Teana's Travels Book 33: Fated Battles

by D.K.N

Teana and several other DDF members venture to another new Earth, to a city called Fuyuki. There, they meet a trio of local young mages - Illya, Miyu, and 'Kuro' - and decide to help them fend off the Heartless' exploratory probes on this world. But there is more going on than it seems, and the specter of the Grail Wars still lingers... 'Mixes' Prisma-Illya and Fate-Stay timelines.

10. For the Grail

Forgive me if I make any grievous errors regarding how things are "supposed" to work…

SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Realm TMN-5

Earth – Japan – Fuyuki City

A Few Days Later

Things went quiet again for a little while, but everyone felt like it was a calm before a storm. Freed of his Grail-induced Berserker insanity, Herakles turned out to be quite jovial and boisterous; he and Lancer got along splendidly. Sasuke and Assassin continued to help Fuuka hone her sword and unarmed fighting skills, while Riku tutored Illya in the various uses of her Keyblade. And Archer & Alt-Shirou taught a "trump card" to Kuro and Local-Shirou…

Finally, a sign that the time to end things was nigh made itself known: a potent dark magical signature on Mt. Enzou… or rather, in it, at the Greater Grail ritual's hosting site. Everyone (including the Emiya 'home team' of Kiritsugu, Irisviel, Sella, & Leysritt) hurried over there, only to find a sizable amount of Heartless barring their path inside. They got to work, carving through the dark creatures en masse; some drew blades, cut and sliced and stabbed and slashed, while others fired destructive bolts, blasts, or beams of magic, others dealt blunt-force strikes that crushed and splattered… If the Heartless were meant to do anything but slow the heroes down and/or make them use up a small amount of stamina, they failed.

Before too long, they all reached the massive central cavern, ready to fight whoever or whatever was here. What they found was Kotomine Kirei standing in the center of the recently-repaired flat portion in the center meant to conform to the size & shape of the ritual's huge rune-circle.

"Welcome, everyone!" He spread his arms wide in a theatric gesture. "So glad you were all able to answer my 'invitation' and come here so that you could witness the culmination of all I have worked for."

"You won't be accomplishing anything here today" Kiritsugu growled, already readying his chosen anti-mage weapons.

"Ah, Emiya Kiritsugu… I didn't expect to see you again. But, I suppose this means I'll get a chance to exact a little payback. You killed me; I didn't like that."

"Better get used to it" Kuro retorted. "Except this time, you won't come back."

Slowly lowering his arms, Kirei chuckled softly as a shadowy black aura enveloped him, the power of Darkness answering his call. The 'fallen priest' then extended his hand, dark power briefly flickering in front of his palm like a low flame, and then releasing as a wave of a few-dozen dark-magic bolts that spread out and curved through the air, coming at the heroes from multiple angles. Rho Aias from Archer, Alt-Shirou, & Kuro, Stage-2 Susanō from the Uchiha Quartet, and star-shaped magic shields from Illya & Kuro all came up to weather the storm, holding strong against the barrage of magic projectiles.

However, the moment the barrage ceased, Archer suddenly spun around and raised his arm to block a powerful surprise attack from Kotomine as he appeared behind the group, the fallen priest's kick knocking the Counter Guardian skidding back a bit on his heels. Kirei then leapt and twisted to dodge a strike from Qrow, and then fired a single bolt of dark magic from his fingertip like a finger-gun at an incoming magic blast from Riku, setting it off prematurely.

Kuro and Tiida attacked next, striking with Kanshou, Bakuya, & Aster in an attempt to cut Kotomine down. But their opponent proved fast and nimble enough to dodge most of their blows and use small forearm-'mounted' dark-magic shields to block & parry the rest. He then leapt back to dodge a falling strike from Salia as she teleported in overhead, firing a dark-magic blast that made her shields flare and almost knocked her off her feet. He then abruptly crouched to dodge a swing of Saber's Excalibur aimed at where his neck had just been, lashing out with a kick aimed at her shin that she spun to the side to avoid. However, as he straightened out he was nailed by a giant fist of magic 'strings' from Iris that knocked him back a dozen meters. After a couple seconds he stood back up, grinning as he wiped the blood from his lip.

"You cannot stop it" he proclaimed. "The Grail shall be completed, its Darkness ushered forth to cover the world…"

"Uh, have you taken a look around?" Qrow snarked. "Every single Servant is still alive; in fact, they've been freed from their connection to the Grail, so that even if it were destroyed, they get to stick around."

