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

[Phantom Roxas]

Eria scowled at ClownWarGreymon. "I didn't ask for Dorian's power. He and Butler seemed to be one of the few people involved in all of this who seemed to know more about me than even I do. Besides, you know I won't give up until I can save Gagagigo." She held the Millennium Rod up, pointing it at the Digimon. "Neither of them had any right to control the Gods. I may be able to call upon them myself now, and this rod did help me with that, but I'm not doing this because I'm still Dorian's puppet. I'm doing this because I need their power to destroy LERNA. I'll rely on their power for as long as I need to. Anything Dorian could possibly gain now that he's dead is something I wouldn't have wanted anyway. I think… I think you got it backwards. It sounds awful to put it like this, but Dorian's the real victim here. I'm still here. I'm still alive. I can still fight."

 

Suddenly, the Millennium Rod shot a beam of red light out of its base, forming a laser sprouting from the Rod. Eria looked at the Millennium Rod and turned it around, now holding the lightsaber at ClownWarGreymon. "You know, it's funny. Arthur and MirageGaogamon used to be on the Divine before they joined the Counter Corps. Then another one of your allies, Matthew, he helped me fight Dorian back at the Desert Seth. And now, Dorian uses the last of his strength to help me? Why? What's so special about me?"

 

She waited for ClownWarGreymon to answer, but nonetheless turned around, taking one last look at ClownWarGreymon, smiling as she told him, "I guess that's just a part of my charm." She set off on an ice slide, smiling as she could control the water she had created all on her own. She headed towards Obelisk, the mighty Egyptian God turning as the Water Charmer approached.

 

Obelisk laughed as he look at Eria. "So, you wish to join in on My fight? Very well, but don't get yourself killed in the process. It wouldn't do if Our latest summoner would expire so soon.

 

Eria stood on Obelisk's shoulder. "Don't worry. I've waited my whole life to be close to the three of you. The last thing I'd want to do is disappoint you."

 

"Heh, I like your style. Now then, hang on…" Obelisk locked eyes against Titanomachia, reeling his arm back as it began surround itself with a wave of energy. "FIST OF FATE!"

 

"Everyone, watch out!" Eria cried out to her many allies confronting the Familiar. Whether or not they were able to hear her was anyone's guess, as Obelisk's deafening power headed straight towards Titanomachia.

[Merci]

 
The hydra-like monster charged onward towards Lydia at tremendous speeds, moving further and further away from the other battlefield led by her familiar, Titanomachia. She savored the growing expression of despair on the magical girl's face as she approached, yet just as she was on the edge of smashing into this insignificantly-annoying entity, a mecha piloted by the two absolutely insignificant Class 1 Entities came into view from behind and unleashed a sonic boom-boosted inferno directly onto her body, setting it and the eye upon it aflame, steadily spreading up her remaining six heads. Not only that, but another insignificant entity, Matthew, had appeared out of nowhere and bombarded her with orbs of light, which while being on a too small a scale to make much of a difference,  was still quite effective. Some sort of banishing spell had been cast upon her as well, but she didn't notice its failure as she was screeching in PAIN, unable to control her course, giving Lydia a chance to escape her rush with a blast of wind.
 
The Witch wasn't about to let her escape though, and was about to manipulate the waters when for some reason she found that she couldn't. Though confused at first, LERNA quickly realized that the Sliferok entity had done something and reverted Eria back to her normal state, thus reverting her existential powers as well. Not to mention the fact that she somehow got her hand on the "Slifer", "Obelisk", and "Ra" cards, granting her a notable amount of protection. No matter, for there was always that Lyon--- but as soon as she searched for him with her eyes, she found that some kind of alien entity had converted him into a Class 0 servant. Touching his mind and being met with nothing but 'KILL LERNA', she decided that it was for the best that she abstained from copying him.
 
Exceedingly annoyed, LERNA attempted to retreat back into the sea of despair and consider a new course of action to unleash despair, but she was interrupted as a huge, crimson serpentine dragon Slifer the Sky Dragon - this time in its proper form, and fully sentient - launched an assault her left side and veered suddenly over her to bite off her remaining right head. Not only that, but the meteors that Matthew had summoned were only moments away from impact. Left with very few options to copy, the Witch extended out her presence into the divine being's mind.

 

Although they'd had mental contact before while Slifer had been part of Dorian's fused superweapon, it had been held back, but now it was at full power. Because of this, it took slightly longer than normal for her to take in his powers, and she'd only managed to worm her way in due to his unfamiliarity with her method of despair, meaning she wouldn't be able to copy his powers the next time she tried.
 
With his powers, she was able to counter his godlike attacks with equal force, negating the small bursts aimed at her left heads with stronger ones, as well use her free head in order to obliterate the meteors with blasts of energy, but was too slow as Slifer mercilessly ripped off her final right head with his jaws, allowing huge amounts of purple blood to come spurting out before sealing off. From afar, it must've been quite the sight; a monstrous hydra and a monstrous dragon combating each other. Not to mention the enormous flaming body charging towards her that was the Winged Dragon of Ra in his phoenix mode...wait, what?
 
Within this tiny amount of time, there was no possible way for her to have dodged, and LERNA was smashed with divine flames. The mere force from such an impact was enough to tear off the softened necks from her remaining left heads and more than enough to throw off the orb as well as that insignificant entity who'd been riding on her tail-head, and it instantaneously set the rest of her existence alight. It was beyond what she could bear.
 
"س̟͕͍̺͔̮̈́̄͆̌̌͊͋͘ی̷̳́̎͂ͯͧس̧͇̲̘̼̬͖͋ͭ̊͐͋ی̵̜̤̳̰م̝́̅̋ا̨̥̘̦͍͒̆̊ͣ̊ͅی͎̬͙̱͔̥̭̅ͨͭ͂́س̟͕͍̺͔̮̈́̄͆̌̌͊͋͘ی̷̳́̎͂ͯͧس̧͇̲̘̼̬͖͋ͭ̊͐͋ی̵̜̤̳̰م̝́̅̋ا̨̥̘̦͍͒̆̊ͣ̊ͅی͎̬͙̱͔̥̭̅ͨͭ͂́مایمایوسیسیمایوسیمایوسیمایوسیسیمایو..."
 
Screaming all the way through, in an insane mesh of ineligible German and animalistic shrieks, LERNA fell into the seas of despair as the flames consumed her, ate at her, threatening to destroy her entire being. Somewhere along the lines, the fires threw the orb off of her, along with some insignificant entity that she didn't bother paying attention to. But even as she submerged and all hints of her roaring had been drowned out, the flames continued to eat at her, and the liquid despair was not doing a very bad job at dousing them. She was going to be extinguished.

 

She seriously, seriously was about to be extinguished. At this rate, she would be completely consumed by these flames that refused to die out and these wounds that could not heal fast enough, and no power from any of the nearby entities could help her in such a situation.
 
Under the depths of the ocean, trying in vain to get rid of Ra's flames, the Witch knew that she was honestly going to disappear. How pathetic. How absolutely pathetic. If they let her disappear, then who would be there to give the lives of everyone peace before they fell into despair themselves? If they continued to cling onto these false concepts such as 'hope', then they would only be consumed, like she was being right now by fire. Unable to think of an escape, she was to perish here.

 

Her purpose unfulfilled.

 

Her little sister's death for naught.

 

...

 

However, a ray of hope unexpectedness came in the form of the entity formerly known as 'Lyon'. Oblivious to the fact that she was already dying, it relied on its past skills and pure instincts to dive into the oceanic despair, sustaining itself as it swam deeper towards her in an attempt to kill her personally. It lacked any hope or despair that could be used against it, hence, the 'voidling' kept on swimming. Since she still had Slifer's powers, she fired out a powerful blast from her main head that sustained itself underwater and obliterated the mindless entity. It was then that she actually acknowledged the entity responsible.

 

Ay̜͍̝͈̠̣̝a̭͉̙̘m͇̦̲̝̲̹͠e̡̻̮̤͙̻̘̩̣̮͚͉̯͇̹͚ͭ̆.͗̾̐͏͕̜͎̥̙̞ ̵̘̖̞̺̳͈̓͘ͅ.̦̲̻̱͈͋̄̈́ͦ͟͡ ̢̩͈̮ͨ͗͛ͯ̀̚͘͢.̫̬̗̿̂͟ ̡̖͍̺̙̖̹̻̣̮͚͉̯͇̹͚ͨ̈́̏́ͭ̆.͗̾̐͏͕̜͎̥̙̞ ̵̘̖̞̺̳͈̓͘ͅ.̦̲̻̱͈͋̄̈́ͦ͟͡ ̢̩͈̮ͨ͗͛ͯ̀̚͘͢.̫̬̗̿̂͟ ̡̖͍̺̙̖̹̻̣̮͚͉̯͇̹͚ͨ̈́̏́ͭ̆.͗̾̐͏͕̜͎̥̙̞ ̵̘̖̞̺̳͈̓͘ͅ.̦̲̻̱͈͋̄̈́ͦ͟͡ ̢̩͈̮ͨ͗͛ͯ̀̚͘͢.̫̬̗̿̂͟ ̡̖͍̺̙̖̹̻̣̮͚͉̯͇̹͚ͨ̈́̏́ͭ̆.̫̬̗̿̂͟ ̖͍̺̙̖̹̻ͨ̈́̏́K͈ͭͧ̚͡a̶̫͓͒ͯ͆̑ͣͪ̒̽͜ͅğ̵̡̹̘̻̮̰̮̗̭͢u̟̥̲̰̪̎͑̒̅̌̒ͪy̺̞̝͔͓̿ͨ̉́͋̕a̢͉̞͓̪̩͔̺̼̍͛̍͊̔̀ͅ.

 

Though the entity appeared to be fully sentient, whenever she touched its mind, she was met first with blanks, then with the remnants of a shadowy world, then with a ridiculous amount of nonlinear experience and powers, with hardly any trace of the original persona, yet all of this chaos was coordinated into a single mind of darkness under one purpose only. How peculiar. No matter how hard she tried, she could not discern the origins of this event. That did not matter. There was only one thing she truly understood as she burned within underwater despair, and it was that this Ay̜͍̝͈̠̣̝a̭͉̙̘m͇̦̲̝̲̹͠e was the only way for her to preserve herself.

 

LERNA forced herself into the mind of this being, and was met with something vast, on a level greater than even Slifer. But the funny thing was that it had been a ridiculously easy task to crush the hopes of everything within and ultimate take in the existence of these remnants, united under a single entity. It was only because of the fact that they'd been united that she had been able to copy it, and as her powers absorbed practically everything that was left of the Shadow Realm, her body underwent mutations and adaptations, her influence expanding, her very being becoming more powerful than ever before.

 

Unlike the host Ay̜͍̝͈̠̣̝a̭͉̙̘m͇̦̲̝̲̹͠e, LERNA had far more power and influence in stock, allowing her to take in the entirety of the creatures' powers AND OF THE WORLD ITSELF.

 

The flames dying out, her mutated body reemerged from the waters, signaled by even larger amounts of light cast by her shadow. Her form was no longer something that could be called corporal. Instead, it could only be called as condensed space, and what was visible was nothing but a completely pitch-black silhouette of what used to be, refusing to be lit up even by its own shadow. For it was condensed darkness. Condensed despair, having changed the principle as she saw fit. Even though she only had two heads left, she was hardly concerned, for she had emerged not as a monster of despair, but as a world of despair personified, and she began to laugh at the powerless Egyptian Gods. They could do nothing to her now. Thanks to an unexpected entity, she had attained enough power to flatten mountains if she so wished.

 

To put it simply, she had effectively taken the remnants within Ayame and projected the reality marble that was the Shadow Realm into her own body. The consequences were that it ended up incorporating itself into her own existence, being a world, but this was of little consequence.

 

Despair is everything.

 

Expanding her influence using her newfound powers, despair began to spread out through the air, dampening and crushing the dreams and hopes of everyone in the realm, negating all the little bits of hope that Yuki had tried to hard to spread out. The liquid despair within the ocean thickened even more, and it even began to emit off something vaguely resembling steam... Yes, despair vapor, and it was very active. Taking control of this vapor, chains of despair formed out of them and wrapped themselves around the two Egyptian Gods, trapping them in place.

 

Why bother?

You will fail.

Hope does not exist.

 

With that done, LERNA turned her attention to Lydia. This time for sure, the magical girl would perish, and she began to charge once more. She would extinguish the girl's hopes. This time, nothing would hold her back.

