Chaotic Requiem Chapter 2: Tower, a phantasy star fanfic

Even after all they'd done…after all their struggles…

They were still losing.

His power…was too vast. The well of strength he could draw from ran much deeper, and was far more varied than their own.

Reve's body flew backward, a pulse of black slamming into his torso, as the mantis-creature that Xen, now calling himself "Zero" had become, struck home.

At first, there was hope. While exceedingly fast, their foe's movements could be traced, his swings could be blocked, his spells evaded, if only all narrowly. Boosted by the power of Chaos though he was, Xen was still mortal, still able to be defeated. The strange glow around him, however, seemed to absorb or deflect their attacks, so while he did not land a strike upon them, they could not either claim their attempts successful. But then, it was obvious he grew irritated. The purple glow turned black, coating him in its sickly grasp, until it had melded to his form, fully. As he stepped away from the swirling cloud of Chaos manifest, his form was different. Pitch black covered his body, much like a full body-suit of reflective armor. His hands ended in five claws emerging from gauntlet-like arms. Spindly, almost weak looking legs carried the now transformed Zero, as they ended in tri-clawed feet. His head, replaced by what could only be described as a demonic helm, long flowing tassels of black reaching out from behind it, a single slightly elongated stinger-like nose, angling from his face. Two glowing red eyes stared at them, as twin mantis-like claws emerged from his back, wiggling behind him like wings.

They would quickly find that he had stopped holding back. Cuts, scrapes, burns, all manner of damage had ended up battering their forms, as the now demonified "Zero" began his assault. His speed was unmatched, they could barely move before he seemed to flicker and flow to where they stood. Launching one, he would appear behind them, slamming them to the ground before seamlessly vanishing out of the way of either a photon bullet, or technic of any sort. The mantis-like claws on his back weren't just for show. At many points they would defend against an incoming blade, repel a screaming pellet, or even assist his balance by acting as a third or even fourth leg.

His movements were random, his body twisting and contorting into all manner of shape to simply flow around their attacks, as if they were naught but mere obstacles. Simple hindrances, annoying flies to be swatted aside at his leisure. He was swift like lightning, graceful like a twirling ballerina. His punches, his kicks, his very movements were nearly as strong as the stomping of raging elephants, his evasions like a parting curtain of water. His body moved with elegance, not a single position was wasted. He was perfection itself, the true nature of Chaos coming to light in his essence, for he was the first in countless millennia to fully accept and embrace Existence itself.

All looked grim, they were battered, broken…

But Sarisa refused to give up. In the blink of an eye, her entire demeanor changed. She shakily got to her feet, before tossing aside the baton she was using. Even Zero paused at what occurred next. She drew a single blade. She claimed to the group, that it was a gift from Xen himself, for her most recent birthday, prior to their relationship escalating to what it was, before this mission. And then she spoke words that confused everyone save for herself, and what Xen had become.

"I promise you, my love…"

She drew back, blade pointing at Zero's form, held next to her head.

"I will set you free."

None expected what came next.

She was able to barely keep up with him. Knowing she could not match his strength, she focused heavily on evading his strikes, as narrowly as possible to conserve both energy, and distance. Her own swings were easily blocked or rejected, however even Reve would have had to admit, they were getting closer and closer to actual strikes. Zero varied up his attack patterns, linking in technics, along with weaving unknown elemental abilities…but Sarisa simply moved along with them. She would side-step spears of lightning descending from the heavens, she would roll under crescent waves of razor sharp air, hop around pillars of ice…

She had been watching him, for years. Her subconscious mind latching on to every fragment of information it could, her unknown love for him growing with each movement, each shared moment. Her heart, while crushed when his memory was lost, held on to its own memories. Memories, comparisons, lessons.

She herself had claimed she was better at learning than doing…but even she didn't know how well she embodied that statement.

Her mind, her very muscles had memorized his movements. She subconsciously emulated how he held himself in battle, her blade flicking out in similar strokes to his, flittering around his arms, crashing against the organic armor he sported. She would twist her head slightly, just barely evading a stab from his claws, to bring down her blade in a horizontal arc towards his torso, that he would bat aside with his 'wing', only for her to twirl on her foot, going with the motion before reversing her blade and stabbing forward. The motion would be blocked, rejected by a dropping elbow, for her to flip the blade in hand again, leaning forward for extra force before swinging down on his head.

The others could only watch as they made a deadly dance. The device recording and displaying their elegant battle for all to see.

But even with her new skills…it wasn't enough. They found her being blown backward, crashing heavily into a tree, where she bounced off and slammed painfully into the ground. Her mag trilled with concern, as Zero seemed to stretch, before within his hand a glowing blade made of pure energy appeared. A single tear escaped Sarisa's eyes, as she closed them in frustration, begging internally for one more chance. The others called out to her as Zero vanished in a tuft of dust, ready to skewer the pink haired girl.

Her mag loosed a screech, causing Zero to appear again, clutching his head as the tiny almost bat-like creature flared a crimson light. At first, they all thought it was a Photon Blast…but the heavy glow suddenly flew to Sarisa's body, engulfing it, lifting it from her place on the ground. The crimson glow became a lighter color, until it was as pink as the girl's hair…before it seemed to pulse. After, the orb seemed to grow spikes for a moment, before hundreds of spears of pink energy lanced from its form, crashing into a surprised Zero, launching him backward and away from the orb.

Within, she understood. Everything became clear. Victory was not to be grasped, for there was no victory to be had. This, was a trial, a battle of attrition, one she could NOT fail. Her resolve was set, the power of the mag, "Femini" coursing through her.

As Zero recovered from the unexpected blow, He was forced to defend again, as a now hovering Sarisa, suspended upon two flapping violet-pink wings crashed her blade upon his armored form.

From then, the battle became far more even. The others all stared in shock, as she easily matched Zero now. Any spell he threw would be blocked by one of her own, any swings, defended against. The two were completely even, neither one gaining ground over the other. Spears of light would meet tendrils of shadow, as both of them tapped into the very history of their planet, the memories locked deep within not only their mags, but the well of Chaos that Zero drew from, allowing them to access abilities not seen in lifetimes.

But yet, it wasn't enough. Unlike Sarisa, Zero was being charged by a Concept. She was tiring, she could not keep the assault up for much longer.

She flew back, understanding what needed to be done. She needed something big, something that would draw out all of his power, something that could do what he requested. Her mag, responded in kind.

A massive glyph appeared beneath her feet, surprising all, including herself. In the back of her mind, she could see. She saw Him, she saw the World…and she saw the gigantic cannon that was within the Moon. Mother Trinity's ultimate weapon suddenly re-activated itself, drawing power from an unknown source.

In both Dairon, and the base upon the Moon itself, people were running, frantic. The cannon had activated upon its own, receiving commands from an outside source. None of their techs could halt its progress, they being forced to watch, horrified, as numbers climbed.

Sarisa felt the particles of energy being gathered around her, she heard the command being written, she saw the cannon fire its rays upon the earth. As a massive flare of light twinkled in the sky, Zero's head tilted up, to see what caused it. He cried out in surprise, flinging his arms over his head, a massive dome of black emerging in place, as the cannon's beam impacted the ground. The winds kicked up from the impact threatened to blow the others away, but they held steady, clinging to the trees surrounding the battlefield, eyes squinted against the heavy glare of light that had taken over the area. Ogi's photoreceptors being blinded by the sheer energy being output. As the light grew dimmer, but still there, they saw the massive dome of black narrowly defending against the searing beam of power. Zero was protected…but just barely.

Nobody noticed the smile that appeared on Sarisa's face, as she witnessed small fragments of armor being chipped away. Its hold upon him was weakening…

And then everything went wrong.

While he was struggling, he was still defending against the impossibly strong, planet-buster-class laser. However, it required all of his focus.

The barrier around the device embedded within the mountain, the source of all this, had fallen; strips of shadow ripping away from it, to add to the defense above Zero.

Seeing it exposed, knowing it was the cause of the problem, and wanting to end this before it was too late, Kai leveled his blade at the device. In seconds, Ogi had processed everything that had just occurred, and came to the same conclusion Sarisa did:

There was no Victory here. This was simply a fight to drain him of his darkness, to quell and calm the raging Chaos that had been suppressed at Kai's suggestion. There was no need for the device to be destroyed, for doing so would-

"Kai! WAIT!"

BANG

Time seemed to slow as the photon pellet flew through the air. Zero's ears were filled with the rushing sound of the laser, he heard nothing.

Sarisa's smile slowly dropped as she watched the small projectile streak along.

Kai smirked, congratulating himself for putting an end to all this.

Reve sighed out, believing it was finally over.

The pellet impacted the strange dish-like object. It sparked wildly before bursting apart in a shower of sparks.

Zero's armored form immediately shattered, wisps of shadow appearing around him as his true body was revealed.

Xen's eyes widened in realization, as his consciousness was thrown back into the forefront of his mind, the well of Chaos that he had allowed to take over, suddenly losing its grip upon him, supplied by the amplification device.

