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

[Phantom Roxas]

"Byakuya can't be dead!" Sora insisted to Kenpachi. "If he was dead, Emiya would have known." Sora looked away as he said that. Yachiru herself didn't seem confident when she was cheering up Kenpachi, and it pained to see someone so young in this. Sora patted Yachiru on the head, and then knelt beside Kenpachi. "Listen, we'll find him. You just have to trust me. Whoever did this to Byakuya, we'll get them, just like the rest of the Counter Corps." Sora was surprised that he didn't feel Kenpachi's reiatsu pouring down on him. For whatever reason, Kenpachi didn't seem to be exerting his full strength.

 

---

As Arthur and Eria approached the training facilities, Eria tripped, much to Arthur's exasperation.

 

"This is why I'm against you going further," Arthur muttered.

 

"I can fight~pyon!" Eria shouted. Eria looked down at where she landed, and took a dagger out of the ground. "I tripped on this~pyon." The blade was shape like a lightning bolt, with a colors of green and purple moving around it.

 

Arthur sighed. "A dagger? That's going to be useless."

 

"I know~pyon," Eria replied with a smile. "But it can't hurt to try and get used to having some kind of blade~pyon." Eria looked at Arthur's sword, but the young man raised an eyebrow. "So what happened to your crossbow~pyon?"

 

Arthur pursed his lips and looked away. "I lost it."

 

"You had it earlier~pyon."

 

Arthur moved closer to the training facility. "Like I said, I lost it."

 

Eria shook her head. "If you say so~pyon."

 

The two of them entered the training facility, not saying a thing to each other. As they passed by Emporio Ivankov, Arthur looked away, trying to avoid looking at the transvestite, but Eria elbowed him in the chest. "Be nice~pyon."

[The Warden]

"THIS IS SO COOL!"

 

Lydia declaration echoed over the empty plains of the Unlimited Blade Works, which is funny since you can't echo in an open expanse. But either way, ever since she got to the place she was completely flipping her s**t over practically everything. This sort of stuff was like her old life, then timesed by ten thousand. It was made even better by all the cameos this little set-up had. She had already passed by characters from Bleach. Freaking Bleach. And she also saw what she vaguely remembered as that animal species from the game her cousin always played, alongside some robots.

 

But what highlighted this even more was that she saw none other than Eria the freaking Water Charmer walk into the training facility. Of course, even though she had been out of the game for a while, Lydia was pretty certain that nowhere in the lore had Eria become a playboy Bunny. Still, she followed behind them to the Training Facility where-

 

---

 

Ivankov was lightly dabbing his tremendous face with a frilly hankerchief. Even though he was breathing a little heavily, he could distinctly hear footsteps behind him. Twirling around gracefully, he encountered two cute little candies. "Vy vy vy, it seems vou has found a pair of lovely little candies" he declared.

 

---

 

Lydia entered the Facility, and found a man with a ginormous head. Like, literally, it was the same size of his body. He was probably from an anime, they always screwed with proportions.

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Nero, the Keyblade War Hero

 

Nero was walking, not really sure where he was even going, but then he saw a group with one familiar face that he desperately wanted to talk with. "Sora!" Nero ran toward the other keyblade wielder. Nero grabbed him by the shoulders and after running and grabbing Sora he realized that his cloths didn't quite fit him anymore. He felt his face and found that he now had some facial hair that had grown in and his hair was abnormally long. Nero figured out what had happened, years of his life had been stolen from, stolen by the portal that had brought him back here, but the portal wouldn't have damaged his keyblade. "Sora, my appearance, my keyblade..." Nero then unsheathed his keyblade to show that it had been rusted and heavily deteriorated from the trip through the portal. "How do I make sense of this?" Nero questioned Sora, but Sora wouldn't have any answers either, no one would, not for a good while.

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Jeanne (CC)/UBW

---

"Dammit, I had better not be turning into one of those "Satellite Characters"," Jeanne angrily muttered to herself, wandering around the Unlimited Blade Works by herself. She noticed that Alexander was having a laugh about something alongside the other Lombax and his robot. She could only scoff to herself at this sight, not that she found it childish on Alexander's behalf, but... ... ... well, she'd be lying to herself if she didn't feel a bit jealous of him. Here, Alexander had plenty of people to talk to and associate with, including the Duel Monsters that were traveling around with him, and whom did Jeanne have, outside of Madama Styx...? Well, sure, she also knew Alexander once, as well, but that matter was all sorts of complicated.

As she continued to wonder around, she caught sight of the Water Charmer conversing with a young boy. Feeling she had nothing else better to do, Jeanne decided to approach the pair. "Well, aren't we just a pair of lovebirds?" Jeanne spoke as she reached them, saying such merely to see what reactions the two would have.  It was then that she noticed a rather... ... hell, even the one typing this out is at a loss of words for what Jeanne saw in front of her.  The figure that she saw could only be best described as a giant-headed transvestite, complete with the most eye-assaulting singlet, wig and lipstick anyone would every find on any person in general. 

 

"... and people thought my old look was bad...."