[Reinforce]

Darcy

As LERNA flailed around, it's heads heavily damaged and the tail whipping around rapidly, Darcy darted forwards to telekinetically grab the orb that had been flung off, bringing it straight to her arms, before flying further back away from the being. At that point, the being seemed to go through some sort of a change, from what it was it had turned into what appeared to be just a black silhouette of darkness, lighting up a large area underneath it from the weird physics in this realm. In that form, it looked like very little would actually affect it, so Darcy turned to the one thing she was certain could work. Calling up the Dragon's Flame, even as she let her Dark Sirenix fade away, she brought forth a sphere of fire, made from the Dragon's Flame she had been allowed access to rather than the Darkness she usually worked with. After feeding it off her power for a few seconds to make it grow, she brought it forth with one hand, the other still holding onto the orb, before letting it loose as a large blast of fire, radiating power as it shot directly at the entity, aiming right for the centre of the being.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

LERNA's Barrier:

 

Foster jumped onto the back of the Duelhog, pulling up the weapons selection screen before scrolling down to the bottom, and then past the bottom, which shouldn't have been possible, to select an option labeled "Microsurgeon".
"Voice Authorization Required." A flat genderless monotone intoned.
"Commander Cincinnatus Foster." He replied, concentrating. "Unit Recovery One. Serial Number One-Six-Zee-Kay-Five-Gee-Two-Niner. Password: Emergency Operation."

"Authorization Accepted. Fabricating M.D. Device."

On the weapons mount on the rear of the Duelhog, a rectangular-looking device with two triangular prongs on either side and a conical depression in between the prongs started to form from energy. "Russell, this is the most powerful weapon this baby can make. It's nickname is the Little Doctor. It's technical name is the Molecular Disruption, or 'M.D.', Device. It's power is incredible, as it acts as a quantum virus, creating an atomic state in which electrons cannot be shared. When this happens, the molecules affected split into separate atoms, which create a chain reaction in inducing a similar splitting state in surrounding mass. The more massive the target, the greater the impact. This is supposed to be used as a last resort, as a weapon meant to destroy oncoming STARSHIPS. However, I believe that this is the proper time to use it."

 

Now that Alex was able to pay attention to Izumi/Thermopylae, he could now feel something warm and wet gently flowing down his chest. From the single eye she had free from her shell, the girl was crying, breaking down and unable to keep it bottled up anymore. "I can't protect them anymore...I'm weak...I'm useless...I'm slowly falling apart from this disruption that is slowly making me no longer exist...I'm worthless, Alex...I deserve to be a doll, to be a plaything...at least I wouldn't have to worry about my own fate anymore..."

 

Yuki turned to the Duel Monster Spirits. "Hello. I am Yuki, a former part of Itsu. And I need your help." She looked up at the massive creature of pure void. "This LERNA...it wants to consume everything in despair. It believes there is no hope. Itsu fell for her trap, but I will not. There is always hope in numbers. No one has to be alone to confront despair. Instead, we must stand together to show her that we are not afraid. And that is why I need to call upon your powers. I ask if I may Tune with you, to create something that can finish her."

[Love of Ghibli]

LERNA's Barrier: The One With a Good Heart.

 

CWG looked on as the girl took off on her giant blue monster her words were confusing but they did ring true. He decided that the least he could do was try to go get the artifact that the group came for. Unfortunately it seemed like things would get a little darker before they got brighter. LERNA had converted herself into the emotion that she meant to spread across the multiverses. It made sense at some level. She was pushed into this desperate situation buy Sliferok, which was then followed up by the actual Egyptian Gods themselves. CWG noticed that it seemed she would be vulnerable to attacks of those with the purest of hearts or something of that nature and his bloodlust wasn't able to handle it. This lead to and odd emotional response that bubbled inside of him. Was this what others called despair? It felt odd being useless especially with all of the power he had but then something strange happened. He started hearing voices and in a weird sense it seemed that CWG had temporarily shut down.

...So it seems like the first clown didn't work out either...

What who is this? Dorian how are you alive? BWG replied inside his own head. I'm not, you're my clown a piece of me and everyone else is always a part of you. I just thought it would be good if we said our goodbyes. We never got the chance anyway. What? Yeah I think someone once theorized that in death you learn everything and while that may or may not be true I did learn something. You're not a a bad guy. 

BWG looked shunned at these words mainly because he was confused about their meaning. You don't belong with the Divine. Your whole purpose in life is to better yourself NOT at the expense of others. And to add insult to injury you've been motivating people since you've gotten here. Definitely not Divine material at all. Not true I am loyal to Isamy and her plans! How can you question my loyalty? I'm not saying you're not loyal, I'm saying you're loyal out of obligation. You are much more suited to battle along sides with the Counter Corp. I won't let that happen, but its just a fact. So wait what are you going to do? I'm going to unhappen you. BWG didn't understand what that phrase meant. I'm going to return you back into your original world and time. IMPOSSIBLE!! I have so much power now I can find my destiny!! Why would you take this away from me. This isn't your destiny, this is catastrophic intervention, luckily you won't remember any of this happening when I'm finished.

From the outside CWG started to glow gold and with that he was his own bright light that illuminated the darkness. So if this is the end, am I really this powerless to where I couldn't make a single impact. I wouldn't say that. You can probably help everyone else out by dealing with the sadness glomp over there. How? I can't hit her with any attacks....the mentally projected Dorian snickered. Oh you really don't understand how pure your emotions are do you? Just trust in yourself like all good guys do and I'm sure everything will work out....the mental image of Dorian faded away and BWG found his resolve 

CWG shot open his eyes and flew at the massive amalgamation of negative emotion like a golden bullet bypassing all of the Egyptian God cards that were doing heavy damage. On the Inside however CWG was slowly turning back into BlackWarGreymon but with some extra modifications. It seemed that the Mad Blood that was in the clown was not reacting to this flux of positive emotions and had to be changed into something else. It seemed that the blood itself was slowly changing into raw energy therefore turning BWG into a flying bomb. But not just an ordinary bomb it was the all powerful missile of his will to die a heroes death. He was willing to sacrifice his all in order to take this foe down and return to the world he came from. As he flew towards the emissary of despair he could hear the faint whispers going on in the back of his head. 

It was fun while it lasted. I'm sure you're going to do something great in that world of yours. Thank you for everything...

 

As small tear fell down his face as he was going to miss these adventures though in actuality maybe he was crying that he wouldn't even get the chance to remember his new friends and these precious memories he made.

[Astolfo]

Sighing as some foolish human-like being with what appeared to be an animal-ear headband managed to block the feathers, Titanomachia proceeded to prepare his next attack. When he proceeded to summon a sphere of light, which shaped itself into one massive spear, before splitting into five copies, the Familiar looked at the man boredly. "Please tell me that isn't your best, childish brat." As they hurtled at him, some other idiot attempted to use some spacial spell. "Does that fool realize that it's more likely to backfire?" Ignoring him, as it didn't even manage to seem to target anything, the Familiar let the spears fly towards him a bit longer, before they would completely destroy themselves after they collided into his vector shield. Conserving his massive reserves of energy by setting the vector shield towards the front more, and lesser towards the back, Titanomachia's concentration suddenly broke as his own feathers suddenly spat out behind him, colliding into him, knocking him off balance. It didn't hurt him, but the spears that were arcing towards him certainly would. As the five lances smashed into the Familiar, it managed to tank a good bit, but the light burned at him, with a disgustingly horrible feeling. Roaring in anger, it let its energy pulse out in a hellish flare, which corroded away at the light, before they both burnt each other out.

 

What happened next certainly would be a lot worse for him though. As a massive bolt of lightning summoned forth a crimson dragon, it radiated out an immense amount of energy, and it was most certainly a genuine god in its own world. A blue card flew up into the air, before a booming thunder swept across the area, bringing forth an immense, azure titan. This one gave just as much power, and it seemed to be similar to the red dragon, but one part felt missing. As a golden orb of fire formed in the air, it felt the triumvirate of gods were completed, with this new one at the top. As the sphere burned and let off rays of light, a phoenix blasted forth. When the blue beast turned towards the Familiar, doubt began to spread across Titanomachia's mind. Could he really take on a god? As he watched, the phoenix was incinerated, before suddenly reappearing, its strength levels surpassing any that Titanomachia had felt, almost on par with L E R N A, if not exceeding greatly. Worried for L E R N A's sake, Titanomachia called out a warning to her telepathically. Another child made his way over to the group that the Familiar had been attacking previously, but that was not his concern, as although L E R N A commanded him, the sky-blue giant was a much bigger concern, and would prevent him from reaching his original goal, so Titanomachia ordained this as the biggest concern.

 

As the massive god condensed an unholy amount of energies around his right fist, Titanomachia felt fear, and was unable to help it, knowing he would almost certainly die. Despite his ultimate wish and purpose in life being to assist L E R N A, he couldn't help himself, and called out to the great Witch telepathically, his voice filled with fear, anguish, and shock. L E R N A, I beg for assistance! The bastard of a summoner girl brought forth a god, and a true god! I plead for power! Let me survive this attack, I cannot die yet! There is yet so much I have to do!

 

Knowing help wouldn't come soon enough, it began to feel despair, and in a terrible way. It did not want to die, as it had yet to fulfill his original purpose, and didn't want to disappear without sating the great Witch who spawned him. Throwing up its shields as well as its wings and cloak, it poured energy into the shield, doing all he could to survive. Knowing it still would not be enough, he ripped the Troys out of their spots, building a thick wall in between the fist and the Familiar, before finally lifting hundreds of gallons of the liquid Despair out of the seas, not enough to compromise the Witch's safety however. Surrounding his own shields with the Troys as well as the seas in a spherical shape, it decided to stay still, and when it would hit, move backwards with it, to reduce as much of the force as it could.

 

Obelisk swung its massive fist, the air distorting around it in a terrible fashion. As Titanomachia prepared to dodge backwards, knowing there wouldn't be enough time to dodge any other way, the blow went much faster than he expected for something so large, hammering into the Familiar. As a cataclysmic explosion tore through the area, the nearby plates that floated on the sea were decimated, the water itself being vaporized, annihilating everything the Familiar had put up. The godly power effortlessly tearing away the water, incinerating the Troys, and shattering every inch of the vector shield Titanomachia had set up, it destroyed the scarf and wings, barely faltering in speed or power, as it proceeded to ruthlessly demolish the being. Shattering almost every bone, Titanomachia slammed against one of the remaining necks of L E R N A's new form, before sliding down it. If it could've been seen, a massive amount of the Despair that ran through the familiar's veins could've been seen smearing the neck. Slumping, Titanomachia's form was limp, half leaning against L E R N A's side, and half sitting on a floating plate that managed to escape the destruction.

 

The familiar's body was broken, and the face behind the darkness could finally be seen. A surprisingly young face could be seen. With silvery hair and smooth features, the being didn't look any older than maybe seventeen or eighteen. It was alive, but just barely, and TItanomachia thanked everything he could think of for that, but he could feel that he had been utterly beaten, and that L E R N A could perhaps lose, even her new powers not healing her. Titanomachia would've healed her, but he was in no state to do anything as of now. Hating the fact he was so weak, a face that one might've thought slightly handsome was twisted by a bitter vitriol, and the familiar barely had the energy to even make an expression like that. While he didn't begin to crack like porcelain, Titanomachia could feel that he was dying anyways, and in some ways, this was worse, not even being able to fulfill L E R N A's one request of him, who made him as such. Ashamed, he weakly spoke to L E R N A telepathically. My great L E R N A… I… have failed… I cannot apologize enough… I… cannot even accomplish the one task you had asked of me… I am worthless… I am… sorry… At the last word, tears began to streak down the Familiar's face. I… Let me… be worthwhile… to you… Take my feeble strength… You must… survive… You must… You are the only thing… I have ever lived for… For giving me a purpose… in being… and living… Thank… you… Salty lines now rolling down his face in earnest, Titanomachia's life was rapidly fading away.

