(UPDATED 6/7/2018 - changed boss-battle musics)
PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Planet Ulnar
Day 4 – 11:17 Hours
The full-blown resurrection of six famous and beloved individuals caused quite a stir, to say the least. Jiraiya and Tsunade spent the night getting drunk at the bar aboard the Vladivostok (the Starshot didn't have a dedicated bar), while Itachi started settling in as well, being granted a DDF rank of ground-force Captain (O-3) due to his previously-displayed tactical and leadership skills. Teana stuck to her big brother like glue, chattering excitedly to Tiida about everything she'd experienced; for Gamma Team, it was both amusing and strangely endearing to see their calm, mature leader acting like a giddy little kid with her beloved big bro (though Sarah was already perfectly aware that Teana could be adorable when she was cheerful enough and had someone sufficiently nurturing to bring that side of her out). Likewise, Subaru and Ginga pretty much wouldn't let their mother go, though Quint didn't mind that at all; also, Genya had nearly had a heart attack once he heard about what happened, and was on his way as quickly as possible. The rest of Ala Alba had come running upon learning of Chao's revival, and Kū Fei had held onto her tight while crying for at least 20 minutes straight (with Chao only-half-jokingly complaining about Kū hugging too tight and bruising a few ribs). Lastly, the rest of Team Guy had come over as well, and Tenten's first action upon seeing Neji alive again was to confirm some of the Konoha 11's suspicions of her attraction to him by pouncing on him with a passionate kiss.
The six had been shown the 'archival scryed footage' of everything they needed to know. The knowledge of what they were up against – Amon, Xehanort, and (at some point in the future) the Reapers, as well as Jul Mdama and his people, wherever they were, and this "Ur-Didact" that Eve was searching for – galvanized their resolve to train themselves and help train their fellows, to be ready for what was coming.
Right now, a strike force composed of Gamma, Sigma, & Theta Teams, Team Sora, Fate & Alicia, the Harmony-Element bearers plus Trixie, Golden Tiara, & Sunset, and Team Madoka moved deeper into the enemy's zone, seeking the altar-like ruins that were supposed to be Amon's main base of operations on Ulnar. They were farther in than they'd gotten yesterday, and hadn't encountered more than a few Heartless patrols. Nonetheless, they were on high alert.
"You just know something's going to pop out sooner or later, right?" Riku said.
"Eh" Sora replied. "We'll handle it when it comes."
The group moved along, soon reaching a dreary field where dull-colored, ankle-high grass coated the landscape. A small herd of lanky-built quadruped herbivores, analogous to antelope, gave the intruders a wide berth out of instinctual caution. A breeze blew through the area, rustling the tall grass and bringing a slight chill to the air. A lone black-hooded figure was approaching them through the grass, hunched over a little as it walked.
"I was wondering when you all would show up" said the gravelly voice of Master Xehanort as he lowered his hood. Everyone immediately readied themselves, summoning Keyblades or drawing other weapons. Master Xehanort smirked and snapped his fingers, and several personnel-size Dark Gateways formed around him. From them emerged Xehanort's Heartless, Xemnas, Young Xehanort, Xigbar, Saïx, Checker Monarch, the Heartless of Malia Abbadia, and Ruin.
"Hey, hey," Xigbar said, "the gang's all here. You kids ready for a rumble royale?"
"So you're picking a huge fight just for the sake of it?" Sora asked, taking a stance with his Kingdom Key, presently in its 'Ultima' form.
"If we can dispose of at least some of you," Master Xehanort replied, "it will remove obstacles to my plans and to Amon's. Of course, I do not expect this to be easy; I know that you all are too much of a threat to take lightly. I make it a point to try to avoid underestimating my foes if I can help it. That is why I brought the whole group for this one."
"As if that'll make much difference against all this" Teana gestured to the very large group of DDF magical powerhouses she was part of.
"We won't know until we try, now will we?" Young Xehanort replied.
