The Grand Crossover RP - Pathway to Origin [IC/PG-13/Moved to NCM for Finale]

[Merci]

Isamy, IV-A2

"No, no. You're the one who deserves to be praised, being able to fight on this level with a superior being such as myself. Very few are capable of doing so." Isamy remarked amusedly, just as she spun around and let the fighter's blow deflect against her indestructible cloak of dark matter, although the force from it was enough to push her further back into the air. "Judging by your power, you must come from one of those Soul Society universes, am I correct? But you don't seem to be a Shinigami, or at least not a proper one. Sort of like an anomaly, reminds me of Spectral. Huh. Well, I'm still trying to figure it out."

Then, clicking her fingers, all thirteen dark-matter scythes suddenly emerged from the molten lava below them, aimed towards Sykes. It looked to be just a repeat of the assault she'd already attempted before that failed. "Your barrier's pretty impressive. If its defense had any weak points, then I would've penetrated through them a minute ago. Seems to be flawless."

However, assuming that Sykes created his Deya barrier once more as a defense, Isamy proceeded onwards with her plan of attack - when she had turned the distortions into scythes, it wasn't simply to attack him with them, but to form a field of spacetime distortion around him due to the paradox of a single scythe being in thirteen places at once.

 

This alone was enough for her to control the stream of space and time, for by taking ahold of it, with her eyes glowing a turquoise colour, the walls of defense were suddenly 'cracked. They were not 'cracked' exactly, since it would be incredibly difficult to do that. No, instead, space had distorted and allowed for a paradox to open up in which there were spots on it with no Deya. And, it was through these that thirteen scythes flew into, having bypassed the defense and prepared to cut down Sykes from within it. Could he defend from thirteen points at once, without his round shield to protect him? It was worth watching.

 

Even if he made it past that, it shouldn't be forgotten that Isamy was holding the original, and her very own scythe, right in her hands, and she was waiting to strike him down as soon as the barrier disappeared once more.

[Phantom Roxas]

[iI-B2 - Betwixt & Between - Tsunugai's Perception] - Xansvita

 

The Familiar did not even attempt to dodge as Richard and Tsunugai's attacks tore him apart. His body was surrounded in electricity and flame before falling down the ground, unable to fight back. There was no effort to get back up. Not even the slightest smug remark about how weak Richard and Tsunugai were. Even for Richard and Tsunugai, it was too easy, and it was all too obvious why. For some reason, Xansvita hadn't brought the staff with him into Tsunugai's perception.

 

Then, Xansvita's body began to change. He slowly flew up into the air, but his body was still facing the sand. Then, his wings wrapped around the whole of his body, before his entire form began to melt. Black, blue, and white mixed around in a puddle of darkness along the sand. The liquid began to expand, spreading further and further until it came to Tsunugai and Richard. In the center of it, a blue shape began to rise up. Spikes spread out from the back of it, three on each side, while red crooked lines flickered along the front. The shape, as big as Richard and Tsunugai, was a head.

 

The rest of the body began to appear, followed by thick arms and fingerless hands. The monster brought its arms around Richard and Tsunugai, attempting to crush the two warriors. The Unversed continued to rise up until it was able to stand on flat, brick-shaped feet. Three tails ran down from the Unversed's back, one placed above another, but all wriggling around, waiting to grab at Richard or Tsunugai. The Unversed roared, challenging them to fight it.

 

 

Back in the real world - if the blue, endless void could even be called that - Xansvita stepped aside from the ball of light that Richard and Tsunugai disappeared into. "There, that should keep them busy for at least a little bit."

 

"As annoying as you," Sliske muttered, "I'll admit that your powers never cease to interest me. What did you do?"

 

"The last time we fought one of those two, we were taken into his mind. We expected that he would use that ability against us once again, so we portioned off a part of our 'self' to be sent there instead of our whole being."

 

"You really are a treat," Sliske said. "So this is why Ophelia summoned me here. You will be one of, if not the greatest addition to my collection."

 

Neither of them were surprised by what had happened next. With the two of them facing each other, it wasn't long before the Winged Dragon of Ra appeared over both of them. The flames had faded away, its mechanical, skeletal, and ink-like disaster of a body towering over the two of them. Xansvita and Sliske exchanged a glance, before Xansvita took into the air, followed by Sliske, who shifted his body to once more have its demonic wings. They all flew higher as far away from the Inch of Will as possible, Xansvita summoning any Unversed to deal with those who would follow them.

 

If it could be said that there was a sky in Betwixt and Between, Xansvita had led Sliske and Ra to it. The Egyptian God fired concentrated beams of flame at Xansvita, but Xansvita countered with a series of Blizzagun spells. Xansvita had to cast them repeatedly to keep Ra at bay, with Sliske simply watching Xansvita struggle. Sighing, Sliske briefly used an ice spell to imprison Ra in a block of ice. It lasted for the agonizing entirety of a whole second, but it was enough to let Xansvita fly to the side. Holding the staff in both hands, Xansvita focused his power, forth four green orbs around him, with one more above him, and another below him. With the swing of his staff, Xansvita sent them all around him, Sliske, and Ra. Lines began to appear, connecting each of the orbs together. A larger version of the barrier from the Cyclone Command Style had confined them all, isolating them as Xansvita watched everyone below fight his endless army of Unversed.

 

"Now then," Xansvita said. There was not a single hint of amusement in his voice. He sounded more irritated than anything. "There are many loose ends we would like to tie up, now that the Counter Corps is here. You, Sliske, were a variable, a nuisance that has no reason to be a part of this war. And you, Ra." Ra spread one of its wings, aiming to swat Xansvita away, but Xansvita cast a Reflega spell to bounce it right back off. "Well, let's just say you'll learn some discipline once I manage to turn you into a complete Unversed."

 

Under his breath, Sliske added, "Not unless I manage to turn you into a wight first."

[The Warden]

|_)Magical Girl Lydia(_|

 

The battle was equalling the havoc caused in LERNA's Barrier, which wasn't a good thing. In the mess Lydia was desperately seeking Xansvita in the skies, having missed that he left through the ship. As she continued her mad search a flying blade narrowly missed her. She spun in the direction of the blade, and found the Symphony Master holding his baton delicately. "You" Lydia hissed.

 

The Symphony Master opened its arms wide to summon the Instruments, but it spasmed weirdly and shakily dropped its baton. Staring down, it found that a lance forged from light had impaled it in the chest. It shakily looked up to Lydia, who was giving it a death glare. "F**k off" she commaned.

 

And it did so, as the Symphony Master collapsed, its shako tipping off its head as it faded away into nothing. Beginning her survey again, she finally caught Xansvita flying upwards, with... the Winged Dragon of Ra following him? Well, it must've been Eria's' either way, she raced after the evil Unversed/Nobody/Heartless/I don't know what.

 

---

 

|_)Red, the Arisen(_|

 

Like Lydia, the little chibi dragon was surveying the battle, and was constantly casting Banish. With it, he had destroyed many of the weak Unversed, but, his attention had been diverted by the Duotruckers that were now coming up behind Alister. Squeezing around Red repositioned himself tp face the oncoming Unversed, and with great skill and haste he scrawled 6 glowing Xs. "Banish! Banish! Banish! Banish! Banish! Banish!" he cried each word in quick succession.

 

As each spell was cast the attached Duotrucker exploded in a shower of purple sparks. Again repositioning himself in the tight grasp, he resumed his casting, scrawling a very large X that faced one of the Metamorphosis that were attacking the ship. "BANISH!" he screamed.

 

The Metamorphosis exploded as well, leaving its brother to take the full brunt of the cannon fire. Red coughed loudly, for his throat had been hit pretty hard by all the screaming he was doing. "I think we're free to board that ship now" he said hoarsely.

[Kingdom Xathers]

"... wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Ratchet stammered out after shaking his head.  "What exactly's going on here? Alister, what're you--?"

 

"We've got company!" Alexander alerted as the Duotruckers had made their grand entrance, rushing into the Betwixt and Between and circling the lombaxes, prepared to strike at any moment.

 

Alister, however, wasted no time.  Or, rather, it was the miniature Red that took the initiative; Alister merely assisted him by holding him up at arm's-length while the dragon squeaked out his Banishment Spell, each shout obliterating a Duotrucker until they had all been taken care of.  Red had also banished a Metamorphosis, for good measure.

 

"... well, that was easier than I thought," Ratchet mused out loud.

 

"Looks like your little friend here killed their run," Alexander said to Alister as he proceeded to pet Red on the head.

 

"... don't patronize him like that, please," protested Alister.

 

The small smile that was on Alex's face vanished slowly as he remembered who he was dealing with.  "What are you doing here, Alister?" he asked in a serious tone.

 

"You going to ask me to leave again?" Alister retorted with a scoff.  "Look, Alex, I don't blame you for hating me, but--"

 

""Hate you"?  Alister, I may question your motives from time to time," Alexander responded, "but I never once hated you for anything!"

 

Alister huffed a sigh.  "Listen, Alex, Red and I are not here to cause the Corps any trouble," he explained.  "I'm only here to give that rat-bastard a piece of my mind!" he added as he jabbed a finger toward the far-off Xansvita's general direction.

 

"So, you've met him, I'm assuming?" Ratchet asked, to which once more Alister heaved a sigh.

 

"... I'm ashamed to say... he's technically one of ours."

 

Alexander's eyes widened as he did a double-take.  "What?!  But... why?!"

 

"Hell if I know!  He's probably just he to avenge LERNA, for all we know!" Alister shouted.  "Look, I just don't want anything to do with him!  The sooner we destroy that thing, the better!"

 

"Then I hope this has changed you mind about the Divine, Alister," said Alexander.  "Although you should've--"

 

"YOU THINK I HAVEN'T BEEN CONSIDERING IT BEFORE THEN?!" Alister shrieked into Alexander's face.  "You think that during my time with them, I haven't seen their true colors?!  That I've been oblivious to them?!!  That's... that's actually quite insulting, if you ask me," he added in a calmer tone.

 

"... Al, are you saying...?" Alexander spoke, looking Alister squarely in the face as it slowly began to show signs of remorse.

 

"I'll admit... I may be quite adamant and proud in my old age to openly admit that I was ever wrong about anything...," Alister spoke calmly, a sad smile crossing his lips as his eyes welled up.

[Kōsuke Ueki]

Tsunugai and Richard

 

This should have been expected from the moment Xansvita didn't react upon their attacks. Just before the creature could swipe them, time slowed for the two again. Tsunugai sighed. "Yep..."

 

Before the humanoid gargantuan could so much as touch the warriors, they disappeared in a quick flash of light. To their expectations, the creature was looking for them. However, they were nowhere to be seen. Until...

 

In a seamless fashion, Tsunugai and Richard flew at incredible speeds towards the creature, slashing at it one at a time. First Tsunugai, then Richard. Next, they ended up double-teaming it with a third strike that they both landed on the creature from both sides. Immediately afterward, Tsunugai appeared in the air, leveled at the creature's head. And with blinding speeds, slashed through the creature. However, there didn't seem to be any form of separation. However, something did appear to be planned the moment Tsunugai landed on the ground. "Hm..." Immediately after that, the creature was immediately shocked with a large does of lightning, enough to do some notable damage towards the creature.

 

"This is definitely too easy, watch yourself." said Richard. He could tell that Xansvita was a lot more powerful than before, so he may not have needed to separate a lot of himself to accomplish this. But, as always, you must never underestimate your opponent. There is always more than meets the eye.

 

(Current Location: Tsunugai's Perception; Betwixt& Between; Layer II-B2)

[The Warden]

|_)Red, the Arisen(_|

 

One twitch... and two. If not for his diminutive size and apparantly excellent self-control, Red would have snapped Alex in two for petting him like a dog. Instead he chose to dig his free claws tightly into Alister's glove to compensate. "Sometimes I wonder which side is which. To pet ME! A Dragon Elder! Like some common PET! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he thought screamed while shaking with unimaginable rage.

 

Though shaking still, he closed his eyes and his mind off as he took a meditative stance to calm his heart as the Lombaxes talked, or argued, or were just releasing sexual tension. It's somewhat hard to really tell. His tiny chest heaved as his heart rate lowered, and the boiling feeling inside slipped away, at the worst possible time.

 

"Then I hope this has changed you mind about the Divine, Alister," said Alexander. "Although you should've--"

 

"YOU THINK I HAVEN'T BEEN CONSIDERING IT BEFORE THEN?!" Alister shrieked into Alexander's face. "You think that during my time with them, I haven't seen their true colors?! That I've been oblivious to them?!! That's... that's actually quite insulting, if you ask me," he added in a calmer tone.

 

"... Al, are you saying...?" Alexander spoke, looking Alister squarely in the face as it slowly began to show signs of remorse.

 

"I'll admit... I may be quite adamant and proud in my old age to openly admit that I was ever wrong about anything...," Alister spoke calmly, a sad smile crossing his lips as his eyes welled up.

 

Red felt like his heart had been sucker punched, but he was quick to remind himself of the conversation they had had some time ago. "So, you've finally made your decision?" Red inquired in a hurt manner.

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

The White Sturgeon<IV-A2>

EEL I: DEAD, YO!

 

EEL II: The eel hadn't been able to pierce his opponent's armor, much to its disappointment, but some acid had gotten to his opponent's face and that made it a bit more upbeat. Suddenly, Radamanthys had made an impressive uppercut on the eel, and then moved in for kick that would strike at its face. However, the eel made a surprising duck and just barely missed the sweeping kick. Now, from its position beneath Radamanthys, it fired an intense beam of heat energy, hoping to destroy its enemy once and for all.

 

EEL III: The eel's attack successfully connected with Dorian and had managed to damage him some. Then, Dorian gained distance from the eel and it tried to follow but suddenly found itself surrounded with many feather-like energy blasts. Its opponent had said something about his own attack but the eel was too busy diving into the lava. When the attack came it managed to avoid a good chunk of the attack that would have surely ended this bought. Now, from the lava, the eel tossed many super heated rocks at Dorian with its tail. It would need to remain in one spot in its damaged state.

 

EELS IV&V: Although their opponent hadn't actually made an attack, the eels had noticed the transformation within the cloud he had summoned. It was almost entirely black now, but still no attack came so they would go on the offensive. One had sank itself into the lava, while the other coated its jaws in poison and lunged at the opponent to try and finish him with a devastating bite.

 

EELS VI: The humanoid it had been attacking was too fast and avoided the initial strike, and it had taken quite some time for the eel to stop and then find its target again. However, it heard moans coming from its comrade and decided to regroup with it, after a few moments its comrade stopped whining but then it was hit with some sort of seal and then multiple blasts of energy that singed and burned its outer shell. Although damaged, and now severely slower, the eel could still fight; it raised its head, opened its mouth, and fired a beam of heat energy toward Ran.

 

EEL VII: It had swallowed Chen whole, this it knew. However, the eel did not expect for Chen's assault to continue while on the inside of its body, this caused much damage to his non-steal insides. After a moment the humanoid was just gone, simply teleported by the means of the humanoid its comrade had been fighting. Although his comrade did regroup, it wasn't long before a rain of energy blasts showered down on the group of two. Though his comrade was slowed, it could still dive into the lava, and once under Chen and Ran, it rose so ferociously from the pit that it caused a plume of lava to launch up at the opponents.

 

EEL VIII: Ayame's attacks, while proving weak at first, had finally dug into the eels outer shell and managed to do some damage to it. Screeching pain echoed from the eel's mouth, however, that wasn't the  only thing the eel could produce for its mouth. After it was done writhing, it focused on the opponent and vomited stomach acid at her, hoping to melt her to the bone.

 

EEL IX: The eel had gone after Hades with such speed that it didn't have time to dodge the attack that was cast at it. The black beam of energy caused the eel to writhe in pain and become submerged into the lava beneath it. After a few moments of possible death, the eel rose once more, heavily burnt by the energy of the attack but the other effects of the beam seemed not to be taking hold. The eel launched rocks at Hades as a distraction before sending a wave of stomach acid at the ruler of the underworld.

 

EEL X: The eels attack hadn't been effective whatsoever on the new figure that had appeared in the battle zone, the one that was now summoning flies inside of its body. It was a fools tactic, though, as all the eel need do was cough up more stomach acid; this had killed the flies inside and flushed them out from its innards all tat the same time. However, in taking care of the inside problem, there was no chance of the eel recovering in time to doge being surrounded by a cloud of the flies. They had started eating at its flesh in pockets and then came sword strikes from the same enemy. The eel was given little choice, it retreated back into the lava for a few moments, and when it had reemerged the flies were indeed gone but there were obvious spots in its skin where they had been. The eel opened its mouth while looking at Kazuya and fire a beam of heat energy at him.

 

[spoiler= Eels. Non-fun eels.]

 

EEL I:
[The Value of a Soul/200]

No longer active.

EEL II:

[80/200]

Battling Radamanthys- Has taken damage.

 

EEL III:
[85/200]
Attacking Dorian-Has taken moderate damage.

EEL IV:
[120/200]

Attacking Butlerok- No damage taken this round

EEL V:
[120/200]

Attacking Butlerok- No damage taken this round-sank into lava.

 

 

EEL VI
[70/200]

Attacking Chen-Has taken mild damage-is now slowed

EEL VII

[75/200]

Attacking Ran -Has taken mild damage

EEL VIII
[145/200]

Attacking Ayame- Has taken little damage.

