I've just read the latest from Snape. I guess after that, it's just as well I wasn't actually there for the fight. But at least we know Palpatine is gone for good, suffering the same fate as Xehanort's Heartless in Kingdom Hearts: he was taken into Kingdom Hearts itself, and destroyed forever this time... and all because of the sacrifice of the Nobody Kyxiel, who merged with her other during the course of their own battle. Now, the only one standing between our trapped friends and freedom is Keily herself.

After reading this, I went out to have a word with the group, and found they were all affected by it. Fortunately, only one of them knew one of the fighters in Palpatine's sick little arena: apparently, Naraku, who was still mad at E.G. Mine for stealing Mouryoumaru's armor from him when they were in Hell together, decided to get even by making his own partner turn against him. He did this by ressurrecting Jason's mother, Pamela Voorhees, who tried to convince Jason to join Naraku. It didn't work, as not only has Jason learned from the last time somebody tried to use her image against him (Freddy Krueger, back during "Freddy Vs. Jason"), he also knew this wasn't really Pamela: apparently, he and Krueger made a deal a while back with help from none other than Rem Sevarem, mother figure to my long-time live-in Vash the Stampede. Pamela's spirit now resides on the Dream Plane with Krueger, and Rem's managed to talk some sense into her during this time.

As a result, when Jason saw her body being used in such a way, he got really mad.

The end result is that Pamela's body has been taken back and re-interred in the grave in Eternal Peace Cemetary near Crystal Lake. Though her soul remains on the Dream Plane, her body can at last rest again. (Also, her head has been reattached to her body. I'm not quite sure who was responsible.)

For those of you who have weak stomachs, you might want to skip the next paragraph.

Renkotsu, who was standing at her side during the fight, was not so lucky. Not only was he the one controlling her souless body (Naraku took off before the "entertainment" started, having only been there to draw us in), but he made for a very convenient target. After Mine impaled him to a wall with his diamond spears, Jason very slowly dismembered him, ending by severing his head. He then tore out Renkotsu's heart with his bare hand and dropped it to the floor, where he crushed it with one foot. That was about the time the traitor finally died for the third, and hopefully last, time. Jason brought the head home as a souvenir. I think he plans to mount it on the wall.

Okay, that's the end of that part.

Fortunately, though everyone was affected (even the Dinobots and the demons) and disgusted by Palpatine's actions, none of them actually had to face anyone they personally had known. Then again, most of the people they know are either in another dimension or another planet.

For now, all we can do is wait and pray that Keily fulfills her mission. When the enteched begin to wake up, then we will know she is close. And once Babylon Palace has been emptied of the souls of the enteched and the bodies of our fallen comrades, I plan to get a front-row seat to its destruction. I've already volunteered our two giant-sized allies to be part of the demolition (the same two who were going to join in if it turned out to be a giant Transformer), and I think they're going to enjoy wiping that monument to a monster off the face of reality.

And we must remember that at least two villains are still out there: Voldemort and Naraku. According to Rose and her live-in group, Nemesis Prime and Galvatron (and their cloned lovers) may still be on the loose as well. But hopefully, they'll all have been destroyed permanently by this May. Hard to believe it's been almost a year since the Terran Resistance first banded together to face Palpatine and his allies. But it's a day we will never forget. The day all our lives changed forever. When we all came together to fight for this Earth and its people... and for all peoples everywhere.

Our day.

Until next time, everyone. Until next time.

Dagnabbit...

My speech was perfect. I was all psyched out about heading up to Montreal. Then I woke up that afternoon and found they'd left me behind. What's more, nobody's told me exactly what happened while they were up north. I get the feeling that it was very disturbing.

What I do know is that Palpatine is gone for good, while Voldemort and Naraku both got away, and the palace wasn't actually a giant Transformer as I had thought. That means our two gigantic friends (still in reserve) weren't actually needed. But better safe than sorry.

Aside from Palpatine, there was only one other casualty: the traitor Renkotsu, having left the Shichinintai for Naraku while they were all in Hell, did not escape this time: I saw Jason carrying his head when he got off the shuttle this evening. They didn't tell me how it happened or who did it, and I don't think I want to know. At least he's gone. For now. Remember, we're dealing with a servant of Naraku, and he's already been brought back twice (when he joined Naraku this time around, it was his second revival). Who's to say he won't come back again?

For now, at least we know that our allies are safe, and Palpatine is gone for good. And right now, that's all that really matters.

Until next time!

“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things.”

In our case, it’s the upcoming mission. We were supposed to leave early this afternoon, but after getting our hands on some alternate transportation, we're going to leave around sunrise (it's about a quarter to 5 in the morning now), and I plan to get some sleep on the way there. But before we go, I just felt I had to say a few things beforehand. I’ve been working on this speech for almost a week, and I’ve had it checked, so... here goes.

“Ladies, gentlemen and giant robots... this is the big one. In less than 24 hours, we will be taking on Lord Voldemort, Naraku, and Emperor Palpatine at Babylon Palace in Montreal. Three of our worst enemies in one place... and for all we know, the meeting place could really be the belly of a giant Transformer. The odds are stacked against us, even with everyone we know fighting. But it doesn’t matter. Because we’re not going to give up.