The DDF group charged, and the Seekers of Darkness rushed to meet them. Several DDF fighters moved in ahead, focusing on particular targets. …And when they were all close enough to said targets, three Dark Barriers sprang up at the same time around three clusters of combatants from both sides – Erika, Timmy, Teana, Golden Tiara, Madoka, Miyako, Malia, Checker, Xigbar, and Saïx; Fate, Alicia, Laicixa, Ruin, and Young Xehanort; and Sora, Riku, Aqua, Xehanort's Heartless, Xemnas, and Master Xehanort – blocking the other DDF members out. The Seekers of Darkness were meaning to pick them off sequentially rather than all at once.
(AN: The following three battles take place simultaneously)
-Break-
"Well, well," Malia said, "we've got quite the setup here, haven't we?"
The six DDF fighters readied themselves, taking stances with their weapons (or, in Timmy and GT's cases, enshrouding their fists/hooves in Lightning magic and Biotic power, respectively). Malia grinned as she eyed Madoka and Miyako, and held out her right hand. In a burst of Darkness, she was holding a sleek black Keyblade with dark-purple 'teeth' and a dark-red handguard shaped like a fractured heart. There was mild astonishment amongst the DDF fighters.
"You'll be perfect for me to test my new weapon on" Malia said with an evil grin, focusing on Madoka and Miyako.
"This oughtta be good" Xigbar said with a cocky smirk, gripping his spiked/bladed blasters as he and Teana sized each other up.
"You think we can do this?" Timmy murmured to Golden Tiara as he and Erika stood on either side of her, the trio staring down Checker and Saïx.
"If we work together, maybe" the Corona agent replied.
(BATTLE MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts 2 OST – "The 13th Reflection")
"Okay, folks!" Xigbar shouted, twirling his guns with a flourish. "Let's get this show started!"
Checker and Malia fired a barrage of dark magic bolts at the heroes, who scattered and picked targets. Teana and Xigbar paired off, already flash-stepping around and firing magic bolts at each other. Malia and Madoka locked Keyblades, dueling for a few seconds until Malia was forced back by spears of Miyako's ice shooting up from the ground beneath her. Erika used all her magically-enhanced strength to block the swings of Saïx's enchanted claymore, until he was blasted aside by a Biotic Throw from Golden Tiara. Checker tried to attack GT from behind, only to be blindsided by a Lightning Punch from Timmy that sent her tumbling back. She landed on her hooves and conjured several metal spears that she launched at him, but Erika cast Reflega to protect her boyfriend.
A concussive blast of Dark magic was fired by Malia at Miyako, but the ice-using Puella Magi just used her hammer to knock it aside. Madoka fired off a Light-type Sagitta Magica, the barrage of pink magic blasts spreading out and then moving in to converge on Malia. Xigbar broke off from his gunners' duel with Teana long enough to use his space-manipulation powers to teleport Malia to safety; she nodded to him, and then charged Madoka. Saïx swung his claymore several times, releasing directed shockwaves at Erika. The little warrior threw her Keyblade forward in a Strike Raid, tossing it past the incoming shockwaves and closer to Saïx, and then teleported herself to it just before the attacks hit, grabbing the weapon and rushing at the Org.-XIII member. She locked blades with him, attacking with a strength and ferocity that seemed at odds with her small and cute appearance.
Crimson dart-bolts from Xigbar's 'Freeshooter' weapons impacted reddish-orange Crossfire Shot bolts from Teana, neither of the combatants having yet managed to land any hits on each other. Xigbar was deliberately staying out of Teana's melee range via flash-steps and teleports, fully aware that he wouldn't last a minute against her if she got close enough to use Mirage Longsword against him. Instead he kept her back with constant fire, using his power over space to attack from multiple angles in the span of seconds. Granted, if she decided to go all-out, use her Starlight Breaker, Susanō, or the like, she'd flatten him anyway regardless of range, but she seemed to still be habitually holding back enough to provide herself a challenge. She managed to get close and landed a punch on Xigbar that would've dislocated a normal person's jaw but was only enough to leave him with a small bruise later, and he rolled with the blow and warped out again.