Sarisa screamed.

Kai gasped.

Ogi swore.

Reve blinked.

And Xen?

"Shi-

BOOM

One Year Later…

"Ogi…still living in the past I see." A voice spoke.

The white painted Cast, a single red ring of paint on its left arm, turned from where it sat. Ogi beheld the Mayor's Assistant, Ms. Lindow as she approached.

"Good evening, Ms. Lindow."

"I would reply the same, but it seems you don't fully believe even your own statement."

"This is true, I suppose."

She sat down next to him. "It has been over a year Ogi. And yet you still do not let go."

"It is…" He began, before thinking better of what to say. "While he would most likely not wish for me to dwell upon it…I feel…it is the only method I can utilize, the only thing I can do, to hold onto his memory. The act of being as illogical as a human in this situation…I suppose you could classify it my way of remembering him. I failed him, not once, not even twice, nor even thrice. But four times. Four times I failed him, Ms. Lindow. And the last two were due to my own foolishness. The first of the last being my own logic overriding my faith in his control and mentality, and the second of the last being my failure to recall that Kai is one of the most illogical humans, driven by emotion over focus, thought rather than honed instinct, desire, rather than faith. It is due to this, that his end came. Sarisa…"

Ogi silenced upon speaking the name of what all of Dairon called the "Dark Hunter".

Even Ms. Lindow lowered her head at the name. The one being whose existence reminded all hunters of their weakness and failures. The reminder of what happens when you act without thinking, without taking into account the full situation.

After Xen's erasure, she fell into a deep depression. People tried, but they couldn't snap her out of it. After a week, she looked as if she were on the verge of a complete mental breakdown, when she walked up to the Mayor, and demanded a transfer to another city. When questioned, she claimed she couldn't willingly be in the same city as someone who could easily cause her end, due to pure idiocy. At first, the Mayor denied her…

And that made her snap.

In seconds, half of the Mayor's office was leveled just from Sarisa letting go. Hunters raced in to find her surrounded by swirling orbs of light, Femini's wings extended. She placed her demand again, this time warning that she is trying to avoid going crazy and wiping the city from existence, just to make sure her target was erased. The Mayor realized, she didn't just want a transfer because she couldn't handle being around Kai anymore, but because she didn't want her current level of instability to bring harm to innocents. He granted her request…and from then on, she moved from city to city, training, learning, growing.

It had been over a year since they last saw her.

However, tales of her new skills, her cold demeanor, her pure ability, reached Dairon. She had gained the title "Dark Hunter" or in some cities "Valkyrie." Her depression became a cold flame of power, fueling her strength, driving her to become the hunter that Xen never would be able to now. Her personality apparently began mimicking his, her views and actions being very similar to what he would do.

However…she most likely didn't just leave because of all that. Her pain…her true pain…most likely came from the fact that she blamed herself as well. Kai was just a constant reminder of the end result of her actions. A reminder of the failure of not being trusted, the result of unneeded dissonance. To her…it was most likely a constant rekindling of her internal belief that even her love wasn't strong enough to save Xenmaru.

Ogi was brought from his musings by Ms. Lindow calling him.

"Actually, Ogi. There was a reason why I came looking for you."

"Indeed?"

"Yes. The Mayor has a mission for you. He's requested you personally."

Hmm…how odd…

Kai, Ogi and Reve had gathered in the Mayor's office. Kai felt a bit uncomfortable, but pushed it aside. Ogi hadn't really treated him any different after a while, simply continuing on, and Reve simply was indifferent to everything, or at least, so it appeared. Truthfully, Reve held a slight bit of resentment towards Kai, not just due to his actions leading to Xenmaru's end, but also Sarisa's flight. Reve had begun to see Xenmaru as an equal, and Sarisa as a younger sister. But he was a soldier, first and foremost, and even if his personal feelings wanted to cloud his judgment, he wouldn't allow them to.

Ana on the other hand, had forever given Kai the cold shoulder. As did many of the newmen who watched Xen take on Mother Trinity. They saw him as a fool, and proof why the Human Race was subjugated by Trinity in the first place. However, they didn't act upon their darker thoughts, their memory of Xen, who had unknowingly, even if for only a little while, unified both worlds, holding them in check.

"They are here as you requested, Mayor."

"Ahh good. Just a moment however, we have one more to arrive."

The two flesh-males blinked, while Ogi simply made a small noise of interest in his vocabulator. A creak of the door sounded through the room, and the three turned with Kai and Ogi gasping.

"S-Sarisa?"

The pink haired girl simply ignored Kai's stuttering call, briskly walking up next to Ogi.

The girl had changed. First off, she was taller than before. Not too much but perhaps she'd gained roughly a foot in height. Her hair had grown down to just below her shoulders, kept straight with two small bangs framing her face. Her eyes…had darkened in color, becoming an almost blood red. She'd ditched the baggy cream colored cloak for a very light blue sleeveless kimono, which looked like it had some of the bottom of it frayed off from either wear, or something tearing it apart. Under that, were a pair of grey slacks which seemed to be tucked into her boots. Her wrists were adorned with silver flame-like gauntlets, a single red jewel embedded in them. Clasped to her head was a silver circlet, with a blue crystal in the center, that seemed to have a very faint shimmer within it. Attached to her hip was the blade she'd been using for years, the small rapier-like sword Xen gave her.

She seemed older, harder…and even though she wore brighter colors than they'd expected, she still had an aura of darkness around her, a feeling of pain, and silent rage.

"It is…good…to see you again, Sarisa."

She stared ahead, as Ogi spoke. For a moment, he was prepared to sigh, when she responded.

"…I believe I can at least say the same for you…Ogi." She gave him a very slight smile.

"And now we are all here."

"Not all are willing to be here, Mayor. I was hoping I would never have to step foot in this city again. However I was told you requested me, personally. Get to the point. I want to deal with this mission and then get out of this city as soon as possible." Sarisa spat.

Knowing that keeping her here would lead to problems, he took her words to heart.

"Yes…here is the situation."

A screen popped up.

"Roughly a week ago, a strange tower appeared at the edge of the Paru ruins. All towns have been alerted to its existence, and many groups of hunters and researchers have been sent to investigate. However, only a few from each town returned. And those that did, spoke mention of a message, challenging those entering the tower to reach the top, alongside there being creatures from all over the world…only stronger than their original variants."

"And you wish for us to investigate as well?" Reve asked, a bit annoyed at the simple and meaningless mission.

"Actually I was hoping for something a bit more."

"You want us to climb to the top." Sarisa spoke.

"Yes. Whatever this tower is, it appeared for a reason. The few researchers that returned mentioned high energy readings. Something at the top of that tower is apparently drawing energy from the area around it in small amounts, as if to not upset the natural balance of things. However, it's still gathering energy for some reason."

"And you wish not only for us to climb to the top, but to investigate the energy that's being drained…and perhaps assess if it's a threat to the world?"

"Oh we already know it's a threat to the world. The energy being gathered is extremely similar in nature to the type output by the Orbital Cannon. It's not at all being radiated, from what we can tell; apparently it's being focused inward for some reason, but it is of the same type and caliber, so we aren't taking any chances."

"Do we have an estimate of how high the tower goes?" Sarisa asked.

"What few returned, went up apparently twenty floors, and they could still easily see the ground below. According to them, from below, it stretched far beyond the clouds."

"Another orbital elevator? Or maybe in this case, an orbital stairway?" Kai joked.

The mayor noticed Sarisa twitch at the sound of his voice. "I don't want to say it, but he might have a point." She growled out. "Trinity didn't seem to leave any of her files behind, and…" She paused, taking a shuddering breath.

The memory was still very painful.

"And…Xen…is no longer with us…to try to tap into the collective memory of Dark Falz's power. For all we know the tower was hidden by some massive cloaking device, and is being run by Trinity backups or whatnot." She continued.

"Funny you should mention that. Apparently after every ten floors, according to the few hunters that returned, large robotic humanoid creatures would appear, almost like security systems. Their attack types would vary, but there were three different ones. One that wielded blades, one that wielded guns, and another that fired technics like no tomorrow. From what little data we could gather, they all had the classification name of "Mother.""

Sarisa growled at that.

"He nearly kills himself to save the world and that bitch is still around? Tch…I'd take this mission just to stomp her out of existence once and for all."

"You four are our best hunters. I've no doubt in my mind that…that…if Xenmaru…were still around…this would be simple. However…even without him, you four have triumphed over impossible odds, and if the reports on you are to be believed, you, Sarisa, are the closest to his strength. This…is why I requested all of you."

Sarisa shook her head.

"No…Femini may have given me access to technics that have long since vanished from normal circulation, but I'm nowhere near Xen's power…nor his skill…or even his intellect. He…was himself…and I am me. I can never…ever, be as strong as he was. Xen…" She trailed off, tear escaping her eye. "My love…he was almost a god. Unlike Dark Falz, who had the power…Xen…understood. Even corrupted, he could still think for himself, he could still plan. He…was…everything I'd ever wanted…" She shook her head.

