Sorry for the wait, but I got into another translation project, started class (American Literature – buttload of required reading and stuff, so that eats up time), and downloaded Halo: Spartan Assault (no, I don't have the X-One yet; I'm still 360 so I had to wait for the 1/31/14 release).
PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS
TŌHŌ IS THE PROPERTY OF "ZUN"
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Hyrule (Timeline Four)
2:30 PM
"Are you sure we can't come with you guys?" Navi asked.
"Not yet, no" Teana replied. "You all need to be brought up to speed on the DDF's enemies, members, and some of our history. You also need to learn about our magic and – especially – our technology. We don't want you being killed by a hostile with a gun because you don't recognize what he's pointing at you, or running from our vehicles 'cause you think they're big metal demons coming at you or something."
Zelda frowned. "We're not that primitive."
"Sorry; I didn't mean to sound insulting or condescending. Maybe my uncle's rubbing off on me… Anyway, Aqua will stay and help you guys learn what you need to learn, while we go and deal with what's happening in the other timeline."
Teana headed over to the rest of the departing group (all present DDF members except Aqua), getting in close with them. Soon enough, the teleportation circle appeared around them, and in a flash of magic and light they were gone, carried away through time and space.
-SCENE BREAK-
Hyrule (Timeline Three)
At a spot outside Castle Town, a magic rune-circle appeared. In a burst of magic, several people appeared standing on top of it. Once the translocation was complete, everyone looked around.
"Looks kinda the same" Subaru said. "A few differences, though."
"I suppose we should start looking for this timeline's current incarnations of Link and Zelda, right?" Teana asked. "Castle Town's as good a place to start as any. …Whoa, check out the castle."
They looked, and saw that Hyrule Castle looked to have taken heavy damage at some recent point. Workers swarmed all over it, trying to repair the damage bit by bit.
"Damn, what happened there?" Marie asked.
"T-The battle against Ganondorf" Erika replied. "Long story"
"Guess we'll get the details later. Come on."
Just as they were about to head out, however, another, smaller teleportation circle appeared nearby. From it emerged a small blue biped, who casually ran a hand back to smooth out his quills, and dusted his shoes off.
"Sonic…" Teana folded her arms. "Where have you been? We coulda used you on Ulnar, you know."
"Sorry about that" the hedgehog rubbed the back of his head. "I was about to head over to join you guys there, but then Eggman unleashed this giant ancient demon-thing called Dark Gaia that was sealed inside the Earth, and in the process he depowered the Chaos Emeralds. It took me quite a while to get everything fixed up again; I just finished one last go-around my world to make sure everything was back how it's supposed to be."
"Why didn't you call in some help?" Timmy asked.
"Well, I did get help. I started out the 'adventure' with a little guy named Chip, and Twilight showed up closer to the end, after she was done helping you guys with Chrysalis/Crystalia; she was a big help, and she even helped me & Chip take down Dark Gaia."
He brought out a magically-recorded image of himself and Twilight Sparkle – both of them with gold fur and red eyes and surrounded by golden auras, the unicorn having been given temporary gold-feathered wings by the power of the Chaos Emeralds – flying through the air above a massive sea of magma, fighting alongside a giant stone golem-construct against a titanic, four-armed and multi-eyed black beast surrounded by a translucent energy shield-dome with many large serpent-like creatures sticking out of it.
"Unfortunately…" Sonic looked downcast. "After we beat Dark Gaia, Chip – who was really Light Gaia – had to go into a million-year sleep to keep Dark Gaia from coming back again… Anyway, I'm here now, and I'm ready to help again. I should have some time before Eggman picks up the pieces and is ready for whatever scheme he starts up next."
"…Alright, let's get moving" Teana said. "Sonic, I'll fill you in on the details on the way."
-SCENE BREAK-
"…And that's the long & short of it, ma'am."
Homura wrapped up the tale that she and Teana had told to this timeline's current incarnation of Princess Zelda, who was about seven years older than the last Zelda they interacted with; the same was true of the 'other' Link standing nearby and listening in. This new Link's personality was basically that of a calmer, quieter, and more relaxed version of the first, younger Link. This Zelda, however, seemed to be very stoic and cold in comparison to the dignified yet cheerful younger Zelda in the previous realm; the various bits of info regarding the 'other' Link, the DDF, and the potential threat to her kingdom had not garnered anything more than a few moments of widened eyes. A less-experienced observer would presume her ice-hearted, but Homura – who had more than her fair share of experience in emotion suppression – could tell otherwise. This Zelda was trying to live up to the 'always calm and in-control regal ruler, never letting anything shake her composure' image & expectation, and she was trying way too hard. Considering her age (no more than 17, at most), she was probably new at it and overcompensating in an attempt to 'impress' her subjects.