 

EEL IX
[115/200]

Attacking Hades-Has taken moderate damage

EEL X

[110/200]

Attacking Kazuya-Has taken heavy damage

 

 

Sykes <IV-A2>

 

Flattery wouldn't get this battle anywhere, surely they both knew that of course, it was for that reason that he did not answer her question about what kind of world he came from; nor would he indulge her curiosity on whether or not he was a proper Shinigami. Isamy had then regained possession of her thirteen other scythes from the lava bellow. All her talk of the barrier Deya could create and then her second attack that was of the same degree as her first had gotten Sykes to wonder about her tactics. This was when he decided to vanish, and reappear further away from the scythes and Isamy herself; however, the scythes quickly locked back on target. Rather than cast the barrier once more, Sykes tossed his blade into his right hand; it retained its shape as a rapier but now had a jet black blade with a silver handle guard that possessed a red jewel at the bottom of the hilt.

 

With thirteen swift strikes Sykes dispatched the thirteen scythes once more, some of them becoming embedded in what was left of rocks. However, the Scythes had been quite far out of the reach of a standard short range weapon such as a rapier; yet the sound of the the clashing weapons still rang clear through the layer. Sykes had turned towards where Isamy had once been only to discover that she was closer now, much closer, and was swinging her own personal scythe at him. With Cross draw, Sykes couldn't raise a shield so he opted to block with his rapier; he stood his ground and took the full force of the attack rather than letting it move him even though that would have caused less damage. The scythe had cut him across his shoulder as he maintained the weight of the weapon, he had positioned Cross that its jewel was pointing towards Isamy. One small glimmer was the only warning the jewel had given before firing a powerful and extremely potent cero-esk wave of energy at Isamy.

 

[spoiler=Sykes Huegares]

Health

[1050/1500]

Battling Isamy-Has taken damage

 

Energy

[500/700]

 

 

Ivero<Atop the Inch of Will>

 

The creature nodded at its master just before turning to look at Arthur and Kratos, who had just summoned two beasts of different sorts. "This is a better, stronger path for me Arthur, you could join us too. You, MachGaoGamon, and Eria could all become Unversed and be Xansvita's familiars." Ivero had adapted Nero's voice to shake the young warrior, trying to make him believe Nero was still inside, fighting for control; Nero was pure Unversed now, however,  serving the last person he'd ever want to serve. Strands of black ooze jetted from Ivero's back until the ooze formed itself into sickeningly black wings of darkness, while at the same time, black ooze ran from Ivero's hand until it took a familiar shape. The shape of a keyblade was formed from the ooze, dripping with drops of darkness that began pooling underneath. If the drips of darkness had come into contact with any beings fighting for light, those beings would most certainly be burned.

 

"Have this!" Ivero slashed his keyblade at the group, unleashing several drops of darkness at them; however, since the Centaur and the Chimera were standing at the front they had received all of the drops, acting as human shields. Instead of merely being burned, however, the beasts were coated in darkness and their eyes had turned into different shapes, they had become Unversed themselves; with one turn they pounced on their former master and tried to kill him. Now, while Kratos was busy dealing with that, Ivero flew strongly and at breathtaking speeds at Arthur, swinging his keyblade up at him while shouting in Nero's voice: "Come on Arthur, you and me, like  we planned..."

[Phantom Roxas]

[iI-B2 - Betwixt & Between] - Xansvita vs. Sliske

 

Eternity Served Cold

Xansvita could feel more of the power from his Unversed returning to him. It was disappointing to see them destroyed so easily. The dragon was surprisingly powerful, even in his small state. "We may as well need as much of this power as possible to reign Ra in." Outside the Cyclone shield, Xansvita could see Lydia drawing close. "We'll deal with you soon." He held his free hand at his hand, gathering darkness around it. He curled each finger, then clenched his hand, spiraling his body as the staff gathered Blizzard energy until striking the Egyptian God's wing. The wing was quickly surrounded by ice, and the frost began to spread around him, freezing his entire left arm, and continuing over his torso.

 

The smoke had made its way around the Cyclone, and Sliske was quick to act. He drew the smoke through the shield, gathering it around him before commanding it to surround Ra. "I won't let myself be outdone." He used as much of the smoke as he could gather to push Ra back, but Ra kept beating back with its unfrozen wing. Focusing his smoke magic with one hand, Sliske used the other to cast his own ice magic. Within seconds, Ra's other wing was frozen as well. "Now then, let's finish this, so we can settle our own battle!"

 

"About that," Xansvita laughed. "You should check on how your toys are faring."

 

"What are you-" Sliske looked down to watch as the Wild Bruisers had grown in size, and each of them now had an extra pair of arms. They were all holding down the wights, tearing them apart limb by limb. "You impertinent little-"

 

"Spare us, Sliske," Xansvita muttered. "You had every intention of betraying us at the last second as well, weren't you?" The axe-wielder and the spell-casting wight were both ripped apart, their spectral forms fading into nothing. Xansvita hunched over, snarling as his body once again began to change. His wings began to change in color as new wings began to sprout from his back. Four bright-green wings carried Xansvita up as he once more activated Transcendence.

 

Sliske was pulled forth by the anti-gravity field, but Sliske forced himself to stay on the ground. He looked at Ra, reaching his hands out to the god. "Come on, Ra. You and I… we both want this fool dead. Just… accept me as your master. Then… we can finally… put an end… to-" Sliske was stopped once seven black blades pierced his back. Sliske coughed up blood, barely able to look back at Xansvita. Now, Xansvita had six golden wings. The energy of the Wild Bruisers returned to him, and Sliske was just able to see the last of his wights disappear.

 

"End of the line, necromancer." Xansvita's skin begin to tear around where his mouth would be, revealing red fangs. "NoW tHeN, iT iS tImE tHaT LERNA'S DREAM BECAME YOUR REALITY!" Commanding the blades to draw themselves out of Sliske, Xansvita flew right behind Sliske and impaled him with the staff. "AND NOW, RA BELONGS TO US."

 

"You… will burn…" Sliske cursed. With his life slowly slipping away, Sliske began to turn to stone. Energy bled out of Sliske's body, running through the staff as it coursed through Xansvita.

 

"YOUR SOUL IS EVEN MORE DELICIOUS THAN WE EXPECTED." With Sliske's body completely petrified, Xansvita pulled the staff back, shattering the statue that used to be Sliske. Ra screamed in pain as the bones on his body began to fall apart, and the ink-like substance covering him began to melt. Xansvita held the staff in front of him, letting it go so that he could hold both of his hands outright. "GIVE US YOUR POWER, RA. TOGETHER, WE SHALL DROWN THE WORLDS IN ETERNAL DESPAIR."

 

The Cyclone barrier began to compress. It was shrinking around Xansvita and Ra, the Egyptian God turning into dark energy. The smoke trapped in Betwixt & Between was drawn to the Cyclone as well. Cracks began to form in the "ground" and "roof" of Betwixt & Between. An orb of darkness formed around the Cyclone, bubbling for but an instant.

 

Then came the explosion.

 

A wave of darkness was felt not only through all of Betwixt & Between, but even outside the Corridor of Darkness. Sand began to emerge from the ground while likewise spilling from the ceiling. Betwixt & Between was being ripped in two, and between the falling sand was nothing but darkness. To the outside world, the Corridor of Darkness was expanding, until the entire second layer was completely covered. Columns of darkness shot, piercing through the first layer, while the darkness began to eat through the shell protecting the third.

 

Within the newly formed barrier, the sand began to shift. Red eyes shined as the sand slipped away, revealing a black dragon's head covered in golden armor, with the Unversed sigil marked on its forehead. Except there wasn't just one head. A second head appeared, followed by a third, then a fourth, and finally a fifth, all armored in gold with the same mark. The first head rose up, its serpentine neck connecting to a pitch-black body. In place of arms, two of the additional were attached to each side. Six golden wings, each one as long as the Inch of Will, made the wind itself scream. Beside each wing was one of the Wingblade swords, now larger than they ever were before, doubling the reach of the wings. Above the wings was the seventh blade, with the Staff of Armadyl at the handle.

 

"FINALLY!" Xansvita's voice cried out from the main head. "SLISKE'S POWER… IT FLOWS THROUGH OUR BODY. THE SOULS OF HIS WIGHTS GAVE US THE POWER OF A WITCH, BUT SLISKE GAVE US THE POWER OF A GOD. WE ARE ETERNAL. WE ARE ENDLESS. WE ARE XANSVITA, THE ENDLESS WARLOCK!"

[Dad]

II-B2 - Betwixt & Between

 

While Kratos had heard all the commotion behind him as Xansvita had reached god-hood, he remained composed as two of his minions turned on him.  "You ungrateful beasts!  I'll send your souls far past the depths of Tartarus!  For betraying me, you will suffer for this!"  Without a sound Kratos whipped the Claws of Hades at the Chimera and Centaur, clinging to their souls as they grabbed back for dear. . life?  They roared, taking the chains head on pushing in towards Kratos.  But Kratos would have none of their sheet.  None of it.  He yanked as hard as he could, and smashed them into each other.  Then, with brute force, he lifted them both, still attached to Hades' Claws, and swung them round in the air, then smashing them to his left and right in rapid motion.  He disgraced them with every violent crash to the ground.  "You will NEVER!  See this PLANE!  Of EXISTENCE!"  He whipped them up into the air and yanked out the soul chains, drawing their souls back into hell once more.  "AGAIN!"  They howled as they disappeared back into the hells as wisps.  Kratos would need to find souls to replace them, and digging through Tartarus would. .  .not take long at all.

 

For now, he would go to Arthur's aid.  He switched to his Blades of Chaos, and dove in attempt to intercept this new unknown assailant's swing.

[Phantom Roxas]

[iI-B2 - Xansvita's Barrier] - Arthur & MirageGaogamon

 

Arthur watched helplessly as Xansvita transformed. The force of the explosion was enough to knock Arthur off of the Inch of Will, but the sand and Kairi's Aeroga spell were able to soften his fall. Seeing Xansvita loom over him, dwarfing even the Inch of Will - it was enough to make Arthur freeze where he stood. "It's okay," he told himself. "You beat Ogudomon. I can do this."

 

Ivero was determined to kill Arthur, but thankfully, one of the newer members of the Counter Corps - Kratos - stepped in to save him. "Are you freaking serious?" he asked Ivero. "Did you already forget what I had to deal with, what, a couple hours ago? Sora trusted me with this!" He pointed his Keyblade at the Unversed. "Both of you came from universes that have these Keyblade things. You two are supposed to be masters at using them, aren't you? And I'm just a novice. The last thing I'm going to do is lose to either of you. I should probably be dead at least five times over by now. There's no way I'm giving up now."

 

He looked back at MirageGaogamon fighting his duplicate, and with his Keyblade, he gave MirageGaogamon the power to activate his Burst Mode. MirageGaogamon used his flail to crush his duplicate's head, sending the clone crashing down on the Mimic Master, destroying the Unversed and causing the duplicate to vanish. MirageGaogamon picked up Arthur, but Arthur's Aeroga shield was fading away. Arthur cast his own Aero spell to keep himself protected.

 

"That's Nero, isn't it?" MirageGaogamon asked.

 

"…Yes," Arthur answered reluctantly.

 

"Should we… you know?"

 

"I don't think we have much of a choice. The best we can hope for is that Nero is able to take control on his own."

 

[iI-B2 - Xansvita's Barrier] - Eria, Gagagigo & Kairi vs. Solasiro

 

Eria, Gagagigo, and Kairi all prepared themselves as Solasiro approached.

 

"I must admit," Solasiro begin. "The three of you are stronger than the typical versions of you I see."

 

"What do you mean?" Eria asked. Who are you?"

 

Solasiro sighed. "You know, you're technically a stranger to me. I suppose it's the downside of meeting multiple versions of the same person. I am Solasiro. I was sent across the omniverse to bridge the gap between reality and fiction. To create a perfect world."

 

"The omniverse?" Kairi repeated.

 

"Correct. Of course, I'm at an impasse here. Ophelia summoned me to be your opponent, and I would be more than happy to play my role. However…" He raised his hand, looking at it in disappointment. "My Focus was to ensure that disparate universes are combined. I would like to at least preserve you, so you could meet your other self. She's a pitiful little girl, though. I kept her as a prisoner, but she was free once I was… well, once I found the people I needed. I wonder, would you perhaps be more accommodating? Or are you already taken?" He looked at Arthur and smiled, before turning back to Eria. "That would certainly be a variable Megiddo may like to look into."

[Gαr]

II-B2, Betwixt and Between, Ed's Inner World

 

Ed woke up laying on the ground surrounded by fog and bamboo reeds. He stood up and looked around, feeling oddly at home. Before he could turn around the survey the rest of the mysterious place, a man seemingly appeared out of nowhere from the fog. "Excuse me, but where..." but Ed didn't get to finish his sentence as he recognized the long blue coat and swept back stark white hair. Ed turned his head around and saw the same oriental city-castle he saw in his vision when he first used his new powers. Without turning back his head, Ed said, "Just what exactly is this place?"

 

"You don't recognize this place, do you?" The man's voice was like splintering ice. Ed turned back to look at him, but didn't say anything. "Heh. Come with me."

 

The man lead Ed down the pathway lined with torii to the castle. "To answer your question, this place is your inner world, the place I reside, the place that represents who you are. If you ever get a Reality Marble, like that Emiya who you were so fascinated with, this would be it. And I already know what your next question will be: Who am I? Well, I'm your Zanpakuto, the weapon of choice for Shinigami. My name is Kiotso Kurokoriwa."

 

Ed was about to inquire further when the place shook from an enormous surge of power, causing them both to look around. "That doesn't seem good."

 

"No, it doesn't." The Zanpakuto spirit turned to look at Ed. "Listen, one the most dangerous enemies you will face has become even more dangerous. If you're gonna have any chance of defeating him, you're gonna need to achieve the next level of my power, but it's not gonna be easy. You're going to need to need to defeat me."

 

Without further provocation, Ed drew his sword with lightning fast speed, but Kurokoriwa was faster and stopped Ed's sword with a blade of ice. Ed tried to force the ice blade back, but it wouldn't budge. The blade began cracking at the point of contact between the two swords until the whole thing shattered, revealing a sword identical to Ed's. Kurokoriwa broke the stalemate and kicked Ed in the center of his chest making him flew into the nearest tower. Ed was barely able to recover before Kurokoriwa was on top of him and tried to slash at him horizontally. Ed jumped out of the way and the sword seemingly cut nothing, but air. At first nothing happened, then part of the tower began slowly sliding off from the rest of the tower and fell to the ground.

 

While Kurokoriwa was standing there, seemingly admiring his work, Ed took the opportunity to launch of wave of black flames at him. Kurokoriwa countered with a wave of his own flames without moving a muscle. The flames clashed in midair, causing an explosion. Kurokoriwa burst through the resulting smoke plume and unleashed a flurry of blows on Ed. He countered each one blow for blow. Kurokoriwa launched a storm of swords made from black ice at him and Ed countered similarly. Ed decided to regroup and hide behind a tower in order to give him some time to think about a way to overcome this stalemate with his equal in every way.

 

The tower became covered in a layer of ice. Slowly, much to Ed's horror. the tower was consumed in more and more ice until it was encased in a block of ice. Ed sheathed his swords and grabbed the handles of both of his swords. In one, rapid movement, Ed unsheathes and resheathes both of his swords, splitting the tower in half. Ed didn't get to admire his work as Kurokoriwa appeared in front of him, raising his almost vertical. He kicked Ed in the head, sending him down into the ground. Ed drew his swords and stood up, and yet again, Kurokoriwa appeared in front of Ed out of nowhere. Ed tried to attack his Zanpakuto, but he kept dodging every attack. Without missing a beat, Kurokoriwa disarmed Ed, knocking his swords away. He tried to kick him like he always does, but Ed jumped away and started running and jumping along the walls and towers. Ed ended up on top of the main castle tower, except his Zanpakuto hasn't followed.

 

"For us being equals, you're quite weak." Ed spun around to see Kurokoriwa's boot in his face. He flew back and nearly fell of the edge of the tower. Ed reached for his swords, but they weren't there. Kurokoriwa was slowing making his way to Ed. Kurokoriwa raised his sword and brought it down. Time slowed down for Ed. He saw every movement of the sword. In the blink of an eye, he caught the blade mid-slash. The power of the slash blew past him, destroyed the ledge behind him and causing deep rends in the roof to burst from the sides. Kurokoriwa's eyes widened as Ed broke off part of the blade and jabbed it into his throat. "For being weak, looks like I've won."

 

A smile spread across the Zanpakuto's face. He leaned in, driving the blade to dig deeper into his throat, and whispered something something into Ed's ear, causing Ed to smile as well. The world began to slowly fade from Ed's vision in white light. Back in Betwixt and Between, Ed woke up on top of the Inch of Will. Xansvita created a new barrier and had transformed into something resembling LERNA. Instead of feeling fear and despair, Ed drew his swords and looked defiant. "Unlike last time, whereas I could've even compete with a Familiar, I'm going to kill a God.

[Merci]

The very first thing she could remember was

 

screaming.