"Enough of this. When do we leave?"

"Gather what you need for an unspecified amount of time. apparently every tenth floor, provided you can defeat the guardian, a connection is opened between the tower, and the initial teleporting point. Return is possible, but if you don't go back through that gateway in enough time, I'd say maybe a few hours, it shuts down. Oh…one last thing…"

He hesitated. "There were reports of…the same type of security drone found within the lunar facilities, within the tower."

Sarisa glared again. "This just keeps getting better and better…"

All that was two days ago.

We've been climbing the tower for the past few days, taking breaks every five floors. The layout of this location is not complex in the slightest. Each floor has seven rooms, five of which are used as trap and combat areas, two of which used as stairways. Travel back and forth between floors is definitely possible, and in some cases quite simple. However, the problem is indeed the Hostiles. They all are much stronger than their normal wild variant, as if someone is breeding them, or in the case of the machines, creating them, to be stronger than the others. Be it for defense of this tower, or for their own amusement, I cannot say.

So far, we have climbed roughly fifty floors. I have been keeping track for the group. And as we were warned…the 'Mothers' were quite powerful. However, once again, the Mayor was correct, there are only three variants, and we have encountered all three. We've only encountered the technic wielding variant once, however. The 'Blade' and 'Shot' Mothers being more frequent. Perhaps whoever is in control of this location is watching us? Perhaps even they have managed to tap into my own data-banks, without my knowing? If so, I have but one message. We are coming. And we shant fail.

However…the atmosphere around us has been…tense. Sarisa…is a taskmaster. She is more than willing, and capable, of pushing on without us, as she has so proven no less than thrice. Her skills with a blade are incredible. Enemies fall before her in seconds, sometimes before we can even begin to ready our weapons. Her skill with technics is borderline impossible, however I believe that to be partly because of her desire to mirror Xenmaru's personality. She, like him, has begun to view things as 'concepts' and not just what they are. During the first night, I asked her to explain how she can perform the acts she can, and she explained to me that it was because she trained herself to see how things truly are, and how they interact as conceptual existences. She claimed that at first it was difficult, after all, a rock is a rock, and can only do so much.

But she further explained, that even though one could not change the rock into something else, without visibly altering its structural form, that rock could do things beyond people's imagination. As a concept, it's an object of some size, and can be thrown around with some general amount of force, and on its own, do some damage, however slight. But the rock could also be used as a tracking point, if one were to place something upon it, an arcane 'spell', implant a chip or whatnot, and throw it down a hole, the rock could be their guide to seeing how long it takes before either it drops out of signal range, or hits the bottom. Or, it could be used to break a window, to allow some form of poison in or out of a location, or thrown at a building or tree with enough force to topple an already unstable existence.

"Anything can be used to do almost anything. Objects are slightly limited by what their size and strength is, but you can use even a sword, as a pillar to lean on, or even a key for a door, if one can think of it like that. It all relies on your ability to perceive things outside their initial purpose."

It is obvious that she still holds an immense level of resentment toward Kai. However, she has not allowed that to diminish her performance…yet. I can tell her will is weakening by the hour. He is not pushing the matter, but I can see, especially after applying some of Sarisa's lessons, how his very existence can infuriate her. I must be sure to commend her on holding back for so long…perhaps that will help…

Another "mother" fell.

"Can we…take a break…?" Kai gasped out. Unknown to him, Reve was desiring the same thing, but his wish to not go along with anything Kai said, at least verbally, combined with his own stubbornness kept him from agreeing with the human.

Sarisa gave a heavy glare. Oh how I'd love to push him hard enough he collapses and we have to leave him behind…

Kai matched her eyes, with difficulty. He held his ground.

Ugh…but if we meet something unexpected…dammit…

"Ogi." She growled, glare never leaving Kai. "Floor?"

"Ninety."

"…fine. We rest here."

Kai dropped to his rear, exclaiming thanks to the goddesses. Reve's look seemed to soften, almost relaxed as he sat down, deciding to meditate. Sarisa chose to walk away from the group, looking out of a nearby window, seeing how far above the ground they were. She blinked. Nobody had bothered to do so before, but now that she had, she found they weren't just above the ground, but above the planet.

Orbital stairway indeed… she mused to herself.

"An impressive view, is it not?"

"It reminds me of…back when we first reached the moon." A sad smile appeared on her face.

"Hey…what's that big blue thing?"

Sarisa looked at him strangely. "Uhh…the Earth?"

"He really didn't remember a thing…before he came down…we used to spend some nights looking at the Earth from above. He said he liked the view, that it looked like a big night-light in the sky."

"What was he like, before he came to Earth and forgot?" Ogi asked.

"Quiet." Reve answered. Kai and Reve had approached, hearing the conversation.

"Quieter than even myself. Blast him…ruined my reputation for being the most stoic in the army. Almost nothing seemed to faze him, as if he didn't care." He nodded to the girl next to him. "Sarisa was the only one he ever seemed to liven up around, and even then, it was only slightly."

"He had no family, no friends…he was part of the resistance but never let on to it." She continued. "He was…cold. Not obviously, but he just didn't bother interacting with others much, outside of spars. And even then, his movements…they were nowhere near as fluid as they were when he forgot. It's…strange. His personality changed so much, and yet so little, when he forgot everything. It's as if…he stopped caring about not caring. He told me…before the drop, that I was the only person he would bother calling a friend. It hurt…so much…to find out he'd forgotten all about me…"

She placed her hand against the transparent portal. "I lost him…not once…but twice…" She said softly, her words clenching the hearts of Reve and Kai, and making Ogi repeat to himself once again, he was glad he wasn't human.

I don't think I would be able to deal with the pain she has.

"It's as if the fates themselves didn't want him to survive…to live…even with everything he's done for the world, for our kind, and humanity. He fought and almost defeated Trinity centuries ago, and he reincarnated and did it agai-

She cut herself off with a gasp. A new concept began forming in her mind. She whirled around to Reve.

"What…what if…" Her eyes widened as it solidified. "What if…he was so cold…because he remembered?"

Reve stepped back in surprise, both at the concept and the look in the girl's eyes. His own eyes widened as he remembered something he overheard the younger Newman speaking about.

"Just one meeting with her…one shot…then…I'll finally…"

"Maybe you're on to something…"

Kai's head bowed. He'd stayed his distance from the girl, knowing she would likely lose her hold on herself and attack him, as told to him by Reve. He wanted things to go back to normal, back to the way they were before Trinity…before Dark Falz…He opened his mouth to say something, when the ground suddenly shook violently.

All around the tower, the ground rumbled. A massive shockwave ripped from its base, streaming across the land. Trees were uprooted, creatures were shredded into globs of blood and flesh, ruins were shattered as the wave of force washed over the earth. The sky seemed to darken…no…the very concept of light itself was being diminished around the tower, as its form seemed to glow with an unearthly force.

The rumbles were felt even as far as Dairon. Messages were sent back and forth between the Moon and the city, their contents talking about the tower's sudden flare of light and energy, and the earthquake it caused. Technicians on the moon sent visuals to Dairon of the tower in its current state.

The lengthy spire was surrounded now, by glowing rings of light. The tower itself had taken on an ungodly shimmer, as the area around it grew darker, the only true sources of color being the rings, and the tower itself. The rings seemed to be made of tiny particles, the closest zoom showing these particles to actually be symbols of unknown origin. The rings were rotating, clockwise for half, counter clockwise for the other half. Both sides noted that the energy levels in the tower began to climb rapidly, as if it were preparing for something.

Immediately, the Mayor of Dairon demanded contact be made with Sarisa and the others.

The violent rumbling sent everyone to the ground, Ogi using his larger metallic body to protect Sarisa's smaller frame. As the rumbling went on, they noticed the room they were in become illuminated by an unusual glow. Streams of blue-white were racing through the ground, collecting at the very center of the room, where the teleporter back to Dairon was. A strange glyph appeared over the teleporter, as a shaft of prismatic light suddenly erupted towards the ceiling. As it did so, the rumbling grew to a crescendo, the group fearing the ground beneath them to collapse…but as seconds became minutes, the rumbling slowed, until with a massive flare, the unstable shaft of color became nigh solid. The entire tower seemed to hum with energy, as the rumblings stopped. However…all of their mags were twitching around, as if they sensed something was wrong.

"Wh-what just happened?" Kai blurted out, stumbling to his feet.

As if in answer, Sarisa's communicator crackled to life.

"Sarisa! Come in! This is Ana from Luna Control, do you read me Sarisa?"

Sarisa pressed a single button on the box. "This is Sarisa. You're coming in loud and clear."

"Oh thank the Goddess. Sarisa, we've got an emergency."

"No shit." The others blinked at her wordage.

