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

[Phantom Roxas]

Arthur & Eria - F1 (Tsunugai's Perception)

 

Eria sighed, disappointed in the man's explanation. However, she notice at the lightning about to strike her, so she jumped to the side, landing on her hand and then back on her feet, creating ice pillars where her hands once were. She dodged again, creating more ice pillars, until she stood up, raising her hands as column of ice appeared within the sand, pushing Tsunugai back.

 

Sora - G2

 

Sora was rather confused by Ivankov's sudden transformation, but then again, he'd seen stranger stuff. To his surprise, the sandstorm had died down, and thanks to Ed, the board was moving faster, but he could see MachGaogamon fighting off a number of enemies. He looked back at the group, activating Master form. "You guys go on ahead! I'll make sure the rest of the Counter Corps make it out of here! Nero, you make sure everyone gets in alright." Steering the board towards the portal, Sora leapt off, allowing his comrades to enter the portal. With his second Keyblade gone, Sora held his Ultima Weapon close, pushing his feet against the air as he made tried to make a desperate move towards the pyramid.

 

MachGaogamon / Flygon / Feraligatr - F5

 

Feraligatr used Waterfall to push the energy leopards away, while Flygon flew over the shadow crescent. However, in spite of MachGaogamon trying to counter BlackWarGreymon's tornado attack with one of his own, he was still pushed back. He looked up at the portal, which now seemed to be destroying the Desert Seth itself, and he wasn't sure if going there would be any better than facing this BlackWarGreymon.

 

Fortunately, Sora had arrived, but he needed to cast several Aeroga spells to properly defend MachGaogamon's whole body. MachGaogamon recognized him and smiled, catching him in his hand.

 

"Sorry, Sora, no time to talk. We have business to take care of."

 

"Right. Don't worry, we can take all of them." Sora took a look at their enemies, and felt something suspicious about Butler. Deciding to guy after him first, Sora jumped off of MachGaogamon's hand, casting a Graviga spell over Butler.

 

MachGaogamon looked back at BlackWarGreymon. "Looks like I got another friend needing to stick up for me." He looked at Dorian, then back to BlackWarGreymon. "However, if you're so confident in your abilities, why are you allowing your own partner to fight my friends? Do you just want to make it between you and me?" MachGaogamon and Flygon both turned to BlackWarGreymon, each of them using their sonic attacks. "Then again, having a friend to help you fight isn't automatically a bad thing."

[Merci]

LERNA's Barrier, close to the Center

 

When the Itsu Fudo spoke about 'being an entity of such incredible power myself', LERNA had to suppress laughter, and strange cackling noises that vaguely resembled something akin to alien giggling came from her furthest head. In the condition that she was currently in, dragging herself back with humanity as an excuse, did she honestly believe that she was some kind of great being? A god whom pretended to one amongst many ordinary muggles was not a god at all, but a pathetic excuse for one. The Witch was not interested in anything apart from her own gain, but she decided to play along. Perhaps by some odd chance, this being could see reason.

 

The green girl's neck was already starting to break from overexertion, but still she was used as a channel.

"IT IS SIMPLE. BY BECOMING MY FAMILIAR, ONCE I HAVE USED THE DOOR OF ORIGIN'S POWERS TO REPLACE EVERYTHING IN THIS MULTIVERSE WITH DESPAIR,

1. YOU SHALL BE THE LAST REMAINING ENTITY CAPABLE OF THE CONCEPT KNOWN AS 'HOPE',

2. YOU SHALL HAVE THE HONOR OF SERVING UNDER ME, THE WITCH OF INFINITE POSSIBILITIES,

3. YOU SHALL LOSE VERY MUCH WEIGHT DURING YOUR CONVERSION INTO A TROY,

and 4. YOU SHALL GAIN THE AMAZING POWER TO TALK IN GEORGIA FONT.

I AM A VERY GRACIOUS ENTITY, SO I TRUST THAT THIS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH."

 

By then, blood was starting to pour out from her throat, the uppermost parts of her body reaching their limits.

"SHOULD YOU ACCEPT, SUN GODDESS,  DIVE INTO THE OCEAN BEFORE YOU AND LET YOURSELF BECOME MY FAMILIAR. THEN, I CAN ACCESS THE CONTENTS OF THE ORB AND LOCATE THE KEY."

 

As the channel awaited Itsu's response, LERNA's attention was caught by about five more lights flickering into the barrier, signalling that others had entered. They were too far away to be analyzed and copied on an existential level for now, but it seemed that they were all talented Class 2 Entities, the one named 'Jecht' possessing extreme amounts of power. However, even so, they were utterly useless to her plans- hold on.

 

Upon closer inspection through the eyes of her Troys, the entity known as Darcy also seemed to be a Class 3 Entity. Not a very consistent one due to the capacity of astral projection, but one nevertheless. Amusingly, she also happened to be a 'witch', though one of an entirely different nature than herself, being more fairy-like in nature. Perhaps she may be a more willing candidate when it came to using the orb, should the sun goddess refuse. LERNA kept this in mind as she continued to wait for a response from Itsu.

 

Nevertheless, all the Troys near these new entities reacted and assumed human-like forms before assaulting the intruders, swiftly jumping from panel to panel to do so. They were noticeably ignoring Darcy as they did, and were focusing considerably upon Jecht instead.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

LERNA's Barrier:

The goddess debated this, realizing the implications of what she was about to do. She was going to betray the Counter Corps, and all of those she loved, in order to take Isamy down. The and replied to Wynn. "I will accept, but I wish to add a condition, and change one of those conditions you listed. First, I wish to not become a Troy, but am willing to be shaped into something new. If my memory of Witches serves me correctly, they can have more than one type of Familiar." She wasn't entirely sure LERNA would accept this, but it was at least a hope. "And, I wish to be stabilized." Tears started to form at the corners of Itsu's eyes, LERNA able to easily detect that this "goddess" was very much aware of her own mortality, and might be doing this in a moment of weakness. "You can probably sense the same thing I have, that my very existence is being slowly unraveled. In time, this might result with my existence being rendered moot, but I am sure that you can prevent my progressive deterioration. If so, it will allow me to be at my full potential once more." She shuddered and fell to her knees on the platform she was on, and whispered. "I fear death. I do not want to be extinguished. I have so much that I love and that I want to protect. Everything I care for and everything I will have ever done will forever be changed without me. I...I don't want to die..."
And at that point, Itsu did exactly what LERNA wished for her to do.
She fell into despair.

[Love of Ghibli]

The Desert Seth F5

 

What a lovely fuster cluck of a mess this situation turned out to be. It seemed that some new person had joined the fray. Butlerok had immediately sensed his presence and turned around to witness the Aeroga's keeping the blue wolfmon alive. Then this little boy with the oddly massive feet came at him with this odd gravity spell. Unfortunately for Sora he would not be aware of the insanity that is the Alpha Stigma. Butlerok had instantaneously recognized the magic the boy was using and he simply took it head on. Actually that magic was about the worst thing that Sora could have done. By triggering Butlerok's brain to analyze magic he sort of rebooted Butler's entire system. Now he was back to his cogent self just a lot deadlier. While being forced to kneel Sora would hear the big Kishin mumble ...Artas Magna...stand. He then stood through the gravity magic as if unaffected by the whole process. He then looked around and saw that there were many enemies and allies had gathered around this decaying world. He knew that what was on the other side was probably worse than this but for sure this decaying world was not something that he should allow Dorian to stay in.

BWG was pretty much squared off against the constantly being saved MGG. The blue wolf had the audacity to  compare their situations as if they were similar. Dorian and Butler interfered because they just happened to be there. MGG would be dead if it wasn't for all of these peoples wouldn't keep showing up. It was insane that the blue wolf didn't get it. Of course I seek a one on one battle. How can you measure your strength if someone has to constantly save you. I simply seek the Ultimate opponent. He let out a sigh and shrunk his shoulders. It looks like I must go searching still. Dorian stepped next to BWG simply shaking his head as he empathized with the dragon man. Oh yeah that's how it and it's human roll. They're pretty useless on their own and pretty useless as a group. But that's besides the point we're out of here. BWG looked at Dorian trying to figure out what was happening. 

At that moment Butlerok's hand was on both their shoulders and he threw both of them into the portal at the same time. Naturally BWG and Dorian took there surfing position so it shouldn't have been a problem for BWG to go through. Butlerok looked at his field of opponents and hoped that Sayer, Jecht, and Alister would take this cue to exit because someone was about to get serious. I shall take down the rest of the Counter Corp that are here. He looked at his so far four opponents and shot his newly learned Graviraga at all of them. Then he stuck his sword up in in the air and Ragnarok smiled saying...BAN...KAI! His aura and madness started to escalate as the air around him was becoming dense. Then lightning clouds and black lightning was filling the skies above. After the stage was set and the malefic dark lightning storm was revealed he quietly spoke Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū. He then motioned his hand downward and attempted to blast all four of the opponents with one strike. 

[Kōsuke Ueki]

Something went wrong; very wrong.

 

In response to Eria's attack, Tsunugai punched through the pillar jutting out of the sand, creating another one purposely knocking Eria out cold if possible (While the pillar that went for Tsunugai shattered). Walking up to her with a very much sadictic expression on his face, Tsunugai unsheathed his sword and pointed it straight at her neck. "It's a shame how I will not be able to see any more of your capabilities. In what you have shown me, you have fought honorably, and now I shall give you the warrior's death you deserve." Pulling back his sword, Tsunugai proceeded to execute Eria (By cutting off her head). That is, until...

