Tragic Solitude's private island, after the fall of Mechanical Might

The Black Sphinx and Hoesack carefully lifted Tragic's lifeless body from the surf.

"She's most certainly dead," said Hoesack. "I don't know what value her body has to us."

"Look at the beach," said Sphinx. "Look where we just lifted her from. See those crystals?"

"Yes, now that you point them out. Some look like Bragg, some D-Spair, but I don't recognize that green one."

"It's a new Bragg variant, my boy," said Sphinx. "All these were in her bloodstream. It's what accounts for her psychotic behavior. That new green one messes with time. Some of it must still be in her bloodstream. A dying brain uses everything it can to stay alive. It's possible that her brain is frozen in time at the moment of her death. You see?"

"Ahh," said Hoesack. "If we could revive her, she would be a powerful ally and weapon."

A forest near the Black Order headquarters, during the fall of Ray of Sunshine

"Let me get this straight," Blue Whale King said. "Generix didn't actually kill you, because you had Melanie's key, so you were able to merge with an alternate version of yourself who was never shot, barely saving you from death. And after recovering from your now less than lethal injury, you took Generix's place and kicked him to a distant alternate timeline, and the Black Order still doesn't know the difference."

"Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it," said Generic.

They both stood in the silent woods for several seconds.

"YOU IDIOT!' Whale shouted, backhanding Generic and sending him flying like a ragdoll.

"Ow," Generic said, rubbing his bruises as he got back up. "You gotta be so rough?"

"Believe me, if I wanted to be rough, I could have shattered your skeleton. But that's beside the point. Don't you realize what you've done?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop the Dust Alliance," Generic said. "There was nothing I could have done, I was badly injured."

"You merged with an otherwise identical alternate self to make your wound not lethal," Whale said. "Couldn't you have done that again, to hasten your recovery? Or, at the very least, couldn't you have sent us a warning? Even knowing that your evil alternate self was here at all would have been better than nothing. And why didn't you kill Generix when you had the chance?!"

"He came through some kind of crack in time that the ACPM explosion made, I don't know what he's capable of. For all I knew, killing him would only make things worse. At least this way, we can track where he is. As for the other stuff…"

Generic rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I honestly didn't think of it. I was pretty out of it. Sorry about that. I have a lot to make up for."

"Ugh," Whale groaned. "If you want to make it up to me, go and send all the slaves that Sphinx stole from my people back to Arkos."

"Consider it done," Generic said.

"To think I wanted to join the Black Order," Blue muttered to himself. "Unauthorized Snuggles really is a great meme ship. But I cannot abide what they're doing!"

He turned back to Generic. "Anyway, I have to get going."

"Going where? You just barely got back from the Core Worlds."

"Yes. And I have other people here I need to meet with, to take advantage of what I won (he flipped up the Gold award on his chest) and use it to win the war. I'll see you again soon."

Black Order headquarters, before the fall of Snowflake Protection

It had taken several days, but the process was finally complete. Tragic Solitude's body was functioning again. Her skin was damaged by the lack of bloodflow, so she still looked deathly pale and had many unusual bruises and scars, but she was alive. Her muscle mass had also been enhanced.

"Welcome, Tragic Solitude," said The Black Sphinx. "We have summoned your disembodied mind from the moment of your death in your timeline, to this body in this timeline. Generix here is also from your timeline."

"You may call me Tsarina," she said in a thick Russian accent, unlike the original Tragic. "I have not given you permission to use my real name, but I will work with you if it suits my interests."

"And what are your interests?" Hoesack asked.

"Simple. I want power. I want to feel the thrill of crushing a helpless opponent beneath my boot."

"Then it seems we were right to summon you," said Sphinx. "Help us win, and we'll let you do all the boot-stomping you want. We have plenty of enemies."

Hoesack tried not to look uncomfortable. That was not what he'd signed up for, but he would have to tolerate their new ally until she outlived her usefulness.

Tsarina nodded. "And I vant one more thing," she said, looking at Generic. "I want to find the real Generix. I know him well, that is not him."

Everyone looked at Generic.

