Chapter 36: The Grand Finale.
"Moon...snap out of it…"
"I'll. Destroy. All." The Hegemon blasted a gooey ball of purple. Sapphire held up his shield, blocking the ball of goo from Bernadetta.
"The Hegemon will take control of Moon's brain." Hubert analyzed. "If we defeat Thales, we should be able to free him from the Crest Stone manipulators."
Thales pulled out a sword, which Byleth quickly noticed had an eerie similarity to the Sword of the Creator.
"So, that bloody goddess resides within you," Thales said. "I'll make sure I take everything you love. Starting with El."
"We have no choice, everyone, fight." Edelgard called.
Thales took the sword, "Moon, I command you to attack."
The Hegemon Moon's eyes leaked out his standard silver blood. "Sapphire…" A large eruption of fire blasted from his black corrupted hands.
"Excalibur!" Annette cut the fire apart with a blast of wind. Felix charged forward and clashed swords with Thales, the Agarthan leader simply pushed him aside, before charging at Byleth. The green haired leader of the Black Eagles swiped forward with a slash, Thales took the attack and stood his ground.
Myson swooped in and covered as he crossfire towards Annette, Linhardt pressured with a fortify. Bernadetta fired two arrows into the heart of an assassin, covering for Caspar as he ducked under an Agarthan Brawler.
"Sapphire…" Hegemon Moon fired another blast of Fire at the blue haired shield of the Empire. Sapphire blocked it with his shield.
Edelgard blocked Thales' sword slash with her own shield, before striking back with Aymr. Byleth dove in and did two thunder punches utilizing Sothis' power as his own. Thales grunted and casted Miasma, Byleth blocked it by swiping through it.
"Byleth…" Hegemon Moon's hand sparked multicolored sparks.
"Look out!" Annette used Thyrsus to direct the beast's attention. Moon fired a beam of PK Rollin. Felix quickly jumped in front of her, using the Aegis shield to block the beam of light.
"Destroy them!" Thales snarled. "Myson...make him do something."
The mage nodded and casted a lightning bolt. The Hegemon Screeched in pain that made the hair on everyone's head stand.
Edelgard smashed Aymr over her uncle's head. Thales grunted and shoved her off, this time, he charged forward, surrounding his fist in dark energy, before trying a warlock punch. Edelgard held up her shield, but the blast blew the shield into pieces, throwing her across the field.
"Sapphire…" Hegemon Moon's eyes started to glow.
"EVERYONE COVER YOUR EYES!" Sapphire shouted.
Moon's pale white silver leaking eyes flashed a pale, fading rainbow color. The eyes of the Strike force became covered as they felt a warm feeling push through them.
"Sapphire...Moon seems to be directed towards you." Linhardt called over, jumping out of the way as Petra came swinging against an Assassin to protect him. "See if you can try and reason with it!"
"REASON WITH IT?! THIS ISN'T A DAMN OPERA STORY!" Dorothea snapped at him.
"Keeping the Monster distracted may be our best option though." Linhardt fired back.
"MOON! DESTROY THEM!" Thales snarled.
The limp neck of Moon's bleeding silver eyes looked down at the strike force.
Thales glared up at his abominable creature. "I said kill them!" he snapped."
"Sapphire…" A large plasma beam started to charge from Moon's open mouth. Which you could barely tell from his leaking black ooze.
"Annette, can you do something?!"
Thales picked up on that and blasted the orange haired warlock with a black sphere of unknown power. Annette let out a shriek as a black pillar of flames erupted around her.
Hegemon Moon's limp neck cracked and twitched a little as Felix quickly looked on in horror.
"Annette…" In a direct opposition, it fired a blast of water over at her, drenching her, but putting out the flames in the process.
"It...it helped her?"
Thales' white pupiless eyes flashed a reddish color. "Myson!" he snarled.
"Yes Sire." Myson blasted another thunderbolt that sparked and shocked the beast. Moon let out another screech that echoed across the entire continent, shaking the diamond statue of Rhea.
Edelgard chucked a hand axe, which Hubert increased the speed of by blasting it with Dark Spikes. The axe spat into Thales' skull, the Agarthan leader tore the axe out of the top of his head and tossed it to the ground.