Malia used her dark Keyblade to block several spears of ice launched at her by Miyako, and then her guard was broken by a blow from the girl's hammer, allowing Madoka to land a combo of Keyblade strikes on her. She leapt back before any further harm could be done, unleashing a Darkness-type Sagitta Magica barrage at the two girls. Madoka intercepted some with her own Light-type Sagitta Magica, and a combination of her Reflera spell and Miyako's Ice Shield spell protected the two from the rest. Miyako's hammer glowed with magic as she struck her Ice Shield, which shattered into a fusillade of Ice Daggers that went flying at Malia, who frantically leapt and twisted about to dodge the barrage. The human-form Heartless growled as she noticed a cut on her left cheek that was partially numb with cold. Then she focused power into her dark Keyblade and fired several fireballs at the duo.
Golden Tiara hit Saïx with a Biotic Pull that pulled him into a Raikahōken from Timmy, knocking him back and dealing some damage. Checker Monarch tried an electrified tackle at the boy, only for Erika to intercept and land a solid blow with the Stroke of Midnight that sent the evil mare flying back. As she then dodged a few concussive blasts of pale-blue magic from the enemy Nobody, Erika felt quite thankful that it was daytime, and thus neither of Ulnar's two moons were in the sky for Saïx to draw power from; he was enough of a handful already. Timmy sent out two Raijū Tsuiga hounds at Saïx, forcing him back, while GT formed a Biotic Barrier to protect the two kids from another barrage of high-velocity conjured javelins from Checker, and then launched the barrier as a concentrated shockwave that bowled Checker over.
Teana cast Crossfire Shot: Macross Shift, forming a huge storm of red-orange mana bolts and firing all of them at once at Xigbar. Even with his space-manipulation/teleportation abilities, it took every bit of agility Xigbar had to dodge the majority of the bolts, and a few of them actually hit, accumulatively dealing a fair amount of pain and damage. Teana rushed at him, a Mirage Longsword readied, and he brought the unfired spikes of his Freeshooters to bear to block the blade. …And then a spatial distortion became visible from Teana's Eternal Mangekyō eyes, and the two-dozen Crossfire Shot bolts she'd sucked up with Kamui came shooting out, nailing Xigbar at point-blank range. He warped back to avoid a follow-up swing of her sword, one hand clutching his midsection where a few particularly hard hits had been dealt.
"I don't get paid enough for this…" he said, panting. "Screw it. I don't like the Dark Voice that much anyway. If you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna say you won and go wait for the Boss to wrap his fight up."
Xigbar then vanished through a Dark Portal, reappearing outside the barrier, hiding with his energy signature masked to avoid detection by the DDF personnel waiting outside, as he began using his limited/basic healing magic ability to slowly mend his wounds.
The two kids and Golden Tiara pressed their attack on Saïx and Checker, keeping them from being able to charge up any big moves. Then Teana jumped in, aiding Erika against Saïx while GT and Timmy took on Checker. Checker fired a wave of small explosive mana bolts, and Golden combined a strong Biotic Barrier with Timmy's Round Shield spell to (barely) withstand them. Tim then returned fire with Lightning-type Sagitta Magica, with GT charging in their wake. Checker shielded against the electric magic bolts, and then a Biotic Punch from Tiara shattered her shield spell and pushed her back. A focused Biotic Shockwave then sent her hurtling back, and Timmy flash-stepped into her 'flight' path and hit her with a lightning-charged palm strike that sent her careening right back at GT. However, Checker teleported out of Golden's reach before the coming blow could be landed, appearing off to the side, wincing and panting for breath. She tried to call up another spell, but the pain from her three broken ribs was too much for her to focus through. Snarling in wounded pride, she teleported out, fleeing the battle.
Saïx and Malia joined up, seeing how their two partners were out of the fight. The six DDF fighters converged on them, surrounding them on all sides. Saïx calmly observed the situation, and then turned to Malia.