 

A dark-grey smoke rose up from his body, with ash-like particles rising with it, as he spoke. Weakly, he pointed at L E R N A, giving her the little energy that he had left, knowing it would end his own life, but wanting to have helped the Witch somehow, sacrificing himself for her. His body started to lose cohesion, turning into shadow, as it faded away into the air, breaking apart. Within a few seconds, the form had softened into a darkness, fading away, and with it, a being who was once known as Titanomachia… and before that, the Renegade Joker… and what seemed like such an eternity ago… Mashiro Yakunan. Brief flashes of memories could be seen in the smoke, dissipating as his life came to an end. A flash, and lances of light flying… A girl shivering on the ice… A friend, dying, her porcelain face, cracking… Memories sped by, going further into the past… Rising up and effortlessly beating two entities in what seemed to be a desert… As the memories could be seen blinking out, like so many fireflies, they grew older, and older… A girl who he once trusted his faith into… Isamy, was it? The air currents moving around the column, it grew harder and harder to make out anything. A devilish-looking spiritual entity, with a figure seeming to be to be the Renegade battling, easily crushing the spirit, multiple other battles before this one coming into view… Suddenly, as this memory disappeared, the smoke began to turn lighter, and whiter, before turning an extremely light gray - almost complete purity. It showed a figure… a translucent young white-haired figure… he was stumbling around confused… And as the final strands of smoke rose, they twinkled a pure white, showing memories of a small, young, brown-haired girl smiling happily, and the white-haired figure from before, smiling as well, entertaining the little kid, the last wisp of the smoke disappearing, and with it, the tale of a boy of light turned to night, came to its end…

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Alister Azimuth

---

The impact that struck LERNA tossed Alister off of the Witch's tail-head-thingie, along with the orb-shaped artifact.  It was at that point that everything seemed to slow down for Alister (though not due to use of his powers); the orb was a now a mere few inches before him in the air.  If he could just reach out, grab onto it, then this whole fiasco would not have been for naught.  Just a bit more....
 
And oddly enough, his hand met not with the orb (or at least, not directly), but with the hand of the fellow Divine member, Darcy, who had just so happened to have been at the right place at the right time in order to grab hold of the artifact herself.
 
"... I can just never catch a break, can I?" Alister sighed to himself.  "Fine, it's all yours." With that, Alister let go of Darcy's hand, letting her return to her own business as he himself used his HoverBoots to lower himself onto a stray floating platform.  It was then that he noticed LERNA had yet to be destroyed, had now taken on a new form, and was now filling the barrier with a miasma of literal despair.
 
In desperation, Alister hastily clasped his hands over his nose and mouth, trying not to breathe in the fuses.  However, the gaseous mist didn't need to enter through his respiratory system; the mist started to seep in through his fur, then deep into his skin.  As the gases entered through any orifice they could find, Azimuth's mind began to wander, once more, back to the scene of Fastoon's downfall.  The imagery was so strong this time, it all felt almost real to him; the heat of the blaze, the blaster fire, the explosions, the carnage, the destruction, the death... all caused by him....
 
"No... no, not again...," Alister uttered breathlessly as the tears fell unopposed from his eyes, dropping to his knees as his despair attempted to throw him over the edge....
 
"... don't give up, Alister...."
 
A voice, clear even amongst the devastation around him, suddenly called out to him.  A familiar voice, one that brought both shame and peace to his troubled, aching heart.  Just as suddenly as the voice spoke, the destruction happening around him suddenly ceased.  Alister, half out of instinct, half out of shame, tried to close his eyes as a figure approached him, and yet he could not stop himself from looking up into its face as the figure placed a hand on his shoulder.  Those green eyes, youthful yet brimming with profound wisdom, peering at him... they were the eyes of Kaden.
 
"Kaden...!" Alister wordlessly gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing before him.
 
The yellow-furred lombax, whom his son Ratchet resembled greatly, gave Alister a small, calm smile.  "This memory...," Kaden spoke softly as he took a brief, sweeping look around at the scene of what was once the home of the Lombax race, "it's been torturing you this whole time, hasn't it...?"  Kaden knelt down before Alister, his eyes now level with the General's.  "... you shouldn't remain in this memory, Alister.  Look at what it's done to you...."
 
"But...," Alister hiccuped, unable to stop from crying, "how can I?  How can I stop, knowing what I did to our home, our people... to you...."
 
"I'm not upset, Al.  I know you always tried to make things better for everyone, even if... if things didn't work out as planned.  That's... that's what I always liked about you, Alister.  You always did your best."
 
"... and this is what my best caused," Alister replied ruefully, again looking at the scene around them.
 
Kaden shook his head, reaching his hands up to Alister's face.  "Al... you can't keep beating yourself up over this.  Please... you can't keep despairing over this."
 
"But how...?  Kaden, how?"
 
"... there is still so much for you to do, Alister.  I know that you can do right, even now.  But, you need to promise me that you'll keep living to the fullest until then."  Kaden gently wrapped his arms around his dear friend, embracing him comfortingly.  "Just know... that I'll always be watching over you all...."
 
Alister felt almost numb, unable to determine how to react to Kaden's words, his compassion.  Even now, after all that has happened... Kaden still believed in him...?
 
Wordlessly, Alister puppetered his own arms to returns Kaden's embrace.  "... ... ... I promise," Alister finally spoke, his voice cracked with weariness and emotion, "... Kaden, I promise... I'll make things right...."  As he said this, a faint light began to glow around the two friends, growing brighter as it dispelled the despair around them....
 
 

---

Alexander Abernathy

---

The mist that began to rise up around them was also beginning to have an effect on Alexander, but in spite of this, he kept on as he continued to console Itsu.  "... you feared your own mortality...?" he asked, looking Itsu/Izumi/Thermopylae in the exposed eye.  "Even a goddess could fear death... but...," Alexander was about to tell Itsu that there was no need to fear death, that possible cessation from existence would not have been any better, but then his mind wandered, back to the days before his twentieth birthday, during which....
 
"... I... I was scared once, too," Alex spoke in an admitting tone.  "I once fell into despair, like you did, a long time ago....  In the span of a mere month, I had lost my father, and then my only other friend at the time.  Anyone I had ever loved, cared about... they eventually lost their lives, and for what...?  I had questioned that many times in my life... it's made me fearful, even to this day, of ever losing anyone dear to me....
 
"That one day...," Alexander continued, tears falling down his face as he continued to remember, "when I lost Galen... I had gone to the roof of the Center, and... ... ... I fell.  I fell into the waters below, the waves that crashed against the cliff face, because I felt that my life would be forever one of loneliness....  Yes, I fell that day, just like you... because I had felt that my life had no further meaning....
 
"... but I was wrong."
 
A bright, red light began to shine on Alexander's right arm, his Mark of the Crimson Dragon radiating in the dark of the barrier.
 
"Had I never met Umbris, never been granted this gift I possess, I would never have been able to see how beautiful life could truly be, even through the many hardships I had faced.  I would never have been able to meet so many people... like you, Itsu. You, Umbris, Ratchet... you and many others have been my light, my hope...."
 
The light on Alex's arm started to fade, only to reappear on his back, this time in the circular shape of a serpentine dragon, a small egg grasped in its claw.
 
"That's why, even when I eventually fade away, I will fade knowing that I had made a difference in this life, a difference that helped to make many other lives brighter.  Itsu!"  Alex cried out as he then took Itsu's porcelain hands into his.  "I know that your light is still there, the shining light that brought beauty and compassion into many lives!  No matter what happens, your light will always be a beacon for many who will remember it to be the warmest light they've ever known!  Please, Itsu, let your light shine forth once more!"
 

---

Sayer

---

As he watched Titanomachia make his move, Sayer decided that he would make a move of his own, starting by removing some of the bandages covering the top half of his face, revealing his left eye, a glaring red iris with black schlera.  Yes, his eyes, both of them, were the same colors as the R.O.D.s that always appeared around him.  After all, the R.O.D.s were modeled after his own eyes... or, at the very least, reflected the current state of his eyes.  "Well, no need to waste my own pawns," he uttered quietly to himself, only taking out 1 card from his Deck as a small cluster of R.O.D.s appeared around him.  "Let's see... seven R.O.D.s, each at Level 1, should be enough for my Ritual--"
 
It was then that Sayer's own train of thought was suddenly derailed; his exposed eye widened as he witnessed the feathers earlier launched by Titanomachia, then subsequently blocked by Alexander's Dimension Wall, had finally made their reappearance, striking the Familiar from behind, leaving just enough of an opening for the energy spear attack to strike him.  "Inconceivable...!" Sayer uttered, turning his head around to glance back at Alexander, who also looked up just in time to see the effects of his own Dimension Wall.  "Well done, Lombax," Sayer said in a mock-congratulatory tone, "you've managed to bend the ever-erratic dimensions to your whim and succeed...."

 

"Seriously," Sayer thought to himself, "it as if, whatever Alexander puts his mind to, he always finds some way to bend fate to his will...."

 

---

The Duelhog

---

 

"Wise words to always live by, Miss Yuki," Dark Magician Girl replied.  "The power of bonds have always been ones greatest strength.  If I may," DMG added, "I would be honored to lend you my power for your needs."

 

"Kuri~" chirped the Winged Kuriboh, as if in agreement.

 

 

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Giant Clank finally landed down next to the Duelhog, along with the Jaws of Hell.  "So," Ratchet asked the others, "are we all preparing one final coup-de-grace here, or what?"

 

---

Alister Azimuth (pt. 2)

---

 

The bright light began to shine from Alister's very being, again driving away what very few Troys there were to "abandon ship".  As Alister returned to his feet, a small smile cross his lips.  "Hope... and despair," he quietly said to himself.  "They are but two sides of the same coin, LERNA.  It is true that despair is eternal, but so, too, is hope, for there will always be the smallest bit of one even when it is drowned in the other.  You," he continued, stopping to chuckle at what he was about to say, "you could never hope to dispel Hope forever, just as we can never be rid of despair.  You have seen it here, countless time, the strength of hope, and yet you still wish to destroy it?  Hmph... and they say I am pig-headed."

[The Warden]

|_)Okama Queen Ivankov(_|

 

Ivankov had been fighting off the Troys, but her foes had flown away to aid Titanomachia, leaving the Okama Queen alone, until the Despair Vapors bubbled up from below. The Okama Queen coughed and gagged at the fumes, and at the memories that followed.

 

---

 

|_)The Reaper Jeriii(_|

 

The Reaper was almost back into the battle, and so much had changed. She repressed the desire to laugh, as neither Dorian, or Butlerok were around. The only conclusion she could have drawn was that they were dead; dead and gone. A fitting fate for someone who had no real conception of what power meant. Better yet, there was a sweet aroma wafting through the air, the sweet smell of despair. It was so refreshing to her, it reminded her of the good times she spent torturing a twelve-year old girl to power her conquest of a planet. Ahhh, good times, good times.

 

---

 

|_)~Moe~ Scientist Frankram(_|

 

Frankram nodded in approval as both sets of attacks made their connection with Titanomachia, but, his eyes widened as Obelisk prepared his assault. The others & himself were by far too close to the attack, and Obelisk didn't look like he was going to stop just for them. As of right now the furry creature that had joined them was consoling the doll-like girl, and the other one was tyring to plead with the Gods.

 

Frankram closed his eyes as he pushed his glasses up to cover his eyes, their glass reflecting the outside like a mirror. "For ~moe~" he whispered.

 

With a wordless casting, he drew himself, Alexander, Itsu & Yuki close together, then, with a quick wave a barrier formed around them. "Hold yourselves everyone, this will be rough!" he declared as Obelisk struck at Titanomachia's barriers.

 

The Familiar had been plenty kind to provide his own barriers, but even they weren't enough to stop the wrath of the gods. the shockwaves alone went straight passed them and assaulted the barrier Frankram had erected. The panel they were on shook and shimmied as the force drove the other ones away and shattered them. Frankram was straining for all he was worth, so much so that his glasses shattered to maintain the bubble.

 

Finally, the calm came and the bubble shattered like glass; and Frankram, he collapsed onto the platform, with a happy little smile on his face.

 

---

 

|_)Magical Girl Lydia(_|

 

Lydia was panting off her close escape. LERNA was now occupied with... the Egyptian Gods? Okay, seriously now. What the hell were Slifer, Obelisk & Ra even doing here? Was there someone within the Yugioh universe... wait. Wasn't Slifer's head a part of the Kishin? Did he somehow have some connection to that universe? Well, for what is was worth now, the Kishin was buried beneath the waves, and the Gods were doing a fantastic job of beating LERNA.

 

She cheered loudly as the hydra sunk beneat the waves, but, for some reason, the yearning to destroy LERNA was still there. But how? She was defeated, wasn't that enoug- Oh no. It felt as if a hand was clamped tight on Lydia heart as LEARNA rose, even more powerful than ever. Her Despair was radiating like a sun, filling her barrier with Despair like never before. The ocean bubbled and churned around, rising up a sickly smog of Despair. Lydia was literally choking on the fumes, and LERNA? She was charging again, and with this new form, how the hell could anyone beat her? Well, if anyone had a plan, they would need time to make it.

 

Now sounded like a good time for a distraction. "LERNA!" she cried out, "LERNA! Why are you trying to turn everything into Despair?! What good would it do?! Even if everyone succumbs to Despair! Even if everyone feels the same as you! Why?! Even if everyone is miserable it won't make the pain go away! Why ruin everyone's lives when it won't make you feel any better?!"

