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

[Dad]

Kenpachi & Yachiru

 

They didn't speak for a long time.  Escaping the mirror world at last, Kenpachi stood high over what appeared to be an endless drop.  Before him, wooden platforms floated mysteriously, awaiting a presence.  There was no one else clearly in sight, and all was quiet.  Finally, Kenpachi apologized.  "I'm sorry for that," he said without looking at his shoulder.  Yachiru only smiled, kissing Kenpachi on the cheek.  He smiled in reply as well, before taking a step forward.  "I guess you already know what I was thinking then?" he asked.  Yachiru nodded.  "I can usually tell," she giggled.  Kenpachi approached the wooden platform, and his feet seemed to be grounded to it immediately.  There was a powerful suction in which he could now escape, and he could feel the platform begin to move beneath him.  From what he gathered, Kenpachi could understand that the platform was reacting to his thoughts.  He urged the platform forward, and together with Yachiru they took to the skies.  Soaring through the orange sky, specters lunged at the duo out of the thick clouds.  Kenpachi and Yachiru remained calm, allowing the specters to pass through them without worry.  But, before long, their eyes were drawn to a powerful flame, billowing smoke coming from beneath them.  At first glance, the duo were sure they were hallucinating.  But looking again, they were both horrified.  Kenpachi stuttered, outraged and furious.  He tugged towards the scene below, but the platform would not let him fall.  "The Seireitei?  The Seireitei!!" he roared.  "Why does our world burn!?"

 

Yachiru clasped her mouth with her hand, as she could see victims of the impossibly large fire below running about, dropping like moths.  She was the first to regain control, even sobbing at this horrible sight.  She turned her head from the Seireitei below, and hugged Kenpachi tightly.  "Kenny.  Kenny!" she yelled at him.  "It's a part of the path, Kenny.  Remember?"  Yachiru sighed, wiping her eyes.  "We may not even have a world to go back to," she said solemnly.  

 

Kenpachi gasped at this, recalling Arthuria's words.  "You're right," he said at last.  Forcefully pulling his head away from the nightmare he was witnessing, Kenpachi focused on reaching the end of the pathway.  Besides, he still had unfinished business to attend to.  There was a vengeance burning in his heart.  The odd part was, Kenpachi was not angry because Kratos had killed his comrade.  No, this was different.

 

As they approached the staircase that seemed to climb into the heavens, Yachiru posed a question to her best friend.  "Kenny, why are you really mad at baldy?"  Kenpachi chuckled, leaping miles and miles of stairs at a time.  "He lied to me," he said at last.  "I trusted him.  I believed him.  The worst thing you can do to a friend--no, an ally-- is to lie about something that means so much to them," he said angrily.  "That's why I'm angry.  He didn't just betray my trust.  He betrayed our title as allies.  And until I get the truth, he is my enemy," Kenpachi finished.  There was conviction in his voice.  A determination like a wolf to a fresh corpse.  "And he will get every bit of my rage.  Nothing will change that.  And anyone who gets in my way will see the same."  Yachiru remained silent.  She was admittedly frightened, concerned that Kenpachi would hurt an innocent, but she tried her best to assure herself that wouldn't happen.

 

They had reached the top of the staircase, and of course a barrier lie in wait for them, blocking their passage to the next trial.  A question was given to the pair, and Kenpachi answered first, and quickly.

 

‘Are you content with your present self’?

 

"Yes," he said immediately.  "I wouldn't change any of it."

 

Yachiru hesitated.  She wasn't sure at first, but being side by side with Kenny was all that had ever mattered to her.  After all they had been through, she would never want this to change.  "Yes," she said at last.  The barrier shattered, and a crystal that was once out of reach was now inches before them.  Placing her hand on top of Kenpachi's, Yachiru looked up at him.  Kenpachi assured her trust with a smile, and grabbed at the crystal before them.  Moments later, they were surrounded by powerful energies, and were being whisked away in a swirl of colors, until they had returned to the White Room

 

Ending Location:  White Room

 

 

---

 

 

Revy

 

It was easy to tell that Reimu was holding something back, but Revy knew better than to press for answers she didn't want.  If and when Reimu was ready, she would talk.  Holstering her guns, Revy sighed, as Reimu gathered herself.

 

“Heya Revy, ready to continue? I’ll carry you again if necessary.

 

We’re still quite far from the end, so let’s get going!”

 

"Sure bud," she said managing to get to a leg up.  She hopped her way over, and gently braced her back to Reimu's.  "Okay, I'll be good this time," she joked.  "But if we get some nasties thrown our way, I refuse to not lend you a hand.  Unless you're like, a god or something," she said not realizing this was actually a factor.  "But uh, if this convo happens again, we should have it over drinks.  Maybe you'll be okay with opening up."

 

 

---

 

 

Kenpachi & Yachiru

 

Only one door remained before them.  The door to Remembrance taunted Kenpachi, but only maid Yachiru more nervous.  She could only guess that things were about to escalate quickly.  She tugged at Kenpachi's robes.  "Kenny," she said softly.  He didn't look down at her.  "This is it," he replied.  She kept tugging at his robes.  "Kenny," she said softly.  Kenpachi finally turned down to face his friend.  "What's wrong?"  "I don't like this," she said at last.

 

Kenpachi didn't frown.  He expected this from Yachiru.  "I know," he said taking a knee.  "Talk to me," he requested.

 

"I know you're mad," she said quickly.  "I am too."

 

She's being honest.

 

"But after seeing you kill that angel, the way you did . . ."

 

She's afraid.

 

"I don't want to see that again, Kenny.  Or worse," she said looking down.

 

She's doubtful.

 

"I know you're strong Kenny, but when you get angry, you become a different person."

 

This wasn't the same case.  "This is a different scenario, Yachiru," he said plainly.

 

"I know," she said nodding.  "But what if you do go mad again?" 

 

This time, a different voice stepped in.  "I won't allow that.  Not again," it hissed.  Nozarashi spoke aloud.

 

"Nozarashi?"

 

"Mm."

 

"Then, you were conscious when everything happened?" Kenpachi asked.  The Zanpaktou did not reply right away.  It sighed, admitting to it's fault.  "Unfortunately, yes.  You had such a sudden burst in power that I thought I would crack under the pressure," it said at last.  "But now I understand why.  And I won't let you turn into a black mold, Kenpachi Zaraki.  That is my will."  Kenpachi did not answer.  Nozarashi hissed.  "If you attempt to use my power without control, I will turn against you, Kenpachi."  The Soul Reaper looked to his Zanpaktou in shock.  "What?"  Nozarashi hissed again.  "If you do not learn control, Kenpachi, you will never hear my voice again.  Your rage is a purity.  It is powerful, even when raw.  But you said something that made me realize you could be even stronger," the blade said to Kenpachi.  "You said you would go to any lengths for this girl, correct?"

 

Kenpachi nodded, "Yes."

 

"Then if you really care about her, you will concentrate your uncontrolled rage, and manifest it.  Just as you would with Kendo," it said.  

 

"And how do I do that?"

 

"You already know how, fool," Nozarashi laughed.  "I can't teach you something you already know."

 

Kenpachi thought about it, and finally understood what the Zanpaktou was getting at.  "Okay then, Nozarashi," Kenpachi said standing up.  "I got it."

 

"Are you certain?  Because I will not aid you if you betray me," it said sternly.

 

Kenpachi tightened his grip, reassuring his Zanpaktou.  "You have my word."

 

"Then you have my blade."

 

Yachiru smiled, putting a hand over Kenpachi's own.  "And my hand," she said grinning ear to ear.  Kenpachi turned his head to the door, and ripped it off of it's hinges, tossing it behind him.  Now, an icy wind blew over himself and Yachiru as the pathway to Remembrance was revealed to them.  "Let's end this quickly," he said stepping inside, with Yachiru on his heels.

 

 

---

 

 

He could see his opponent, not far off.  Even in this blizzard, Kratos' tattoo and figure were a dead giveaway.  Kenpachi did not attempt to surprise the warrior, but loudly called out to him from afar.

 

"Kratos!" he roared.

 

The man turned around to see his comrades approaching through the heavy snow.  Chuckling, Kratos began to walk towards Kenpachi and Yachiru.  "It is good to see you, Kenpachi!" he called through the snowstorm.  Kenpachi was not smiling, and did not return Kratos' call.  When they had gotten closer, Kratos stuck out a hand in greeting.  "How do you fare?" he asked.  Kenpachi brushed past Kratos gently, ignoring his hand.  Kratos was somewhat put off, but he let it go.  "We've done a lot, Kratos," Kenpachi said slowly.  His back to Kratos, Kenpachi looked on to spot a forest far ahead of them.  It would be better to take on Kratos here, in the clearance, than in the forest.  Yachiru hopped down from Kenpachi's shoulders, and began to slowly draw away from the two warriors.  "What troubles you, Kenpachi?" Kratos asked at last.  He turned to see Yachiru stepping away, wondering where she was getting to.

 

"You do, Kratos!" he said turning his blade and his face to Kratos.

 

He did not flinch.  Kratos instead pushed Nozarashi away from his neck.  "Why do you turn your blade to me, Kenpachi?" he said calmly.  

 

"You lied to me, Kratos.  You did not tell me it was you who had slain my comrade."

 

"What?  The man of pe--"

 

"The man of cherry blossoms!" he barked.  "You told me, Kratos--you told me was killed and that you intended to avenge him.  You made it seem as though you were simply an innocent party who arrived too late.  Whether he was corrupted or not, you did not tell me he died at your hands," Kenpachi said gripping Nozarashi tightly.

 

Kratos continued looking Kenpachi in the eye.  "I was only defending myself, Kenpachi.  I would not strike down our ally without cause."

 

"Just cause, huh?  Because right now," he said as his aura began to build.  "I have enough cause to rip your head from your spine," Kenpachi said angrily.

 

"Do not make me your enemy, Kenpachi.  Your ally is--was--my ally as well.  He did not die in vain.  I slay the Divine for him, and the other innocent who suffer.  I am striving to rebuild our many universes for our betterment," Kratos said taking a step backwards.  Kenpachi did not sway, and took a step inwards.  "I am sorry for your loss, but I did what I had to do.  Not just for myself, but for the rest of our allies as well."

 

"I could understand that, Kratos.  That is, if you had been honest with me.  But by omitting the truth, you make me look like a fool.  He lied there, with your blade in his chest, and you executed him by stabbing his heart."

 

"How did you--"

 

"It doesn't matter how I know!"  He was furious.  "I'm the one asking the questions here, you scum.  You killed one of our own!"

 

"You're wrong, Kenpachi."  

 

Now, Kenpachi was even angrier.  He put both hands on his blade, and his aura had since tripled in size.  The overwhelming golden glow now burned away the snow around Kratos and Kenpachi.  "Then show me the truth, Kratos.  Show me the man who defeated one of the greatest Soul Reapers I've ever known.  Show me the god killer!" he bellowed.

 

Kratos obliged, drawing both his blades.  "I did promise you we would do battle, Kenpachi.  I did not think it would be on these circumstances."  Kratos, in return, struck first, swinging his blades wide, forcing Kenpachi to make space.  At first, they simply walked around each other.  They circled one another widely, neither budging yet.  But they both knew this would not be a long range fight.  Yachiru put a shield around herself, and watched from a distance.  "Please don't kill him, Kenny," she whispered to herself.

 

Kenpachi could feel the difference of his rage now.  Nozarashi was right.  It was completely opposite to what he had been through before.  He stopped in place, holding both hands on his Zanpaktou.  He spaced his legs, and began to focus deeply.  His aura swelled more now, even until it reached the tip of Kratos' nose some kilometer away.  Kratos did not wait for his opponent, lunging forward at blinding speed.  But Kenpachi read him.  As Kratos slowed by a fraction of a second, Kenpachi reached out with the hilt of his blade, and swung wide left, sending Kratos spinning towards the forest.  Refusing to allow him to recover, Kenpachi dashed after him.  Nozarashi raised high, he brought it down on Kratos, who was still spinning.  Unfortunately, Kratos was spinning too fast, and Nozarashi met the one thing it could not cut.  The Golden Fleece.  Kratos crashed into a tree, and Kenpachi was forced far back, after accidentally striking the Golden Fleece.  Kratos struggled to get up, his right arm wringing.  Looking at the fleece, it was still in perfect condition.  It's lore had held true.  The Golden Fleece could not be broken.  Then what of Nozarashi, the blade that could cut anything?

 

Kenpachi shook his head, standing up straight at last.  "What was that?" he said aloud.

 

"The Golden Fleece," Kratos remarked.  "It cannot be cut, Kenpachi.  Even by you."

 

"Guess I'll have to stab you elsewhere," the Soul Reaper retorted.  

 

They lunged at each other again, but Kratos found the advantage first.  Kenpachi was forced to slow his strikes by using two hands, and missed an upward slash at Kratos.  The bald warrior rolled right and delivered a powerful kick to Kenpachi's back.  He landed on his face, but quickly recovered.  Kenpachi turned around just in time to see Kratos' blades in the air.  Kenpachi guarded the overhead strike, but it was not aimed directly at him.  When Kratos' Blades of Fury came down, there was so much force that the ground erupted in flames around Kenpachi, sending him into the air.  Kratos kept up the assault, chasing Kenpach in the air while assuming he had the aerial advantage.  With his wings spread, Kratos' unleashed a barrage of lightning fast slashes at Kenpachi, who received them, but willingly.  He watched Kratos' blades carefully, and on the fifth strike, Kenpachi grabbed one of Kratos' chains and pulled him in.  Kratos was in shock, and was met with a powerful headbutt, sending him crashing to the ground below.  Kenpachi bled, but Kratos could feel his head pounding.  Getting up, he stared at Kenpachi, who stared back.

 

"Spartans!" 

 

Kenpachi looked around.  Initially, Kratos called to the emptiness around him it seemed.  There was no one in sight besides Kratos and Yachiru.  But then, skeletons magically appeared in large numbers behind Kratos.

 

Hundreds--no, thousands of them--raised their bows and blades at Kratos' cry.  "Unleash hell!"  Their arrows ablaze, the Spartans fired on Kenpachi, while a large number of them leaped at Kenpachi, and attempted to bring him to the ground.

 

But they failed, miserably.  The volley of arrows was shrugged off, simply by Kenpachi's aura  This magic was not effective against him.  With a blink, Kenpachi appeared behind Kratos, and wiped away his army with one slash, returning them to the dust.

 

"I expected as much," Kratos sighed.  "Such magic would only affect someone weaker than I."

 

"Now isn't the time for chit chat," Kenpachi said turning to Kratos.  Their blades met, but Kratos struck first.  Slashing up, Kenpachi was caught off guard, stepping  back from Kratos.  Parrying Kratos' strikes, Kenpachi ducked a quick slash, and swung Nozarashi at Kratos' chest.  Barely reacting, Kratos avoided the fatal blow, but took a powerful gash across his chest simply by the force of Kenpachi's swing.  He reeled backwards, but caught himself with a flip.  Kenpachi wouldn't allow Kratos to continue these flurries.  He met Kratos as he flipped, and Kratos' back crashed into Kenpachi's.  He wrapped an arm around Kratos' neck, and put him in a chokehold.  "Is this all, Kratos?  Is this how you killed Byakuya!?  Pitiful magic!?"  Kratos struggled, but managed to calm himself, and elbowed Kenpachi in the face, breaking his nose and forcing him to let go.  Kratos backed up, and waited for Kenpachi to look up.  When he did, Kenpachi was met with a spear to his stomach, as Kratos used as much speed as he could to tackle Kenpachi and drag them both into the forest behind them.

 

With the power and speed of his boots, they crashed directly into a stone tower in the center of the forest, destroying its base and collapsing it atop them.  Kratos jumped out of the rubble, and Kenpachi followed after.  Now Kratos had the advantage in this area.  With so many things to hook his blades to, he could out maneuver Kenpachi easily in the trees.  Even if their speed was close, Kratos would win out in the end.  Kenpachi knew this though, as he brought Nozarashi around in a large circle and cleared an area around them and the tower.  Lunging at each other again, Kratos and Kenpachi were both met with a neutral third party:  the forest itself.  Remembrance had now shown its hand, and was in play.  As Kratos and Kenpachi lunged at each other, and their blades met, the forest floor beneath them burned as sparks flew.  Going blow for blow, Kenpachi and Kratos did not look away from each other, until they both heard a large and powerful snapping sound, like that of steel.  Separating from each other, they both examined their blades.  Nozarashi was in mint condition, and Kratos' blades of Fury had not been scuffed at all.

 

Looking around, Kratos assumed this was some of Kenpachi's strength.  "What did you do?" he said with daggers in his words.

 

"Don't play games, Kratos.  You're the one with all the magic.  What's going on!?" he ordered.  Kratos snarled, hurling his blades at Kenpachi, attempting to yank him in.  Kenpachi parried the strikes, and they began to draw in towards each other once more.  As they got closer, the ground beneath them shook violently.  Neither of the duo stopped their approached however.  Then, the ground collapsed beneath them, and Kratos and Kenpachi could see the forest of Remembrance growing farther and farther away from them as they fell.

 

Tackling each other in the air, Kratos and Kenpachi punched at their opponent, both bleeding at their chests and faces.  Kratos hooked Kenpachi left while Kenpachi hooked Kratos right.  They both flew off in separate directions from the single powerful strikes from their respective opponents, continuing to fall.  Then, out of the corner of Kratos' eye, Kratos could see what caused the loud snapping sound of metal.  A chain, possibly hundreds of times larger than himself or Kenpachi, was falling between the duo.  It was blood stained, and the chain appeared to be many millennium old.  Righting himself for his fall, Kratos could see what the chain was attached to.  A hand.  This hand was as wide as the forest above, and attached to it was sight that made Kratos double take in mid air.

 

"What is--Atlas!!" he called to the Titan below.  

 

Kenpachi righted himself as well, looking down at what Kratos' was gawking at.  He too was taken aback in shock, as the Titan raised it's scarred head to look at the falling pieces of meat.  Kratos spread his wings, and Kenpachi's aura exploded, and they both managed to land on opposite sides of Atlas.  Kratos, who landed closest, questioned the Titan immediately.

 

"Have you come to kill me as well, Atlas?" Kratos said, taunting the Titan.

 

"I've tried twice, Spartan.  And failed both times," the giant joked.

 

Kenpachi called out to Atlas as well now.  "How do you fail to kill someone much weaker than you, creature?"

 

Atlas slowly turned his head to Kenpachi, blowing a powerful breath from his nose, forcing Kenpachi to his bottom.  "Do not underestimate the Spartan, reaper.  He has killed many gods.  And judging by your status, he has done enough to you." Atlas grunted, thinking of how one man killed his godly predecessors and his Titan brothers and sisters.

 

"Heh," Kenpachi spat, standing up.  "He's as worse for wear as I am," he said quickly. 

 

"Then perhaps you can be the second to succeed at killing Kratos."  Atlas recalled Gaia saving Kratos from the claws of Hades, waking the Ghost of Sparta from his death.

 

"Second?"

 

"Another story for another time, reaper," Atlas said.  In his voice, Atlas was filled with hubris.  He felt stronger, being revived so suddenly, and was ready to redeem his fallen family.    "I am afraid however, that because a powerful magic has brought me to life again, I cannot allow you to leave here alive," Atlas said as he turned back to Kratos.  "I've not forgotten your sins, Spartan.  You will suffer for them," he said harshly.  Kenpachi began to laugh.  "And what makes you think this time you will succeed?  If you couldn't kill him once, you're only coming back to die again."

 

Atlas turned to Kenpachi, one of his many hands raised high.  "Because I will kill you first, reaper."

 

"Wha--"

 

Atlas closed his hand around Kenpachi, seemingly crushing him inside.

 

"Kenpachi!"  Kratos leaped high, and began swinging over to Atlas' other hand.  But before he could arrive, Kenpachi's aura exploded from inside of Atlas' hand, forcing it open.  Kratos landed beside Kenpachi, not saying a word.

 

"You thought that could kill me?" he asked, rolling his shoulder.

 

"I am surprised," Kratos admitted.  Suddenly, they both were overcome with an enormous shadow, as Atlas brought down his opposite hand atop them, again trying to flatten the duo at the same time.

 

"Know your place, worms!" the Titan bellowed.  But Kratos and Kenpachi would not be swayed.  With all of his might, Kratos drew his secret weapon.  His Blade of Promise.  He ripped into Atlas' hand, as Kenpachi simply held it up.  Atlas groaned angrily in pain, raising his hand from them.  "Kenpachi!"  The Soul Reaper nodded.  Stepping onto Kratos' blade, Kratos used all of his strength to toss Kenpachi into the air, then latched onto him with one of this chains.  Kenpachi pulled Kratos in, and hurled him upwards.  They combined their momentum, and soared back upwards to the forest of Remembrance.  Atlas however, would continue his pursuit.  With his enormous reach, he stuck a hand through the large hole above him, into the forest of Remembrance.  His second hand met the surface as well.  Pulling himself upwards, Atlas ripped the surface apart, from section's A 4 to C 6 of the forest, standing high above it.  His emergence actually caused Kenpachi and Kratos to soar further than they intended, blasting high into the air.  Atlas took advantage of the out of control rolling of Kenpachi and Kratos, 

 

He threw his open palm at them, and sent both Kratos and Kenpachi crashing past the atmosphere of the pathway, and into the Moon of Remembrance.  

 

 

---

 

 

When they landed, Kratos and Kenpachi both looked to each other, then back down below them.  They could, oddly enough, breathe on the moon's surface.  Taking time to recooperate, they both sat with their backs to each other.

 

"An old friend of yours?" Kenpachi asked without turning to face Kratos.

 

"No," Kratos said flatly.  "An enemy.  He was among many of his kind, and the gods, who all sought to kill me.  But as you can see, they failed."

 

"Then you are a god killer," Kenpachi joked.  "But why would you keep something so important from me, Kratos?"

 

He did not reply to Kenpachi, lowering his head and sighing.  "Kratos--"

 

"It was not intentional, Kenpachi," he said suddenly.

 

"Not intentional?  Kratos you omitted the truth."

 

"I had fear you would see me as an enemy if I told you the truth.  As such, here we are."

 

"I would rather be angry with you than to not trust you.  What happened, Kratos?"

 

"I did not execute him, Kenpachi."  Kratos raised his head and looked Kenpachi in the face.  "When my blade pierced his chest, I stopped.  Because he changed.  He was changed by the Divine, but on the verge of his death, his heart returned."

 

Changed?  "He was in control again?"  So Byakuya hadn't been under the enemy's control on his death bed.  Not in the end.

 

"Yes," Kratos said.  "He was then unaware of his surroundings, forgetting we had even fought.  It was then he showed me the picture of himself, with your young friend and yourself."

 

Kenpachi sighed.  "Then, why did you finish him off?  Why take his life, Kratos?"

 

"I did not," he said again.  "He pulled me in, Kenpachi.  He wanted to die.  He took my blade to his own heart, and ended his life on his own terms.  His death was not my fault."

 

"Seppuku," Kenpachi thought to himself.  "He felt dishonored," Kenpachi said frustrated.  "He lost a duel in an unrealized circumstance.  He was embarrassed, and rightly so.  You did something not many people could do, Kratos."  In truth, Kenpachi found this a bit funny, and yet, quite natural coming out of Byakuya.

 

"I don't understand."  Kratos was certain this was a horrible thing.

 

"You broke his pride."  Kenpachi chuckled, thinking of how much Byakuya valued his family name and his title as a Captain.  Pride, in the end, was all Byakuya had.

 

Kratos remained silent.  Kenpachi stood up, and looked down from the moon to the forest below.  It had been decimated by Atlas' presence, leading only to an abyss below.  Kratos also got to his feet, wondering how they would return to the pathway below.

 

"Got any ideas?" Kenpachi asked aloud, still looking below.

 

Kratos shook his head at first.  "I'm unsure."

 

"Well, we can't stay here," Kenpachi said.  That much was obvious.  "We need to kill that big bastard," Kenpachi urged.  Stabbing Nozarashi into the ground, Kenpachi caught Kratos' eye.

 

"Perhaps I do have an idea," Kratos said.  "But it will take everything we have."

 

 

---

 

 

When Kratos proposed the plan to Kenpachi, the Soul Reaper backed up away from Kratos.  "You want to do what?"  We could kill our comrades in the process, Kratos!"

 

"No, that won't happen.  I'm sure of it."  Kratos knew Atlas well.  The Titan would very quickly engage on an enemy, in any circumstance.

 

"How so?" Kenpachi asked.

 

"Atlas is greedy, Kenpachi.  He won't allow us to get too far.  And, it will likely incapacitate him in the process."

 

Kenpachi sighed again, not sure of any other option.  "Okay.  Alright, let's do it."

 

Kenpachi stabbed Nozarashi back into the moon, and Kratos wrapped his chains around hit.  Pressing his feet against Nozarashi's hilt, Kratos leaped away from the moon, and tied wrapped his Blades of Fury around his Blade of Promise.  Meanwhile, Kenpachi had begun channeling his aura into Nozarashi.  He raised his head, and turned it to the skies.  Focusing, Kenpachi removed his eye patch, and smiled.  "Heh."  With his aura alone, Kenpachi created an atmosphere, and forced gravity around the moon to cause it to move.  As the moon began to fall, Kratos pulled.

 

His blades shined, and Kratos burned a white blue glow in the darkness of space.  Atlas looked on, as the moon grew closer to him.  "You insult me, Kratos," he mused.  Raising his hands, Atlas prepared to catch the moon that was being launched at him.  It was not as large as a normal moon, so Atlas was sure he could easily crush it.

 

As it drew closer, Kenpachi stopped channeling his aura, and hid behind the back of the moon. With Kratos leading the charge, Atlas focused on nothing else.  The moon caught fire as it entered the atmosphere, and became an even greater weapon.  Now within Atlas' reach, Kratos called to Kenpachi.  "Now!"

 

Atlas reached for the moon, but he was too late.  Kenpachi ripped through it, and exploded the moon in Atlas' face like a grenade.  The burning chunks of rock crashed into him and blinded the Titan, causing him to topple over backwards.  Leaping from the explosion, both Kratos and Kenpachi brought down their respective weapons.  Kratos held the Blade of Promise over his head, and dived for Atlas' right eye, as Kenpachi dove for the right eye of the Titan.

 

The Titan's eyes exploded into a mess of blood and mound of flesh, spewing red and coating both the warriors.  Atlas cried out in shrieking terror, and began to randomly strike out around him with his four large arms.  He swung at whatever he could reach, but missed Kenpachi and Kratos who bobbed and weaved around the Titan.  Kratos went in for the kill now, using his Herme's boots to dash up to Atlas' head.  Kenpachi followed, but went for the Titan's neck instead.  As Kenpachi ripped open Atlas' neck, Kratos leaped above him, and drove the Blade of Promise into the Titan's head.

 

Atlas struggled until his last breath, trying to pull Kratos off of him, while holding his throat.  But he would bleed out too quickly, and fall unconscious to his death.  Soon, the Titan's body withered and the forest began to restore itself.  Kratos and Kenpachi sat back to back, covered in Titan blood.  They both breathed heavily, slightly weary.  Yachiru finally stuck her head out of the forest.

 

"Are you guys okay?" she asked

 

Kenpachi didn't say anything for a moment, but then burst out laughing.  Kratos also laughed, while Yachiru looked on confused.  "Kenny?"

 

"We're fine, little lady.  In fact, I'd say Kratos and I make a pretty good team."

 

Kratos nodded, his head hanging low.  "We could give the Divine a hard time," he joked.  They continued to laugh heartily.  Yachiru fell to her bottom, sighing, and crossing her legs.  "Well, as long as you guys aren't fighting anymore," she said exhausted.

 

"I think we're okay.  Eh, Kratos?"

 

"Hmph.  I hope so.  Or do I need to add another god to my list of victims?"

 

"You wanna die, Kratos?"

 

"No, not again."  Again, Kratos and Kenpachi erupted in laughter, now lieing on their stomachs in the freezing snow.

 

Ending Location:  C 7

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

The Pathway of Rememberance

 

"Welp, we made it," said Jecht as he, Riley and Bender arrived, "Now where to start sending you other two..."

 

"Shotgun left!" Bender and Riley shouted at roughly the same time, although Bender just finished a nick ahead, "Damn it,"

 

"It doesn't really matter where you start, just as long as the both of you explore every square inch of this pathway," The Jaws of Hell chimed in as Riley was pouting, "You can start with that forest just up ahead. It looks awfully suspicious..."

 

Shrugging their shoulders, Bender and Riley went on ahead, leaving Jecht to wait for Protheus to finally turn up.

 

Final Positions: C1 (Jecht), B3 (Bender), D3 (Riley)

 

The Pathway of Truth

 

Meanwhile, Azumi had just started going down The Pathway of Truth, having already picked up her own Mini Jaw from back in The White Room. While she was moving through it, The Jaws of Hell, whose main body had just gone through the pathway, had started scanning the entire area.

 

"Hey um, Jaws?" Azumi asked, hoping to get The Jaws of Hell's attention, "I'm really glad you came here. And, well, there's a reason why I came here..."

 

"I could tell," The Jaws of Hell replied in a non-caring tone, before resuming his scanning.

 

"Well... I was actually hoping to ask you something privately," said Azumi, "And I thought here would be the best place for it."

 

"Actually, that'll have to wait; I'm detecting a vast multitude of life-forms in the area," The Jaws of Hell informed, "They seem harmless, but judging by their movement patterns, they'll likely swarm in on your position regardless. I suggest holding off whatever question you had for me for the moment. I'll keep this channel open, but I must check on Riley and Bender now."

 

With that, Azumi nodded, and ventured forth into the relative unknown with a cautious step.

 

Final Positions: C1 (The Jaws of Hell), C2 (Azumi)

[Merci]

As we each pave our way through our first, perhaps even second trial...

before we continue, let us look back for a moment

 

͏̤̱̙̩̼to a ̷͔̣t͉i͚͙͓̳̦m̛͉e̴͇͙̰̲̙̠̝ that took place in a ̶̳pr̜e̪͓̻̞̟v͙̭͍̜̗̘͝i̶̳̮̱̤o͓̞̞͕͎ṳ̜s̗̗͝ ͙̤͇̤̯̫et͉̝̤͚͝e̸͔̖̼̯̣̪ͅr̞͕͈̩̼̹͙n̦͉͘i͏͍͓t͉̫͎ỳ͚͚̘.͏͖̺

The Pathway to Death

Here await that which you have seen and yet to see.
Though firm with fear,
Can you decide what your fate will be?

Standing on top of some kind of barren road, suspended amidst a sea of darkness, was a certain girl who looked way out of place in this gloomy realm.

With pale skin and a small frame, wearing a pleated plaid skirt plus stockings that went up to her thighs that went with the long-sleeved white shirt with a bow and red vest over it, it wouldn’t have been a stretch for an observer to assume that she was some teenager still in high school. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Though, there were other things to take into account as well. Her eyes were heterochromatic with one blue and one green with an odd tear tattoo under her right, her hair had an unusually shiny teal tone, the black gown and hat over her ordinary clothes gave the impression of a slightly odd graduate student, and it had to be mentioned that the gown, hat, and stockings she was wearing all had a spacial tone to their black colour. This also happened to apply to the menacingly long scythe she was wielding in her right hand too, named Tabris, which stood out most of all.

“So. Here I am.” She couldn’t help but remark to herself, even though there was no one currently present to hear her words.

Even when she'd had to undergo that rigorous journey to get here, even when she discovered the spiral of energy, ended up in the White Room with three different doors, she hadn't been entirely convinced yet, but now that she was actually here, actually inside one of the Pathways, only then was everything truly starting to sink in. If her heart was beating, it'd probably be accelerating out of control right about now.

“I’m really here. Not dead, or kicked out of existence, or anything, but…here. It’s real. I can't believe it, everything in his research turned out to be true after all…!”

But as overwhelmed as she was, this wasn't the time to back down.
 

~ Into The Abyss ~

The girl’s gaze went from place to place, scanning the whole area around her and absorbing every detail, at first unable to risk making a move. However, as much as she tried, she couldn’t sense a single thing. It seemed that the enshrouding darkness around her was almost impenetrable, her own attempts to brighten up her surroundings being futile, and that the only sources of light came from the various orbs of light lining the path before her. It was a straight road leading onwards, but she couldn’t see anything further than a hundred meters.

Even though she knew practically nothing about the sort of trials awaiting her, she advanced onwards. Each step she took was quiet and composed, remaining on the alert at all times with her scythe at the ready, just in case some crazy enemy burst out of the darkness in an attempt to end her journey right there and then.

To a single person, each Pathway was about thirty-five kilometers all in all, and they all orientated themselves to suit the challenger in question psychologically, so even if she did somehow escape from this place and record everything to give to someone else, that someone would probably encounter an wholly different set of challenges. In other words, this realm had been specifically generated for her.

Eventually, massive cloaked statues came into view up ahead, on both sides of the path. As she recalled from her father's notes, this was supposed to be the checkpoint, which meant that she’d already traveled two and a half kilometers, and had just over thirty-two more to go.

Making things worse was the fact that the lights beyond here showed signs of dimming, so chances were that she’d eventually end up in absolute darkness, and she doubted that it'd be a breeze to light it up using her own supernatural powers.

