Judge and Executioner

Judge and Executioner, previously titled "The Arbiter Battles", was the first story to be written concerning the Villains Multiverse. It is written on the Villains Wiki, and due to the scattered nature of the story, it is unable to be brought over to the Villains RPG Wiki. The story featured the debut appearances of Arbiter, Rune, Tueor, Saber, The Secrets, and Malovus.

The story happens at a time when Arbiter was still insane from the power of Order, and traveling throughout the universes, destroying countless worlds that he deemed immoral and unfit to continue.

This story happens long before The Demigod Saga. It spawned the idea of the Multiverse, which then evolved into the Multiverse today as we know it. And now, it shall be rewritten in a way that avoids continuity errors.

CHARACTERS THAT MUST PARTICIPATE (Rune and Tueor... pretty please?): CHARACTERS THAT WILL BE ADDED:
 * Rune
 * Tueor
 * Saber (Saber X-1138 will not be returning to the wiki. I will use his character for him.)
 * Arbiter
 * Ruichi
 * Nebula
 * Tulwar

PROLOGUE
The image of a man with hollow, golden eyes floated in the void of space. His face revealed no trace of emotion as he looked down upon the distant, blue planet that he was heading toward. Like a god descending from the heavens, the man descended toward this world that everyone knew as Earth...

Days later, this very same man stood at the Oval Office of the White House in America's capitol, confronting the president himself, who cowered back in his chair.

"...as I understand it... you are the president of this country, correct?"

"Y-yes..." President Morris responded.

"...Then hear my message." the man said with mechanical boldness. "I have given this message to every major world leader already, and you are the last... I have arrived here from a distant world to judge your planet. If the people of this world possess morality in their hearts... then this world will be spared from my wrath. However, if the humans of Earth fail my test... then every last one of you will be judged with death...

"W-what?" stuttered President Morris. "W-who do you think you are-"

A burst of green flames erupts in the figure's hand, forming into an enormous blade, which he then slams into the floor. President Morris yelled and cowered back in fright.

"...You ask me who I think I am...? I am the judge... the Arbiter... I am a god..." he responds with disturbing and unnatural calm.

"...I will leave this planet and return in a short time to test you human mortals..." the Arbiter says as he turns and walks out of the room, through the open doors into the carnage and bodies strewn in the halls mere minutes earlier...

CHAPTER 1
Feel free to start anywhere in the universe. In Chapter 2 the heroes will begin to band together, so at least try to make your way toward Earth. If you're a User who would like to include your own character who is on a Power Tier equal to or lower than Arbiter's, feel free.

Rune
Holding her sword composed of fire, Rune gasped for breath. She had been fighting off Omega's monsters for roughly an hour. "They must been thinning out by now," she thought, exhausted. She swung her sword from left to right, unleashing several fire waves at the monsters, incinerating tons of them. Finally, the army appeared to be defeated. Rune's sword vanished, and she fell to the grass, breathing heavily.

A tall figure with long, emerald hair and glowing golden eyes strode past her. In his hand was a thick greatsword, and his face was devoid of all empathy.

Rune watched him pass. "What the-?" she muttered. She thought, "Is that a human?"

The figure gave her no notice as he continued to walk toward the direction that the monster army came from.

Rune got to her feet quickly and called after him. "Hey, be careful! There could still be more monsters on their way here!"

The figure stops. Without even sparing her a glance, he speaks: "Who are you... to worry about one of no consequence to your pitiful life?"

Rune was slightly hurt at his words. "Pitiful life? I'm trying to protect the human race from enslavement. And if you keep going that way, you might encounter some more monsters."

The figure turns around, and Rune can see his empty face, with his hollow, but intense golden eyes. "...and what makes you think your life isn't pitiful? All of these... these people... they are all nothing but meaningless souls scurrying about like insignificant insects. If you were to die today... what difference would it make to the rest of the world?"

Rune pouted. "Uhh, the rest of the world would get enslaved!" Her expression changed to a blank one. "Why do you say these people are insects?"

"People are already enslaved... to ignorance... ignorance from the reality that their individual lives hold no meaning in a sea of lies. Look at them... they burn, kill, destroy, and harm each other out of spite, sadism, and a perverted sense of justice..."

A look of sorrow came over Rune's face. "Please, be patient with mankind. It's a very flawed race, but it's evolving."

"Every world I've been to... it has been the same. All people have repeated the same selfish, violent mistakes throughout their histories... Those who call themselves defenders of justice are guilty of similar crimes commited in the name of "goodness". And you ask me to be patient with them?" the figure shakes his head. "Gods have no patience for foolish, violent, arrogant mortals."

Rune's eyes reflected determination. "Well, you can choose to be angry and upset with them, but I choose to be understanding and forgiving."

"...understanding and forgiving? The only fate that they deserve is annihilation..."

"No! Even Omega wouldn't go that far! That's just barbaric!!"

"It's the sad truth." the figure said, who didn't look the least bit saddened at all. "To truly make this universe a cosmoscape of morality, we must destroy what is corrupt and leave behind only those whom are pure. Few worlds have escaped judgement by my hands."

"So you just destroy something that doesn't conform to your beliefs?! And you're going to try to wipe out mankind?! I can't let you do that!" Rune's sword materialized in her hand.