"The tower seems to have hyper-activated or something. There's massive energy readings coming from it, and they're still rising! Dairon reported a moderate earthquake around the time the tower began doing whatever the hell its doing. We can't tell if it's an attack or not, but all of the energy seems to be localized at somewhere towards the top of the tower."

"Here's a question, how the hell is that thing working?" Kai said.

"I don't know. There used to be interference coming from the tower itself, but I guess with whatever its doing now, the interference stopped?"

"Or rather…" Sarisa began piecing things together. "Either the energy that's being circulated now is being contained in a way that reduces interference, or perhaps boosts the signal…or someone wants us to know about what's going on outside."

"Either way, you've got to hurry. We don't know what's going on down there."

"Neither do we. Alright, we'll get going now."

"Good luck! Come back alive, okay little sis?"

Sarisa froze for a moment, the words registering. "…I will."

The group pushed on with a ferocity never seen before. Machine, beast, it didn't matter. It was felled in seconds. Each floor filled with hostiles was cleared in no time, Ogi's finger never removing itself from the trigger of his gun. Sarisa's blade slipped between sockets, slicing off limbs of beast and metal alike. Potent flares of electricity arced from Reve's fingers, as balls of flame ripped through the air, setting alight all that were in their path.

She ducked under the arm of a Hildeghana before stabbing it straight in the face, slamming a palm of lightning into her blade, electrocuting it from within. Behind her a Reyhound was shredded from within by Ogi's laser, as two Izhirak-S6's were melted by over-powered blasts of flame from Reve and Kai. They pressed on.

Finjer B was taken on by Kai. G was handled by Reve, and R was dealt with by Ogi. As the three tangled with their targets, Sarisa ran past, whirling around before firing off three spears of light. The light weapons slammed into the backs of their targets, frying circuits as the mechanical bodies dropped to the ground.

Four Arkzein R's appeared before the group. This caused them all to stop. The normal variant was hard enough, let alone two or three. But four of the rarer, stronger variant were definitely a problem. Sarisa suddenly radiated hatred.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

She didn't know what the cause of the tower suddenly activating was. She didn't know if Trinity was still alive, or if it was a clone, or anything. All she knew, was it was a threat to the world that her love had tried to protect.

She wouldn't fail his memory.

Sarisa raced forward, Femini suddenly flapping away at an intense speed. Her body was surrounded by a brilliant pink-white glow. The glow became an orb that protected her from the machines' missile barrage. The flames from the explosions swirled around her like a ring of burnination, before she rose a single fist, fire and light being sucked within.

"nobody will stop me…I swear…Xenmaru…I WON'T FAIL YOU AGAIN!"

She slammed her fist into the ground, a glyph resembling a six pointed star, with circles at its tips appearing beneath her. The circles suddenly began firing rays of light into the air, the rays piercing through the tank-like machines like blades. A heavy glow appeared beneath her.

"AKASHIC TORMENT!"

A massive beam of energy ripped from the ground, engulfing her and the machines. Four rings of light comprised of indecipherable symbols surrounded the small pillar. The light and dust faded. All that was left was Sarisa, fist still on the ground, body crackling with energy from the impressive display.

100

A room very similar to the other 'boss rooms' as Kai began to call them. Only this one had no protector, the way up already unlocked. The beam of light from below was already through this room as well. They raced around it, going up the final stairway.

They reached the top of the tower.

Around them, six pillars made of stone were at the edges of aerie. Streams of light were lancing from the bottom of the pillars to a hole in the center, where a giant glowing orb of shimmering light floated. Surrounding the orb were red bands of symbols, in the shape of an atom. Looking around, they could see hundreds of far off shimmering lights…

"Are we…in space?" Kai breathed.

He would receive no answer, for a shrill whistling sound pierced the air. They all looked up to see a massive shape dropping from the sky. They covered their eyes as a plume of dust kicked up from where the shape landed. After a few moments, the rush of wind faded, and the dust settled. They gasped (Reve simply raising his eyebrows in surprise) as they beheld the battered, beaten form of a giant version of the 'mother' robots they'd encountered numerous times before. The worst part was?

"Mother…Trinity?" Sarisa breathed out in shock.

The metal creature rose a single arm, struggling to lift itself, before hundreds of multi-colored arrows of light slammed into its form from above. It screeched a shrill scream of agonized fury, almost intelligible words being gibbered from its vocabulator as the light seemed to solidify into arrow tipped bands of color. Moments after, the bands and the arrows vanished, as the metallic creature gave a final scream of pain.

Pain, laced with fear.

Its body exploded into millions of tiny fragments, these fragments flying everywhere like a cloud of existence, before they began to be pulled back together. A figure appeared in the center of the cloud, as they swirled around it before gathering into a single orb of light, held by a pale girl. The girl, clad in a simple red bodysuit that reached just below her knees. Around her shoulders was a gold edged cloak. Light pink hair flowed down her back in a long knotted chord. Red eyes beheld the group, as the girl seemed to almost resemble Sarisa. She released her hold on the orb, the sphere flying into the air before slamming into the giant glow behind her. She stared at the group with empty eyes, her gaze disinterested, yet almost holding a hint of irritation.

"What…was that?" Sarisa uttered to her near-clone.

"The previous owner of this node. Her existence was becoming a nuisance, as her essence could have been put to use for the Reconstruction. Apparently she sought to use this one's energies for herself. I have nullified her link to this world, and this space."

"Who are you? What is this tower?" Ogi spoke.

"I am Lycoris. Guardian of this node. This tower was to provide a reconstruction point for the Master. All whom dwell within would have their energies used for the Master's return."

"Who is this…Master…you speak of?" Reve took next.

"Master is the True Ruler of this world. All shall bow before Master."

The group nodded to one another.

"Your motion suggests you are to attempt to halt the Reconstruction. This, I cannot allow. You will be banished from this space."

Before anyone could act, Lycoris rose a single arm, holding palm out to face the group. They felt a shuddering sensation all over their bodies, before they were lifted off the ground. Thrown backwards, they felt themselves as if they were being squeezed through a tube. Their progress halted suddenly, as the girl's arm began to vibrate, as if she were struggling against something.

Their mags all gave a shrill screech.

"I see. Very well. I cannot banish you, therefore I must erase you."

The hand rose to the heavens, a circle comprised of illegible runes on the ground beneath her. The circle grew shapes similar to six swords, as they lifted off the ground, rotating around her form before shooting towards the depths of space above her. The group felt their bodies being pressured, as the world distorted and changed before them. Everything became narrowed, as if they were being thrown through a long tunnel. Their mags glowed with an impossible light, before appearing to fragment into small spheres of energy, which then slammed into their bodies. They were dropped on the ground of a grassy plain, the sky above them orange-red with the fires of the setting sun.

A rumble of the ground around them, and hundreds of shadowy shapes appeared.

"Hostiles…lots of them." Kai said, readying his gunblade.

"We have to get back to the tower! We have to stop her!" Sarisa spoke, determined.

"Indeed. Let us crush these insects and return." Reve said.

"For Xenmaru." Spoke Ogi.

"For Xenmaru!"

The tower pulsed. The shimmering light seen from the heavens flared with power. Clouds parted, revealing exactly how high up the structure rose above the ground beneath its foundations. All over the world, humans beheld upon their screens the sight of the Tower, as any and all video feeds were interrupted, replaced with multiple views of the spire. They stared helpless, as hundreds of illegible runes appeared surrounding the glowing sphere atop it. Streams of energy began wafting towards the tower, the already darkened sky blackening further as it drew upon even the very concepts of existence around it. Hundreds of shimmering lights of all forms and colors spiraled around the orb, as the six smaller pillars next to it began radiating their own colors.

From around the orb glowed a pale silver light, the strands of energy grafting together in the form of what looked to the viewers like shards of dirty glass.

The pillars suddenly stopped glowing. Their light condensed into smaller forms, six colored spheres rising from the flat-topped mini-towers. Behind and to the left of the giant orb was a ball of yellow. To its right was a ball of red. In front to its right was a ball of green, and to the left, blue. Directly to the left of the Orb was black, and across from it was white. The orbs lifted off their respective pillars and began rotating until they turned into a single multicolored ring of light.

The ring seemed to expand, growing larger and larger before rising up and centering itself around the already present ring of runes around the giant silver orb. The ring continued to grow, until now it was roughly twice as wide as the very tower itself. The silver-grey panels of light began grafting together, around the ring, above it as if forming a protective shield. The panels grew, segmented, filtered themselves together, forming a cone-like shape around the ring. There was a crack, like shattering glass, and the panels seemed to shudder, before mutating color into a horrid blood red. The cone, now appearing from afar like some form of failure of an umbrella, seemed to tighten itself around the center of its tip, where a giant hole facing the heavens resided.

There was a pulse of existence, as everyone, both planet and satellite side shuddered, as if something powerful had just gripped their very souls.

And then…it all changed.