Sapphire smashed Stalwart-Terra against the ground, which launched Thales up in the air. Sensing it, Hegemony Moon slowly caught the Agarthan leader in its black hand. His large black wings flapped down as the souless pupils in its twitching head looked down at him.
"You fucking monster! You can save me but you won't attack?!" Thales snarled. "DESTROY THEM YOU AMBONIMATION!"
"Moon…" Sapphire looked up at the giant creature. "If you're in there, you know this is wrong."
Black goo oozed out of Moon's mouth.
"Sapphire…"
From inside Moon's giant black hand, Thales summoned several small white javelins, which started to rain down. All of the Strike force scattered in different directions, the javelins collided with the ground and exploded, leaving craters all over the ground.
"Moon Please!" Edelgard called as she dodged a Miasma spell from Myson. Byleth jumped in to save her as he swiped through the mage's body. Myson let out a shout as he collapsed into the ground. His body slowly eviscerated on sight.
"MYSON!" Thales snarled. He turned to Moon, this time, he casted a Death Gamma into Moon's silver eye covered by his hair. Moon let out a massive screech as his wings flapped. This time, the wind pushed all of the strike force, save for Sapphire and Edelgard wearing their heavy armor back.
"Sapphire...Edelgard…" Moon's voice sounded weak and distorted behind all that echoed amplified thunder.
Thales snarled as several more Javelins of light began to develop. He jumped out of Moon's hand and toppled Byleth with his own sword. Dorothea saved him by blasting the mage back with a Thoron Spell. Thales rolled over where he was stabbed by a downwards thrust from Ferdinand's lance head.
"Sapphire...Sarah…" Hegemon Moon's black corrupted hands flashed yellowish brown. A large diamond dome surrounded all of them as it erected itself from the earth. Covering up the entire strike force in place. Thales grunted as they heard the explosions of the Javelins colliding with the barrier.
"No...Hurt…" Moon suddenly let out a demonic screech from Hegemon's distorted voice as Multi Colored sparks started to flash from his hands.
"Linhardt! Fortify quickly!" Sapphire called.
"This is my last use of the spell though!"
"JUST DO IT!" Edelgard snapped at him.
The green shields of light surrounded the strike force as the blast of an Omega PK Rollin erupted from the sparking hands. Every member, apart from Sapphire and Felix, thanks to their shields found themselves blast by the impact of several harsh beams of light.
Thales snickered at Sapphire's horrified look as everyone, including Byleth struggled to get up. Felix was currently kneeling over Annette, as the orange haired warlock looked up at him, tears flowed down her own cheeks.
"Are you really going to keep standing?" Thales snarled at him. "That shield of yours can only take so much more. All for what? For some stupid fucking freak?"
Sapphire clanged Stalwart-Terra against the man's massive sword. "He's not a freak!" the Blue haired boy snarled. "He's a human...just like me!" He flung his axe forward and made the Agarthan leader stumble backwards.
Hegemon Moon blasted another round of PK Rollins, which Sapphire avoided narrowly by moving his body to the side.
"Just because he has an evil root wedged in his mind. Lusting for power. That doesn't make him a fucking tool for assholes like yourself to use!" He smashed Stalwart Terra into the ground, the Earth Wrapped around Thales' waste as Sapphire trudged up to him, clutching the axe, the weight of his armor starting to show as his tiredness.
"He's just going to up and abandon you! He lied and schemed all of them! And you played a part of it!"
"Because he was afraid!" Sapphire spat back, smashing the axe over the man's head. "He can't walk around presenting himself as who he really is because of how people would react! Would they see him as a tool...or as a freak? That's all he cared about, just trying to feel normal."
Thales broke out of the Earth's hold and charged forward, trying another dark magic punch, which Sapphire used the last remaining bits of his shield to defend himself with.
"A creature that doesn't even have compassion. Hell, I at least cared for my Agarthan People!" Thales snarled. "You just wanted to use him at first for yourself!"
"His path and faith led him to us. Because he knew it was right!" Sapphire snarled. "He knew Edelgard, Myself, and Byleth, we'd see him for the person he truly was. I wouldn't care if he was some broke-ass kid on the streets of Enbarr with no powers. He came to us for help, and we offered to help, he knew we'd treat him fairly. We could at least show compassion even when he had none to offer."
