SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR (MOST) DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGE (CHARACTER PAGE IS NOW GONE)

-CHAPTER START-

Realm STH-17

Feeling like things were coming to a head, and wanting to strategize together, all seven PreCure teams met up with Sonic & company on the latter's homeworld. They had no idea how Joker & Infinite would react to the beginning of the final clash of the Seekers of Darkness, a clash everyone knew was coming soon. Would the gruesome twosome stay on the sidelines and then make trouble after the dust had settled? Would they join the fray and fight against one side of the conflict, or maybe against both? Would they offer their services to the 'Three Sorceresses'?

"From what I've heard," Rouge the Bat said, "it sounds like the final clash between the Guardians of Light and the Seekers of Darkness is only a couple of days away. Everyone is as ready as they can be, given the circumstances."

"I kinda wish I'd gotten to come with Madoka-chan to the last world Team Sora visited…" Miyuki (Cure Happy) said. "Fighting alongside a brand-new team of superheroes…"

"Do you think any of the Puellae Magi will be able to help in the big clashes coming?" Hime (Cure Princess) asked.

"The core six, probably. Madoka-chan's a Keyblade wielder, after all. I don't know about the rest."

After a small army of Puella Magi Nobodies were slain on Ulnar, their original selves had all started coming back into existence, retroactively freed from the Incubators' "curse" thanks to Madoka's super-wish. They'd all formed an international support network of sorts with Madoka elected as the leader, and worked to give each other backup and get each other out of dangerous home situations (a few Puellae Magi in more misogynistic nations like Saudi Arabia had needed to flee for Europe, the U.S., or Japan). One 'local' PM brought back by her Nobody's destruction, a younger girl named Nagisa, had become adorably attached to Mami…

"Illya-chan will probably be there, too" Mana (Cure Heart) said. "She's one of our heaviest-hitting Keybladers, after all."

"It's probably gonna be all-hands-on-deck for all of the DDF's various 'magical girls'" Amy Rose replied.

"Erika-chan, too? The American one, I mean" Yayoi (Cure Peace) asked. "She uses magic, she's a young girl, so isn't she a magical girl?"

"Her outfit isn't frilly enough, I don't think…" Akane (Cure Sunny) replied dryly. "Though, considerin' she & Illya-chan are so buddy-buddy now, she'll probably show up, too. Plus, she's another high-level Keyblade bearer and all…"

Shortly after meeting each other, Illya Einzbern and Erika Swanson had very quickly become close friends, thanks in part to their similarities – both little girls were easily-flustered worrywarts with occasional self-doubt issues but unwavering courage and dedication when it came to looking after their friends and loved-ones. Their friendship had quickly led to Erika becoming friends with Miyu & Kuro, those two & Illya befriending Erika's boyfriend & girlfriend Timmy & Mariko, and from there the other four of Theta Team as well. (And, of course, Illya's mother Irisviel, with her love of cute kids and powerful maternal instincts, delighted in fawning over Erika & her teammates…)

Suddenly, Tails came sprinting into the garden where everyone was hanging out and discussing, looking near to panic.

"The city's under attack!" he shouted. "It's a whole bunch of Phantom Clones of different enemies we've all faced before, backed up by a great big horde of Phantom-Ruby copies of Heartless and Eggman's robots!"

"Well, that answers what Joker's gonna do" Hibiki (Cure Melody) said. "Girls, spread the word! Time to go to war!"

-Break-

The city of Metropolis was in peril. People panicked and fled as hordes of evil robots and shadowy creatures wrought havoc, led by numerous red-auraed figures who were in turn taking orders from a pair of incredibly dangerous villains. Phantom-Ruby copies of Metal Sonic, Chaos, several of the various "lieutenants" the PreCure teams had faced in the past, scores of Eggbots and Heartless, even a few Protoss-Zerg Hybrids…

The various Cures and the local heroes (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Omega, Rouge, Amy, Silver, Cream, Big, Team Chaotix) split up to handle different trouble spots and high-ranking enemies, keeping in contact via a magic telepathy network set up by the Cures' various fairy partners. The various magical girls made short work of Heartless and Eggbots, but as soon as a certain amount of them were 'killed', Joker or Infinite would just use the Phantom Ruby to make more, keeping the enemies' numbers more-or-less steady.

Vector was squaring off with Phantom-Kumojacky, strong enough to match the copy-Desertrian blow for blow (for now). The crocodile-Mobian leapt back to dodge a sweeping kick, then released a sonic roar that blew Phantom-Kumojacky back when he tried to press his attack. About a block away, Phantom-Chaos used its malleable body to dodge or withstand blows from Cures Sword and Sunshine that would've laid anyone else out. Even so, the two girls were attacking enough to keep it on the defensive, not giving it room to attack them back. Similar fights had broken out across the city – Knuckles and Cure Sunny vs. Phantom-Gametsu, Cure Muse & Cure Felice vs. Phantom-Falsetto, Amy and Tails vs. a Phantom-Stealth Sneak…

Silver used his telekinesis to hoist a Phantom-Large Body into the air and used it as a wrecking ball to flatten several Phantom-Soldiers and knock a Phantom-Eggbot over. He began to turn as he suddenly heard an Akanbe creeping up on him, only for the monster to get blindsided by a full-strength Homing Attack from a familiar blue blur; Sonic nailed it a few more times, and Silver pitched in with psychokinetic blasts, wearing it down and keeping it pinned until a purifying attack from Cure Ace finished it off.

Shadow and Cure Shade had teamed up again, fighting Phantom-Gula and a pack of Phantom-Heartless. Her enchanted glaive allowed her to effortlessly carve through the small fry, while he was too fast & agile for the bulky Gula-copy to land a hit on. Elsewhere, Cure Melody and Cure Flora were taking on Phantom Clones of Bel, Wolfrun, and Cobraja, the two semi-official leaders of the whole Pretty Cure alliance keeping three high-level enemies at bay, fighting together near-seamlessly. Flora flipped over a sliding kick from Phantom-Cobraja and blasted him with Lys Tourbillon before he could recover, while Melody stunned Phantom-Bel with a kick to the face and redirected Phantom-Wolfrun's charge to toss him into Bel.

