Resonance

The End of the Beginning

She was beaten.

While powerful, against their combined strengths, Regret stood no chance.

Of course…she already knew this. It wasn't victory she sought, but rather, time. She kneeled before the group, not by choice, but through the sheer lack of strength left in her body.

"…finish me."

Jade flicked out his mini-spear, but Luke held a hand in front of the elder, shaking his head. Jade stayed his hand, understanding what Luke's silent movement was to convey.

Tear gripped one of her daggers, holding it between her fingers. She pulled back, and then stopped.

"Why do you hesitate? Finish me! Should I regain my strength the battle will only continue. You will not pass, should I recover." Regret barked out.

"I…Major…"

The girl was confused. Her mind said she should, to end this threat, and continue on with their journey…but her heart wouldn't allow her to.

"Please…Major…you don't have to die here."

"All I want…is a world where the score doesn't exist. For that reason, I will fight you till the end. End me now, or I will rise again and strike you down, Tear."

Tear took a shuddering breath, closing her eyes. A single drop fell from her cheek, as she pulled back and threw her dagger.

As she did so, Luke suddenly clutched his head, giving a shout of sudden jarring pain. The shout startled everyone, Tear included, causing the girl's aim to falter. What was a shot at the throat, now flew over the woman's head, at the same time the ceiling above them collapsed, a brilliant shining light flaring through.

On his six wings of light, Zero appeared, flying down towards the group among massive rocks, which suddenly flew everywhere but where the two opposing parties were. He flipped forward, landing on his feet in between Regret, and the others.

"Made it in time." He said to himself.

"Sensei! What are you doing here?" Luke asked, headache subsiding.

"Sorry Luke, gotta get in your way again. Last time though…I think." He gave a small smile to the other group, before turning around to Regret.

"You…" She said. She remembered her humiliating defeat at Deo Pass. Any further words were cut off, as her eyes narrowed. So…Largo wasn't joking around when he said someone saved Arietta's life, and that someone had glowing prismatic wings of light…

"I have a task for you, Magic Bullet Regret. You're going to help me train someone to not be a weakling."

She struggled to her feet. "You do not control me, boy. I have one task, and one task alone."

"And said task is futile, considering your beloved is going to die."

That struck a nerve. "Folly! Van is-

"Weaker than he should be, thanks to me. If I hadn't stepped in, he might actually pose a threat to Luke's job. And I can't be having that. I doubt you'd listen, but believe me when I say the Score no longer holds sway over this world. My presence here has seen to that."

"You're right." She said, mentally testing her appendages, checking to see if she could at least hold this new arrival off. "I don't believe it. The Score is absolute."

"And yet here you are, trying to defy that absolution. You've contradicted yourself, Magic Bullet Regret." He retorted.

Luke clutched his head again. A strange buzzing was ringing in his ears, similar to the feeling when Lorelei or Asch would contact him…but yet different at the same time.

Not used to having such cold logic thrown in her face, Regret was taken off balance by the statement.

"You little-

"You claim the Score is absolute, yet you claim your beloved has a way to end the Score. That in itself is a massive contradiction. Not to mention the possibility of there being a hidden verse that was never read, that proclaimed the end of the Score."

Her eyes widened, as did everyone else's.

"Never considered that possibility? Who says that there's no pre-mandated condition for every event that has taken place thus far, to have occurred? Who's to say Luke's presence isn't so much a contradiction within the Score, but part of it that nobody has ever encountered? Everything you're doing, could simply be nothing more than what you're meant to do." He drove in.

"I-Impossible!" She was shaken. Not even Van had considered that possibility. Could it truly have been that everything they were trying to do, was simply Fate?

"Now, if you wish to go against your possible directive, join me in training my charge, and I will set you free."

For a moment, she hesitated. The conflict within her was clear in her eyes. Even if it's a possibility, there's still the more likely-hood of his prediction being incorrect! I will abide by my course!

"Never!" She yelled, as she raised her gun and fired. Zero blinked in surprise, not expecting his words to simply wash over her. The pellet of fonons slammed into his forehead, causing the group behind to gasp, Luke to yell out in pain, and Zero to begin leaning back.

As Natalia grabbed Luke, who was clutching his head with both hands, Zero's body stopped its arc, and he lurched forward. Unseen to any, Mieu shuddered violently, as a pulse of fonons ripped through the air, unnoticed.

"It would seem…" Zero spoke slowly.

"That you require a lesson in obedience."

A massive jolt of pain shot through Luke's body upon that statement. His stomach heaved, and surprising everyone, he vomited on the ground before him.

That distraction was enough to hide the initial, and sudden change that overtook Zero. As Guy looked back, upon hearing Regret's sudden yelp of surprise, her body being flung backward by a pulse of invisible force, he exclaimed and alerted the others.