"The ritual requires something that can act as a conduit for the Grail's power, a vessel to contain that power, and the essences of Saber, Archer, Caster, Lancer, Berserker, Assassin, and Rider. It does not specify that those essences come from the Servants themselves…"

The gang had spread out a bit, trying to cover all avenues of approach. Thus, one of his targets was vulnerable. He vanished in a flash-step, and Miyu cried out in shock was she was knocked over, and then felt a hand on her thigh. For an instant she feared he might be trying to molest her, but a moment later it was clear that his goal was something even worse, given the circumstances: with a sound of tearing fabric and strap, he tore the case containing her Class Cards away from her. With a war-cry Illya came in with Keyblade in hand, but Kotomine dodged her swing, grabbed her by the ankle, slammed her into the ground to stun her, and ripped her Card holster away as well. He leapt back to dodge a leaping sword-strike from Local-Shirou, smirking as he pulled the Caster, Lancer, Archer, Assassin, Rider, and Berserker cards out, looking them over.

Then, as the various heroes & heroines prepared to make their next move, realizing the danger of him having those artifacts in his possession, he chuckled softly and snapped his fingers, triggering the trap he'd set up before their arrival. From the cavern ceiling high above, a rain of black sword-like projectiles shot down with pinpoint accuracy thanks to aiming runes. Everyone narrowly avoided them all as they stabbed into the ground… and then suddenly, they all found themselves immobilized.

"Black… Keys…" Kiritsugu grunted out through gritted teeth; even talking was virtually impossible.

"That's right…" the fallen priest replied. "These sacred artifact-weapons can completely immobilize even high-level entities merely by pinning their shadows to the ground. Now, all that's left is…"

There was a flash of red directly behind him as Kuro teleported in, a 'Trace' of the kama once wielded by Madara Uchiha in her hand, swung at his neck. Unfortunately, he reacted far quicker than she anticipated; he caught her wrist, and she cried out in surprise as she was suddenly, violently yanked around and forward. Now he had his large, muscular right arm wrapped around her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. She flailed and kicked, trying to break free, but it was useless.

"My goodness…" he remarked. "The seventh Card, and a Conduit, all in one convenient package…"

What happened next was, for several of the helplessly immobilized & silenced watchers, one of the most horrible things imaginable. Kirei's left hand moved with lethal swiftness, and there was a terrible wet crunching sound that echoed through the silenced chamber. Kuro's little body twitched violently, her jaw dropped open and eyes wide, as Kirei literally tore her beating heart out of her chest. Her family and comrades tried desperately to scream out – in rage, in despair, in horror – but the Black Keys still held them immobile and silent.

At Kirei's will, particles of magic flowed out of Kuro's extracted heart, gathering into the form of the Archer Card. Then, all seven Cards turned into magic and flowed into it, merging with it, and the heart began to glow a vibrant red and black with the Holy Grail's power.

"Yes~…" the man hissed.

But in his glee, he failed to notice two things: Kuro was still conscious…

"I…"

…and her right hand was still gripping Madara Uchiha's kama.

"I…za… n-na…g… …gi…"

With her last breath, she spoke the final syllable. …And an instant later, she flickered and vanished from Kotomine's grip, as reality was rewritten. She reappeared standing a few meters away, head down, still gripping her Traced weapon, her chest now whole and intact, a new heart beating within her. Everyone, including Kotomine, stared in astonishment as her body suddenly flared with powerful chakra and mana. She looked up, and they all saw that her amber eyes had transformed, the pupils now small circular black dots in the center… surrounded by three comma-like markings. And then, she wove a quick sequence of hand-seals while gathering chakra in her body, and…

"Katon: Gōka Messhitsu!"

Kotomine quickly leapt away from the tightly-focused torrent of intense flames exhaled at him, the stone beneath where he'd just been being baked and heated to the point of glowing. He fired a powerful dark-magic blast at her, but then a large blue spectral flame sprang up around her, forming into a skeletal figure that easily absorbed the blast. She opened her eyes, revealing they had changed again; the golden irises were now overlaid by black markings in the unmistakable Eternal Mangekyō pattern of Madara Uchiha.

Suddenly, a handful of the other heroes managed to break free, in their own ways; Sasuke and Tiida used Enton: Kagutsuchi to shape slicing black 'blades' of Amaterasu fire that slashed away the Black Keys immobilizing them, Shino's bugs finally managed to remove the one pinning him, and Qrow used his rare brand of magic to briefly turn into a crow, changing his shadow enough to free him and let him get a bit of distance before shifting back to human form. The quartet quickly used their abilities to free the others.

"What's going on?" Irisviel asked. "I know Kuro-chan used her power to 'Trace' the techniques of her weapons' original wielders to use that Uchiha reality-warp technique for a handful of seconds to save herself, but… why have her eyes changed like that?"

"Probably," Itachi replied, "the unique combination of Kuro's special brand of Tracing, the reality-warping effects of Izanagi, and her nature as a Grail Conduit combined to change her. She now bears Madara's Sharingan and its powers, though with her natural eye color remaining, and…" He looked her over with his own Mangekyō. "Because the Archer card formed a 'base' for her initial existence, even though it is no longer part of her the powers it gave her – the powers of the Counter Guardian Archer – remain with her." He blinked. "Though, I do not believe she will have access to Madara's Rinnegan-based abilities; she does not have any Senju chakra within her."