---

Isamy's Castle

---

After a few more moments of preparing himself, both physically and mentally, Alister finally entered the throne room. A quick glance of the area revealed to him that the number and variety of his fellow Divines had changed; he noticed that the blue wolf-cyborg was no longer with them, as well as his Trainer ("... or is it "Tamer"?" Alister thought to himself, trying to remember the correct classification). Also no longer there was the talking black "beachball", and... well, that was pretty much all Alister could even remember. Not that he didn't recognize that others beyond those were gone, just... well, he didn't feel like he could have remembered them that well....

Among the newest additions to their "happy family" was a giant, black-scaled reptile in silverish armor, a bizarre female humanoid... "abomination" may as well be the best term, and a man wearing medieval armor. This individual in particular interested Alister, if only due to his attire alone, which reminded Alister of various stories that he had once read while growing up, of knights in shining armor venturing out to slay dragons, rescue princesses, and avoiding taking arrows to the knee... "... wait, I don't remember that part in any of those stories," Alister thought to himself. He pulled his eyes away from this knightly figure and made his way over to stand close to Jecht. Before he could ask the bronzed gentleman about the current state of their group, Sayer silently approached him, startling him as he placed a hand on the lombax's shoulder.

"My apologies, Alister," Sayer spoke, holding up a hand in a (faux-)repentant manner. "I didn't see you around the castle for most of our previous outing. I was beginning to fear the worst."

Alister's spooked expression quickly changed to that of disdain toward Sayer. "I've no need for your feigned sympathies, Sayer," the lombax hissed at the "blind" man. "And I certainly do not desire your company, either."

"Alister, I'm hurt that you would say that," Sayer replied, trying to sound dejected. "Why such hostility all of a sudden--?"

"You caused it!" Alister shouted, pointing a finger in Sayer's face. "You had a hand in your world's destruction!"

"Such a rash accusation!" Sayer uttered defensively, sounding almost genuinely appalled. "I only strove to resurrect our lost home--"

"--by murdering the only one who could stop the comet from destroying your world?!"

"Alister, you are making me very--!"

"--and you consider yourself the savoir of your world?! You couldn't even save--!"

"ENOUGH!!!" In the span of a single second, Sayer grabbed and lifted Alister by his throat, then spun around and viciously slammed the lombax into the side of the column that Sephiroth was leaning against, cracking the pillar slightly in the process. "You have QUITE the NERVE speaking me in such a manner!" howled Sayer, the grip on Alister's throat tightening as he roared his tirade into the General's face. "YOU, of all people, should know NOT to demonize others for bringing about the end of THEIR WORLDS! Isn't that right, TRAITOR OF FASTOON?!?!"

[Astolfo]

The Renegade Joker was levitating silently and observing, when a furry creature that looked like a cross between a lynx and a human entered. A being then proceeded to startle the animal thing by placing his hand upon the furred shoulder. The second being's face was wrapped in bandages, and had several floating eyes surrounding him. It seemed decently strong, but nothing compared to himself. Not being narcissistic in the slightest, the Renegade knew his powers would quite easily outclass whatever this being could conjure up. Sighing in disappointment at the two paltry members, the furry thing even weaker than the being with floating eyeballs, he turned to look at some of the other more powerful members, which he could quite literally feel their strength. In particular, a muscled human-appearing being with various scars across his body and some black insignia on his chest wielding a massive blade seemed to radiate pure power. A silver-haired being in black clothes and armor seemed to radiate as much power as the muscled being, seeming almost angelic, but with a heart of ice. Lastly of the powerful beings, a black robot-thing of sorts with various claws, spikes, horns, and the like jutting out of multiple plates of metal that sort of resembled an upright standing dragon creature was there, giving off a good deal of power. "At least there are SOME powerful beings here. I might actually have a worthy competitor. With some surprise, he noticed his voice had changed, became more human-like. Shaking his head in disgust, he ignored it. Just then, the being with the eyeballs seemed to have attacked the furry creature at the end of an argument they were having. The Joker didn't the slightest concern for the furry thing. If it was strong, it would be able to defend itself, and it's natural that the weak would get trampled over. It didn't matter in any shape or form that the furry thing was supposed to be an ally. Being a conquerer was for the strong. The last statement the eyeball controller said caught his attention though, and the Renegade spoke up with a sarcastic tone. "Aren't we all planning to end our worlds anyway? We're going to reshape them to our fancies, and I'd presume that would end whatever would've naturally occurred. I don't give the slightest damn about either of you, but wouldn't you agree, doesn't it seem a ridiculous thing to be squabbling over like children?" His voice suddenly becoming ice-cold, he continued. "If you don't have the heart to do what we do, tell me. If you don't have the brains to realize we should kill our enemies and not each other, tell me. I'll dispose of you. We don't need brats like that." Knowing there was gravity in this castle, he heavily increased its magnitude using his vector power around the two arguing beings to the point where it would near force them to a kneel unable to move at all. This wouldn't even put a slight drain on his energy, as this was such a small manipulation, and with the knowledge he was far more powerful than either of the two, he didn't even bother to take out his wrist blades. Levitating silently, he was waiting for the answer, his eyes not visible at the moment within the darkness of the hooded cloak.

