Welcome to the chapter chronicling the events of the season finale!
Loretta stared down the silver-haired swordsman known as Sephiroth. "Hm," scoffed the One-Winged Angel. "I suppose Cloud will not be the only golden-haired swordfighter whose life will be lost today."
"How..." Loretta breathed heavily. "No...why. Why did you come here? Why in Hylia's name did you haul your ass all the way out here, you heartless bastard?!"
"Why and how matter not," Sephiroth crooned. "All that matters now is what. What will happen. I know the answer, and you will find out."
Sephiroth readied Masamune, his obscenely long sword. "But, if you must know why, Hylian...I shall tell you this: all that I do is for the sake of my mother."
"So that's it..." Loretta seethed with rage. "You wanna be all buddy-buddy with Jenova...so you followed her-no, its-orders. You took so many lives, tortured so many people...and now you're here rubbing it in my face like it's something to be proud of..."
Sephiroth's face formed a wicked grin.
Loretta looked up, tears running town her cheeks as she shouted, "ALL WITH THAT DAMN SMILE ON YOUR FACE!" The former princess's eyes gleamed with golden lightning. "I'm gonna make sure you pay for what you did. To Cloud...to Aerith...to everyone you've hurt!"
She drew her sword, its scabbard still attached. The sheath's blades emerged as Loretta charged Sephiroth. "DIE!"
Glass thrust her fans toward Aris. The Hylian evaded them via both dodging and blocking with the Master Sword and his shield. She thinks the power of the Fierce Deity is the only way I can win, he thought as he narrowly avoided an attack.
On Aris's left arm, the Chimera Viper Shield switched out, transforming into the Soul Eater Shield, which bore an appearance like that of the Soul Eater Aris and the others had killed during the previous Wave. Glass's fan collided with the shield, causing it to come to life. Its mouth opened, chomping at the assailant's hand. Though it missed, some kind of purple essence was siphoned from Glass's body into the shield's mouth. Surprised, Glass jumped back. It drains SP, he realized. But even so, I don't think I've ever seen Glass hesitate like that.
Loretta leaped away. Her abdomen was inches away from the tip of Sephiroth's Masamune as it swung, almost cutting her in half.
She went for a leaping strike with her sword, but Sephiroth predicted her attack. He raised Masamune to block, shoving her away before leaping up into the air himself. He raised Masamune over his head, preparing to run her through the same way he had a certain flower merchant. Loretta dodged just in time, somersaulting to the side and rolling to her feet. She lunged at Sephiroth's side, managing to land a good strike to his left hip.
It wasn't enough, however. The One-Winged Angel was barely hindered, if at all. "I commend you for landing your first strike ever upon me," said Sephiroth. "A shame that it will also be your last."
Loretta spoke no more, not wanting to give Sephiroth the satisfaction of a verbal retort. Instead, she continued to strike and counter, trying her best to find an opening. Doing so, however, proved difficult.
Therese lifted her bracelet-covered arm. "I pray, may your sacrifice carve open a path to our future. Bejeweled Compression Bomb!"
Aris readied a skill of his own. "Meteor Shield!"
Therese tossed a golden gem into the air, and said gem suddenly exploded like a bomb dropping to the ground at a nuclear test site. A barrier of blue energy emanated from Aris's Shadowsteel Shield, protecting Filo and Melty. "What kind of magic is this?" said the Second Princess.
"Seems like it's being powered by her jewels," Aris pointed out. The attack stopped.
Therese readied another spell as Glass did the same. Aris gasped. "Oh, shit...they can use combo skills, too?!" He quickly activated Shield Prison, entrapping himself and the others in a protective ball of chained-up shields.
"Bejeweled Blizzard!" Therese called out.
Glass added on, "Combo Stance: Reverse Hail Seasons!"
A barrage of energy arches and large hailstones battered the Shield Prison, which was barely able to hold up against it.
Aris switched to the Chimera Viper Shield. "Yeah, I'm still kicking."
Glass was taken aback. "Jeez," she remarked. "Even that combo skill didn't work. You've really gotten stronger. Everything I thought I knew about you is completely useless at this point."
Aris smirked. "We've been leveling up back on Cal Mira." Still, something bugged him. Glass's reaction to the Soul Eater Shield wasn't normal. He addressed his team. "Alright, everyone. Plan B: I'll fight Glass one on one."
"Are you nuts?" exclaimed Melty.
"Maybe," said Aris. "You three handle L'Arc and Therese."
