Intermission 4

"The Rebellion" is the fourth and final issue of the intermission between volumes 1 and 2. It is set in a dark possible future of the NEDOverse.

Summary
It's been 4 years since the fateful accident that created the world-devouring hellscape called The Kingdom, but here, in this hell, 28 years have passed. Jacqui Silverlake -- Séance's mom -- the first person to be trapped here, all those years ago, leads a brave resistance force. The fellowship leading this force is Jacqui, Neiro Dojima, Devon the Renfield, and Sadatoni. (Minor characters: The head and torso of Champion Super-Robot; Cambium, now completely a monstrous plant creature; Summoner's spirit in the body of one of Séance's ball-jointed dolls; and V|five crabs.)

Challenge 1: Assassinate the impostor NEDO.
A new NEDO appears, performing heroic deeds in support of the regime. (This NEDO may, in fact, be John). The fellowship formulates a plan to bring him down by subtly manipulating his brain with telekinesis. Dojima tells Jacqui that her daughter is dead. The fellowship succeeds at this challenge, turning the impostor NEDO into a mindless shell of a person. Séance/Archangel suspects Dojima is behind this and orders Scott to find him and kill him.

Challenge Result
white, white (win the challenge)

Challenge 2: The manhunt.
Neiro Dojima and V (the five crabs) are pursued into the sewers by an army of shadow creatures. At the same time, Jacqui, Devon, Toni, and Cambium are leading a search party. The two parties encounter each other in the sewers and a pitched battle ensues. Wesley is revealed as the commander of this particular army of shadow creatures. Devon shoots Wesley in the head, killing him. The shadows laugh. Cambium is devastated. Later, during the debriefing at the forward command center, Cambium betrays the fellowship. The command center is invaded by Scott's armies and the resistance is pushed back.

Challenge Result
red, red (a character betrays (or is betrayed by) the fellowship and is lost, and lose the challenge)

Challenge 3: All out war--"The Suicide Mission."
The remaining members of the fellowship decide to cut their losses and engage in an all-out assault on The Castle -- the corrupted hellscape version of the CN tower from which Séance and Scott rule. Riding atop the legendary horse Benny, with Dojima and Toni fighting alongside, Jacqui leads a desperate charge into the heart of Scott's army. Meanwhile, Summoner and Champ disable the Castle's defenses, and Devon and V enter Séance's fortress and fill the ventilation system with neurotoxin, which weakens but does not kill Scott and Séance. After fighting off a wave of shadow soldiers. Dojima, Jacqui, and Toni decide this group battle can only be resolved at the source, and Dojima begins telekinetically flying them towards the castle. Before they get there, they encounter Séance and Scott. Scott falls first. Séance fights on. In the end, NEDO sacrifices himself to defeat Séance, and both of them fall to their demise.

Challenge Result
red, white (lose one character but win the challenge)

Epilogue
A few scenes - After Archangel's defeat, the world slowly returns to normal, emerging from hell, regaining its color. We see Jacqui arrive at her home, lay down her rifle, and put on a black dress. She goes to the cemetery to visit Izzy. We see a shot of a tombstone that says "Elizabeth Silverlake," and Jacqui lays the white opal from Séance's costume in front of it, swearing she'll find a way to speak to her daughter again.

Devon becomes the first new superhero, “The Poet".

Toni tries to live a normal life. At least, as normal as one can when her body is almost entirely crystalline. But she's hung up her cape and is trying to find some peace.

We see a flashback of Neiro Dojima, tangled with Séance, plummeting to the ground. Dojima's eyes glow white. Then there's a blank page. Then we see NEDO, wearing a nice suit, holding hands with Reader, who is wearing a nice dress. She is holding Séance's hand, who is dressed in her hero costume. She smiles. NEDO speaks, "I was...a bad teacher. You were...a good student."