"What the hell?!" Everyone looked, even the agonized Luke, and gasped again.

What were once glorious and almost angelic prismatic wings, now were a disturbingly dark, almost light-absorbing blackish red.

(BGM: Devil May Cry 4 – Power of Destroyer (Battle with God 1)

Luke twitched, the noise in his head giving way to a single phrase.

Rrha num wa hyzik dest yor.

As her body flew backward, past the staircase before which she was launched from, her arms rose in an attempt to strike back at the winged being before her. The moment her mind committed to that action, the ground before Zero buckled, white tendrils of grain ripping from the depths of Eldrant, and lashing out at the woman. Her arm movements froze, never seeing such a maneuver, and that moment of inaction was enough for the tendrils to segment into two, wrapping around her wrists and shins, before yanking her back forward.

As she neared the group, the tendrils dropped, releasing her but forcing her body to keep its momentum. Before she could process the sudden freedom, her body was impacted by a massive brown root that ripped out of the wall to Zero's right, formed by the staircase. The root crashed through stone, and reached around to smash into her side, knocking her towards the left wall.

That wall rippled, a massive slab of stone jutting out as she slammed into the wall, creating a small platform on which she landed. As her body touched 'ground', Zero lifted off, gently drifting to match her height. The two locked eyes, and as Regret lifted an arm to fire, Zero mimicked her action.

Only it was Zero's move, that took hold.

The slab on which she sat rippled, and the vibrations distracted her, causing her to look down just in time for a pillar of stone to rip from the slab, impacting straight between her legs. She gave a sharp cry of pain, before she buckled over forward, falling off of the still rising pillar. A gentle pull of his arm, and two tendrils of sand ripped from the pillar, wrapping around her legs and yanking her back up. She slammed into the ceiling, coughing out a small trickle of blood from the impact, before the tendril lashed around, pulling her legs with it, swinging her body around like a helpless stone at the end of a rope, before smashing her into the back wall, then dragging her along said wall, the rough stone slowly shredding cloth and flesh alike, leaving a small red stripe as she was scraped along.

The others looked on in horror, unable to move due to Zero's summoned gravitational field holding them in place. They could breathe, but they couldn't change position in the slightest.

The tendril lashed again, slamming Regret into the ground before Zero.

"Submit."

"N-never…" She spat out, mouth filled with blood. She froze, blinking rapidly. Her body felt…better? She didn't feel a thing anymore. She felt…almost good.

And then the pain came.

Rrha num wa lonfa dest yor.

The earth had buckled underneath her once more, forming into a large fist that slammed into her chest sending her helplessly flying into the air. Zero held out a hand, multiple blood red lights forming around him. The lights morphed into glowing swords…but the tips of the blades were…curved. These inverse curves created a slightly wider range for the blades themselves. They vanished.

One appeared before Regret, as her body flipped around. It passed her, slicing her left shoulder as it flew by, turning her tumble into a spin, before another appeared above and behind her, impaling her back before vanishing, causing her to flip forward.

The blades would appear, crash into her, forcing her to rotate in another direction, and vanish. This happened repeatedly, until Zero suddenly appeared above her as she was launched up from below. He drew his right arm below him, bending his knees and rotating his own body, arm glowing the same color as his wings. A trail of unusual mist followed his hand, before a large curved blade appeared from it, crashing right into Regret's chest, halting her momentum and forcing her back to the ground, which was a very long fall, made short by the force of his strike. She bounced off the ground, feeling something in her side crack in the process, before Zero suddenly appeared and slammed a foot into her chest. Regret screamed out in pain, as he stomped her back to the ground.

"Submit."

Shuddering, she just barely shook her head. Zero's wings seemed to flutter in agitation, as he stepped away.

Rrha num wa sphilar dest yor.

Once again, she was enveloped in the healing tones of the Seventh Fonon, before Zero stomped the ground. A ripple of force tore through the stone floor, bouncing Regret up slightly, as if she were on a trampoline. A small boulder formed from the ground and smashed into her back, propelling her towards Zero, who whirled around and caught her with one hand, by her face. She cried out as his nails dug into her temples, before he flung her away, over the banister and towards the endless abyss below.

Thinking it was finally over, she relaxed her body, accepting her end…before the wall in front of her feet buckled, roots ripping out from the stone, binding her arms and legs, and pulled her back, slamming her into the wall next to the group. Zero held up a single hand, before snapping his fingers.

The scream that ripped from her throat was deafening.

She roared her agony as her own body's natural electrical currents were hyper-charged, causing even the very act of thinking to send thousands of volts coursing through her body.

