A shrill scream broke the eerie silence of the night, reverberating through the entire forest, and outward. The sheer power of the scream was felt by the Luuris blockade, and reached as far as Alveor, and even Kralis, the distant headquarters of the Luuris military. The last standing part of the destroyed fortress crumbled, and hundreds of trees were uprooted. The forest exploded in sounds of terrified wild life; even the creatures, who had now begun hunting again, were shaken by their mother's scream.

Up in space, several vessels were severely damaged, some destroyed outright. Fire erupted in multiple places all over Xoer, but especially over the cavern.

"The monsterr has awakened", said Olaris, unable to hide the dread he felt. Alezur, Traum, Raelin, Akala and Olaris struggled to organize their group, unable to calm them in the wake of the horrifying scream. The sheer dread from it had affected even the most disciplined of them, too.

Aralus struggled to his feet, panting with the effort of it. He looked around, only to find most of the insects that had kept him company for the past centuries, gone. Smoldering ash. Only a few hundred remained. They rushed to him, a comforting force, and sent waves of healing agents into his system, giving him the strength to stand upright. "Thank you, my friends. We are short on time. This monster must not leave this planet. We take it with us if we must", he said. The insects changed their glow from silvery blue to a blazing gold, and formed an elegant spear with a wide foot long blade. Aralus donned his armor, and, spear in hand, rushed after the monster, tracking its unique footsteps with the light from the spear.

"Someone is coming. And that someone is not friendly", said Alezur, drawing his saber staff. "Everyone form up. A fight of a millennium awaits us", Arken Traum ordered. Commanders Olaris and Uriak, the last Reaper, 5 Luuris soldiers, Traum, Juron, Kaira, Irma and the 4 Ark Knights stood firm, and as the first creatures entered their view, they opened fire, destroying them. More and more waves came at them from all sides, and all were destroyed. Alezur, Raelin, Keltir and Akala unleashed a storm of lightning, killing more of them, making the others pause.

In the meantime, Olaris contacted the blockade above, and requested reinforcements. Unbeknownst to him, however, they were already on the way.

The 2 Starcondors, Starlight and Radiance, and the Celsior cruiser Luminous sped toward their comrades, backed up by several Luuris fleets. They arrived just in time for the tsunami that followed. Wave after wave of zombies swarmed the allies, and all were repelled by their united front. Then, silence took over the battlefield, as an otherworldly rumble reached them. A single 14 foot tall figure emerged from the smoke and the blazing fire, its cold eyes glowing yellow, its foot long claws at its sides. The rallied zombies followed it, as it sprang into action, claws outstretched for the kill.

Alezur met the assault, straining to hold the zombie back, but even he struggled against its monstrous strength, the otherworldly entity towering over even him.

Raelin, Akala and the rest spread out, allowing Alezur to fully focus on the zombie. Above them, the united fleets bombarded the never ending ocean of monsters, destroying them by the dozens. Yet, they just kept coming.

Alezur unleashed a torrent of lightning, but it dealt no damage to the zombie, only mildly irritating it. The monster sent the Ark Knight back with a claw swipe, and threw its body forward at breakneck speed, only the Knight's armor saving him from its venomous bite. The Knight flipped back to his feet, and unleashed a flurry of lightning fast strikes, hitting the monster's arms and shoulders, and grazed its face with a burst of fire.

Raelin cut down another creature, and scorched several more with a wave of fire. Beside him, Akala and Keltir took out another line of creatures. The Luuris and their commanders blocked the zombies' lines of attack toward Traum, Juron and Kaira, allowing them a moment to rest.

Torzun, Oreana, Rita, Synara, Oreon, Captain Loren and his crews dropped down from one of the Celsior gunships, and joined the fray, as the warships maintained their bombardment.

Then, another screech shook the battleground. Only it did not come from the monster, but from above, as over a dozen alien ships entered Xoer's atmosphere. They fired volleys of white plasma bolts at the allied ships, forcing some of them to stop their bombardment, to repel the new attack.

The new ships decimated most of them, and only the battleships stayed operational. The Lancers and Starwings struggled as well. Even with the Luuris orbs supporting them, they were simply outclasses by the numerous insect like fighters, losing dozens for a few of the enemy.

The entire allied fleet would have been decimated, had it not been for the timely arrival of Aralus. Torrents of fire and lightning were launched at the enemy vessels, destroying several of them. The explosions attracted the Monster's attention, and it abandoned its fight with Alezur, who by now was utterly exhausted, barely able to stand, much less fight.

The battle paused, as the monster engaged Aralus one on one, a duel of equals. It was a deadly dance of lightning fast strikes, dodging and weaving, punctuated by the monster's screams.

But the battle could only pause for so long, before the zombies resumed their assault. Traum blasted several with his guns, and Juron and Kaira covered his flanks with their swords. Keltir and the last Reaper joined them, working together, the tip of the wedge that split the wave of zombies, which was finished off by Oreon, Synara and Captain Loren. Torzun attacked with his spear, cutting down another wave of zombies. He was perfectly safe from them. The partial transformation of his brain and body ensured that.

Oreana, Irma and Rita stood back to back, mowing down dozens of zombies themselves, and were soon reinforced by the Luuris commanders.

And then, a small gap opened up, and the creatures exploited it immediately. Raelin sustained several bites in the unprotected points on his body, and a light scratch on the back of his neck. the venom swiftly reached his brain, and the zombie turned on its once comrades. One of Captain Loren's crews who was unfortunate enough to be next to the former Ark Knight, was the first victim, and the two zombies attacked the rest, threatening to completely break the line. Alezur met them, obliterating the former crew member with a burst of lightning, and met Raelin's sword with his saber staff.