 

Though she never knew what, her people had done something wrong. Something very, very wrong. Perhaps, for some time now, they'd been researching something they shouldn't have. Something ancient and forbidden, and it was because of that that they all had to be destroyed. Several colossal battleships at the coast, as tall as towers and as long as bridges, fired upon them without reason or mercy. It came so suddenly. Everything was burning, everyone was burning, and it was hell. Hell beyond words. Her island, her peaceful sanctuary and life, her aspirations, all of it destroyed. The very land was sinking, and no guardian ever came to her rescue. She tried to flee, but there was nowhere to run to - then, she was drowning. She couldn't swim, or rather, it was more like she was incapable of swimming. Beneath the waters, the fire and the screaming had stopped.

 

She did not quite remember what happened afterwards. Only that she had been, somehow, 'saved'. Saved and made to work for the very authorities whom had extinguished her homeland without so much as a warning. Her knowledge and powers proved useful to them, and they made her into a tool to be used.

 

A tool to help find others, other civilizations whom had committed similar crimes. She had to wear a wooden mask, white suit, and robe, and once she found these 'others', she was to alert the higher-ups to their presence and watch from afar as yet another fleet of huge battleships came. This merciless, brutal carnage was called a 'Buster Call', as she later learned, and the ones she worked for were called the World Government. 

 

She called herself scum, and secretly she was afraid of them. They called her perfect, but secretly they were afraid of her. Both of these were for no particular reason.

 

She was neither alive nor dead. She just existed, without a purpose. But although she did nothing but exist, one day they came to her and said that she 'knew far too much'.

 

Then they drowned her, and again, she could not swim. She could not save herself, nor she did she have a reason to.Having made it this far was a ridiculous miracle in and of itself, unnecessary, taking up space in this universe. The reason why she still existed, it must have been a joke.

 

Or, perhaps she had never existed in the first place, and this was nothing but an unnecessary dream formed from her state of nonexistence. Somehow, it made more sense. She took comfort in it, as her body sunk and the pressure of water crushed her from within, while a sea creature was attracted by her leaking blood and fed upon her arms; first the left, then the right. Then it continued with the feet; first the left, then the right. It must've enjoyed the taste of a corpse. At least, in her momentary existence, she was able to give something in this universe a form of satisfaction.

 

But that was when he came down to her.

 

The Old Man of the Ocean.

 

"Why do I even bother?" He remarked, mostly to himself, but those were the very first words she heard him say.

 

The pressure around her was replaced immediately with air, air so light that it was almost like it would cause her much-denser body to pop. Blood splattered all around the metallic room she found herself within, just as she hit the surface. Her ears- no, all of her senses was ringing, and she could not breathe. She was too filled with water to breathe, and even as it seeped out through her face and skin, she was fixated upon the single thought that she was still alive.

 

"Be grateful that I bothered to retrieve someone so pitiful, incapable of her own distress. I'm searching for something far more important, but I saw that you were sinking so fast that you must've been a Devil Fruit user. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."

 

She could not see him - no, her eyes had long since ruptured from the force, so she would never be able to see anything ever again - but there was still something comforting. She wanted to answer him. She did not know what a 'Devil Fruit' was, but this was the second time she had been rescued from being drowned, and this time she wanted to savor it. She tried to answer him, but could not.

 

"Hey. You. Why aren't you replying- oh, OH, water pressure. Obviously. I apologize, sometimes I tend to forget that other people can't regenerate from damage like that."

 

She tried to move. She tried to speak.

 

"Yblgghhh... Ybhlbhb." She managed to get out, whatever left of her vocal cords fighting out the invading liquid in an attempt to help her convey her message, though all in vain.

 

"Excuse me?" He replied.

 

"Yblou ablhre Pblbhghgh."

 

"This isn't getting us anywhere, so," let's try it this way. Speak the minds directly through your mind.

 

With that freedom, she was able to answer properly.

 

In such a way that she could remember something a long, long time ago.

 

I read about you once... You are Proteus, are you not? The old man who chose to drown himself in the ocean instead of ascending as a god?

 

...

 

Silence.

 

...Who knows. But as for you, I know who you are, he stated with a hint of bemusement in his tone. You must be Ophelia. And I assure you, even if you are incapable of your own distress, then you shall not drown again. I'm sure Ar Ciel can ensure that.

 

 

---

 

 

Arthuria, II-B2 - Betwixt & Between

 

"Then it was only your bad luck, oh Xansvita, Warlock of the Endless—" The high and proud voice of the Counter Corps' knightly leader rung out, all across the unnatural barrier. There he stood in full regalia with his crown-helmet equipped and shining silver sword unsheathed, standing upon a pillar of wind that he himself had created, fearlessly facing the five-headed dragonic monstrosity. His very presence glowed, and seemed to defy the darkness that surrounded him. "That the place of your birth happened to be cursed by I, Arthuria Pendragon!"

 

Having only just arrived, he wasn't quite sure about what had transpired. However, he was able to make some guesses within the span of a few seconds. The familiar that had survived the destruction of LERNA, Xansvita, had somehow managed to consume enough souls to transform him into a full-fledged Witch, and judging by the unusual presence of the Staff of Armadyl floating above him - one of twelve Elder Weapons - one of those souls must've been Sliske. He also observed his enemy's figure. The golden armor, as well as the swords, both looked to be troublesome, but at the moment there was no way of telling how fast the enemy could move.

 

Jumping down from the pillar, letting the winds composing it vanish away, Arthuria passed through a rising array of sand before landing onto the ground. The first thing he would have to do would be to get rid of the scythe, and as he noted the Inch of Will out of the corner of his eye, he understood that its arsenal would be the key to both destroying this 'Warlock' and penetrating the last two shells. Until then, he would need to attract its attention.

 

"Sora, if there is still anything left of you within that mould of despair, then I apologize. But I have no choice but to put you down... Prepare yourself, Warlock!"

 

Having said thus, his right foot pushed against the ground, and with a burst of mana the knight's body was sent flying up into the air at high speeds. With a determined look, his sword suddenly grew to over ten times its length as light energy was poured into it, and he swung at Xansvita's main, serpentine neck, hoping to cut it down with a simple strike.

 

 

---

 

 

Isamy, IV-A2

 

Just like before, the Herald was obliterated with a commendable point-blank attack, once more leaving only a dry skeleton with her indestructible clothes over it. The lifeless husk dropped from the air yet again, and hit the lava before sinking into it. Although, did it even need to be said what happened afterwards? Was there any question of what the being just killed was capable of? None. None at all. So with that settled, it should come as a surprise to none when Isamy reemerged from the lava and shot at Sykes at a speed far higher than previously used. 

 

This time, there was no way that he'd have ever been able to defend from her, as she traveled at a tenth the speed of light and nearly obliterated the warrior just by kicking him into a wall.

 

"Okay, this has been vaguely fun, but I, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy, have an announcement. I've grown bored of fighting you and your puny lasers. I thought by your composure that you'd have some sort of plan to hold me back, cripple me maybe, or whatever, and was waiting for a chance to destroy your hopes, but you don't have any secret weapon, do you? How pathetic, Sykes Huegares. Truly. So let me tell you what, here's how it's going to go."

 

As she spoke, space around her distorted. The view of her figure twisted, but it was only because everything between her and the outside world, even light waves, was being intercepted by distortions. So even if he had attempted to attack her while she was talking, it would've only been stoppde by the barrier in an instant, no matter the amount of power behind it. At the last part of her monologue, she clicked her fingers and all the thirteen other scythes vanished away in order to complete the paradox, before hundreds of tiny, glowing dark orbs reappeared in their place, scattered all about Sykes's position.

 

"I obliterate you. Then I crack this last shell and enter the Inner Periphery. Then I obliterate your master, Opio or whatever. Then I take the Key of Origin. Then I open the Door of Origin. And then, finally, I revive you and make your life better. Seems like a fair enough exchange to me, don'tcha think?"

 

Then Isamy clicked her fingers once again,

 

"Until then! Goodbye."

 

And a massive barrage of lasers engulfed the figure and position of Sykes Huegares, with such intensity that nothing in the multiverse could possibly survive that.

 

Whatever the case, the victor had been settled the very moment Isamy lost her patience.

 

 

---

 

 

Ophelia, the Inner Periphery

 

"Lord Protheus is taking too long." The Reyvateil observed, as time passed on without any indication of his presence.

 

As it seemed to be on the outside, Sykes had just been taken down, meaning that there was nothing stopping the Divine from penetrating the final layer. To make matters worse, the 'thing harvested fro the sun' had not quite yet gathered its bearings. It needed a few more moments to stabilize its plasma-like state.

 

Things were never meant to come this far. How had such a perfect plan crumbled so easily? There had been such a great and elaborate trap set out for them, and yet it had collapsed just like that. If there was one thing she could take solace in, Xansvita had turned out to be an unexpected asset as he transformed into a Witch-like being and delayed the majority of the Counter Corps from advancing. So long as he stopped the Counter Guardian and the rest of them, he was being useful to their cause, which was enough.

 

In this place of silence, she found her eyes curiously fixed onto the Key of Origin, floating right there, vulnerable and unprotected. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. An actual key? It didn't really matter that much, as long as it worked.

 

However, if he couldn't arrive here in time, then she may just have to destroy it so that none of the Divine or Counter Corps could get their hands on it.

 

"Hurry up... Master. Or else you'll drown for real this time. Only the Door can save you."

[Love of Ghibli]

IV A-2

 

With much much humor and slight annoyance Hades watched as his eel retreated into lava to escape his attack. this whole living thing it was doing was becoming quite irksome. What was hilarious though was that it was coming back for more. This was simply outstanding about how pathetic this organism was. It had no way to actually defend itself from the God of Death, but it was always interesting to see how it would play out. All he wondered though was how long was this actually going to take before he could actually end this. He then managed to look up at the fight between Isamy and the man in white. It looked like Isamy actually vanquished the foe. Or something close to it anyway. With that being said Hades realized that was probably as good as time as any to end this. The rocks followed by stomach acid technique were simply side stepped as Hades simply slipped behind the creature and stuck his hand through the beast. It would have been like poking a sheet of paper for Hades, but that should have been more than enough to actually kill this creature. Boys I think we're done here, let's get going shall we? He said with a slight snicker as the beast should be making its last cries for help. 

 

Dorian and Radamanthys were both going deep into their fights when they Hades speak. It wasn't that Hades was actually loud enough to be heard, but his dominion over them made it so that they would always hear his words. Dorian looked down to his bird opponent as his face lost all of the humor that he once had. His eyes once again filled with Cosmos as he was going to give it 100%. Of course he was seriously trying to kill the beast before, but this time it wouldn't be about overpowering it. It would be about the most efficient way to end its life. He began to dive down while the beast was throwing rocks at him and he was amazed at the fluidity of his own dodges. I can see them, I can see everything! The very atoms that give life are visible to me. Dorian flew directly in front of the bird then he seemed to fly past it. His hand burned with a bright flame as he attempted to decapitate the eel he was fighting.

Radamanthys had grown to like his eel. It had spunk and it even dodged his attacks. Granted they were definitely weaker than he was used to, but that didn't matter because he was still excellent. The creature fired a blast of heat from underneath him. Radamanthys used the wings of his surplice to guard against the flames. Radamanthys was wondering if there was some way he could use the spell Isamy used on them to somehow gain dominion over the beast. It was then that he heard the words of his Lord. Radamanthys looked at the eel and he realized it had to be an honorable death. I will wipe you from this plane of existence with my greatest technique. Hopefully in your next life I will come find you. He began to glow purple and his Cosmos began to flare. Greatest!! Caaaauuuuttiiionnn!! At that moment Radamanthys fired a blast in the shape of a wyvern directly at the eel which would surely eliminate it.

The two eels Butlerok faced did not seem to understand that they were already defeated. Being trapped in the black cloud that was the black blood was the same as Ragnarok opening his mouth and eating them whole. Picture like eating food whole without chewing. The last fleeting moments where the eels thought they were going on the offensive was simply misguided illusions constructed from their assimilation into the Black Blood. Soon the infinite pool of blackness would proceed to dissolve them like stomach acid. Butler and Ragnarok were no longer concerned with the those two eels. Told you eating them would work. I admit I would not have come up with such a crass solution. While Butlerok was about to exit his own inner world within the Black Blood. His entire viewpoint burst into flames and it was then that Butler found himself looking down a long and open meeting hall. At the end of this hall Butler only saw one person sitting still waiting for him. Butler walked up to the man as it seemed odd that he could no longer feel Ragnarok as a part of him. In fact he actually felt normal. No Kishin or any of the long list of augmentations that came from Isamy's vault. When he finally made it to the old man Butler and the old man made eye contact. After an intense round of sizing each other up both parties entered a seated position.

Youngsters seem to always have the powers these days. At least you're more trained and refined than the recent youth's I've had to deal with. The old man stated rather bluntly.

 

I thank you sir. I can tell you are Shinigami, but that seems to be as far as I can comprehend. Who are you and how did I get here?

 

I am Genryusai Yamamoto, Cap...Former Captain of the 13 Court Guard squads. The combination of your quincy device, magic, and the shinigami you've eaten dragged my reshi from the my plane of existence to you. 
 

That does not make sense, I never had such capabilities, and even if I did I never had the power to move things from one universe to another.

 

How about when you combined with Osiris or as he is also known as Slifer? Butler then realized the amount of power he was dealing during that time. This was something that could have happened. Of course anything was logical at this point.

 

Why are you only showing up now?

 

Because while I sought my final rest place in peace I realize that you have something I want. 

And what would that be?

 

The bankai you use.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile back in the actual world the large black lightning dome cage actually condensed into a black orb. What came out of it was the normal pitch black suit that everyone came to love, but instead of Butler's head and hands it was Ragnarok. Ragnarok rolled his eyes as he was now in charge of the body. This was a new sensation for him, but he knew what was going on. 

The team regrouped after everyone's respected victories and of course everyone had to give Ragnarok extra attention. Soooo this, what is this? Dorian said very inquisitively. It looks like baldy is talking with some other baldy. New baldy says that he comes from some power during our Sliferok phase. Sliferok? Right your selective memory, lets just say we did something really epic and we used A LOT of tricks. Having said that it makes sense that we snatched some powers across the multiverse. I guess. But yeah I'm in charge of the body for now. And to think I had grown accustomed to the other man. I am intrigued and what this leads to. It matters not though as long as Great Hades-sama gets his surplice returned to him. Radamanthys followed as he was only showing true concern for Lord Hades. Hades didn't care either way about Bulterok's situation. He was busy wiping the eel carcass off his arm before he looked to Isamy in the distance. I think she said the Key to the Door to Origin. Meaning this is the end here correct? Everyone then looked to Isamy to see what was going to happen next.

[Maeriberii Haan]

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[spoiler=Another]

 

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The Girl And the Woman of the Ancient of Days

 

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-=Tenco=-

 

There was a wall she couldn’t get over

She only thought about catching up

She wished that she would be able to go over the wall

 

Swimming was usually a hard task for Tenco. Last time she tried it, she was lucked out that someone noticed her when she’s about to drown. But this time, it was different. She was able to freely swim in the amber sea, moving elegantly just like a fish. It was, as if she was born anew, as she experienced a freedom she has not felt in her-

 

“Hey, have you found it?”

 

The other girl’s question returned Tenco’s focus to what she actually needed to do there. Both of them were trying to found what was left of Tenco’s and the other girl, and use it to return to their own world. Somehow.

 

To tell the truth, Tenco was unsure about how she would go after collecting it. She was even starting to get more and more pessimistic that they can find what they’re looking for in the seemingly boundless sea. But she didn’t have the heart to tell the other girl about her doubt yet, as she seemed to start showing more and more of her sense of self during their search. Whatever ‘sense of self’ actually means.

 

“No, not yet. Though, let’s try splitting.

 

I’ll go that way, you’ll go there. Hopefully we can find it without taking too long.”

 

Too long?

 

Oh yeah, they are not in the real world, maybe, so they shouldn’t even need to reach for air every several minutes, but Tenco didn’t bother to fix her statement. Instead, she swam in silence following the direction that she has appointed for her to follow.

 

What is this place actually?

 

As she swam around, Tenco pondered about the question. The ‘water’ in the pool shifted back to dark red in the meantime. She could swear that the liquid surrounding her was alive somehow, and at several points, she heard sounds of screaming, but she was unsure if those were actually screams, or something else. The place was definitely unsettling though, and Tenco really preferred to get out of this place as soon as-

THUD!

 

“Ouch, that hurts!”

 

Apparently, Tenco accidentally hit the bottom of the seemingly bottomless pool while she was spacing out. Much to her surprise, she located a wooden door lying on the floor just several meters from her current position. Without thinking more about it, she called the other girl to come to her location as loud as she can, and when the girl arrived at her location and noticed the door, she seemed to be quite concerned about Tenco’s mental well-being.

 

“….Do people in your world ever learn about the fact that if you creates an opening in the bottom of a water container, it’ll end in bad thing?”

 

“Oh…yeah.

 

That’s quite logical.

But this is a dream, dammit! Logic doesn’t apply here; otherwise we should’ve died for a while due to lack of air!

 

Just…trust me on this one. Please.”

 

“Still, I don’t think opening it would bring any-“

 

“Too late.”

 

Without waiting for the other girl’s agreement first, Tenco opened the door, which revealed a vortex that sucked both her and the other girl into it.

 

The next thing they knew, they found themselves lying awkwardly in some sort of poorly lit corridor, and in the end of the corridor, a figure stood. A familiar woman in a white dress was there.

