, but Magnus is right."

She said as she stopped right in front of Bolton.

"He truly wants to help us. I can hear his thoughts. If he wanted us dead, he'd have tried it already."

Almost everyone in the room was put at ease now officially knowing where Bolton's mindset was at, the only two not settled just yet were Drift and now Led, the latter of which dimmed the lightning on his fingertips, going back to normal.

"Okay, I understand that you guys need allies for this fight, and Magnus, you know I trust you with almost every choice you make."

He said before pointing a finger towards Bolton.

"But why in GOD'S NAME is HE HERE?!"

"Because he has a role to play in all of this, as do you and everyone else in this room."

The Beholder called out from ahead, hovering near the back of the room and looking down at everyone.

Led sighed frustratingly.

"Okay, fine..."

He grunted before looking at The Beholder.

"But if at any point he deceives, he's mine!"

"As you wish."

The Beholder promised him before getting back to why he was there now.

"Led Levin and Melissa Sabrina, the pair of you have been brought here to play your part in this battle, but to do so, I'll need you to come with me."

"Why? Where are we going?"

Led asked, stepping back to be closer to Melissa.

"The pair of you are already strong, maybe even among the strongest beings in their reality, however your abilities need some enhancements, a boost as you'd call it."

The Beholder told them as he lowered himself down closer to the ground.

"In order for this battle to be won, your true power will have to be unlocked. You'll have to be stronger than what you are now, maybe even among the strongest in the known multiverse."

"Okay...?"

Led replied, feeling incredibly uneasy about the whole thing.

"We will do what's necessary."

Melissa told him.

"Good."

The Beholder said before lifting up his hand and taking both Led and Melissa away in a portal.

One second they were at the Splat Force base, the next second, there were in this massive square room with spruce wood walls and floors. They stood on an orange carpet with red patterns. In front of them was a large door.

Hovering in front of the door was The Beholder, who was about to open it and enter the room on the otherside, however, he froze, turning his head sideways as he picked up on something. Melissa tried to read his mind but got nothing.

"She's awake..."

He muttered outloud before disappearing completely.

"Okay, and he's gone now..."

Led murmured to himself as he disappeared.

"Guess it's just us now, Mel."

"Yeah, I th-"

Melissa replied before pausing, picking up another lifeform in the room with them.

"Someone's with us!"

"Wh-Who?!"

Led replied, alarmed by the sudden announcement.

Before his fingertips could sparkle again, he felt a strong gust of wind blow in his face, the type of gust he was familiar with. Standing right in front of him was a dark-skinned Octoling that he was very familiar with, though his grey afro was shorter and curlier, and his green, white, and purple jacket had less color and was unzipped, revealing a black tank top.

"Led Levin?!"

Damian Batson called out.

Led took a few steps back to get a better look at him, both he and Melissa were shocked to see him.

"D-Damian?!"

Melissa called out.

The speedster let out a light chuckle before speaking at a really fast pace, that to him was very much normal.

"Yeah, who else would it be, hmm? Unless you know someone else who can ran at super sonic speeds who is also black and has an afro and has a mute brother and ha-"

"Okay, yeah, we get it!"

Led interrupted, stopping Damian from going into a ramble.

Melissa tilted her head as she looked at how different Damian looked compared to the one she knew.

"What happened to you?"

"Well..."

Damian replied as he quickly thought back to his last moments back in his home world. The last thing he ed doing was running away from a nuclear explosion. It was getting closer, closer, and closer. He then ed the area around him glitching slightly before being sucked into one of The Beholder's portals.

"Long story short, my world went bad and I was running away from this big ass explosion when this guy called The Beholder pulled me outta my world and told me that I was important, of course, I didn't understand any of it but I rolled with it. I've been with him now for like two, three years now? Foods been nice, though!"

"Right..."

Led responded before giving Melissa a quick wink.

Melissa approched Damian and placed two fingers on his forehead and began to concentrate. After a couple of seconds, she let go and turned back to Led.

"Yeah, all true."

"Alright, now that's sorted..."

Led said as he turned to the door in which The Beholder was going to walk through before abruptly leaving.

"You know what's behind here, Damian?"

"Oh yeah! The Beholder took me in there not too long ago! There's like this machine in there that has a squit ton of radiation and it powers you up! It's how I'm able to do this!"

He said before sprinting off, the impact of his takeoff causing both Led and Melissa to almost fall back. After a couple of seconds, he stopped running, striking a flamboyant pose like a rockstar right in front of them. After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, Damian turned back to the door.

"I'm assuming he's gonna put you guys through that same thing too! Where even is he anyway? Where'd he go?"

S O M E W H E R E O U T S I D E O F R E A L I T Y . . .

In the middle of a smooth, reflective grey floor laid Emily. The area around her seemed to go on forever when looking in one direction. There were walls, though they were completely black and faded like a dark corner of a room, the same could be said for the ceiling. In the distance, the sound of speaking could be heard, though it was faint from where Emily was lying.

After laying motionless for minutes on end, Emily finally opened her eyes. She found it difficult to open her eyes at first, feeling as if she had woken up early from a sleep. It didn't help that she was met with a banging headache. She grunted and hummed to herself as she fully woke up.

The Inkling woman sat up and stretched her arms, letting out a soft yawn. Not too long after the stretch, it all started to come back to her. Memories of her last moments before death started flashing in her mind. She ed it all, the pain, the agony, all of it, and yet, here she was, born again.

Emily stood up, taking notice of her right arm as she did so. One of the last things she ed before her death was her arm blowing up with the bomb, and yet there it was, attached to her body.

Confused, Emily started feeling herself all over her body to check for any additional injuries she sustained, but to her surprise, she had none. It was as if nothing had happened.

