Zero Special 1 Molten Paradoxes Section 7 (Written on December 15 2021)

This post is a part of Zero Special 1 and has been put into a separate post mainly due to the original post being unable to edit for reasons described in this update post. This post here has been written in December 2021 but will be uploaded before Zero Special 1. This is to mainly improve the amount of posts produced within a certain time frame or other reasons.

He tossed the magma meteor toward Zane with Zane only shrugging. He looked down at his lower left hand and he said,"Okay. This is new. I summoned Fafnir.". Instead of holding Fafnir, he was holding a longsword that reminded him of the famous blade. It is now a double-edged longsword with no fuller and its blade is a pure obsidian black color with its edge shining. The grip of the sword is a steel gray color with the crossguard resembling a pair of demonic looking dragon wings. 

It has a molten gold seven leaf clover etched into the blade. The sword's sheath is half obsidian black and snow white with a crimson red devil sigil sheath. Said sheath goes on Zane's back whenever it appears. "Okay then. I didn't know that you could change appearances on me Fafnir. Doesn't this mean that you finally accept me as your owner? I mean prior to the charge, you begrudgingly accepted me as your owner since I past that little test three years ago." said Zane, swinging the sword around. 

Zane heard a voice,"Hey! Quit swinging me around like a stick!". Zane looked down at Fafnir with him blinking. "Huh. It's nice to hear your voice finally Faf. Didn't expect you to be a man though. I mean totally thought you would be a woman but hey, I've been wrong before." said Zane. "Yeah. I did too to be honest." said Morana. "If you call me Faf again, I will drain you of your Impulse like I did with my previous owners." said Fafnir. 

The Cross Species rolled his eyes as he said,"Okay fine. So what's the plan here Fafnir? Ready to fight alongside me to take down Basalt. Aurora won't mind right?". "I don't see why she would be mad in the first." said Fafnir. "Even male weapons are idiots." said Morana. "Whatever. Lets do this!" said Fafnir with Zane nodding. Zane smiled as he clapped his upper hands together with him slowly spreading them apart. Lazarus Soul appeared in his lower right arm with Zane saying,"That is always fun to do.". 

He then put his upper arms behind his back with him jumping toward the magma meteor. He brought down both blades onto the meteor with him slicing the meteor into four pieces. "He sliced through my attack like it was nothing at all. I put a fair bit of my power into it." said Basalt. Crisis Judgement went off as Zane turned to see some of the Goliaths heading toward him. "I doubt that was Basalt's doing since he wants to be the one to kill you." said Fafnir. 

Morana nodded as she said,"The blade is correct. Take care of them would you darling?". Zane nodded as he put both swords back into his pocket dimension. He aimed his upper left hand at the Goliaths, with him unleashing a giant platinum energy beam. This beam tore through the barrier with it destroying three of them at once and making a massive explosion as a result. Zane flew right out of the hole with him increasing the size of his upper right arm and sent it toward the remaining Goliaths. 

They were all demolish in an instant. Once this was done, the three remaining Vonrall flew toward Zane and unleash a barrage of red fireballs at him. They made contact with Zane sighing. He vanished from their sight with one of them feeling something wrapping around their body. It looked down to see a chain and the chain belonged to Zane. Zane swung the chained up Vonrall at its fellow Vonrall, blasting them all with a massive platinum energy blast. He did all of this before the forcefield regenerated.

After seeing that, Rivart decided to do something cowardly. He decided to run away since he was terrified about everything that was going on. He saw all of his minions being defeated, his two lieutenants being defeated, the guy who seemingly made the Vromilyrra Dynasty wet themselves get utterly destroyed by Rachel, and Basalt losing to Zane. Before he could get too far, he was stopped by a wall of azure blue energy from all sides. 

He turned to see Danny who had a smirk on his face. "Sorry but you're not escaping me any time soon slimey." said Danny. "Fine! If you want to die, I'll grant you that!" said Rivart. He got back to his feet and started charging at Danny with the Vordlarin looking a raging beast. Danny was ready for this since he was well aware of the Vordlarin's weakness. He held his hands together and began compressing azure blue energy into them, making a swirling sphere of energy between his hands. 

As this was going, Rachel was glaring hard at the being who ruined Zane's good name in the Vromilyrra Dynasty and also shared his face. "So sexy. I bet you're just impressed with my skills." said Nemesis, with her flexing. "In what way would I ever be impressed with a monster like you? You used my fiancé's face to commit murder." said Rachel with Ardor covering her hands. "Isn't it obvious? I'm clearly superior to everyone here including him and the old man." said Nemesis.

He looked at her as he said,"They're counterparts to ME but for some reason, that idiot is considered to be the prime copy. So how about you start dating a real man instead of a loser? I mean he keeps on dying but if you date me, I'll make you a queen. If you stay with the loser, you'll only end up dead like those bitches he let die!". This statement pissed Rachel off as her signature energy began spreading all over her entire body and it exploded. 

This energy blinded Nemesis but could see that Rachel was the cause of the explosion and looked different. Her skin was a scarlet red color, anger filled her eyes, her hair flew wildly around her and it looked like a roaring flame, and had long flowing tendrils of Ardor coming out of her back. She overall looked demonic and everyone on the battle field could see her anger. "Okay what the hell is that?" said Nemesis, subconsciously moving back.

Rachel walked forward, creating spider like cracks with each step. "You really don't get it. You are just a copy of him and nothing more. I always thought that Malik was the worst version of him that will ever exist but you had to exist." said Rachel while cracking her knuckles and there was a giant ball of Ardor appearing above her thanks to the tendrils protruding from her back. It was slowly growing bigger. 

It was slowly rising into the air with Rachel saying,"I love Zane no matter what and nothing will change that fact. I know that he will win since we're going to be husband and wife no matter what. Now perish by his signature attack!". For the first time in his life, Nemesis was scared of a woman which will change in his future if he survives. "This may not be as good as one of my bros but right now, it will do the job perfectly. Lets go!" said Danny. 

At the same time in unison, Danny and Rachel shouted,"Zenith Sphere/Zenith Sphere!". The two of them threw their respective sphere at their opponent. Danny threw his at Rivart and Rachel send the ball down onto Nemesis. Rivart was sent flying into the massive explosion that Rachel's sphere made. Her explosion completely obliterated the area and made a smoking crater. Both villains were in the center of the crater. This explosion of her shook the planet in a similar fashion to Zane's explosions earlier. 

The smoke eventually cleared with Rachel falling onto her knees and panting heavily. She went back to normal. "It's official. Thank you for your sadistic training Zane." said Rachel. It felt like she had went through several of Zane's training sessions back to back with no break. "Rae!" said two voices as the devil turned to see Danny and Gwen running to her. "Gwen. We just saw Rae's max potential and it was amazing. You used a Zenith Sphere like Zane." said Danny. 

Rachel nodded as she said,"Yeah. I thought it was fitting but I really wished he died though.". Danny and Gwen both picked her up. The trio looked up to see Rivart slowly standing back up. "You didn't defeat me. I'm invincible and will be the ruler of the Omniverse!" said Rivart. Before he could do anything to the trio, the being crashed into the ground face first. The Vordlarin removed itself from Cannon Arm Xavier before sneaking off. "Not happening sticky!" said a voice. 

Allen and Arya appear with the latter catching Rivart in a glass jar that appeared from the ground. The Vordlarin tried to break out of the jar with Allen said with a smirk,"Sorry but that ain't happening any time slimer. We got the other two Vordlarins who weren't mindless servants.". "That's good. So all we have left is taking down Basalt." said Gwen. "Hey Danny. Is he?" said Rachel. "If you're seriously thinking that Zane won't win against Basalt, you don't deserve to be his wife." said Danny.

He smiled as he said,"I got complete confidence in him don't you?". Gwen punched him. "And you deserve that for insulting that she doesn't. So are you going to be alright Rae?" said Gwen. "That was totally awesome. You were totally pulling a Zero move. Something overkill rather than you dying. That isn't very fun to watch." said Arya. "Amen to that sister." said Allen. "I will be you guys but I will learn how to master this power I was given." said Rachel as she looked determined. 

Danny nodded as he said,"Well, me and the others will be there to help you.". "Yeah I know that Danny and I think she will too if my theory is right." thought Rachel as she knew the perfect woman to help her get stronger. Back with Basalt, the Maferno noticed a giant stream of platinum energy coming right toward him. It took on the shape of a dragon opening its mouth wide. Basalt didn't have time to dodge it since he felt Zane's chains wrap around his body. 

With a loud roar from the energy, Basalt got swallowed in the dragon's mouth. There was a huge explosion shortly after and the smoke covered the entire forcefield. Once the smoke clear, Basalt stood there with the armor around his right arm completely destroy. It was slowly regenerate back. "Not a bad move Zane. It won't stop me however." said Basalt with him glaring right at Zane. "Keep up the power attacks Zane! It's the only way to fight back at regeneration!" said Morana with Zane nodding. 

Basalt glared at him as he said,"You can't win against me! Why don't you understand this?!". "Because I choose not to. If you honestly think I'll let you rule over my home like that, I won't let you do that." said Zane. Basalt charged toward him with his plan being to punch Zane but was stopped by the upper set of arms. "If you keep trying to fight me, I'll break you in two understand?" said Zane with him making two massive broadswords of platinum energy appear.

These swords slashed Basalt, sending him rolling across the ground. Zane launched himself into the air with him gathering up energy in the process. His body's aura began to change shape, forming a powerful looking phoenix. "Lets go Zane. I think it's time for you to teach Basalt a well needed lesson in ass kicking! Baryon Ruination!" shouted Morana. Zane nodded with him flying high into the air, his phoenix aura growing in power and size. 

After reaching the top of the forcefield, Zane let the aura flow out of him and it covered the sky in a platinum colored glow. Zane descend at full-speed and his head was at the front of it. His target ,while recovering from Zane's swords, looked up and he didn't have a chance to dodge it. Zane crashed straight into Basalt, causing a massive explosion of energy afterwards. The wind from this explosion was powerful enough to force the ones watching to hold onto something.

By the time Basalt had recovered, he looked at Zane whose eyes looked serious. "So is this all you got Magma Dome? I'm barely sweating over here and you are. How pathetic." said Zane. This pissed off Basalt who erupted, causing Zane to go back. Zane didn't respond to him but just walked toward Basalt with a calm expression. Basalt began to step back with him gritting his teeth in anger. "Fine. You just earned yourself death!" shouted Basalt. 

He was about to unleash a wave of green energy at Zane but his left arm was grabbed by Zane who warped behind him. "Sorry but I can't have you harming Galnatilia anymore." said Zane. Basalt growled and swiped at him using a hammer that came out of his body. Zane easily dodged it with Basalt going in for an uppercut but once again, Zane dodged it. "Fly for me Magma Dome." said Zane as he flicked Basalt's biceps. 