 

When was it from?

 

-=Amato=-

 

Who am I?

 

As soon as she gained her consciousness inside Tenshi’s mind, she started to ask that question to herself. As far as she was concerned, her name was Amato, and someone or something called Orochi bestowed her with an array of powers. She also remembered another name, Uzume, but she had no idea on who or what the name was referring to.

 

Aside from that, she knew nothing else. She was effectively a blank state when she materialized.

 

And then she met the woman in the white dress. She just appeared out of nowhere and approached her, asking her to watch over a sea inside Tenshi’s mind. Without anything else to do, Amato followed her instruction, and stood there to guard the place.

 

When the short hair arrived, Amato was already preparing herself to eliminate her just like she did to the angelic-looking girl. But then the short-hair asked Amato to help her. It was somewhat surprising to her.

 

Amato knew that the short-hair wasn’t even sure on what she’s going to do next, and most of her words were pulled out of her rear, but for some reasons, Amato felt a sudden desire to follow the short-hair.  Was it out of her boredom? She thought that it’s quite possible. Or maybe it was something else?

 

“Doing what I wanted to do…

 

Maybe it’s the definition of existing.”

 

-=Yukari Yakumo=-

 

It all started with a promise.

 

A promise was the sole reason why Yukari did everything that led her to the planet. What she could remember was the promise was made a long time ago, to someone she held dearly. But who is this person? Had this person ever existed actually? Yukari wasn’t even sure about it right now.

 

All she cared was that she believed that by doing everything she had done, she was slowly fulfilling the promise. That was all that mattered for her, as far as she was concerned at that point.

 

She actually never needed to reach the Door of Origin to attain her goal, and her words to Tenshi from before that she tried to pull another version of Gensokyo to replace the broken one was only a lie she pulled from her rear. If her goal was to simply rebuild her broken world, she would’ve done it already. It would be a trivial matter for her.

 

For reality to take place, one must wake up from their dream.

And waking up means the end of the dream they were having.

 

Once upon a time, a girl was having a dream, and she wished to prolong the dream. But..she had no idea on how, as everytime she tried, the dream always ended. The girl was Yukari, and the dream was Gensokyo.

 

------

 

Gensokyo, the place where lost things ended up. It was a paradise, born of dreams. A long time ago, Yukari created the land and separated it from the rest of the world, from ‘reality’. Or was it not too long ago? Details like that were not important.

 

Despite her actions regarding the land, she actually really loved Gensokyo in her own way. But her love for it was not enough to keep the land going in the end, as the world was deemed by her to have strayed too far from her ideals, and so, she left the world to collapse. It was a necessary act from her part. Though, she didn’t account for the weakening of the boundaries to be severe enough to pull several (not every single one as she claimed to Tenshi before) other Gensokyo into her world, and she admitted to be unable to prevent that from happening.

 

She never actually wanted Gensokyo to disappear, for desiring its disappearance was to betray her promise. But it was a necessity for her to do just that. It was a necessity for her to end the dream of others that way. As Gensokyo, the world that accepted anything, accepted ends too.

 

And since Yukari wished for a dream that would last eternally, she let Gensokyo to wither.

 

Since that was the thing that person wanted, Yukari thought.

 

---------

 

An eternal dream.

 

It was something that Yukari wished to create, yet she was unable to create it on her own. As she was,is, and will ever be, a boundary. It was conceptually impossible for her to create the eternal dream, as with Beginning, there will also be an End. For Existence, there will always be Non-existence. That was of natural order of things was, and Yukari couldn’t do anything about it.

 

Yukari always believed that there’s a way around that. But it was in an act of desperation that she started to roam the multiverse, searching for that ‘way’. It was when she actually learned of the Door of Origin, and she started to shift her goal into it. But, she was not aware of the distortions in the boundaries in the space-time continuum when she was busy going into multiverses to learn about the Door of Origin.

 

But then the Lunarians learned of the distortions, and quickly blamed her for it. It was understandable for them to blame it at her, even though it was not her that time. They threated to personally go after her if she kept on traversing the multiverse, but she ignored that warning. The rest was history. Though, it didn’t matter much in the end.

 

No, not at all. It never actually mattered.

 

A lot of things never actually mattered in the first place, and Yukari knew that she should stay away from pursuing those things, from straying from the true path to her goal.

 

Hadn’t the Lunarians invaded Gensokyo, the world was still going to end. The boundary that separated ‘Dream’ and ‘Reality’, the one that separated Gensokyo from the rest of the world was getting weaker and weaker as of late. The end was inevitable, and Yukari’s lack of desire to delay the inevitable was the final straw.

 

…..

…..

…..

 

A slight distortion in her realm snapped Yukari from her train of thoughts.

 

“…It seems like someone managed to sneak into a certain place that I prefer to not be touched by anyone else.

 

.…I think I should greet them by myself.”

 

------------

 

 

Yukari sighed a bit before she stood and put her nicest gesture, as she faced the two girls at the other end of the corridor. An observer would say that it was unclear whether Yukari actually cared about the two girls in front of her, or were she just doing this for some other hidden reason, but her dubious reasoning aside, she ended up decided to show up in front of them.

 

But she thought she failed to appear as friendly as possible to the two girls in front of her. But, that was not important.

 

“Well, well, well.

 

I think I should give you to a warm welcome for coming this far away. Anyway, let me introduce myself first in case you don’t have any knowledge of me.

 

I am Yakumo Yukari. I am the Youkai of Boundaries, the one that stood between Reality and Fantasy, between Truth and Lies, between Here and There.

 

Now tell me, young ones.

 

What are you trying to accomplish by coming here?”

 

Yukari never had the need to know about why the two were here. The question was asked just as a way to start the conversation on a positive tone.

 

 She already knew about why they were there, and she planned to use that fact to her advantage.

 

 

-=Tenco, Amato, Yukari=-

 

 

“Uh..yeah. I guess before that, I need to address myself properly too.

 

I am Tenshi Hinanai, but please, please call me Tenco.

 

And this girl right here…uh…she’s…

 

…who the hell are you anyways?”

 

“I am Amato. But I believe you would have known it at this time.”

 

“Milady?

 

Uh.. yeah, I’m Tenco and she’s Amato.

 

And we’re here trying our best to escape this cage and return to our home worlds.

 

Are we good?”

 

Damn, Tenco silently cursed. She just realized that she might have acted a bit too hostile, in front of a woman that was seemingly was out of her world, and neither her nor Amato was armed enough to defeat the woman if she was actually dangerous.

 

But Yukari seemed to not care about her attitude, which gave some relief to Tenco.

 

Though..why did she felt something was not right? Before she could utter her concern to Amato, Yukari already started to talk.

 

“I see. So you must’ve missed the news then.”

 

What news?

 

Tenco was straight on confused by that statement, until she remembered something that was said by the yellow-eyed version of her back then in the white room.

 

She wished that it was not the news this Yukari was talking about.

 

Meanwhile Yukari, picking up Tenco’s confusion, continued to talk.

 

“Ah, didn’t I have told you before about that? Back then, when the other ‘Tenshi’ tried their best to brutally murder me for telling them the truth? Though, if you have forgotten about it, then let me rephrase it to you.

 

Your home world is gone.

 

What does that mean?

 

Destroyed, annihilated, erased, or something similar.

 

Yes, something like that.”

 

…..

 

Her worst fear was confirmed by Yukari’s seemingly off-hand statement.

 

It was actually the third time she had been told about it that day. The first time she was told about it, she thought that it was a joke from Yukari. The second time, she tried her best to believe it was merely a lie told to her by the yellow-eye to mess her head up. But this time, she couldn’t deny it anymore. Even without any proof, that sentence had crushed all of her hope on the matter. Tears started to fall from her eyes, and just moments later, the usually proud girl was reduced to a mess, sobbing in a fetal position on the ground. It was painful to look at her.

 

But Yukari just smiled at the sight of Tenco slowly crumbling on her own, before shifted her attention to Amato.

 

“Anyway, let’s talk about you now, Amato.

 

I wonder why you disobeyed my orders back then not only by letting her go through your post, but you also come with her all the way here too. Do you have any reasoning for that?”

 

The question was not asked out of anger or disappointment, but rather, it was asked out of pure curiosity.

 

Amato immediately answered.

 

“To be honest, no.

 

I have no actual reason on why I did it. But I will do what I like to do, that is my way of doing things now. And at that time I think following her would lead to something quite interesting.”

 

“That is so, it seems.

 

Well, I can’t force my will on you it seems, so I guess yeah, you can try doing anything to your heart’s content. I won’t try or bother stopping you, unless you are in my way.

 

Anyway, I’d love to talk more to the both of you, but I believe this is not the best place to have a nice conversation. Let’s move this conversation into somewhere else.”

 

As soon as Yukari finished her sentence, a gap appeared below the feet of the three, and moments later they ended up inside a simple-looking traditional Japanese house, if one did not notice the cracks in the space that were around them. Tenco seemingly was still deeply shocked, and Amato was still in her carefree expression. In front of them was Yukari, who was sitting in front of a small table.

 

“So back then, the bratty Tenshi and the really short-haired one did not accept my offer and kicked me out of their place before I could actually reason with them.

 

Now I am about to request the same thing to you.

 

What request, you may ask? Well, it is definitely quite simple.

 

I will send you to a place, I’ll give the details about the place later. Then, I want you to retrieve the Key of Origin for me, and if you do, I will restore your home world to its former state, as if nothing has ever happened to it. Also, I will also restore your body beforehand, as a stray soul won’t be able to achieve anything.

 

Though…

 

That offer actually only applied to Tenko. You do know why, right Amato?”

 

The monochromatic girl only smiled a little. She already knew.

 

“I was unable to salvage the rest of your Self, let alone your home world. You are now merely having an identity due to your powers being able to distinguish your ‘Self’ from the other ‘Tenshi’ that you could see back then in the amber pool, and the identity only came with the bare minimum of personality and sense of self. So I can’t offer anything to you now.”

 

-------

 

One day, her thought changed

Not just to go over the wall

But to go to the world that spread beyond it

On and on

Even going past the moon – As far as she could go

 

It was not her world that she missed.

 

It was never about her home world.

 

It was her desire to go to new places. Learning something new. Seeing something unordinary. Meeting the unknown. Reaching out for the truth.

 

It was her fear of not being able to quench her thirst of adventure anymore that made her crumble. When she realized that her world had been destroyed, she thought for once that she had nowhere to go anymore.

 

But, it was not entirely that too.

 

It was also her bonds with a lot of people.

 

She had met a lot of wonderful people in her world. She longed for her mentor and caretaker deeply too.

 

And for their sake..

 

She’d go even to the farthest reaches of the cosmos; she would do anything for them.

 

It was at this time that Tenco started to calm down.

 

Her heart had been strengthened. She had decided to take on the challenge in front of her.

 

Despite it might be her last adventure.

 

----------

 

Surprising Yukari and Amato, Tenco got up on her two legs. She had wiped her tears off her face.

 

“…I’ll do it.

 

At this point, I have nothing to lose.

 

This is definitely not the end of me.”

 

Her words, even if those were spoken unclearly as she was still holding her tears back; it was the words of a determined person. Even though she was still shaking and it looked like she could fall to the ground at any seconds, she stood there defiantly; her eyes stared directly at Yukari. The woman realized that the girl in front of her was completely serious.

 

“Well, well.

 

Is this the willpower of the young generation these days?

Heh, I believe your world will be put in good hands when it’s restored.”

 

In a gesture that either signified admiration or mockery, she smiled at Tenco.

But merely seconds later, Yukari removed the smile off her face. In its place, she tried her best at making a distressed expression, though whether it actually affected Tenco or Amato was unclear.

 

“But…I was just reminded of something quite important.

 

See, there are a lot of powerful beings that also went after the Key.

 

As far as I know, you are far weaker than most of them. And even compared to that Tenshi, you are still miles behind her.

 

Thankfully, I have an idea.”

 

Yukari pointed her finger at Amato

 

“You.

 

Can you please go with Tenko and lend her your power?”

 

“…? What do you mean?”

 

“It’s quite simple actually. You two will just share a body and switch control of it whenever necessary.

Well, at least until this mission is all said and done.

 

You are fine with this right, Tenko?”

 

Oh, so this was the ifs and buts of the deal?

 

Did she really expect me to back down thanks to this?

 

How pathetic.

 

“Bring it on.

 

Amato, I hope you can be a good companion for me.”

 

Amato put up her usual ‘whatever’ expression in response to Tenco’s prompt. She did smile quite a bit while doing that, but she immediately wiped it off her face before anyone realized it.

 

“So, that’s it then. Now both of you should just close your eyes, and I’ll take care of the rest of the process. When you are deployed, I’ll give you further details, but for now, just enjoy your well-deserved rest.

 

I pray for your continuing service as a savior.”

 

And then, just like a TV that was turned off, everything disappeared, leaving Yukari alone in a void of space, filled with unblinking eyes.

 

-----

 

To be able to go anywhere, that was she wished.

 

-----

 

For the two girls, Yukari was a mysterious, grand presence. Borderline divine, perhaps.

 

For Tenshi, she was the devil herself. It was a fact that Yukari couldn’t disagree with, but she did prefer to be associated with nicer things.

 

For Ran and Chen, Yukari was solely their master. Both sometimes found a motherly figure in her, but most of the time she was just that, their lazy master. Yukari treated them as tools to do her biddings, and most of the time they did it. It was quite a simple relationship in the end.

 

For the one that she cared, Yukari could only hope that she would be seen as a savior in their eye, despite everything that she had done.

 

Or maybe it was after all she had done?

 

Would it even matter in the end?

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Girl with the Mechanical Heart

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-=?????=-

 

It was a weird feeling.

 

To arrive at Death’s door, and immediately pulled back before she stepped in.

 

It was also a weird feeling to be unconscious for a long time, but not dreaming of anything.

 

And it was definitely a weird feeling to wake up and realize that somehow, you were not fully human again.

 

-----

 

The room was brightened by the light of several neon lamps, and the white wallpaper and furniture only amplified the effect.

 

It was quite the anomaly that her eyes didn’t hurt. But it was an anomaly out of many.

 

Her body feels heavy, and moving any parts of it was a daunting task for her. But before she managed to do anything, a woman suddenly appeared besides her bed, seemingly out of nowhere.

 

“So you have woken up, eh?

 

But please, for your own sake, don’t try to move now. Your body has not been fully configured at the moment.”

 

Fully…configured?

 

The girl was somewhat confused by that statement. Why would a body need configurations anyway? It was as if she was a mach-

 

Wait.

 

Using far more of her energy than she should, she turned her head and observed one of her arms. She was completely shocked when instead of flesh or maybe bone; she was looking at a metallic construct, shaped just like an arm.

 

But, how?

 

The woman in front of her seemingly understood her confusion

 

“..So, you finally realized what are going on with you.

 

..I am terribly sorry. Back then, you were left in a horrible, horrible condition, and I..I failed to restore you fully. So I guess a temporary mechanical substitute should work for now. It’s something that you sadly have to get used to for a while.”

 

Back then?

 

What happened?

 

Immediately images of her being shot multiple times and trampled over before being left to die flashed before her mind, and that somewhat answered her question. It also gave her even more questions, but as she tried to stand and remove herself from the bed, the woman stopped her attempt.

 

“No, now is not the time for it. I believe you should get some more rest instead. Especially since it seems like your body hasn’t fully accepted the machine parts yet.”

 

As much as she hated it, the woman in front of her was right. She’s in no condition to do anything, let alone protest about her condition.

 

So the girl closed her eyes, and with a thud, collapsed to her bed once more.

 

“Good night.”

 

 

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Angel and the Angelic Demon

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-=Gengetsu=-

 

Her passing out this time was quite short-lived. When she regained her consciousness once again, she immediately sighed in relief that ‘Hapshiel’ was not in front of her, and that also means that she didn’t have to see-

 

Too soon.

 

She noticed Hapshiel was going after one eel-like creature flying around them, and he embraced that creature, in a way that even unnerve a barely-human looking individual that was seemingly facing the eel before Hapshiel. While still being butt-naked.

 

It was hilarious. Too hilarious, perhaps.

 

The demon with clipped wings laughed maniacally all of the sudden.

 

She might not even see tomorrow, so she had to live every single moment left well. Though, it was definitely a good laugh for her.

 

 

-=Tenshi Hinanai=-

 

 

Tenshi was rendered speechless as Gengetsu laughed like an insane maniac besides her, Hapshiel was embracing a gigantic eel while butt-naked, while the eel seemed to not mind it and continued its attack on a humanoid being. All that while Frankram tried his best to not notice the well-pack..uh..the perverted angel.

 

The world was definitely going insane.

 

Tenshi suddenly got a impulse to laugh as loud as she could for no actual reasons. Maybe she’s really going crazy from all the commotions around her.

Thud.

 

A sudden migraine stopped Tenshi from getting caught in the madness. The migraine was really painful, more than a migraine should ever be. The only thing that kept Tenshi from falling over in pain was her resistance to pain in general, though even with it, it was barely bearable. And it kept getting worse and worse. It felt just like she was being slowly mutilated, though there was no visible wounds on her body.

 

Tenshi screamed in pain.

 

After a long time, it was the first time that she wished to die.

 

 

-=Gengetsu=-

 

 

“Wait, what’s wrong with you?”

