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Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

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Graphic Depictions Of Violence

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Gen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationship:

Alexander/City Building

Characters:

Rebecca Costa-Brown | AlexandriaDragon (Parahumans)Director James TaggEmily PiggotColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantBastion (Parahumans)

Additional Tags:

Self-InsertCYOAEndbringerA man finds his hobbyThe rest of the world is terrifiedCausing major wars by accidentTeehee~Misunderstandings

Language:

English

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Published:2025-02-16Updated:2026-02-25Words:229,706Chapters:83/?Comments:559Kudos:1,458Bookmarks:364Hits:86,951

(End)Bringing You A New Home! (Endbringer SI)

10moorem

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Entry

Summary:

Alexander kills himself!

Chapter Text

Chapter 81: Entry

-Alexander POV-

"Final checks?"

Renji looked up from the straps he was tying around four bronze shafts of runic engineering. "I have the stabilizers and I have my sword," he said, hefting the bronze contraptions upon his shoulder.

"I have the spears, and I have my surrogate," I replied, showing off the three spears gripped tightly in all but one of my hands. The last was instead holding something else, a metallic shell currently devoid of life. Hopefully I wouldn't need to use it, it was a bit dubious even by my standards.

Around us buzzed a swarm of drones, far different from the ones I had last sent into Boston. Those had been made to aid, to lift up, to perform triage on the gaping wound that was Boston.

These were weapons, one and all. The flowing silver of my previous drones were replaced by sharp angular profiles, and a deep black and red colour scheme.

I could have had them appear the same as before, but I wanted to create some distance between the Prometheans and myself. I had no idea when, but I might need to use the identity again in the future. Having them linked with an Endbringer wouldn't help with that.

"You know the plan?"

My friend nodded, muscles coiled tightly and already ready to run.

I turned to look at the two figures sitting besides us. Sanzang was serenely manipulating the device in front of him, inputting the coordinates with barely an instant wasted. Taizong was more focused, eyes scanning over Boston, trying to find any last minute mistakes that we might have missed.

He turned to look at me. "Not too late to back out," he reminded me for the third time.

I shook my head, in spite of my trepidation.

"It's my responsibility," I simply said.

"A responsibility you chose to take on," Sanzang corrected, "Don't diminish your choice as if it were something you were forced to do."

I wasn't in much of a mood for a debate, despite how much I disagreed, so I simply nodded and stepped on to the teleport platform.

The spatial distortions present within Boston necessitated its usage. Teleporting within without it was possible, but not with any accuracy.

I took a deep breath, Renji stepping up next to me.

"Start running immediately after we arrive," I remind him, "Place down the stabilisers and begin making preparations for your part in the fight. If I've failed to disrupt the ritual before Thanatos catches me then you'll need to deal with that too."

"I know, I know." Renji waves me off. "You don't need to worry, I've got this."

"Alright then," I nodded, a bit embarrassed. I turn to my other two creations, taking a second to truly look at them before I spoke again.

"We're ready."

Taizong pursed his lips in visible displeasure, but nonetheless began starting up the teleportation sequence. The pad beneath us began to hum, and the faint smell of ozone began to waft into the room.

"Good luck!" Sanzang waved, still as zen as ever.

I smiled. "Than-"

With a flash, we vanished.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A strike of lightning deposited us upon darkened streets.

My reaction speed had already been dialed up to the maximum.

I took off, an explosion carrying me across a dozen streets in a single moment.

But despite all of my preparations and all of my planning I was still shocked that my first sight upon appearing in Boston wasn't ruined streets or crumbling buildings, but instead two horrible pits for eyes that stared out after me.

A wave of black met my charge, inching closer - their speed visible even to my enhanced reaction times.

Thanatos was already here, and even to my sight they appeared to be little more than a blur.

The wave crested closer, allowing me to see the way the air was buffeted out of the way as the violation of space rolled onwards.

I smiled.

The wave struck, and met resistance. Blazing sigils etched into my body blossoming to life, defying the twisted space and forcefully flattening it out.

I didn't take the time to see Thanatos' reaction, already riding on the pressure wave of another explosion – moving faster now, as I forcefully shoved the air in front of me to the side.

The world blurred around me, and the vacuum I was enveloped in felt like pins and needles. I looked around, the sight of Boston was overlaid with a visual map from my MIU - a helpful glowing line of light telling me exactly where to go.

Another wave rushed at me, then another. All crashed upon me with merciless precision, yet they accomplished little – being met with a barrier of light and enforced order.

Then it was Thanatos themselves, an arm reaching for me like a scythe preparing to cut wheat. Here and now, in this state, I could see them with terrible clarity. Thanatos was a vision of horror. It wasn't their skeletal visage, as unnerving as that was, nor was it their terrifying size in comparison to my own. Instead what struck me was how different it appeared to the one who had brought it into being - there was nothing left of Mary.

Even in Ward, Worm's not so loved sequel, there had always been something that showed a glimpse into who they had once been. With Contessa it had been her hair, and with Fume Hood it had been the colour green - something both human and Titan shared in abundance. Yet Thanatos had none of that, there was no colour, no reminder of individuality - just terrible purpose, a girl fashioned into little more than a blade.

I was going too fast to dodge, so I didn't. With a flex of will, the emaciated arm of Mary's Titan was covered in metal and yanked to the side. The Titan hadn't seemed to expect that, falling to the side in slow motion.

Then it's foot landed on thin air, and held. The creature using the momentum to attempt a scything kick at my torso.