All in all, things were going well, the heroes slowly but surely pushing the villain forces back. But then, Joker & Infinite drew upon more of the Phantom Ruby's power. Clones of Infinite started popping up and attacking, all enemy units got a little stronger, gravity started becoming randomly stronger, weaker, or different-directioned in certain places…

"Come on, you guys!" Sonic shouted. "We're not gonna let this beat us, are we?!"

"Everyone, stay strong!" Cure Flora said. "We can do this!"

"Don't let them throw you off" Shadow said. "Keep calm and push forward!"

"We've all faced bigger, badder threats than these!" Cure Melody shouted. "Let's punch through and end this!"

Gradually the heroes rallied, adjusting to the increasing difficulty against them and regaining some of their momentum. Unfortunately, Joker and Infinite took notice of the catalysts for that…

Cure Melody blasted Phantom-Wolfrun back with a Miracle Heart Arpeggio shot, and she spun around as she sensed another presence behind her… and came face-to-face with Joker, a wicked grin on his face and the 'original' Phantom Ruby in his hand.

"Nothing's going to happen to you, my dear" he said, the Phantom Ruby lighting up. "Nothing at all, forever and ever, in the void of Null-Space!"

A swirling black & purple hole in reality opened up, starting to suck Cure Melody in. Hibiki growled as she strained against it, but then Joker flash-stepped behind her and kicked her in the back, knocking her through the rift, which then closed. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Tails & Knuckles watched with shock as Infinite suddenly appeared, dodged Sonic's reflexive attack, grabbed Sonic by the arm and hurled him through a black & purple vortex before anyone could react. Cure Flora was next, grabbed from behind by Infinite while busy fighting Phantom-Bel and shoved into a Null-Space rift. Finally, Shadow dodged an attempt by a Phantom Clone of Joker to snag him, only for an energy blast from the real Joker to send him sailing through a rift.

"The brave, bold, shining stars who led you all," Infinite proclaimed, "the sources of your courage and defiance, have been lost forever! They have been thrown into the infinite void of Null Space, a place between places from which there is no return! The only time they'll ever see anyone besides each other again is when I go there later to kill Shadow the Hedgehog with my bare hands!"

"Hmm, the other PreCure team leads are still in play, though" Joker said. "I'm not too keen on having all of them in Null-Space. …Why don't we get rid of them next?"

He snapped his fingers and held his Phantom Ruby aloft, and tendril-like masses of black & red cubes sprang up around Cures Blossom, Happy, Heart, Lovely, & Miracle, trapping them in 'cocoons' of dark power imbued with anti-magic.

"No…" Silver breathed out, horrified. "The future I've worked so hard to prevent… Without Sonic & Shadow, the world will burn!"

The Cures tried to free the five trapped team leaders, but the 'shells' they were trapped in were made of Phantom Ruby 'matter', meaning they were durable and would catch any melee-attackers in potentially deadly genjutsu. Plus, the numerous enemy Phantom Clones were attacking them still, keeping them from being able to blast away at the 'prisons' or figure out how to open them.

"What do we do?!" Cure Princess cried.

"Sonic can't be just gone like this!" Amy was starting to panic.

"Your leaders are gone" Infinite said, his voice heard by all. "And there is no escape for those of you who remain. You will know fear, then pain, and then… Well, at least the fear and pain will end…"

"No!" Cure Magical shouted defiantly. "We can't give in! We won't! After all the trials we've all been through, we can't let this beat us! We can't let them beat us!"

"She's right!" Knuckles said. "We've come too far to back down now! Sonic and the others have always inspired us, and they don't need to be present to do that! We have to follow the example they set for us! They've never given in, so neither will we!"

"We have to do this!" Cure Rhythm shouted. "We have to do them proud!"

Even with their leadership gone, the heroes & heroines managed to gather their courage and keep fighting. They struggled a little more than before, their advance slowed, but still they fought their hardest to press onward, teams forming and supporting each other. Phantom-Akaoni was the first major foe to fall – ganged up on by Cure Peace, Cure Felice, and Big the Cat while Team Chaotix kept enemy foot-soldiers from supporting him, weakened by a Peace Thunder Hurricane and vanquished by Emerald Reincarnation.

But then, Joker took to the field personally, hitting a stunned Cure Rhythm with a Darkness-charged kick that nearly snapped her spine even with her transformation's protective magic. He blasted E123 Omega with a bolt of dark lightning that shorted out the robot warrior's systems, formed a shimmering red barrier to block a Blue Forte Wave from Cure Marine, caught Cure March in a Phantom-Ruby genjutsu of bugs crawling all over her that left her screaming and thrashing around, caught Rouge's flying kick and used her as a flail to beat Amy Rose into the ground, and when a Scarlet Prominence attack came roaring at him, he projected a deep-red flame from his Phantom Ruby that shoved Cure Scarlet's attack back, the two flames canceling each other out.

"Sorry, but I'm here to show you all that you can't live up to your own hype!" he said. "Against both Infinite and myself, both of us armed with the power of the Phantom Ruby, you rabble have no chance of victory! This city will be your cemetery! And by the way, I heard of how Silver came from the future to prevent some great calamity, so I took a peek into the future to see what's coming. And I'll admit, I'm not sure Infinite alone could stand against these 'Mephiles' and 'Ignis' demons 2-on-1, but with me helping him they too shall fall, and we'll take their power for our own to make us even stronger! Nothing can stop us from ravaging all worlds!-!"

The demonic harlequin let loose with a diabolical evil laugh that echoed through the city… but then, a new sound made itself known: a loud, flanging *crack*, like fracturing glass pitched down, reverberating through the fabric of space itself.

"…Huh?" Joker turned to look.

