Madotsuki's House, Japan
"Bye, Dad! We're going to Poniko's house!"
"Don't stay up too late!"
Chimney, Aeincha, and Mocha had taken turns as Madotsuki's bodyguards, escorting her through the neighborhood. The operatives didn't want to tell them about the reports of the attack on Moonbase, and even less so about the Newborn kidnappings. Right now, Marshadow himself was in the Dream Realm, a place they were starting to wonder was even a safe haven.
"…" Marshadow felt a disturbance across the Dream Realm. He could feel the dreams of numerous people interlinking at once. Familiar people… including… "Where do you think you're going?" Mr. Dark asked, privy to the Nightmare Prince lifting off the ground. "It's almost time for Madotsuki's slumber party. Won't you want to join them on a venture through dreams?"
"I…I don't think I can tonight. I feel like… there's something I need to take care of."
"…Well, as long as she's not getting involved… go do what needs to be done. Don't go getting yourself destroyed though."
"…Okay." Marshadow faced the Sea of Bubbles and soared across the dreamscape.
CP0's ruined hideout
Shadow immediately Shaved behind Index and tried to—Miyuki slashed her scythe at him and Suki cast an icicle storm. Chase lunged at her next, but Wendy used a Protego to encase Index. "Guys, wait!" Skaios yelled. "Ya can't do this! If all the Newborn find their Guardians and come together, our leader will come back! Kael!"
"Kyle?" Masaru repeated. Yuzu freed Gourmerry, who seemed to panic and question their whereabouts. "Your leader's name is… just Kyle?"
"No, Kael! I only remembered him just now because of Verglora! If he returns to the universe, he'll dethrown Arceus! And after that… he's gonna target the multiverse!"
"Kael?!" Gourmerry yelped. "Merry, merry! Gourmerry!!"
"You know that name, too?" Yuzu asked.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cheren yelled, he and Aurora slashing at Chase. "This is way too much all of a sudden!"
"This leader of yours… is he bad?" Sunni wondered.
"AYE! He's REALLY bad! All he wants is to control everybody! He even controlled us, too! But Ay was the only one that stood against him! And Ay set me maties free!" Skaios gestured at the Newborn.
"Hah! Now do you understand?!" Shadow smirked. "Collecting these things was bad after all! If she completes her Guardianship, you'll be dooming us all!"
"So, there… really was a worse threat on the way?" Cheren asked.
"If you KND have an ounce of logic left, you'll let us kill these things!"
"NO!" Skaios cried. "I don't want Kael to come back, but… I don't wanna die either! Mates, watch out for that man with the trident."
Hearing this, Cheren gasped, looking to Sephiroth on the rubble hill. "THE TRIDENT! You completed it?!"
"Trident?" Aurora cocked a brow. "Cheren, how do you know what that trident is?"
"Uh…well, I-"
"Because he had this weapon." Sephiroth confirmed. "And we staged that attack on Moonbase so we could steal it. Still… why did you have this weapon to begin with? It could only be because you were planning to kill them yourself."
"Ch…Cheren…" Skaios stuttered, his eye throbbing with a sense of betrayal. "You…you had that thing? Did ya… Were ya going to…"
"When did you find it, anyway?" Sunni wondered. "It sounds like it could've been kind of handy."
"HEY, what's that supposed to mean?!" Kotoko shouted.
"Ugh, calm down for a second!" Cheren demanded. "I found that weapon by coincidence; I barely even knew what it was! But even so… it sounds like they don't even like Kael! They can help us stop him!"
"Or we could stop him from coming at all!" Shadow used a Home Attack and shattered Wendy's barrier, but George and Kayla willed him to Rewind.
"We can stop that by not bein' together!" Skaios encased himself and the Hope Pirates in a windy bubble. "Maties, we're go-"
But Sephiroth yanked Skaios over with gravitybending, Shaving away from the group and STABBING him into the ground. He used a strong surge of gravity to keep him trapped. "CAPTAIN!" The Hope Pirates rushed over, but Sephiroth's bending pinned them as well.
"Hurry! Kill him now!" Shadow demanded.
"Let's not rush things, Shadow."
"W-what?!"
"Even if we kill them, who's to say their leader can't make copies? I say we let this 'Kael' show himself… so, we can finish him off for good!"
"Grrrr… ya bastard!" Skaios squirmed, flattening against the compressed gravity.
"Don't worry, kids. I won't kill him, yet. But I won't let him interfere while you fight!" With that, Sephiroth rose to the sky with Skaios on his captivity.
"It's done!" Index exclaimed. As her friends continued to defend her, the Spirit Ball flashed and glowed, the seven rings around it lighting up.
Index captured a NEWBORN! Will the last one appear now?
"Sorry, CP0, but your time has come!" Index popped the ball open, a blinding light flashing out.
"YOU-!" Chase lunged to rip out her heart…
But he was suddenly snapped inside a large book. Lighting the damp darkness of this dreary region of Coruscant, Scheherazade levitated in the air, her hair flowing golden. A swarm of gold butterflies, the Rukh, accumulated on her back to create a pair of wings. She acquired a gold trident with a neon jewel at the base of the crescent prongs, with another crescent at the bottom. "She transformed!" Shadow growled. "And what is that book?!"
"Oh!" Nagisa beamed. "You trapped him in that Tome of Prisoners!"
"Actually, no. I don't doubt that he's strong enough to escape, so I've sent him to a certain point in history. Romeo, Wendy, Diwata." She faced the three operatives. "The three of you should be able to take him down!"
"Hehe, I guess you were our missing piece, Dee-Dee!" Wendy grinned.