The former friends fought to the death, until the exhausted Alezur slipped, and Raelin's sword drove into his body. Alezur snapped his fingers, and pillars of fire engulfed them, throwing Raelin to the ground, and burning Alezur's dead body before it could be reanimated.

Deep inside the zombie's consciousness, a sliver of the former Ark Knight held on with his last strength, aided by the power of the Ark, the formless energy that permeated through the galaxy. But the zombie part of him was stronger, and only by sheer force of will, did Raelin manage to maintain his grip.

Two more Luuris soldiers fell. Even with the arrival of Luuris reinforcements, the tide of zombies was on the brink of overflowing their ability to contain it. The new vessels were rampaging once more, forcing the remaining allied ships to completely abandon their air support, and go after them instead.

Akala leapt high, latching onto an enemy fighter as it passed overhead, and scrambled to the cockpit, blowing it open. The pilot tried to shoot her with its blaster, but she knocked the weapon out of its claws and swung, decapitating it. She leapt into its seat, and executed a strafing run, destroying swaths of oncoming zombies, and targeted several other ships, taking them down as well. She unleashed a storm of fire and lightning, destroying swaths of zombies on the ground, and hurled her sword at another fighter, cutting it in 2, and recalled the weapon to her hand with a gust of wind.

Synara and Oreon took full advantage of their superior physique, destroying zombies left and right. They waded through the ocean of monsters, arriving to Rita's aid just in time. Then, a larger creature attacked them, distracting them. Rita was left alone, and immediately targeted. She fought valiantly, cutting down scores of oncoming monsters, but it could only last for so long. The final blow was dealt, and a storm of fire engulfed her, as she chose to end her misery before she could transform, taking more creatures with her.

One by one, the warriors were dropping. The last of Captain Loren's crew went down, and he followed shortly. Commander Traum only barely avoided the same fate. And the creatures were still coming for them. Their fleet had been nearly destroyed. Everyone who was still fighting was on the brink of exhaustion, and a few passed out from the sheer effort. A gunship flew down to pick them up, before the zombies could exploit the opening.

Then, as the circle of death tightened around them, a new fleet emerged over Xoer, and unleashed volleys of plasma and missiles on the enemy, relighting the spark of hope that kept them fighting, giving them one last burst of strength.

The zombie in Raelin won at last, as the last sliver of the former Knight lost all its strength, and began slowly fading away, giving way to the raw, unrestrained violence of the zombie. Keltir struggled to his feet, seeing the monster approach, and sprang into action, intercepting him. The gold and green swords met again and again, and the now battle hardened rookie held his own. They went toe to toe, neither able to gain the slightest advantage.

The last of the light left Raelin's eyes, completing his transformation, throwing Keltir off balance. It was over now. He knew that the noble Knight had fallen, and the being before him truly was a zombie in full. Resolved to put an end to the monstrosity, Keltir fought like never before, integrating his powers with his sword sequences, and drove the creature back with a slam kick to the chest. The creature caught his foot, but he pulled it back and drove the heel of his boot into the creature's sternum, sending it to its knees. It recovered, but this time, it was Keltir who was dictating the terms of the fight.

He advanced on the creature, showering it with volleys of strikes. As it tried to retaliate, he hit it with a torrent of lightning square in the chest, stunning it for a split second. That was all he needed. He disarmed it of the golden sword, retrieving it with his other hand and drove both swords into the monster's chest. For a moment, Raelin's face appeared again, and the figure spoke. "Thank you. Now end my misery." He withdrew the weapons and cut through his former mentor's head. He stood over the corpse, shaking from the adrenaline, struggling to process what he had just done.

Meanwhile, the duel of gods continued. Neither the Monster or Aralus were able to land a decisive blow, but both had landed numerous wounds. Aralus blocked his foe's claws with the spear of light, and felt the insects pulsating, struggling to maintain the form. He knew they trusted him to maintain the fight, and he trusted them in turn. The entire galaxy was now dependent on him. If he failed, it would all be over. Resolved, he returned fire, pummeling the Monster with everything he had. Slowly, he drove it back, until finally, an opening presented itself. He lunged, driving the spear through where the monster's heart should have been. Immediately, the insects came alive, covering the monster's head, as the spear disintegrated in Aralus's hands.

For a moment, a violent struggle ensued, until finally, the Monster collapsed. Aralus staggered, only now having felt his foe's final blow. He and the remaining insects had given the fight their all, and succeeded, but they had paid the price of their lives. But the galaxy was safe now. No more zombies would be created. It was now a matter of hunting down those that remained, at last, freeing Xoer of the menace that had arrived centuries ago, when the Inferno's Lancer and the Kaeralus destroyed each other in their fateful battle.

The remaining zombies froze, and looked to where their mother had fallen. The exhausted allies stepped forward, and launched in a counter offensive, slamming into their lines. The remaining allied warships surrounded and destroyed the surviving enemy ships. Keltir, Akala, Synara, Traum and Oreon led the allied charge, as the remaining creatures were trapped in a pincer. Within an hour, it was all over. Traum, Torzun, Akala, Keltir, Oreana and Oreon were the last of the Celsior personnel. Just over a hundred Luuris survived in total, along with both Olaris and Uriak.

Just over several dozen Celsior and Luuris ships survived the colossal battle. The beleaguered defenders all went separate ways, all completely oblivious of what was to come. This would be only the beginning of a new, terrifying period. This battle would be only the first of many.