[Phantom Roxas]

Sora turned to the man who called out to him, but Sora didn't recognize him at first. However, the clothes and the man's corrupted Keyblade made Sora realize who he was. "Oh God, Nero, is that you?" Sora helped the aged Nero stand, and Sora looked at the man's Keyblade, shaking his head. "Something in the Shadow Realm must have caused it. But it's weird, I've been to the Realm of Darkness before, and that didn't do anything like this to me. Maybe it's just another example of how different all those dark places are." Sora held out his Keyblade at Nero. "I wonder…" Sora fired a Cure spell at Nero, but the other Keyblade wielder wasn't phased by it. "Darn it. Nero, do you think you can still fight?" Sora was afraid that Nero would say "no", but it didn't hurt to ask. Sora didn't want someone who didn't even know what had happened to them to get involved in the next battles.

 

---

Eria took a step back at Ivankov's approach. "Okay, maybe you were right~pyon," she told Arthur. Then, a woman in red spandex approached them, noting the "pair of lovebirds" she had just found. "We are not lovebirds~pyon!"

 

Arthur sighed. "Then why are you holding onto me?"

 

Eria raised an eyebrow, then noticed that she had her arms wrapped around Arthur's arm. "Kya~pyon!"

 

"Listen, both of you," Arthur said to Ivankov and Jeanne. "I owe this woman a favor. Whatever business we have other than that is none of your concern."

 

Eria began blushing, listening to Arthur trying to get Jeanne and Ivankov to back off, but suddenly she punched Arthur in the back of the head. Then she looked at her other hand and noticed that she was still holding the dagger. "Oh no oh no oh no oh no."

 

Arthur turned back to Eria and started grabbing for the dagger. "I'm taking this before you cut me with it the next time you punch me."

 

Eria ran from Arthur. "No, it's mine~pyon!"

 

Arthur looked back at Ivankov and Jeanne. "Like I said, none of your business."

[The Warden]

Ivankov put his hands to his burly hips and gave a coi wink. "Not what vI meant candy-boy. All vy followers are vy candies, candy-boy. And so too are vy allies. Although, do not be so quick to knock away love candy-boy. You and bunny-chan here would make for quite a cute couple" he purred, then winked again.

 

---

 

Lydia was done hiding in the doorway and entered. "The disturbing transvestite is right you know. It's pretty sad to toss away the rare chance for happiness. I knew this one girl who was friends witht his guy for five years. And both of them were too scared to ask the other out on a date. Eventually they missed their chance and broke away due to college and their lives. Either way, don't knock it when there is some pretty obvious sexual tension in the air. Which reminds me Eria, whya re you dressed up like a playboy bunny?"

[Gαr]

Unlimited Blade Works

 

After returning from the Shadow Realm to UBW because of their failed assault, Ed sympathized with Emiya's new form. They were both monsters now, though Emiya more than Ed since was a monster in blood and psychology only. UBW also gained a new form, becoming more sickly and industrial. This new form gave Ed a different feeling, one that wasn't depression, but a sicking feeling in his stomach. Though, the swords in the ground still gave a sad feeling, but not as much as it did the last time. Ed had no previous engagements with the other members of the Counter Corps, so he thought he would rest until he was needed. Seeing Lyon doing the same, Ed went over to where he was sitting. Before sitting, Ed created a small pillar of black ice to lean back on and removed his sword from its place at his hip, leaving his short sword be. He sat down and leaned back on his pillar, then leaning his sword against his shoulder before closing his eyes and falling into a light sleep.

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Nero, The Keyblade War Hero

Nero didn't think Sora's Cure spell would actually do anything, but he desperately wanted it to do something, he sighed at the failed attempt but forced a small grin to thank Sora for trying. "I too have traveled and have been teleported many times, and it was only now, in this world, that I changed." Nero closed his eyes to think if he had done anything when he was being transferred here at all but he couldn't come up with a single reason why this would happen. He frowned when Sora asked him if he could still fight along side the rest of the Counter Corps. "My blade has become fragile, I feel as though it might break on the very next swing, and I would rather not have that happen. It's funny, I know I should feel weakened, but I feel strangely...prepared." Nero said, hoping Sora would grasp a bit of what he meant. "I wonder if I could find better fitting clothes in the next world." Nero was now trying to get his mind off of his rapid aging, trying to focus on literally anything else.

Silver, The Wayward Traveler

 

Silver tossed all six of his Pokeballs into the air to unleash all six of his Pokemon so that he might address them all at one time. "Listen up! We've fought a lot of battles together, grown into and out of our shells together, and have been traveling together for a long while now." Silver stated, probably attracting attention from any of the other Counter Corps members that were passing by at the time. "But this challenge is different, this challenge will not only predict the fate of our own world, but every world in the entirety of existence. My only question is...who's ready to make some noise?" Silver said, and all of his Pokemon made sounds of joy and excitement.
 

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Having finally arrived at the Throne Room, Riley and Azumi took opposing seats, amongst the few that were actually left. Most everyone was there with them, all of them looking new to Azumi, but some even being new to Riley as well. Amongst the new faces was a cloaked person with red eyes (the Joker), a humanoid being in black dragonic armor (BlackWarGreymon) and this abomination of a woman that looked as creepy as anything (Jerii). However, Riley also noted that Xeta wasn't the only Divine not to make it. Most notably, the big wolf and his supposed "master" (Arthur & MachGaogamon), some other guy (Richard), a girl that kinda looked like a guy except she wasn't actually cross-dressing (Judaihime) and a girl that probably should've been doing her maths homework instead of fighting (Shiebra) were missing in action as well. Riley couldn't discern who was just late to the meeting and who beat him to the punch in defecting from the Divines. But he didn't care... not yet.