Hundreds of bodies were reduced to bloody husks. They pushed forward, aiming for the distortion in the air that seemed to be just beyond their reach no matter how hard they tried. They couldn't access their Photon Blasts, their mags being used to keep them alive in this world where even breathing was painful. They were in an illusion, struggling against the phantom ties that bound them, barely surviving in self-generated bubbles that their mags created to supply them with oxygen in the vast ocean of space, the world between worlds. They shared a linked dream, in a false reality where their bodies struggled to cut a hole in the tide of impossible amounts of creatures that surged towards them, to beat them down until the energy wore out, until their lives were forfeit.

Sarisa gave a final cry of defiance, and a wall of light erupted from her body, cutting through the immediate group of shapeless creatures before them. The group rushed, reaching the gateway that led back to their bodies, out of the false reality, and back to the tower.

Their eyes snapped open as they were rocketed forward, beholding as they passed between the distance of Earth and the top of the Tower, what was happening.

The ground shuddered fiercely, as suddenly shafts of light erupted from the base of the tower. Another massive shockwave ripped through the ground, causing massive waves of the lake around the tower, the ruins crumbling to dust, the ground beneath them up-heaving as if a mighty giant were lifting the ground like a rug. The very tower itself shook as its base seemed to crumble and fragment. The people of all the cities involved in sending teams to the tower watched in shock, as the mighty structure began to disappear, from the bottom up.

All of them bore the same thought on their minds. "What the hell is going on?"

In a matter of minutes, the tower had nearly completely shredded itself, only a small section remaining, the very top ten floors. They watched as the final section of the tower floated farther away, some viewers believing that perhaps it was leaving them alone…until it slowly shifted itself. Moments later, the empty center of the unusual cone-shaped object around the top of the tower was now pointed directly at earth. Fears were confirmed; the tower was indeed a weapon, and its target seemed to be earth. Those at Luna tried to counter-attack, before the unknown weapon could complete, but were met with failure. No matter what it was they did, their commands would not be received. Even after having being given secondary control over the cannon by Sarisa, whose Femini Mag was the sole reason why the cannon re-activated, they could do nothing.

The cannon would not respond, its internal computer refuting their commands, the words Command Invalid: Replekia Activation Confirmed… flashing on every screen.

They cried out in horror as the strange blood red cone seemed to pulse in the vastness of space, four long protrusions slowly emerging from it in the form of a giant X. Light seemed to pulse through these almost fan-blade looking objects, as they slowly revolved in a counter-clockwise manner around the edge of the cone. The orb in the center seemed to flare with light, causing the blades to slowly bend forward, as if reaching like an open hand for the planet before it. Streaks of light would shoot through the crimson blades on intervals, emerging with the pulses of the center silver orb, almost like a heart pumping blood into the body. Small glows of white appeared at a location of just below the tips of the blades, now almost completely arced forward like a claw.

Shrieks of fear ripped through the planet, as the glows intensified until they became blinding. The whole world shuddered as the claw finished its ark, a loud hum similar to that of charging energy reaching its crescendo. Time seemed to stop for a moment everyone holding on to one last shred of hope that the four heroes that had saved the world once before, could do it again…

The pale girl turned, sweeping an arm gently to the side. A single wall of light, shaped in the form of a cross, ring just within the edges, with six broadsword shapes pointing outwards in the north-west, north-east, east, south-east, south-west and west directions, as a single demonic looking blade held itself through the very center of the cross, its tip buried in the center of an infinity symbol, formed before her.

Sarisa's form slammed into the barrier, blade and wall sending sparks of energy every which way, before she was repelled, Ogi, Reve and Kai dropping to their feet just behind of where she landed.

"You are too late, though how you survived escapes me. The second phase of the ritual is complete. Behold, the beginning of the return of the world's One True Ruler."

The world as a whole flinched when the light of a thousand suns ripped through the heavens, hundreds of multicolored arrows ripping through the heavens and streaking through the air. Loud whistling sounds were accompanied by every band, as the hundreds multiplied into thousands, each of them finally arcing down and as they did so, splitting into millions.

Buildings were pierced through, animals were impaled, people were perforated and entire landscapes were impacted with the millions of arrows of light. Everything those tips touched was irradiated with foreign energy; physical forms being consumed by concept, and their ultimate existence reduced to one number.

Zero.

Mothers screamed, children cried, fathers roared, killers prayed, rapists lamented, and tortured souls cried out in joy, all as their existences were reduced to nothing, their forms shattering as the bands of light seemed to pulse, before bodies of all forms were erased into tiny particles that flew off towards the heavens.

Yet the planet remained.

Forests were decimated…yet trees still stood. Cities were leveled…yet buildings still held. An entire populace of creatures was threatened…

But life remained.

The strikes were random. Uncoordinated. Arrows would pierce the same objects multiple times, yet some locations would be completely unscathed. People had stared death in the face, only to watch as the ground five feet in front of them was shredded three times over.

A young woman stared at her surroundings in shock. Strands of color were all around her. She watched, helpless as the beams of light headed straight for her body…yet at the last moment, she felt nothing. She opened her eyes to see that the arrows had struck the ground around her, leaving her in a slight mockery of a web of color. She blinked, her unruly brown fringe flopping in her face before she hesitantly lifted an arm, parting her bangs. The strands of color connected to the arrow tipped spears looked as if they were alive. As if she were staring at streams of chords coming out of part of a computer, the very bands that held together the innards of a CAST. Entranced, she touched one, flinching back as it seared her fingers…but there was no marking. It was as if her very soul were touched. She flinched again as the scar on her stomach flared in irritation.

And then she gasped, comprehension filling her mind.

This is…

They all stared in horror as their planet was pierced with millions of spears of light. They were frozen in place, their failure to save their world cycling through their minds like an impossible dream. When the light cleared, particles of energy flowing towards the strange ring, being gathered into the orb behind them, they let out soft gasps of surprise.

The planet remained.

Sections of it looked broken, entire landmasses changed by the unknown and seemingly pointless attack. They would not know the amount of casualties, human, newman, cast and creature alike, but they suspsected it was in the high tens of millions.

But the planet held.

Sarisa gave a soft laugh. Tears still streaming down her face. She whirled around to the pale girl who slightly resembled her, and chuckled emptily.

"You failed, Lycoris."

"It would seem you have not grasped the significance of this event. Your inability to comprehend is astounding, but not surprising, for a mortal. No. Failure has not come this day. It is merely a matter of time…" She turned to the orb, as if hearing something from it.

"Yes…only time…very well. You have shown immense skill and power to get this far, to break free from my Enclosed Space. The ritual is nearly complete…therefore I shall stop you here, myself."

The same symbol she showed while defending their attacks appeared behind her, a transparent wall of power separating them from the orb, still pulsing with energy as fragments of existence began to filter inside it. Above them, Earth glowed from the light of the sun, a shining star still holding after an immensely powerful attack.

A massive sword dropped down behind Lycoris. Rather than slamming into the ground, it stopped inches above it, a small glyph briefly appearing around the point of impact. Cracks seemed to appear in the giant sword, before it shattered into glowing fragments which engulfed Lycoris' body. She glowed the same pale white, as within a brief flash, she had now changed.

The cape was gone, replaced with a "cape" of eight gold rimmed, red single edge blades floating behind her. Her long ponytail was tipped with a small dagger. The body suit stretched to fit her entire form now, hands encased in gloves with clawed nails at the tip, as blade edged crimson gauntlets reached past the length of her entire fore-arm. Her legs were encased in long bladed greaves with rounded blades at the bottom, showing no place for feet to be balanced. On her elbows and just below her hips were glowing green lights that occasionally pulsed like a heartbeat. Her eyes were covered by a visor that stretched past the back of her head at the ears, like a pair of horns.

A single glowing red eye greeted the group.

"Activating Termination Protocol."

In a split second, she was on the group. A kick with the back of her left leg to Sarisa's stomach to knock the girl away, before whirling around and blocking an overhead swing from Kai, retaliating with a punch to his gut, before ducking low and sweeping her legs along the ground, cape of swords following, tripping the hunter up before she twisted, jamming both 'feet' into his torso, before twirling mid-air and kicking him in the face upward. She took to the sky, following him, evading a blast from Ogi's gun. She twirled horizontally, cape of blades digging into his body, but not segmenting him due to the Mag's protection, before throwing her weight backwards, spreading her legs open for a double footed kick as all nine blades (the ninth being the one in her hair) sliced upward. Kai felt the pain, but didn't get bisected by either attack, to which Lycoris followed by swinging her arm below her in a full circle rotation, red mist appearing before a large curved ghostly looking apparition formed, smashing into Kai's head and sending him to the ground.

Sarisa could only gape at the acts, for she moved faster than the girl's eyes could track. All that had happened in the span of only a few moments.

Reve made a large leap, twirling his double-blade above him for a double overhead swing, when Lycoris calmly whirled around and flung out a hand, moments before a crimson form lashed out of the ether, taking shape of a small sword, ramming into the Newman's gut, before a second blade formed behind him, pushing him higher than he intended to do.