 

---

 

|_)Hellspawn Sarah(_|

 

Sarah finally managed to stablize herself after Lydia got that cheap wind shot in. Her vision was unfocused due to the spinning, but she could still make out enough to see a giant firebird strike into LERNA and set that b***h on fire. "YOU GO BIRD! KNOCK THAT B***H OUT!" she cheered.

 

Sarah heaved a sigh of relief, but then remembered something important: The Artifact. What they had come for this entire time. Sarah looked around wildly for it, and managed to catch a glimpse of white amongst the black. Somehow had collected the orb, and by the looks of it, they weren't a CC. "HEY! HAND OVER THE ARTIFACT!" Sarah cried as she chased after Darcy.

[Phantom Roxas]

Sora charged forth with a Sonic Blade, striking at Vanitas, knocking him back as Ventus, or rather, "Ven", called forth a Tornado below him, lifting Vanitas up into the air as Sora kicked off of the ground, continuing his attack, going up into the air to hit once again while Vanitas was spinning around, but Vanitas managed to parry the Keyblade, knocking back Sora as the Tornado spell threw Vanitas back. Vanitas held his hand over the hole in his chest, dark smoke escaping from the wound. However, this left his guard open, as Ven appeared behind him, casting a Megaflare at point-blank range, setting Vanitas ablaze. Sora followed up with an Aerogun, spreading the flames even further. Ven leapt above Vanitas, casting Faith directly above him, calling upon a mighty pillar of light to strike down upon Vanitas before splitting apart into four smaller pillars, which hurried off in different directions. Unable to bear the onslaught of attacks, Vanitas fell to his knees, weakly swinging around his Keyblades in a vain attempt to weaken the flames.

 

"It can't… end like this," Vanitas muttered, looking up at Ven. "Not until… we become one again!"

 

"Sorry, Vanitas," Sora replied. "But this is my heart! I'll make sure that you won't ever take it!"

 

Ven nodded. "Right. It's time we finished what we started."

 

As Vanitas began to consider accepting his defeat, the Station of Awakening began to shake, much to everyone's surprise.

 

"What's going on?!" Sora cried out.

 

Vanitas smiled, stabbing his Keyblade into the ground to help himself stand up, large cracks forming where the Keyblade hit. "Now we're talking."

 

Ven immediately shot a Blizzagun spell, only for a blue creature with red eyes and white gloves appearing from Vanitas' shadow, being destroyed by the attack. "An Unversed?!" Ven asked incredulously.

 

Vanitas once again placed his hand over his wound, smiling as the hole began to fill up, his body seemingly having no injuries anymore. "You can feel it, can't you? This is what it feels to know true despair."

 

Ven ran forward, only for another Unversed, this one having purple armor, blocked Ven with two gold and purple shields, knocking Ven back before throwing both shields at Ven, who protected himself with both of his Keyblades. "But how?"

 

"I can feel LERNA's hatred, her desire to utterly obliterate the whole lot of you. Counter Corps, Divine, it makes no difference to her. She is forcing all of you to know despair, and that despair has snuffed off your pathetic 'hope'. I feed off of negative emotions, Ventus. Despair gives me more power, and now, the tables have finally turned in my favor." Holding his arms out, the purple Unversed was joined by more of its kin, the biggest of which were a living suit of silver armor, and a demonic Unversed with deep violet skin, wielding a giant hammer, the head of which resembled a green cage. He smiled at Sora and Ven before uttering one word, "Die."

 

The Trinity Armor grabbed Sora, pinning him to the ground while the Iron Imprisoner called forth a cage around Ven. Vanitas began to float in the air, rising up before sending an arc of dark flames down below, slicing through the Station of Awakening, and breaking it in half. As Ven used his Keyblades against the cage, the cage fell over as the Station of Awakening began to fall down. The Iron Imprisoner began to surround itself in fire and hit the cage with its hammer, sending it flying just as Ven broke free, having managed to activate Wingblade. "Come back, you coward!" he called out to Vanitas. "Fight me yourself, don't really on your lackeys!"

 

Vanitas laughed, his ascent showing no sign of slowing down. "After all these years, you still don't get it, do you? I am the Unversed!" With a snap of his fingers, an Unversed in the shape of an hourglass appeared before Ven, a dark ball glowing above it. Ven, recognized this Unversed, turned to attack it, but the Iron Imprisoner once again trapped in a cage. With Ven trapped, the Chrono Twister release the energy it was gathering, stopping Ven in place just as the Iron Imprisoner raised its hammer, which was still alit with flames, and slammed it down upon Ven, who was completely unaware of the attack as he was sent hurling into the abyss.

 

Sora cried, "Ven!", casting a Reflega spell to force open the Trinity Armor's hold on him before diving down after Ven. The Unversed chased after him, throwing punches to knock Sora back and forth in order to stop him from reaching Ven.

 

Vanitas held up his Keyblade with both hands, dark energy gathering around the tip. "That's right, you fools. Fall. Fall into despair."

 

 

Back at LERNA's Barrier, Sora began to stir, much to Flygon's relief. Sora was pushing himself up, desperate to find the strength to stand. As Flygon approached, however, he noticed some odd. Sora opened his eyes, and they shined with a golden light. His face was filled with malice, and when he called forth his Keyblade, it was Vanitas'. Flygon charged at "Sora" with a Dragon Claw, but "Sora" cast a Blizzagun spell, blasting Flygon backwards as the Pokémon was quickly frozen. "Quiet, you pest," was all "Sora" said to it, but his voice was warped, as his voice was layered over itself. He looked down at the young girl sitting on the platform, but couldn't think of anything to do with her, and killing her would just be a waste of time. He looked around as the battles raged on within the Barrier, gazing upon LERNA's new form and taking a bow, not that he expected the Witch to notice the gesture. "Now then, shall we begin?"

 

Vanitas commanded Sora's body to approach the edge of the panel, taking off the ring that Sora had received from Emiya and tossing it into the sea of despair. Turning around, back facing away from the panel, Vanitas spared not a second longer thinking before allowing Sora to fall down. He looked up, watching as he fell faster and faster, awaiting for LERNA's dark waters to take him. Troys looked onward at this display, but did not act, as they could see that their master was about to gain a new Familiar. Finally, Sora landed in the ocean, sinking into the depths below.

 

 

Within Sora's heart, Vanitas could see it begin to rain, the droplets growing thicker and thicker as streams of black water began to flow in. The water danced around Vanitas, spiraling downward as the inner world was being flooded. Waves crashed against the remnants of the Station of Awakening, while numbers of the Flood breed of Unversed began to crawl out of the water, their bodies pitch-black, and their eyes a bright red. The Trinity Armor and Iron Imprisoner allowed themselves to be swallowed up by the torrents, but Sora wasn't willing to give up. He threw his Keyblade against the waters, kicking his feet against the Keyblade as he rode along the waters, the aura of the Sky Climber protecting him from the Unversed that would dare attack him. Ven called out to him, "Sora, help!", but Sora could not. All that mattered now was destroying Vanitas once and for all.

 

When Sora was close to Vanitas, he turned the Keyblade upward, taking it back in his hand once again as he jumped into the air, looking down at Vanitas. "You'll never win!"

 

Vanitas and Sora swung their Keyblades simultaneously, and Sora now stood behind Vanitas, certain that he delivered the final blow. However, Vanitas' laughter proved otherwise. "Sorry, Sora, but it looks like I already have."

 

Sora held his hand to his chest, and when he took it away, he could see that his blood was stained with the waters of despair. Vanitas was right, he had lost. No, there was still a way for him to hope. That much he could still believe. "The Counter Corps is strong. I know Emiya can lead them all to victory."

 

"Lead who? That emotional wreck from the Divine your Keyblade so foolishly chose to choose as your successor? His pet dog? That other Keyblade Master who could barely control his Keyblade back in the Desert Seth? Ed? Eria? Tell me something, Sora, how many of your allies have you lost every time Emiya leads your little Corps somewhere? Emiya is a failure, plain and simple. Not only as a leader, but as a protector. Just. Like. You."

 

Sora shook his head in disbelief. "Kairi… Ven… All of you…I'm sorry."

 

Vanitas held his Keyblade above Sora, relishing in Sora's regret. "At least, you see what I've been wanting you to show you. Oh, but don't worry. I'll make sure you see them soon." Vanitas impaled Sora with his Keyblade, the Keyblade Master screaming as he felt his life slowly slipping away. Sora's body shined in a golden aura before shattering completely into particles of light. Vanitas watched as the light flew away until it was out of his sight. "Now then, it's showtime!" Vanitas commanded the dark waters to swirl around him until they enveloped him completely, just as Sora's body had been submerged by the water. With Sora destroyed and Ventus lost to the sea of despair, there was no one left to stop him from taking complete control of Sora. The hearts of Sora and Ventus both belonged to Vanitas.

 

 

Ripples formed along the water's surface within as LERNA gained one more Familiar. A figure shot out from the ocean, making himself known throughout the Barrier. The Familiar had a very faint resemblance to Sora, but this could hardly be hard the same being. His skin and his suit were a dark blue, while his hair was completely white. White cloth flowed from his waist to his heels, while his right arm was adorned with many gears, his hand covered by a steel glove, with his clawed fingers black with red lines running along them, and on the back of his hand was a blue eye with a cat-like pupils. In his left hand, he held a sword made of black flames, and his chest was marked with the outline of two serpents eating other's tails, arranged to resemble an infinity sign. However, it was the Familiar's face that personified this creature completely. His eyes were completely blank and featureless, but were glowing bright red. His lips were sewn like a scarecrow's, but his smile was wide, showing his teeth.

 

Finally in control of his own body, the Familiar spoke, his voice echoing throughout the Barrier. "Sorry. for taking so long, LERNA," he began, his voice sounding like five different people talking at once. "To all of you who would dare oppose the Witch of Infinite Possibilities, do not expect us to be so easily defeated like Thermopylae or Titanomachia. The Keyblade Master you knew as Sora is dead. You may call us… Xansvita. You who lack despair shall soon be without life as well. Of course, the only question is, where do we start?"

 

Holding up his right hand, the broken remains of countless Troys began to float in the air from, flying towards Xansvita. The remnants began to grow closer together, and as Xansvita extended his control over them, he began to understand the many souls that once lingered within him. However, there was one of particular interest that stood out to him. It was the lost soul of the creature last known as Feraligatr, who was allied with a couple of the creatures that Sora once knew. Perhaps that could be of some use.

 

Xansvita began to construct a Troy that had the body of an crocodile, but the wings and strength of a dragon. It was only a skeleton, but Xansvita embodied the concept of "materialization". Though this Troy was made from many other Troys, Xansvita could transform it into an Unversed, giving the Troy muscles, skin, and most important of all, power. Xansvita's Unversed Troy, the Feral Bahamut, now resembled a more demonic version of Feraligatr. His body had turned the same shade of dark blue as Xansvita, and the scales on his arms grew to form spikes. The Feral Bahamut flapped its crimson wings as Xansvita found a nearby panel from which to command his creation. He surveyed all the people that he and LERNA were fighting, and on a whim, he decided who to send the Feral Bahamut after. He pointed at the Lombax known as Alister Azimuth, and the Feral Bahamut understood what its master wanted, immediately charging toward the Lombax.

[Dad]

Mr. Zurkon, with Ratchet and Clank

 

One minute Mr. Zurkon was inside the Duel Hog, and the next moment he was witnessing the puny robot become a giant version of himself.  "Mr. Zurkon is in wonder at puny giant robot.  Mr. Zurkon will help!" he said turning some gears on his back.  Mr. Zurkon, while arrogant, was very intelligent.  He'd managed to set overclock settings for himself that would assist in time of need.  But these settings were different from a standard overclocking.  Mr. Zurkon's chest opened and flattened forming shark hooks and sockets.  He became a living usb and flew up high to attach himself to Clank's neck.  If successful, Clank's power would more than double and allow them to overwhelm whatever foe they would face.  

 

But in his haste, Mr. Zurkon did not notice the incoming flare rockets, and on his way to fuse with Clank, he was blinded, and plummeted towards the ground.  Whoever he came into contact with would absorb his strength and become a monster in the process.

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Jeanne (w/Jecht) (Lucario has run off to aid Flygon)

---

"Dammit...!" Jeanne gasped out as she choked on the vapor despair.  "That f*cking Witch...!"
 
"Hey, don't fade out on me, now!" Jecht coughed, trying to keep Jeanne steady.  "You still have your goal, don't ya?!"
 
"Why *cough!* do you care so much...?"
 
"If I'm gonna be fighting for my dream, I'd rather have others to compete against!" Jecht replied.
 
"Oh, come off it," Jeanne wheezed out, trying to shove Jecht away.  "You're just *cough-cough* making up an excuse here...."
 