"A retreat would be wise" he said emotionlessly. "Even together, the two of us do not have the power to defeat all six of them, especially if Lanstar uses her Mangekyō techniques. It would be better to save ourselves, so we may be of use for Master Xehanort's future plans."
"Though I am loathe to leave a fight," Malia replied, "I am in agreement. Let's get out of here."
Before any of the DDF group could do anything to stop them, the two of them vanished through a Dark Gateway that opened beneath their feet, letting them fall through. As they left, the surrounding Dark Barrier came apart, freeing the sextet.
-Break-
The Testarossa Triplets, Fate in her young-adult form and Laicixa & Alicia in their child forms, stared down their foes – Young Xehanort and Ruin. Everyone already had Keyblades drawn – Keyblade-form Lochaber for Alicia, Midnight Roar for Laicixa, Sign of Innocence and Keyblade-form Bardiche for Fate, Ruin's two Dark Keyblades, and No-Name for Young Xehanort. Fate scowled at her Heart's Darkness, and Ruin gave a calm smirk in return.
"It's been a while since we last fought, Fate" Ruin said. "I've been looking forward to this. Here is where I take your & your sister's Hearts, and forge a new χ-Blade! And this time, I have help to ensure I succeed!"
"Do not assume it will be so easy, Dark One" Laicixa replied. "All three of us have trained since last time."
"Yeah!" Alicia shouted. "Don't underestimate our ability!"
"Hmph" Young Xehanort smirked. "You're quite confident. Well, then…"
(BOSS MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST – "Dark Impetus")
His dark aura flared to life, as did Ruin's a moment later.
"…Let us see if your confidence is well-founded!" he said.
"Come, sisters!" Ruin cackled gleefully. "It's time to shed some blood!"
The two rushed at the Testarossa Triplets with blinding speed, Young Xehanort forming two Illusion Clones each of him and Ruin in an attempt to throw the trio off. Alicia responded by swinging her Keyblade in a wide arc, unleashing a slicing wave of magic that crashed against YX & Ruin's Dark Barriers and dispelled the illusions. Ruin charged at Fate, only for Alicia and Laicixa to head her off, locking blades with her and then forcing her back. Young Xehanort tried to intervene, but Fate stood in his way, attacking and keeping him busy.
Young Xehanort leapt back, slashing his Keyblade to release an X-shaped slicing blast of flame at Fate, who rolled under it and threw the Sign of Innocence in a 'Strike Raid' attack, hitting YX and knocking him back. He flash-stepped away before she could land a follow-up blow with Bardiche Keyblade, though, getting out of range. He fired a barrage of Darkness bolts at her, and she countered with a Round Shield followed by a Photon Lancer, which failed to break his defenses just as his attack failed to break hers. They rushed each other and locked blades, a furiously fast melee duel breaking out.
Midnight Roar and Lochaber Keyblade clashed against the two dark weapons that Ruin wielded, the two physically-younger Testarossa siblings matching blades with their same-sized evil counterpart. Laicixa attacked with a Sonic Blade move, and Ruin blocked it, sliding back a few feet from the force. Ruin leapt back and threw a Strike Raid, but Alicia conjured a Reflega spell that blocked it, and then countered with a Photon Lancer. Ruin blocked with a Dark Shield, but then Laicixa appeared behind her and landed a solid blow with her Keyblade. Ruin growled as she flash-stepped away to safety, before then holding her Keyblade high and casting Dark Thundaga, forcing the sisters to frantically move about to dodge the lightning bolts.
Young Xehanort's Keyblade transformed into a glowing blue energy whip with the cutting teeth at the tip, and he swung it at Fate with great speed and skill. She danced and rolled around and under his swings, occasionally blocking with her Keyblades. She blocked a horizontal swing with Bardiche Keyblade and fired a Triple Firaga at YX from Sign of Innocence, forcing him to transform his weapon to its normal form and use it to focus a strong Shield spell to stop the fireballs. Fate took the opportunity to charge at him, her two Keyblades battering at Young Xehanort's defense, trying to push him back. He gave ground to avoid being overcome, and when he had a split-second's opportunity he flash-stepped away, reappearing off to the side. He tried to cast a Slow spell on her, but Bardiche automatically Flash-Moved her to safety, allowing her to blitz in and engage him up-close again.