"Be gone."

She swung her right arm below her, almost exactly the way she did before, but for a brief moment they all felt a pulse of existence, the very fabric of reality being re-written to her specifications, as the glyph of blades appeared behind her for a split second, before a massive red and black misty whirling distortion appeared above Reve, as Lycoris finished her arc, a massive glowing sword shooting from the rift and crashing directly into his face, halting his movement and smacking him back to the ground.

He was in agony…but still alive.

The blades fanned out like eight wings, and she rocketed for Sarisa. A single jab with blade arm was blocked by the flat end of Sarisa's Alias, before the dark-pink haired newman leaned back in time to evade a bladed foot to her face. She ducked under Lycoris' wild swing, thanking the Goddesses she did, for the older girl had also swung out her cape in a diagonal arc to try to take Sarisa's head off. Suddenly having a pulse of instinct, Sarisa quickly back-flipped, the cape of swords inches off the ground, just where her feet were before.

"Opening rift."

Lycoris rose both arms, before slamming them down. Few noted the significance of that maneuver, until a mutli-colored circle appeared beneath Sarisa. She found her movements slowed, her body heavier, and her eyes widened in shock. She quickly looked back up, seeing that Lycoris' hand was positioned at waist height, a misty black-red distortion surrounding it. The ground rumbled, as it appeared as if the girl was reaching into some sort of container for something.

"Systems Activate."

She wrenched her arm up, and a literal wall of swords ripped out of the ground, racing for Sarisa's position. The girl could do nothing but cover her face as her body was sliced and slashed by the rising blades, her form being knocked into the air. She felt herself falling backward before another brief distortion opened up not too far in front of her as another blade, this one flatter than the others, and with a slightly curved tip ripped through the air, slicing right through her, before a second one spawned behind her, knocking her higher, much like with Reve. Only this time, Lycoris threw her arms forward, a single blade launching forward at an angle, right through Sarisa again, a second spawning below her, forcing her higher still. Lycoris followed, two more appearing in sequence, before she curled up again, swinging overhead with the curved blade reaching out like an extending arm punching downward, knocking the girl to the ground, air coming out in a heavy gasp.

As Lycoris landed, she flung out another arm, one of the swords behind her, blocking a potent laser from Ogi's rifle. She turned around, swords flicking out and deflecting photon beams and pellets left and right, before she shifted to the side, letting a fireball rip right past her, forcing Ogi to give up the assault and roll aside, while Lycoris swept her leg back, tripping the charging Kai, before grabbing him by the neck and holding him above her as all eight blades lifted up and mentally commanding all eight of them to converge at once, impaling him from every possible horizontal angle, before they relented, the elder hunter giving out a scream of agony before being flung away, carelessly. She swung an arm out, summoning and launching a blade out towards Ogi, who had just fired. The two attacks cancelled out before Lycoris suddenly appeared in front of him, slamming both arms into his chest, catching the CAST by surprise, before raising both arms over her head, the world pulsing again.

"Everything…Disappear."

A heavy rift appeared in front of her, three slightly overlapping rings appearing in front of the rift, as a hail of hundreds of blades ripped through the air, each one shooting straight through Ogi, pinning him to the glowing barrier wall.

"Altering space."

She flipped over a bolt of electricity launched by Reve, before fanning out her blades and commanding them to revolve around her, spinning her blades around her like a saw as she slammed into the elder Newman, before leaning down and swiping her hand along the ground, summoning a rotating scythe-edge right in Sarisa's way as the girl tried to take the entity by surprise.

Lycoris was getting irritated. The interlopers were not dying as they were supposed to. Their bodies did not rupture upon being cut by her blades, their blood spilled, but their limbs remained connected. They seemed to get right back up from every assault, in pain, but not actually damaged. Every blade she sent at them struck home, every strike she made found its target, but they still stood, generally looking unharmed, aside from the obvious discomfort they were feeling. Even after overclocking her Murasame distortion summoner, causing it to multiply and repeatedly crush the damn man-cat, he still got back up. The girl-feline-human seemed to be enraged by that maneuver, and suddenly her attacks were actually getting through! Trying to block an overhead, she found herself being punted backward, and then hard pressed to match the girl's swings! She had to grab a blade from her cape and actually use it for Tia's sake! And then, since she was so focused on stopping the girl from landing a devastating strike, the machine managed to actually blow her away with one of its rifle shots, into the waiting blade of the human, who then bounced her to the man-cat who actually struck home, multiple times.

Recovering from that, she was unable to block the many spears of light ripping through the air, which crashed into her form, slamming her into the wall where the girl launched one final giant glowing spear, which really hurt. She was overloaded at this point, weakened from the actual strikes. Unfortunately for her, the armor she had did little for protection, she was an erasure clause, not a damn firewall. But she couldn't stop.

They had grouped back together. Bleeding, panting, Ogi's circuit-board showing, one of his photoreceptors broken beyond repair…but they had her on the ropes. They all figured that one good assault, and they'd have won. Then they can worry about putting a stop to things.

But Lycoris had one last trick up her sleeve.

"Activating Murakumo Unit."

The ground rumbled beneath her, a blood red version of her glyph of blades appearing behind her.

"TERRA = ADDR:0x011:0737:0501 :: jYEwA INFINITIA"

The group blinked at the unintelligible words, as Lycoris called them out, raising her right hand to the heavens. The group tensed, waiting.

They were rewarded by being knocked to their knees by an unimaginable pressure upon their bodies. A massive black and red distortion had ripped into place around Lycoris' hand, 'rays' of 'black light' swirling from the pulsating orb that had taken shape. Her cape of swords had fanned out entirely, floating just behind her like eight bladed wings. A wall of black ripped through the area, but only serving to push the group onto all fours. Ogi was the first to notice the problem. Parts of his chassis were slowly cracking under the unknown force.

That is when their mags re-appeared, their protections having run out. They all gave weak trills, crying out, lamenting their inability to help their masters. The orb pulsed, their bodies now being pressed against the ground. Sarisa's hair was fraying at the ends, her lungs were having trouble expanding, her body felt so heavy.

"G-Gravitational…distortion…?" Ogi managed to grind out, just before his vocabulator crashed.

Their eyes widened at the words. It all made sense now. Their view was covered in black for a few moments, as the wall seemed to slide right by them. As it condensed into the rippling sphere around Lycoris' hand, their bodies felt lighter for a moment. Sarisa's eyes widened as Femini managed to implant a single word in her mind.

Singularity.

The pressure lifted entirely…in fact, their bodies began to rise off the ground of their own accord, the group finding themselves slowly lifting, the weightlessness of Zero Gravity taking hold. Their hearts pounded, their subconscious minds temporarily tapping into the collective unison of memory, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

They shut their eyes.

A massive flare of light.

Upon being met with the brightness of light, rather than the darkness of termination, they unconsciously opened their eyes, noting that the distortion around Lycoris' hand had vanished. They felt ground upon their bodies, rumbling with the echoes of power that the now solidifying orb was emitting. They cursed themselves, lamented their failure not once, but twice over. None had noticed that Lycoris' weapons and armor had vanished, the giant blade they came from returning to existence behind her, the pale girl staring with wide eyes at the now solid sphere.

The grey orb seemed to crack, fissures appearing in its form, as it opened up. The creases had made the orb now take the form ten gigantic feathered silver wings, which seemed to shimmer a multitude of colors. A glowing figure of light seemed to be concealed in the center of the slowly opening wings, the orb as if a mother sparrow removing her protections over her young. Rays of light emitted from the glowing form, its true nature impossible to determine. Ogi could not speak, but his scanners were going off the charts at the amount of power being put out by whatever that had just been 'born'. The 'wings' pulled back further, before glowing brighter themselves, shrinking into the center glow. The 'feathered' portions seemed to smooth out, before becoming simple lances of light. The group slowly stood, their injuries and aches keeping them from doing anything further, as all they could do was watch their failure slap them in the face.

The light began fading, and as it did, began to take a humanoid shape. The 'cage' seemed to fade as well, becoming only a small series of pointed lights behind the now fading humanoid glow. The silver light seemed to be encased in dark grey fissures, the sound of slowly cracking glass echoing around them, before the light itself exploded, shattering like fine china, the sound of a vase shattering upon the ground ringing in their ears.

They could see nothing, for Lycoris was in the way. They heard footsteps, sensed movement, but all that they could see were the six spikes of light.

And then she moved. They tensed, preparing to go down fighting. Ready to face whatever horrible being of destruction that had been born.

When they beheld who exactly it was that had been released, all they could do was stare.

The people of Dairon left their homes, stepped out of buildings, watching as suddenly the sky was covered in a blaze of multi-colored aura.

All around the world, the visage of space was veiled with a radiant, and beautiful looking aurora. The curtain of shimmering lights flowing like waves in the sea, brought many a tear to the eyes of humans and Newmans alike. Such beauty after such rampant destruction was nearly unheard of, but the sight gave way to a bud of hope in the hearts of sentient existence.