(MUSIC: Sonic Forces – "Fist Bump")

In a spot in midair floating over the city, a glowing purple crack had appeared in the universe. With splintering sounds, the crack began to widen and propagate, focused around a single point, from which a rising rushing sound was building, blue and pink light shining through. Finally, the barrier between realms was blasted open from within as four figures tore their way free, enveloped in auras of blue, red, and two tones of pink.

"They broke free?!" Joker exclaimed in stunned horror.

"Impossible!" Infinite screamed.

The four heroes used their remaining momentum to crash through a large pack of Phantom-Clone Heartless and Eggbots, knocking Phantom-Oresky senseless in the process.

"'Sup, everyone!" Sonic said. "Did ya miss us?"

"They've captured the other team leaders" Shadow observed.

"Let's fix that" Cure Flora replied. "And thank you to Tsubomi-chan for teaching me this one! PreCure: Pink Forte Wave!"

Her attack crashed down onto a 'Phantom-Cube Prison' from above, cracking it open and freeing Cure Miracle. Miracle & Cure Magical then assumed their Sapphire Forms, taking flight to avoid Phantom-Kumojacky's charge and using a Sapphire Smartish attack to crush a sizable group of Phantom-Eggbots. Cure Melody, meanwhile, formed up with Rhythm, Beat, & Muse, and the Suite quartet hit the downed Phantom-Oresky with a quadruple Music Rondo that finished him off.

Sonic and Shadow blitzed in and slammed Joker away with a double Homing Attack, helped Rouge and Amy get back on their feet while Tails finished getting Omega back in fighting shape. Infinite came in for an attack, but had to break off and encase himself in a spherical defensive barrier as Omega's machineguns opened fire on him. Phantom-Chaos tried to intervene, but hesitated instinctively when Cheese the Chao got in its way, letting a combined ice blast from Cures Beauty & Diamond freeze it solid, taking it out of commission for now.

Cures Miracle & Magical shifted to their Ruby Forms and blasted another Phantom-Cube Prison with a flame blast that weakened it enough for Cure Heart to break free. Heart formed up with the rest of her team, and a Lovely Straight Flush shattered Cure Blossom's prison. Blossom & Marine nailed Phantom-Cobraja with a Floral Power Fortissimo, knocking him senseless and putting him out of the fight.

Shadow bulldozed through a swarm of Phantom-Heartless, with Silver following in his wake to psychically smash Phantom-Eggbots along the enemy group's fringes. As they approached a Phantom-Cube Prison, Silver telekinetically picked up several Phantom-Eggbots and launched them at it, damaging the shell. A precision Beauty Blizzard Arrow streaked in and struck in one of the cracks, ice rapidly spreading. With the shell now made brittle and frozen, Cure Lovely was able to start tearing her way through, Shadow's Homing Attack helping her break it open and get out.

Phantom-Metal Sonic stood guard over the last prison-shell, and Cures Sunny, Peace, March, & Beauty converged and attacked. He somehow managed to fend them off on his own, just barely, but then Cures Melody & Flora got involved, the latter joining the fray and pushing Phantom-Metal back while the former began burning through the prison-shell with Miracle Heart Arpeggio. A Sunny Fire Burning hastened the process, and then a Happy Shower punched through from within as Cure Happy finally got free.

The five Smile PreCures used Rainbow Healing to wipe out a great number of Phantom-Heartless, also catching Phantom-Metal Sonic in the blast-wave, leaving the evil robot badly damaged, enough that E123 Omega was able to finish him off. Phantom-Cobraja got knocked senseless by Amy Rose's hammer to the head, and was then vanquished by a Twin Miracle Power Shoot. Phantom-Gametsu staggered as Espio's thrown kunai stabbed into the tendons in his legs, leaving him unable to escape a Trinity Explosion that reduced him to shimmering red Phantom particles that quickly winked out. Phantom-Kumojacky roared as he pushed against the Music Rondo Super Quartet beam trying to eliminate him, only to be hit by a Phoenix Blaze from behind, the two attacks crushing him between them.

"We're doing it!" Cure Happy cheered.

Suddenly, Shadow appeared and yanked her out of the way of a deadly spear of 'Phantom' energy. The Darkness-empowered jackal floated down, his unmasked face showing a snarl of hatred. Shadow launched himself in a Homing Attack that knocked Infinite away, only for the evil Mobian to 'grab' Shadow with a giant red hand and pull him with.

(BOSS MUSIC: Sonic Forces – "Battle with Infinite: Showdown")

The two of them landed in a nearby courtyard, squaring off, Infinite's body flickering with crimson energy.

"I have been waiting for this…" Infinite growled.

"I could tell you were bad even back when you were just a merc captain," Shadow said, "but I didn't expect you'd turn out to be such a monster. I wonder if it's part of Joker's influence and going mad with power, or if you always had this much darkness lurking inside you…"

"It doesn't really make a difference in the end, does it?" Infinite asked.

"…No. I suppose it doesn't." Shadow carefully removed the golden braces from around his wrists. "Either way, I'm going to stop you."

"You're going to try. And you're going to die."

They charged at each other, meeting in the middle with a clash that rattled windows. After trying to outmuscle each other for a few seconds, Shadow leapt back to avoid a slashing swing of 'Phantom Cubes', backflipping to dodge a follow-up. Infinite formed three Phantom Clones of himself, he & his clones firing crimson energy blasts at Shadow, and the black hedgehog leapt & twisted to dodge while making his way closer. He managed to smash one Phantom Clone with a homing-attack, but then got clipped by a bolt of the Phantom Ruby's power. Everything became tinted red as he found himself surrounded by floating mines, all of them beeping and flashing as they prepared to detonate.

A split-second before detonation, a shimmering green barrier formed around Shadow, protecting him. As the illusion dispelled, Silver flew in and fired a kinetic blast at Infinite, who flew to the side to dodge but was then homing-attacked from behind by Sonic. The three hedgehog Mobians formed up, and Sonic & Shadow rushed forward, spreading out to attack from the sides. Infinite's two remaining Phantom Clones tried to attack them, and were thus caught off-guard and destroyed by psycho-blasts from Silver. Sonic nailed Infinite with a super-speed punch to the face, and then Shadow struck with a kick to Infinite's side that nearly fractured a rib or two.