"Then let's chase Chase and bring him down!"
"Let's go, Victini!" Romeo cheered. ("Chibi-tini!") With that, the three in question leapt into the book.
"And don't think I don't notice you, Fie!" The silver-haired girl in question was jumped by Killua, wrestling her to the rubble and swiftly ripping out the needle in her head.
"AH-!" Fie yelped from the stinging sensation, but slowly came to her senses as darkness left her eyes. "K-Killua…" She blushed, realizing their current position.
"Don't get your hopes up, I'm already taken~" Killua smirked. "By the way, Fie, where are the others? Akame and the snake woman?"
"Th-they're-"
"AAH!" A pigeon landed in Killua's face and tried to gouge his eyes out with Peck Pistols. "They're on an important mission right now, and it's too late for you little pea-brains to stop it, coo-kachoo!"
"Bug off, birdbrain!" Killua swiped his claws to scare Hattori back.
"Hnnn…" Shadow spared a glare up at Sephiroth. He could easily kill Skaios if he wanted to, but he insisted on waiting this out, not even lending aid in this fight. And by the time Mandy and Akame got back from their mission, they would be too exhausted. "So, you're giving us no hope of victory. Is that your plan, Kids Next Door?"
"Probably!" Jenny Strongarm shrugged. "Most of us here are just backup! We, for one, don't think we can beat you, but just in case."
"It shouldn't take too many of us to beat you." Cheren said. "Face it, Shadow. You've already lost!"
"Then there's no reason for me to hold back!" And so, the hedgehog summoned the seven Chaos Emeralds from Francis's backpack. The gems orbited around him, his black fur turning gold while his red highlights remained.
"IT'S SUPER SHADOW!" Goombella screamed. "His Power Level before was 17,000… but it jumped to 23,000!"
"Get ready, Verglora!" Miyuki declared. "It's time for Round 2!"
"That won't be necessary, Miyuki." Scheherazade stated. "Leave him to us. Shadow, as a nun of the Arceist Church of England and devout follower of the gods, it is my duty to punish you for the heinous crimes you've committed!"
"Hah! My crimes pale in comparison to yours! I'll make YOU see justice, Scheherazade!"
Universe Book
The scenery around Chase was familiar… except for the array of ancient, black-ink text floating about the air. But, these trees… those bushes… they were the same that grew around…
"I have stood in the shadow of Chase Young for too long." There was a hologram of one of his old acquaintances… Master Monk Guan. Chase's younger self, dressed in his old blue Xiaolin uniform, listened to it with a look of betrayal. "Soon, it will be HE who stands in MY shadow."
The hologram was cast by Ying-Ying, Hannibal Bean's bird. "You ain't gonna let him get away with that, are you?" Bean asked. "Join me, and I can make you even stronger! I have a special potion that can keep you young forever. You'll never age, nor will you die. You'll have the rest of eternity to master your magic, even without a wand!"
"…" This was the night Chase set off on the path of evil. When he trained under the Demon Saint, Hannibal… until he no longer needed him. After Hannibal and his past self left, Chase turned to find Wendy, Romeo, and Diwata. "What game is Scheherazade playing by sending me here?"
"I dunno, but it looks like we got a crescent moon tonight!" Diwata's lunar white eyes lit up.
"Wouldn't a full moon be stronger?" Wendy asked.
"I can still manage."
"Haven't suffered enough humiliation, have you?" Chase smirked. "With the shriveled state your Newborn is in, how do you expect to win?"
"'Cause we have a little surprise for you." Romeo said. "Show him, Dee!"
Diwata drew out a Pokéball designed like a moon. "Transform, Crest!" Upon his exit out of the ball, Crest grew into his great, crescent-winged bat form, Lunala.
"So, you're just delivering the Moon Firstborn right to me? Don't you think that a little unwise?"
"Only if you had the right weapon to kill him. He's not a 2nd Age Firstborn, so you can't kill him normally!"
"Heh…sadly, I don't have such a weapon on me. Still, it's a pity you don't try to fight me on your own." he said to Romeo. "As a wandless mage, I thought we could empathize with each other."
"Maybe I would try if you didn't have 1,500 years of experience on me. At least I wouldn't sell my soul just for power! I don't even care about becoming a master at magic. I'm fine just as I am."
"Chibi-tini. (Easy to say when you have four Sacred Flames inside you.)"
"C'mon, you know what I'm trying to say!"
"Either way, I'm afraid it all ends here, Chase Young." Wendy vowed. "It's time for you to take your long-deserved rest!"
"You know, I remember you, too, Sky Dragon. You were on Lucci's government's wanted list for a while, weren't you? I'm sure he won't mind me ridding that nuisance!" (Play "Scarlet Warrioress" from Fairy Tail!)
Wendy bellowed a Cyclone Roar, Chase dodging to the left, but Diwata had already summoned a Crescent Cut down from the moon to intercept his escape. The lizard man grabbed the moon and tried to break it, but this left him open to some burns from Romeo. A string of afterimages confused the ops, Chase Shaving to Diwata, but Lunala crafted a Reflective Shield to block him. However, because of the crescent moon, the shield only protected one side, so Chase zipped around and dealt Tail Pistols into Dee, who summoned down more Crescent Cuts to fend him off. Wendy lashed at him with Sky Dragon Claws: she had bent wind in the shape of claws over her fingers and magically enchanted to hold them in that shape. Chase retaliated by combining Sectumsempra with Tempest, his claws slashing white blades of light that shred Wendy's skin and clothes.