Another thing at the back of her mind was the fact that she was feeling more tired than usual, but it was probably just the darkness having some sort of draining effect on her body. She couldn’t exactly shake off the feeling that there was something a little wrong here, but whatever the case, it couldn’t be anything major.

Oh, and if that wasn't enough, there was also the fact that her Time Sense was still active, or really, stronger than ever right now. She’d been under the assumption that it might’ve gone completely silent upon entering the Pathway, but instead, the incoherent voices in her head were a lot louder than they normally were. After all these years, she had learned to mentally block them out, so it wasn’t that much of a problem, but

How wonderful, she thought sarcastically. Frankly, all these little factors were a little frustrating, but she wasn’t about to complain. After all, these were the best conditions she’d had in years.

More than that, she was glad. The breathable air, the gravity, the ground, and the sources of light for guidance, it was true that they were pretty gloomy and desolate, but they also served as proof that this was a location that was indeed meant to be completed. The obstacles lying up ahead might turn out to be extremely difficult, but what mattered was that they wouldn’t be utterly impossible to overcome.

Staring at the path before her, she inhaled deeply to focus, to clear her mind of any distractions, and exhaled again.

“Alright, Isamy. This is the first trial. Let’s do this.”

Having mentally prepared herself for the upcoming tasks that the Pathway to Death had to offer, she knelt down, concentrating energy into her feet, before bursting off into the ever-growing darkness at amazing speed, hoping that this would help her reach the end somewhat quicker. Her surroundings blurred as each footstep threw her a distance Olympic champions could only dream of, the outstretching array of light orbs quickly flying past her with each row dimmer than the last. After only a short while, the ground noticeably became more and more uneven, causing her to slow her sprint somewhat, but otherwise she maintained her current speed.

Meanwhile, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy thought a little more about this realm as well as what might be awaiting her. The inscriptions on that dark door to the right had said something about ‘fear’ and ‘deciding your fate’, ‘seen and yet to see’, though she wasn’t sure how those things were relevant to each other. Not yet, anyway. This place had been specifically designed to challenge her both physically and mentally, but whatever it planned on throwing at her, she remained confident that she’d be able to conquer them all, being an invincible immortal and all. Still, it’d be best for her not to let her guard down, especially considering how she wasn’t quite as invincible as she would be under normal circumstances.

Carrying her own soul around with her was risky, but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice, since the Pathways were an existence entirely separate from the multiverse. Somehow. At the very least, even if her soul was here with her, it had taken a form that couldn’t be easily harmed by others. Using that machine to convert it into time, into her own memories, might’ve been one of the most genius things she had ever done, but it didn’t change the fact that she was still more vulnerable like this, and that there was a fair possibility of getting killed midway without any way of coming back. The worst thing she could possibly do right now was get careless and underestimate the things lying in store for her. With what was at stake here, she couldn’t afford to lose here.

Maintaining her cycle of motion with falling or wavering in any way, the girl observed, or at least tried to observe her surroundings as she ran, although she couldn’t make out a single detail about her surroundings in the dark. The orbs had since faded away, and now everything around her had become pitch-black. Only the feeling of running across a surface kept her rooted to reality, and only her own sense of direction prevented her from becoming totally lost. So long as she kept on going like this, nothing should s—

“K- KYA?!” She yelped, just as she crashed headfirst into a metal wall that had been inconveniently placed right in front of her, her head hitting it so hard it left a large dent in the iron. While there hadn’t been any pain, it was more of a reflex on her part. Besides, what was something like this doing here anyway?

With an annoyed look, the girl got back up and decided to examine what it was she’d crashed into. At this point, visibility was practically zero, so she formed her own bright orbs of light to float around and scour the immediate area. Shortly afterwards, it became clear that this wasn’t the only one around, as there were various other things all around her, though she’d have to get closer so she could better discern them. Also, it seemed that the thing in front of her merely a metal wall, but the side of some sort of massive spaceship.

Throughout her life, she’d witnessed all sorts of technological devices and vehicles built by advanced civilizations, but this one stood out in particular to. Following it along by its sides, something about it felt oddly familiar, but at the same time it was too uneven and ruined for her to properly discern. The overall design was more akin to a Time Lord timeship, but it was far too big to be of any practical use, making her wonder why they built it so large when they probably had the technology to make it bigger on the inside.

Wait. Bigger on the inside? No, in the hypothetical event that it crashed or malfunctioned, the interior dimensions would leak out, and it would expand until it was as massive as, as this. That would explain the size, and in which case, there was a high probability that she knew what it was. It was simply unrecognizable in its current form, which indeed looked like it had suffered critical damage. Could it be…

If her heart was still active, it might’ve skipped a beat at that moment as she realized exactly what this was.

The… Awful Lot of Running?!

“JENNY!”

Compelled by her thoughts, her footsteps broke off into another run as she rushed towards the entrance and raced in. Why would Jenny’s timeship be here of all places? Did that dummy try to challenge the Pathway too? Or was she pulled in by some other force? Upon entering, the orbs light up the inside for her looked around. Everything was exactly how she remembered it, only dustier and far more ruined. It was no longer bigger on the inside, since the outside must’ve expanded to make up for it after crashing. But, what happened? What could possibly happen that could take down the ZXX-Class Awful Lot of Running III? Let alone the amount of unbelievable spacetime warfare artillery it had been equipped, its captain was a remarkable woman who’d never let herself get defeated by anyone.

Isamy worriedly made her way over towards the central control room, and after tearing her way through a large door, it came into view. A wide, spacious circular dome the size of an observatory, the walls decorated with round thingies and a hexagonal console in the center of it all, attached to a nonfunctional pulsating shaft.

“Jenny, are you here?!” She called out panickedly, but there was no answer.

Looking around for clues, unconsciously ripping off cobwebs with her hands as she did so, she came across what seemed to be a framed photo, its glass cracked after having fallen off from the wall. As she picked it up to take a look, a faint smile crossed her face for a moment.

On the left stood a woman with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, wearing military fatigues, boots, an olive-green tank top, leather gloves, welding goggles on top of her head, and a grin on her face as her right arm was wrapped around a shorter, slightly younger-looking girl with green hair and a futuristic white outfit. The other girl was unamused and had her heterochromatic eyes narrowed, as if she’d been trying to shatter the camera with her mind.

That idiot. I told her not to put it up… The picture had been taken when Isamy was much younger, and the woman had gone by the name of Jennifer Smith, a Time Lord clone, apparently the spawned daughter of an ancient hero known as the Doctor.

They met each other by coincidence, but it turned out that the two of them had a lot in common. Originally, they were only working together out of convenience, each of them having their own different reasons, with Isamy searching for her father and Jenny trying to find a way to get home, but they ultimately grew to become a team. Even after the run-in with Pandora and that whole Oblivion business, she stuck around a little longer before finally leaving to continue her own quest as a hero.

How many years ago had that been now? It must’ve been decades in the past, but she could still vividly remember their time together. It was a time when she herself was trying to find her place in the multiverse, still with many questions on her head. Chaotic, but peaceful times. Shaking her head, she put the photo down and was about to continue searching elsewhere when a strange sound caught her attention.

help

“Who’s there?” Isamy asked, having heard a voice, holding up her scythe Tabris in preparation for anything, though no one seemed to be around. She couldn’t sense anyone either. Had it just been her imagination or something? Or did part of her Time Sense slip past her mental barrier? “Jenny, is that you?!”

isamy

No, she’d definitely heard a voice. It couldn’t have come from her head. It sounded like it was calling to her, but it was so far-off and vague that she couldn’t make out any of the details, even with her enhanced senses. The only thing she could be sure of was that it wasn’t Jenny. Was she even supposed to know who it was from, or was it from a complete stranger? Or was it a voice at all? It wouldn’t be outlandish for the Pathway to try playing tricks on her mind, especially when it was as overly ominous as Death. To be honest, the reason why she chose this one first was to get it over and done with, having figured that the other two couldn’t possibly be as bad, but that might’ve been a mistake.

All of a sudden, her surroundings began to shake, as if it were breaking apart under its own weight or something. She moved out of the way just as a large panel of metal crashed down. The timeship, it…wasn’t stable? Knowing this, she quickly made her way out despite being reluctant to do so, dodging past more falling rubble.

As soon as she’d leaped out, what was left of the ship fell apart entirely and just like that, it had collapsed together into a junkyard of scrap metal. It hadn’t even been a minute, and yet the highly advanced timeship was no more. I—failed. Failed to save her...!

Isamy hung her head low, but once she raised it to observe the rubble, it occurred to her that this couldn’t possibly be the real thing. It was simply been a construct of the pathway. True, everything had felt real, making it hard to believe that something like this could’ve been an illusion, but she just had a feeling that this was the case. There was no other plausible explanation for it—after all, she was the only one who knew about the Pathway to Origin’s existence. Yeah, it’s okay. She’s not here, but out there, doing whatever she wants... On that thought, she let out a relieved sigh, turning around to move on.

However, as soon as she did, various other things came into view, lit by the light orbs that droned around her. Castles and buildings off in the distance, trees and flagpoles of nations, furniture, vehicles, armour, and bloodied people lying on the ground, scattered motionlessly all about the area. Even from here, she could tell what those were. Corpses.

How many times had she seen such things? How many times had she tried to prevent such things? They were CORPSES. CORPSES of brave warriors, CORPSES of the elderly, CORPSES of children, CORPSES of all kinds, both the innocent and the guilty, and she knew just by looking at them that each and every single one of their deaths had been in vain, and each and every single life these people had led.

Some of them she recognized, some of them she didn’t, some had been friends whereas others had been enemies, but the point was the same. A wasted life that couldn’t be saved. A failure.

Shutting her eyes and clenching her fists, Isamy forced herself to take another deep breath. Already, she was beginning to hate this pathway. It was trying to get in her head by mocking her beliefs, attempting to break her will by showing her all her potential losses in the future, but things like this would only strength her will even more. Did it think she would stop? NO, she’d fight harder. Harder, and harder, and harder, until the destination was ultimately within reach. Maybe she was an idiot that way, but that was the kind of person she was. She’d never give up if it meant that her actions could save others.

In any case, there was still a long way for her to go, so there was no point in wasting any time here. Whilst she went on, more and more and more and more corpses came into view, but she understood that they were all fake. She knew they had to be, but each time she passed by someone lying down, she had the overwhelming urge to run over towards them and try to help. Yet, she had the feeling that by trying to do so, she would only be giving in to the illusion. To help, she clicked her fingers and got rid of the light, figuring that even though she was more vulnerable this way, it was better than being surrounded by distractions.

Funny… I thought I’d be used to dead people by now.

Making her way further into absolute darkness, somewhat unsure about whether or not she was going in the right direction, the ground appeared to start getting wetter for some reason judging by how her feet were currently making a splashing sound as though she were running past puddles of water. And it seemed that the closer she got to the end, the thicker the puddles got. She had an ominous feeling about the ‘water’ but tried her best not to think about it, knowing that it was nothing but an illusion like everything else.

i̷sa̵m̧y ͏help
̕
́hȩlp͠ us̴
͞
why̵ ar̸e ͠y̷ou ̕r̵unn̨i̵ńg̡ ͝awa҉y̛

do҉nt you ͞want̸ ̕t̛o ͘HEL͠P US

The voices had increased in intensity by then, to the point that now she could make out what they were saying if not identify who they were coming from, but still, she ignored their requests. It didn’t need to be said that they were all obvious traps.

W- w- whoa! Having been lost in her train of thought, Isamy happened to run off the edge of the surface, would’ve plunged into everlasting darkness had she not possessed the extremely convenient ability of flight. I, uh…really got carried away there, huh. What was all that about not being careless again?

Returning back up, her feet made another wet sound as they made contact with the surface covered in puddles again, and she let out a sigh. It seemed that her sense of danger was functioning a lot more horribly than it normally would, probably due to the pathway’s influence. When was the last time she’d made such a simple mistake? If this place was messing with her instincts as well, then she really needed to focus. With this in mind, she summoned another orb of light and proceeded to follow the edge to find the way onward. There was no way that the path ended here.

y̕oure ͏s͘e͝l̕f̕i̕sh̶
̨
you҉ h̨ęl̛p o̶n̵ly th͏o͡se͏ ỳou̧ ͝thin̨k̕ sh̴ou̴ld b̛e h͟el͟ped͜

ańd͢ ̸l̕ea̴v̵e͞ the͡ ̧re̸s͜t ̸in̨ dar̀k̀ness͜

“That was true, once upon a time. I thought that I had to beat the ‘bad people’ to save the ‘good people’, like a hero beats up villains, seeing everything as black-and-white.” The sorceress replied, keeping her eyes locked downwards. There was a dark crimson-coloured liquid starting to spread out, covering the surface and dripping downwards from the edge, the same liquid she was walking in right now. It was blood. She just so happened to be walking in blood. “But not anymore. Turned out it wasn’t nearly that simple. So you all can rest assured… I’ll be sure to save everyone.”

͜yo͏u r͘e͘f̀use̛ to͜ accep̸t re̶al̴it̛y̷
̛
҉i̛t̴ i̷s imp̡o̢ssible ͢fo̶r ̀ev̧e̴ryone̶ ̨t͡o̧ be ͟s͡aved

Those words weren’t easy to deny. By nature, people were selfish, and more often than not, they would blame their own troubles on the differences of others. Most of the time they acted under the impression that by taking away from others, they themselves could be happier, ignoring the fact that they would make enemies in the process, enemies that would proceed to disrupt their happiness under the mistaken belief that this would make things better. If they hate someone, they come to the illogical conclusion that by hurting or removing that someone, they would be better off, even though they’d only be fueling the fire. It was a cycle of hatred. To punch someone meant to be punched back, which was something she wished she’d realized a long, long time ago.

She’d made so many foolish mistakes in her efforts to save people while she was younger, having resolved wars wrongly, elevated the wrong people to power, advocated the wrong rights, and caused too much disaster by breaking the balance of worlds. Even now, when her methods brought everyone under a united cause and minimized the amount of war, conflict still ensued.

And yet, one day she realized that it was ultimately through the pain wrought about that people learned to grow. They form their own experiences and beliefs, their own perception of reality, along with their own goals. They become a ‘person’. People naturally come into conflict with each other, specifically due to their individuality.

Thus, if one were to look at it purely from that perspective, the only way to end conflict would be to remove that. Remove everyone’s individuality, and create an ultimate paradise filled with nothing but happiness for everyone to live in without questioning why. Everyone would be perfectly happy. It would be a perfect land of dreams where everyone in the multiverse had nothing to worry about. Logically speaking, such a thing would be the most effective way to solve everything, getting entirely past the contradictory nature of all life. Such a world would be for the best, wouldn’t it?

To be honest, she did consider it once.

However, she’d quickly came to her senses afterwards, horrified by the very thought. To do something like that would mean that she’d be stealing away everyone’s free will, making her no better than all the villains out there. What would be the difference between them? It wasn’t the right thing to do, not even in the slightest. Not only would she be oppressing them, but the happiness they would feel in such a reality would itself be false. They would be happy, but there would be no fulfillment in it. No inherent meaning. It would be a betrayal of all her morals and everything she stood for. It wouldn’t be good, but evil to steal away others’ right to attain happiness. So, that’s why—!

“You’re wrong. It’s not impossible.” Isamy voiced out her opinion with confidence, putting Tabris up over her shoulder just as she came across a sturdy wooden bridge leading onwards, and stepped onto it, now glad that she no longer had to walk in fake, illusionary blood.

There weren’t any railings so the perpetual blackness would make crossing it not very easy, not to mention it was impossible to know how long this actually was. Not that minor obstacles like that would stop a being like her. If this was all it took to rewrite reality, then of course she’d do it. She wouldn’t let herself be disillusioned, because she knew in her heart what she truly desired. It wasn’t to please everyone, not to satisfy their every need, but to save everyone. The difference between the two was something she couldn’t let herself forget.

The sorceress continued on, walking instead of running since she’d hate to fall off a second time, whilst time went by. Seconds turning into minutes, without any sign of the destination in sight. It was a lot slower this way, though she didn’t completely mind since this extra time would help steel her mind for whatever came next.

The voices grew louder and louder, but they kept asking the same things, mocking her ideals and selflessness, so it turned out that she didn’t really gain anything from answering them. It seemed that they were merely there to annoy her. However, what they might not have considered was that she was used to being continually annoyed with nonsensical words, meaning that she simply tuned them out the same way she did with her Time Sense.

How much time had passed since she entered? How much distance had she crossed thus far? It had been about half an hour, if not longer, and though she hadn’t quite been paying attention, she guessed that she was probably around ten kilometers deep. If that were true, then she wasn’t even halfway through the first trial yet, let alone the next two. Without any apparent end, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what the others would be like, or what challenges she would have to face there. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be as ridiculously dark as this one was, since even now, for all her power, she could barely see beyond her own toes.

Keep walking, Isamy. You’ll make it there soon enough, she reassured herself.

ar̵e yo͟u͢ şur͡e

“̢a̧r̡e y͡ou s̴ur̕e ̢the͞re ̸wi̶ll͡ b͠e ͝an ̡END̀ to yo͜u͢r ҉s͘o-̧c͞al͠led҉ Q̢U͠ES̡T?̕!̶”͜

Suddenly, the sorceress stopped in her tracks, turning around just as she sensed several humanoid entities rush out from the darkness in an attempt to ambush her. Getting rid of the light source for now since it’d only be a distraction, she chose to rely on her other senses to engage in combat.

Intercepting the first enemy by hooking around its leg, she pulled and twisted Tabris to sweep it off its feet and slam its head into the ground, at the same time using the pole end behind her to bluntly blow back three others. Aiming with incredible precision in her technique to avoid killing any of her opponents, predicting their size and positions, the sorceress jumped into the air and thrust out her free left hand thrice in quick succession, hitting the heads of the fourth, fifth, and sixth attackers in a gentle karate chop-like manner that immediately knocked them all unconscious. Just as the last few were about to close in on her, one on both sides, her scythe hooked around the waist of the one behind her and pulled it up into the air, before throwing it back down onto the other one in a cartwheel fashion.

Really, the reason why she used a scythe in the first place was due to its greater versatility, having a wider sweeping range, hooking capabilities, more unpredictable to others, and making it much easier to intercept others’ movements without killing them. Not to mention it was one of the few weapons out there with a peaceful origin, having roots in agriculture rather than warfare. All the time she’d spent on training how to use one was definitely paying off here.

And thus, in the span of ten seconds, they’d all been defeated just like that, not a single one of them having been critically injured or thrown off the bridge. Once they were all down, she relit the orb of light and cast it upon them to see exactly what her beaten enemies looked like, but maybe she shouldn’t have.

“No, that’s…impossible.” Isamy muttered under her breath in disbelief.

Each and every single one of them turned out to be very familiar, all having been former allies of hers, only all of them appeared ragged or bruised in some way. Jeremy, Chihiro, Servant, Itsu, Kyoshi, the White Shadow, Delta—and Jenny. As soon as their forms had been revealed, they all began to get back up with slurred movements, not unlike the way a zombie would move, causing her to take a step back on an impulse.

Even if they were fakes, it wouldn’t be easy to get over the way they looked, and chances were that the same would apply to the other enemies too. She should’ve expected as much from this pathway, as this symbolized one of her greatest fears. Having others turn on her, and betray her trust.

҉“͏y͟óu͏ ̕ar̵e̕ ͜o̵ur ene̵my͢!̀”͟

͝“y̢ou ̶ca̧n͏not̡ b̢e tru̡s̷t͜e̛d!̵”͡
̸
͡“we̴ wi͝l͟l̸ sto̷p͢ ͝y̢o̷u̷!͡”̵

Now understanding the danger, she concentrated energy at the tip of her feet before bursting past them at a speed of seventy kilometers per hour. How much further was the next area? A mile? Maybe two? It didn’t matter. She just needed to get past this as quickly as possible. Behind her, varying laser beams and a cannon-like fireball came rushing in towards her at even greater speed, all of which she deflected using her dark-matter scythe. Every few hundred meters, a turn would appear, forcing her to change the direction of her momentum so she didn’t fall off.

Also, it seemed that at random intervals, more enemies like the ones she’d just encountered would launch themselves out of the darkness to assault her, though the sorceress somehow managed to sidestep or leap past them every time without bothering to engage them. Chances were that they were only there to mess with her mind, so fighting them wouldn’t do her any good anyway. There was nothing to gain. Running away was definitely the wisest choice here.

After several more minutes, it seemed that she’d reached the end of the bridge, which came in the form of a gigantic building made of heavy stone, and the sight of the entrance made her skid to a halt almost straightaway. The entranceway, shaped like that of a huge cavern, appeared to be utterly, incomprehensibly black within to the extent that they made the darkness surrounding them look bright. For as long as she had lived, she could never have imagined that anything, anything at all could be so unbelievably obscure. It must’ve been some sort of cloak, enshrouding the contents of what lay within, but was it truly worth the risk? Just by looking at it, Isamy had a horrible, sickening feeling, as though she would be better off going back the way she entered.

Surely, to enter it was sheer insanity, but there didn’t seem to be any other way to proceed, since she highly doubted climbing over it was a viable option. Glancing over her shoulder, the many enemies in the form of her former friends had gathered together, not saying a word or lashing out like before, but instead just silently staring at her as if to prompt her to move on. However, whatever lay within was something she might not be able to defeat. For all her strength and bravado, the feeling that ‘I will die if I enter’ kept throbbing in her heart.

̵"s̸o͞ ̕your̕e af͝r͏a͞i͝d to die͞?҉"

For a moment, she had to consider the question.

“No.” She responded, tightening the grip on her weapon and shutting her eyes tight. “I’m not afraid to die. Just afraid that I’ll fail and let everyone else down…which is exactly why, no matter what, I won’t fail!”

Then, opening them again with a steeled resolve, she forced her own legs to move onwards, bringing her forth into the impenetrable darkness even with dread building up deep inside of her. Though there was no telling what lay on the other side, she focused on charging on high amounts of mana throughout her body, in preparation for what might very well be the greatest enemy she would ever have to face in her entire life.

...

When Isamy passed through the cloak of darkness and emerged on the other side, a long line of blue candles started to lit on both sides of the wall in response to her entry, revealing that she was now within a vast, high corridor composed of stone.

Along the walls were ominous caveman-like carvings of what appeared to pertain to things like murder and war, all of them depicting images of death in some form, amongst them a groups of people stoning someone else to death, a man strangling another in his sleep, and people fighting killing other amidst a battlefield with swords, shields, animals, farming sickles, basically anything that could be used as a weapon was used as a weapon, and countless dead were drawn behind each battlefield. There seemed to be a black smudge marked over each and every carving.

Assuming a battle stance with Tabris over her shoulder, keeping her guard up at all times, she cautiously made her way through the hall. The deeper she went in, the more detailed and obscene the drawings became, gradually moving on from normal death to suffering and misery of all kinds in general, some of which she couldn’t bring herself to look at all.

Abuse,
torture,
mutilation,
cannibalism,
and all other kinds of increasingly-depraved violence, some sexual and some not,
all of these things were present and many more which she didn’t quite know how to describe. Had she been a mortal, these things would’ve probably made her throw up on the spot. It soon became clear that the black marks weren’t merely there for show, as it became more and more detailed with the carvings, like a malevolent force watching over and guiding everything.

It was sick. All of this, it was absolutely sick…!

 

~ Nyx ~

“But this is REALITY, in its FINEST, most GLORIOUS form, is it not? You should REVEL in it.”

As if having read her thoughts, a loud, deep voice echoed throughout the corridor, completely different from any of the ones she’d heard before.

While the other ones had been soft and devoid of emotion, this one was filled with it. Cruelty. Maliciousness. Pure evil. Even after all the monsters and villains she’d had to face, somehow, this felt to be on an entirely different level. The very sound of its voice sent a chill down her spine, bringing about a feeling full of utter hopelessness, as if whoever had just spoken was not an entity that anyone could ever hope to face, let alone defeat.

Whereas normal beings had had experiences, having lived out their lives and came to be who they were, this one was different, as if it had been exactly the same since time immemorial…like a god, or the manifestation of a concept. Something undefeatable. Right about now, it felt very, very tempting for her to just turn around and bolt back, but she refused to do so, planting her feet onto the floor.

“What the hell does that mean?” Isamy asked, standing her ground nonetheless. It didn’t matter who or what it was—she’d get past it one way or another and reach the end. No matter how powerful it was, she held the advantage by being immortal, so sooner or later, it would be overcome.

“Is your DESIRE not to give EVERYONE a HAPPY ENDING?”

“It is. And so what? Do you have some kind of problem with that?!”

“If that is TRUE, then that means that EVERYONE, no matter how EVIL they are, will be granted SUCH REPRIEVE as well. You will be FORGIVING every CRIME OF DEATH that has ever occurred throughout TIME and SPACE. Are you sure that THAT is what you WISH?”

The entity had a point. It wasn’t like it hadn’t occurred to her before, but…

“Yes.” Isamy answered in confidence, confronting the question head-on, slightly annoyed that she was even being asked this considering how much time she’d spent thinking it through. About this one particular thing, she had no doubts or regrets. “A way to please even people like that, without them having to actually intrude on the happiness of others… I’m sure such a path exists.”

“I SEE. Then, if that is so, am I SOMETHING to SAVE TOO?”

“Absolutely!” She responded immediately, the tone of her voice taking on an encouraging note towards the demonic entity. Was it possible that this thing, whatever it was, could be reasoned with? And that she’d made it out of this alive? “I’m sure there’s a way—even for you!”

“Aha… Aaaaahahahaaahah…”

“fool”

“AaaaaaAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!”

“What’s so funny about that?”

Still not moving from her battle stance, she narrowed her eyes in anticipation for anything. Whatever it was, there was no way that a monster like this could be reasoned with. The only reason it existed was to make a fool out of her journey.

Whilst the laughing voice emanated chillingly, echoing everywhere, the shadow of every corner hidden away from the light of the candles was growing and gathering, melding together in order to form what came to be a tall, opaque figure whose appearance stood out amidst the darkness of the corridor itself. The shadows ultimately condensed, solidifying to create a black and tattered cloak floating in the air all by itself, and though weren’t any discernible features within, she could somehow feel the very darkness under its hood gazing straight towards her with a wide, sadistic grin.

“SO, to RESOLVE everything, YOU will be the ONE to shoulder everyone’s BURDEN, everyone’s SUFFERING. YOU YOURSELF will create every CONFLICT that sustains their INDIVIDUALITY and draws them to their HAPPY ENDING…

If THAT is the case, then NO WONDER that of all the OPPONENTS you could have FACED, I am the ONE who MANIFESTED to FACE YOU.”

“Hmm, I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or not, but I guess I should feel honored. Alright then, Mister Darkness Darkness Evil Thing, what exactly are you?” Isamy kept her voice light and sarcastic as she examined the cloak from a distance. Soon, a skull face became clear underneath the hood, whilst bony hands emerged out from the sleeves, making it very evident what this entity was meant to represent.

“I am WITHIN YOU, and I am EVERYWHERE.

I have NO name, and yet, I have MANY names by which I am referred to.

The GRIM REAPER, the BRINGER of the END, the HARBINGER of DARKNESS, the PALE RIDER, the UNDERTAKER, the DEVIL, the LORD of—”

“Right, right, so basically Death in physical form. No need to get so hammy over it, you could’ve just said so from the start.”

Then, putting one foot behind her, she got into position. There were twenty meters of distance between them, which she could probably cross in the span of a single second – regardless of its powers or abilities, she should be able to disable it fairly quickly before having to engage in what could prove to be a difficult battle. But then again, she heavily doubted that it was anything like a human, being more akin to a god, so that would making beating it without killing it a lot harder than it would normally be. Even so, she had to try.

“Now, while that’s scary and all, I’m afraid… you’re going to have to let me pass!”

~ Jigoku Metal ~

Having charged up tons of mana at the tip of her feet, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy promptly shot forth like a bullet towards her target, Tabris in hand, being propelled forward by a powerful burst of dark energy. As soon as she did so, the lit candles all died as if a switch had been pressed, enshrouding the corridor in darkness once more, but she didn’t let that stop her. Mid-charge, she generated a concentrated orb of energy and thrust it into the air, letting it explode to shower the area with light for a few seconds. The light revealed that the Grim Reaper had summoned two scythes of its own in both hands, both of them sharp enough to casually cut through grass, holding them by the end without any care for balance as though they were swords.

Once they were only a few meters apart, it lashed out with ridiculous speed in diagonal X-shaped swings to intercept her charge, moving them fluidly like fanged extensions of its own body, but she refused to retreat and instead leaped upward, maneuvering around them to attack from the top. Yet, just as she did so, a third scythe appeared out of nowhere and stabbed into her—or at least it would’ve, had her waist not been protected by the impenetrable dark-matter cloak she wore as armour. Still, the sheer force from it was enough to send her flying, and she barely managed to stop herself by stabbing her scythe into the wall, ending up a dozen feet high up in midair.

From here, right before her flare disappeared, she saw that her opponent had a third arm on its back with yet another scythe. Of course it did. It wasn’t anything like a human, so she shouldn’t assume anything about its body right now. For all she knew, a reality marble containing an eldritch abomination composed of bone was lurking beneath that cloak. Currently, it was clear that there were no obvious openings as to the enemy, and judging by the way it had responded to her assault, its very combat style was more like a crazed beast, working on instinct rather than honed technique. The concept of technique was something invented by people to make up for their own weaknesses, but to this creature that literally embodied death, all of its movements came naturally. In battle, it would take the quickest route to kill whomever opposed it. That was clear, even to her.

But that was fine. In other words, the only remaining option was for her to pave her way through with sheer, brute force. Shouldn’t be too much of a problem, considering what she was. Even if it was a killing machine whose sole purpose was to bring about destruction, she was a being superior even to that.

“So, OMNI, shall you COME TO ME, or am I to COME TO YOU?”

It…knows what I am? It just called her an ‘Omni’, the term for a being who was incapable of death, destined to live forever so as to enact out their role of being the judge of all reality, and there had only ever been two in existence, the one before her being her adoptive father, Protheus Maximus. They were like liches in a way, with their souls preventing any progression in occur in any form to the point that they were constants even in time, refusing to exist in alternate continuities. All damage wasn’t merely regenerated through the use of energy, it was negated, restored back to its original form. That was the type of being she was. An immortal.

But, that shouldn’t be the surprising part. It was only natural to assume that it knew everything about her, since it knew about her ideals and what she hoped to achieve, even though she hadn’t told a single soul about the existence of the Pathway to Origin, let alone what she intended to accomplish within it.

What was surprising was how it was put…as though it were insulting her status, daring her to prove that she was worthy of the title ‘Maximus’. So you wanna see what I’m made of? Fine. Then I’ll show you!

Isamy’s cloak glowed with teal energy, lighting up the darkness around her and enhancing her own strength and speed as much as she could, before thrusting herself back down towards the ground. Her enemy responded immediately by lunging upwards like a panther, its three scythes slashing in highly impractical ways she could never manage herself, but that didn’t matter. Using her dark-matter cloak and stockings, curling up into a ball, she absorbed the brunt force of them all and crashed past the Grim Reaper’s defenses with power equivalent to that of a burning meteor, forcing back all three scythes. No matter how much power it had, she had more, since that was what it meant to be an Omni.

Just as the embodiment of death was about to put some space between them, she took out Tabris in a circular motion and blocked its escape route by hooking around its back, being quick to take advantage of this and rush in. Wide torrents of black wisps suddenly shot out of its cloak to delay her, but she countered them via bursting all the mana contained in her body in the form of light magic, allowing her to advance at the cost of burning off parts of her skin, closing in on the final meter that separated them.

“You DARE-”

“.الأول”

Then, focusing all her muscle and energy into her left arm with a chanted spell, she delivered a clenched, well-deserved fist of justice directly into the Grim Reaper’s face with as much strength as she could muster, its hood falling open to reveal the skull she’d just connected with, slamming the figure straight into the ground with an audible crack.

Before it could get back up, she made sure to pin its three arms to the ground by stabbing energy knives through each wrist, before stepping right on top of the being and forcing her foot against its skull in a threatening way to prevent it from getting up at all. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, but the stockings alone were made of dark matter, making it very possible for her to crush its head should she so fit.

"And that's that. You thought you could beat me, but nope, you lost. It is true that your power may have hold over others, but none of those things work on me. It’s time you face the truth that the hopes and ideals of people, dreaming for a better life, will always prevail over the darkness. Now surrender, and I’ll go on my merry way and complete the rest of the Pathways!” The immortal declared confidently.

Her body was currently regenerating from the damage they’d had to suffer to achieve victory. She’d cracked burned her own skin, suffered deep gashes, and cracked all the bones in her left hand in that one assault, but they were all being repaired at a rapid pace without her having to do anything. Such was what it meant to be an Omni. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t die, not even if they were facing the very embodiment of death itself.