 

---

 

...something intervened at the last second. STOP IT! yelled the mysterious presence in Tsunugai's mind. Tsunugai himself was now unable to move, at least that is what everyone else will see. But within his own mind, something else was going on. It appeared that the mysterious presence forced Tsunugai into a dream state in order to bring up something. And it also appeared that Tsunugai was bound in chains within his own mind. It was as if a dark force had possessed him in a way to make him do things that he would regret. And now, the confrontation between the two spirits would commence, and perhaps change the fate of Eria.

 

Who are you?

 

SILENCE! I will be asking the questions, and you will answer them!

 

You are a fool to think you can orde-AAAHHH!

 

The dark force within Tsunugai's mind writhed in pain from the power the new presence gave off.

 

I will not repeat myself again...

 

Argh, very well. Ask away.

 

What do you call yourself?

 

I have no name, but you can call me Onyx.

 

Why is it that you have taken control of this man?

 

To ensure his goals are a reality. That's all I am here for.

 

You are a fool, as you have only so much time left before your life is wasted and you cannot enter a new host.

 

Why would I? This host is the only one I can combine with, and if he dies, my existence shall be futile.

 

I have already decided that fate. You will never intervene with this man ever again.

 

Do you really think you can destroy my essence?

 

Allow me to show you of my capabilities...

 

The dark force revealed itself as to be a dark fog of a shade, revealing a demonic face within. The mysterious presence then revealed itself through glowing white eyes. Immediately afterward, what appeared to be a magic seal appeared behind the dark force known as Onyx. Hm?! What-what are you doing!? The seal began to pull Onyx in without much effort. What?! NO! You cannot do this! I am the ultimate force of darkness!! The glowing eyes of the other presence squinted slightly. And I, am the ultimate force of light. Farewell Onyx... Onyx was about as close as he could be to the seal until he started going through, screaming in pain as its essence slowly disintegrated.

 

NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO--AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

From the outside, Tsunugai was screaming in pain, clenching his head as his fully bloodshot eyes turned into blank yellow eyes. Soon enough, a bright force of light enveloped Tsunugai, and began to spread throughout the entire plane, taking everybody with it...

 

---

 

Returning to the Desert Seth, when LERNA had already revealed herself, a sudden bolt of thunder came down on the exact location everybody once were in, a large barrier appearing, revealing everybody, including Tsunugai. Within his own mind, the presence revealed a physical, yet god-like form. It was Richard in Redemption Mode, but with what appeared to be more armor. He pointed to the Tsunugai wrapped in chains. The chains disintegrated into nothing as Tsunugai fell on his knees, his eyes closed and his head bent down. Now, stand up. There is something far more important that I need you to do, now GO!!

 

Tsunugai awoke with a sharp gasp. He stood where he was, wondering what happened. This was the real Tsunugai, the one who was only able to see what had been done using his body. He saw what has happened to the sky, as it has now become night somehow. And he also noticed something else. it was a portal. Far too much happened to have an explanation. Tsunugai looked at the others, all freed, as if nothing happened. He looked downward, ashamed at what had been done. "Forgive me...I-I don't know what came of me. But right now, fighting me any further is out of the question now. Whatever lies at the remains of that pyramid is most likely prepared to destroy what remains of this place. We have to move, now."

 

Then Tsunugai saw a flashback that made him seem to repeat history (In regards to nearly killing Eria). Rose... he thought. Please forgive me...

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Desert Seth: H2 -> F5

Foster, seeing the oncoming destruction heading for them all, quickly grabbed as many people as he could, abandoning the mech in the process, and shoved them in the back of the Duelhog, dismissing the weapon on the back as he floored it just as the desert around them started to collapse. The commander decided that, since the edges of the desert were clearly falling away, that driving to the center might be the only way to escape all of it, and he and his comrades just might be able to make it out of this hellhole alive.
Melvin, meanwhile, was looking at both his captors and his former allies, now on the side of himself and no one else, and commented in the quiet rush. "Well, this is awkward."

 

Desert Seth: C3 -> F5:

 

Judaihime was also observing the devastation around her as the realm collapsed, and she flew on Yubel across the desert towards the epicentre, spotting a wheeled vehicle attempting to head towards the portal in the ruins, but she dove down towards the vortex before she could see who was inside.

[Phantom Roxas]

Arthur & Eria - F1

 

Arthur was running after Eria, ready to strike at Tsunugai, but suddenly, the paladin was frozen in place, doing nothing until a bright light surrounded all of them. Tsunugai slowly fell to his knees, and as Eria stood up, she noticed Arthur drawing his blade.

 

"Arthur, not while he's unconscious!"

 

"He's dangerous while awake, so this is our best chance. Whatever the hell happened to him, I'm not letting this chance stand by." Tsunugai awoke with a start, prompting Arthur to jump back, drawing his crossbow. The man suddenly began to apologize for his attack, but Arthur wasn't buying it. "You try to kill is, fall unconscious, and start asking for forgiveness? I'm not buying it."

 

"Just wait, Arthur!"

 

"Why, Eria? He almost killed you!"

 

"I think he might have been possessed by someone. I don't know who, but just listen to him. He's talking like a completely different person."

 

Arthur scoffed. "Could have fooled me." Looking up, they could see LERNA's portal and the clouds beginning to roar with thunder. The sand beneath them began to spin around, sinking down and dragging them all with them. "What the hell is going on?!"

 

"I don't know!" Eria said, her lower body completely submerged in the sand.

 

Arthur stabbed his sword into the ground, but it didn't hit anything, so Arthur's arm was pulled. "Damn it!" he shouted. Looking up, he could see MachGaogamon surrounded by a number of people, with the lightning focused on him. Not even considering that he had Dedigivolved, Arthur cried out to him. "MACHGAOGAMON!"

 

Eria held her hands out, looking at the many people around her. "Don't worry, Arthur, we'll save him." Raising her arms, Eria, Arthur, Jeanne, Matthew, Lucario, and Tsunugai all began to raise up above the sand.

 

Arthur turned and saw the headless body of Yachiru. "Do we have to take… her body with us?"

 

Eria nodded. "I won't let her body be stranded here."

 

Soon, the group was standing on a floating ice platform, the sand falling off their bodies. Arthur knelt beside Yachiru's body, taking his cloak and throwing over her. "Did you know her name?"

 

Eria remembered when she had briefly met the young girl back at the Castle in the Shadow Realm. The girl seemed to think Eria looked adorable as a bunny, and Eria didn't even care about her embarrassing look anymore. The girl was so happy and innocent, and now she was gone, brutally and senselessly slaughtered, but Arthur's question made Eria feel even worse. "No, I never did."

 

Arthur stood up, sighing. "How are we going to win like this? We still don't even know everyone on our side."

 

Eria kept moving the ice platform forward, at a loss for what to say. "We still have faith."

 

Current location: Heading towards F3.

 

Sora / MachGaogamon / Flygon / Feraligatr - F5

 

MachGaogamon snarled as BlackWarGreymon was sent away, but at the very least, it meant he had less opponents to worry about. However, Butler had fired a Graviraga spell at the group, followed by a thunderstorm, and Feraligatr roared at the sky, beating its chest, but as the magic and thunder MachGaogamon stepped forward, but Sora had also jumped into the air, casting a Reflega spell, blocking a lot of the thunder, but MachGaogamon and Sora still took a lot of the damage. However, the Reflega was able to send the force of the Graviraga spell back at Butler. MachGaogamon stumbled, looking for Sayer.

 

"Sora, we have to get Silver's friends out of here."

 

"Silver?" Flygon perked up, flying up to Sora and looking him in the eye, then hanging its head. "I'm sorry…" Sora looked up at Butler, holding his Keyblade tight. "You can take them out of here. I'll handle this guy."

 

"Are you nuts?!"

 

Sora smiled. "Don't worry, I know I can handle this guy."

 

"Too many of your friends have already died. I don't want to see you join them."

 

"Come on, MachGaogamon, they're your friends, too."

 

MachGaogamon grabbed Feraligatr, and Flygon landed on MachGaogamon's shoulder, nodding. "Alright. Can you promise you'll make it."

 

"Of course!" MachGaogamon nodded to Sora, carrying the two Pokémon up, heading up to the portal. Thanks to Feraligatr and Flygon, MachGaogamon was able to enter the portal. Seeing that they had made their way in, Sora looked at Butler, his face turning into a scowl. "How do you know Bankai?"

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Nero

 

Nero had entered the Portal with the rest of his group, making sure everyone was able to make it unharmed. However, almost as soon as they entered the new dimension, creatures were coming towards them. One was about to jump to their platform but Nero raised a wall of magic and it simply fell into the darkness. He then took note that the creatures were attracted more to a member of the divine, he quickly erected magic walls in such a way that the troys would have to flow over to the Divine member. The troys obeyed his magic walls for the most point, a few of them broke them and were coming for his group.