"Aris..."Filo was worried. "Don't tell me you're-"
Aris cut her off. "No, I'm not using the Fierce Deity's power. Because this way, I won't have to. Smell what I'm stepping in?"
Filo nodded. "I see what you mean. Sounds good to me."
"If that's the case, sign me up," Melty chimed in.
"Alright then," said Aris. "Let's tip the scales, everyone!"
Aris ran off towards the ocean. Glass went after him. "You can't get away!"
Raphtalia drew her sword to take on L'Arc and Therese.
Aris used two Air Strike Shields as stepping stones to parkour his way across the water and make it to a nearby empty ship. Glass soon joined him there.
"A one-on-one fight?" Glass remarked. "That's exactly what I had in mind. Even so, you're just going to leave your friends to fight a duo as strong as L'Arc and Therese? You're placing an awful lot of trust in your party."
"L'Arc told me he's a Hero," said Aris, "he's just fighting on behalf of another world within this universe. I would assume you're the same, right?"
"That's correct," Glass brandished her weapons. "I'm what the people of my world call a Vassal wielder. To be specific, I am known as the Fan Hero." Glass leaped into the air, fans unfurled. "En garde, Hylian!"
Aris readied the Master Sword and Chimera Viper Shield. "Do your worst!"
Therese cast a wall of blue flames at her opponents. Melty countered. "Zweit Aqua Slash!"
In the ensuing steam, L'Arc rushed in for a strike. Filo intercepted him. "I don't think so!" L'Arc jumped away just before Filo could stomp on him like a bug.
Raphtalia's sword clashed with L'Arc's scythe. The redhead jumped back. "Well," he said. "You guys are good. No wonder Aris trusts you."
Raphtalia glanced off towards where Aris had gone. "Please be safe, love..."
The male Hylian jumped to dodge another one of Glass's attacks. She's quick on her feet, he thought, but she doesn't have the same edge on me as before. I can take her now.
"Rupture Stance Rondo: Tortoise Shell Cracker!"
The incoming beam of pink energy was countered by the twin canine heads of one of Aris's shields. "Dog Bite!"
Aris swapped out to the Soul Eater Shield. The shield's mouth opened, and purple essence drained from Glass's body. The woman cried out. I was right! Aris mentally cheered. She was weakened by the Soul Eater Shield!
Glass dropped to her knee as soon as the essence stopped being drained. "All this thing does to anyone else is drain SP," Aris remarked aloud. "But for you, it seems to siphon your life force. This fight's basically over. The Wave will die down if you leave, right? So, why don't we just call it quits for now?"
Glass got to her feet. "Call it quits?" she said. "Oh, no. This battle's not over yet. It's only over when one of us is dead." She lifted her fans. "And I will never surrender!"
She charged him, and Aris sidestepped. He activated the Soul Eater Shield, draining more of Glass's vitality. "Just stop!" the Hylian exclaimed. "You'll just get yourself killed by staying here!"
"As long as breath can enter my lungs," said Glass, "I will do anything and everything in my power to end your life! For the sake of the world I call home, I have no other choice! The only way you'll ever be able to get rid of me is to kill me! Otherwise, this world will end! You're just like me, aren't you, Aris? You want to protect this world, right? The only way for that to happen is if you kill me right here and right now!"
Aris found himself hesitating. Protect it? he thought. Is that what I want? The world I was summoned to against my will, during a time in which I was supposed to be taking a break from adventuring? The world where I've been put through hell? She wants to protect her world more than anything, so why have I been fighting the Waves?
Suddenly, a vision appeared before his eyes. People, somewhat similar to the people of this world, fighting an army of monsters at sea. Sounds rang out. Monster roars, people yelling, the clash of metal on metal. "They're all waiting for us," said Glass. "My people are fighting against their own Wave, awaiting our triumphant return. That is why I cannot lose!"
Reality faded back in around Aris. "That's how this ends," said Glass. "It's do or die, Aris!"
Am I really going to crush her hopes and dreams for the sake of this crummy world? Aris pondered.
L'Arc's voice rang out. "Glassy, catch!"
A bottle containing a yellow liquid fell into Glass's hand. A soul-soothing potion. Glass downed the potion, gleaming with yellow light. Now filled with strength, she charged Aris and knocked him off the side of the ship. Raphtalia cried, "Aris!"
Aris used his left arm's Hookshot Mode to get back on board. Raphtalia leaped at Glass with her new sword drawn, only to be knocked back as well. She landed next to Aris, springing to her feet.