“Once I reach the Door of Origin, I’ll make sure that there’s not a single person left in this multiverse who’ll fall victim to your pitiful schemes...and believe me, I have thought this over.” She reassured it with a calm smile, speaking gently. “Honestly, I don’t really like you, but you’ll keep your individuality as a harbinger of destruction and ultimately reach your own fulfillment, since I’m sure you love your role more than anything else and you’d hate to have me make that role meaningless. But I know, I understand that reality needs death, and I won’t remove it. It’ll just be in such a way that everyone else can still find their own happiness as well. I’m not going to force anyone to abide by my idea of what ‘happiness’ is because, you know, I’m flawed just like everyone else. I can’t begin to count the amount of people I’ve hurt by doing whatever I want, choosing what’s right and what’s not like I’m the standard that everyone else should follow…and I’ve realized now, that’s wrong. I’m just going to guarantee that everyone will attain something happy in their lives, both the good people and the bad. That, at the very end, not a single death will be in vain. It’s true, I’ll have to create and shoulder all their burden as a result of it. Call it idiotic mercy if you will, but that’s just how it’s going to work. So you can rest assured, Grim Reaper... Even you will live happily ever after in the new reality.”

A silence passed by for a few seconds.

“That…might actually be good…” The dark entity admitted weakly, staring up at the ceiling with empty sockets in its eyes.

Afterwards, Isamy let out a deep sigh, putting her Tabris scythe back over her shoulder to signify her victory. In any case, after this, there would still be about twenty or so more kilometers to go and there was no telling what would come next, so she would have to save her strength for then.

It was very possible that the next two Pathways, that of Truth and Remembrance, would be even harsher than this one, and that the opponents awaiting her there would be a lot harder. All in all, the Pathway to Origin was a hundred and five kilometers in total length, so she wasn’t even a quarter of way through yet right now, and already she was having to face difficulties. However, no matter what happened, she’d definitely be capable of—
 

~ I was waiting for this moment ~

“…but alas, I HAVE A BETTER IDEA.”

Before the sorceress had even realized what had happened, three more scythes appeared from the Grim Reaper’s bottom end, held by more skeletal arms appearing where its legs should be, hooked around her shoulders and neck and immediately slammed her head first into the ground before she could retaliate in any way, pinning her there.

“W- what are you…?!” She gasped out, but the air was promptly sucked out of her lungs by some mysterious force as the Grim Reaper got back up with its cracked skull not showing any sign of expression, putting up its hood again. Dark wisps madly flew from all directions to combine with it as if being called, along with all the carvings on the walls which dissolved to join in the flurry. Slowly but surely, darkness was accumulating within its body, and its cloak kept convulsing, somewhat reminiscent of a water balloon that could explode at any given moment.

“Your idea is AMUSING, but I know something that could make me even HAPPIER.”

Cursing to herself, she realized that she should’ve known such a despicable being would try something like this, but it’d be something she’d have to fix. This time, she wouldn’t show it any mercy whatsoever. Yet when, she attempted to tear her way out and stop it before it could finish whatever it was doing, she found that she didn’t have the strength to. It was as though even her own energy were being stolen away by the same force that was strengthening her enemy right now.

The expanding black cloak then burst open to reveal the Grim Reaper’s newly-transformed monstrous appearance, now towering over her with a much more gigantic form, standing over fifty feet in such a way that it was almost as large as the corridor itself. Bones of all kinds, mostly skulls, were melded unevenly all along what barely appeared to be a skeletal frame, distorted so badly it wasn’t even close to reminiscent to human with various smaller limbs dangling outwards in random positions all wielding scythes, three massive arms and three tripod-like legs composed of conjoined skeletons, and attached to the largest, primary skull at the top was another skeleton with wings, traces of flesh and blood all over it, and a notable red glow in its eyesockets, looking far downwards at her trapped form to mock her.

Frankly, it was a terrifying sight, but she kept her calm. It wasn’t scary, but just a typical, cliché final form that was far too exaggerated for anyone to talk seriously – thinking about it that way helped clear her mind, enabling her to focus on what was more important right now. What exactly was it doing? What did it hope to achieve by entering this form? Really, it’d be easier for her to beat it this way since it wouldn’t be able to evade any of her blasts. It should know that no matter what it did, there was no possible way it could hope to destroy her…

“And that is TAKING AWAY your IMMORTALITY.

Let us SEE how well you fare WITHOUT IT! The DESPAIR in your eyes when you REALIZE that your QUEST is IMPOSSIBLE will entertain me FAR MORE than some childish happy ending!”


No.

No…

No, just no.

No, that was impossible.

He could say it a million times, but that wouldn’t change the fact that it was impossible. So no.

It must’ve been a bluff because there couldn’t possibly be any way to achieve that. Even if she’d brought her soul with her, it was in the form of her most important memories, which it did not have any power over. Her status as an Omni wasn’t merely a power of hers, but her nature, having been fused together with her very existence from beginning to end. To get rid of it was to alter space and time themselves…

But then again, this was the Pathway to Death, and it was the embodiment of death itself of all things that she ended up having to confront. Therefore, it wasn’t totally unreasonable to assume that it was capable of such a thing, and it did seem like it was perfectly capable of such thing. As much as she wanted to stubbornly deny it,that was about the most foolish way she could act under these circumstances, which case, she had to stop it. She had to stop it right, right now. RIGHT NOW, BEFORE IT ENDED HER QUEST!

“NO! YOU WON’T!” Isamy screamed out, losing her composure.

She strained her body to move no matter what the consequences, even if she had to slice her arms off with the scythes pinning her down, but for once in her life the dark matter was working against her. By being indestructible, there was no way they could cut through, so the only way was to break the scythes somehow. However, all her attempts at generating energy, as though the unknown force was a field that negated all forms of magic. How much time did she have? Minutes? Seconds? Whilst the sorceress was struggling against the bladed bonds, the air rumbled heavily as Death’s arms moved towards her with outstretched ‘hands’, and try though she may, there was no way to avoid them considering that she couldn’t use magic… Wait.

There was another way. There was another way she could get out of this! Instead of focusing on the mana in her body, she focused on her own mind, staring down at the scythes. They started to shake in response to her thoughts and ultimately broke off, before being tossed far off. It had been so long that she’d almost forgotten about it, but before being a magician, she was a psychic.

Now that she was free, she quickly got up and prepared to…

…prepared to…

It was too late, as the arms had already reached to and proceeded to enclose around Isamy’s entire body, and

Everything distorted

Everything

disappeared

Her surroundings changed from darkness to space, and she saw the galaxies and everything, and every person that she had ever met, and everything that she had ever learned and experienced, all flashing by her. Her head was aching badly, but she pressed on, knowing that she couldn’t just stay around and watch. She had to go back and stop the enemy before it took her… her powers. If it succeeded, how could she possibly be expected to win? She’d probably end up getting killed by the first enemy she encountered, or worse, starve to death before even making it there.

It was hurting badly, meaning that the process had already started, a sharp feeling burying itself deep into her and pulling as if to tear something out from her existence, but she would not allow that. She could not afford to allow that. She had to get out of this realm, wake up, and do whatever it takes to save herself, because if she lost her immortality and all her powers, then HOW could she

po

ssibl

y

---

~ the dreams fade before dawn ~

Isamy was now within a white room, not unlike the one she’d started off with, but in place of the three doors was a single mirror. Walking towards it, it reflected the girl’s own image, and though she wasn’t one to care about beauty, she felt the strange temptation to check it out. It wasn’t like there was anything else important going on right now, apart from a rather annoying headache at the back of her head, so she could afford to waste a little time.

I really don’t look a day older than seventeen, huh? Technically, she should be an old lady, but she’d never really felt that way at all, like her mental age hadn’t advanced either despite all that she’d learned throughout the past century.

Her skin was pale and she had a small frame, but it wasn’t like she was weak or anything since she did used to exercise as a human, building up her strength since, at times, the kind of places her father dragged her to were really harsh. She wore a pleated plaid skirt plus black stockings that went up to her thighs, along with a long-sleeved shirt that had a bow and red vest over it. It was an outfit that was at times a little too cute for a hero, and maybe a little too casual as well, but she switched over to it since the other one always got her odd looks from everyone. Not that this one helped much, since in her desire to make herself stand out, she put on a small black gown and hat to add a little more flair.

…come to think of it, wasn’t there something a little odd here? Something different? She frowned, staring hard at her own reflection, perhaps in an attempt to figure out the secrets buried deep within it——and it was only then that she began to realize what it was that bothered her.

“How…”

Her hair wasn’t teal anymore, but had reverted back to its original, natural black colour.

“No, that’s…”

Her eyes were now both green, lacking the teardrop tattoos that ought to be there.

“That’s not…!”

And her clothes, which should’ve been sustained by her magic to have the property of dark matter, were now normal without a spacial tone. Ordinary, and very much destructible. The same went for her scythe Tabris, which she’d just noticed lying by her feet. As she tried to process the meaning of what her reflection meant, she reached down to pick it up, noting that the curved blade was now dull metal, and the shaft now made of wood.

Starting to panic, she turned around, whereupon she saw a second mirror. However… This one was empty. As if to signify someone, someone that ought to be there with her, was missing.

There was only one possible explanation for how all this could’ve possibly transpired, which she must’ve known deep down, but it refused to come up. Just thinking about it made her sick. How did it happen in the first place? It occurred to her that she had no idea why she was here, her mind being close to empty. Why was she here? Where was she anyway? Shouldn’t she be somewhere else, someplace far more important? Taking some time to pause, Isamy tried to will herself to remember, questioning herself constantly as if rehearsing for a play.

What was she going to do again?

She was going to - complete the Pathways.

She was going to - reach the Door of Origin at the end.

Because, they’re all - counting on her.

Who’s ‘they’? Everyone.

Even evil? Even evil, the worst of the worst, just like that Grim Reaper from earlier… Hold on.

Ah... So that's it. With that, all her memories started pouring back in, explaining everything as she remembered it all. Her mission, where she was, what she’d been hoping to accomplish here, who she was, what had just happened and why it happened. She’d faced her ultimate enemy, the manifestation of everyone’s suffering, and it had taken her off-guard before going on to steal away the Omni Principle engraved deep within her soul.

At this realization, what little excitement she might’ve had at regaining her memories was replaced by a growing despair. She did manage to free herself earlier, but was pretty sure she hadn’t succeeded since by then, it must’ve been too late. Even though she remembered all this, she could tell that there were a few important blanks. Six blanks, to be more exact, though she was able to work out their contents by examining her other memories. Amongst them, the time she met her father, the time she first became an Omni, a few times that seemed to severely affect her current way of thinking, and perhaps there were various others…but it wasn’t hard for her to figure those must have been what she’d chosen to sustain her immortality. Their absence was proof of her complete, utter failure to save herself, her journey having come to an end. Even if she pressed on from this point onwards, it would mean nothing.

So it’s over now, huh, Isamy thought sadly, now a mere, puny human that couldn’t hope to accomplish anything. As if to let go of reality, she stared up at the ceiling blankly.

There are tons of dead . . . . . . . . . out there . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . heart and soul . . . . be awesome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inter . . act . . . . characters . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . so much potential to this concept . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r . nd . . . . r . . so . . . . o . . . l ay . . .

Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me. Her regret took a sharp turn once very, very familiar voices at the back of her head started seeping in. Of all the things that could’ve stayed, why oh why did it have to be TIME SENSE? The most USELESS ability anyone could ever possibly have? Shaking her head, she mentally blocked out them again just as she always did, though they persisted on as a headache.

But then again, that reminded her of something else she was capable of, something she’d had even prior to becoming an Omni, and something that, uh, also happened to cause headaches. Her psychic powers.

Isamy thought to herself for a moment, but it only took a moment for her to regain her determination. Even if she didn’t have anything else left, she was still alive, wasn’t she? As long as she was conscious and could move, then there was no reason for her to give up.

It didn’t matter what sort of troubles she had to go through, since even if she no longer had unbelievable power, that didn’t mean she could just stop. It wasn’t just a few counting upon her, but an infinite amount of people from every world, every universe, every continuity. Everyone. With that many lives on the line, she had no right to stop and complain about her own insignificant, trivial little problems if it meant that that many people could smile in satisfaction as a result of what she would accomplish here in the Pathway to Origin.

She had been fighting for over a hundred years, fighting for what she believed in, and even though there’d been so many people standing in her way and so many things to face as well as work around, not once did she back off, even during all the times when she had felt utterly helpless. Think back, Isamy, to all the people you’ve met. Each and every one of them had been a brave mortal, destined to die at some point in the near future, and yet they always fought for their beliefs. They always strived for the unattainable, putting their lives on the line. By despairing about something as trivial as this, she was being both a coward and a hypocrite. Thus, if they could it during those times, then it made NO SENSE for her of all people to give in here, regardless of the dangers. She would defy all the odds against her and seize her dream!

“So what if I’m no longer an Omni?! So what if I can die now?! As long as I’m still breathing, then—” Then, just like that, the white room shattered in response to her will, making way for reality.

.

.

.

---

.

.

.

“Haa… Haaaaaahh…!!!”

Panting heavily while surrounded by an unnatural darkness, a faint smile grew on Isamy’s face as she finally reached the end of this gloomy, bleak pathway, signified by the wide stone staircase leading upwards with intense orbs of light lining the way. Without a second thought, the girl started climbing it with calm steps, remaining on-guard. Using her psychic powers, she’d barely escaped the grasp of the monstrous Grim Reaper and made it to the other end of the corridor before it could catch up, though it was at the cost of a really big headache that was throbbing even now after what must’ve been hours and hours.

How much time had passed anyway? A broken hand, uneven, bleeding cut, and red burn marks along her skin were all factors that served to slow her down, none of them showing signs of regenerating anytime soon. But right now, since she had no way to treat any of them, all she could do was force herself to bear with the pain and try not to move too much. Hopefully, one of the other Pathways might have something, but who knew really. Even though Tabris was mostly useless at this point, being nothing but dead weight now that she no longer possessed hulk-like strength, she still brought the scythe along over her shoulder. It was heavy enough that she would have to use two hands to effectively use it though, and with

Having had to walk over ten kilometers as a human in this bad condition, it must’ve been understandable that she was exhausted, but she pressed on anyway. Rest could wait until she was back in the White Room, the real one. All the arrogance and bravado, the burning will she’d had at the start had pretty much disappeared, replaced by desperation and dread at anything that may lash out and try to take advantage of her horrible state.

Luckily, while on the way, she hadn’t encountered anything but harmless lampposts. Though she hadn’t thought much of them at first, it turned out that they were there to protect her from the darkness, which would assault her like a raging ocean whenever it had the chance, forcing her to stick close to them and dread every single time they flickered or malfunctioned. Each time that happened, visions would cross her mind, but they all consisted of the same thing—her, standing alone for all eternity in some sort of place, fading away, never seeing the light again. A pitiful existence never acknowledged by reality. Was that supposed to be the future, the price she’d have to pay were she to strive onwards all the way towards the end?

At last, she reached the end of the first pathway, where a dark stone tablet had been awaiting her arrival.

‘Are you willing to embrace your fate’?

Isamy instantly understood that this was a question she would have to answer honestly from the bottom of her heart, and that there would be no way to advance otherwise. It was impossible to lie either to herself or to the realm that knew about her, so just answering wouldn’t do anything. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to look deep within herself.

Then, with newly-discovered determination, burning brighter than ever before, she opened her eyes again and said, “Yes. Who knows how many out there have it much worse than I do? This is for them. This is for everyone. No matter what sort of suffering I’ll have to bear with, if it means that everyone else can smile with hope in their life, I’ll do it…!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she took a step forward and placed her hand against the monument, at which point it burst out with swirling crimson energies and absorbed her into it, almost as if it intended to consume them for the rest of eternity - but then, just a second later, she found herself standing right back in the white room she'd started off with.

One two, down to go.


End Position: White Room
 

to be continued

~ Protheus Maximus ~
The Pathway to Truth(X - Inner Self)

What he was met with on the other side was certainly not anything he’d expected. After all, the world before his eyes was barren beyond belief.

In that singed, joyless environment, the only thing that truly existed was ‘him’, and everything else had been scorched away by an unknown force which apparently no longer existed, leaving only an infinite amount of crimson sand stretching over the horizon. However, even an ordinary desert couldn’t possibly be so… so utterly lifeless. Being crypt-quiet, not a single sound was made, neither by the slightest gust of wind nor by the most insignificant animals that ought to be traversing far, far away, and as if to mock the sole presence in the realm, the sky had taken on a bloodlike hue. An eternal crucible of death all the way to the end, and the only thing that could be sensed was a faint residue of emotion.

How dull, Protheus thought to himself, kicking the sand in a bored manner after having analyzed his surroundings, having determined that there was nothing here. Like, at all. The whole existence of this place was nothing but a worthless waste of space. The truth field appeared to have been dropped, so he was capable of lying again, but he doubted that it would do him much good here. Is this supposed to be the intermediate area that I have to go through before facing my true self? What exactly am I expected to do here?

Unable to let himself merely stand around and do nothing, he decided to go about exploring this ungodly realm despite being well aware that there was nothing here. This emptiness wasn’t just boring, it was annoying as well. Within moments, his enthusiasm at encountering the truth within his heart was being steadily sapped away, replaced by a void that ached to be filled. For there was nothing here. Nothing high up in the sky above, nothing buried in the sand below. It was the simplest set-up ever, and yet, it was precisely because of that that it was frustrating him, lacking even the basic hints of variation that normal realms possessed. He could gain nothing by being here.

Time passed, or at least, that was how it seemed like.

Tick, one second passed.

Tock, two days passed.

Tick, three months passed.

Tock, four years passed.

The only way to prove that time was really passing was by counting each second, but even then, the ticking of time may only be an illusion within his mind. To everyone else, whole years may have passed even though it had only been a few minutes for him, or it could be the other way around. Or was it this whole eternity nothing but an instant to everyone else?

He may not have traversed any distance at all either. In fact, thinking about it logically, he hadn’t, for to traverse distance was to imply that his position in the grand scheme of things had changed slightly, and that he was closer to one thing and further away from another. However, distance did not matter at all when everything was the same to begin with, which made the act of moving itself a joke.

With a progression rate of zero in both the field of time and the field of space, nothing could be attained. And hence, holding neither respite nor mercy towards the man who journeyed alone through the sands, the desert offered him nothing. It would not give him such satisfaction. Perhaps this was how it was supposed to work—denying him anything but sand and his own body. Within a realm that lacked even the slightest variation to give him any feeling other than boredom, than an unfilled void, it was as if it were attempting to kill him this way. Cursing him to forever wander a desolate land, whilst wishing that he would slowly deteriorate amidst the time that was pointlessly being wasted away. And then, perhaps, he would eventually reach his own end.

But of course, that was but a blasphemous desire... As if there was such a thing as an end for Protheus Maximus!

Once it occurred to him that this was the intent, a smug grin formed on his face. “Here, take a good look!” Opening up his right arm, he triumphantly held out the cubic mini-universe before all to bear witness to, an act that was equivalent to defying a motionless corpse. “Behold, the Key of Origin! I wasn’t sure whether one existed at first, or whether or not the Pathway really needed one, but that bratty girl paved the way and cleared up all the uncertainties that kept me from taking this seriously. And now here it is! Look at how close I am to attaining my dream!”

His voice echoed with a high and pompous tone despite falling on deaf ears, and like a crazed madman who simply had to make one thing clear, he went on, regardless of the fact that he was totally alone.

“Truly, can anyone else claim to have done the same? Can anyone else claim that they may stand parallel to infinity? Whatever you are, feel free to drown in your own despair or be blinded with your own ideals, for it matters not! Just two more Pathways, a few more insects to crush, and then my continued existence will be guaranteed! So even if you try to trap me in something like this, given enough time, I’ll find out a way to get past it! I always have, so you may as well give up! After all—I AM GOING TO LIVE FOREVER.”

Once the man had finished with his rant, his words hung in the air for a long, passing moment, as though the eternal sands were taking some time to understand and absorb such a statement.

Then, perhaps it was the strangeness of the speech, perhaps it was the sheer arrogance, or perhaps due to some other unfathomable reason, ultimately the world stirred as a result of it, ever so slightly, with that same trace of unchanging emotion that had been scattered about everywhere since the start. A response that meant nothing, but resonated so as to convey an anguished meaning to the heart in such a way that anyone could have understood it.
 

but

bUt THaT Was NOT what I wAnTED

 

Anyone that is, except for the dark sorcerer himself.

Observing as the sand noticeably swirled here and there, he dropped his arms in smug satisfaction at having managed to draw its attention, although the meaning behind it having apparently flown over his head.

"So... now what?"

~ Arturia Pendragon w/ Neos Rivetter, Emiya Kiritsugu & Gemini ~
The Pathway to Death [A9 - leftmost corridor]

Gemini jumped back away from the blade, having caught sight of the crimson and immediately placed himself on-guard. Even he knew that most shades of red were a bad thing to see outside of fire-related magics, which this did not looked to be.

However, instead of swinging back, Gemini instead took a moment to look into his newfound foe, as if he was trying to study Arturia at a level most would be unable to pull off. Tilting his head in one direction, Gemini narrowed his eyes at the armored knight. “She’d be Steel/Dragon, hm,” he faintly muttered to himself in a questioning tone. “Well, then...” Doing his best to stay out of the blade’s swings, though one or two did manage to slice through his dark-purple suit jacket to draw transparent yellow blood, he had managed to Transform at quite a quick pace, the new form using the large white claws that appeared upon his paws to block further the blade with multiple clangs. “Weav,” it grunted as the dark-blue and reddish creature tried to get some space between itself and the maddened Guardian by a decent distance back when a thought suddenly crossed its mind.

He was not Arturia’s true foe on this path, so why was she focusing on him? He would have absolutely no issues with sitting this fight out now that his double was out of it for the time being! He tried to make this clear too by running out of the range of battle, towards the end on the darkened path...though in her state, clarity of mind may not be a present thing. Or maybe she was thinking clearly, but had simply chosen to forego the chivalric persona she held up so as to fulfill her given role as a Counter Guardian. It was hard to tell.

It might’ve only been moments later that he realized there’d been something wrong when he deflected that blade, because for some reason, his transformation seemed less stable than it should’ve - and right then, as the knight parted away from him, the shape of her crimson-glowing blade appeared to morph somewhat, becoming longer and more defined in appearance. Had his...had some of his power actually been stolen?! He could have understood the aura-related abilities being swiped for a second, but something that was a physical part of his genecode? How?!

“Ah, so that’s what it does.” Arturia muttered to herself dully, looking down at the weapon in her hand. Its shape fluxed in response to her thoughts now, having somehow assimilated a part of Gemini’s ability, though not by very much, and it was currently a little slow in terms of reaction and transformation. Probably due to how short the contact had been, in which case, it’d become more fluid over time if she launched a second assault.

It didn’t even need to be said twice that he needed to get out of here as soon as possible, but as it just so happened, the Pokemon’s path was blocked by a torrent of wind that rushed past him and proceeded to condense into what appeared to be stormclouds, which expanded so as to fully enshroud the exit route, preventing any escape. Whilst it wasn’t fully solid, flashes of light from the streaks of lightning within made it very clear that it’d be too dangerous to enter.

Gemini, through the eyes of its current form, stared at the storm for the smallest of moments before shaking his head, glancing back towards the unhonorable knightess that was coming for him.

“Vile wea,” he simply muttered under his breath before glowing with a dark-blue glow into another, considerably-larger and rounder form than earlier, soon revealing a more-stoney appearance, a near-grey center with light-brown head and limbs. Without even sparing the thought to think, the creature of earth rolled into himself before beginning to bowl through and under the storm above and around.

“Gol…” As he rolled, his speed increased and yet he showed no signs of dizziness or rolling off-track by accident, the current state apparently used to such an action. However, in his head, he was mentally kicking himself for not taking on a form that could use some form of telepathy or he would have started ripping on the armored biatch for how she was being.

Yeah, he was a Grade-A a s s h o l e, and he rather-willingly admitted it, but even he had standards, dammit. If she had saved his life, he wouldn’t have tried to kill her. Once.

Even with his ability to see the whole of the current timeline up until now, he couldn't see another instance of this strange trick...unless something was messing with such.

“You won’t escape…!” Arturia began, about to charge in further in when a sudden volley of bullets from the side shot towards her, forcing her to back away so as to avoid being hit, rolling as she did so.

“How unsightly.”

There, in the darkness of the corridor stood Kiritsugu, holding a modern machine gun with both his hands whilst struggling against the heavy winds, although his eye was more focused on the bladed weapon than on the individual holding it. For now, that would be his highest priority. If its ability was what he thought it was, then it’d certainly be troublesome to get around, and as for where it came from - well, only one possible explanation came to mind which, if true, would mean that the knight would be a lot more of a troublesome opponent that he’d have expected.

“So, King of Knights, I see that you’ve finally revealed your true colours.” He remarked, just as several red blasts of energy launched themselves at him. However, just as he moved to dodge them, they all exploded abruptly in midair.

As Kiritsugu’s senses were blinded with an intense vermillion light, Arturia used this opportunity to race towards him with aid from the wind, closing the distance between them in an instant and swinging her sword forth in an attempt to slice him apart. He was only barely able to react in time to mutter ‘Time Alter - Square Accel’. In response, time slowed down to a fourth all around him though it was really him who was moving four times as fast. However, even then, Arturia was still moving ridiculously fast, giving him less than a second to react. Throwing away the machine gun, he went to quickly grab onto her wrist with his left hand and reach out for the Thompson Contender with his right.

His plan had been to redirect her arm’s course to aid in dodging it and ultimately buy the time he needed, yet just as he’d grabbed onto it, his eyes opened wide in surprise as another, shorter knife-length blade burst out from her wrist at an odd angle and stabbed into his hand, the sudden pain sending a shock through his body. She...she’d protruded another blade from the bottom of the sword hilt and had it stab through her own hand in order to get to him? Just how badly did she wish to seize victory?!

Pain like this served only as a minor distraction, but it was more than enough as not only did it cancel out the speed state he was under, but also allowed for her sword to continue onwards. A split second later, his right arm was severed by the shoulder, cutting him off from the gun by his waist and having a large amount of blood splutter out from the massive wound.

“U- urgh…! Time Alter - Squa—”

Just as Kiritsugu was about to use it one more time in order to enact an appropriate counterattack, her other hand shot forth and immediately clenched around his neck, making sure to squeeze tightly enough so as to sever his air supply. Like this, now in a helpless state, she picked him up from the ground and regarded the man with a cold look. It wasn’t that he needed to speak to activate the spell, but as he was currently within the knight’s grasp, it wouldn’t mean anything even if he did due to her immense strength. It wouldn’t take a tenth of a second for her to snap his neck.

Holding up the man in the trenchcoat, the heavy winds and stormclouds swirling everywhere dispersed into the outer air,

Had she been conserving her energy earlier in their fight? If that were the case, then perhaps he should’ve been more alert. Of course, as she was expecting future, more difficult battles in the future, it wasn’t much of a stretch to assume that she’d been holding herself back to deal with them.

“I have but one question for you, Emiya Kiritsugu.” Arturia said, speaking what was on her mind now that she had the advantage. She paused a bit to let him say something, but all that came out were pained gasps. Well, it was only natural - she was choking him after all.

“Why? Why are you so... different? So different from what I’d heard? Your… Your adopted son,” For just a moment, her voice faltered at those last few words, but she shook her head to regain her coldhearted resolve. “from him, I learned that you’d changed. That you’d come to settle down and appreciate your life. That you were fair and compassionate, and valued all those close to you. You became a different man, but then why—why are you the exact same monster I remember and despise?!”

She lightened the amount of force slightly to let him speak, but at first, all Kiritsugu did was give her a scornful look that expressed nothing but hatred, but the utmost contempt, directed at everything she stood for both as a king and as a guardian.

“B- be…cause…!”

He was practically coughing out his words, forcing his vocal cords as he struggled to speak under such circumstances, though she wasn’t about to show him any more mercy lest he take advantage of that to turn the tables.

“You...d- don’t under...understand!”

“Understand what exactly?” Arturia asked harshly, tightening her grip again, which triggered a series of forced, unsightly wheezing from his mouth, suffocating, before he managed to speak again.

“W- w- what y- you’ll do...” A cough. “No one w- wants.” More coughing. His body was beginning to convulse at this point, his muscles wearing thin and his legs kicking at empty space in a desperate attempt to free him, although his expression refused to show any sign of actual pain to her. Biting his tongue, he forced his head to look up and face her questioning eyes directly. “NO ONE… a- and yet, you make them DIE FOR IT!”

Though everything that came out of his mouth was hoarse and only just barely intelligible, she fully grasped the point. To her, the Counter Corps were but nameless soldiers whose purpose was to be sacrificed for a greater cause, one which pertained to the safety of the multiverse above all else, yet none of them were aware of it. It had always been a part of her that she’d been good at - as the King of Britain, how many times had she led an army of warriors to their death for the sole purpose of gaining a small advantage in war? Did the amount of lives lost weigh out with the alternatives, with what could’ve been? Was it truly necessary? That was what he was criticizing.

To put it simply, it wasn’t her actions, but the end result of everything they were fighting that he despised. Every dream and every wish they had, she was to deny. Even her own.

“I see. So what you’re saying is that I shouldn’t? Strange. I’d have thought you of all people might agree with my mission, considering what’s at stake. By not wanting it… Isn’t that selfishness?”

“C- conse...quences. You... Your ac-... actions...!”

“I’m well aware of that. There are bound to be repercussions once this Origin War comes to a close. Still, I fail to understand your point.”

“N- not e...even you want it! So——”

‘So WHAT’S THE POINT?!’ was what he planned on finishing with, but he didn’t get a chance to say it as his neck ultimately gave in to the pressure and ended up snapped in half. Just like that, the struggling Kiritsugu fell completely limp, motionless, and once it was clear that there was no more life left in him, she mercilessly discarded his body straight afterwards by dropping it to the floor, not unlike disposing of trash.

Arturia stared down at the corpse of the man for a short while, watching as it faded away, before turning her gaze over into the distance to take care of the second enemy. Gemini. It seemed that he wasn’t going on the offensive against her, however, chances were that he’d prove to be an obstacle for her and the Counter Corps later in the future. Hence, it was best to deal with such an entity right now while it could still be handled.

She wasn’t gonna find him. If, somehow, the blade had also stolen the ability to see and manipulate Aura, manipulate life force itself, he would be even more impossible to see.

Beyond the edge of the suns’ light, which were all starting to finally fade, an invisible form watched from the distance, suddenly thankful he had not fully disappeared from the place. A mute click of the tongue was made before a human form began to appear in the darkness as Arturia ran far toward where he had rolled.

“Hm, from what I've seen of Protheus, I’m not sure he’s the biggest enemy here,” he whispered to himself, catching the glimpse of a particular black dragonling entering the light herself as well as a strange red glowing orb as he did before disappearing from view once more, vanishing into the dark fully with Camouflage before jumping up into the air and following her mutely with Levitate.

I may have to get involved in this fight after all, Gemini thought to himself before looking down at the front of his jacket, where he had Neos’ white Pokeball within the inside front pocket of. Even if only to make sure what I wish to have isn’t utterly destroyed… He stopped midway in his ‘flight’ as a thought occurred to him, however, keeping the knight in his view when he did. How was he going to leave the Path? This particular body he was using was created by the Path itself and possibly couldn’t leave it...

"If you won't confront me willingly, then I'll have to force you to do so!"

Then, just as the thought occurred to him, a ball of crimson energy was thrown up into the air by Arturia, before erupting into hundreds of arrows that proceeded to raze the whole area around her in a search for the hidden Gemini.

[Gαr]

Ed and Elsa, Path of Remembrance

 

---

Ed spent the next two years at the church. Having moved around so much with Pietro, staying in one place bored Ed. The limited healing magic Pietro taught made him useful for the church’s healing purposes. The other wards there were orphans from the earlier stages of the war. He couldn’t make friends with the other children because they were too traumatized to interact with each other and Ed was too busy helping around the church healing. The days blurred together as it was wake up, heal for a bit, eat, heal some more, then sleep. The rhetoric didn’t get old until Ed reached the ripe old age of ten and his magic started to get stronger. Healing people every day was so ingrained in his head that he did not even consider it proficient magic and wanted to expand his magic horizons. One day, he just up and left the church, not even thinking about his part at the church. He hitched a ride with a passing through mage. The mage felt it was their time to start passing on their knowledge and took Ed in as their apprentice.

 

Ed spent a few months with the mage before leaving them. He found another mage and learned some more from them. He repeated this process over and over until he thought he was proficient, which for a fifteen year old was not a lot, especially when that proficiency was a rudimentary knowledge of elemental magic. Traveling to the next village over, he came across a rebel camp and saw the soldiers training. He was impressed by their discipline especially those of the swordsman. Ed was just a teen who spent his time amassing a basic knowledge in different kinds of magic and seeing such coordination with something that wasn’t magic based, Ed was immediately hooked. He broke off a branch from a nearby tree and imitated the soldiers’ movement. Ed thought he was so cool that he could do some basic sword techniques that he ran to the next town to find someone that would teach him swordsmanship.

---

 

Elsa pulled Ed’s hand out of the water when he started to slip closer to the surface. “We’re leaving now.”

 

“Don’t you want to see your past again?”

 

“I already lived it, why would I want to go through it all over again?” she said with a bit of an edge in her voice.

 

Ed shook off his hand to get off the excess water and sat quietly while Elsa rowed the pair to the other side of the cold ass lake. They reached the snowy shore and disembarked. The shore was quiet and calm and that would’ve been a dead giveaway that there was danger nearby, but they knew this was the end of the Path. They climbed the really long staircase that wasn’t really that long compared to what they went through to climb them. They finally reached the dark pond at the top and a question appeared in their minds.