Diwata and Lunala retreated to the sky while Romeo filled the forest with yellow-green Stink Fire. Wendy stirred the stench into a whirlwind and focused it on Chase, but while he used Paper Art to merge with the current, the stink still penetrated his nose, breaking his concentration over the art. Romeo used Rocket Boost and punched him in the stomach, swiftly maneuvering to burn Chase from several directions, thanks to Wendy enhancing his evasion. Chase stabbed him with his spine spikes, imbuing the Jelly-Legs Curse into them as Romeo fell. Chase gnashed Fang Pistol, but Wendy cast Switcheroo to change places with Romeo, tanking the fangs herself as he puffed a gust of wind down Chase's throat.
"MOONGEIST BEAM!" Above, Lunala connected the tips of his wings and unleashed a blue beam. Chase used Iron Body to withstand it, but Romeo burned him with pink flames to soften him up. The beam reverted Chase into his human form, but he felt no fatigue otherwise as he struck Lightning Spells at the moonbenders, shooting them down. Wendy undid Romeo's Jelly-Legs before puffing concentrated Airballs at Chase, using magic to make them home in even as Chase Shaved around rapidly. The warrior zapped the surrounding trees with magic and converted them to animals. An eagle and falcon swarmed Diwata, Lunala swatting them off with his wings; a panther pounced at Wendy, but she turned it into a mouse—so, Chase turned her into an elephant. Ele-Wendy panicked at the scary mouse and fled!
Romeo used Sticky Fire to grab a bear and rhino, whamming them into Chase. "Romeo, you're not hitting anything!" Diwata yelled, able to see through the Humming Bird illusion. Chase became a lizard again and lashed a Tempest Tail, slicing Romeo's back. He rocketed skyward while Diwata swarmed Chase with Moonerangs. He used Paper Art to evade the moons, but Wendy immediately swept him up in a tornado. Chase resolidified himself and Moon Walked in the air, casting a spell to the sky to summon magic meteors. Romeo flew to kick the meteors away, defending himself as Chase swarmed him with Pistols. Chase imbued the Pistols with magic that would have them explode upon impact, taking Romeo out of the air. Wendy spun a Glacius tornado around Chase to freeze him in place, allowing Lunala to strike him with a Moongeist Beam.
Chase then quickly molded a magic sphere in his hand to shoot up Lunala's throat amidst the beam. "Slugulus Eructo!" This spell caused Lunala's body to well up with slugs, barfing them at an alarming rate. "We'll use your cheap prank against you!" Wendy vowed, casting her own spell at Lunala. The slugs would all home on Chase upon being spat, but this was a minor nuisance as he Shaved and gnashed Fang Pistols at the operatives. Each Pistol was imbued with a jinx: Romeo's was chickenpox (with mini chickens molding on his skin), Wendy's was overflowing eyecrust, and Diwata's was a painful coughing fit. Chase proceeded to hide somewhere in the forest, both to pull off the slugs and to use Life Return to heal himself. "Wait a minute…" It was then he noticed his front bang had turned a greyish hue.
"Where you think you're hiding?!" Romeo used his Yellow Flame to enhance his sense of smell and whiff out Chase's location. He caught Chase in Sticky Flames and slammed swung him into a cluster of crystals conjured by Diwata. They were of the same clearness as the Reflective Shield, but Chase had used Iron Body to negate the damage. Diwata withstood her coughs to maintain the crystals while Romeo kept violently slamming him, until the points eventually punctured Chase. Wendy used Aguamenti to wash out her eyecrust, followed by "Arms!" to enhance hers and Romeo's strength. They ganged up on Chase, who became his lizard form and willed more spikes to thrust out of his scales, only for the two to combine magic and soften them. Chase sliced Wendy's leg with his tail, followed by stabbing Romeo's gut with Finger Pistol. Romeo called the Reducto Curse with each punch, powering them with explosions, so Chase mimicked his technique and countered his fists, all while Wendy swung kicks with thick whirlwinds over her ankles.
Chase saw Diwata and Lunala charging another Moongeist Beam, so he dodged, only for Wendy to use a refraction spell to bounce it right into him. Romeo stretched Sticky Flames to glue Chase in place, allowing him to absorb the full dose of lunar goodness. The beam slowly died off, and Chase remained bound to Romeo's flames. His hair was a ghostly white and his body had become too old, shriveled, and frail for his armor. Wendy and Diwata joined Romeo, looking over the former Xiaolin with slight sympathy. "Looks like age has caught up to you." Romeo said. "Good-bye, Chase!"
His and Wendy's bending combined into a cyclone that seared flesh from bone. Even by the time he was reduced to ash, Chase felt no pain. He couldn't really ask for a better place to die than the place where it all began. If he hadn't met Hannibal… he may've been able to die with Monk Guan and Dashi a long time ago. Heh…sorry I'm late, you two… I had some things to take care of… Of course, by now, they've already reincarnated.
Outside (Play "Seven Rings In Hand" by Steve Conte!)
Super Shadow curled into a pinball and lunged at Index, missing as Light Chains seized him, but Shadow warped out and tried to stab her neck, only for a portal to change Index's fate and for the Finger Pistol to hurt Shadow instead. Shadow spammed the Forgetful Glance as he Shaved wildly around Index and unleashed a storm of Finger Pistols, but Index evaded nearly every one with lightspeed. "Sorry, Shadow, but your Forgetful Glance has no effect on the Universe Book. I know every move you make just as it's being written!" Index sensed him about to warp a few feet behind and target Hoopa, so she had some chains ready to catch him. Index threw her trident and pinned Shadow into a page of the Universe Book.