Ruin tossed out two large Dark Lightning Orbs that crackled with Darkness-enhanced lightning magic as they flew through the air towards Alicia and Laicixa. When the two moved to dodge, the orbs pursued them, discharging bolts of electricity at them. Alicia hit hers with a Spark Raid, dispelling it, and then fired a Triple Blizzaga at Ruin, who formed a Dark Shield that barely withstood the rapid-fire triple impact of freezing magic. Laicixa, meanwhile, threw her pursuing orb off by using Erika's technique, throwing her Keyblade out to the side and using the weapon's teleportation recall ability in reverse, warping herself to the weapon. The Dark Orb couldn't track the sudden jump, and fizzled out upon losing its target. Laicixa then dashed at Ruin, Keyblades clanging together as they dueled, and Alicia jumped in a second later.
Young Xehanort conjured several shimmering black orbs that surrounded him. He slowly walked towards Fate as every one of them fired a continuous dark-magic 'laser' beam at her. Fate ducked and dodged and blocked with her Keyblades as the beams slowly swept around in multiple directions, trying to slice her. After about 20 seconds of this, the orbs dissipated and faded away, and Young Xehanort rushed at her alongside two Illusion Clones, attacking her from three different angles. Fate simply used one of her newest techniques, taught to her by Sasuke: golden Lightning-type chakra surrounded her as she used Chidori Nagashi to form a surprise defense that the Illusion Clones were dispelled on contact by, and which forced Young Xehanort to break off his attack to avoid being shocked. He scowled at her as she discontinued the technique and then charged at him.
Alicia and Laicixa continued to press their attack on Ruin. Ruin landed a punch to Alicia's face that sent her flipping back and would surely leave a bruise on her cheek; less than a second later, a roundhouse kick from Laicixa struck Ruin's side, rattling her ribs. The two sisters then combined Reflega spells and threw the resulting wave of hexagonal magic shields forward like a ram, slamming into Ruin and sending her flying back. She landed not too far from Young Xehanort, and the two got back-to-back as the Testarossa Triplets surrounded them again in a triangle formation.
Laicixa cast a Flash-Bang spell that briefly stunned the terrible twosome, and then all three sisters dashed in, landing a triple Zantetsuken that struck both of them hard. When they moved in to deal killing blows, however, Young Xehanort froze time long enough to reappear with Ruin several meters away. Both of them were tired and wounded, Ruin looking to have taken the worst of the combo attack, and YX formed a Dark Gateway and pulled Ruin through it, retreating. The Dark Barrier surrounding this section of the battlefield collapsed, freeing the triplets.
-Break-
Three young but supremely-talented Keyblade Bearers stood across the battle-zone from three incarnations of a fallen Keyblade Master. Sora, Riku, and Aqua readied themselves, channeling mana through their bodies and their Keyblades, staring down Master Xehanort and the Heartless & Nobody of his Possessed-Terra incarnation.
"Well…" the old fallen Master said. "I didn't think we'd find ourselves in this position so soon."
"So this is it?" Riku asked. "Here's where you try to finish things?"
"Not necessarily, boy. If I do manage to kill any of you here, that'll make things easier for me down the line. But my plans, unlike Amon's, do not require your deaths just yet. If my incarnations and I are bested, we will simply retreat back to our Realm, where I will carry on my plans without Amon's help. He and I may share the same end goal – the consumption of everything by Darkness – but our methods of getting there are quite different; he has the plan to create and awaken an army of Hybrids and assume total control of the Zerg and Heartless, while I have the plan to recreate the original χ-Blade from its 21 pieces. If he fails here, I can still carry out my plan back home. Of course…" he drew his evil-looking spiky Keyblade. "I have no intention of giving in so easily here…"
"Don't think we'll make it easy for you, either" Aqua glared at him. "I've been waiting 11 years to make you pay for what you did to Terra and Ven. I'm going to take you down!"