Sapphire stormed up to Thales, who was huffing and puffing. The earth from Stalwart-Terra's glowing blade erupted from the top.
Edelgard finally stood up and trudged over to Sapphire, looking at her uncle struggling to break free from the new binds.
"It's not his fault he ended up this way." Edelgard snarled at her Uncle. "Much like you did to me, someone used him, made him their puppet! He had to crawl up in a world that hated someone like him. Cheating and lying to become a person to try and make things better! And after all that, someone still wished to get rid of him!"
"That's something you'll never understand." Sapphire spat. Hegemon Moon's screeches of pain echoed through the dome. Making him wince in pain as it pounded away at his eardrums.
"There are more to people than just making them tools. They aren't for your own gain. You can't make someone a slave to labor." Edelgard snarled. "You're no better than Rhea was to everyone else. The way you tricked an unsuspecting thief into stealing the goddess' body. You started the first war that caused the near destruction of Humanity. Now, you wish to do that again, using children whose livelihoods were destroyed? There is no redemption for people like you!"
Both of their axe's glowed bright red as the bonish material forged from Agarthum started to react to their crests.
"Combat Art! Raging Storm!" Edelgard snarled.
"Combat Art! EarthBound!" Sapphire shouted.
Both axe strikes smashed away at Thales, splitting the Agarthan leader into fourths.
Hegemon Moon looked down at the strike force.
"Moon...We're here." Sapphire said, looking up at the monster.
"Facing you...I grow...weak…" Moon's raspy voice still managed to echo in the diamond dome as the ground began to shake. A bunch of red and black light surrounded the creature's body.
"It's gonna blow!" Hubert shouted. "You'll have to try and strike it down!"
"We can't do that!" Sapphire replied, a startled tone.
"Well if you don't...we're ALL going to die!" Hubert snarled.
Annette stepped forward, they could see her face was partially charred from the flames Thales encroached on her body earlier.
"Moon! You still saved me!" the orange haired warlock shouted up at him. "Even in that form of yours, you still managed to do the right thing."
"What the hell are you doing?!" Caspar shouted at her.
Moon's limp head twitched and cracked, a bunch of black ooze finally dropped off and splattered against the ground, making a sizzling acidic downpour.
"Annette…"
"I promised I'd return you in one piece." Edelgard called up to it. "You're still in there! I can sense it! The way you hesitantly obeyed orders from Thales, directing your attacks only towards those who could block them. Saving Annette's life. You still can fight." She set Aymr against the ground.
"Edelgard…"
Byleth tossed down the Sword of the Creator. "You still have humanity and compassion inside of you. You can't just kamikaze on everyone now. We aren't going to fight."
"Byleth…"
Sapphire looked up at him. "My friend is still in there." he said, looking at the Hegemon. "All you are is a friend to us, a friend to me. I swore we'd stand by your side, even if you can't find your inner peace, we'll walk through hell with you." As a standing sign, he tossed Stalwart-Terra against the ground.
"Sap...Saph...Sapphire…" Instead of black goo, a bit of water dropped from the pale silver eye that remained.
A bunch of black light surrounded the Hegemon as it slowly began to shrink. The hands grew back to normal, and returned to the slightly tan skin that was his hands. His outfit grew back to normal. Moon emerged from the light on one knee. Saphria, his signature sword etched into the ground, he was right next to the diamond statue of Rhea.
Sapphire quickly ran over to him and offered a hand which Moon looked up at, there wasn't a smile on his face. But his eyes sensed a form of thankfulness on them.
"Thank you...Sapphire…" he said. "And to the rest of you…" Moon coughed up, a bunch of black ooze spat out of his mouth. Then, he passed out in his arms.
Edelgard looked up at Sapphire, who was holding Moon close, listening for a heartbeat.
"He's okay, right?" Edelgard asked.
"Yes, he's fine." Sapphire replied, after a moment.
Byleth sheathed the Sword of the Creator after picking it up. "I think we can head back."