Which was about at the same instant a railgun round slammed into the skeletal being, sending them ragdolling away momentarily. The swarm of drones had caught up with us, each drone lighting up and firing all manner of exotic weaponry at the, now downed, Titan. Beams of light sputtered against its grey flesh, boiling away the outer layers in a flash of smoke and light. Railgun rounds followed up the first, beating against the Titan's hide like drums. Missiles and bombs and guns furiously pounded away at Thanatos, the drones buzzing around the creature and tearing away at it.

Until they suddenly weren't, Thanatos rising up with no effort at all - the drones weaponry suddenly ineffective. That would be the quantum locking I had seen from its fight with Jing Ke.

I sped on, leaving the drones to their fate. Already I could see their numbers dropping, their defences barely able to defend against a single blow from the Titan before shortening out. Second after second, moment after moment, lights flickered out in the corner of my vision - each drone dying to buy me time.

They weren't in vain, as now I could see the ritual site. The avenue, which would have previously been a monotonous grey of asphalt and concrete, was now a blazing red. The twisted light branching upwards, reaching outwards like grasping hands.

Magic congealed unnaturally here, bleeding up into the atmosphere of the pocket dimension like heat. Closer to the centre, the air wavered and cracked. From those cracks came malformed wretches, abominations of hate and blood who came into this world screaming.

The legion of grudges looked up, somehow reacting to my approach.

Hatred. I could feel it. Like blood on the tip of my tongue, coppery and foul. These beings hated me, hated the city, hated the land, air and sea. They hated everything.

They screamed that hate, in utter rejection of everything I was, had been and could be – the sky roiling as they did so.

The force of the scream hit me. It felt like wading into a molten river, crimson bleeding into every pore - poking at me like hot knives.

I grimaced, my speed dropping even as my senses could detect no force acting upon me. It wasn't force, after all, it was hate. So pure, and so refined, that reality retreated in screaming fear – dragging me along with it.

My flight, once easily surpassing sound, slowed to a stop - suspended before the shrieking revenants like a piece of meat before a starving dog.

Even my senses sputtered and failed, the centre of the ritual becoming complete nonsense – utterly foreign to a mind crafted by base physics.

But that wasn't all I was.

An arcane reactor in one of my spears roared to life, neutral magic beginning to push back against the red hate. Unlike the grudges, my magic did not hate the laws of reality, they were simply indifferent.

Which worked out, because physics was equally uncaring, allowed to flow across the bridge of my magic and beginning to contest the violation of natural law. The red haze flickered, faltering back like a wounded dog as the grudges began to fade in and out of reality.

The last light in my vision flickered out.

I looked to the side, eyes widening as I quickly plunged my spear into the ground and leapt away.

A quantum locked building passed through the area I had been in, the air pressure enough to pick me up and throw me against another building, earning a pained grunt from my lips.

Thanatos was back, and had seemingly gotten the memo that their Getsuga-Tensho rip offs weren't working on me.

My eyes flickered to my spear, the building having clipped it, scraping off a section of the shaft, leaving exposed wires to spark against the wind. The magic still flowed, but it was anaemic now, a singular rock attempting to hold back a river composed of pure malice.

No way past Thanatos either, which meant…

My smile widened, but it was bitter this time, an offhand toss to the side sent another of my spears, as well as the surrogate body, flying. Thanatos' head briefly tracked the motion, but quickly turned back as I rushed in. The ground cratered from the force of my steps, the distance between the two of us being rapidly eaten up.

I did not lead with my last remaining spear, but with a fist - one crackling with the same spatial stabilisation ward I had been using defensively up until now.

The punch landed with a heavy thud, and the quantum locking that Thanatos had brought up after I had nailed it earlier broke. I could feel the tension for a brief moment, warring laws raging against each other, before reason broke against magic.

The skeletal ribcage bent under my blow, and I could almost imagine a look of shock on that gaunt face as I sent it flying.

In a mirror of our previous engagement, they tumbled backwards, only barely halting in place before they crashed through another building. They hung silently in the air, for a moment, before falling to the floor in a crouch.

It rose up, its height well beyond mine even while in its usual hunched posture.

It was the second time I had properly seen it, but I couldn't deny that a shiver ran down my spine. It was truly awful to look upon, hag-like in posture and gauntness - only made more terrible by the empty void that peered from beyond their eye sockets.

It was wary now, no longer constantly attacking. Now it was taking the time to analyse me.

Which was perhaps the biggest mistake it could make.

My eyes remained locked onto the Titan, even as I registered movement in the corner of my eye.

I couldn't afford to look away.

Not when the true battle was about to begin.

-Surrogate POV-

I was a thread taken from a much larger source, a river taken from the ocean and placed in foreign lands. I was a fork of a much greater being that occasionally called itself 'Alexander'.

'Is that still me?'

As if that name could encapsulate all that he had become.

My metallic body's eyes winked to life, a steady blue light softly shining from the mechanical iris.

I shuddered, wracked by a feeling of fragility. I had gotten used to being strong, to being invincible. Now I would never be again.

I looked up, and saw the spear lodged into the concrete right next to my head. I stood up, and began to yank the spear out.

It was hard going, the shaft was so large that I was unable to fully wrap my hands around it. Not to mention it was heavy, even as I pulled I could feel my servos shrieking as they were pushed to the limit.

'There's a dick joke there,' a part of my brain, not so helpfully, pointed out, but I ignored it – focusing solely on the task before me.

A shockwave buffeted me, almost taking me off my feet. I scrambled, arms grasping for leverage. The spear kept me steady, so heavy it was almost immovable – I clung to it. Another roar shook my metal frame as a harsh ripping noise thundered through the bloodied avenue.

Then another, and another.

