Aiden's Gambit and Tartarus Rebirth! The mad scientist makes one last ditch effort to take over Fiore. Tartarus uses this opening to enact their grand scheme to awaken E.N.D. It's a fierce battle to destroy the evil lurking in Fiore once and for all!
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Mii and Emeraude stood against Michael, the last remaining angelic commander in Yggdrail's forces. Michael was determined to get the Eternal Sword from Mii no matter what, but Mii and Emeraude were not going to let that happen. Even if the tension between the two women was quite high, they were aware of the stakes. If they lost the sword, then that meant the whole battle against Yggdrasil and Prometheus would be lost. "Hah…say, Em? When's the last time we actually fought together?"
"This is the first time we've actually fought side by side." Emeraude pointed out. "You're usually on the opposing side when we're on the same field."
"Hah…? Yeah, I guess that's true. Things just kept working against us, I guess." Mii said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Enough talk!" Michael said while forming a spear of angelic magic within in. He violently tossed this spear down at Mii and Emeraude. The two of them jumped to the side, avoiding a surprisingly large explosion of angel magic.
Emeraude slid to a halt, pointing a hand directly at Michael. "Imperial Crush!" A beam of crash magic erupted from her palm, soaring through the air while on a fast track to its target. Michael was fast enough to avoid this attack by flying off to the right. "So that's how he moves…" Emeraude thought to herself.
Mii pulled out Purple Pot, closing one eye while taking aim at Michael. She clicked the trigger and a gigantic emerald bullet launched itself from the barrel of the gun. Michael also evaded this by flying off to the left. "Ah ha! Predictable!" Mii fired Purple Pot once more, and Emeruade just so happened to release another Imperial Crush at the same time. Since the two were horribly off beat, their attacks ended colliding against one another and exploding before they could even hit Michael! "Agh, Em! You got in my way!"
"I got in your way?" Emeraude lifted a brow. "I think it's more accurate to say that you got in my way, Koryuji! I know what I'm doing!"
"So I do! I'm not a kid anymore!" Mii huffed. Their little quarrel briefly took them out of the battle, which allowed Michael to slam a new angelic spear into the ground in front of them. The shockwave that emanated from this spear succeeded in blowing the two of them backwards. "Gah!"
"Tch!" Emeraude sucked her teeth, flipping once before landing on the ground in a crouched position. She forced her momentum to a halt with numerous chains, before raising her free hand up to create an orb of darkness. "Dark Sphere!"
Emeraude fired the Dark Sphere Michael, but he was able to cut through it with his spear. Just as he did that, Mii flew in, slamming her boot against his cheek. "Gotcha!" Mii grinned, and for extra measure, as she finished the follow through of her kick, a bullet exploded from the heel. That added extra damage as Michael was sent flying backwards. "Haha!"
Michael quickly recovered from that attack, growling. "You two think you're clever, don't you! Then try this one on for size…" Michael swiped his hand through the air, multiple feathers plucking themselves off of his wings. "Angel Feathers!" And these feathers rocketed towards Mii and Emeraude, sharper than any sword.
"Hey, that's my move!" Mii yelled.
Emeraude swung her chain whip sword around, knocking down any feathers that came her way. "Who is this angel!?" She asked Mii while lunging at Michael, clashing with his spear. She jumped back and aimed a slash with the range of her sword at her advantage. This one landed against Michael's chest, causing him to grunt in anger.
"Take a wild guess." Mii was flying in next, swinging her leg at Michael's face. He dodged this one and Mii bounced back, only to get kicked in the back. She tumbled along the ground before coming to a halt. "This is my half brother."
"Brother…!?" Emeraude was shocked to hear this news. "But there was no news of you…"
"That's because I was born after this one was exiled from Heaven." Michael said while numerous white magic circles appeared along the ground. Kougon!" Beams of light struck down from heaven itself, attempting to smite the two women with its holy radiance. While they were able to avoid most of these beams, they were ultimately struck by at least one, thrown off to the side by the sheer power within it.
"I see now…" Emeraude picked herself up. Wendy's healing was really something. She went from barely being able to move after fighting Ashnard to being capable of another battle only moments after. "If what Wendy said was true, I understand the reason behind your birth. You are Yggdrasil's only hope."
"So you understand." Michael turned to Emeraude and smiled. "I am the one who can help Yggdrasil defy his fate. I am the only one who can aid my father in his time of need. And if that means taking out the sister that desecrated my home, so be it!"
"But I didn't…!" Mii tried to explain herself.
"Do not listen to him." Emeraude said as she created numerous chains to wrap around and bind Michael. She had a tight grip, squeezing him tightly to ensure he didn't escape.
Mii shook her head and flew forward, slicing the restrained Michael across the chest with the Eternal Sword. That did a lot of damaged based on Michael's cry of pain. Mii slid to a halt next to Emeraude, visibly confused. "What are you talking about, Em…?" There was a large gap in Mii's knowledge.