"Agreed, Sapphire, you can take Moon back to the medical station." Edelgard said. "Byleth and I will take care of the statue of Rhea."
Byleth and Edelgard found themselves at the top of the Goddess Tower, which Byleth had invited her up there, but there was value to it.
"So, the children of the goddess have been defeated, my uncle, and most of the higher up Agarthans are now dead." Edelgard said, a small satisfied smile on her face. "Once we deal with the remaining Agarthans hiding out in Shambala, the world will be forever changed. Humanity is finally free once again."
"All thanks to your efforts." Byleth replied, a small smile on his face as he fiddled around with the ring. Silently praying that Hubert was nowhere near. "However, we are far from finished."
"I understand that." Edelgard replied. "We still owe a great deal of debt to Moon, and I'm certain he will be telling us more about that when he recovers from his time in the medic. Although, I think it's safe to say that he's finally free from our world's clutches as well."
"It's also possible that many people, especially in the conquered Kingdom, may wish to avenge their king, continue to mindlessly obey the goddess. It's entirely possible that other enemies may resurface one day."
"Well, with Rhea now Diamondized, I think we may be safe on that assumption." Edelgard replied. "Sapphire did say that, if we wanted, we could destroy the statue...it wouldn't kill Rhea, but it would cause her infinite pain for the rest of her life. I don't think anyone deserves that toture. Not even someone as messed up in the head as Rhea."
Byleth nodded his head, he was still twiddling around with the ring, looking at Edelgard, he never felt anything like this before...but...it was hard to try and find the words to get out.
"Byleth…" Edelgard said after a moment, a questioning look in her eyes.
"Yes?" He asked.
"When you...you mentioned that you met the goddess...and...she gave you her power. Rhea called her mother Sothis right?" Byleth nodded in response.
"Well...what made you not want to go with Rhea?" Edelgard asked. "Every card lined up in Rhea's favor. The goddess being her mother, which she "Gifted." to you. You should've gained all of Sothis' memories, which would mean her desire to return to Rhea. Even if it had been centuries prior."
"Well...Sothis did have amnesia most of the time I knew her." Byleth replied. Rubbing the back of his green hair. Strangely, when he took his hand back, a bit of blue was attached to it. "So, the more creepy and unsettling Rhea got around me, the more it pressured Sothis and myself to be suspicious of her."
"I see...but...you worked with Rhea for so long...was there...was there any other reason?" Edelgard asked, Byleth noted the small blush emerging on her cheeks.
Byleth opened his mouth before Edelgard abruptly cut him off.
"Okay...I can't hold this off any longer. I know that...we've already had sex...multiple times…and, we agreed each time that we would stop..." Edelgard replied. "But...I... I want you to stay by my side. You were the light that kept me from darkness. I've shown you my song, I gave you my heart. Could you...could we...give us a chance?" by now, his former student looked so vulnerable, even when they were pumping out stamina, Edelgard usually had a more serious, lead taking roll.
Byleth took a deep breath, before giving her a smile. "El...I want you...I want you to marry me." he took out the ring.
Edelgard's eyes widened both in shock, and awe. She nervously looked at the ring. "You...you called me El…" she said.
"I know that we never really...had much for a date." Byleth said. "But...all those private meetings we were in, even the ones that weren't in the bedroom, I think we got to know each other perfectly. This ring was the same one my father gave to my mother. And I want you to accept it. I love you, El."
Edelgard turned her head to the side, her eyes were shut tightly. "I'm...I'm sorry," she said, after a moment. "After all this time, I finally get something I've dreamed about...and...I can't even find it in me to cry over this happy moment." she turned her head forward, slipped off her metal red gauntlet glove, and took the ring.
"This ring...it is very lovely, though." she said. "And...of course I'll accept. I love you as well. Byleth, you're the first person I've felt...comfortable with." she slipped the ring on her finer. "I'm...I'm glad that my feelings weren't unrequited. If...If I'm being honest, I've felt this way since our escape from the Holy Tomb."
Byleth chuckled. "Well, glad you came forward after that, I don't know if we could've kept a relationship a secret from Hubert that long."
Edelgard giggled as well. "Well, you aren't wrong. I'm just glad that we got this peacefully. I thank you, my darling, for sticking by my side all this time."