Aris looked at her. "What're you doing here?!"
"You know what I'm doing here, love," Raphtalia replied. "I promised that I would never leave your side. I won't let anyone else go through the same things as me and Rifana."
Cloud jumped over from a nearby boat, Fusion Sword ready. "See, Glass?" he called out. "We have our own reasons not to lose!"
Glass charged them with her fans ready. Aris countered, slowly transforming into his Fierce Deity form. "Not happening! Air Strike Shield!"
The glowing green shield stopped Glass's advance. Cloud took something out of his pocket. Materia. The ex-SOLDIER quickly loaded it into one of the Materia slots of his Fusion Sword. Rearing the gargantuan blade, he called out, "Firaga!"
A burst of flame erupted from the Fusion Sword, lighting the deck of the ship ablaze. "Aris, throw a bomb, now!" Cloud exclaimed.
Nodding, Aris used the Bomb Rune of his Sheikah arm to summon a remotely detonated explosive. He hurled it into the flames, and an explosion ensued without Aris even bothering to detonate it himself.
Meanwhile, Queen Mirellia and a few of her soldiers were helping a green-haired woman from Itsuki's party climb aboard their ship.
Back with Aris, Raphtalia, and Cloud, they were surprised to see Glass still standing amid the blue-tinted smoke. "Still not giving up?" said the Hylian, now fully in his Fierce Deity form. "Alright then."
Glass readied another one of her "Rondos". Aris switched to his more powerful Fierce Deity form, coating himself in black armor, the Fierce Deity Sword drawn. Raphtalia realized what he was doing. "Aris, no!"
"This is my power," Aris said to her as white lightning crackled over his body. "And I'm not using it to let people die. I'm using it to protect the ones I love."
Aris stared at Glass. He spoke, though his voice was no longer his own. "NOW, SINNER," he said, his voice replaced by that of the dark god Oni, "I SENTENCE THEE TO CAST THY SCREAMS UPON THE HEAVENS ABOVE! THE BITE OF A GODLY BLADE SHALL BE THY END, AND THY SCREAMS SHALL SERVE AS AN OFFERING TO THE GODS!"
Rishia Ivyred
Painfully Shy Mage
Rishia Ivyred heard something-a voice. Within her mind.
She saw something-a butterfly. A small insect with beautiful blue wings, glowing with pale light.
The voice spoke. "I am reaching out to you from another universe. Though you think that your past training has been in vain, there is a possibility open to you. From within your heart, a spirit of rebellion will make its presence known."
Suddenly, Rishia felt something. Pain. A burning sensation of a headache within her mind; it was enough for her to squeeze her temples with her hands and scream.
The butterfly disappeared, and a new voice spoke within Rishia's mind. "Your future with the Bow will be cruel and unjust; it will all be blamed on you. There is something you seek, and that something is true strength, correct? If that is truly the case, today will be the day your wish is granted."
Rishia barely managed to get any words out. "I hear you..."
"Good," the voice within her mind said. "Now then, let us forge a pact."
The voice continued, "I am thou, thou art I. Thou hath achieved a new beginning, an era of rebellion within thy life. Now, call upon my name, and let that rebellion take flight, soaring over all who dare oppose it!"
BGM: Awakening - Persona 5
Something appeared on Rishia's face. It looked like a strange combination of an opera mask and a pair of aviator goggles. Rishia reached up, ripping the mask away as she cried out in agony, blood covering the upper half of her face.
Rishia felt power well up from within her as her green eyes became a burning yellow. Blue flames began to burn from the area of her face surrounding those eyes, evaporating the blood as they began to engulf the rest of her body. The voice from before cackled.
Soon, her body was completely coated with the flames. The blue fire began to burn its way towards her back, disappearing from her body and revealing Rishia's new outfit. She now wore a sort of leather aviator jacket, but this coat had the same length as the one worn by one of the people in Aris's party. On her legs were cargo pants and a pair of combat boots.
Behind Rishia, the flames began to coalesce into a shape, that of a human lady. The flames surrounded Rishia and the being, displaying the being's appearance. It like a woman, but the being had a skull-like mask over her face and a strange helmet on her head. The helmet looked like it had zig-zagging branches growing from it. From behind the being's back, two large bat wings unfurled, sweeping around the body. A powerful blast of wind shot in all directions, sending barrels of Cohol fruit into the air.
