SHIELDS UP, SWORDS OUT
Shields up, swords out.
For the battle rages on.
A symphony of steel ringing from sheaths carries into the air. A collective of familiar faces, all clad in shining armor, standing on one end of the open field. Ready to defend. Prepared to charge into glorious battle as the violins of “Reign of Vengeance” by Dream Chasers opens the scene.
On the other side of the field, a battalion of darkness. Black-armored and grim.
It’s a pregnant moment in the cool air. A dire stand-off between titans.
The heavy frame of Brandon Youngblood steps forward from the Army of Light, heavy warhammer tight in his grip, gleaming plates of metal glittering against the sun. He lifts that hammer high overhead.
FLAMBERGE steps forward from the opposition in response, dark leather tight to his lean body. He lifts a rapier, pointing it at the Tower of Babel’s throat.
And as the drums crash and the orchestra lifts, the two armies bellow, and charge forward to meet in the middle of the field.
It’s a thunderous crash of steel against steel. Blade against blade. Spear against shield.
Sage Pontiff looks on from a distant hill, robes flowing in the wind. Fingers curling around a wooden staff.
From the melee, Ria Lockhart emerges to take a breath, tossing colored hair away from her eyes, and in doing so, catches the image of the Bodhisattva of Transformative Experience in the distance. She pulls two daggers from her belt, grits her teeth, and climbs the hillside. Sage stands from his crouched position, readying himself.
Symbols crash, drum beats thunder, and the massive and towering frame of Ivan Stanislav bludgeons his opponents with his hammer in one hand, while slicing and splitting others with the sickle in his left, blood staining his heavy black armor, highlighted with red trim. Slobber flings into his beard before he takes a moment, looking down to spot Mortimer Knightengale…or Kjedelig, it doesn’t matter in this fantasy universe. Mortimer, without many options, winds up and throws a punch into Ivan’s “punching bag,” but is left with a fist smashing into metal. Knightengale shakes his fist in pain, but doesn’t have long to linger as the Russian Bear lifts him by the throat and hurls him into the fray.
Within said fray, Nova and Sonny Silver clash steel against one another, each gripping their greatswords and fighting for ground. Nova’s steel greaves dig into the dirt, fighting back the push from Silver’s rusted blade. He manages to pivot and send Sonny stumbling away, only to find a pile of bodies spilling over and tumbling his way in a mess of clambering metal. He uses his sword for defense as the careen over his head and into the dirt.
Those bodies? The Masters of the Multiverse B-Team, shaking their heads and looking far too…modern…for a medieval battle. Kenny and Randall stand, phasers in hand and nearby Mushigihara and David Fox, who use their spears to assist them to their feet. Fred Mayhew does his best to help Bobby Dean to an upright position. Mayhew, in sleek blue armor, barks at his partner, but Bobby, fresh from a bath house and still in his robe, has little to give. Once all three teams find their bearings and recognize each others’ presence, they charge in to the sound of a brilliant chorus.
Nate Colton, in magnificent gleaming armor, stands back-to-back with Brandon Youngblood, aach doing their best to fight off the opposition. FLAMBERGE strikes quickly with his rapier, looking for weak spots in Youngblood’s armor. The Tower of Babel struggles to keep up with that heavy hammer, but the armor does its job. Colton strikes an opponent down with a sweep of his sword, and in a moment of instinct catches a dark image flying in from the side, forcing him to lift his shield and deflecting the blow from a jagged axe. Rezin reveals himself to be the wielder of that axe, wild bloodshot eyes darting left and right. They land on Colton’s, and with a raspy howl, the Goat Bastard lifts his weapon over and leaps back in for more.
The uplifting chanting rings out as the battle rages. Powerful drums blast out.
And Jared Sykes slams against the dirt.
The Dragonslayer coughs as he stabs his blade into the earth, using it to bring himself to a knee. Mud and dirt cakes his face as he fights for breath. Eventually he turns his gaze to the side, finding the image of Paxton Ray, covered in jagged and rusted armor with a nasty, jagged sword in hand. Ray sneers as Jared finds his feet, and just when Sykes makes a motion to attack, Paxton grips his sword in both hands, blade aiming down…
…and he thrusts it into the earth.
And then, the quake.
It steals the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
The earth rumbles and shakes, forcing the combatants to find balance. But it’s short lived.
Because a gargantuan hand bursts through the ground.
Bodies fly through the air, crashing in a mess of weapons and steel. Those who remain upright back away, the combination of both armies creating a crude circle as the behemoth rises from the depths.
A giant. Born from stone. Its enormous body groaning and grinding as it emerges. As it stands upright, it slowly shifts its colossal face, gazing down at the tiny, mortal warriors below.
From the shocked armies of light and darkness, a mustachioed warrior steps forward, clinging tightly to his shield, mace hanging limply in his hand, fighting through the exhaustion.
Hayes Hanlon looks up to the sky, squinting at the monster’s shoulders.
The shoulders where Cancer Jiles sits, blue and gold armor shining. His visage sneering down to the ground.
A decision to be made from those who call each other enemy.
Then, a crescendo from Dream Chasers rings out.
Much like the battle cry from Jared Sykes, his sword held high overhead.
And then, as one, the armies rush forward in unison with a magnificent roar. The colossus rears back, and lifts a gigantic foot, stomping it downward onto the camera with a deafening thud, revealing the graphics.
PRIME.
COLOSSUS.
NIGHT ONE.