 

Suddenly, a giant wolf-like creature came in with two other creatures. The other members of the Counter Corps hadn't reacted so Nero didn't either, he supposed they were on his side; other than Sora he couldn't remember any of his teammates. "Brace yourselves, here they come!" Nero waved his right hand and three fireballs appeared in the air; they focused one one Troy and exploded on him. It was stunned for but a moment and kept coming...

 

Matthew Supplex

 

Matthew had the same idea as Arthur, for his revolver was pointed at Tsunagi the entire time. If Eria hadn't spoken of not killing him while unconscious he would have shot. He holstered his revolver just before getting sucked into the sands, luckily, Eria was already on it and he found himself floating on a sheet of ice. He sat down with his legs crossed and sighed a long sigh. "Are ya going to fight for the right side now? Or are you just going to blast your false righteousness the entire time?" Matthew commented but didn't wait for a response before looking over at Arthur and Eria. "I don't know how much I can tell you about the Divine, other than Sephiroth and Jecht, they're mostly a mystery to me." Matthew then frowned and closed his eyes in thought, he didn't know if Eria would forgive him without seeing his corpse first but he couldn't put much thought into it now. He was fighting for this side now and would continue to do so even without her approval.
 

[Love of Ghibli]

The Desert Seth F5

 

Butlerok looked on as his targets were slowly escaping. This was surely an interesting phenomenon, but it seemed that running was the far logical. Buterok could clearly see that the Desert Seth was unraveling. He weighed his options carefully as he figured he was more than enough to kill the boy but not enough to do it quickly. Somehow this young lad here had survived his madness and reflected his bankai attacks. In a humorous note thanks to the Alpha Stigma that he wields he instantly learned Reflaga. He chuckled as the instantly dispelled his newly learned magic and raised an eyebrow to the boys question? Hmm so you seem to know about shinigami, well this brand of them anyway. I've eaten two of them now. I feel its logical that I learn something from them. Besides there was one with a weird hairstyle and his power was simply exquisite. Butlerok unleashed more of his power which was literally dense enough to cause imprints in the sand and collapse the pyramid. Ragnarok started to glow purple then he opened his mouth. PIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! The maddening scream resonance was active and Butler swung the blade unleashing a bigger wave of crescent power which was followed up by five concussive lightning strikes. Even if the big showed boy had survived then he would see that his opponent was gone. Butler simply used this chance to take a jump into the portal.

 

The World of LERNA!

 

Inside the portal clearly made it seem like the desert may have been a better option. It was twisted, distorted, and it didn't really seem to be a world as there was this giant monster thing and the remnants of space it didn't take up. Dorian and BWG were immediately entering evasive maneuvers as the twisted Troys began to attack. Dorian was clearly annoyed at the the monstrosities mainly because of how in effective he was in combat with them. It wasn't that he couldn't destroy one. It was that it just took to much work. Beneath the two combatants there just seemed to be water an odd foreboding water, but water nonetheless. Since he was already dirty enough he signaled to BWG to steam roll dead ahead to the citadel monstrosity at the center of all of this. Dorian knew that the Divine weren't really in the lead of this contest, but maybe they can make up for lost time. Dorian simply fell into the water. The effects of the water were pretty clear. He was being wafted over with despair quite naturally. He was about to sink into the abyss till he shot open his eyes in defiance.

 

 

And yelled underwater DOTH THESE PEASANT KNOW WHO I AM? His body had become traced in his golden magic he then clapped his hands and separated them. In the space between his hands was a card spinning. SUPERIOR DORIAN FLARE RIDE!!! WINGED DRAGON OF RAAAA!!! Surrounding him was the actual massive beast floating under water and with that Dorian flew from the massive sea of darkness shining like a beacon of light with his golden phoenix. charging at the enemy. He then flew directly at LERNA. Countless Numbers of Troy's jumped at the massive beast aiming to take Dorian off his massive pedestal. BLACK TORNADO!!! The massive black digimon shredded through a lot of the Troy's and landed on the Phoenix's head. He knelt next to Dorian gaining composure and reading himself for the true battle.

 

Ra continued unimpeded but it looked like the next wave was getting ready to attack. The pitch blackness of this world seemed to mean nothing to the stick figure people but before they could even jump off of there panels they seemed to be frozen in place and with that Dorian looked to his other side and noticed that Butlerok was already next to his side. He was using Graviraga to keep the Troy's down. Of course that didn't happen to all of them as it seemed some monsters made there way to on top of Ra. Team Dorian turned around and was ready to face their opponents, but there was no need. Butlerok after staring at the Troys for a second a series of magical arrays surrounded him. Hmph. At that passive grunt the Troys that were on Ra simply dissolved out of existence. He simply was able to see the magic that created them and unhappen it so to speak. With that done the team went full steam ahead. Though to be honest they didn't know what they would do or the fact that as a Kishin Butler now actually qualifies as a Class 3 entity. Nevertheless nothing ventured nothing gained.

[Kōsuke Ueki]

Tsunugai sighed. "I know how you feel." he began towards Arthur. "I know what it's like to want to kill somebody who put the lives of my allies at risk, and then realize he wasn't himself." Immediately, his helmet reappeared to cover his face. "However, the fact that you're quick to anger and don't think before you act, that could have easily been the end of you if my body was used long enough." He then turned his attention to Matthew. "Let me be clear: when I was possessed, I exaggerated my intentions. What I said was true to an extent." He sighed again, clenching his fist and holding back some tears.

 

"I...was once a contract killer." he started again with hesitation. "On the outside, in regards to being a cold-blooded killer, my heart was filled with darkness. But in the center, was a small light, giving reason to why I do what I do. I regretted every person I killed, but I had no choice. If I didn't do this, I would not have been able to protect my parents. But when I struck them unknowingly in cold blood, I knew something would come of it. As a result, many years pass, and I'm pulled into a war I didn't want to fight. But the powers you see now are a result in being able to fight in it.

 

"And when I was brought here to fight for my world, I knew that I would do anything to get my parents back. I got these powers purposely so I could prevent someone else to go through my experiences. And now I can use it to get rid of my secret life as a contract killer and be with my family for the rest of my life. You can never understand my pain." He then noticed Eria lifting everybody up. "I'm not asking anyone of you to trust me. But we have a common enemy. When it's over, we'll go our separate ways for a while. Now, let's go."

[Merci]

LERNA's Barrier

 

It was a success. It was a complete and utter success. The sun goddess monologued on and on about something which didn't seem to be of any relevance to her, asked for a simple condition that was quite simple and hardly complex to fulfill, and was ultimately preparing to dive into the sea of despair, nervous and afraid for the 'great being' she was, yet perhaps her bravery to do so was something that could be admired.

 

"FOOLISH LITTLE GIRL. YOU BELIEVE IN THESE THINGS NOW, BUT YOUR PRESENCE MEANS NOTHING. THESE LOVED ONES SHALL DEFY YOU AND MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICES, AS IS THEIR NATURE. YOU SHALL NOT BE MISSED BY ANYONE. THAT IS THE ULTIMATE PATH OF DESPAIR. NEVERTHELESS, I SHALL GRANT YOUR WISH. YOU SHALL LIVE ETERNALLY, EVEN OUTLIVE YOUR SUN, AND BE DETACHED FROM YOUR HUMANITY. NOW, COME." 

 

Finally, her figure dived in, letting herself be consumed by the raw essence of despair. When the entity emerged out from the murky waters again, she had been transformed into something almost completely different - with a new body and new powers, yet lacking a face, her figure was something that no longer resembled the once-spectacular Itsu Fudo in any particular way or fashion. There was no trace of the blazing sun goddess. Now, there was only Thermopylae.

 

"NOW THAT YOU HAVE ACCEPTED-" It seemed like Wynn's body was reaching its vocal limits, and she had to forcefully croak out the final sentence before her throat became unusable."KOMM ZU MIR, MEIN KNECHT!"

 

Finally, the green-haired girl collapsed on the panel she was standing upon, now unconscious and abandoned from LERNA's control due to her useless state.

 

The position of Thermopylae wasn't very far from the main body of LERNA at all, and as the gigantic monster turned its seven frontal heads into her direction, it appeared as though she was eagerly awaiting the swift arrival of her newly-born familiar. The Door of Origin was very close now, so much within her grasp. Now that she had successfully attained and gained control over the Class 3 Entity, everything else seemed insignificant. Within the next minute, perhaps even the next few seconds, everything would come to a finish---

 

"Not so fast, Solace!" Before she could make her way onward, a familiar man stood in her path, twin crescent blades within each of his hands, both of which were corrupted and had red veins running along them. It was Emiya, Counter Guardian of the Multiverse and leader of the Counter Corps, still corrupted from the influence from the Shadow Realm but retaining his power. "I'm afraid I can't let you proceed from this point. I'll stop you here and now, and then I'll take care of the Witch. If you have any semblance of your former self in there, I advice you stand down now."

 

At that moment,

 

The main head of LERNA opened its huge jaws and shrieked so loud that her voice echoed throughout the entire realm.

 

"DUUUUUUUUUU HUUURREEENSOOHNN!!!"

 

Visibly angered at this intrusion, she was about to personally intervene when a gigantic, golden dragon appeared from the other direction charging towards her, with a a total of three entities riding upon it. One of them was even a Class 3, possessing tremendous power. However, none of them, not even combined, could compare with her. Still, it warranted her attention.