Snarling, Infinite took off flying down a nearby main road, with the three heroes running (Sonic & Shadow) / flying (Silver) in hot pursuit. He tossed out a few spinning blades of Phantom-matter, and while Silver and Shadow evaded, Sonic used expertly-timed Homing Attacks to 'chain' his way up them and then land a few on Infinite himself. Tumbling through the air from the last hit, Infinite retaliated with sweeping red laser beams that the three hedgehog heroes zigzagged around to avoid.

The four combatants moved faster, speeding along the street that circled around the city. Silver fired kinetic blasts at Infinite, forcing the jackal to shield himself or shoot the incoming blasts instead of attacking the heroes. Shadow took the opportunity to close in, a red corona of energy around him as he struck with a charging tackle. Infinite growled and bashed Shadow back with a giant red fist of 'Phantom Cubes', but Silver telekinetically caught his ally before he could fall too far behind, while Sonic caught up to Infinite and struck with several lightning-fast jabs.

Infinite formed several Phantom Clones, he & they flinging all sorts of attacks at the three heroes – energy blasts, charging tackles & kicks, blades & buzzsaws of 'Phantom' energy… Sonic, Shadow, & Silver jumped and slid and weaved around, speeding up to keep up with Infinite as he zipped down the road. Shadow used Homing Attacks to 'chain' from one Phantom Clone to the next, taking some of them out, but Infinite managed to knock him back with a kick… which meant it was only at the last second he noticed the car Silver had levitated up and thrown at him. Eyes widening, Infinite blasted the car away, only for Silver to warp forward and punch him with a fist wreathed in green psychokinetic energy.

Falling back a little to avoid Infinite's retaliation, Silver grabbed Sonic & Shadow with his telekinesis, and the two other hedgehog heroes curled into spiky balls and started spinning, building up force and momentum. He formed a powerful barrier at the same time to protect them & him from Infinite's attacks, his head pounding as he put his all into multitasking like this. Finally, once Sonic & Shadow had built up an amazing amount of momentum and power, Silver let them loose. The twin black and blue spiky 'cannonballs' crashed into Infinite with devastating forces, sending him hurtling end over end, even cracking the Phantom Ruby in his chest-piece.

(MUSIC END)

-Break-

(The following fight is simultaneous with Hedgehog Trio vs. Infinite)

Watching as Shadow & Infinite's fight took them out of the area, Cure Happy suddenly heard the whistle of incoming projectiles. She backflipped to dodge a handful of exploding cards, firing a pink magic blast in the direction they'd come from, but Joker swatted the blast aside as he leapt in. Happy's four teammates soon arrived, the Smile Cures taking stances ready to fight.

"Well, isn't this nostalgic?" Joker said with a grin. "The five brats who were my first real adversaries, who killed my first master… But, technically you girls never did manage to kill me…"

"We're fixing that today" Cure Sunny growled. "And this time, you won't come back."

Joker chuckled. "Such bravado…"

(BOSS MUSIC: Hyrule Warriors OST – "Psychostorm")

He snapped his fingers, and a shimmering red & purple barrier formed around the area, trapping the Smile Cures in with him. A wicked aura of evil energy sprang up around him, the Phantom Ruby in his pocket glowing as he formed a set of dark-magic 'cards' in one hand and a long, thin sword in the other.

"Let's see how long that bluster lasts before you're all screaming in agony & terror!"

He threw his deadly razor-sharp cards at Cures March & Beauty while charging and thrusting his sword at Cure Peace. The petite Cure squeaked in fear and bent over backwards to avoid a stab aimed at her neck, conjuring electrical magic across her body to deter him from attempting a follow-up strike. Cure Sunny came in with a flaming punch that knocked him back, but he dodged Cure Happy's pink magic beam and Cure Beauty's ice kunai.

Joker caught Cure March by the leg when she tried to kick his face in, tossing her at Cure Sunny to interrupt her next attack. He got ready to fling a few exploding cards at them, imbued with power from the Phantom Ruby to ensnare anyone caught in the blast radii in a deadly genjutsu, but had to instead throw them at incoming Peace Thunder and Beauty Blizzard Arrow blasts. Another Peace Thunder was fired his way, and he held his sword out to catch the lightning, using his magic to hold the charge in & around the blade and then flinging the electrified sword at Cure Beauty, who felt her scalp tingle as a near-miss nicked her hair.

Pulling out the Phantom Ruby and eyeing Cure Beauty with malicious intent, but his moment of sadism led to him being blindsided by a Happy Shower, the bright-pink wave of magical energy blasting him across the walled-in battleground. Getting to his feet, he called upon the Phantom Ruby's power, conjuring four Phantom Clones that each engaged a Cure in battle, while the original summoned another sword and rushed at Cure Beauty, who formed a blade of ice to duel him with.

Metal and ice clashed over and over, Cure Beauty using her magic to 'repair' her ice blade every time it got chipped or dented by Joker's sword. Nearby, Cure March rolled with a blow to her side to minimize the damage and sidestepped the piercing stab of a blade wreathed in 'Phantom' energy, dodged under a swing and struck with a magic-charged kick that sent the Phantom Clone stumbling back a little. Her body then glowed faintly with a green aura; in the months since the DDF recruited them, when it was discovered that the Smile Cures had each forced open an Inner Gate (two, in Nao's case) in the climactic battles against Pierrot's lieutenants, Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake had worked to help the girls figure out how to open the Gates willingly. For now, the quintet had chosen to stop at being able to open two Gates, though.

