The shockwave that boomed out from the Fiertia shook the Eden's Zero slightly. It was enough to make Hermit panic a little bit. "What in the world was that…!? A huge spike of Ether..?"

"I'm detecting a large surge of Ether coming from the enemy ship!" Pino said. "It's similar to…no, it's exactly the same as the piece of Black Moon Star that we picked up!"

"Seriously? That's right…" Hermit had a pensive look on her face. "I'm almost done establishing a link between our ships again, one that's under our control. I really hope everything's going okay in there…"

.

.

The rumbling caused Blair to shoot awake. "What the hell-!?" She said, panting softly while looking around. Her body was still heavy and groggy from the amount of sedatives pumped into her, but the fact she woke up at all was frightening. "Where am I-!"

Rebecca jumped at Blair's sudden awakening. "W-Whoa…you're awake…?"

Sensing that she was in enemy territory, Blair's first instinct was to attack, but she winced when she felt her bandaged left arm bend in a way it shouldn't have. "Ngh…what the hell!?" And this is when she realized she was tied up…in a way not too dissimilar to bondage – no, this was just bondage.

"Sorry about that…" Rebecca used her index finger to scratch her cheek. "We didn't know how else to restrain you. That arm is pretty dangerous, and you don't use Ether Gear, so tying you up in a usual way wouldn't work."

Blair stared at Rebecca, yellow eyes glaring at the other woman. Her body was still heavy and sluggish, but she was going to try and use her hidden blades to cut her bindings. Only to find she was stripped of her weapons too. "Seriously?"

"We couldn't take any chances." Rebecca gestured to the nearby table, where Blair's shoes and her gauntlet blade were.

"You're kinda scary." Happy said.

"I like your spirit, though." Sister said while placing her hands on her hips. "I can't stop your arm from transforming, but I can give you as much incentive not to do it at all. If you even try. The rope on your right arm will dislocate it."

"What the…" Blair just stared at Sister. That felt a little much. "I can barely even move as is."

"Can't take any chances with someone as wild you." Sister smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile, though.

"So what? Why am I in your infirmary?" There wasn't a lot Blair could do in this situation and she acknowledged this. Whoever tied her up knew how to make a good knot. Normally she could try and get out of this, but her body was too sluggish to try anything. "You could've just left me in that tube or whatever."

Rebecca shook her head. "No, we couldn't. After Weisz beat you, I noticed that Jigan was going to try and drop that tube. It was going to explode with you and Weisz in it. It wasn't right to leave you in there to die."

Blair's eyes widened at this information. She then gritted her teeth. If she could slam her fist on something she would. "Damn it! Of course he would try that. I knew he was waiting for a chance to get rid of me, but I didn't think it would be then and there."

Rebecca was a little perturbed at this information. "He wanted to get rid of you? But aren't you all a crew?" And as far as she was concerned, a crew was family. That's how she thought of the Eden's Zero over the years.

"What a wonderful world of sunshine and roses you must live in." Blair scoffed and looked to the side. "We're only a crew in title and functionality. Everything in between doesn't exist. I've seen people come and go over the years, because Jigan didn't find them useful. I've been nothing but a pain in his ass ever since I joined…so it figures he'd use this as a chance to get rid of me."

"…" Weisz was lying in the other bed. His back was turned, listening to Blair speak. He figured she wouldn't talk if the guy who beat her was awake. She gave off that sense of pride.

"We're not like that." Rebecca told Blair with a smile. "Anyone who tries to off their own crew isn't worthy of having one. And…I can tell you're not an entirely bad person. Just…an angry one. What's your name again…?"

Blair furrowed her brows. She then just flopped down on the bed again and turned her back to Rebecca. "…I'm Blair Elfin."

"I'm Rebecca." Rebecca introduced herself. "And this is Happy!" She held up Happy, even though Blair literally could not see him right now.

"Aye! Nice to meet you!" Happy said while raising a paw.

"….." Blair didn't respond.

"I guess you wouldn't be so willing to talk…" Rebecca glanced away. She wanted to ask Blair about the injuries she gave to Homura, but that didn't seem likely.

"…That Demon King is fighting Jigan right now, isn't he?" Blair asked. It was sudden, but Rebecca nodded. Blair couldn't see it, but she also wasn't waiting for a verbal response. "He uses Lightning Ether Gear. It's called Thor's Hammer."

"Seriously? That's the ace up his sleeve…?" Weisz mumbled. Thinking back on it, he did always find it odd on Jigan's machinery back in the day was always charged.