"...your desire to protect people is noble... however..." the figure swings his sword in an arc that sends a blast of energy at Rune, which tears apart the ground and smashes into Rune; "...the race you protect has already sealed your fate..."

Rune is stricken to the ground, and yells in pain. She lies on her back, reaching for her sword, which is mere inches away from her hand.

"...you cannot face me, child... you have no hope against a god..."

Rune slowly gets up, and takes her sword in her hands. "So, you'll also just wipe out anything that gets in your way, huh? Or do you also see me as a wicked creature for my mere desire to protect mankind?"

"...Your demise will be a pity... but it is inconsequential in the grander scale of things...

Rune, having heard enough, charged at the figure, gripping her sword tightly in rage.

The figure simply waits until she is nearby, until he parries Rune's blow with unthinkable speed and precision. The force behind his attack is enough to push Rune back a small distance.

Rune holds her sword out in front of her. "Mankind has good in it," she states. "It just needs more time to develop. Humans will become more pure as time goes on."

"...they've had their chance."

Rune's glare deepens. "Huh. I can see that it's no good trying to reason with you. Know this, I will either save mankind from you, or die trying."

"...I have no wish to kill you at this time... I do not wish to kill a morally good person with this blade..."

Rune jumps in the air and lands in his path. "If you want to destroy mankind, you'll have to kill me!"

"...as you wish..."

Shafts of green, glowing energy form around the figure. The shafts hurl themselves at Rune as to impale her.

Rune raises a fire barrier around her to protect herself.

The energy runs right through the flaming wall and right through Rune herself, impaling her but leaving no mark; just pain.

"...foolish child... a little fire cannot stop a god..."

Rune staggers backwards, gasping for breath, holding her stomach in pain.

The figure places the tip of his blade near her throat. "Yield." he commands. "You cannot hope to best me..."

Rune jumps backwards, and holds her blade out. "I will never yield to you."

The figure regards Rune for a moment, then he puts down his blade and walks away. "Then our business here is done... There is another planet called Earth that I must attend to... If you think you can stop me, confront me there..." Arbiter flies into the air, and into the skies, disappearing into the void of space.

Rune watches as Arbiter flies away. She drops to one knee, and rests for a moment. Then, she climbs back to her feet, and flies upward, giving chase. Soon, however, she slams right into Omega, who had been hovering in the air. "Damn it, Omega!"

Omega smiles. "Oh, sorry, Rune."

Rune looks up, trying to spot Arbiter, but he's long gone.

"Where are you off to?"

Rune grabs Omega's shoulders, and said, "Omega, do you know where Earth is?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Why?! Whaddya' mean why?! Didn't you see what just happened?! There's a guy with godlike powers trying to destroy the human race!"

"Oh, my. That is quite troublesome. If he destroys them, I won't be able to enslave them. But what were you planning to do, follow him into space?"

Rune's eyes shift around. "I...wasn't thinking."

"Listen, if you want to give chase, then come with me. I know a thing or two about portals."

Reluctantly, Rune agrees to go with Omega.

Tueor & Saber
Tueor lay in a field on his planet of Tregon. Not much happening except he felt at peace. He had nowhere to go, nowhere to live. Just as the sun started setting Tueor closed his eyes, ready for his rest.

In the distance, however, a figure seemed to literally descend out of the sky, glowing with an aura of green flames after a few seconds, the figure touched the ground.

At the sight of the figure Tueor stood up to see what was going on. Whats going on? Tueor thought to himself as he watched the figure touch the ground.

The figure simply stood were he was, unmoving.

Tueor walks closer to the figure, "Hello?" Tueor says.

The figure's back was already turned to him, and he did not even turn around to see Tueor approaching. "Leave me." he said. "You have no business with me, mortal."

"Well, excuuuse me. What are you doing here?"

The figure spins around. Tueor can see that his face is devoid of all empathy and his golden eyes seem to shine with intense power. "I am here... to pass judgement upon this planet..."

"Why would you judge this planet?" Tueor askes. "What would that do?"

"It will cleanse this universe... of another wasteland filled with sin and evil..."

"Is that your idea of cleaning the universe? Seems more of a step backward to me."

"...To annihilate all evil can ony be... a step forward. Only then... can the universe truly progress..."

"How do you know you are annihilating all evil?"

"I tire of your questions, mortal... I see that this planet contains corruption, and sin. People burn, kill, slaughter, lie, cheat, take advantage of each other... it would simply be better for the universe... if I were to wipe this entire planet away. I don't expect a mere insect like you... to understand.

Tueor folds his arms and looks serious. "I cant have you do that you know."

"...what insect has a chance when battling against a whirlwind?" the figure says. "...If you think you can stop me... go on ahead."

"Im stronger than I look." Tueor gets into a fighting stance, preparing physically as well as mentaly for what may happen next.

"We shall see... Tueor. Yes, I know your name... I can see it in your badly shielded mind."

"I wasnt trying to shield my mind. My thoughts are of no importance to you so there is no need to hide them." With that Tueor throws an arm forward and the figure finds his feet frozen to the ground.

"...Your thoughts are all the more important than you realize... with your thoughts, I can see well the extent of your ability... you have no chance."

"Really? Is that what you think?"

The figure barely shifts his finger; the ice around his feet shatters. "Are you not going to attack? The fate of your world rests in the impossibility of my defeat..."

"Impossible is a very definate word, I believe you should have said' The fate of your world rests in the possibility of my defeat.'!" With that Tueor runs at the figure.