With the Gate of Opening released, Cure March blitzed forward and kicked Joker's Phantom Clone in the head before 'he' could react, striking hard enough to snap its neck and destroy it. The other four Cures followed March's lead, opening their First Gates and using their enhanced strength & speed to rush their opponents. Joker's three other Phantom Clones were soon destroyed, while the original Joker was put on the defensive as Cure Beauty's strikes came faster and hit harder.

Joker gave a little ground, his off-hand tossing exploding cards at the other Cures as they tried to attack him all at once. However, Cure Sunny managed to dodge and kept coming, lashing out with a flaming punch that nearly cracked Joker's ever-present mask (or was that actually a part of his face?). Growling, the evil harlequin shoved Cure Beauty back with a kinetic shockwave and then hit Cure Sunny with a blow to the gut that had her doubling over as it felt like he almost ruptured something. He readied his blade, intent on chopping off her head…

Cure Happy, inspired by the famous Rasengan but not having been taught it yet, had taken a charged-up Happy Shower and, instead of firing it, held it in her hands as a compressed, brightly-glowing pink orb of power. With a yell, she slammed it into Joker's back, and the stored energy was released in a blast-wave of power that sent Joker flying; he'd barely reacted in time to channel defensive magic through his body in order to avoid serious damage.

Getting to his feet and brushing himself off, Joker was about to try to entrap the girls in a Phantom Ruby genjutsu when a black, white, & red figure came flying in at an angle, hitting the ground and tumbling to a stop.

(MUSIC END)

Infinite groaned in pain, his red aura weak and unstable as he tried to get to his feet. Sonic, Shadow, & Silver leapt in, taking position around him and keeping their distance. Silver then took notice of the other fight nearby and turned to join, ready to help the Smile Cures. The other Cures and Sonic's other friends were closing in on the area as well, having defeated or bypassed the remaining Phantom Clone enemies.

Looking around at his overall situation, Joker sighed… and then started laughing.

"Well, you've certainly pushed us into a corner, haven't you?!" he shouted to the heroes. "Congratulations on getting this far! Now, I only have one card left to play… but it's the only one I need! For you see, I always keep a joker up my sleeve~…"

Holding the 'prime' Phantom Ruby, he then shoved it into his chest, somehow absorbing it and melding it with his body. After a few seconds, a blazing crimson aura roared to life around him, and the heroes were stunned as they felt his evil power growing and changing. Joker held his hands high, and every remaining Phantom Clone in the city disintegrating motes of red energy flowing back and into him. Then, he held his hand out toward Infinite, who gasped in shocked pain as he was levitated up, his body glitching.

"W… What are you…" he grunted out.

"You've been a great help, Infinite," Joker said, "and I truly did consider you a kindred spirit of sorts. But you've done all that you can, and now I have an even better use for you…"

The Mobian jackal's cry of pain and rage was cut off as he was utterly unmade, his body and his Phantom Ruby 'copy' coming apart into motes of red light that flowed into Joker. The demonic jester's aura was a red & purple inferno of evil power, shaking the earth and darkening the sky. His costume began to change, white becoming black, purple parts gaining a reddish tint. Many of the heroes & heroines quaked in fear as they saw and felt the huge power growing, dark clouds swirling overhead with red lighting crackling between them. Joker's low, wicked laugh had a flanging echo to it, his eyes shining red.

(BOSS MUSIC: Sonic Colors – "Final Boss (Phase 1)")

Finally finished gathering and charging energy and integrating the Phantom Ruby into himself, Joker exploded with power, a raging inferno of red, black, & purple energy engulfing him. The black clouds overhead glowed red with crimson lightning, and Joker floated up off the ground as his Phantom Ruby energy formed a pair of wings from his back. Red 'streamers' of energy came from his glowing red eyes, and his razor-sharp teeth – displayed in a bloodthirsty grin – had a red light coming from behind them.

"Now then…" he spoke softly with a quiet yet way-too-deep reverb. "Who wants to die first?"

Silver fired a kinetic blast at Joker, his attack joined a second later by a Blue Forte Wave, a Sunny Fire, a Princess Bomber barrage, and E123-Omega's heavy machinegun fire. Joker formed a ring of Phantom-matter around himself as a barrier, and then made it shatter outward as a wave of deadly shrapnel shooting in all directions. Big the Cat used his reinforced umbrella to shield himself and Cream (& Cheese), and most everyone else managed to leap high enough to dodge; Cures Blossom, Peace, and Felice took a few hits, but their transformations' defensive magic protected them from serious harm (for now).

Unfortunately, as many of the heroes were briefly airborne from leaping over Joker's initial counterattack, he shot up, grabbed Cure Heart by the ankle, and came back down slamming her into the ground with such force that the ground shook as she left an imprint in the now-shattered concrete. As Cure Heart was left barely conscious and struggling to hold onto her transformation, Joker fired a dark-red energy blast at the charging Cure Sunshine that blew her away, then spun and caught Cure Shade by the throat as she emerged from a shadow-portal behind him. He formed his hand into a spear shape and went to stab/punch into her chest, but a Homing Attack from Shadow knocked his arm to the side, while Espio leapt in and pulled Cure Shade back with ninja speed.

Several Cures started preparing to fire combination attacks, but Joker was faster, teleporting around and striking at the various groups to stun them and disrupt their formations. Sonic came in from above, hitting Joker in the head with a Homing Attack, but the villain barely even flinched. There was a soft crack as Joker turned his head & neck in ways that shouldn't be biologically possible in order to stare at Sonic with a grin like a shark, then struck with a blow even faster than Sonic could go, a kick sending the blue hedgehog hurtling through the air like a spiky soccer ball.

Silver levitated several large chunks of debris, body and eyes glowing with psychic power. But before he could launch them at his target, Joker noticed and extended his hand toward him. Silver gasped and strained as the green glow enveloping his telekinetic 'weapons' was gradually tinted red, and then Joker made them all crash down on him; Silver barely managed to form a shimmering green barrier around himself to avoid being crushed to death. Joker then turned to see a Music Rondo: Super Quartet beam coming at him, and he brought his hands forward and fired his own beam of red & black energy to meet it. The two attacks pushed against each other for a few seconds, before Joker's beam overcame Melody & Rhythm's, overwhelming & scattering it and engulfing the two Cures in a blast that would've torn them to shreds if they hadn't been transformed.

