- “Roach saw something in me: courage; courage to stand up for what was right. He never gave up on me, so why should I give up on him? He's out there somewhere, and we're gonna find him and his allies and bring them all home, as they would and did for us.”
- ―Mackenzie Davis[src]
Mackenzie "Mac" Davis is a major character featured in the Roach Chronicles. He is a secondary member of Umbra Ops, and is the leader of both Amici and Vindicta.
History[]
Mackenzie Davis was born in Los Angeles, California on March 19th, 2009, in the same universe Umbra Ops originated in. He gave himself the nickname "Mac" and was known for being a helpful part of his community.
The Hunt[]
In 2019 however, things would take a turn for the worst when a failed US black project to recreate the Unit 14 material known as Element X backfired, resulting in the creation of an urban outbreak of the undead. Both of Mac's parents were killed by the undead, and Mac ended up in the care of fellow survivors at the US Bank Tower survivor camp.
When the camp came on the verge of falling to the undead, four soldiers named Roach, Chris, O'Ryan, and TJ arrived to help fend off the undead while the survivors were evacuated onto various helicopters. At the rendezvous site at the Los Angeles International Airport, Mac met with Roach, who took an interest in the young boy. Sensing his courage, Roach gave Mac his signature Desert Eagle, telling the boy that it will help him down the road ahead. When more zombies began to attack the airport, Mac and the survivors were loaded up into a cargo plane to transport them to safety. After getting a small break, Roach gives Mac a bag full of supplies, but more zombies soon begin to swarm the area. As the plane closes its doors and begins to takeoff, Mac began to desperately scream at the pilot, telling him to open the doors to help the others board. However, the pilot refuses, saying if they stop now, they'll be overrun. Roach signals the plane to continue on as they continue fighting as the plane takes off, leaving Roach and his allies behind.
The Search[]
Seven years later, Mac had made three friends who would later become his closest allies: Gary Arlington, John Doc, and Rick Peterson; together, the four formed the group known as Amici. While the world had fallen to the undead, Mac still had hope that Roach and his allies were still alive, making it his top priority to find them. While in Switzerland, Mac has a brief flashback of Roach giving him his Desert Eagle before Doc nudges him on the shoulder, telling him to ready up as they approached a hospital, reminding him of a airdrop that arrived at the hospital recently. Mac then readies his .44 Magnum, asking the others of what they thought happened to Roach and his team. Peterson suggests they perished, but Mac dismisses the idea, saying they are strong, telling them they've been through a lot even since 2016. Mac then reminds them of the intel Roach gave them about Unit 14, saying they have a base hidden somewhere within the city of Zürich, stating that they could find a way to stop the infection and restore order.
Suddenly, they are ambushed by the undead, forcing the four to engage as they search the hospital for supplies. After fighting the undead, they discover the airdrop on the roof of the hospital containing food, water and weapons. As they begin to search the bag, Gary notices the Unit 14 logo stitched onto the bag, as well as a letter, stating "To any Unit 14 personnel who receives this message, we have secured the four test subjects and are currently holding them at the asylum located in downtown Zürich. We are preparing to move them to the secondary location if the site is overrun.". Mac then ponders who the test subjects are, saying whoever they are, they are extremely important to Unit 14. With this intel, the four then begin to head to the asylum.
Arriving at the Zürich Asylum with suspicions of Unit 14 activity, the four discover the site has been completely overrun by the undead, with no Unit 14 soldiers or scientists to be seen. As soon as they drop into the courtyard, they alert several zombified scientists, who alert more zombies before being shot in the head by Doc. As the undead begin to break into the asylum grounds, the four are forced to defend themselves once again. During their fight with the undead, they discover the audio logs of a Unit 14 scientist, who in one of his radios cryptically states that "the cycle must continue at all costs". He also states that if the asylum was to be overrun, two of the test subjects recently captured would be brought to the secondary location immediately while the other two were to be sent to a Unit 14 prison located in the countryside of Switzerland for further "development". After locating a document written by a Unit 14 scientist to the countryside prison, the four manage to identify the prison's exact coordinates in Seealpsee, Switzerland. Taking a chopper left behind by Unit 14, the four head for the prison to find the two test subjects.
Arriving at the prison an hour after the raid of the Zürich Asylum, the four discover all of the prisoners and staff at the prison have been infected. Surprised at how a prison like Unit 14's would fall so easy, the four begin their investigation of the site while fighting the infected. After discovering more audio logs by a guard stationed at the prison, they learn that the prison was a site where Unit 14 conducted several Element X tests on prisoners who were sent to the prison. Two of the prisoners were the test subjects, who are currently being moved from the prison back to the United States, where they would be brought to the secondary location. Knowing that they are running out of time to secure the subjects, the four manage to get back to their chopper. However, knowing if they fail to contain the outbreak at the prison further would cause more damage in the repair of the world, the four manage to find an armory containing several explosives. Using the explosives, the four manage to demolish the prison, containing the outbreak before heading for the United States.
As the morning of November 19th, 2026 rose, Mac, Doc, Peterson and Gary manage to barely avoid a SAM lock-on from a Unit 14 SAM stationed at the Malibu Pier. Crash-landing on the road leading to the pier, the four engage more zombies all while chasing down several Unit 14 members, who were carrying a test tube with Chris inside of it. Realizing who it was, the four desperately try to stop the soldiers, but they manage to reach a boat, where they manage to sail away from the pier as Mac yells in anger. As he begins to mourn the failure of their objective, Mac realizes that Unit 14 was trying to set a chain of events in motion in order to create a cycle in time. By doing this, Unit 14 would never truly dissolve, ultimately ensuring their survival. Realizing this, Mac makes a brief audio log of his own, where he mentions and explains the events that have all happened and eventually transpire again before throwing it in a dumpster for someone to find later on. As Doc says it's all over and that's no way to stop the cycle, Mac explains that someone he knows will stumble upon the audio log somewhere as the four continue to fight the undead.
As the years go by until 2030, the infected are eventually defeated and contained, but like the four predicted, a cycle in time was ultimately created by Unit 14.
Reformed History[]
While the cycle did occur for a few times, it would soon be broken when the younger versions of Roach and his allies finally discovered Mac's audio log during their mission to secure the soul of TJ's future self in 2031. Through the interaction with the audio log, the younger versions of Roach and his team soon gained their future selves' memories of the future. With this knowledge, the four would proceed to travel to a Unit 14 excavation site instead of their intended objective at the Humane Labs, where they discovered the lost Harbinger weapon. With the weapon, Roach removed both his and his team's souls from their bodies, trapping them in the Harbinger while turning their hollow bodies into Soulless beings, who were then promptly banished to Limbo. With their disappearance, the future was restored and the cycle was completely broken.
