The Chamber of Anarchy

"That's classified information, hedgehog," interjected a Majestic trooper.

The sound of jet engines once again fills the air as the troops look up and see more airships coming to pick them up.

"Didn't you know?" Kokonotsu chimed. "It was rumored that if Alex or Morbul defeated the other, then the victor would return to the distant cosmos that they first came from."

"But that just happened when he stabbed one of their troops!" Damian said.

"Exactly. {to Lucas} You mentioned something on the way - that assailant taking a blood sample from Alex?"

"(!) Oh yeah, you did-a say that!" Mario said.

"Something tells me they used that to mimic Alex's compatibility with the blades...among other things."

"But what matters most is that Morbul is now banished into that other place. So I guess the world is safe for now." Sonic smirked at the moment.

"Exactly," said the troops, grabbing onto ropes lowered from the airships and being hoisted onto them. The airships fly out of the area.

"I don't get it," said Terrus. "But we should be getting Alex's swords back, shouldn't w-"

"No," said Alex.

Terrus and Duma turn to Alex, confused.

"Don't you get it?" asked Alex. "I don't want them back anymore."

"But you need them to-" began Terrus.

"To what, fight Morbul?" asked Alex. "Problem solved! The one thing I can do no one else can? Not an issue anymore! What do you want from me now, huh? Do you want to drag me around and throw me at more problems, hoping for the best? Or when you realize I can't do them are you going to sacrifice yourselves hoping I can get better? Morbul was right. You guys do see me as a weapon. I barely even know half of you and still you dragged me here, ignoring my protests, hoping that I could somehow kill Morbul. Guess what? There are twenty or so guys out there now who can do my job better than I can, and whatever's behind them can probably make more. You don't have to bother with me anymore."

Alex walks off.

"Where are you going?" asked Terrus.

"Home," said Alex.

~ Stolen Memories - Trauma Team ~

"A-Alex, wait - !" Andy was about to follow, but Lucas stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

"Let him leave," Lucas said.

"B...But..."

"But nothing! He's been through too much hell lately - and you can't say we didn't play a part in most of it. He needs his rest..."

"..." There was so much that Andy wanted to say to Alex, too many to count...but Lucas was right. He shouldn't burden it on Alex.

Zeta merely watched as the airships took off. Something told him that they'll lead him to what he's looking for. Before anyone could look, he was already gone.

"(!) Brother - ??" Xi reacted. No use...he's already left, too.

"Y'know...I don't think he's such a bad guy," Kokonotsu noted. "Upset, sure, but not bad. At the very least, today we saw the end of two nuisances."

"...! Hang on, I just realized what I found before I was taken!" Twilight exclaimed to Mario and Sonic.

Back over by the entrance to the chamber, meanwhile, Ripsaw's body suddenly sparks; the robot slowly coming back online as his previously sickly-yellow eyes instead glow blue once more.

"Hrrrngh.. my chasssis.." he grunted, lifting himself up.

"You have? What is it?" Sonic asked Twilight

Terrus points his rail gun arm at Ripsaw while looking at Twilight, eager for an answer. Probably not the one he's expecting.

"To gain free access into the Nexus, we need to locate a Nexus Gate!" Twilight said.

"A Nexus Gate?" Mario asked. "Where would we find-a one of those?"

"I wish I knew...The book was vague about any known locations. But they must be well-hidden if no one's found them for years."

Meanwhile, Lucas was considering getting back to Sanctuary for a little investigation. "Damian. Camilia. I should start a search for that assailant. Just in case, make sure Coronach is safe from them."

"Of course, Lucas," Damian said.

"Please be careful," Camilia said. With that, the two dragons took off to the west.

"I should take Duma back to the Rusty Slums," said Terrus, not quite following the conversation about Nexuses. "She needs to have her parts repaired."

Terrus transforms into a dragon, picks up the fallen Duma, and flies off.

With Terrus gone and no longer pointing his rail gun arm at Ripsaw, the robot quickly activates his jet systems; soon lifting off and wordlessly fleeing the area, flying off in a different direction.

"I was going to assume that the Nexusgate is in Hellborne." Sonic shrugs.

"It's not that easy - the Nexus is a collection of transdimensional tunnels," Twilight said. "For the best chance of running into this fiend, we need to pick out the closest Nexus Gate to his location. For that...we'll need some confirmation."

"I'm-a bet the alicorn princesses figured something by now," Mario said. "We should head on back to Harmonia to be sure."

Meanwhile, Lucas's aircraft takes off for Sanctuary.

As for Andy and Kaia, they're about to head to Taiyomashi Temple. "I still wish I could apologize for dragging him out of town for all this..." Andy said sadly.

"Maybe later," Kaia said. "For now, he needs to unwind."

And so, the two headed for the shore, Kaia skating across the water (carrying Andy) to Taiyomashi.

"Well what are we standin' around here? We gotta head back to Harmonia right away!" Sonic is about to leave for Harmonia.

So, Twilight (with Mario mounted) flies off after Sonic to Harmonia.

An indeterminate amount of time after the whole Morbul ordeal, the Lurker suddenly appears inside the debatably-empty chamber in a burst of energy. I say debatable, because Garrison's lifeless body is still technically sitting on top of the sacrificial altar within - dagger still embedded in his chest, with the vast pool of dark and misty blood underneath having long since stopped flowing - and it's highly unlikely a janitor or someone is going to come in and haul it away any time soon.

Regardless, the Lurker hurriedly floats over to his master's corpse, arms crossed behind his back; looking rather unimpressed with the sight before him.

"Tsk; impatient as always," grumbled Lurker, observing the scene and quickly piecing things together. "..Should have used someone else for a sacrifice. Probably would have ended up dead regardless by Morbul's hand instead, but still."

The corpse, naturally, doesn't respond to the critique, although it's highly unlikely the Lurker cares. Sighing, he pulls out the odd black stone he had recovered from Sockonia earlier; holding the strange rock up high as it starts to glow again with the same mysterious energy that drew him to its location.

In a matter of moments, the misty blood-like liquid that was previously seeping from the wound in Garrison's body starts to violently bubble before it is suddenly sucked into the stone, quickly changing its color to a shiny purple as the glow subsides.

"Halfway done. Must remember to demand an actual wage afterwards," mumbled the Lurker to himself as he pocketed the gem and teleported away once again, leaving the abandoned chamber (and Garrison's shell of a body) behind.