Dispelling her brand-new Susanō, Kuro then 'traced' the weapon known as Myrtenaster, firing a wave of several white star-shaped blasts of magic and using her new eyes to guide them with newfound precision. They chased Kotomine around a little, but unfortunately he used quick-formed dark shields to neutralize them one by one.

"The essence of the Seven Servants," he proclaimed, "and a conduit for the Grail's power. Now only one thing remains: the vessel. It is time to bring forth All The World's Evil! Let Angra Mainyu cover the world in Darkness eternal!"

Then, to everyone's shock, he punched a hole in his own chest and shoved the grail-empowered, Cards-imbued heart into his own body. And as his body was engulfed in a raging black aura and his form began to distort, something nobody had seen coming happened: a large, black & dark-purple rune appeared on the ground beneath him… in the magic-system style used by Keyblade wielders, bearing the evil energy signature of (a) Xehanort.

The Seekers of Darkness had done a little homework, determining that the 'normal' procedure would turn Kotomine into a giant, helpless lump of mutating dark-magic flesh that would be easy pickings for any of the DDF to blast away before it could cause any major damage. So they set up a hidden 'extra' ritual-spell that would make the resulting entity much more capable of defending itself. Kotomine disappeared into a pitch-black shell of Darkness as a howling black wind swirled tightly around like a small tornado. More wisps of shadowy Darkness were drawn in from all around… including from Sakura Tohsaka's body, as she collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath.

"What was that?-!" Local-Shirou and Rider ran to her side.

"I forgot to mention…" Archer replied. "Zouken also shoved 'fragments' of a Lesser Corrupted Grail into Sakura-chan, with the intent of making her into a Grail Conduit. At least, he did that in my timeline. I imagine those fragments were just yanked out of her to feed whatever Kotomine is turning into."

As Sakura shakily got back on her feet, more or less okay, the black spherical shell within the wind grew in size until it was around 10 feet across, stabilizing there. The black wind died down, and then the big black sphere pulsed with dull red light a few times with a slow, regular rhythm, like the heartbeat of some great beast. Then, cracks that glowed from within with a sickly red & purple light began to appear all over the shell, spreading and joining. Everyone braced themselves, ready for anything.

With a sound like shattering glass pitched low, the black sphere shell shattered, accompanied by a blast of gale-force hot wind that nearly blew everyone away. The air in the massive cavern became 'tainted' by a corrupt, evil, and very powerful energy signature, making everyone even more on-edge. They looked and saw a figure, around 8 feet tall, its structure & shape vaguely humanoid but still disturbingly un-human, a body that seemed to be composed of featureless solid Darkness – shifting blacks and purples and deep reds, covered in glowing bright-red lines that traced and formed arcane patterns, two glowing red slits for eyes that weren't quite level with each other, disproportionately long arms ending in huge jet-black claws with glowing red tips, a slightly hunched-forward posture…

"A… Archer…" Rin breathed out, trembling from what she was sensing. "Is that…?"

"Yeah…" the red-clad Servant nodded. "The Corruption of the Holy Grail… Angra Mainyu…"

The bestial entity let out a low, deep warbling growl, despite apparently lacking a mouth to do so, and slowly took a few plodding steps forward. Then, it vanished in a burst of speed, and Saber's eyes widened with shock as she barely brought her sword up in time to block a powerful claw-swipe that sent her skidding back on her heels, unbalanced. As it tried to move in for another attack before she could regain her bearings, it was interrupted by a Strike Raid from Riku and an explosive blast of crackling psionic power from Salia. They didn't do much damage, though they certainly got the demon's attention, as it turned to face the duo, their blades ready. It crossed its huge arms up in front, projecting backward-curving spikes from them and using those to block Riku & Salia's blade strikes, somehow withstanding Keyblade and psi-blade impacts.

Warned telepathically, Riku & Salia leapt back from the Corruption-entity just as a bright orange Divine Buster slammed into it, engulfing it in destructive magical energy. When the beam of energy faded after several seconds, the Corruption-entity's "flesh" was smoldering, its body still curled up in a defensive posture, but what relatively little damage it had taken was visibly healing. Without looking it then raised its arm back & up, hardened spikes in position on it, to block Qrow's lightning-quick strike. The beast then released an all-directions pulse of power that hit Qrow like a sledgehammer, sending him flying back several meters with his Aura flaring. Lancer caught the airborne Hunter, helping him land on his feet, while Leysritt and Bazett made the next attack. The two warrior-women wielded ornate axe and glowing fists as they attempted to crush the Corruption-entity, but it moved fast enough and blocked tough enough to dodge and withstand their strikes.