The Disaster[]
With the cycle broken, Mac sought out to discover what become of Roach and his team. Four years later, Amici learns that Unit 14 had set up a plan to begin another outbreak, one which would not only consume the planet, but all of the galaxy and eventually the universe. Learning that Unit 14 has taken control of Olkiluoto 3, a nuclear reactor located in Finland, the four are sent by the US Military to observe Unit 14's work at the facility and uncover why they took control of the reactor. Equipped with HAZMAT suits, the four are deployed to the site, where they hear a massive explosion coming from within the depths of the facility. As the alarms began to sound, the four began their investigation, discovering an officer's cabin. As they read several documents found within the cabin, they discover that Unit 14 had planned to create a simultaneous attack on various nuclear plants worldwide, hoping of creating a nuclear disaster. Realizing that the explosion was part of their plan, they exit the cabin to find that once the reactors were destroyed, they would detonate dozens of Chemical X bombs around the globe, creating a mass amount of zombies. The four then ready their weapons as they begin to clear the undead from the infection. Suddenly, they are contacted by a mysterious voice, who tells them they must accept their fate and share the same fate as Roach, O'Ryan, Chris and TJ. Asking who the voice was, the voice replied that he is what is left of "him". After managing to gain access to the main facility, they discover the core was in critical condition, knowing it would explode at any moment. After contacting Command, they are denied an extraction, saying that the facility was too critical for an extraction. Knowing the explosion is imminent, Mac manages to locate a fallout shelter under a hatch in the officer's cabin they found earlier. As the PA Announcer started the countdown for the detonation, the four managed to enter the shelter, sealing off the room from the cabin as the reactor core exploded, causing a massive nuclear explosion as many other reactors worldwide shared the same fate.
Two weeks have passed since the destruction of the nuclear power plant, reducing much of the world into a crumbling wasteland. Mac, Doc, Peterson and Gary, who all survived the disaster thanks to hiding out in a fallout shelter back in Finland, manage to use intel they obtained from the Finland reactor to locate a Unit 14 hideout in the ruins of a factory in Hamburg, Germany. After reaching the factory, they encounter tons of zombies, all of which were created by Unit 14's experiments. During the fighting, they are contacted by another mysterious voice, saying they are close to finding out where "they" went. After gaining access into a warehouse hidden under tons of rubble, they stumble upon TJ, who was wearing a black cloak with a red belt tied around his waist. As the four called out his name, TJ then summons as Crossbow from nothing, saying he is no longer TJ, saying he is his "Soulless". TJ's Soulless explained that his name is "J.X.T.", saying he is what is left of TJ after his soul was removed. The four then question what become of the others, with J.X.T. saying it's none of their business before charging towards the four, engaging them in a fight. After a long brutal fight, the four manage to defeat J.X.T., who then drops his Crossbow as it fades away. He then tells them that "Yaxnor" is guarding a base in the Netherlands before fading away. With no other leads, the four then head for the Netherlands in search of Yaxnor.
Arriving at the Gilze Rijen Air Base following the destruction of J.X.T., the Soulless of TJ, the four hear the voice of Yaxnor, the Soulless of O'Ryan as he hijacks the base's intercom. He explains that he is aware of J.X.T.'s destruction and explains that he will not share the same fate, saying he will never tell them the location of Xirsch and Xarcoh as he then places the base under lockdown, causing several alarms to go off, alerting every nearby zombie in the area as they then converge onto the base. The four then ready up as they begin to clear out the infected all while searching for Yaxnor. After reaching the security station, they manage to turn off the lockdown protocol, which ultimately unlocks the base's control tower, where Yaxnor was hiding at. Ascending the tower, they manage to breach the control room, where Mac manages to knock out Yaxnor with a punch to the face before he had a chance to react. After tying him up in a chair, the four begin their interrogation on the location of the other Soulless. After torturing Yaxnor after he refuses, he finally breaks to them, explaining that Xirsch and Xarcoh were previously here as well, saying that once they lost communications with J.X.T. at Hamburg, they retreated towards a bunker at Genoa, a city on the coastline of Italy, where they planned to head to the location of a rift, which Yaxnor explained that the Soulless were able to enter reality from Limbo via the rift. He then informed the four of their original selves, saying that TJ is close to returning following the destruction of J.X.T. Yaxnor informed them that when their respective Soulless are destroyed and once their respective soul is freed from the Harbinger, their original selves would be restored. Doc then thanks Yaxnor, saying that this isn't personal before executing Yaxnor, causing him to fade away, thus allowing O'Ryan to near his restoration. With this information, the four then headed for Genoa, with hopes of intercepting Xirsch and Xarcoh.
A day following Yaxnor's demise, the four arrive at the coastal bunker Yaxnor described as the location of the remaining Soulless. As they are about to enter the area, Xirsch appears on the roof of the bunker, saying that they will pay for the death of his brother, saying that Xarcoh will succeed in their plans. Mac questions this, but Xirsch chuckles to himself before disappearing. Suddenly, more zombies from the city arrive at the bunker, forcing the four to defend themselves as they begin to find Xirsch. During their search, they stumble upon an operations room, where they discover that Xarcoh, Roach's Soulless was planning on heading to the town of Mateur, Tunisia, where the rift Yaxnor described was at in hopes of sealing himself away so the four would never be restored to their original selves. The four become confused by this, but as they begin to leave, they are confronted by Xirsch. Xirsch then explains that the reason why Xarcoh wanted to four to remain as Soulless was so that the cycle would never be completed again. By sealing himself along with the Harbinger within Limbo, it would ultimately break the cycle completely. He then summons his silver Katana, saying he cannot have the four interfering with their plans as he then begins to attack them. After a long hectic battle, the four manage to defeat Xirsch, causing him to kneel down as he dropped his Katana. Xirsch then mutters he was only a diversion as he then faded away. Realizing that Xarcoh was already headed for Tunisia, the four secure a helicopter from the base as they head for Tunisia in hopes of stopping Xarcoh from returning to Limbo.
The four manage to reach Tunisia, where they discover that is had been completely overrun by the infected. Knowing that Xarcoh is here somewhere, the four push into the town in search of the final Soulless. After discovering a secret chamber hidden beneath the town's abandoned church, they discover Xarcoh, who was in the middle of opening the rift with four ancient pillars. Enraged by this, Xarcoh explained that he needs to be sealed away within Limbo if he would ever stop Unit 14 from completing the cycle, a cycle he would never be able to break. He then explains that the Harbinger can ensure that they would never be involved with Unit 14's madness ever again, offering the four to allow him to turn them into Soulless. The four refuse, causing Xarcoh to say he's sorry before summoning the Harbinger and charging at the four. As the four battle Xarcoh, the rift began to grow even further up until the entire room began to shake violently. After holding the four back, Xarcoh dives into the rift, forcing the four to jump in after him. The four engage Xarcoh one last time as they fight in the realm between reality and Limbo. After a long battle, they manage to defeat Xarcoh, saying that he's sorry before fading away. Mac then picks up the Harbinger as it begins to glow, signifying that the four are ready to return back to normal. However, the rift began to close, with the chance of them ever escaping slowly closing. Knowing they won't make it, Mac activates the Harbinger, releasing the souls of the four within as they zoom out of the rift just as it closed behind them.
Lost in the Fractured Realm[]
At some point during Amici's stay in Limbo, they were mysteriously transported to a place known as the Fractured Realm, becoming departed and losing their mortality in the process. Amici would remained trapped in the Fractured Realm for some time, traveling the realm that was once the future timeline that was involved with the cycle.