"And if his charge is strong enough…he can temporarily short out opposing Ether Gear." Blair said. She had no problem divulging Jigan's secrets since he tried to kill her. It was only fair. "With power like that, I wonder if your friend even has a chance."

"Heh…" Rebecca had a smirk on her lips. "Shiki will be just fine."

.

.

Jigan's power spiked considerably while making use of the Black Moon Star shard. The yellow lightning that sparked around his body turned black as a result, and his large muscles bulged from this surge of power. Shiki and Jigan stared at each other intently. In the next instant, Jigan clenched his right hand into a fist, reared it back…then punched it in Homura's direction. This sent a compressed blast of lightning in her direction.

"…!?" Homura wasn't expecting to be attacked.

"Homura!" Shiki was quicker on the draw. He used his gravity to pull Homura backwards and out of harm's way, throwing her out of the room as gently as he could. Considering the urgency, it was still a little rough, but Homura was safe. "Stay back and get to the others!"

Homura knew she'd only get in the way. "R-Right…!" Homura nodded and quickly left.

"This is between us. Keep her out of it!" Shiki said while tightening his hand into a fist.

"It won't matter. I plan on killing all of you anyway!" Jigan said while lunging towards Shiki, black lightning swirling around his fist.

Shiki jumped forward as well, rearing his arm back. "Gravity Fist!" He and Jigan swung their fists at the same time, causing a shockwave to boom out. The two were in a stalemate, but Shiki slipped past Jigan with his gravity, twisting his body in the same motion. "Gravity Windmill!" With that cry, he spun around, slamming his right leg into Jigan's face. The momentum and power was enough to make Jigan stagger back. Shiki then flipped onto the ceiling, before dropping down with his leg extended. "And Gravity Comet!"

"Guh!" Jigan grunted, stumbling back from Shiki's first attack. He was able to shake this off quickly and looked up, watching Shiki dive down towards him. Jigan reached out, grabbing Shiki's ankle and completely stopped his momentum.

"Huh-!?" Shiki's eyes widened at Jigan's strength.

"Gravity powers, is it? Well, it doesn't matter how heavy you make yourself!" Jigan said while lifting Shiki over his head. "Even without this power, I'm still 300 pounds of pure muscle, kid!" And then he slammed Shiki face first onto the ground with all his might, causing the Fiertia to rumble. The Demon King let out a shout of pain from the rough impact. Jigan then let Shiki go, only to punch him in the stomach with a lightning infused fist. "Lightning Knuckle!"

Shiki tumbled in the air, but he was capable of catching himself. With a flip, his ether gear activated once again and he used a wall as a platform, spitting out some blood from his mouth. There was no time to rest, however, for Jigan was still on the offensive! "…!"

Jigan thrust his hand forward, sending a gigantic blast of compressed black lightning towards Shiki. "Lightning Cannon!"

Shiki was just barely fast enough to move. He jumped to the side, avoiding the Lightning Cannon and the large explosion that followed. He then adjusted his gravity, falling towards Jigan at great speeds and heavy momentum. "Gravity Tackle!" He slammed his shoulder right into Jigan's broad chest for a powerful tackle, one of which that made the larger man slide back slightly.

"You got some kick to ya! But did you forget!?" Jigan said with a menacing smile, raising both of his hands overhead, while interlocking his fingers, obsidian lightning dancing from his hands. "I'm bigger AND stronger than you!" Jigan roared while slamming his joined hands on Shiki's back, crushing him into the ground with a grunt of pain. Jigan was going to move his leg next, but Shiki already had a grip on it. "Huh?"

Shiki was showing some bruises from Jigan's heavy handed hits, but it wasn't enough to keep him down. "Magimech attack: Anti-Gravity!" All he had to do was make contact with Jigan, and this created a force that lifted the bounty hunter into the air against his will.

"Huh!? What?! Put me down!" Jigan demanded, doing everything he could to try and stay grounded, but he was failing on that front.

With Jigan open like this, Shiki created an energy sphere with his fist. This was a growing mass of gravity that he threw forward. "Gravity Cannon!" This condensed sphere of gravity consumed Jigan, capturing him within it, while pushing him against the high ceiling in the process. Jigan had no defense again this, and Shiki was just going to keep the offensive momentum going. The Demon King placed his hand on the ground, now creating a spiral wave force of gravity that attacked to the Gravity Cannon, yanking it, and Jigan down to the ground so harshly, that Jigan slammed into the floor.

