Time After Time

Go through the portal

Operation DESTINY has reached a critical juncture, Dread Tomax. And now I must ask you to take a greater role. You must go to the experimental portal here in Grandville and venture through it. Once through the portal, you will be able to assess what the future holds for Lord Recluse and Arachnos. You will be one of our first scouts to a brave new world.

In some ways, I envy you, Dread Tomax. This is a grand adventure you embark on.

You hear a loud crackle and are nearly blinded by a flash of light.

Objective: You have beaten Dr. Aeon!

Dr. Aeon? [Elite Boss] An unethical scientific genius, Dr. Aeon is not a man to be trifled with. Some think he may soon become a major player within Arachnos, assuming he survives the plans of his enemies.

Mission Complete: You have found... and defeated Dr. Aeon.

You met Dr. Aeon within the portal? Very troubling. Aeon is supposed to be a loyal servant of Arachnos, but I have heard rumors in the past that this is not entirely true. If he truly redirected our portal, there will be trouble for him.

Talk to Arbiter Daos

You must go and visit Arbiter Daos. Only with his permission can you accost Dr. Aeon and bring him in for questioning.

Daos, like all arbiters, has the power to save lives, or to destroy them.

Some say Dr. Aeon is a genius. Some say he's mad. And there are quite a few who say that he's both.

Objective: You have beaten Dr. Aeon!

Dr. Aeon's story

When you defeated Dr. Aeon, he said:

'I swear to you, I don't know anything about redirecting the Operation: DESTINY portal. It wasn't me! But, I did have a bit of a strange encounter recently. I was visited by a Dr. Echo, who claimed that he would do anything to forestall your terrible future. Perhaps it was he who redirected the portal?'

Dr. Aeon [Elite Boss] An unethical scientific genius, Dr. Aeon is not a man to be trifled with. Some think he may soon become a major player within Arachnos, assuming he survives the plans of his enemies.

Mission Complete: You have defeated Dr. Aeon.

Aeon's story is a strange one. We will have to follow up on this 'Professor Echo' he mentions. He sounds as though he is particularly interested in your future, and he could be a threat to Operation: DESTINY.

Go to Arachnos center for prognostication

Dr. Aeon mentioned a Professor Echo who hinted at your future. But rather than send you of to catch some old fool, we have our own means of determining these things. I know that Lord Recluse often consults with both my Fortunata seers and Scirocco's Mu Mystics to find glimpses of the future. I want you to go to the Mu Mystic prognostication group, and confirm this strange tale with their leader, Mu'Kau. They won't be happy to see you, but any mayhem you cause while looking for Mu'Kau will only ensure that he tells you the truth when you do find him.

Oh, Scirocco will no doubt be upset when he hears of the damage you caused, but I can calm him. And besides, if they did not see it coming, they can't be terribly good at seeing the future, now can they? You have my permission to use any force necessary to wring the truth from those you encounter.

This place is filled with Mu Mystics floating about in their strange way.

Objective: Mystic Mu'Kau told you your future.

Your future

Mystic Mu'Kau told you:

'It does not surprise me that Echo sought to destroy you. Your future is writ large upon the fabric of time, and it is written in blood. No doubt Echo was trying to forestall your fate, for it is a terrible one. For if Lord Recluse succeeds, and his Operation: DESTINY comes to fruition, you and he will destroy the world in battle. If you are defeated, the world will survive.

No one expects you to succeed, you poor deluded tool. Lord Recluse would rather have the world under his feet than you at his side. Already, he is taking steps to have you eliminated.'

Mission Complete: You have learned your future.

So, my dear Dread Tomax. Either you will survive, or the world will. The mystics are seldom wrong, and they never lie. I'm afraid our association will soon come to an end; Recluse will surely have you destroyed.

Go through the portal

According to Mu'Kau, your success will mean the destruction of the entire world. It is a great favor, but I can allow you to find out whether this is true. I can help you explore a future in which all your plans succeed. If the mystics are telling the truth, you will find that future barren and wasted, beyond redemption. Go to the portal, and look closely at what you find.

The technicians will locate a world in which you rise to glory and power, then send you into it's future. I fear what you find there may shock you. But all of this must be kept quiet. You'll have to return to the portal by yourself, after you've found what you need to.

Despite the smoldering fires and the burning sky, this blasted landscape is unnaturally cold and barren. Nothing lives here, not anymore.

Objective: You found a plaque detailing your future.

Plaque from the future

You found this hand-carved plaque on a pile of rubble in the strange future Arachnos sent you to. It reads:

'This marks the spot on which the final battle occurred. After the Arachnos war, the second Rikti war, the Council War, the Nemesis War, the Rikti Civil War, and the final Arachnos War, here did the Destined One and Lord Recluse fight their final battle. With their death, the wars ended, but the world had already passed away. All that is left to this world is chaos and we, the isolated scraps of humanity. We have no home, no community, no pleasure, and no peace. As for hope, it exists only in memory.'