Day of the Departed[]
While Amici were traversing the Fractured Realm, the departed spirit of Gruntijackal attempted to resurrect himself by using the Yin Blade to tear open the Rift of Resurrection during the Green Eclipse in the Arc 1 universe. However, his attempt backfired and opened a rift to the Fractured Realm, causing the horrors of the realm to be leaked onto the Day of the Departed festival occurring in downtown Chinatown in San Francisco. While Gruntijackal was banished to the depths of the Fractured Realm and Umbra Ops, who arrived at the Arc 1 universe via Roach's newly-found powers of space, fought against the surging undead, Amici discovered Gruntijackal's rift in the Fractured Realm that lead to the Arc 1 universe. Taking advantage of the situation, Amici utilized the polarization device at the Griffith Observatory in the Fractured Realm to restore their mortality while parachuting through the rift down to the Arc 1 universe.
Landing on a rooftop below, the four encounter Roach and his team. The two factions finally reunite, and Amici explains how they were able to return. Their reunion is cut short however by the arriving zombies, and for the first time, the two factions fight with each other to battle the undead hordes. After fifteen minutes of fighting, the eclipse finally begins to end. With this, the rift started to absorb all that was from the Fractured Realm back into it. Because Mac and his group managed to become mortals before the end of the eclipse, Mac and the group was spared from this fate. However, a furious Gruntijackal manages to emerge from the rift with his remaining strength, grabbing ahold of Amici, saying that if he wasn't able to achieve mortality, they cannot either before grabbing ahold of a streetpost himself. Roach, O'Ryan, Chris, and TJ then engage Gruntijackal in a final battle, with Gruntijackal being a strong opponent. With time running out, Roach manages to use the Harbinger to blast Gruntijackal, causing him to release Amici. As he loses his grip, Gruntijackal is once again pulled into the Fractured Realm just as the rift seals in the skies above, ultimately ending the conflict.
Retirement[]
Following the Day of the Departed festival and following cleanup, both Amici and Umbra Ops agreed to remain in the Arc 1 universe. Having had enough of the fighting, Mac and his allies decided to retire from combat to a beach house in Miami while Umbra Ops continued on the fighting.
Balance and Order[]
Two years later, Amici are relaxing in their beach house when they see a news report of a supposed attack on the Pentagon. Curious as to what happened, the doorbell rings, and after Doc opens the door, a man in a suit barges into the living room in a state of panic. The man reveals that he is a agent of the CIA and reveals to Amici that they have made a grave mistake. The agent soon debriefs Amici on the current situation, informing them of Master Ronin's manipulation to trick the government into creating a new body for himself. Mac suggests they seek out Umbra Ops, but the agent explains that they have perished in order to defeat an ancient cult known as the Prophets of the Soulless. Heartbroken of the news that their best friends and closest allies were now dead, Amici agrees to step out of retirement in order to help the CIA locate and defeat Ronin.
Not long after, Ronin's army of Cube Monsters, created by the power of the Cube of Darkness, soon began to attack cities around the world in order to draw the attention of the world's global superpowers. In the following days, Amici found themselves back in the US Army as they began to help quell the Cube Monsters and find Ronin's whereabouts. As the fighting continued, Amici found themselves fighting in the city of Sydney in Australia. While fighting, Amici would soon receive word of an unmarked warship off the coast of Sydney firing artillery onto Allied positions along the coast. Realizing that Ronin was responsible for this, Amici soon requests that they attack the ship. Command soon grants the team's request, ordering them to meet up with SEAL Team Six in the port of Sydney. Amici soon fights their way through onslaught after onslaught of Cube Monsters before meeting up with the SEAL team in the port. The SEAL team then explains to Amici that their plan is to board the warship, disable the artillery, and apprehend Ronin before he can escape. Departing the port on a dinghy, the team soon encounters artillery being directly fired towards them as they approached the warship. After avoiding the artillery barge, the team is able to ascend onto the deck of the warship, where they begin to disable the artillery guns. After neutralizing all of the guns, the team moves below decks in order to find and capture Ronin. As the team moves into the ship's cargo hold, the doors behind them close, locking the team in the room. Soon, Ronin gets onto the ship's intercoms, welcoming the team to their doom, saying it was a foolish mistake for boarding the ship before ordering his Cube Monsters to converge onto the team's position.
As the team found themselves surrounded, they could only watch in horror as the monsters began to kill some of the SEAL team before Ronin enters the room, ordering his monsters to apprehend the team. As the monsters held down Amici and the last member of the SEAL team, Ronin slowly walked towards the team with a concealed pistol, saying that they are the third team of heroes to oppose him, saying that he has previously encountered the heroes of the Eclipse Universe and even Umbra Ops of this universe, though indirectly. Shocked over this, Amici explains that they are friends of Umbra Ops, saying that they are seeking to stop Ronin's madness and finally put an end to his schemes. As the last member of the SEAL team attempts to break free of his captors, Ronin shoots the man in the head, saying that they have his attention. Suddenly, the US Navy and Australian Navy begin to bombard the ship after losing communications with the team. Knowing that Amici could be useful in his plans, Ronin orders his Cube Monsters to take them with them as Ronin leads everyone out of the room and down the hall towards a launch bay, revealing a secret submarine bay. Ronin soon has Amici and some of his forces loaded onto the sub before ordering the rest of his forces to stay behind in order to cover their tracks. As the submarine separated from the ship and departed east, the combined navies soon destroyed the warship, seemingly ending the conflict.
Aboard Ronin's submarine, Amici are seen sitting in a cell together as Ronin approaches. Mac questions Ronin what he was planning on doing, with Ronin replying that they would soon find out, telling Amici that they are simply "bait" before walking away. Before he could leave the room, Gary calls Ronin out, questioning why he was doing all of this in the first place. Stopping dead in his tracks, Ronin soon angrily turns around and grabs the bars of Amici's cell, saying that he has suffered for over two hundred years, claiming to be witness to the horrors of war. As Amici wonders what he was talking about, Ronin uses his robotic abilities to project a large scale simulation of his past. After the simulation, Ronin explains that the Cube of Darkness would later be found by the US Government following the defeat of Erebus, where Ronin manipulated them into transferring his soul into P.A.X., an artificial intelligence android that would have been used to safeguard humanity from extraterrestrial beings. Ronin then tells Amici that he hasn't abandoned his ambitions in seeking out revenge, saying that once he secures the Cortex, his ultimate weapon would be complete, allowing him to fulfill his wish of revenge. At that moment, an alarm blared on the submarine as it then surfaced. Looking out the porthole in their cell, Amici realized that the submarine has traveled to an island. Ronin explains to Amici that they have arrived at Ball's Pyramid, a former active volcano which housed the Cortex deep within its cave networks. Amici questions how he knew this, with Ronin replying that his newfound knowledge as an A.I. allowed him to gain access to the military's most classified documents, one of which had a report of a comet striking the volcano, which housed the Cortex within it. As some of Ronin's Cube Monsters entered the room, Ronin ordered them to bring Amici with them, saying that they would serve as their "pathfinders" to the Cortex. As everyone cleared the room, Mac was quick to pull out a small tracking device, planting it on the underside of the table in their cell.