And her pain was supported by the Seventh Fonon, its healing power counteracting every spark, instantly healing her the second damage was dealt, creating an eternal loop of agony without the release of death, or unconsciousness.

After over a minute, the pain faded, her screams turning to sobs. The group just watched in horror as Zero's emotionless gaze never left the woman.

"Submit."

Tears streaming down her face, blood running down her chin from where she bit her lip…

She nodded.

Zero gently floated over to where she was bound, hand glowing. He held his left hand up to her chest, and everyone watched as the front of her uniform was shredded, the woman's breasts bouncing slightly from their sudden freedom.

She grimaced, not knowing what to expect. Was he going to molest her now that he had her bound? Was he going to continue her torture, taking it to a new level?

Rrha num wa manaf lhasya yor, manaf mea.

The glow focused on a single point, Zero placing a finger on her chest, just above her cleavage. She flinched, thrashing slightly as the sudden burning on her chest overtook her nerves. Just as suddenly as it came, it went. She looked down, not seeing anything save for a soft red glow.

He had marked her. The sigil of Destruction was now upon her form, binding her body to his will. She would later learn that this mark kept her alive through his essence, and that should she wish, he would keep his word, and use it to end her life.

She felt…cold. This, was due to her shadow suddenly growing, forming into a giant black spot on the wall, larger than she was. The roots binding her pulled on her body, dragging her into the shadow, wisps of black emerging from where flesh met darkness. They watched as she vanished into the strange blackness, before it shrunk and vanished.

Suddenly, the pressure on their bodies faded, Zero turning around, slashing his arm, creating a wide distortion in the air…before he vanished with a loud ripping noise. Immediately after he disappeared, Luke's pain subsided. He got to his feet, assisted by Natalia and Guy.

"Wh-what…" Anise was too scared to speak. There was a reason she was afraid of him.

"How…how could he…" Tear was almost crying at this point. To see her mentor, her former friend, and the person she looked up to, be so horribly tortured…it was hell.

"I…" Luke spoke, coughing slightly at the aftertaste of his own bile. "I don't…think that was entirely Zero…"

The others were going to protest, but then the man in question's own words came back to them. Don't Assume.

"Elaborate please." Jade commanded.

"I…when he showed up…I got a headache. It was…different than before. But…when he started doing…all that stuff…it got worse. But…I heard something other than just noise."

"What? What did you hear?"

"Chanting." They all just stared. "I heard chanting. I couldn't understand what they were saying…but it sounded like Zero's voice…mixed with…so many others'. His and one specific woman's voice were the loudest…but I didn't recognize any of them other than his." He continued.

"…you think he was possessed then." Guy stated.

"I don't know…something was definitely off…"

"As much as I honestly would like to figure out what just occurred here, we don't have the time. Are you able to continue, Luke?" Jade sought.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine…lets…lets go."


A red haired man stood before a large door that would not open, save for specific circumstances. He cursed himself, the door, and another in his mind, just for good measure. He blinked, hearing an unusual sound coming from behind him.

"iiiiiIIIIIIIIIT!

A body slammed into the ground. The red haired man scowled, knowing exactly who it was.

"Ow! Dammit Van…that was a dick move right there…" The new arrival muttered to himself.

"God dammit Dreck! Can't you do anything RIGHT for once?!"

"Who the-…Asch?" Luke stood up, still nursing his leg, but blinked at his other.

"No. I'm the damn tooth fairy." Was the sarcastic reply.

"Really? Oh good cause I've got a few of them left around the house-

"GODDAMMIT DRECK!"

"Cool off Asch. You're being a douche. All I did was-

He stopped, before smacking himself in the head. "Oh…DAMMIT! And Sensei warned me and everything…" Luke muttered.

"Sensei? Wait, you mean that kid?! How the hell would he have-

"He said, and I quote: 'you fall into the same trap Asch does because you're both idiots.' And look, we're both stuck here."

"Not stuck." Asch corrected. He pushed Luke out of the way before firing up his own Hypperresonance. The vibrations caused something to occur in the floor, as strands of light green traveled along the grooves in the marble, racing up the stairs and reaching the middle of the door that wouldn't open. The door parted.

"there can only be One." That's what you said. I could fight him for the right but…

Would there be a point to it? Even if I beat him, he wouldn't acknowledge me. Even if I threw the truth into his face, he wouldn't acknowledge me. I'm nothing to him…

But…

Why the hell should I care? He chose his path. I never asked for any of this, I didn't ask to be created in some lab. I didn't ask to take his existence! He thinks he's superior…well…it doesn't matter. Because I'm the one who will get out of here.

Before Asch realized what was going on, Luke had vanished. He looked around, no longer feeling the presence of another person in his immediate area. He looked up, before gaping, seeing Luke leaning on the doors.