"Of course I'm the real Generix! Only he could pull off something as sinister and deceitful as this!"

He did that trick that made it look like he was separating a finger from his hand.

Everyone stared. Whatever credibility Generic had left after Tsarina's accusation, was destroyed in that moment. He bolted from the tent.

Tsarina jumped up from the operating table. "I vill hunt him down!" She stumbled and fell over as she tried to run.

"Not so fast, take it easy for a couple hours," said Sphinx. "Your body needs time to adjust. After that, we have a battle to win today. After that, you can hunt him down to your heart's content. Just make sure you get the Anomaly Portal Connection Machine key from him when you do."

Ruins of the Fanfic Library, remains of r/RWBY's capital city

The Protect and the recently restored Eliminate transformed into a troop transport and an aircraft carrier, respectively, as they entered the Anomaly field and landed in the river next to what was once the library.

Blue Whale King, Strike Freedom D'Elise, Rosa Cossette Freedom D'Elise, Chaos Vulpix, and Vaniellis walked out of the ships to meet those waiting at the ruins of the library.

"Welcome," said Exspiro V. Cremantam. "We have a lot to talk about." He, Metas M. Perivero, Celtic Crown, Branwen OSV, and Generic Usernaym XXI waited for the Arkosians.

"We all know why we're here," said Blue Whale King. "It's time to take the Black Order down once and for all. Thanks to Vaniellis, we finally have a chance to do that."

"It was nothing," said Vaniellis. "I was only doing my duty."

"Nothing?" Vulpix asked. "You saved me from the wreckage of the Eliminate. Not only that, you had the ship and the city of Arkos of Erusea rebuilt in an extraordinarily short time. You provided the force that can end this war."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without Blue Whale King's financial boon from the Core Worlds," Vaniellis replied, ever humble.

"Speaking of, where exactly were you?" Generic asked Blue. "What did you do? You never told me."

"Or us," said Strike. "I think we've all been waiting for the answer to that."

"Oh gods, don't tell me you went to join the brigade on r/Area51," said Celtic.

"Or spent all that time Karma whoring on r/AskReddit," said Metas.

"Nonsense," said Blue. "Now that we're all here, I'll tell you if you let me. I went to represent the Kingdom of Blue Whales, the Nation of Arkos, and the RWBY sector of the Reddit Galaxy on the great canvas world of r/Layer. I got a Gold Award for my artistic efforts."

"So that's where you got all that cash from!" Vaniellis exclaimed.

"Yes, and this medal."

Strike ran over and hugged him. "I knew you'd never run off for something meaningless!"

"We all had a part to play in reviving Arkos of Erusea," said Rosa. "Now we should hear their stories."

"The Rodents kicked us out of our turtle hole," said Celtic. "And this seems as good of a cause as any."

Branwen nodded. "It really was quite rude of them. We were just minding our own business, when this swarm of rats and mice comes and kicks us out of our base."

"Which was really just a cave," said Celtic. "What about you?" He turned to Metas and Exspiro. "I thought you were working against RUBES, and aggressively neutral, respectively."

"RUBES is far better than the Black Order," said Metas. "I tried attacking RUBES separate from the Black Order, but now I recognize that the Black Order needs to go down, and RUBES is my only chance of doing that. So I'll help you help them."

"Objectivity lost," said Esxpiro. "I know now that I cannot leave things to fate, if I care at all about the outcome. And I realized that I do care. I want my library back."

"Did any of it survive the fire?" Strike asked.

"Not much," Exspiro replied. "A few good stories, but unfortunately, the entire Coeur Al'Aran collection survived."

"Damn, that's a shame," said Whale.

"I'm just working to make things right from what my alternate self did," said Generic. "Especially now that Tsarina stole the APCM key from me."

"She did WHAT?!" Whale exclaimed.

"The point is," said Metas, "we ALL want the Black Order destroyed. None of us are getting what we need until it falls."

Blue Whale King stuck his rubbery hand out in front of him. It was gray blue on the top, like most of his skin, but unlike the rest of him, it was white on the underside.

"What's this?" Exspiro asked.