 

The second they entered her range, they had allowed themselves to be analyzed on an existential level. Their names were BlackWarGreymon (otherwise known as Bob), Dorian von Schroeder, and Butler...Ragnarok? The dragon was named the Winged Dragon of Ra, and while it might've been able to match her power were it actually here, it was nothing but a false projection. A weak one at that, powered by the even weaker, insignificant Class 2 Entity that was Dorian von Schroeder. Although it was true that his mental state was quite unique, and even though he was currently under a delusion of grandeur after battling the sea of despair, it was true that his will was something that could not be corrupted. However, this was only internal. There was nothing preventing him from getting squashed.

 

The one she decided was most adequate for the job was the Ragnarok entity, whose abilities suited her quite well. All of a sudden MAD BLOOD began spewing out from the opened jaws of all eight of her heads. Instantaneously, the entirety of Team Dorian was swallowed up a huge swell of darkness, encapsulating them all without mercy. If that wasn't bad enough, entities made of Black Blood were emerging from the substances, all of them hostile, all of them trying to melt the physical bodies of those within into more Black Blood. If that wasn't horrible enough, the black sphere was emanating a very powerful Insanity Wavelength, making it dangerous for anyone close to it or physically in contact with it.

 

...

 

From the outside, all that would be seen was that Team Dorian had been engulfed in a monstrous black orb spewed out from LERNA. As of yet, her true power wasn't immediately obvious, but this was already a display to dampen the hopes of anyone who attempted to defy her.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

LERNA's Barrier:

Finally at peace, she simply fell forward, submerging herself into the waters thanks to a slight push from her the Witch who led her. She sunk deeper and deeper into the darkness, her kimono dissolving as her body transformed into a bright light, just barely seen beneath the waves, until the light faded, and the waters were still for several moments. A hand then reached out to grab a platform, but this was no ordinary hand. Instead of tan flesh, porcelain-white plates connected by shadowy interiors and rounded joints grasped the edge. A second hand then grabbed the platform, and a figure emerged from the depths, to slowly get up, as if she was reborn. Instead of a Japanese theme, this figure had red, gold, and bronze clothing and armor, with armor consisting of a combination of corset and breastplate, a pair of gauntlets, and a pair of cuisses. Her long red hair was not organic, but instead had the appearance and texture of string, though it was tied back into a ponytail. Crimson flowing garments came down from her neck and waist, the former a cape, the latter a skirt. And set into her porcelain chest was a golden dome that glowed softly. However, when Emiya arrived, she looked up at him to show him her face, or lack thereof. Her entire face was blank, with no signs of any ears or a mouth, just a slight bump where her nose would be and two slight indentions where her eyes would be.

The new Familiar of Hope "looked" to Emiya, and found her voice, though it was harsher and less warm. "I am not Solace, but Hope. I am not Itsu, but something else." She reached out with her right hand, and a nearby Troy suddenly found itself flying through the air, its body reshaping into a sword, like one would find drawn by a small child, though bright light filled the space in between the lines. "And I will give you one chance to leave." Her left hand then gathered two Troys, the duo fusing together as they spin through the air to make a circular shield, this one with a spiraling design on the front resembling a hydra, and it also lit up with power. "Abandon this fight and retreat to your foundry, and we will spare you, so you may despair over this fight, and hope for the next." She readied herself as she got up, getting into a combative stance with her shield forward and her blade withdrawn against the shield. "Stay, and I can assure you that you will either feel despair, or nothing at all."

[Phantom Roxas]

Arthur & Eria - F3

 

Arthur nodded, understanding what Tsunugai was doing. He held his hand up to the man, offering a handshake. "I'm sorry we won't be on the same side after we're done with… whatever we have have to deal with right now. But let's see what we can do."

 

Eria looked up at the portal, raising the platform up even higher. "Whatever is on the other side, we'll face it together." Eria took one last look at the Desert Seth, praying that somewhere, Gagagigo was still alive. Confident that she could still save him, the commanded the platform to enter the portal, taking everyone on it to LERNA's barrier.

 

Sora - F5

 

Sora's grip on his Keyblade tightened, knowing that this man was responsible for the deaths of at least two of his Shinigami friends, if not all of them. At the very least, he admitted to killing Kenpachi. But what about Yachiru and Byakuya? Knowing how different those two were in terms of strength, did he eat Byakuya, and leave Yachiru to die? Either way, this man had killed the only other people Sora had known before this war, even if he had only just met Byakuya. Sora took his Keyblade, ready to attack, but a monster appeared behind Butler, unleashing a sonic scream, causing Sora to drop down to his knees, but he was knocked back by a crescent strike, which tore through his armor and slicing him across the chest. Sora fell down on his back, unable to stand as the lightning roared around him, striking the ground around him. Sora weakly held up his Keyblade, firing his own Thundaga to counteract, but the lightning tore through Sora's attack, and the bolt pierced into Sora's chest.

 

Sora's arm dropped to the sand, his Keyblade disappearing. "It can't… end like this," Sora said, his mouth bleeding as he watched the sky begin to fold up. The air itself seemed to have bent, with creases appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Sora began to sit up, his hand reaching out in front of him, looking at the pyramid. The images of Kairi, Rika, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey stood in front of him, nodding at him. "Sorry, guys, I… couldn't." Two new figures suddenly started to appear while his friends had begun to fade away. They both looked about a few years older than Sora, the first being a tall man with blonde air, but a face that seemed all too familiar. The second was a woman with short blue hair. "Terra? Aqua? Wait… Who do I…?" Finally, another man appeared in front of these two mysterious people. It was Roxas, and yet, somehow, Sora realized it wasn't.

 

"I see. So that's… who you wanted to save…" Sora said. Sora looked down, seeing a puddle of darkness forming beneath him. "I can't give in… not now. I can still… I can still save them."

 

As the darkness began to overwhelm Sora, his body felt like it was getting stronger. The wound in his body had faded away, and Sora was able get on his feet. His armor was beginning to repair itself, but the plating was turning from gold to platinum. The Ultima Weapon appeared behind Sora, floating behind his back, now slimmer, but more sharp, and next to it, by Sora's left, a golden Keyblade appeared, it's edge curved like a crescent moon. Sora's armor was once again changed, and he had finally reawakened his Final Form. With his Keyblades beside him, Sora flew up into the air, and within seconds, he had entered the portal.

 

MachGaogamon / Flygon / Feraligatr - LERNA's Barrier

 

MachGaogamon was surprised when he saw the inside of LERNA's barrier. He floated high above the dark waters, making sure that Feraligatr would not fall, while Flygon was keeping himself in the air beside MachGaogamon. They noticed the two people fighting near LERNA, while more Troys seemed to not take kindly to the new visitors. MachGaogamon used his free hand to bat them away, with Feraligatr tearing apart the ones that got close, and Flygon dealt with some by himself.

 

"MachGaogamon!" a voice cried out. MachGaogamon turned, smiling as he could see Arthur, Eria, and several others, although he was curious why Matthew and some mysterious armored figure were accompanying them. Meanwhile, Feraligatr and Flygon were excited to see that Lucario was okay. Eria's ice platform moved next to MachGaogamon, with Flygon flying up to Arthur, bowing its head, and Arthur patted it, looking at the creature, but he knew what he knew what needed to be said. "Did Silver…?" Flygon looked away, and Arthur nodded, not wanting to finish what he was sentence. "I see. Alright, Flygon, looks like it's up to us avenge him."

 

MachGaogamon held up Feraligatr, who worked onto the ice platform, before looking at Eria, who was smiling at the creature. "Hello, there! What's your name?"

 

"Feraligatr!" he said proudly.

 

Eria looked at the creature, sensing that it's attribute was much like hers. "So, you know Jeanne's friend here? Listen, I know I can't replace your master, but I can sense that our powers are a lot alike."

 

Feraligatr looked down, mourning Silver. Espeon and Salamence had died as well, and he never had the chance to say goodbye to them. He stared at Eria for a moment, and nodded.

 

Arthur had set himself up on Flygon, taking out his Digivice. "Alright, MachGaogamon, it's now or never. Think you can handle Digivolving again so soon?"

 

MachGaogamon nodded. "Of course, Arthur. I've met another Digimon here."

 

"Seriously? I take it they're with the Divine?"

 

"Yes. His name is BlackWarGreymon."

 

"A Greymon, huh? It'd be nice if we could turn that Divine that…" Arthur looked at Flygon, not wanting to rub any salt in the wound. "That… thing we fought earlier. We should try and get them to fight, but I think that'd just end up with her being more powerful."

 

"Looks like there's only one thing to do."

 

"Right." Holding up his Digivice, a light began to illuminate the dark dimension, shining on MachGaogamon. "Digivolution, activate!"

 

MachGaogamon roared, feeling the energy coursing through him. The light covered him completely for a brief moment before fading away, revealing the Digimon's stronger form. "MirageGaogamon!"

 

Another figure appeared through the portal, and the group had turned to see who it was. Arthur held out his sword, waiting as the figure landed on the ice platform, but the man was wearing a helmet, which disappeared as he faced the group. They were relieved to see it was Sora. "Sorry to worry you guys. A lot of Divine I had to deal with back in the Desert Seth. I managed to at least kill one of them, Kiotso."