Shadow recognized the ruins of Station Square as Perfect Chaos ran rampant. The aquatic beast bellowed a beam at Shadow, but he easily tore through and eradicated Chaos in one shot. However, it was then another golden hedgehog rammed Shadow with the Home Attack, knocking him through several buildings. "S…Sonic?!" It came as sort of a whiplash to see his old comrade again… but he could tell by the rings in Sonic's eyes that he wasn't in the mindset to talk. Super Sonic zipped circles around Shadow before closing in, but the demon Hedgehog met him with a Tempest Kick, followed by a Chaos Spear through the stomach. This attack ripped the page apart, so Index opened the way to another chapter. The Keeper of History's radiant body was made ominous under the falling Space Colony ARK. Unfortunately, she had removed Sonic and Shadow from this page, forcing the current Shadow to meet the force of the ARK himself.
"Chaoooos… BLAST!" Shadow decided to do away with the whole thing in a great explosion, but amidst that fire, Index had already flipped pages on them. Shadow was pelted by meteors and dark lasers, cast by none other than the Demon Lord, Black Doom. "Heh! Is there a point to this trip down memory lane?!" Using strength greater than he had back then, carving Black Doom to pieces was made easy. Shadow unloaded a storm of Chaos Spears at Index, who countered them with Light Spears, both foes landing god-powered blows on the other. "Chaos… SPIKE SUN!" Shadow used Life Return to stretch his hair into very long, thin spikes. He spun as per his Home Attack, though one couldn't compare him to a pinball in this state. As Shadow lunged at Index, Hoopa's arms gigantified and struggled to restrain him. Index willed large tridents to stab him from every direction, but Shadow's hair proved sharper as they sliced the tridents apart.
Shadow forced away from Hoopa, warped, and went for Index, who secured her fate with lightspeed evasion. Index cast a swarm of Rukh to mow Shadow's hair into a good, clean cut, the butterflies even able to match his speed. Shadow warped to Index and used Chaos Blast, swallowing the area in a huge explosion, and though Index fled, Shadow was quick to keep following and exploding, riddling the historian with burns. After his onslaught, Shadow was snatched in Hoopa's giant hands, the djinn squeezing him. Shadow stretched out his spikes to pierce and push the hands off, afterwards Shaving out. Index fled to another chapter, Shadow following—the hedgehog wound up smack between the duel between Link and the Demon King, Demise.
The sacred swords of both idols struck the hedgehog. Shadow warped away, but the two slashed Skyward Strikes, Shadow defending with Iron Body. The hedgehog saw a field of katana lodged into the ground, likely dropped by other fallen warriors. He flew to grab two of them, imbued with his Chaos powers as he lashed a string of slashes at Index. She spun her trident in defense, but Shadow slowed time to more swiftly maneuver around and strike at her. Index used lightspeed to match his, but the nun suffered a stab to the stomach, followed by her trident being flung away. Hoopa slammed Shadow with three giant fists, the hedgehog slashing violently as the fingers were diced off. Shadow then landed a swift, X-shaped slash across the Newborn. "AAAAAHH! Scheherazade, it hurts! I don't think… I can hold back for much longer!"
A cluster of Light Chains grabbed Shadow and dragged him into another page. "It's alright, Hoopa! I'm here for you!" Index focused a field of light over him. "Besides, this battle isn't just ours. It's for all the heroes and villains of history!"
Shadow was sent to Fairy World and was immediately struck by a Star Storm conjured by Fairy Princess Mavis Vermillion. "Looks like Shezzy needs my help again!" Mavis smiled, her eyes glittering. "No reason to turn down a friend!" Mavis turned Shadow's swords into flowers, the hedgehog warping behind and diagonally slicing her with Tempest Kick. Mavis used magic to fix herself and create an army of illusions, all of which would be blown away by Chaos Spears—but Mavis refracted the spears back into Shadow. Shadow extended his spikes and lunged with a Home Attack, but Mavis speedily wove a rainbow ribbon to be caught on the spikes and wrap around the hedgehog. Index caught up, sharing a smile with Mavis over Shadow's struggle to escape. Index formed knitting needles of Light Chi and had them pierce the rainbow ribbon several times over.
"CHAOS ERASURE!" Shadow tore out of, not just the ribbon, but out of time and space itself. "I'm through playing your storybook games. You can't attack me out he-"
Index's trident punctured the time-space rift and pierced him. "Guess again." Index flew into his space. "I can do whatever I want within the pages of the book!" The Seven Rings orbited the Keeper, later to become the knuckles of a seven-fingered hand. She threw the first punch at Shadow, who endured by combining Spin Dash with Iron Body, but when the pain became too much, he started using Paper Art. However, Index willed it so her attacks would always land, leaving Shadow no choice but to attack her directly. He couldn't use any Chaos techniques in this space, but he was unable to leave as Index wouldn't allow it. Index shaped the World Rings into a Light Whip, mercilessly lashing him and flinging him everywhere within the subspace. Index pierced the hedgehog with her trident and confound him in place. She hovered directly above with her palm outstretched to him, the Seven Rings lining up between them. "SEVEN RINGS! GRASP FATE WITH ONE HAND!"
The moment Index clenched her palm, a godly shockwave ruptured the space and struck Shadow at his very core. "AAAAHHHH!" In that moment, Shadow's entire history flashed before him. From the day he was created on the ARK, spending time with Maria until the day of her death… and every battle he'd ever endured, against the Mobian Forces, against Sonic, the Eggman Empire, or otherwise, all his wounds and exertions came rushing back through him in a great rush. (End song.)