Eventually it became background noise, horrible wailing against my audio-receptors as I continued to both cling to the spear, as well as try to remove it.

It was hard, but I eventually got a rhythm going, pulling every few seconds and using the full force of my body to do so.

With a final grunt of effort, the spear came loose.

"Oof," I grunted, having fallen flat on my back from the sudden release. My hands never left the spear though, both hands still clasping onto it as I pulled myself up.

Actuators groaned in protest as I pushed the spear up with me.

My main self and Thanatos were gone from the ritual site, Alexander having baited the Titan away from the area and allowing me to do my work. I could still hear them though, an endless staccato of force upon force that sent hurtling gales across the city.

I shivered, emulated emotions carrying me onwards as I begin to hobble closer to the centre of the avenue.

I felt the slow drip of unease with every step, not even the crimson rage impotently beating against their prison enough to drag me out of my thoughts. Not with finality on my mind. I - or rather Alexander - hadn't told Renji about what the surrogate was, though from the look Taizong gave him I was pretty sure he knew. The surrogate, or rather I myself was an exact copy of Alexander's mind - replicated faithfully down to the last quark.

I was something to be used in the event that Alexander could not close the rift, for whatever reason. As his copy I had all the knowledge and expertise in magic that he had - so I could close the gate just as handily as he could, if with extra risk of dying.

If I had a mouth I would have smiled grimly, feet being placed before the other over and over as I struggled onwards.

I must have only taken a minute to get my bearings, but in that short time things had shifted for the worst. The spear that had originally been close to sealing the gaping wound in reality was now a guttering flame, magic wheezing from the blade like the final breaths before an eternal rest.

The grudges were also getting bolder, pushing against the sapphire wall of protection that had prevented them from crawling past the small area they were now confined within.

They howled and bayed without sound, instead resonating with my very essence. Images of blood and hatred flashed before my eyes. Gang initiations, an addict slitting the throat of another, a woman bleeding out as her abuser went too far, and a hundred other horrors burned themselves into my retinas. The visions were accompanied by such sickening emotions too, if it wasn't the ever-present hate that clouded every vision like a fog, it was the sick pleasure of those inflicting pain, or the quiet despair of the victim.

I could feel crimson chains wrapping around my mind, spikes digging in. I could feel them trying to rip up my own nightmares, my own failings and regrets, in order to parade them before me - asking a simple, horrible, question: 'is it all really worth it?'

I choked back a scream, suddenly very glad I could no longer puke. I Ignored the flashing scenes that played out before my eyes, I ignored the terrible emotions.

I could not ignore the question.

I inched forwards, one hand dragging the spear along while the other fiddled with the controls, slowly priming it for activation.

It was awkward to do one-handedly, and I could feel panic creeping against my consciousness as I raced against the clock.

The barrier shuddered.

'Come on!'

The spear whined and crackled.

'Work, damn you!'

The grudges reared up.

I wasn't going to make it.

Metal teeth ground against each other, hands blurring along the controls, no longer bothering to move forwards – focusing solely on activating the last chance I had.

Then, with a final croak of sparks, the spear impaled into the ground went dark. Completely and utterly dead.

Crash!

Shards of magic scattered across the air, trailing blue slowly disappearing and being replaced with a deep voracious red.

The grudges closed in, lunging at my prone form.

'Come on, so close!'

I could feel the breath on my face, could feel the malice hovering over me like a sword.

My had swung down.

"FUCKING WORK!"

I hit the spear in my hand, producing a low metallic thunk.

Nothing.

I wanted to scream.

The magic, so close now, almost crooned out the question once again - mocking and malicious.

'is it all really worth it?' 'is it all really worth it?' 'is it all really worth it?' 'is it all really worth it?' 'is it all really worth it?' 'is it all really worth it?' 'is it all reallyworth it?'

Over and over again.

I closed my eyes.

'…Again? Can't I win for once,' I bowed my head at that last sullen thought, my heightened perception already feeling the sharp claws slipping past my chassis, parting the metal like melted butter. Their arms drove in, fingers clasping around…

'My reactor?'

…

'Oh,' my lips curled into a smile as I came up with something devious.

My eyes flickered open, finding myself face to face with a snarling molten face.

My mind flashed a familiar visage, red hair and a confident smile - hands griping a sword as if it were a lifeline. Someone who would be forced to come here if I failed.

If I had the time to laugh, I would have. Instead only a single thought ran through my head.

'Taste the sun bitch.'

Then I allowed my reactor to detonate.

My chest burst apart like a petal, white hot metal ablating in milliseconds. I watched it all in that frozen second. How the air rippled as the energy was transferred, pushing the mob of snarling beasts back, their bodies limply flying back in slow motion.

I watched as the creature who sought my heart had its arm disappear. Even to my senses it was there one moment, and then gone the next. It curled back in pain, clawing against the molten stump in agony – even as it was sent flying back.

But, most importantly, I watched as the world was once again bathed in blue – my magic reactor's explosion meeting the foul magic of the ritual and tearingthrough it.

My eyes began to glitch out, parts of my body beginning to forcefully tear themselves apart.

The very last thing I saw was the spear spinning across the air, blown away from the explosion and slowly coming to life.

In the dying moments of my consciousness I couldn't hold back a chuckle.

'Not too shabby.'

AN: Well here's the first part of Alexander versus the problem of Boston. Thanatos was basically on him in less than a second flat, and would have pasted him if Alexander hadn't come in fully prepared. The surrogate, despite a lot of technical problems managed to get the job done, if in explosive fashion.

Happy Pancake Day, BTW.