"And if I am?" Jecht retorted.  "Okay, sure, that's just the competitive side of me talking, but in truth... I guess I've just kinda... sorta had you grow on me a bit...."
 
All Jeanne could do was cough at this statement.  She remained silent for a few seconds before a thought occurred to her.  "Wait, why aren't you *cough* being affected by this miasma...?"
 
"Y' think a little despair in the air is gonna break this spirit of mine?" Jecht answered proudly.  Jeanne could not help but to give a soft, wheezing laugh at this.
 
"Such machismo," she said, shaking her head.  "But *cough* I suppose you have a lot to be proud of, being the *cough* embodiment of Sin and whatnot....  As for me... the powers granted to me by Inferno, by Madama Styx... they are grand, that is true, but *cough-cough* ... in the end... I'm still just a human...."  Jeanne weakly held her head up high.  "If I can't save Cereza... ... then... what good am I...?" she uttered aloud, her eyes welling up with tears of regret.
 
"Hey, c'mon, y' can't go on speakin' like that," Jecht said, trying to be encouraging.  "I mean, how can you save her, with you acting like this?  C'mon, Jeanne, ya hafta fight this!"
 
"I wish I could...," Jeanne wheezed out.  "... but... even if I cannot, there's... always the others."  Even with her despair getting the better of her, that one thought gave a bit of strength to her hope.  "Alex... Eria... Sarah... if they and the others can pull through this, they can save Cereza... save her, and undo all that's been done to our worlds...."
 
Jecht could see that Jeanne had given up hope of saving her friend herself, but he could still see some bit of hope left in her.  "So... what do you plan on doing, if you know this is your last round--MMPH?!"
 
Jecht was taken aback by Jeanne's sudden show of affection, her arms wrapped around his neck as his lips interlocked with hers for a good minute and a half and... did she sneak a bit of tongue in there?  Jecht could barely register what was happening, and so merely let Jeanne go through until she released him.  "Wh-what was...?"
 
"Consider it my last meal," Jeanne replied with a small smile as she backed away from Jecht.  "Sorry we won't have more time to get to know each other...."  With that, Jeanne closed her eyes, trying to communicate with her Infernal Demon.  "Styx... I don't have much time left...."
 
"You do realize," Madama Styx replied, "that if you are to go through with this...."
 
"I know...," Jeanne replied as she slipped off her ring, "... but if we don't do this, the others won't be able to make it out, and... ... ... ... well, I've just grown tired of this so-called Witch!"
 
"... then... it has been an honor to have worked with you."
 
"Same here, Styx. Same here...."  Jeanne held her ring to her lips, kissing it softly.  "I'm so sorry... Cereza...."  With that whisper, Jeanne tossed her ring into the air, took aim with her handgun... and fired.  Once the bullet had shattered the ring completely, there was only one more thing left for Jeanne to do....
 
"... UMBRAN NON-STOP CLIMAX!!"
 
"Blood and Darkness"

A massive surge of energy erupted from Jeanne as the Umbra Witch allowed the Infernal Demon Madama Styx to assume full control of her body, causing many a Troy to be blown away and into the sea below.  A vibrant pink aura surrounded Jeanne's body as she began to hover upward, stopping at about level with LERNA.
 
Jecht looked on at this sudden display of power, momentarily struck with awe... until he remembered that he, too, had a greater power of his own.  "Hmph... sorry, Jeanne," Jecht uttered with a slight smirk as a dark red aura surged around him as well, "but nobody gets to upstage... THE GREAT JECHT-SAMA!!!"  Unleashing his full power as the Final Aeon, Jecht's form grew to an enormous size, becoming far more monstrous in turn.  "Now, how's about I show you how it's done?"
 
Madama Styx, through Jeanne's body, merely scoffed.  "You are welcome to try," Styx replied as she and Jecht began there assault on LERNA.
 

---

Alister Azimuth

---

 
Alister decided to put his speech toward LERNA on hold for the moment as Xansvita sent forth a Troy--or was it a Troy?  It looked far more dark and... 3-dimensional--his way.  At that moment, time slowed down around him, giving Alister a moment to contemplate his course of action.  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an automaton that was falling from the sky in the distance ("Clank?  No, wait, it's... Zurkon?!").
 

"Have you decided what to do, then?  I can lend you a hand...."

 

"As much as I'd hate to say this, Kaden... I shouldn't rely on you for this."

 

"Don't worry, it's just a small gift.  I insist."

 
As if on cue, time returned to its normal pace.  Acting quickly, Alister threw his OmniWrench out, seemingly as if to hit the Pawn charging at him, but then it swerved around and flew upward, missing the minion completely and heading straight for Mr. Zurkon, grabbing the android out of the air.  The instant that the OmniWrench and Mr. Zurkon made contact, a transformation occurred; Mr. Zurkon started to merge with the Praetorian OmniWrench, giving off a bright azure-colored energy as the OmniWrench went from its rusted look to a more polished, navy-colored hue.
 
Utilizing the possible distraction caused by the "near-miss", Alister then drew back his left arm, a grenade grasped in his hand, prepared to toss it at the Pawn.  In the split-second before the pitch, however, Alister could feel a slight chill on his left hand as a construct suddenly form around it, forming into a glove with a wrist-mounted cryo-energy generator.  At the same time, the grenade in his hand went from having a yellow glow to a blue one.  As the grenade was thrown and made contact with the Pawn, it erupted, encasing the creature in a sheet of ice, holding it in place, long enough for the OmniWrench to return to Alister.
 
"What...?" Alister uttered, taking a moment to look over his OmniWrench's new look.  "Well, this is... unexpected."
 
"You are telling Mr. Zurkon!" Mr. Zurkon's voice replied from within the OmniWrench, causing Alister to almost drop the weapon in surprise.
 
"Wha--but--! How did this even happen?!"
 
"I, Mr. Zurkon, have merged with your weapon," replied the synthenoid, "although your weapon was not Mr. Zurkon's intended target.  Mr. Zurkon had meant to merge with the puny little robot Clank in order to grant him more power.  However, Mr. Zurkon feels some shame for not forseeing the flares that were fired; Mr. Zurkon was momentarily blinded as Mr. Zurkon attempted the merge, and so Mr. Zurkon, with his hover function disabled, could only plummet toward the ground.  Had you not caught me, traitorous lombax," Mr. Zurkon added, the blue highlights of the OmniWrench turning red momentarily as Mr. Zurkon's voice grew dark as it spoke those two words, "Mr. Zurkon's power would have transferred to just about anything Mr. Zurkon would have come in contact with."
 
"I see--wait, "traitorous"?!" Alister snapped, staring one end of his OmniWrench in the "eye".  "The hell are you talking about, speaking like you know anything--!"
 
"Mr. Zurkon was there, do you not remember?" Mr. Zurkon's voice chimed, the wrench-head making a "playful" snap at Alister's face.  "Mr. Zurkon fought alongside the little fuzzy one as he battled you within the Great Clock.  What?  You thought Mr. Zurkon would not remember how you tried to destroy our Universe, just to fix your mistake?"  Mr. Zurkon gleefully watched as Alister struggle to make a counter-argument.  "Mr. Zurkon doesn't understand how one can make such mistakes; Mr. Zurkon never makes mistakes."
 
Alister blinked at this.  "Really?  Then what do you call your little fiasco with the flare-lights?"
 
"Minor setback."
 
"That doesn't sound like something a synthenoid created to destroy is supposed to say, now is it?"
 
"Mr. Zurkon--!" the Zurko-Wrench tried to retort, only to stop himself, seeing as Alister had a point.  Not that he'd be ready to admit as such.  "... keep quiet before Mr. Zurkon feels the need to kill you again."
 
"Oh, like you're in any position to talk.  Tell you what," Alister said with a slight smirk: "you can help me kill this creature in front of us--as soon as it de-frosts, of course--and just about anything else that gets in our way.  Sound like a deal?"
 
The Zurkon-Wrench was quiet for a few seconds (almost uncomfortably so), as if mulling over Alister's proposal.  After that brief moment, the energy glyph serving as Mr. Zurkon's eye gleefully shone green.  "As long as Mr. Zurkon gets to kill, you can use me however you wish, err... General."
 
"Good," Alister nodded, "'cuz here it comes!"  On cue, the Unversed finally broke free of its icy prison and returned to charging after Alister.  The General pointed one end of his Omni-Wrench at the creature, which suddenly transformed into the barrel of Mr. Zurkon's blaster, charging up an energy blast.  Just as the Unversed was a mere yard away, Alister released the charge, striking the Unversed head-on with a massive jetstream of energy, which traveled all the way to the opposite end of the barrier, finally exploding as it hit the end.

[Reinforce]

Darcy

Darcy just shrugged at Alister's statement, before flying further up as he let go of her, watching as her fireball continued on it's path towards LERNA. When someone underneath her shouted to give the orb up though, then she spoke back, ignoring the despair that was growing around them. "Seriously, you expect me to just hand over the artefact because you asked. No, I'm not going to give it away now that I've finally managed to obtain it myself." That said, after a quick glance behind her to make sure there wasn't anyone, she flew back, moving away from the main fight while keeping an eye on what was happening and especially on the girl chasing after her.

 

Ayame

As her voidling charged at LERNA, her command still forcing it to try and kill her, it was easily erased by a burst of energy. Even worse, the entity then reached into her mind to try and copy her powers, and copied them all, both those she currently had access to and those she didn't. Then the entity just had to go and apply her reality marble to itself, turning the entity into what appeared to be a sort of temporal distortion. After realising that her corrupted lightning wouldn't do much to him, the remnants withdrew the corruption from the lightning before throwing bolts of lightning at the entity, using Ayame's staff to help direct them out at the distortion that was LERNA's current form.

[Phantom Roxas]

ADR-11 & Eria

 

Arthur was shocked as Obelisk managed to appear suddenly, punching Titanomachia with enough strength to send the Familiar flying, but the force of the attack was going to knock Arthur back as well. He stabbed his Keyblade into the platform, holding tight until the ferocity in the air had subsided.

 

"The fool is dead," Obelisk said, sensing Titanomachia's life come to a miserable end. The Egyptian God look down at his hand, relishing in his power. "A pity he could not give Me more of a challenge."

 

"Excuse me," Eria said. "I would like to speak with my friends, please."

 

Obelisk glared at Eria, annoyed that this human would dare to speak to him so casually. "I suppose you may."

 

Obelisk knelt down, allowing Eria to jump off his shoulders, reinforcing the platform the group was standing on. She ran to Arthur, wrapping her arms around him, much to Arthur's embarrassment. Feeling equally embarrassed, Eria quickly let go of him, coughing nonchalantly. Suddenly, Arthur's Drive deactivated, restoring his physical appearance back to normal while MirageGaogamon appeared in the air, falling down before being caught by Obelisk. Arthur looked up and down at Eria's new look, causing the Water Charmer to blush, but when Arthur began to focus on her rabbit ears, he began to speak, only for Eria to say, "Not. One. Word." However, Eria took notice of Frankram, the very man who gave her the bunny ears in the first place. She formed a ball of water in her hands, only for Arthur to raise his arm to stop her.

 

It was then that ADR-11 had begun to exert its influence again, forcing Arthur to turn around and approached the people assembled in the group. "Alright, people, that's one Familiar down. Now we just need to-" Suddenly, he stopped, the despair vapors having reached the group, but ADR-11 was taking precautions so that Arthur would be overwhelmed by it, and it commanded ADR-12 to do the same.

 

MirageGaogamon stirred from unconsciousness, but neither of the Agents would allow their hosts to become victims of LERNA. MirageGaogamon jumped away from Obelisk, but stood beside the platform, saying nothing while waiting for ADR-11 and Arthur to give orders. However, ADR-12 could see that BlackWarGreymon was using the last of his strength to attack LERNA. While it denied the Agent the chance of personally deleting the Digimon, it still found some satisfaction in the knowledge of there being one less of the filthy creature.

 

Eria suddenly fell to her knees, the vapor affecting her as well, and she wouldn't try to manipulate anything from LERNA's world again. "What if killing that Familiar wasn't enough?" she began to ask. "Who says that we'll be able to defeat LERNA? I know Obelisk is powerful and all, but what does that say about us?"

 

Obelisk scoffed at Eria's words. "You humans are so pathetic." He looked back at Slifer and Ra, who were desperately fighting against the chains. With their divine power, the despair vapors had no effect on any of the Egyptian Gods. To them, it wasn't nearly as powerful as when LERNA submerged Sliferok with the full force of the ocean itself. "I will leave you all to wallow in your own pitiful existences. While you consider how you, Eria, were blessed with the right to summon Us, now is the time I help My brothers." With that, Obelisk charged towards LERNA, laughing at the Witch of Infinite Possibilities. "Two Gods may not have been enough to completely end you, but you shall see what happens when the three of us combine our might!"