[Barian Warlord]

Once Nescham was brought to the castle of Isamy he ha begun exploring it and had gotten quite lost, after receiving the order to head to the throne room it took him quite some time to finally find it and once he did he stood at the door for a moment and then decided on how he'd introduce himself and walked into the throne room.

"So your the bunch of losers who sucked so bad that people like me had to be called in to clean up your mess."

Nescham knew this would anger the first group called by Isamy but it would also help him get a look at their personalities and most importantly their tempers.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

In Isamy's Throne Room:

A quick smack to the back of Nescham's head delivered upon him the recompense he deserved as Princess Judaihime marched into the throne room, followed by her faithful retainers, Yubel and Winged Kuriboh. "That is no way to treat our leader." She reprimanded. "Isamy has gathered us here to remake this decaying multiverse and change our fates. If you wish to do the same, I strongly advise against making a fool of yourself and enemies of us."

 

The Unlimited Blade Works:

 

Itsu looked to her companion, understanding their frustration. It appeared as if nothing had even happened on their maiden outing, though she would have to determine the results of their group's expedition from Emiya. "Don't worry, Sarah. I'm sure I can get you some water onboard the Inch of Will. In fact, where is it? I could've sworn that...oh, no." A plume of smoke was coming from behind a nearby giant stone, and Itsu quickly rushed over to discover the fate of her ship. The silver-plated plane-like craft was lying in a ditch it had dug out of the ground as it impacted the ground, but had ground itself to a halt shortly before the tip of one of its wings collided with the broad side of the sword and caused it to bend or break. Some of its silver plating had been dented, bent, and even fallen off, resulting in exposed panels, and a few of those were damaged and resulted in sparking. When Itsu got around to the interior, she discovered the cargo bay to be littered with various degrees of disorder and damage, as well as a few internal fires, and she ran in after yelling. "ANYBODY!!! PLEASE COME HELP ME!!!" She dashed in and up, leaving Sarah behind to look at the mess and the few gouts of flame, but after a minute, she came back to hand her companion a glass filled with water, though Itsu now had occasional patches of soot and grease marring her face, hair, and clothes, and cried out again. "PLEASE!!! ANYBODY!!!"

[Yosuke-kun]

Prior to... Everything that just happened.

 

Jin Akatsuki

 

Not this time... Jin thought as he saw Frank ready another attack with the Mimithingy. Using Chaos Sight to read his movements, Jin was able to defend a split second before Frank fired, choosing that moment because Jin knew that once he fired it'd be impossible to defend. Just before he fired, Jin projected a field of his flames around him, hopefully to cancel out whatever the device's effects would have on him. It worked too... well, sort of...

 

Jin now had green skin and longer, lankier arms. The dorsal hair was gone now, but the spots and ears remained. He now looked like some strange mutant out of a bad American made anime. Well, this was what he got. He let out a small sigh, that to him sounded something more like a croak, then spoke. "Maybe defending wasn't the best idea~ribbit." Great. Now he sounded like a frog too. "Guess ribbit is better than haha though~ribbit."

 

Frank had disappeared too, somehow teleporting away from the fight, and before Jin could give chase, he found himself back at the Unlimited Blade Works.

 

Now...

 

Jin Akatsuki

 

The sky of the Unlimited Blade Works was much darker than it had been prior to the Counter Corps departure. The gears turned slower now too, as if they were now coated in molasses or some other thick substance. Each of the weapons, although still physically intact, were now twisted and warped, much like Emiya was now. It was sad to see it really. The illusionary world that was once a proud testament to it's owners soul was now starting to fall apart. Jin lay in the center, staring up into the sky, still half mutated into the moe abomination that he was. Still, his mutation was nothing compared to Emiya's

 

If Lien were here, maybe she'd be able to cure him. She was able to repair almost everything last I saw her. Even damage dealt to the soul. Maybe she's able to fix Emiya too. Doesn't help even if she is, she's not here right now... As his thoughts on his sister continued, another person, who in hind sight probably should have crossed Jin's mind sooner entered his thoughts. "Eria~ribbit! Man that is annoying~ribbit." 

 

Remembering the Water Charmer had gone off alone to save her friend, Jin sprang to his feet, and began to try sensing Eria's aura. She was still here, that much Jin could sense. Unfortunately, he felt her power had decreased considerably since they'd parted. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave her to herself. Without another thought, Jin Enhanced, and launched into the air, heading towards the spot where Eria was.

 

A few seconds later, Jin touched down in the area, and walked over towards the still moefied Eria. "Well good to see you're still in one piece~ribbit." As the ribbit escaped, Jin stopped. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to show up in front of Eria like this.

 

Cody Renner

 

Now fully restocked on supplies, and having patched up his injuries, Cody now wandered aimlessly about the Unlimited Blade Works. A few of our members died... Nobody I knew from what I can tell, so I don't know why it's so sad to me. I guess this is the difference between just trying to survive and being in an actual war... Still, Cody wasn't about to quit. Not yet at least. He still had way too much riding on his succeeding to just go home now. Besides, he didn't have a home to go to anyways.