"The truth, Koryuji. Is that…" Emeraude was trying to get a word out, but she was violently slammed by Michael's spear so much power, she was unwillingly thrown into a wall a fair distance away. "Kuh…!"
"Em…!" Mii cried out in worry. "What's your problem…!?" But she soon found herself unable to move, as the black sparks returned and caused her pain.
"My problem is you! You are the most selfish individual I have ever known, and I've only met you today." Michael said, floating up in the air while opening his hand. A helix of angelic magic was forming. "Your existence has done nothing but bring pain to my brethren. You betray us, you take our father's sword, and you have the audacity to fight against us and for what? You're a bastard angel, unloved by mother or father! You have done nothing with your life and we don't want you! So drop that sword and do everyone a favor and DIE! ATOMIC FLARE!" Michael hurled this gigantic helix of magic towards Mii. The last time he used this attack, it completely wiped out a Gusios unintentionally. Even if this attack didn't kill Mii, he knew this would be enough to put her down long enough to win.
"…" Mii didn't really have anything to say. She was a walking contradiction and she knew it. Her gaze lowered and she was just about ready to accept the punishment for her indecision. "It's the least I deserve for not being able to make up my mind…" The attack grew closer and closer to Mii, but it stopped. "Huh…?" When Mii looked up, her eyes widened. It was a familiar sight that made her feel like a kid again. In front of her was Emeraude, using one hand to fend off the Atomic Flare. Wind blew violently, and she dug her heels into the dirt, refusing to budge an inch against his overwhelming attack. "E-Em…!?"
"What?!" Michael was shocked. "What are you doing, human!? This quarrel doesn't concern you!"
"But it does!" Emeraude said while taking a step forward. The heat from the magic was so intense that it was starting to burn away at her sleeve, and soon her hand and arm were being covered in fierce burns. "For one sole reason. My duty so many years ago, when Koryuji was but a child…was to look out for her and protect her! And even though a lot of time has passed, I do not once recall giving up on that duty…!"
"Ah…!" Mii gasped. All this time, Emeraude was still thinking about her. "E-Em…! It's too dangerous…!"
"Too dangerous?" Emeraude said with a huff. "Did your faith in me truly dwindle that much? This is…nothing…!"
"You would sacrifice yourself to protect this traitor?" Michael raised a brow. He didn't care of he took Emeraude out in the process. He just thought this whole notion was futile and ridiculous. "And what exactly has she done for you?"
"She opened my eyes." Emeraude replied while taking another step forward. "I was focused solely on my selfish ambition when we met…but when I met eyes with her, I found someone that I wanted to protect no matter what. Even though things haven't worked out in our favor, I swore that if there was something I do could to protect her, I would…! And you are sorely mistaken if you think I perish here!"
"You're nothing but a mere human! You don't have any special powers, nothing that compares to the likes of us angels!" Michael retorted. "All you've done is throw your life away on a whim!"
"Hah…!" Emeraude couldn't help but laugh. "I've got too much waiting for me to die here at this moment." Her fingers slowly started to curl, digging into the helix of magic. "And right at this very moment, I have someone very dear to me that I must protect. And I swear, on everything I stand for…I WILL NOT LOSE ANOTHER PERSON EVER AGAIN!" Emeraude clenched her hand into a fist, using nothing but a surge of raw power to completely destroy the Atomic Flare. If anything, the beat down she received from Ashnard did open her eyes to one thing…the strength he possessed, was strength she could use as well. She had to dig deep for it, pushing beyond her limits. Her Queenly Majesty flared up in that moment, allowing her to destroy that which was weaker than her.
Michael stood in wide eyed shock. "T-That's…impossible…."
"…." Mii's jaw hung open. She didn't think Emeraude cared about her that much…or that Emeraude would go so far to protect. Mii's gaze wandered to Emeraude's burned arm. It was severely injured after that feat of strength.
Emeraude turned slightly, extending her good arm to Mii. "Will you join me?"
Mii had a flashback to all those years ago, when she and Em separated from each other. Mii was going to head to the Isle and rejected Emeraude's offer. But this time was different. Emeraude's tone was soft. She never had that kind of tone unless she was nothing but sincere. Mii already regretted not taking Emeraude's hand once, and she would not let that mistake happen a second time. Mii reached up, grabbing Emeraude's hand in hers for the first time in years. "Of course." And so, for the first time in a long time, Mii and Emeraude stood next to each other, side by side.
Michael grit his teeth, snarling at the two of them. "What do you think you're doing with that traitor!?" He asked Emeraude.
"She may be a traitor to you…but to me, this is my irreplaceable partner." Emeraude said with a smile.
