Walker couldn’t have anticipated what came next.

  He found himself on a small podium in a well-lit and expansive room. It was a stark difference from the now standard endless void he’d entered since the second battle. To his right, another person translocated in on a podium of their own, slowly forming in the air. The creature was humanoid in shape but blue, with large and apparent gills sticking from the sides of its neck.

  Walker waved.

  The creature looked over at him and waved back. The fact that it had a three-digit hand barely registered in his mind.

  “Huh.”

  His eyes traveled around the area. It was a sea of podiums. A constellation of Creators. Even as he watched, more of the victorious arrived, many seeming to be as shocked as he was to see their location.

  Why are they grouping us up like this?

  It gave him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, only offset by the results of the fourth battle.

  That the Symphonians had made him proud was without question. They’d not only worked together with a sense of purpose, but had also pushed their skills and abilities to new heights. Maybe Runner couldn’t damage the Regenerating Behemoth. And maybe Thomas wasn’t the best at fighting. But together, they’d defeated the Alpha Protocol’s mettling. They had succeeded when so many other Creator’s entities had not.

  They were champions, both literally and figuratively.

  Walker scanned the room, trying his best to suppress the sense of superiority welling up. He didn’t look down on the other Creators for having it easier than himself- you never knew what other people were going through. The rich kid had problems just like the poor one, though of a different sort. But it didn’t matter; he was just damn proud of his people.

  Damn proud, he thought to himself again as more Creators filled the empty podiums in the chamber.

  And while they’d done everything they could to win, he’d sat in plush comfort from beyond. It had frustrated him to the point that he looked a little mad at that moment. You could only pull on your hair for so long before it relented and decided to stay that way. The battle had been set so that the Creators had little to no input.

  Unlike the third, which focused on his choices as a Creator, the fourth had concentrated entirely on his entities with no allowed input. Walker had grown so angry that he’d made a promise to himself- deep down within. He would have a part to play in the final battle, no matter what.

  Walker continued to look around as most of the Podiums were now occupied. The varying amounts of different sapients in the room were staggering. But one thing did stand out. Many of the people in the room looked vaguely human. A slight difference here and there. The ears were too big. Eyes too small. Muscles too…gargantuan. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that humanity or something like it was well spread across the Multiverse.

  Of course, there were slime creatures and other fantastical folk he’d only seen in comics, dreams, and nightmares, but they were few and far between. It made him ponder some things. Like, why did he keep running into multiversal oddities if something like humanity was so prevalent throughout the stars? And, if humanity was so common, then why did he see almost none at the Grand Auction?

  Multiversal racism?

  He didn’t have time to further delve into the idea. As the final podium filled, the lights brightened to a blinding level. When they settled down, a large structure with nine seats appeared, one creature standing in front of each.

  Melodramatic as shit. He glanced from the thrones to the other Creators on their basic podiums. Kings and peasants.

  Eight of the people standing in front of him were unfamiliar, but he knew the ninth. With a large smile, the stitched man stood out compared to the dour expressions of the rest. From left to right, they took their seats in front of the crowd of silent Creators. Walker noticed a pointed glare aimed his way from the catlike man on the far right. Not knowing what to make of it, the man looked away from him and toward the crowd before speaking.

  “Welcome, victorious Creators of the fourth battle. You have shocked us. Surprised us. Truly epitomized the purpose of the Alpha Protocol with your ingenuity, creative decisions, and viciousness. To be a Creator is to advance the Multiverse by any means necessary. In that, you have succeeded.”

  The woman seated beside him spoke up next, “If you have not yet guessed it, we are the Alpha Protocol Council. In our long history, this is the first time a Rendition’s Creators has met us before the conclusion of the fifth and final battle. However, we felt it was necessary due to our decision following the fourth battle.”

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  The third man sneered at the crowd, “You’ll have twenty-five hours.”

  That shook Walker. He still had many plans to see through and ideas he wanted to test. Not to mention the people of Luck’s Haven. He wasn’t the only one who was upset. Many of the Creators around him began to yell, but the Council was unperturbed. The fourth Council Member raised a hand, keeping it raised until the crowd quieted down.