Joker floated up higher, dodging a swing of Amy's hammer in the process, forming a red barrier-shell to protect himself from a wave of anti-personnel missiles fired by E123 Omega. A few of the Cure teams were preparing to draw upon their higher-level transformations (Super Silhouette, Princess Form, Innocent Form, Mode Elegant, Alexandrite…), but then Joker channeled crimson lightning from the storm above and unleashed it on them. Screams of shock and pain rang out, making his fanged grin grow.

Shadow, given a boost up by Rouge, slammed into Joker's back in a Homing Attack, ruining his focus on trying to electrocute the Cures but not doing any real damage. Joker turned and prepared to thrust a conjured spear at the black hedgehog, but magic blasts from Cure Nightshade and Cure Tender pushed him back and let Shadow get distance. The demonic harlequin frowned for a moment, then grinned as he formed huge floating mallets out of Phantom Ruby 'cubes' and used them to smash the two Cures and Shadow & Rouge.

A pulse of red energy released from Joker and washed over the whole area, and the whole group of heroes began floating up into the air as gravity was twisted around for them, leaving them flailing and shouting as they were sent skyward without their control. Held high above the ground, close to the low, roiling clouds filled with red lightning above, the numerous heroes were virtually helpless as Joker flitted about with unnatural speed, bombarding them with crushing strikes and searing energy blasts.

With everyone battered and beaten, floating helplessly, Joker decided to start thinning the herd. The blast he started charging up should surely kill several of the weaker 'heroes' and leave the rest even more injured and easier pickings. Laughing, he fired the roiling red & purple sphere of energy, anticipating the screams…

(MUSIC END)

There was a flash of light that lit up the stormy sky, and the energy blast struck against a massive spherical shield that formed around the entire hero group. It seemed to be rotating, opaque and in a rainbow of shifting colors. The barrier briefly 'rippled' from the blast, but soon recovered. Upon closer inspection, the barrier was actually composed of countless individual components…

Inside, the various PreCures and Mobian heroes were all gently carried to a single point toward the middle. Stirring, Sonic & Tails' eyes widened in shock as they recognized the little floating entities supporting them & their allies, who'd saved them all:

Wisps. The entire 'barrier' was composed of thousands of Wisps, all of them shining with Hyper-Go-On energy that, combined, was enough to fend off Joker's initial deadly blast and – from the sounds of it – the successive curious & frustrated attacks he was throwing at the giant living barrier. One Wisp in particular floated over to Sonic & Tails, warbling a greeting.

"Yacker?" Tails asked. "You… Your people saved us…"

"Still…" Cure Flora spoke up. "Even with these cute little guys helping us… I don't know if we're strong enough to beat Joker as he is now…"

Curiously, Yakker was still keeping two tentacles behind his back. Six more Wisps, one of each 'color', floated over to join him. Then, the seven Wisps revealed what they had been holding, the familiar gems thrumming with power.

"The… The Chaos Emeralds…" Silver breathed out, an excited smile slowly forming on his face. "You found them!"

For the first time in what felt like hours, Sonic gave his usual confident grin. Shadow, Silver, team leads… come on over here."

'What are these creatures?' Joker wondered, having ceased his attacks and now simply flying around the giant shell of Wisps at a safe distance. '…Could these be the aliens that Sonic and his sidekick rescued from that egotistical scientist's plot?'

(BOSS MUSIC: Sonic Colors – "Final Boss (Phase 2 – Reach for the Stars)")

Suddenly, a brilliant golden light shone from gaps within the shell of Wisps. The Wisps began to disperse, many of them carrying most of the heroes safely down to earth. 10 figures floated in the dark sky, wreathed in golden auras and brimming with power. Sonic, Shadow, & Silver's fur had turned golden, their irises red; Cures Blossom, Melody, Happy, Heart, Lovely, Flora, & Miracle floated right behind them, the white and pink of their outfits tinted gold, their hair golden and spiky like Super Saiyans, irises red from the Chaos Emeralds' power. Lastly, each of the heroes had a Wisp riding on their backs, ready to lend their power.

'Those little space-jellies found and brought the Chaos Emeralds?!' Joker seethed, trying to fight down a flash of panic.

"You've been causing pain and suffering for so long" Shadow said. "Now it's time for you to see how it feels."

"It's time to make sure you never hurt anyone else again!" Cure Melody decreed.

"Alright, boys & girls," Sonic said, "let's go!-!"

The 10 heroes burst into motion, flying at great speed, their golden auras enveloping and trailing behind them like comets. Super Cure Happy charged straight at Joker, closing in before he could fire off an attack and striking with a barrage of blows that soon wore through his guard, beating him back. Super Cure Heart came in from above, a Red Wisp moving with her and lending her its power, letting her blast Joker with a heart-shaped explosion of shiny golden flames. Joker snarled and fired several big shimmering red energy blasts shaped like himself at her, but Super Cure Blossom intercepted with a giant golden flower-shaped shield spell, rippling from the blasts' impacts but holding strong.

Super Sonic charged in, and Joker erected a glowing red spherical barrier around himself that deflected the first few charging tackles. But then, Sonic was given the power of a Yellow Wisp, his golden aura brightening as he charged again, this time while spinning rapidly with a yellowish drill-shaped extension around his aura. This time, Joker's barrier couldn't hold against the hyper-charged high-speed hedgehog boring into and through it, shattering the red energy field. Joker threw himself to the side, grunting in pain as a glancing blow gouged into his left side when Sonic shot past.