"I see…" Zelda replied coolly. "This is quite a set of unexpected developments. And so soon after we dealt with the last crisis… You're certain this 'Xehanort' would be coming here?"
"Yes" Laicixa replied. "We've already detected a few of his Shadows as scouts while we were on our way here, though they fled before we could engage them."
"Hmm… What reason would they have to come here?"
"Maybe they sense the Triforce" Link suggested. "They might view you & me, as bearers of that power, as potential threats."
"The other Link and other Zelda in the previous realm we were in bore the Triforce as well," Teana replied, "and we didn't see any Heartless there."
"Well," Erika said, "t-the Master Sword has the same evil-harming powers a-as the Keyblades, I think. Maybe they're out t-to get rid of it before it can be used against them?"
"Could be…"
As the others brainstormed, Link found himself looking around, his gaze wandering around the area of the castle grounds that would serve as Princess Zelda's temporary [VOCABULARY FAILURE; NOT 'LIVING-PLACE'] until the reconstruction of her throne room was complete. He looked up at the overcast sky… and saw a rippling in the air above their location, growing by the second. He called the attention of the others and pointed up at it, just as it materialized into something that he and Zelda (as well as Erika) recognized immediately: a Twilight Gate. The portal opened, and many black creatures with glowing yellow eyes fell out.
"Heartless!" Teana shouted, as everyone drew their weapons.
"Oh no…" Erika's eyes widened with realization. "T-They're not attacking Hyrule! They're attacking t-the Realm of Twilight!"
A Soldier Heartless leapt at Link, who used a Mortal Draw attack to destroy it. Laicixa and Erika rushed into the fray first, using their Keyblades to cut down Heartless at an impressive rate. The rest of their team followed suit; Anya and Caro incinerated a pack of Shadows with a few Fire spells, while Timmy and Erio used Lightning-infused melee blows to take out a handful of Soldiers, and Mariko's vectors made short work of a Large Body and its Shadow escort. As another pack of Soldiers with a few Bandits dropped out of the portal, Sonic leapt up and chain-Homing-Attacked them, destroying them all before they could even reach the ground.
Erika took out a trio of Soldiers trying to surround her, and then pointed her Keyblade up at the Twilight Gate. A thin beam of Light-magic fired up from the tip, and the portal began to slowly close. Laicixa joined her, and the rate of progress doubled. A few Bandits tried to attack them, but a directed shockwave of magic from Princess Zelda slammed into the sword-wielding Heartless and knocked them aside, destroying one of them. Soon the portal was closed and vanished, and Link helped make short work of the few Heartless remaining.
"Ma'am," Erika said to the Princess, "we have to get t-to the Twilight Realm, and soon. L-Laicixa and I can open a portal with our Keyblades, but w-we need somewhere where the barrier b-between the two realms is already thin."
"There is a temple out in the Gerudo Desert that until recently held a portal to the other realm" Zelda replied. "It will take some time to get there, though."
"Actually there's a TSAB ship overseeing and monitoring us and providing long-range and inter-realm transport for us" Teana replied. "I'll have them beam us there. Let's just hope we're in time…"
-SCENE BREAK-
Realm of Twilight
Just outside Twilight Castle
Princess Midna snarled as she fired another explosive blast of magic at the darkness creatures. All around the eastern perimeter of the palace, her guards and soldiers were engaged with these things, but Zant's coup had done a lot of damage to the Guard's numbers, turning what would've been an easy repulsion of invaders had the Guard been at full strength into what was more-or-less a stalemate. Midna herself had ultimately needed to take to the field, to the relief of the soldiers; recovering her real body had also restored to her the powerful magic she wielded (not as strong as Ganondorf's had been, unfortunately, but enough to make a significant difference). She had shed her royal cowl and dress for a set of enchanted armor, which came with magic-based energy shields and provided strength of defense and ease of movement, as well as slightly augmenting her already-considerable physical strength. Freed of its normal headdress, her long orange hair flowed free, down to mid-back, while her long pointed ears stuck out to either side.
"Come on, my soldiers!" she shouted. "Zant's monsters were tougher than these things!"
"Yeah, but the traitor's army wasn't nearly this big!" a Guard Lieutenant cried.
"Quality over quantity, guardsman! Besides, I'm here, remember?"