The figure holds out his palm at Tueor; Tueor stops, and begins to hover in midair, obviously being levitated by the figure. In his other hand, The figure summons a large greatsword with a burst of green flames.

Tueor smiles. He causes a sharp wind to blast the figure and causes him to lose focus for only a moment. When the figure turned back to Tueor, he wasnt there.

The figure snaps his fingers; Tueor finds his entire body unable to move. "...you are a wily one, I will give you that much..." the figure says, turning toward where he is. "And it was a mistake on my part to lose focus. However... no matter what you do... it will not happen again..."

When the figure looked in the direction he knew Tueor was in, he did not see him. Then Tueor caused a cold wind to flow by the figure making ice form all over the figures body, restricting his movements, and the figure finds that the cold air was not moving from his body.

The figure sighs. Then the ice around his body dissipates. An explosion of pure energy emanates from his form, and in a flash of bright light, an enormous crater is blown in the planet's surface. Tueor, caught in the explosion, finds his strength quickly ebbing away. The figure ensnares him with his telekinesis and brings him up to his eye level.

"...this... is only a small fraction of my true power." the figure said with no emotion. "Against the real me, you would be decimated in an instant..." the figure raises his blade. "Goodbye... Tueor..."

"Hah! Finally found you! Arbiter!" an angry voice hollers out.

A starship appears, hovering nearby them, with a new figure in it's cockpit. The figure leaps out of his seat, standing on the wing of his ship, with a laser gun pointed directly at Arbiter's head. He fires; the blast collides with his target's head.

Suddenly, Arbiter disappears; the force holding Tueor vanishes, dropping him into the crater.

Tueor (no visible) gets out of the crater using the power of wind. "Who are you?" he askes the man with the gun.

"...Saber." Saber said. Reaching into his belt, Saber extracted a blade that, once he held it in his hand, began to glow with energy.

Suddenly, three Arbiters appear, all floating in the air.

"Impressive for an insect..." one of the Arbiters said, "But like I said before... you stand no chance against a god..."

"Burn in Hell, Arbiter!" Saber snarls, leaping out at the Arbiter that spoke, who simply dodged Saber's attack. Saber rolled along the ground as he landed, unscathed from his fall.

When Arbiter next looks looks at where Tueor is standing, 4 of him stand. "Your not a god. And you will never be one." With that 3 of the Tueor race forward and help Saber fight the Arbiter that spoke. One Punched, one kicked, and one tackled. All from different angles and times.

A violent whirlwind of energy formed around each Arbiter, throwing off every attack that was made.

As each struck one of the Tueors dissapated into thin air. One was thrown back to the ground. And the last went straight threw and left a burn mark on one of the Arbiters as it touched it.

Saber attacked as well with his glowing blade, yet it seemed to literally pass through Arbiter. Then all three Arbiters seem to merge into one.

"This is becoming... a waste of my time..." Arbiter said. A red glow suddenly lights up in his hands- a miniature sun forms in his palm. (This is not your typical fireball- a sun can produce nuclear fusion- it's much more dangerous)

Tueor steps forward in horror. "You wouldnt do that!" The other clones go away as he says this. "Throwing that at Tregon will destroy the planet!"

"My methods of destruction are much cleaner than this..." Arbiter said. "Do not worry about this sun in my hand... I am simply revealing the true extent of my powers..."

"Grrr..." Tueor put his head down looking defeated. The he looks up in anger, "No matter how strong you are, I wont let you destroy this planet, even if it means my life."

Arbiter seems to think on this for a moment. "Very well then..." the sun dissipates in his hand. "...I will return to this world later. At this moment, there is... another planet that must face it's judgement... If you wish to stop me, find me on Earth..."

With those words Arbiter flies into the depths of space and dissappears.

"Dammit..." mutters Saber.

"Lets do it." Tueor says to Saber. "Use that ship of yours and fly us to Earth. Now."

"No..." Sabar said. "You stay behind. If anyone's taking out that bastard, it's going to be me..."

"But didnt you just hear? If i want to stop him I have to go to Earth too. There is no reason why I should stay behind."

"No... sorry, kid, but Arbiter's MINE."

"Please, you couldnt take him by yourself."

Saber sighs. "If you get in my way-"

"I wont. Not intentionally anyway."

"...fine."

Ruichi & Nebula
Ruichi sat underneath the limp branches of a willow tree, staring at the night sky with lonliness in his eyes. A scythe lay at his feet in the soft glance, whose metallic blade glowed softly in the moonlight. He sighed. He was on a journey to nowhere in particular- no clear destination, no home to return to.

He was only 12.

He reflected a moment on his past; a personal history of fleeting joy, greatly overshaodwed by tragedy after painful tragedy.

Ruichi began to stand. He was almost up entirely on his feet when a pink mass about his size barreled into him at high speed, knocking him to the ground. Groaning in pain, Ruichi began to get up, only to find the pink mass- a translucent girl that glowed like a soft flame- standing above him.

"Omigosh, Omigosh, Omigosh, are you okay mister?" the girl exclaimed with concern. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there..."

Ruichi merely stares back at her with his empty eyes, not saying a word- he was more of the dark and brooding type, and as such, didn't speak to anyone much.

"...What's the matter?" Nebula asked. "Can you speak?"

Ruichi didn't respond.

"Do you have a name?" she asked.