Emily then untucked the shirt of her gear and felt her belly, but to her surprisenothing was there.

"How in the-"

She uttered to herself, pulling up her shirt to see her fully healed belly. All that remained of the stab wound was a very thin and faint line that marked where it happened, apart from that, it was gone like it never happened. Emily gave her belly a couple of small, gentle pats before pulling her shirt down and tucking it in. Once done, she looked around herself, taking in the weird sight.

"This is NOT what I imagined the after life lookin' like."

As she began dusting her gear with her hands, she noticed that even her clothing had been repaired and healed, though it was easy to tell which parts of her suit were repaired with them looking clean and new whilst the rest looked burnt and dirty.

"Oh, my suit is lookin' weird right now!"

She laughed to herself, unaware that a certain inter-dimensional being was slowly fading in behind her.

"Emily Rogue."

The Beholder called out.

"AHHHH!!!!"

She screamed, falling back and facing him.

"WHERE DID YOU EVEN COME FROM?!"

The Beholder didn't answer the question.

"I see you made a full recovery."

Emily snickered and checked herself out for a second.

"Yup, all ready for the afterlife, I guess."

She replied before finishing her check up and looking back up at The Beholder.

"Wait, can you see the dead? Are we in the afterlife right now?!"

"No, I cannot see the dead, and you, Emily Rogue, are not dead."

It was then that Emily gave him a confused look.

"What? I'm pretty sure that I-"

"You were dead, Emily Rogue. You died on Earth 8171, killed whilst destroying the Bolton Vulcan of that universe."

The Beholder explained.

"I brought you back using the Orb Of Life, though in doing so, I drained it's power."

Emily slowly nodded multiple times as she took in all of this information at once.

"Orb Of Life, right..."

She whispered to herself outloud.

"I don't suppose that was an important possession to have, right?"

"It's power can only be used once an eon. I swore only to use it if it benefits the multiverse in the long run."

He further explained.

That was when it hit Emily. As he said, that Orb was to only be used on something or someone important, and he used it on her. Any sense of whimsiness or quirkiness was quickly striped from her as she looked into his glowing eyes, taking a couple of steps closer.

"W-Why did you save me?!"

"Because you, Emily Rogue, serve a purpose greater than you could ever know... come."

The Beholder answered before moving past Emily and going up what appeared to be a mini slope, the same color and material as the rest of the floor. Once at the edge, he turned around, looking back at Emily and gesturing to the horizon with his left hand.

"Find your place in all of this."

"Okay...?"

She muttered back before following The Beholder up the slope. What she saw when she reached the top blew her mind.

"Woah..."

Down below them was a massive area filled with heroes from across the multiverse. Some of them included of the futuristic Splat Force from Earth 4246, Sheriff Watson from Earth 1888, Drift, Melissa, and Damian from Earth 1109, the Squidbeak Splatoon from Earth 7292, Bobby Tundra and Jamie Stewart from Earth 1703 among hundreds more.

As Emily looked upon the horizon in awe, The Beholder looked down at her as he began to explain the great plan.

"All these faces, these warriors across time and space, they are your army. You will lead them into the battle."

Hearing that last sentence, Emily jolted, turning her head to the left and looking up at The Beholder anxiously.

"I-I'm what?!"

"You heard me, Emily Rogue."

The Beholder replied before repeating himself.

"You will be the one leading the heroes into the big battle ahead of us."

"Wh-Why me?!"

"Everyone had their part to play. Their job was always to stay on Earth 20 and guard it from below, meanwhile, you'll be up here and taking the fight from above."

The Beholder explained. Seeing how unsure Emily was feeling, he moved closer to her, even getting down onto her level to look her deep in the eyes.

"I understand the pressure you feel, Emily Rogue. Believe me. That being said, with every great hero comes their shining moment: the moment that they come out from the shadow that they placed themsel in and show the world what they're made of. I believe that this is your time, Emily Rogue. I believe that when the time comes, you will answer the call, just like you've always done before."

Emily remained quiet as she let The Beholder's words linger around her mind for the next few seconds. It was no secret that she was doubtful of the whole thing, but yet, she knew that he was right. Emily looked away from The Beholder, looking back out into the army ahead of her.

M E A N W H I L E E L S E W O R L D S . . .

After disposing of the final defender of yet another world, Malefor raised his sword up in the air beside digging it into the ground. After so long, it finally reached the core if the Earth, and eventually, the world was gone, blowing up into pieces.

After the job had been done, Malefor returned to his structure, now outside of reality. He was materialised piece by piece into a half circular room from a white light shinning onto a miniature white platform.

Once fully materialised, he slowly and silently walked forward through the dark grey room with the turquoise tint until he reached a circular glass table just before the long tinted window.

Placing his hand onto a scanner, Malefor activated the table. A hologram of the Earth he was just on appeared over the table, in this case being Earth 4479, before an animation of it exploding before a singular word appeared in the middle.

'TERMINATED'

After a couple of seconds, the table began calculating Malefor's next location. He stood there silently and waited for his next destination. Eventually, he finally received his next world. For the first time, Malefor showed hints on emotion in his eyes as he stared at the hologram of his next world, though it was hard to tell if it was anger, sadness, or fear.

'EARTH 20'

T O B E C O N T I N U E D . . .

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T H X F O R R E A D I N G ! ! !

Thx for reading the fifteenth Chapter of Splat Force V: Final Frontier! Five Chapters left. So, I guess you know who got to live after all, huh? Don't get too settled just yet, we still have five more Chapters to get through, and we haven't even started the final battle. That is where the real blood will be drawn. In the meantime, however, the second intermission will be released next week whilst I go on hiatus, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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