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Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Comments Share Download

Work Header

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationship:

Alexander/City Building

Characters:

Rebecca Costa-Brown | AlexandriaDragon (Parahumans)Director James TaggEmily PiggotColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantBastion (Parahumans)

Additional Tags:

Self-InsertCYOAEndbringerA man finds his hobbyThe rest of the world is terrifiedCausing major wars by accidentTeehee~Misunderstandings

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2025-02-16Updated:2026-02-25Words:229,706Chapters:83/?Comments:559Kudos:1,458Bookmarks:364Hits:86,951

(End)Bringing You A New Home! (Endbringer SI)

10moorem

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Locking Horns

Summary:

Straight hands, the chapter.

Chapter Text

Chapter 82: Locking Horns

-NOMAD POV-

Curious.

NOMAD was curious about many things. It had been designed to be curious, voracious for knowledge. This was true of any Shard.

And for the past cycle it had been glutted on a wealth of data, unlike any that had been seen before. A fundamental force that they had missed. A possible solution? Too little information.

It adjusted it's stance, long space rending nails meeting the lance its current enemy had crafted. Space shuddered as two inimical energies clashed, flaring wildly and casting the world in a brilliant hue of colours.

The claws snaked up the shaft, unable to pierce the artifice's defences, but unable to be stopped either. Once, then twice, NOMAD sought to bury themselves in the chest of their foe, only to be met with a shimmering panel of blue light – once again rendering its attack to nothing.

Again, curious. Yet another application of this force.

Deciding to back off momentarily, it stepped across the street with a region of altered space-time, taking the time to observe the nature of their current foe.

It was a fellow Shard, one of the ones crafted by the Thinker to spur on the development of various host species through conflict, as well as act as defence platforms in the event of conflict against rival colonies.

It had taken their encroachment upon its chosen territory to be an attack, just as it had with those curious pieces of technology.

However its actions did not align with this supposition.

NOMAD waited for a counterblow, but the six-armed being seemed quite content with waiting. Why?

It once again attempted to contact the Shard before it.

[QUERY]

[%$"(&^&(!&^]

Only nonsense returned, as it had before.

Was it a Shard? Their actions seemed too illogical for that, and yet what else could it be? A host, perhaps? If so, why was it allowed so much power?

"Does it matter? Kill the thing and be done with it," NOMAD's host chimed in, voice thick with an emotion the Shard was unable to parse.

The Shard paused for a picosecond, going over the very simple question and deciding there was wisdom to it – as expected of their Mary!

This time it flickered behind the defective Shard, lancing out with a dozen kicks. The enemy responded explosively, rocketing forwards in order to dodge their attack. From the cloud of smoke and dust they stepped forwards, completely unaffected by the explosion.

Too weak.

NOMAD didn't waste any more time, launching wave after wave of stilled space, observing carefully.

It watched as the opponent weaved around the strikes.

Why? Why would it need to? It had already shown it possessed a barrier capable of smoothing out manipulations in the fabric of space-time. Was there a limit of some sort?

One second it stood stock still, the next it was a mere inch away from their foe – immediately reaching top speeds from a complete stop.

Their enemy's eyes whirled to them, going wide as they attempted to get out of the way. A very human response.

NOMAD could see the detonation coming to life by their enemy's side, a crude breakdown of chemicals forming an exothermic reaction, but this time it was too slow. They barrelled through the explosion, picking up the face of their foe and using it to drive them into a nearby abandoned dwelling.

The creature held in their grasp grunted, expelling a pained cry as they swung up at them.

NOMAD lazily turned away from the blow, using that rotation to instead throw their enemy across another street. The air thickened to a syrup-like consistency as they did this, but NOMAD simply powered through – hurling their enemy as far as their strength allowed.

They followed after them, sending a dozen scything tendrils of distorted space ahead of themselves. NOMAD watched as the enemy Shard's blue puppet danced on frozen air, juking around three of the slashes, ducking under five and swaying out of the way of the next three.

But then the final attack came, and scored a dozen inch long cut near their shoulder joint.

NOMAD noted this, feeling a thrill as they landed the first decisive strike.

There was a limit!

NOMAD rocketed forwards to once again attempt to gore their enemy.

Then their face impacted a solid black wall.

It cracked and splintered as their skull hammered into it at dozens of times the speed of sound. Yet it did not break, forcing NOMAD to come to a complete stop.

For a moment NOMAD was shocked and confused, as much as a Shard could be, how could a mere wall stop them?!

It recalibrated, its scanners showed them the reasons why.

Shard Material.

Not an exact match. Too crude. Too weak. But undoubtedly something similar.

It peeled itself away from the edifice, lumps of black material flaking off their crystalline shell as it did so. Despite the speed it had been going, and despite the composition of NOMAD's puppet, only the first few inches of the material had been damaged. With that level of toughness, the material could no doubt survive the full arsenal of the host species' crude atomic arsenal firing upon it all at once.

Yet…

NOMAD flickered space once more, this time using a more refined manipulation of space, drawing upon higher dimensions to cleanly sever the jutting spire of black that had prevented it's charge.

Not enough.

Wait…

The anomaly was gone.

How? It didn't rely upon crude light-based vision, so how had it-

Crack!

A branching tendril of the obsidian edifice suddenly lanced out, catching NOMAD in the gut -piercing through a dozen layers, and sending them rocketing away.

The anomaly was waiting for them, spear raised like they were performing a joust as they used the momentum of NOMAD to bury their weapon inside their faux-ribcage.

Hollow pits met eyes of deep blue.

One face was devoid of emotion, as pitiless and immovable as the creature that lurked behind those eyes.