Still no response.

"Ok, then, mister nameless person..."

"...Ruichi." Ruichi responded.

"Oh goody, you talked!" Nebula squealed with glee. "My name's Nebula! So where are you going, Ruichi?"

"...nowhere... I have nowhere to go..."

"Hm... well, then, I'm coming with you!"

"...but..."

"No buts!" Nebula squealed. "Let's go..."

But as soon as she touched his arm, there was a flash of pink light and the two disappeared...

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" Nebula cried. She and Ruichi had appeared on an entirely different world. "I messed up again! I'm so sorry Ruichi..."

"...I don't mind..." Ruichi began to say, before gunshots and screams sounded from a nearby building. Ruichi glanced over at it for a moment, before taking up his scythe and heading in the direction of the chaos.

"Ruichi, wait!" Nebula exclaimed.

Five hooded men pointed guns at the scared civilains, who crouched against the walls in fear. "Nobody move!" one of the men hollered; "This is a-"

Interrupting his sentence was Ruichi, who smashed the door down with his scythe.

"Freeze, ki-" the hooded gunman began to yell, before Ruichi darted forth with inhuman speed and smashed the butt of his scythe against the man's head with enough force to knock him unconscious.

"Stop!" hollered the other four gunmen, each pointing their weapons at Ruichi.

Suddenly, a firey explosion blasted between the criminals. Nebula rushed into the room, her hands pointed out.

"I'll help!" she yelled.

Ruichi darted quickly between the gunmen, attacking each one of them with the butt of his scythe. Nebula kept casting her spells, creating explosions and bursts of lightning, until each of the criminals were knocked unconscious.

Suddenly, Ruichi and Nebula found themselves swarmed by people, expressing gratitude and thanks, and expressing wonder at the fact that a couple of kids could've pulled the stunt that they just did. Nebula could see the uncomfortable look on Ruichi's face, and she pulled him away.

"I'm sorry people, but we've got someplace to go! We're happy we could help! Bye bye!"

Later, the duo were sitting on a park bench.

"Nebula..." Ruichi finally said.

"Yeah?" Nebula responded happily.

"Thanks for pulling me out of the crowd back there."

"Yeah! No problem!" a thought suddenly occured to her. "Hey," she said, "How come you fight with a scythe if you don't use the blade? Wouldn't it be easier for you to use a staff?"

Ruichi was silent for a moment. "I hate violence." he said. "But sometimes, I have to kill."

"Oh..." Nebula said. "I'm sorry."

"I think we should split up now..." Ruichi said.

"What?!" Nebula asked in shock. "Why? You're the first friend I've made in a long time!"

"Listen... I used to have friends... some of them left me, and never came back... others, they... betrayed me." Ruichi said sadly. "I don't want anymore friends. It's too painful for me..."

Nebula looked at him sadly. Then she brightened up. "Well, I'm not like those people! As your friend, I won't ever abandon you or leave and not come back! I'll always stick by your side! That's a promise!"

Ruichi looked into Nebula's eyes, and he saw in them, not only joy and naivety, but pure honesty. He sighed. "Fine, then..."

"Yay!" Nebula squealed, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly

Tulwar
~On Earth~

A cloaked figure sat lazily on a concrete building. His right leg dangled over a fourty-plus story drop, but it would seem he didn't think much of it. His finger twitched on a cold metal trigger as he gazed down a sniper scope toward his three targets.

They all sat next to each other in a conference room, maybe half a mile away from where the sniper sat, and were well-protected. Anyone that wasn't part of their dealings simply could not enter due to the armed gaurds and other various security implements. With a cover of a protection agency, very few actually knew what actually went on behind the scenes.

"Oh, the secrets of organized crime corporations." the sniper sighed to himself, mentally going through the dirt he had dug up on these criminals. Murders, illegal trades, robberies, scams. After some through digging, he had tipped off some wealthy do-gooders. And just as he thought, a bounty was quickly posted.

Sadly, he hadn't planned too far ahead. He had no way of entry and a thick sheet of bullet-proff glass now prevented his payday. That's were the sniper rifle came in... well, more specifically, the bullet inside the rifle. An expensive bullet.

It was made to fit perfectly in his trademark rifle and pistol, and to peirce just about anything. It had to do with some gizmo's inside the shell, but he didn't really understand all the tech-y things he supplier described. All he knew is that it hit harder, shot faster, and moved farther than anything in it's class.

He only had enough money to spare for two shots, so he had to get creative. He'd been sitting there all day, waiting for a shot to line up and it seemed he oppurtunity was about to show up.

The three men settled in their chairs, and a bloody and beaten man was thrown into the room. It would seem that they were preparing for some kind of interagion. "I guess it's that guy's lucky day..." he mettered, as he took a deep breath, and lined up the shot that'd impress any gun-man.

"What are you doing?" a voice suddenly says behind him.

The sniper froze. No one else could of gotten up here. He turned his head slightly, and spotted that his lock that kept the only entrance up to the roof shut. It was still on the door. ''Well crap. More of this super-natural non-sense.'' "I'll deal with you in a moment, damned spirit." He rose his rifle again. And he took the shot.

"I am no spirit..." the voice said. "...but if you are so blunt as to refer to me as such... I assume you are familiar with the supernatural?" a figure materializes upon the rooftop. He has long, emerald hair, intense golden eyes, and an enormus greatsword that was about as tall as he was.