 

Gengetsu immediately stopped laughing and rushed into Tenshi’s side as she clutched her head and screamed in pain all of the sudden.

 

Has she been hit by a stray attack? But no wound could be found in her body.

 

A mental attack? Possibly. And Gengetsu might be able to help her if that was the-

 

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

 

Tenshi suddenly gripped her hand.

 

“Ugh..

 

Pain, pain, go away....”

 

And Tenshi blacked out.

 

Gengetsu had no idea on what had actually happened.

 

...Or whether the drill would still float without Tenshi controlling it.

 

---------

 

Thankfully, it seemed that the drill could still float without Tenshi being in control.

 

Noticing her sword was still stabbed into the drill, Gengetsu went near it, and tried to touch it, only for the sword to burn her hands a bit. But she didn’t care, and forced her hands until she held a firm grasp on the sword. She believed this is the way to control the drill. Then, she turned her face to Frankram and Ivankov.

 

“Frankram and Ivankov, right?

 

It seems like the pilot of the drill is not in a condition to control it currently, so I’ll take over for the time being.

 

Where should we go now? Should we wait here until we are sure that it’s safe for us to continue, or should we go straight there, right into the raging battle over there?

 

I’m just a hitchhiker; I can’t decide the destination of this trip.”

 

Helping her former enemy felt quite odd for Gengetsu.

But it was necessary, as she wanted to continue living.

 

The time to be neutral is over.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Servants

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-=Ran Yakumo and Chen=-

 

“Well, this will definitely leave a mark somewhere.”

 

While Ran and Chen was busy showering the eels with bullets, one of the eels shot a beam of light at their direction. Although they managed to barely dodge it, they were not prepared when one of the eel emerged at high speed from the lava below them, while bringing with it a package of hot, hot lava.

 

While the eel’s onslaught could be easily dodged, the lava drenched the two of them, giving them somewhat severe burns all over their body.

 

“We’re lucked out that Lady Yukari’s barrier can still withstood a direct contact with the lava, otherwise we would’ve been roasted.

 

Or melted. or whatever floats your boat.”

 

“Meh.

 

This is starting to get annoying fast.”

“Yeah. Let’s just finish them here and now.”

 

Ran pulled a spell card from her sleeve. A word was imprinted on the spell.

 

Illusion.

 

The go-to tricks of fox youkai. The older, the more skilled the youkai is, the more potent the illusion it created. The young ones were usually lucky if theirs could fool more than one target.

 

A nine-tailed fox’s illusion could encompass a country.

 

“Shikigami’s Radiance ‘Princess Tenko’s Illusion’!”

 

The realm seemed to change into a battlefield, bordered by a mountains and a gigantic stone gate. The eels were flying aimlessly, trying to get out of the complex to no avail.

 

Innumerable copies of Ran and Chen surrounded the two eels.

 

“Let’s get this show started.”

 

The Rans and Chens started to spin mid-air, before all of them went to assault the two eels relentlessly, repeatedly hitting them, over and over again, using the mountains to bounce themselves back to the eels.

 

It looked similar to an older game that Chen had played when she was younger, though this one was more chaotic, and fun.

 

As the two of them watched the clones attacked the two eels, and disappearing one by one due to damages from the eel’s attack, one of the eels shot another beam of light at the two of them, and this time, it managed to hit Ran directly.

 

It only managed to make her more pissed off than anything.

 

“Chen, let’s end this nonsense now.”

 

“Alright.”

 

The two of them conjured a magic circle, each while holding a card on their hand.

 

“Oni Sign:...”
 

“Shikigami’s Arcanum:...”

 

A mist of blue and red appeared around Chen, getting bigger and bigger as time passed.

Gigantic metal plates appeared behind Ran, and the plates piled upon one another, slowly creating two figures.

 

“Red Oni, Blue Oni!”

 

“Protection of Zenki and Gouki.”

 

The blue and red mist solidified, revealing two giant Onis beside Chen.

 

What Ran summoned was more impressive. Two giant mech-like onis were standing behind her, each was as tall as the mountains.

 

Within seconds, Chen already dashed into the eels, and she immediately pummeled the eels with her two onis. Mountain-shattering fists and streams of close-range energy bullets hit the eels in quick succession. The eels attempted to fight back, but the onis shielded Chen from their bites and lasers.

 

Meanwhile, Ran conjured several swords and naginatas for Zenki and Gouki. After receiving their weapons, the two suddenly disappeared, only to reappear once again near the eels.

 

The eels’ horribly battered steel plating was not enough to save them from being cut by Zenki and Gouki’s blades.

 

As the head of the last of the two eels fell from their body, the illusion ended, and they were back to the lava land, though with two missing eels.

 

“Huh, that was quick.

 

Though admittedly I did overexert myself. Let’s contact Lady Yukari to report our current condition.”

 

Chen was not paying attention to her, a sudden realization had hit her.
 

“Uh…Ran-shama?

I think you might have gone too far with your illusion.

 

Did you limit the range when you casted the spell?

 

So much for our 'stealth' mission.

 

You're really that bad on this kind of things, aren't you?”

 

“Oh crap.”

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Lord of the Flies

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-=Kazuya=-

 

“….What.”

 

Kazuya was definitely not amused when his eel-mauling fiesta was interrupted, by a naked flying muscle man no less. Kazuya pondered whether he should nuke the hell out of the muscle man and some other people that apparently had arrived in the place on a stone drill-like structure without him realizing it, or should he just focus on finding the way to the location of the artifact.

 

Before he could decide on what to do, the eel shot a beam at him, hitting him directly,

 

“Tch, if you wished to die, please do it properly dammit!”

 

Kazuya summoned Shiva, and ordered it to cast Diarahan on him, recovering him to full health.

 

“And now, eat lead, you piece of crap!”

 

His left arm, which was taking the form of Hinokagutsuchi before, changed form into a machine gun. Aiming directly at the eel’s still gaping mouth, he started firing.

 

Having a bottomless magazine had never been as wonderful as if you had a gun that could shoot hundreds of bullets in less than a minute. Add to it that each bullet exploded into all-eating death flies, and then it’s definitely really a party.

 

-------

 

Fifteen minutes, and Kazuya decided to stop firing due to the gun being overheated.

 

Without bothering to check on the damage he caused, he decided to go straight into the center of the area, not bothering with the rest of the creatures and individuals on the layer.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[spoiler=Status Update]

Characters:

Tenshi Hinanawi

(400/400)(5/5 Spellcards)

Unconscious due to unknown reasons.

 

Kazuya (And Shiva)

(999/999)(500/700 SP), Shiva: (700/700)(342/442)

Went apeshit with his machine gun at Eel X.

 

Side Characters

Ran Yakumo

(200/450)(3/7 Spellcards left)

Killed Eel VI/VII, accidentally encompassed the layer with her illusion Spell Card for a while (won’t affect much except for announcing Ran’s existence to everyone’s aware. Most of the people in the layer should’ve been able to see through the illusion, or completely ignores it outright).

 

Chen

(150/300)(0 Spellcards left. 2 posts before it replenished)

Same as Ran.

 

Gengetsu

Burned her hands by trying to control the sky drill. Now waiting for a direction for the drill.

 

Yukari

In her realm, being ‘busy’ as always.

 

[spoiler=Notes]

-Amato and Tenco will be introduced properly in the next post. Anyway, Tenco is from a Touhou fan-manga/artbook, while Amato is a MUGEN character.

-The nameless girl will be introduced even later.

-Still trying new formattings until I find one that’s neat enough.

 

 

 

 

 

[Love of Ghibli]

Inner World of Butlerok

 

What do you mean you wish to take my Bankai? Butler said as he was confused as to what Yamamoto meant. 

What confuses you? Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū is not something that belongs to you. It belongs to Genshirō Okikiba my lieutenant...and my student. Butler could easily pick up in the emotion in this mans face even though to the untrained eye the Captain Commander's face didn't change at all. You obtained the bankai by foolishly eating a piece of Quincy technology. The shinigami that you had assimilated to achieve some twisted form of evolution had no knowledge of Shikai and Bankai. This means you have do not have the basic knowledge to use that ability to its full potential. The simple fact that you could not deal with two weak eel like creatures is merely proof of this. So I am asking you nicely to relinquish the bankai.

I am aware that Ragnarok and I have no idea on the proper mechanics of your shinigami arts, but the bankai is still a very impressive weapon. With us being unable to actually use the majority of the grimroires at our disposal Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū is clearly one of the most impressive weapons we have. I see no logical reason as to why I should throw it away. I can see that it means something to you. I am guessing your student died...whatever that means to a shinigami...and you want that person to what rest in peace with their bankai. Having said that I cannot aid you in this. 

Hmph fine then we will bypass all of this word play. I will simply make a deal. Take me instead. 

 

Interesting. I guess I can accept those terms. With your higher rank I imagine you have a very powerful Bankai. It would be in the best interest of my master that I procure it. 

 

Why do you constantly refer to that insolent child as your better? Surely this maddening parasite has provided some insight into this foolishness. 

You're a spiritual being. Why do you not have an arm? I imagine its for a similar reason. The Mad Blood, the index, the Alpha Stigma, and the bankai. All of this is so I can better serve Dorian. Even going insane I have some twisted ideology about eating human emotions or something on that line, but I care nothing about that. My purpose and mission is to protect Dorian. Watching him actually die shattered what thought I had. But then Dorian does what Dorian does best. Live. Even if he is some weird ghost to his true self it is proof that his persistent surpasses death itself. Meaning that my persistence must be the same. I must continue to amass power so that I don't fail again. 

Genryusai snickered as this man was clearly driven by a different kind of insanity. But it was definitely a safer bet. The old man nodded and Butlerok pulled out the quincy crest device that held the lightning bankai and he shattered it. Symbolizing that he literally erased it from his soul. Yamamoto let in a deep inhale and the old man slowly dissolved into reshi which was absorbed by Butler. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

IV A-2

 

Meanwhile the rest of the group was busy waiting for the rest of the Divine to finish with their allotted opponents and was going to enter the core of this planet as a unit. Hopefully this would end soon. This intense gravity was wearing on Dorian. Though logically actually going into the core would probably be worse so it didn't matter. In addition to that Dorian was trying to figure out exactly why does Isamy treat him so distant. Could it be should that she resents him? Does she even feel things like resentment, she seems so much above the concept. Dorian did think that he was putting to much thought into the subject and to be fair his group does tend to branch out and do their own thing often. Despite the Divine being some form of team. In the future maybe teamwork should be something that takes more of the focus. 

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Betwixt And Between:

"I think not, mein freunde." An all-too-familiar voice hissed into Solasiro's ear right next to him. From beneath his robes, shadows had emerged and formed into a partial version of the fellow Dark Signer that had been pursuing him through the tunnels before being incinerated, along with his Earthbound Immortal. But Otto had paid a price to mask his facade of being destroyed. Parts of his uniform were tattered and torn, where wisps of purple energy radiating from him, as if he was leaking the very magic that held him together. His face had a nasty crack on it on the opposite cheek from his dueling scar-turned-Dark Signer tattoo, with the area around that starting to decay into dust, and the lower half of his body seemed to be gone, as if it had already suffered from collapse, but was integrated into the living shadows that bound and engulfed Solasiro, preventing him from moving.
"You thought me destroyed, but when we met, our game was merely a ruse." Otto Skorzeny rasped. "I wanted to affix part of myself to you, waiting into the right moment to spring this trap. And now, you are mine. But first, let us get rid of one of your two strengths." He looks down to Solasiro's Signer Mark. "I knew there was no such Earthbound Immortal by the name of 'Lobo', so Uru and I got to thinking. You said it as if it was his name, and not any nickname, so you do not approve of his real name...or...you use 'Lobo' as a command of enslavement. You control the Earthbound Immortal by suppressing his true power. You keep him bound to your will, like a tool. And I do not think your companion respects that." He gave a maniacal laugh before belting out. "ISN'T THAT RIGHT, HERR CCOSHOBAR?!? I UNDERSTAND THE POWER WORDS POSSESS!!! I KNOW YOUR TRUE NAME, AND THUS, UNDERSTAND THE PROPER RESPECT YOU DESERVE AS A RULER OF DARKNESS!!! COME FORTH, LORD CCOSHOBAR, AND FREE YOURSELF FROM THIS INSOLENT WHELP!!!"

The stirrings of Xansvita, beckoning what was left of Thermopylae to come forth, caused Yuki to double over in pain, clutching her head, trying to force him out. But Izumi, unconscious from her ordeal, finally awoke to his call, the call of a fellow Familiar. With a quick "Teslarc, Automatic Override, Voice Recognition Code Delta-Alpha-Mike-India-Alpha-November", the gestalt quickly found itself slaved to the primary entity of the amalgamation acting as the controller, and unjacked from the controls of the Inch of Will, sending her to land once more. Foster, curious about what was going on, went to go check on Izumi, only to find himself slammed into a couch by a strong arm from the armor-clad woman. Yuki desperately attempted to get her to stop by grabbing onto her heel, but Izumi only turned and looked down at her counterpart.
"Please...don't listen to him...You can fight him..."
"No. You can fight him. I will not fight you." She yanked her foot away from Yuki's weak grip, and marched across the battlefield to her new master.

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

The White Sturgeon<IV-A2>

 

EEL II: After having the most even fight out of all the groups, Radamanthys finally thought it was time to end their bout. With a show of impeccable power, Radamanthys fired a blast at the eel that was so spectacular, it couldn't help but feel honored, even as the last atom was burned to nothing.

 

EEL III: The eel looked on helplessly as Dorian dodged the rocks with ease, getting ever closer and closer to it. The eel increased the rate of throwing but it still was nowhere near good enough as he saw the flaming hand of his opponent reach the flesh of its neck. The last sight was the lava coming nearer and nearer into view before the darkness of death took the eel. Its body also sank down after Dorian's final attack had gone through.

 

EELS IV&V: They had reached their opponent and bit down hard on him, drawing blood and ripping his body into two pieces; it was a delightful taste, but it was all for not. It took them long to realize that they, in fact, were the ones being eaten, and by that time it had been too late. They were devoured by the black blood.

 

EELS VI & VII: One moment they had been attacking and the next they were trapped in a barrage of hits that they had not one chance of escaping from; fists and energy bullets ran through the air as they exploded at the eel's steel bodies. The barrage had finally ended, their plating so heavily beaten that a well angled toothpick could make it through their defense. With nothing left to give the eels were slashed all about their bodies until finally their heads were removed, their bodies finally succumbed to the lava as they sank deep down.

 

EEL VIII: <SEE END OF SEPHIROTH POST><DEAD>

 

EEL IX: It had raised up a great defense and had stalled one of the opponent's just as its master had ordered, its job had been fulfilled, but this did not stop to floods of painful screeching that echoed from its mouth as it sank into the lava for the last time.

EEL X: The eels body had been ripped apart by the literally hundreds of bullets that had been shot at him by his opponent. What was left, the bits and pieces of the great beast that had once stood, finally burned up in the lava.

 

 

[spoiler= The White Sturgeon]

 

EEL II:

[0/200]

Battled Radamanthys- Deceased

EEL III:

[0/200]

Battled Dorian-Deceased

 

EEL IV:

[0/200]

Battled Butlerok- Deceased

 

EEL V:

[0/200]

Battled Butlerok- Deceased

 

EEL VI

[0/200]

Battled Chen-Deceased

 

EEL VII

[0/200]

Battled Ran -Deceased

 

EEL VIII

[0/200]

Battled Ayame- Deceased, but killed by Sephiroth

 

EEL IX

[0/200]

Battled Hades- Deceased

 

EEL X

[0/200]

Battled Kazuya- Deceased

Sykes Huegares <IV-A2>

In a storm of pain and power, the blasts had rained down, imploded really, on Sykes's location; judging by the sounds alone, one could tell that most, if not all, were direct hits. However, after the smoke had cleared, after the blasts had delivered their punishment, he still stood there wearing tattered clothes with burns on the exposed skin. There had been no time to switch to Deya and make a shield, leaving Sykes to have taken the full brunt of Isamy's attack and dealing him major damage. "I've been handed a duty, a mission, something that I must do to the best of my abilities. I've been commanded to slow you down for as long as I can, and I'm still standing, so I will continue doing so." He flew towards Isamy swiftly, ready to go another round with her, and he would go again and again until he was nothing.

 

And now, the only thing Isamy could see was black, not the blackness of death of course, for it would be foolish to assume that Isamy would die here and now so easily. No, the blackness she was seeing was different than the blackness of death, it was familiar to her; wisps of silver hair came into view as she traced the blade with her eyes until she was certain that it had lead into Sykes's heart. "Go now...and be forgotten." Calm and collected, the voice of Sephiroth rang into the heated air of Layer Four. He withdrew his blade from Sykes' chest and placed his hand over it instead. "Megaflare." A huge wave of flame and energy devoured Sykes body and blasted him into the lava beneath the combatants. Sephiroth, knowing that Isamy did not need his interference nor desired it, had simply took his leave toward the center of the layer.

One annoyance had changed his course of decent, however, as it seemed that one member of the Divine could not finish her eel off in an acceptable amount of time. Sephiroth teleported in front of the last of The White Sturgeon and with one quick slice, had done away with the beast. "Hmph."  Sephiroth had sounded off, not bothering to even look at the pile of distress and failure that Ayame had now become in his eyes.
 