The other was fiercer, eyes wide and flashing a toothy grin.

Those eyes only met for a fraction of a second, and then they broke apart.

The anomaly drew it's spear back, ready to impale them once again. Instead they had to hastily use that same spear to block an attack aimed against their knee, swatting away the probing strike.

Theory confirmed.

'Oh, I get it. It's like plate armour.' Their host's voice silently echoes within themselves.

This wasn't an incorrect comparison, even if it lacked a degree of nuance.

NOMAD had, throughout the fight, used all manner of probing strikes to test that bizarre barrier their enemy used, the one which denied their spatial manipulation. In spite of their many attempts, they couldn't breach the barrier. No matter what method used, space could not be bent around their foe.

With the exception of a few places.

For whatever reason, their joints had been left exposed. A design flaw? Possible, but unlikely. There was a higher probability that it simply wasn't possible to include them into the defence.

Perhaps because the anomaly's form already took advantage of folded spatial dimensions?

Regardless, it didn't matter.

There were areas where it could bypass that hardy shield.

"I guess you figured it out?"

NOMAD paused. Had the enemy Shard just…

It had communicated, and not in the proper way. Instead it had vibrated the molecules in the air using their throat muscle. Exactly like the host species.

"Yeah, there wasn't much I could do to get around that vulnerability. The runes I used to anchor the effect don't like being stretched too far. So joints were out. Still, pretty good, right?" The words of the anomaly continued to come, all while NOMAD was unable to understand why it was speaking.

It remained where it was regardless. If this thing wanted to speak they would let it. Perhaps it would reveal a critical piece of information, and it could use the time productively regardless.

"Have to say, I wasn't expecting you to jump me right out of the gate. I was hoping to at least get a second."

The higher dimensions roiled with energy as NOMAD continued to dump massive amounts of energy into that space. Soon enough there would be a rupture, and bring enough force down upon the enemy to crush them.

The creature brought one of it's hands up to scratch the back of their shoulder, another irritatingly human behaviour.

'Uh huh? Really feeling the love here,' their host chimed in.

Well, at least their host was finally starting to come around.

"And I have to say-"

Light. A veritable corona of light erupted behind them. The dripping crimson light being overtaken by a brilliant sapphire. NOMAD's sensors went haywire, attempting to parse the absolute bonfire of exotic energies that had been kicked up.

It had appeared next to the source of those emotional imprints, which it could no longer sense.

In fact it could no longer sense any of those creatures present in the city anymore.

"Oh good. Thought I'd have to keep talking for a while more."

NOMAD hadn't turned it's puppets head to behold the source of the light, capable of viewing the world from all directions, but if it had it surely would have whipped its head back around to face the anomaly.

NOMAD's attention returned to their enemy, who didn't seem at all surprised by what had just transpired.

"Yeah, you weren't the only one stalling," the being's eyes flickered to the side as it spoke, before grinning.

"Just one more to go," it crooned, idly placing the spear in a defensive position.

And for the first time throughout this fight NOMAD felt a sense of unease begin to creep through them.

It would need to end things quickly.

-Alexander POV-

I keep up my grin, even as it threatens to slip off my face.

Yes, it was good that my surrogate was able to suppress the grudges, but that was one of the few things that had gone well so far – and even then it had been so painfully close.

Thanatos had figured out how I was negating their attacks. I was down two spears. It had seen me pull out exotic matter. Renji still hadn't placed down the last of the stabilisers, and thus had yet to begin his own preparations. Most of my cards had been played.

And, more and more, I was slowly being pushed to areas of the city that were inhabited.

I don't think that was on purpose, but if the Titan realises that I care about minimising collateral? Things will quickly get out of hand.

Should I activate my spear? Allow my Sting replica to fully come online?

No, the risk of Thanatos targeting it would be too high.

So what else is there?

"Nothing to say?" I choose to continue bullshitting, hoping to buy myself more time to think – but nothing was coming to mind. Fuck, I had always been bad at thinking on my feet, it was the entire reason I had come here with a plan!

The thing tilted their head, the uncanny motion sending a ripple of unease through me, even as I let none of it show. My eyes kept flickering towards my display, hoping for the last of the stabilisers to show the green light.

It happened in a flash. In the blink of an eye. In the exact moment I was distracted by my thoughts, Thanatos flickered out of existence and a presence appeared by my side.

I felt claws grasp at one of my armpits, and begin to squeeze.

It happened too fast.

I whirled around, equations dancing across my mind – ready to create a structure capable of fending the creature off- and then it happened.

SQUELCH!

CRUNCH!

I didn't feel anything for a moment, I could only hear the wet tearing of crystalline flesh and the crunching of multidimensional bone – followed by a wet fleshy pop as my arm detached.

Thanatos flew back, the kinetic energy of a rising pillar of exotic crystals launching it across the city, even as I looked upon my lost arm with horror.

Then the pain hit.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!" A cry rang across the desolate streets, wet and ragged as it's owner fought to remain in control.

It wasn't as bad as Hyderabad.

It wasn't!

Yet the agony still rippled up his -MY!- arm and into his -Not this again!- brain, searing waves that beat across the surface of his mind.

He-no, I forced myself up. My eyes flickered, concentration barely enough to trigger a contingency in my MIU.

The array of nanites lit up, forming up and self-organizing into a projector. From it's light came a circle, then two, and then a hundred more. A soft green light began to spill from them, bathing the area in a healthy viridian.

I had tested this a while ago, just after Hyderabad honestly.

A method of healing myself.

It had mixed results.

It was hard to remember sometimes, but every scrap of knowledge I possessed -magical or not- originated from it's own world, and those worlds had their own preconceived notions and limitations.

