… This is it.

Narrator: "The final chapter? But you haven't even introduced the main boss!"

(Shakes head) I can't continue this story anymore.

Acronos: "Why not?"

Maioko: "Is it something we did?"

No… I've answered the question I wrote this story to find the answer to. I know more now, and I don't have enough excess emotion to put in here. It would be a waste of all of our time for me to write now.

Riku: "You saying we're not good enough or something?"

(Half-smiles) no. You wouldn't benefit from me making a story in form only. I'd have to put my heart, soul, emotions, and a damn good question in here for it to be relevant. You guys would be bored, and I would be stressed, no benefits at all.

Auron: "He has a point there."

What I will do is leave this last bit that I've written for someone else to write. If anyone wants to write this, they can talk to me via AOL instant messenger, I'm jflkmz89.

Sora: "Weird name."

I have a story about that actually. Anyway, if anyone wants to write and ask my opinion, they can IM me and hear what my ideas were for the future. If nobody wants to, then I guess I'll leave it here.

Acane: "I'll fade into memory again…"

It won't be like that. You guys always existed on your own anyway; I just chronicled your journeys. You're done already; I can feel it. From here on in, you'll just be yourselves unless someone has enough time to write.

Narrator: "It won't be the same."

But who knows? The start of a new journey may just bring a brighter future after all.

/0

/0

Acronos awoke early and rose from his bed as Zero, ready to guide an unruly troop into battle. He knew not whether they would live or not, especially since nearly all of them chose to wield reverse-bladed weapons. From the moment the sun awoke him, throughout all normal daily functions, Acronos, nay, Zero was nervous. He knew not why, none of these people could be strong enough to beat him, so death wasn't at his heels as it had been time and time before. These soldiers on the other hand, they weren't so lucky. Ark was the best among them, truly, but even he wasn't strong enough to truly emerge victorious against armadas of vicious warriors and peoples all struggling with all their hearts to fight against them for their hometown. Zero knew, when you put your heart behind everything you are, there is no opponent that one could not strike down. However, nobody else seemed to get that, and this could be his or her downfall. Another logical analysis later provided one small insight; it would all come down to morale. What Zero needed was some sort of extreme demoralizer that would wipe out any hope the opposing soldiers might have. He met with the Tutor.

Zero: "Is there, does this town have a warrior they place the most faith in?"

Tutor: "Hmm, why yes, the scourge of Spartacus is a man they call Lysander."

Zero: "Hmm. Call him forth before the battle." Soon after, the time to go to battle had arrived. All that remained were the tearful goodbyes, and soon even those had passed. Zero and Ark were the only ones apparently without a farewell. Zero seemed to be taking it well, even in stride, but Ark seemed on the verge of mental collapse. Apparently his rather painful dreamed beating and Mai's uncaring attitude was taking its toll on the anger that held the warrior-child together. Zero looked over and became Acronos once more, slowly walking over.

Acronos: "No one's here."

Ark: "(Not bothering to beat around the bush) Yeah."

Acronos: "… Well, nothing to worry about. (Ark looks at him rather disbelievingly and he shrugs) You don't need a farewell, you're not gonna die."

Ark: "I know. I'm the best of the best, right?"

Acronos: "Right."

Ark: "… Why did you do that?"

Acronos: "… You'll get stronger, a lot stronger, if you have to depend only on yourself."

Ark: "I know."

Acronos: "(Looks carefully at him) On second thought, that's not the lesson you need to learn."

Ark: "What is?"

Acronos: "Y' need to be able to follow, in order to be able to lead." With that he turned and left, and when Ark looked back, Mai had come rapidly over. Don't expect any romantic goodbyes, they only exchanged understanding of the others' motives. One look into each other's soul and a nod solidified the pact. It was done.

Slowly, even the time for goodbyes came to an end and the small troop boarded the ship that was to take them to what everyone besides Zero believed to be their doom. About midway through the flight when morale was probably at an all time low, Zero spoke up from his seat.

Zero: "You all know the strategies, right? (Nods and murmurs follow) All right. …I won't make any famous speeches here, just as this might not be a famous battle. To you, this is just a trip to your deaths, isn't it? (More murmurs) Heh, well actually, it's a trip to the exact opposite. (Confused murmurs greet him) Think about it, everybody expects you die, to give up, but what if we actually do it? What if we actually conquer Spartacus with just our ragtag band of warriors and blunt weapons? (Relative silence) I know it sounds impossible but think about what it would mean to you. If we win, we'll be stars for a few days, maybe a month, and in a hundred years we will be forgotten for just this. But what if it never stops? What if we keep fighting, keep getting stronger until even this nearly impossible task seems like child's play? It can be done, it has been done, what's to keep us from doing it? Tell me, is there anything to keep us from being the strongest, ever?"