Those outside would watch as Index and Hoopa brought Shadow out of the book. Seven streaks of light would fly out of Shadow and return to their homeworld, while the golden hedgehog would turn dark and unconscious. "Well… seems things are wrapping up quite nicely." Index smiled, letting Romeo, Dee, Crest, and Wendy out of their page. Chase Young had been reduced to an overcooked corpse.
Anthony had used his bending to clear away most of the hideout's rubble, uncovering a rectangular portal of darkness. "That's where Mandy and Akame went." Fie said. "They teamed up with this demon lady and went to the Underworld to kill the Light and Darkness gods."
"Palutena…" Anthony hadn't forgotten what the Light Goddess did for Fybi. Though, what he didn't understand is why she was in the Underworld in the first place.
…
The prison guards were running rampant around the outer grounds, in search of the convicts. "I'm afraid our little arrangement has to end here." Dido said after they returned to the portal. "This happy duo and I will manage on our own. Before you go, I think it best to give you these." The Daemonis handed Mandy and Akame some medical pills. "These will erase all the fatigue you've built up on this mission."
"Gee, thanks!" Mandy chucked the pill into her Medusa mouth.
"Mandy, don't-!" Akame's words fell to deaf ears as her friend swallowed the pill. There was a light glow as Mandy's aura flared with radiance and health. "Hm…" Akame decided to eat her pill, stamina coursing back through her. "Thanks, but… I'm still not entirely sure what you are."
"I'm no one you need to be concerned about. Just be concerned with whatever's happening on the outside. I feel huge chi concentrations out there. You'd better make sure they're okay."
The assassins shared a worried glance and faced the portal. "Well, let's go, Kame, what're we waitin' for?!" Mandy spared no extra time for this filthy Underworld and jumped through.
But as soon as Akame joined her, she shared her look of dumbfounded-ness by all the chaos that had developed outside. "THERE they are!" Killua exclaimed.
"What the-?!" Akame almost considered retreating back through the portal, but it had already sealed.
"Is that MEDUSA?!" Anthony exclaimed.
"WHAT THE HELL are all the Kids Next Door DOIN' OUT HERE?!" Mandy screamed.
"WAIT!" Arianna stomped up. "I know that voice! You're the one that killed Celebi and Jirachi! You're the snake woman!"
"That's the one?!" Melody joined her.
"HEY!" Mandy screamed, grabbed in Light Chains. "You ain't puttin' me in that thing, are you?!" She was dragged into a page of the Universe Book. "Books are full of bookworms, ya know! I don't want one of them crawlin' around my earlobe!"
"Arianna, mind if I join you for this one?" Melody asked.
"Wouldn't have it any other way!" And so, both leapt into Mandy's page.
"Mandy!" Akame tried to leap after them, but Morgiana came flying, swinging Nagisa like a weapon. Akame was ready to counter him with her blade, but Nagisa swiftly bent himself in evasion and swung his girlfriend at Akame, her powerful legs sending her dozens of yards away.
Louisiana Bayou (Play "Begoniax Battle" from Rayman 3!)
"ICK!" Mandy splashed into a marsh of shallow water. The fireflies and croaking frogs provided a peaceful ambience to the bayou, but none the snake-woman took any appreciation in. "What happened to the city?! How'd I wind up in a grody old place like-"
Melody splashed her away with a sudden wave, followed by Arianna grabbing her in a bundle of vines—Mandy sliced free with Tempest and Moon Walked down to stab Arianna in the belly with her heel. Melody threw a Water Fist, Mandy evading and becoming a full snake. She gnashed Fang Pistols at either girl, though the Medusa head was able to gnash smaller fangs from her snaky hair. Melody slashed Water Slices at the center of the snake, who used Iron Body in defense. "I think I understand what you are." Arianna said, bending vines up from beneath the swamp in attempt to strangle the snake. "You ate some kind of two-headed Snake Fruit. Two-headed snakes can replace heads by eating those of other snakes. And you ate Medusa's head, didn't you?!"
"Like, total duh!" The Medusa head spat darkness at Arianna while the back head ripped the vines with her fangs. "'Guess I should start calling myself Mandusa!" Melody erected a cyclone to lift the snake into the air, so Mandy became a hybrid form to Moon Walk out. She spun into a midair breakdance as she dropped onto Melody, lashing out a 360 Tempest as the waterbender skied backward in evasion. "And check out what else I can do!" Mandy ripped off Medusa's face, exposing her true eye. Melody instinctively craned her head down, only focusing on Mandy's legs and thrusting icicles at her. Mandy Shaved in evasion and flipped upside-down, so Melody redirected her vision up, bending Water Shields to block Mandy's heeled kicks.
"I thought part of your whole deal was to stop mortals from abusing the gods. So, you're just a hypocrite!" Melody bent a monster made of mud around herself, thrusting a flurry of rapid punches that Mandy evaded with Paper Art, From the opposite side, Arianna cast a storm of Razor Leaves, able to catch and cut Mandy more precisely until her Paper Art wore off, causing her to tank a punch that sent her flying through a tree. The tree toppled toward her on the opposite side, but Mandy grabbed it in her teeth and threw it at Arianna. The Harnitan grabbed the tree in a vine bundle and slammed it at Mandusa until it was broken into splinters. Arianna molded a bunch of vines into a swamp monster, joining up with Melody's mud monster as they swung their weighted arms at the snake. Mandy diced up Arianna's vines and burrowed into the plant mass, sniffing Arianna out and gnashing Fang Pistols. The fangs ripped through from inside the vine mass, Arianna diving out and seeking refuge in Melody's giant. Arianna bent the vines to twist and compress around Mandy, with Melody twisting her mud around it to apply to the pressure.