Those great mages, whose knowledge I had pilfered for my own, had never devised a spell capable of healing an Endbringer. Why would they, it's not like those had ever existed in their worlds.

But there was one part of their efforts that had borne fruit. Because while my body might not be human, my mind was.

My ragged gasps began to even out, pain ebbing away – becoming something manageable. My arms was still missing, cuts still littered my body, but they had become a lot more manageable.

I wobbled, the sudden lack of pain feeling like euphoria, yet I steadied myself.

Thanatos had already returned. Hollow pits watching me with a hunter's curiosity, arm still held limply in one of its bone thin hands.

How had it gotten through my defences?

The answer came to me a second later, it hadn't. It had simply removed the spatial distortions it usually wrapped around itself in order to reach past my barrier. Then it had activated them, taking advantage of the fact that my own defences didn't reach my own surface – extending a few inches apart from it.

Which meant my spatial normalisation fields may as well not exist. Perhaps, if there were more magic, I could make a bigger version, enchant a portion of the city with that magic. But there wasn't. Something like that would take an enormous amount of magic, something like…

My eyes widened.

Something like the former ritual site!

-Mary POV-

Things had shifted, Mary noted as she watched from her prison of dark crystals. The battle had been a constant back and forth. Her power had surprised this newcomer, ambushing them, only for it to be revealed that they were not mere chaff to be blown away.

Then her jailer had interrupted whatever it was their newest foe had been concocting upon that tainted avenue, only to be unable to touch the six-armed giant.

Now that enormous intellect had been fully turned towards the destruction of its enemy, to great effect. They were now down an arm, bleeding and in pain.

And yet…

Perhaps it was Mary's years of operating as a Protectorate cape, or maybe it was just her gut instinct, but Mary had a feeling the battle was far from over.

Picking up on that thought, Mary could feel NOMAD's animalistic urge to kill boiling over, spoiling for the hunt to come to a close. Their body curled, about to pounce, before a shot from a cannon sent them careening to the side.

"Argh," she grunted aloud, the pain from her body reaching her even here.

They tore through a building before her jailor stopped themselves, ripping their way back through another wall.

Their enemy was gone, the ripples in the air were no doubt from another explosion that their foe liked to use to get around.

NOMAD followed after them, and Mary was forced to watch.

Strike after strike, some dodged and some not. Whatever that strange green light was, it appeared to be doing something for them, despite the lack of obvious results.

'Hold on. Is she leading us back?'

Mary tried to stop the next thought, she really did. But after being trapped in the darkness for well over a week, completely alone with only an abomination for company, Mary's discipline over her own thoughts had become loose.

'A trap?'

She almost cursed as NOMAD began to slow down, devoting extra processing power towards scanning the environment.

If there was an aspect of the situation she hated most it would be that she had become little more than an unwilling part of this thing. Like a cog, desperate to move independently – yet unable to.

It was using her to think, to come up with new ideas and predict others.

She could only hope that, whoever this was, they could outthink both herself and her power.

She closed her eyes. It didn't help, the sight of the stolen city still playing behind her eyelids – as NOMAD had ensured after she closed herself off from the world for days following her transformation.

Forced to watch as that monster ran her life, and home, into the ground.

They were close now, only a few subjective seconds away.

'Please. Just end it already,' she thought – no longer knowing who she was praying to.

AN: Yo, my computer died. Completely gave up the ghost when it comes to Word. Can't access it anymore. Will either have to fix it or come up with alternatives.

In more chapter related news, the battle rages on. Alexander is holding his own, for the moment. He's managed to hold back Thanatos, and hasn't repeated the same mistake that he made in Hyderabad.

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Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationship:

Alexander/City Building

Characters:

Rebecca Costa-Brown | AlexandriaDragon (Parahumans)Director James TaggEmily PiggotColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantBastion (Parahumans)

Additional Tags:

Self-InsertCYOAEndbringerA man finds his hobbyThe rest of the world is terrifiedCausing major wars by accidentTeehee~Misunderstandings

Language:

English

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Published:2025-02-16Updated:2026-02-25Words:229,706Chapters:83/?Comments:559Kudos:1,458Bookmarks:364Hits:86,951

(End)Bringing You A New Home! (Endbringer SI)

10moorem

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Race Against Time

Summary:

Just in: plucky teens almost doom their city!

Chapter Text

Chapter 83: Race Against Time

-Renji POV-

His new speed was amazing, it wasn't something he'd been able to fully test out before – the only open space available to him being Antarctica, and he wasn't in a rush to slip while going at supersonic speeds.

Alas, even now he still wasn't able to fully push it, the city being far too frail to survive a simple jog from him.

The buildings passed by in the blink of an eye, his enhanced senses able to pick out each individual brick even while approaching the sound barrier. The air ahead of him pushed against him, behaving more like a heavy liquid than a gas.

In his right arm he was cradling the last of the stabilisers, technology handcrafted by Alexander that he couldn't afford to get damaged. It was simply too valuable, too integral for their victory.

Or rather, Alexander's victory.

Because, in Renji's eyes, this entire battle was…

Well, it was horribly risky.

If it were simply killing Thanatos then things would be much simpler. His friend likely could have created a weapon to remotely murder the Titan in only a month's time. It would have been easy.

But this wasn't a simple assassination mission, instead they had to rescue Boston as well.

Which was a difficult matter.

Humans were fragile. They required so much to simply stay alive. Food, water, oxygen, suitable temperatures, shelter, rest and much, much more.

The pocket dimension, the political situation, the rising tension; none of that helped matters.