There was a flash of light and a surge of magic as Rider summoned her mount, the mighty Pegasus Bellerophon. The high-level summon glowed with white light as Rider mounted it, and then it flew right at the Corruption-entity in a very-high-speed aerial tackle. The dark beast narrowly dodged the first hit, and as Rider circled around for another pass Tiida and Qrow kept the monster busy until it was too late, the second impact hitting dead-on. The Corruption-entity was crashed into with bone-pulverizing force, carrying it forward and launching it into the far wall of the huge cavern, leaving an it-shaped indent in the durable stone wall. As the creature tried to pry itself free, it was hit by a chakra arrow from Sasuke's Susanō, piercing it and detonating with significant force.

Before the smoke had faded, the dark creature leapt out from within it, landing with stone-cracking force toward the edge of the gigantic pedestal that made up most of the cavern's floor. Another low growl rang out, and then it roared, a sound far louder than expected, accompanied by a continuous blast of powerful hot wind that battered at everyone. Then, numerous rifts in reality opened up, and from them emerged an enormous barrage of dozens, hundreds of black & dark-red blades and spears of solid Darkness-magic – it was like something that Gilgamesh would do when going all-out.

Knowing that dodging such an attack would be extremely difficult if not impossible, everyone either raised high-level defensive techniques or hunkered down behind those who did so. Several people had to combine or overlap their defenses to successfully withstand the withering barrage. Luvia gritted her teeth as her revolving bright green rune-circle shield was relentlessly hammered, while Fuuka crouched close behind her. However, the two girls failed to notice as the Corruption-entity picked one target at random and happened to pick them. Above and behind them, another rift opened, shooting out around a half-dozen spears of Darkness at them. They gasped and began to turn, seeing the projectiles coming at them, no time to dodge or raise a new defense…

There was a flash of movement, four of the incoming spears being sliced out of the air, but their savior had no time or room for the rest, nothing left to catch the last two… except his own body. There were two sickening thuds in rapid succession as the two dark-spears pierced through Assassin Koujirou's chest and midsection, blood and bits of bone spraying out behind him and onto the two girls as they stared in shocked horror, seeing the blood-covered tips of the weapons emerging from his back and stopping mere inches from them. Just as the wide-area barrage finally cut out, Koujirou fell to his knees, looked back over his shoulder at the duo with a weak, bloody smile, and then hit the ground with a thud.

"No…" Rin breathed out. "Damnit, no… We were supposed to… to get through this without… without losing anyone…"

As the various members of the group reacting to watching Assassin fall, the Corruption-entity slowly staggered forward, growling softly, its body seething with dark power. It couldn't consume and corrupt the Servants anymore, what with their connections to the Grail all but severed, but at least it could still kill them the old-fashioned way. Its primitive, perpetually rage-clouded mind felt sick satisfaction; nothing these light-wielders had could beat it… But then, four voices rang out in unison, the words themselves containing power:

"I am" "the bone" "of my" "sword…"

Everyone turned now to see Archer, the two Shirous, and Kuro standing together, their energies mixing and melding as power flowed through them and out into the world.

"Our bodies are as hardened steel…" Alt-Shirou proclaimed.

"…And fire courses through our blood" Kuro continued.

The Corruption-entity growled and tried to charge them, but Itachi and Herakles barred its path, engaging it.

"We have forged over a thousand blades…" Archer incanted.

"Unyielding to death and loss…" Local-Shirou continued.

"With no gain in life…" Alt-Shirou picked up.

Herakles' smashing strike hammered the bestial entity into the ground, and it then rolled to the side to avoid a falling axe-strike from Leysritt that almost split its head in half.

"We have withstood hardship and pain to forge countless weapons…" Kuro proclaimed.

Lancer and Saber moved in next, and the Corruption-entity moved with incredible speed and unnatural flexibility to dodge the ensuing flurry of rapid-fire strikes, back-stepping and giving ground to ensure it could continue doing so.

"Our hands hold everything and nothing," Archer continued.

"And our lives need no meaning…" Local-Shirou brought it home.

Saber cried out as she was hit by a blow that nearly fractured her ribs, sending her tumbling back only to be caught and steadied by Riku, while a huge barrage of mana bolts from a very, very angry Luvia hammered into the dark entity, blowing chunks out of its 'flesh' that nigh-immediately regenerated but pinning it down for a precious few seconds…

"And" "thus" "we" "proclaim…"

The power building in the incanting quartet reached its crescendo…

"UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!-!-!"

A brilliant white light engulfed the entire area as local reality was overwritten, a melded quadruple-part Reality Marble taking form. When the light faded, everyone took notice that they were seemingly no longer in the Great Grail Cavern. They were in a field, dusty ground with some patches of snow here & there, as well as areas of dry but living grass with a few flowers of red and gold and white. The sky overhead had reddish clouds and dust in it, but sunlight still shone through, revealing patches of cleaner sky… which had stable, multicolored rifts that were strangely beautiful, as well as massive, slowly-turning gears, floating in it. The occasional flower petal or snowflake drifted through the air. And as far as the eye could see, hundreds and hundreds of swords, of all shapes and types and sizes, were stuck into the ground.