The Mayor of Dairon gave commands left and right, sending hunters and civilians alike to find out what the hell was going on. First the world is almost destroyed by the tower that turned into a canon, communications were once again cut to the only people who might know what is going on, and now this aurora? While it may look pretty, it could simply be a veiled attack, or perhaps a by-product of the first one.

She ran.

Something's changed! I can feel it! The pain has come back!

The brown haired girl ran as fast as she could, her two companions struggling to keep pace. While none of them were out of shape, hell, Seth had even just gotten a damn agility upgrade! The girl's pace was grueling. She moved faster than either of her partners had ever seen her move before, her eyes shimmering with a light they'd only beheld once. They were further confused by the girl's random raving. She kept going on about the pain being back, something neither of them understood.

Still, the brunette was their de-facto leader, so they had little choice but to follow, even if where she was heading was the one place neither of them wanted to go.

She ran past broken ruins, leapt over gaps in the ground over wild running water, vaulted over fallen trees.

Her destination was set, her determination unwavering, her desire…

They stared.

"Damn…you guys look like shit." A familiar voice spoke.

"Master, you know these interlopers?" Lycoris asked, clutching the figure's arm.

"…'master?'" the figure looked at the girl confused, not even knowing who she was.

"Who are you anyway?"

"Silly Master. I am Lycoris. I have been charged with supplementing and assisting the return and protection of the Lord of Chaos."

"…isn't that a flower?"

She just smiled brightly at him, nuzzling its arm with her cheek.

"It…can't be…" Reve spoke.

"Dude? Ok, I know I'm pretty good looking, but sorry, I don't swing that way. You should know this by now."

"…e... …ou….re…iv…?"

The man just stared blankly.

"…the fuck did you just say? Kai did you put another bullshit program in him? I thought we told you not to pull those pranks anymore."

The tanned hunter could do nothing but gape.

"And his brain shut down. Wonderful. Blank stare seems to be the only thing he knows how to do anymore…"

"…Xen…?" Sarisa whispered in disbelief.

"Last time I checked, yeah." Was the response.

"Xen…maru?"

He tilted his head at her. Tears suddenly appeared in her eyes. She should have questioned it. It was too convenient, it made no sense.

But it was there.

That familiar spark. The familiar scent. The very feeling he gave off.

It was him.

She screamed out and leapt at him, Xen quickly yanking his arm away from Lycoris' grasp, to the other girl's disappointment, before catching his beloved in his arms.

"You're alive!" She screamed out, squeezing him with everything she had.

"Seems that way." He answered, bemused.

"…o…"

He blinked. "Wait…is your vocabulator borked or something?" Ogi nodded. He made to see if he could help, when Lycoris stopped him.

"Master, do you wish his silence ended?"

"Uhh, yeah. Would be nice."

She nodded, holding out a hand. A black distortion appeared around Ogi's head for a moment, the sound of crunches, grinding and fizzling filling their ears before it faded.

"Testing connection…wow, its like I have a brand new one."

"Handy little thing aren't you?" Xen directed at Lycoris. She smiled brightly. "I was made to help you in any way possible."

He tilted his head again. "I'll have to get back to that."

"HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU ALIVE?"

"It talks!" Xen responded to Kai's outburst.

"It doesn't like being referred to in the third person!"

"It just did what it doesn't like doing, therefore creating a contradiction loop within its own existence." Lycoris responded.

Kai just stared, brain fried once again by the easy retort.

"He raises a valid question." Reve finally spoke.

"Nice to see you too. Really though? Hell if I know." He shook his head. "Last thing I remember is that fuck-off laser coming down at me."

"The Concept of Chaos imprinted you upon itself, sealing the concept of your existence within its eternal memory, before pulling your mag into a small rift for protection. Then, it created a shell, to re-create your form from scratch. It called me to this location, where another existence was trying to re-form itself, to guard it, and facilitate your recovery. The backup of the program known as "Trinity" attempted to lure in humanoids to steal their flesh and bones to create a more human-shell for its 'consciousness'. Upon learning that it planned on taking over your completed form, I terminated that program. Forcibly."

"Then you tried to kill us."

"You stood as if you were going to attempt to impede his return. I could not allow that. I had no fore-knowledge of your history, only that the Collective had decreed that I guard this location from all who would try to halt the re-formation of the Collective's chosen vessel."

"Hey, we DID ask what you were doing." Sarisa pointed out.

"No, you merely asked who I was, what the purpose of this tower was, and who Master was. Upon being told he was the True Ruler of this world, you made motions to impede the process. At no point did you ask who the True Ruler was, or I would have informed you that it was the Lord of Chaos. And judging by your responses to Master, you knew of his position beforehand."

"…why are we constantly being out-logic'd in the past couple years? I mean really, since Xen came down, we've been beaten at every turn. What the HELL man?" Kai complained.

"She has a point though." Reve said.

"That's the PROBLEM!" Kai spewed, frustrated.

"Going by the pattern of events, we likely would have guessed either Xenmaru, or Dark Falz. And knowing us, we would have asked first, or rather, Sarisa or I would have. Kai likely would have blurted Dark Falz' name out, to which any possible number of events would follow, most ending in us being enlightened to the truth." Ogi predicted.

"She STILL tried to kill us!" Kai yelled.

"If I'd known Xen was in that ball, I would have done the same." Sarisa said, deadpan, still not letting go of Xenmaru.

Kai was going to retort when Lycoris' head snapped to the side.

"Something wrong?" Xen asked.

"I'm detecting a transmission signal. A gateway has been activated and is currently requesting access to this space. Confirm or Deny?"

"Confirm. We can handle it if it's hostile."

"Acknowledged. Allowing access."

A bright beam of light erupted from the hole behind them. They all turned, Sarisa detaching from Xen, whom stood at the ready. A small glyph appeared hovering over the giant opening, acting as a platform for the three figures that had appeared as the light faded.

The two groups stared at each other. The new arrivals continued to stare, the middle one, a female brunette human walking forward as if in a trance. The light reflected off of her glasses, her black boots clopping on the stone ground, blue eyes shimmering with awe, adoration, and…

"I knew it…" She whispered. Lycoris waited for any sort of subconscious command deeming this arrival as a threat. She tensed when the girl put a hand gently on Xen's cheek.

"The moment I touched that strange beam...I felt it. I still have the scar, see?" She lifted her shirt, showing an X shaped scar over her belly button. Xen's eyebrows raised.

"You're the fake Sarisa!"

She smiled. "Alice. My name is Alice. The CAST is Seth, and the blonde dude is Chris."

"Wait, THAT's why you were making us haul ass to the tower's last location?" Chris called out.

She nodded. "I couldn't explain it. But before you died, there would be a slight tingling pain in the scar. When you died, it stopped. Then the reports came in that some device had somehow managed to corrupt you, and you were killed in the attempt to snap you out of it. We all saw the flash of light from the cannon…and then after a few months, when Sarisa started making her rounds, I saw the new mag she had. I didn't confront her though…going by her expression, she was..."

"I believe the term is 'fucked up.'" Seth supplied.

Alice gave a small snort. "Yeah. That about puts it right. I kinda figured she had something to do with your death…but her new demeanor kept me from acting on it. Then, a couple hours ago, when the tower vanished and turned into a weird weapon and fired, I thought I was dead. But the beams missed me, barely. I touched one of the strands, and immediately after I did, the pain started up again. So I came up with a theory, that perhaps it was some sort of indicator of your life."

"And you followed it here?"

"Well, I figured that the most likely place for you to be, was where the tower was. Looks like I was right."

"We need to go back. We need to tell everyone you're alive!" Sarisa said.

"there's a problem with that though." Kai spoke up. Sarisa glared at him, echoed by Alice and Lycoris.

"Damn you just piss all the bitches off don't you?" Xen winced as Sarisa absently smacked his arm.

"Yeah. My luck's been shit lately…but no, seriously. What do you think will happen when the world finds out that their friends and loved ones were killed, their homes destroyed, their countries erased, just so Xen could come back?"

The others' eyes widened upon that information, save for Lycoris and Xenmaru.

"The Collective demanded a sacrifice of existence to re-form the Master's body. Doing so bound his soul to this space, making him the True Ruler of this planet. Through the Well of Chaos, this world is now his to command, to do with as he sees fit. As such, it is his to protect or destroy upon his desires. Their thoughts and opinions mean nothing. Their concepts can be easily erased and replaced with more fitting and loyal ones at any moment. The planet itself has requested a protector from both internal and external forces, and collaborated with the Well to make that protector, the Master. Terra itself requested a method to keep its existence continued, even if it meant temporarily sacrificing some of its form, and many of its creations to do so. After all, it was humans that led it to be damaged by the Orbital Cannon in the first place, as they had created an existence that thought slightly similarly to the Core. By having a Guardian, that can regulate and control the actions of both Humanity and all who would seek to destroy or manipulate its space from without, the Planet can now be at peace, knowing it is safe to continue its existence."