Three heads splattered in an instant, creating an absolute mess of the confrence room. The sniper turned to face the other figure. "Not a spirit, huh? Oh, that's right. It is completly normal to randomly materialize places." His voice was plagued in sarcasm. "But, yes, I'm more familiar than I'd like to be with the supernatural. I only can see the dark variety though... You must of done some disturbing things for me to see you so clearly."

"I am no spirit..." the being said. "I am a god." He raised his blade- which shone like a second sun- then plunged it into the roof of the building. There was a large explosion as the building began to shatter and collapse. The impact released a powerful shockwave of energy that collided with every other building around it, causing several to collapse.

"Shit!" the sniper gasped. He grabbed his nearby pack and rolled off the edge of the building. As he fell to his doom, he forced the bag over his shoulders and pulled on a chord. A thick sheet pulled away from the bag, and he parachuted down into a nearby alley.

"Not a spirit." the sniper agreed, pulling a tatical knife and pistol from his side, just in case. "You trying to kill me?" There were people in that building asshole.

Meanwhile, the mysterious figure walked into the center of the debris. Spreading his hands, he began to use a form of sorcery to trace a glowing circle over the wreakage. The circle was lined with several runes and had another cocentric circle within it. The figure stood in it's center.

The sniper spotted the figure from the alley, and rushed toward him. "What do you think you're doing." he shouted angrerly, pointing the maginum at him.

"That building... simply was in my way." the figure responded. The circle he created begins to glow, and a hole forms around it; the hole is a perfect circle and appears to be insanely deep, and it begins to rapidly grow.

The sniper fires a warning shot. I'm tired of running from this supernatural shit. "You'll stop what you're doing now. I don't care who, or what, you are! I won't hesitate to kill you."

"Insects stand no chance against gods..." the figure says. The hole he created continues to grow and it's edge rapidly approaches Tulwar.

"Trust me, I'm no bug." The sniper dashed forward, shooting two shots into the figure. When he reached ledge, he lept and lunged his with blade.

Yet the figure had already disappeared. Suddenly, Tulwar found a hand clamp around his neck and was rocketing into the air; the figure had grabbed him by the throat and was flying high above the center of the growing hole, which began to devour more and more of the surrounding city...

"...all of you, petty mortals... are nothing but insects..." the figure says without a trace of emotion.

"Why are you doing this!" the sniper gasped, clutching at his throat. He kicked viciously while he stuggled for breath.

"Because I have judged the Earth to be a wasteland of sin and evil..." the figure responded calmly. "...and to truly eradicate evil, I must take the extreme measure of destroying all people of Earth, just like on every other inconsequential world that housed evil..."

"Eradicate evil? You're crazy! I've already witnessed you kill a few thousand inocents.... Some people don't have enough strength to fight evil, but I assure you that doesn't mean they housed it!" the sniper sneered. "Let me give you a prime example." He grabbed onto the figures shirt colar and pulled him self to eye level to him. "You are not welcome here." He placed a cold metal barrel against the others head and fired his second expenisive bullet.

Suddenly, the figure's eyes go blank as the bullet rips through his skull; however, this results in Tulwar being dropped toward the seemingly bottomless hole...

I actually didn't think that'd work...  The sniper thought to himself as he fell. He met eyes with the others blank stare, and watched with a strange calm as the grenade he had slipped into the figures shirt detonated. Turning to face the deep hole, he sighed. "Well... I guess I had a good run."

(dammit- I hate when I do that...)

Suddenly, the figure reappears, unscathed, floating in midair. He grabs Tulwar by his ankle and flies away quickly, dropping him onto a building just outside the circumference of the hole.

The sniper grunted as he hit the concrete roof. He stood up slowly. "You're hard to kill..."

"...indeed." the figure said. "It would be difficult... to slay a god..."

"A god would mold what already exsists to his whim. Not destroy what he cannot connot control... Your powers are impressive though." the sniper admitted. "You're definately not human."

The figure simply stares at Tulwar for a moment, before a glowing sphere formed in his hand. "I can mold existence to whatever I feel like..." Arbiter said. "Even here... I can create a sun in the palm of my hand. However, it is not enough." Arbiter closed his fist, causing the miniature sun to dissipate. "There is even greater power that I will obtain soon. Once I do, I will destroy this corrupted universe and mold a new one free of evil and sin."

"If you plan on killing everyone, why did you even bother bringing me here. Why not just let me fall to my demise." the sniper asked, pulling out his blade.

"...because I've decided to let you live... until the judgement day comes to pass. Perhaps then... you can show me just how much you wish to protect this world..."

"Prehaps I shall." the sniper said, raising his blade to the figure. Let's just hope I can kill you before that happens... He rushed forward, swinging his knife skillfully at the figure.

The figure disappeared in a blur, reappearing behind the other. "Too slow..." he said.

The sniper planted his front foot and kicked backwards, hitting the figure square in the chest.

The figure disappeared after the impact; then reappeared, snatching Tulwar by the collar of his shirt and hurling him into a wall. Two other copies of the figure appeared, each one holding his arms back as the real figure approached. "...I want you alive on that day, Tulwar..." the figure said. "I have my reasons... but you will not know them... I shall see you next... on the judgement day..." then each of the figures vanished, but his voice still rang out one last time-

"...On that day, I, the Arbiter, will surely pass judgement upon this evil and corrupt world..."