The group soon boards a dinghy, which soon departs for the island. After some time, Amici discovers an entrance into the island's cave network. Amici then enters the cave, with Ronin and his forces closely following them. The group then enters the central cavern, where a massive pyramid like structure could be seen further in the cavern. Ronin explains that the Cortex was contained within the structure, claiming that it was the "Ark". As the group traversed across the cavern, Amici questioned Ronin on what the purpose of the Ark was for aside from containing the Cortex. Ronin explains that during the Cortex's arrival, an ancient alien race came with it, roughly 500 years ago. These claims stated that the aliens created the Ark to serve as a sort of burial chamber, knowing that the Cortex would one day be discovered, along with its powers over psionic energy. The aliens would remain in the Ark anticipating for someone to discover the Cortex, but no one ever arrived. The aliens would soon go missing, and ever since the Cortex would seemingly be left unguarded.
Finally, the group reaches the entrance to the Ark. As the entered the structure, they discovered that the aliens were in fact still guarding the Cortex, but had entered a cryostasis slumber in order to preserve their longevity. Ronin soon steps up, using his abilities to scan the runes beneath the chamber's central pillar, which contained the leader of the aliens within the top. Ronin soon explains to the others that the Cortex was powering the cyro chambers, saying that by removing it, the aliens would thaw out and trigger a meltdown, causing the destruction of the island and the deaths of those in the caverns in order to protect the Cortex. Pressing in one of the runes, a secret chamber opens beneath the pillar, revealing the Cortex in a containment device. Ronin soon seizes the Cortex off of its pedestal, causing the entire Ark to begin to crumble. As Ronin jumped back up into the main chamber, the eyes of all of the aliens soon flicked red, signifying their awakening and the triggering of the meltdown. As the group begins to flee from the Ark, Ronin soon turns towards Amici with his pistol, saying that they have serve no use to him anymore, saying that they are to now die. Ronin soon shoots his pistol at the door above the entrance, causing it to trap Amici within the Ark. Laughing in victory, Ronin explains that the time to launch Project Medusa was nigh as he soon departed with his Cube Monsters.
As Gary and Rick desperately attempt to open the door, Mac tells the two that it is no use, saying that they would soon die. Suddenly, the leader of the aliens full awakens, bursting out of his cryo chamber and landing in front of Amici. Meanwhile, Ronin and his forces soon return to their submarine, where they departed for Shop 8 back in the Caspian Sea. Back in the Ark, Amici explains to the alien that they want to prevent Ronin from using the Cortex. This alerts the alien, explaining that he recognizes that name. The alien explains that they are in fact of Aetherian origin, saying that they participated in the Aetherian War. During this time, they secretly created the Cortex in order to combat Ronin's forces, but deemed the weapon too dangerous, sending off into the depths of space with a hand-picked team of soldiers in order to watch over it. In their travels, they became lost within a wormhole, ending up 500 years in the past in the Arc 1 universe, where they crash-landed in Ball's Pyramid with the Cortex. Knowing that the Cortex needed to be protected, the soldiers created the Ark, utilizing the Cortex as a power source for their cryo chambers as part of a failsafe plan to trap those who seek the Cortex in the Ark as it was destroyed.
As the Ark continued to fall apart, the rest of the Aetherians awoke, with the commanding soldier ordering his troops to stand down. Informing them of the situation, the Aetherians decide to assist Amici in their escape and pursuit of Ronin. In unison, the Aetherian began chanting, causing the room to break off from the rest of the Ark, forming into a flying saucer. As the caves soon collapsed, the saucer broke through the surface of the island as the volcano erupted. The saucer soon spotted Ronin's submarine and began to give chase. On the submarine, Ronin ordered his remaining Cube Monsters to engage the saucer as he allowed the submarine to resurface. As the Cube Monsters utilized the submarine's anti-aircraft weaponry, the saucer got close enough to the submarine for Amici to bail out and land on the deck of the submarine. Amici then fought against the Cube Monsters while Ronin unveiled the Cube of Darkness, where he prepared to use it to fast travel to Shop 8. As a dark rift formed in front of the submarine, Doc orders the Aetherians to blast a hole in the deck. Knowing what they had in mind, the Aetherians targeted an exit hatch, blowing it open and allowing Amici to enter the submarine's interior just as the submarine entered the rift, closing just before the saucer could follow.
Ronin's submarine soon teleported to the Caspian Sea as it approached Shop 8. Ronin soon went onto the submarine's intercom, where he rallied the last of his Cube Monsters to fight off Amici before they arrived. As Amici armed up and fought against waves of the Cube Monsters, they steadily continued towards the bridge of the submarine, where they discovered Ronin had barricaded the door shut. Mac then orders Gary to use a kicker charge to breach the door, having collected one from the submarine's armory. As the explosive went off, the four breached the room, where they were able to destroy the rest of the Cube Monsters on the bridge, but unaffecting Ronin, who soon charged at them and engaged them in hand-to-hand combat. As they battled, Ronin told Amici to give up, saying that he seeks to balance out the world and enact revenge on the Aetherians for taking everything from him. However, because everyone was fighting at the same time, no one was controlling the submarine as it barreled right into one of the support beams of Shop 8, disabling the submarine as it rammed into the concrete beam.
With Amici momentarily defeated, Ronin grabbed the Cube of Darkness and the Cortex before exiting the submarine and ascending Shop 8. Amici soon got up from the ground and chased after Ronin, pursuing him around Shop 8. Finally, Ronin was able to reach the roof of the complex, where he inserted the Cortex into the Medusa device. As the device warmed up, Amici cornered Ronin, saying that what he was doing would cause devastating consequences around the universes. Ronin explains that everything he ever loved was taken from him, saying that there was nothing stopping him from doing the same to all who crossed paths with him. Ronin soon rips open his chest plating, where he soon pulled out the Cube of Darkness and place it in a secret slot, granting Ronin tremendous powers. Ronin soon engages Amici in a final battle as the Medusa device continued charging in the background. As Ronin overpowered Mac, Gary, and Doc, he taunted to them that there was nothing they could do, saying that he hoped that they would be destroyed once the weapon activated. As Ronin laughed in victory, Rick was able to ambush Ronin with a machete, where he was able to stab Ronin through the back, slicing his circuitry and piercing through the Cube of Darkness. As the Cube of Darkness began to violently crack, Ronin merely laughed, saying that they've doomed humanity, explaining that without him, there was nothing they could do to disable the Medusa weapon. As he turned around and grabbed Rick, he threw him across the platform back towards the others, knocking them onto the ground. As Ronin cackled to himself one last time, the Cube of Darkness violently exploded within him, destroying both Ronin and the Cube of Darkness once and for all.
As the four got up from the ground, they soon looked towards the Medusa device, where they saw the device was fully charged and ready to fire. As the Cortex began to generate vast amounts of energy, the four could only watch in horror as the Medusa weapon activated, sending a blinding light across the world. As the light ended and the four got up, they looked around, noting that nothing happened. Looking at the Medusa device, they see that it was utterly destroyed, with the Cortex being completely fried and destroyed within its slot. At that moment however, Gary noticed his arm was slowly dissolving into a blue substance. As the others could only watch, Gary soon completely dissolved into a puddle of liquid. Horrified, Mac realizes that Ronin had won. Not long after, Doc and Rick soon followed suit in dissolving. As Mac stood atop Shop 8 all by himself, he could only stare towards the sky with tears in his eyes as the sounds of thunder could be heard.