(MUSIC: 'EMIYA' (reader's choice of which of the many, many versions))

"Four people's Reality Marbles seamlessly overlapping like this…" Kiritsugu murmured. "Unbelievable…"

Being in this altered space boosted Archer's, the two Shirous', and Kuro's power and abilities to their max, their bodies flaring with magical power ready to unleash. In addition, the transition had purged the dark-magic miasma that the Corruption-entity had been filling the cavern with, disrupting the heroes' ability to channel and shape their power properly. Now, they too could fight at full strength. The Uchiha Quartet took position by the four 'Tracers', ready to help them lead the charge, while Saber stood beside her 'Master', and Illya & Miyu made ready to fight alongside their big brothers.

The Corruption-entity tried to open several more weapon-launching rifts, but Archer and Local-Shirou immediately pulsed with power, and numerous swords broke free from the ground and flew out at high speed, slashing through the forming rifts, disrupting and destroying them. Kuro, Local-Shirou, Sasuke, and Teana then led the charge, the others following in their wake or spreading out to attack their enemy from multiple angles. As Kuro closed in, she 'Traced' the Blast Sword Shibuki, one of the Seven Mist Swordsmen's famous weapons, making the first opening strike. The Corruption-entity was slashed and struck with a point-blank explosion, and as the smoke cleared it was visibly damaged, though repairing itself. Sasuke didn't give it the chance, unleashing a flurry of precise Lightning-enhanced slashes that cut deep into the entity's 'flesh', leaving multiple electrically-sparking gashes in its solid-Darkness hide.

Saber and Illya tried a cross-strike with Excalibur and Counterpoint, but the Corruption-entity managed to regain movement and throw itself out of the way to dodge the hits. However, it was then promptly skewered by a few swords telekinetically launched by Alt-Shirou, making it stagger back as they impaled into it with significant force. Before the beast could shake off this brief stun, Local-Shirou and Teana hit it with a barrage of blows and sword-strikes, finishing with the female Uchiha forming a Stage-0 Susanō fist and punching the entity hard enough to send it flying a good distance.

As Archer, Itachi, Alt-Shirou, and Tiida charged in next, the two veteran Tracers each forming their copies of Kanshou & Bakuya, it was revealed that, although the Sharingan couldn't copy/record the ability to Trace all weapons at once, if a Sharingan-wielder saw a certain weapon be Traced enough times they could then Trace that weapon as well. With matching flashes of light, Itachi formed and grasped a Kanshou of his own, while Tiida dual-wielded a Bakuya and gunblade-form Aster. Being attacked by four enemies with seven blades, the Corruption-entity was subjected to a relentless barrage of attacks, circumventing or overwhelming its attempts at defense and dealing numerous wounds.

The dark entity managed to get a bit of distance, but was given no time to recuperate before Riku and Illya were all over it, two Keyblades dealing significant damage to the Darkness-based being. A point-blank magic blast from Illya blew the entity back, and then at Archer & Kuro's mental command a rain of swords crashed down on it, skewering and blasting it. The barrage continued for several seconds, and then as the smoke and dust began to clear, to reveal the Corruption-entity with some noticeable damage, the Uchiha Quartet leapt high, formed their Susanō and brought each of their spectral summons' huge solid-chakra blades down on the beast, releasing an explosion of power that engulfed the monster.

When the dust faded again, the Corruption-entity looked mangled, its body twisted and broken. As the beast straightened up onto shaking legs, it looked like it was barely holding itself together. Then, it found itself surrounded by Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, and 'Berserker'. They all had weapons drawn and ready, except for Caster who substituted with a blade of brightly-glowing solid magical energy around and extending from her right hand. All six of them dashed in at once, landing six simultaneous slashing strikes. The Corruption-entity let out a weakened roar of pain and fury, its body seizing and warping as this attack brought it to the brink.

"Finish it now!" Local-Shirou cried out as he Traced the Master Sword and rushed in from the side.

Riku and Illya readied their Keyblades and moved from the other side and above. The three Holy-class weapons struck the dark entity at the same time with a flash of light. The embodiment of All The World's Evil, the Corruption of the Holy Grail, let out a final echoing cry as it began to disintegrate into motes of light, slowly floating a little off the ground while moving as if in slow-motion after taking a knock-down hit. And then, it exploded in a rush of dark energy that was coming apart too rapidly to really do anything to them, such that it harmed nobody as it washed over them while evaporating into nothingness.

When the light and rushing wind & darkness faded, the entity was no more. All that was left were the seven Class Cards fluttering to the ground, and the spectral image of a sort of golden cup, purged of the Darkness that had long infested it. The image of the Grail faded away, and everything was calm and quiet again. The Tracers dispelled their Unlimited Blade Works, returning everything to normal, back to the Great Cavern. Many of the group breathed sighs of relief; the battle was finally over, the Greater Grail purified and returned to slumber, the Corruption banished. Then, however, their attention was drawn to where Sella was kneeling beside Assassin Koujirou, her hands glowing faintly with healing magic. The spears that had impaled him had vanished. His body looked to be slowly breaking down into motes of light and mana.

