For the first time in years, rain fell from the sky above, and the Crusaders' makeshift ship searched for a landing site in Baguio.
The seven heroes bantered while inside the ship, still looking for a good opening.
"What's the plan?" asked Death Leopard, looking at this ragtag team of specialists.
Tophbee coughs while playing Gacha on his phone while picking his nose. "Kame... hame... ha!" he quietly yelled out after destroying his opponent in the game.
Ladybug silently equipped his umbrella, hopefully to increase the probability of him not getting wet. He tuts. "Huh. This umbrella's broken. Eh. Probably still works."
Inchworm smiles and stares at the rain. "Holy shit! Guys! It's raining! I love that stuff! Rainwater always feels like tiny little cupids splooging all over you!" He stretches his hand out and feels the rain, only for his hand to be torn off with the suit, but his hand and suit immediately regenerate.
Gabrielle smiles, chewing bubble gum while typing into her computer.
Billy smiles and hangs out with the child, smiling and telling her about Beatle's research. "So, this one is about the Komodo Dragons that recently migrated to Subic. See? Cool, huh?"
Beatle sighs in relief, crossing his arms while staring outside. "So, this is it."
Sabbath nods. "Yeah. We have finally returned... We told the Philippines we shall return, and here we are. How's it feel?"
"Scary."
"Yeah. The world we know is about to change. Ain't that right, old-timer?"
The Voice sighs. "Yep. I believe in you as well... just as much as you believe in me..."
Death Leopard's eye twitches, so small in his large seat. "GUYS!?!? WHAT IS THE PLAN!?!?"
The ship opens up, and the others jump off.
Death Leopard's eyes widen. "Fffuck!" The six heroes jump off and prepare for landing in Session Road. Midair, they activated their weapons and powers. Beatle takes out his Cainmarker, yelling "COMING IN HOT!!!". Sabbath takes out her wings and flies off. Tophbee buzzes his wings and bumbles around. Inchworm smiles and creates a parachute for Billy to float down. Death Leopard activates his mech suit. Ladybug somehow floats down with his umbrella. They land perfectly, with one knee down, except for Death Leopard, who lands face-first with his mech suit on.
Beatle's eyes began to glow red.
The Berserkers yell at Beatle. "STAND DOWN, CRUSADERS!!!"
"STAND DOWN OR PERISH!!!" yelled another.
"ALL HAIL... MORNINGSTAR!!!"
The group just approached while the rain and fog hid their bodies from the Pentagram soldiers. They smile, marching through the rain.
Beatle plays a song in his iPod. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by the Animals.
While they walked in the rain, Sabbath flirtatiously turned to Beatle, who kept on ignoring her, but regardless, Sabbath turned red seeing his strong physique.
Death Leopard scoffs, seeing this, just allowing the rain to pour all over his goggles.
Tophbee humorously puts his phone in a ziplock so it won't get wet.
Inchworm smiles, spinning his arm up and down like a rubbery helicopter blade.
Ladybug opens his umbrella, as an enemy tries to shoot him only for the broken umbrella to pop out a blade that stabs the Berserker in the face.
They shot at the Crusaders, as they all got behind Beatle.
Beatle sighs and fired shots at their faces, with each Cainmarker beam blowing their faces into colorful, blue bloody pieces, painting the air like blue rose petals.
Billy blew into a dart whistle that successfully kills a Berserker with a single shot. She does this repeatedly as the Berserkers charge toward them.
Tophbee stung each of them, shooting them with his stings and killing them with each single, fired shot.
Ladybug just somehow evaded the bullets simply by walking, and even more curiously, locusts began appearing from a distance to shield Ladybug from the bullets.
Then came Inchworm, who stretched so far that his fists exploded a lot of the enemy's faces, killing them.
Death Leopard just plain shot at each of them, competitively trying to outnumber Beatle's own kills. Beatle takes notice of this and starts killing even more soldiers.
Sabbath flies up and patrols the skies, killing the Berserkers above with her bladed feathers, each soldier dropping down along with the rain, creating a rhythmic dance of raindrops and splashes, each showing their blue blood painting the sky around them.
Suddenly, through the rain, the trio of lieutenants stood still at the end of the road.
Mars charges, zooming faster than the speed of light, and tackles Beatle, who grabs Mars and tosses him away into the stars, but Mars runs back to him and knocks him in his teeth.
Beatle fixes his jaw and beats Mars with his fists, but Mars' daughter, Diana, ejects from his chest and beats Beatle as well.
Sabbath yells in their minds. "ON YOUR LEFT!!!"
The turn to the left and see the Prince Rasputin freezes the rain from the left, acting as a charging hailstorm of sorts that nearly stabs all of them, so Inchworm becomes a giant umbrella that shields all of them from the hail.