Around the world, people began to randomly dissolve into nothing. By the end of the day, 75% of the inhabitants of Earth were reduced to nothing. A week later, Mac finds himself wandering the world, having been emotionally broken and scarred by the event now known as the Day of Medusa. Mac soon found himself sitting in an alleyway in New York City when a portal formed. Curious, Mac entered the portal, where he was teleported to Samuel Higgins' lab in the Arc 2 universe. There, he met with the heroes known as Novus, who brought him there for refuge. Mac then breaks down, with Daniela asking what happened.
The Sentinel Trials[]
In Higgins' underground lab in Green Mountain, Mac and Novus are gathered at a round table. Mac is being treated by Higgins for his wounds while he silently eats a bowl of soup. After Higgins finishes, he walks over to a sink to wash his hands. Daniela soon breaks the silence, asking Mac how things came to be in his universe. Mac then begins his story, explaining that he was part of a team of heroes in the Arc 1 universe known as Amici; they were close allies to Umbra Ops, a set of heroes Novus previously encountered. Patrick asks Mac where Umbra Ops were, but Mac solemnly replied that they died trying to save the universes from Erebus before the Day of Medusa event. After telling his story to Novus, he explains that he seeks to find a way to undo Ronin's actions. Higgins then explains that he knows a potential way, but it would be incredibly dangerous. Higgins soon informs Mac of an ancient substance known as Prima Materia, which was said to be the founding building block for all universes in existence. He continues by saying that the last of the known Prima Materia was contained in three relics known as the Sentinel Artifacts, which when activated would begin a trial to test the participant's worthiness to harness Prima Materia. When all three trials are completed, one final trial will begin, which will reward the participants the last of the Prima Materia at the end, which can be utilized to do virtually anything the user desires. Mac asks where he could find the Sentinel Artifacts, but Higgins explains that only one has been officially discovered, saying that it was in the possession of his good friend Doctor Evan Jones, an archeologist and explorer who would be presenting it at the Boston Museum of Science on August 15th. Higgins tells Mac that he would inform Doctor Jones of what Mac wanted, and hands Mac some money to take an airplane to Boston. Patrick also tells Mac that he knows two friends who would be more than willing to help, saying he will contact them to meet Mac at the Boston International Airport. Higgins tells Mac that he can spend the night in the spare bedroom of the lab, saying that in the morning Novus will drop Mac off at the Green Mountain airport. Mac thanks Novus, saying that he will set things right.
On the morning of August 14th, Mac's plane lands in from Green Mountain. Upon collecting a couple of his belongings, he meets with Simon Turner and Mark Harrison, the two friends Jacob mentioned. The two introduce themselves to Mac, saying that they heard what happened in his universe and that they will help him accomplish his goal in fixing everything. The three then leave the airport and head for a hotel in downtown, where they begin to question what the Sentinel Trials involved. Mark then takes out his laptop and unveils a slideshow he created, explaining that based on his brief yet informative research, he theorized that the Sentinel Artifacts will transform the environment around the artifacts into a twisted version of itself, adding various utilities around the area and transforming all who are not involved with the trials into the undead. He also explains that time around the trials will be paused until it is completed, and all who are not involved with the trial will forget everything during the trial. At that moment, Mac receives a phone call from Doctor Jones, informing the three that he fears something will happen tomorrow on the day he presents the artifact, saying he has suspicions that his work is being watched by someone. He tells them to meet him backstage at the museum, saying he will let them in.
The next morning, Mac, Simon, and Mark arrive at the Boston Museum of Science. There, they find Jones preparing for his presentation in his room in the museum, where he greets the three. Jones explains that his suspicions were correct, saying that the nefarious Unit 14 will undoubtedly seek to steal the artifact from them. This alerts Mac, saying that in his universe he helped defeat them, but Jones explains that this is the Arc 2 version of Unit 14, explaining that they have not been defeated yet. While the four talk, a Unit 14 agent sneaks into the backroom behind the four's room, where the Sentinel Artifact is at. As the agent grabs ahold of it, the four enter the room, where a standoff occurs. Mac orders the man to drop the artifact, but he refuses; instead he activates the artifact, creating an energy bubble around the group. As the artifact explodes, Prima Materia soon leaks out from it, sending it flying all around the museum and turning everyone into zombies while transforming the environment all around them. As the man laughs, Simon tackles him down, punching him twice before picking him back up and kicking him out of the bubble, causing the man to panic as he is transformed into a zombie as well. As the bubble disperses, the zombies gets up from the ground and tries to attack them, but the four are able to escape the room and lock him inside of it. Running downstairs to the main lobby, they find all of the exterior doors blocked off by goop created by the Prima Materia. As hordes of zombies converge onto their position, Mark discovers a supply crate that was manifested by Prima Materia next to them. Opening the crate, Mark discovers various weaponry, which he soon tosses to the others. As the four ready their weapons and stand next to each other, they begin to fight off the undead.
After the four are able to restore power to the museum, they are soon contacted by a mysterious voice, who explains that in order to complete the trial, they must "begin anew for the one that sleeps" and "look to the stars for answers". Know what the second clue was referring to, the four head to the planetarium, where they see the stars on the ceiling moving around in a pattern. Pack-a-Punching their weapons, Simon determines that they must create a constellation of something with the stars. Looking around the museum for clues, the four discover that they must draw out the constellation of the Little Dipper and Big Dipper. Returning to the planetarium, the four are able to shoot the two constellations, causing them to manifest on the ceiling. The room then shakes, causing the constellations to manifest into Prima Materia. The four then follows the Prima Materia as it journeys around the museum before striking the skeletal remains of a Tyrannosaurus, causing the ancient beast to be resurrected. As it lets out a mighty roar, the four realize that this was what the first clue meant. The four then proceed to engage the beast in battle, where they discover that it has the power to alter the area around the room. After a long battle, the four are able to destroy the beast, causing it to explode and send out a bright light.
As the light dies out, the Prima Materia around the museum soon begins to undo itself, reverting everyone back to normal. As the four holster their weapons, a blue apparition soon appears before them, displaying a coastal harbor and another Sentinel Artifact. Jones reaches out for it, causing the four to be imbued with the knowledge within the apparition as it soon disappears. Mac then tells the others that on the apparition he saw the logo of Unit 14 on the side of the ship. Realizing that the apparition was referring to a Unit 14 coastal facility, the four soon depart from the museum through a backdoor to avoid attention, where they begin to search for the facility's location using the Prima Materia knowledge they obtained. Meanwhile, the Unit 14 agent who activated the artifact soon breaks out of his imprisonment in the room, where he soon radios other members of Unit 14 under the callsign "Agent 14", saying that Vindicta has formed and that they have obtained some of the knowledge. As a voice on the radio questions what they should do, Agent 14 informs them to ship out their artifact to Station 11 posthaste.