"I can't do anything more than keep him alive for just a little longer…" she reported sadly as the group gathered around. "I can't save him. I'm sorry…"

"Koujirou-san…" Luvia went down to her knees beside him, tears building in her eyes. After a few seconds, the man's eyes cracked open, and he slowly turned his head to look at her, his bloodstained lips forming into a weak smile.

"Luvia…" he spoke in a weak, cracking voice. "Sorry that we're parting so soon… I really enjoyed working with you… You're smart, have good strong magical talent… I was… proud to be your partner for this whole thing…"

He turned to the two other people he'd formed a particularly strong kinship with; Sasuke was quiet and solemn, his sadness at losing a friend showing through, while Fuuka was trying, and not quite succeeding, to hold back her tears.

"You two… Use well what I taught you…"

Sasuke nodded. "It was a pleasure to know you, Koujirou-san…"

"Nii-san…" Fuuka murmured, sniffling.

Koujirou grinned. "You've got amazing potential, kid… I know you'll go far…"

He took one last look around at the comrades and friends who stood all around him, at his fellow warriors showing silent, mournful respect, at the gifted children showing sorrow at his loss but trying to keep themselves together out of respect to him… He smiled, a soft weak chuckle escaping him, as he closed his eyes and laid his head back.

"See you all… on the other… side…"

Then, the 'Assassin' Sasaki Koujirou's body burst into motes of white and golden light, swirling around Luvia one last time and then winking out of existence, the wealthy blonde finally letting out a sob as she bade her Servant farewell…

Wiping at her tears, Illya turned and slowly headed over to where the fallen Class Cards lay, retrieving them. They still had all their power, and… It was strange, looking at the Archer Card now in her hand even though Kuro was right over there safe & strong. It seemed she really didn't need it as an 'anchor' to existence any longer… Illya sighed, straightening up… and then there was a flash of movement and pressure, and she couldn't breathe.

Startled, everyone spun around to see a figure in golden armor holding Illya up by the throat. As he held the thrashing girl with one hand, Gilgamesh drew his other back, holding it in a spearing shape, aiming for Illya's chest… There was a flicker of motion as someone teleported in, and then a boot-clad foot slammed into the side of Gilgamesh's head, sending him flying. Illya was caught before she could hit the ground, while Gilgamesh skidded along the rocks for a few meters before catching himself and coming to a stop on his feet.

As Illya was set down, everyone got a look at her savior: Goku, in his usual red and dark-blue outfit. However, something was different about him. His energy felt much more potent than expected, his power level feeling like it was around Super Saiyan 2 despite the fact that he was apparently in his base state. Furthermore, it felt like his ki had something mixed in with it… and when he turned to face the group with a calm smile, they realized they were sensing Nature Energy just as they saw the scale-like pattern of markings around his eyes, which now had golden-colored eyelids, sky-blue irises, and slit pupils.

"Sorry I'm late" he told them. "Or rather, it looks like I'm just in time. From what I can sense from this guy, this is a good chance to try out the new ability that Lord Voltaire and his people have taught me."

"D…" Teana whispered, awed. "Dragon-style… Sage Mode…"

Gilgamesh snarled as he straightened up, rubbing at his cheek. "You dare strike the oldest and mightiest of Heroic Spirits?"

"I don't care who you think you are" Goku replied with a calm frown. "I won't allow you to kill my allies and friends."

"I am the rightful king of this world. I reigned thousands of years ago, and I have come back to reign again. But the people of the modern era are weak, idiotic, worthless compared to the glory of my last kingdom. My plan was to unleash All The World's Evil upon this world, let that primordial corruptive Darkness consume and kill those who were too weak, and then rule over those strong enough and worthy enough to survive. But these mongrels have vanquished that power! …As I was the first to ever rule over this world, everything on this world is rightfully mine. And those who claim, or destroy, what is mine… must be made to know their place…"

"…So you're that type, huh? Just like Frieza… I can tell you won't be reasoned with; I can sense your enormous ego, and your selfish, black heart. The best thing I can do is put you down before you cause any more suffering. Prepare yourself!"