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Silver, the Wayward Traveler

 

"Feraligatr, use Hydro Pump to put out the flames!" Silver said to one of his Pokemon, luckily for Itsu, Silver had been nearby and happened to already have his companions ready to utilize. Feraligatr's water was powerful but he was careful not to blast pieces of the ship all over Unlimited Blade Works as he put out the flames. "I don't know anything about machines I'm afraid, but if it's brute strength and moving power you're needing I can leave Feraligatr and Tyranitar with you to help you move your parts and what not. However, I'll need to keep watch to make sure they stay healthy." Silver said, trying not to let it catch on that he detests leaving his Pokemon's side.

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Isamy's Castle/Throne Room

---

Sayer realized that the gravity around him had somehow increased, which even caused a few of his nearby R.O.D.s to become immediately grounded.  But this barely even mattered to him, being just a small nuisance.  "Hmm, gravitational vector ability.  Very interesting," Sayer mused, his grip still around Alister's throat, noticing that it was the black-robed figure that was the cause of it.  "Although, judging from your relative power level, it seems that this is barely a small fraction of your capabilities."

 

Meanwhile, Alister could barely pay much attention, seeming as his head was spinning from being slammed into a pillar, not to mention his oxygen supply was being restricted.  Try as he might, the General just couldn't break free of Sayer's surprisingly strong grip.  He was beginning to fear that this, combined with the increase in gravity he was experiencing, would actually result in a rather grueling--and, needless to say, unwanted--separation of his skull from his spinal column.

 

"As it is at current," Sayer continued as he cracked a smirk, "this meager boost in gravity is barely enough to bring me to my knees.  Well... not unless I do THIS!!"  Without further warning, Sayer used the increased gravitation to chokeslam Alister into the ground, smashing the floor at his feet and seemingly burying Alister beneath the rubble....

 

 

... that was, until an explosion erupted from beneath Sayer, engulfing him in a cloud of debris and smoke.

 

"Nice try, Sayer.  I'll admit, you almost had me."  Alister Azimuth walked once more into the Throne Room, slightly ruffled, yet otherwise relatively unharmed.

 

"... okay, now I'm *cough* seriously curious...," Sayer uttered as the dust settled, revealing that his outfit has become charred, disheveled, and in need of tailoring.  "... how in blazes *cough* did you escape...?"

 

"I suppose if you must know," Alister replied, leaning against the doorway, "it would seem our Lady Isamy had granted me a bit of a gift.  I wasn't entirely sure about it before, but I did apparently use it briefy, back in the Shadow Realm."

 

"And what is "it"?" Sayer inquired as he attempted to straighten out his coat.

 

"Time control," Alister replied.  "Just a small bit of control, but enough to suit my needs.  That," Alister began to explain, "is how I escaped from your grip: I had slowed down time to almost a halt, essentially making one normal second into about 5 or 10 for me.  That gave me enough time to get myself out of your chokehold, and leave you a little "present" of my own," he added, holding up one of his grenades at the word "present".  "I would apologize for ruining your suit," he concluded with a somewhat spiteful grin, "but~ I really couldn't care less."

 

At this, Sayer simply scoffed just as one of his R.O.D.s had enlarged itself, then proceeded to "eat" Sayer, absorbing him into its pupil.  As everyone in the room watched on, the large eyeball spun around rapidly a few times before finally letting Sayer out once more, his suit once again pristine as it was before.  "Not to worry, then.  I've got my own methods of dealing with such... minor inconveniences."

 

Alister merely scoffed at this, his expression being that of disdain once more.  "Bottom line, Sayer, is that I do not trust you one bit."

 

"Fine by me," Sayer shrugged.  "'Tis no skin off my bones.  One more question, though," he added, a faint smile playing across his lips.  "... how is your acquaintance over on the Counter Corps side doing?  You know, the one who calls himself "Alexander Abernathy"?"

 

"H-How did you...?" Alister blurted.

[Phantom Roxas]

Both the transvestite and the mysterious woman were insisting that Arthur and Eria would make a cute couple. "You're both idiots. The last thing I want to do is date her."

 

"Huh~pyon?" Eria asked. "What's that supposed to mean~pyon?"

 

"Honestly, I think the transformation is rotting your mind."

 

"Shut up~pyon!" Eria said. Then Jin joined the strange little party that had assembled, although he was making a frog noise. Eria could barely contain her laughter when she looked at Jin. "Oh God, Jin, you became a frog~pyon?! Hah~pyon! That Frankram guy made you more embarrassing than me~pyon!"

 

"Eria, focus!"

 

"Huh~pyon?"

 

"You said you wanted to save Gagagigo, right? Well stop laughing and look at what's important!"

 

"You don't tell me what to do~pyon."

 

Arthur made his way further into the facility, pushing past everyone around them. He looked back at Eria, dropped his sword to the ground, and held his arms out. "Alright then, show me that you can fight. Use that stupid little dagger and see how far it gets you."

 

"Arthur, why are you-"

 

"You wanted to kill me, right? For when I made you fight your friends?"

 

"Arthur, stop it~pyon!"