Much to the Maferno and everyone watching shock, Basalt was sent flying away and making a dust cloud upon contact. Basalt looked up with him saying,"What are you doing?". Zane didn't respond to him using his mouth but a simple come at me hand gesture. This pissed Basalt off with him charging toward Zane and this sent the Maferno into a frenzy. To his shock however, Zane blocked all of his kicks and punches using his right pinky with him yawning. "Damn you!" roared Basalt.

Zane dodged another barrage of kicks from him. "Okay. You guys are seeing what I'm seeing right? I'm not going crazy." said Lorelei. "Yeah. Zane is making the Molten Decimator look like a joke which is by the way hilarious." said Vlad. Basalt slammed his left palm into the ground but saw that Zane had warped away. "How are you dodging my attacks?" said Basalt. "I'm just moving too fast for your simple mind to comprehend." said Zane. "Simple?!" said Basalt who wasn't happy about that. 

The Cross Species nodded as he said,"Yes. Your attacks may be powerful but you're rather simple to see through. To someone who is advanced in fighting like myself, your attacks will only land if I let them too.". "Your arrogance will lead to your defeat." said Basalt. "Prove me wrong then Magma Dome." said Zane. Basalt began charging up energy with the group above watching in awe. "Okay. I don't think Basalt is playing around any more. We need to get in there and help our idiot leader." said Allen. 

Rachel smiled as she said,"I think Zane will be just fine Allen. Just have faith in him like we always do.". The area around Basalt was covered in smoke with Zane doing nothing but getting in a fighting pose. Basalt charged out of the smoke and went to tackle Zane into the ground. He was stopped by an invisible force with the Maferno getting sent flying high into the air. "Have a nice fall Basalt!" said Zane with him flying right past him and clenched all of his hands together. 

Zane send his fists into Basalt's spine and this caused the explosion of black lightning which shook the entire planet. Basalt's eyes widening in pain and coughing up blood. This sent Basalt flying toward the ground very fast with Parker appear there much to the shock of the Paradox and Team Maelstrom. "That was well done." said Parker. "Can you seriously sense what he did from here? I mean I know Zaney and how he fights but how he is fighting right now. It's like he's a different person." said Bridgette.

Parker looked at her as she said,"It's simple. Have faith in the hero we put our hopes into.". Bridgette shrugged, accepting that as an answer. Back with Zane, Basalt crashed into the ground and Zane warped back down to see the Maferno's armor looking pretty much useless at this point. "Don't you get it? Even with all of that power you got, I will be the winner of our fight right? I lied about not holding back on you earlier. This is me at full strength by the way." said Zane. 

Basalt slowly stood back up with him glaring at Zane. "I think this is teaching you something. What you're feeling is the pain and suffering you've inflicted on the Omniverse for years. Do you get it now?" said Zane. "Stop it! I refuse to be talk down to someone like you! You are no god!" yelled Basalt. Zane just looked at him with a dead expression. "I'm not afraid of this power of yours! I am Basalt, the Molten Decimator! The Omniverse is mine to rule! I'm the strongest!" roared Basalt. 

The area around the two had several pillars of lava/magma come out. "What did I just say about destroying the planet?" said Zane with him having an annoyed look. "I don't care about if this planet lives or die. I just want to see you dead!" said Basalt as he vanished thanks to the pillars of lava/magma forming around him. Zane stood there with the ground breaking around him. Basalt was right behind Zane but the Cross Species warped and punched Basalt square in the face.

Zane's strike sent him back and into the ground. "I'm a god and this is what happens to those who defy their god." said Zane. He moved his hand toward the ground, turning all of the pillars toward their creator and firing on him. Basalt expected this attack to do nothing to him but much to his surprise, it was doing something to him. Basalt began screaming in agony as Zane watched him crash into the ground. 

The Maferno slowly got back up with him missing his left arm as there was a faint layer of acid around him. "I guess that you're finished now Basalt. Just give up before I do more than disarm you. Get it Basalt? Disarm?" said Zane. "Damn you." said Basalt. Basalt recovered with him firing another beam of the EC at Zane who did nothing to dodge it. The beam hits its target dead on and resulted in a loud explosion, throwing up a cloud of ash and smoke.

Basalt laughed manically with him saying,"And this ends the pathetic tale of Zane Alva....". He stopped as the smoke departed, showing Zane who was pissed off. "You'll pay for doing that." said Zane as he took foreboding steps toward Basalt with the ground below him shaking as waves of extreme power radiated off Zane. "Basalt. I hope you made your final prayers earlier because this god is here to say this to you. Die." said Zane as he unleashed a dense, powerful platinum colored beam from his eyes. 

The Maferno acted quickly as he held up his right forearm to block the beam. The force behind the blast pushed the Maferno back a few meters and left his body exposed to the outside world since the armor around his right arm was destroyed. His arm had chunks of it completely destroyed. Even thought he could heal from any wound Zane managed to deal him, it still hurt like a bitch. He glared at Zane with him saying,"Nothing you can do will stop me! Your emotions mean nothing to me and my conquest!". 

Zane glowed brightly as he said,"Just shut up already!". "Do you think acting like a flashlight will stop me Zane? You are going to die a fool like you were always destined to!" roared Basalt as he fired another round of the EC at Zane but Zane did nothing to stop the blast. Zane let the beam strike him once again and he absorbed the energy into his body. "Impossible. You should have died from that attack!" said Basalt. 

The Cross Species looked at him as he said,"Nothing is impossible. Got it? This power I was given was to protect those who can't protect themselves from monsters like you so let me show that!". He blasted toward Basalt at an alarming speed. Basalt made a copy of his sword appear in his right hand and swiped at Zane when he got close enough. "Die!" yelled Basalt. Zane stood there with his lower set of arms crossed. 

With his upper left arm, he grabbed it and the sword began absorbing the energy Zane was producing rapidly. Zane cocked back his upper right fist and slammed into Basalt's face. The impact from this punch created the explosion of black lighting, making a large crater right under the two and destroyed everything within the area. Basalt's mask was broken, exposing his heavily bruised face. He was sent flying away with Zane charging toward him like a missile, leaving behind a trail of energy in his way. 

As Basalt was flying, he was being constantly hit by Zane's energy blasts that increased Basalt's flight time. Basalt eventually stopped as he saw Zane coming toward him and tried to stop him. He fired a salvo of small but powerful energy blasts from his body alongside waves after waves of lava/magma at him. Zane kept going as his body kept absorbing all of Basalt's attempts to stop him. Basalt growled as he decided to charge right at Zane. 

He knew that Impulse was out of the question since right now, Zane was absorbing it like a sponge and growing stronger over time. He knew that in hand to hand combat, he was clearly the superior opponent right? As he threw a haymaker, he was shocked to see his fist go right through Zane's face. "Crap. He's a Phantom!" thought Basalt as Zane slammed his feet right into Basalt's head. This pushed the Maferno into the ground hard and had half of his body stuck in the ground. 

Basalt tried to break out of the ground but he couldn't. "Fly away little magma birdie." said Zane as he slammed all four fists into Basalt, creating an explosion of black lightning. This explosion sent Basalt out of the ground which tore apart the ground in the process. He eventually stopped in the swamp whose water was burned away thanks to Basalt. "Alvarez!" shouted Basalt, glaring at Zane. For once, Zane stayed silent and charged toward Basalt with his expression screamed one thing. 

He was pissed off and needed to take out his anger on something. Basalt just happen to be that unlucky something. Basalt slammed his fist into the ground and unleashed a wave of magma. This wasn't all he did as a line of jagged black spikes with red curvy lines inscribed around them came right out of the ground. Each spike that sprouted out of the ground grew in size and unleashed lava/magma from this with these spikes increasing the wave of magma he unleashed earlier. 

Zane didn't care about whatever Basalt was doing since right now, he was pissed. He promptly smashed through the molten material and the spikes with no issue. Fists glowing with intense power, Zane unleashed a barrage of haymakers and uppercuts. Each one of these hits made a shockwave and caused the ground to shake below him. The Maferno was sent flying backwards from the powerful blasts and Zane glared at the flying magma dome. 

The Maferno crashed into the ground with Zane saying,"You don't get it do you? Even with your current strength, there was no way you could have defeat me. Answer me this. Have you ever trained?". "I haven't." said Basalt. "Okay. I got that for our first encounter since you're nothing more than a bully. I bet you use your size to intimate those weaker than you. You could have been much stronger instead of ruling over others." said Zane. 

Basalt glared at Zane as he said,"Silence Alvarez! I don't need to hear you lecturing me!". "That's a real shame then. If you and I were friends or rivals, I bet you would be much stronger than you are right now." said Zane with a shrug. "If you think that you won, you got another thing coming." said Basalt as he slowly stood back up. "Fine. I guess trying to appeal to the good in you was pointless. Worth a try I guess." said Zane with a sigh. 

After saying this, both of them got into a fighting stance with them charging toward each other. Basalt cocked back his remaining arm and Zane cocked back all four of his fists. "I will win this!" thought the two as the fists collided. This created a massive shockwave, destroying the ground below them even more. "How many times are they going to do this exactly?! I'm getting sick of these shockwaves and those damn explosions of lightning! Seriously you two! Do something else!" said Vlad. 

Basalt landed on the ground with Zane appearing in front of him. "Cosmic Zenith Sphere." said Zane with him holding a Zenith Sphere in each one of his hands. All four spheres had all of Zane's energy infused into it which comes in the form of swirling platinum burning fire like energy. He tossed all of them toward Basalt with it making a massive explosion of energy and the black lightning reappeared once again. This explosion sent Basalt flying away once again. 

Zane cracked his neck as he said,"I really hope that activating this wasn't a waste of time. Basalt is trying so hard to win but well, I'm getting bored.".  Before Zane could go after him, he felt something in the air. He turned to see the duo of Janet and Parker standing there with Parker holding a strange device at the moment. It was a silver hexagonal diamond that was covered in royal blue circuitry lines. It floated above Parker's hand. 

The Cross Species looked at them as he said,"What are you two doing here exactly? I thought you were disabling the forcefield.". "We did. You just didn't notice." said Janet. "Huh. I guess I didn't Janet." said Zane, seeing that the forcefield was gone. "Oh wow. You finally had a reason to use Albion. Basalt really must have pissed you off didn't he huh?" said Parker. "I died and made me relieve my greatest fear." said Zane. "You died? But how are you?" said Janet with her looking over Zane. 

Parker stopped her as he said,"We don't have time for that. You can tell us about it later. I think I found a way to make Basalt pay for his crime and remove him from that suit of his.". "I agree. So what is it? It looks not what I was expected to be a Basalt stopping machine. I mean it's like a mini nuclear power planet and reminds me of Danny's nanomachines or chips." said Zane. "This is the Counteraction Area Network or as you would put it, CAN." said Parker. 