 

‘Are you satisfied with your past’?

 

Elsa stepped forward even though there was no need to. “Satisfied is not the word I would use. No, I don’t like my past, not one bit of it. I felt so lonely and isolated…I hated myself…I hated myself for things I couldn’t control…but here’s the thing. I may despise what brought me here to this moment, to this life, but I can rise above it. Where I come from is not what defines my life, it’s where I go from there that does.”

 

She felt the barrier dissipate, but didn’t go forward. Instead, she looked back at Ed, motioning him forward.

 

“Yeah, I’m satisfied. My past is what set me forward on my path. Is what I have done the reason I’m doing what I’m doing? No, but it’s the reason why I’m here in the first place.”

 

The barrier dissipated for Ed. Before they entered the pond, Elsa said to him, “The next Path we’re doing is Truth, right?”

 

Ed knew that wasn’t a question and he could help, but smile as he entered the White Room.

 

Ed and Elsa, Path of Truth A1

 

They both went through the door for Truth in synch even though they no way of knowing what the other was doing at the same time. The long walk down the wooden corridor was obviously discomforting, but the thought of seeing each other at the end made the other forget the discomfort. Elsa was the first to emerge from the darkness with wind ripping through her newly acquired coat. “Damn…” was the only thing she said when she saw the vast expanse of clear sky before her. Ed appeared behind and whistled at the sky.

 

"Shall we?"

 

Elsa sighed with happy exasperation. "Did you really just ask that?" She laughed quietly. "Honestly."

 

Gon, Path of Remembrance

 

The threat of the Chimera Ant was eliminated. The purpose that brought the entity back into Gon had been fulfilled, yet it remained. It slowly strode over to the dying Killua, as if it was slowly losing control or simply letting go. Gon collapsed on his knees beside his best friend. The darkness that consumed and surrounded the boy started to peel off him, dissipating as it fell on the snow. The only upside to having that darkness replace Gon's normal aura was that it left him with En active. He didn't notice at first as he too busy crying for his best friend. He stood by and did nothing as Mereum utterly demolished Killua. He was too scared. And now he was even more scared because he didn't know what to do to help Killua. As he tried to calm himself down, he finally noticed he was using En and felt the presence of two others.

 

He stood and turned towards the others, tears in his eyes and pleading for help. "Please help! Killua is hurt badly and dying." For a moment his voiced cracked. "Please...I can't lose him..."

[Tesability Black]

~The Divine - Path of Truth - Jace's POV~

"So this Gemini Rivetter is linked with your guardian, and probably has been for far longer than you've known Neos."

He stopped paying attention momentarily upon hearing these words, his thoughts in overdrive, though he did try to keep the volume of his thoughts to as close to a whisper as he could and still be able to hear himself.

"Appeared at the same time as another...how could that be? Neither of the kids he showed up with have that name, nor look like that..." Placing a gloved hand over his forehead and weaving his fingers through the bluish-black bangs then gripping them, Jace found himself sighing at a problem he felt to be missing information on.

"The only way I can find out is asking Neos himself," Jace remarked before rubbing his somewhat-crooked nose with the same hand. "The Ditto's broken my nose everytime I've tried to enter his mind without permission..."
 
He turned and started trying to walk, moving himself closer towards the end, when he felt something following behind him. Turning his head, he spotted the strange being walking behind him, having adopted a strangely-protective stance. "Why are you following me?"
 
"Should I not follow the one that keeps me together," it cryptically replied. "There is no knowing when the dark Ditto will reappear to strike."
 
This was going to be a long trip...however, he did not know that another set of invisible eyes were watching the group yet again...

Ending Point: C8

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

~The Divine - Path of Death - Tesability's POV~

"I control one of them."

No words. No thoughts. Nothing could come to mind after hearing those strange words from the woman in front of her.

"Haw?" The human, Talen, simply closed her eyes behind her wired glasses, thinking of how to explain her choice of words, however, words from another source emerged as soon as she opened her mouth.

“I have but one question for you, Emiya Kiritsugu.” Both of them turned back toward the struggle within the light, now only two in view, the armored knight and the sniper. And the knight was choking the sniper. “Why? Why are you so... different? So different from what I’d heard? Your… Your adopted son...from him, I learned that you’d changed. That you’d come to settle down and appreciate your life. That you were fair and compassionate, and valued all those close to you. You became a different man, but then why—why are you the exact same monster I remember and despise?!”

"Though I puppeteer neither of these." Turning back toward the NetMonster after a minute, the human whose clothing allowed her to almost perfectly blend into the darkness acquired a saddened look. "Come now, you really do not wish to hear this conversation. It's not---"

"Wat doesh shee wan'," Tesability flatly asked as she continued listening in, her silver leaf-ears raised to better hear.

"I don't really know, nor will the Merciful One drop any true hints, either. All that I can gather is that what she plans to do...well, yours won't be the only world gone after this, I suspect. Same with the one you tried jumping before this."

"W---" Her muzzle was clamped shut once more before she could make her outburst, though the black dragonling pulled her snout out of the human's grip. "Ai ish gonna shtop deesh!" With a pair of wingflaps did the dragon fly forward, emerging within the fading light of the suns before another, more-sinister orb manifested in front of her.

A growl emerged from her throat upon seeing the familiar being as her scales began to have electricity spark across them, making herself ready to pounce the heinous creature.

"Nemeshish! Wai yu hewe?! Ish won wowd naht enawff," she practically roared, almost missing the human appearing nearby within the light.

"That's not really Nemesis," Talen shouted up towards the Champion, who adopted a shocked look on her face for a moment. "That's representing the possibility of the entire omniverse becoming collapsed!" An invisible hand knocked her out of the sky as soon as this was said, pinning the creature against the ground for a moment. "Tes, heads up!"

"Wa---?" A spray of arrows had made themselves visible from the edge of the increasing darkness, aimed apparently at the trio of beings. Towards the strange orb, however, the arrows seemed to just go through it, like they had no effect on the being.

They didn't get to connect to the human and the NetMonster, however, for a strange dark-blue barrier surrounded each of them just in time to fend off the barrage, the strikes quick enough to all count as one strike.

And a smirk appeared on the human's face as she knowingly turned towards the source of the barrier, a pair of slightly-glowing red eyes glaring at her before allowing the energy shield to drop then disappearing into the dark. "You just hate it when anyone plays puppetteer, Gem," Talen muttered softly, impossible to be heard by the NetMonster who managed to get back up onto her paws.

Ending Point: A7

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

~Counter Corps - Path of Death - Neos' POV~

One would think that within the Pokeball, one could be considered safe from the darkness of Death's Path, that it could not reach him. However, there is more than one way to deliver a message to a being that walked the path, and there was at least one more message to deliver...

---------

"I don't believe sleeping on the floor is very comfortable," Neos heard as he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself looking up towards a white ceiling as he laid on his back upon the wooden floor below him.

"Ow...what happened," he groaned as he sat up with reclosed eyes, rubbing his head underneath his blue hair and yellow hat as he supported himself with his other hand.

"Dunno, you passed out on my floor." Daring to reopen his eyes, the brightly-dressed man found himself looking around what appeared to be some sort of small living room, the oddly-barren walls lined with a dark color of wood and a strange lack of windows. Within the center of the room was a circular table of a decent size, looking to be made entirely of white marble with light-blue interweaving throughout it with a pair of light-colored and well-polished wooden chairs sitting near of it, one of them holding a man he couldn't exactly make heads or tails of the appearance. It almost felt like something was purposely obscuring the view of this person and it made the false human uneasy. "Come, sit, have some tea. I made cinnamon."

With a bit of a shake, Neos managed to stand back onto his two feet, which still had the yellow dress shoes and black socks over them, before trying to refocus his gaze upon the stranger in the odd room, not sure whether he should be on guard around this guy or not.

"Why are we in a living ro---"

"Ah, you mean sitting room, my boy," the stranger almost-immediately corrected him with a mildly-cheerful tone, prompting the Ditto to tilt his head slightly in confusion before slowly pulling the empty chair back and taking a seat in it.

"Alright, why are we in a sitting room, then?" At this point, a semblence of a shrug could be seen from the indiscernable being, whom carefully held the metal teapot on the table with one hand before pouring them both some tea.

"Well, our paths will soon cross and I wanted to get to know you before that happened. Is there harm in that?" After a moment of thought, Neos couldn't see the fault in a statement that, to him, didn't sound to host any hostile intent as the stranger placed the steaming pot back onto the white ceramic plate in the center. Careful while holding it, Neos picked up the ceramic teacup before bringing it to his face, taking a subtle but cautious sniff before daring to drink it. Thankfully, it both smelled and tasted normal to him. "Did you think I'd poison what I'm also drinking? I'm insulted."

The Ditto looked up at this statement to see the strange blurred figure indeed drinking some of the tea, seeing that it was disappearing into the shape, and not as a stream of liquid visibly disappearing into someplace other than where the mouth would be. "Fair enough," he finally responded before gently putting it back down, almost staring at the misty shape. "My questions, for now, are 'who are you' and 'why can't I see what you look like', though."

"Ah, yes," the mysterious figure started to say soon after putting down the cup before also appearing to look towards the Ditto. "Both are good questions. While I don't have an answer for the latter, you may call me 'The Crasher'."

"Odd name..." However, before more could be seen or heard, the strange dream slowly faded into the darkness of sleep and the Path once more just before the sensation of a stinging pain filled his face...

---------

~??? - Path of Death - Gemini's POV~

And he was getting more than annoyed at the feeling that someone was trying to manipulate his actions, that his motions weren't truly his own. And he hated it.

 

"If you won't confront me willingly, then I'll have to force you to do so!"

 

However, that strange sensation was the reason that he was able to avoid the sudden incoming of arrows aimed at him, arrows that seemed to glow with bright energy.

"Arceus-dammit," he growled as he rose around himself a Protect against the arrows, the mass of them connecting at roughly the same time, making them all count as a single strike against the barrier. "She is making an enemy out of the wrong being," he growled to himself before feeling a sudden tug in one particular direction, finding himself facing the dragon and human in time to see the same arrows coming in towards them.

Shaking his head, he summoned up yet another pair of Protects, this time surrounding the human and dragon in the distance, glaring at the human knowingly, as if he realized she was the true puppeteer and that nothing could be done for the time being. But, if he was allowed his own entry into the Door, he could fix that quite easily.

"If I was my own being," he muttered before trying to find a more-empty location within the pitch-black darkness. "No one would be able to command me." Certain that no more arrows would come for him, Gemini finally reached into his dark-purple jacket and pulled out the pure-white Pokeball, tossing it lightly into the air and allowing out a still-sleeping Neos, eyes closed and laying on his side. "Giratina, help me," the dark Ditto muttered before moving the light one onto his back with a dress shoe before kneeling down and slapping Neos none-too-gently across the face.

"Wake up."

---------

~Counter Corps - Path of Death - Neos' POV~

"Wake up."

Ow, his left cheek stung more and more as Neos stirred into wakefulness, feeling slightly dazed as he stirred.

However, that feeling of confusion and daze passed almost instantly as his neon-green eyes landed on a familiar pair of vivid red ones.

"Ge---" Before Neos could release a shout, Gemini quickly covered his mouth with his own pale hand, stunning the light double.

"I wouldn't suggest letting your attempted murderer hear you," the dark Ditto responded with a serious look, all amusement in his face gone for the time being.

"What the hell is going on?" Knowing this was a bad thing to see, Neos had decided to humor his darker half, speaking in a low tone instead of the shout he wanted to release.

"Arturia tried to kill you to get rid of me," Gemini started to speak. "She doesn't seem to realize that, if she kills you, I'm trapped within the Paths as one of its permanent pawns, not erased from existance."

Neos found himself staring before deciding to finally get up onto his feet, Gemini following suit and standing up fully as well. "Why would you be the one that stays and I'd be the one erased?"

"Because...right now, Origin itself is the one in control of me, not you. And now, if you will excuse me." Picking up the Pokeball, Gemini tossed it to Neos, whom caught it, before disappearing from view.

"...I hope he stays gone this time..."

Ending Point: A9

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Path of Truth

The group looked across the battlefield at their opponents and in a flash all the combatants were airborne. Interestingly enough one of the cloaked figures stood behind and watched the others fight. Dorian did a sweep kick and spread a wave of his black flames at the three enemies but then one of the cloaked figures replied with the same move but with red flames. Oh come on seriously, you! Dorian exclaimed. Just then the cloaked figure flew straight at Dorian and tackled him to the ground. Rhadamanthys turned for just a millisecond to bare witness to what just happened. Unfortunately that was a milli second that he didn't have to spare as out the side of his perphial vision he noticed a massive lion fist come down and strike him square in the face. Once he flew back he still stayed in the air though. Butlerok and his opponent who revealed itself to be a massive blue giant with no head simply stood off against each other. I have no idea who that is. Butlerok said as the giant made its way towards him.

Rhadamanthys vs PoT Kratos:

Rhadamanthys immediately knew who it was that attacked him. Those lion based fist were none other than the fated foe he had met on the dying planet. The person who dared to embarass him in front Lord Hades-sama. This was the bald warrior for whom he must gain honor back in true combat. The cloak flew off and he bore witness to the visage of that bald warrior, Kratos, he was there equipped with the Cestus and the Winged boots of the messenger. At las...Rhadamanthys was about to experience the elation of revenge when he realized the killjoy of the truth. The fake Kratos readied himself and then like a bullet flew at Rhadamanthys. Rhadama...the fake Kratos' words were quickly muted as he Rhadamanthys appeared behind the warrior and the warrior in question was reduced to half a warrior as the top half of his body seemed to have been wiped out. Do not dare speak my name imposter! Ye who are but a lonely construct of this path have no right to take that form.
 

Butlerok vs Ugo:

Butlerok had no idea who this massive monster was that decided to face off against him. Nevertheless he went forward and attacked the monster. It wasn't until the blue headless monster used borg. Butlerok realized this was no doubt something Rukh related. Though he figured that the Pathway would at least give him an enemy he would recognize. The massive beast seemed to only be able to use physical attacks though. Butlerok was able to dodge all of the monsters blows with relative ease. Unfortunately all of his massive projectile attacks couldn't seem to break through the creature's Borg. Hmmmm perhaps my concern about my lack of knowledge with the Rukh is the problem. Then that means this creature is more of a hint to the questions I have. Who cares if we follow the plan then we should know everything about these bird butterfly things, right? Ragnarok questioned inside of him. Butlerok literally paused as he realized that the Dark Weapon was right. Once again Butler had over thought the problem. The massive giant directly landed a punch on Butlerok but it seemed the Kishin didn't move. Instead he hooked one of Hades chains inside the creature and slashed down. After that he cut down and summoned a bunch of firey Hell hounds and inside the of the blue beast. The hell hounds proceeded to eat the innards of the blue giant. Well that was easy.

Dorian vs. Dorian

As Dorian got up from the ground grabbing his sides he saw the cloaked figure standing above him. The cloaked figure discloaked to reveal that it was...well Dorian. Orignal Dorian rolled his eyes as he realized this was the "other" him. His made up goodly persona what he used to get out of Hell. Seriously, I thought it would've been Arthur again. Shut-up you psychopath! New Dorian exclaimed. What, you're mad at me? You did what you were supposed to do, get me out of Hell...wait why am I even talking to you? You're just some personality trait given form. This is literally manifested bipolar disorder. New Dorian immediately encased himself in a tower of fire which caused Original Dorian to raise an eyebrow. Once the tower subsided New Dorian was wearing what looked to be some kind of Gold armor that resembled a phoenix. Well isn't that a nice trick.

You have no right to live. After all of that suffering you didn't learn your lesson at all. You still plan to continue your malicious ways even after everything we've been through. Well, I went through...you came after all that and got all of the perks. Soooo yeah I can do what I want. Its MMMMYYYY body. Once again this conversation is frivolous you aren't a thing! Original Dorian exclaimed adding extra emphasis on the "I's" and "my." Let's see how not real I am. New Dorian through a punch and a massive wave of flames came at Original Dorian. Original replied with the same thing just using black flames. As the attacks seemed to council each other out New Dorian had already jumped at Original Dorian and proceeded to throw many haymakers to the face. Original Dorian did the best he could trying to guard but for some reason New Dorian had some really good boxing skills.

If I kill you here, then that means my personality and spirit can take over the main body and I garauntee the world will be a better place. New Dorian raged on. His attacks were getting more severe by the second. Soon the battle ground was just one big ring of fire. That's why you aren't even equipping your surplice, because you know that what I say is true. Now perish PHOENIX WING INFERNO! Flapped his hands and a massive Phoenix made of pure fire burst from him and blazed directly at Old Dorian. Original Dorian simply stood still and took the attack directly head on. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! He screemed as he fell back lifelessly to the ground. It seemed that New Dorian was the victor of this match. He slowly walked over to Original Dorian to look at the smoldering corpse. It seemed that Original Dorian could still speak.

So that's three mistakes you've made there Original Dorian spoke. New Dorian snickered as he new his other self was simply talking trash in his last moments. Though at that moment he noticed that color was returning to the original Dorian...he was healing! First mistake, you think you are a thing. Original Dorian said as he slowly got to his feet while his burnt skin and exposed muscle tissue were repairing themselves. I am me and this is my pathway, this pathway just took a piece of me and gave it form. New Dorian opened his eyes wide and encased his fist in fire and attempted to punch original Dorian. Crucifix Ankh...New Dorian was then bound to what was an ankh enscirbed in a circle made of black flames. Second mistake, You think the universe wants you? If that were the case then you wouldn't be the backwater remnants of this Pathway trying to make me think about myself. Original Dorian's facial scar from being burned healed completely and it looked like he had never gotten into a fight to begin with. New Dorian began to struggle against his current situation. Finally, you made a very bad assumption. He said condescendingly with a malicious grin. It was then that New Dorian could see the Black Rukh slowly go inside Original Dorian. It wasn't that he had the ability to heal Butlerok was healing him. It was then Butlerok landed besides Original Dorian. You assumed my friends would like you better than me. New Dorian then widened his eyes as he looked down to see his heart outside of his chest inside another monster's claw. Rhadamanthys then pulled back dropped the organ on the ground. A single tear fell as he New Dorian's eyes went black.

Aww I think I hurt his feelings. Dorian said with a cocky grin. Well that only leaves one left correct. So who is it?

Captian Commander seems to feel it is his enemy. He also says we may not actually win this battle. Team Dorian turned around to notice that the other cloaked figure had already. Appeared across the gorge and on their side of the battle ground. Arrogance. Rhadamanthys spoke. Once the cloak was removed Team Dorian looked at their not so impressive looking foe. Hello strangers, my Yh Wach...the first Quincy.

 

Ending Location: C9

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

 

Gyokuen Ren: Path of Rememberance

While the fight between the boys and the insect man was certainly entertaining she noticed that she had spent far too much time lolly-gagging. She resumed her march through the cold winter land forest and while the Rukh were all a flutter with the tainted wisdom of Solomon she ignored it. For there was no time to fight and once more there was no reason too. She was on a holy mission its not like any of the people she's met so far seemed to have even cared. While she walked she noticed she could hear other footsteps come up from beside her. After a couple of seconds she noticed the litany of white Rukh now surrounding her.

 

Are you going to say hi or have you sunken so low as to resort to sneak attacks...Solomon! She turned around and there was her former friend and now mortal enemy King Solomon!

Ending Location: A3

[The Warden]

|_)Witch of Courage, Lydia(_|

|_)Pathway of Truth: A6(_|

 

Lydia gave a brave little smile to Ayame as the breeze carried her, and the two hastily departed, gliding gently across the ruined world. Lydia was sullenly quiet as the to travelled, despite the overwhelming sense of madness extending from Butlerok, even though he was so far away. At this point Lydia realized that she hadn't travelled with anyone, not since... Oh. Things had been so hectic since the battle with LERNA, and Lydia didn't even know where Sarah was since the Sphere Forest. She hadn't been seen in the fight with the Madara, if anything, she was... dead. "Say, do you mind if we talk a little? I haven't had a good one in a while, though, I don't really know your name. I should... but I've been distracted ever since the fight with LERNA. I don't remember seeing you amongst the CC before we hit the Sphere Forest though" she yammered on.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

“’Besides’? Besides what?

 

What kind of reasoning do you have that stops you from helping that boy?

 

He’s dying, Merry!”

 

"Please help! Killua is hurt badly and dying."

 

It was then became apparent that the black-haired boy noticed the two's presence. He pleaded for them to help the white-hair with tears on his eyes.

 

"Please...I can't lose him..."

 

Whatever reasoning Yukari wanted to say so that she didn't have to help the boy had disappeared. She couldn't let someone die like that if she could still try to save them, and if she couldn't save one people, how could she even dare to say that she's going to try saving as many more as possible?

 

“Ah, so we’ve been noticed. If that’s the case…I guess it’ll be rude if I refuse to help even now.”

 

Yukari tried to sound as composed as she could still.

 

“That’s more like the Merry I know! Let’s go there then!”

 

With Renko’s encouragement, Yukari rose up from her position, and rushed towards the white haired boy’s location. As she had expected, his wound was looking quite severe, and Yukari was honestly surprised that the boy still managed to survive. No time to think about that more, the boy was losing more and more blood within each passing second. He wouldn’t hold on much longer.

 

“First of all, the wound must be closed off first.” Yukari said, not showing any expressions. This was the easiest part from what she's going to do. Yukari placed her right hand on the boy’s gaping wound, and as she did so, a purple barrier-like construct formed on her palm and started to cover the entirety of the wound both outside and inside of the body, stopped the blood from flowing outside. It was a temporary fix, of course, and she still needed to restore the wound itself before the barrier’s duration ended. Yukari was silently being thankful that the stab wound didn't reach the boy's heart just yet, as it would make the situation completely helpless.
 

Of course, within her very long life, Yukari had learned about the basics of healing spells. While it’s not something that she really seriously studied, she had enough knowledge to put it into practice, thankfully. Her method might be rough, but hopefully it would still work. She took a glance at the black-haired boy standing on her side. He seemed to be looking completely worried about his friend still, which was understandable as he was still definitely not out of the critical situation yet. Yukari waited for several second more to see if the barrier held out long enough before continuing.

 

“Now, let’s see whether this works or not.” Again, it was said monotonously. But this time, it was as if there was some hidden worry buried deep inside of those toneless words. Yukari focused as many mana as she could towards her right hand, and she went on to channel it straight into the white haired boy’s body. This was the part that she was worried about since the beginning, and the reason why she was reluctant to try helping out to heal the boy before. As she did just say, she had no idea whether this would even work. Yukari herself had barely any mana to sustain herself, and she believed that even if she tried to squeeze as many as she could, it would not be enough to save the boy.

 

Another several seconds passed, and Yukari started to panic as she realized that what she was fearing was coming true; it was quite apparent that so far, no changes was observable on the wound. No healed tissues, no closed wounds, it was clear that the miniscule amount of mana she had left was not enough. Yukari frantically looked around to find something that she could do about this, before she looked at the black haired boy squarely on his eyes.

 

“Urgh…I’m sorry to ask you about this, but please, can you lend me your strength? I don’t think he’d be able to hold on much longer, and I don’t have enough strength right now to heal him by myself.

 

Just...please?”

 

It was a desperate question. While Yukari tried to try to voice the question as calmly as possible, the fact that she was panicking inside couldn’t exactly be hidden from anyone at that point. She had no idea about who were those two boys, but right now, she was completely focused on her attempt to save the boy. It was not exactly clear about why, especially since Yukari should’ve leaned more on the selfish side of the spectrum. But it didn’t matter right now. Yukari kept looking at the black-haired boy’s eyes, waiting for him to reply.

 

---

 

It was not the real moon. The blue eye creature realized that far too late. Despite its attempt to shape the moon to how she wanted it to be, the fake moon kept on resisting it, and as many times as it carved the moon, the moon kept on returning to its original form. No matter how many times it tried to open up the eye of the moon, it kept on refusing to stay open. The real moon would’ve it stayed open. The real moon would’ve made it possible for it to open up the eye of the world and everyone.

 

Two figures crashed on the moon. At first the blue eyeball didn’t notice it, but then one of them stabbed something into the moon.

 

It hurts.

 

A massive surge of force happened, and the moon started to fall. It fell and fell, and as it entered the atmosphere, it started to burn from the friction of reentry.

 

It really hurts.

 

And then, as if the moon had not suffered enough, the burning rocky sphere exploded at the face of a giant. The blue eyeball survived the explosion, but it was flung far away until it reached near the side of a lake.

 

The pain was completely unbearable.

 

Despite it having its eye completely shut off, it turned itself around towards the place where the moon exploded, as it slowly returned to normal, just like the fake moon looming above it. Pain was not something that it should’ve felt. It shouldn’t even feel anything. It shouldn’t even be able to think. But it did, and it wondered about what actually was happening with it.

 

Without anywhere else to go, it launched itself back towards the fake moon using its appendages. At least it knows that its sister was still waiting for her on the fake moon.

 

---

 

“Another drinking session when this is all over would be wonderful, yeah.

 

Don’t you dare die before that happens.”

 

Reimu’s still quite concerned about Revy’s well-being, but realizing that this kind of woman would be able to survive anything thrown at them, she decided not to. After all, she’ll probably smack her on her head if she’s too worried about her. Taking a moment to make sure her two orbs were still following her and that Revy was already on a stable position on her back, Reimu then stretched her arms a bit before turning around towards the huge mirror at the end of the cherry blossom road.

 

“I guess it’s time for us to go through the mirror.

 

Ready or not, here we go! Hold on tight, alright?”

 

Grinning widely with excitement and anticipation of what’s going to come after saying that to Revy, Reimu proceeded to rush straight towards the mirror, and without thinking about it too much, she rammed straight at the mirror. Thankfully, her intuition that it was simply a portal was right, and the two of them were simply teleported to the other side of the pathway instead of smashing the mirror and get injured.

 

The world that lied beyond the mirror was far bleaker than the wonderful-looking world from before. The trees here were completely dry, dead, and withered, the sky was grim, and there’s many rotting, decomposing fairy corpses littered around, which made the place smells horrible. The strong wind was also quite problematic, but it’s not something that a barrier set up in front of her couldn’t handle.

 

“Well, this is really something, I guess. Let’s just move on and pretend this place is still as beautiful as the previous one while we move.

 

Also, say, how were your previous pathways? That incident with the creepy guy aside, I mean.”

 

While she asked that, she kept on walking forward, knowing that there’s still a long way to go, and thus, she hoped that keeping a conversation up with Revy for now would be a nice way to spend time and distract herself from the dreary pathway’s bleakness.

 

---

[Reinforce]

Ayame

Pathway of Truth: A6

 

Listening to the other girl talking, Ayame could start to relax for a bit, in a way she really hadn't since she'd first been possessed. Somehow, the girl just reminded her of one of the people she'd known back at the Academy.

 

"Sure, I'd be happy to talk for a bit. I don't think I've really had a good proper conversation like this for a while either. I'm Ayame Kageya, but I don't think I know who you are either.".

 

Grimacing slightly as she heard the last part of the question, Ayame spoke up again, frowning as she spoke.

 

"You wouldn't have seen me among the CC after the battle against LERNA because I wasn't there. I ended up possessed by an entity? " Narrowing her eyes in confusion, she stopped, before speaking again. "Entities maybe. In any case, I ended up possessed against my will during that battle, and the existence controlling my body decided to join the Divine at the end of it. I got control back during the fight against The Madara though. What about you though? Somehow you seem familiar, like I've sensed your presence before, but I can't remember seeing you prior to this."

 

Looking across at the other girl, Ayame started to smile again. Somehow she felt like she could succeed in her goals, like all her confidence was starting to return, in spite of the darkness she still had to face.

 

---

 

Chandra

Pathway of Truth: A8

 

Jace's thoughts were running quickly again, trying to puzzle out the question of just who Gemini was, and how he was linked to Neos. 

 

"The Ditto's broken my nose everytime I've tried to enter his mind without permission..."

 

"Now that sounds like a good idea, maybe I should try it next time you do that too."

 

Walking forward as they continued on, a strange group if ever she'd seen one, she could ponder the questions working through her own mind at last. If Jace did come from my realm, why did Isamy steal multiple items, and why would Arturia have informed me about the Voltaic Key going missing, but not Jace as well. Something doesn't make sense, but I can't figure out just what really is going wrong. 

 

"Come to think of it, how is it possible that a creature that reminds Jace so much of Ravnica, could be summoned here with the plane itself destroyed? Just what are you anyway?"

[The Warden]

|_)Witch of Courage, Lydia(_|

|_)Pathway of Truth: A7(_|

 

"I didn't tell you my name?" was all she really took from that, given how deep in thought she had been. A subtle greeting would have been apropos, but, another idea gripped at her mind. An idea so ridiculous she just had to do it for the sake of doing it. She positioned herself as if she was leaning on a wall, and she crossed her arms neatly. "Hi I'm Lydia Armstrong, you might remember me from such classics as Attack on LERNA, and Assault of the Fifty Foot Golden Amazon" she said, doing her best Troy McClure impression.

 

She kept composure for about, a split second before she burst out laughing. The sheer stupidity of that act just made her keep going with loud and sincere laughter, the first she's had in a while. She kept going as they floated along, but like all tides of laughter, it too must ebb. She wiped a tear of joy from her eye as she did her best to compose herself for the clearly baffled Ayame. "Sorry about that, that's, a reference from my world. I just needed a bit of a laugh. But yeah, I'm Lydia, and you'd probably remember me from when I was like a hundred feet tall and wearing gold armour whilst I told LERNA to shut up, pretty much" she said with the air of someone who clearly hadn't done all those things.

 

The thought of LERNA made her sigh though; it's funny how close she almost came to being her. "I didn't give LERNA... no, Galina enough credit" she said sadly. "She became a witch not just because she gave up, but, just because she was alone. I thought it was the pussy way to go, but after the Pathhway of Death, and... what I saw... I kinda get where she was coming from. I was driven slightly nuts by what I saw, and it was only because of the help of my friends that I snapped out of it. Galina didn't have anyone, as, they had all been taken away from her. She couldn't help but fall drown in the sea of despair, as there were no hands to pull her out... sorry, if I keep going on about her. It's just... something that bothers me a fair bit, now that I've felt what she had felt."

[Reinforce]

Ayame

Pathway of Truth: A7

 

Hearing Lydia's first introduction, Ayame was slightly baffled, not quite getting the reference. Despite that though, her smile grew just a bit wider as the other girl laughed. As the other girl introduced herself again, she could start to understand why the girl seemed so familiar. During the battle against LERNA, traces of that girl's power at the end had reached even her, locked in her mind as she was, and the girl still seemed to have that same power inside her. The other girl had still been speaking while she'd been thinking though, talking of feelings that resonated with her as well. 

 

"No, it's fine. I can understand that sort of feeling, the loneliness and despair when bad stuff happens and no-one can or will come and comfort you. I'm quite close to that myself at the moment too. My world is gone, my closest friend came with me for this war, and she died because of my stupidity. Having a goal to work towards is the only reason I'm still going at the moment. Sorry, I guess I rambled on for a bit there too. Just talking to you though, it's making me feel better, like I'm still capable of more than just despair and stubborn determination."

[The Warden]

|_)Witch of Courage, Lydia(_|

|_)Pathway of Truth: A7(_|

 

Well, this was starting to sound like an Oprah daytime talk show moment, as Lydia couldn't help but feel how similar the two were currently. "I hear ya on the dead friend thing. As far as I know the only one I -even- made during this war is dead; and I didn't even get to say goodbye to her. Hell, I didn't even see her at all when we were on that small planet thing. I sure hope she's okay... if she isn't dead" Lydia remarked bitterly. "Though, as for the 'dark influences', I dunno if I can help you with that. I have enough of a headache dealing with the eight jackasses currently living in my brain. HEY!" she added, ignoring the outburst.

 

"But, I also feel better talking to you. I haven't spoken with anyone, except... Arturia" she commented wryly.

[Dad]

Kratos, Kenpachi, & Yachiru

 

The two weary warriors sighed, getting to their feet.  They turned to face one another, shaking hands now.  "Is this it then?" Kenpachi asked as their hands separated.  Kratos nodded, turning to the edge of the forest.  Beyond it, he could make out the outlines of the lake.  "Somewhere further down this path, I will find what I seek.  Who I seek," Kratos said.  Kenpachi could tell by the tone of Kratos' voice, he had a greater determination to complete his own trials than to solve the multiverse's problems with the rest of the Corps.  While Kenpachi did not agree, he would not hinder Kratos' path.  "It is a selfish deed, but I have lived filling the requests of others for too long," Kratos said almost reading Kenpachi's mind.  Turning back to Kenpachi and Yachiru one last time, Kratos got down to Yachiru's level.  "Keep our friend in good health.  I owe him a proper defeat the next time we spar."  Yachiru nodded, hugging Kratos.

 

"G'bye baldy," she said with a smile.

 

Kratos stood up and turned to walk away, but was stopped one last time by Kenpachi.  "Kratos!"

 

He did not turn back, but stopped in his tracks.

 

"Where will you go now?  If you have no universe to return to, what will you do?"