Gilgamesh opened numerous small golden gateways, firing about a dozen high-velocity swords that crossed the distance in a fraction of a second. However, Goku effortlessly dodged them all with the minimum movement required, practically not leaving his spot; when the last one came right at his face he reached out with lightning speed and caught the flying sword by the hilt, stopping the blade's point a mere inch away from his forehead. He tossed the weapon aside, still glaring calmly at his opponent. Gilgamesh glared right back, trying to control his temper, ready for his enemy to make a move. He had a feeling that this man was high-level enough to move with speed on par with a high-speed Servant, so he tried to be ready…

Then, however, it was made abundantly clear that Sage Mode gave Goku far more speed than Gilgamesh was expecting. Even by Gil's standards Goku seemed to 'flicker' and reappear right in front of him instantly, not from Instant Transmission but pure, senjutsu-enhanced speed. His resulting punch made a loud clang sound as it dented Gilgamesh's supposedly-indestructible armor, the golden-haired 'King of Heroes' nearly doubling over after the blow almost knocked the wind out of him. Growling as he regained himself, Gilgamesh struck back, a flurry of blur-fast strikes that Goku blocked or dodged. The Saiyan hero then returned the favor, putting Gilgamesh on the defensive with multiple rapid and startlingly powerful strikes that the golden-clad villain was hard-pressed to block against. Gilgamesh then made the mistake of dodging a punch instead of blocking it, letting Goku's punch pass right by the side of his head… and getting nailed right in the face by the invisible aura of senjutsu energy that surrounded Goku's body. The blow knocked Gilgamesh for a loop and sent him tumbling back, end over end across the stony ground for over a dozen meters until he caught himself. With a furious roar, Gilgamesh charged while releasing a staggered wave of high-velocity projectiles swords and spears, which Goku dodged around as he moved in to meet his enemy.

The next couple minutes mostly went the same – Sage-Mode Goku withstanding, avoiding, or shutting down Gilgamesh's attempts to do him harm, and dealing blow after powerful blow to wear the evil 'King of Heroes' down. Gilgamesh's frustration and fury steadily grew, until finally he hit his breaking point. With his aura surging to match his now-burning rage, he opened a rift into his 'treasury' and pulled out a certain infamous weapon, drill or lance-like in shape, black with red lines. Immediately Goku sensed the great and terrible power in that weapon, the power to shred space-time and ravage worlds. Right away he knew the best defense against the weapon known as 'Ea' would be to not let Gilgamesh use it.

Goku charged in as Gilgamesh pulled his arm back, drawing Ea back as its segments began to spin up. The 'King of Heroes' formed a shining golden shield to block the ki blasts that the Saiyan Hero fired at him, keeping Goku from interrupting. A wicked grin formed on Gilgamesh's face as he felt the power of Ea waking up, prepared to rip through the fabric of reality and tear this newcomer apart…

…And then he received a sudden reminder that Goku was not his only enemy on the field, as a snipe-shot arrow from Archer stuck into his side and then detonated, blasting his damaged armor off and blowing a bloody chunk in his side. He cried out in shocked pain, the charging sequence for Ea faltering, and that was all the time Goku needed to circumvent the shield, get right up in front of his foe, and fire a wave of senjutsu-enhanced ki that blasted a hole right through the center of Gilgamesh's chest. Gilgamesh staggered back, dropping Ea, in a state of complete and utter shock; how had a mongrel from out of nowhere wielded such powers and done this to him? He looked up, just as Goku fired a much larger and wider wave of energy.

The brilliant blue light of a Sage-enhanced Kamehameha was the last thing Gilgamesh ever saw. The ancient 'King of Heroes' was annihilated in virtually an instant, his wicked life snuffed out. Ea clattered to the floor, going dormant, as the energy wave dissipated, revealing nothing left of the oldest Heroic Spirit.

"Thanks for the save, Goku" Tiida said as she and the others came up. "So, Voltaire-sama taught you Sage Mode?"

The man nodded. "It's really something. I'm working on combining it with my Super Saiyan forms, but it's proving a bit difficult. So… What'd I miss?"

-Break-

In the aftermath of the battle, a few things were confirmed. First was that the Holy Grail still existed, having returned to dormancy, and that it was indeed fully purified, purged of Angra Mainyu's corruption. Meanwhile, examination of Kuro had revealed that her Sharingan was for keeps (though, she could turn it on & off like an Uchiha could), as were the abilities connected to it, including those of Madara's Mangekyō. Why her eyes did not turn red when they were active was a minor curiosity, but not worth making a big deal out of. In addition, the unique melding of Izanagi, Tracing, and the Grail's power had further 'stabilized' her existence; not only did she no longer need the Archer Card to maintain herself, but she no longer had to drain magical energy from others to replenish her own supply. Her body and Linker Core would now draw in raw mana and convert it into magical energy for her like a normal person's would.

Though, she had quickly made it clear this would not stop her from kissing Illya and Miyu for the hell of it, simply because it felt good and it made them feel good despite their blushing denials.

"So yeah," Goku explained to the group, "Voltaire taught me a lot of things to help me out. Oh, and he also told me that there's another Realm we should go to soon, to a world where we should be able to find some more help. It's a world that has an ancient Guardian Dragon of its own, a benevolent protector who watches over his world, helps its people, fights against things that would threaten it, and all that. I've never heard of him, but Voltaire knows him, and says he and the champions & creatures of that world will probably help."