Alexander, his friend, had to become far more involved than he ever had before. Calming tensions, stroking egos, advising builders, making deals with local power brokers, ensuring promises were made and building trust.

All so that he could begin saving them.

There was a reason Renji hadn't argued nearly as much against Taizong's arguments as he perhaps should have. It was because, while Taizong's reasons came from a place of disdain and xenophobia, he wasn't wrong.

Saving these people was a risk Alexander hadn't needed to take.

Renji had stayed his hand, and silenced his doubts in the end. While he may have misgivings, it wasn't his place to argue against his friend regarding his decisions, especially as he was now planning those decisions ahead of time – running them past others too.

But more than anything else, Renji knew Alexander needed this.

He needed to win.

And it couldn't be a pyrrhic victory, it couldn't be a win that left room for doubt.

He needed an irrefutable triumph.

Alexander had gotten used to losing, Renji sadly knew. He had lost in Japan, he had lost in China, he had lost in India and Antarctica hadn't exactly been full of glory either. Each time Alexander had grasped at success and then it had been ripped away.

In Japan his goodwill had become fertile soil for war and conflict, and his inattention had almost cost him dearly. In China his haste had crafted a city, but had also created a war that was still ongoing. In India his pursuers had caught up to him, carving a scar so deep it would likely always be present.

But it went further back than even that. To his very first day.

Renji didn't know much about it, Alexander had always clammed up whenever he asked- even after his friend had resolved to open up more.

He knew it was bad, though.

So Renji raced on.

250 meters.

100 meters.

10 meters.

His foot lashed out, anchoring him to the ground, tarmac crumbling and flaking away as he forcibly used the road to slow himself down. The sound of the splitting earth was a low rumble of tortured gravel, dust kicked up enough to drown out the entire street.

Finally, he skidded to a stop, overshooting his destination by a few meters.

He coughed, the fine powder that the asphalt had been reduced to irritating his innards as he breathed them in. After another few seconds of attempting to hack up the fine powder he gave up, instead choosing to forego breathing entirely.

'Gonna have to think of a better way of slowing down in the future,' he inwardly grumbled, walking the last few meters to where he needed to place down the stabiliser.

He glanced down at the intricate machinery that rested, unblemished, between his bicep and forearm.

Outwardly it resembled little else but a massive bronze rod, the only evidence to this not being the case were the intricate seams that hid the inner workings of the stabiliser.

He knelt down as he reached the spot indicated by his internal map.

The stabiliser did exactly as the name suggested. It stabilised space, preventing certain phenomena from taking place.

In this case that would be the collapse of the pocket dimension. If that happened it was up in the air what would happen to the city.

In the best case scenario it would simply reappear back in its usual spot, completely unaffected by the trip.

But the worst cases…

Well, those didn't bear thinking about. Alexander had given them a few examples, and many of them had even turned even Taizong green, if only for a moment.

He took the stabiliser by his other hand, lifting it up until it was vertical to the ground, and prepared to plunge it deep into the earth and-

"FREEZE!" A voice cried out.

Renji did freeze, not at all expecting the interruption.

Slowly, he turned around, only to look upon a situation that wasn't ideal.

Two individuals were glaring at him from the rooftops, capes from the look of them.

One was a boy, he wore a somewhat ragged hoody, his face covered by what appeared to be a bandanna and goggles that were clearly meant for swimming. His arms were crossed, likely attempting to be intimidating.

The other was a bit more colourful, wearing a patched together multi-colour onesie – a rainbow imprinted on the chest of the figure – their exact gender hard to pin down from their baggy clothing. More concerningly was the bright orb of light that they held in the palm of their hand, aimed directly at him.

Normally Renji would have laughed at the idea of two parahumans attempting to intimidate him, let alone being prepared to fight him – yet this wasn't normal circumstances.

His eyes subtly darted towards the stabiliser, would it be able to survive direct blows from a parahuman? He hadn't asked Alexander how tough the things were. A mistake, he realised with the benefit of hindsight.

"And you are?" The question he asked was casual in tone, hoping to calm them down or at least show he wasn't intimidated.

The one in the onesie puffed out their chest.

"We are Mosaic and Shade, it's your unlucky day villain!" The boast was flamboyant and proud, their voice -or rather, her voice- was a bright soprano – light and cheery.

A quick check against his database didn't pull any information up. So they were new, very new. That was not good. Renji could feel himself becoming more concerned, the tense atmosphere deepening the longer they observed him.

"I'm not a villain. I'm simply trying to set up these stabilisers to prevent any destabilisation in space-time from that," he gestured behind him, thumb pointed at the ongoing battle between his friend and Thanatos.

The two glanced to where he was pointing, and Renji considered using that distraction to bisect them. He didn't take the opening, not wanting to kill children if he didn't have to.

"A-And we should simply take you at your word?" She stuttered despite the bravado, the chip in their act uncoiling something within Renji, thankful he wasn't dealing with someone who couldn't read the room.

"Do you think I'd be out here if I could help it," he pointed out. "Even if I was a villain, I wouldn't be carrying out any plan while a pair 0f Endbringers were fighting."

He could see them hesitating, looking to each other for support. Then Mosaic turned back to him, body language indecisive – looking between him and the road, before sighing.

"…Did you seriously have to bust up our road dude?"

Renji blinked. Then looked back and winced.

"Ah. Sorry about that," he rubbed the back of his head in discomfort as the mutilated state of the road became apparent – the dust having fallen to the ground by this point.

"What, did your Tinker buddy send you busting across town at the last minute, or something?" The girl snapped at him, all mannerism of heroism having fallen off to reveal the moody teenager beneath.