 

Kratos smiled without turning back.  "I've been thinking about it," he said softly.  "And as I told Revy, I'd like to return to her world.  I'd like to live out the last of my days with someone I love," he said sternly.  

 

That's when Kenpachi frowned.  "Kratos, how can you say that?  Knowing what you know, how could you possibly live out that dream?"  Kratos turned back to face Kenpachi at last.  

 

"What do you mean, Kenpachi?"

 

"Kratos," Kenpachi began.  He was finding it difficult that Kratos didn't already understand this, but he said it anyway.  "If your universe doesn't exist, and my universe doesn't either . . .what makes you believe Revy's universe will exist?"  Kenpachi waited calmly.  Not to his surprise, Kratos reacted.  He began to look around, finally understanding that he could not possibly see the ending he wanted if the Divine succeeded.

 

"Then, the Door of Origin--the Divine . .  ." he started, but he did not finished.  Kratos had been blinded by his emotions, and not put the puzzle together until now.

 

"If you really wanna be happy with Revy, then you can't leave yet," Kenpachi said solemnly.  Kratos nodded, regrettably.  

 

"Then, what do we do now, Kenpachi?" Kratos asked.  He was beginning to grow angry simply at the thought of missing Revy.  What if something happened to her?  What if--

 

"We wait.  This is our last path Kratos.  You and I, we've come really far.  But until we know who the last batch of people are through this pathway, we should rest.  Gather our strength."

 

"You want me to wait?  I've done my waiting, Kenpachi.  I'm ready to end it all."

 

Kenpachi approached, placing a hand on Kratos' shoulder.  "I know the feeling, Kratos.  But I have a feeling something's coming our way.  And our allies--no, our friends--are going to need us at our best."

 

Ending Location:  C 7

 

 

---

 

 

Revy

 

"Heh," she said chuckling a bit.  She had started in the pathway to Truth, and ended up here.  Truth be told, it was hell.  "It wasn't easy, Reimu," she said at last.  Observing the barren wasteland around them, Revy reflected a bit on her brief journey, though it felt like a lifetime.  "I went from slaughtering dirty cops and helping pretty boys cope, to fighting aliens and being rescued by demi-gods.  It's been a fairy tale ride that I didn't expect to be a part of," Revy said at last.  "But, even a fight can be fun.  I mean, for the first time in my life I'm head over heels for a bald guy in a kilt.  I mean, sure he's got a nice figure, but, a kilt?  I'm gonna have to change his style up a bit," she joked as they continued down the pathway.  Saying all of this, Revy was curious now, about several things.  This was her last pathway.  Where was she supposed to go next?  Back to that space ship?  Not a damn chance.  Not as long as though Divine bastards had plans to ruin the rest of her life.  No way.

 

"Hang on a sec, Reimu.  Set me down," she requested.  "If this is my last path, there's no funking way I'm letting those funkers on the other funking team, funk over the rest of the funking multiverse, for their own stupid funking reasons.  funk that," she said angrily.  "I can't go to the end of this path just yet.  Not without making sure I can go home.  We can go home."

[Tesability Black]

~The Divine - Path of Truth - Jace's POV~

 

"Now that sounds like a good idea, maybe I should try it next time you do that too."

 

"You take a few second before you realize I'm in your mind, long enough to keep you from doing anything to me. He has me on my ass before I can even think, before he can even think." Jace replied almost automatically before he realized a second later whom he responded to, causing him to shift his gaze to look at Chandra with a look of disbelief. "Ha. Ha. Very funny," he remarked rather-flatly, catching the look of thought on her face.

 

"Come to think of it, how is it possible that a creature that reminds Jace so much of Ravnica, could be summoned here with the plane itself destroyed? Just what are you anyway?"

 

Those are good questions, ones he was slightly-surprised he wasn't already asking himself. And so, he returned his gaze to the large creature of aquamarine, arms crossed in front of him as his cloak wrapped completely around him to cover all but his feet and his unhooded head.

 

"It's hard to remove from existance a realm that isn't truly there," the large creature responded cryptically just before Jace started tapping the fingers on his right hand upon his upper-left arm, creating a rippling effect in the cloak. He was studying the being with one eyebrow raised slightly higher than the other in silent thought for once.

 

"What's getting me is through you, I can feel all the mana bonds I've forged on that plane," Jace started to say. "Which shouldn't be possible, unless..."

 

A second later, his brain hit the proverbial airbrakes so hard, one could probably hear them screeching even if he wasn't being forced to project his thoughts. Jace's eyes had widened to a great degree and his jaw hung slightly from the thought that halted all others.

 

"That's not possible." He let his arms fall to his side as he spoke the words almost-silently. "That's not possible," he said a bit louder before daring to remove the glove over his right hand to reveal delicate lines similar to the ones on his face and neck to touch the creature's skin after reaching out towards it.

 

As soon as he did, his body became momentarily flooded, filled with mana of all color and not just the familiar blue mana from the deep oceans of Ravnica that lied below most of the city. He doubled over onto himself and shut his eyes tight from the surge of energy as the strange lines on him began to glow with increasing brightness, though he didn't seperate from the being. Every trace of mana that had entered him through the creature, he was able to pinpoint where it was from. Red mana from the various volcanic vents that the Izzet take advantage of to create most of their mechanical devices. Green mana from the various forests, both natural and guarded by the Gruul and manmade by the Selesnya. White mana sourced from the shining sun above that lights the plane as it passes over. Black mana created from the underground darkness created by the Dimir and known now to all as Duskmantle. All of it from one plane of existance. After a moment did he stand fully back up, widened eyes looking upon the being in shock.

 

"...you are Ravnica..."

 

And it simply nodded.

 

"When the King took away the Foreigner from me before he could be executed, an energy was released into the area. When the Multiverse began to collapse, I was transformed into what you see now instead and ejected from it."

 

Jace found himself momentarily unable to think about the whole impossibility of what he just heard and experienced. Thanks to Neos, he had actually already knew there were worlds beyond the edge of the Multiverse, but for a plane to be able to leave it was a thought that hadn't even crossed his mind...

[Maeriberii Haan]

"And...how exactly do you think you can accomplish that right now?" Reimu stopped on her tracks, but she didn't drop Revy just yet. As she uttered the question to Revy, she was just standing still. "How are exactly you going to make sure that we can return to our homes by doing what you're planning to do?" The fate of her home, Revy's home, and everyone else's, it all lie at the end of the three pathways. There should be little to no reason to waste energy before the inevitable decisive battle between the two sides. Reimu herself had no idea what was waiting for her when she cleared all three of the pathways. Would it be yet another pathway leading towards the Door? Would it be something else? No one would know right now, but there was still no point in trying to recklessly do anything right now. And this applied to herself and Revy. "You said, you won't let those Divines to continue whatever they're doing. How are you exactly going to do that? Beating them over? Shoot them down? If only things could be that simple.

 

I'm sorry, Revy, but I will not let you march foolishly to your death like this. You...no, we don't even have any ideas yet about what exactly lies beyond this pathway for you, since this is your last pathway as you said. Just...finish this ordeal first, then you should think on how to make those Divines get what they deserve."

 

After saying that, Reimu took a deep breath for a bit, trying to clear her head from any outburst of emotion she might or might not have during her earlier speech. With a cleared mind, Reimu realized that a girl like Revy, a stubborn, determined girl like her wouldn't simply accept no as an answer. With her getting that conclusion, she used it to determine the correct course of action she should do, It was perfectly clear. Softly, Reimu dropped Revy to the group from her back, before moving several steps forward and turning around to face her.

 

It could be said that it's impossible for Revy to take them alone. Even if she helped her, Reimu had no idea whether she could actually accomplish anything by doing that. To think that it was not long ago when she still naively thought that she could take on both sides at once....

 

Hence, she must stop her from keeping that mindset, with force if she really needed to.

 

"Now, I don't exactly know what exactly what are you planning in regards to your word, and I believe, me saying no to you regarding this would not have any effects. In that case, Revy, I dare you to fire at me.

 

I don't want to see any hesitation, if going against the Divine with your current condition is really what you really wanted. If you can land a hit, if you can get past me, I'll let you do what you want.

 

Otherwise, I'll restraint you and carry you forcefully to the end myself."

 

Reimu's words were said with a sense of finality, with a tone of seriousness that she lacked moments before. She was dead serious about what she said.

 

"Now Revy, what are you really going to do next?"

[Dad]

Revy

 

She laughed at herself.  Perhaps Reimu was right.  Perhaps?  It was more obvious than she was willing to admit.  With a broken leg, two broken ribs, and no clue what she was going to be up against, Revy couldn't help but laugh.  Caught up in a wave of emotions she wasn't ready to confront, in a battle she wasn't sure she should be a part of.  Granted, this wasn't the first time she had been against immeasurable odds.  But, at least now, she could tell who Reimu was.

 

"Well, Reimu," she said sighing.  "The first thing I'm gonna do is make you upset with me."  Reaching into her shirt, Revy pulled a silver flask from her bosom, and unscrewed the top.  "I always keep a secret stash for situations like this."  Revy took a swig from her flask, and put the cap back on it.  "Ah, that's not bad," she said licking her lips.  "To be honest, Reimu, you're right.  I guess I just thought if I stayed to fight I could take down the other team.  I mean, I've been in similar situations," she said as she recalled one of her past events.  Her guns had been empty, her leg had been badly cut, forcing her to the ground, and there was a gun to her head.  Revy, however, was the victor of that incident.  Headbutting the enemy in their crotch, they stumbled backwards, and Revy's quick thinking once again got her out alive.  But this was different.  "Thinkin' about it now, I'm not too sure what else those guys are capable of.  I mean, if the alien dude could grow monsters out of his back, and that freaky dementor thing I saw in the forest was real, then who the hell knows what their leader can do."

 

Revy sighed again.  She hated being helpless.  It frustrated her.  So, she forcefully changed the subject, in an attempt to take both her and Reimu's mind off of the current situation.  "Okay, how's about this?  I told I fell for some guy.  What about you, Reimu?  Anyone special in your life?  Is there a Mr. Reimu?  And don't lie to me, I'll be able to tell.  And if you do lie, I'll tickle you again."

 

 

---

 

 

Killua

 

His blood was flowing steadily.  He could feel someone near him.  They got closer, closer, and then he heard them cry out.  He couldn't speak, but he could tell it was Gon.  He was. . .crying?  Why?  For Killua?  That  .  . .was just like him.  To care too much for someone else.  Somehow, in all of this pain, Killua managed to smile, and remain conscious.  His eyes were so heavy, he couldn't keep them open.  He attempted to rest, still bleeding.  But something made him think.  Who was Gon calling out to?  Killua did his best to sense any other presences.  However, in his current state, he could only feel Gon nearby.  Just then, his thoughts were answered.  Just as Killua could feel himself growing colder, several new presences appeared.  One of them got atop the boy, and attempted to heal him.  The wound.  It closed.  It closed?  But, how did this person, this being, close the wound?  His mind wandered for a split second.  But as the wound was being operated on, Killua suddenly felt a burst of joy within him.  He was going to make it.  With what little strength he had, Killua grasped at the hand on his chest.  He managed to smile again, excited, but weary and confused.  He had minuscule amounts of energy left, but used it to help out his rescuer.  Sending several small jolts of lightning coursing over and around his body, Killua was able to keep himself warm for a short time, and get his heart back up to speed.

 

It wouldn't last long, but hopefully long enough that his recovery would be a success.  Now, Killua could feel another new presence.  This one was familiar.  Almost frighteningly so.  Hopefully it wouldn't throw a wrench in things again.  As it got closer, Killua manged to call out to it, with what little strength he had.  "K-Kite.  How--?"

 

Killua found a finger being pressed to his lips.  It was Kite in his old body.  Unscathed, perfectly healthy.  He withdrew his finger from Killua's lips, only to pluck the boy in the forehead. "Shut up.  You're being an idiot,"  Kite said staring down at the injured Killua.  

[Maeriberii Haan]

"Someone special, huh?"

 

Reimu smiled a bit hearing that. While she was glad Revy had managed to stop thinking about whatever reckless thing she was going to do, her question immediately afterward felt quite awkward for her. A "Mr. Reimu" sounded like a hilarious concept, if she was right in thinking that it means a husband. Well, like really, there's only...three male she ever met in Gensokyo. One is the male aspect of her Yin Yang Orb, one is Genji, which was an old and perverted turtle, and the third one was Rinnosuke, and while he's not exactly that bad of a guy, Reimu's not really interested in him, and neither did he, really. And then, even if she extended it to girls too, there's still no one that she really actually consider to be someone that's that special to her. There's Marisa, which is her best friend, but she wouldn't really consider her as her lover, and she's probably busy romancing her billions of admirers anyway. Yukari...she's nice at times, but she's a huge jerk in any time she's not nice, and Reimu couldn't actually consider herself getting together with someone literally far older than dirt. And...probably that would be it. There's not really that much people that Reimu could consider as having a chance.

 

"I think, I have no one like that in my life, at least for now. Only thing that I have...I think they're friends, and that's it. Love's not something that I exactly thought about much, so I guess, for this moment, having friends would do me as much good as someone that I honestly loved.

 

But, it might be just what I'm feeling, but for some reasons, no matter how many people became my friends, I always kept creating a distance between myself and them. It wouldn't be that bad if it happened to people I just met, but even to my childhood friend, I feel like despite we're friends, there was still this enormous chasm standing between us two." Closing her eyes to think more about what she just said, Reimu went silent for a while. It was right that she couldn't exactly connect to others as easily as she made "friends" with others. She didn't have someone that could be considered as an actual friend, and even the one closest to her couldn't truly be said as her friend. She always kept her own matter to herself, she rarely talked with them, and really, at one point she had to really stop herself from redefining "friend" in her personal dictionary into "someone that you don't want to shoot at, for now". Her talking with Revy like this was definitely something that she's not used to, but it's probably due to the pathway pushing her to tell the truth on things. "I guess...in retrospect, I should try more in talking to them.

 

Heh Revy, I think I have to say an apology to you for talking too much regarding this. I mean, I don't even really answered your question." What she just said made her think for a bit. Reimu couldn't exactly go do that right now, of course. Not with her universe being turned into tang. The only way for her to be able to do that was if she could restore it back to normal, back to what it was before all of this incident. She knew people already wanted to be her friends, and because of that, she'd go fix this mess so she could start trying to be a better friend to others. Maybe, one day she would find that one "Mr. Reimu" that Revy asked about earlier. 

 

"But then again, there's something more important right now! Neither you or I can even do things like that if we don't go finish this place off and fix the entire damn multiverse!" It was a random burst of energy and enthusiasm, but Reimu didn't mind it too much. It was, after all, a burst of liveliness, and that made her to be in the mood for some incident solving. This would be the greatest incident she ever had to handle, and there's no way she'd let it beat her. Looking at Revy with a sudden sheepish grin, Reimu walked forward, and as soon as she was in front of Revy again, she lent her right hand to her. "Us two, let's solve this incident so we can go home in peace! No acting recklessly, but we will still try try our damn best! How does that sound, Revy? You might not be able to beat all of the culprits, and neither could I. Even together, I doubt we can pull it off. But, let's try our best to help the others beating all the bad guys!

 

How does that sound?"

[Dad]

Revy

 

A wide grin appeared across her face when she saw Reimu smile.  Maybe she hadn't met that special someone yet, but considering how long it took Revy to do the same, Reimu had plenty of time.  But now that they were both in fighting spirits, Revy felt good, as Reimu extended a hand to her.  Reaching out, Revy accepted, and struggled to her feet.  She rolled her shoulder, and stretched her arms wide.  "Sounds like a plan, bud."  Revy took another swig from her flask, and opened Reimu's hand to receive it.  "Could be our last drink together," Revy said jokingly.  Secretly, Revy was hoping that wasn't the case.  Reimu may not have considered Revy a friend so much as she was an acquaintance, but Revy liked Reimu.  She didn't have many female companions, truth be told.  Save for Balalaika and one or two others, most of Revy's friends were guys.  But here, she felt Reimu was cool enough that she could call Reimu a friend, even if it wasn't returned.   At least, if she died here, she could say she had lived her life finally.  Love, friendship, rivalry.  She had done it all.  Dying now would be . . . 

 

TOTALLY funking UNSATISFACTORY.

 

"Let's go kill some bastards," she said anxious now.  Revy took the time to admire her guns against the harsh winds and dry environment.  Even then, in all of the dust, their lethal potential shined bright like the platinum they were coated in.  

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Path of Truth
 

Dorian and Rhadamanthys looked at this big mustache man started snickering. Well he certainly didn't seem that deadly, but who were they to underestimate their opponent right? Yh Wach raised an eyebrow as he genuinely wondered what he was doing here. This was not part of...well anything. Not part of his plans for the destruction of everything nor part of anything he saw. In fact one could say what he was witnessing was outside of time itself. But that didn't matter right now. It looked like he was "supposed" to fight one of these gentlemen, but they all looked too different for him to even know who they were.

Who are you? He asked Team Dorian. Dorian was about to reply when Butlerok immediately stood forth and announced the crucial fact. I now hold the spirit of Genryuusai Yamamoto the former Captain Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Yh Wach eyes went into a piercing gaze as the air immediately became tense and dense. Rhadamanthys and Dorian stopped their snickering as they realized how serious things had gotten. This man was the real deal alright. Yh Wach let out a slight smile, that smile grew into a chuckle and that chuckle manifested into an uproarious laughter. Oh this just creepy Dorian added.

Yh Wach looked at his opponents as he chuckled. When did Soul Society start employing such monstorous creatures? I surely have to applaud Genryuusai. You three are very reminiscent of how he used to be. Dorian slipped and raised an eyebrow noting his disbelief in the man's words. Yes, young child, the 13 Court Guard Squads were not the official entity when Genryuusai started them. They were a band of murders who went around brought order to the Soul Society. He had grown weak since that time and that is how he died. Its nice to see that death has taught him something. But I see now. I must kill you three before I can return to my original objective. After a seconds pause he scoffed. That doesn't look like it'll be too hard.

Dorian looked at the other two and they all nodded. Let the beatings commence. Dorian started first as he propelled himself at the Quincy and turned into a massive firey spinning drill. Yh Wach put his hand forth and blocked Dorian's attack and tossed the young lad upward. Hmm hotter than B's...Before the thought could even finish Rhadamanthys was blatantly in his face ready to strike. Yh Wach simply used his other hand to block Rhadamanthys punch. Unfortunately Rhadamanthys' punch was far far stronger than Dorian's attack and Yh Wach would learn this the hard way. The punch nearly tore shattered Yh Wach's arm on contact if not for his Blut Vene but it still sent him flying back. The Quincy back rolled in the air and flipped regaining ground. Oh this one is dangerous. Yh Wach clapped his hands and summoned forth his massive broad sword. Rhadamanthys rolled his eyes and proceeded to reengage. This time Yh Wach was ready. The two went back and forth clashing steel. Rhadamanthys went in to deliver another amazing right hook. Yh Wach feigned back and went into decapitate the specter and it looked he succeeded as he witnessed Rhadamanthys' head roll to the ground. Yh Wach smiled slightly as the head hit the ground.

Tch...not impressed. In his Yh Wach heard these words and then he immediately witnessed a healthy Rhadamanthys standing in front of him. Don't get distracted! Rhadmanthys said as he delievered a mighty uppercut to the quincies face. Once again if it wasn't for the Blut Vene the head would've been severed. Yh Wach flew into the air slightly impressed that someone had such raw power. However he looked to bare witness to Dorian already flying in the air with his hands clasped. Burn Chorona Flame... At that moment Yh Wach was consumed in a spire of fire twisting and contorting till it touched the sky and extended into the horizon. Dorian landed beside Butlerok and Rhadamanthys who had regrouped. Soo this guy is good. He is using some ability to strengthen his inner body, I've technically killed him twice now. Rhadmanthys added in a rather annoyed tone. That ability is known as a Blut Vene. Its a defensive technique exclusive to Quincy's. They harness reishi inside their blood which makes it like metal. Dorian and Rhadamanthys gave Butlerok a raised eyebrow...Yes very similiar to the Black Blood.

As the attack faded Yh Wach had landed to face his aggressors. Well that was certainly impressive. But I take it my opponent is the man in the suit. For you two I will let my private attack force keep you busy. Team Dorian watched on as Yh Wach extended his shadow in front of him and four cloaked men revealed themselves. Rhadamanthys and Dorian looked at a black man with massive rifle, racist , a viking, Weak, a rather swave looking gentleman, homosexual, and a figure who remained cloaked and in shadow, homosexual. At the same time the new quincy's weren't impressed with their opponents as well.
 

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

 

Gyouken Ren: Path of Rememberance

There she was looking at the enemy. She wanted to kill him but she knew this was just another constuct made from the path. No point in over exterting energy on something not real. It was in this light that she just turned around and kept walking. Look Obra you can't walk this whole path avoiding me. Solomon spoke glowing of pure light. Give me a reason why not? Killing you isn't going to solve anything because you don't even exist. Well how about we just talk then? Gyouken paused. First, he referred to her by her original name meaning this path had done its research...if that makes sense. Second, talking could be nice. All of her familiars are locked inside of that monster she has chosen as a companion so she didn't have someone to converse with.

Fine you may converse with me while I move forward to correcting your horrid mistake of a world. Solomon chuckled at how stubborn she had become. Come on now do you really not understand what I did for everyone. He said as the pair continued to walk on. I gave people the right to choose their own paths I gave them the option of governance not to bow to some random thing that arbitrarily gave out power. False she shouted, that was Our Father, you got so absorbed by your new power as king that you saw yourself higher than Our Father and gave his power away. You know I never wanted the title of King, you know that better than anyone! Solomon shouted. I'm not mad at you for taking the necessary steps to stabilze the world, it was everything after that. What are you talking about? Do you know what you're doing to people, do you honestly know what it means to fall into depravity?

Gyouken rolled her eyes. Of course I do. Its liberation! Solomon looked shocked. Your system of using the Rukh locks people in a vicious cycle of fate, where they are destined to die and do nothing else. At least my way they get some form of choice in their life. You have completely misinterpreted what has happened. This way everyone is equal. Riiiight...that's why Magi exist and magicians are literally a different species of people now...correct? That was unintentional. Ugo did what he thought was right and I believe in his vision. Aww that's so cute one hieratic trying make up for the evils of another. Don't worry though once I set the world right I will ask Our Father for mercy on his soul...maybe.

Solomon on shook his head. Well maybe we should talk about something else. Sure. An odd moment of silence happened before an idea came to Gyouken's head. You know I just realized...I've seen your son. He's growing up into a nice little magi. Your little exception to the rule and whatnot. Solomon smiled at Gyouken and she smiled back. The both of them then took their staffs to and proceeded to actually fly down the rest of the Path together.

 

Current location A6->B6

[Maeriberii Haan]

"One last drink, one last dance. Gotta make it our best, no?"

 

Smiling at seeing Revy's determination, Reimu sipped a little from the flask she offered to her, before handing it back to Revy. It tasted quite nice actually, but Reimu couldn't afford to get drunk in a time like this. Not like she hadn't been investigating an incident while being completely drunk before, but in a time like this, she couldn't afford to lose any of her reflexes. She had run out of continues, there's no such thing as extra lives or extend here, so all she could do to survive now was to bomb, shoot, and dodge. Looking at Revy, whose attention had been taken back by her guns, a mischievous smile formed on Reimu's face as she thought of something.

 

"Heya, I think I've figured a way so we can get past this dreary land as fast as we could without getting into too much trouble. Just return to my back and hold me tightly now. It's going to be fun, I promise."

[Reinforce]

Ayame

Pathway of Truth: A8

 

As the two continued to talk, Ayame was surprised to notice all the similarities between her and the other girl too. 

 

"It's fine, I wasn't exactly expecting help against the shadows trying to control me anyway. That's something I'll need to resolve on my own. Just getting to talk to you has been enough of a help anyway, remind me that I'm still human."

 

With a warm smile, she continued to speak. 

 

"What was Arturia like? The only time I've really seen her was when she was making that big exposition speech before we entered the pathways."

 

---

 

Chandra

Pathway of Truth: C8

 

Chandra smirked as Jace absent-mindedly answered her question, though she was a touch annoyed to know he could enter her mind for at least a few seconds before she would realise he was there. What came next shocked her nearly as much as the blue mage. For starters, as Jace's mind acknowledged each of the colours of mana and where they came from, a sense of what they felt like bled through the bond, along with the intellectual knowledge of where they originated. Chandra was familiar with all five colours as a concept, and could even identify how they felt when the mana flowed, but never to the level she'd just experienced, even secondhand. The next part surprised her even more though, as the entity was revealed as an embodiment of the plane in it's entirety. Next to her, Jace's thoughts had ground completely to a halt, more surprised than she'd ever seen him before.

 

"You are literally the plane of Ravnica then, condensed into the form we can see in front of us after surviving the destruction of the Multiverse."

 

That did bring up another confusing though for her though, if the multiverse they came from was destroyed, how had she been drawing upon her creature summoning. To summon any of them she should have needed to be bringing them out from somewhere. She fell back into silence as they continued to walk, pondering on that thought.

[The Warden]

|_)Witch of Courage, Lydia(_|

|_)Pathway of Truth: A8(_|

 

Lydia blinked twice, trying to actually remember what Arturia was like. "Pretty much the same as her big speech mode, really. Though, it wasn't a natural conversation, since... well... I've been thinking a lot ever since I had several hundred different forms of regret and despair joining me; and after I was told one thing by Arturia: The Throne of Heroes has taken notice of me for beating LERNA. What this means is, one day, the Throne will contact me and offer me one wish. In return, once I died my soul will join the many other heroic souls it has all collected up; so that one day I can serve as a Counter Guardian like Arturia and that other guy whose name I forget. With how big this war... no, the multiverse feels compared to my small world, I can't help but feel to want to take up the offer. I can't go back to my old life without destroying everything I have become. I truly feel like I want to make a difference, and to help save the many worlds out there from creeps like Protheus. That's why I'm here, in these Pathways, right now. I want to come to terms with if the choice is real. I've faced the reality of my choice already, now I'm here to decide if I'm just fooling myself" she explained without any provocation.

 

She blinked a few times again before realizing she had gone on a huge tangent. "Sorry, I've been pretty, umm, damn, what's the word? Not theoretical... oh, introspective. I think Remi used that once... but yeah, I've been getting way more introspective about things, and I keep going on these huge talks about crap. I think I exploded a fairy's brain earlier" she remarked, adding an amazed and slightly confused emphasis on her last sentence.

[Kingdom Xathers]

Sayer / Pathway of Remembrance / D4

some time ago….

“... of all the things… how can these damned eyeballs not see a single Counter Corps…?!”  

Traversing the forest, Sayer had his head held down as he continued to furiously speculate what could have gone wrong with his R.O.D.s this time; first they had stopped working back in Isamy’s Vault, then he couldn’t access the ones that he had snuck onto the Inch of Will and With Strange Aeons… and now THIS!  It’s not that the R.O.D.s couldn’t see at all, this time--on the contrary, aside from this current inconvenience, the R.O.D.s were functioning perfectly fine.  The inconvenience in question, however, was one that just could not be overlooked; while the R.O.D.s he had dispersed throughout the Pathway of Remembrance could see his fellow Divine members, the constructs could not find even one speck of hair of any of the Counter Corps.  This fact, alone, was infuriating Sayer to no end.  How the Devil does this keep happening?  “I swear, if I find out that Rubedo or any of those other [[“CURTAIN-FLAPS”]] had anything to do with this--!!”

“Goodness, don’t you look positively enflamed.”

Sayer came to a stop mid-stride, the voice addressing him being all too familiar.  “... … ah, so I suppose this is what was meant when I had first entered this forest,” Sayer uttered, his mouth slowly curling into a smirk as he spoke.  “So, then… to what else do I owe this pleasure… Archetype Earth?”

The Sinister Schemer’s eyes soon met with those of a similar shape, only glowing in a deep, familiar emerald hue, owned by a human woman with long, messy teal hair and a dark cloak covering her body - although, this was nothing more than a projection she put up to disguise her true, warped reptillian form. She had a smile on her face, but it felt cold rather than warm, like a formality she had to put up with.

“It’s been quite some time since we last met. Is it not strange to think that I would wish to pay you a visit?” The woman in question responded, tilting her head in the process. Though the words that came out of her mouth were ordinary, they lacked any trace of care or kindness, and instead seemed eerily condescending towards him.

Nevertheless, Sayer merely shrugged off the underlying tone as he responded with his own chillingly-emotionless-yet-made-to-sound-polite voice, “Ah, but it doth soothe me to know that you cared enough to visit this old man.  Afterall, I was under the distinct impression that I may never see you again,” he added in a sad-sounding tone which did nothing to hide the slight smirk still visible on his lips.  “But, I guess that’s what happens when this old lizard is forced to step in and finish what you failed to accomplish, my dear….”

“My failure was an unprecedented, impossible result to begin with, so I cannot comment much on all that has transpired since.” Archetype Earth looked up to the sky with a look that now seemed a little bored. “However, I believe that in a situation such as this, the correct phrase to use would be ‘thank you, father’.” Although, even as she said this, it was more like she was just imitating someone else or going through the motions of being appreciative, treating it like an inside joke.

Within her heart, there was little doubt that she didn’t care for this man or his efforts at all, and perhaps she was actually hoping deep inside that he would fail, since the success of other people wasn’t something she could ever make herself enjoy. That was just the way she was - a being with a heart devoid of goodness.

“So, do tell, what shall your next move be? Surely you are not the type who only sits back and watches as a game unfolds, from beginning to end.”

The man scoffed, finding some actually hilarity that this child - even a construct of the original - still had the sense to feel that she was in control.  “Well, dear child,” Sayer began, “I shall have you kno--ah…!”  Suddenly, Sayer shot a hand up to grip at his head, not so much in pain as it was in shock.  “... hm.  That’s odd, I felt such a strange sensation just now.  I wonder if--”  Again, Sayer’s body twitched, a brief yet uncontrollable movement that was sudden enough to make the man lose his balance for that moment.  “… … ohh, you accursed child,” the man hissed as his eyes glared at Archetype Earth, his red irises briefly flashing yellow as his voice took on a more seething, savage and, above all else, unearthly tone.  “You’ve went and done it this time…!”

As for the woman herself, she merely stared at this odd spectacle in a mixture of curiosity and amusement as the man she’d been talking to apparently started to convulse and act oddly, unphased by his words. Tilting her head slightly with a smile, she saw no reason to respond, finding it more entertaining to just watch him, but she did have a sort of suspicion about what exactly was transpiring. Though, if what she was suspecting was true, then there was also the possibility that-

“Oh?” Right on cue, another presence began to make itself known, materializing nearby. It seemed to be some kind of little human girl dressed in a raglike dress, with pale skin, dark hair, and wide, deep bluish eyes.

She looked a little cold from all the snow around them, being unused to this weather, but showed no sign of complaint. The very aura around her radiated an unbelievable amount of innocence, such that she was able to warmly return Archetype Earth’s cold gaze without a trace of fear.

“H… hello.” The girl voiced out, shly waving a little, before quickly turning her attention towards the convulsing man, at which point she became greatly concerned as she ran over towards him, disregarding the potential danger. “U- um, sir, are you okay?!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU LITTLE--!!” Sayer, in the midst of his convulsions, attempted to swing an arm at the little girl in an attempt to strike her, but found himself even more irate as he found that he had missed her by several inches above her head - she didn’t even bother to duck!  “Dammit all -- DAMMIT!!” Sayer’s anger continued to run rampant as he struggled to regain control of his body, practically foaming from his mouth as he tried again and again to strike out at the little girl, even trying to take a few swings at Archetype Earth while he was at it, with the same results every time.  “DAMN YOU!!!” he cried out, now sounding more like a monster - nay, a demon - than a human.  “DAMN YOU, WHY MUST YOU REVEAL YOURSELF TO HIM?!  I HAD HIM UNDER MY CONTROL, AND YOU HAD TO COME ALONG AND---RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGG-

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEE-

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--”

Just as suddenly as his convulsions began, Sayer’s body ceased moving completely.  Even his face still held the same horrendous, furious expression for a good thirty seconds or so.  His body then snapped back into its default pose, as if nothing ever happened.  Now seemingly unamused by the whole episode, Sayer simply sighed.  “... well, fine then, Kyros,” he uttered, his tone still mutated yet otherwise calm, “have it your way….”  

With what appeared to be a great deal of effort, Sayer began to convulse once more, making what sounded like groans of mild discomfort as what otherwise appeared to be a horrific process began to take place; as he twitched and spasmed, his gasps and yelps were accompanied by another’s, the one in question appearing to rip its way out of the middle of Sayer’s back, face-first.  This… thing continued to claw and scratch its way through, tearing flesh and fabric as it desperately tried to escape its prison until, finally, it flopped out of the gaping hole in Sayer’s back and onto the ground, covered in flesh and blood, maybe even some intestines here and there.  Sayer, too, fell face-first into the ground, the crater on his back pointing skyward for Archetype Earth’s morbid amusement before sealing itself up moments later.  “... I hope never to have to do that again,” Sayer mused as he quickly recovered, getting to his feet as he turned to look at the exhausted humanoid creature laying on the ground before them all.  “Well…?  What are you waiting for, Kyros, an invitation?”