"I think I know," said Rosa.

"There is something I want to share with you. Being a member of the Nation of Arkos not a matter of where you're born. And what gods you ship together is only a part of it. There's a sum of knowledge. A shared history, and a shared suffering. Most importantly, we have a code, an oath. I'm not going to ask you to swear it as well. But before this battle begins, I want to share it with you."

"Here we go," said Generic.

Strike, Vulpix, and Vaniellis stepped forward and put their hands on top of Whale's.

"We will not attack out of spite," said Strike, "nor allow ourselves to be attacked."

"We will defend Arkos and our allies in all contests," said Vulpix.

"We will never give up the love of our ship, nor give in to the haters," said Vaniellis.

"And most of all," said Blue Whale King, "we will be the ship that makes people better, as Jaune and Pyrrha did for each other. We will stand up for all that is wholesome."

"Never cruel or cowardly," they all said in unison. "Never give up, never give in. Be the ship that makes people better."

Celtic, Branwen, Rosa, Metas, and Exspiro all looked at each other.

"We are not Arkosians," said Metas.

"Not all of us even like Arkos," said Exspiro.

"At least, not anymore," said Generic.

"But we cannot look down on these ideals," said Rosa.

"So just for this battle, for the sake of RUBES," said Celtic,

"We will swear it with you," Branwen finished.

All ten of them put their hands together.

"Never cruel or cowardly," they all said in unison, this time, not just the Arkosians. "Never give up, never give in. Be the ship, no, the people, who make people better."

"For RUBES," said Generic. "For RUBES," the others repeated.

And they set out to battle.

At the Battle of Guns N' Roses

MacGregor knew nothing but darkness and pain. His whole body burned like nothing he'd ever felt before. He couldn't sense his surroundings, or remember what he was doing. It seemed like the end.

MacGregor Rose, I am not letting you go out like a bitch, said Tanya's voice in his head. You are not dead yet. Not even close. Now get up and show those mangy cats what you're made of!

"Five more minutes," he muttered. "Can't move, it hurts…"

What they'll do next will hurt more, if you just lay there. Now get up and fight! It's time I told you about the greatest moment in the history of the Great War."

Just above the Battle of Guns N' Roses

Link emerged from the last surviving building in Guns N' Roses complex of stone castles and walls. He'd slept much longer than he meant to, but due to his previous exhaustion and sleep deprivation, it was hardly a surprise. It was much more surprising that he'd managed to sleep through much of the battle, with its many loud explosions. It was only when the artillery ammunition cache exploded and demolished the main castle that it finally awoke Link.

He climbed through the rubble, finding no one. The sounds of battle were much quieter than expected.

As he finally reached the ridge, he saw why. The Guns N' Roses artillery was gone. The trenches were deserted. With the fortifications destroyed, the Black Order had nothing to fire their remaining artillery at. And worst of all, thousands of Guns N' Roses soldiers lay twitching or motionless on the hillside below the trenches, with the dissipating stench of mustard gas still floating about them. Their skin was covered with lesions and blisters, like bubble wrap from hell. Nobody was firing.

Link groaned in despair. It seemed the battle was over, the Black Order had won. He would have to flee to the remaining RUBES territory and find some last desperate gambit to save them from getting wiped out. As far as he could tell, Link was the only survivor. He could only hope that some of his friends had fled the battlefield and were alive elsewhere.

Link looked at the enemy troops, hoping they hadn't seen him, and noticed something odd. The Black Order soldiers were turning their five remaining artillery pieces around, to face away from the Guns N' Roses highlands. Why? What was the point?

Link looked out at the river, and saw two ships floating on it. However, since it was several miles away, he couldn't make out whose flag they flew.

Swallowing his disgust, Link looked down at the field of corpses, trying to find a pair of binoculars. After a few minutes of searching, he found one and picked it up.

As he tried to focus them on the ships on the river, Link heard a raspy voice from below him.

"Give those back," it muttered. "Birthday present from my sister."