Two days following the completion of the first trial, Vindicta have rented a car and have driven to Terminal Island, the port island within Los Angeles. As it began to get cloudy and rainy, the four park their vehicle near the entrance to Unit 14's coastal facility. Mac explains that they have to find a way in without being detected. The four then follow the perimeter of the barbed wire fence protecting the facility, and upon reaching a clear area, use a cutting tool to cut into the fence. Sneaking past guards, the four spot an out-of-place crate being loaded into the cargo hold of a ship. Mark confirms that it was the same ship they saw in the vision, realizing that Unit 14 must have secured the artifact sometime prior and that the crate must contain the artifact. At that moment, a guard spots the four in their hiding place, raising an alarm. Knowing that they were compromised, the four shoot their way through the port, where they are able to board the cargo ship through a side door on the side of the ship. As Unit 14 reinforcements arrived on scene, the four were able to barricade the door, thus buying them some time. The four then search the hold before spotting the crate. As Unit 14 attempted to break open the door and come down the main stairs into the hold, Jones explains that they have to activate the trial, saying it was the only way that they could make it out alive. Agreeing, Mac activates the Sentinel Artifact, triggering the second trial and turning the Unit 14 reinforcements and the dead soldiers. The four then fight their way up to the top deck after being cornered in the hold, where they see that the entire Unit 14 port and the nearby waters were surrounded in an energy bubble. As the undead continued towards them, Vindicta readied their weapons and began to fight off the undead once again.
Fighting back below decks, the four discover an apparition of the first Sentinel Artifact. Touching it, it soon explodes into some Prima Materia, breaking open the door they previously barricaded. Exiting the ship, the four fight their way through the port and the nearby warehouse. During this, they are once again contacted by the mysterious voice, saying that in order to past this trial, they must "discover that which was not meant to be discovered", "release the specimen", and "defeat the one who guards the sea". As the four fought in the warehouse, they discovered the room containing the Pack-a-Punch Machine. There, they discover a small safe hidden beneath a table. Wondering if the safe was what the voice meant, the four return back to the site of where they entered the facility, where they recover the power tool they used. Using the tool, the four are able to break into the safe, where they discover classified Unit 14 documents. Within the documents described Unit 14's research into Prima Materia, as well as the fact that they've secured "two of the three". The documents also describe a small squid-like specimen they captured and began experimenting on at a secret underwater lab, which could be accessed from a secret room in the dry dock in the port. Heeding the information, Vindicta discovers the secret entrance, where they find the underwater lab. Seeing the small squid in a glass tank, the four are able to release the squid from its imprisonment, allowing it to return to the sea.
Returning to the cargo ship, the four spot the squid coming into contact with the energy barrier surrounding the area. Suddenly, the barrier collapses, and the Prima Materia within the barrier soon flies towards the squid and infects it. As the squid sank into the water, the gangway onto the cargo ship suddenly collapsed and the ship started to automatically set sail. As the water next to the ship bubbled, the squid resurfaced, having been transformed into a massive Kraken, latching onto the side of the ship. The four soon engage the Kraken in a massive battle as zombies attacked the four as well. While fighting, the four discover direct-energy cannons on the deck of the ship, which acted as anti-air defenses. Using this, the four are able to use the cannons to inflict damage onto the Kraken. The Kraken soon lets go of the ship, swimming under it and resurfacing on the other side. There, the Kraken then causes the ship to tilt at a small angle, causing Vindicta to slide towards it. As Mac, Mark, and Jones held onto the railing just before the Kraken's mouth, Simon was able to grab onto the seat of a cannon, where he was able to use it to shoot a shot into the mouth of the Kraken. As the Kraken lets go of the ship and the others are able to get back onto the deck, it soon explodes in a blinding light.
As the ship rebalanced itself on the water, the Prima Materia from within the second Sentinel Artifact soon cleansed the port of the infected. As an apparition of an island and the third Sentinel Artifact manifested before the four, Mac soon realized that it was Station 11, Unit 14's main base of operations, something that Umbra Ops had previously experienced. As the four gained the knowledge from the apparition and it disappeared, they are suddenly ordered to stand down and drop their weapons. Dropping their guns, they see that they have become surrounded by Unit 14 soldiers, all of whom were zombies during the trial. One man soon steps out of the crowd of soldiers, commending the four on the completion of two trials. Horrified, the four realize that it was the same man that triggered the first trial back at the museum. The man introduces himself as Agent 14, stating that they have no intention of killing the four, explaining that they are more valuable to them alive than dead. As the ship continued to sail onwards, Agent 14 explains that the four will complete the third and final trial for Unit 14, saying that they will serve as the key to unlocking the ultimate trial for them. As the four were soon incapacitated by Unit 14 and imprisoned in the ship's brig, Mac tells his allies that there was no turning back from what they have started.
A few hours later, the SS Bulker passes through a fog layer, revealing Station 11 in the distance. As the sunset was starting to become covered by clouds, the ship was able to dock at the island's port. Vindicta are then brought out of the ship's brig, all bound in shackles, as they are escorted down the ship's gangway onto the island, where Agent 14 was waiting. Agent 14 then welcomes the four to Station 11, explaining that they have made some modifications to the island to help ensure the trial is completed. Mac tells Agent 14 that they would never help an organization such as Unit 14 obtain unimaginable power such as Prima Materia, but Agent 14 simply laughs, saying that they have no choice, revealing that he knows what they want the Prima Materia for, telling Mac that if they refuse to activate the third trial, then there was no saving the lives lost on Earth in the Arc 1 universe. Mac then sighs, asking Agent 14 to bring them the third Sentinel Artifact. Agent 14 happily obliges, ordering his men to fetch the artifact. While some of his soldiers fetched the artifact, Agent 14 undid Vindicta's shackles, reminding them that any wrong moves would cost them greatly as various Unit 14 soldiers aimed their weapons at Vindicta.
As the soldiers returned with the Sentinel Artifact, they hand it over to Simon. Agent 14 then explains that he will be watching before walking away with some soldiers. Jones questions how he would do such as task, but Agent 14 explains that he will be watching the trial from within a bunker designed to shield Prima Materia's effects, wishing the four good luck before laughing once again. As Agent 14 entered the bunker, he ordered his remaining men to force Vindicta to activate the artifact. As the soldiers surrounded Vindicta, Mac tells Simon to activate it. Nodding back, Simon activates the artifact, triggering the third trial as the area around them is infected by Prima Materia, turning everyone excluding Vindicta and Agent 14 into zombies. As a Prima Materia energy bubble encases the island, Vindicta swiftly defeats the zombies that were surrounding them, picking up their discarded weapons off of the ground. As Agent 14 utilized an intercom, he tells Vindicta to complete the trial, or die trying.