"Ack…!" Jigan grunted.

Before Jigan could even get his feet on the ground, Shiki pounced on him. Both hands were lit up in his Gravity ether, and he started throwing a flurry of punches at Jigan's body. "Magimech Attack: Gravity Fist Frenzy!" Shiki landed blow after blow on Jigan's body, not letting up for even a second. Jigan was physically stronger than him, but Shiki knew if he manipulated gravity in the correct way, he could easily turn the tide of battle in his favor. Shiki was about to deliver one final punch, it was going right for Jigan's face and then…it was caught. "Huh…!?"

Jigan had a number of bruises on his body from Shiki's onslaught, but he was able to laugh them off. "Oh yeah…you're definitely a Galatica…it's gonna feel really nice when I crush you." He started to bend Shiki's wrist backwards. Shiki growled in pain, and in the next instant, Jigan just gave the Demon King a fierce headbutt that knocked him back. Jigan then raised his hands, creating five lances of black lightning in front of him. "Thunderous Lance!" With no hesitation, he threw these lances forward towards his foe.

Shiki tumbled for a second, but caught himself in a crouched position. There was blood dripping from his forehead from that headbutt and he glared towards Jigan. "Gravity Field!" Shiki held his hands out, creating a field of gravity in front of, and around him to protect himself from the incoming lances of lightning. To his surprise, the lances fazed right through the field and continued to assault him.

"Crap…!" Shiki wasn't expecting that, so he had to hastily move out of the way. There was hardly any time to dodge, so four of the lances managed to graze him, ripping his clothes and tearing into his skin. One last hit his arm dead on and promptly exploded. "GAAH!" That hurt like hell, Shiki flipped and winced. He could still feel and use his arm, but it felt incredibly damaged after a hit like that.

"I'm just getting started; don't slow down on me yet, Demon King!" Jigan said while clenching his hand into a fist. This prompted a sudden bolt of lightning to drop down on Shiki.

Shiki was quick on the draw. He used his gravity to pull the large door he broke off when entering the room, and lifted it over his head. Even if this room was large, lightning always travelled to the highest point. He used the door as a lightning rod, and once the attack was over, he hurled it at Jigan full force vertically. It was as though Shiki was sending an iron wall directly at Jigan's face "Take this!"

This wasn't a maneuver Jigan was expecting. That door was larger than him, so he suddenly had to extend both hands out to catch it. "Oh, aren't you a clever one!" Jigan's praise would soon be founded, because Shiki leapt forward, leg first, using his gravity to his advantage. He had so much momentum; he kicked through the door, and Jigan's face while flying past him. "AH….!" Jigan felt that one; he stumbled back and nearly fell over.

Shiki landed on the ground, grinning after that attack. "Thanks."

"Ghhh…" Jigan growled and turned to face Shiki. He then rushed Shiki down, raising his leg up high when he was close. He was going to step on Shiki, but Shiki flew out of the way at the last second. Jigan's foot crushed the ground, but he grinned all the same. "Did you know that lightning doesn't just travel through the sky?"

"Huh?" Shiki looked back at Jigan, not immediately understanding his meaning at first. Then it hit him, literally. Lightning surged from the ground, catching Shiki midflight. "GAAAAH!" After an electrical shock like that, Shiki fell to the ground on his hands and knees, grimacing from that impact.

"That's the look I like to see!" Jigan was loving this. A fragment of the Black Moon Star made him THIS powerful!? If he found the rest of the Star, or even the Black Moon itself, he'd be unstoppable! "Now, let's see how you handle THIS!" Jigan raised his hands up, black lightning manifesting into the shape of a large hammer in his right hand. "MJOLNIR'S STRIKE!" Jigan then slammed this hammer down on the ground, sending multiple shockwaves of lightning towards Shiki.

"It's coming too fast…!" Shiki grit his teeth. He didn't have the time to dodge, so all he could do was block instead. Numerous bolts of lightning converged on his body, causing him to cry out in pain and agony. The brutal shock lasted several seconds until it died down. Shiki's body had smoke coming from it, but he was still conscious. Just panting and breathing heavily after an attack like that.

"…Wow." Jigan was legitimately surprised. "Most people drop dead after an attack like that…but I guess you aren't 'most people' at the end of the day! I'd be more worried if that was enough to finish you off!"

"I'm not…finished yet." Shiki was going to counter, but…he couldn't move. Not just that, but he couldn't even activate his Ether Gear?! This was different than the binding weakness that he and the others overcame together. "W-What?!"

