Freedom

Burning chronicles

Werner swings his cleaver right at Azalo-G’s neck, Etho suddenly firing a small beam of plasma to reduce the impact. Azalo-G barely blocks the dull cleaver strike; it still sends him to a nearby hill. “Well, isn't it my favorite rat?” Werner says with a slight chuckle. “I just KNEW you couldn't pass up fighting me again,” Werner exclaims, turning to face Etho promptly. “I can't allow you to destroy everything if I've had a revelation that life deserves to exist. Then you can too.” Etho states, his Terra suit hissing softly. “You’re so naive, so… What was it? Oh, yes. Gullible.” Werner reminds. “I will do what's required for correction-” Etho says before being cut off. “So you would leave. This is what’s required for correction. You’re the smartest being in the universe; you have to understand eventually.” Werner interjects. “You’re just as arrogant as when I first fought you.” Etho remarks. Werner shrugs, popping a stage 2 burst before rushing Etho down.

All-out war

Etho blocks the first strike, blasting Werner back with his sonic cannon. Werner uses an impact burst to nullify the blast, crescent-kicking Etho in the side. Etho latches onto Werner’s leg, whipping him back with leverage from his thrusters. Etho clicks a holographic pad on his wrist, XM-08 tearing out the ground directly below Werner. XM-08 tries to clamp down on him, but Werner locks his arms to force its jaws open. Werner suddenly releases, using the jaws as leverage to throw himself to the side of the mech. XM-08 tries to catch Werner out of the air, but Werner grabs its tail and chucks it directly at Etho. Etho flies directly up, XM-08’s impact causing a large shock to rip through the ground. Quite suddenly, hundreds of CM-1200’s fill the air, occupying every bit of airspace with dropping XF-04, XA-02, and XU-06. XF-04 fires its shock jailer around Werner, trapping him as XA-02 and XM-08 rush in from below and above. Werner jumps straight up, grabs the bird's claw, and whips it directly into XM-08’s jaws. XF-04 fires its railgun as Werner hangs in the air, a shock ripping through the air as it does. Werner punches the railgun round, using an impact burst to shatter it completely. Werner quickly realises he has nothing to use for leverage, making him a free-falling target for any ordnance. At that moment, Werner unlocks a new ability: his nerves pulse with new strength as he uses a propulsion burst. Etho braces as Werner suddenly launches directly at him, meeting his punch with a modified hydraulic deep stone arm. The ground around their clash explodes out, the shock pushing XM-08 back briefly. Werner grabs Etho’s arm, slamming him into the ground multiple times. XF-04 uses its inferno cannon, directly hitting Werner and forcing him off Etho. Etho charges his hand cannon, firing directly at Werner as XF-04 prolongs its inferno cannon. Werner uses a stage 3 burst, tearing through the plasma and grabbing Etho by the neck. XA-02 intervenes, slamming directly into Werner for hundreds of slashes with its plasma-infused claws. Every CM-1200 suddenly opens fire with its 400MM HE cannons, completely decimating the area Werner stood on as XA-02 flies off.