"Hold on," Link replied, "I need to see whose ships are on the river." He did a double take, and looked down. The blistered corpse he'd taken the binoculars from was stirring. The face was mangled, but Link recognized the uniform.

"MacGregor?! You're alive?"

"Yeah," the not-quite-dead MacGregor responded, sitting up. He coughed, spitting up blood. "Looks like they forgot their nerve agent. Or ran out." Link could barely recognize his voice.

Link wasn't sure how to respond. He wasn't stupid enough to ask if MacGregor was all right, and expressing relief that he was alive might end up being premature.

At last, he said, "So what now?"

MacGregor managed to stand up, after coughing again. "Now, you give me those so I can see the ships on the river you mentioned."

"Oh right," Link said, and handed the binoculars back. MacGregor winced as they touched the blisters on his hands, but he was able to focus them and see what was on the river.

"It's Arkos of Erusea! They're back!"

"What?! Let me see!"

MacGregor handed the binoculars to Link, who looked and saw the ships clearly. He saw Strike and Rosa's squadron fly up from the aircraft carrier, while Blue Whale King, Vulpix, Vaniellis, Celtic, Generic, Branwen, and even Metas and Exspiro disembarked from the troop transport on an elephant and horses, respectively.

"They came back!" Link exclaimed. "They actually came back!" He gave the binoculars back to MacGregor.

"Now the Black Order is pinched," said MacGregor. Link looked around, and saw that many of the "dead" soldiers and officers, including Nitesco and Rosey, were also stirring and standing up.

"Wait, you don't mean… Can you really fight like this?"

"As long as we can move and hold a weapon, we can fight. We swore to defend Guns N' Roses to the very end. And we'll be twice as deadly. Nobody expects an Attack of the Dead Men."

"And women," Rosey added.

"I'll be right with you," said Link. "But do you know where Peter and Austin went? Are they around here somewhere?"

"No," said Nitesco. "They went to get everyone from Armed & Ready, Petal to the Metal, and Go Ren to race to the APCM while we hold off the Black Order."

"Damn, I should have gone with them," said Link. "I broke the ACPM, so I should help fix it! Unless you need me more here."

"They only left a few minutes ago, but they were going as fast as they could. I don't know if you'll be able to catch them."

"Then I'm going to fight my way through, and get a pilot to fly me there," said Link. "I won't go through Go Ren, Armed & Ready, or Petal to the Metal. I'll go straight to the machine."

"Then I guess you'll have to join our charge," said MacGregor. "It's an honor fighting with you."

"Likewise," said Link.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Nitesco asked. "CHAAAARGE!"

And the Dead Soldiers plus Link attacked.

Man, I hate this part. Back with the Black Order:

"Those men should be dead!" Sphinx shouted.

"And women," said Tsarina.

"We used up all our nerve agent at Snowflake Protection," said Hoesack. "We only had the regular mustard gas left. I tried to warn you."

"But they still should not be in fighting condition," said Sphinx. "And Arkos of Erusea should be dead too. Vulpix should be dead. Whale should be dead. Generic should be dead. Tsarina, why did you not kill Generic when you took the key?!"

"I had to infiltrate their camp and steal it from his bed while he slept," Tsarina said. "If I had killed him, I would have been discovered."

"And no one saw you on your way out, correct?" Sphinx asked.

Tsarina bowed her head in shame, telling Sphinx and the others everything they needed to know.

"Ugh. Celtic and his friend should be dead. Metas and Exspiro should be dead for betraying us. Everybody attacking us is supposed to be dead!"

"That's a lot of people who should be dead," said Generix.

"WHY AM I SURROUNDED BY THE DEAD?!" Sphinx yelled.

"Their deaths will stick soon enough," said Generix. "We defeated them before, we'll do it again. We just need to keep fighting!"

As the dead men (and women) charged from Guns N' Roses, those at Arkos of Erusea shouted with megaphones.

At zombie Arkos- Hey! Fine, sorry. At Arkos of Erusea revived

"Black Order scum!" shouted Blue Whale King, "Today, the blood of many a valiant Redditor and Meme Ship shall be avenged. In the names of the gods, we shall not stop our fight until your cult is a bad memory, and peace and sanity restored to these lands!'