 

[spoiler=Sykes Huegares]

Health

[0/1500]

Battled Isamy-Has been defeated by Sephiroth.

Energy

[0/700]

Ivero<Atop the Inch of Will>

Ivero quickly disengaged from Kratos and floated in the air, laughing to himself, snickering in an evil way as he floated there still. "I guess there's no reason to use that fools voice, then, is there? You think Nero is still inside, you're a fool, a foolish fool. What's next? Sora is still saveable inside Xansvita's body? Ha! That's rich!" Blobs of darkness had now started to detach themselves from Ivero, floating in the air doing nothing special yet. "I'll tell you this, Arthur, and your little girlfriend too if she can hear me. You friends are gone, and they are not coming back!" Ivero shouted, the blobs around them now took shape in the form of keyblades, replicas of Nero's The Darkness Within. Of course, Ivero still weld his keyblade dripping shadow as a rusty pipe might drip water. "Now, be good lads, and perish." With a flick of his wrist, many keyblades showered down upon Kratos, each ready to swing at him and face him in combat. This left Ivero himself to start walking towards Arthur and MirageGaogamon. "Come now, face me." Ivero said, swinging his blade to send a wave of darkness at the dynamic duo.

 

Odin<Atop the Inch of Will>

 

Odin had been watching the events run by, never leaving Eria and always being on-guard, he readied himself to fight as Solasiro had started his approach toward the two. "There's no doubt you can handle this, I know, but you must save yourself, you have much more important things to use your energy on. There are many trials ahead, the power coming toward your group is much more than that of LErNA's; as is only natural to be assumed." Odin stepped in front of Eria, in a defensive stance, and observed as another form had emerged from Solasiro and started to conflict with whatever he had going on. "And then, when you've ignored my words of caution and waring, stand beside me again, as I know you'll do." He said, smirking, although Eria wouldn't have seen it at the time.

[Reinforce]

Ayame, IV-A2

 

As the Eel spat it's acid at her, Ayame flew back quickly to avoid it, before starting to aim at it with another burst of lightning. Before she could though, the guy who had invaded the arena before appeared again, killing it instantly before moving on. Shrugging slightly at the man's dismissal of her, she hovered on the spot, looking around to see what was happening and waiting to see if someone would break through the final layer so they could reach the core.

 

Darcy IV-A2

Floating through the air, Darcy could see some of the members of the Divine ahead, slowly grouping together to try for the next layer. Behind her, the fire mage she'd come down with had already vanished somewhere, seemingly not intending to attack, so Darcy just joined up with the group that was forming while waiting for something to happen.

 

Chandra IV-B1

As the other mage floated away, Chandra made a few motions with her hands, bringing up her mana to assist her before commanding the Moltensteel Dragon to submerge itself fully into the lava, taking her with it. If anyone could see through the lava to her, it would look like a bubble of air had formed around Chandra, protecting her from the direct touch of the lava as she descended. Through the lava, she eventually managed to settle on the floor of the final layer, a layer of metal that, as it wasn't melting from the lava, was likely to be difficult to break through and, judging by what she could tell of the metal, incapable of being removed out of the way with a trick like the previous layer. As she started to think, she dismissed the Moltensteel Dragon, it's remains melting away to mix with the lava as she settled onto the metal directly. Suddenly smirking, Chandra bent down, hand on the metallic surface as she prepared another spell.

"This one's strangely fitting, considering the situation I'm about to use it in. Break through, and fulfil your purpose, Into the Core."

As she announced the spell's name, she pumped mana through her gauntlet, realising that even with a specialized spell befitting the task she was using it for, it would take more strength than that sort of spell usually needed to break through.

[The Warden]

|_)Magical Girl Lydia(_|

 

The cyclone barrier was incredibly troublesome, but that didn't matter as, of course, it was too late. The dark sphere was more than enough tipoff to gtfo, and gtfo Lydia did aboard her icy steed. She had managed to gain some distance before she was almost face-planted by the darkwinds that scattered all forces.

 

Through the gale she hazarded a glance as Xansvita, and her blood almost froze. He looked practically like LERNA, if she had merged with the Winged Dragon of Ra... which, he had. It was such an insult to her that he would even adopt her form, or hell, as he so boldly declared, called himself a god. Lydia sneered at such a suggestion. A baby witch? A god? It was laughable.

 

And yet, the tightness in her chest twisted like a cobra, and she knew what she had to do. Arthuria was doing quite well to distract the beast, so Lydia made her getaway to right above the Inch of Will. "I think I'm going to have to use that one. Indeed, I think you will. Yes, let us use that one. And also let us speak like we're a bunch of twits. So, you're a twit then? ... Yeah, I thought so. It's a shame, I wanted to save this for Isamy or Ophelia, but, it's what Galina would have wanted. And I do need to fix her last mistake."

 

Lydia took a deep and heaving breath as her tome's pages flapped like a bird, until they reached the last page. To the outside observer, the words written in the page would be too bright to read; but to her eyes, it held the one time use spell she'd need for this fight. Holding Cuestick upright, she made a swift circling arc, crafting a glowing circle. "Aeons of the eight, may your influence branch out!" she chanted.

 

The circle widened and grew in size, and as it did, runic symbols formed along the wheel, crafting magical symbols and eight rings which encircled the outer part of the wheel. An eight pointed star grew from the center and pierced through each ring to divide them into three parts. "Echelons of the ages rejoice in hopeful chorus, for the evil is at an end!"

 

Mystic text wrote itself onto the fringes of the ring, as well as in the inner ring which had formed. Scrawled into the center point was a glowing word, which spoke aloud the element they transcribed. "The enemy is at hand, and they will fall by the angel's tear!"

 

The wheel began spinning now as the circles moved in counterverse, but that was not the most surprising thing. From deep within Lydia's chest an aquamarine light rang out. Leaving her body, the light took the form of a light-blue tear with modest gold trim. "Galina... thank you."

 

The light joined the center of the circle, where its blue imprint stood at the center. The whirling circle moved even faster as beams of light poured from each circle and met, right in the middle. The tear shaped symbol in the center lit up.  "Mystical hunter of the light, and mother of the vile. I give up your light in order to destroy the evil by your sacrifice. WITCH HUNTER!" she screamed.

 

The tear unleashed its payload, sending forth a magnificent and devastating gold beam headed right for the enormous hydra.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

|_)~Moe~ Scientist Frankram, Okama Queen Ivankov, & The Evangelist Hapshiel(_|

 

Frankram gave an aside look to Gengestsu, but eye contact was hard because of a certain near-naked angel. "The battle is almost over, we shouldn't waste our energy when a greater villain stands by. Ophelia is no doubt in the center of the world, and we must be at the height of power in order to defeat her."

 

"Frankram-kun is right my dear. You shouldn't even be moving so much now in either case. You have lost too much blood and losing your wings has employed great shock to your body. You should be resting rather than thinking of conquest."

 

Speaking of conquest: Kazuya's nonchalant stance on hurting others nonewithstanding, Hapshiel was in absolute ecstacy as the death flies bit and nibbled at his body. Though they would find little sustenance as his kinetic field pretty much made his skin like very sensitive rubber. His pleasure grew even greater as a group of flies tagteamed his nipples, which were grewing very pert with the bites.

 

He was at the gasping point where his mouth hung open and quivered until finally, after fifteen minutes of foreplay, he climaxed. His moans were like the screams of hell as a burning pink aura exploded from his body, eviscerating the flies and what might have remained of the eel had it not been eaten alive some point before. Hapshiel's ungodly massive chest heaved in satisfaction as his clothes reformed, now that his pleasure was done with. "Love... and... and... peace" he sighed happily.

 

Frankram rolled his eyes a little. "He's satisfied and the battle is won. Ivankov, you might want to stay back a bit" Frankram warned.

 

Ivankov's inquisitve glance pierced him, but he completely understood. Isamy was nearby, and no doubt she would not find the idea of a Counter Corp nearby all that pleasurable.

[Phantom Roxas]

[iI-B2 - Xansvita's Barrier] - Arthur & MirageGaogamon || ???

With Ivero's attack aiming towards them, MirageGaogamon fired a Full Moon Blaster. The beam tore right through the wave of darkness and headed towards Ivero. Without waiting to see what would happen, MirageGaogamon charged the Unversed with his flail, only to be stopped when he saw something quickly fall down into the sand. The figure looked like a ghost, his body glowing red, and wispy tail in place of legs. Cables formed from his shoulders to resemble hands, while on his forehead was a mechanical eye. MirageGaogamon recognized some of his features as belonging to the machine from the surface that had destroyed Ogudomon's physical form.

"MirageGaogamon, take care of Ivero! I'll deal with whatever this is."

The ghost looked at Arthur curiously. "Who are you? Er, wait. Yes, you were the human and his Digimon. Wait, Digimon? What even is that? I don't…"

"You're not going to attack us?"

"Why would I… no. All Digimon must be destroyed. They must be-" Before the ghost could continue, he was hit by MirageGaogamon's flail, sending it flying right at Ivero. He was twitching even while soaring through the air, until finally exploding right in Ivero's face, putting an end to whatever the ghost was.

"Sorry about that," MirageGaogamon called out to Ivero. "Now then, you were saying?"

Equius Zahhak & Lil Hal

Equius woke up in the Land of Caves and Silence wearing Lil Hal. The artificial intelligence in the sunglasses addressed the troll, saying, "It appears we are dead."

"You do not say," Equius muttered.

"I was wondering where you two were."

Equius turned to see Dirk, who was crouching. "My apologies," Equius said. "We were wondering where you were."

"It seems that we are now in a doomed timeline," Lil Hal needlessly added. "What would you suggest we do now?"

"We wait," Dirk suggested.

"Wait?" Equius asked. "Wait for what?

A roar echoed around them all. Looking up, they saw a monstrous figure staring down at them. It was none other than Lord English.

"That," Dirk said bluntly.

Equius nodded, realizing there was nothing else to do. As soon as Lord English opened his mouth, Dirk, Equius, and Lil Hal all accepted their fate. A brilliant flash of all the colors of the rainbow shot out, consuming them all, as the very universe they were in shattered like broken glass.

???

A figure of silver armor, with crimson energy lining its form, reclined in a floating throne in a room line with windows reminiscent of a cathedral's. Countless floating screens formed a sphere around the figure, each screen depicting different people fighting one another. However, one of the screens in particular caught his interest. The sphere rotated around him so that that particular screen was directly in front of him. On the screen was Lord English, walking away from the most recent universe that he destroyed. "You again. What part of your cluster did you destroy this time?" The figure tapped the screen, and the visual seemed to be "rewinding". He followed Lord English until he saw Dirk, Equius, and Lil Hal just before their ghosts were killed. Pausing the screen again, he drew a circle around the three ghosts with his right index finger, then spread out his hand. The focus of the screen shifted from Lord English to them, but the screen split in two. One half focused on Dirk, while the other on Equius and Lil Hal.

Dirk's screen rewound to when he perished against Hades, and stopping once he confronted a winged, reptilian figure in platinum armor. For Equius and Lil Hal, the screen showed them as the transformed ARquiusprite being attacked by what the figure identified as a MirageGaogamon Burst Mode. Zooming out on the images of both screens, he found the reptile was present at the area where ARquiusprite was. "Fascinating. So there are beings from disparate universes interacting. I don't recall doing this. Perhaps this is a natural occurrence of a Bleed?" Looking around the ARquiusprite's screen, the figure stopped. He saw someone he was not expecting. "Well now, this is very unexpected. What are you doing here, Solasiro?"

[iI-B2 - Xansvita's Barrier] - Eria, Gagagigo & Kairi vs. Solasiro

Solasiro's annoyance at Otto's arrival quickly subsided as Solasiro's eyes widened in shock at what Otto said. "How do you know that name?!" His left hand shot up to grab at his own throat, while a howl echoed in Solasiro's mind. "Do not think you'll be free of me, Lobo. My l'Cie power has given me something greater than whatever you could offer. You gave me a second chance of life. But Fenrir… Fenrir is a far greater companion than you. I found something better than serving as a member of your 'King's' court. I will-"

Solasiro was slammed against the Inch of Will by a torrent of water. Most of his body was frozen, save for his left arm and his head. "Seems you have your own problems," Eria smiled. "Don't worry about me, Matthew. I'm a lot stronger than I was when we fought LERNA. But… thank you. I know now that it was something else making you what you were back in the Divine. I thought you were dead, though."

Gagagigo grabbed Solasiro, pulling him out of the ice, and he began to squeeze. "You have just as much reason as to be afraid of Xansvita as any of us. If you won't help us, then your options are either that your 'friend' makes you strangle yourself to death, or I take care of the job for him. Now, what's it going to be?"

A voice called out through the howling in Solasiro's mind. "Solasiro," the voice said. "I did not expect to see you again. How are you-"

"Alive?" he replied mentally. "I'll admit, I thought I'd be trapped in that crystal forever. But there's a woman somewhere, Ophelia. She brought me back. But enough about me. What have you been up to, Megiddo?"

"You are disturbingly calm for someone who is being strangled by a god controlling your left arm."

"You must be contacting me for a reason. That is enough to put my mind at ease."

"Have you decided?" Gagagigo snarled.

"I am still researching your situation, Solasiro. For now, I suggest that you align yourselves with these others. The one you are fighting is a Witch that has ascended to godhood utilizing energy originally held by the Gielinorian god Guthix."

"Guthix?"

"Much has happened since you completed your Focus. Guthix is dead."

Solasiro smiled. "Pity," he said aloud. "Fine, I will help you. For now." His right arm began to melt the ice around it, but Gagagigo slammed Solasiro into the ground. He quickly stood up, bones cracking as he adjust himself. The symbols on each of his arms began to glow as he turned towards Xansvita. "Looks like your secret is out Lo… Ccoshobar. Now take your hatred towards me, and direct that towards this so-called 'Warlock'."

The Earthbound Immortal appeared out of the sand, but its body was changing. Its mane had disappeared, and the lines on its body had turned completely orange. It now resembled a coyote rather than than a wolf. It stood over the Inch of Will, but it looked down at Solasiro, but Fenrir appeared between them. "Now listen," Solasiro said to Ccoshobar. "You may have regained some degree of thought thanks to that other Dark Signer, but know this: I am still your master. You are still exactly what you hoped to make me."

Ccoshobar barked at Solasiro, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he turned to face Xansvita, while saying to Eria and Otto, "This isn't over. Not by a long shot."

Kairi walked up to Eria. "I'm going to try something." Kairi ran off, passing Solasiro, while Eria tried to call out to her.

"Kairi, wait!"

[iI-B2 - Xansvita's Barrier] - XANSVITA || Zilyana & Kree'arra

Xansvita watched in amusement as everyone rallied against him. "DO NOT MAKE US LAUGH, ED," he said to the warrior. "YOU ARE THE SOLE REMNANT OF THAT PITIFUL TEAM THAT VENTURED INTO THE DESERT SETH. KENPACHI AND YACHIRU WERE THE FIRST TO DIE. LYON COULD NOT EVEN BEGIN TO STAND A CHANCE AGAINST LERNA. HE LEARNED PRECISELY WHY HOPE IS A FALSE FAITH. SORA IS ONE WITH US, AND NERO OUR SERVANT. WE WILL GRANT YOU A CHOICE, ED. DIE, AND CLING TO YOUR PRECIOUS HOPE THAT YOU WILL MEET KENPACHI, YACHIRU, AND LYON IN WHATEVER AWAITS YOU. OR CHOOSE TO PERPETUATE YOUR EXISTENCE, AND JOIN IVERO AS ONE OF OUR UNVERSED."

Arthuria had arrived, much to Xansvita's surprise, ready to strike him down. Calling forth two of the Wingblade swords, Xansvita guarded against Arthuria's attack. "YOU SHOULD STAY OUT OF OUR WAY, WORM. YOU ARE ONLY LEADING THE COUNTER CORPS BECAUSE EMIYA FAILED TO. DO NOT ENTERTAIN ANY DELUSIONS OF VICTORY. YOU ARE BUT A REPLACEMENT, A SUBSTITUTE MEANT TO FINISH EMIYA'S WORK. SORA GAVE THAT MISERABLE SLIME KIOTSO A MORE DIGNIFIED DEATH THAN WHAT EMIYA RECEIVED. HIS FAILURE REFLECTS POORLY ON YOU 'GUARDIANS'. UNLESS YOU INTEND TO ERASE THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS INCOMPETENCE, YOU MEAN NOTHING TO US. A MERE NUISANCE PROTECTING THOSE WHO DEFIED THE GREAT LERNA."

Looking around the rest of the Barrier, Xansvita felt the arrival of two more presences. One was a woman, and the other resembled an eagle. The woman had her too left wings burned away, her body covered in ash, while the eagle's feathers were all scorched. "WELCOME TO OUR BARRIER. AND YOU ARE?"

Kree'arra and Zilyana were both breathing heavily. They had barely escaped the flames that were consuming the surface, but now it seemed that they had found themselves against a greater threat. Kree'arra looked at Xansvita, and in the seventh Wingblade sword, he saw the Staff of Armadyl. "That… how do you have the Staff of Armadyl?!"

Xansvita's main head coiled around as he brought the staff's sword before him. "THIS? AH, SO THAT IS IT. YOU MUST KNOW SLISKE."

"So Sliske is here," Zilyana hissed.