Werner walks out of the various explosions, meeting Etho’s gaze before charging at him again. Etho digs his arm into the ground, using the artificial muscles to rip a large part of the land up to block Werner.  Werner tears directly through the slab of land, gut-punching Etho before XM-08’s mouth cannon forces him away. Werner pops a stage 2 strength burst, leaving Etho puzzled momentarily. Werner quickly uses an impact burst to redirect the plasma, seemingly teleporting behind XU-06 for one powerful haymaker. XU-06’s armor lacks the durability to sustain Werner’s punch, the Terra metal shattering and exposing its core. Werner tears the core out of its body, all the shields around Etho and the Terra mechs dissipating as Werner crushes the core with his grip. Werner slams the ground with his foot, uprooting a large amount of the land around him with the shock. Following up with a stage 3 speed burst, the explosion shatters the slabs into smaller boulders. Werner teleports behind every piece of land, unlocking an ability along with it: impact burst infusion. Werner launches every boulder directly at Etho, shielding his rush-down. Etho sprouts hundreds of micro missiles from his suit, blowing all the projectiles out of the air and blocking Werner’s blind strike. Werner throws 20 more punches in a second, sending Etho back with the force. XF-04 fires its kinetic nuke at Werner as XM-08 stalls. Werner endures the shock, using the momentum to land beside XM-08 for a powerful side kick. XM-08 lands near XF-04, burrowing underground as Etho calls his warships to fire another volley. Werner braces, dodging the sheer cannon fire before jumping straight up to latch onto one of the CM-1200’s. Werner swiftly reduces the warship to scrap, hopping between each warship to do the same. In the matter of seconds, the sky was filled with burning scraps and falling ships, Etho flying up to avoid anything falling on top of him. “Why did this have to happen? Why can't you ever just give up?” Etho mutters to himself, not truly asking Werner. “DON'T QUESTION MY METHODS!” Werner suddenly interjects, appearing in Etho’s face for a powerful haymaker. XM-08 uproots, catching Werner out of the air with its jaw as XF-04 charges its railgun and inferno cannon. XM-08 slams into the ground, throwing Werner aside for a tail flick. XF-04 fires its railgun and inferno cannon; Werner dodges the railgun shot and gets caught in the inferno cannon beam. XM-08 charges its mouth cannon fully, Etho following behind with his hand cannon. Werner endures all 3 blasts at once, soon adapting perfectly. Though at that moment, Werner unlocked another ability: Cluster bursts. Werner uses a cluster burst, tearing directly through the beams, with the added shocks propelling him forward. Werner grabs onto XF-04’s inferno cannon, tearing it straight off before throwing it aside. Etho flies over, body-slamming Werner into a nearby mountain. Werner slams Etho into the mountainside, using a stage 4 burst to completely shatter the mountain and surrounding land. Werner pulls out his somehow intact radio, calling for every Rod of God to be dropped. Etho hears the command, shoving Werner aside to rush directly to space.  Werner follows straight after Etho, redirecting him to land on a nearby moon. Werner rips Etho across the moon's surface, Etho calling the planet buster moments later to shatter the moon they stand on.
Werner shoves Etho aside, using the force to send himself back to the planet. Etho follows suit, crashing into Werner midair to slam him back into the ground. Werner headbutts Etho, briefly stunning him before chucking him away into a nearby hill. Werner climbs out of the rubble, laying eyes on Etho only half a mile away. Werner uses a stage 1 healing burst, slowly running at Etho as Etho does the same. Werner starts with a leg sweep, Etho jumping up for an axe kick. Werner parries the kick, leading with a palm strike. Etho redirects the palm, shoulder-bashing Werner for a follow-up kick. Werner grabs the kick as Etho pulls it back, slamming Etho down once and throwing him far back. As Etho recovers, he checks his Mech vitals and realizes they're all down.