The wave of hail then returns from their right. Billy shot at the ice bullets masterfully blocking most of them from Inchworm.
Ladybug, the only one who isn't shielded by Inchworm, smiles and flips a coin, gaining heads. He keeps doing so, and each time always gets heads. He then flicks it into the head of his opponent, killing six more Berserkers behind him as well. "Lucky..." he smiled.
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The ice kept on raining own at them as Prince Rasputin danced in the rain, blasting ice at them.
Beatle shot at Rasputin, who dodged, allowing a Berserker behind him to get killed, getting shot in the face.
Rasputin begins doing the Russian kick dance. From his soles wickedly emerged ice balls that froze Inchworm's back while Inchworm still shielded them from all sides, causing him to scream in agony.
Tophbee rolled out and stabbed Rasputin in the shoulder with his stinger as he laughed and froze the wound.
Prince Rasputin creates makeshift skates of ice below his bare feet and begins charging toward Tophbee. Tophbee cleverly swung his fingers and splashed honey in his eyes.
He laughed, bouncing with malice and arrogance, flexing his pecs. "You just healed me, bro!"
Tophbee then stung him in the chest. Rasputin screams in pain, realizing he can't take the honey off.
Tophbee cocks his stinger launcher. "How's that for healing?"
Suddenly, Tophbee is knocked to the ground by Cheapshot, who dances around in the rain and successfully shoots at all of the ones shielded by Inchworm.
He has a shoot out against Billy, who began struggling and gets stabbed in the shoulder, as Beatle angrily knocked him down with a quick left hook and slammed him into the ground, knocking him out.
Mars and Diana then zoomed around Beatle and kept on beating Beatle down as the Berserkers began to use their bodies to shield the other Crusaders from their Saint King.
Beatle is stabbed repeatedly by Mars and Diana.
Beatle falls to his knees and is strangled by Mars.
Beatle growls. "I will never break my unwavering spirit, Mars..."
Mars smiles and takes his cowl off, as Beatle's eyes quiver.
Mars looks exactly like Beatle.
"You're a variant..." Beatle gasped, choking.
"That I am. How does it feel? Knowing someone as good as you could become this."
"Why? Why would you become... this...?"
"Because I learned a long time ago that everything you've been fighting for... is a joke..." said Mars. "I learned in my world that the Normals will constantly be above us..." growled Mars. "And everyone I loved and cared for... was lost to me. And my new purpose, Morningstar, DRIVES ME!!!" Mars prepares to stab Beatle, held down by Diana. Beatle struggles to power up. "I hate myself... I always did... You always did, too. From those silent moments where you enjoy being alone and being with other creatures... I just hated everyone... including myself..." said Mars. "But that wasn't happiness. It was avoidance. It was fear after years of being bludgeoned by the Normies. We were so beneath them and here you are, realizing even you could break."
Beatle gulps. "This has to be some kind of trick."
The Voice sighs. "It is not. I am sorry..."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were already hurt all these years... I knew this would break you," said the Voice. "So I withheld the truth... Because I cared for you, My Son."
Beatle's lips quivered, staring back at his scarred self's face. "Everything I've done... Everything I stood against... was because I believed I was special... I was different... This cannot be."
"You are," said the Voice. "Please, listen."
Beatle shook his head. "Everything I feared about turning into was proven as a possibility. That is vile... I... never will... lose my faith..."
"But you never had faith in yourself. I am so sorry, my dear Child..." said the Voice.
"I'm... just a man..." Beatle gulped, as Mars' eyes twitched, hearing that.
Beatle is beaten down to the ground by Mars, who takes out a vambrace and prepares to stab him.
Beatle stands right back up. "I am Beatle Saint King..." he coughed.
Mars just hammers his foot into Beatle's face, knocking him down.
Beatle rolls on the ground, shakin. "I am Beatle Saint King..."
Mars sighs, saddened by the fact that he must kill him.
"I am Beatle Saint King," said Beatle, tears flowing down his face.
"Get up..." said Billy, seeing her father in the pouring rain as she shot another Berserker. "Get up!"
"I... am BEATLE SAINT KING!!!" Beatle stood up and gave a heavy uppercut to Mars, knocking him back.
Diana's eyes widen as she tries to stab Beatle but is shot away, skipping like a stone in the pouring rain and disappearing into the fog.
Beatle spits out a sputter of blood.
Mars angrily beats Beatle to the ground, but Beatle just exchanges strikes with the speedy foe.
Beatle is then knocked in the leg before getting strangled by Mars' arm. Beatle kicks him away and hammers his fist down into the back of his head.