Master Xehanort let out a grim, subdued chuckle.
(BOSS MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix OST – "Forze dell'Oscurita")
"By all means, my dear, go ahead and try…"
His pitch-black aura flared to life around him, dark and oppressing like a cold and bitter wind. The human-form Heartless and Nobody flanking him followed suit, the former calling upon his Guardian while the latter formed his lightsaber-esque energy blades. In a burst of motion and power, the three Xehanorts charged.
Aqua conjured several Water Shark Missiles that flew through the air toward Master Xehanort, who countered with powerful bursts of Ice magic that froze them solid, bringing them crashing to the ground short of his position. He then fired a wave of electrified ice blasts at her, and she cast a powerful Reflega spell to protect herself. Both of them then summoned a barrage of ice spears and fired them at each other, dozens of projectiles crashing against each other at the halfway point.
Sora used his Keyblade to bat away red energy bolts from Xemnas, and returned fire with a Balloonra spell, several large, colorful spheres tracking Xemnas and exploding when getting close enough to him. Xemnas summoned several Dusks and had them take the hits for him, and then rushed at Sora with great speed, unleashing a flurry of saber strikes that Sora was hard-pressed to block. However, Sora caught sight of a split-second opening and managed to land a glancing blow, giving him enough time to leap away out of Xemnas' range. He then cast Ragnarok, firing three waves of white magic blasts that shot through the air toward Xemnas. Xemnas dodged or deflected most of them, but a few hit, although they didn't do too much damage to him. He scowled and fired another wave of energy bolts at Sora.
Xehanort's Heartless cast Dark Firaga at Riku, a handful of Darkness-enhanced fireballs racing out only to crash against a Dark Shield from the young master. Riku countered with a Dark Firaga of his own, but the Guardian hovering over XH protected its master by swatting away the flames. It then swung its claws, releasing a shockwave of dark power, but Riku leapt over it and threw a Strike Raid that nailed a solid hit on Xehanort's Heartless. XH shrouded his body in a dark aura and rushed at Riku, flying/gliding low over the ground at great speed in an attempt to land a bone-crushing tackle. Riku rolled out of the way, and XH repeated a few more times before coming out into a ground-pound that sent a shockwave all around that Riku barely managed to jump over in time.
Aqua's and Master Xehanort's Keyblades clashed again and again, the villain's age belying his frightening physical strength, blurring speed, and high-level magical power. Aqua leapt back, wincing a bit at the ache in her arms from blocking a particularly strong blow. She cast Prism Rain, a barrage of multicolored magical projectiles spiraling through the air towards Xehanort. The old man countered with a wave of Darkness bolts that intercepted Aqua's attack, canceling it out. Aqua then formed two Shadow Clones, and she & they rushed in, attacking Master Xehanort from all sides. He destroyed one, but Aqua then sacrificed the other one to deal a solid blow on him. He leapt back, scowling as he held his hand to his side; the wound had been mostly converted to magical damage by his defenses, but enough physical-type damage had gotten through to leave a 'small', shallow wound. Aqua took a stance with the Master Keeper, waiting for him to make the next move. He obliged, magically conjuring several large, sharp hunks of stone and launching them at her.
Sora ran and leapt to dodge energy bolts occasionally interspersed with dashing saber-swings from Xemnas. He leapt right into a prepared Bind trap that held him still long enough for several bolts to hit him, but broke free before Xemnas could close to melee range and used Curaga to heal himself. He hit Xemnas with a Thunder Raid, and then landed a series of Keyblade blows while the Nobody was stunned. Xemnas forced him back before he could deal a finishing strike, however, and then boxed Sora in between four transparent red square-shaped barriers. Energy bolts then began to rain down from directly above the open top, and with no room to dodge Sora had to quickly throw up and maintain a Reflega over his head. As the barrage unceasingly pounded Sora's shield, Sora gathered what mana he could spare into himself, until it finally built up enough for him to cast a powerful Wind-type spell in the form of a burst of magically-infused wind in all directions, shoving the boxing-in barriers out enough for him to slip through to freedom. He then rushed at the surprised Xemnas and landed a solid combo on him, forcing him back.