Tulwar wiped a small bead a sweat off his forehead. ''How did he know my name?!? ''He quickly gathered up his things and started his decent down the tall building. "I hate to admit it... but I'm going to need some help of this one."

CHAPTER 2
(All characters are on Earth at this point. We are all at an unspecified city in America, which has a gigantic 2 kilometer-wide bottomless pit torn in it's center.)

Tueor looks into the pit. "Wow, was this here before I got here?"

Rune walks over to the scene, and gazes at the chasm. "What...what could've done this?" she whispers.

"Arbiter." Saber growled, climbing out of his starship after Tueor. "That's what he called himself."

Rune turns to Saber. "You met him, too?"

Saber bows his head. "He tore a hole like this in my own world... Killed thousands of people, destroyed the temple that I called home..." Saber then looks up, with rage in his eyes. "I'm going to kill him."

"So I'm not the only one that wants him dead..." A figure with a black cloack approached the them. "We need to stop him before he becomes strong enough to destroy this planet..."

"YOU WANT SOMEONE DEAD?!" cried a loud, exciteable voice. "THAT'S TERRIBLE!"

The voice came from Nebula, who ran to the edge of the pit with the others; her companion, Ruichi, however, stayed a distance away from the rest of the group.

"That is most unfortunate." Tueor says to Saber. "And Arboter is already strong enough to destroy this planet."

"I want a lot of people dead. I'm a bounty hunter, I kill people." the figure told Nebula. "But I want 'Arbiter' dead more-so than others." The sniper sighed, and faced Tueor. "And, no. He doesn't have enough power to destory Earth yet... He told me so himself."

Tueor frowns. "Thats not what he showed me on Tregon. He made a sun in his hand, effortlessly! That in itself could destroy a planet!"

"He showed that to me as well... but apparently he doesn't beleive it's enough." the sniper replied.

Ruichi continues to stay behind, listening in to the conversation. "...what the hell are they talking about?" he thinks to himself. "It's like they are trying to fight a god..."

"Ooooohhhhhh... he wants to destroy this planet?" Nebula asked. "THAT'S NOT NICE! This planet is full of nice people!"

"Hmph. I don't really care about this world. I want Arbiter to suffer for destroying my home." Saber growled.

Rune looks around at the group. "Okay, so we all have some common ground here. Arbiter's a dangerous threat to many worlds. If we all combine our powers, we have a much better chance of stopping him."

"I'm in!" Nebula said. "I wanna protect these nice people! And Ruichi's in, too!"

Ruichi looked away, avoiding the gaze of the rest of the group.

"Working together's fine. But I will be the one to kill Arbiter." Saber said dangerously.

Rune turns to Saber. "Don't you think that would be letting him off too easy? He should be held accountable for every crime."

"Oh really?" Saber challenged. "And just how would you do that?"

Rune looked back to the chasm. "Maybe take away his powers...somehow..."

"HOW?" Saber asked. "How will we do that? The best thing we can do is hope to kill him, and hope that there is some kind of hell for his soul to burn in."

"I agree with Saber... he's killed too many people. He needs to die." the sniper said. "And why would taking away his powers change anything? It's will power that makes someone dangerous... and he definately wants to destroy this planet."

"Hee-Hee..." A voice echoes throuout the area, suddenly, out of a portal, a robed figure appears.

"...What the Hell are y-" Saber begins, only to be interrupted by Nebula's squeal.

"OMIGOSH! That's so AWESOME! Can you do it again?" she asks the robed figure.

"I know, right?! It's so amazing!!! It's like crazy and stuff!!!" The robed figure responds in a voice just as crazy as Nebula.

"...fools." Saber mutters darkly. "I'm surrounded by fools."

"Well, you think I'm foolish?" The robed figure's voice suddenly changes in pitch. "Arbiter has these powers for a reason, no?" his voice changes again. "I believe you should be a bit happier for the fact that I'm here."

"...what do you know?" Saber asked demandingly. "What are you?"

"I am the embodiment of a Secret." The robed figure replies.

Rune eyes the figure suspiciously. "Can you really help us?"

"You should help us! 'Cause you're awesome!" Nebula exclaimed.

"...He never offered us help." Ruichi said quietly, speaking for the first time.

"I didn't say I would help. I will, merely assist you when come close to dangers your about to face, and move into the correct direction. Hee-Hee. See you, for now." The Secret vanishes into nothingness.

"Bye bye!" Nebula said. "Come back again!"

Rune crossed her arms. "Well, hopefully we can trust him."

"...never trust anyone." Saber mutters.

Rune grimaces at Saber. "I understand you're upset about your home being destroyed. But don't distrust everyone because of it."

Saber's face suddenly turns feral. "SHUT UP, GIRL! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!"

Nebula screams in fear and hides behind Rune. Ruichi steps in between them and holds out his scythe at Saber.

"HAVE YOU EVER LOST ANYTHING?! HAVE YOU?! TELL ME!!!" Saber continued to roar.

Rune's eyes reflected sadness. "I have lost many things in my life, but have not experienced a loss as great as yours. However, if you distrust everyone, you will only make yourself more miserable."

Saber looks as if he's about to speak, until he stops, sighs, and looks away. "It's not that I want to be miserable. But I have my reasons for not trusting any of you."

Rune smiles at him, and said, "I think, in time, we will all become great friends."