Beatle limps forward, but Berserkers shot at him as Beatle swayed his finger creating a massive tornado that kills the Berserkers, shredding them into the blade-like winds.
Beatle is then beaten, each punch feeling like a massive bomb exploding with shockwaves, leaving from every impact.
Beatle falls to his knees, bleeding as Mars drags him away up the summit of Session Road, zooming to the Sunrise Terraces once more, knocking him to the ground.
Beatle shivers on the ground, shaking. "Alright... Mars... Listen..."
Mars stabs him in the jugular vein as Beatle screams a blood-curdling shriek.
Beatle whistles, trying to soften the pain ,but Mars twists the vein as he screams in pain.
Beatle prays after Mars pulls it out, healing the vein, but yet afgain,Mars pulls him by the hair and hammers his fist into his face.
Mars drops his head. "Is my daughter okay?" asked Mars to the soldiers, as the soldiers affirmed silently with one beep in his ears. Mars sighs in relief.
Beatle's eyes widen. "You have a daughter, too?"
"Shut up. Don't speak with me," said Mars, red lightning leaving from every trail he walked.
"I have a daughter..." Beatle gasped. "Maybe I can talk about-..."
Mars grabs his head and electrocutes his jaw with the lightning of time itself. "I SAID DON'T SPEAK WITH ME!!!"
Beatle screams in horrific anguish before his head is dropped to the ground.
Beatle whispers a song. "Ba... hay... Kubo... Kahit... Munti... Ang hala... man... doon... ay sari... sari..." he whispered under his breath.
Mars joins in the singing. "Singkamas at talong... Sigarilyas at mani... Sitaw.. Bataw... patani..."
They sang together. "Kundol patola. UTOT kalabasa," they both chuckled, saying "utot". "At saka mayroon pa, labanos mustasa. Sibuyas, kamatis, bawang, at luya. Sa ligid ligid, maraming linga..."
Mars turns to Beatle. "Tita Mommyta and Mom used to sing that song to us as children."
Beatle chuckles. "My friend... They sang songs every day... They had the voices of angels..."
Mars turns his head slowly to the stars. "We used to look at the stars... We both did... Parallel to each other, but I could feel that we had almost the same experience... We are Beatle Saint King... I'm a version of you who chose differently..."
"Yet that kindness remained... Right?" sighed Beatle. Beatle sighs, wearily. "The older fish asked the younger fish how the water was... The younger fish looked at each other and asked him 'What is water...?'" he whispered to himself. "And then there was the movie Soul. Subverts the idea that passion isn't a singular passion. It's the love... for life itself. We, my friend, both forgot to value our very selves..."
"We're fish that drowned..." Mars sighed,
"My friend. Fish don't drown. And you always cared."
"In a way, yes..." said Mars.
Beatle began to power up. "Really?"
"Yes. I did care... I always did..."
"Great!" Beatle stood up, regenerated completely. "Ready for round two?"
Mars turns to him and smirks, charging and punching him over and over, but Beatle masterfully blocks all of his strikes and knocks him in his teeth.
He flies up and headbutts Mars, knocking him off the building before catching him and punching him, knocking him out.
Beatle turns to his team and sees that they are all getting injured individually. Sabbath has a hole in her wing and screams in pain. Billy is injured with Cheapshot's needles. Inchworm is half-frozen from the ice. Only Tophbee and Death Leopard remained.
Beatle teleports before them.
The Berserkers charge toward him. "KILL HIM!!!"
Beatle smirks. "Bet."
Beatle charges and spins, blasting heat vision at all of them, causing them to explode into blue blood like confetti blowing up in the wind. Beatle smiles, dancing in the air and killing all of them, before landing back at the Crusaders.
The Knight Corps appears as Mars grabs all of the lieutenants away and teleports them back to Manila by moving as quickly as the speed of light itself.
Beatle smiles, putting his hands on his hips. "I am Beatle Saint King!"
"This... is family. Welcome to the Third Temple. A land ruled by emotionally frustrated individuals who can't seem to catch a break from a 9-to-5 work in Fate. Constantly, we fight the winters, drinking off cleansed and chlorinated muddy water from the Balili river and eating off the toughest meats such as wild boars, Dire Wolves, Dino Chickens, Dino Turkeys, and Ostriches all raised by the snowy winter that runs for 10 months in a year. The people here were corrupt, divided, and foolish, yet it was our return that proved the most significant thing in their lives, other than that blizzard that killed half the population last year before we arrived. This is our home... and we stand together as we shall protect it... My lieutenants stand strong, while we await our army to contact us once more... We are waitng for their return. I am waiting for the next battle. I am Beatle Saint King, and I'm going on vacation again."