Riku's Triple Blizzaga impacted Xehanort's Guardian, covering the shadowy being in ice and freezing it in place. He took the opportunity to rush in and lock blades with Xehanort's Heartless, pushing back against the fiend's sword strikes and landing a few blows on him. The Guardian freed itself from the ice encasing it, and Riku leapt back to avoid a swing of its claws. XH then thrusted his palm forward, firing a cannonball of compressed air that struck Riku in the chest, the boy's defensive reinforcement magic being the only thing protecting him from a shattered ribcage. Riku grunted as he used Cura on himself, and then he fired a Flame Salvo attack, a wave of fire bolts that locked onto Xehanort's Heartless and homed in on him. The Guardian blocked most of them, but a few went wide around him, avoiding detection, and then doubled back and hit him from behind. XH stumbled, as his Guardian used its hands to smother the flames on its master's back. Riku smirked, and then rushed in again.
Aqua quickly weaved several hand-seals, and a Suiryūdan no Jutsu materialized, the massive water dragon rushing at Master Xehanort. The old man focused everything he had into a large and powerful Dark Shield spell just as the mass of water slammed into it like a train. The shield cracked and gave way toward the end, subjecting Master Xehanort to a portion of the attack's force. He groaned as he steadied himself, and then pointed his Keyblade high. Two huge spheres of ice, at least 40 feet across each, materialized overhead and came shooting down at Aqua. She focused everything she had into her Keyblade, taking a stance ready to slash, and then with a fierce cry she swung her blade in a wide arc towards the nearest ice sphere. A slicing wave of magic raced out, and when it hit the ice sphere it sliced the giant projectile in two. As the two halves began to fall, Aqua made a leap onto one of the pieces, and then from there up even higher to where the second one was. She struck it downward with her Keyblade and her leg, sending the sphere off-course right towards Master Xehanort. He barely leapt out of the way in time, and when the sphere crashed into the ground and shattered, a few chunks of ice hit him.
"Impressive" he said. "Very impressive. I see why Eraqus named you a Master."
Suddenly, though, his attention was drawn to the fight between Sora and Xemnas, where Sora had just landed a serious blow on the Nobody, who was now obviously having trouble. Xehanort frowned; if he lost any of his Vessels in this battle, that would severely jeopardize, if not outright destroy, his plan. He couldn't let Xemnas be destroyed here, even if that meant forfeiting the chance to dispose of Aqua or Riku. With a sigh, he teleported out and reappeared at Xemnas' side, blocking a blow from Sora and then grabbing his Nobody and warping to his Heartless' side. Xehanort's Heartless wasn't in as bad a shape as Xemnas, but he was obviously wounded and beginning to tire.
"Well, we tried" he said, as he raised his Keyblade. "Perhaps we'll have better luck next time."
A thin beam of Darkness shot out from the Keyblade's tip, impacting the top of the Dark Barrier surrounding the battlefield, which then faded away. No sooner had he done that than all the DDF personnel present leapt in, surrounding them. There was a crash in the distance, and Xigbar & Karidé came flying in, both of them looking quite banged up.
"Sir," the Diclonius Unversed Lord said, "I'm not one to run from a fight normally, but I strongly suggest we bail before he gets serious." She pointed in the direction she and Xigbar had come flying from, to where Itachi Uchiha was calmly walking toward them. "This guy's a fucking monster! It would take all of us together to beat him if he was alone, and with all this help he has, we've got no chance."