 

Arthur smiled. "Hmm, it hasn't been that long since I last saw you, Sora. You did good back at that Castle. Congrats on taking down one of the Divine." Sora turned away, not happy to be praised over killing someone. "Sorry. That was too far."

 

Eria rested her arms, the ice platform seemingly fixed in place, as if it was a welcome addition to LERNA's barrier. She noticed Sora looking at the bundle made of Sora's cloak. Eria approached Sora, trying to talk to him. "Sora, I'm sorry. The girl who was in you group, she-"

 

"I know," Sora said. "I saw her head."

 

Eria gasped. "What?! Sorry, I… I met her only once, but I never got her name. I just… I don't know what to say."

 

"Her name was Yachiru," Sora said as the helmet appeared around his head once more. "She was a Shinigami, just like Kenpachi and Byakuya. And I'm going to make sure that they, like everyone else in the Counter Corps who's lost their life, get avenged!"

 

Arthur, MirageGaogamon, and Eria all nodded at Sora, ready to face LERNA.

 

"That thing reminds me of Ogudomon."

 

"Agreed. If we can beat this thing, we'll definitely be able to take Ogudomon down if he comes back with our world."

 

Eria patted Feraligatr on the head. "There's no 'if', guys. We will beat LERNA."

 

Sora leapt off the ice platform, saying one last thing to the group before taking off. "Don't worry about it. I know a thing or two about fighting hydras."

[Kōsuke Ueki]

Tsunugai watched as everybody passed through LERNA's barrier. He saw the dark waters below them and was not about to take any chances with falling in. He then looked at the rest of the team that assembled. Truly, every universe is unique. Then he looked up to LERNA with intrigue. "And I thought Obsidian was a challenge." said Tsunugai out loud. He wasn't sure how to fight this thing. But then, with doubt, how would victory be achieved? Then Tsunugai raised the question. "So how do we fight this thing? I guess we should try to get on its back and search for openings?"

[Love of Ghibli]

LERNA's Barrier

While Team Dorian charged full steam ahead they were all shocked by what seemed to be Mad Blood spewing out of the giants...hands/mouths/tentacle things. It was quickly that the entire team was consumed by the liquid and looked as if all hope were lost. Luckily this was probably one of the more favorable outcomes that could have happened to Team Dorian. While inside the encroaching darkness Dorian and BWG just seemed to be floating aimlessly. Not really being affected by the horrid effects of the Mad Blood. Dorian recalled his Winged Dragon and proceeded to float around in the nothingness. BWG was busy trying to push the negative thoughts slowly out of his head. 

What's happening? The Dragon like Digimon asked to no one in particular. Its quite simple really. Butler seemed to say as he was walking from the behind the two floating teammates. Whoever this LERNA is has the the ability to produce Mad Blood. Which I thought was unique only to Ragnarok. The humanoid weapon came out of the back of his neck. HEEEEEYYYY IT IS ONLY FOR ME! There's no way this thing should even have it. MAD BLOOD was made so I could resonate with the existing Kishin. Otherwise its like super soul acid where it dissolves people whole and multiplies. So why are we not dead? BECAUSE ITS MINE!! Come on now pay attention. Think of it like this, I'm a fish that can make its own water. This thing here just flooded the area with the EXACT same water I use to swim. That doesn't kill me at all, if anything it helps. And that is how Bob over there can stay alive. We are keeping the mad blood from eating him. So your black...Ah let me cut you off there. Its not black blood this is...separate its distinctly Mad Blood. Picture it like someone making meth but finding a suitable replacement for methylamine, its not the original but it gets the job done. Luckily because she's so close to the original we still have a hold over it and that means our 103,000 books of magic expand throughout all of her Mad Blood knock off. Its with one of those magics that we are stabilizing BWG and healing you master. Seriously you have literally transcended humanity and you still call him master? Yes. Ugh.

 

Dorian stroked his chin. Hmmm I guess she can copy abilities and not items. That's useful I guess. What? Well think about it. She has ability to make Mad Blood but you said that there isn't any Black Blood a base requirement of Mad Blood. This means she's copying the process of how you make Mad Blood. Which is what exactly? Imbuing madness into the Black Blood. How does one touch something as intangible as madness? Oh right, you aren't effected by wavelengths, I keep forgetting. Okay how about this, can you turn off your little auto defense thing? I guess. Do it, bet you won't survive one second. Dorian rolled his eyes and his normal glowing gold hue went away for a second. In that second Dorian stayed perfectly still, but everyone could notice the small twitches in his fingers and eyes. Dorian was going through hell. He flexed suddenly and turned his protection back on and simply started panting. Okay that makes some sense. So wait we can move around in this thanks to you two? Yes but it will only be you two. It takes way to much concentration to keep Bob from going insane and this thing is stronger than us. If we try to save every member of the Divine it would probably try to kill us. It can't but it would do a pretty good attempt. Hmmm I think I saw that Melvin dude around. If get his Millennium Rod then I'm sure I can call forth something that can take this thing down. 

I...will..assist as well BWG said as he regained his consciousness and lucidity. That minion she summoned it was of a woman who I think was trying to help me. I must try to return the favor. Dorian and Ragnarok both rolled their eyes in unison as they felt the same level of good guy annoyance. We'll....be fine here. The team put all their hands/claws together and then broke off to their respective targets. Once Dorian and Bob seemed to be a safe distance away Ragnarok looked at Butler. You sure you want to do this. I mean I know you can't die, but that last Kishin was sealed in a bag made out of his own skin. That just sounds painful. Yes, but this is the only advantage I can see us having over this creature. Especially after encountering members of the Counter Corps. Butlerok then proceeded to make his way deeper into the infinite pool of Mad Blood but what was actually happening was that he was slowly entering LERNA.

~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

From the massive swarm of Mad Blood shot out BlackWarGreymon making a beeline to Thermopylae. He was already shocked by the whole lack of face thing that had happened, but this was the least he could do to return this women's attempted kindness. While the creature made of Mad Blood blood tried to jump him they seemed to self destruct after getting within a certain radius of him. He figured this must have been a magic from his time with Bob, which once again meant another thank you. Nevertheless he firmed his resolve and started spinning right at Thermopylae. BLACK TORNADO!!!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Decided was sort of swimming around trying to see if he could find this random Melvin traitor so he could at least contribute to the battle. What good was being immune to all these shenanigans if you aren't strong enough to capitalize it. As it stood if that thing sneezed Dorian would probably have to suffer from the gale force storm that came from its mouth. Hopefully the psycho dude wasn't going to be too hard to reason with. 

[Final Fantasy Revolution]

Matthew Supplex

 

Matthew marveled at the world around him, and soon he came to gaze upon MachGaoGamon and Arthur's reuniting scene. After their talks of teamwork with Sora and Eria, he wanted to say something teamwork-like as well but decided he'd rather cast a spell. Matthew pointed his revolver to himself and cast a powerful defensive spell. Suddenly spheres of energy were around every member of the Counter Corps present and then dissipated, and all the Counter Corps would also feel as thought they could move much quicker. Matthew shot himself again and then looked over to his group while swiftly unloading the last two useable charges and loading in six more. "And here we go." Matthew jumped from the ice platform and rolled onto a platform that was occupied by a Troy. His left hand was coated in the Oni Sukin and with one swift punch he sent it flying into the water. "I do apologize, I've never been a good house guest." Matthew said, and turned to watch more Troys heading towards him.

 

[spoiler=Effects]

~Matthew cast Mighty Guard on the entirety of the Counter Corps. This spell casts Protect, Shell, and Haste on the entire party. These spells increase physical defense, magical defense, and speed.

 

~Matthe cast Auto-Life on himself.

 

 

 

Nero

 

The Troys that he didn't send towards Jecht were breaking through his energy walls to get to him, but Nero then saw Eria and company fly in on an ice platform. "Ah, Sora, good to see you again." Nero said, firing off massive amount of lighting to push the Troys back from him and his teammates. Nero then noticed the magics cast upon him by Matthew and was grateful for the added defense.

[Astolfo]

Floating in the air, DH noticed a rather troublesome disruption to the false, incomplete reality of the desert - yes, it had recognized it as a shadow of what it once was. As the outsides of the world began to be erased, he watched, although no feeling rang through it whatsoever. The collective beings possessing the Renegade were above something as petty as that. Noticing the light which had blasted upwards from the ruins of the structure which once was a magnificent pyramid, it moved towards the insignia that soon formed in the air. A hydra was overlaid with the symbol of the vast infinite, and exuded a type of energy signifying as something the Joker would've called a World Door. The reality the portal gave way to seemed even more false than the desert, being forced to creation through some strange power. The rend in the dimension was seeming to be an influx to a massive amount of something the DH recognized as "despair". It knew what emotions were, but did not feel them. Some sort of alien entity encompassing everything and nothing at once seemed to be within the realm, possibly be intertwined with it. Noticing as members of both parties entered the star-gate in one way or another, it flew through after a few seconds, deciding it to be a wiser decision then staying in the crumbling realm.

 

As it crossed into the peculiar new environment, it took in all the information, taking in and comprehending all known information at insanely fast rates.