As the four fought on the island, Mac remarks to the others that this was what Umbra Ops must've felt like when fighting on Station 11 back in the Arc 1 universe. Before long, the four discover the entrance to the underground testing labs, where they are able to locate the facility's power. Upon turning it on, the mysterious voice contacts them once again, saying that in order to pass this trial, they must "harness unspeakable energy", saying that with it can they "defeat the evil within". As the four searched around the testing labs, they discovered the schematics for two experimental energy weapons called the Unholy Hellbringer and the Widowmaker. As Jones studied their designs, he explains that they, along with the Up-n-Atomizer, harness an experimental energy called "F-Space", which could allow them to utilize focused kinetic energy into lethal weapons of mass destruction. Mark questions what they would need to create them, with Jones replying that they will need to find a device that can safely manipulate the F-Space energy in order to forge the weapons. Exploring the island, the four discover parts for a device titled the "F-Space Manipulator", a hi-tech glove that can generate focused beams of F-Space energy and also manipulate large quantities of raw F-Space energy.
Using the glove, the four are able to utilize Unit 14's supply of raw F-Space energy to forge the two weapons. However, while they were forging the weapons, a Catalyst zombie came into contact with the raw F-Space energy, mutating it into a large F-Space Catalyst, which soon rampaged on the surface of the island. Agent 14 soon contacts the four through the facility's intercom, warning them of the creature on the surface. Acknowledging the warning, the four return to the surface, where they see the creature shooting a beam of F-Space towards the Prima Materia barrier. The creature then is able to rip a part of the barrier off, using the F-Space energy to combine it with himself. As the creature let out a ghastly shriek, the four soon utilize their own F-Space energy weapons to combat the creature while Agent 14 looked on. As the four fought the creature, they discovered that there were three large chunks of Prima Materia within it that could theoretically be removed with the F-Space Manipulator. Using the glove, the four are able to slowly draw out each of the three piece of Prima Materia within it, severely weakening the creature. Upon removing all three, the four are able to blast the creature with their weapons until it eventually exploded in a bright light, cleansing the island and completing the third trial.
The Prima Materia barrier soon condensed into a ball of light, where it soon traveled to the surface of Station 11. As the ball formed into an apparition of an arena, the four touched it, causing it to react as it formed into a wraith of a woman. The woman soon spoke to the four, telling them that she was the voice that assisted them in the trials. Revealing herself as Oracle, she announces that the four have proven themselves worthy for the ultimate trial. As she raised her arms, the apparitions of the three Sentinel Artifacts reappeared, manifesting themselves into their physical forms. At that moment, Agent 14 barged out of his bunker, explaining that he deserves some recognition as he was responsible for helping the four get in reach to all three of the artifacts. However, Oracle deemed him unworthy, saying that he sought to manipulate them into getting the Prima Materia for himself and his selfish intentions while they sought to save billions of lives. Furious, Agent 14 shouted that he could easily prove himself worthy before grabbing ahold of one of the Sentinel Artifacts. However, the three Sentinel Artifacts returned to their apparition forms, where they soon surrounded Agent 14 before letting out a beam of energy, striking Agent 14.
As Agent 14 lets out a scream of horror, a red portal started to form behind the group. Mac questions Oracle what was happening, but Oracle calmly responds that Agent 14 was getting the chance to prove himself, saying that his soul will serve as the gateway to the ultimate trial while his body would be used for something far more greater. As Agent 14 lets out one last scream, his body exploded into a ball of light, which soon zoomed through the portal. Oracle soon questioned Vindicta on which universe they wanted the ultimate trial to take place at. Looking to each other, Mac responds the Arc 1 universe. Smiling, Oracle has Vindicta look towards the portal as it displayed a desert in the Arc 1 universe. Nodding to each other, the four entered the portal, with Oracle following behind them.
Vindicta and Oracle soon step out of the portal in the middle of the desert. As the portal closes behind them, Oracle explains that the time for the ultimate trial has come. Mark questions if she will help give them clues in order to solve the trial, but Oracle explains that this time it is them that must discover what to do, saying they will know what to do when the time comes. Holding the three apparitions of the Sentinel Artifacts, Oracle combines them into one large physical artifact, giving it to Mac. Mac then activates the artifact, causing the ground below them to shake. Suddenly, a massive desert arena raises from the sand below them. Oracle then wishes the four good luck before disappearing. As zombies started to raise from the sand, the four readied their weapons one last time, with Jones saying that it was an honor to fight by their side. As the four fought around the circular arena, they discover four buttons on four pedestals around the center podium. Mac instructs the others to go to a separate button and press them at the same time. Once everyone got into position, Mac counted down from three before the four of them pressed their respective buttons. This causes four doors to open on the outer wall of the arena, each of them taking the form of a portal. While three of the portals were dimmed down in color, one of them was pulsating, which caught the attention of Simon, saying that that must be the portal they must go through. Agreeing, the four arm up before entering the portal.
Vindicta soon finds themselves in an underground chamber with a small forming rift near the center. Mark questions where they were, but Mac soon realizes where they are as the silhouette of the Soulless emblem formed in front of them. As Prima Materia soon encased the symbol, it manifested into none other than Xarcoh, the Soulless of Roach. Wearing his original black coat, Xarcoh at first questions what was going on before more Prima Materia surrounds him, corrupting his mind and forcing him to challenge the four to a fight. As Vindicta fought against Xarcoh, Simon questions Mac on who he was. Mac explains that he was Xarcoh, Roach's Soulless who formed after Roach removed his soul with the Harbinger in order to break a time cycle created by the Arc 1 universe version of Unit 14. As the battle raged on, Jones asks why they are fighting him in the first place. Stopping for a moment, Mac realizes that they are in Tunisia, the place where Xarcoh attempted to return to Limbo. This causes Xarcoh to pause for a moment as some of the Prima Materia surrounding him disappeared. Mark realizes that the fight wasn't about defeating Xarcoh, rather to understand how it came to be and what the repercussions of the aftermath would cause. Continuing with his story, Mac explains that despite Xarcoh's initial destruction, his newly formed soul escaped through the rift while Amici were imprisoned in the Fractured Realm. Mac then explains that Xarcoh would trigger a chain of events that somehow lead to what Vindicta were currently doing. Suddenly, Xarcoh collapses to the ground as the Prima Materia leaves his body. Xarcoh soon asks the four what this trial symbolized to them. Mac responds that it helped explain how things would eventually come to be. Satisfied, Xarcoh tells the four that they have passed the first trial room before fading away as a portal formed where he once stood.
Vindicta uses the portal to return back to the center arena, where the portal behind them disappears as the closest one to their right began to pulsate. The four then enter the portal before appearing on a side street in a city at night. Looking around, Mac spots that the moon was green, symbolizing the Green Eclipse that transpired during the Day of the Departed festival in 2017 in the Arc 1 universe. At that moment, a silhouette of Gruntijackal appears before them as Prima Materia manifests it into Gruntijackal while he was still in his spirit form. As Gruntijackal remarks that he was back yet again, he spots the Green Eclipse in the sky above along with the rift to the Fractured Realm. Having no memory of his botched attempt to resurrect himself, Gruntijackal claims he could resurrect himself with the rift before turning his attention to Vindicta, saying that he will destroy anyone who stands in his way. As zombies approached Vindicta, the four began to fight them off while also avoiding Gruntijackal's attacks. Mac explains to the others that this was Gruntijackal, an evil spirit who escaped from another universe, traveling to the Arc 1 universe in order to harness the Green Eclipse to resurrect himself, although his actions would unleash the horrors of the Fractured Realm onto the Arc 1 universe. Despite telling a part of the story, this had no effect on Gruntijackal. Jones explains that this trial didn't involve explaining how things came to be, rather it must be about something else. As Mac killed a zombie, he realized what he was doing. Mac soon tells them about the consequences of Gruntijackal's actions, saying it ruined lives, turning innocent people into the undead and taking away their futures for a time. Mac then realizes that they have been doing the same with the Sentinel Artifacts, saying that they are no different than Gruntijackal in this case. This causes Gruntijackal to stop as the undead around them faded away. Gruntijackal then tells the four that they have passed the second trial room before fading away as well, forming a portal where he stood before.