Godly finale

 “I guess it's time for the last resort. Werner, I present my absolute solver, the pinnacle of my technological prowess, my skeleton key. I present: the MF-99.” Etho announces, a large humanoid mech crossing the horizon, though much larger than any human. Werner acts instantly, rushing down MF-99. MF-99 extends a plasma blade, tearing through the ground Werner stands on. Werner swiftly dodges every strike, not trying to find out how lethal this new mech's weapons are. MF-99 slams the ground with its fist, uprooting the land around it to reduce visibility. Werner uses a cluster burst to clear the surroundings and slam directly into the mech. Etho flies over, grabbing onto Werner and pulling him off the mech. Werner uses a propulsion burst, throwing Etho into a nearby mountain. MF-99 backhands Werner aside; Etho climbs out of the mountain and takes out a small firearm. ‘Is he a fucking idiot? The hell is a 9MM going to do?’ Werner thinks to himself, Etho firing the pistol moments later. A large blink of light shines from the pistol's tip, a powerful ring ripping through the air with a shock. Werner attempts to ground himself, the wave of whatever the fuck Etho shot pushing him back. Werner soon adapts, unlocking yet another ability: exploding bursts. Werner uses an explosive burst around himself, forcing the mysterious force pushing him to halt momentarily. Etho blocks as Werner escapes the force, blocking two strikes from Werner before MF-99 breaks Werner’s combo with one powerful jab. Werner resists the pushing force, using two propulsion bursts to nullify the punch’s impact. MF-99 activates the seismic leveler in its arm, sending Werner off with a strong impact. Etho appears behind Werner, catching him in a portal and bringing him to an alien city. Werner grabs Etho by the neck again, chucking him into a nearby skyscraper as MF-99 follows through the portal. “This is possibly the stupidest decision you’ve made in years.” Werner sneers. “I assumed you had any morality for the weak; I guess I'm incorrect,” Etho replies, MF-99 firing one large plasma beam at Werner. At that moment, Werner had adapted and upgraded his stat bursts. Werner uses a stage 2 strength burst, the stat upgrade leaking into his durability to nullify the beam of energy. Werner tears through the plasma with newfound power, grasping onto MF-99’s arm. Etho fires hundreds of micro missiles, using them as cover for a rushdown. MF-99 flicks Werner off, using its seismic leveler to give Werner a truly world-shaking punch. Werner throws his own punch, using a stage 2 impact burst to completely nullify the forces of the seismic leveler. A large shock rips through the air at the impact, sending everyone back.
Werner plants his feet, redirecting every micro missile and rushing directly at Etho again.
Etho backhands Werner’s punch, backing away a slight distance before taking out another pistol. Werner tenses, not knowing what Etho has for this pistol. Etho fires the gun, a large tornado of pure flames roaring out moments after. Werner attempts to disperse it with an explosion burst; it only shakes the tornado briefly. At that moment, Werner had unlocked yet another ability: Elemental bursts. Werner uses a frost cluster burst, completely freezing the entire tornado over another, trapping Etho. MF-99 appears behind Werner, delivering one powerful kick to get him away from Etho. Werner uses an explosion burst as he’s struck, blowing MF-99 back and allowing himself to recover.
“I’ve grown tired of this worthless fight; I’ll finish this here and NOW!” Werner exclaims. Etho pulls another pistol, firing an entire black hole directly towards Werner. Werner uses a stage 5 burst; the explosion implodes back at Werner as he throws one strong jab. The edges of reality shatter at Werner’s punch, completely erasing the black hole with his strength. MF-99 charges instantly, hitting one haymaker on Werner to send him away. Etho breathes heavily, wondering how he could beat Werner at this point. Werner uses another stage 3 burst,  jumping up and slamming directly into the planet, destabilizing the planet and shattering it. Etho braces as the planet shatters, latching onto any piece of flying debris. MF-99 fully charges its plasma cannon, firing directly at Werner. Etho calls the planet buster to fire at Werner as well, forcing Werner to tank two relentless beams of plasma. Werner suddenly uses a cluster propulsion burst, tearing out of the plasma and landing atop the planet buster the next second. Etho watches as the planet buster is reduced to burning scrap, slowly losing his hope of winning.
Werner appears behind MF-99, hitting an overpowering right hook to send the mech to a nearby moon. Etho flies at Werner, spawning a portal behind him to push him through another planet. Werner flips their position, slamming Etho back into the planet as it explodes. Etho’s armor endures, its plating slowly breaking. Werner rushes at Etho again, unlocking yet another ability: Implosive bursts. Werner uses the implosive burst, the planet’s fragments forming back together with Etho flying away from the pull of gravity. Etho escapes just barely, witnessing Werner unlock just one last ability: projectile bursts. Werner fires one projectile at the newly formed planet, blowing it to pieces yet again. Another portal opens, MF-99 uppercutting Werner with its seismic leveler. Werner punches back, jabbing at the mech's punch and decimating its right arm. MF-99 attempts to use its intact left arm, but Werner blocks and tears it off the next second. MF-99 goes for one last intense plasma blast from its mouth; Werner's palm strikes its chest with an impact burst, reducing MF-99 to scrap. Etho charges Werner, pushing him through a portal back to the original planet they started on. Werner pushes Etho back, following up with a potent haymaker. Etho dodges the punch, using his portal gun to rapidly change places until he finds Azalo-G. Werner grabs Etho by the leg, and Etho uses the last bit of energy in his portal gun to send Azalo-G back to Earth. Werner slams Etho into the ground, relentlessly punching his armor till the plates start to shatter. As Etho’s Terra suit finally breaks, a strong shock rips around him. Werner is pushed back, landing only a few meters away. Etho is left bare, his lack of armor and any other special weapons making him completely vulnerable.