"The proud name of Generic will be reclaimed! You will not steal my legacy!" shouted Generic. "We will set the timelines right!"

"For every book burned, one of your soldiers shall fall!" yelled Exspiro. "I will make parchment from your skins to remake my library! Even if it means the Coeur Al'Aran works survive!" The other shuddered.

"You burned those yourself!" Hoesack shouted back.

"Irrelevant!"

"Your evil and villainy end today," said Metas. "I will repair the wrongs I have committed with you!"

"For Arkos!" shouted Vulpix.

"No matter how many times we fall, we will always get back up again!" shouted Vaniellis.

"You will never kick us out of another turtle hole!" Celtic yelled.

"For the turtles!" Branwen added.

"To hell with the turtles!" Sphinx called back.

"NO ONE MESSES WITH THE TURTLES!" Celtic and Branwen screamed. "CHARGE!"

"Burn the Black Order to the ground!" Strike and Rosa called from their planes.

And Arkos of Erusea charged.

At Petal to the Metal

The lands of Petal to the Metal, Armed & Ready, and Go Ren were peaceful and idyllic. Everyone worked hard to provide materials for the war, and many of the able-bodied men and women had gone to fight, but there had been relatively few attacks on them.

Their pastoral landscape of farms, forests, and suburbs, with the occasional factory or city, seemed like bait to be ravaged by an invasion force.

So, naturally, they were reluctant to send what few soldiers they had left away from guarding their homes.

"I'm telling you," said Kaboom CDLXV, son of the late Kaboom CDLXIV and former Magistrate of Hot Wheels, now of Petal to the Metal, "we can't spare anyone else. You've gotten enough of our soldiers killed, including my father, the founder of Hot Wheels. We need what we have left to defend our land, or we'll be sitting ducks."

"And I'm telling you," said Peter, "you'll be sitting ducks anyway. No matter what fortifications we build, no matter how secure our bases, no matter how powerful our armies, no matter what we do, the Black Order finds a way to crush our defenses. If the highland fortresses of Guns N' Roses could not withstand them, you'll have no chance whatsoever, even if every soldier RUBES ever had was here."

"Then what's the point of sending our few remaining soldiers with you? They'll only be killed anyway. We'd all much rather die here, defending our homes, than in some hellish mudhole out there."

"Because we're changing our strategy," said Austin. "We're not trying to fight them head-on anymore. If we can get to the ruins of the APCM before they realize what we're doing, we can set this entire mess right."

"And why should we trust you anymore?" Kaboom asked. "You may be the leader of the Cargo Clan, but you couldn't stop Feline Utopia, Sugar Overcharge, or Muppets from defecting to the Black Order, or the fall of I Drink Milk, Sugar Overload, or Snowflake Protection."

Austin sighed, knowing that this was neither the first nor the last time he'd be faced with complaints like that.

"I trust Austin," said Alfonse, who'd finally joined them from Go Ren. "These losses were not his fault. Without him, the Black Order would have crushed you long ago. This strategy is our only hope to win, and there's not much time. If we don't get to the APCM before the Black Order realizes what we're doing, we're doomed."

Kaboom thought for a moment, and sighed. "Very well. I trust you, Alfonse. Austin, Peter, do not let this strategy fail. Take all the troops you want, but I'm staying here until the end."

"Thank you," said Peter.

"We won't let you down," said Austin.

Peter, Austin, Alfonse, and the couple hundred troops they managed to gather from their three remaining ships all boarded horses, cars, and tanks, and set out immediately. Leaving the last peaceful places behind and almost completely undefended, they headed back into the ruined world to find the ruins of the APCM.

At the last great battle of the war

The armies of Arkos of Erusea, Feline Utopia, Unauthorized Snuggles, Muppets, and Guns N' Roses filled the miles-wide plain between the Guns N' Roses highlands and the Crescent River. For once the Black Order was on the defensive, as Arkos of Erusea attacked from the river and the Dead Army of Guns N' Roses attacked from the hills on the other side.

