Count Fredrich von Amsel's Story

"Oh, I hope they're going to be okay..." Amy is worried about the heroes' safety.

Meanwhile, Judah's men have finished getting the rioters back into their homes, apartments, wherever they live, fitting them with ankle bracelets to make sure they don't leave (given the recent situation at Sanctuary Prison, throwing them in jail would not have been the best move.) After all the men get back inside the embassy, however, something strange happens - the ground around the buildings in which the rioters are currently in starts to tremble violently as localized earthquakes start to bring the buildings down!

"Ahh! Judah!" Amy feels the trumble beneath her, "There's an earthquake going on!"

"What is this?!" shouts Amsel, feeling the earthquake alongside Hopscotch. "First those rioters, now the planet itself heaves?! Dark events are transpiring this day!"

"I got a bad feeling, too, Count Amsel!" exclaims Hopscotch.

Oh, forgot to mention - Judah has also retreated back to the embassy. He didn't invite Amy in 'cause he's a dick.

The earthquakes soon subside, but a few minutes later, all the screens in Sanctuary fill with static before being replaced with the image of a man wearing a theatrical mask - this one of tragedy. Clearly, a hijack by one of the Gracchus collective.

"Ladies and gentlement, citzens of Sanctuary!" announced the Gracchus member. "Lend me your ears! Yesterday we suffered the attack of a crazed tin tyrant, who nearly rent our fair city to the ground with a horde of abyssal creatures! We survived, but in the process we missed the real enemy - the enemy that dwells within!"

"This can't be good," said Judah, watching from inside the embassy.

"Last night, Zenmei Gekkani, reporter at Tracgram University, was attacked!" said Gracchus. "The perpetrator remains at large, but left behind a rifle that could only have come from one place - the embassy of U.S. Secretary of the Armed Forces, Marshall Judah! And the coward hid behind his embassy walls, claiming diplomatic immunity! So a few good men and women took to the streets, looking to make him answer for his crimes! And yet he beat them down violently, with the aid of super-powered beings he is supposed to despise!"

"I don't-" began Judah, before realizing Gracchus couldn't hear him.

"And did he take them to jail? NO!" shouted the Gracchus member. "He forced them back to their homes, and kept them locked in, with bracelets to monitor their positions! Why? So he could detonate earthquake bombs beneath those houses, crushing these men and women, and several innocents, in the rubble! For who could have known where those men lived, and who could have placed the bombs in time, but Marshall Judah and his dogs of the military? And still he hides behind his embassy walls, behind superhumans, behind every position he can that makes him BETTER than us!"

About this time, an airship painted white arrives, flying above Sanctuary. Within the jet are... the White Platoon?

"We shall suffer the indignities brought on by this criminal no longer!" said the Gracchus member. "If he brings his soldiers, we shall counter with our own! If he kills one our men, we shall kill ten of his own! And if he hides behind his embassy walls..."

Suddenly, a massive robot rises from the ground near some of the destroyed buildings - a giant tripod (well, not quite - it has four tentacle-like legs), with four mechanical tentacles coming out of the large dome it had for a "head" and various weapons attached to said tentacles and dome.

"We shall tear the embassy down, brick by brick, and bury him within!" shouted the Gracchus member. "Today, Marshall Judah is going to die!"

The giant robot slowly but surely makes its way to the embassy, tentacles swinging all around it.

"Battle stations!" said Judah within the embassy. "We are in crisis mode here, people!"

The guards at the embassy scramble.

Amsel lifts Hopscotch into the air, and begins running away from the American embassy as fast as he can.

"What are you doing, Count Amsel?!" shouts Hopscotch. "We gotta stay and help out!"

"This isn't our fight, Hopscotch!" answers Amsel. "We must get out of here while we still can!"

Within the white airship, "Dr. Y" cocks his shotgun, "Terrus" cracks his knuckles, "Duma" licks her lips, and "Erix" slams his fists together.

"Are you all prepared to bring the one called Judah to justice, fellow law enforcers?" asks "Erix."

"Maybe it'd be better if you kept quiet during this." replies "Dr. Y."

Lucas's aircraft touched down at the Templar base. As he did, he noticed the commotion unfolding. "What in the...?"

At that time, Parasoul and the Black Egrets were riding in on their motorcycles, taking heed the airship and the giant mech. "Men, be on your guard! We're dealing with some heavy artillery here."

The airship door opens, revealing the "White Platoon" onboard.

"Jump out," said Mockingbird's voice over the airship loudspeakers. "Your parachutes will automatically deploy."

"Are you sure about thi-" asked "Alex".

Before he can finish, "Patches" pushes "Alex" out of the airship, jumping after him. True to Mockingbird's word, the parachutes automatically deploy before they reach terminal velocity, and the two hit the ground safely. Meanwhile, while most of Judah's men keep up their fortified positions at the embassy, others ride off towards the giant robot, aiming to slow it down... And don't do much, as the robot opens fire on them with machine gun turrets, killing several.

"Dr. Y," "Erix," "Terrus," and "Duma" jump off of the airship as well, and presumably hit the ground safely thanks to the parachutes.

They do indeed hit the ground safely, near another group of Judah's troops.

"Put your weapons down!" ordered one of the troopers.

"I'm thinking... no," said "Alex".

"Alex" leaps into the crowd of troopers, slicing away at them, while "Patches" points "her" broom at them. The tip of the broom opens up, revealing a gun barrel, and "Patches" opens fire on the troops.

"Dr. Y" opens fire on the troopers, "Erix" slams his fists into them, "Terrus" turns into a rhino and charges through them, and "Duma" bites and claws at several of them.

Lucas saw what "Alex" was doing...and at the same time couldn't believe it. "That can't be right...So many factors are off!" That said, he went to confront "Alex". "Stop right there and explain yourself!!"

Meanwhile, Parasoul and the Egrets charged in, forcing back the "White Platoon". Parasoul herself confronted "Dr. Y", parrying his shotgun's barrel with Krieg. "Stand down and call off your attack, NOW!"

"I don't think so." replies "Dr. Y." "Judah needs to die. So says... THE WHITE PLATOON!"

"Duma" suddenly bites into Parasoul's shoulder from behind while "Terrus" rams several Egrets.

Parasoul lunged Krieg into "Duma" behind while whipping out her pistol and shooting "Dr. Y" in the arm and neckline several times.

"I don't need to explain a damn thing!" said "Alex", stabbing Lucas.

"Duma" winces in pain, and responds by biting harder into Parasoul. "Dr. Y," however, does not seem to be very affected, and begins shooting Parsoul.

As "Alex" lunged his blade at Lucas, the Templar sidestepped and grabbed the blade, pushing down on it. "Come to think of it...you don't sound much like Alex. I feel like I've heard that voice recently...from someone else."

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Parasoul, her arm in "Duma"'s jaws, leaped upward, letting "Dr. Y"'s shots fly at "Duma" instead.

"Duma" is knocked off of Parasoul, but "Dr. Y" leaps after the latter and attempts to strike her with the butt of his shotgun.

The blade (Bane) glows with arcane fire, burning Lucas pretty badly as he holds down on it, as "Alex" uses his other blade (Entropy) to teleport behind Lucas and swing at him from there.

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Meanwhile, the giant robot continues its approach, crushing, shooting, or otherwise destroying several guards, barricades, civilians, and other nonsense.