"So what's this other 'Guardian Dragon' named?" Sasuke asked.

Goku grinned. "Rayquaza."

-Break-

Next Day

Midchilda

It would be about a week before the DDF would be ready to send people to the next Realm. For now, Teana had a little 'mission' of her own. She and Fuuka had become rather close over the course of the recent op, quickly coming to treat each other like sisters; the kid was brave, determined, kind-hearted, and also kinda cuddly-cute, especially when she was being bashful. Since Fuuka had formed this sort of sibling-esque bond with Tia, the redhead wanted to introduce her to someone.

"Her name is Kara Emery" Teana explained as she led Fuuka through one of Cranagan's nicer residential areas. "I met her as part of the support staff for RF6, really met-met her right after the mission where we recruited the Freelancers and the Reds & Blues. We hit it off really quick; she's about 30 or so (though she totally looks like she isn't a day over 25), and right away she was taken with me, even hugging me and saying I was 'one of the cutest and sweetest little girls she'd ever met', and she's been really nice to me, looking after me, giving me little advices on stuff, keeping me company, lots of hugs and… She's…" the redhead blushed. "Well, she's kinda-sorta… become my mom, basically. She's made it clear that she's come to care for me like a daughter, and… I admit, I do think of her as a mom by now. She does like to fuss over me like I'm a little kid sometimes, but… even that isn't all bad, really…"

"…Do you think she'll like me?" Fuuka asked.

"Yeah, I do. I really do think she'll like you a lot, Fuuka."

The duo found themselves standing in front of one of the houses – single-story, but big and kinda fancy. The Emery family had some rather successful high-up businesspeople in it, so they were pretty well-off.

"Come on, imōto" Teana took Fuuka by the hand. "Come on and meet my 'mom'…"

She led the 10-year-old up the steps to the door, which opened from within; Teana had sent a telepathic message to the woman inside ahead of time. The first thing that Fuuka noticed was that Kara was very tall, around 6'3" or 4" by the looks of it. She was also quite shapely and 'gifted', her bust pretty big even for her size. Long dark-brown hair hung loose down to her mid-back, and her eyes were deep blue. Fuuka's eyes went wide; between the woman's height, figure, appearance, the startling warmth and kindness in her eyes and smile, her body language, her 'aura'… She had a very, very warm, comforting, and maternal air to her.

"Hello, Tia" the woman said

"Hi, Kara" Teana had a shy little smile on her face, instinctively relaxing in the presence of someone her heart at least partially already saw as 'mommy'. "I brought someone to meet you. This is Fuuka, the girl I mentioned in my message."

Kara turned her attention to the little girl, her smile growing a bit as she walked closer. Fuuka felt very shy and a bit nervous as she looked up at the woman, who giggled softly at the little one's big wide eyes and reached down to softly touch her cheek.

"Hello there, sweetie" she spoke softly.

"…H-Hi" Fuuka squeaked out. She felt less like a 10-year-old and more like a 5-year-old right now, faced with someone so tall and motherly. Somehow, with just one little opening exchange, she felt a sort of… connection.

"I've heard about you, sweetheart. You've been through a lot, huh? And still you're brave and determined, and also kind and sweet. …I wasn't expecting such a cute little girl, though."

She petted the little girl's head, earning a soft blush as Fuuka felt a strange feeling of… security, and safety, and other things she couldn't quite put words to. It was a feeling she hadn't felt since she was two years old, when she'd been in her dying birth-mother's arms for the last time.

"Wanna come in?"

Shyly, Fuuka nodded. Kara took her by the hand, leading the little girl inside with Teana close behind.

'Why does this feel like… coming home?'

-BOOK 33 END-

And that's it for Book 33. Goku's last word should tell you where the DDF is heading next. However, it'll take a while; I not only have a few other tasks to come, including making some edits to chapters of older, earlier Books (gonna clean up some things, fix a few mistakes, remove a couple bits that don't really feel right now that I look at them…), but I… kinda have to actually make a plot/event outline for Book 34 before I can write it. So far all I've got are some ideas for Poké-partners and a couple of 'boss fight' ideas. It'll probably not be until February or so before I can start working on Book 34 (though who knows? I might get it out sooner… or later…)

And Fuuka's found a new mommy! Kara is an OC from an unreleased collection of various short scenes that take place 'behind the scenes' in the Travels-verse that I've made for my own private perusal to help me keep track of things, try out ideas… Though, that collection includes sex scenes and bits from the RF6 hospital with a certain policy involving under-certain-age inpatients that reviews have told me won't be popular with readers beyond the occasional reference, so those scenes will likely never see the public eye. Don't worry, though. When it comes to Kara, what you see is what you get: a very caring, nurturing, motherly woman who's essentially taken Teana in as a surrogate daughter, loves to fuss over and cuddle her 'little girl' (who thrives from the affection and love), and is now set to do the same for Fuuka.

Anyway, see you people next time!