The creature, shivering from his exhaustion and the sensation of cold it was feeling for the first time in millennium, struggled to get up from the ground. Though unsure what to make of what was currently happening, knowing only that there was some inherent danger in the air and that she should stay away, the girl immediately reacted to the name ‘Kyros’ and ran over in great worry without any regard for her own being. The man it had just clawed out of must’ve also been in terrible pain, but she had to deal with things one at a time. Meanwhile, Archetype Earth was content to simply stand back, cross her arms, and watch in intrigue.

“H- h- hey, are you okay?!” Kneeling down, the little girl didn’t hesitate for a moment to place her hand against the curled-up creature, feeling its cold, hard, and somewhat damp skin with a worrisome look on her face. “Is that you...papa?!”

Hearing the little girl refer to him as “papa”--a word he thought he’d never hear again, especially coming from her--the creature stirred, lifting his head up to look her in the face, the face that once filled him with such feelings of warmth and happiness that he had not felt in so long.  “Re…,” the creature sputtered out, still feeling as if he had just awoken from a terrible nightmare.  “Rea… trey….”  He could feel a small smile form on his face as he slowly reached a hand out to the little girl, happy to finally be with his darling little daughter after all this time… yet, almost as soon as his hand was an inch away from hers, he stopped, horrified by the sight of his arm…

...to begin with, his hand wasn’t even a ‘hand’, but sharp talon-like claws, connected to a long, reptilian appendage that was being raised in place of his arm. Its surface was fully covered in a sheet of metallic emerald scales with a thin, wet layer of some sort of slime over it, and as his eyes trailed from the limb over to his shoulder, he saw that the rest of his body had also transformed similarly. Although it still had a faintly humanoid shape, it was far heavier, and more lizardlike than human in appearance now. Scales stuck to him from head to toe in such a way that it might’ve been tempting to rip it all off and believe that this was all just some sort of illusion, and that human skin would be right there underneath. However, as his gaze moved to his own daughter sitting right before him, he was able to clearly see what he’d become in the reflection of her eyes---the features on his face barely showed any signs of humanity at all, having become more bestial and elongated, his mouth and nose had now combined into a single point at the front that was very much like that of a lizard’s, with a wrinkly layer of skin underneath attached to what should be his neck, the once-sky blue colour of his eyes had receded into a faded black, and what stood out most of all were the bladed spikes that were protruding upwards from the top of his head, trailing downwards to presumably follow down his spine, and would undoubtedly end in a meter-long tail extending outwards from right below his back waist. All traces of skin and hair had been eradicated, replaced by greenish scales, and after all this...well, how could he possibly still call himself a human?

“Papa.” In response to his voice, the look on Reatrey’s face tightened, and she grabbed the ‘hand’ that he was reaching out towards her without fear. Of course, no matter what he might have become, she knew her father when he was right in front of her. She’d never been one to back away from danger in the first place. “It’s… It’s okay. I don’t know what happened, but I’m here. I’m here, papa.”

Even so, Kyros could not bring himself to look into his daughter’s eyes again.  In fact, he forced himself to look away, trembling with horror and guilt over what he had become.

“Oh, please,” spoke Sayer as he looked on at the pitiful creature before him and Archetype Earth.  “You act as if that’s the most horrid thing you’ve ever seen.  Now, this,” he added as he pointed at himself, pinching at his own jawline, “I’ve had the displeasure of looking like this for centuries.  Such a disgusting look, and yet it was necessary.  After all, one of us had to, seeing as you were… unwilling to cooperate.”

“Curious, how you find that form so bad, considering how it is the only thing that has kept your life intact for the past ten millennia. Repulsive though it may be to you, instead of being horrified, would it not be better to be grateful that you took the form of an Earth creature rather than that of an eldritch alien?” Arche herself remarked, looking down at the man with a faint but definitely growing smile. “The fate of the Atlanteans were assured when they chose to harness the power of the Orichalcum. Either they perish, or they turn into monsters... Hih, hihih!” Then, as if on an impulse, she let out a small, high-pitched giggle at the sight of him, expressing an emotion that was composed of nothing, nothing but pure sadism at the agony he was going through.  Sayer, too, could not help but give a sadistic, taunting chuckle alongside Archetype Earth.

“Leave him alone, whoever you two are!” Reatrey said in a scolding tone, momentarily turning her gaze from her turned father over to the definitely more monstrous duo. “Can’t you see he’s really unwell?!”

“Hmm… Oh my, you might be right there. It did not occur to me that he may be suffering from some kind of intense psychological trauma, even when he’s curled up on the snow like an orphaned victim of disaster without food or shelter. That was far too insensitive of me to take pleasure in such a thing, regardless of the fact that there’s no one else here to fool or command. Therefore, I must apologize.” The cloaked woman responded duly, bowing her head.

Though the amount of sarcasm in it was obvious, it seemed to actually fool the girl for a second as she brightened up - only to frown again once she realized that the woman’s malicious smile was still there. “I’m serious.”

“Believe me when I say this. Someday, child, your eyes will be opened and you will come to enjoy the suffering of others.”

“I’d never-” Before Reatrey could finish her sentence, she cut herself short, knowing that this was just wasting her time. She had to focus on what was more important right now. Shaking her head, she faced the reptillian creature that was her father again. “Hey, papa... I’m right here. Don’t just let these people take advantage of you, say something!”

“Oh, yes, “Papa”,” Sayer snarked in, rolling his eyes at such a silly spectacle, “go ahead and defend yourself.  Speak your mind.  Gods know you’ll ever get another chance to do so--”

“LEAVE US!!”  Kyros howled out as his paternal instincts kicked in for the first time in what felt like forever, quickly grabbing hold of Reatrey and holding her close while positioning her as far away from Sayer and Arche as possible.  “Why won’t you leave us alone?!  Why must you torment us?!”

“because its fun lol Us, torment you? Oh, I don’t know, it seems to me like you’re the one tormenting yourself.” Archetype Earth pointed out with a shrug, but as if to follow his desperate wishes, she turned around in the other direction, facing towards the end of the forest not too far away. “There, is that any better? Or would you like me to move a little further back, oh kind and noble father?”

“Fact of the matter, Kyros,” Sayer spoke as he instead took a few steps forward, “is that we had hoped that by subjecting you to all of those horrors over the years, we could break your spirit enough to be of actual use to us, as opposed to resorting to a “split personality”, a.k.a. moi.  It still baffles us to this day that your spirit has endured for so long.”  Sayer paused a moment, stroking at his chin.  “To this day, I fail to see how the love you have for your daughter -- the one who turned into what she is today because of you -- has been strong enough to resist corruption for the past ten millennium….”

His hate for his doppelganger burned fiercely, yet the monstrous Kyros still held his ground.  “I wouldn’t expect a demon such as yourself to ever understand the human spirit!  Mankind is not so easy to--”

“--first off,” Sayer interrupted, “you’re not even anything that can be considered human anymore, so unless you’ve either forgotten that fact or are just that delusional--”

“I am NOT. DONE. TALKING!”

Sayer stopped himself as he stared back at Kyros, seemingly stunned at the lizard-man’s defiant, commanding tone.  Or, perhaps, it was thinly restrained anger.  “... you truly have a lot of nerve, you little troglodyte,” he hissed.  “I have just about a quarter of a mind to--HURK!!”  Sayer did not get to finish wording out his threat as he found his face on the business end of a large turquoise-colored shard, the crystal embedding itself in the center of his face as the sharp end exited the back of his skull.

“I… said… leave us…,” Kyros grunted, half of him in disbelief over what he had just made himself do, the other half… quite relieved, actually, in the cathartic sense.  He must have wanted to do that for so long--

He and Reatrey looked on in horror as Sayer proceeded to try and wretch the shard out of his head, a sickening squelch being heard as the crystal slid out of his skull.  Once the foreign object had been removed, Sayer’s head began reforming itself, the crater gradually vanishing as his facial features returned to how they were before the sudden, inconveniencing action had occurred.  “... that,” a now seething Sayer uttered, the shard still clutched in his hand, “... was highly disrespectful of you.  I hope you realize the nice little grave you’ve just dug for yourself by doing that, Kyros,” Sayer added, waving the shard in Kyros and Reatrey’s general direction as he spoke.  Once more, Kyros took his stand against Sayer, trying to shield Reatrey from harm with his body.  At this, however, Sayer merely scoffed.  “Honestly, Kyros,” he spoke, his voice eerily calm and emotionless as the shard in his hand reformed into a saber, “you still think you can protect her.  You still think you can save her.  Yet you fail to realize that the Reatrey you know is long gone.  There is no saving her,” he added as his eyes flared with a sinister red light, pointing the saber past Kyros and toward Reatrey, “neither the original that you’ve lost… nor the one standing by you now.”

“You come ANYWHERE near her--” Kyros roared out, claws prepared to tear into the despicable being before him.

“I don’t really get it, but...” But then, just as he was about to attack the man a second time, he got held back as his daughter tugged his arm gently in an attempt to stop him. Even though Reatrey couldn’t quite grasp most of the things that were happening, why her father was in this form and so mad, as well as why the other two were so hellbent on deriding him, she stepped forth between him and Sayer until the saber was close enough to poke into her with an apologetic expression. Right, that was just the way she was. No matter how cruel they were and no matter how hopeless anything looked, she’d hate to let any conflict or suffering happen before her eyes, whether it was to her father, or to a sadistic stranger.  “...but sir, even though you said I was gone, I’m here now. Maybe it’s true that I wasn’t saved, but my memory lives on, doesn’t it? He remembered me, didn’t he? So really, if you think of it like that, you’re wrong.”

Then at that moment, Reatrey smiled softly at them, a smile that was filled with the utmost good intentions and such innocence within that it must’ve felt like she was some sort of angel who was forgiving Sayer and Archetype Earth for their actions, before she closed her eyes and looked back to the serpentine creature that was her father. “He did save me. So… what’s so wrong with us just talking on our own? You don’t lose anything, right?”

From not too far away, her future evil self regarded her and her words with an expression that along the lines of terrible disgust (a look that Sayer, too, shared), but it was only natural. Their natures were inherently opposed. Right from the start, there was no way that she’d be able to understand or agree with whatever came out of this little, feeble, innocent and kind to the point of idiotic, ridiculously pure-hearted girl. She opened her mouth as if to say something, like throw out an insult or mock her ideals, but ultimately decided against it, figuring that the girl was bound to come up with a response that’d only disgust her even more.

“... the only things I’m losing here,” Sayer slowly breathed out, “... are my time and patience.  As much as I would just love to have Kyros attempt to keep playing “Papa” to a mere figment of his memory, I’m afraid “eye”,” he added, pausing to conjure up about twenty R.O.D.s within their general vicinity, “... must proceed to blow this joint...  … up.”

Kyros’ eyes widened in horror.  He knew exactly what his “evil twin” was planning to do.  The reptilian creature rushed over and grabbed hold of Reatrey, shielding as much of her body as he could just as Sayer snapped his fingers.  At once, the R.O.D.s all converged on Kyros’ location, each one exploding upon impact with his body, one right after the other.  The explosions barely did much to Kyros, as his scales proved effective at protecting him.  But it was not himself he was concerned with, as he continued to shield Reatrey from the exploding R.O.D.s.

Underneath him, even though the little girl had curled up into a ball to protect herself and help her dad, a part of one of the nearby explosions somehow managed to get through, scorching the skin off her upper arm and leaving an unimaginably painful blazing black mark. “G- gaaaah!” She shut her eyes as tightly as possible to cope with this and refused to make a sound about it, however, worried that doing so might alert her father’s attention before the wave of explosions all ended.

Hmm, there’s something not quite right here. With large balls of fire erupting all around them, Archetype Earth frowned for a little while at the sight before her eyes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable for some reason. It wasn’t compassion or a desire to help them out, of course, but more along the lines of they weren’t suffering enough. It was if this scenery was a little less satisfying than expected, as if it were missing something…

Although she was perfectly content to let her father do as he wished, she decided to raise her right arm on a whim and clicked her fingers. Putting it simply, a small yet ominous-looking orb of emerald light had materialized a dozen above where they were standing in the forest. Floating up in the sky harmlessly like that, while it was fairly tiny in appearance, anyone capable of presence detection would be able to tell that the amount of energy contained within was practically enormous.

Then, just when it looked like all the explosions on the ground had ceased, it abruptly dropped and then detonated on the spot, sending out a huge shockwave of destruction in all directions that burnt away all the nearby trees and razed the snow-covered ground. This would definitely make the show Kyros was putting on far more entertaining.

Ahh. Much, much better, she thought with satisfaction.

"Could you please refrain from doing that again?" Sayer spoke up as the dust settled, having conjured an Orichalcos Circle to shield himself from the devastating nuke that had gone off. "Or at least give me a bit of warning?  Not that I couldn't recover from that, but I really prefer not to go through the trouble of repairing this body from scratch."  Archetype Earth merely shrugged, not seeming to care one bit, before they both turned their attention towards where Kyros lay huddled further away.

Although he was not visibly injured, Kyros was nonetheless reeling from the concussive force of the attacks he had to endure.  It didn’t matter, though; as long as Reatrey was still safe, that was all that--

“Ah- ah- agh—!” But contrary to his thoughts, even though he had indeed saved her, she’d been far from safe. Crumpled on the ground, still curled up fetally, each breathe she was taking was sharp, with her eyes shut tight as she desperately tried to hold in any gasps or cries of pain in an attempt not to alert her father of the second and third third-degree burns that were all over her body. Apart from the wide black mark that now covered her upper right arm, other parts of her skin and clothes had been scorched off, mostly from that last attack. Her lower legs were in a horrible condition that areas of it seemed white with patches of black all over, her arms not faring much better by appearing painfully red.

Holding in both seething hot pain and tears, all Reatrey was able to focus on was staying in her current position, unable to make herself move. Then after a moment or so, she struggled to open her eyes, hearing no more explosions, though the possibility that her ears had just been burnt off without her knowing was possible. “Is… Is it over, papa?” she strained herself to ask with a dried throat.

“Reatrey!!!” Kyros gasped out in horror.  He had to hold back the impulse to snatch her up into his arms, instead opting to shakingly reach out a hand and gently pet her head in an attempt to sooth her, all while trying--and failing--to hold back his tears.  “No, this can’t be happening…  this can’t be…,” he mournfully whispered.  “Reatrey… please… my child, please hold on….”

“Oh, now this is getting good,” Sayer uttered quietly to Archetype Earth as he watched the scene before them.  “Popcorn?” he added, offering Arche some from a large bucket that he conjured from lord-knows-where. Nonchalantly, the cloaked woman scooped up a whole ton with just her hand and shoved it all into her mouth, her eyes not parting from the rather entertaining scene before them.

The little girl winced slightly as he petted her head, but endured it with a light, innocent smile on her face, opening her eyes to look at him directly again, not caring in the slightest that he’d now taken the form of some kind of monster. If nothing else, it could at least provide him some comfort amongst the flames that were scattered all over this place. “It’s okay...papa. T- there’s... there’s no need for you to cry. Please don’t cry over me. I- I mean, after all… I’m even not the real thing...right, papa?“

“I… I don’t care…!” Kyros sobbed, tears streaming down his reptilian face, a few drops falling onto Reatrey’s scorched skin.  “I just… I just want you back… I don’t care if it’s an illusion of you.  Just… please, don’t leave me again… please….” he whimpered, curling up next to his daughter, a talon shakily caressing the side of her face.

“...Of course not, papa.” Looking back towards her father, she placed her left hand over his cheek to reassure him, and give him some warmth with a pained smile. “You should know that I’ll… I’ll never leave you. Never.”

It didn’t really need to be said. It must’ve obvious by then that she, Reatrey, was dying. That she wouldn’t last much longer. Now that they were both lying down, the various burns that had scorched her chest and back were far more apparent now, with vermillion blood slowly pouring out in large amounts, forming a puddle below her without any way to stop the flow. He may have saved her from being entirely blown up, but he couldn’t have completely saved her no matter how hard he tried. With each passing second, her skin grew paler and paler, her limbs becoming more strained as they endured the damage, but she held in all the pain with a bright smile, her own self never hating the inconvenient world around them.

“No matter what happens, I’ll always be in your heart, forever. Because, I... love you. You’re the greatest dad I could have ever asked for. And you...love me too… don’t you, papa?”

“... … …”  Even he knew, in his heart, the inevitable that was happening before him.  He wanted so badly to find a way--any way--to save her, to prevent her death from coming… … … yet he knew that was never going to happen.  No matter what he would do, no matter what he would have done… he would lose his precious child regardless.  But there was one thing that he could still do, for her, even knowing that he would never have the chance to do so again; suppressing his tears as best he could, Kyros did his best effort to return his daughter’s loving smile as he gently pulled her closer to him, cradling her in his arms.  “Of course…,” he croaked out.  “I love you, my dear, sweet child… and I always will….”

Reatrey’s smile still remained even as her eyes slowly closed for the last time.  Her frail frame became even lighter as it slowly dissipated in a cloud of light particles which slowly ascended upwards, up through the treetops and into the skies above….

“... Arche,” Sayer said calmly yet urgently to Archetype Earth, “I think this is the part where you may wish to--”  He did not get to said what Archetype Earth should do as he was viciously tackled clear across the field by an angrily shrieking Kyros, both of them flying through the gaps in the trees and into another clearing.

“... well, I’m listening,” Archetype Earth spoke after a brief, awkward silence as she stared in the direction that the two men flew off.

Kyros slammed Sayer against the side of a tree, the force almost embedding the Sinister Schemer into the lumber.  “Εγώ θα σε καταστρέψει !!” Kyros shrieked out, the claws of his left hand having pierced into Sayer’s shoulder and collarbone, while his right hand was poised to do the same to his head.

“If you were really going to destroy me,” Sayer retorted, none too phased at being made a pin cushion, “you would have done so by now.”

His rage practically consuming him, Kyros swung Sayer around and threw him into another tree before proceeding to pounce on him, claws primed to tear him to shreds.  Sayer, however, knew better than to allow that; quickly righting himself, Sayer thrust his hand forward, the Orichalcos shard still in his palm forming into a broadsword, piercing Kyros through the shoulder.  “You see?  Your rage is clouding your judgment, your rational train of thought derailed,” he spoke, driving Kyros down and pinning the reptilian to the ground with the sword.  As Kyros struggled, Sayer pulled out a second shard, which formed another sword with which he stabbed into the reptilian’s tail.  “You… are becoming more of a beast than ever.  And soon, the rest of your humanity shall be consumed and forgotten….” With a snap of his fingers, he called forth about seven R.O.D.s, their irises all pointed at the prone Kyros.  Another snap, and the R.O.D.s proceeded to fire more crystalline swords from their pupils, each one piercing through Kyros’ limbs and torso, and further pinning the creature down.  “... and that… shall be when you shall truly become my pawn….”

“... ΠΟΤΕ!” Kyros hissed defiantly, ignoring the pain as best he could.  “Ποτέ δεν θα είναι ένα πιόνι με τους ομοίους σας!”

“You have no choice in the matter,” Sayer firmly replied.  “King Dartz, your own daughter… all have done my bidding, and all those after.  Even you, and even the spawn of that whore Itsu Fudo--”

“Μείνετε μακριά από αυτήν !!”

Sayer breathed out heavily.  “Mind saying that in English, for those at home who can’t speak Greek?  I can only imply what you are saying for so long.”

“You… you stay away from Atsuko!” Kyros growled out, still struggling to free himself from the swords pinning him to the ground.  “I will not allow you… to steal another’s child again--”

“Have you not been listening, Kyros?  You HAVE no choice in the matter.  It is an INEVITABILITY!  And besides,” Sayer added with the smuggest grin he had ever worn, “I won’t have to do much to get Atsuko under my power; she’ll do all the work, and come crawling to me in due time.”  He paused to give a soft, cold chuckle.  “You know… had I an actual heart, I would find all of this truly hysterical; you, the monster that you are, still fighting desperately to defy me, to cling to your one miniscule shred of humanity, to save one from the fate your daughter has suffered… I’m almost willing to say that I find it all… “admirable”… but I am not that kind of being.”  Strolling over to the downed reptile, Sayer knelt down to look Kyros in the eyes.  “... why persist, hmm?  Just give up already.  There is no way you will ever have your daughter back as she once was.  The sooner you accept that, the easier this will become for you.”

“... … then, you are better off killing me…,” Kyros uttered softly, a tear running down his weary face.

 

"... now why would I go and do such a silly thing like that?"  Sayer gave a hollow laugh at Kyros' suggestion.  "Now, are you trying to escape your fate, or have you honestly lost the will to live?  No matter; either way, it would be downright foolish of me to kill you when you still have a use."

 

"...?!"

 

"Indeed, Kyros.  But worry not; for once you become the vessel through which the Great Leviathan shall make its grand return, the roles you and your daughter have played in this production shall seem so small~"

"What...?!  NO!!"

 

"'Fraid so, my boy!  Now, be a good pet," Sayer replied with the utmost glee as he produced a R.O.D.s iris to form underneath the reptilian creature, "and wait in your cage until the time comes for the performance of your lifetime!"

 

Kyros let out a last desperate "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as he plummeted down through the iris, once again sealed away from the physical world.

 

Once Kyros was sealed away again, Sayer breathed out a sigh of relief.  "Ahh... much better.  Now then... time to make my leave of this forest." 

 

With that, Sayer perched himself on a R.O.D. and proceeded to hover his way out of the forest, darting through the wide trees as he drew closer to the edge of the forest (around D7, which was still within the trees but no longer amongst the density of the forest).  He paused a moment as something caught his eye (his actual eyes, mind you): it was Alexander's little entourage, traveling by foot along the river.  Sayer's eyes squinted at this; it was the first time since entering this Pathway that he had even seen anyone from the Counter Corps, with his own eyes, no less.  He pondered a certain peculiarity as he continued to hang back, observing the group as they disappeared in the fog....
 

Although he tried his best to take a little nap as he and the others crossed the great lake on their raft, Alister could not help but grumble at the memories that were trying to resurface themselves from deep in his mind.  “... can’t get a moment’s peace, even in my damned HEAD…!” he growled as he sat upright, a slight twang of pain shooting through his arm that he did his best to ignore.

“You too, huh?” Alexander spoke up, himself seated next to the General and appearing to have a massive migraine.

“... how bad is it for you?” Alister asked, a bit concerned for how pained Alexander appeared to be.

In reply, Alexander simply sighed out, the exhaustion and remorse he was feeling making themselves evident.  “... I know I said I’ll move on from these memories… and yet, they’ll still remain.”

Alister nodded.  “I know the feeling.  I’m still trying to get over my own.  Certainly not easy….”

“I’m sure we’ll find a way….”

“Well, you boys could always find something to distract yourselves,” Bayonetta called out from the other end of the raft.  “You know… like I have…!”

Alex and Alister turned their attention toward Bayonetta, just as Ratchet, Clank, Mr. Zurkon, Umbris and Gabriel did the same, and… well, they saw what the Umbra Witch had decided on as her “distraction”; having affixed one of the raft’s oars perpendicular with their transport, Bayonetta had fashioned for herself a stripper pole, on which she began to perform a routine to Andy Williams’ “Moon River”, a performance which exemplified her grace, flexibility, and sensuality.  Totally nothing slutty or trashy at all, ‘cuz Bayo’s too much of a classy witch for that.

Feeling rather awkward, Alister couldn’t help but nervously chuckle a bit.  “Well, that--” the General stammered, feeling quite flustered (as the others sans Clank and Zurkon surely felt as well), “--that is quite the, err, “distraction”...!”

"Yep, heh," Alexander agreed, placing a hand over his mouth in an attempt to suppress his own nervous laughter.  "Kinda reminds me of those little shows they hold for army soldiers on shore leave."

"This couldn't be any more appropo," Alister chuckled in agreement.

"Ratchet, dear," Bayonetta added coyly as she held one foot over her head, "you might want to wipe that blood from your nose.  Seems you might be... getting a bit excited."

"Huh?!" Ratchet blurted out as he pressed a finger to his nostrils, finding that, indeed, there was a bit of blood trickling from them. "D'oh! I, uhh--" he stammered, blushing furiously enough to make the fur on his face turn a light shade of pink.  "That--that was just from Clank punching me in the nose earlier!" he blurted, earning him a dirty look from said robot.

"Oh? The puny one really did that?" spoke the Zurkon-Wrench, almost sounding amused and impressed. "Mr. Zurkon is amused and impressed by this. But only a little."

"Oh, brother...," Alister scoffed, shaking his head.

“... Clank did that?” Alexander uttered in slight surprise and disbelief.  “Huh….”

“... … anyways… Alex?”

“Yes, Al?”

“I’m… kinda curious,” Alister began, taking a glance over at Umbris before returning his attention to Alex, “those cards you use to summon your creatures… they’re also used to play a card game, right?”

“That’s right,” Alexander replied.  “I picked up the game when I, err, fell into a Duel Monsters-related dimension about a year-or-so ago.  Kinda had to, really, since that’s pretty much all anyone in those dimensions play, especially if the fate of the world depends on it… … HA-HA!” Alexander laughed at that last part.  It was true, of course, and yet he still couldn’t help but find the fact absurd and hilarious. “But, seriously, it can be a fun game to play.”

“I see…,” Alister nodded.  “... so, I was actually wondering--”

“--if we could teach you how to play?” Alex cut in, finishing Alister’s sentence.

“Er, yes, actually,” Alister replied.  “I mean, if we ever get the chance to, I mean.”

“I’m up for being taught, too,” Ratchet said as he sat next to the other lombaxes, wiping at his nose with a scrap of tissue.

“Hey, sure thing,” Umbris replied.  “I mean, it couldn’t hurt.”

“I would ask to be taught, too,” Bayonetta spoke, having abandoned her pole dancing to join the conversation, “except the thought of playing a Children’s Card Game doesn’t exactly appeal to me that much.  Besides, if I wanted to summon a beast to fight for me, well… I already have that covered,” she added, bumping her fist with that of Madama Butterfly.

“Heh-heh, fair enough, Cereza,” Alexander replied with a chuckle.  “Still, it’s nice that you guys wish to learn.  I’d be more than happy to teach you guys when this is all over.”

When this is all over… … right…, Alister thought to himself, his mind now troubled with doubt.

“Al… hey, Al…!” Alexander spoke up, trying to get Alister’s attention.

“Huh?”

“You, uhh… you’ve got something stuck to your clothes, here,” Alex explained, grabbing hold of the thing in question and pulling it off.  It was a brilliant shade of red, in color, and smooth to the touch, though a bit jagged around the edges, as if it had been ripped off from something… or someone.

“Wait, that’s…” Alister gasped out, recognizing that exact color, “... that’s Red’s…!  But, how did--?”

“Must’ve gotten on you after we blew off half of his face,” Ratchet spoke up, his expression turning rather sour at the thought of the dragon in question.

“Sounds about right,” Umbris agreed, his own expression matching Ratchet’s.

Alexander, meanwhile, remained silent, not wishing to give his own input about the dragon.  After all, he didn’t know much about Red, and he felt that making such rash conclusions could only lead to tragedy, at worst.  But still, had they not gotten to Alister in time, who knows what Red could’ve done to Al….

Nope, nope, distract yourself, Alex.  This is no time to let your memories and thoughts run crazy.  “A-Anyways, we should try and think of a plan for the rest of the Paths.  I mean, there are two more after this one, right?”

“That’s right, Alex,” Gabriel spoke up, being cradled in Bayonetta’s arms.  “Cereza, my tablet, if you’d please.  It’s in my back.”  Shooting the others a confused look, Bayonetta shrugged as she ran a hand along the back of the plushie; underneath Gabriel’s vest, she could feel a zipper.  Doffing the plushie’s top, Bayonetta proceeded to unzip the back and reach a hand inside, where she found that the inside of the plushie was a bit bigger, almost the size of a typical backpack.

“Jesus, Bayo, are you trying to fist the poor thing or what?” Umbris retorted upon seeing that the Witch was elbow-deep inside the plushie.  

Bayonetta rolled her eyes as she continued to rummage through Gabriel’s plushie body until, finally, she pulled out the tablet in question.  Starting up the device, Bayonetta held it before her for the others to see as Gabriel explained:

“Now, I’m sure you remember the White Room that each of you were in before entering this Pathway,” said Gabriel as a diagram representing the White Room was displayed on the tablet’s screen.  “We all entered through one of these three doors in order to reach this Path, each Door, of course, being emblazoned with a symbol of some kind that would represent a certain aspect.  Remembrance, Truth, and Death.  Each of these, in reality, representing Past, Present, and Future, respectively.”

“Right,” Ratchet spoke up, “and once we’re done with a Path, we’re basically locked out of it, forcing us to pick whatever Paths remain, right?”

“Yes, very good, Ratchet,” Gabriel replied.  “Once we exit this Pathway, we’ll all have a choice of going through the Pathway of Truth or the Pathway of Death.”  The screen shifted to a diagram of three doors, one of which is darkened to represent the “locked” Pathway.  “Now, if we wanna stick together as best we can, we’re all gonna have to pick the same Door.  Which now leads to our main topic of discussion: Which Path are we all going to choose?”

“Well, now, that is a good question.  It’d be a shame if you were to be deprived of the opportunity to make it.”

“... and I was just wondering when we’d be crossing paths with you… Sayer!” Gabriel called out as the group scrambled to their feet to face their adversary as Sayer approached them, seated on a group of floating R.O.D.s.  “So, to what do we owe this displeasure?” asked the plushie.

“... … … … oh, I’m sorry, you actually want me to give you an answer?” Sayer blurted out after a brief pause.  “Sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve no time to spare to play with a mere toy.”

“What’s the matter, Sayer?” Alister spouted out as he and the others prepared to defend themselves.  “Too afraid to get off your high horse and actually join the fray for once?!”

“What are you blabbering about?  I’ve contributed plenty already,” Sayer replied in a thinly veiled attempt to defend himself.  “Not that it should matter to you all, since what I do really shouldn’t be your business.”

“That’s quite hilarious, coming from you,” Bayonetta replied.  “In fact, your prying into other people’s business is precisely why Gabriel went and--”

“So it was you, Rubedo…!” Sayer snapped, his tone suddenly changing to an irritated one.  “You’re the one that’s been tampering with my R.O.D.s this whole time, wasn’t it--?!”

Sayer cut himself off as he (as well as the others) was caught off-guard by Gabriel’s giggling, which quickly progressed to a raucous, almost unhinged laughter.  His laughter went on for a good fifteen seconds or so before eventually dying down.  “... yep, that’s… well, almost completely right,” Gabriel explained.  “Tampering with your R.O.D.s was my idea, but it was Cheato the Spellbook who put that idea into motion.”

“Cheato?!” growled Sayer.  “That damned book!?!”

“The very one,” Gabriel gleefully chimed, uncharacteristically pleased with the look on Sayer’s face.  “I figured, seeing as you enjoy prying into people’s lives about as much as you enjoy destroying them, we’d go ahead and strip that away from you. (=3)  Not so fun now, is it?”

Sayer continued to glare angrily at Gabriel, gnashing his teeth so hard one would expect them to shatter at any minute.  A realization crossing his mind made Sayer quickly save face (quite literally, even).  “Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself, indulging in a bit of a sadistic streak.  I must say, I didn’t think I’d expect this from someone like you, Gabriel.  One who, as a luchador, would go out of their way to uphold honor and fair play--”

“Right, well,” Gabriel interrupted, his expression becoming far more dark, “I suppose all of that went out the window the moment I was stuffed into a f***ing DOLL.  It’s because of you that I’m even in this mess to begin with--”

“Oh, please, Gabriel, would you stop being so melodramatic?  All I did was kill you--”

“You did NOT. JUST. f***ing. KILL ME!!!” Gabriel roared out, actually needing to be restrained by Bayonetta to keep from hopping off the raft at Sayer.  “No, you did FAR worse than that, Sayer… you took from me everything that I ever was!!”

At this, Sayer quizzically raised an eyebrow.  “... … … … … … … … ahh, now I get it,” Sayer spoke after a brief silence, a sadistic smirk gracing his lips.  “You can take the Soul from the Luchador, but not the Luchador from the Soul… I see now.  By killing you and subsequently having your soul sealed away, I, in essence, did the most unspeakable injustice one can do to a luchador; I… unmasked you!  Indirectly, of course, but the idea is still the same--”

Sayer was once more cut off as he had to dodge an energy shot fired by Alister.  “We oughta drop you into the drink right now!” shouted the General angrily.

At this, Sayer merely scoffed.  “Threatening me with drowning?” he replied as, with a snap of his fingers, he conjured five more R.O.D.s.  “Big talk, from a group who may as well be sitting ducks.”  With another snap, Sayer directed the R.O.D.s to divebomb the raft--

“Trap Card Open: Mirror Force!” Gabriel shouted as a shimmering, transparent force field surrounded the group and their raft. The R.O.D.s struck the barrier and bounced off, zooming back into an visibly irate Sayer; a large explosion appeared to signal that the Sinister Schemer had been done away with, but….

“... I hope you weren’t expecting that to actually stick, right Gabriel?” Alexander sighed out, knowing full-well that Sayer would have a trick up his sleeve.

In response, Gabriel, too, sighed, “Yeah….”