"WAS," Xansvita corrected. "HE WAS WEAK, AND SO IT WAS EASY TO TAKE HIS SOUL. AND NOW… NOW WE ARE A GOD."

"Then he did ascend!"

"We must be careful," Kree'arra warned her. "The power of Guthix now flows through him."

Xansvita laughed, all of his voices echoing from each of his heads. "AT LEAST YOU UNDERSTAND HOW HOPELESS YOU ALL ARE. SINCE YOU SEEM TO KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT THIS STAFF, THEN PERHAPS WE WILL LET YOU JOIN OUR ARMY OF UNVERSED AS WELL." Xansvita smiled. Each of his fangs were like swords, sharp and prepared to cut through anything. "WE SEE WHY SLISKE SPOKE SO FONDLY OF 'COLLECTING' PEOPLE. IT SEEMS WE HAVE TAKEN MORE FROM HIM THAN JUST HIS POWER. NOW THEN, AS WE WERE SAYING…" The sword with the Staff of Armadyl pointed itself at the Counter Guardian, and at Xansvita's command, it launched forward, piercing through Arthuria's chest.

With Arthuria dealt with, had his lower arms chase after Kree'arra and Zilyana. The two generals jumped to the side, but the heads were quick and began to follow after them. This time, Xansvita's attention was caught by the one he had reached out to before. Izumi had stepped out of the Inch of Will, and Xansvita smiled again. "SO, YOU'VE COME TO YOUR SENSES, THERMOPYLAE. ALLOW US TO REAWAKEN THE PART OF YOU THAT THE COUNTER CORPS HAS FORCED INTO SLUMBER."

Xansvita's main head dove down towards Izumi, but as it dead, Lydia had already launched her attack. The two other heads snared in front of the attack to protect the main head, but it was not enough. The armor protecting them could not handle the might of Lydia's attacked, and the gold shattered within moments. The heads slowly carried themselves down to the ground, while Xansvita's main head roared back. "THERMOPYLAE," he commanded. "DESTROY THE REST OF THE COUNTER CORPS. THE ONE WHO DESTROYED OUR MISTRESS MUST DIE BY OUR SWORDS." Xansvita's wings spread out once again as all six swords pointed at Lydia. "YOU WILL NOT BE SHOWN MERCY, MAGICAL GIRL. ABOVE ALL US, WE WILL NOT BE SATISFIED UNTIL YOU ARE A STAIN AGAINST THE SAND."

The swords began to fire at Lydia, but just as they set off, Xansvita's main head was brought down. His upper left head was biting against the main one's throat, while the six swords were all thrown across the Barrier. The upper right head came to the main one's rescue, biting back at the left head. "IMPOSSIBLE!"


The Sora Unversed looked at Ratchet's group, before its body began to change. The armor around it seem to suddenly fall apart, while the Unversed began to "walk out" of the ink-like substance. An Iron Imprisoner IV materialized, while the "Sora" Unversed faded away, its energy returning to Xansvita. For the Iron Imprisoner, though, it was taking some more power. A second cage appear on the head of its hammer, parallel to the first. Four more horns grew from the Unversed's head, so that its head seemed more symmetrical. A pair of angelic wings, much like the ones Xansvita had, sprouted from its back. The newly formed Iron Imprisoner V looked at its opponents, ready to smite them. It began with forging a cage around Alister, with a second, much smaller one trapping Red. Rather than the cages igniting, though, they both begun to charge with electricity.


Meanwhile, in Tsunugai's Perception, the Unversed they were fighting had survived their attacks, but it felt that it's master was in need of its help. "NO!" Xansvita protested. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE, FELLWRAITH. KEEP THOSE TWO OCCUPIED." The Unversed nodded, summoning the Trinity Armor from the Barrier. The two Unversed brought their arms together and struck against the sand. Thick walls of darkness rose up through the sand, separating Richard and Tsunugai, with the Fellwraith facing Richard, and the Trinity Armor against Tsunugai.

The Trinity Armor began to change its body to prepare to fight Tsunugai. Its lower leg began to turn backwards, while its feet stayed in place. The armor against its forearms began to move to the front, as the Trinity Armor began to go on all fours. The protrusions on the α Armor changed shifted, with the central one turning backwards and connecting to the γ Armor, while the left and right protrusions changed to form tusks. Now, Tsunugai was facing the Trinity Mammoth.


Back in reality, the two secondary heads were still fighting each other, while the main head struggled to get back in place. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he screamed at Lydia.

"She gave us another chance, that's what," a voice answered.

Xansvita felt himself being pulled into his own mind. He was in his six-winged Familiar form, staring at none other than Ventus, who was absolutely drenched in pitch-black water. They were both standing on a Station of Awakening, which depicted Xansvita's original form and an armored Ventus, the two of them in opposite directions, yet still facing each other.

"Still alive, are you?" Xansvita asked. "We could have sworn you drowned when Vanitas took over."

"Stop pretending that you're all of us," Ventus snapped. "You're still just Vanitas. Nothing is going to change that."

Xansvita chuckled. "Fine. Then tell me why you're still here, as you?"

Ventus placed his hand against his chest. "That spell Lydia just used. It helped me… wake up, I guess. It saved me from the darkness that entered my heart."

"Yet I can feel that your heart is still sinking into it."

"Roxas and Xion are protecting my heart. As long as they do that, I won't fall back down again."

"You lost it all that day in the Keyblade Graveyard, Ventus. Even after everything with Zero, Sora and Mickey never saved you. You have no further to fall. Admit it!" He opened his arms, sending a wave of darkness around him. The Sora Unversed appeared before Ventus, stabbing him in the heart with its Keyblade. The Unversed was absorbed into the Keyblade, followed by the Keyblade melting into darkness that seeped into the wound.


Roxas and Xion were standing back to back, each of them casting Faith to hold back an ocean of darkness that was crawling up their own Stationery, this one depicting Sora, lying on his back, with his Keyblade in both hands, like he was lying in a coffin. The Sora Unversed entered the area, staring down Roxas and Xion.

"Come on, Sora," Roxas called out to the Unversed. "Even if Vanitas still has control of you, we're not going to give up."

"We're going to save you," Xion added. "We'll stop Vanitas once and for all, but you have to help us!"

The Unversed said nothing, instead taking its Ultima Weapon and stabbing it into the Stationery, creating a sigil in the ground as he activated Trinity Limit.


While the Endless Warlock commaned his Wingblade swords to returned, Zilyana and Kree'arra had managed to lead the heads chasing them as far as they can. Kree'arra summoned a gust of small tornadoes to push it back a little bit, but the head paid him no mind. Instead, it turned around, as did the head fighting Zilyana, with both of them biting at the head that was holding the other head back. "What is that beast doing?!"

"It's attacking itself, you dolt!" Zilyana answered. Indeed, four of Xansvita's heads were now all caught in their own internal struggle, while the main head was struggling to fight on in spite of it.

"WHY DO YOU INSIST ON FIGHTING?!" Xansvita roared. "WE ARE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING TOGETHER!" Xansvita saw Ccoshobar running towards him, but Xansvita used two of his wings to push the Earthbound Immortal back, while his other four wings beat against the air, commanding the sand to rise, forming a series of sandstorms. "ENOUGH OF THIS! ALL OF YOU WILL DIE, HERE AND NOW!"

The six swords lifted up into the air, arranging themselves in a ring. They were spread out as far as possible, so that everyone in the Barrier was within the ring. Sand and smoke were filling the air, while flames ignited around each of the six swords. The seventh drew itself back from Arthuria, rising up to the center of the ring, and high above all the other swords. "THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE FOR SALVATION. YOU MAY HAVE DEFEATED LERNA, BUT YOU COULD NOT STOP US. WE ARE PROOF THAT DESPAIR SHALL NEVER END." He glared at Lydia, smiling with his sword-like fangs. "YOU WILL SEE AN ENDLESS WINTER. EVEN IF YOU CLAIM THAT DESPAIR CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT ANY HOPE TO DESTROY, THEN WE WILL SIMPLY STOP YOU FROM EVEN THINKING OF HAVING HOPE. YOU WILL DIE IN MISERY, YOUR OLD BELIEFS LOST TO YOU. THEN WE WILL FIND OPHELIA, TAKE THE KEY OF ORIGIN, AND WE WILL JOIN LERNA IN THE PERFECT REALITY!"


One of the secondary heads began to strike Xansvita while two other heads held the remaining one back. However, the main head began to ignite, the flames surrounding it as it activated its own Phoenix Mode. The attacking head turned back from the flames, but it looked back to see someone diving down from the sky. Just when it realized who the person was, the restrained head had managed to swallow her whole.

Xansvita had devoured Kairi.


Ventus watched as the humanoid Xansvita had fused with the Unversed of the Winged Dragon of Ra. The Egyptian God's Phoenix Mode made Ra into a creature of black flames. Xansvita's upper body was merged to Ra's back, and his arms were covered in black flames. "Ready to die, old friend?" he asked Ventus.

A light shined above them both, striking at the Stationery. Kairi stood next to Ventus, Keyblade at the ready. Ventus stood back in shock "Kairi?!"

Kairi nodded at Ventus. "Ventus, right? It's a pleasure."

"Likewise."

"Well now, this is a surprise!" Xansvita sneered. "Still think you can save your precious fiancée?"

Kairi took her Keyblade with both hands, standing her ground. "I know I will."

[Kingdom Xathers]

"... Red," Alister began slowly, "why do you seem upset by this?  I mean, you and I, we don't really belong...."  Slowly the realization began to creep up on him.  "Wait... Red, you are coming with me, right?" the General asked as he held Red up to look him in the face.  "Red, you don't belong with the Divine any more than I."

 

"You two are close?" Alexander asked as he and Ratchet watched on.

 

Looking up briefly, Alister addressed the other lombax, "Well, yes.  You could say... that he's the closest thing I have to a friend among the Divine."

 

Alexander blinked slowly.  "I see... ...."

 

Turning his attention back to Red, Alister continued his plea; "Red, please.  Come with me.  I... ... I can't do this alone, Red.  I don't want to lose another friend--"

 

"LOOK OUT!!" By the time the words escaped Ratchet's mouth, it was already too late; an Iron Imprisoner, summoned by Xansvita, had launched a pair of cages at Alister and Red, ensnaring them within electrified bars.

 

"Alister!!"

 

"GAAAHHH!!" Alister yelped loudly as the current of electricity coursed through his body.  "How--?! It-It couldn't do this before--AAARRGH!!!"

 

"Can you get out?!" Ratchet frantically asked.

 

"I'm... trying...!!!" Alister grunted as he struggled with getting the Zurkon-Wrench to respond.  "Zur... kon...!  Wake... UP!!!"

 

"... did he just say...?!"

 

"Indeed.  It would appear that Mr. Zurkon had fused with--and upgraded--Alister's OmniWrench," Clank replied analytically.  "Which does explain why we've been able to get some peace and quiet lately...."

 

"No time for jokes, Clank," Ratchet responded as he and Alexander turned to face the Unversed.  "Alister, just hang on!  We'll take care of this thing!"

 

"Be... careful...!" Alister grunted out.  "That creature... it has a weakness to--GAAAAAHHH!!!"  The General's clue was cut off by a sudden increase in the voltage.

[Dad]

In one annoyed swipe, Kratos drew his wrist in an arc motion, and let his gauntlet do the rest.  The Keyblades, what magic they had, were deflected in one swoop as they crashed to the ground.  Ivero ignored Kratos afterwards and turned his attention to Arthur, giving Kratos the opportunity to. . . observe every other fight.  It seemed there were lots of allies, but not many enemies.  He took his time, going to grab a seat inside the Inch of Will.  Xansvita was babbling on with the typical bad guy speech.  Endless despair and so on, but Kratos wasn't interested.  Some rather sexual fusions transpired mid fight, which were enough to make the bald man crave a good sparring snack.  Oh how he loved sparring snacks.  Freshly killed dark elephant roasted over a Siren Blood spitfire was quite a treat.  Toss in a little mead and a couple of town whores and you've got yourself a man's night.  One of the few things he wouldn't change once everything was back to normal.  But for now he would kick back and contemplate what he would do if and when he was needed.  Refusing to dwell on the deaths of Black Dynamite and Byakuya, he watched the events before him unfold.

 

A young girl was swallowed whole, which was quite unfortunate.  Kratos shook his head in disappointment, unaware of what was happening inside of where Kairi had been swallowed.  He scratched his head as he pondered a little bit more on his past.  He still regretted killing his wife and child, but it made him look forward to the future.  They would want him to be happy.  That was all it took for Kratos to decide he would remarry.  He would find someone who fit his personality and make her his wife.  She would have to be a decent age, and not be afraid to get blood on her hands.  They would do lots together.  Long walks on a bloodied beach.  Burning skull lit dinners.  Lots and lots of nasty ass sex.  And eventually she would give Kratos a son.  And with the gods out of the picture. . . there was a high chance the boy would be born with all of Kratos' strength and magical prowess, if not more.  It would be a future to look forward too.  For now.

 

----------

 

Successfully securing another soul, Papa Legba watched Black Dynamite squirm as he was drained of happiness in his own, private hell.  But something was happening elsewhere in the living world that intrigued him.  She had just done away with another one.  Papa actually clapped his hands.  Slowly, but he did actually clap his hands.  He took the time to make himself presentable, brushing his teeth with rancid monkey urine and washing his face with a cloth made of human facial skin.  He swished the urine around in his mouth again, and picked out his teeth with his nine inch, yellow, molded finger nails, and smiled something sinister as he looked through his crystal ball.

 

"First Madara, and now Sykes?  My, my, Isamy.  You are quite da characta' ain't you?  You may 'tink you have all things unda your control, but I foresee. . .," he turned back to his crystal ball as he peered far, far into the future.  Things were not pleasant, at least for Isamy.  "A different outcome.  I don't normally do dis, but I 'tink I'll make dis interestin'."  He chuckled to himself as he placed both his hands on his crystal ball and slipped through it, appearing inches before Isamy's face.

 

His soulless eyes peering into her own, he stopped time flow around them both with a snap of his fingers.  He smiled at her in a sinister fashion, as he ran his hands through her hair.  "Well hello dere', Isamy.  It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."  He briefly took time to tap into her past and study her and her father.  "Tell me, do you have any idea what chu got comin' your way?"

[The Warden]

|_)Magical Girl Lydia(_|
 
Surprisingly, Lydia didn't even cheer as the attack decimated through two of Xansvita's heads. She was a little dissappointed that it had done so little, especially in regards to his own ability to speak. And once again, he was pontificating like he thought he was LERNA; which really was nothing but an insult. "Oh shut up would you?!" Lydia cried, her voice surprisingly carrying to Xansvita.
 
"All I ever hear from everyone is just bluh bluh bluh! I mean for christ's sakes show some kind of initiative. 'Oh look at me, I can babble on about despair ain't I philosophical?' No, just, no, stop it" she added, casting her right arm in frustration. "You have zero idea what despair and hope actually. I do as well because no one really knows; so stop acting like you're the expert! Do you really want to know despair? Then I'll show you it Xansvita, I will f**king show you it. I will show you the same despair Galina felt in the end. I will show you the hopelessness of defeat. Are you ready? Cause here it comes!"
 
And with all her might, Lydia pursed her lips together as she whistled a rather familiar song.

 

The tune pierced through the storms and the noise through her soulful solo, or, was it? As she continued, another voice picked up the song. A glowing light-purple flame appeared by Lydia, and it joined in the song as it flickered lightly. More voices joined in the tune as flames of various colours joined in around her, and their numbers grew en masse.

 

They were the Regret, what remained of the Troy after their purification and for this brief moment, Lydia's own Familiars. Their numbers were as great as that of the remaining Troys, numbering high into the hundreds. Each one a timpani as their light shimmered against the storm of Xansvita's Barrier. Funny how deja vu works doesn't it?

 

As song's end, Lydia arched her hand high, and gave the order with a finger pointed straight at the Endless Warlock. The Regret joined as one in a rainbow charge that surged forth, through the storm and Xansvita's defenses. By their ghostly nature, they fazed right through his chest.

 

In the Station of Awakening, Xansvita's darkness had been pierced for a second time. This time by the ethereal forms of being of many names, and franchises. The lost souls of LERNA's Troys glittered in the pale darkness, and they all had their eyes dead set on Xansvita. "Xansvita, the time has come to an end. LERNA rests now as we do, and it is time for you to join her" they all declared in creepy unison.

 

Drifting forwards the Regret gripped tightly to Xansvita's entire body, their clasp unfazed by the flames. Rather, the flames were fazed by them as their cooling hold dispelled the flames; and through their touch light-blue vein like lights that crept along Xansvita's body. The glowing lines paralyzed the Familiar's body as all lines matched up neatly like a puzzle, with the image of a no doubt enraged socipath.

 

The Regret all looked to Ventus and Kairi, and they all smiled. "We will contain him. End the last Familiar, and end our pain" they pleaded.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

|_)Red, the Arisen(_|

 

Red stared Alister directly in his eyes, and tried not to worry to much about his hot breath. "Alister..." he began, but any attempts at a heartfelt speech were cut short by those damned unversed again.

 

He was clipped from Alister's hand by a cage that sizzled him, his body vibrating from the surge of energy. In his spasming state he dropped his staff to the bottom of the cage, where the Light Gem made contact with the bars. Thankfully, due to the enchantment placed on it the gem began diverting the electricity from the bars into itself, giving Red the space to quite jerkily sketch a cross with his smoking hand. "B-Ban-nish!" he jittered.