Super Cure Melody came flying in brandishing a giant… musical note? Yes, she had coalesced her Chaos Emerald-supercharged Pretty Cure power into a shiny golden eighth-note bigger than she was. She swung the huge weapon with unexpected grace and speed, her new club sending Joker careening across the sky. He soon regained control, using his momentum to charge at Super Silver with a set of huge glowing red claws extending from his arms. He dodged the gold-tinted kinetic blasts Silver fired at him, but right when he closed into range and swung his weapons, Silver fired another blast that he had no time to dodge, blasting him back as Silver's surging aura protected him from the Phantom-claws' glancing blow. Then, Super Cure Lovely came in with a giant Lovely Punch fist of gold-tinted pink energy, the knuckles adorned with big bright-pink spikes courtesy of a Pink Wisp. The resulting punch blew Joker away again, tearing part of his jester suit.

Joker snarled as he formed multiple large red cubes floating around him, and each of them started firing laser bolts at the heroes, filling the air with deadly light. Super Cure Miracle worked with a Blue Wisp to form countless gold-tinted blue cubes that absorbed Joker's energy bolts and then fired them back, destroying most of his red cubes. The Wisp-made cubes than repositioned to box Joker in, giving him nowhere to go as Miracle barreled into him with a Super-charged Ruby-type flaming punch. Catching himself, Joker snarled and began to charge up another deadly blast, onto to be blindsided by Super Shadow rocketing in while wreathed in the orange glow of an Orange Rocket Wisp, careening into him in a supersonic tackle.

Preparing to counterattack, Joker suddenly lost control of his flight, floating uncontrollably upward while enveloped in a faint green glow. With her target ensnared by the Hover power of the Green Wisp helping her, Super Cure Flora flew/floated closer and started pummeling Joker with all she had, beating the evil clown senseless. She then flew away to get clear, allowing Super Cure Blossom, imbued with the power of a Cyan Wisp, to blast Joker with a great big pink & cyan magical laser that lit up the stormy sky.

Panting, his outfit tattered and smoldering, Joker roared with fury, his Phantom aura surging around him like an evil inferno. He began charging up an enormous amount of energy, a mass of roiling red & purple Darkness power gathering in front of him, growing and growing. In response, the 10 golden warriors and their Wisp allies gathered together – the Wisps gathered in a large circle faced toward Joker, then the 7 golden Cures in a smaller circle in front, and finally the three Super-form hedgehogs. They all held their hands forward, sparks of light building…

"I've built up enough power to crack this planet like an egg!" Joker shouted, an unstable fanged grin on his face. "Now SAY GOODBYE!-!"

The mass of evil energy he'd charged up pulsed and then fired as a huge beam of deadly red & purple energy, tearing the air apart as it surged toward the heroes. But the heroes' bodies then glowed with multicolored lights, power building as PreCure magic, Chaos Emerald superpower, and Hyper Go-On energy were combined…

[Sonic Colors announcer guy:]

"Laser!"

"HeartCatch!"

"Cube!"

"Suite!"

"Drill!"

"Smile!"

"Hover!"

"Heartbeat!"

"Spikes!"

"Happiness!"

"Rocket!"

"Princess!"

"Burst!"

"Magic!"

"SUPER!"

"FINAL!"

"COLOR!-!"

"BLAAASTERRRR!-!-!"

Right before Joker's energy wave was about to hit the heroes, they released a brilliant beam of energy, a vibrant rainbow of colors lighting up the stormy sky. The Super Final Color Blaster pushed against Joker's deadly attack, halting it for a few seconds and then quickly overpowering it, scattering it and closing in on the villain, whose evil smile changed into a look of stunned horror.

"NonononoNOOOO!-!"

The wave of Light energy slammed into Joker like a freight train from Heaven, engulfing him and starting to tear him apart. He desperately tried to fight it off, to withstand it, to fight back, to use the Phantom Ruby's power to save himself… And then, the Phantom Ruby inside him shattered. Joker cried out with one last scream of pain, fear, and fury as he was finally annihilated. A huge, beautiful rainbow explosion filled the sky, blasting away the dark clouds that had been conjured earlier.

(MUSIC END)

The victorious heroes descended back down to earth, where their celebrating comrades were waiting. Once their feet were on the ground, they let the Chaos Emeralds' power leave them, returning to their normal states as the seven gems appeared amongst them; Tails quickly gathered them for safekeeping.

"That was a rush!" Cure Heart said.

"He's gone…" Cure Happy murmured, as if disbelieving. "He's finally gone…"

"I'd say we should celebrate," Cream said, "but I think we're all a little too tired for that."

"Plus," Cure Moonlight added, "I have a feeling that things are about to come to a head with the Seekers of Darkness. We should rest up as much as we can, so we'll be ready."

"…I wonder how the quest to get Roxas a body is going…" Cure Peace wondered.

-Break-

Radiant Garden

Ansem's Lab

Ienzo sighed as he looked at the main screen of Ansem's computer.

"We've come a long way toward reconstructing Roxas' Heart. But a vessel… Without that… Hmph, yeah right. Bodies don't just grow on trees, Ienzo. It's the backup plan or nothing now. But… the backup plan isn't a true solution."

Suddenly, a Corridor of Darkness opened behind him.

"Finally" A voice came from within. "About time."

Spinning around with a gasp, Ienzo saw as Demyx strolled out with a big bundle wrapped in a light-blue sheet slung over his shoulder.

"Ooh, nice place" he said, looking around.

"Demyx? Is that you?!"

The blond grinned. "Hey, Zexion! Long time!" He very carefully laid the large bundle on the floor. "How's humanity treatin' ya? I rejoined the Nobodies, but, like… I just can't shake the feeling I've been sweet-talked, y'know? We have so~ got to have a chat."

"W-Whoa, back up. What?"

"Oh! Sorry, sorry. I'm gettin' ahead of myself. I'm actually here on a top-secret mission. Apparently, I'm so off everyone's radar, that I'm just the guy to handle a special delivery." He turned to his portal. "Ta-daaa!"

And out of the portal, wearing a black coat with the hood down, strode…

"M… Master Ansem!" Ienzo almost forgot to breathe.

