Gravity falls : I am … Stan pines !

Narrator's POV

Stan knew Time Baby would eventually intervene.

Why? He was literally subjugating his soul in the present.

Thus, his future version would never allow such a thing to happen.

Stan cast one last glance at the future army, led by Time Baby, before turning back to focus on the magical formations before him.

'That stupid baby just confirmed my speculations,' Stan thought.

The ascension to a higher life form was indeed possible, Time Baby's presence was proof of that. But someone had to hold him back.

"Arlecchino, you know your role."

Stan didn't need to say more. She immediately moved away, heading towards Lilith and Hunter.

[Do not fear the consequences. Unleash yourselves against the emperor's enemies.]

Arlecchino transmitted her order using earpieces worn across all worlds before rushing towards the enemy, her scythe already in hand.

"You heard that, right?! Annihilate the emperor's enemies!!!" Lilith screamed before launching herself towards the enemy on her palisman.

Hunter, mounted on his magic staff, disappeared in a burst of speed, followed by the emperor's witch coven.

"Miserable beings, you have no idea what mess you are about to accomplish on the very fabric of reality," Time Baby declared.

His eyes lit up before a laser beam was fired from the symbol on his forehead towards Arlecchino.

*Damn.* The powerful energy beam was cut in two.

"This thing is dangerous." Arlecchino had struggled to cut the energy beam fired by Time Baby, unlike regular laser rays.

Time Baby's eyes widened in surprise before he signaled his men to attack.

*Boom!* Several laser rays and magical spells violently collided.

"Minotaur unit, protect the witches!!!" Arlecchino's cold voice resonated across the battlefield, as she was on the front line to hold back Time Baby's devastating attacks.

She is the only one who can do this, apart from the Collector and Stan, who are both occupied.

"We will help our virile friend against this horrible baby!!!" a black minotaur shouted before charging vigorously into battle.

He wore a gladiator's armor and brandished two enormous chainsaw-swords.

Yes, this was the former minotaur chief that Stan had defeated in a duel.

Although his appearance hadn't changed, he had received technological upgrades, like all members of his race.

Artificial organs, enhanced vision... In short, they had literally become an unfinished version of Space Marines.

Stan and Alador hadn't had time to touch their genetic heritage.

"You're not virile! Where are the real men!!!" the huge black minotaur roared, his imposing presence dominating the battlefield.

The Minotaur unit had been relentless in their unleashing. Their fighting style was anything but refined, unlike Arlecchino's.

It was simple, crude, and barbaric, but surprisingly effective.

"Fuck, when Lilith said this was an extremely serious and dangerous mission, she wasn't kidding," Hunter said, dodging a weapon's stock before teleporting behind a soldier to knock him out.

Slowly, the men from the future began to be repressed.

"Enough!" Time Baby screamed, and suddenly, all present people froze after an energy wave spread through the area.

But an unknown vague energy force freed them a few seconds later.

[Titan core activation initialization successful.]

[Using password **** to unlock Father unit's full capacity successful.]

[Titan core activation successful.] Arlecchino's voice became mechanical.

A dangerously red glow shone in her eyes, and the environment was invaded by a reddish light, similar to a sunset. "I hate magic, but it's the only solution to counter time effects for now," she declared.

Since her creation, Arlecchino had never been serious in a fight, and she had never needed to prepare so much.

Titan blood. This substance, originating from the Titan race, possessed incredibly versatile capabilities, including temporal manipulation under certain conditions.

The true reason Stan had kept Arlecchino away from these researches was not only because of Giffany, as Terri had supposed, but also because of a task she had to accomplish alone.

"MADNESS!!!" Time Baby roared, furious. This machine had dared to manipulate time in front of him!

'I am not a Titan like the master's second body. My Titan blood consumption is extremely rapid...' If she used Titan blood to transform into a temporal anomaly or singularity, she would consume less energy, but she would then have to face Time Baby's weapon alone.

She was forced to counter Time Baby's temporal manipulation until her master and the Collector finished their activities.

...

Stan's POV

"Father, are you sure Arlecchino can hold?" The Collector's slightly hesitant voice resonated behind me.

"You must trust Arlecchino."

Frankly, counting on Arlecchino was a risky bet.

My original plan was to use my version of the Infinity Gauntlet to easily defeat Time Baby and suppress his consciousness.

Unfortunately, Anne and her friends left with the stones in Amphibia, and they must be discharged.

So I'm forced to rely on the Collector and Arlecchino to carry out this operation.

Originally, the future army was supposed to be handled by the old ***. But I preferred to mobilize my coven and keep the Iron Giant in case of unforeseen circumstances.

"It's time to begin the most delicate part: subjugating a time giant's soul," I tell the Collector, who slightly nods, visibly nervous.

The next part of my plan is simple: use Leylin Farlier's knowledge to tame the ice giant's soul trapped in Antarctica or, more directly, assimilate this era's Time Baby.

Normally, to use the Spirit Beast Master magical formation to absorb a soul, there are conditions to respect.

First, the target must be dead. Second, the magical formation must be powerful enough to master the deceased creature's soul.

If neither of these conditions is met, there's a risk of role reversal. In other words, either I'll die, or my soul will be assimilated instead.

So yes, I don't meet either of the mentioned conditions. But I have a plan.

I'm not relying on one magical formation, but three, precisely.

The first is a Spirit Beast Master magical formation. The second incorporates a particular rune, radiating intense spiritual energy. And the third, well, it uses the same principle but on an extremely particular target.

Currently, I'm not even an official magus by Leylin Farlier's world standards.

I've drawn this formation with my meager rank 1 acolyte energy, but I've largely compensated for its lack of raw power with Titan blood.

As I activate my second formation linked to the offering path, a terrifying energy appeared in this world, or more precisely, in Earth's atmosphere.

A black crack suddenly spread in space itself, and a large moon-sized ball of snakes seemed to want to pass through the crack and descend upon this world.

The snakes composing the strange ball divided, revealing an incredibly beautiful body in the midst of the sea of snakes.

Each strand of her hair was made of tiny snakes, but she didn't look strange, but was instead very charming.

The woman smiled softly, looking at Arlecchino and Time Baby, before her gaze settled on me.

"Welcome to this world, dignitary of the purgatory world and legitimate sovereign of the shadow world" it's time to bargain!