They heard a curse, followed by the loud crash of somethings followed from the stairs.
"My apologies, your Majesty." Sapphire called. "I thought it was best that Hubert didn't murder Byleth! After all, I had suspicion he would be listening."
Edelgard's face was now beet red. "My...my apologies, Byleth." she said.
"No need," Byleth said. "Now, let's go wait on Moon."
The two of them walked down the stairs, brushing past Sapphire, who was still holding Hubert down. They could be thankful that Hubert was more magical based than physically based.
"Calm down Hubert," Sapphire muttered as the two walked away. "You knew this was going on."
"This was a clear violation of Imperial protocol." Hubert snarled, as Sapphire put more pressure on his leg. "Byleth should have never been fooling around with Lady Edelgard, he should be thankful she didn't get pregnant."
"Please, everyone except you knew they fucking around." Sapphire replied, a taunting smirk on his face. "But that's probably because you were too busy getting it on with Bernadetta? How's that been going?!"
Hubert glared at him. "You're lucky I don't kill you on the spot when I get up."
"I'll just break your arms and legs then." Sapphire replied. "Let them be happy you scrooge."
Edelgard and Byleth sat down with Moon and Sapphire inside of the medbay. All three of them looked at the boy sit up slightly slowly cracking his neck and stretching his arms.
"I'm...I'm just glad you're alright." Edelgard said, breathing a sigh of relief. "And, I'm so sorry for all the pain that being the Hegemon must've given you."
"Eh, I've experienced a lot worse under Nightmare." Moon replied, rubbing the back of his head. "My bigger concern was for Sarah and Erick...we do share pain after all." Byleth noted that his tone seemed a bit more cold. Almost as if the son of Giygas had become wary of something.
"So...this is the end, right?" Byleth asked, deciding it was better to not question Moon. "No more things that could damage our timeline? No anomalies...or mishaps?"
"Nope, with Thales' death, and Rhea's Diamondization, you should be all good." Moon replied. "From here on out, your timeline is up-to-date, and is subject to change however it may be."
"So, you're going home then?" Sapphire asked. Byleth sensed a bit of disappointment in Edelgard's left-hand man. "Back to your friends? Back to ruling the Multiverse?"
"Yeah...I suppose so." Moon replied, there was a hollow, bitter tone in his voice. "But, my work isn't done yet...while I was here, Seiros, Cichol, and Cethleann accidentally slipped up and spilled the beans on another Multiversal scandal involving my father, Giygas. So, it looks like I'll be gathering Sarah, Erick, and Dy…" The boy stopped talking, they watched a few tears fall down his cheek.
"Well, wherever you may go," Edelgard replied, "Know that you'll always have a friend, and ally, in our world. Feel free to visit as much as you may like."
"Oh, that reminds me," Moon said, blinking back to existence. "There's something I DO need you to do for me, Edelgard."
"Anything to repay you for your work."
"I want you to erase my name from history." Moon's voice was dead as he gave her a cold stare. "Any record's mentioning my name or lineage, or links to the Giegue Family, I want all of that erased from the face of the earth."
"But...we can't let your contribution go forgotten…" Sapphire said, startled by Moon's request.
"At the time I am speaking, the current ruler of the Multiverse is a Goddess of Light named Palutena, whose views have been distorted." Moon replied. "She's a discriminatory leader, who treats the Multiverse as a playtoy to keep her power in check. She also is targeting my father Giygas, and is looking for a reason to destroy my homeworld. Should she discover Giygas has a child before my world is discovered by the council, she can, and will destroy it. Erasing me from existence, and destroying your timeline, permanently. Do you understand?"
Sapphire looked at Edelgard and Byleth, both of whom shook their heads at his objecting look.
"Understood," Edelgard replied. "I shall see it fit that we investigate any trace of sources linking your existence in our world, and make sure they are erased, that way, you only live on in our memory."
"Secondly, I want you to tell the world about Giygas." Moon continued. "Not just the strike force, but everyone in Fόdlan. The Church of Seiros was built on crimes against the Multiverse. They hid their past out of fear. Tell the world the truth about the Church of Seiros, and their connection to my father Giygas. It is for the better."