Ark: "Yeah, dying."

Zero: "Well then, we'll just have to make sure we don't die. (He picks up a spare metal pole from behind him and stands up) Anyone with me? Anyone willing to fight, not to give up, to maybe taking Spartacus, and never stopping until we become immortal? You can either choose to fight with me for everything you know and everything you can obtain, your future and your present, or you can choose to die. When it comes down to it, that's what makes us, our choices." There was but a moment of pause for this to sink in, and everyone stood up, looking determined and ready.

Ark: "And you said this wouldn't be a famous speech." Zero just grinned. A space in between eternities later they were there, landed upon the desert before Spartacus. Zero gestured for them to get into positions and they did so quickly and quietly. After they'd gotten into place, Zero calmly walked through the middle of the valley until he met with what looked to be a commander. Zero heard archers aim at him and quietly readied to counter.

Comm.: "So, you are the mighty Zero I hear about."

Zero: "I wish to face your greatest warrior. Oh, and tell your archers over there (points out the various places they were at) to put down their arrows, it's annoying."

Comm.: "(Laughs heartily) Very well then!" A cry of the name "Zanzibar" arose from the troops, slowly becoming a chant. A giant of a man came forth, way bigger than anyone there.

Acronos: "Well that guy's been eating his veggies." Whether this tower of muscle and flesh heard or not, he roared loudly and drew two javelins. (Narrator: "Why do I get the feeling of a movie reference?" Shut it.) Zero began walking forward. A streak came at him, faster than... He could remember?

Child: "Mister Acronos, what's wrong?"

Acronos: "Mmm…. (Thinks hard and then cringes, finishes by grinning) I can't remember the rest."

Audience: "Aww!"

Acronos: "(Still smiling) Hey, you can't blame me, it's been a long time since then!"

Child 2: "Yeah, but you said you knew this stuff!"

Acronos: "Sorry, my memories of that time period aren't really the best."

Child 3: "Why not?"

Acronos: "First off, this guy I didn't pay much attention to, and second, well…"

Child: "(Puppy dog eyes) Please…"

Acronos: "Yipe!"

Audience: "C'mon!"

Acronos: "Oh alright. Umm, what came next, oh yeah! Well anyway, his javelin came at me…

Faster than he'd expected any normal man's throw to be. However, not expecting did not mean failure, Zero simply knocked it away with the hand not holding his staff. This Zanzibar unleashed the second javelin, and Zero lazily switched hands and knocked it away as well. Then began the rush, the two sped up the pace towards one another, one jogging and the other all-out sprinting. When within range, Zanzibar drew a large broadsword and swung downward in a mighty blow, only to be the springboard for Zero's maneuver to land a solid blow to his forehead. Taking it without complaint, he reversed the spin into another attack, missing its mark again. Spinning the blade to regain full balance, the two faced each other with expressions of fiery rage or icy calm. Zanzibar again made the futile first move, a vertical cut that was diverted so Zero could dance around him with a flew blows to the midsection enhanced through centrifugal force. Zanzibar did a quick 360-degree swing to try and get him away, which he succeeded in. Another rush in, preferably for an unblockable sort of force, was the next course of action, but stopped by a completely parallel pole holding his head in place. Suitably frustrated now, he used one of the techniques his city was famous for; only to have it caught up in a whirlwind of short blows. His balance and quite a bit of confidence broken, the great man stumbled back, figuratively unarmed. The finishing blow was Zero's, spinning his staff at speeds that normally would not have been attainable except by a machine fan, he attracted enough centrifugal force and vacuum that his next upward strike literally cut through layers of air, and just correctly to rip off several layers of skin from his victim. More for show and kindness than anything else, he used a downward slash to KO his opponent.

Zero: "Is there anything else?" The commander and armies blinked collectively, stunned at the rapid disposal of their best fighter. Attempting to garner what little advantage he could, the commander spoke out.

Comm.: "Y-you can't seriously expect us to give up after just that?"