There were no trenches or fortifications this time. There was no time to make them. Now, it was just masses of soldiers shooting, stabbing, and slashing at each other on an open plain. Biplanes strafed soldiers from above, while cavalry trampled them below.

Link shot, stabbed, and slashed through the mass of Black Order soldiers with his rifle and bayonet, trying to find a path through them to reach the Arkos of Erusea lines. If he could do that, he could get a ride to the ruins of the APCM.

MacGregor, Nitseco, and Rosey fought beside him. Their ferocious war cries with raspy voices, combined with their blistered and bleeding faces, made them truly terrifying.

"This is getting nowhere," said Link, shouting over the din of the battle. "Peter might need my help to make that portal, I'm the only one alive besides him with that kind of technical expertise!"

"Celtic has it too," said Nitesco, "but I see your point. We'll try to find a way for you."

A shell exploded nearby, sending pieces of Guns N' Roses soldiers flying.

"We need to take out their artillery!" shouted Rosey.

"Then let's kill two birds with one stone," MacGregor replied. "We'll attack their artillery, and when they rush to defend it, Link will be able to find a path through."

"Let's do it then," Nitesco said. "GUNS N' ROSES, TAKE OUT THEIR ARTILLERY! CHARGE!"

The mass of zombie-like soldiers turned away from most of the Feline Utopia troops, to focus on the ones defending the artillery. Within minutes, one of the artillery pieces fell. The other Feline Utopia troops rushed to defend the four remaining cannons.

As they cleared away, Link saw the Arkos of Erusea cavalry fighting the Unauthorized Snuggles troops.

"Generic!" Link called.

"Hey Link," the cyan-haired horseman called back. "It's great to see you again, but I'm kinda busy." His horse reared up and neighed as an Unauthorized Snuggles soldier shot it in the shoulder. The armor made the shot less than lethal, but it was still painful for the horse, who kicked the man's head in. Generic continued shooting and slashing at the other troops.

"It's important," Link replied. "I need to borrow a horse, or a plane, or something to get me to the APCM. And quickly."

"Whatever for?" Generic turned his horse away from a squad of soldiers shooting at it, and came back around to trample them. Link rushed forward, and shot the surviving soldier who was about to shoot Generic.

"Do you really want me to tell you where the enemy can hear?" Link said.

"He's got a point," Celtic yelled from a dozen yards away.

"Quiet, you," Generic shouted back.

"You can just tell us when this is over," Exspiro added.

"Is everyone eavesdropping?" Generic asked.

"No, not me," said an Unauthorized Snuggles soldier.

"Thanks, much appreciated," Generic replied, before stabbing him with his bayonet.

Meanwhile, Corporal Yargama Frag of Unauthorized Snuggles quietly snuck off to find her superiors.

"If none of you can help me," Link said, "I'll just keep looking." He went past Generic, dodging Arkos of Erusea soldiers and horses until he came behind the line, next to the troop transport on the river.

Link walked up the ramp and looked around. All the planes were too far away to hear him. Looking to the left, he saw that Vulpix, Vaniellis, and Whale had mostly cleared the enemy troops from their area, and were moving across an empty plain to regroup with the others.

Link ran back down the ramp, along the river bank, elbowed his way back through the soldiers, and sprinted across the plain to reach them.

"Hey!" he shouted. "I need help making things right!"

Vulpix pulled up the reigns of his horse and wheeled back around, while Vaniellis and Whale charged into the enemy line, stabbing, shooting, and trampling soldiers as they went.

"What is it?" Vulpix asked. "It must be important."

With the Black Order leaders

"Are you sure that's what you heard?" Sphinx asked. "They're headed for the APCM?"

"Yes," Yargama Frag replied. "Link may have already procured a ride by now."

"But why would he go alone?" Hoesack asked. "He wouldn't be able to do much by himself. And he sounded like he was in a hurry, from what you said. So that means-"

"That someone else is probably already on their way," said Sphinx. "No wonder we haven't seen any sign of Peter or Austin here!"

"I'll go after them," said Yargama.

"Sorry, no," said Sphinx. "You're still inexperienced."