"We'll make sure it happens." Byleth said. "We promise."
"And, as for your final request." Edelgard said. Sapphire watched as she took out a small piece of parchment and handed it to Moon. "I had Hubert look into enemies of the Church of Seiros. This was the list of "Potential." targets, by your father."
Moon nodded his head and scanned through the list. As per what he expected, the Multiverse's most powerful people were listed, along with what was essentially a Giegue Cluster grudge list.
Personal Targets:
Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo
Ninten, Ana, Loid, Teddy
Lucas, Kumatora, Duster, Boney, Salsa
Moon, Sarah, Erick, Dyson.
Sapphire Starr, Willow, Anthony, Noct
Akira Starr, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Sumiere, Akechi, Sophia, Zenkechi
Other Targets
Palutena
Kirby
Mewtwo
Zelda & Link
Rosalina
Pyra/Mythra (And Rex)
Samus
SonicBayonetta
Ozpin (Ozma)
Moon frowned as he looked at the last name. Ozpin? Ozpin? There wasn't a soul in the Multiverse with a name like that. Unlike all the other names, the handwriting was bolded, and in dark red color. Meaning that, he was probably a high priority.
"Does...Does this help?" Edelgard asked.
"As a matter of fact, it does." Moon replied. "The last name, Ozpin. He'll be worth an investigation." the boy slid to his side and got up out of the medical room. He grabbed his red backpack, which had been sitting on the table next to the bed, where he pulled out a black and red striped book.
"One last thing," he said. "Keep an eye on the diamondized Rhea statue. Put it somewhere, where either nobody will ever find it, or where everyone can see it." Edelgard in Byleth both nodded in response, to which they walked over, and gave the boy a hug.
"Good luck on your travels." Edelgard said. "May our paths cross again someday."
Byleth glanced over at Sapphire, the blue haired boy shifted uncomfortably as he looked at Moon. "You aren't going to say goodbye?" Byleth asked.
Sapphire took a deep breath, before stepping up to both of them.
"Your Majesty," he said, bowing to Edelgard. "It has been a pleasure being in your service for the last few years. However, I wish to leave our world, and continue travelling with Moon."
Even Moon's eyes widened at his words.
"Sapph...Sapphire…" Edelgard said, blinking a little.
"Your majesty, I don't have any more responsibilities here." Sapphire replied. "Willow is free from persecution under the Church, The Empire is now in control of the continent, and you and the strike force have everything under control from here. I think it's time that I move from protecting and helping you, to protecting and helping someone else." He turned to Moon, who still looked stunned.
"That is, if you want me to come. You are one man short after all."
Moon blinked a little, before shaking his head in recovery. "Yes, of course." he said, Byleth noted that his smile was actually a genuine one, instead of what always felt like a forced fake one. "You're welcome to come with me." An orange portal opened behind where Moon was.
"Farewell, Your Majesty." Sapphire said, kissing Edelgard's hand. "And, Byleth, take care of her please. I'm sorry I'll be missing the wedding." Byleth chuckled and shook his former student's hand, he and Edelgard waved goodbye as the two boys walked through the portal.
While not technically the last chapter of the story. I've finally wrapped this story up...technically. This is the end of Black Dawn's technical story. Sapphire now joins the Chosen 3 remaining as they venture to Remnant. Although, the Epilogue for this story is meant to tie into the beginning of the Next installment; The Lost World Of Remnant. While it is unfortunately time to say goodbye to Edelgard and Byleth, I may continue the direction of the cast of Three Houses. I don't have any plans, but maybe we could revisit this world again?
Either way, I'm glad that this story is almost at its close. There was a lot of pressure I was put under due to a sudden burst in Popularity by this story's standards. One last Epilogue chapter, then we're done with this story. If you aren't familiar with how I function. I usually have the last chapter of a story done with the first chapter of the next story. That way, you all don't have to wait if you're willing to jump into the next one. It may take some time, but it'll happen eventually. Trust me.
I don't really have anything to talk about for this ending...considering that it's literally a fan-made ending with Original Characters. So I have nothing to compare it too. I suppose making fun of Hubert one last time was good? Eh, what's a man to do?
See you all, Next time.