Tueor stands back and remains calm abou everything that was going on. "hmph." He says after all the business was through.

"Yeah! Let's be friends!" Nebula squealed gleefully, squeezing Rune with a friendly hug.

"Thats so typical of girls." Tueor notes.

"Sexist. Sexist!" Nebula whines.

The sound of a loud explosion occurs as a hellish burst of green energy erupts from the pit.

The sniper had already sat away from the group, and had blended into his surroundings. I'm guessing 'Arbiter' is about to make an appearance. He thought to himself as he pulled out his rifle. He may not have any powers, but he bet a few good shots could turn the tide of battle.

At the sight of the monstrous energy burst, Nebula screams in fright. Ruichi takes up his scythe looking around frantically.

"What the HELL?!" Saber exclaims.

The energy stretches up into the sky, then forms a line that stretches into the horizon.

Viewed from the depths of space, seven blasts of energy shoot up from the earth, forming points that become connected by glowing lines of energy. A circle begins to form around the shape, creating a ring around the planet.

"...it has begun." Arbiter said, materializing in thin air, hovering between the party and the blast of energy.

Shit...  The sniper thought to himself. He prepared himself to assist the assult his new allies were sure to make.

Rune summoned her sword, glaring at Arbiter. "Stop this, Arbiter!!"

Arbiter looks down upon each of the heroes. "How simple it would be... to simply crush each one of you...." he says, his voice echoing within their minds (including Tulwar's). "...But first... you are going to serve my purpose..."

Rune, growing angrier by the second, shouts, "We'll never serve your awful purpose!"

Tueor glares in anger. "It about time you showed up. And even if you can crush us in a one on one, I bet we can beat you all together!"

"Overconfidence... will bring you nowhere..." Arbiter said.

"And underestimation always kills a villain."

"...all that matters to me is that I can crush you all like insects... but I won't. You will serve my purpose first..." A ball of energy appears in Arbiter's hand, which then splits into several energy beams that rain down on the party.

Tueor runs around dodging the fatal rain.

Rune raises a barrier of fire around the group, and gets tired from the strain.

Tulwar notices Rune's strain and knows the protection won't stay for much longer. He aims his rifle toward the beams and readies himself to deflect them away from his allies.

Arbiter waves his hand- the beams disappear. He lands on the ground in front of the heroes with an enormous blade in his hand- a greatsword that was as tall as he was.

Rune lowers the barrier, and glares at Arbiter, her hands tightened into fists.

Tueor summons two chakrums (similar in style to those of Axel from Kingdom Hearts) and holds them at the ready. "Rune, all the glaring in the world wont change this monster. We have to convince him in another way."

Rune summoned her fire sword, and held it at her side. "Just trying to think of a plan...he's too powerful to take down by normal means..."

Arbiter leaps at Rune, swinging his giant sword in an arc.

Rune hold her sword up in the air, horizontally, attempting to block Arbiter's sword.

Saber lept at Arbiter, wielding his own blade that crackled with energy. Arbiter parried Saber's blow, and blocked another slash from Ruichi's scythe, before releasing a burst of energy that threw everyone else back a small distance.

Tueor jumped back to avoid getting hit by the burst of energy and as soon as it went away he threw his chakrums at Arbiter one right after the other aimed at different parts of his body.

Rune swung her sword several times, unleashing numerous waves of fire at Arbiter.

Arbiter uses his powers to dissipate the flames while he uses his sword to block the chakrums with enough force to knock them away a distance.

Rune jumps in the air and swings her sword right at Arbiter, attempting to hit his shoulder.

Her attack is blocked by a quick swipe of Arbiter's sword. Ruichi and Saber both dash at Arbiter, only to find their attacks blocked as well.

Rune presses her hands together, and a volcano forms from the ground to her right. It erupts, and she swiftly guides the lava towards Arbiter.

Nebula flies up in the air and creates an explosion that engulfs Arbiter; however, Arbiter leaps into the air, unaffected, and lands behind the heroes.

Tueor calls the charkums to his hands and quickly turns and attemps to punch Arbiter with the sharp points on his weapon.

Tulwar curses to himself. I'm not  going to get a worthwhile shot like this! He pulled out his dual tatical knifes and charged forward with Tueor, positioning himself on other side of Arbiter and forming a flank. He sliced at blinding speeds with one blade, and held the other defensively.

Arbiter formed a vortex of energy around himself that blocked Tulwar's strikes and threw him a short distance back.

Tulwar rolls to his feet and pulls out his magnums. He aims and fires wildly at Arbiter.

Tueor does similarly and throws his chakrums at Arbiter.

Spinning his sword blindingly fast, Arbiter manages to block every incoming projectile.

Tueor and Tulwar slowly close the distance on Arbiter again, but stay just out of range of Arbiter's sword.

The projectiles become harder to block now that the shots have less distance to travel to hit their target. Tulwar cirles around Arbiter again, so that he would have to block bullets and chakrums from opposite sides.

Arbiter unleashes another burst of energy that throws everyone else back. A strange, glowing circle appears on the ground just below his feet; the circle is adorned with numerous runes and symbols, and had a triangle inscribed within it.

Rune gets up after being thrown back, and presses her hands together. A meteor engulfed in fire falls from the sky, headed straight for Arbiter.