"Damn you're cold." Xenmaru muttered. "Really though…I can't say I feel guilty. I didn't ask to die, and I didn't ask to be revived, therefore I didn't ask for the world to be decimated for my revival to be possible. Chaos is an existence all its own, older than time itself. It will do what it decides to do, and there's little we can do about it. With me around though, I can at least temper the Random that happens a bit. But really, if they want someone to blame, they should blame whoever made it so I was knocked back in the front in the first place. I could kinda tell Sarisa had that in the bag, and she was doing exactly what she needed to do. So whoever fucked it up, in the end, is the reason why all this happened."

Immediately everyone but Xenmaru and Lycoris glared at Kai.

"…shit."

"No…" Ogi's voice got their attention.

"He may have been the one to fire the shot…but I was the one who created that situation in the first place. Both by underestimating Xenmaru's will and control over himself, and by not listening to him in the first place by following his request when he sensed himself losing control, and killing him before he could be a threat."

"…balls I was hoping you wouldn't say that, Ogi."

The CAST tilted his head at Xen.

"Cause now it's back to me, who listened to Kai and pushed away my power, which pissed off the collective."

"Master, may I scan your memory?" Lycoris asked.

"…you can do that?"

"My existence is directly tied to yours. As long as you live so shall I. I can access your mind, but only if you allow it."

"Uhh…" He blinked rapidly. "Go ahead?"

"This may tingle."

She closed her eyes and placed her hand on Xenmaru's forehead, parting his bangs, hair now black with silver streaks through it. Images, sensations, voices…Information entered her mind. She quickly followed the connections, the links in the chains of his memory. She removed her hand.

"The concept of 'fault' once again returns to the existence known as 'Kai.' He allowed his fear and emotions to cloud his view, placing a foolish request upon you. While you are at fault for listening to him, you were still unfamiliar with many aspects of communication, friendship, and comprehension of those concepts. Thus, the argument of him having willingly tricked you, coerced you, if you will, into following his fears and desires is the strongest. You were confused, and a fragment afraid as well, but you had confidence in yourself. However, Kai held no confidence in you, his trust wavering obviously. His blindness showing itself upon your words to the program, Trinity, he focused solely on the notion that now, charged with the power over the Concept of Chaos itself, you would become just like her, it was only a matter of time. Through his fear and mistrust, he made a foolish, blind suggestion. Wheras had he pushed that all away, distanced himself from emotion, he would have realized, based on your personality and mannerisms, you were the best person to inherit this power. You had, and have, few desires, the one main being that your friends be safe, even at your own expense. You didn't care for humanity, or existence, but you didn't not care. You went either way as needed or requested, and believed in Truth, rather than following everyone else.

Master, you were the best candidate for Chaos to inhabit, due to your ability to analyze situations from multiple points. You lived the very Chaos that had grafted itself to you. You already held the mindset. Just now, you got the power to accompany it. But that one allowed his fears to take hold, thus damning the world."

Xen just stared. "Damn…you're good."

"That would explain why all the Newmen hated him." Reve input.

They all looked to him.

"After your death, Xenmaru; almost every Newman turned their backs upon Kai. Ana especially has been giving him the cold shoulder. They knew he was the cause of the end of their Hero, and seeing Sarisa so broken…none acted upon their hatred, for they worried of tarnishing your memory, as you were the one who brought Humans and Newmen back together as one race, even if only for a short time. Knowing you are alive again…their hatred will fade, but to them, He is the picture perfect reason why Trinity became what she did. Especially after your little speech."

Xen frowned. "The world…went to shit…huh?"

Immediately Lycoris smacked him upside the head. "Ow! The fuck was that for?"

"You were entering a spiral of downward mentality. Your thoughts began to turn towards wondering if your continued existence was worth the instability you created. Might I remind you, Master, that none of this was your fault. You saved the world, you protected the people, you performed as a picture perfect hero would, and you did it not for fame, or glory, or recognition, or any form of self-servicing act outside of survival, but because you chose to. You protected them further by keeping one of their best protectors alive when random chance, and the will of Fate demanded her end, by sacrificing yourself to an unknown power, with the hopes that you would at least be able to take it out with you. You. Are. A. HERO. If the inhabitants of Terra choose to denounce you because your existence causes instability that only comes due to their own blindness and stupidity then I say do a Trinity and start everything over. You have the power, and as Chosen Protector and Guardian of Terra you have the right. You are her chosen defender. You are the one bonded to the Well of Chaos. You are a GOD. You protected the people not just in your last life, not just in the life before that, but even now just by existing. If they cannot comprehend that concept, then let them wipe themselves out, and rebuild civilization from the ground up, just as their forefathers did.

The Well of Chaos tends to only have one wielder at a time, not just because it gets bonded to them, but because few can handle the power. And most of those that can, are those who go mad with it. You hold no such weakness due to your way of thought being exactly like it. You are effectively Immortal until you either choose to die, or become corrupted, in which the Well will send a request to the Universe itself, to summon forth someone to put an end to you, and inherit its existence again. If the sentient existences upon Terra's surface choose to reject your existence, simply sow the seeds of Chaos upon them, and let them wipe themselves out as they usually do, then come in and start it all over again. The Well has only recorded two other existences that have synchronized with it the way you have, and the first happened to be its first wielder. The second was that very same soul, reincarnated in a different life. You are the third. And your existence initially had nothing to do with otherworldly forces! You are the perfect wielder for this role. You know it, I know it, your Queen knows it, and your people know it. The Surface Dwellers may reject you, but their blindness will be their downfall as it always is."

"Alright…I get it. You're right. I guess…we'll just have to deal with things as they come."

"Let us return to the surface then." Ogi suggested.

"Wait…where's my Mag?" Xen said, looking around for Radam. A flare of light was his answer.

Six glowing objects floated down from above, the shell he was reborn in taking a new form.

"The Well changed Radam to better fit your new status."

The light faded, taking the form of six slightly illuminated metallic shapes. Soft shimmers of light were coming off of them, resembling the edges of a blade. In the center of them rest a small unit, almost like a pair of open yet cupped palms facing the heavens, two long black spears reaching behind. Xen stared at the object, the metallic creature that even he didn't understand.

"Agastya…?"

The unit seemed to spin for a moment, before flipping forward to just behind Xen, floating a half-foot away from his back. The 'blades' responded, aligning themselves like a cape behind him.

"A mag from the distant past. A very rare form that only appeared to the worthy. Its power was so vast, if their owner was near death, it could bring them from the brink. If a powerful enough force was present, it could shield them from all forms of attack for a short amount of time. and should it get irritated, it would protect its owner, in preparation for a massively powerful Photon Blast. Due to its origins, the powers it calls forth are much different than the ones summoned by present day Mags. The powers it calls forth are Estlla, taking the form of a radiant dolphin for a powerful strike against all who are in front of its summoner, Mylla and Youlla, twins who use their synchronization abilities to boost the offensive strength of their summoner, while increasing their ability to defend themselves, hastening reaction times and creating a powerful veil that reduces force. And finally Pilla, a Goddess that rains down the light of judgment from the heavens upon all who stand against her summoner."

Alice whistled. "Damn, blows my Sato right out of the water."

Xen gave a small smirk.

"Shall we proceed then?" Ogi asked.

"Yeah…let's head back." Kai nodded. Chris and Seth were already on the transporter. They activated it, the pale beam erupting into place. They and the others went through. Xen and Sarisa approached the beam, when Xen suddenly stopped. He turned, looking at Lycoris.

"Well?"

"…I can…accompany you?"

He tilted his head. "You've done more for me in the past few months, even though I technically didn't exist, than anyone's done in my entire life, save maybe Sarisa. I think that gives you the right to be able to come along."

She still looked hesitant.

"It's obvious you love him." Sarisa said. Xen blinked, not thinking about that.

"Whether it's your true feelings, or if its what you were made to do, in case I couldn't I don't know. Whether you know or not, doesn't matter. You brought him back to me. You kept me from keeping him away. You gave me back my love, and my hope. He is mine…but I don't mind if you hold him too. You've earned the right to stand by his…our side."

"…that is so hot." She blinked at Xen.

"Just…damn. When did you get like that?"

Sarisa smiled. "I grew up."

"I can see that."

"You really don't mind?"

"I'm gonna need you to keep me grounded."

"Yes, I don't think I can handle that alone."

Lycoris smiled, dashing over to them. She linked arms with Xen, as Sarisa did the same, and the three stepped towards the beam that would bring them back to the Planet, to the world that Xenmaru had been revived by the very forces of Existence to protect, alongside his friends, and his loved ones.

A/N: This is the end of my trilogy. If there's enough outcry I might make a small epilogue type thing that explains more on Lycoris, Alice and the others and the reactions to Xen coming back, and the world having been struck for it to happen. I hope you all enjoyed, and even if you didn't, well too bad, I had fun writing it, so there.