Hatred

“STOP!” Etho yells out, holding his hands up. “Why should I listen? You act like all of them. Just a parasite in my way. A pest in my path.” Werner says with his usual commanding tone. “P…Please. Just tell me, why are you even doing this?” Etho questions, through his groans and coughs. “So you seek truth, respectable. I guess I’ll educate you:
It started at my birth, so much… potential in one single being. But of course, maybe it was too much. Humans began to crusade against my kind, leaving nothing but wastelands of corpses where we stood. My family stood last; I witnessed them die in front of me. At those moments, I held hope for being forgiven… I thought I could redeem my races, quote-unquote: mistake. The truth? The gods did it. You all thought I was tortured for only what? 500? 1000? 5000 years? Wrong, all of them. The real value stretched upon the stars. Did you seriously think a being like me was just shrugged off after the gods found me in captivity? No, THEY PARTICIPATED. For EONS I was stuck in that cave, years overlapping the decades. I felt EVERYTHING, every little crack, every swing, EVERY MICROSECOND HURT.  It wasn't even close to just 5000 years. Oh fucking boy, if it was 5000 years, I’d be so damn happy. The gods thought a time loop would do me best and kept me there for longer than people can imagine. I felt EVERY POSSIBLE METHOD OF HURT BE ENACTED ONTO ME. FOR LITERAL EONS I WAS STUCK. Then it came; I saw light for the first time in so many gruesome… unholy years. I thought I’d be celebrated, a hero for being so daring. I assumed my name would be a story for others to gain hope from. But when I discovered the truth… It was horrible. All those years spent in the worst possible fate one living being could describe, and I was still looked upon like a monster. I DON'T EVEN KNOW MY NAME! DO YOU THINK MY MOTHER WOULD NAME ME WERNER?! NO, SHE WOULDN'T. I tried to uphold a good image for my past actions. I attempted to help those who required it. But every interaction led to the same outcome: HATE. Now, fast-forward to just a month ago. I’ve begun my hunt for the gods because they caused all my pain. It all looped back to humans. See, humans are parasites. They don't want to cause harm, but with their nature, they can't help but do it. God feasts on this harm, this pain, this death. But of course, someone has to be an outlier in the gods fucked up plan to live forever. This person is the beacon of hope. They are one unaffected by the gods' will, one to truly free all else and become a greater ruler. The gods HATE this person. So they command the others to slaughter the beacon of hope and their race to ensure the gods’ plan never ceases. Now this usually works, except for one tiny… formidable detail. This ‘beacon of hope ’ is ME! And with all said and done, the last piece of the puzzle has to fall into place. The extinction of all living beings possible. Eons given to that THING, I refuse to be subjugated in a multiverse of scripted events.
Etho, I trust you to take who you can and live a life of love. You have the means to protect who you want when the multiverse resets… And lastly: I hope you understand why this has to happen. You are a valiant rat, Etho. I’m sorry for how blunt I am. But I have a job to do. Goodbye.” Werner rants, walking over to the universe bouncer and teleporting moments later.