Zero: "What, you want me to take out those guys? (Gestures vaguely in the direction of opposing soldiers)" Again they blinked at his audacity, but figured that it might be a good plan and readied themselves. Zero smiled, albeit slightly melancholic, and began lightly tapping his foot to a beat only he recognized. As the army rushed forward towards this lone soldier, the commander attempted desperately to try and recollect his soldiers, such a massacre of one man wasn't what he had in mind. As they closed in on what they believed was an easy target, he quietly added, "those who don't want to get beaten, stand still." The next moment he was gone, freezing the entire squadron in their tracks. Choruses of "where'd he go?" and "how'd he do that?" began circling through the soldiers. Their commander was the only one to hear steps and one short but loud smacking noise every second or so. Looking up, he realized that his archers were all down now. Eyes widened in shock, he tried to alert his soldiers, but as the sound rose to the back of his throat, there was a sharp pain to the back of his head and darkness took him. In the next few moments, neat lines of downed soldiers became present as Zero took the Shukuchi to his real opponents. They tried to figure out where he was, but he kept alternating speeds, taking out only a certain amount of people before instantly going to the next area. Everyone was afraid, frightened that they might be next, and totally in suspense as to where he'd be a second later. It was lambs to the slaughter, or in this case KO. A few moments later he reappeared, completely unharmed despite the amount he'd taken on. Turning his wrist to the computer, he ordered a status report of any progress in taking areas. Each person asked reported that they'd managed to take their quarry by surprise and were systematically exterminating them. Zero then decided to drop the morale of the enemy soldiers drastically. Using Shukuchi to move faster, he came around behind a squad already busy engaging his soldiers and did as before, leaving only one around. He became visible once again and calmly walked up to him. Once it had dawned that he stood no chance, (noticing the bodies and the entire opposing force in front of him unharmed), he almost collapsed. Zero was upon him in an instant, holding him up by the collar, more for morale improvement and necessity than any particular desire.

Zero: "Is there any particular artifact in your village that is very important to you? Preferably to the rest of the people too." The man quaked and shook, babbling on about something in the nature of being too young to die, having just enlisted for fun, etc. In short, he wasn't cut out for the job yet. A bit exasperated at the irony, Zero turned to the people behind him.

Zero: "Is there any thing Spartacus is famous for?"

Soldier: "Yeah, their jelly-supreme dish!" A brief moment passed where the soldiers reminisced about the food item. Unfortunately this was stopped immediately by Zero who scowled and yelled that during battle one must always be focused, letting down guard for even a second could get a person killed. Then the soldier proceeded to be a living example by trying to impale him with a knife up close, only to find his wrist in serious pain.

Zero: "You see what I mean?" They all went to attention after that, but Zero calmly notified them that looking like a rod was up their collective Asses wasn't going to do them any good. Turning back to his prisoner, he spoke calmly, almost friendlily.

Zero: "Thanks, that was actually helpful. Now, we're both past the illusion, so how about you tell me?" The man only glared spitefully. Zero shrugged.

Zero: "Well, I suppose the smell of smoke and your town being on fire should demoralize your troops just as well." His shock evident, after asking if he'd really do that and getting a calm affirmative, he detailed a horn made from bone that was said heralded victory for whoever's army used it.

Zero: "You've been very kind." He tossed him to the floor neatly and began walking away. He stopped and turned around when he heard the soldiers making sport of beating him. After a harsh yell, he chewed their heads off about it and finished by saying, "the strongest is the one who wins and helps their opponent up." They held the other guy in custody after that.

Acronos: "The rest was really just cleaning up. My armies already had the superior firepower and advantage, and I'd already figured out their strategy. When I went and blew the horn for our side, it was just extra I guess. We won completely and strolled into their village. (Thinks) I remember making a speech, but not exactly what was in it."

Child 3: "More big words?" The audience and even their caretakers chuckled at this.

Acronos: "(Pretends to think very hard and smiles) Yeah, I guess I broke the big word limit with that speech." More laughter. "But anyway, in short I think I told them that it was better to be strong now, to fight alongside the empire they'd been helped under, than to attack just because of one thing. … Might've used a guilt trip, but I'm not entirely sure."

Child: "But Mister Acronos, why do you remember all the older stuff and not this?"

Acronos: "Mmm… I'm getting to that.

Anyway, they pretty much decided that it was better to support their friends and nation than attack and create an anarchy that could and probably would destroy so many. We, my troops and I anyway, returned to the city from which we'd come. Well, after it set in that we'd actually won and this wasn't a dream and we'd finished celebrating. By celebrating I mean that everyone besides us underage soldiers got so drunk that they thought they were goats and jumped onto roofs. It was rather funny.