"Ah, shocked, are ya?" Jigan said while slowly approaching the paralyzed Shiki. "That's my Ether Gear's little quirk. When opposing Ether Gear is exposed to a high enough charge, it short circuits for a bit. It usually takes me a lot of power to manage that against even a single person…but with this new power, it's just as easy as throwing a punch." Jigan was experimenting with his new powers and limits in this battle. So far, he enjoyed everything he was doing. He then gripped Shiki by his head, lifting the scowling Demon King up easily. "This is where the fun begins."

.

.

While Shiki and Jigan had their heated battle, Homura stumbled her way to the bridge. It was there that she saw Kleene, Jinn, and Laguna gathered. There was an unconscious Waltz off by the wall, and Tobias was still a puddle of water due to Laguna's Empire Ether. Kleene was the first one to notice her and waved. "Homura!"

"You guys…" Homura had a relieved smile on her lips. She couldn't fully relax yet, since they were in the heart of enemy territory, but this was one step closer to getting home. "I'm so very sorry for all the trouble I've caused you over the last few days!"

"Trouble?" Jinn crossed his arms and shook his head. "It's not your fault. The real question is: are you okay?"

"I've…been better." Homura admitted. She was still riddled from wounds with her battle against Waltz from days ago, and the injuries left from Blair's clawed arm. "I am being kept conscious by the adrenaline if I have to be honest."

"We should get you back to the Eden's Zero immediately then." Laguna said, putting his communicator on. "Hermit, how are things looking?"

"I'll have a new bridge up in a few minutes." Hermit replied.

"We should head back and get ready to disembark this ship then." Kleene said. "…How's Shiki doing?"

"I'm sure he'll catch up to us." Homura said. "Although…I am a little worried. I am not too caught up on this Black Moon, but Jigan has used that fragment you all found."

"He what!?" Kleene, Laguna, and Jinn all shouted in surprise.

"That must have been what that shockwave was…" Jinn said, looking in the direction Homura came.

"You fools…" Waltz feigned his defeated. Even though Jinn and Laguna managed to actually beat him, he didn't deem that important. What mattered was the final blow, since the battle between the Fiertia and Eden's Zero wasn't over yet. "Their guards are down…so I'll focus on taking out the weak link…" In this case, it was Homura. He was monitoring her condition while she was captive. She was in no condition to take a serious hit….he suddenly sprung forward with his sword. The flames were still out of commission because of Laguna's water, "HAAAAH!"

"…!" It happened in slow motion. Homura's instincts screamed and she turned around, managing to create her Soul Blade and block Waltz's strike. Due to her current condition, she ended up falling to the ground. "Ahh…!"

"You're still up!?" Jinn glared, while Kleene went to support Laguna. "We beat you already!"

"The fight isn't over yet!" Waltz said with a glare. Before anyone else could move, an explosion occurred on the ship. Shiki was seen flying through the corridor, and he slammed into Waltz. Waltz hit a wall, while Shiki stopped on the floor. "What the hell!?"

"Shiki!?" Jinn, Homura, Kleene, and Laguna shouted from surprise. Shiki had one eye clenched shut, panting heavily as his body was bruised and battered. His body was still in a state of paralytic shock, so he couldn't move or use his Ether Gear.

Jigan soon walked into the bridge, laughing. "Oh, this has just been great! With power like this, the other Oracaion Seis are as good as mine!"

Now the others could see what Homura was talking about. Jigan's power skyrocketed to the point they could feel his Ether. Static electricity filled the air the moment he stepped into the room, causing everyone's hair to standup on end. "This power…" Laguna grit his teeth.

"This isn't good." Jinn looked to Kleene. "We have to stop this guy in his tracks right now! Kleene!"

"I'm with you, Brother!" Kleene nodded. In a flash, the Rutherford siblings activated their Overdrives in an instant. They then rushed towards Jigan at the same time, preparing to attack him with all their might.

Jigan was aware of this but simply laughed, black lightning surging around his body. "Why don't all of you just sit down?" After he said that, a wave of black lightning exploded from his body. It caught Homura, Waltz, Shiki, Kleene, Jinn, and Laguna in it. Because of this, it deactivated Laguna's Empire Ether, turning Tobias back to normal…but he was also caught in the shock. With a massive discharge like this, not a single person was able to move or use Ether Gear. Jinn and Kleene stopped where they were and fell to the ground, paralyzed and in their normal state.

"H-He can shut down Ether Gear!?" Kleene gasped while on the ground.