[spoiler=Knowledge Assessment]1. A being known as L E R N A, The Witch of Infinite Possibilities resides within this artificial realm. There is a 5.856% chance of winning a battle against her. The most likely scenario will result in defeat at the 859th move. Her powers entail cloning of any powers that a being within her reach possesses, although it can only clone one at a time. She can summon minions known as Troys. These are the figures resembling stick figures which will transform into a being somewhat akin to a minotaur, but not quite. Troys have a 0.00000% chance at winning in a one-on-one battle with all the current variables set as such. In the case of an attack en masse, chance of winning goes up to 0.00001% chance due to certain variables. In the case we must resign from this form, the chance of winning will turn to roughly 2.14% chance if they attack strategically and continually. Battery outage will be near certain death, although our Awakening has fully recharged and boosted its potential a bit. Current defense and attack levels will sustain you for a highly long time. She has one more attack, but it will have no effect on either of our forms, in this current state, or the downgraded Joker state.

2. She has possession of the orb which both parties are trying to attain.

3. The "waters" are a manifestation of pure despair, and those who fall into it will turn into minions of L E R N A unless they are powerful enough to resist it. No effect on us at the moment. If we resign from our host, then the chance of failure against these waters turns up to 9.764%.

4. She seems to not have a concept of "Death", nor does she seem to have a concept of "Life". This may change at any point though, although there is only a 0.00014% chance of such.

5. L E R N A does not seem to have any weaknesses.

6. There seemed to have been a disruption.

Entailment A: A being known as Emiya, the leader of the opposite faction, the "Counter Corps" seems to have entered into battle with L E R N A. He has possession of "conceptual attacks". This is a dangerous threat to us at the moment, as despite the fact we can avoid it, any contact with any part of us will cause much trouble, perhaps lead into a temporary stasis of "death", and perhaps even a need for "rebirth" if critical.

Entailment B: The Witch seems to have taken possession of a Class 3, possible Class 4 entity known as Itsu Solace. This seems to have given her access to the Door of Origin. This is an urgent matter. She will most likely destroy all opposition effortlessly at this rate.

7. The Witch of Infinite Possibilities has taken control of the powers of Butlerok, an ally of the Divine. His powers entail the controlling of insanity or madness likewise. It will not have any major effect on us at the moment, but may become problematic if we must resign from this form.

8. No knowledge of whether L E R N A can forcefully remove us from this form. Seems unlikely, as she has no understanding of how we are intertwined, but slightly possible.

9. L E R N A's method of copying powers and her strength at using them, whether same level, weaker, or amplified, is unknown. Any engagement with the Witch is highly dangerous, but may become necessary at a later point. Do so with caution.

10. A team consisting of 3 members of the Divine has been enveloped in a substance created by the stolen power of one of the captured. Assistance may be needed.

11. The being once known as Itsu is now a "Familiar of Hope", and has engaged in battle with Emiya. She seems to have a substantially higher power level than before, as well as a natural law. Heed caution, avoid if possible. Chance of winning is 3.28593%.

12. The entrapped group is now fighting back seemingly.

13. A member shot himself as well as some allies with some enchanted bullets. They are of the Counter Corps.

14. No further knowledge at the moment.

 

Breathing in this knowledge easier than a person took in air, it planned out its course, with variations in case of changes to the happening events. For now, it floated in the air near the "top" of the false world L E R N A was inhibiting as of at the moment, watching carefully for opportunities. This was almost a certain death trap, so even as DH, they would have to be at the top of their game, and be wary and observant of all changes. Actually turning on its shield for once, the defensive levels of DH would be immensely high, and would be able to tank and reflect almost anything except power blows by L E R N A or her new assistant. Emiya and other possible conceptual attacks were also a threat, so the reflexes of DH were tuned sharp, and prepared to evade possible blows as such. The offensive levels of the being also were tuned up, and would be devastatingly powerful if it actually bothered to touch anything. Even without contact, the vector control was in hyperdrive, to the point of telekinesis - as evidenced by the brutal beat down of Kenpachi and Yachiru - and would thus be able to fend off most enemies. Giggling all the while, he gracefully flew around the emptier areas.

 

Around five Troys suddenly leapt towards the DH's host with an incredible jump, but didn't even manage to get close to the barrier itself, which surrounded the Renegade Joker's body. The being had briefly stopped, and with a blindingly fast speed, erased the Troys from existence. The massive wings roughly a hundred meters in length had suddenly blasted outwards - for the lack of a better word - a short range precisely calculated to be perfectly efficient, going no further or less than needed. The feathers enveloped the minion warriors at speeds of almost eight thousand meters per second, the substance of the soldiers themselves getting erased as they came into contact with the tenebrous wings. The wings retracted again into their normal size, before the entity continued maneuvering around through the airs, calmly observing. To those who might've have happened to have been watching, they would've noticed the Troys leaping towards a winged figure, then suddenly disappearing, the wings receding back from what seemed a massive expansion to their normal size. Those who had blinked or had noticed it out of the corner of their eyes would've been too slow to notice the erasure of the Troys, as by the time they would've seen, the wings would've already been retracting, and the figure turning to keep drifting through the air.

[Gαr]

LERNA's Barrier

 

Having entered the portal, Ed took a moment to take in this mysterious new environment. Ignoring the large thing that was LERNA, the place was dark and a full of misery. Panels were floating around and some of them had strange entities called Troys that attacked just about anything on sight. Then there was the infinite ocean of dark, foreboding water. LERNA was too weird for Ed to give an adequate description other than a hydra with human heads. He jumped off of Sora's hoverboard and onto a floating panel. Immediately, three Troys jumped at him. Ed cut all three of them in one swift slash. "Well, that was easy." He hopped off his platform and started floating thanks to his black flames. He began dispatching any Troys that came near him when he heard the main head of LERNA shout at something in front of it. Ed looked down and saw it was Emiya that LERNA was yelling at, while it began began spewing out a black substance out of all of is heads. Ed made his down towards Emiya. "Hey, Emiya, it's been awhile. Ready for some hydra killing?" Ed then saw a faceless doll warrior was about to engage Emiya. "But before we do that, let's take of that...doll or whatever that thing is."

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Desert Seth, H2 (few moments ago)

---

Sensing the imminent collapse of the Desert Seth, Alexander warned the others to stop their fighting. "Foster! Gather everyone onto the Duelhog! Anyone who can't fit can hitch a ride on Clank!" He then called over to Riley and Azumi, "That includes you, too. If you'd like, we can call a momentary truce until we reach the Witch's Barrier."

 

"Like hell we--!" Riley began to say before Azumi cut him off.

 

"Yeah, sure. Ceasefire sounds good. And don't worry about any lack of room, either," Azumi added as she hopped back into the downed mech's cockpit. To everyone's surprise, the mech was almost instantly back on its feet, despite appearing to have suffered crippling damage earlier. "Just between us," Azumi said over the speakers, "my mech can essentially play possom; that explosion you saw earlier? Yeah, totally fake."

 

"Azumi, really?!" Riley said as the Jaws of Hell carried him up with its good arm. "You're just gonna tell them that straight up?!"

 

"Hey, my perogative."

 

"Let's just hurry!" Ratchet shouted as the Duelhog sped off, Giant Clank and Jaws of Hell following behind on their boosters.

 

 

---

Inside LERNA's Barrier

---

"... yo, Alister. Hey, you still with us, buddy?" Jecht said as he attempted to revive Alister from his sudden fainting spell (as in, slapping Alister's face as gently as possible).

 

"... ugh... what... did I just dream all of that...?" Alister muttered as he stirred back to consciousness.

 

"C'mon now, Al, you can't be suddenly dozing off just when we're reaching the end game!" Jecht replied as he helped Alister to his feet. "I mean, you are a General, right? Won't look good for your record."

 

Alister gave a slight frown at Jecht's analogy, but then cracked a small smirk. "Well, I suppose you're right," he replied with a slight chuckle.

 

Jecht nodded in return. "Let's get goin'. Sayer and some other folks just went up ahead while you were zonked out. Can't be late to the party, after all, and I'm looking forward to bustin' that pinata!"

 

"Right," nodded Alister. Before they could move any further, however....

 

"Alister...?"

 

A familiar voice stopped Azimuth in his tracks, a cold chill running throughout his body. Slowly, Azimuth turned toward the source, to see Ratchet having just entered the barrier alongside Alexander, Foster, Azumi and Riley. "Ra... Ratchet...?" Alister uttered, his voice suddenly hoarse.

 

"Is that... really you...?" Ratchet said as he inched closer to Azimuth, part of him wanting to rush over to the General, while another was more cautious, unsure if the lombax before him was even real.

[The Warden]

|_)Okama Queen Ivankov(_|

 

Ivankov braced herself as she went through the portal on Keysword-boy's strange craft. The portal allowed her to slip through like a glove, and on the other side she departed the craft to land on the floating panels. Despite her skimpy attire the chill in the area didn't affect, well, of course it wouldn't: The cloak given to her by Emiya was still very functional and stylish.

 

Her near painted grin surveyed the abyssmal little universe, and the dollish eyes grew wide at the very sight of LERNA. What a truly horrendous creature, even more terrifying than the Sea Kings who ruled the oceans. But, that wasn't the important thing, as what was important was fighting off the Troys that were going ballisitc. Keeping her hands flat, she waited patiently for a Troy to near before she unleashed her might. "NEWKAMA KEMPO 44: HAIR REMOVAL FIST!" she cried as her hands rapidly stabbed at the little figure, jabbing it again and again until she kicked it into the dark waters.