"What the-

"Y'know…if you hadn't been such a douche, I'd have taken you with me. But no. You have to be an insulting person, to the one man who would understand your plight better than anyone else in the world. You blamed me for stuff that wasn't my fault, treated me like garbage, and ordered me around like I was a tool. Nothing I say or do will change your mind, so I'm just going to leave you here."

Asch immediately cut off the Resonance, before attempting to run towards Luke. Luke entertained the thought of tripping him up, but decided to leave things to Fate. As the doors closed, faster than Asch could run, Luke gave one final parting comment.

"Maybe if you'd thought about how you'd feel if you were on the other side of the spectrum, rather than cursing the fact that I exist, you wouldn't be in this mess. You made your choice, Asch the Bloody. You renounced your name, renounced your brother, and decided to lament my existence. You chose your path, and now, you have to face the consequences."

Asch had stopped, frozen in a trance of rampaging emotions. As the doors closed, Luke left one parting comment.

"Once this is all over, I'll come back for you. Till then, try not to die."


"So…you won, I presume." Jade said, surprising Luke slightly with the similarity in word choice between the man before him, and Zero. He pushed it away and shook his head.

"I didn't bother fighting him."

That caused the others to stop.

"Wait, what?" Guy blinked.

"Luke…explain." Tear said.

Luke shrugged. "He called me some names, as usual, then used hyperresonance to activate something on the floor that caused the door to open. Probably showing off like usual, trying to make himself feel superior to me. Well, since the idiot was so kind as to open the door for me, I Stepped out."

"You…you LEFT HIM?!" Natalia yelled.

"Well, I turned around and threw some truth in his face, but pretty much."

"What the hell's wrong with you Luke?! We could have used his help!" Guy followed.

Luke just leveled a cold glare, something that made Guy take a step back.

"Oh really? We really needed someone along for a delicate operation that only undermines and belittles everything I say? We really needed to be accompanied by a guy who has no synergy with any of us save Natalia, and since out of all of us I'm the only one who knows the way he fights, and he absolutely detests me on the principle of a situation I had no control over, there's no way we would have been able to properly coordinate, and most likely would have ended up dead because of his inability to let go of the past?!

I mean COME ON!" he yelled, causing everyone save Jade (who simply rose an eyebrow in surprise) to step away from the now pissed off teen.

"I SAW everything in his head when he was with you all! To him, the only one that means anything is Natalia, and he fights that thought tooth and nail! To him, the rest of you are just tools to be used up and thrown away when he has no need for you! He's so focused on being pissed off that I exist, a choice I didn't make, by the way, that all he knows how to do is brood, yell, and insult! He's so pissed with himself, that he takes it out on his mirror image, ME! We DON'T need that CRAP bogging us down right now! An extra sword is useless if it doesn't flow as well as the rest of the set! I mean what do you think would happen, if I caught something he didn't?! It would set him off beyond belief that the 'dreck' managed to upstage him!

He's a self-pitying, self-centered, egotistical JERKASS that we DON'T need following us around! I mean, if he was stupid enough to let his emotions completely blind him to the memory that I wiped the damn floor with him when we first fought, by way of advanced movement abilities, I might add, which was the sole reason I got out of that room before he noticed, then what makes you think he'd be useful to us here?! So no, I DON'T regret not fighting him for the sake of some stupid emotional baggage he can't get rid of! I DON'T regret leaving a liability behind, and not wasting my time or energy trying to convince him, in any way, to join us. He made his choices, he made his mistakes, and now, he has to live with the consequences."

"You left him to die!" Natalia yelled.

"Only if he keeps being an idiot. It wouldn't be my fault if he can't think outside the box. We may have the same form, we may share the same face, fonon frequency and even the same voice to an extent, but we are not the same person. If he, a trained soldier under Van Grants himself, can't figure out a way out of there, when there's two exits, then he doesn't deserve to live. He made his own choice, and continued to follow it. And if he can't handle what comes of it, that's no burden on my soul. Maybe if he wasn't such a dick to everyone around him, especially himself, I'd give a crap. But…Sensei was right. A man like that…even if he technically is your brother, isn't a man worth worrying about. He was perfectly content brute forcing his way through everything else up to this point. He can figure out a way to leave himself."

"The only reason why you won back then, was because of what Zero taught you." Tear pointed out coldly.

"And I've acknowledged that. Hell, I fully admit that back then he was-

Luke stopped, his mind unconsciously recalling the battle, and the events leading up to it.

"What…what are you saying?!"

"Asch! No!"

"I'm saying you're my Replica!"

"No…that's a lie! Stop lying!"

His eyes widened, as realization hit him.