Morana giggled as she said,"That is so you.". "This device will remove Aihlus from Basalt and make him perfect for what you have in mind instead of killing him." said Parker. "Wait. You know what Zane is going to do?" said Janet. "The reason how Zane operates is a mystery to all who know him even those who have known him for years but Zane won't kill unless there is no other option. Ready to go?" said Parker as Zane nodded. 

He floated over to the duo with a stone-faced frown and serious look in his eyes. "What happened to you?" said Janet. "I will explain later but right now, Basalt needs to pay for this. Now get her out of here for me Parker." said Zane as he grabbed the CAN with his lower right hand. He began to absorb all of the Impulse inside of the device and he cracked his neck as the device was easily drained dry. "Do me proud Zane." said Parker as both he and Janet were gone.

Zane looked up to hear an all too familiar enraged roar and saw Basalt flying toward him with him roaring his name. He landed on the ground and charged toward Zane. His right arm looked to have grown in size. "Die!" yelled Basalt, getting ready to slam the fist into him. Zane sighed as he teleported away, dodging the earth shattering punch which broke the ground around him but Zane kicked Basalt into the ground. 

Zane picked him up and swung him away with Basalt landing. "This power I have a result of training and honing my body. Both of us have limits and well, I'll keep getting strong but this is where you'll end. This is for making my treasure cry. You'll pay for that and every other crime you done! Learn your place!" said Zane. He unleashed a massive beam of platinum energy. "Die Zane Alvarez!" roared Basalt as he turned his head into the EC which he used to unleash his own energy beam. 

In that moment, the two beams went across the open area toward each other. They connected into each other with them making an explosion of black lightning ,with a crimson red outline, that spread out far from the impact. Zane's beam eventually absorbed Basalt and went flying toward the Maferno. This was the end and he screamed fear. "Damn you Zane!" roared Basalt as the beam struck him and engulf his entire body in waves of platinum colored energy. 

A few seconds later, Zane looked at the thick cloud that blocked Basalt from view. Zane kept an eye close on Basalt and made sure that he was prepared for whatever Basalt had leave up his sleeve. It wasn't needed since Basalt had turned into a stone statue. His face was permanently etched into one of fear and Zane smiled. The power suit Basalt was using was back to its stasis form and right on the ground. Zane held the battle suit with him warping it to Parker's lab.

He looked at the stone statue with him nodding. "This is going to be good." said Zane as he cocked back his right fist and punched the statue. The statue shattered into pieces with Parker returning to Zane's side. "Zane. Did you just?" said Parker. "No I didn't. Just before my blast hit him, I made a copy of him using Astral Form's powers and had the real one sent into a nightmare like state thanks to Nightmare Form's powers. I needed to destroy/kill a version of Basalt." said Zane.

The Cross Species sighed in relief as he said,"It's cathartic plain and simple. He's somewhere nearby and won't be bothering us for a good while.". "So are you going to be okay?" said Parker. Before Zane could answer him, he sighed. "Seriously? Just stop! You lost!" said Zane. Parker turned to see Basalt standing there. He had his left arm back with Basalt looking scared yet pissed off. "How did you know he would show up?" said Parker. "No clue. I just felt it." said Zane with a shrug.

Parker nodded as he said,"I think you and Cinarva need to have a talk after all of this is over.". "Okay then. Mind standing back. As you're well aware, Albion doesn't hold back." said Zane. "Oh I know that." said Parker, moving back from Zane. To intimate the Maferno, Zane unleashed a massive amount of energy from his body. This energy could be felt from every being on the planet. "Just what are you Zane?! The pressure you're oozing is too much from a normal being to handle." said Basalt.

As Basalt talked, his eyes twitched in rage. "Zane! Tell me where all of that power came from! Your body should have exploded since no normal being can handle this much power!" said Basalt. "You're right about that. No normal being could handle this much being but I'm not a normal being as you're well aware. I like to call this power Albion. I like to think of this power as a combination of all of the physical and mental training I've done to become strong." said Zane.

With his lower arms crossed, Zane said,"In the words of Parker, Albion is a fusion of everything in my vast arsenal and that includes the power of the Eazairvian. So I'm sure you're well aware of the species known as the Homo Supremus and how great they were thanks to Danny and Vivian showing off how strong they are. Let me just say that I have some connections to the Feroxian aka the god version of them.". "Impossible!" said Basalt with his teeth clenched tightly. 

Zane shrugged as he said,"You may think that but a woman up there says that I'm her brother. I would doubt her but honestly, I think she's telling the truth.". Crisis Judgement went off as Basalt began charging toward Zane. Zane looked completely calm as Basalt's left fist went toward him and smack him in the face. Zane only smiled as he use all four fists to punch Basalt and sent him back. "We have a game back on Earth called baseball." said Zane.

The Cross Species looked at Basalt as he said,"It's probably popular in outer space and the Omniverse as well. According to Vlad, there are casinos out here. That was strike one and I should mention that if you do something stupid again two more times, you'll regret it.". He slammed his upper left fist into his upper right palm. He did the reverse with his lower set of arms. In an angered state, the Maferno began blasting Zane with a huge amount of magma as Zane sighed. 

He held out both set of arms with the magma getting erased from existing. "And that's strike number two. Get out of here while you still can because strike three will just make you pathetic." said Zane. "I won't lose to a punk like you!" yelled Basalt as he charged toward Zane one last time. He unleashed a wave of platinum diamonds. Basalt's body was covered in a green aura and this blocked the diamonds for hitting him. 

Upon falling to the ground, these crystals exploded into a burst of platinum energy and this pushed him back. Zane flew toward Basalt with him kicking the Maferno in the gut. "Fly away!" roared Zane as he was sent flying back and right into a pillar of platinum colored diamonds. These diamonds pierced Basalt's body with Zane snapped his right hand. "Lets go! Meteor Surprise!" said Zane as several pieces of rubble came flying at Basalt. 

Basalt burned away both the crystal and rubble but was getting pelted by Zane's attack. He unleashed a massive green beam of electricity at Zane with Zane cocking back his right fist. He punched the beam into the air and sent it flying back at him. The Maferno was getting shocked by his own energy beam but he pushed through it and charged at Zane. "Damn you!" yelled Basalt as he began rapidly punching Zane who easily dodged or phase through the blows.

After seeing his fists fail, he blasted Zane with a huge stream of magma. The attack failed thanks to the energy around Zane. Basalt cocked back his left fist and was prepared to smash Zane's face into the ground. However, he wasn't there but could feel him close by. Basalt turned around to see Zane with him clapping his hands. He unleashed several platinum energy beams at Basalt who was too slow to counter them. 

Each beam pushed him back and Zane smiled. "I know this is a familiar move of Diamond Prime but why not?" said Zane as he made seven platinum diamond construct fists appear around him. They began spinning in place with Zane sending them at Basalt. They slammed into the Maferno with each punch sent Basalt flying back. Zane made one of the fists grab Basalt and toss him into the air. The other two fists began to reshape themselves into several missiles and launched themselves toward Basalt. 

Zane smiled as he said,"Lets do this! Pierce that magma spewing freak head on!". The missiles exploded upon contact with Basalt and sent him into the ground. Before he could get back up, he looked up to see a giant ball of platinum colored energy. It fell onto him and there was a huge explosion of energy with the Maferno dead center in it. When the dust settled, Zane looked to see Basalt still standing and no way finished. 

The Cross Species groaned as he said,"Seriously? Fine. Since you're extremely stubborn even by my very high standards, you need more punishment. Multi-Arm Mortar.". He began unleashed a barrage of punches with Basalt unable to block or defend himself from the barrage of punches. "You're totally sounding like a sadist Zaney." said Morana. "I blame having several sadistic teachers including you." said Zane with Morana accepting that as an answer. 

Basalt was pushed back after the last punch with him being heavily bruised. "Are you done yet? I'm getting bored." said Zane. This pissed off Basalt as he unleashed a huge stream of magma at him. The attack hit with Basalt laughing. This laughter stopped as the magma was focused into a ball above Zane and Zane looked perfectly fine. The magma ball glowed royal blue and it turned into a ball of liquid nitrogen. "I can't believe this." said Basalt as he saw his last attempt at trying to kill Zane fail.

It didn't take super powers to tell that Basalt's pride was shattered. "Believe what?" said Zane. "I lost to you again. In my entire life, I've only lost to one being in a fight. I can't stand it. Just end it now." said Basalt with him using the little bit of his strength to say this. He accepted his death if Zane was the one to kill him. "If that's what you truly desire, I'll give you that." said Zane as he held out his lower and upper right arm. 

He made a massive Zenith Sphere with him about to kill Basalt using the Zenith Sphere but he decided to do something else. He slammed the ball of liquid nitrogen onto Basalt and this froze the Maferno much to his shock before he was out cold. The ice had formed into a sarcophagus which was made possibly thanks to the Zenith Sphere. "I know you want to die but I'm not at a murder like you." said Zane, holding out his lower left arm and revealed that his fingers were crossed. 

Zane looked at the ice sarcophagus that contained Basalt and smiled. It was instantly covered in several platinum colored chains which were getting heavier as they absorb Basalt's Impulse. "So with Basalt being defeated, answer my question." said Parker. He heard what had happened to Zane and while he may not be the best at comforting, he had to try at the very least. Zane was like a grandchild to him even though he wouldn't admit it much to Janet's amusement. 

The Cross Species sighed as he said,"Yep. I feel just fine. Just hope that the next time I use Albion, it isn't out of rage but my luck right?". "Indeed. So what are you going to do about that?" said Parker. He was pointing to the frozen Basalt. "You'll see Parker. Once we cleaned up, you really need to get back with Janet. At least try to make it work. You deserve to be happy too you know?" said Zane. "Perhaps but lets get you back to the others." said Parker as he walked over to Zane. 

Zane nodded as he said,"I know that you're going to teleport us there but mind if I do it? Really don't feel like puking right now.". "Sure Zane. I think you're a good guy." said Zane as he picked up the ice sarcophagus. Parker nodded as Zane teleported them away. Both groups ,including both Janet and Velda, saw Parker and Zane appear with the frozen Basalt with Sitara's eyes widening. "Zane. Did you kill him?" said Sitara. 

To her, it looked Basalt had died. "Don't get me wrong Sitara. I really wanted him dead like a lot since he literally killed me but I had many more options to take. I only kill if I see no other options or when I feel like it." said Zane. "Please tell me it's more of the former than the latter." said Kitt. "It really does depend on how I'm fighting." said Zane with a shrug. "So Zane. Why haven't you turn back to normal yet?" said Cinarva. "She has a point Zane. Why haven't you?" said Morana. 