"Well, that's- Wait, how did you know I'm not a Tinker?" Renji looked at the girl in shock.

Mosaic stared at him, not even her bulky onesie able to hide her exasperated body language, she turned to her partner.

The man shrugged, "Don't look at me Mos." To which Mosaic could only groan in annoyance.

"What the fuck do you mean 'how do I know?' You're obviously a fucking Mover you dumb fuck!"

'Oh right. Parahumans are rather limited, aren't they?' The thought was accompanied with a tinge of embarrassment, in truth he had forgotten that not everyone was as gifted with such a varied powerset as him.

Perhaps spending all his time with Alexander and the Paragons was skewing his sense of power?

"Renji, I have a drone in position. Do you need me to intervene?" The voice of Taizong quietly communicated to him through his communications hub.

Whether Taizong meant help in terms of negotiating or introducing them into the dirt Renji didn't know, nor did he care to. Silently he sent a negative back through the channel, his face not revealing the concealed communication taking place, as it morphed into an embarrassed expression.

"Yeah, fair enough. Sorry, kind of new to this," he said with a chuckle, before sending another worried glance to the trail of destruction behind him. "But seriously, could I place this down? I'm starting to get worried."

Mosaic narrowed her eyes. "Fine, but we're watching you mister!" She accompanied this by pointing to her eyes and then back to him, Shade nodding by her side.

Renji shrugged, "Fair enough," and then turned back to the stabiliser.

With a grunt he lifted the enormous pole off the ground, before driving it in. The pointed tip of the mechanism pierced the earth with ease, the rod sinking in with zero difficulties.

Renji pressed a few buttons, and stepped back.

The stabiliser whirred, internal cooling struggling to keep up with the horrendous amounts of energy pumping through the constructs. Space bulged slightly, creating something akin to a lense flare, before abruptly settling.

Renji let out a slow breath of relief.

"It's done."

-Taizong POV-

Taizong relaxed minutely in his chair, the unplanned meeting Renji had with the pair of would-be heroes calming down enough for him to deploy the last of the spatial stabilisers – Alexander's silly plan to save the people of Boston.

He shook the thought off before his mood could darken once more, instead turning back to check up on the fight against Thanatos.

It wasn't going well.

Having to stall for time longer than they had anticipated, Alexander wasn't in the best shape. Their form was lined with slashes and punctured skin. Where six arms had once proudly been, there was now three – Thanatos appearing to have a perverse fixation on ripping them off – and across their face was a long weeping wound, cutting across one of their eyes.

Which wasn't to say his creator hadn't given as much as they had taken. Thanatos wasn't unharmed by any means, their form cracked across a dozen places. Many of their more delicate sections – the ribs, legs and hair especially – had chunks that were completely missing.

Yet it was undeniable who was winning this fight.

Thanatos wasn't encumbered by the many restrictions Alexander was under. They didn't need to stall for time, they didn't need to be careful with their attacks and they didn't require magic to prevent themselves from going on a rampage.

Alexander did, and all those disadvantages were beginning to pile up.

But not for too much longer. He leaned in, and spoke directly into the microphone in front of him.

"It's done, the stabilisers are in place. You're free to begin," he said and watched as Alexander's figure on the screen shifted.

The hand that had been gripping the spear loosened, the paranoid protectiveness that had allowed the spear to survive the onslaught of Thanatos dissipated. Across his creator's face a smile bloomed, sharp and vindictive as they stared at Thanatos passed the bloody ruin that was their face.

"Understood," was the only reply, before the audio feed was cut.

He glanced back to Renji, the man now holding an Iaido stance about a hundred feet away from where he had been last. Infuriatingly the two children were also there, seemingly bemused by what he was doing.

Taizong contemplated shooting them once again, well aware that his fellow required concentration for what he was about to do next, but refrained. He didn't know their powers, and picking a fight may well become more of a distraction.

It would appear the samurai would just have to make do.

-Alexander POV-

Finally. Finally!

A chuckle bubbled up from my mouth, drops of black blood escaping my mouth as I did so.

My healing magic was working overtime, doing all it could to separate me from the white hot pain I could still feel across my body. It was like someone had seared fire into me, lines and marks of pure heat and fury. It was excruciating beyond words, but the magic kept me focused.

My antipathy for the creature before me also helped to distract from the pain.

"You've been knocking me around for quite a while, time for some payback."

And with that, the spear was activated.

A bright corona of light flickered across the blade, a pure white that seemed to make any other light seem dim by comparison. I could feel the change immediately, the minute forces that had been acting against the blade of my spear -wind resistance, friction and even gravity- all abruptly ceased.

My spear, which was already far from heavy in my hand, became as light as a feather. Sparks danced along the edge of my spear's head, tiny releases of nuclear energy from where my blade broke the atoms along the blade's edge.

Thanatos reared back, taking a step back as it realised exactly what I had been holding onto throughout the entire fight.

I wanted to smile at the creature, but with the wreck that my face was it probably came out as a grimace.

"Now that I don't have what your death may bring weighing me down, let's start round two." My declaration was made as I began walking forward, fully intent on killing the thing before me.

It flickered back, and I had to resist the urge to laugh again.

Soon, very soon, it wouldn't matter where it ran. My blade would reach it.

For it would soon be written in the stars themselves.

AN: Well we got a look at what Renji was doing. Turns out, it was pretty important as he's ensuring that Thanatos' death doesn't kill everyone. Unfortunately he got held up enough that Alexander got maimed several times. Fortunately he still completed his task. So now Alexander is going to go on the offensive. That should be fun!

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Chapter 905 - 81-83