"…you knew…" He whispered.

Tear's cold look morphed into one of confusion. "What?"

"You…knew. You knew what I was…or at least…had a heavy idea…and just like Jade, you didn't say anything!" He yelled at her.

Tear's own eyes widened, as her own memories of that day replayed themselves. She loosed a small gasp, as she remembered her words.

"L-Luke I-

"You Lied to me…and just like the rest, you treated me like-

He clamped down on his emotions.

"Sometimes…you're gonna find stuff out. Stuff that has a major impact on your emotions. A lot of the time, Fate fucks with you, and does it right when you're either about to, or in the middle of doing something important. What you've gotta do, is look at what popped up, and decide whether or not it has relevance to what's going on at the time. if it does, apply the new information carefully, make sure it's accurate, and then use it. If it doesn't, slap a label on it, and shelve it to be looked at when the situation chain resolves. An emotional person is a random person. And while in some cases, random is useful, in most, you need straight truth."

"Luke-

"Enough." He said, coldly. "We don't have time for this. Our goal is Van. After we deal with him…" For a moment, his control slipped. The feeling of betrayal returned. "…after dealing with him. I'll have no need to be around a liar like you." He walked away, focusing everything he had on controlling himself, his thoughts, and his feelings. None saw the lone tear of pain that slipped down his cheek.

Tear just blinked, horrified. She understood her own feelings…and she had begun to take a shine to him, especially since he'd changed from Akzeriuth. Zero's teachings and trainings helped shape Luke into a strong man…but she made a mistake. One she never bothered to correct, for she'd pushed his feelings out of her mind, and focused on making him earn her respect, when she had little true reason to push so hard. It was then, as she silently passed the others, knowing that there was little time to waste, that words she heard Zero speak to Luke, during their way to meet Guy outside the Aramis Spring, rung through her mind.

"Everything we do…everything we say…leaves an echo on the world. The thing is, these echoes act as ripples, shaping the world around us. Every choice we make changes the way things interact, even slightly. Some resolutions are small, and insignificant, while others are large, and can change entire masses of land. These echoes link together, bounding off one another, creating a chain of events. That is why it's best to watch yourself, watch what you say and do, because even if it's not obvious, what you do has an impact on the future. Sometimes, these resolutions don't even occur until long after our lives end, but they still do. The key to setting everything up properly, is to understand how, and why these things happen. If you understand the beginning, and the end, then the middle will reveal itself."


"Damn…we're pretty high up." Guy commented.

The group was on a single long rectangular stone slab that reached from what they assumed was the outer wall of Eldrant, to a single island in the center. Though Eldrant was currently embedded in the ground, they were still thousands of miles high off the actual earth. Weak winds buffeted at the group as they traveled. While not strong enough to cause proper imbalance, it still put the group on edge. Around them, other than the endless expanse of sky, were similar stone pathways.

"They're like chains…anchoring everything together." Natalia mused. The rest of the group had to agree as they pressed on.

"That's a looooong way down…" Anise muttered. She was trailing behind the group slightly, her smaller size weighing heavily in her mind, causing her to focus on not being blown away. She would have simply ridden Tokunaga, but considering the doll had no harness for her to grasp…

She didn't notice the shadow growing behind her. Luke turned around to see if she would catch up.

"ANISE LOOK OUT!" he suddenly yelled. Anise's head snapped up at his yell, the girl whirling around just in time for a large form to crash into her. She felt a soft fwump as a large avian creature slammed into her form, purposefully knocking her off the makeshift walkway. She screamed in fright, echoed by Natalia. Luke's eyes narrowed and he propelled himself off the walkway.

"LUKE!" Tear yelled in fright.

Mind made up, the red-haired teen reached behind him, grasping hold of the sword that Zero had given him, claimed from the remains of the spirit creature: Sword Dancer. Anise had her eyes shut, sadly accepting her death, the rushing winds keeping her from noting anything that was going on. A small tear escaped from her shut lids, a sob loosing itself from her chest.

Determined, Luke pulled back, grasping the hilt of his sword, before launching it forward. Seeing Luke act, Jade's eyes widened.

No…he couldn't be thinking…

"The thing about Shunpo is that it can be triggered just by touching a surface. Say there's a rockslide. Hundreds of boulders are falling towards your position, and someone or something you hold dear is falling with them. With Shunpo you would be able to bounce from boulder to boulder, just by touching them for a brief moment, to catch that which you desire."

Immediately, Jade whirled around.

Luke streamlined his body, so he was creating less wind resistance as he fell. His form reached Anise, as his thrown sword got caught in the slight winds that Luke was attempting to control. The sword stopped spinning, flattening itself like a board. It began to fly back up, the combination of its own light weight and Luke's weak manipulations allowing the wind to catch it. Anise gasped, feeling a pair of strong arms wrap around her form. Luke angled himself right up, his feet gently touching the blade.