 

She nodded in triumph as her allies and enemies alike fought against the horrible caricatures; though for some reason, she suddenly felt even more powerful, thanks to Matthew's Mighty Guard. With her new agility, she began lepaing from panel to panel, using deft quicks and Newkama Kempo to knock the Troys into the water, if you could even call it that.

 

---

 

|_)Magical Girl Lydia & Hellspawn Sarah(_|

 

They had missed their chance against the Kishin, but that was somewhat alright. His magical powers would have most likely torn them apart, well, they had a shield. I guess you could call it lazy (on my part). "Okay, the coast is clear, let's go" Lydia declared.

 

Her book drifted beneath as it launched her over the holes to oblivion towards F5. Sarah followed her with her levitation, but was very, very wary of the oblivion holes. "Man, it's suck to fall in one of those" she commented.

 

Due to the lack of people around, they made it safely and were soon facing the portal. Lydia gripped Cuestick harder as Sarah cracked her knuckles and neck. "Well, umm, ready to face LERNA?"

 

Sarah snorted loudly. "I've been waiting for actions ince I GOT here, I'm ready for anything, specially for some b***h who thinks she's all that" Sarah replied.

 

Lydia swallowed hard, the boss battle was always the most grueling thing. "Okay, let's go" she said and they jumped into the portal.

 

---

 

|_)~Moe~ Scientist Frankram & The Reaper Jeriii(_|

 

Shortly after the two girls had entered the portal, the Reaper landed by it. She rolled her eyes out how garish the thing was, but, cautious nonetheless, she pushed her hands towards its frame. Her hand fell flat on the surface, it was like glass. Her eyes widened in fury as she pounded on it. "NO! YOU CANNOT LEAVE ME HERE IN THIS DYING WORLD!" she screamed.

 

"Need a hand there?" Frankram inquired.

 

The Reaper turned to find Frankram levitating behind her, which had been his means to ascend across the void holes. "You are Divine, aren't you? Yes milady, I am. Professor Frankram Stein, at your service. Stop with the tedious formalities, there isn't time. What do you know of this portal? It's rejecting me and I'd rather not stay in a decaying world" The Reaper cried.

 

Frankram smiled knowingly as a yellow glyphic rune appeared in front of his right hand. He shifted it about in front of the portal, and smiled again in understanding. "This portal is special: It denies access to being who are not, well, for this argument, let us call them incomplete. You are a Digimon, or something like it right? Yes, I know of them. MachGaogamon and his partner were on our side for a while, and I heard his partner and Kozaky speaking. If my assumption is correct, you Digital lifeforms lack a soul. But then, how did the other two escape inside it? Elementary, they borrowed soul from others. I watched the exodus, and both Digimon were also holding onto a being with a soul when they entered. Logic would dictate that it allowed them to piggyback on the other so they could enter. Then take my hand and bring me inside. I have no interest in fading away here. But of course, my dear."

 

Fankram held out his hand like a gentleman, provoking the Reaper to sneer as the Chaos drew away from her hand, allowing her to grab his. With an intense feeling of disgust, the Reaper practically dragged Frankram into the portal. And as such, they were of the few left who successfully escaped.

[Reinforce]

Darcy, LERNA's Barrier

Looking around, Darcy noticed the stick figures that were moving around the place, trying to attack everyone else she could see but the goddess and herself. Sure, the figures had come close to her, close enough that she was preparing a spell in case she was attacked, but none of them were coming after her. Though curious as to why that may be, Darcy decided to take advantage of that to concentrate on her next move, bringing forth her magic to create a sort of dark shroud around herself. That done, she started to slowly move across the platform maze, heading away from the majority of the fighters and adjacent to the side of LERNA's massive body.

 

Ayame and Naomi, LERNA's Barrier

Getting a glimpse of the orb on LERNA's rearmost head, and not seeing many of either group near it, Naomi dropped the wind barrier around them, the two girls moving in sync across from platform to platform, the occasional swipe of Ayame's staff or a quick sphere of wind knocking back most of the stick figures that kept charging them as they moved around the side and towards LERNA's body. As they tried to get closer in to it though, the number of Troys attacking them seemed to almost double or triple in quantity, slowing them down as more and more often they had to take longer on each platform in order to prevent themselves from being overrun by the stick figures.

 

Lyon, LERNA's Barrier

Arriving in the barrier, Lyon jumped off the hovercraft, landing lightly on the next platform across from several of the other Counter Corps members, Sora, Nero and Eria being the few from the group he was somewhat familiar with. Just as he arrived though, Sora seemed to leap away from the other platform, and Lyon, looking at the area around them, called up his magic to try and manipulate the vast quantities of water that were lying beneath them. When he tried to touch it though, it simply didn't respond to his magic at all, leading him to wonder just what the liquid was if not water. Unfortunately he didn't have time to ponder that any further though as a couple of the Troys were charging right at him at that moment. Unsheathing his sword once more, Lyon brought it round, the heavy weight of the blade enough to knock three of the attacking Troys back into the liquid around the platforms in a singe hit, before he brought the sword back round in another vicious sweep back to knock away the other two of that group. Several more were charging at him though, giving him no break to figure out this world before he would need to be fighting again, trying to find a way to permanently put the Troys down.

[Merci]

Emiya

 

"Well..." Reluctant to answer, Emiya thought about the being who was formerly- no, the familiar who was born from the being that was formerly Itsu Fudo.

 

Of all the people who might have sacrificed themselves for such a corrupted goal, it had to be her. She was a being whom the Throne of Heroes was aware of. He knew of her many accomplishments. He knew how she had went to great efforts to save a great many worlds and universes, and more than once she had succeeded in saving even the multiverse itself. He knew how she had used advanced technologies to bring forth peace. He knew that this peace was the thing she strived for. For all her hardships, she was ultimately rewarded with godhood as a goddess of a sun, and spent the rest of her existence putting her accumulated experiences to good use by developing one of the greatest civilizations in existence.

 

That was how it was supposed to be. But here she was - gone. The entity before Emiya was not Itsu, but something else entirely.

 

"Your talents would be better used against the Witch of Infinite Possibilities, Ed Garith. Go." The Counter Guardian said, preparing himself. "And as for you, Thermopylae, do not expect me to run."

 

In the distance, he sensed that a member of the Divine - BlackWarGreymon, whom he had encountered before - was quickly crossing the distance between them and LERNA, hurdling towards Thermopylae at powerful speeds. That would be his opportunity. Turning back towards her, just as the dark Digimon was about to crash into the familiar, he threw both of his crescent blades, having them spin around her to prevent her from jumping out of the way, forcing her to block the attack.

 

Then a radiant gold heavily-corrupted dark blade with red veins materialized into his hands, Excalibur, a weapon capable of unleashing a gigantic energy beam. And once Thermopylae made her move, he unleashed it onto her - with Bob well within its radius as well.

 

In truth, though he showed no signs of it on the outside, the more energy he spent...the closer he became to becoming a void monster, a mindless creature of the Shadow Realm.

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

More and more entities were flooding into LERNA's dreary homeworld, and this served only to frustrate her even further. Her Troys were trying their very best to take down the intruders, but despite having the advantage of being in their normal environment and being abnormally fast and strong, they were being swatted away by dozens upon dozens. On the other hand, not even a single intruder had been cut down and destroyed yet. Another Class 3 Entities had shown up amongst them, that being the entity Alexander Abernathy - whose dimensional ability was quite interesting, but preferably left alone - and the ones called Arthur Ancyl and Tsunugai Tamashi had some aspects of it. For some reason, her senses were telling her that an unidentifiable near-Class 4 Entity was floating high above the battlefield, but she dismissed it. As for Thermopylae, she remained confident that the familiar would return to her soon enough, but until then, it would be best to exterminate the surrounding area.

 

Not too far away, a huge blast of darkness suddenly fired out of nowhere, quite probably projected by the Counter Guardian Emiya, who was just barely out of her range. She ignored it, as it was irrelevant to her.

 

Turning her attention back to Team Dorian, it appeared as though the Class 0 BlackWarGreymon had somehow managed to worm his way out. After taking a few seconds to ponder about this, she realized the disadvantage of copying Mad Blood since it would give the Butler-Ragnarok entity an edge over her. Incidentally, he was a Class 3 Entity, but without a conduit to talk through, it would prove to be difficult to establish communication, because of yet, none have shown themselves to be capable of telepathy and it didn't seem as though anyone here could read Witch Runes. As his mind dived deeper into the Mad Blood, she decided to take her time studying the substance, and he may find himself diving into an infinite mass with seemingly no end and no destination. Finally, she realized that perhaps that could be used as a conduit.

 

IF YOU WISH TO RETAIN YOUR 'SELF' IN MY NEW WORLD, THEN SUBMIT,

she told, AND LET YOURSELF BECOME MY FAMILIAR. YOU SHALL AID ME IN ACTIVATING THE ORB, AND WITH THE DOOR'S POWERS, I WILL BRING ABSOLUTE DESPAIR ONTO REALITY. SHOULD YOU AGREE, THEN SUBMIT TO MY POWER. IMMEDIATELY.