 

Slifer and Ra roared, mustering the strength to finally break through LERNA's chains.

 

"Yes," Ra said. "Now, we fight together!"

 

"It ends here, Witch!" Slifer added.

 

Slifer wrapped around Obelisk's whole body, resting his head alongside Obelisk's right arm. Ra once more used his Phoenix Mode, perching himself on Obelisk's left arm. Divine flames wrapped around Slifer and Ra as Obelisk charged at LERNA, all three of the Egyptians shouting, "TITAN FIRESTORM!"

 

---

Xansvita

 

The Familiar scowled as the Lombax destroyed the Feral Bahamut. However, with the Unversed destroyed, its body evaporated into dark smoke, which was drawn into Xansvita's body. Afterwards, he summoned two more Unversed from within him, the first being the Iron Imprisoner, with the second being the Trinity Armor. He sent the Iron Imprisoner after Alister, but for the Trinity Armor, he had other plans. There was a lone paladin who had very fortunately managed to escape conflict with the Familiars and even LERNA. Clearly, that needed to change. However, LERNA was under attack, and protecting her was far more important than acting the paladin, so he sent the Trinity Armor to deal with him instead, the silver Unversed charging across the Barrier towards him.

 

Becoming one with the shadows of the Barrier, Xansvita appeared beyond Obelisk, summoning countless Buckle Bruisers between the Titan Firestorm and LERNA, as well as dozens of Chrono Twisters along the length of the gods, but many of them were incinerated by the flames surrounding the attack. Ra flew away from Obelisk, leaving the King of Soldiers and Slifer to focus on the ever-growing of Buckle Bruisers. However, for every Unversed that was destroyed, enough power returned to Xansvita that allowed him to summon more to take their place, but Obelisk was persistent. He and Slifer continued to destroy waves of Unversed in their pursuit of LERNA, while Xansvita had to deal with fighting Ra on his own. The Familiar teleported above Ra, firing a Dark Blizzaga spell from his hands, but Ra's flames melted them instantly. "Well then, this should be fun," he said with a smile, interested by the prospect of a challenge.

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Sayer

---

 

While Xansvita was busy making his little pets to fend off the Egyptian Gods, the Familiar was unaware of the blast of dark energy firing in their direction, but when they did, the attack had already collided with them, possibly throwing them off-balance.  The source of the attack was in the form of a large, demonic figure, roughly a third of the size of Obelisk but still imposing all the same.  Adorned in gold bracers and chains, the entity known as Garlandolf, King of Destruction began to absorb the very despair in the air around Alexander's area, charging up for another, stronger, attack.

 

"Well, isn't this just fortuitous," Sayer remarked as he watched his servant go to work.  "I was just about disappointed when that abomination formerly known as the Renegade Joker bit the dust, but now here you stand, O Grand Keyblade Master, now nothing more than a mere puppet for a Witch who's not long for this world.  My, how the mighty have fallen."  As he spoke, Sayer drew a card from his Deck, revealing the card known as "The Mark of Orichalcos" and tossing it into the air, where its energies were absorbed into Garlandolf's being, granting him more strength as the Orichalcos Seal appeared on the King of Destruction's forehead.  "At least now, I get to take my frustrations I had with Titanomachia... and direct them all to you."

 

As Sayer had Garlandolf continue to absorb the miasma, the Duel Monsters that were active by the Duelhog watched on.

 

"But... why is he doing this?" Umbris remarked, thoroughly confused.  "How can Sayer even have Garlandolf utilize the despair in this place--?"

 

"The f*ck is your deal, you g*ddamned bastard?!!" Russell roared out, angrily glaring at Sayer, the very man who killed his best friend and caused the destruction of their world.  "How can you act all high and mighty, after all you've done?!!"  Before Umbris could stop him, Russell fired off his pistol in Sayer's direction, only for his bullet to be blocked off by a R.O.D..

 

"... I really don't have the time to waste on you, Russell Oxford," Sayer spoke in a stern voice.  "I understand that you wish to take out your own frustrations against me, but I could really not give a $#!+ if you tried, especially right now.  Just know these two things: One, that by having Garlandolf absorbing the despair around you all that I am actually keeping you from falling to it.  We certainly do not need anymore Familiars for this Witch to use against us.  And Two, that when the time comes, Mr. Oxford, that you and anyone else who has ever had the misfortune of crossing paths with me shall have their chance to exact their revenge.  But I assure you, that time is not now, especially since I cannot expend the time or energy to deal with such insignificant specks like you while this Witch and her Familiars are of a much greater priority.  Is that understood, Mr. Oxford...?" Sayer concluded with a tone of finality.

 

Clutching his firearm so tightly that the grip was actually cracking, Russell could barely contain his rage.  He wished so strongly to destroy Sayer, to avenge Gabriel and his other friends and family lost back in his world... ... but all he could do now was stand down, dropping down onto a knee and letting his anger give way to tears, furiously crying out that he couldn't do anything more....

 

"... good," Sayer replied curtly as he returned his attention to Xansvita.  "Now then, let's see if you can stand up to this next attack.  Garlandolf, now!  Exodus Destruction!"

 

On his command, Garlandolf fired another blast, this time in the form of a laser cannon, zeroing in on Xansvita.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

LERNA's Barrier:

"NOW!!!"
Foster pulled the secondary trigger of the powered-up cannon, and, between the prongs, energy crackled and formed a small sphere of pure power, a mess of quantum strings designed to utterly obliterate anything it touches. He took aim at the massive mass of darkness, and squeezed the primary trigger, the DNA lock in this weapon responding to his commands and sending a graviton pulse through the weapon, which hurtled the sphere at its quarry. As the ball of light shot through the air, it sucked up the air in its wake, as it broke down the particles in front of it into their raw components. If successful, and if LERNA were actually made out of something with matter that could be disrupted, the Little Doctor would begin quite an invasive procedure as it tore the mighty Witch apart, molecular bond by molecular bond.
 
On Alister's command, red energy surged from Thermopylae's right arm, a glowing sigil resembling wings cracking the porcelain shell to reveal naked skin. These cracks continued up her arm and across part of her chest to connect with the fractures on her face. A few powerful tugs on the fragmented sections the cracks just made might start to pop this lobster of a doll open, but for now, what used to be Itsu, both of her components, surged with energy. Likewise, a glowing red mark of the same design appeared on Yuki's right arm. The girl started to glow, magical symbols etching themselves into the air as Winged Kuriboh and Dark Magicial Girl joined her.
"Clustering wishes will become the ultimate beacon of hope!" She started to float into the air as her entire body was bathed in light, shining brightly like a sun.
"Become a light for a better tomorrow to emerge from!" A single green ring formed around her as Dark Magician Girl and Winged Kuriboh joined the incredible light.
"SYNCHRO SUMMON!!!"
"VANQUISH ALL FEAR!!!"
"SHINING YUKI!!!"
At that moment, the Barrier was consumed in awe-inspiring radiance, a new star forming in the center of it all.

[Kōsuke Ueki]

I don't even know what's going on anymore, thought the extremely confused Tsunugai. One thing after another, the attempts of defeating LERNA has only led to her being stronger, what with her ability to copy another person's ability, one at a time. And along with that, Tsunugai was very much aware of what happened to Arthur and MirageGaogamon, no thanks to Jerii. But he'll confront that issue in time, as he lifted the index and middle fingers of his right hand. A barrier of light appeared before the Trinity Armor could get close. "I don't think so." he said with confidence.

 

Without a second thought, Tsunugai jumped towards the Trinity Armor and unleashed a wave of light from his sword, its power enhanced by the new hope given to him by someone he knew nothing about. Regardless, before the attack would connect, Tsunugai jumped over the Trinity Armor and prepared to clash swords with Xansvita, until he realized something. He looks a lot like Sora. But that means...what he has become came from a part of Sora who fed on despair, and it took over. Then he'll receive no mercy from Tsunugai Tamashī. "Whoever you are now means nothing. Your existence has persisted long enough, and your fate is sealed!"

[Phantom Roxas]

Xansvita sighed, merging into the shadows as Garlandolf attacked, the laser attack missing completely.

 

Ra flew towards Garlandolf and Sayer, recognizing the duelist as having called forth the presence of another Duel Spirit. More importantly, there was a power they wielded that Ra knew all too well. "How did you come to wield the power of the Seal of Oricalchos?" Turning back, he could see that Xansvita had emerged from the shadows, only for someone else to charge forward at the Familiar. "I will deal with you later," he told Sayer. He dove towards Xansvita, warning Tsunugai, "RUN, HUMAN!"

 

Noticing the Egyptian God approaching, Xansvita created a Corridor of Darkness, jumping through it as he entered his own pocket dimension within the Barrier. However, Ra was able to enter the Corridor as well, and if Tsunugai was fast enough, he could go as well, but to prevent Tsunugai from entering as well, the Trinity Armor fired a laser at the paladin.

[Kōsuke Ueki]

Xansvita escaped before he could attack. "Dammit!" yelled Tsunugai before seeing the Trinity Armor shooting a laser at him. He thrusted forward his shield and reflected the laser back onto the animate armor. "Paladins are designed to destroy abominations like you! You have no chance!" He ran forward, jumping from platform to platform, until he was at the correct height to destroy a limb. Combining a lightning spell with the divine energy of his spiritual blade, he did just that, attempting to destroy the left leg. Landing on a platform behind the Trinity Armor, he turned his attention to where Xansvita was. But what did shock him was the impossibly large, but supposedly divine dragon that seemed to have been able to track down Xansvita. Hopefully, as time passes, the armor will be finished with, and then his true challenge will commence.

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Nero

 

"Pardon me!" Nero said, using Tsunugai's armored shoulder to jump into the air and slice downward at the Trinity Armor. However, Nero was then suddenly cutting across the Armor's waist. This was do to a new ability he now had access too known as Shadow Strife. With this ability one could conduct two strikes so quickly it would appear as if they were striking simultaneously; using the shadows as a link for transportation. Nero jumped back onto another panel so that the Trinity Armor would now be considered 'surrounded'. "Sorry to cut in." Nero said, knowing Xansvita was out of his reach for now, his mind was a tornado of thoughts as he pondered what he would actually do when faced with Xansvita.

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Lucario

---

Utilizing Extreme Speed, Lucario managed to reach the frozen Flygon, catching it before it could fall off of the platform and into the sea of despair below.

"Flygon, hang on! Please!!" Lucario pleaded as he placed a hand against the cold surface of the ice, sensing that Flygon's aura was slowly fading away. If Lucario didn't act soon, Flygon would....

"NO!! You can't die!!" Lucario's palm emitted a pulse of energy, creating a small crack in the surface of the ice block. Lucario continued to work vigorously, using Force Palm to chip away at Flygon's icy prison, being careful not to shatter his poor friend in the process. "I can't lose you, too," Lucario whimpered, thinking back to what had happened to his friends. "Salamence... Espeon... Feraligatr... ... Silver... ... please, Flygon, DON'T LEAVE ME!!!" With his sixteenth use of Force Palm, the ice was finally shattered completely, allowing Lucario to cradle Flygon's limp, unconscious body. The dragon's aura was faint, but it still remained. That, alone, made Lucario happy.

"... I'm sorry... that I couldn't get to you sooner," Lucario said quietly, tears streaming down his face as he looked down at Flygon. "Just hang on a little longer... I'll get you out of here...." Straddling Flygon across his shoulders, Lucario made his way toward the Duelhog, all while trying his best to keep the miasmic despair from affecting himself or Flygon....

---

Sayer

---

Sayer sighed out in disappointment when Xansvita evaded Garlandolf's attack. "Half-wit," Sayer hissed at Garlandolf, "can't you do anything right? ... no matter, I can still salvage this minor setback." Calling up about eight more R.O.D.s, Sayer sent the eyeballs in through the Corridor of Darkness, knowing that, one way or another, he may still have his chance to strike the fallen Keyblade Wielder.

"So, why are you doing this?" Ratchet asked Sayer from atop Clank.

Sayer gave Ratchet a nonchalant smirk. "Merely for sport and practice, little Lombax," he replied. "If I don't, I may just end up becoming rusty for when I have to put in some serious effort. As for why it appeares that I am helping you and Alexander here, well... it's nothing more than collateral assistance, if you will. If my actions are indeed beneficial to you, it is either because it benefits me, as well, or...," he gave a slight chuckle as he shrugged, "it may just be by complete accident." He then added, with a faux-sympathetic tone in his voice, "How's your cough, by the way?"