Mandy applied Life Return and Pistol to her snake hair, stretching and shooting them out of the mud-vine twister. They sheered the twister up, Mandusa escaping as she dove down at the girls. They split up, but Mandusa stretched snakes to snatch and bind them. The snakes bit into their flesh, applying the Spider Bite, but they cut their selves free with a Water Slice and Razor Leaves. Mandusa flashed her true eye at Melody, who quickly turned and surfed away from her sneak attack. The snake head burrowed itself in the ground and ambushed Arianna from beneath, but she bent out some bramble pods from her Infi-Cube and tricked Mandy into munching them. Mandy leaked tears as the spikes punctured the inside of her mouth. The Medusa head proceeded to muster some Dark Chi and shroud the area in darkness, using her noses to sniff them out.
Amidst this darkness, Arianna was still able to see the lights of the fireflies. She used Animal Telepathy to order them to swarm the snake. Mandusa had a hard time evading the small, swift flies, and while their small frames weren't damaging, their Light Chi was compact enough to sting the wannabe Dark Goddess. "AAAAH!" The light also gave her away to Melody, who bent up a giant, watery alligator head to chomp the Medusa head in its mouth. She converted the teeth to icicles and struggled to rip the head off, but Mandusa performed a twister attack and tore through the alligator. She redirected at Melody, but Arianna quickly brought down a cluster of mossy leaves from the trees, sticking to Mandy and wrapping the snake up. Melody naturally spun up a tunnel of mud to ensnare and envelop Mandusa as well, applying ice to harden the mud. Mandusa became bundled up in a sticky, mossy, muddy cocoon, and as the cold overtook the reptile, Mandy slowly lost the resolve to fight.
"You girls doing alright in here?" They all turned to find Maddy Murphy, her legs half-submerged in the mud.
"Maddy!" Melody perked up. "You didn't think we needed help, did you?"
"Index thought you would need me to finish her off. If Medusa is really being controlled by her… then I'd have to use these." Maddy armed herself with one of the One-Punch Gauntlets.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Medusa laughed. "Well, if anyone was going to end me, I should be glad it's you, Miss Murphy."
"What the-?!" Mandy gasped. "Grrrr…why can't I control my upper half?! Hurry and break us outta here, ya slither-haired freak—AAAAHH!" Medusa stretched some snake hair to bite into her eyes.
Maddy approached the serpent warily. "When I saw you at the Great Clock… I had a hunch. You're the one that tried to drown me all those years ago, weren't you?"
"That's right. I did that to spark darkness inside you because I thought you would be one of the Chosen Ones. But even if you were, my ambitions were bound to go nowhere. After all, Palutena and I never had anything to gain from that quest. Seven Lights, Thirteen Darknesses… all misleading. Through it all, I was only a pawn… but at least this pawn can leave those kids one last gift for all the work they've done for me. Do not lose hope, Firstborn Guardians: your children are still alive."
"Still alive?" Arianna lit up.
"Whaddya mean the Firstborn are still alive?!" Mandy shouted.
"I implanted the Firstborn with seeds of darkness during our recreation of the universe. In a short time, they're going to be Reborn, and their powers shall return as well. Unfortunately… they're going to seek out new Guardians in those states. If you want those Firstborn back for yourselves, you'll have to wait for their light to return."
"NO! If those Firstborn return, I'll look like a total loser!" Mandy squirmed, desperate to retake control. "I'll find them all over again! I'll kill 'em as many times as it takes!"
Maddy threw on the other gauntlet, jumped, and SMASHED Medusa's head in a clap! The Snake Queen popped like a water balloon of bloody darkness. "BAH! That bitch was crampin' my style, anyway!" Mandy hissed. "I don't need her to finish you… off…" The gauntlet's effect spread to the rest of her: one by one, Mandy's segments popped up to her head. The head swelled, Mandy's slit eyes wrought with misery before it popped as well. (End song.)
"The Firstborn are still alive…" Arianna repeated. "I knew Celebi had a bit of life force left when she asked me to bury her… but does this mean she'll really come back? And Jirachi, too?"
"It kind of sounds like it comes with some catches." Melody noted. "Either way, looks like we'll have something else to worry about soon…"
Outside (Play "Akame Battle Theme" from Akame ga Kill.)
Akame Shaved rapidly and appeared above Nagisa and Morg, both dodging apart. Morgiana swung a kick, but as she expected, Akame would try to intercept it with her sword. Morg would pull her leg back, leaving Nagisa to stab Akame with Finger Pistol, and he himself leapt away from Akame's strike. Morgiana lunged herself and tackled Akame, punching her across the face, but the Fanalis suffered a cut to the hip. Poison coursed through Morgiana, so she made her retreat and tagged out with Killua. Killua thrusted ranged Finger Pistols with his extended nails. Akame defended by dividing her hair into two blades with Life Return, all the while slashing Nagisa, who used Paper Art. Akame Shaved out of sight, the boys unaware that she had swiftly become a spider and landed on Nagisa's neck. She riddled his neck with Fang Pistols, so Nagisa used Iron Body to withstand any further ones. Akame grew into her hybrid form and quickly snatched Nagisa in a web, swinging him into Killua. The Sheikah stopped Nagisa, but Akame squirted poisonous web wads with bullet speed, striking both boys.