Zane nervously chuckled with him saying,"Funny story about it. Unlike most of my transformations, I don't know how.". "Seriously? I mean you're not Veto." said Lorelei. "Why are you making me fun of me too? We just met." said Veto. "Because you really give off the butt monkey vibe and you're totally that guy who everyone on the team picks on since you make it really easy too. I'm not wrong at all you guys right?" said Lorelei. 

Vlad began laughing at Veto with Turseek joined. "Nope. You're correct." said Vlad. "You'll figure it out someday Veto. So what are you going to do with the magma dome?" said Rivart. "Something stupid Ralad. He's going to make friends with him." said Malik. "Like he did with you right?" said Rachel with Malik nodding. Zane held out his hands and there were covered in his signature flames. He placed them on the ice sculpture much to the confusion and shock of the Paradoxes. 

The beings who knew Zane weren't all too shocked by this since Zane treats his enemies as his friends even though most of them don't see him as a friend. Basalt looked at Zane weirdly. "So do you have a reason for freeing me Alvarez?" said Basalt. He would have broken out of his ice prison but the chains still drained him of his energy. He was exhausted from the fight as well but his pride wouldn't admit that. 

Zane sighed as he said,"I guess to tell you that if you plan on killing yourself once you're free from your icy prison, don't do that. I mean you shouldn't just give up because you lost to me. You put up a great fight so that means something right? ". "Do you really think I need your sympathy? Just send me to your Alliance prison already and celebrate with your strength." said Basalt, glaring at them. "We're not scared of you lava spitter!" said Veto as he hid behind Kitt and Turseek. 

Vlad rolled his eyes as he said,"And this is why we consider Malik and Sitara to be our leaders instead of you.". "You lost. Big whoop. It happens to everyone in the Omniverse." said Zane. "Don't you get it Zane? Before meeting you, I've never lost until meeting you." said Basalt. "Okay. You're clearly a sore loser. I thought you were some big shot dictator but nope, you're just a child playing dictator. Acting this after losing twice isn't that big of a deal." said Zane.    

Basalt rolled his eyes as he said,"I don't expect you to understand. You and I both have a reputation to keep. I'm feared by most of the Omniverse which includes that one fool over there.". "I totally get that since I lost before. I mean I may seem like I win a lot but I lose a fair bit too. I have a lot of beings counting on me and whenever I fail, I feel terrible. I really feel like I'm letting them down. Back during the Massacre, I felt like I should just die in order to make things right but I was wrong!" said Zane.

Zane clenched his fists as he said,"If you lose a fight, don't give up and get stronger so you'll win next time. True strength doesn't come for winning all the time but never giving up no matter what! I didn't become strong just to control beings and win but to protect everything I care about. Losing to me is just a reason to become stronger.". "I really don't get him sometimes." thought Basalt. "Why are you telling me this? I tried to kill your family and friends twice." said Basalt. 

The Cross Species smiled as he said,"Because even though I find you to be a bad guy, I don't want you to kill yourself. I protect both friends and foes so you're under my protection. Oh. I probably shouldn't tell you this but I was holding back during our fight since I need to teach you a lesson. The reason you lost against me is so simple. We both may have more power than we really need and stubborn beyond belief but there is the major difference between the two of us." said Zane. 

Basalt rolled his eyes as he said,"And what would that be? The fact that your jokes are outright terrible Zane.". "Yes but no. The bond I have with my family and friends is the difference. They are the reason why I got to be so strong and using this power to protect rather destroy." said Zane. Basalt scoffed at this. "Whatever. You may think that I'm foolish for relying on others to be strong but it's better than be all alone with beings who only hang around you out of fear rather than respect." said Zane. 

Zane took a deep breath and unleash his full power. The entire planet shook with Basalt's eyes widened in terror. "Even though you're my enemy, I'm not going to kill you since there are only two beings who I really kill. Be lucky you're not one of them." said Zane. "Really Zane? If that's the case, who are the two beings who want dead? If you used your full power on me earlier, I would have been stopped a long time ago." said Basalt. 

The Cross Species looked at Zane as he said,"You're strong Basalt no doubt. I mean you forced me to use Albion who I deemed only for the truly strong opponents. I mean this technique is the prime example of last resort. Your major weakness is that for the longest time, you went undefeated. You're not the strongest being in the Omniverse as I clearly showed you today or back four years ago. There is always a being out there stronger than you. This being will appear when you least expect it.".

Zane smiled as he said,"I'm say this since you're constantly underestimating me even though you've seen how strong I am.". "What's your point Zane? Do you want me to stop underestimating anyone who challenges me?" said Basalt who was getting annoyed at Zane lecturing him like he was a child. Despite that, he wanted to see what Zane wanted him to do. "Yep but well, don't stop your desire to rule." said Zane as Veto glared at him. 

Veto glared at Zane as he said,"Are you serious Zane?!". "I sure am. I mean even though Basalt has killed a lot of beings and ruled over several planets, he has a strong determination to win. I can respect that. There is nothing wrong with being confident but don't take it too far since arrogance will get you killed. You underestimated me and my friends but look. You lost again. So how about the next time we fight, don't underestimate me and my friends or you'll lose. Sound good man?" said Zane. 

The Maferno looked at Zane with him sighing. "Fine. I'll try that so how are you going to do me? And who are the two beings that you'll kill?" said Basalt. "Oh yeah. I told you that huh. The two beings that I'm going to kill are Kilene and Skull Plague. Both of them have hurt me and others a great deal. They totally deserve to die. Oh and I'm going to do this." said Zane as he picked the ice prison up with his telekinesis. 

Zane smiled as he said,"Hope you have a nice flight and a nice fall wherever you end up.". The ice prison was thrown into outer space within seconds of being launched. After finishing that, Zane sighed as he floated above the ground. "And with that, I'm done." said Zane. "That was amazing. He tossed Basalt into space like it was nothing." thought Altair. "Albion is no joke. It lets Zane use the full extent of his formidable power which he can use to defeat any enemy he finds himself again." said Parker. 

Upon hearing this conservation, Zane stretched out his head toward them and he said,"Please tell me we're done you guys. Despite having enough power to fight Basalt ten more times, I'm exhausted and don't feel like doing anything any more. Instead, I'm looking forward to relaxing on a beach.". "Yes Zane. We're all good now. Basalt is defeated and won’t be bothering us for a good while. You did throw him far away and I doubt he'll be coming back again just to lose." said Sitara with a smile.

Malik nodded as he said,"And I’m pretty sure that Arya here hacked into Basalt’s broadcast to show the Vromilyrra Dynasty that Zane is a hero rather than a villain like Nemesis.". "That’s good. With that in mind, I'm done since I learned how to turn off Albion. Should have done that earlier but whatever." said Zane as he deactivated Albion. As he did that, Zane was covered in a cloud of dust. "Are you okay mate?" said Allen. "Just peachy honestly. I just feel like taking a nap right now." said Zane.

The cloud of dust cleared up thanks to army green ,with streaks of battleship gray, air/wind. Zane was slowly standing back up with him looking different. All of the injuries he sustained in his fight with Basalt were healed and it looked like he had never been in a fight. His red bang and the tips of his hair were now a carmine red color. His hair was still primarily a black color. His eyes now have pure white sclera, molten gold irises, and storm gray pupils that are slitted. 

In the center of his forehead, he has a third eye which he keeps closed unless he's angered or shocked about something. This is difference compared to Albion's always open third eye. Unlike Albion, the difference between his main set of eyes and third eye are more obvious. His third eye has an obsidian black sclera, his third eye's pupil is in the shape of a cross and is a storm gray color, and it's also missing the molten gold iris. 

Zane's eyes have a very striking appearance to say the least. They also show compassion, warmth, and the ability to pierce deeply into a being's soul. At this very moment, Zane's usually hidden eye scar was exposed. His ears were now pointed similar to an elf and his teeth now has sharp wolf like fangs. Near the end of his mouth, he has two fangs sticking out of his mouth and these two ,three inch long, fangs point upwards. 

This is obvious whenever his mouth is closed and inside of his mouth, he has a forked tongue with it being seven inches long. His nose looked like a snout of a dragon rather than a human's nose but only on close examination. Protruding from his head, there are two metallic looking horns ,about six inches through his hairline, with them being colored reddish black with a flame like pattern to them aka Vulcan Emperor's scales. 

Like in Albion, Zane now has four arms coming from his body and his arms are placed in a similar manner to that transformation. He has one set of arms coming out of his shoulders like normal and the other set of arms appear right under the first set of arms thanks to a second set of shoulder blades. His torso is longer than normal because of his second set of arms. Three of his arms look the same with the only one different being his lower right arm. His lower right arm is his new prosthetic arm. 

Zane's finger nails are now carmine red dragon claws and now his toenails are as well. His arms and waist are now covered in reddish black ,being metallic, scales with a flame like pattern to them. This isn't the case with his prosthetic arm which only have the scales covering his forearm and has the platinum colored cracks covering them. Zane now had a tail freely dangling from his back or to be more specific, his tail bone. This tail matched the one seen in Albion.

For a quick reminder, it's a dragon like tail covered in reddish black ,being metallic, scales with a flame like pattern to them. The end of his tail is an arrow-headed spade with it being an obsidian black color and it's made of fur which is really soft. Overall, he had a wild and animalistic look to him. "Zane. You still have a tail." said Veto. "No shit Captain Obvious. You also ignored the striking eyes, fangs, four arms, horns, and pointed ears either." said Kitt.

He got closer to Zane with him saying,"His hair is also different I think? I honestly can't tell with him at all.". Zane looked over himself ,thanks to his body being reflect thanks to a Diamond Form crystal, with him smiling. "Eh. It's not that big of a deal. I'm just tired. To be honest with you guys, I crave a good nap or something like that. Hey Parker. Does this planet have any booze on it? I need a drink." said Zane in a very exhausted tone. "Amen to that. I need a good drink after all of this." said Vlad.

Sitara shook her head as she said,"Did you ignore the arms, ears, eyes, fangs, and possibly different hair comment Zane?". "Like I said before, I'm used to this Sitara. My body has changed so much in the past six years. Don't worry so much okay? You would not look good with gray hair in my opinion. Right Malik?" said Zane with a big smile on his face. "Yeah. He has a point. Mainly on the gray hair part. So don't worry okay?" said Vlad. 

Altair nodded as he thought."At the very least, you’re back to being chill rather than fiery. I like this Zane rather than the other Zane from earlier.". He was talking thanks to him touching Vlad's shoulders and Vlad agreed with this since he liked happy Zane rather than angry Zane. "I think I can explain what happened to him. Prior to him activating Albion for the first time, I noticed something interesting." said Parker, looking at the group 

Parker's words got everyone's attention and they turn to him. Zane was the only one who didn't care at the moment since he was tired. "When I gave Zane the Z.E.R.O. Watch six years ago, I built it for many reasons. I built it to help Zane control the vast amount of Impulse that laid dormant in his body until he was able to do it himself with no problem. When I met Zane for the first time, I detected the very faint presence of Feroxia DNA inside of him." said Parker.