 

"MachGaogamon's going of on his own because I couldn't do the right thing. Are you seriously going to let Gagagigo get away just because you let yourself stay as a freaking playboy bunny?"

 

"I still don't even know what this is~pyon!"

 

"That's. Not. The Point."

 

Eria held up the dagger, then at the people around them, and finally back at Arthur. "You sure you want this~pyon?"

 

"It's alright. I can take you, so come at me with the intent to kill me."

 

Arthur took a pose, and gestured with his hand for Eria to come at him, steeling himself for the attack. Eria took a deep breath, running towards Arthur, not letting her high feels keep her down, the dagger ready to strike Arthur…

 

---

Sora held out his Keyblade to Nero. "Here. If you really want to fight, you can use my Keyblade. You were chosen by the Keyblade before, so you should be able to wield mine. As for clothes, I don't know. It's the last thing I'd like to worry about at a time like this. The Divine wouldn't care about something like that, so we shouldn't waste time shopping. And who knows where Emiya is going to send us next?" Even though Nero was from an alternate timeline, Sora had to know if there was anything else their universes had in common besides Keyblades. "Hey, did you ever know someone named Xehanort?"

 

---

MachGaogamon looked around at the many people scattered across Unlimited Blade Works. Many of them seemed to be talking amongst themselves. Understandable, as many of them still needed to recover from the battles in the Shadow Realm, and perhaps there was information they could share that could be of aid. However, he saw two members of the Counter Corps relaxing in the middle of Unlimited Blade Works. MachGaogamon took a loud step towards them, towering over the two. "This is the way you plan to prepare for what must be done? No training? Not even some small talk among your comrades in the Corps?"

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Nero, The Keyblade War Hero

 

Nero knew he couldn't keep Sora's keyblade because then Sora would have no weapon to utilize. However, he thought he would give it a try, just to see if maybe he could use a keyblade from another world perhaps. He reached for the blade but as soon as Sora let go, the blade sent a large pain into the hand of Nero causing him to drop Sora's keyblade. "Ah." Nero said in response to the pain as he held his hand his own keyblade, The Redemption, shook violently on his back, rattling its chain to make sure its master knew that it was upset. Nero's attention to the pain was shortened by Sora's question. "Xehanort? No, I don't think so, should I have heard of him?" Nero replied.

[Love of Ghibli]

Isamy's Throne Room 

 

It seemed as if the throne room was becoming a lot more lively than the first time around. Dorian witnessed the random eye man attack the rodent man. Following that some truly powerful being started to somehow effect the flow of gravity around the two combatants and pressed downward. Unfortunately Dorian could feel this effect and was ashamed that he was trying to stand up and defend against this attack. Instinctively Butler and BWG stepped in front of Dorian naturally acting as  bodyguards. Those two were nice and strong. Butler and BWG didn't seem to be affected by this person's attack. It seemed though that everyone had some tricks up their sleeves. The rodent man somehow was able to manipulate time and escape the random eye man. Then the random eye man disappeared into one of his own floating eyes.

Dorian was glad to see that event come to a close but of course that couldn't have been the end of it. So interesting character came in and started to spot insults at the rest of the gang. Butler and BWG gave these words no mind, but Dorian merely chuckled. My father always said the weakest dog barks the loudest. Pity that Isamy recruited a pet to fight for us. Soon after that insult the princess smacked him across the head. Dorian snickered as he wondered who were these people. But now it was just time to meet up with the great leader.

Butler on the other hand recognized the power level of that first conqueror person and he wondered he stood. With the addition of Bob he saw himself at either 5th or 6th allowing some room for the unknown and newer members of the the team. This wasn't satisfactory because that means he may not crack the top ten if one includes the superpowers that are possessed by the opposition. Naturally being linked to Butler, Ragnarok also sense this gap in much need strength. While he may have the lead in his own world he doesn't have said gifts here. There had to be a way for them to gain more power. The two of them thought deeply about this and they both sulked as they knew what had to be done. 

Butler looked at Dorian and BWG, but it was Ragnarok who spoke of their intention first. HEEEEYY Mr. Fancy pants me and the stiff here are going to have a chat to with the head lady over there...BYE! Butler simply bowed to his master and left in a hurry. What was that about? BWG asked confused. Dorian looking more confused than anyone turned the corner of his mouth upward revealing a sinister sneer. I think my Butler is showing some initiative. 

Butler made it too Isamy on her throne and gave her the proper honorifics and kneeled in her presence. Ragnarok even revealed himself in a bowing motion. Excuse me Mistress. If you would, we have a favor to ask of you (they're speaking in unison).

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Alexander (CC)/UBW/With Mr. Zurkon, Ratchet, Clank, and Umbris (Neo-Spacian Umbra Panther)

---

As he, Ratchet and Clank continued to watch over Mr. Zurkon and Umbris's slapstick, Alexander was milling over a thought that was beginning to bother him.  He wasn't sure if it was for the best, Alexander felt that he had to tell Ratchet the truth, regardless of what may come of it.  "Ratchet."

 

"Hm?  Something wrong, Alex?" Ratchet asked, head slightly tilted to one side.

 

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to settle his nerves, Alexander turned to face Ratchet, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.  "... Alister Azimuth is alive."