"Lend me your strength...Hela!"
End BGM
Before Aris could call upon his most powerful attack, he was cut off. He stopped, the voice of Oni disappearing. Suddenly, a blast of wind rocked the ship he stood on, apparently sending barrels of Cohol fruit into the air. "Use those!" said a feminine voice.
"Thanks!" Aris called out. "Meteor Shield!"
The Shadowsteel Shield appeared on Aris's arm, a barrier of blue energy engulfing himself, Raphtalia, and Cloud. The barrels burst open, red liquid exploding from them. Glass was drenched, as if she'd just gotten back from walking home through a hurricane with no umbrella.
Sephiroth jumped away from Loretta, a single black wing appearing on his back. "Though I would very much like to continue our bout, it seems that this Wave's time is up."
"I'm not done with you yet, murderer!" Loretta shouted.
"Nor I you," said Sephiroth. "We shall continue this at a later time."
With a great flap of his wing, Sephiroth flew skyward.
"What was that?" asked Raphtalia.
"They were filled with Cohol berries," said Aris.
Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Aren't those used in wine?"
"Yeah," said Aris, "but for some reason, they don't seem to have any effect on me." The protective barrier dissipated, and Aris approached Glass. "You done yet? I'm really tired and I'd really like to go home and rest."
"I'm not done," Glass strained. "Not until you're dead!"
Before she could do anything, L'Arc appeared out of nowhere and held her back. "You?" said Aris.
"This fight's over," L'Arc explained. "Time's up."
Sure enough, the timer in Aris's status display had just ticked down to under 60 seconds. Melty and Loretta arrived on Filo's back. "Congrats, guys," said L'Arc. "You won this round."
"But this won't be the last time we meet in battle," Therese added.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Glass protested. "If we don't kill him right now-" She gagged.
L'Arc picked her up, supporting her and helping Glass stay on her feet. "You can yell at us when you don't feel like losing your lunch, alright?" He turned to Aris. "See ya 'round, buddy."
L'Arc, Therese, and Glass were all engulfed in light, disappearing into one of the blue vortexes in the sky. The vortexes themselves disappeared, giving way to peace.
"Sir Motoyasu!" Myne exclaimed, cradling the Spear Hero in her arms.
"Ngh," Motoyasu groaned. "Did we win?"
"Looks like it," Itsuki strained, trying and failing to pull himself to his feet. Meanwhile, Joker held out a hand to help Pit to his feet.
"Aris soloed it again?" said Ren.
"No," answered Queen Mirellia. "Every single one of us played our part here. We share this victory!"
The sailors and knights cheered. The green-haired girl in the boat looked at her hands as the being behind her disappeared, the mask once again appearing on her face. "What did I just do..?"
Everyone had returned to Cal Mira, and was now relaxing. Aris had decided that he and the Rebellion would take a break from leveling up for now.
At the moment, he was alone with Raphtalia on the shoreline, fishing. Raphtalia pointed out towards the horizon. "See those dark clouds out there?" she said. "It won't be safe to sail through them, so we're stuck here for a while."
Aris shrugged. "Eh, I could care less. You seem to know a lot about the sea."
Raphtalia nodded, pulling up on her fishing rod to bring in yet another catch. "I grew up in a fishing village," she said.
"Almost forgot." At that moment, Aris got a bite on his line. He reeled it in to find, surprisingly, a Pokémon.
"Whoa!" said Raphtalia. "What's that?"
"A Staryu," Aris answered. "And if you catch a Pokémon via fishing, you can just...do this." He took out a Poké Ball and absorbed the Staryu into it.
"So, you don't have to fight Pokémon if you catch them when you're fishing?" Raphtalia asked.
Aris nodded. He opened up something on his Sheikah arm: its built in Pokédex. "Huh, that's interesting."
"What?"
"Take a look." Aris showed her the Pokédex entry he'd obtained for Staryu. "If you visit a beach towards the end of summer, you can apparently see Staryu lighting up in some sort of rhythm."
"Wow," Raphtalia breathed. "What is this, by the way?"
"It's my Sheikah arm's built in Pokédex," said Aris. "A Pokedex is something Pokémon trainers usually carry with them on their travels. It tells you information about a particular Pokémon that you've caught."
"Sounds like it could come in handy," the Demi remarked.
"It does," said Aris.
Later that day, the couple decided to call it quits and head back. "What're we going to do when we return to Melromarc?" Raphtalia asked.