The Eazairvian nodded as he said,"I decided to figure out how that happened and eventually, I figure how you had Feroxian DNA inside of you. There were some cells inside of his body that were inactive compared to the rest of his cells which were active and causing Zane's body to overload. It seems that Zane's body naturally turned off those cells until Zane was able to contain the energy. Over time, I noticed that these cells were slowly waking up.".

Parker smiled as he said,"It was slowly turning and transforming part of Zane's DNA into Feroxian. It was about 5% of his Eazairvian and Human DNA, making 10% over all. Activating Albion activate all of these cells at once. Cinarva’s brother Rerzam somehow turned into Impulse and went into Zane since even as a newborn, he was able to somehow tell the young prince to could live inside of him instead of dying.".

Zane yawned loudly as Parker said,"It makes no sense to me but neither does magic. I asked Hourglass to confirm this theory and she was right.". "Okay. That makes no sense to me." said Veto. "That's because you're a total idiot Veto." said Arya. "Hey! Only my teammates can give me crap not you new girl!" said Veto. "She doesn't care about that. If she has something to say, she will say it." said Zane. "So mind telling me how that happened Arya? And please make it simple." said Allen. 

Arya smiled as she said,"Sure thing Al. According to the Alliance, Cross Species gain more features from their inactive DNA. Let me give you an example. A being whose a Cross Species of Human and Vampire like Leo may look human when they're young but as they get older, they will look more as a vampire. Get it?.". "Oh. I get it." said Turseek with Allen nodding. "Do you really?" said Kitt. "Nope but I'm smarter than Veto who doesn't." said Turseek as Veto pouted. 

Vlad smiled as he said,"Okay then. I got to ask. Why does he look stronger? I mean Zane was already pretty strong to begin with but somehow, he looks stronger.". Thanks to his tail as support, Zane was currently upside down and his head was against the ground. "And I’ll explain that part. Whenever a Feroxian is beaten to near death, there is an extremely rare chance of them becoming even stronger than they were before they were beaten to death." said Cinarva. 

Rachel looked at her as she said,"How rare are we talking here? I mean Zane has been beaten to death more than three times within six years.". She was somewhat subtly enjoying Zane's new look and how it made his more wild side more apparent. She may like Zane for a lot of things but his looks is one of her favorites. "Very rare Rachel. It has only been seen once every thousand years. It seems that Zane is a very lucky being." said Cinarva. "Yeah. He sure is." said Danny. 

Lorelei sighed as she said,"While I enjoyed this history and biology lesson, will someone mind explaining how he now has a tail along with three eyes, four arms, pointed ears, and fangs?". "It isn’t that weird to see on him honestly and I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with him being 10% Feroxian." said Gwen. "If it's a bother, he could have removed but it would grow right back due to his regeneration. One of his arms is also the prosthetic so that's interesting." said Parker.

He crossed his arms as he said,"I thought that after activating Albion for the first time, his arm would grow back but it's still gone. It's interesting that Zane's spine only extended out whenever he had a tail there. After today's events, he now has a permanently tail there. He also has evil eyes, pointed ears, and wolf like fangs. He'll should be able to manipulate how long his tail is alongside the color his eyes are but his ears and teeth. Not so sure about that. He'll figure it out.". 

While upside, Zane was punching the air using his lower set of arms and crossed the upper set. "These extra arms are so cool. I mean I've had extra arms before but now, they feel naturally to me. The tail as well. I'll think about all of this later. You heard the scientist. Right now, I’m going to take a nap since I earned it and don't say that I'm being selfish or have an ego for saying that. Not in the mood to deal with that crap right now." said Zane. "Indeed. You were quite the impressive warrior." said Turseek.

He was about to touch Zane with Crisis Judgement going off. "I won't let him hurt you him!" said Havoc as he fired out a large blob of his body from a cannon that sprouted from Zane's upper right shoulder. Turseek was pinned to the ground with him trying to break free of the slimy blob of mass. "I didn't mean to do that Turseek. Upon bonding with their perfect partner for the first time, a Vordlarin has trouble telling the difference between friend and foe." said Zane. 

Zane made the cannon go back inside of him as he said,"Havoc is just a little shy and worried for me after almost dying once.". "Don't you mean twice?" said Lorelei. "And did your first Vordlarin partner do that with you?" said Kitt. "Not really Kitt. She just hide inside of my body until she was ready to began the process. Lorelei. I think I did died when I got absorbed into the sword but honesty, I'll figure it out later." said Zane as he fell asleep right there and not having a care in the world. 

Turseek was trying to free himself from the slime as he said,"While this story is really fascinating, is any one going to free me? I rather not be live inside of this goo.". "I'll get you out old friend." thought Altair. "And I'll stay a safe distance so I don't get that gunk on my fur." said Vlad. "I agree." said Veto with Sitara shaking her head while Malik and Ralad helped Altair free Turseek from the slime. Zane began dreaming about the time that he died and how he met the mysterious woman Morana. 

Flashback P.O.V.

When Zane ,looking the same as he did before activating Albion, woke up, he blinked his eye for a second. "Huh. Where in the nine realms am I? It isn't the Astral Realm, Elysian, my mindscape, or the Transient Yonder. I mean I died right?" thought Zane. As far as he could see even without using his metahuman vision, he could see nothing there. The fact there was nothing there made him uneasy. He looked down and saw an endless pool of water below him. He was able to stand upon it without fail in. 

There was water as far as the eye could see and it never looked more blue. It was an amazing sight to say the least. Without any kind of warning, his reflection began changing slightly and it came out of the water. "Okay then. I guess it's time for a clone fight to get me some answer.." said Zane as he got ready to fight. The copy looked at Zane with him tilting his head. "Okay. I guess you won't talk to me." said Zane. He charged at the reflection and went right through him. He vanished from this world. 

Upon entering the water, it felt cold and he began floating inside of the water. It was hard for him to think but eventually, he picked up on a sound. It was the sound of rain with Zane seeing dark skies overhead and rain falling around him. "Rain? Under water? I may like the rain but this is wrong. I don't think this is what you see when you die." said Zane. He was able to speak under water thanks to his neck having gills and Satanic Corruption. 

Zane looked down to see a graveyard. "Please don't be that graveyard from before." muttered Zane as he remembered one of his nightmares involving a graveyard. However, it wasn't that. He looked down to see all of his friends and loved ones he has made over the years. Everyone he formed a bond was there and there was a lot of tears. He couldn't hear anyone say anything but their actions spoke louder than any word that could have been said. 

It was a depressing sight to see and there was a white cloth with his superhero logo draped over a casket. This casket was getting ready to be buried and well, it was obvious whose funeral he was watching over. "Shit. I can't believe it. I actually died. I hurt a lot of people by dying," said Zane with him seeing a lot of red eyes from crying rather than it being a natural color. "Okay. I can't let this happen. I need to get back to my friends right now!" said Zane to no one in particular. 

Crisis Judgement went off as Zane turn to see the silhouette of a Akostar above him. It was flying above him and before Zane could do anything about it, he heard an ethereal feminine sounding voice,"Wake up Zane.". "Seriously? I have the rest of eternity to hear you guys give me crap for dying. Let me enjoy the moment of peace." said Zane. "Get up right now Zane or I will end you." said the voice, sounding more demanding. "Okay then mom. I'm getting up." said Zane as he was covered by a bright light. 

The cold feeling was gone with it being replaced by a warmth. Zane looked up to see that he was in a room made out of cobblestone. It had several lit torches for lighting. There was a large and thick looking wooden ,probably made out of hickory, door that in front of him. It had a gold ring knocker and a more ancient looking lock in his opinion. It was a restraining wooden beam set up in order to keep people out and. It would work on people who didn't have pyrokinetic abilities. 

Zane was pretty much confused since he looked down to see that he was a rather big bed. It was easily five times bigger than your average king sized bed. It had multiple blankets topped with a thick purple comforter. "Okay. I like this but I need to find out what happened to me or where am I?" said Zane. He emerged from the bed and felt the cold stone below him. "Lets get out of here." said Zane with him prepared to blast the door down.

However, there was a small problem. He was currently missing his left eye, right arm, and most of his accessories including the Z.E.R.O. Watch were missing as well. "Okay. This isn't good but whatever, I'll find my way out of here and get back before it's too late." thought Zane. He walked toward the door with him opening said door by punching it open. After leaving the room, Zane's eye widened. "Okay then. What is this? Is this heaven? Because honestly, it looks like hell to me." said Zane. 

Zane found himself in an area that was very similar to his mindscape, Elysian, the Transient Yonder, and Utopia except this place was much more sinister and reminded him of death. It was an never ending landscape of blackened earth and several shallow pools of water. It had Impulse coming out of it in many different forms such as fire and lightning alongside rare forms of Impulse such as Mojo. The area had a thick and heavy black mist covering the ground.

He then noticed several gray bones of different species protruding from the ground. These bones formed mountains that were so high up that the top of them look to reach the heavens themselves. Zane looked up to see a pure black sky and a moon with a huge chunk missing. Zane began exploring the area with him feeling something off about this place. He couldn't hear or sense anyone other than himself but for some strange reason, he felt like someone was here. 

Zane slowly turned around to see a giant eye looking at him. "Hi there Zane!" said the eyeball with it having a feminine sounding voice. Zane blinked at the sight of the eye and shrugged. "Detonation Zenith Punch." said Zane as his left fist and forearm greatly increased in size. His enlarged limb looks like Zane when he activates Predator State. His arm is glowing a crimson red color, being extremely bright and hard to notice. His arm is emitting misty wisps of obsidian black energy. 

Upon reaching a good size, he punches the giant eyeball with a high amount of energy and causes a massive explosion on impact with said fist. "Ow! What was that for you ignoramus?!" screamed the eyeball as it emerged from the explosion, unharmed. "For sneaking up on me because I tend to punch beings who do that kind of shit. I'm impressed that you managed to survive that attack though." said Zane. "You got a point there and well, I'm not your average being." said the eyeball. 

Zane rolled his eye as he said,"Obviously. So who are you and where am I exactly?". "Welcome to Tophet and if I were to describe this place as one thing, it would be hell." said the eyeball. This comment from the eyeball earned it another Detonation Zenith Punch to the eye. "Ow! Would you quit doing that Zane?!" said the eyeball. "Nah. I just got reminded that I died and instead of finding my way back, you and I are standing around talking!" said Zane. 

The eyeball glared at him as it said,"Gods damn. You're really bad kid you know that. Didn't your mom ever teach not to hit a lady?". "She did but she also told me to punch a bitch if she really deserves it. Hold on. You're a woman." said Zane. "Yes Zane! Can't you tell a girl from a guy?" said the eyeball. "Honestly, the differences between the genders doesn't normally involves eyes. The voice should have been a giveaway though. You remind me of a being though." said Zane. 