 

The silence that followed was as Alex had expected (except for the fact that Mr. Zurkon, too, had gone silent as well).  Ratchet stared back at Alexander, his expression seeming to be stuck for a few moments in a fusion of shock, disbelief and confusion.  Part of the young lombax wanted to call BS on Alexander for making such a (seemingly) false statement, and yet... nothing in Alexander's voice seemed indicative of a lie.

 

"But, Alexander," Clank spoke in place of Ratchet, who was still finding the words to say, "how can that be possible?  Alister Azimuth had given his life to stop the Great Clock's destruction."

 

"I... I'm wondering that myself, now that you mention it," Alexander admitted.  "It may have something to do with the Time Crash-induced fusing of the timelines you brought up earlier--"

 

"Alister...," uttered Ratchet, having finally found his voice, "... Alister's... alive?"  Feeling as though he were in a dream, Ratchet reached into one of his pant pockets, and pulled out a pocket watch, opening it to reveal the picture inside, that of Alister Azimuth and Ratchet's father, Kaden.

 

Alexander gave a small nod.  "Indeed, Alister is alive and well.  No clue how or why, but...."  Okay, so, telling Ratchet that Alister was alive was the easy part.  That being said, Alexander now had an even bigger problem: deciding whether or not to include that Alister was on the Divine's side....

 

A cry for help in the distance took Alexander's attention off of his dilemma.  "Huh?  That sounded like...."  Alexander looked toward the direction of the cry, seeing a pillar of smoke rising in the distance.  "Guys, I think Itsu may need some help."

"Huh?" Ratchet snapped out of his own daydream.  "Oh, right.  What's going on?"

 

"That's what we're gonna find out," Alex replied.  "Umbris, keep Mr. Zurkon occupied, we'll be right back."

 

"Wha--?! Why me??" Umbris blurted, his surprised voice sounding like a midway point between his normal voice and Mr. Zurkon's.  "Alex, what the hell... ... and they're gone," Umbris sighed as he saw Alexander, Ratchet and Clank rush off toward the smoke stack.

 

... ... ...

 

... ... ...

 

"Itsu, what happened here?!" Alexander inquired, his attention being drawn to the Inch of Will's condition.

 

"Looks like the Inch of Will lost about a Ton of Steel," Ratchet blurted, making a stifled snicker at his own pun in spite of himself.

 

"Seriously, Ratchet?  I think Clank could come up with something better."

 

"Eh-Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Clank chortled.

[Phantom Roxas]

Sora recalled his Keyblade, as simply holding the weapon was enough to cause Nero an extraordinary amount of pain. However, Nero did seem to be familiar with Xehanort. "I thought so, because of our different universes and everything. It doesn't matter now, we have to found out what's wrong with the Keyblade. What it did to you, that sort of thing has never happened before. I think it's doing the same thing as what would happen if a Heartless got its hands on it. Wait, you don't think the Shadow Realm made you turn into some kind of Heartless, do you?" Grabbing Nero's hand, he went back to the Shinigami. "Come on, Nero, I think it'd be for the best if you stuck with some me and of my friends."

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Nero, The Keyblade War Hero

 

"Heartless? Me? No, it couldn't be." Nero looked at his hand that Sora's keyblade had hurt, he couldn't explain exactly why it happened but he could still touch his own keyblade so he couldn't be a Heartless. Not a heartless...but what if I am becoming one... Nero thought while frowning to himself and continuing to look at his own hand. Then Sora grabbed that same hand and started dragging him over to his group of friends saying he could pal around with them for awhile. Friends? Maybe that is what I need... Memories of Hao and Ryuusaki flashed through his mind as Sora dragged him over to the samurai he had seen earlier when first entering the Shadow Realm.

[Reinforce]

Lyon

Opening his eyes as the imposing beast approached, Lyon frowned at the implications of the creature's comment. "I've been prepared for what must be done since I came here, and with such a short time remaining before the next battle, there's no point in wearing myself out by training for such a minute skill gain that would be offset by the loss of energy anyway." Looking across, he noticed Ed resting near him, the only other person brought across from his world into this fight, before turning his attention back to the beast in front of him. "I also haven't really encountered many of the Divine, so I don't have information to share in that regard that could cause a need to converse with any of the others in this group. Hence, resting to recover and conserve my energy ready for the next battle seems like the best option at this point."

[Dad]

UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS, WITH UMBRIS

 

Mr. Zurkon turned sharply towards Alexander and Ratchet who were racing away with Clank, before realizing he was alone with Umbris.

"Why do the furballs leave us alone?  When do we get to do the killing?" he taunted.  Mr. Zurkon flew around Umbris rapidly, blaster powered and whirring as he went before he had a sudden thought.  "Mr. Zurkon is only here to kill.  You will take Mr. Zurkon to kill," he said with a cold mechanical hand on Umbris' forehead.  "Do you fight like the furballs?  Silly Lombaxes.  Always dying and re-spawning.  Mr. Zurkon is indestructible.  Mr. Zurkon does not need to re-spawn."  He pounded his own chest in pride.  "You will make a new team with Mr. Zurkon.  We must kill some stupid aliens."  Mr. Zurkon immediately flew in the direction of Emiya without waiting for a reply from Umbris, all while humming his favorite song in the distance.