  “I will be as honest with you as I possibly can. We have nothing left to gain from this Rendition. Everything we wanted to learn, we have done so. Everything we had an interest in has been studied. There is no more need for Rendition 4AA. It is time to move on and place our resources where they will have the most value.”

  Virgil was right again…not that I’m going to tell him exactly what was said here.

  The smiling council member in the center laughed, “And so it is! Twenty-five hours, everyone!” He clapped twice, a rictus smile stretched across the stitches of his face. “Now, since we’re cutting down on your time so extravagantly, I’ve convinced the Council to lighten the difficulty of the final battle. Anyone who makes it through will be titled according to your placement within the protocol’s total points and granted a dominion that aligns with your accrued contributions.” He looked at Council Member One, the man’s eyes deadlocked onto Walker, “I believe they’ve earned the right to see their placement thus far, correct?”

  The man’s glare shifted to Council Member Five before sighing, “Yes. Normally, you would not see this until the final battle, but this is a time for firsts. Behold!” He gestured, and a screen appeared.

  Sitting right at number one was a name Walker knew quite well.

  First: Dante: Contribution points: 13,485

  Second: Ferrule: Contribution points: 2,136

  Third: A’ia: Contribution points: 2,056

  …

  The list slowly scrolled down, but the crowd did not like what they saw.

  “82nd? Me?”

  “Whose this Dante prick?”

  “Isn’t that the asshole who created a destroyer?”

  “Wait, do we get points for destroying other Creator’s planets?”

  “Silence!”

  Council Member Three’s voice was so loud that Walker felt his eardrums burst. With a slight sense of vertigo, he held a hand to the top of his head, waiting for the pain to calm down as his body went to work repairing it. He barely made out what was said next.

  “It is not your turn three!”

  “You don’t have access to the sonic Evolution, four, so shut it.”

  “Don’t call me four!”

  By the time his ears had healed, the woman seated in the sixth chair was already speaking, “Yes, silence would be most beneficial. From everyone.” She paused to give the two chairs currently sulking a look, then continued, “The contribution points are tallied by studying the Creator’s discoveries, experiments, and, most importantly, their placement in the battles. Creator Dante has gone above and beyond compared to the rest of the fourth rendition. It’s purely logical statistics, not favoritism.”

  Walker noted the stitched man’s smile, and the first chairs bared teeth at that.

  The seventh chair spoke lazily, as if every word was dragged out of him through force, “If you will all review your overlays, this will go much more quickly.”

  …

  …

  …

  Walker was about to look at them to see what was going on when it finally dropped in.

  Congratulations Dante!

  Due to your current rank within Rendition 4AA’s Creator Wars, you may be invited to join the Alpha Protocol Council.

  This is quite the honor and comes with additional powers not customarily granted to standard members of the Multiverse.

  Junior Alpha Protocol Council rewards:

  Residency in the Center.

  Access to all the rights of a Junior Alpha Protocol Council Member.

  A profound and Rendition changing income.

  An invitation to all major Multiversal events.

  …

  Should you maintain your placement and decide not to accept the Council’s invitation, you will still be granted the following titles:

  Multiversal title: High Lord

  Naming rights for Rendition 4AA.

  Rendition 4AA title: Overlord

  Unique title: Rendition 4AA Top Creator

  Symphony constellation title: Lord

  Taxable allowance from Rendition 4AA: 1-2%

  Taxable allowance from the Symphony constellation: Variable%

  The eighth chair crossed all of her legs as she spoke, “Have you all had a chance to see your potential titles? Great. Grand. Let’s get a move on.”

  The man beside her rolled his eyes, “No showmanship. We decided as a group that you, the Creators, should be aware of your potential rewards. Exceed your current standing and find those rewards all the more significant. Exceed your limits, and you may gain an invitation to the most powerful factions within the multiverse. Good luck, and may you survive the final battle.”

  Walker’s vision started to darken as he began to feel himself being translocated. But not before he caught the shit-eating smile still sitting on the stitched man’s face.

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