---

Alister Azimuth

---

Alister, as well as Mr. Zurkon who now resided inside the Praetorian OmniWrench, had no time to celebrate his quick victory over the Feral Bahamut as yet another creature approached, this time appearing as a bound figure, its upper torso bound in chains while its lower half was contained in a gibbet.

"This one doesn't look like much of a challenge," Mr Zurkon spoke, eyeing the Iron Imprisoner.

"Somehow...," Alister muttered as he got into his combat stance, "... I wouldn't be so sure of that."

As soon as this was said, the Unversed suddenly broke through its own restrains in a blast of whitish-blue flame, also revealing a flaming warhammer grasped in its hands.  "YOU WERE SAYING, ZURKON?!" Alister shouted as he prepared for an attack.  The Iron Imprisoner, however, suddenly vanished after its grand display, confusing both Azimuth and Zurkon. "Wait, where did it...?" "Ha! The stupid alien obviously feared what Mr. Zurkon is capable of!"

Scanning the area around him, Alister tried to pick up on where the Unversed may have gone, all while ignoring Mr. Zurkon's incessant chatter and self-inflating ego. Then, he felt it. A small, barely detectable vibration coming from beneath his feet. "There!" Reflexively, Alister jumped away from where he was standing, just as the Unversed had suddenly shot out from beneath where he stood seconds before, shattering the platform in the process. "Ah, $#!+!" Alister cursed out as he landed on another platform. Gathering up as much willpower as possible, Alister called forth more platforms from around the barrier, piecing them together into a larger fighting area. Finished just in time, too, as the Iron Imprisoner called forth broken fragments from the previous platform, as well as bits and pieces of defeated Troys, before hurling these fragments at Alister. "Still think it's defenseless?!" Alister growled at Mr. Zurkon as he spun the OmniWrench before him, deflecting the shrapnel before they could reach him.

"Please! Mr. Zurkon can do that while in Sleep Mode!"

"... boy, do I feel sorry for Ratchet, having to deal with you on a daily basis," Alister muttered as he jumped out of the way, using his Hover boots to try and circle around the Unversed. However, the Imprisoner pulled off yet another surprising feat of agility as it proceeded to swing itself around, hurtling itself toward the General while cloaked in whitish-blue flames. This time it managed to a hit in, knocking Alister aside with its hammer and torching him slightly. "Gah! Dammit," Azimuth cursed again, trying to shake off the small flames while keeping an eye out for the Imprisoner, who seemed to have vanished again. "Hmph! Going for that same trick again?" Alister scoffed as he hopped into the air this time, aiming one end of the Zurkon-Wrench at the spot where he believed the Imprisoner to pop out, intent on blasting it.

Instead, what popped out was not the Unversed, but a circular, iron-barred cage, which closed in around the General. Once more, Alister cursed his luck as he saw the Unversed reappear, charging in for another assault.
 
"General!" Mr. Zurkon called out, signalling that the Zurkon-Wrench had still charged up an attack.  Taking the risk, Alister unleashed the charge from inside the cage, just as the Iron Imprisoner was a mere few feet away.  The resulting explosion blasted both fighters away, and by now, Alister was really feeling the damage.

[Kōsuke Ueki]

Tsunugai watched as the one known as Nero appear to strike the Armor. He sighed, but any help is better than no help at all. "Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have been able to take it down alone anyway, so if you can help, by all means." But then he remembered something. He actually saw Matthew disappear, and Nero was the last person he saw with him. So where is he? That's a good question. But if he shows up to support, then that's fine. The more the merrier. But time to focus on the problem ahead. Jumping on more platforms, Tsunugai rinsed and repeated to attempt to destroy the Trinity Armor's right leg. Destroy the limbs first, then focus on the body and head first. Plus, he has something planned which might be risky if not done correctly. But whatever happens will happen, and he can't change it.

[Phantom Roxas]

Xansvita appeared in a bright blue void, rolling along a "surface", only for Ra to dive towards him. Xansvita called forth a Dark Reflegun, calling forth a dark, transparent barrier around him. Ra hit the barrier, the flames flowing past Xansvita until Ra appeared in its normal form behind him, but hitting him with enough strength to destroy the shield, lighting the Familiar on fire.

 

"Well then… you're pretty strong," Xansvita said between coughs. "However, you can't kill us."

 

"And why is that?" Ra demanded.

 

Xansvita laughed as a small pool of darkness appeared beneath his feet. "Oh, we're sure that a god of 'Your' status can figure that out for yourself."

 

Ra's eyes widened as he realized what Xansvita was doing. He charged the Familiar once again, but as he did, Xansvita sank into the ground, becoming one with his shadow, which moved just as Ra came close, going to where Ra just was. By the time Ra had turned, Xansvita leapt from the shadow, swinging his black sword against the R.O.D. that followed them before entering a floating Corridor, but when Ra flew after him, the Corridor closed, leaving the Egyptian God with no way out. Outraged by this trick, the Winged Dragon let out a mighty roar, but alas, there was no one to hear him. Looking down, Ra snarled, thinking only of what must be going on in the battle with LERNA. "Slifer… Obelisk… it is up to you now. Lead the Water Charmer to victory."

 

 

Xansvita returned to LERNA's Barrier, watching as his two Unversed were still locked in combat with their own opponents. Tsunugai had managed to destroy the Trinity Armor's right leg, but rather than simply returning to Xansvita, the Familiar commanded the dark energies that made up the limb to reform as a Chrono Twister. A dark ball appeared above the Unversed's head, preparing a Stop attack, and while it was occupied, the Trinity Armor separated itself, with the lower half charging at Tsunugai with the one leg it had left, while also unfolding another leg in the middle of its body in order to support itself. The arms combined to form a large claw, which began to fly in the way by rotating its claw, dropping miniature flare bombs on Tsunugai. The head, meanwhile, fired a laser beam directly at Tsunugai.

 

With the paladin as the primary focus of the armors' attacks, Xansvita took note of the other Keyblade wielder than Sora had met. As such, Xansvita couldn't resist dealing with him personally. Holding his right arm up, he cast a Dark Thundaga spell, causing blue bolts to rain down around Nero.

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Sayer

---

Unbeknownst to Xansvita, the R.O.D. that was cut down was not the only one that had snuck into the Betwixt and Between; seven more R.O.D.s suddenly appeared around Ra, observing him.  Sayer's chuckling alerted Ra to the R.O.D.s' presence.

 

"How amusing, that even an Egyptian God could fall for such a simple trick," Sayer's voice rang through, the R.O.D.s acting as a P.A. system.  "And meanwhile, your sworn brethren are left to fend for themselves.  Not saying that they can't handle themselves, of course, Your Eminence," Sayer added, attempting to sound respectful, "but with all due respect, they're just going to have a much harder time without your help.  That is where I come in.

 

"But first: You had asked me before how I came to possess the power of the Seal of Orichalcos, correct?" Sayer asked.  "Well, the answer is fairly simple: I was one of the first individuals to have been "graced" by the power of the Great Leviathan's "gift" of Orichalcum.  Indeed, I have existed since the fall of Atlantis, much like His Majesty, Dartz.  That means I'm actually a lot older than you," Sayer added with a slight giggle.

---

Duelhog

---

"... what is he doing?" Marzell grunted out, a confused look on his face as he looked over at Sayer, who seemed to be deep in thought, mumbling to himself.

 

"Good question," Ratchet replied before turning his attention to Sayer.  "Hey, Sayer!  You all right?"

 

"... guh, one second... Yes, may I help you?" Sayer replied in a disgruntled tone.  "I'm trying to have a conversation here, Ratchet. Do you mind?"

 

"Uhhh...." *___*;

 

"Meh, it's best not to argue with his type," Marzell shrugged as Sayer ordered Garlandolf to shoot at the Unversed and Troys before returning to his conversation.  "You know these crazy types."

 

Umbris blinked at the half-orc for a few seconds.  "... you clearly haven't crossed paths with Sayer before, have you, Marzipan--?"  The Neo-Spacian was met with a half-orc fist to his face, barely flinching from the impact but still gaining a bloody nostril in the process.  "Okay, sorry," Umbris begrudgingly apologized, holding part of his cape to his bleeding nose.

 

Just then, Lucario had arrived at the Duelhog, the Flygon draped across his shoulders barely breathing.  "Someone, please... help me...," uttered the exhausted Lucario, placing Flygon onto the back of the Duelhog before collapsing alongside it.

---

Sayer (pt. 2)

---

"... my apologies, Your Eminence," Sayer's voice spoke once more from the R.O.D.s.  "Now, as to your current predicament:since you have been sealed off in this little pocket dimension, there's no way for you to escape on your own.  The only other way is for Xansvita to re-open the gateway that you came from.  However, I can supply a loophole," Sayer added, the irises of the R.O.D.s gleefully curving upward, "but only if you're willing to cooperate with me...."

---

Alister Azimuth (w/Zurkon-Wrench)

---

"Scanning adversary...," Mr. Zurkon spoke in a far more robotic tone as Alister gingerly got to his feet.  "Scanning... ... ... Scanning... ... ... Scanning... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Scan Complete!  Now applying counter-measures."  The Zurkon-Wrench began to change both of its ends, creating a flamethrower-esque apparatus inside each of the wrench-heads, lighting both ends on fire.

 

"What's fire have to do with this?" Alister asked.

 

"As mighty as this alien thinks it is," Mr. Zurkon replied, "it has an unexpected, but exploitable, weakness.  Mr. Zurkon would have no use in exploiting it, but you seem to need it, General Fuzzy--"

 

"--Azimuth!  Get that right, at least!"

 

"General Fuzzy Azimuth!" Mr. Zurkon tauntingly chimed (Alister: "Ugh, I give up...."). "Although this creature can produce flame, it, like some total hipster, is easily stunned by Fire-based attacks."

 

Letting Zurkon's information sink in, Alister couldn't help but to smirk as he glanced at the Iron Imprisoner, who was now madly swinging its hammer around, intent on pulverizing Azimuth into the past millennium.  Azimuth, however, was not going to sit around and wait for that to happen; spinning the Zurkon-Wrench a bit, he tossed his weapon at the Unversed, who instinctively parried the wrench away, sending it flying off.  True, Mr. Zurkon could simply return to Azimuth via auto-pilot, but by then the Unversed would have rushed down the disarmed Azimuth.

 

It would never get the chance.  The minor distraction allowed Azimuth to put his "Time Bending" ability to use.  How, you might ask?  Simple: a whole, dense "cloud" of Cryo-Mine grenades instantly appeared, surrounding the Iron Imprisoner completely.  One half-second later, they all deployed at once, imprisoning the Imprisoner in a prison of ice.

 

"Zurkon, NOW!!"  Alister commanded.

 

"Mr. Zurkon is going in for the kill!" The Zurkon-Wrench gleefully shouted as it finally came back, spinning at a high velocity, almost appearing as a wheel of flame.  The flaming wheel flew right through the Unversicle, shattering it into a glorious display of ice shards and diamond dust.

[Merci]

 

LERNA was charging towards the girl, in a new form that wholly embodied this realm of despair. Everything was culminating. Her victory at this point had become an absolute certainty, and there was nothing that could possibly change this fact. Despair would win. Despair would always win. That was why these emotional creatures were losing; because they held onto foolish concepts such as 'hope'. Why they even bothered to battle against her when they knew in their hearts what the result would end up becoming, she could not fathom.

 

"LERNA!" Lydia cried out suddenly, and though she was so tiny and insignificant, it was easy to hear her words. Nevertheless, the very peculiarity of her attempting to communicate with the Witch of Infinite Possibilities was amusing. Quite amusing. But not nearly enough to make her stop.

 

However, the massive hydra body did skid to a halt as a desperate plea ringed in what constituted as her mind; L E R N A, I beg for assistance! The bastard of a summoner girl brought forth a god, and a true god! I plead for power! Let me survive this attack, I cannot die yet! There is yet so much I have to do! The fool! As powerful as he was, he had engaged against an Egyptian God in battle without warning, and the only thing she'd been able to do for him in such short time was harden his core somewhat. This enabled him to survive Obelisk the Tormentor's divine fist, but not for long, as the majority of his core had been shattered by the blast, what was left of it covered in cracks deep within his essence.

 

Titanomachia collided against LERNA's neck - though that wasn't quite the right word, seeing as in her new form, she had become an embodied world - and quickly slid down from it before hitting a panel below, the darkness enshrouding his body having been broken, revealing a surprisingly young face. Though she'd seen who he was as he became her familiar, as one of her two remaining eyes looked down upon its pitiful figure, she couldn't help but feel nostalgic for some reason. A human emotion, one that she wasn't used to, yet something that had managed to retain itself through her transformation into a Witch.