"Tear! Throw your daggers! Now!"

Tear blinked for a moment, before the soldier part of her brain took over, recognizing an order from a superior officer, even if he was of a different army. Her body moved before her conscious mind could catch up with it, latching onto the hilts of her daggers hidden in her belt, before launching them one after another.

The others watched, as suddenly Luke's form vanished.

"No way!" Guy cried out.

As each silver glint streaked through the air, they saw Luke reappear for a moment, before vanishing again. He was using the Shunpo, the technique taught to him by Zero, to move at accelerated speeds, defying the hold of gravity, and the laws of physics, bounding from dagger to dagger, just by barely touching them with his feet.

"So…the Flash Step is like teleporting?"

"The speeds you reach are indeed similar, but it still requires contact with a solid surface…even if that surface doesn't remainsolid."

"…" Luke thought for a moment. "So it's not because you're lighter…it's because you don't stay in one place long enough?"

He was almost there. He'd almost made it back up to the others…when bad things happened.

"I'M OUT!" Tear cried in horror.

"Dammit, just one more would have done!" Guy cursed.

"Guy! Hold me!" Natalia cried.

"Wh-what?!" How could she be thinking of herself-

"Just fucking do it!" She yelled, cursing for the first time that any of them knew. Snapped into action as the girl ran to the edge, drawing her bow, Guy's arms wrapped around her waist of their own accord, his brain heavily fighting the instinct to flinch. Tear and Jade watched in shock, as the girl tilted her torso forward, her hair framing her face, as her arm reached back and grabbed an arrow. Natalia bit her lip, focusing every thought on not screwing this up.

I can't…I've already practically lost one Luke. I don't…

I can't handle losing another.

Don't think…he said. Just do.

For once…I'll listen to you, Zero.

In seconds, she'd notched her bow, and the arrow went flying.

Luke was ready to give up. He saw that Tear had stopped flinging daggers. He saw that there were no more gleams of silver heading his way, no more things to Step on. He was about to curse in frustration when he saw one more glimmer.

A single arrow was screaming towards him.

The shaft whistled as it literally sliced the air, rocketing straight down.

Luke held on to Anise tighter, as he tensed one last time. He took one Step, touching the last dagger Tear had thrown, before Stepping one last time. They watched, Luke vanishing, appearing…then vanishing once more. As his form appeared above them, they stepped backward, Guy gently pulling Natalia away from the edge, as Luke landed heavily.

They raced to him, hearing him whispering soft words of comfort to a sobbing Anise. She'd never truly feared for her life until then, and the experience almost broke her. She refused to let go, burying her face in his chest, clutching him with everything she had. Luke sighed softly, accepting the situation, and standing up, supporting Anise under her rear, allowing her to remain in her position.

Suddenly, he felt arms wrapping around him. He blinked as Natalia had buried her own face in his back, sobbing as well.

"Luke…you idiot…"

He was caught off guard, by the sudden change in her demeanor. So much that he couldn't help but relent in his justified irritation towards the princess.

"Sorry…"


For a time, it seemed like they had him on the ropes.

The first battle against Van was a joke. He couldn't keep up with any of them, even though their trek through the heart of Eldrant was a long and arduous one. Even Sync had put up more of a fight. Even with the group slightly reeling from the knowledge that Asch was now dead.

"Dreck…don't fuck this up. Or I'll have to…kick…your…ass..."

Zero had come through, his words that Van was now much weaker than he would have been originally, being truth.

Covered in gashes from multiple sword wounds, arrows sticking out of random parts of his body, bruises from where Tokunaga landed some heavy punches…Van was beaten. He stumbled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood in the process.

And then everything changed.

Upon his forced synchronization with Lorelei, his wounds vanished, his energy spiked…

The battle started again. Much more even this time.

He was fast enough to keep up with Guy, but just barely too slow for Luke's Flash Step. However, Van's years of blade experience cancelled out Luke's speed advantage, the elder warrior's senses now restored to full, sharp enough to pinpoint where Luke would strike, moments before he did.

The powerful boost of Seventh Fonons gave Van an impossibly fast healing factor, so even when they landed a hit, if it wasn't hard enough, it would be recovered in seconds. The unison's power gave him even more control over the fonons around him, Van now able to cancel out an incoming spell just moments before impact. Even when Luke or Guy, or even Natalia acted as a distraction, unless it was timed perfectly, their spells wouldn't get through.

The man was desperate, and in that desperation, he grew stronger than Zero had predicted he would.