Zane's comment caused the eyeball to blink. "That's right. I tend to forget stuff like that since well, I don't get company other than those guys but they're silent. Fine. To prove my point, I'll look the part of something familiar to you.". Zane covered his eyes as instead of the floating eye, a female stood there. She looked to be around his age and reminded him of a couple of beings. These beings are Cheryl, the twins, and Skull Plague with the latter being forcing him to get ready for a fight.

Compared to him, she was rather petite. She was only five feet four just like the twins and was a giant compared to Cheryl. She had a slim yet alluring figure with supple breasts and full yet tight ass. She has dark yet fair skin with rose red cheeks, a small and cute nose, and black lips in a permanent pout. She has waist length pure ash gray hair ,with several black and purple bangs resting in front of her face, and her hair was in a high braided ponytail that flowed down to her mid back.

She has glowing milky white eyes with slits for pupils. Her eyes shined with brilliance, confidence, and mischief. She's wearing a black kimono like dress that ends just a little bit above her knees and hung somewhat loosely off her bare and enticing shoulders. It has a white flower skull pattern covering the bottom half of her kimono. Her kimono also proudly displayed her cleavage. She wears ash gray stockings under her kimono.

The woman is wearing a pair of rather fetching pair of black pumps and a small black top hat on her head. She has small silver dragon-shaped studded earrings in her ears and a circular heart shaped locket on a choker. She had two large metal battle axes/broadswords on her back with each blade having the symbol for infinity etched into it. Her smile looked demonic as she held a black cane. Her nails looks to be naturally sharp in a similar manner to claws.

She also had three unique tails protruding from her body. Her tails were all long and thin with bone like fins and spikes running along its length. The end of her tail is in the shape of a scythe. "Huh. I really did not expect to see a woman of her level of beauty here and makes it worth coming here just a bit. Not a lot but trying to look at the positive here." thought Zane as he watched her strut toward her. "So how do I look Zero? Did I get you powered up?"said the woman with a smile on her face.

Her voice was soft and soothing. The woman stood in front of him as she said,"To most males, my appearance always get a certain part of them excited if you're buying what I'm selling.". Zane was sure about one thing. She was testing to see what he was going to do. It was obvious to him since she was looking right at him while balancing on her cane and accentuating her body. "I guess so but I like the hat mainly." said Zane. "Thank you for the compliment Zero." said the woman.

Zane looked at her as he said,"So who are you? Let me take a guess. You're not going to tell me what I want unless I do something for you. Oh and you also know who I am despite us never meeting before now.". As he was saying this, he was speaking in a deadpanned tone. "Bingo! You're real good at this. I guess you have experience with this. Okay. I want you to hug me." said the woman. "You aren't serious are you? I can't hug you since I'm missing an arm here." said Zane, pointing to his missing arm.

The woman looked at Zane with her appearing right in front of him. "I'm very serious here. I mean I've been alone for over a thousand years! Do you know how long it's been since I've company here?! A Qlarik needs love too damn it!" said the woman. She began wrapping her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. "Oh wow. You're really warm Zero. I'm jelly that the devil gets to have this whenever she wants." said the woman.

Zane couldn't see her face but he was sure that she was pouting. "I really wish I could leave Tophet but my stupid brother put me here just because I disagreed with his dream that he had since childhood! I mean I get that he's really determined to make this dream possible but at the cost of all of those innocent lives especially the lives of kids, there is no way in Tophet am I letting that happen!" said the woman.

To make it even more obvious that she was enjoying the hug, she nuzzled against him. Zane's only thought was wondered who this woman was since she was the sister of a Qlarik with a dream. She was also hugging him tighter much to his joy/annoyance. "So while I may not be against hugs at all, I need to leave sooner rather later." said Zane. "Why the rush?" said the woman. "Yeah but my friends and the Omniverse are in danger thanks to Magma Dome throwing a hissy fit." said Zane.

Said woman looked up at him as Zane said,"You need to tell me how to leave or else.". "Or else what Zero?" said the woman. "I'll fight you." said Zane as the woman let him go. She looked at him and began laughing. "Yep. It's official. I don't think I will ever get women no matter how old I get." thought Zane. "Okay. I'll tell you who I am and why you are here. My name is Morana Yung. I brought you here to my prison for one reason." said Morana.

The woman held up a single finger as she said,"I want to make sure that you can stop my younger brother from completing his dream.". "Sure thing Morana. You didn't need to bring me here to tell me that. So who is your brother?" said Zane. "You know him pretty well already Zane. His name is Skull Plague." said Morana. Before Zane could say anything, she unleashed a massive beam of violet ,with gray streaks, Carnal right at him with him dodging it. 

When the beam hit the ground, it caused an explosion of Impulse. Zane looked over at her and she smiled brightly. "There is no time for talking! It's time for fighting!" said Morana. She also changed her outfit to a skintight black sleeveless singlet that went from her neck down to her knees and her hair was let loose. She looked impatient for a fight and reminded him of Theron. Zane sighed as he began fighting Skull Plague's older sister and was sure that he was going to lose.

Some time later, Zane ,heavily bruised, was on the ground with him saying,"Okay. You're strong and a total sadist.". Morana ,in her outfit with the cane, stood over him with a huge smile on her face. She was injured as well but less than Zane. "You did good even though you're lacking at the moment. Even fought against my Akostar form and won. It seems you beating the granddaughters of Rumos wasn't them going easy on you since they love you." said Morana. 

Zane nodded as he said,"Yeah. Even if those two love me, I doubt they would hold back especially in a fight to become stronger which I have. Thanks for the compliment Morana. I fought against Azalea and Sivarth countless times so I know how Akostars sized creatures fights to an extent. Sly is an exemption to that since she's still a young Akostar compared to those two. I just wish I could have both arms but for some reason, my left eye and right arm didn't show up when I woke up here.".

He felt naked with without it at this point. "None of my gadgets showed up either such as the Z.E.R.O. Watch. I couldn't even use any of my weapons either." said Zane. "Yeah. That's because of little old me. I wanted to have a conversation with you and well, I wanted to see how you fought with your bare hand Zane." said Morana, helping Zane up. "I really hate how you could control everything in this place. You really had a distinctive advantage in our fight." said Zane. 

Morana smiled as she said,"Oh don't be too salty. You were up against the Goddess of Death and Decay. I'm easily quite strong and have a lot of responsibilities Zane.". "You do? I'm shocked. I thought you were lazy like your older brother is." said Zane with Morana punching him right in the stomach. The impact of the hit send Zane flying into a pile of bones, coughing up tar in the process upon hitting the collagen. "Okay. That hurt a lot and I totally deserve it I think." said Zane. 

The Qlakrik sighed as she said,"My brother isn't lazy Zane. He just takes credit for the work of his minions. Oh and I'm sorry about hitting you. I just get mad whenever someone compares me to my brother.". "Fine. He isn't lazy. Happy? So what are these so called responsibilities?" said Zane with him slowly healing from Morana's punch. She brought him over to her and forced him to sit down in front of her. "Um. What are you doing?" said Zane.

Morana looked at him and she smiled. "Just relax and you better do what I say or else." said Morana with her shortly resting on his lap. "Um...." said Zane. "Start moving your hand through my hair and if you don't, I'll break you in two. I need this." said Morana with Zane sighing. "You're just like Rae you know that." said Zane with Morana giggling. Zane began running his left hand through her hair and it made her purr like a cat.

Zane looked down at her with him thinking,"I'm sure she can read my mind but well, I don't think I should stop doing this. She's just like Rae when it comes to our snuggle time. Very clingy just like a cat.". "To answer your question from earlier, my responsibilities is that I collect the souls of the deceased throughout the Omniverse." said Morana. "Even though you can't leave Tophet thanks to Skull Plague. Mind telling me how you do that?" said Zane. 

Morana nodded as she said,"Yeah but like my brother, I created minions to do that. However, I don't take the credit for their work.". In front of her, a creature appear. It looked like a humanoid figure with only an old and torn cloak visible covering their body. It has two red eyes sticking out of the cloak. Out of the cloak, it has a pair of bony hands holding a metal scythe. "Hold on. You made the Grim Reapers Morana?" said Zane. 

She nodded as she said,"Yep. They reap the soul of the deceased and help guide them to where they belong after death. I mean these guys help me bring you to me since I wanted to meet you for a long time now.". "And why is that exactly?" said Zane. "Your aura obviously. I mean it's really powerful and can be felt throughout the Omniverse especially when you get serious. My aura is like the afterlife aka death. You can feel it right?" said Morana. 

Before he could answer her question, Morana decided that she wanted something else from Zane. She sat up to lean back against Zane's chest and she got comfortable with his singular arm wrapped around his waist. "You're so warm Zaney. I wanted this for a long time now. You better not let me go or I'll beat the ever living the snot of you." said Morana with her humming in delight and made sure that she could fully enjoy his warmth. 

Zane nodded with him saying,"Yeah. I really didn't expect the Goddess of Death and Decay to be so touch feely.". This observation caused her to wrap her arms around his neck and began nuzzling her nose into it deeper. "I sure am but only to those I trust and very warm aka you Zaney!" said Morana as she smiled cutely at him. She also had a faint blush on her. "I know that you're getting married soon but well, I really missed having contact with beings. You don't mind right?" said Morana.

To keep Zane from doing this, she was looking at him using the combination of her milky white eyes and a small pout on it. "It's fine." said Zane. "Don't worry. You got many more cuddle sessions in your future so be lucky." said Morana as she hugged him tightly and pressed her body into him. "I think it's official. She reminds me of the twins now." thought Zane. "You are really the best being to use as a cuddle buddy." said Morana.    

With a loud sigh, Zane said,"Anyway. I can feel the death coming off you. It isn't pleasant but well, I hopeful I can trust you. Your brother isn't exactly my favorite being.". "Of course you can trust me. I mean even though it's been over five hours since you arrived here, it's been around a couple of minutes back on Galnatilia give or take. The time in Tophet moves at whatever speed I want it to by the way." said Morana. "That's good. So can I leave? I'm worried about my friends." said Zane.

Morana smiled as she said,"Sure but don't think you're done hearing my sultry voice in your head Zane.". "Oh boy. Can't wait for that. So I got to ask you something Morana." said Zane. "What is it? I mean I'm happy to answer any of your questions since well, I like having you around. You're good company unlike the reapers. I mean they do their job perfectly fine Zane but they're also total introverts." said Morana. "So what is the true meaning of death?" said Zane. 

The Qlakirk looked at him as she said,"Huh. I didn't expect to hear that from you but I got you. It's the final resting place for a being. Death is often as a unknown and the greatest fear of all is the unknown. Death shouldn't be fear since it's the well-deserved rest for a soul after living in the Omniverse. When a living being' soul dies, it is taken back to the Omniverse to use it to help the next generation of beings. This is the cycle of life and death. This is my opinion on the matter.". 