"Aw, you're gonna make me blush!" Mii smiled while adjusting her hat. She pulled out Purple Pot once more, taking aim at Michael. "Ready to do this?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Emeraude could force her burned arm to move. "Let's do this."
"Perfect! It's Mii and you!" Mii fired Purple Pot, letting loose a gigantic bullet to fly at Michael. Michael scoffed and moved to the right, but the moment he did, he was struck by a beam of darkness magic that nearly shot him out of the sky.
"Gah!?" Michael gasped. They were so in sync now!?
"We're not finished yet!" Mii said while flying forward. She raised her sword to slash Michael, but he dodged that attack. Emeraude followed up by shooting chains from both hands, but they went wide and around Michael.
"You missed!" Michael laughed.
"No, I didn't." Emeraude said, her hands tightening around the chains. Mii was behind Michael and the end of the chains circled around him so she could grab them. Mii then used her strength to yank Emeraude up into the sky, where she slammed her knee into Michael's gut. Michael folded over, and gasped. Emeraude and Mii raised their legs together, slamming their heels down on Michael's skull to send him crashing down into the ground with violent force.
"AAAGH!" Michael hit the ground face first. "Who do these women think they are!?" He lifted his head in anger, but he stopped, eyes widening in slight fear at what he saw. Mii and Emeraude were standing before him, their faces shaded by their hair, but their eyes were burning a blazing red. For the first time, Michael felt like his life was truly in danger and he backed away in terror. "S-Stay away from me you monsters!" A golden light shone from his body as he activated his Angelic Transformation, multiple marks appearing along his body as he boosted in power. "I will not be defeated by the likes of you! MAKOUGON!" Multiple magic seals appeared on the ground once again, stronger beams of like bombarding the two women from above. Beautiful white butterflies flew out from each explosion, but it was hardly a pretty sight.
"Shit…!" Mii cursed, using an arm to cover herself from the light. In Michael's panic, it was clear that he wasn't really aiming at them, but he wanted to destroy them in any way that he could. "Okay, Em. I know your ego isn't going to enjoy hearing this, but there's no way we're gonna get a clean shot on him now."
"You're right, my ego did hate hearing that." At least Emeraude was self-aware. The issue then became… "So what do we do? We can't just stand here and wait for one of those stray beams to hit us…!"
"I have an idea. But you have to trust Mii." Mii said, giving Emeraude a serious look, before using one hand to hand over the Eternal Sword.
"Are you serious?" Emeraude was naturally suspicious. "You know there are a very limited pool of people that can…"A beam of light nearly struck them, and she immediately shut up.
"There are two things that a person needs to hold the Eternal Sword. A blessing from a Yggdrasil…and Origin's approval. You have my blessing…and I think Origin likes you already." Mii smiled softly. "And if you're unsure…take my hand."
Emeraude did just that, her hand overlapping with Mii's on the hilt of the Eternal Sword. Immediately, Emeraude felt the pain of the sword coursing through her body. "Ngh…!"
"And for what reason do you intend to hold the sword?" Origin spoke directly to Emeraude.
"…I wish to protect." Emeraude said while clenching her hand around the hilt. She wasn't letting this sword go no matter what. "Mii's trust is in me…and I do not intend to let that go to waste."
"A wonderful answer." Origin said. With Origin's approval, the Eternal Sword changed from purple to green, likely due to Emeraude's influence.
"See!" Mii smiled.
Emeraude allowed her chains to wrap around the Eternal Sword, giving the sword an extra edge. She held onto the chains with one hand, leaving the rest up to Mii. "Follow the will of my chains and put an end to this."
Mii gripped the Eternal Sword firmly and nodded. "I got it! Leave it to Mii!" Mii then flew forward with her wings, speeding through the raining pillars of light. Michael's actions were fueled with reckless abandoned out of fear for his life. While Mii may not have been able to dodge everything on her own, Emeraude and her chains did the work, guiding Mii through the light to avoid her taking any damage. Mii's fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword as she neared a fearful Michael. "This is our power! Secret Angel Art: EMERALD CREST!" Mii said, running her sword straight through Michael's chest. It was a clean hit, pushing Michael backwards in the process. A flash of emerald occurred in the finishing blow, dealing additional damage to make sure Michael was done.
"…!" Michael spat blood from the piercing blow. His body returned to normal and he collapsed to the ground with a hole in his chest. All he could do was stare up at the sky with blurry vision and tears in his eyes. "….I'm sorry, Father…it appears that I could not escape fate after all…."
"Fate, huh…?" Mii stared down at her brother. Even though he had done nothing but hound and harass her…even though this was their first meeting, Mii couldn't help the twinge of sadness. She never knew she had any family, but that family tried to kill her. If only things were different. The Eternal Sword returned to its purple color and Mii sheathed it. "What was your fate, Michael?"