"Prepare for the next Wave, I guess," Aris answered. The question was still on his mind: if he had to fight Glass and her party again, would he be able to kill them?
Suddenly, he remembered something.
Flashback...
"So if the other three don't listen to reason," said Aris, "you're really gonna kill all four of us?"
Fitoria sat down next to him. "I can't say for sure how many Waves will have passed when it happens, but a time is coming where the world will demand great sacrifices from all of us."
End of Flashback...
Aris had a feeling he knew what Fitoria had meant. The Heroes would have to choose which world would fall, and which one would live on.
"Love?" said Raphtalia. "Is something bothering you?"
"Well..." Aris trailed off. "I think the party might be large enough to split off into two if we recruit a couple new members."
"Good thinking," Raphtalia complimented. "Divide and conquer."
"I'll have whoever leaves still be registered to teleport with us when the Waves hit," said Aris. "Strength in numbers. Who knows how strong Glass and her lackeys will be next time? If me and the other Heroes end up dead...you guys are the only hope this world will have."
Later that evening, the Rebellion met up with a girl from Itsuki's party. Her name was Rishia Ivyred, and she apparently had an explanation and a few questions for them.
"Wait," said Pit, "Itsuki did what?"
"H-He kicked me out of his party," Rishia answered, sounding like she was about to cry. "All because he accused me of breaking one of his favorite accessories."
"Did you do it, though?" asked Joker.
"No..." said Rishia. "One of the other party members told him I did it, and he believed them."
"It gave them an excuse to get rid of her," Melty realized.
"I think I know what really happened," Aris chimed in. "I have a feeling the rest of her party didn't want her upstaging them during the Wave. And if I know Itsuki, he trusted their accusation without any evidence whatsoever."
Rishia looked down, sniffling. Aris placed his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, no need to worry. That bastard was too blind to see that he was being manipulated. You did nothing wrong, Rishia. To be honest, you did the right thing when you decided to talk to someone about it."
"I thought no one would give a damn," said Rishia, calming down a little. "Why do you guys care so much?"
"Because we know how it feels to be wronged by one of the Cardinal Heroes," said Pit. "Just ask Aris about it. There's still a small bit of beef between him and Motoyasu, but before Aris's name was cleared, those two were at each other's throats whenever they got the chance."
"You helped us all a lot during the Wave," added Cloud. "Especially with that whole wind magic thing you did to blow those explosives up into the air."
"Actually..." Rishia poked her index fingers together, "...that wasn't me."
"It wasn't?" said Loretta. "Well, who was it, then?"
"You probably won't believe me."
"Rishia, we've all seen some crazy shit in the past," Aris said.
"Yeah," Joker added. "Anything short of ten-foot-tall purple bunnies dancing around in top hats and carrying rocket launchers, chances are we'll probably believe you."
"If you say so." Rishia cleared her throat. "During the Wave, I was standing in a lifeboat, the same one I'd used to get Princess Melty to where Aris was." She stopped suddenly, looking at Aris. "S-Sorry for addressing you so informally!"
Aris smiled. "Don't worry about it, I'm not a fan of the formalities anyway. Just call me Aris."
"O-Okay." Rishia continued. "A-Anyway, I was standing there in the lifeboat as it drifted back towards the ship where you all were fighting that Glass woman, and suddenly I saw what looked like a glowing butterfly. And I-I think it spoke to me."
Joker seemed especially intrigued. "What did it say? Did you hear it with your ears, or your mind?"
"My mind, I think," said Rishia. "And it said something about how it was reaching to me from another universe, that my past training may have been in vain, and that there was still a possibility open to me. Then it said something about how a 'spirit of rebellion' would appear from within my heart."
She kept going. "The butterfly disappeared, and then I heard another voice in my mind, telling me that my future with 'the Bow' would be unjust, and that it would all be pinned on me. Then it told me that it knew I sought strength, and that it would grant me that strength. And the next part is the only one I remember word for word."
"What did the voice say?" asked Joker.
Rishia replied, "'I am thou, thou art I. Thou hath achieved a new beginning, an era of rebellion within thy life. Now, call upon my name, and let that rebellion take flight, soaring over all who dare oppose it!'"
Joker was shocked.
"And...after that, it was all a blur," said Rishia.
A beaming smile formed on Joker's face as he looked Rishia directly into her eyes, meeting her gaze through his mask. "Rishia...you're like me."
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"You awakened," said Joker. "To a Persona."
Another new idea I came up with!