“Well, it’s good that you realize this,” Sayer called out from another nearby location.  Turning around, the Lombaxes and the Umbra Witch caught sight of Sayer, with nary a scratch on him, this time riding on the back of a crimson-colored demon, flames draped along its body and wings.  “After all, I’m actually starting to enjoy having a more direct involvement in all of this.”

As Ratchet stared at Sayer’s mount, a cold chill ran along his spine and throughout the rest of his body.  That demon… … he had seen it before, hadn’t he…?!  “It was him….”

“Ratchet…?” Alexander uttered as he glanced over at the young lombax, who was slowly growing visibly outraged.

“Because of him, Tal’s… …!!” Ratchet grit his teeth, his anger reaching its breaking point as he remembered that incident back home, when that very demon destroyed the walkway he and Talwyn were traversing.  Why was Sayer even there in the first place--? Know what, that doesn’t matter.  What mattered was that: Sayer was there, he interfered with Ratchet, and now he was rubbing salt into everyone’s wounds.  

“... well, I’d love to stay and chat--and by “chat” I mean “grind you into the dust”,” Sayer blurted out, “but I really should be going now, so au revoir!!”  To everyone else’s surprise (and aggravation), the Orichalcos Malevolence suddenly sped off at an alarming speed, nearly capsizing the raft with the wake that was formed.

"Dammit!" Umbris growled out as he and the others got back onto their feet.  "Now how are we gonna catch him?!"

"Leave that to me," Bayonetta replied.  Making a spinning dance-like motion, the Umbra Witch proceeded to slam her foot down on the raft's surface, the symbol of the Umbran Clan flashing briefly where she put her foot down.  A couple of seconds later, the raft seemed to lurch again, causing the lombaxes to become wary, though nothing else happened... yet. "You boys may want to hold on to something," warned Bayonetta, her body radiating a slight violet aura.  "This raft ride's about to get crazy!"

The Lombaxes knew better than to question why; they all huddled together as Umbris used his cape to tether everyone securely to the raft.  Taking that as her cue, Bayonetta proceeded to pour some of her Umbran magic into the raft.  Within seconds, the raft began to propel itself forward, skidding over the surface of the lake at a speed of about 40 miles per hour.  Everyone on the raft whose name wasn’t “Bayonetta” “Cereza” or “Mr. Zurkon” yelped in frightened anticipation as the raft bounced upon hitting each wave.

“I know we’re--KYA!--trying to get to Sayer--KYA!--as fast as possible--KYA!!” yelled Alexander as he tried to speak with Bayonetta over the sound of the splashing water, “but it’s not like--KYA!!--we should risk--KYA!--getting ourselves thrown overbo-WHOA-ard!”

“You speak as if I’ve never driven a piece of wood before,” Bayonetta replied calmly.  “Believe me, if I had my way, we would be riding a giant missile.”

“I DON’T WANT A MISSILE ANYWHERE NEAR MY ASS!” Umbris blurted out before he could catch himself.

“Safe to say that we’ve reached our innuendo quota for today,” Alexander responded flatly as he and the other guys looked at Umbris weirdly.

Ratchet quickly returned his attention to the monster(s) speeding away ahead of them.  “Sh!t, Sayer’s really going fast!  We won’t catch him at this rate!”

“He must’ve use Rush Recklessly on his Malevolence!” Alexander speculated.  “Maybe even more than one!”

“Who the hell uses Rush Recklessly these days, anyway?!” Umbris questioned.

“Err, Cereza,” Alister spoke up, “you may want to slow the raft down a bit.”

“Why is that?” asked the Umbra Witch, too focused on Sayer and his getaway “vehicle”.

“We’re coming in too hot on the shoreline!  We’re about to run aground!”

“Wait, what…?”  Seeing the fastly approaching shoreline, and unable to decelerate in time, the Umbra Witch managed to get out a rather timid “Erm... Sorry.” before the raft crashed against the ground, flinging her and the others into the air screaming.  Bayonetta, with Gabriel in hand, managed to safely make a perfect 10-point landing.  

The lombaxes… weren’t so lucky, each one crashing and bouncing along the ground, Alister being the unluckiest of all for landing right on top of his broken arm.  “GAAAH, F&*KING DAMN IIIIIIIIIIT!!!”

“Alister!” Alexander yelped in concern as he and Ratchet rushed to the General’s aid.  Bayonetta was prepared to follow suit, but something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye; further away, atop a long staircase, Sayer stood floating over a reflective pond, watching them with a twisted smile.

“Until next time, Counter Corps,” Sayer called out, his voice amplified for the sake of being heard.  The Sinister Schemer gave a heinous laugh as he lowered himself down through the mirrored surface, vanishing from sight.

“Dammit, he got away!” Ratchet cursed under his breath.

"Forget him," Alexander scoffed before returning his attention to Alister.  "Al, are you alright?"

"It's not as if... guh... my arm can get any more broken," grunted the General.  "Seriously, though, it was just the shock that hurt more.  My arm's still the same as it was thirty seconds ago."

"I truly am sorry, though," Bayonetta apologizes as she approached the General.

"No need to be, Cereza.  You got us across that lake in one piece.  I couldn't have asked for more than that.  Well, except maybe a softer landing...."

Before she knew to try and stop it, a slight snort had snuck its way out of Bayonetta’s mouth.  She quickly slapped a hand over her nose and mouth, but by then, it was too late; what began with a snort paved the way for a muffled giggle that shook her shoulders, then a more audible cackle as she abandoned her attempts to maintain her level-headed visage.  The other lombaxes merely stared for a few moments, worried that the normally calm Umbra Witch might had lost a few marbles just then.

That worry was swiftly forgotten when Alister proceeded to join in on the laughter, realizing what he had said was the cause of the witch’s episode.  Soon after that, the others also joined in, letting go of the tension they had built up in themselves in the process….

“... well, gang,” Alexander spoke a few moments after they had rested from their giggle fit, his gaze shifting to stare toward the top of  the staircase, “... ready to get going?”

“Yes, let’s,” Bayonetta immediately replied as she got up from the ground, Gabriel firmly clutched in her arm.

“Easy does it, Al,” Ratchet said calmly as he helped Azimuth up to his feet.

“Thanks, Ratch,” Alister said with a nod.  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ll be glad to get this whole Pathway behind… me… … … … wait, where is it…?” Alister uttered slowly as he started to pat himself all over with his good arm, slowly at first, but then growing frantic as he then scanned the ground around him.  “Dammit, where is it?!  Argh, I can’t believe I went and lost it--!!”

“You mean your watch?” Umbris spoke up as he glanced toward the shoreline of the lake.  “Actually, I think I see it, over there.”

Alister followed the line in which the Neo-Spacian was pointing, his eyes resting on his pocketwatch, lying close to the edge of the lake, perfectly still even as the lake’s water washed over it periodically.  Breathing a sigh of relief, Alister approached his watch, carefully kneeling down as he reached his left arm to grab hold of it.  “Thank god, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had lost this--”

The moment he got his fingers around his lake-drenched pocket watch, the world around him seemed to come to an abrupt halt.  He tried to move his body, but he had lost control of it.  He was completely helpless as he dropped to the ground, his head dangerously close to the lake’s edge. He tried to cry out for help, yet not a word escaped his lips.  He tried to breathe, yet his lungs felt as if they were filling up with water.  He could not do a thing about, nothing at all…

… nothing, except to be drawn within his own mind….

Hey… Alister…

… mind waking up for a moment…?

Alister stirred as his eyes fluttered open at the sound of a voice calling to him.  He was met with the sight of a pale blue light all around, barely illuminating the turning gears and springs of the location he was now in, as well as the individual standing over him.  “Wh… who…?” he uttered confusedly as he tried to get a better look at this individual: they had a silhouette that was unmistakably that of a lombax’s, and they were wearing what looked to be a headband and an eyepatch over his right eye.  The more he stared, the more Alister began to realize the familiar look of this individual… their facial structure, their markings, their eye color--

“... holy s***, you’re me…!” Alister gasped as he scrambled to his feet.  “But… how is this possible?” he blurted out as he continued to stare at his alternate self warily.  “Is this some kind of trick?!”

“Well, it’s… something,” replied the other Alister with a shrug, returning the main Alister’s gaze with his own, albeit with just one eye.  “I’d like to think of it like that little adventure you had inside Alexander’s head--”

“Oh, great, so I’m gonna be wasting another dozen posts just to get through this, aren’t I?” Alister blurted out.

“Hopefully not,” replied the Left-Eyed Azimuth.  “Of course, that depends on how quickly we all get through this part of the program.”

“... “we”...?”

Ignoring the main Alister’s rhetoric, Left-Eyed Azimuth took a few steps to one side, reaching a hand up to seemingly nothing before a medium-sized screen materialized at his fingertips.  He motioned for Alister to approach the screen, signalling wordlessly that he had something to show the General.  Alister complied cautiously, walking up to the screen.

On the screen, Alister could see a recording, one of an event that he remembered happened recently: “Oh, this?  This was when I was chasing after Alexander back at the Shadow Realm,” said Alister.  Indeed, the screen displayed the moment when Alister chased after Alexander on his hoverboots.

“Yup,” replied Left-Eye, a small smile on his lips.  “Now, the reason I’m showing you this will, err… somewhat explain why I look like this,” Left-Eye continued, pointing at his eyepatch and headband.  Briefly looking away from the screen, Alister also took note of a few bullet wounds that were visible on Left-Eye’s arms.  Although he was perplexed by this, Alister shrugged it off as he returned his attention to the screen, while Left-Eye continued his explanation; “You see, it was during this little chase scene of yours that you also came across the Umbra Witch, Jeanne, who was fighting off some Void Creatures at the time.  As you two were passing, Alexander ended up zooming right past Jeanne, causing her to spin out of control and unleash that whole bulletstorm.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember that,” Alister replied, watching as his past self on the scene attempted to dodge the bullets.  “I also remember that I managed to avoid all of that when my Time Ability triggered itself.”

“... yes, well,” Left-Eye spoke in a sheepishly ominous way, “might I add that what you’re watching is a deviation of what happened to you?  An alternate version of events in which… you didn’t have access to that Ability?”

A cold chill ran through Alister’s body as he saw what Left-Eye meant; just as Left-Eye made his explanation, Alister watched as his past self was caught by the bullets, first getting struck in the left shoulder before, while being distracted by the pain, past!Alister was hit by more bullets to the chest, arms, legs… he was hit at least 9 times before two more bullets struck him in the face, one obliterating his right eyeball while the other buried itself in his forehead.  The General could not look away as he watched his past self fall onto his back, soundly dead.  “Oh my god…,” he uttered in a horrified whisper as he continued to watch as the silver-haired Umbra Witch approached and examined the dead lombax.

"I guess you could say that you didn't TIME that correctly," Left-Eye punned.

“I--I don’t think that was very funny!”

“Yes, well EYE,” Left-Eye retorted, flipping up his eyepatch to show Alister his bloody, empty eye socket, “... can’t help but to agree with you on that one!”

“GYAH!!”

“Would you mind not scaring our self, Lefty?” spoke up another voice; Alister turned to see yet another version of himself, this time wearing a large, Central American-style poncho which reached down to his ankles.  “That’s not what he’s here for, you know.”

“Well, ex-CUSE me,” Left-Eye snarked.  “Then again, if you’re here, that means you’ll just end up doing the same thing, ya hypocrite.”

“Whatever,” snapped Poncho as he rolled his eyes.  “Anyways, Alister, I’m about to show you another moment that didn’t end so well for you.”

“... wait, “didn’t”?!  I thought these were events that could have happened!” Alister yelped.

“Well, now, wherever did you get that idea from?” Poncho asked rhetorically as he conjured another screen.  “Anyways, you remember back at Isamy’s Castle, when you and Sayer got into that verbal dispute which escalated to where Sayer had you pinned you against a column with a chokehold?”

“... yes…?” Alister replied slowly as he looked at the screen that was displaying said moment.

“And the Renegade Joker stuck his nose in that business by increasing the force of gravity around the two of you?”

“Yes.”

“... let’s just say that Sayer took that opportunity to get a little creative.”

Again, Alister’s stomach felt the desire to turn itself inside-out as he watched the scene continue; instead of trying to slam Alister into the ground (as he remembered), Sayer proceeded to use the force of the increased gravity to force Alister’s body downward, all while still keeping him pinned by the neck.  A series of audible snapping sounds made way for a visceral ripping sound as Alister’s head and spinal column were separated from the rest of his body.

“... … oh, yeah, now that’s f***ed up,” responded Left-Eye, also visibly squicked by what was shown (though not to the same degree as Alister).  “I mean, at least my body wasn’t mutilated.”

“Again, I say “whatever” to that,” Poncho nonchalantly replied as he pulled up his poncho, revealing a cybernetic prosthetic body underneath.  “Trust me, though, it’s not as bad as what happened to Sniffles.”

Before anyone had a chance to respond, a rather loud “AHHH-CHOO!!!” broken the very brief/tense/awkward/ALL OF THE ABOVE silence.  All three Azimuths turned to see yet another Alister, this time fully draped in an oversized comforter sheet, shivering violently with a thermometer sticking out of his mouth.

“WAIT, HOLD IT!” Alister blurted out before another screen could pop up.  “Wait, just… let me guess this one, okay?”  Alister appeared to be very anxious and disturbed at this point, understandably after having seen some of the ways he himself could have died.  “Let… me guess… … this me ended up dying of hypothermia because he could save Alexander from his nightmare in time… … … right?”

“Oooh, so close,” replied Left-Eye.

“”Close”?  Not even,” Poncho retorted.  “The only thing he got right was that Alexander was involved.”

Alister gave a nervous sigh.  “Okay, then… what?”

“Back in the Shadow Realm,” Left-Eye began, “after you and Alexander had finally arrived at Castle Necrophades.  You two had a chat, which turned into an argument, and then--”

“--and I slapped him.”  Alister wasn’t proud of stating that.  In fact, it made him feel like crap just remembering that event.

Left-Eye, however, waggled a finger as he shook his head.  “No, not that time, actually.  No, you did a lot more than just slap him, Alister.”

“No…!” Alister uttered distraughtly, a hand over his mouth.  He didn’t even need a screen to show him what he did, that time; his imagination was connecting the dots for him, and the picture that came to mind was not pretty.

“Alexander begged you to stop… but you just kept on going at him,” Poncho continued, a hollow, grim chuckle escaping his lips.  “It was little wonder that when Alexander chose to defend himself… he fought back hard.  But that’s pretty much how it goes, Alister; you assault a person with severe psychological trauma, and they retaliate by freezing you to the core.”

“... of course, it’s not like Alexander didn’t try to save you after that,” Left-Eye reassured a devastated Alister.  “Really, he did… but he just couldn’t stop you from falling over and--”

“Ahh-AHHHH-CHOO!!”  [sMASH!]  Sniffles let loose another sneeze, this time accidentally firing the thermometer out of his mouth, where it proceeded to shatter into pieces upon impact with the floor.

“... and that happened to you,” Left-Eye concluded as he pointed at the broken thermometer.  “But hey, you’ve nothing to worry about, Alister,” he added, placing a reassuring hand on Alister’s shoulder.  “I mean, it’s not like you actually did that… … … this time.”

A few seconds later, Left-Eye found himself tackled to the ground, an irate Alister right on top of him pinning him down.  “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!!” Alister roared into Left-Eye’s face.  “WHY ARE YOU f***ing MY HEAD OVER WITH THESE IMAGES?!!  TELL ME!!!”

Despite the aggression blaring in his face, Left-Eye calmly sighed.  “Well, there’s that anger management problem of yours that needs managing.”  Just as calmly, Left-Eye dealt a swift bodyshot to the left side of Alister’s ribcage, distracting the General long enough to roll over, so that now Left-Eye was the one on top of Alister.  “Little wonder that Sniffles didn’t stop when Alex asked him to.”

“So sorry about that…,” Sniffles sniffled remorsefully.

Alister’s anger began to subside, his breathing returning to a more calm pace.  “... I’m… sorry, too,” he uttered softly.  “... but, why show me this?  Why show me… what could have happened to me…?”

“There’s that assumption, again,” spoke Poncho.  “Hasn’t it occurred to you yet, that what we’re showing you aren’t things that could have happened to you… but, rather, are things that have happened to you already?”

“... “already”...?” Alister repeated in a stunned whisper.

“That’s right, bub,” Left-Eye replied as he got off of Alister.  “That’s the reason why we (not including you) are all here, because, one way or another, we all ended up kicking the bucket!”

“And yes, there are more of us here,” Poncho replied to Alister’s unspoken question, motioning to a group of other Azimuths who had just arrived:

The first of these being introduced to Alister wore a brown ushanka with a matching longcoat.  The ushanka’s flaps were worn down, each covering one side of that Alister’s head.  His eyes seemed rather blank and expressionless, as was the rest of his face.  “This one, we like to call him “Trigger”,“ Left-Eye explained as Trigger gave a curt salute.  “He came from the point where you were suffering from Sayer’s illusion, causing you to believe you were fighting an evil version of your past self.  Trigger was a bit more straightforward in that fight, and as soon as he got the upper hand, he, err… blew Alexander’s throat wide open.  Trigger was so devastated when the illusion lifted and he found out what really happened, that he grabbed hold of a pistol and shot himself in the head.  A through-and-through, from one side to the other.”  To illustrate the point, Trigger himself lifted up the flaps of his ushanka, turning his head to the right so as to properly display the hole’s depth; Poncho peeped through the hole from the other side, looking right at Alister as he gave an unenthusiastic wave.

“Now, this one,” Left-Eye continued on as he motioned to a being that looked like a crude stick figure drawing of Alister, “we call him “Too-Dee”.  He fell into despair--figuratively and literally--while you guys were fighting LERNA, and he was transformed into a mindless Troy. It took a while for us to get him to behave and act on his own, given that he was pretty much mindless and had no will of his own. But now, he’s like a somewhat well-behaved child.”  Too-Dee beamed at Alister with his dot-like eyes and toothy cat-like smile, waving a thin arm to say hello.

“Here, we have “I.T.”,” Left-Eye said as he then introduced the next Azimuth who was busying himself with a monitor; he wore a thick parka with the hood worn up, his eyes obscured by the light reflecting off of the thick glasses on his face. “This guy’s history, well… it’s a bit more complicated than most other Azimuths. See, I.T. was consumed by the D-Reaper, becoming one of her Agents as the Alister-Type. Having you and your Time Abilities under her control, she was able to turn the tide of the war in the Divine’s favor, or rather, hers. When it came time to enter the Inner Periphery, the D-Reaper took complete control of it (just as the Madara had done in your timeline), and mutated back into what was called the Mother Reaper using the stolen Time Powers to accelerate her evolution, as well as taking command of Ophelia’s technology. Side-Note, Ophelia became the D-Reaper’s favourite Agent, due to her not possessing a personality. Many a casualty was had in the attempt to take her down, but in the end, she was destroyed, and her Agents along with her. I.T. didn’t get to die with her, as our friends decided to, err, put him out of his misery early.”

“And so, he now chooses to present himself as a monitor lizard?” Alister inquired with a tilted head.

Before Left-Eye could give his two-cents, I.T. suddenly turned his head to look Alister in the face.  Well, maybe not “look” so much as “glare with an intensely unfathomable hatred”, as his eyes, now unobscured by the reflection of the monitor, radiated with a vivid yellow from behind his large-framed glasses.  “SILENCE… ORGANIC…” I.T. growled in a monotone, digitized voice that seems to echo within Alister’s mind.  What made the glare potentially worse for the recipient was that, while the eyes themselves were very expressive, the rest of I.T.’s face was stone-set and emotionless, and remained so even as the Azimuth returned his attention to the monitor before him.

“... quite the charmer, that one,” Alister whispered to Left-Eye.

“Yeah, strange, he’s never done that before,” Left-Eye remarked, somewhat bewildered and amused by this development.  “I mean, whenever he paid any mind to me and the others, he never expressed any emotions, especially not as strongly as what he displayed just now.  I wonder why….”  Left-Eye shrugged off his musings after a while so as to continue introducing Alister to the other Azimuths.

“Next up, we’ve got Moony,” Left-Eye said as he proceeded to introduce an Azimuth wearing a simple dress shirt, jeans, sandals and a beanie.  Moony seemed to be staring off into space with a dream-like look in his eyes, swaying a bit as he hummed a quiet tune to himself.  “Hey, PAY ATTENTION!” Left-Eye growled as he snapped his fingers in Moony’s face.  He sighed as he saw that there was little-to-no effect, so he continued, “Moony here was affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi, as was everyone else who was fighting the Madara.  The only difference here, though, is that no one ever found a way to break out of the Ninjitsu; you all just went about your routines, blissfully unaware--”

“Oh…!” Moony softly gasped suddenly, startling Alister and some of the other Azimuths.  “That… reminds me, I was going to invite Alexander to join us at the Museum later.  Hope he’s still at home….”  With that, Moony absentmindedly wandered off in a daze, leaving Left-Eye upset and unamused, and the other Azimuths confused.

“Ugh… yeah, that guy’s a completely lost cause,” Left-Eye moaned.  “We more or less just let him be, anyways, as long as he doesn’t get himself hurt….”

Alister, however, had another question on his mind: “So, wait… you say that these other Me’s appeared when they died or, uh, messed up very badly.  How is that possible?  I mean… where are we?”

At this, Left-Eye smirked a bit.  “I’m surprised, Alister.  Don’t you recognize the inside of your own pocket watch?”

Alister failed to hold back a gasp as he took the moment to study his surroundings better; indeed, the ceiling above resembled the timekeeping gears and the LED backlighting of his watch, while the photo of himself and Kaden served as the decorative floor.

Left-Eye chuckled a bit, quite amused by Alister’s awe.  “It’s more of a metaphysical representation, but it’s more-or-less the same thing.  Now, as to how we got here in the first place--err, just a moment, please,” he interrupted himself to address another Azimuth that had tapped him on the shoulder, “I just need to get through this explanati--ohnoit’syouagain!”

“Heh… why do you sound so defensive?” spoke this particular Azimuth in a teasing manner.  Alister couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but this Azimuth had a vastly different “feel” to him compared to the others. A different… personality, even amongst the other Azimuths who had each developed their own individual quirks.  That wasn’t even taking into account his attire, which consisted of a leather waistcoat with matching gloves, boots and arm bands, form-fitting denim jeans and an equally-tight grey tanktop.  “I mean, it’s not like I’m going to--”

“He doesn’t need to be scarred by your story, Zayon,” Left-Eye snapped.  “It has nothing to do with his timeline, anyway--”

“Lefty, don’t be such a damn prude,” Poncho bluntly interjected.  “Zayo-kun has as much right to be here as the rest of us, and he has the right to be introduced.  Besides, it’s not like we haven’t been scarring this Alister with our stories, either.”

“Thank you, Vortex Al,” Zayon replied gratefully to the cyborg Azimuth whilst also giving him his new moniker, “but I can see that I’m most likely going to be saved for last, anyway, so I’ll just go ahead and wait for my cue….”  With that, Zayon went off to occupy himself.

Alister stared after Zayon with a confused look for a moment before returning his attention to Left-Eye.  “So, you were saying?”

“Hm?  Oh, right, of course,” Left-Eye stammered as he remembered his previous train of thought.  “Well, the best way to describe how me and my brethren came into being is this: we’re all “recordings”, “after images”, “echoes”... whichever you prefer.  But, whenever you had died or met with some other terrible fate, your pocket watch seems to record, or save a copy of us within itself.”

“But why?”

“Who knows,” Left-Eye shrugged, “but whenever that happens, we get sent back to the point in time when Isamy first recruited you.  From there, we all watch as you make your progress through the war, seeing how far you get before you get killed off again.  Oh, by the way, I must personally congratulate you,” Left-Eye added in a segue.  “You see, you are the first iteration to have made it to the Pathways of Origin!  No easy task, I can assure you!  Congratulations!” he concluded with an applause to Alister, and the other Azimuths followed suit:

Vortex Al/Poncho: “Congratulations.”

Sniffles: “Congra… ahh… AHH-CHOO!... lations….”

Trigger: “... … … … … …”

I.T.: “CONGRATULATIONS… ORGANIC….”
Moony: “Congratulations… 8-3”

Zayon: “Even though I’ve hardly any idea of what’s going on, Congrats!”

Too-Dee: [[Penguin noises]]

“But, I digress!” Left-Eye declared, motioning for the other Azimuths to cease their applause.  “The fact that you’ve made it this far means that our close-to-a-year’s-time of being in here may soon draw to a close, and hopefully a good ending for once--”

“A YEAR!?!!??!” Alister shrieked out in horror.  “You mean I’ve been basically dying for close to a year?!”

“A year… maybe close to two, really,” shrugged Vortex Al.

“T… two….”  At this rate, Alister found himself dizzy, from all of his confusion, the multitude of questions that vastly outweighed the answers… he would have crumpled onto the ground in a heap had Zayon not caught him.  “I… don’t tell me there’s more of me here….”

“SEEING AS YOU FEEBLE MIND IS EXPERIENCING A BREAKDOWN IN ITS ATTEMPTS TO COMPREHEND THE GRAVITY OF OUR DILEMMA, ORGANIC SCUM,” I.T. spoke in his charming monotone, “I SHALL SPARE YOU THE EXACT QUANTITY, HOWEVER, I SHALL GIVE YOU THE ROUGH ESTIMATE OF OUR NUMBERS, WHICH HAS APPROACHED FORTY-TWO HUNDRED UNITS.”

“Okay, now, let’s not give the guy a heart attack here,” Zayon spoke up as he tried to get Alister to stay steady on his feet.  “That wouldn’t be good for any of us.”

“Still, we’ve been at this for a long time,” Left-Eye continued.  “And all of these deaths you’ve suffered over these numerous, err… “resets”... I feel as though they’ve all been in preparation for this moment.  The moment when you finally reach the true conclusion to this war.”

“Although,” spoke up Vortex Al, “we wouldn’t even be here… if not for you dying at the Great Clock in the first place.”

“I feel the same way,” Left-Eye agreed with a nod.  “That blast of quantum energy that ended up killing us--er, I mean, Alister--that was what started this whole thing.”

“Not quite,” objected Vortex Al.  “The quantum energy is the source of Alister’s power, that is true.  However, Alister would not be in this war had it not been for Isamy.  For whatever purpose she had in mind, she saved Alister from the brink of death… and she didn’t just do only that.”

“You mean…?”

Vortex Al nodded.  “The quantum blast was what planted the seeds… and Isamy is the one that watered them.”

“And in turn--and this is where we get to the real meat of this whole deal,” Left-Eye continued, “our deaths are what is allowing this plant to bloom.”

“Speaking of bloom,” Moony spoke up suddenly as he walked past the discussion, “I need to reply to Miss Gainsborough’s e-mail about those flower arrangements for the reception….”

“So, wait,” Alister interjected, completely ignoring Moony’s non-sequitur, “you’re saying that the reason my Time Powers are as strong as they are now is because--”

“--of all the resets we’ve gone through,” Left-Eye and Vortex Al finished in unison.

“The strength of that power, accumulating…,” Alister mused to himself.  “... okay, so that answers some questions I had before, but… ….”  He gave an exhausted sigh.  “... should I even bother trying to comprehend this whole mess?”

“Think of it this way, Al: this whole journey you’re going through is, in more ways than one, a second chance for you to make things right.”

Alister’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest--the typical response to hearing that voice.  But how could it be here, of all places?  The other Azimuths began to excitedly whisper amongst themselves, apparently having come to the same conclusion.  “... Kaden…?” Alister stuttered, looking around for any sign of his old friend.  Within seconds he caught sight of him, the yellow lombax taking a moment to playfully pet Too-Dee on the head.  Right next to Kaden, as well, was… “Alexander?!  How did you--?”

“I entered your mind trying to look for you,” Alexander explained, his relieved expression still showing small hints of worry.  “You had just fainted all of a sudden, and I was worried something might have happened to you on the inside, so….”

“He got lost for a bit trying to find you,” Kaden added.  “Considering that most everyone else in here looks like you, can you blame him?  Had I not found him myself, I think he might’ve been trapped here for a while longer.”

Alister breathed out, feeling terrible for the trouble he’s caused (yet again).  “I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Hey, hey, it’s fine,” Alexander reassured the General with a pat on the shoulders.  “All that matters is that you’re okay.  Right?” he added with a side glance over toward Kaden.

“Yes, he’s fine, Alex, no need to worry,” Kaden replied with a faint smile.

“Are you a “recording” too, Kaden?” Alister asked, the question having pestered him for a moment.

Kaden simply shrugged.  “I guess we can call it that.  Personally, though, I’d like to think I’m more of a… “guide” to you guys.”

“A guide…?” Alexander and Alister repeated in unison.

“... you know,” Alexander spoke up after a brief thought, “I think I’ve always felt some sort of presence around you, Al.  I just… never once thought to question it myself, but now?  It’s all starting to make sense….”

It was starting to make sense to Alister, as well….

"... 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."

"Alister… you're right, this has to end, NOW!  WAKE UP!!!"

"My case, it's... it's hard for me to say right now."  "Don't worry... I will always be with you guys.  Always...."

“... oh my god…,” Alister mouthed almost wordlessly.  “Kay… you have been with us this whole time… haven’t you…?”

All Kaden did in response was give Alister a calm smile… and soon a slight nod.

… … …

… … …

“We really should get going, though,” Alexander said after a few more moment’s within Alister’s mind/Soul Room/pocket watch/whatever.  “Ratchet and the others are probably gonna want to know what happened.”

“Alright, Alex,” Alister replied, “but I think you should go on ahead.  I’d like to say a few goodbyes before I follow ya.”

Alexander nodded understandingly.  “Fair ‘nuff.  Don’t take too long, though, or I’m coming back to drag you out myself,” he added with a playful smirk as he proceeded to fade out of the room.

As soon as Alexander was gone, Alister turned his attention to Left-Eye and Vortex Al.  “So… any idea of what will happen to you guys?  I mean, if-and-when we actually reach the end of this war.”

“Who knows?” Vortex Al shrugged.  “But hopefully, we won’t have to stay in this place for eternity.”

“We’ll worry about burning that bridge once we’ve crossed it,” Left-Eye replied.  “Right now, Al, just worry about yourself getting to the end, and living to see it.”

“Right,” Alister nodded.  

“Er-hem….”

“... oh, right,” Alister mumbled as his attention was directed to Zayon.  “We did… “sorta” agree to let you introduce yourself properly, right?”

Zayon gave a bit of a smirk as he nodded.  “Follow me, so we can talk in private,” he said, motioning for Alister to follow him over to a part of the room that wasn’t so densely populated by the other Azimuths.

“Just remember Alister,” Left-Eye called out as the General followed his doppelganger, “YOU ASKED FOR IT!”

“... so, how badly do you think he’ll take it?” Kaden asked Left-Eye with a straight face.

14 mental minutes later….

The mortified look on Alister’s face coupled with his sudden lack of color (having gone even more white than Too-Dee) told the tale loud and clear.

“You should have seen him earlier, though,” Zayon explained to Kaden, Left-Eye and Vortex Al, “he was blushing profusely when I told him that Red and I--”

“Yes, yes, we get the idea, Zayon,” Left-Eye interrupted snappily.  “What we didn’t need was for you to go and break him!”

“Oh, come on, compared to what the rest of us had to show him?” Vortex Al spoke as Kaden attempted to get Alister to snap out of his BSOD.  “Tales of mutual [[“Love & Peace~<3”]] are honestly not the worst thing a person can hear--and did I just get censored by Hapshiel?!”

“Why did Zayon even need to tell Alister this, anyway?!  It’s not like it’s relevant to the matter at hand--”

“You say that, Left-Eye,” Zayon snapped back, looking as if he had finally had it with the one-eyes Azimuth’s shenanigans, “but that doesn’t change the fact that Alister and Red still have a chance to salvage their friendship, regardless of how far they take it from there.”

“Not to the same magnitude as you and your Red, I would imagine,” Vortex Al commented.

Zayon shrugged.  “Hey, it’s honestly none of my business what direction Alister wants to take that relationship, just so long as they have one.”

“I agree,” replied Kaden.  “I don’t wanna see Alister lose another friendship, especially not like this.”

Upon hearing this, Alister finally snapped out of his stupor.  “B… but, Kaden….”

“Alister, it’s alright,” Kaden told his dear friend.  “You shouldn’t have to worry about me anymore.  You have a chance to be happy again… that’s all I really want for you.”

“Indeed,” Zayon agreed, “this isn’t just a second chance for you, Alister, but one for Red, as well. I just hope you can get through to him in time….”

“ONCE AGAIN… YOU ORGANICS, POST OR OTHERWISE, ATTEMPT SOMETHING FAR BEYOND YOUR CAPABILITIES” I.T. declared, finally giving them something resembling attention, or finally the general concept of patience wearing out.

“YOU ALL SHOULD CEASE ATTEMPTING TO THINK, YOU ARE NOT GOOD AT IT. YOU ALL TALK ABOUT REDEMPTION FOR THE RED ENTITY, BUT, DO ANY OF YOU EVEN KNOW WHY HE IS HERE AT ALL? I HAVE CALCULATED OVER FORTY-TWO HUNDRED UNITS, AND ALL WHO HAVE INTERACTED WITH THE RED ENTITY DO NOT KNOW. EVEN THROUGH MY OWN INTERACTIONS I DO NOT POSSESS THE ANSWER. ORGANIC, WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU ATTEMPTING TO REDEEM IN HIM WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY HE IS HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?” I.T. stated, staring directly at Alister.