Zane nodded as he said,"Okay. That makes sense to me. I mean I treat life as something precious and tend to hate beings who would take another's life so easily or treat their own lives as nothing all too special. However, I'm willing to kill if there is a being who will never change their evil way such as your brother and Kilene. If I let him or Kilene live, they'll keep doing bad things and never become a good person.". 

Morana looked at Zane as she said,"This answer Zane is one that will always be surrounding in mystery and left up to interpretation. For me and hopefully you one day, there is an extra variable. I can see a being if they are corrupt. If there is a being who kills another being with ill intent, they're corrupted by the essence of evil. The more one kills, the more they get corrupted. If one kills with good intent, they don't get corrupted.". 

The Qlakrik smiled as she said,"Don't worry. I can tell if someone is truly evil at their core by seeing their Impulse since a being's Impulse can truly lie. It makes me the perfect assassin.". "I see. Do you think you can teach me that? I want to be a hero but honestly, I don't want to be a goodie two shoes hero. I'm willing to take a life of someone who is corrupted but not take the life of a comrade of the corrupted. I mean what if someone hires a assassin to kill another being?" said Zane.

Zane crossed his arm as he said,"So Morana. Is the assassin who is corrupt or the person who called the hit corrupt?". "I don't mind Zane since you're willing to learn the difference unlike my brother who doesn't care about the difference. Lets use your example to prove the difference. The being who hires the assassin has the chance of being more corrupted than the assassin even they don't get their hands dirty with blood." said Morana. 

Morana looked at Zane as she said,"The best way to figure out the difference Zane is a thorough investigation. If you think a being is corrupt, investigate them until you're a hundred percent sure. Every being is power will misuse it in some way, shape, or form. It doesn't make them evil exactly since you use your immense power to positively influence the lives of others.". "You got it Morana." said Zane as he was gone. Zane would return even if Morana had to drag him here.   

Narrator P.O.V. 

It had been three hours since the War of Galnatilia ended with Zane's side being victorious. The wind howled loudly with the destroyed robots of the Molten Empire's army covered it. There were battle scars covering the area mainly from Basalt and Zane since those two didn't hold back in their fight whatsoever. Nearby the wreckage of a Goliath, the group of Grimace, Lunacy, and Xavier were tied up and bounded with Negation Collars. 

There were slimes there as well but both Nemesis and Rivart went missing. Molvai's body was also unable to found and this proved to Sitara that her sister was still alive. Parker offered to fix the Armada so they could leave Galnatilia behind. Vlad would have stopped him from messing with his baby but he was too tired to care at this point and didn't want to mess with the elder Eazairvian after seeing what Zane could do. "So why did you decide to leave this place again Parker?" said Allen.

Parker looked at him as he said,"Because beings found their way here obvious. I suspect that the Trungins would like to live without anyone bothering them. Thanks to the upgrades given to the security system, I'm sure they'll be safe until they decide to leave.". "And how will they do that Parker? I highly doubt they'll be building spaceships." said Velda. "Perhaps they might. The Trungin are smarter than one may think so don't count them out yet." said Parker. 

Veto looked at Parker as he said,"So I got to ask. Aren't you going to take back the Z.E.R.O. Watch? I mean it's your prized invention but Zane almost destroy it and an entire dimension.". He was punched by Altair with Sitara sighing. "I made that device for him since his grandmother suggested that he would be the one to help the Omniverse grow by defeating Skull Plague. I'm sure that this will happen and while it may bring trouble wherever it goes, I'm sure Zane can handle it." said Parker. 

Parker smiled as he said,"Have faith in the kid. I do and I usually don't have faith in such things.". "So did you manage to record that Matrix? Zane may want it for blackmail in the future." said Astaroth. "Are you saying that I wasn't recording daddy saying that he has faith in something? Don't doubt me." said Matrix. "I think he was just making sure about that." said Havoc. The being finished his repairs on the Paradoxes's ship and he walked over to Janet. "So Janet." said Parker. 

Janet looked at him as she said,"Yes Parker?". "I know that the Aphral plan to pick you up but do you mind if I tag along and explore the Omniverse?" said Parker. "Don't you want to head right back to Saspra?" said Janet. "I'm sure that those six can handle themselves there and not blow up my planet. I've been living in solitude for too long and I'm sure that your group will help me achieve that." said Parker with a smile. 

The two heard a voice saying,"I think our favorite hermit here is asking you if he can join you and maybe have a couple of dates along the way back home. He's being social. I'm so proud of him.". Zane stood there with a smirk. He had woken up from his nap earlier and offered to fix the planet but Parker told him to let nature handle it with Zane accepting that as an answer. "Oh I know that Zane. I want him to ask me that." said Janet with Parker sighing loudly. 

Parker shook his head as he said,"Sometimes. Zane. Try not to blow the Omniverse any time soon because you owe Rachel that much.". "Yeah. I know that and don't worry. We may name a kid after you." said Zane. "I don't expect that from you two but I wouldn't be against it." said Parker. "And with that, we're off." said Janet as the two were gone. Zane shook his head as he looked at his Z.E.R.O. Watch. "Thanks Parker. See you later." muttered Zane. 

Allen walked over to him as he said,"While I did enjoy our adventure as much as the next guy, we should probably get back to Earth. Pretty sure that Efren has called everyone trying to find us.". "You are right about that. The Omniverse is truly worth exploring but not today or for a long time. Maybe after the kids are in high school or earlier." said Zane. "So you mean Atem, Uriel, and Zoey right?" said Danny. "Nope Danny. The kids we'll have eventually." said Rachel with a smile. 

The hacker looked at Rachel's stomach as she said,"So you aren't pregnant right?". "Nope. Not yet." said Rachel. "So do you guys mind giving us a lift back? I mean I could teleport us back but I'm too lazy to do that." said Zane. "Sounds like you but sure. We don't mind at all." said Ralad. "Before that, we have to drop off them back at Osezarix 35. I got pardoned for breaking you guys out since you were innocent but these ones. Not so much." said Cinarva.

Arya nodded as she said,"I don't mind but well, I doubt the great Cannon Arm Xavier will like it so much since you're the prey there.". "You'll pay for this. All of you will pay!" said Xavier. "I highly doubt that since their boss basically ditched them with that armor wearing loser. It's weird how he didn't use a single transformation to fight you Rae." said Bridgette. "Lets get going you guys. I would like to leave this place sooner rather than later." said Sitara. as the group went onto the Armada. 

It had been several hours since they left Osezarix 35 and Galnatilia behind with Cinarva wishing them good luck. Bridgette also left the party as well with the promise to train Rachel whenever she wanted to mainly to see Zane. The Armada was currently traveling through the Universe Path at a comfortable speed with Zane currently walking around the metallic corridors of the ship. "I really do love and hate my life sometimes. I almost blew up the Omniverse just to show off." thought Zane.  

Zane looked at his new appearance with him thinking,"I'm happy to have met Matrix and learning that Twilight's son is a good being like his mother. Wish I knew about her being pregnant and ruling over her people but well, I guess things are going back to a state of normal. My new appearance on the other hand. I get used to it.". Zane was slowly approaching the hover simulator with him seeing Arya and Rachel currently observing a virtual reality simulation of a sight quite familiar to Zane.

The sight was a lake that wasn't from Earth but Ezlario. This lake was nearby the orphanage where Arya grew up and where she spent a good amount of time before being adopted. The water was a clear crystal blue color, perfect for swimming. There was a single tree by the lake and as Zane learned personally, it provided the perfect amount of shade for a picnic. It was a truly beautiful sight. "Hey there ladies. You two doing alright?" said Zane. 

Both females turned to see him standing there with Arya frowning. "Not really Zane. I've been thinking about everything that's happened to me in the last few days. I joined Team Maelstrom and all of this happened in my first week of joining it!" said Arya. "Yeah. I can understand what you're going through Arya. We didn't exactly leave the best impression on you. I honestly can't promise you that things will get calmer from here on. If you want to leave, we completely understand right Zane?" said Rachel. 

Zane nodded as he said,"Yeah. I totally freaked out when I lost Allen, Danny, Gwen, and Rae back on Galnatilia.". "Yeah. I mean I like those four a lot but they mean a lot to you." said Arya. "Yeah they really do. Thanks for helping me back then." said Zane. "No problem." said Arya. There was silence in the air briefly before Arya looked at Zane. "No matter how many times I see it, this is a really beautiful sight." said Zane. "I got to agree with Zane here Arya. This is really beautiful." said Rachel. 

The Cross Species smiled as he said,"Just like a certain devil who I heard kick some serious butt.". "I think someone is trying to earn some brownie points." said Rachel with her pulling Zane right into a kiss. Arya rolled her eyes as she remember Danny telling her that whenever Rachel and Zane start flirting, they tend to ignore everything around them. The two ,much to her surprise, didn't go into a passionate make out session since according to Kevin, they're in an eternal honeymoon phase. 

Arya tried to get their attention as she said,"Yeah. I remember going here when I was bullied and my mom took me here whenever we could.". "Arya. You do know that I'll do anything in my power to protect you and the others from danger right?" said Zane. "Of course I know that! I saw that earlier when you blew yourself up and almost died!" said Arya. "Which is the norm for him much to our dismay." said Rachel. "Yeah. I really hate how that's the case." said Zane. 

The hacker looked at Zane as she said,"So are you okay Zane?". "What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine." said Zane. "Oh wow. You were right about him Rae. He's the worst when it comes to admitting that he has a problem." said Arya. "Yep. He's a terrible liar." said Rachel. "Okay fine. I'm wishing that I didn't have everyone putting their faith in me to be the one to save the Omniverse and well, I wished I had a normal quiet life." said Zane. 

Rachel had a half smile on her face as she said,"Yeah. You made that obvious back in the med bay but get over here.". "Please tell me you aren't going to hit me." said Zane. "Duh. Of course she is. You need to learn your place." said Arya. Zane walked toward Rachel with her playfully knocking him upside the head. "That's for not telling anyone about your problems and letting them build up until you exploded you big dummy." said Rachel in a chastising tone but her smirk betrayed her feelings. 

She wrapped her arms around her neck and cradled his head to her bosom. Zane shrugged with him making himself comfortable by using his tail to wrap around Rachel's back gently. "So how are you enjoying her pillows Zane?" said Arya. "A lot. They're really soft like her hair. I would let you feel them but they're mine to snuggle against. I'm rather greedy when I want to be." said Zane. "Zane. I really wish you would change but you really shouldn't fight fate. It's a losing fight." said Rachel.