Well, after this we returned to the city in the transport amidst massive surprise that we were still alive. At first nobody believed that we'd actually taken the city with blunt weapons, but once communications were reestablished we were hailed as heroes. It was in the news, and everybody was happy. Mai's parents had just returned, and this was their first impression of me, a big war hero who had managed a nearly impossible feat with relative ease. It was all I could do to stop them from making me commander of a huge battalion. The best I could do was to keep myself as a general with all those troops I'd just commanded as my own personal squad. Sigh. Anyway, after all the festivities of that day, I woke up the next to find that I had mail and gifts from all sorts of people. It struck me as very odd that in just a few days I'd managed to become well known and have fans. Mai and Ark happened to be bored so they helped me out with opening the things. Well, more like Ark was at the bag instantly knowing what was in each letter and tossing them back. Anything with advice or useful gifts I got, and Mai got to read anything silly and laugh her butt off about any poetry. One particular gift Ark stopped at and handed it to me directly. He said it felt really weird, but not a threat. We all looked and opened the thing. In it was a short letter that congratulated me for an amazing victory, but pointed out several flaws I hadn't been aware of, and even went on to mention points in my sword-fighting that could have improved. Now, this rather spooked me because I hadn't demonstrated my full strength, or even my sword style to anyone on this world, so how would this person know? Sufficiently suspicious, I read on in it to find that they left a tip about where Acane would be located. Ark was obviously doubtful, especially when I revealed that nobody had seen me long enough here to chance at knowing all this. Mai asked if we should take the tip, and I decided to do so, since the letter hadn't actually lied once, merely been too informative. However, there was one little bit of letter left. It read as such, if memory serves:

You will find a small gift enclosed. Its power is such that it will aid you in any battle. This item contains ancient magic within it, but I have no use of it, whereas you might. Take it into combat and victory is assured.

Attached to the letter was something that I would later come to hate, but still crave. It was a small silver ring, completely normal looking, except for the runes that appeared in a light script when I touched it (Think Lord of the Rings). I looked at it, studying it, but I couldn't sense anything from it, nor could anything I had translate the runes. This is the thing that fogged up my memory; I can only remember times when I had the ring off, or during the beginning, and even that in small portions. I decided to hold onto it and investigate the tip as to where Acane was. We took a small aircraft to the coordinates, with Mai following out of curiosity, and Ark following "because I have nothing better to do" but more because Mai was there and he wanted to help her if necessary. When we flew overhead, we came upon a decently sized circle of monsters, with one person in the middle of them.

"That's Acane alright!" I yelled. I jumped out of the side and landed right next to her, crushing a monster with a pole I'd grabbed in the meantime. I began smashing through them right nearby with a vigor, just as she was. After a minute she yelled out:

"Hey, who're you?"

"I'd tell you, but the intro might take too long!" I yelled out while cracking another monster's head in. Deciding to give a moment's respite, I spun my staff rapidly enough to gather enough potential energy to rend through the air, and slammed it into the ground with enough force to send a shockwave out. "How about this?" I ripped off my hair tie and shook my head to look like I always did.

"Acronos? Hah, I should've expected!" She laughed.

"Yeah you should've. Now let's get rid of these monsters!" She didn't bother responding, only nodded and jumped into the fray while laughing a bit. With the two of us moving at such high speeds as we were capable of, it was short work until a bigger guy showed up. Some giant, as always, but wielding a pretty sizable hand-axe, too bad that was when Mai and Ark showed up. They executed a quick two-person maneuver that sent Mai at the guy at a high speed so she could land a punch to the face. Meanwhile, Ark had closed the distance himself and with a running slice put the thing's feet out from under it. Acane just walked up and impaled its head casually.

"So, how've you been?" she asked.

/0

/0

Well, that's the end. It's been great.

Riku: "Yeah, even if you're a lower-class writer."

(Grins) That's what I like about you, always with the jokes.

Acronos: "Well, it's been cool."

Yeah. Everyone, I thank you for supporting me in a time of confusion. Only within you guys did I manage to retain some sanity. The world outside is still confused, and many things aren't right. Many people don't understand things, and there are those to whom this question still applies, but that's outside of me. You guys…

Maioko: "Yeah, we know. (Holds up fist in a happily determined sort of way) We'll live on, the best way we know."

Acronos: "(Holds keyblade and nods) This is just the beginning."

Acane: "(Flicks hair and grins slyly) Yeah, who says we can't be who we are?"

Sienna: "(Slashes sword) The story may end, but not the spirit."

Final Fantasy Characters: "(Return to final ages and mindsets) Until we meet again."

Kingdom Hearts Characters: "(Return to where they were) It's been fun!"

Narrator: "I suppose I'm not quite out of a job yet, there are plenty of places to find work these days."

Disclaimer: "Done for now. Deactivating until further notice. ORIGINAL CHARACTERS BELONG TO AUTHOR, ALONG WITH PLOT AND ORIGINAL SETTINGS; ALL ELSE BELONGS TO RESPECTIVE OWNERS! (Disassembles itself)"

And now, farewell reader, I sincerely hope that you were at very least amused.

(Curtain falls)