Tulwar rolled to his feet once again and reloaded his guns. (I think Tulwar must of stole Skelter Helter's guns from 'No More Heroes'... Tulwar almost never reloads his pistols.)

Saber leaps back and begins to charge a ball of electricity in his hands. Nebula does similarly with a ball of flame.

Ruichi leaps at Arbiter, scythe raised. However, as he reaches the perimeter of the circle, his scythe seems to strike an invisible wall.

The meteor picks up speed, the flame around it growing bigger.

Despite the incoming attacks, Arbiter continues to hold his ground.

The meteor collides with Arbiter. Rune watches in anticipation, waiting for the dust to clear. "Did that do it?" she thought.

CHAPTER 3
As the dust clears, Arbiter emerges, yet there is something entirely different about his appearance at this point; instead of his usual emotionless stance, he grins madly and black energy seems to swirl around him.

"Thank you, mortals..." Arbiter said. "You were the last I needed to serve my purpose."

Rune takes a step back, a look of horror on her face. "No," she exclaims breathlessly. "What happened?"

"You've awoken the power that I needed to effectively reshape this entire universe... I held the power of Order... you gave me the power of Chaos..."

"And just how did we do that!?" Tulwar angrily exclaimed.

"...you weren't the first heroes to ever battle me. There have been many thousands who have lent their power to me. With your power added to theirs, I called forth the power of Chaos- That, plus the power of Order, gives me access to the power of Balance. The very power that holds this universe together."

Rune glares at Arbiter. "What do you plan on doing with it?! Destroying the entire universe?!"

"Of course. To create, we must first destroy. I will destroy this corrupted universe and reshape it into a sanctuary of justice and morality. Oppose me further, and I will strike you down now..."

"Go to Hell, Arbiter." Saber snarls.

"If you destroy everything you will be left with nothing. You can't build your sancturary from nothing." Tueor says.

"...of course I cannot. I am not erasing the universe from existence... I am destroying it and rebuilding from the ruins..." Arbiter reasoned.

"...we won't let you..." Ruichi said quietly, gripping his scythe.

"You cannot stop me." Arbiter said, opening his palm. A glittering, black ball appeared in his hand, which soon flashed with blinding light and formed what appeared to be a massive array of tiny stars and galaxies within seconds.

"I'm sure we'll find some way..." Tulwar said. He aimed his rifle and fired a bullet into Arbiter's hand that was holding the dark orb.

The bullet, however, sunk into the orb, disappearing into it's depths. "You don't understand..." Arbiter said. "I am doing what is right by destroying this corrupt universe... why can you not see it?"

"You're insane..." Saber growled. "You're a madman... a murderer... and I will keep fighting you, no matter how this ends..."

"...Fighting?" Arbiter asks. Each hero suddenly feels a powerful force constrict around their throat, and lift them into the air. "Resisting me will not be a fight. It will merely be an end. Perish now, flawed mortals..."

Suddenly, portals form near each of the heroes, pulling them in, away from Arbiter...

The portals closed; each of the heroes found themselves on a bronze platform, around which churned numerous gears and other such machinery. But the truly shocking part was the sky- Stars glimmered, comets streaked by, two planets hovered, and nebulae painted the black canvas of space.

Rune, clutching her fire sword in her hand at her side, looked around with great wonder. "Where in the nine hells are we?"

"And more importantly, what of Arbiter?!" Saber growls. "He could be destroying the Earth right now!"

"Pretty..." Nebula says, watching the skies and not paying attention to the conversation at hand. Ruichi remained silent.

A short distance away, the figure of a man appeared, his form flickering like static. He approached the heroes.

Tulwar scowled at their situation and waited for the man to speak.

Upon closer inspection, the man had jet-black hair and was wearing a white lab-coat. He regards the heroes for a moment, before turning around, uttering two words:

"Follow me."

Tulwar checks his guns, to make sure they were loaded, and follows the figure.

"Why should we trust you?" Saber challenges. Nebula looks about uncertainly. Ruichi is deathly silent.

"Because I have your only hope of destroying Arbiter," the man said without turning around.

"And how do you know that?" Tulwar asked.

Rune follows cautiously. "Let's see what he has, everyone."

"Arbiter has gained the power of Balance." the figure said, leading them to the base of a shrine. "Balance is an energy that flows through this Universe like a web of cosmic string... it IS the abstract essence from which the universe is formed. Now that Arbiter has it, he is powerful enough to mold the very fabric of space-time like clay; he can create his own, "perfect" universe. You can't fight him at the power level you are at now; doing so would be suicide."

Rune nods. "Alright. Then what do you propose we do?"

"Even the playing field." the figure said, beginning to walk up the steps of the shrine. I have transported the four of you here to Celestia City... a ruin filled with ancient technology and arcane magics. Also, the resting place of a certain weapon that will assist you against those of god-like power. The Cherub's Gate."

Rune raised an eyebrow. "The Cherub's Gate? What exactly is that?"

The figure was silent as they reached the top of the stairs and entered the shrine.

As soon as they stepped in, hundreds of flaming torches lining the walls lit, bathing the cavernous room in light. At the very end of the room sat a pedestal, with the hilt of a sword poking out.

"The Cherub's Gate is ahead." the figure said. "You, girl- take it."

Rune took a step back, stunned. "Me?"

"Ooooh, why her?" Nebula asks curiously.

"Yes, you." the figure says, ignoring Nebula.