“Well, of course I--” Alister immediately cut himself off.  Dammit, of all the things that could have been brought to his attention, this was the one that he, nor any of his other selves, did not have the answer to.  Red never told him his motives for being in this war, not directly at least:

"... I understand your regret, and your innate desire to reverse what it is you did. I alienated myself from my own friends and family in order to continue with my own selfish desires, and it brought more pain and heartache than I ever didn't think about. I wish I could take it all back, and even though the root cause was removed and thus made everyone forget my deeds, I still know what I did...."

All Alister knew was that Red had his regrets, just like him.  Regrets for what he had done because of another.  But still, he was never told what the Dragon’s end goal was for being in this war.  As much as he wished not to think of it… could Red’s goals not be as benign as he had assumed?

But what else could he do? He couldn’t just become antagonistic towards Red just because of some detail that was never shared.  After what Red had done to him back in the forest, however… could Alister find Red to be as trustworthy as he initially thought?

“... YOUR APPARENT STRUGGLE TO PROVIDE ME WITH AN ANSWER, SUITABLE OR OTHERWISE,” I.T. droned on, his concept of patience running thin, “IS PROOF OF HOW LITTLE YOU UNDERSTAND. IT IS ALWAYS THE SAME WITH YOU ORGANICS. YOU SUPPLY WARPED OR FALLACIOUS LOGIC IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY YOUR ACTIONS, BECAUSE YOU DO NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT YOU ARE THINKING. IT IS CLEAR THAT IT WAS YOUR OWN… OUR, OWN SENTIMENTALITY THAT CAUSED US TO PITY THE RED ENTITY IN THE FIRST PLACE. WHETHER IT WAS BY MISFORTUNE OR BY THOSE MORE ENRAPTURED BY THEIR ANIMALISTIC AND FRANKLY DISGUSTING ACTIONS...” I.T. commented, casting a disapproving glance at Zayon.

“WE LEARNED NOTHING ABOUT HIM EXCEPT THE SUPERFICIAL. IN TRUTH, YOU ARE MERELY DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS. YOU DON’T SINCERELY CARE FOR ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT HIM, JUST THAT HE UNDERSTANDS WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE US. I CAME TO UNDERSTAND THIS AFTER I WAS DESTROYED AND BROUGHT HERE. AND IT IS SOMETHING I HAVE CONTINUED TO OBSERVE AFTER THE OTHERS JOINED US IN FAILURE. IT HAS BEEN A LOOP THAT HAS GROWN TIRESOME AFTER SO MANY POINTLESS ITERATIONS, AND YET NONE OF YOU FIGURED THAT OUT UNTIL MY PATIENCE WAS WORN THIN ENOUGH BY YOUR CUMULATIVE IGNORANCE THAT I FELT IT MORE THAN NECESSARY TO POINT IT OUT TO YOU ALL. IN TRUTH, YOU ARE CHASING A MIRAGE; AND, DO YOU BELIEVE YOU WILL LIKE WHAT YOU WILL FIND AT THE END OF THAT PARTICULAR RAINBOW?”

Alister now found himself more confused than before, at a complete loss of what to say or do.  Was he really that selfish, desperate to find someone who understood him?  To find someone just like him who understood what is was like to have made an irreparable mistake, to have regrets that plagued their every waking moment?  To… really, just have someone to help rid him of his loneliness, his sadness, the emptiness in his heart…?

“HOWEVER,” I.T. continued, slowly taking off his glasses. “There is something important we are not all taking into account” he declared, his voice now a harmony of monotone and Alister’s original voice. “We’ve all witnessed your ill-fated battle Alister; do you believe Red would have actually killed you? In truth, none of us know what would have happened had your friends not intervened. But the beast wasn’t fighting to kill; the fight took too long for it to be a death match. If anything, he was attempting to disable you, rather than kill you. Which makes no sense given what he is. Everything that dragon has been doing is incredibly erratic, and doesn’t make much sense. One minute he seems happy to see you, the other he’s breaking your arm and crushing your body underfoot. The only time he behaved normally was when you were still a Divine. Your defection was the turning point in his behaviour. Obviously he is wrestling with something in his own mind; and you will not know what it is he is thinking until you ask him yourself. There is little point in making assumptions when they are most likely wrong. If you want the answer Alister, you need to go to the source,” I.T. finished rather calmly, replacing his glasses and returning to his monitor.

“... you’re right, I.T.,” Alister uttered humbly, actually causing the near-emotionless Azimuth to stop in his tracks.  He closed his eyes, meditating on I.T.s words, as well as his own: “I’m sure that doesn’t come as a surprise to you, but you’re right.  I don’t know what’s truly going on through Red’s mind… and hell, I may never have been truly considerate of Red’s feelings… he must’ve felt like I betrayed him….”  As he continued to speak, tears began to fall down his face, yet he still maintained a calm stance.  Holding his head up to the ceiling, Alister opened his eyes, a resolve gleaming within them.  “... regardless, though, if I am to know the truth, I will have to see it with my own eyes, hear it with my own ears.  Let nothing else cloud my judgment… only then will I know who Red truly is.  Whatever happens after that… well, we'll just have to see....” Even if I still believe there’s some good in Red… I just hope I don’t make another mistake….

I.T. couldn’t help but to smirk a bit, though no one saw this as he still had his back turned and his head held down.  “DELIGHTFUL, AND WITH THAT COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY GESTURE OUT OF THE WAY… YOU CAN FEEL FREE TO LEAVE ALREADY.”  With that last bit of “encouragement”, I.T. finally returned to his monitor.

Alister gave a nod, wiping his face of any tears before turning to face Kaden.  “Well, it’s about time I got this show on the road.”

“Be careful out there, Al,” Kaden replied as he hugged his dear friend.  “Just do the best you can, ‘k?”

“You bet your ass I’ll do my best.” Alister boasted with a smile as he returned Kaden’s hug.  

Kaden couldn’t help but to laugh a bit.  “Now, that’s the Alister I know.”  Releasing his hug, he gave one last pat on Alister’s shoulder.  “Better get going, you.”

“Right.”  Alister took a few steps back as he willed himself back to consciousness.  He gave one last wave goodbye to the horde of Azimuths before fading out of the room.

As soon as Alister was gone, Kaden gave a deep sigh.  “Good luck, Al…,” he uttered barely above a whisper.

“He’ll be fine, Kay,” Zayon replied as he went up to stand next to him.  “He’s managed to get this far, right?”

Kaden nodded in agreement.  “Oh, and Zayon…?”

“Yes, Kay?”

“... … … hands where I can see them.”  

“Oh, come on!” Zayon quickly stepped back with his hands raised as Kaden shot him a knowing look.

“Welcome back,” Alexander chimed as Alister’s eyes fluttered open upon reawakening in the conscious world.

“... friggin’ hell of a trip,” Alister groaned out as he sat upright.  The sudden ping in his right arm reminded him that it was still broken, an issue that was thankfully non-existent while he was inside his mind.

“You’re okay now, though, right Al?” asked a concerned Ratchet.

“Yeah, I… I guess,” Alister stammered, contemplating whether he should go into length about what he had witnessed.  Although, certain things were making him reconsider….

He didn’t have long to consider, though, as Alexander spoke: “I already told them what was going on inside your head, and about the other Azimuths, too.”

“Seems there’s more to that pocket watch of yours than meets the eye, General,” Bayonetta remarked, running a finger along the side of her own watch which was affixed to her outfit.

“You don’t know how right you are… hmm?  It’s still wet,” Alister uttered as he felt his pocket watch, still damp from the lake’s water.  Out of impulse, he gave the watch a little shake, panicking a bit when he heard a swishing sound from inside of it.  “Crap!”  Hastily, he opened the watched (with one hand, no less) and spilled the water that had managed to get inside onto the ground.  His panic soon ceased as he examined the photo inside.  “Oh, good, it didn’t get ruined,” he breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that the photograph hadn’t come into any contact with the water.

“Okay, I’m gonna try and make an educated guess here,” Alexander spoke up after seeing this: “We could feel our memories trying to rise to the surface while we were crossing the lake, right?  I’m thinking… what if it’s the water that was causing this?  If just being near the lake’s waters could do that, then what would happen if we had come into contact with it?  Alister passing out when he touched his soaked pocket watch could just be one example.”

“That may be true,” Clank responded, joining in on the hypothesis, “but that was just a small amount of water.  What if one of us had been completely submerged in it?”

“Probably something worse,” Umbris spoke up.

Alexander nodded.  “A plausible theory.  However, while there may not have been enough water to truly affect Alister, it may have been enough to affect something else: the watch itself.  We can think of watches and clocks as being “keepers of time”, and Al’s pocket watch is no different.  Except it’s also keeping something else, too: those alternate Azimuths--I believe you and Kaden specifically used the term “recordings”, as well?” he asked Alister, who nodded.

“Wait, my dad was in there, too?” asked a perplexed Ratchet.

“Yep, and he’s been watching over us for quite some time, too,” Alexander replied, “but that’s a matter for another time.

“I’m thinking, though,” Alexander continued on with his original train of thought, “maybe when your watch was submerged in the lake’s water, something was triggered, a sort of link between you and the other Azimuths that allowed them to draw you into their own corner of your mind… or, was it the watch’s mind…?  Anyway,” Alexander blurted as he shook the confusion out of his head, “what I’m saying is that your watch, regardless of the recordings within it, has a memory just like any person or creature.  The same could be said of any other object, really….”  Alexander then reached into his pocket, and pulled out the red scales he had earlier found on Alister’s suit.  “Maybe, even objects borne of a living being.”

Upon seeing Red’s scales in Alexander’s hands, Alister gasped, remembering something important.  “... that’s right, I still have to talk to Red.”

“What? Why?” Ratchet asked, his mood suddenly getting sour at the mere mention of the dragon.  “What’s he got to do with--?”

“I’ve realized that I may not know his whole story,” Alister explained, “that… maybe I’ve been placing too much faith in him so soon… but I intend on finding out the whole story for myself.”

“Al, I get that you still want to help him,” Alexander began, “but after what just happened to you--”

“--after what he did to you, you’re still gonna trust him?!” Ratchet shouted angrily.

“Ratchet, please, just calm down for a moment!” Alister pleaded with the young lombax.  “Look, I said I was too quick to trust him, I admit that, and I won’t be so quick to do so next time.  But I’m not going to be so quick to condemn him for his recent actions, either. We… just need to go about this with a clear head--”

“Whatever,” Ratchet muttered as he rolled his eyes.

Alexander briefly frowned a little before turning his attention to the scales in his hand.  “... I wonder…,” he uttered to himself as he then looked over to the shoreline.

“Alex?” Umbris said, wondering what the lombax had in mind.

“... well, I did say that objects could possibly have a memory, right?” Alex said as he walked a bit closer to the edge of the lake.  “Maybe… we could see a bit into Red’s mind this way….”  He crouched down, scales in his right hand, and was about to dip the scales into the lake--

SMACK!! Alexander flinched a bit as Ratchet walked up to him and slapped the scales right out of his hand.  “Ow! Ratchet, what the--?!”

“We’re wasting time, Alex, if you haven’t remembered,” Ratchet spoke firmly.  “Any more time we waste here is time that could’ve been used getting through the other paths, and to question Red, like Alister wants to do.”  He and Alexander glanced over toward the discarded scales, now floating away, dragged off by the ripples of the lake.  “And besides, we really can’t afford to drag anybody else out of their own minds, and I really don’t want that to be you again.”

Rubbing at the hand that was slapped, Alexander gave a resigned sigh.  “You’re right, Ratchet.  Thanks.”

“Well, if we’re really done here, guys,” Gabriel spoke up, “we should try and discuss what our next course of action will be; climbing these stairs here will take a while.”

“Good point, Gabriel,” Alister agreed as he got to his feet with Alexander’s help.  “What we should really try and figure out is which Pathway to take next.”

“Then, let’s not dilly-dally any longer, boys,” Bayonetta chimed as she led the way up the stair.  “Forwaaaaard march!”

The lombaxes proceeded to follow after the Umbra Witch… except for Ratchet, who lingered on by the lakeside even as Clank joined the rest of the group.  He turned to take one last look at the lake behind him, seeing the red scales continue to float further away… and then, as he was prepared to join the others, he caught sight of a red glint out of the corner of his eye; one small piece of the red scales, separated from the rest, remained on the shoreline.  As he continued to stare down at this scale, his curiosity began to get the better of him.  Habitually glancing about to see if anyone was watching, Ratchet knelt down on the ground and, carefully, grabbed at the scale with his index finger and thumb.

A dull pain seemed to strike Ratchet in the head as he suddenly felt a bit dizzy.  He attempted to get to his feet, though all he could manage was to stumble away from the lake’s edge before falling on his tail, all the while an image began to play out in his head….

Against a black, featureless backdrop, Ratchet could see two figures before him: one, the dragon Red; and the other, Alister.  He watched as the two argued with each other about… something.  Ratchet couldn’t tell what the argument was about, as the voices were muffled to the point of being mute.  And yet the two Elders carried on, the dragon flailing his arms around, the staff swinging to-and-fro in his hands with his arms, while Alister stood his ground, saliva splattering out of his mouth, he was so visibly angry.  The argument reached a climax as Red became visibly distraught at something Alister had said.  In retaliation, Red swiftly grabbed at Alister’s throat, hoisting the lombax a good few feet off the ground with one arm as the other, armed with his staff, was poised to strike.  Ratchet tried to scream out, but found that no sound could escape his lips.  It may not have mattered either way as, to the young lombax’s sheer horror, Red proceeded to plunge the end of his staff right through Alister’s abdomen.  Blood gushed from the wound as the life began to slowly drain from Alister’s stunned face.  The deed done, the dragon callously tossed Alister’s body aside.  The body landed rather close to Ratchet’s point-of-view.  He could see Alister, laying in an ever-growing pool of his own blood at the brink of death, still attempting to reach a hand feebly toward Red, the General’s eyes tearing up as he tried to utter one last plea to the dragon, his blood-filled mouth attempted to form what would be his last words… … his arm soon fell limply onto the ground as the last of his life faded from his eyes.  Ratchet continued to look upon the General’s corpse, with so many emotions running through his own head that couldn’t decide whether to cry, get angry or, hell, even go crazy… but after a while, Ratchet slowly turned his head to look towards Red… and was stricken with horror as he saw the dragon stare back at him, his eyes a solid black that leaked tears of darkness--

“Ratchet!”  The sound of Clank’s voice snapped the lombax out of the vision.  The little robot was approaching him from behind.  “Ratchet, are you alright?”  The concern was very evident even in the robot’s somewhat monotonous voice.

Meanwhile, Ratchet remained unusually silent, aside from his shaky breathing.  He could feel his body trembling even as he proceeded to rise to his feet, the last few scenes of what he had seen still fresh in his mind.  He still remained silent as he gazed out ahead of him, toward the lake.

“Ratchet…?”

“... … I’m fine, pal,” Ratchet finally spoke, his voice calm and composed.  He turned around to face the robot and gave a relaxed smile.  It was forced, and yet he hoped Clank would be none-the-wiser.

It worked, as Clank returned the smile with one of his own, happy that the lombax was well.  “The others are waiting at the top, Ratchet.  We mustn’t keep them,” said the robot.

“Right,” Ratchet replied with a nod, his face betraying no clues as to what was still plaguing his mind.  “C’mon, Clank, I’ll carry ya.”  Grabbing whole of the little robot, Ratchet attached him to his back, via a harness that formed around his torso.  With the robot secured, Ratchet proceeded to climb the stairs.

“Well, I hope you’re prepared to give an answer, Ratchet,” Bayonetta began to say as soon as Ratchet joined the others at the top of the stairs.

“Huh?  Oh, right.  Sorry for holding you guys up--”

“No, not that,” Bayonetta interrupted with a raised hand.  “I’m talking about this pond here,” she explained as she pointed at the reflective surface of the pond behind her.

Ratchet took a look at the surface, and was immediately shocked to see what was being reflected: it was himself, Alister, Alexander, Umbris, and Bayonetta, but each of them looked differently from how they currently looked.  

Ratchet’s reflection was wearing his favorite pilot’s cap, a harness, brown gloves that reached up to his elbows, and a pair of baggy green cargo pants held up with a belt.  That was it.  No shirt, no shoes, no service.  It was the outfit he had worn in his early teenage years living on Veldin.

Bayonetta’s reflection revealed an older look she had worn only a few years ago, yet it was one that she was still fond of: a beehive hairdo held together with chains, ribbons and, possibly, magic, whilst the rest of her hair formed a skintight catsuit, complete with a crescent-shaped opening that revealed her modestly sized cleavage.  The ornaments weaved into her outfit were also gold, as opposed to the silver decorations of her current outfit, and attached to her heels were a pair of hot-pink handguns, similar yet still different to her current blue-shaded weapons.

Bayonetta’s reflection also, curiously, had her arm wrapped around that of a well-built Latino male, possibly in his mid-30s, wearing crimson-colored wrestling attire complete with a lion-styled luchador mask, the mane of which was worn similarly to a hairstyle which covered the man’s right eye (which looked like the left eye due to the reflection).  That seemed rather odd, considering that the only thing Bayonetta currently had her arms around was… oh, but of course, it was a reflection of Gabriel’s human self!  “Oh, so that’s what Gabriel looked like before?” Ratchet spoke up, having come to that conclusion as he looked back and forth between the plushie and the man in the reflection.

“Yup,” Gabriel chimed, his tone being a mix of pride with a hint of sadness.

“It’s funny, because I’ve been meaning to ask what you had originally looked like before, Gabriel,” Bayonetta replied, her curiosity clearly having finally been satisfied.

Looking back at the reflective surface, Ratchet’s eyes then traveled over to Alexander’s reflection, seeing that it was garbed in a plain, pale-blue v-neck t-shirt and tannish slacks with brown slippers.  His hair was also a lot shorter, and his eyes seemed distant, empty of emotion.  Next to him was Umbris’ reflection, except instead of an anthropomorphic panther wearing a cape and futuristic spandex, there was a small black kitten with a white muzzle, stomach and “socks”, his large red eyes peering through the holes of pink, bubble-like cocoon in which he was floating.

And then, of course, there was the reflection of General Alister Azimuth, wearing the brown-shaded Praetorian Armor that he must have worn for many years, before and even during his exile.  His double-ended wrench clutched in his left hand, as well, appeared as it had always looked before Mr. Zurkon had fused himself to it.  The reflection was mimicking the way the real Azimuth was currently holding his broken right arm; without a sling to hold it up, the reflection’s pose had an almost professional, regal quality to it.

“... neat,” Ratchet said, having seen how the mirrored surface was showing their reflection.  “But, what did you mean by, “needing an answer”--?”

‘Are you satisfied with your past’?

“... huh…?” Ratchet gasped quietly, quickly reaching a hand to his head out of impulse.  “Who… what said that…?”

“Yep, he’s heard it,” Umbris uttered to Alexander.

“Ratchet,” Alexander proceeded to explain, “it seems that the only way for us to be able to exit this Pathway is to give an answer to that question you just heard.  And before you get any ideas: no, it won’t take a simple “yes” or “no” answer.  We’ve already tried that.”

“Basically,” Gabriel continued, “it wants us to actually put some consideration into our answer, give our reasons for why it is that we are satisfied or not, and above all else, to be truthful to ourselves.”

Ratchet nodded which each point that was given, understanding the task at hand.  “... so, who’s first?”  He was a bit discouraged to find that none of the others seemed willing to volunteer right away.  Neither did he, to be honest, as he joined with them to glance at each other, trying to see who would go first.

“Maybe if I gave a little demonstration?” Gabriel spoke after the groups silent deliberation.  He promptly hopped out of Bayonetta’s arms and proceeded to scurry his way over the pond’s surface, kept from sinking due to an invisible barrier just above the water’s surface.  As the plushie body pitter-pattered its way toward the center of the pond, the reflection beneath him, that of his human self, matched his distance with a calm, steady gait.  As soon as he felt he’d strayed far enough, Gabriel stopped in his tracks, about 6 yards away from the edge, before turning to look back at the group, a reassuring smile on his plushie face.  He took a deep breath--or rather, made a motion as if to breathe deeply, as his plushie form had no need for oxygen--before proceeding with his demonstration:

“If I were to say whether or not my past was a good one or not… I’d have to say “yes”.  Sure, it wasn’t a perfect past, but for what it’s worth, I was happy.  I was taken in by my future foster parents, raised in a good environment at the orphanage even when there were times that we were just scraping by.  By the time I became an adult, I had achieved my dream of becoming a luchadore, and helped contribute to the growth of the orphanage, making sure that the new little ones grew up better than even I did.

“Sure, I have one particular regret,” he added, his head held down slightly with shame: “... joining with that street gang during my teenage years was most decidedly not the greatest highlight of my life… and yet, had I not defended myself against them that day, even in the face of retaliation, I would have never met Russell, and we would have never become the friends we are today....  I feel… as if I’d have never met any of the people I’ve come to know had things played out differently.  So, I guess what I’m saying is,” he concluded, “for what I have today, I am grateful for my past….”

“Wonderful job, Gabriel,” Bayonetta chimed in, giving the plushie an applause, which the lombaxes quickly joined in on.

Gabriel beamed happily at the others.  “Thanks!” he chimed with a wave of his hand.  His feeling of accomplishment was quickly replaced with anxious uncertainty, however, as he suddenly sensed a change in his surroundings.  Before he had time to react, he suddenly found himself half-submerged in the pond.  “Uhh, guys…?!” he called out as he flailed about in the water, his human reflection copying these frantic movements, “I don’t think this body is meant to be able to swim…!”

“Gabriel!!” Bayonetta cried out as she made a desperate dash across the pond, reaching out to grab hold of Gabriel before he sank below the surface.  The lion plushie, too, tried to reach a hand out for the Umbra Witch to grab hold of, but found himself being pulled downward by a mysterious force.  He was dragged below the surface just before Bayonetta could reach him, the barrier preventing her from reaching in after him.  On hands and knees, Bayonetta could only look through her reflection as she watched Gabriel being swept away by a teal-colored vortex beneath the surface of the pond, eventually vanishing from sight.

“I guess that’s how we know if it works,” Umbris replied calmly as he and the lombaxes caught up to Bayonetta.  “Cereza, I know you were just trying to--”

“Well, it’s not like I have much to worry about, right?” Bayonetta cut in, her face still showing some signs of worry that were slowly fading.  “I mean, it’s not like we’ve lost him; Gabriel will just be sent to his White Room.  He’s old enough to know to wait for us on the next path… right, nothing to worry about,” she concluded, the last bit more for herself than the others as she calmly got to her feet.

“Did you guys decide on which Pathway to pick next, by the way?” Ratchet asked the others.

“We all decided that Death would be our next destination,” Alister responded.

“Right, I almost forgot that you weren’t there for our discussion, Ratch,” Alexander added.  “You should have seen Al; he went through an entire tangent about probability and ratios, and he ended it by saying that, in the end, there was a fifty-percent chance that Red would have picked one of the two remaining Pathways available to him.”

Way to go, I.T., Alister thought to himself as he mentally rolled his eyes.  He could have sworn that, as the thought crossed his mind, a slightly monotone yet childlike laugh rang in his head (it sounded almost eerily like Clank’s).

“So, you think Red might be on Death?” Ratchet asked, his brow line furrowing a bit as his expression became slightly dark.

“It’s a shot in the dark at this point,” Umbris answered.  “There’s a chance that we’ll pick the Path that he’s not on, and thus we won’t be able to cross paths with him until we’ve completed all three Paths.  Assuming any of us are remaining at that point.”

“But that’s still a bridge we’ll cross when we get there,” said Bayonetta.  “First, we need to get off this bridge, so would you boys mind giving me some space to work?”  The lombaxes complied almost immediately, standing about five feet away from the Umbra Witch.  “Thank you.  Now then….

“... I wouldn’t say that my own past was a good one.  In fact, it was rather horrid; my parents were separated and punished by their respective clans for violating the laws of the Lumen and Umbra.  I was raised as a black sheep amongst the Umbra Witches.  I was sealed away at the bottom of a lake for 500 years (and let me tell you, that gives you such a crick in the neck!), and I had forgotten my memories during that time (though I got better).  Not to mention that my own father caused both clans to all but vanish off the face of the Earth, and he tried to destroy the Trinity of Realities… … although, in hindsight, he was never in control of those actions, but I digress.  To top it off, I eventually lost both of my parents: my own Mummy, whom I idolised since I was a wee little one, was murdered during the Witch Hunts; and Balder… … Daddy… he was never the evil man I had originally thought him to be… and I never had the chance to return the love he had for me….”  Bayonetta’s voice trailed off as she breathed a shaky sigh, her head held down as she held her arms close to herself.  It took a moment of silence, and a drop of water to fall from Bayonetta’s face, before the lombaxes realized that she was actually crying.

It’s okay to cry sometimes… that’s what you told me, Gabby.  That’s what you said when Jeanne… … ….

“... … even so,” she eventually continued, taking a moment to calm herself as she wiped away her tears, “... even so, I’ve learned to cherish the good that came my way: the time I was able to spend with my Mummy, the friendship I have with Jeanne… heh… even teasing Luka has its charms,” she added with a slight giggle. With a smile back on her face, she continued, a hand placed over her Watch, “As long as I can cherish the good things from my past… then I will always have a reason to smile, and I can look forward to the future.  As long as I remember that, there’s nothing I cannot do.”

Sensing the sincerity of her musings, the pond’s barrier allowed Bayonetta the opportunity to proceed.  She did not take it right away, however, as she formed an Umbran Seal beneath her feet to keep from falling through.  “Well, boys, looks like I’ll be seeing you on the other side!”  With her typical flourish, Bayonetta somersaulting into the air before splashing through, feet-first, into the pond where she, too, was soon swept away by the teal-colored whirlpool in the pond’s depths.

“You next, Ratchet,” Alister insisted, Alexander nodding in agreement.

“You guys sure?” asked the young lombax.

Alexander nodded again.  “Al and I, we… need some more time to consider our answers.”

“Oooookay, then,” Ratchet replied, figuring there was not much else to do about the matter.

“Right, so… … heh, who would I be kidding if I said I was satisfied with my past?” Ratchet began.  “I mean, I’ve been alone for most of my early life… I had no one back then who really gave a damn about me… and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a total little s***….” he said with a sad chuckle.

“... I never thought I’d ever truly find happiness… until I met you, Clank,” Ratchet continued, reaching a hand around his back to meet with Clank’s.  “And when I really put some thought into it… everything up until this war started hasn’t been all bad; I made many friends along the way, people who cared a lot about me, and whom I could care for in return, like a family.  A family… that I would lay my life down for.  In the end… all the good that’s come to me, and all the good I’ve done… it’s made everything worth it.”

Sensing his resolve, the pond’s barrier lifted to let Ratchet slip through, the lombax yelping in surprise as he splashed down.  He quickly reemerged from under the surface, keeping his head above water long enough to give Alister and Alexander one more message before leaving the Pathway: “Alright guys, we’ll be waiting for you on the other side.  Just don’t take too long, ‘kay?”  Before he could get a response from either of them, the teal vortex once again appeared, dragging Ratchet down under the water and returning him to his White Room.

And then, it was just the two of them.  “... I think I’m ready now, Al,” Alexander spoke first, gulping.

“Yeah… same here,” said Alister.  “... although, I think it’s safe to say who between the two of us has the worse past.”

“Al, it’s not about whose past is--”

“I know that, Alex,” Alister replied tearfully, “... but the fact remains that so much tragedy was caused because I was a fool.  The suffering that was caused because of my mistake.  And I must bear that burden for the rest of my life… even after….”

“... then make it right, Alister.”

The General blinked, the words seemingly resonating with him.  “... what…?”

“Do I really have to explain it to you, Alister?” Alexander firmly replied, gripping Alister’s shoulders in his hands.  “You were brought back, given a second chance at life, for a reason.  Use this second chance to make things right.  Even if it’s not by changing the past, you can still help to shape the future.”

“... “Second chance”…,” Alister repeated slowly.

“Besides,” Alexander added, “you have so much to live for now; you can be a part of Ratchet’s life. You can do… what Kaden can’t. You CAN be there for him. And, it’s not goodbye for our race either, Alister. Isamy brought you back for her own reasons, but, it is still a second chance on things; she’s given you a chance with the wisdom you gained before you… well. The point is Al, is that the past is the past. I should know that better than anyone, we went on a multiple post adventure about it,” he added with a slight chuckle.

“Believe me, Alex, this post pretty much feels the same way,” Alister replied with his own chuckle, feeling somewhat better.  “Honestly, I’m surprised none of us has taken the opportunity to break into a musical number, yet… … … could I ask you something, Alex?”

“Huh?  Uh, sure, Al.  Shoot.”

“... why do you feel so compelled to help others?” asked the General.  “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s just… … haven’t you ever considered trying to help yourself for a change?”

“Wha-I… ohh…,” Alexander trailed off for a moment, realizing that Alister’s words held quite a bit of water.

“I’m not saying it to be an ass, Alex,” Alister continued, “but you are strong enough to walk on your own two feet.  You don’t need me, or Umbris, or anyone to always be there to bail you out all the time… I understand that you still feel responsible for what happened to Galen and your father, that you might have been able to save them had things played out differently or if you had acted differently.  I get that, Alex; to this day, I still feel that, had I done something differently, maybe Ratchet would still have a father… what I’m trying to get at, Alex, is that you won’t be able to help anyone else if you can’t first help yourself.”

Alexander took the moment to reflect on Alister’s words.  “... you’re right… you’re absolutely right, Al.  I just….”  He paused a moment to sigh.  “... we’re both pretty f*cked up, huh?” he uttered with a sad little laugh.

“We both have a lot of room for improvement,” Alister admitted, “but if we can manage that… I’m sure we can handle anything.”

“... Geeeeeeez, you guys,” Umbris yawned out as he slid into the frame, “it’s no wonder why people have been talking about you two.  Why don’t you guys just make out and get it over with--?”

“SHUT UP, UMBRIS!!!” the two lombaxes hissed out in unison, their furs standing on end as they furiously glared down the Neo-Spacian.

“Besides, you’re one to talk, Umbris,” Alexander added, an eyebrow cocked as he decided to turn the tables.  “I’ve seen how you’ve been staring at Terris--”

“--LUMI!  I’ve been staring at Lumi!” Umbris blurted out in an attempt to drown out Alexander rebuttal, his face taking on a vibrant shade of fuschia.

“Yeah, her too,” Alexander snarked, while Alister couldn’t help but to laugh.

“Mr. Zurkon grows tired of this display of homoeroticism,” blurted out the Z-Wrench.  “Mr. Zurkon will go monkey-poop crazy if you stupid furries don’t get a move on and find something for Mr. Zurkon to kill.”

“... I think you mean “apeshi--”--”

“Mr. Zurkon knows what Mr. Zurkon meant!”

Perhaps it had finally deemed them worthy enough, or maybe it was growing tired of the mess being put on display, but either way, the pond finally acknowledged the lombaxes and allowed them to fall through into its waters, the teal vortex wasting no time in sweeping away Alexander and Alister to their respective White Rooms, where they would soon choose their next Pathway:


Death

[Reinforce]

Ayame

Pathway of Truth: A8

 

Ayame blinked a couple of times, as Lydia went off on a tangent after talking about their leader. Taking in what she was saying, she laughed a bit at the exploding a fairy's brain, but calmed down enough to start to speak back. 

"I think I understand what you mean actually. After seeing all of what's happened, and what the wider universe has to offer, I'm not sure I can really go back to my old life, at least not as I was anyway. Really, by this point my goal is to actually use the door, and restore my own world back to as it was before Isamy ever chose to enter the place, and probably just fade away quietly after that."

She smiled sadly, before speaking again with a bit more cheer.

"Look at the two of us, taking turns rambling on about ourselves and our lives. Maybe this place doesn't only force the truth to be spoken, but also encourages us to talk more as well."

[The Warden]

|_)Witch of Courage, Lydia(_|

|_)Pathway of Truth: A8(_|

 

Lydia laughed contentedly. "Ha ha, nah, that's just our crippling loneliness" she smiled back.

 

"How could you be lonely, you have us. Do any of you happen to possess vaginas? Umm, maybe Shine? No, I'm male. Okay, you have us stymied there, but it's not as if you don't have decent talks with us. Though, we have felt your loneliness sorceress. We too yearn for our world, even if we were in a state of stasis. It makes us wonder... About? About your commitment to choosing to become a Counter Guardian. If your soul is taken up, what becomes of us? Well, you guys are with me, wouldn't you, kinda, come with? We don't know if we could 'come with'. I'm sure the Throne would allow you guys. I'd be nothing without you guys. You were the ones who helped me beat LERNA. We know, it's why we're afraid we'll just disappear. Maybe we should bring back... nevermind. Okay, it's probably some magic mumbo jumbo that you won't speak clearly to me about, so I won't press it. By the way, you've been silent for too long, your friend is starting to give you strange looks. Oh right" Lydia said as she swapped from inner monologue to outer monologue.

 

"Sorry, the voices in my head wanted a chat" she smiled awkwardly, saying that like it was the most normal thing ever.