The date on the plaque is for 15 years from when you left. And buried beneath the rubble below the plaque, you can see the wrecked form of one of Lord Recluse's armored spider-arms, still clutched in the grasp of your own skeletal hand.

Mission Complete: You have learned your future.

So, it was as the mystics said. You destroyed the world, Dread Tomax. Or rather, you will destroy it, unless you die or Operation: DESTINY is stopped.

Take the hint and get Ghost Widow's help to 'Flee'

You are in a serious situation, my young apprentice. It would appear that you are the greatest obstacle to all of my lord's plans. I am bound to Arachnos, but still I am appalled that my Lord Recluse would continue on his course, even knowing that he risked the future of Arachnos and the world. But what could I do? I cannot disobey my Lord. And I could not even counsel you to challenge him, for to do so would only bring about the ruin you saw earlier. No, your only option is to flee. Well, flee or find some way to prove to Lord Recluse how great a threat you are without actually fighting him in the present time, where it could cause the end of the world. But that would be nearly impossible to imagine. Even were you find Lord Recluse at the point in the future he seeks where he finally defeats Statesman and were to attack him then, well, it would be difficult at best. But, bound to Arachnos I am, I can only tell you how to escape to any point in time.

I confess I have grown fond of you. Dread Tomax. Though we have clashed in the past, you have done much for Arachnos, and therefore, much for me. So I can do you one last favor. Speak with Technician Grant Naylor on Nerva Archipelago. He should be able to re-align the Destiny Portal for you to reach any point in time within, oh, say, the next 10 to 15 years. I suppose he could even alter the portal so that you could come back, perhaps with a trophy of some sort.

Technician Naylor

Oi, Dread Tomax. I 'ear you're in big trouble. You want me to... WHA? You're kiddin' me, right? You want to go ta the moment of Lord Recluse's victory? Sure, I can do tha' for yeh. We've had people there a 'undred times before though, an' really you should be talkin' ta Operative Grillo, but you're the 'Destined One', I guess. Let me adjust this Harmonic Redistributor for yah. Take it with ya next time ya go through tha Destiny Portal, an' that should fix things for yah.

Harmonic redistributor

Given to you by Technician Grant Naylor, this device should allow you to redirect the Arachnos portal and send yourself to Lord Recluse himself.

So, it has come to his. I will do you this one last favor, and allow you to slip into the Destiny portal, Dread Tomax. Perhaps, lost in the multiverse, you may be able to find your true destiny.

Enter Destiny Portal and defeat Lord Recluse

With that device from Technician Naylor, you should be able to reach exactly where you need to go. Still, I must counsel that you flee. Unless, of course, you think yourself able to defeat Lord Recluse at his moment of triumph then return and show him the proof. That would be pure madness, even with a group of helpful cronies with you. No, that's a task that might even stop you.

Some times My Lord Recluse forgets that my spirit is bound to Arachnos, not necessarily to its leader. I hope you find just the time and place that you're looking for, Dread Tomax.

This is what the future could be: Recluse's Victory, and possibly your moment to triumph.

Objective: You have beaten Lord Recluse!

Lord Recluse [Arch-Villain] The Master of Evil, the Count of Cruel, the Archvillain of Anarchy. Lord Recluse has been called many things. But the people of the Rogue Isles know him as their lord and ruler. Lord Recluse has a mysterious tie with Paragon City's own Statesman - some even claim they were once close companions. Their hatred for one another certainly belies a secret perhaps best left buried.

Mission Complete: You have defeated Lord Recluse at the moment of his future victory.

It's over. Time to show Lord Recluse your prize.

Lord Recluse

This is mine, is it not? I understand your message. The Fortunatas warned me that your growing power might become inconvenient for my plans. And perhaps, one day we will clash for real, in a true final battle. But for the moment, you have earned some measure of my respect. You have grown in strength, you have grown in power, and you would challenge even me to battle without fear. I will no longer attempt to use you for Operation: DESTINY. You have grown beyond a mere tool. No, in you I have created something more. Through your long struggle you have become a true villain, wielding power over all and beholden to none. Go now, and work your terrors upon the Earth!

Usurper
Awarded for completing the mission

Entrusted with the Secret
Awarded for completing the story arc

Who could have imagined such a thing would come to pass? My Lord's plans in shambles when his chosen puppet disobeys orders! It is unthinkable. But such is the nature of villainy, don't you think? To do the unthinkable, to challenge the impossible, to conquer all before you and make destiny your own. I see many great things before you, Dread Tomax. Foes yet unconquered, challenges yet unfaced. The future is yours, and I envy it of you. I think we are done. I must return now to my own work within Arachnos, and you have your future ahead. but I will keep watching you.