". . . . . .. DOO-DA!  DOO-DA! . . . . . .ALL THE DOO-DA-DAY!" he hummed aloud not emphasizing the 'Killing stuff is so much fun' or 'Zurkon kills stuff all day long' parts that would seemingly be more important, but he was feeling much more conspicuous as he lunged towards the crowd of Counter Corps members that were gathered near Emiya.  Drawing closer Mr. Zurkon came to a halt.  He observed all the different Counter Corps members involved.  Some wielding swords.  Some wielding huge keys.  Some wielding nothing.  He slowly transformed his claw hand into a megaphone and clapped it against his blaster to draw everyone's attention.  "Mr. Zurkon has something to say," he called loudly through the megaphone.  "You are not familiar to Mr. Zurkon.   You are a disease.  And Mr. Zurkon is the cure.  Stupid aliens."

[Gαr]

Unlimited Blade Works

 

Ed barely got into his nap before he sensed that something was amiss. He felt a large presence approaching him and Lyon that he didn't recognize. Ed heard the newcomer ask something and Lyon respond. As soon as he finished speaking, Ed's left hand grabbed his sword's sheath and drew the sword with the other, pointing it at the large newcomer. "You know it's dangerous to disturb the nap of swordsman, especially ones who can cut the very air itself." Ed scanned the hulking mechanical wolf creature up and down. He didn't recognize him, so Ed assumed it was one of the new recruits. With his sword still pointing at him, Ed slithered up his little black pillar until he was sitting on top of it. He then sheathed sword and leaned it, once again, up against his right shoulder. "To answer your question, why should I? Like Lyon, training would serve little purpose and I didn't meet any of the Divine whatsoever. To answer your other question, none of the other members of the Counter Corps interest me, 'cept maybe the Kenpachi fellow. And besides, naps are a swordsmen's greatest training technique. Now then, what's your story?"

[Phantom Roxas]

Nero seemed convinced that something horrible was happening to him. Bringing him to Kenpachi and Yachiru didn't seem to cheer him up, and if anything, neither Kenpachi nor Yachiru would be in the mood to feel much better either. Sora thought of the friends he had lost as well. He had hoped to finally move forward his relationship with Kairi. They had been engaged for a while, but no plans seemed to be finalized, as Sora had his position as captain to focus on. Riku seemed to be off doing whatever he pleased, but he was happier than he had ever been ever since Zero's defeat. Sora could feel his heart ringing in pain, and soon Sora found himself separated from the people in Unlimited Blade Works. He stood on the Station of Awakening, where could see himself in the stain glass picture on the pillar. There he found Roxas, dressed in his Organization cloak, holding his head in pain.

"Roxas?" Sora asked. "What's going on?"

"These memories," Roxas muttered. "Why didn't we ever save them?"

"Save who?"

"Terra… Aqua…" Roxas slowly stood up, meeting his other half face to face. "You guys didn't know back then, did you? About them. About Ventus."

Sora recalled Mickey mentioning them, but they were never able to find them. Terra had been possessed by Xehanort, and had become Xemnas, while Aqua was lost to the Realm of Darkness. Even with Ansem and Xemnas' deaths, the methods of their destructions made Terra's resurrection impossible. "Roxas, we can't bring Terra back."

"I know. I don't want to use the Door of Origin to bring them back, otherwise we'd be no matter than the Divine. But maybe Aqua is still out there."

"If she is, Roxas, I promise to save her."

Roxas smiled. "Thanks."

As Sora returned to reality, he held his head, trying to make sense of what happened. Ventus and Aqua were still missing, and Terra was gone. Then, they had their successors. Ventus' heart still rested in Sora's, while Kairi was known to be Aqua's chosen. Back when Riku was a young boy, Terra had chosen him. Now, everyone was gone, and who knows what could happen to Sora. Nero wasn't a viable option, and Sora was at a loss for words. He couldn't just up and leave Nero, and Kenpachi made Sora promised to keep Yachiru safe. Maybe Sora knew just how he could do that.

Sora approached the young Shinigami, but before he could speak, the sounds of other people in Unlimited Blade Works echoed across the area. MachGaogamon's stomping was impossible to not hear, a woman was desperately crying out for help, although she seemed to have received help from someone controlling some blue crocodile creature, and some random robot seem to be trying to talk over all of the noise, calling everyone a "disease" that he was going to cure. Sora paid the robot no mind, and he turned away from his party. "Come on, we should check on that lady and see what's going on."

---

Neither of the men were impressed with MachGaogamon, reasoning that any training would simply tire them out before they could prepare for battle with the Divine. However, they also didn't bother to defend their lack of camaraderie, and one of them asked MachGaogamon about his "story." "If you must know, I was with the Divine before I joined this Corps. My partner followed me here, but he doesn't seem to have your best interests at heart. I am simply doing my part to show that my loyalty to this cause, and I believe that Emiya would appreciate it if either of you would do the same. All of that said, my name is MachGaogamon. And you two are…?" His ears perked up at the sounds of others trying to attract attention from the rest of the Counter Corps. MachGaogamon sighed, shaking his head at how disarrayed the Counter Corps seemed to be. However, he was intrigued by the boy who seemed to summon six creatures to his side. They didn't seem capable of speech, but they obviously cared for their master. MachGaogamon had to admit, he was a little jealous.