Tear tried to sing the Grand Fonic Hymn, but Van would emit a massive wave of force and stop it from happening. She would try again, Luke acting as distraction…but it wasn't enough. He could still stop her. In fact, he did it in a manner similar to how Zero proved it could be done.

He stopped the sound of her voice.

As long as Van was even partially able to focus, he could keep up a nullification field around Tear's throat, keeping her from singing that accursed song that would end all of his plans.

Anise held back, watching the others with a sad look on her face. She didn't rush in with Tokunaga as often as she'd wanted to, her skills as caster needed more…but now, it looked like nothing would be able to stop Van.

We need something that can take his focus away from Tear. We need to hit him hard enough that even if for a second, he's in too much pain, or too surprised, to be able to keep his concentration up!

Even as she set an array for the holy rays of Limited to rain down upon Van (which was sidestepped at the last moment, as he threw out his blade, deflecting Luke's overhead swing) she knew it wouldn't be enough. Only one thing would work. Well, two, but she didn't know how to get in contact with Zero. Besides…this is our fight. He's done enough.

No…

She looked down, abandoning the spell she was readying as she realized what had to be done.

I know what I have to do…

She gently slid down Tokunaga's face, landing in front of the animated doll, which seemed to bow low behind her, as if it knew what was coming.

It felt…so good…when he had me manipulate that clump of sand. It felt…familiar. And I understand why.

She closed her eyes, missing the blast of flame that erupted beneath Luke's feet, knocking him backward into the charging Guy, as a torrent of arrows flew past them, all being blocked by the flat end of Van's sword.

The real reason why I was picked as Fon Master Guardian for the Replica Ion…

Her double ended baton dropped to the ground with a soft clatter, drawing Jade's attention. His eyes narrowed as the little girl seemed to raise her hands slowly to her head, fingers pinching the yellow ribbons keeping her hair in pigtails.

I've…been afraid all this time…afraid of myself…but…I have to do it. I can't let…this fear…remain. If I do…we'll never win, we'll never be free from Van's insanity.

She tugged on the scraps of cloth, the knots unbinding in an instant. Her hair dropped down, raven locks reaching down to the small of her back. Her head was bowed, fingers letting go of the cloth, the yellow streams fluttering away in the wind.

For a moment…Everything seemed to stop.

I'm sorry…I've been lying to you all…all this time…

But…if we're going to be free…

I can't be afraid anymore. I have to let it all go…just like then…

Oh if only those stupid bitches could see me now…

One of the strands flew in front of Van's face, making him blink, making all of them blink, and turn to the little girl.

One word, carried through the wind.

"…Release."

(BGM: Melty Blood Actress Again – Gigantic Power)

A massive shockwave ripped from the girl's body, her hair fluttering up from the kickback of the explosion of fonons that suddenly began spiraling around her. Van's eyes narrowed as a heavy wall of dust was kicked up by the sudden burst of energy. He held his arm in front of his face, they all did, eyes narrowed.

At the tender age of Five…a single child found herself surrounded by the essences of Light and Dark.

"What…the hell?" He spoke, confused.

The girl's clothes fluttered in the heavy winds created by the impressive level of force surrounding her. This…was her greatest secret. A secret only three people in the entire world knew, and that number had been reduced to One, through their journey.

The ground beneath them rumbled, as the power emitting from her body threatened to crumble the entire replica of Hod. Everyone was struggling against the winds formed by the release of five years worth of power stored up and locked away.

The power released from within, an answer, formed by the world due to the increasing strength and power of the Anomaly that had entered its realm years prior, erased the underground of a Holy Sect.

And just as suddenly as it came…the winds vanished. The air calmed…but the feeling of something being different remained. The air was filled with a cloak of dust, and as Van was readying to excise it, he suddenly leapt aside as a wall of light ripped through where he once stood. The force surrounding the blast of shine caused the dust curtain to be ripped apart, revealing Anise, head still bowed, hair fluttering as a strange mixture of black and white streams seemed to surround her.

Finally, she looked up.

Her amber eyes seemed to glow as she stared at Van, who just stared back, shocked out of his wits. She rose her right arm, and the man jumped to the left, dodging another wall of light. As he returned to look at the girl, he gasped.

She was right in front of him.

The child cried out, as the voice of the Realm invaded her mind, violated her soul. All because of the arrival of the Anomaly, and its growing strength. When the storm ended, her body having adjusted to the new pockets of energy that were housed within her soul, two beings were present. The leader of the Holy Sect, and his second.

A moment passed where neither moved, before he was suddenly blown away as a black wall appeared around her. He landed to his feet, pulling back and launching a Radiant Dragon. The black dome seemed to get sucked into one place behind her, as a slightly transparent shimmering white wall appeared in front of her. His attack crashed into the wall, and seemed to be absorbed by it.