The devil began running her fingers through his hair as she said,"You're Zane Vincent Alvarez who is the protector of the Omniverse whose life has been nothing but crazy. I accept that part of you and wouldn't you to change a single part of you. You're my ideal lover after all. I wish you made more time for our dates but crime never sleeps.". "Yeah. I will make time for you or anyone if you need me. It may not be me exactly but I'm sure the clone will do a great job. A solid A." said Zane. 

Rachel smiled at him as she said,"I know that babypop.". "So how am I doing as your fiancé Rae? And Arya. Please tell me that I'm not the worst person to work with." said Zane. "You're doing a really good job in my opinion." said Rachel. "Yeah! I mean you're better than your grandpa who drives Verna to drink most days of the year. Axel is a part of her awful drinking problem but you're not making my job difficult." said Arya. "You really do care a lot about him don't you Arya?" said Rachel. 

Arya nodded as she said,"Of course I do! He was my first real friend and didn't mind that I never left my house due to personal reasons.". "So tell me the truth. Do you like Zane? And I don't mean like a friend but as a lover. There is a difference you know." said Rachel. "Of course I like Zane but as a friend. Nothing more!" said Arya as she looked away from Rachel. "Didn't you tell me that you weren't going to pressure her on this? She has said to like me as a brother countless times." said Zane.

Rachel sighed as she said,"I did but I changed my mind. You two both have a problem in hiding what you truly feel about something.". "Rachel and Zane. I'm only telling you two this so don't go blabbing about it okay?!" said Arya with Rachel and Zane looking at her, urging her to go on. "The truth is that I like Zane a lot but I know for a fact, it isn't like how you two feel for each other or Malik and Sitara do for each other!" said Arya.

She took a deep breath as she said,"Zane was the first person who went out of his way to help me leave my house after my mom died because of that bastard. The twins may be the same as me since he was their first real contact other than their brother and grandfather who look nothing like them. When I saw Zane snapped after seeing you and the others died, it was like he wasn't the person who I care about whatsoever! He was so violent and angry.".

Arya looked at Zane as she said,"You're not the type of guy to kill others whenever they upset in any regard!". "Yeah. I was a monster but I'm not anymore right? I promise that I'm gentle except when I'm angry." said Zane. "Of course you're not Zane. You're an dummy but a lovable one. So be honest with us on this Arya, how do you really feel about him? Don't worry. Not as a romantic partner but as a brother like figure. I do think I can handle another women liking him." said Rachel. 

Zane rolled his eyes as he muttered,"Why are you lying Rae?". Rachel pinched Zane's right ear. "Hush you!" said Rachel. "I'm just speaking the truth here. You wanted me to do that more right?" said Zane with Rachel shrugging. "Zane Alvarez is a really amazing and caring guy. I mean most of his family is super nice but Zane is easily the nicest guy around. He always helps out whenever he care even if he doesn't like the person in question aka the howler monkey." said Arya. 

She smiled as she said,"Out of everything that makes up Zane, my favorite thing about him is his smile though. I mean it just lights up a room and says that everything will be okay. It's easily one of the seven great wonders of the Omniverse in my humble opinion.". "That's nice to hear Arya. I mean my smile is pretty nice but being one of the seven great wonders? Color me impressed." said Zane. "So you don't mind that he isn't exactly a normal being." said Rachel. 

Arya nodded as she said with a smile,"Nope. I mean being normal is totally the worst. I mean everyone on Team Maelstrom is in no way normal but that's way better than on a team filled with normal beings in my opinion. Like my mom always said, it matters what's on the inside that counts rather than the outside plus fangs are totally a good look on you.". "So do you love me? That's my question for you Arya my dear." said Zane. 

She looked at him as she said with a bright red face,"As a brother Zane yes. I know that I haven't known you as long as say Danny or Gwen but I can tell that you two need to get married ASAP. If you don't mind, we could go out together sometime in the future! Just the three of us! As friends! I mean there is no rush mind you but I really want to hang out with you again Zane! Rae too I guess.". After saying that, she began looking like a cute animal. "Is that okay with you two?" said Arya with a cute head tilt. 

This made Rachel internally squeal due to how cute Arya was being. "Oh wow. I know that Zane told me how cute she can be sometimes but this level of cuteness. It's something else! I really hope things work out between the two of you!" thought Rachel as it felt like she was being stabbed in the chest with the word "Cute" written on it. She then hugged Arya much to her shock and began rubbing her head with her hand. 

Zane smiled as he said,"I don't mind hanging out with you but well, you were right about having it after the wedding.". "It may be a few days before the wedding since we're going to be far too busy during the honeymoon." said Rachel, snuggling up next to Zane. "Thanks a lot you two. I really like having you guys as my friends." said Arya. "It's fine Arya. Take your time. We're in no rush since slow and steady wins the race." said Zane. 

Rachel agreed with her saying,"He has a point. We should probably get back to the others.". "Do we really have to? I'm perfectly fine enjoying the company of two beautiful ladies." said Zane. The two looked at him with them nodding. They each grabbed one of Zane's arms and began dragging him out of the simulator with Zane not trying to fight it. "So is this normal to him Matrix?" said Havoc. "Yep." said Matrix. "But it isn't a bad thing." said Astaroth. "No. It is not." said Matrix.               

Several hours later, it was a bright and sunny morning back on Earth with the yellow sun bearing down on the planet. In the forest clearing where the Armada had taken off from, the Vindicator was still present there and not moving for over five days. The ground eventually began to shake with the Armada slowly flying downwards. The ship landed upon the ground coming to a halt and the cargo hatch of the ship opened up. 

As the cargo hatch opened up, Allen walked out. "Ah Earth. I missed you so much." said Allen. "Please tell me that you won't be kissing the ground any time soon." said Gwen with her walking out of the ship and she was holding Danny's hand. "Yeah man. That's totally something Kevin would do. You're better than that." said Danny. "Yeah. So where did Zane wandered off to?" said Allen. He saw Arya and Rachel talking to Altair, Kitt, Lorelei, Malik, Sitara, Turseek, Veto, and Vlad.

Danny turned to Allen as he said,"I think he went to go drop off Velda back at the prison. So did Lorelei decide to join up with the Paradoxes?". "She did because she gets to spend time with her family." said Gwen. "Yeah. Still can't believe that Veto is the father and the fact that he's the only one who doesn't know about that little fact." said Allen. "Yeah. I blame Turseek for that." said a voice. Allen, Danny, and Gwen turned around to see Zane standing there with him holding a slushie thanks to his tail. 

Excluding his tail, he looked to be a normal human with two arms crossed over his chest. His eyes looked to be a normal storm gray color, his arms, mouth, and nose looked regular, and he was lacking his horns and eye scar.  "Did you really have to stop by Fantasia before coming back here?" said Gwen with her eyebrow raised. "It's Zane. Do you really think he wouldn't?" said Allen. "Part of me was." said Gwen.

Danny looked at Zane with him saying,"So how did Courtney take you having a tail and the rest of your new appearance? You did promise Bri and Rachel that you wouldn't hide your prosthetic and scars no longer.". "She wasn't working today bro and I told Bri that I would wait at least four days before I reveal my new look to the public. I'm still working on how to hide my tail." said Zane. "What about the rest of your more Feroxian traits?" said Gwen. 

Zane grabbed the slushie from his tail with him saying,"Like with my prothestic, I can make them look normal with just a single thought. I could do that with my tail but nah. It works better as a belt in my opinion.". "So I got to ask you something important Zane." said Arya with her and Rachel joining the group. "What's up?" said Zane. "I didn't get a chance to ask you this since well, you were exhausted but now. Can you make your horns appear?" said Arya.

The Cross Species shrugged as he made his horns appeared. "Yep. I can make them appear and disappear with a thought as you can plainly see. So what didyou want with them?" said Zane as he saw his assistant's glasses shining. "Oh. I get it. Go nuts partner." said Zane, bending down. "Sweet! You and Rae have more in common now! You both have horns and a tail." said Arya with her grabbing onto Zane's horns. "Yeah. We do. So I got to ask about your little episode." said Zane. 

Before Rachel could say anything, Arya began stroking Zane's horns lightly with him letting out a purr sound coming from Zane. "Okay. That was so damn adorable Zaney." said Rachel, knowing what to do whenever he is stressed or in the mood for some teasing. "Yeah. Thanks for giving her some ammo against me Arya. So that episode." said Zane, making his horns disappear much to Arya's visible dismay.     

Rachel looked at Zane with her saying,"We'll talk about in private. Not that I don't trust you guys but this is something between us.". "No need to explain yourself Rae. You were a badass up there since you made Basalt look like a bitch." said Allen. "And that copy of Zane too! He was totally more bark than bite if you catch my drift." said Arya. "So are you going to say goodbye to the Paradoxes Zane?" said Gwen. 

The Cross Species nodded as he walked toward the cargo hold where the Paradoxes were. "Thanks for your help you guys." said Zane. "You're welcome Zane. I just hope that the next time we met, you won't be responsible for the Omniverse blowing up because of your ego." said Veto. For his comment, he was punched by Lorelei. "Ignore him Znae. We'll see you and the rest of your group at the wedding." said Lorelei. "She's right. See you around Zane." thought Altair.

As the Paradoxes walked back to their ship, the space ship moved upwards before vanished into the blue sky and left Earth behind. "So after an adventure, I'm looking forward to a nice normal day in Cypress Park." said Allen. "Amen to that. I'm really looking forward to that vacation in the Salaron Empire." said Zane, stretching his arms out. "So how about we go shopping at the mall? I mean I think some shopping would be good right?" said Arya. 

Rachel smiled as she said,"It is but maybe we should start at some local shops to make sure you don't get overwhelmed.". "That sounds like a great idea you two but I think our plan is going to be something else." said Gwen. "Yep. Three. Two. One." said Danny. "I hate to be a buzzkill here but we got a problem." said Matrix. "Yeah. It's a big one!" said Havoc, emerging from Zane's left arm like it was nothing. "So do you mind telling us?" said Danny. "Sure!" said Havoc, going back into Zane's arm. 

Matrix sighed as she said,"Sometimes. You can be such a coward. A horde of what appears to horror movie icons such as creatures from the lagoon, frankensteins, mummies, vampires, werewolves, and zombies are attacking Cypress Park. They're currently being lead by Hyde. The local Cypress Park police managed to urge the citizens to evacuate while the rest of Team Maelstrom are handling the monster army.". "I guess a normal day for us is fighting monsters." said Rachel, smiling. 

Zane smiled as he crackled his knuckles. "Yeah but I wouldn't have it any other way at this point. Ready to go team?" said Zane. The group nodded as they went back to the Vindicator and got ready for another battle. This ended another encounter with the Paradoxes and Molten Empire but Zane was sure that this wouldn't be the last time he would fight one of the Omniverse's biggest threat. If Basalt decides to come back for revenge, Zane knew that he and his friends would be ready for anything.