"…To fall at the hands of a bond stronger than blood." Michael let out a weak laugh. "I thought I could escape it, but…" Michael had no more strength. His eyes closed and he gave off one final breath. His body slowly faded in a glitter of light, leaving nothing behind.
"…Mm." Mii frowned, but her legs trembled and she almost fell over. Luckily Emeraude caught her and they sat down together. "Thanks…"
"Of course." Emeraude flashed Mii a weak smile. "Are you alright?"
"A lot better than the rest of this week." Mii admitted. "To tell the truth, I was really close to just giving up everything. I've been such a mess lately…I've lost a lot and I've been powerless to do anything about it. I didn't know what I wanted to do for a long time…so I just let Ashnard push me around because I screwed up."
"It didn't have to be that way." Emeraude said. "I was upset with you because you let Ashnard push you around like that. He's done terrible things to you because of his own selfish quest for power, and I thought you were giving into that…so I was mad. But…I never wanted to turn my back to you."
"…." Mii let out a small sigh of relief. "I didn't mean any of the things I said before. I was just upset…so I hope you can forgive Mii." Mii said.
"I apologize as well." Emeraude gave a nod.
"So…..you really meant all that stuff you said during the fight?" Mii's green eyes looked up at Em.
"…Yes." Emeraude said. "Life has not been very kind to our relationship. We were always standing on opposite sides for one reason or another…and while I disliked you for it, I couldn't hate you for standing for something you believed in. That is one of your more consistent traits."
"I got that from you." Mii gave a cheeky smile. "I know you're probably thinking where you went wrong when taking care of Mii, but it wasn't your fault. I always took the lessons you taught me to heart, I just…since I thought I was gonna die soon, I didn't know if I should apply them or not. Another shocking truth…I asked Takeba to erase my memories of you before I went to the Isle. I didn't think I would be able to die if I thought about you. But as it turns out…most of memories of Pergrande had you in them, so I forgot a lot….aha…"
"But you didn't die." Emeraude said.
"Yeah, even though it was my fate." Mii shrugged. "I was convinced by Natsu and Gray to keep trying to live…and after everything that happened, I felt like I should give it a shot. Despite all the ups and downs, I'm still here." She closed her eyes, resting her head on Emeraude's shoulder. This was a comfort she hadn't felt in so long…
"If we're being honest, Koryuji…" Emeraude began. "Part of my attitude was due to me trying to decide how I felt about you. I've come to the conclusion that I love you…"
"AH! Finally!" Mii beamed.
"Let me finish." Emeraude huffed. "I love you as another person whom one cannot be without. You are a big part of my life as well, you know. And I know that you're still capable of defying your fate."
"…You said that before." Mii mumbled. "But are you actually going to tell me how I can do that…"
"No." Emeraude shook her head. "It's your life. I can't give you all the answers…but if you trust my words, I'm sure you'll find out how."
"Ugh." Groaning, Mii lifted her head up. "At least you're more cooperative than before."
"Now, give me a moment…" Emeraude jabbed Mii with a needle.
"Ah…um…?" Confused, the half angel just stared at Emeraude confusedly. "What's that?"
"Long story short, you were the last piece I needed to fix Sophie." Emeraude replied. "I won't lie and say it wasn't one of my reasons for hunting you down, but I did have plenty more…" An explosion occurred in the distance, the origin point: The Reaper's Castle. "…Another one being that they need you over there. I don't have the time to explain, but you're the key to defeating Yggdrasil. I promised them I would sent you their way."
"Is that so…?" Mii slowly stood up. She was trusting Emeraude completely and not asking any major questions. "When did you start getting along with Fairy Tail? Was it Lucy~? She has a way with people."
Emeraude turned away. "She has nothing to do with it! Just hurry up and finish that business. We're not done talking, but I've said most of what I wanted to. I just…want to finish this conversation at a later point in time."
Mii paused, but smiled softly. "You're such a tsun, Em~" Mii teased. "Can I get a kiss before I go?"
"I'll give you a head pat now and when you come back." Emeraude wasn't facing Mii, she was too embarrassed by the previous comment. "I'm not worried about you at all. If you're unlucky enough to die when you want to, I have complete faith you can come back from just about anything."
"Hehe…I'll see you soon, Em." Mii flapped her wings and slowly took off towards the Reaper's Castle. Was it terrifying to think about having to face her father? Absolutely. But Em was able to rekindle her lost resolve. There were people she went to hell and back for in danger. Was she going to give up on them? Absolutely not. Not when they refused to give up on her for so many years now. "Hang on guys, I'm coming…!"
As Mii flew off, Emeraude finally turned around to watch her head to the Reaper's Castle. There was a soft smile on her face and it felt like a large weight was lifted off her shoulders and her heart. "Honesty is refreshing sometimes…it's a shame I won't do it more often." She joked lightly, very self-aware of her tendencies. "…Good luck, Koryuji."
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Next Time: Mii Yggdrasil Koryuji.