"What?!" Not even Luke did something like that. And Luke had been pulling out unusual fonon manipulations during the fight.

More.

The girl angled herself forward, wall seeming to bend and morph into a small sphere. She took a step, vanishing. Van rolled to the left, a pillar of light erupting from the ground where he stood. He threw his blade in front of him, flat end out, narrowly blocking a spear of black. However, the spear seemed to shudder, before bursting into a 'net' of darkness, which wrapped around the man, trapping him for a moment, before he flared his 'borrowed' stores of Seventh Fonon, and tore it to shreds.

From then on, the child who loved her hair to reach the ground, wore her hair up, signifying her restraint, her will to refuse the immense power she was given. She feared, she abhorred, but she never let go of that will. Until this day, she had pushed the memory of that power to the depths of her mind, never to be called upon again.

This action, however, cost him. He was unable to defend the wave of light that slammed into him, emitted from Anise's palm. Van crashed onto his back, rolling for a few moments, mind racing.

What…She can't do that! How is she doing this?! She never showed this much aptitude for the first and sixth fonons before!

Anise stared at him, either not noticing the gaping looks (a calculating one from Jade) or not caring.

Just a little more.

"Luke." She called. "Get ready." Not bothering to check if he acknowledged her, she turned to Tokunaga, all the way across the battlefield. The man-sized doll seemed to rise under its own power, its button eyes flaring amber, rather than their natural mismatched red and green.

But the Anomaly changed that. The Anomaly brought Comprehension. It brought Understanding. It brought Knowledge. And the Anomaly did this all with the blessing of the Realm. For the Anomaly wished, for what the Realm wished. The continued survival of all upon its surface. It was this, that allowed the child to overcome her fears of 'self'. The Anomaly brought forth Change. And Change, brought forth Growth.

The doll took off, moving faster than it ever had before. As Van rose to his feet, he was barreled to the side by the unexpected impact from the charging doll. Kicking it off him, he was helpless when a burst of light slammed into his back from the ground. He rolled with the impact, landing on his feet, whirling around only to have Anise appear in front of him, fist glowing, and then buried in his gut.

"This…" She spoke, as she jumped back, landing on the head of the suddenly appearing Tokunaga.

"Is for ION!"

She stomped her foot, Tokunaga mimicking the action, creating a small crack in the ground. Tokunaga's fist glowed, as Anise pulled back.

Wait…that's-


After the spell ended, Anise suddenly once again found herself knocked off of Tokunaga, as Zero followed up with an earthen charged fist.

"Kurae! Kouryuu Reppa!" Immediately as he slammed his fist into Anise's chin, a hail of boulders slammed into her body as the two rose into the air.


"STONE DRAGON ASCENT!"

Tokunaga's fist glowed golden, just as it crashed into Van's chin, a whirlwind of boulders erupting from the ground and slamming into the man alongside the uppercut. Anise's arms flailed around, light ripping through the air and crashing into Van.

Fire and Wind make Light…holy crap she's copying him!


Zero quickly gathered another series of fonons, surprising everyone with his ability to suddenly chain two completely differing fonic ability fusions.

His wings turned to flame, before the flames surrounded his body. He twisted in the air, turning the motion into a continuous spin.

"Kuuha Bakuendan!"


She leapt off of Tokunaga as it twisted itself around.

"CYCLONE BLAZE!"

A wall of fire erupted around the doll, its spinning body drilling into Van's torso, searing flames licking at the man's flesh. He yelled out in agony at the assault, his defenses weakened by the girl's first strike.

"NOW LUKE!" She called out.

In two Steps, Luke had appeared behind Van. As he moved, he focused energy into his right hand, now glowing red.

"RAGING BLAST!"

In a small explosion of fonons, Van was sent rocketing to the ground.

"Tear!"

The young woman gasped, suddenly finding her throat no longer obstructed.

And finally.

She sang.

Zero watched silently, as the pillar of light erupted from the horizon. He let himself go, as Arietta stood beside him, transfixed by the sight. He felt the currents of the air shift as Luke's power fully unlocked itself.

It's time…

As he thought these words, a feeling arose in his heart. A powerful emotion, one that was both his…and not.

Was yea ra chs sarla oz cenjue sos ciel…


A/N: Here it is. The end of the game plot. Now, my plot can finally begin. And ooooh boy it's gonna be nuts. Hell the next part…well…you'll see.

And yes. Anise's sudden massive power will be explained. Further.

CF: yes. Yes you do. Especially now that my plot is beginning.

And no, I'm not telling anyone what any of the unknown language means. To say, would be to give too much away at this early point. Though next chapter…hehehehe…