AN: Like all my works, this is cross-posted from AO3/Archive of Our Own.


"It's over, Z!" Noah declared, pointing Lucky Seven at Z, who was on his knees, struggling to stand. It was victory at last for Ouroboros, and for the people of this world!

"Hah," Z chuckled under his breath. "Preposterous. Did you really think this was the first time?"

Lanz glared at him. "Whaddya mean? You already told us we'd gotten here before. You're just stallin' for time now!"

Z finally regained his footing, though he was hunched over, clutching a wounded torso that leaked out a purple energy. "Indeed, but you have also defeated me before. Or so it appeared, at the time. I lay at your feet, destroyed utterly, and you reached your goal. You stopped the flow, and the Endless Now was disrupted. Do you know what happened then?"

Everyone looked at each other, and shook their heads. Z continued, "Time resumed, certainly, but your memories were lost! You had forgotten that you wished for the Endless Now to end, and so the very instant you were freed, your fear created me once again!"

Mio gasped. "N-no, but that means…"

Z smiled, spreading his arms wide and pompously. "Indeed. Moebius. The Endless Now. The flow. All of it is indestructible—self-rejuvenating." His grin was proud, mocking, and most of all, highly amused. He was beginning to slowly float into the air again; feet only barely touching the ground. "So what will you do now, I wonder? Surrender yourselves to the cycle, to eternity? Fall to your knees in desp— AGHH!"

He fell to his knees in despair, while Noah, Lanz, Taion, and Riku, all simultaneously flinched. Z's speech had been interrupted by Eunie, who took it upon herself to step forward and give him a right good kick in the sack.

"Ha! Not so high and mighty now then, are ya?"

Noah stared blankly, unable to process what he'd just seen. "Wh…what? What are you doing, Eunie?!"

Eunie turned to him, and shrugged. "It's simple. If we can't beat the mudder, we do the next best thing. Give 'im a real whack in the bollocks as payback for all he's done."

Ghondor laughed. "Now you're speaking my language!" She ran up, and gave Z the hardest kick she'd ever given anybody or anything, right between his legs, yelling, "Take that, ya dag!"

Z's pained moans filled everyone's ears. Upon thinking about it, none of them could bring themselves to disagree with Eunie's logic. Monica didn't even feel like chastising Ghondor for her crude, brash behavior like she usually would.

"Good shout, Eunie, that's the best idea you've had in ages!" Lanz grinned, moving up for his turn.

"Oi! What's that s'posed to mean?!"

Lanz ignored her complaint. "Alright, I'm gonna use my kickin' muscles for this one!"

While Z lay fallen on the floor, groaning as he clutched his groin, Noah and Mio looked at each other and nodded in mutual understanding and agreement. Both of them had a bone to pick with Z—or rather, a bone to kick.

"Yeah, give it to him Noah, Mio!" Eunie cheered. "After this many bruises, it'll be 'Dark 'Ere the Dong', am I right?"

Taion pushed up his glasses. "I'm not sure that even makes sense…"

"And I'm not sure if you wanna be next. Wanna help me figure it out, o' clever boy?" She gave an annoyed flutter of her wings; the flutter Taion had rightfully learned to fear.

He gulped. When faced with a charging Ardun, the correct move was to stand your ground and show dominance. He did not use the same tactic with Eunie, even if she was probably not serious. "N-no, your wordplay on the name of his attack is excellent, Eunie."

Satisfied that he knew who was the boss, she grew a smug grin and crossed her arms across her chest. "That's right! You know what's up."

"This is for M, and N, and all the times you took Mio from me!" Noah yelled, lashing his foot out at Z's Unlucky Seven.

Z gasped, struggling to breathe, and he saw Mio revving up for her attack. "S-stop, relent, please… I can give you all eternal life…"

Mio paused, looking contemplative. "Can you give it to everyone in Aionios? Even the people of the City? Without any wars?"

"W-well, no, that's not possible, but—"

"Or even just free everyone in Keves and Agnus from the flame clocks and the marks, so we can all live natural lives?"

"…"

"Thought so." She swung out with incredible speed, as originally planned. Truly, his fate was sealed when he rose against them, and Z would certainly never be 'rising' ever again.

Monica stepped up onto the stage, glaring at Z. "Don't count me out. Guernica would still be alive if it wasn't for him."

Ghondor chuckled. "Heh, bitchqueen isn't so dull after all then."

Monica chose to ignore that comment. There were more important things to attend to; besides, Ghondor overpowered the swear jar a decade ago.

After Monica had delivered her personal justice, Sena's eyebrows shot up. "Hey guys, I just thought of a great idea!"

Z's eyes, squinting from pain, managed to widen with horror, as he watched her calling her Ogre hammer to hand.

"YIPPEE!"


"Ohhh Zed!" Nia sang, drawing her words out. "Time for yer' dick flattening!"

Everyone agreed she was the best one for the job of keeping him imprisoned; her healing powers allowed her to 'restore' him regularly. Everyone in Aionios had suffered thanks to Z, and each of them was eager for revenge, but one prick could only physically sustain so much damage—Melia insisted on a 'starlight kick' almost every day—and they couldn't maintain the lines 24/7 either.

Z's face was sunken in depressed, resigned dread, as it usually was these days. "Yes dear…"

He wished she didn't make him call her that.


"Moebius, my long shadow…" Zeon muttered. "For lifetimes, you had stolen the knowledge of potatoes away from me… Shield bash!"

In the end, they discovered an alternative to the flame clocks and marks, for keeping the world running. The flow was fueled by Z's despair, and so it became a national duty of all citizens of Aionios—now in immortal Moebius bodies—to contribute to the daily kicking, while he was restrained to a pillory that kept him upright. Their desires were to blame for the Endless Now, but they could still regret those desires! Metaphorically speaking, they were kicking themselves; non-metaphorically however, they were kicking Z's 'Moebius Stones'.

Watching that abomination of a levnis they called 'Dorrick' step up to plate, Z wondered to himself if he should have just let them kill him and restart the world again. After all, he had been bluffing about the Endless Now being indestructible.

I hate it, he thought to himself. I hate it, hate it, hate it hate it hate it! This rotten world… I LOATHE IT!