 

Though this went by unnoticed, as the majority of the Witch of Infinite Possibility's being was filled with far more familiar feelings, such as annoyance and anger, since he had gone and let himself be killed when his true purpose was supposed to be to unlock the orb for her. He couldn't fulfill that, nor free Thermoyplae, nor even cripple Obelisk. How pathetic. How utterly, utterly pathetic.

 

Aware of this, the dying familiar spoke to her through telepathy. My great L E R N A… I… have failed… I cannot apologize enough… I… cannot even accomplish the one task you had asked of me… I am worthless… I am… sorry… Then what appeared to be tears flowed down from his face, which was unfathomable at first, since he wasn't supposed to have that function. I… Let me… be worthwhile… to you… Take my feeble strength… You must… survive… You must… You are the only thing… I have ever lived for… For giving me a purpose… in being… and living… Thank… you… The life of this entity was rapidly fading away, and nothing she could do could save him. With a core so heavily damaged, not even the vapors of despair could heal him.

 

Finally, in a last attempt to be of use to her, he started to dissolve what was left of the energy that composed his being in order to support the Witch. His entire existence began to unravel, what remained of his memories leaking out through the air, but before the last of him was gone, LERNA replied to his words;

YOU FOUND HOPE IN A MONSTER OF DESPAIR. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

Yet she would never hear what Titanomachia would've replied, as in the end, he dissolved into smoky wisps of light and of darkness, and as he did, she realized what this nostalgic feeling she felt was - it was despair. Not the sort of despair that was provided to other people, but the sort of despair that was experienced from within. Despite having held it, having supported it, and having loved it, she had never actually experienced despair since that moment a very long time ago, when the Incubator gave her news and she drowned herself into a dark sea. It had been so long since this Witch had a reason to truly experience despair. And it felt horrible.

 

By confiding his hope in her, he ended up giving her despair. Having shown the truth to him during his conversion, he should have known that this was to happen, since hope was a lie. Whenever someone hoped, it would be crushed by despair, and that was the way all existence worked. Yet, even after being shown this truth, he still had hope. For her. For a heartless, monstrous despair-embodying hydra, with a motive that no entity would ever succeed in reasoning with, as it involved drowning the entire multiverse in despair. What a ridiculous familiar.

 

"LERNA! Why are you trying to turn everything into Despair?!"

 

And Lydia was still yelling. Even while experiencing despair, as a magical girl, she was forcing herself to stay strong. How ridiculous. The Witch resumed to move forward, though at a slower pace this time, gradually accelerating. As she did, the entity Darcy sent a large sphere of the Dragon's Flame at her. The attack was left ignored due to its insignificance, but to her surprise, the purity of the essence that made up these flames penetrated through her 'world of despair' and managed to burn a little into the pitch-black shell, leaving a tiny crater of darkness upon her main neck.

 

"What good would it do?!"

 

More pain. Even in her new form, even while embodying despair, she had still experienced pain. How was this possible? Despair was the source of everything. It was meant to be unbeatable. But no, it must've been a fluke. Perhaps there was a flaw in Ayame's powers, or a flaw in the way she changed its principle. Taking control of the despair vapors and utilizing her newfound powers, she materialized what appeared to be a Troy version of a void dragon, and sent it flying towards the lower witch in a rage.

 

LERNA attempted to resume her charge, only to be bombarded by an unexpectedly super-powerful blast from what seemed to be BlackWarGreymon's essence. Even though she'd sensed the attack and set up a massive wall of despair in order to shield herself from him, it did no good, and a large part in her body ended up being torn through in this kamikaze attack, creating a gaping hole. Had he converted himself into some raw form? This was another thing she could not understand. Class 0 Entities like him and herself had nothing to convert. How was this possible?!? Once again, she shrieked in pain.

 

"Even if everyone succumbs to Despair!"

 

Fueled by some strange version of hope, after making out with each other, the entities Jecht and Jeanne had undergone unexpected powerups that gave them enough power to overcome her 'world' through sheer force and create cracks within the darkness on her tail-head. Bolts of black lightning were pelting her as well, and though they should've had no effect, they worked against the darkness and formed even more cracks. Not quite on the same scale, but they still hurt. LERNA was still confused as to why her despair was failing though it was in its rawest form, however, she countered by throwing out random blasts of pure despair energy from the vapors towards them.

 

"Even if everyone feels the same as you!"

 

Still, LERNA continued to advance, and this time it was Foster - who had somehow broken free of her Witch's Kiss - that attacked by firing out some sort of weapon she could not identify due to its scientific nature, but then she realized what it was as it hit. The quantum virus plunged into her world, and though the majority of her body was composed of a kind of matter completely alien to the things that made her up, they managed to find remnants of the Dragon's Flame, dark plasma lightning, and energy blasts that had managed to penetrate into her entity, and proceeded to tear these apart, effortlessly generating nuclear fission and bringing about a chain-reaction as superbly massive amounts of energy were released from within her 'world'. Erupting violently and flooding the internal reality marble with radiation, what was originally raw despair had been contaminated by a scientific essence, weakening her.

 

Angered, she sent a command towards all the Troys in the outer world to destroy Foster, the Duelhog, and anything near them, then only moments later, armies of stickmen were growing out stick-like wings and starting to dive into the air towards their target location, ignoring all others.

 

"Why?! Even if everyone is miserable it won't make the pain go away!"

 

Yuki, the one holding back her weakened Thermopylae, had undergone a shining transformation as the light from her pure radiance lit up the rather bleak realm, and indeed it wouldn't take long for her to be on the offensive. This was a result of Titanomachia's failure to get rid of her before an event of this sort could've occurred. Any chances of salvaging her familiar after all this seemed unlikely. Creating several more Troy-like void dragons, she had them assault the new entity and hopefully distract her long enough. The Witch had suffered heavy enough damage already.

 

"Why ruin everyone's lives when it won't make you feel any better?!"

 

"BECAUSE"

 

However, as predicted, just as there was a sudden influx in hope in her realm, there was also an influx of despair. Some became even more terrified, and through her vapors, she had managed to grant the entity of pure darkness within that Sora - Vanitas - enough of a boost to break free and dive into the ocean of despair, stripping away the essence of not one but five entities and emerging as the familiar Xansvita. And just in time too, since the Egyptian Gods had been about to unleash an unavoidable attack that would've decimated her entire being. They were disrupted by the familiar, who was working quickly to gain the attention of the others. From here on out, nothing would interrupt her despair.

 

LERNA finally arriving at where Lydia was, the massive hydra - well, if she could still be called one after all but two of her heads had been either destroyed or torn off - stopped only several meters short, comparable to an inch for her. Then, lowering her pitch-black main head so that it was closer with the magical girl, the head being as large as a three-story building, aquamarine eyes with black sclera staring directly upon her, with nothing but contempt.

 

HOPE DOES NOT EXIST.

HOPE IS A LIE.

DESPAIR IS TRUTH.

I WISH FOR EVERYONE TO LEARN THIS TRUTH.

AS I DO.

SO SHALL YOU.

 

Instead of being spoken out loud, these words were etched directly into the minds of everyone within the realm, with such ferocity that they took the form of each and everyone's own despairs in order to convey their meaning, however, it was specifically targeted at Lydia. A disgusting pest of hope, just like everyone else. Then, opening her huge jaws, she sent out an amazingly powerful beam of darkness towards the magical girl in front of her, obliterating the panel she was standing upon and hopefully the girl herself.

 

But even if it failed, nothing would stop her from falling into the sea of despair, from having her be completely consumed. The deed would be done. LERNA would have disposed of the last thing reminding her of 'Galina Hikari' and be free to spread despair without any of these ridiculous alternate emotions holding her back.

 

 

---

 

 

Emiya?

 

His plan had been simple; use the Cloak of Invisibility to negate his presence and get around his opponents' Law of Conversation of Ninjutsu, take Thermopylae by surprise, and ultimately destroy her in one fell swoop. However, this plan backfired tremendously for two reasons. One, he had overestimated his supply of prana, and two, someone somewhere not too far away had taken in the remnants of the Shadow Realm in order to transform into something different, thus causing the growing darkness within him to react violently. Still under the cloak, he was writhing pathetically on a panel the whole time the battle against the Witch went on, battling against his completely-corrupted arm.

 

Alas, the Counter Guardian was failing, and when LERNA took in the powers of that Shadow Realm person, what was left of his will ended up being torn apart by the despair vapors. In a last ditch attempt to do something about this, he threw the cloak off and attempted to project one of his blades so that he could kill himself before he transformed. He only succeeded in bringing out a small knife, and he was struggling to hold it...

 

"I̛ ҉c̕ąn'̴t.͜.. ̷le͡t t̀hi͟ś ta̢k̀e͢ c̡o̢ǹt̷rol̵.͘..́ ̴of͘ ͏ME!"

 

Because if anyone saw him from afar, all they would see would be a deformed, dark monster with sword-like tentacle appendages sticking out all over his body, none of which he himself could control. Nothing like the proud leader of the Counter Corps at all. The creature stood motionless on a lone panel far from the battle against LERNA, any observers unaware of the vast mental battle that was going on inside him.

 

"C͜҉̢͜o̷̸̸̕m͞e͏̵̸̀҉.̷̸̧̧͞.̕͝.̢̛̀Ơ̴̵̕Ǹ͟͝!͟͡!̶̛̀͢!̨҉"

 

Forcing all of his effort into two single muscles within one of the appendages, he tried his best to hold the knife against his own neck. He had to die. If he didn't, then a replacement Counter Guardian wouldn't be summoned in order to continue leading the Corps...and yet, despite everything, the knife eventually disintegrated into pure energy, and if there was anything left of Emiya, it was replaced by darkness. It was lost. It was all lost. He did not know himself. He did not know anyone. He did not did not what was that well death darkness he did not what was he a he it no kill feed eat no sense why corps corpse corps corpse yes corpse lots of corpses and energy!

 

Transforming, the monster that was from him no longer resembled anything humanoid. All it wanted now was to feed off energy, and as a flying Troy passed by, it trapped the familiar with its tentacles and eagerly consumed it. It had bad taste, yet great filling.

 

Wanting more, the void creature leaped from panel to panel, hoping to find better things it could consume, its soul contaminated deep within.

 

And unless it was slain, another Counter Guardian would not come.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

LERNA's Barrier:

Foster gripped his head as the words etched themselves into his mind, but the bright light from nearby started to soothe his fractured psyche...

Izumi/Thermopylae shuddered in Alexander's arms, unable to do anything of her own but let the power of the Signer she used to be flow out from her...

Yuki now understood. She could comprehend the true nature of her opponent, not a huge monster, wishing to diabolically spread misery and sorrow across the multiverse, but what was left of a scared little girl that fell into the same trap Itsu fell for. Her radiant body, glowing brightly like a newly-born star, floated up, revealing a feminine form cloaked in silvery armor with blue spheres attached, majestic metallic wings supporting her as an array of magical runes floated behind her, softly turning in their shining power.
"I see now, Galina." Yuki broadcast to LERNA through her ties to her sister, and to everyone else in the Barrier with her mind, distracting Familiar, Divine, and Counter Corps alike.
"You can only see the world in the concept of despair because of what you thought you had lost. As Itsu stated, she understood Witches, but she was dealing with her own problems. She sought you as a way to escape the fact that she was slowly dying from being erased. She sunk into her own despair as a way to cope, just as you did. And you have spread despair to many, many others."
"However, you are an embodiment of the various stages of grief, sans one. You are angry at the world for allowing what you fought so hard to prevent from occurring. You are in denial that you had any power to continue going on after what Kyubey told you happened. You have been bargaining with others to create agents to spread the misery you are unwilling to cope with. And you create nothing but despair because you are in it yourself. You are despair, and you simply cannot comprehend anything else."
"So, allow us to grant you the final stage of grief. Acceptance. Despair is never a constant. Despair CAN never be a constant. Emotions are always changing, and it is creatures like you that think melancholy is the natural order of things. You have twisted so many poor souls, including what used to be my own. But you underestimate our strength. It is hope that has allowed us to come this far. It is hope that has triumphed over your Familiars. And is it hope that makes us a united voice against your death shrieks! I do not have the power to free you, Galina, but I have the power to make you free by the hands of others!"
"EVERYONE!!! LET'S END THIS!!!"
A final burst of hope sprang forth from the psionic connections Yuki had made, reinforcing their psyches and preventing LERNA from making their individual mental states slip any further. Yuki now knew that LERNA was not one to be fought merely on a material level. To fully trump her, one must take on the despair itself and eliminate it from corrupting anyone any further. Courage and pride swelled within the ranks of the surviving combatants. A sense of being able to accomplish anything, even the impossible, was sown into their minds to flourish and blossom forth.
LERNA had no idea who she was messing with anymore.
Yuki was now a telepath and an empath on the warpath.