“When we first reformed the Gung-Ho Guns at the time of our first war against Palpatine, there were two missions. First, we had to stop him from taking over Earth. Second was the creation of New Eden, a place of peace where the citizens of Earth and the galaxy around us could gather for an existence that’s free of violence, hatred, prejudice, tyranny, oppression and persecution. The same as the original Garden of Eden, where mankind was born and lived in peace until they were tempted and came to know of evil. But our New Eden is home to those who have seen the evils that have corrupted so many and have chosen to reject it, to live in peace. Yet there are still those who willingly carry out their evil deeds still, being who are so firmly entrenched in the darkness within their hearts that they cannot imagine what life would be like without it.

“So we keep on fighting. We fight for the day when all are one, when all have rejected that which seeks to corrupt them and turned to the light. When all can live with love and peace.”

I shoot a grin to Vash at this moment.

“That is why we are here. That is why we continue to fight, and hopefully make a difference in this world by inspiring others to spread the word. Ladies, gentlemen and others, not all of you are officially members of the 21 Gung-Ho Guns. Not even me. But in my book, you’re all part of the team as honorary Gung-Ho Guns. For we are the heroes who fight for peace. ‘Til all are one!”

There’s a rousing chorus of voices: “‘Til all are one!”

“Time to kick the tires and light the fires, everyone. We’re heading out now!”

Vash gives me a thumbs-up. Knives just smirks. And everyone else cheers. Watching them all, I just stand and smile. I might not be able to do much in terms of physical combat, but I’ll still be there. Look out evil, ‘cause here we come!

Until next time...

Anon e Mouse Jr.

P.S.: You know that extra guy I mentioned we were going to recruit a week ago? He’s standing by and ready for action. And he’s not the only one: Knives went out and found another creature that could help us. Kenya and Lord Vader have been informed as to their identities. Something tells me Palpatine is going to seriously regret this day for the rest of his existence, however short it may be.

P.P.S.: Zonk time. See you all this afternoon!

Something just occurred to me a few minutes ago, and I figure it's best if I spread the word. I've already posted this over at Kenya's blog, but I figure it's best if I add it here too. (This is the edited/expanded version anyway. More information.)

Remember how Palpatine was planning on creating a Transformer body for himself back when we were fighting Unicron last fall? Well, what if this "Babylon Palace" in Montreal that we're heading for is actually that completed Transformer body? From the looks of things, we're probably dealing with something about the size of Metroplex, Trypticon or their Headmaster sucessors Fortress Maximus and Scorponok. In short, a body that's about the same size as the self-proclaimed Emperor's ego.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not taking any chances. Two of our more recent recruits, Maligore and Dark Specter (cousins of our 21st Gung-Ho Gun Kumasogami) can grow to giant size, allowing them to at least match a body that big in sheer brute force. Fighting fire with fire, so to speak. But just in case, we probably need a few more super-sized heroes/reformed villains to take him on. I've sent a couple of our guys to find and recruit at least one, but who knows if it'll work. He gets a bit tempermental at times. Then again, considering we're talking about a being who's been turned loose against Earth several times against his will, I can't say I blame him.

I can't say exactly who, in case we aren't successful in bringing him in, but if we are... well, Palpatine will be hard-pressed to match all of our forces.

Prepare yourselves. In one week, we're going into an all-out war against at least three of our four greatest enemies. This isn't going to be easy. But we're going to do it anyway, because it's the right thing to do. Because we're fighting for the freedom of all sentient beings in the universe. And we're fighting for our right to survive. In one week, we take on Palpatine, Voldemort and Naraku... may the Force, Primus and any dieties out there be with us all. 'Cause we're gonna need all the help we can get.

Until next time,

Anon e Mouse Jr.

New information continues to pour in. The truth about our missing warriors was revealed - they were enteched. My team knows of a possible way to bring them back (and we've asked one of our allies to bring her into the fold), even as another of our allies works on a different method. Voldemort has appeared in person in Idaho. Palpatine is prepared to return in a new body and is inviting several of our allies to come - he didn't ask for us though. And information has been revealed that could return our ally Keily to a whole person.

Meanwhile, things are oddly quiet here in New Jersey. We've been keeping an eye out for trouble, but nobody has shown up. Well, one person did. But they were just a messenger, giving us a second note. Not from Palpatine or Voldemort, but from an old enemy who'd been strangely quiet since he attacked Kagura in Texas: Naraku. In it, he informs us that he and Renkotsu will be present at Palpatine's rebirth, and that he expects my entire team to be there. Though Palpatine neglected to invite us (why, I am not sure - perhaps he recalls how Vash worked to expel him from Kenya's body last summer, and didn't want to risk a second encounter with him), we're coming anyway.

Ten days 'til the showdown... Naraku, Palpatine, Voldemort, we'll be there. Every last one of us. The 21 Gung-Ho Guns, the YuYu Crew, the Newrima Wrecking Crew, the demons, the Shichinintai, the Dinobots, and myself as well. For the first time, I too shall join my allies on the field of battle. Good thing it's a Tuesday.