Yargama looked down in disappointment.

"But don't worry, your chance will come. And we need you here," said Hoesack. Yargama Frag went back to the battlefield.

"Tsarina, get to the ruins of the Anomaly Portal Connection Machine with all possible haste," said Sphinx. "Stop them from making a portal, no matter what it takes. This is your most important mission yet."

"Yes," said Tsarina. "I vill not let you down." She saluted, and ran off.

Back with Link, again

"You want me to what?" Whale asked, spearing an enemy soldier with his trident from atop the elephant. "I have the highest endurance, you need me here."

"Whoever takes him will become a target," said Vulpix. "And this is more important."

Just then, Tsarina jumped up and knocked Vaniellis off his horse. She grabbed the reins and took off into the desolate fields, with a dozen Black Order soldiers on other stolen horses following.

"Gahh!" Vaniellis shouted as he fell. "Now they're onto us!"

"There's no time to argue," said Vulpix. "You need to go after them now!"

Blue charged with his elephant to stop the enemy soldiers from killing Vaniellis while he was down. "Elephants aren't fast enough long distance to catch up with them, and I'm too heavy to ride a horse, even in this form. And I certainly can't run that fast myself! You go, Vulpix."

"I don't care who takes me," said Link. "They need my help, and fast!"

"I'll get myself and Link shot full of holes like swiss cheese if I go," said Vulpix. "Whoever does is going to be a target. And Whale, you're the only one who can take the hits and shield Link! We're wasting time!"

"I can't get there fast enough," Whale said. "Like I told you-"

Just then, an artillery shell landed near Whale, filling his elephant with shrapnel. The elephant fell to its knees, spilling blood and trumpeting in agony.

"Last Baiji, NO!" Whale cried. He dismounted and started stroking the elephant's trunk.

"Blue, there is a way," said Vaniellis. "That experimental form you were telling me about."

"Oh, that," Whale said, as Last Baiji the elephant leaned his head on his shoulder. Whale withstood the elephant's weight easily. "That form isn't stable for very long, it's still unfinished."

"Will it even work in this Anomaly field?" Link asked.

"Since my regular humanoid form does, it should," said Whale.

"Then we need to try, and fast!" said Link. "It sounds like it's our only hope, whatever it is."

"Very well," said Whale. "You might want to stand back."

Moments later, everyone on the battlefield looked up in shock and disbelief.

On the barren plains

Peter, Austin, Alphonse, and the remaining soldiers of Armed & Ready, Go Ren, and Petal to the Metal rode across the hard baked mud and dust of battlefields past. They went around half-flooded trenches, bones, and the remains of tanks, planes, cars, and artillery as they crossed the ugly devastation the war had left behind. Before long, they had left the old battlefields behind, and entered the outskirts of what was once the planet's capital.

"Excuse me," a soldier said. "Someone's following us."

"Friend or foe?" Austin asked.

"Hopefully friend," said Alfonse.

"That's no friend," Peter said. "Everyone, ride faster! Tanks, switch to your highest gear!"

In the distance, Tsarina rode at the head of her company with her saber extended, driving her stolen horse faster than it had ever ran in its life. The murderous gleam in her eyes was visible from miles away.

But even farther in the distance, just leaving the battlefield, they saw something unbelievable.

As if Blue's self-aggrandizing wasn't bad enough! I can't believe- Hey, stop that! Fine, I'll quit complaining! At least you're self-aware about it.

"Hold on tight," said Blue Whale King, his voice booming across the battlefield. He was transformed into Kaiju Mode, a combination of his humanoid form and his full-sized Blue Whale form. 92 feet long and 60 feet tall, with both tail, legs, and arms. He picked up Link in one hand, then went and grabbed Generic in his other.

"Hey! Put me down!"

"You have technical knowledge too," Whale said, "I'm bringing you along."

"Fine," Generic said, "but don't squeeze so hard!"

Blue Whale King dashed out into the plain, running at over 20 knots. Many of the leaders and soldiers on both sides followed, including Strike and Rosa's planes.

The final race was on.