 

The spell did its work, and the Iron Imprisoner V joined its brethren in oblivion; and thankfully, its cages did too. Red lay there with his wings blanketing him as he worked off the charge that was circulating his body; his numbs fingers managing to grab his staff. Hidden beneath them Red took a glance to find Alister collapsed from the electric surge. With sadness, or potentially shame, Red chose to stare at the ground as a green column of light surrounded him. Growing to his original size Red straightened his back, his wings flapping from the cramps obtained as chibi-Red. Casting another glance to the Lombaxes, he turned his back to them. "Alister" he said to prone Lombax, "I understand how meaningful our time was together. It was nice to meet another likeminded individual with past mistakes; it's almost as if we were cut from the same cloth. But understand me well: If you chose to join the Counter Corp, then I won't stop you. Likewise, I cannot join you. I do not like my place with the Divine, nor the company it keeps; but sadly it is a role I must relegate myself too. Make no mistakes, my heart will never be as black as theirs, but I will have to carry the stains of their sins as well. It's sad really to consider our only difference is what creates this division. You have a world to go back to. I do not" he added before walking off, his head bent to mask the tight feeling that clenched at his heart.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Betwixt And Between:

 

Izumi stood there as Xansvita was attacked, unmoving, unflinching, as her master was ravaged, as she discussed with the components of Teslarc at the speed of thought.

-Please...don't do this...- Chi meekly pleaded.

-Ya ain't gotta become this, hon.- Eta sighed with discontent.

-I know it's awesome, but it's gonna hurt ya.- Sigma reasoned, trying to keep her cool.

-And it's not going to be super fun! Owies are bad!- Rho exclaimed.

-Darling, there really is no need to go to these extremes.- Lambda attempted to reason with Izumi.

-No, she's right.- Theta adamantly proclaimed, bringing the attention of the other five AIs.

-I am?-

-We have to. We have no other choice. It's either this, or be destroyed. Go ahead, Izumi. Do it. Just know that, once you are committed to this path, we can't do anything to stop this.-

-Thank you.- Izumi replied before snapping back to reality. "Theta, initiate unlocking of hemoreceptors. Eta, Sigma, and Lambda, prepare for radical armor conversion. Rho, be on standby to contain excess energy releases for future charge. Chi, override regenerative systems and shut them down."

"Done." Theta chirped. "We're ready whenever you are."

Izumi winced as she reached down to her hipguards, and pressed in, crying out as blood was drawn from her thighs into the suit itself, saturating the systems with fresh blood and stirring long-dormant fibers, a special, last-resort ingredient to the special powered armor designed in case all else failed. The red-haired woman cried out as the fibers formed a blood-soaked cocoon around her, expanding and creating a bubble for the nude woman to stand in. A billowing, six-eyed flame with fangs appeared behind her, and closed its maw around her, tightening and conforming to her body, the fibers constricting and taking a new shape. Her already tight bodysuit was now even more revealing, red and black designs showing bare skin along the sides of her stomach, in an impressive boob window, and along her thighs and upper arms, the legs now resembling go-go boots with spikes along the sides, while her gloves now had spiked knuckles, and more black stud-like spikes lined her form. She groaned as the fake hair of her helmet gained black streaks, the helmet conforming to a more draconic style, gold eyes and a crimson jaw hiding the black faceplate. Finally, she let six blade-like pauldrons emerge, three on each side, each containing an eye: one purple, one green, one aquamarine, one cobalt, one sky-blue, and one crimson. She roared out the name of her new form triumphantly, standing in front of Xansvita, six other female voices joining her.

"KAMUI HIIRO JINKETSU!!!"

 

Meanwhile, inside of Xansvita's mindscape, Yuki materialized, along with Azure-Eyed Silver Dragon, riding on the back of the dragon, along with three Blue-Eyes White Dragons behind her. The deteriorating mental state of the "Witch" made it much easier to hijack the rules of his mental landscape, letting her summon a bunch of dragons in one go. "It's over, Xansvita!" She declared. "You fell for our deception, and now, as Izumi destroys your body, I will eliminate your mind! White Lightning! Silver Thunder!" The four dragons triumphantly unleashed energy beams at the God Card, rending holes in its black flames. Then, the three Blue-Eyes morphed and merged together, becoming something even more powerful: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "NEUTRON BLAST!!!" The three heads worked together to create a triangle-shaped projectile to launch at the restrained dragon, punching a hole in its chest.

 

Before Xansvita could react, thrusters on the back of Kamui Hiiro Jinketsu's pauldrons engaged, sending the woman flying towards the six giant swords. Emerging from her back were six giant spikes that unfolded into wing-like arms, billowing crimson fabric and reaching for each of the six Wingblades hovering above, grabbing on as she pulled them in, and held them aloft over their creator. "THIS IS WHAT WE THINK OF MY FRIENDS DYING BY OUR SWORDS!!!" Her additional arms then reached forth, throwing the flaming blades at him at speeds faster that he could counter, impaling him into mid-air. The Wingblades fractured spacetime itself, sliding into their cracks as they each secured a wing, holding him aloft in front of her.

 

 Finally, cracks formed on Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and light spilled forth, letting something radiant and beautiful emerge. "BLUE-EYES SHINING DRAGON!!! SHINING NEUTRON BLAST!!!" The perfect dragon formed a sphere of power brighter than anything in the darkness, and launched it straight at Ra and Xansvita's head...

 

Izumi then grabbed the final blade with her talons, and, with a mighty roar of rage, plunged it into his main head's neck, sending a geyser of energy past Izumi and towards the staff inside of the seventh blade...

 

As Otto limped back to the Inch of Will, his mission accomplished, he was surprised to see it begin to take off, Foster now at the helm. "You sure Red and White wanna do this?" He asked Brad, a bit skeptical. "I mean, this sounds pretty far-fetched."

"Positive. Izumi relayed this plan to me as she uplinked, knowing Xansvita would most likely appear to snatch up the Counter Corps. You know how she, and Itsu, are."

"Always a contingency for everything. Pretty smart. So far, it's gone exactly as she intended, but will it be that easy? Can we solve two birds with one stone?"

"We only have one option: to try. Otherwise, we will never escape our current predicament. Spatial distortion factors inserted. Target acquired." A pair of holographic triggers appeared in front of Foster as a humming grew louder and louder. "Charging at 25%...50%...75%..."

Foster took in a deep breath, eyeing his mark. If he missed, it would spell doom for those who were trusting in his leadership. All of those sacrifices to make it here...they had come too far to fail against this monster! They had to make it to the core!

"Critical mass attained. Fire when ready."

"EAT DEPLETED URANIUM, YOU OVERSIZED DRACONIC MOTHERF**KER!!!" Foster roared as he slammed his fingers down on the triggers.

To either side of the cockpit, the largest of the weapons were pulsing with power, and now, they unleashed their true form. Twin slugs of pure depleted uranium rocketed down the electromagnetic rails of the cannons faster than one can blink, achieving near-relativistic speeds in a space mere mortal minds cannot comprehend, and even the fastest camera cannot record. At such speeds, their impact with Xansvita's chest was near-instantaneous, sending shockwaves throughout the Barrier and the target, rippling immense winds between the ship and the Familiar. The holes expanded as these shockwaves tore into Xansvita, ripping his drained, crippled body into shreds and spreading them along the slugs' wake, the objects still traveling down the Barrier's length, until they impacted the far wall, where they proceeded to burst through the other side of Betwixt and Between, the spacetime ripples too much for the fragile pocket dimension to handle as the door opened back onto the Periphery's interior. Still going, the two slugs burst through the adminium layer, easily tearing through the layer, followed by a plunge in molten magma that superheated them while also instantly cooling the molten rock into a tunnel. This added heat allowed the kinetic projectiles to slip through the adamantium like a hot knife through butter, slowing down somewhat until they made a Manta-sized hole out the other side, eventually reaching the other end of the Core and coming to a stop against the other side of the adamantium layer, creating a merged crater in the material.

 

Otto watched all of this with a wide eye, simply uttering "Mein Gott..."

[Phantom Roxas]

[iI-B2 - Xansvita's Barrier] - XANSVITA

 

Xansvita's anger continued to boil as Red once again banished an Unversed. "ARE YOU ALL SO MISERABLY PATHETIC THAT YOU CANNOT EVEN LAST FIVE SECONDS AGAINST SOMEONE AS INSIGNIFICANT AS HIM?!" He tossed Ccoshobar aside, but neither Red or the Earthbound Immortal were anywhere near close to the biggest thing Xansvita had to worry about. Lydia continued to dismiss Xansvita, but then the magical girl's voice was joined by a song. It was disgusting in how upbeat it was. Then, he saw the spirits of the Troys join Lydia as she prepared her ultimate attack. "YOU HAD YOUR VICTORY AGAINST LERNA! WE WILL AVENGE HER! FOR LERNA'S SAKE, WE WILL OBLITERATE YO- Xansvita was interrupted by the power of the Regret coming at him in full force as all the colors of the rainbow shined upon him.

 

The Regret's power found its way into Xansvita's heart. One by one, they all took hold of him, the flames not burning a single one of them. The blue light completely ensnared his whole body, but if there was anything that infuriated him more than anything else, it was that they were sending Ventus and Kairi to deal with the Sora Unversed. "I will not let you save him!" However, no matter how much he tried, Xansvita could not even move a finger. It was a miracle that he could talk at all.

 

Ventus and Kairi nodded at each other and crossed their Keyblades against each other. They vanished in a flash of light, Xansvita reaching out in a desperate attempt to stop them. Instead, he found himself facing Yuki and her powerful dragons. "Thermopylae," he smiled happily. "Please, help me."

 

"It's over, Xansvita!" Yuki told him. "You fell for our deception, and now, as Izumi destroys your body, I will eliminate your mind!"

 

Xansvita's rage continued to fight back against the Regret's restraints. "YOU DISGUSTING TRAITOR!" shouted. "You and your other half gave yourself willingly to LERNA, did you not?! Why now do you stand against her?! Against me?!"

 

Yuki did not answer, instead commanding her dragons to take Xansvita all at once. In the outside world, he could feel Izumi attacking him as well. The Warlock's wings were crucified against the very air itself, and it reflected in his heart as well. The feathers on his wings slowly fell, flames devouring them. Ra's wings were blasted through, and even though the Egyptian God was made of flames, the damage did not repair itself. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon attacked next, destroying more of Ra's body, while the Regret were still stopping Xansvita from fighting back.

 

Izumi and Yuki's coordination did not stop there. Izumi had managed to take the seventh Wingblade sword, the sword that held the Staff of Armadyl, while Yuki had summoned her Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon. Izumi raised the sword above her head, while the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon prepared to launch in its own. In both the outside world and even in his own heart, Xansvita was looking at the sisters who became Thermopylae preparing to destroy him.

 

"THIS IS WHAT WE THINK OF MY FRIENDS…"

"BLUE-EYES SHINING DRAGON!!!"

"DYING BY OUR SWORDS!!!"

"SHINING NEUTRON BLAST!!!"

 

Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon fired its attack, the stream of blue energy piercing through Ra's face, and blasting through the inner Xansvita's whole body, while the Izumi impaled the Staff of Armadyl in the head of the true Endless Warlock. As Izumi did, energy burst out from where the staff hit, flowing through the staff and into Izumi's body.

 

 

Kairi and Ventus arrived, seeing Roxas and Xion in the midst of battle against the Unversed. "Sora, you have to stop this!" Kairi cried out to him. The Unversed turned back to face Kairi. Roxas and Xion began to take the opportunity to attack him from behind, but Ventus held a hand up in protest, and it was enough for them to stand aside. "After everything with the Organization… after we finally stopped Zero… I thought we'd be happy. Sora, you even took over the Royal Guard for Goofy. You did that, Sora. Don't you remember? You said we'd be together. Forever." Kairi took off the armored glove covering her left hand. She showed her hand to it, making certain that he could see the ring on her finger. "I love you, Sora. You said you did too when you gave me this. We were going to be together. That's what we promised each other, right?"

 

The Unversed stepped towards Kairi. Kairi kept her guard down, but the Unversed held its Keyblade up. "K…Kairi…" The Unversed called away its Keyblade, while its face began to shift, the darkness subsiding to show Sora's face. Sora grabbed Kairi, and hugged her closely. "Oh God… Kairi. I'm sorry… I almost…"

 

"It's okay," Kairi smiled. "Vanitas, Xansvita, whoever he is, he won't control you anymore. I'm here for you."

 

Kairi and Sora let go, but Sora asked Kairi, "How did you make it here?"

 

"Our hearts are connected, Sora. We'll always find each other. Even if I have let myself get eaten by a giant five-headed dragon to find you."

 

"Wait, you did what?"

 

"Come on!" Ventus called to them. "We need to make it out of here. The Counter Corps is going to destroy Vanitas. We can't let ourselves die, too!"

 

No one was arguing otherwise, the Station of Awakening began to change. Now, it depicted the first Keyblades wielded by Sora, Ventus, and Vanitas. Sora, Ventus, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all found themselves standing next to Yuki, watching Xansvita writhe on the ground.

 

It was pitiful, watching Xansvita's slowly fading body continue to fight back. The entire left side of his face had completely disappeared. His left arm was completely gone, and holes were forming all around his right. His lower half had been last after merging with Ra, so Xansvita had nothing more to do the weakly attempt to push the Regret aside with his one remaining limb.

 

"This is how it ends, Vanitas," Ventus said. "How can you not feel anything about what you've done?"

 

Xansvita managed to laugh at Ventus' question. "Even after all this time, you still think there's any good in me? Spare me. Regret is something you would have, Ventus. If I had anything like that, I'd be cursing even more that I couldn't kill you as I would have liked."

 

"You sided with LERNA so you could do that," Sora said. "Was there really nothing else you wanted?"

 

"No. I was created for one purpose. To be Ventus' darkness. I loved watching all of you squirm. LERNA… I think she understood that better than anyone."

 

"She didn't!" Ventus snapped. "She was running. Running because she didn't want to deal with whatever kind of terrible life she had. And… I get that. I get wanting to run away. I get that, sometimes, you don't want to face the truth. But that's why it's always right that you do face it. If you don't take that one second to look back at yourself, how can you expect to change?"

 

"What if I don't want to?"

 

Ventus sighed, shaking his head. "Then you're just missing out and what makes the universe so amazing."

 

Xansvita laughed again. "Then in that case… I'm glad that I stayed the same." Xansvita reached his hand out, darkness swirling all around him. It shot out all across the inner world, but no one was touched by it.

 

"Sora, we have to get out of here, now!"

 

"All of you, go!" Ventus said. "I'll hold him off."

 

"Ventus," Sora argued. "You can't!" Ventus didn't answer, instead striking at the Station of Awakening with his Keyblade. Sora, Kairi, Xion, and Roxas were left on one side, and when Sora tried to reach out, and invisible wall stopped him from doing anything. "Ventus, come on!"

 

Ra managed to reform itself, but he took shelter in his Sphere Mode. The darkness began to change, as he seemed to return to being gold.

 

"Ventus, come on!" Roxas begged.

 

Xion pressed her hands against her chest. "You belong with us!"

 

Ventus took one last look at them all. "That's why I have to do this."

 

 

The draconic form of the Endless Warlock was attempting to recover from all the pain it had suffered. He reeled forward, trying to break free as much as possible, until its body could not endure any more, and it began to tear off from its wings. "IVERO… he hissed. "WE… NO, ONLY ONE OF US DESERVES TO BE XANSVITA. I AM THE ENDLESS WARLOCK. EVEN IF I DIE HERE, MY LEGACY, LERNA'S LEGACY, LIVES… IN YOU. DO NOT FAIL ME." His serpentine body began to slither through the sand, only only for his body to suddenly stop moving. "NO. DAMN YOU… DAMN YOU VENTUS. WHY WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE UP LIKE THIS?"

 

One of the heads wrapped completely around the main head. Golden lines began to form around the Warlock's body, while the other three heads spontaneously exploded. Sora held Kairi tightly as they fell through the air, while Roxas and Xion were falling down with no one to help them. Fortunately, Kree'arra and Zilyana were able to catch them.

 

Eria watched the events unfold, but to her surprise, Ra's card once again materialized. She looked at it, smiling and holding the card with Obelisk's. Though it was only for a short time, it was still a relief that the Egyptian Gods were no longer apart.

 

"I… I CAN NOT… I WILL NOT… GIVE UP," Xansvita said. "THERE IS… NO POINT… IN FIGHTING. I… AM… ETERNAL…" Xansvita slithering slowed to a crawl. Now, he was staring straight at the Inch of Will.

 

In his heart, Xansvita was screaming Ventus' name as loudly as he could. The form Vanitas had taken as LERNA's Familiar was long gone. Now, he was nothing more than the walking shadow with a red eye. Ventus was running closer and closer, swinging the Wayward Wind forward. Ventus said nothing. There was nothing to say. The Inch of Will fired its railguns, and the Endless Warlock was being torn apart from the inside out. Ventus' Keyblade pierced Xansvita' chest. Ventus could feel his body weakening. Just as Sliske did, Ventus was turning to stone, as was Xansvita's body. For Xansvita, the Endless Warlock crumbled, his screaming silenced only as he turned to stone. But for Ventus, he died with a smile on his face.