As Vindicta returned to the arena, they spotted the next portal having a dark aurora around it. As the four entered it, they arrived atop a dark tower below a massive dark hurricane. Mac explains that he doesn't recognize any of this, saying that if the trials are in chronological order, then this must've occurred before the Day of Medusa event. At that moment, the silhouette of the Cube of Darkness formed. Unlike the other two fights, darkness surrounded the silhouette, forming a masked man in front of them. Mac realizes that it was Erebus, the same entity that Umbra Ops defeated right before the Day of Medusa event occurred. Erebus soon charges towards the four, engaging them in a brutal fight. In the struggle, Erebus summoned the Harbinger. Shocked by this, Mac is able to lunge towards Erebus and is able to rip off his face mask, revealing Roach's face. Horrified, Mac realizes that Erebus was in actuality Roach himself. Mac begins to call out Roach's name, but Erebus denies that that is his name before separating Mac from the others. Mac questions Erebus, asking who he saw himself as. Erebus replies that he was an envoy for the darkness of the Dark Realm, saying that it is his mission to consume the universes in eternal darkness. Mac responds otherwise, saying that he was a protector of the universe, saying he would always put his life on the line in order to protect the ones he loved. Enraged, Erebus tackles down Mac, saying that it is his destiny to bring the end times. Punching Mac repeatedly, Mac says that he was sorry before sheading a tear, seemingly accepting defeat. Suddenly, Erebus began to struggle and he clenched his head and began to cry as well. Mac gets up and continues, saying that he never should've left his friends for retirement, saying that he could've prevented all of this. Erebus then collapses on the ground as he lets out a scream. Looking back towards Mac, he begins to cry some more, asking if it was truly him. Mac says that it was, saying that he was sorry for letting him fall into the darkness. Erebus gets up, saying that it wasn't his fault, saying that he had no control over the future, telling his friend that no matter what happened, he always knew that Mac would never truly retire, saying that they have gone through all of this trouble to undo something, trouble that has cost them more than anything they have ever done. Mac smiles before hugging his friend, telling Erebus that it was an honor to have him as a friend. Erebus responds by saying that his name was Roach before saying that they have passed the third trial room. Erebus then peacefully fades away as a portal formed where he stood. As the rest of Vindicta regrouped with Mac, they comforted him, saying that they still had one more trial room to go.
Returning to the arena, the four then enter the final trial room, where they appeared atop Shop 8. Mac then realizes who they would be fighting as the silhouette of the Goruxian symbol appeared before them as it summoned Master Ronin in his human form. Ronin expresses his shock at seeing Mac, saying that it wasn't possible that he was still alive. Mac tells him that he knows what this trial was asking for, saying that it wants him to get revenge on the man that destroyed 75% of life on Earth. Ronin then laughs, saying that he knew he won, taunting Mac that it seems that his friends were killed in the blast. Enraged, Mac tells the others that though this may not be the final trial, he will still treat it as it before engaging Ronin. As they fought, Ronin constantly taunts the four, saying that there was nothing they could do in order to undo his success. After a long fight, Mac is able to fatally stab Ronin through the chest. As Ronin collapsed onto the ground, he still taunts the four in their futile effort to undo his mess. Mac simply laughs back at him, asking Ronin that if they weren't trying to undo his mess, then why were they fighting him in a trial that would reward them Prima Materia, something that could undo his mess. Ronin stops, putting two and two together. Ronin begins to beg Mac to let things remain how they are, but Mac says that he deserved everything that happened to him once he messed with his friends. Ronin solemnly tells the four that they have passed the final trial room before dying of his wounds and fading away. As the last portal formed, Mac nodded to Vindicta, saying that no matter what happens, he would always be by their side.
Returning to the arena, Oracle freezes time, stopping the zombies momentarily. Oracle explains that they have done well, saying that the final battle awaits. Before Oracle disappeared again, Mac asked if the people they fought were real and not illusions. Oracle smiles, saying that it was really them, saying that the power of Prima Materia brought them back in order to test their courage. As Oracle once again disappeared, time continued as a gate to the north opened, revealing another part of the arena. The four then travel through the doorway and into a large square shaped arena. The gates soon closed behind them as the ground below them began to shake. Suddenly, Agent 14 emerged through the sand, having become heavily mutated as punishment for his actions back at Station 11. Agent 14 tells the four that this was all their fault, saying that Unit 14 deserved to have the Prima Materia for themselves. Mark tells Agent 14 that he was full of himself, saying that Unit 14 would've undoubtedly utilized Prima Materia into weapons. As zombies started to appear, Agent 14 tells the four that their long journey has come to an end before charging at the four. As the final battle occurred, Vindicta utilized the F-Space energy weapons against Agent 14, slowly destroying pieces of his limbs. As the more limbs they destroyed, the more Agent 14 would become enraged. As Agent 14 was down to his last limbs, Mac charged towards him alone. Jones questioned what he was doing, but Mac replies that he was ending it all. As Agent 14 charged towards him as well, Mac pulled out his Combat Knife before doing a flip in the air, landing behind Agent 14 and stabbing him through the back of the neck. Removing his knife, Mac and the rest of Vindicta watched as Agent 14 collapsed onto the ground and screamed one last time before exploding in a white blast, destroying him and the rest of the zombies.
Oracle soon appears once again, congratulating the four on completing the ultimate trial. Handing Mac a large vial of Prima Materia, she questions him on what he would do with such power. Nodding to the four, he replies that he would undo Master Ronin's deadly actions, brining back the people lost in the blast, as well as all of his deceased friends. Oracle smiles, saying that he has proven himself as a selfless individual with a heart of gold. Mac soon unleashes the Prima Materia from the vial, causing it to spread around the world, undoing all of Master Ronin's damage and resurrecting everyone lost in the blast. As this happened, some Prima Materia stayed in front of the group before manifesting into Gary, Doc, Rick, Chris, TJ, O'Ryan, Rook, and Roach. Mac runs over towards the others, where everyone groups up for a large group hug. Mac questions Roach if he remembered their emotional fight, to which he responds that he does. Everyone soon celebrated their victory as the sun began to set. After everyone was done celebrating, Roach utilized his teleporter device to bring everyone to the Arc 2 universe, where they met up with Novus. Mac thanks Novus and the rest of Vindicta for helping him on his quest, saying that it wouldn't have been possible without their help. With everything said and done, the heroes of the Arc 1 universe returned back to their universe, with Roach exclaiming that it was time to begin focusing on protecting the world from evils that would undoubtedly one day surface again.
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