'All the same…' she thought. 'We might need some help if things keep going like this; I might need to use the Fused Shadows again. But, they're in the vault, so I'd have to leave my men to go get it, and the way things are going right now… I… I wish Link were here…'
The dark creatures kept advancing. Suddenly, though, both sides were caught by surprise as a swirling portal appeared off to the side. Two small figures – human children, apparently – came through, wielding key-shaped blades which they immediately began putting to use against the dark creatures, carving through them with practiced ease. Next to come through was a buxom redhead wielding two red-orange energy blades, followed by a tall blonde with some sort of huge war-hammer. And then… The young Twilight Princess' heart skipped a beat as a certain someone came through – dull-green outfit, blond hair, striking blue eyes, Hylian shield and Master Sword in hand as he decapitated one of the dark creatures…
"Link…" she whispered.
The youth in question turned, and stared as he caught sight of her. Sure, when he'd first seen her true form, she'd looked pretty, but now, with the pointy headdress off to let her hair free, and the concealing shawl replaced by form-fitting armor, she was beautiful. After a few seconds, they broke their gaze and looked to the side with slightly-flushed cheeks, Link clearing his throat.
"So…" Midna said. "Gonna tell me what's going on?"
"Um, right… Long story short, there's an alliance of multiple sovereign powers, called the Dimensional Defense Force, who go around fighting evil and helping people. These monsters are called the Heartless, and they're one of the enemy factions the DDF are fighting."
"I see…" She grinned. "You are, like, a magnet for trouble."
"Yeah, guess I am…"
"Hey, you two!" Teana called. "Quit flirting and help!" A Stealth Sneak tried to attack her from behind, but she spun around and blew it away with a Ki blast before turning her Mirage Longswords on a squad of Armored Knights.
Link and Midna blushed at that remark as they got back into the fight. The rest of the DDF group had come through the portal by now, lending their strength to the cause; Sarah's gravity hammer and Subaru's Revolver Knuckle pounded Heartless flat, Homura's now-enchanted crossbow and Marie's arm-cannon/Device blasted foes at range, Miyako and Anya used ice and fire to freeze and fry enemy flyers, Mariko was challenging herself by not using her vectors, relying on physical attacks and basic chakra- and magic-based attacks, Erio and Timmy used electrified spear and kunai to carve through enemies ('I gotta get a Device' Timmy thought), Sonic blitzed around taking foes down before they could react, and Caro & Fried fired Fire and Light blasts at anything the others missed. Teana destroyed a pack of Soldiers and Bandits with a Gōkakyū no Jutsu, and then blasted a good-sized swarm of Air Soldiers out of the sky with a wave of Ki blasts. All in all, the DDF forces' arrival seemed to have turned the battle around, and the Heartless were being routed.
"Your Majesty!" A soldier came running up. "You need to see this! It's bad!"
Everyone followed the soldier out and up onto a hill overlooking the wastes to the east… and gasped as they saw the horde of hundreds of Heartless approaching in the distance, all heading toward the palace.
"Holy…" Marie breathed out. "That's almost as big as the force that attacked Hollow Bastion in KH2!"
"H-How are we gonna handle that?" Anya asked.
"…Princess" Teana turned to Midna. "Are there any of your people in that area? Any important installations, resources, monuments, or whatever?"
"…No, there are not" Midna replied.
Teana smirked. "Good. Everyone, stay back; it's time I try out the new finishing technique my uncle just taught me!"
She took to the air, focusing her ki/chakra inside her body. Hovering in the air, she extended her palm and pointed it down at an angle, toward the approaching horde in the distance. Her aura flared to life, and she let out a low but rising kiai as a ball of Ki formed in front of her hand, shining bright as it grew and grew. She grabbed hold of her wrist with her other hand, bracing it, as the energy ball got bigger and brighter. Down below, Marie's eyes widened as she recognized what was coming.
"Take this!" Teana shouted. "The explosive finisher created by my paternal uncle, the Saiyan Prince Vegeta! Big Bang Attack!-!"
Teana 'fired' the attack, the large ball of energy racing out toward the Heartless horde. It detonated in the midst of them, releasing a massively powerful explosion; everyone shielded their eyes as hundreds of Heartless were annihilated in the span of a second, the shockwave taking out those that survived the initial blast. A mushroom-shaped cloud rose up, and before long the shockwave hit the observers in the form of a near-earsplitting bang and a mighty gust of wind that knocked a few of them off their feet.