Morgiana returned for a sneak attack, chopping her foot onto Akame's huge rump. Akame compressed herself back to human form and Shaved rapidly around Morg, leaving a cluster of afterimages that were all aimed to chop Morg. Fortunately, Killua tackled the real Akame before a cut could be dealt, scratching her face with his nails. Akame flipped up to catch Killua's neck in a chokehold, attempting to twist his neck, and when Morg flipped up to kick her, Akame's sword slashed down—Morg dodged away as Akame was shot by some kind of paintball, originating from Shino, who was set atop Sector V's parked bus. In her distraction, Killua stabbed Akame's legs, forcing the assassin to leap off. Nagisa was returning from the bus as well, drawing twin pistols to shoot Akame with the same, strange paintballs.
Akame leapt far from her foes and became a hybrid spider, slashing eight different Tempest Kicks at once. Morgiana grabbed Nagisa and swung him against the airwaves, the boy using Tempest to cancel them out. Nagisa shaped himself like a boomerang and used Iron Body, Morg throwing him. Akame shrank into a willow in evasion, but when Nagisa returned to Morg, they couldn't find the willow on him. They must've had their poison extracted on that ship! Akame suspected, the tiny spider Shaving her way over.
"Hey, she's going for the ship!" Killua yelled, sensing the spider's presence with Observation. The Sheikah tried to step her, but Akame zipped up and cleaved long gashes up the back of his legs. Haruka released a cloud of white gas around the ship. Sensing something unusual about the gas, Akame decided to stay clear of it, Moon Walking to the sky like a flying spider. Akame became a hybrid form and Tempest Kicked the ship, but Nagisa flew to intercept them. Morgiana, meanwhile, Rocket Kicked to the sky and thrusted herself into Akame, adapting to the assassin's quick evasion by redirecting her kicks on a dime. Morgiana managed to headbutt Akame twice, afterwards tanking a stab to the shoulder. Morgiana flipped backwards and kicked Akame to the ground, with Killua there to swiftly scratch her with his fingers.
Killua's legs were still bleeding from Akame's previous attack, so he faltered in dodging Akame's retaliatory cuts. However, Killua had flicked one of his steel yo-yos behind Akame, yanking it back to bash her head, and he flung the other to wrap her legs. Akame shrank into a spider to escape, but Morgiana was already descending for a Screw Kick, her sole directly impacting the spider and flattening her against the ground. However, Akame through Morg's foot and slashed up her leg with mini Tempests. Akame reverted to human form and stabbed Morg in the hip, but the Fanalis grabbed her by the collar and brought her into a headbutt. "COUH-!" In the midst of recovering from it, Shino shot a "paintball" right down Akame's throat. While Nagisa Shaved around Akame and assaulted her with Finger Pistols, Morgiana quickly ran to Sector V's bus so Haruka could patch her legs with bandages.
"Let's go all out on her, Morg!" Nagisa bit the back of his hand and drank his own blood. His eyes turned pale as a dark aura surrounded him, the aura of Bloodlust Fury. Morgiana's legs caught fire as she entered Red-Foot Fury, both swarming Akame with blinding speed. Nagisa flicked fast and forceful Finger Pistols while Morg stomped shockwaves across the ground.
"Alright! I'm not holding back either!" At this rate, Akame was certain their ambitions had come to an end, so she had nothing else to lose. She stabbed herself with Murasame, her sclera turning black and red markings growing around her skin. Akame vanished into a ceaseless Shave, dicing Nagisa and Morg up from all directions, but the couple sensed her bloodlust and threw Rocket and Tempest Kicks wherever she would appear. Akame engaged Nagisa directly with a flurry of finger swipes, along with thrusting Hair Pistols against Morg, but she tanked the pain and grabbed Akame's hair, pulling it forcefully and tearing the strands off.
Nagisa used Life Return to stretch his hair and stab Akame, but he was stabbed in the back by her fingers. Nagisa spun like a Tasmanian Devil, his body coated with airwaves, and Morgiana spun as well, her body on fire. Akame used Paper Art, but as the duo circled her from both sides, she wound up caught in their flurry of cuts and burns. Akame became a spider hybrid and Moon Walked to the air, blasting web wads that exploded with poison. Nagisa and Morg leapt after her, slamming her with midair kicks. "COUH-!" Akame was shot once more by one of Shino's bullets. "Ugh…" She could feel her speed waning as she failed to outpace the couple. Nagisa wrapped himself around her body and used Iron Body, while Morg forcefully kicked both to the ground, Nagisa crushing her beneath his weight.
Shino pelted the downed assassin with several more white bullets, causing Akame's eyes to turn white and her red markings blue. "The medicine should be kicking in just about now." Haruka smiled, marching outside. "I used my bending to extract the poison you injected them with, and with help from a certain Gourmet Spirit, I managed to make an antidote to your sickness."
Yuzu and Gourmerry stepped off the ship, the chef proudly holding the Foodborn. "Since Gourmerry can filter healthy components out of poison, she makes an excellent doctor as well as a cook!" ("Gourmerry!")
"Antidote… so, that's what you were shooting!" Akame hissed at Shino.
"Well, you didn't expect me to fire lethal bullets, did you?" Shino raised hands in defense.
Morgiana crushed Akame's hip beneath her feet, rapidly stomping her down. "Cough…ugh…Sephiroth…" Her consciousness fading, Akame looked pleadingly up at the Fallen Nimbi. "You… have to… destroy them…" (End song.)
"OH, FOR MOTHER MARY'S SAKE!" Hattori flapped about in a rage. "Is this the best you chumps can bring to the table after all we've been through?! Sephiroth, flap your one-winged ass down here and kick some operative heiny, coo-kachoo!"