 

After that, the connection was cut suddenly, the Mad Blood turning into ordinary, sticky alien blood and becoming harmless. That power was currently useless to her, so she would have to search for a more adequate one against this being. Then another one of LERNA's heads had its eyes look to the side, seeing the entity Darcy. Once she entered the range, she could feel a heavy presence rush throughout her body, her abilities being analyzed on an existential basis. While her astral projection ability would prove to be extremely useful to quickly wipe out everyone currently present, right now LERNA required a far simpler power, and that was telekinesis.

 

Once Butler-Ragnarok was left vulnerable without the Mad Blood to mask his presence, he suddenly had a huge force press down upon him - like tons and tons of cars being piled up on top of him one after another - the Witch of Infinite Possibilities attempting to push him down into the dark ocean using her newly-obtained telekinesis magic. If he fell into it, it wouldn't take very long for him too to be turned into a familiar, and she was not expecting any significant resistance to pop up.

 

While she focused upon pushing him down, she extended out her presence a little again and tried to see if there were any ordinary humans that could be manipulated by her trump card; the Witch's Kiss.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

LERNA's Barrier:

Thermopylae did not smile in perverse delight as she felt her new ability kick in once BlackWarGreymon approached her. As the power surged throughout her body, exponentially increasing her own energy levels, she did not think anything of how good it felt. She had no need of such emotions anymore, as her only pleasure was to serve LERNA. She was her blade, the one who would succeed where an army would fail.
And she would not disappoint.

Several Troys found themselves being sucked towards their fellow Familiar, some morphing into floating gauntlets, others transforming into javelins for the gauntlets to throw. These gauntlets started to throw the javelins, but once the projectiles left the armored, disembodied hands, their bases ignited, propelling them forward like rockets and creating audible blasts in the process. The hail of rocket-propelled javelins was not to catch BlackWarGreymon, as he was spinning too quickly to be snared. Instead, their kinetic energy, acting against his own, would begin to correct his course so, instead of hitting the doll-like warrior, he would instead discover that he was hurtling straight towards the inky abyss.
Emiya, on the other hand, would watch as Thermopylae bent backwards to dodge the blades, contorting and somersaulting in a way that would be physically impossible for a human, but showing that her new joints gave her an unprecedented amount of of flexibility. Her acrobatics allowed for her to dive beneath the murky blackness of LERNA's Barrier's waters just before the beam would have struck her, and for several moments, everything is silent, until a burst of light from behind Emiya lets Thermopylae return to the surface, unaffected by her Mistress' Barrier. The sword and shield in her hands have transformed into a carbine, and she fires the rifle at Ed, a beam of golden energy, searing at several thousand degrees, heading straight towards him.

Desert Seth, F5:

Foster and his new gang manages to make it to the rubble in time, ramping off of a fallen block of stone to fly into the Barrier portal and land on a platform on the other side, the Duelhog's various headlights snapping on once they detect a lack of light in the area. Foster fistpumps and calls out over the Counter Corps comms. "Did somebody call for the cavalry?"

[Love of Ghibli]

LERNA's  Barrier

Butlerok was almost able to touch the massive beast when the flow of madness suddenly cut off. That was something they didn't see coming. It was then that the message seemed to come through, Butler tilted his head at the giant creature. It spoke German...That just seemed to be random and not random at the same time. He understood what it was saying, but he wondered what an appropriate response would be. Naturally he would decline this offer. He saw what became of the first person that submitted to this creature and there was no self involved in that. But what were he to do without the Mad Blood flowing anymore. Unfortunately he didn't get that much time to think about it. After the flow of Mad Blood ceased Butlerok was hit with another wave of psychic pressure. It took all of his might to simply keep from being pushed into the quite literal see of despair. Ragnarok decided that this was the best time to talk strategy for the seconds they had.

Hmmm so all of these books in your head and we can't do anything about this. Ugh...use...the Book of M...with that Ragnarok pulled a book out of thin air and opened it. Just then it seemed as if the magical text started to surround all of Butler's body and he was then free from the grip of LERNA's telekinesis. It was simple the Book of M contains the secrets of the universe, but all Butler did was have the book make Butlerok's body its own universe. Thanks to the Mad Blood being a neverending stream of emptiness its quite possible to throw a universe in there somewhere. Now instead of force pushing down Butler LERNA would have to push down a Universe. She probably could do it but, without the Mad Blood telling her exactly what Butler is doing she wouldn't figure out that trick just yet. Butlerok regained his composure to figure the best way to actually attempt to deal with this creature. With no direct link to the soul...

 

WAIT A MINUTE!!  Ragnarok shouted inside Butler's head. I can't believe I didn't see this before. She's just like a soul! What? Just like that robed dude we ate she's like the form of a soul. No wonder she can make Mad Blood she is a soul wavelength that can bleed. Meaning we can eat her? Yep. Don't know how but we can. Hmmm Butler looked around and realized with out the madness infusion the pseudo Mad Blood she created was going to go to waste if they didn't act soon. This gave him an idea. Well let's synchronize and see what happens then. Butlerok then pointed his Demon Sword straight at LERNA. On his forehead opened the 3 eyes that are the mark of the Kishin and the flowing river of diminishing potency that was her Mad Blood began to swirl around her in a tornado like fashion. This tornado then swept Butlerok up in a flurry till LERNA was surrounded by a combination of her blood and Butlerok's. Soon this tornado of madness came together and was just one massive black spire of madness and insanity. Butlerok appeared partially exposed and his head rotating 180 degrees. It was a lot of power to attempt at once seeing as this creature could produce such insane quantities it would have easily taken him over had if he were still human. But he did have a plan. It seemed to be ancient sheet music filled the inside of the spire. LERNA would then hear the voices of 3,333 monks singing harmoniously inside the spire.

"Revelation 8:7, the first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down onto the earth!" 

With a massive beam of destructive energy Butlerok used LERNA's blood as a conduit to hit her with a full and legitimate Gregorian Chant. It's a gift from our Commander Isamy.

 

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

BWG was going at Thermo at full speed when he realized he was being course corrected. He then abruptly stopped his plan of attack and noticed that he was not alone in his attempts to fight this...thing. It was the same person who bested him earlier. Clearly that animosity would be put on the back burner for now. At this current moment he would have to figure out how to fight such a gruesome opponent. Little did he know he had more help than he initially wanted. BlackWarGreymon didn't even notice that Ed had arrived and once more it seemed as if Dorian was actually quietly watching from the distance.

After the Mad Blood stopped protecting him Dorian quickly decided to be a lot more quiet. He was thinking of a way that he could help in this battle other than actually having to fight. He didn't wield the power needed to be important in this fight but maybe he possessed the brains. Dorian figured the first thing  he could do was figure out something about this familiar. After watching her/its amazing flexibility in combat Dorian began to analyze her abilities. He didn't engage, in fact he actually tried to remain hidden so that he wouldn't get spotted. Which it shouldn't be hard in this world of pitch darkness.

[Phantom Roxas]

Sora's helmet was allowing him to be able to see through the endless darkness, and he was surprised by the sheer size of LERNA. Nonetheless, Sora remembered the words a wise man once said to him.

 

"GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK!"

 

Sora flew higher up, hoping to get out of LERNA's reach as he grew closer. He felt his flying get even faster and his armor felt even more resilient, thanks to Matthew's spells. He looked down at Thermopylae firing a beam of golden light at Ed, so Sora quickly cast two Reflegun Spells with his Keyblades, which could hopefully completely absorb the damage and then send it right back at Thermopylae with twice as much power. "Hang tight, Ed," Sora said. As a normal of Troys jumped after him, Sora cast Double Magnegun, drawing the Troys together and contorting their stick figure bodies, but all it did was cast the Troys to merge together. Sticks formed into a pair of wings attached to a serpentine body, with the outline of a head screeching. The Troy Wyvern launched a multitude of sticks at Sora, but Sora spun his Keyblades around to bounce them back off. Sora charged with both of his Keyblades, ready to strike the Troy Wyvern.

 

---

In the deepest recesses of Sora's mind, Roxas was sitting on a Station of Awakening. The floor beneath him depicted the images of two men, the first garbed in a black coat worn by Organization XIII, and the second was wearing silver and gold armor. Roxas stood up, drawing his white and black Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Rising from the image of the cloaked man was a blue liquid substance, which turned into the form of a blue little creature with red eyes. It immediately ran toward the edge of the Station, but it was instantly vaporized by light from Sora's Keyblade.

 

"Oh darn," a voice said. "Couldn't even get a little Flood out."

 

Roxas looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "I won't let you get out of here."

 

"Well, can't say I blame you, but still, you don't even know who I am, do you? Still trying to sort through all those memories."

 

"I remember Terra and Aqua. I have Ventus' memories. So why are you here?"

 

"Oh, did Ventus forget about me? I'm offended." Two more of the small blue creatures appeared, but they too were quickly destroyed. "I've waited for over a dozen years to come back. This world is practically calling out to me. The words of that witch, LERNA, are music to my ears."

 

Stairs began to appear from the Station of Awakening. The stairs led far way from the Station before turning back around. Roxas took his first step on the platforms and began to run down. However, the stairs would lead on for quite some time, for there was another Station turned upside down, connected to the based of Roxas' Station. A young girl with pitch-black hair was lying on her back, while a figure dressed in black and red approached approached her. The figure's face resembled Sora's, although his hair was black, and his eyes were gold. "Now then, ladies first."