When the dust had cleared, there was nothing left of the advancing enemy force; in their place was a large crater, with flattened and pulverized rock formations radiating out from it for a good distance. Teana floated back down to ground level with the others, panting lightly.
"Wow" she said. "Uncle's attack packs some punch, all right. When he showed it to me, though, his crater was bigger than that. Guess I've got some work to do if I ever wanna be at his level."
"H… His version of that blast is bigger?" Midna said, still in shock.
"Well, when he's in his normal state, it's a teensy bit bigger than what I just did, but when he goes Super Saiyan… well, Uncle Vegeta's SS-powered Big Bang Attack was half again as big as the one I just used, even though when he demonstrated it he was holding back a fair bit. I suppose that means that, in terms of power level, mine is a little bit lower than Uncle's normal form, but his Super form outclasses me. And I don't even wanna think about how much weaker I am than his SS2 form… So! Why don't we find a place to sit down and explain things to everybody?"
-SCENE BREAK-
Meanwhile, in another realm
The young not-quite-human woman moved on without any real purpose other than getting as far away as possible from the place she'd left behind, her red eyes focused straight ahead. Her long purple hair swished back & forth slightly as she walked, and the large pair of rabbit ears sprouting from the top of her head lightly bobbed up & down with each step. She sighed, reaching back to (very gently and carefully) rub at an itch on her fluffy little fur-puff tail, and then ran her hands along the sides of her head, over the smooth, soft skin where a human's ears would be. She kept walking, never looking back.
Reisen had had enough. Being treated like a pet by Kaguya who never even bothered to know her name, being given a ridiculous workload of tasks – many difficult, some dangerous – by Eirin and being subjected to 'Punishment Time' whenever she failed, as well as often being used as an unwilling and/or unwitting guinea pig for whatever medicines the bored immortal came up with, being the constant target of Tewi's often painful and humiliating pranks, some of which she got blamed for the damage of and punished by Eirin… Around 40 or 50 years ago, the Lunar Rabbit Yōkai had come to Eientei in order to flee a war she didn't believe in either side of, and had been offered asylum by the renegade Moon Princess in exchange for doing "odd jobs" for her and Eirin.
But Reisen finally couldn't take anymore; earlier today, when Eirin had experimentally slipped something into her food that made her dizzy and woozy all day, and Tewi had pulled a prank that made her drop ingredients Eirin had been making her carry, causing Eirin to get 'punished' for that, she'd finally snapped. In the middle of the 'disciplinary action', Reisen had caught the immortal doctor's hand mid-motion, gripping hard enough to crack the bones of her wrist, and then Eirin had gotten a brief look at the rabbit-girl's face contorted in long-repressed rage before a punch sent the woman through three walls. As Eirin laid amongst bits of house-wood and rubble, waiting for her body to regenerate enough for her to fight back, she had heard as Reisen slammed Tewi into a wall, pinning her to it by the neck, and angrily chewing out the smaller bunny-yōkai for everything she'd done, including (to the listening-in Eirin's surprise) all the times she'd framed or otherwise gotten Reisen in trouble for petty amusement; all the while, the young rabbit's face had been tear-streaked and terrified as Reisen's hand squeezed her trachea near-completely shut, the older bunny's eyes glowing red with a feral fangs-bared rage. After loudly announcing that she 'quit' being the butt-monkey of the house, that she hated them for all they'd done to her and would fight to kill if they ever tried to seek her out and bring her back, she'd thrown Tewi at Kaguya (who had come to see what was going on, and had seen & heard nearly all of it), knocking the Moon Princess over, and then bolted out the front door; by the time Eirin was back on her feet, Reisen was long gone.
The Moon-Rabbit Yōkai's anger still simmered in her chest as she kept moving, traveling with no clear destination in mind other than "away from that place". She was so lost in thought, busy stewing in her anger as she remembered all that Eirin and Tewi had done to her, that she didn't notice the hooded figures closing in on her until they popped out and surrounded her. She scowled, clenching her fists as she looked around at them.
"Lunarian 'Hunter' Agents…" she said. "If you're looking for Kaguya or Eirin, you're out of luck. I have nothing to do with them anymore. You're welcome to go that way and deal with them yourselves, but after all that the old mad doctor and the little Earth-Rabbit bitch have done to me, I never want to see them again."
"Reisen-rabbit, property of the Watatsuki sisters…" one of the enforcers said. "You are wanted for desertion in the face of our war with Earth. Surrender, and be taken back to your owners to be punished for your crimes."