"Well met, little Ienzo" Ansem the Wise said with a smile. "Not so little anymore, though…"

Aeleus and Dilan ran in, hearing the disturbance, and froze in shock as they saw who had seemingly come back from the dead. Ienzo started to reach out, but then clenched his fists by his side, trembling with his head hung low.

"They told me you'd gone mad…" he choked out. "That you abandoned us. I was just a boy, but I should have known better. I am… truly, deeply sorry…" He bowed his head.

Ansem came closer, hands on Ienzo's shoulders. "I think what matters is that you recognize the mistake. Peace, Ienzo. It was I who was consumed by hatred – who failed you in my obligations as your mentor. Please, forgive me…"

"So, uh…" Demyx spoke up. "Are we cool to get on with things here?" He pointed to the blanket-wrapped object on the floor. "Got ya a present from Vexen. One was all he could manage for the time being, but hey, he figured you guys would know what to do with it."

"An empty Replica…" Ienzo breathed out. "A vessel!"

-Break-

Twilight Town

"I've had it with this stupid treasure hunt" Pete griped. "Every box we've found has been nothin' but a bust."

"…I agree" Maleficent replied. "Our search ends today."

"Wait, what? After all the effort we gone through, you'd actually admittin'…"

"We cannot find the unfindable. The box does not exist."

"Hmph. I knew they was takin' us for a ride…"

"Silence. I mean the box does not exist now."

"…Is that some kinda riddle? Just where we s'posed to be lookin'?"

"Light and darkness are fated to clash. A Keyblade War is upon us. We need only wait for that destined moment. No matter the victors, the box will be revealed."

"That's it?!" But when's my big moment?"

"You will have it soon enough. Once we possess the box, our real work can begin. Now, come along. While we wait, Salem has suggested that we try our hand at a little… recruitment drive…"

-Break-

Twilight Town – Clock Tower

Lea/Axel sat alone atop the tower, eating a sea-salt ice cream bar while his other hand held two more.

"Well, Roxas…" he murmured. "I shoulda been there for you by now, but here we are."

"Shouldn't you say goodbye to your real home?"

Lea turned as Saïx emerged from the shadows, stunned to see the man as he came over and sat beside him.

"Why…"

"I'm not here to fight, Lea. Relax."

He reached over and grabbed one of Lea's spare ice-cream bars, despite the redhead's attempt to stop him.

"You can't eat all this" Saïx reprimanded. "Why did you buy three of them? One for Roxas… and two for good luck?"

"I dunno. Because I felt like it, okay? Tch. Why are you here?"

Saïx took a bite of 'his' ice cream. "Got it memorized? Back when we were still friends, we used to sneak into the castle."

"Yeah…"

"And we made a friend there – a girl. We apprenticed to Ansem the Wise to rescue her."

"Yeah, and we failed. One day she was just gone!"

"You gave up."

Lea growled, feeling something in his chest. "I did not give up. One day we're apprentices, the next Ansem the Wise has up and vanished, the day after we're Nobodies, day after day doing icky jobs for Xemnas. I couldn't keep up with you."

"Following Xehanort's Nobody was the only way to discover what happened to her. She was his lab rat."

"So? You found her? I helped you rise up the ranks, so I hope it paid off."

Saïx hung his head. "I'm afraid not. Nary a trace. I started to wonder if we'd imagined her. Maybe she never existed. And then, in time, I awakened to a new purpose. I realized I could be stronger."

"Hmph. Well then, you blew it! Wise up already and just quit."

"Face it. Roxas is just like our other friend. Gone forever. You need to accept that."

"You wish. I'm getting her back. All of 'em! Especially Roxas! I'm even dragging you home!"

Finishing his ice cream, Saïx looked at the empty stick. "The marks under your eyes. They're gone."

Caught off-guard by the sudden change in topic, Lea snarled. "Yeah. Don't need 'em."

"Always told you they'd stop you from crying. The upside-down tears…"

"Would you get lost?! I'll clobber you tomorrow!"

"I expect no less…" Saïx smirked, vanishing through a Dark Corridor.

-Break-

Destiny Islands

Riku sat on the sands, watching the sunset.

"How long have you known that I was with you?" a voice next to him asked.

"You did save me from that huge Dark Hide thing" Riku replied with a grin, looking over at another 'him', a year or two younger and clad in a familiar black & purple bodysuit. "I think you came along for a reason."

"…I didn't make much of myself as a Replica" the other Riku said. "I was a failure, and after you & Sora moved on, my body fell to ruin, and the Darkness took my broken mind. I was all ready to give up and let it happen, and then you showed up."

"Heh. You took that as a sign?"

"Hm. Maybe. I'd rather face my end with you than in lonely darkness."

"That's… what you want?"

"Yeah. But I'm not done yet. Got one last thing to see through."

"…Take the time you need."

"Don't you go dying, either. You've got a special someone waiting for you."

Riku got flustered. "S-Salia and I aren't like that."

His Replica grinned. "I didn't mention Salia~."

"You're as bad as Sora…"

A bit further up the beach, Sora & Kairi sat together on the oddly-shaped tree.

"Hey, why's Riku all alone?" Sora asked.

"He said he needed time to himself" Kairi replied. "Let's let him be."

Gazing worried at his friend, Sora was startled as Kairi held out a large yellow star-shaped fruit. Recognizing the paopu fruit, he looked at Kairi, whose beautiful smile made his heart skip a beat.

"Tomorrow's fight will be our toughest yet" she said. "I wanna be a part of your life, no matter what. That's all."

After a moment, Sora smiled and accepted the fruit. "Kairi. I'll keep you safe."

"And I'll keep you safe, you reckless lug. No matter what happens…"

"…We'll see it all through together."

-CHAPTER END-

Next Time: The beginning of the end. I'm not sure yet whether the Keyblade Graveyard will be split into two chapters or not. We'll have to wait and see how huge it ends up being… Also, might come back and expand the boss fights in this chapter a little at some point in the future, maybe.