"What the HELL is your problem!?" Tobias yelled at Jigan.

"You caught us in your grandstanding!" Waltz also yelled.

"Shut up, you two." Jigan shook his head dismissively at his crewmates. "I'm testing how far I can take this power. I would never be able to use a discharge that powerful normally. This fragment truly is incredible…but its power isn't limitless. Even with this fragment, I can't do something like that again…but if I had more…?" Jigan was not only drunk on power, but the mere idea of more power continued to increase his eye. "I gotta say, Homura. You were exceptionally good bait. I have you to thank for this."

"…." Homura's eyes went wide.

Jigan slowly approached the down Shiki, kicking him onto his back and standing over him, black lightning surging from his fists. "You've been taking some pretty hard hits so far! But let's see how long your stamina can last!" It was time to return the favor. Just as Shiki unleashed a flurry of blows upon him, Jigan was now doing the same. Lightning infused fist slammed into Shiki's body at a frightening pace. "Lightning Fist Frenzy!" He was petty enough to even take the attack name as well.

Nobody could move as Shiki let out grunts of pain upon being hit. Jigan was being relentless in his attacks, clearly not stopping until Shiki stopped moving under him. Homura's jaw dropped and her eyes began to water. "Is this my fault…?" She thought to herself. She tried so hard to move her body, but her condition simply did not allow it. "Am I going to watch someone I care about die again…?" First her mother left her…then her search for Valkyrie only gained her the knowledge that she did, then Creed died before her, Witch soon to follow only hours later…was Shiki going to follow that same fate…?

"Damn it! Come on, move…!" Jinn told himself, but he just couldn't. He couldn't even use wind to make himself move!

"I can't…" Kleene was also trying hard, but she was unable to.

"…." Laguna had no words, despite his efforts.

"He's really laying into him…" Tobias grunted, still pissed off that he was caught in the blast without a care in the world.

Hanabi limped towards the bridge, only to see what was happening. Her eyes were wide at the brutality of it all. "…." She didn't know what to do. Jigan was giving off an immense amount of power, and it didn't look like he planned on stopping. Granted….she used all her ether in her fight against Kleene, so what could she do?

Jigan gave Shiki enough punches, now rearing up one final one. "This is the end, Demon King!" And then…he brought it down with all his might.

"SHIKI!" Homura cried out. If things turned out for the worst, she would never stop blaming herself…

Shiki responded to Homura's call and his palm raised, catching Jigan's fist. It stopped it completely, much to everyone's surprise. "…Don't cry, Homura. I'm okay."

Jigan was awestruck that Shiki was moving. "The paralysis wore off already!? Well it's too late, I'll still just!" Jigan tried to punch him again, but Shiki also caught that fist as well. "What!?" Not just that…but Shiki's appearance started to change.

Shiki's hair turned white, horns sprouted from his head, and his arms were covered in dark markings. His left eye surged, simply because of the ether flowing from his body. "I already swore I wouldn't make my friends cry again, and I meant it." The members of the Fiertia were now witnessing the true strength of the Demon King. Before they could say anything, Shiki quickly pulled one of his hands back, then slammed his fist into Jigan's stomach.

Jigan was good at taking Shiki's punches. His size and stature allowed him to withstand those blows. But this punch? It was a completely different level than anything Shiki had thrown at him thus far. Jigan was hit so hard, he was flung from Shiki's grip and slammed into the furthest wall. "GWAAAAAH!" Jigan stumbled and coughed up some blood, holding his stomach while glaring at Shiki. "You little shit…!" Now he was getting angry.

Shiki turned to his crewmates and gave them a reassuring nod that everything was going to be okay. He then turned back to Jigan and started to walk towards him, every single step of his causing the floor to cave in under him. "You've done enough to my crew. That ends here." His eyes held the most ferocious glare one could muster. "This time…gravity's gonna crush you."

.

.

Hermit just finished connecting the Eden's Zero and the Fiertia again with a bridge that she could control. There was nothing to worry about when the other started to return, but there was one cause of concern that just entered this sector of the Aoi Cosmos. Numerous dots appeared on the radar. "Oh no…!" When she noticed, she started to panic a bit and spoke to everyone. "Guys, we have to finish this up and quickly! The Interstellar Union Army is approaching!"

.

.

Justice was in his starship…and he wasn't alone. There was a small fleet following him. It was short notice, but these forces were enough to subdue both the Eden's Zero and the Fiertia under the right command. "I've got you now, Eden's Zero."