"…I am in a very bad mood right now" the Lunar Rabbit said calmly. "My patience, which lasted decades, has finally been exhausted. I've never once thought of myself as a violent person. But I'm warning you all: if you try to push this, try to rob me of my newfound freedom…" Her magical aura flared around her. "I will fight you with lethal force."
A few of the hunters stepped back; having read Reisen's old pre-desertion profile, they hadn't expected a serious fight. They drew their weapons, ultra-high-tech Lunarian rifles pointed at her, and she reinforced her body with magic, ready to cast a wide-range attack spell. She was about to move, when…
"It would be wise of you to leave her alone."
Everyone turned to look as a new figure joined the scene. He was clad in a long coat that hid his features, black with red flame patterns along the sleeves and the bottom, along with a straw hat that covered his head. He reached one hand up and tipped the large brim of the hat upward, revealing a glimpse of a young-adult male human with odd-looking red eyes.
"Who… are you?" the rabbit-girl asked.
"My name is Itachi" the man replied. "Uchiha Itachi. Inaba Reisen, the organization I am part of would benefit from recruiting you."
"Organization?"
"The Dimensional Defense Force – a coalition of sovereign powers and individuals of useful skills, protecting the inhabitants of the realms in our jurisdiction as well as new realms we come across, and fighting against hostile forces that threaten the safety and stability of the realms and their people. My intelligence suggests your skill-set would make a valuable addition to our capabilities, especially once you receive training in forms and styles of magical combat that do not exist here. You could use your abilities to help us protect innocents, and fight alongside us against monsters that would see all sapient life consumed or extinguished. …Furthermore, if it is companionship you may seek, you will not be left wanting; many strong friendships, as well as some bonds of love, have been forged amongst our members."
"Enough!" the head Lunarian Hunter shouted, as he and his men pointed their weapons at Itachi. "This girl is the property of the Watatsuki princesses! She is to be returned to the Moon, to the hands of her owners, and be punished for her prior desertion! We do not recognize the authority of an organization made up of impure Earthlings! If your little group gets in the way, we Lunarians will strike it down so that it knows its place!"
Itachi tilted his head. "You grossly underestimate the scale of our organization. We have multiple sapient races besides humans amongst us, and even one of our several space-faring member-states could, by itself, annihilate your little kingdom from orbit until nothing remains but ash and black glass. But we're not looking for another fight; we already have enough hostile factions to deal with. Inaba-san, do you accept my offer?"
After several long seconds of thought, the Moon-Rabbit nodded. "I do, Itachi-san."
The wise young prodigy nodded, a small smile on his face. The Lunarian soldiers prepared to fire, but then Itachi's eyes flashed red, and all but one – the one who'd been looking at Reisen instead of him – collapsed unconscious. The lone conscious soldier panicked, backing away and firing his rifle, but the energy bolts passed through thin air where Itachi used to be. The shinobi reappeared to the side, and the soldier spun to face him only to have his gun knocked away, a hand gripping his throat and hoisting him off the ground. Itachi stared into the Lunarian's eyes and cast his genjutsu once more, and the man joined his comrades in unconsciousness. Itachi let him drop to the ground.
"Whoa…" Reisen whispered.
"According to my sources," Itachi said, "you have aptitude in genjutsu."
She stared blankly.
"Illusory techniques" he elaborated.
"Oh! Y-Yes."
He smiled. "How fortuitous. Illusory techniques are my specialty as well; perhaps I can teach you a few. …Come; we will depart this realm. My superiors and I will provide you with a detailed explanation of things."
As Itachi and Reisen left, neither noticed a narrow purplish 'gap' in space-time, nor the observer who had watched and heard the whole exchange unfold through it.
"How interesting…" the mysterious woman murmured.
-SCENE BREAK-
Timeline 2
Spirit Realm
The seven sages lie strewn about – unconscious or dead, he did not care. He stood and listened as his rescuer – a dark mage, his equal in power, with a mighty weapon that only he could wield – explained his offer. And as he listened, he grinned as he came to a decision.
"I accept your offer of partnership" he said, offering his hand to the powerful old man. "Together we will subvert all Hearts in creation…"
"…And acquire power beyond imagining as we conquer the tyranny of Light" the other said.
And so, the now-partners Ganondorf and Master Xehanort shook hands.
-BOOK 23 END-
The next Book will be a Puella Magi-centered story called "Dark Hearts", and I have something big planned for it. But before I start on it, I plan to go back and make a few edits to other, older Books, something that's been a long time coming. Once I'm done with that, we'll get things rolling. See you then.