"I guess Sephiroth is the last one." Index said, warily facing him. The Nimbi hadn't moved at all from his place in the sky, keeping Skaios restrained all that time. Even if the air and ship-savvy operatives tried to engage him, they feared he had the clear advantage. "I guess I'll have to—huh?!" The nun suddenly reverted to her base form and dropped to the ground.
"Index?" Miyuki gasped.
"Muuuuuu…" The IC kids looked in confusion at Verglora's moaning form. Their eyes had turned blank with a hypnotic trance.
"Arrrrr…" Sephiroth smirked as the same trance had befallen Skaios' eye. The other Newborn behaved the same.
"Uh…Boly?" Eddy waved a hand by the robot's head. "You okay there?"
"Nnn…Eddy…" Miko moaned. "I don't feel so good…"
"It seems our late entry has arrived." Sephiroth said.
"Hey, something's coming out of me!" Sunni panicked. A small mass of shadow inflated from her mind like a balloon: it was none other than, "Marshadow?!"
"What is he… Synthia?" Rupert looked on questionably as the small light rose to the sky. (Play "Between the Forgotten Phantasm" from Cold Steel III.)
A bleak, dreary, war-torn night on Coruscant became one of mystic and wonder as the eight lights rose to the air. Victini… Hoopa… Marshadow… Verglora… Skaios… Gourmerry… Boly… Synthia. They graced the sky with an array of colors that drew Coruscant into wonder. And, as Elmo broadcasted the footage from his news ship, much of the cosmos would be entranced by this beautiful aurora.
The eight Newborn orbited the air and channeled a soft concentration of chi. The operatives observed with a mix of awe and fear… while Sephiroth enjoyed the show with strong anticipation.
Spirit World
The skies around the entire Spirit Realm had become a dazzling show, waving and displaying an array of images. It were as if multiple worlds were aligning, creating an expansive window beyond the boundaries of this realm. Within Arceus's secluded realm of the First Church, the Supreme God had been enjoying a calming meal prepared by Phoenios Matriarch, Alumenosus. The god's heart had been in turmoil from these recent, troubling events, so words couldn't express his gratitude for the goddess's support.
But, as the sky began waving, a divine light shone upon them from beyond the realm. It hurt Arceus to say, "Alumenosus… I think it's best that you go now."
"Go? …Arceus… what's this concentration of energy?"
"Alumenosus… thank you for spending this time with me. I hope… that we may meet again some day."
"A-Arceus… no! ARCEUS!" The foreign goddess was forcibly banished in a ray of light.
"…" Arceus had then acknowledged the sea of monochrome cats that had taken residence in his domain. "You'll have to leave, too, I'm afraid." The Kittentias bowed their heads and regretfully fled from the impending doom.
A great, white portal spawned in the sky. God of Time, Dialga, and God of Space, Palkia, showed their selves into the chamber. From a realm beyond their own… a king descended. An imp, much like the Newborn, with thick black lines around a white body. A golden crown served as his head, with bulbous eyes seeing beyond many worlds, and a purple cape fluttering majestically at his back. The Supreme Born… Kael… compared to him, Arceus could fit in his hand like a toy horsy.
Arceus gazed upon the final Newborn with droll frustration. He had no idea what this entity was… but he was not in the mood. He wasn't in the mood to face another being like this. Why…why couldn't these things just leave them alone? Why couldn't they leave their universe in peace? Why couldn't they just… drop dead?
The collision of Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia's chi with Kael unleashed an indescribable tsunami of energy. "EVACUATE THE CHURCH AT ONCE!" Balder bellowed, the Divine Angels fleeing from the sanctuary as it quickly became a chaotic maelstrom of its former self.
The residents of Heaven's Hotel were forced to take refuge as a terrible wind brushed the surface of the building. "Plex… something terrible is happening!" Dimentia exclaimed. "A huge mass of energy just appeared from where the Spear Pillar is!"
"I know!" replied the blue-haired Phoenios. "And worse than that… I can almost feel an enormous rift through the multiverse!"
Coruscant
An aurora borealis danced in the sky as a great, vast, divine, Stairway to Heaven touched the ruined remains of the hideout. "Ha ha ha ha…he's here! HE'S HERE!" Sephiroth flared like a madman. "At last… THE TRUE SUPREME GOD!"
The Nimbi faced down at the Kids Next Door, mindless as sheep before the godly stairs. "Come… let's go meet our MAKER!" And with that, the Fallen Nimbi rose to the radiance of the Spirit World.
The eight Newborn calmly rose skyward… until Skaios himself snapped back to reality. "AH! NO! WAIT!" Despite his cries, his brethren ascended to Heaven. "YA CAN'T GO UP THERE! Ya can't let him take control of ya again! Mates!" He shot down toward the operatives. "We have to do something! Kael is back! He's fighting Arceus now, I can feel it!"
"Kael?!" Cheren gasped.
"What do we do, Cheren?!" Maddy asked. "You don't think… we can beat him with these gauntlets, do you?"
"Aha!" Killua perked up, swiping an arrow from Akame's clothes. "This is one of the other weapons! The Whistling Arrow!"
"…" The Supreme Leader faced the glowing sky. "I…I'm going to try and talk to this Kael. I'm gonna figure out what his deal is. You guys are free to stay behind."
"'ey, I wanna find out what this is all about." Sheila stated. "If Kyle even thinks of messing things up… I'll give him a piece of the real king 'round these parts!"
"We have to try and retake control of the Newborn!" Yuzu knew. "So, let's go!"
"Right! Let's do this!" And so, the hordes of operatives raced up the Stairway to Heaven. In spite of their apparent steepness and mountainous scale, running up the stairs was like running up a smooth road. The stairs only served to relax their legs as they rose to meet the Supreme Born.