"I am in agreement" Master Xehanort replied. "We cannot prevail against such numbers in our current states. At least, not without casualties, and I cannot afford to lose any of my Seekers of Darkness here. I bid you all adieu, warriors of the light. We will fight again at another place and time, when the moment of my plans' fulfillment draws nearer. Good luck against Amon; you will most certainly need it…"
He then cast a Blinding Flash spell that forced everyone to avert their eyes. When it faded, he and his fellow group-members were gone, retreated through Dark Gateways back to the Keyblades' home realm. A few seconds later, Goku appeared via Instant Transmission.
"Is everyone all right?" he asked. "I've got a bagfull of Senzu Beans if need be."
"We're fine, Goku-san" Teana replied. "Though a few of us could use a couple of those things. Amon's base of operations isn't too far from here. I say we heal up, have everyone gather, and then make our move to finish this."
"The higher-ups have said the same thing" he said. "It's time to silence to the Dark Voice. I'll send the word; everyone will probably be here and ready within an hour. In the meantime, take a rest and regain your strength; everyone who wants a Senzu Bean, come here."
-SCENE BREAK-
The three Spartan-2.5s of Team Crimson stood amongst a mound of spent shell casings, scores of dead Amon-controlled Zerg littering the battlefield in front of them. The DDF had just started trying to set up a base here this morning, hoping it was well out of the enemy's territorial range, but apparently they were just too juicy a target to ignore. Now, the Spartan team and a slowly-dwindling squad of ODSTs were up to their necks in red-eyed Zerg.
"We're running low on ammo, sir!" Zeke-B147 said, hefting a chaingun. "I don't think our stores are gonna last much longer!"
"Keep it together, Zeke" Lero-B047 replied, taking down a Zergling with a DMR shot. "I got word from up high; they say help's coming!"
"Well, it better get here fast!" Alisa-B296 shouted as she blasted a Hydralisk's skull open with her shotgun. "Even Spartans can't take on this many of these things without guns!"
"Just hang on! We're gonna be… Aw, hell."
A humongous horde of Zerg came rushing in over the distant hill, easily twice, maybe thrice the size of the force already attacking them, all running (or, for the Mutalisks, flying) toward them.
There was a flash of blue light, as one of Equestria's diarchs appeared. Princess Luna took a few steps forward. "You all had best stand back" she said to the human soldiers. "This is a very powerful technique I am about to test out…"
She glowed and shifted into her human form, clad in glowing silver and dark-blue armor. She pressed her palms together and then slowly pulled them apart, and a pitch-black orb about the size of an eyeball floated between them. She held her hand out, and it shot up high into the sky. The Zerg Swarm grew ever closer, a few overeager Hydralisks and Mutalisks firing shots that went wide due to the distance. Then Luna formed a sequence of hand-seals, and spoke two words:
"Chibaku Tensei!"
The black sphere, now much larger, pulsed with power. Charging Zerg began to slow down as they and the ground beneath their feet were affected by the Gravity-type technique. The ground began to buckle upward, soon breaking loose and floating upwards – first small chunks, and gradually larger, all congregating around the gravity sphere. Before long, mounds of earth and stone the size of trucks were shooting up into the air, along with many Zerg. The beasts feebly tried to escape as the ground itself came apart beneath them, but they too were snatched up and pulled skyward, to be crushed to death upon reaching the growing sphere of material in the sky. Throughout all this, the humans stared in silent awe.
Soon, a gigantic sphere of earth, rock, and dead Zerg floated in the sky above a 'crater' where material was uprooted and ripped away. Luna focused her power, and with a flash of blue light the entire construct was teleported away into space, with a trajectory that would eventually carry it slowly into the system's star. She reverted to her normal alicorn form and stood in place, panting from exertion.
"I would say that was a successful field test" she said, looking up into the sky where the results of her technique had once been.
-SCENE BREAK-
Everyone gathered not too far from the outer borders of the Xel'Naga ruins site that Amon had claimed. Luna had been given a Senzu Bean to replace the chakra and mana she burned saving Team Crimson. Snacks, prayers, and good-luck kisses took place amongst the large group as everyone made ready for the final push.
"All right" Naruto said, Teana and Goku at his side. "Let's end this!"
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: The battle against Amon
