Kirito's Team so Far
Komory Bat (Komory)
Magic
Confuse
Zero Gravity
Stat Boost
Dark Screen
Spirit Boost
Waking Dream
Sir Kyroo (Kyroo)
Attacks
Strike Raid
Stat Boost
Water Boost
Kirito woke up, diving towards a floating floating landmass from afar. He saw the gate he needed to enter through, and the task above it. "Defeat the Queen Buzzerfly." Kirito read, "Wonder what that is." No soon did Kirito ask did he get his answer.
Flying up to meet Kirito was a large Dream Eater that looked like a cross between a butterfly and a bee. It had large green antenna, a yellow and black face with red eyes and a glowing gem on its' forehead, and a puffy white neckline. Its' body and wings were mainly purple and black colored, with the Nightmare symbol on its' dress-like abdomen. Both its' hands and bottom were stingers.
"Guess you're the one I have to attack?" Kirito asked as the Queen Buzzerfly summoned smaller Buzzerflies to join her in battle, "Guess this means I have to whack the hive about!" Kirito dove at the small Buzzerflies, attempting to damage them, but they had a barrier in front that sent Kirito flying back. "Kay, can't get closer to the Queen at this speed, and I can't damage the drones head-on." Kirito summed up, "How do I deal with this?!"
(Insert 'Ignite' TV Size by Eir Aoi)
Without hesitating, Take the world of paradoxes,
(The scene opens with Kirito's face fading in from the left-hand side, his eyes opening as the symbol of the Original Keyblade wielders appear in the center. Kirito's face fades out as Asuna's face fades in on the right-hand side, opening her eyes as the Dream Eater Spirit symbol replaces the Original Keyblade wielders symbol.)
And shoot it with your hands
(Asuna's face fades out as Yui's and Leafa's faces fades in, back to back as they looked towards either side while Sora's crown pendant appeared between them. The crown shines brightly, then showing the title of 'Sword Art Kingdom: Falling Fantasy', with the Sword Art Kingdom symbol right behind it.)
In the warmth of fallen tears
We should've learned kindness
(The scene opens to Asuna standing on top of the school rooftops, looking out in the distance with a solemn expression. She looks down at the white Wayfinder in her hand, the ghostly image of Aqua passing by her. She closes her eyes as she clutches the Wayfinder tightly, then she looked seriously ahead, ready to proceed.)
So why do we keep hurting each other
And give birth to more hatred?
(Kirito is sitting on the porch outside his house, holding one of his kendo stick Keyblades he made in his hands, looking down at it with a serious expression. He then stands up and whips it around before stopping in his fighter's stance, as the ghostly image of Terra in his battle stance stood behind him.)
From the stinging pain I learn to be strong
(The first scene shows Gretinal at her desk, with Yui on one side, and Jackson, Latias and Cypress on the other, all looking at the screen. The next scene shows Yen Sid at his desk, with Donald, Goofy and Mickey on one side, and Sora and Riku on the other side.)
And gently blanket the future
(The next scene shows Leafa closing her eyes as she fall backwards into the black screen, only to be scooped up by the large hand of Young Xehanort. He waves his other hand forward as Heartless Oberon, Gouxus, Saïx and a black coat Recon stand around him, grinning maliciously. The screen distances from them to where Kirito and Asuna stood, angrily looking back as they charged.)
Without hesitating, Take the world of paradoxes,
(The scene next shows Kirito using Flowmotion to move around the city of Alne in Alfheim Online, taking out Nightmares that came at him, then slamming his Keyblade into the ground, causing a shockwave of energy that blasts away nearby Heartless.)
And shoot it with your hands
(Asuna appears leaping across the rooftops at high speeds with her Eaglider and Pegaslick at her side, unifying together into Dual Style: Bladecharge, and swinging her energy-extended Keyblade around, sending all Nightmares around her flying away.)
I ever so softly embrace, The sorrow that is covered in red tears
(The scene shifts to Asuna and Recon fighting with one another within the experimental lab at the top of the World Tree, Sora and Leafa's minds showing behind the two as they fought. Then it shows an open room within the top of the World Tree, and Saïx is going into Berserk mode as he faces Kirito, who roars in rage as he charges at him, determined to defeat him.)
Just as the ringing vibration, Marks the sound of the beginning
(The scene ends as Asuna and Kirito race forward towards the golden bird cage where Leafa was, surrounded by darkness and fast asleep, with Heartless Oberon and Gouxus standing in front of the locked gate, waiting for the two. Asuna and Kirito leapt at the two, producing their Keyblades to fight. Heartless Oberon and Gouxus produce their own weapons and leapt at the two, Oberon going after Kirito while Gouxus went after Asuna, and the frame freezes as they near each other, ready to attack.)
Kirito then saw the Queen fire off needles from it's stinger, which started to home in on him. "Oh, crap!" Kirito gasped, and he started spinning to form a shield and moved about. He managed to avoid getting hit by the needles, though the second to last one nearly got him.
He then noticed the Queen's arms glow, then the four drones glow violet, pointing their stingers upwards, and started spinning at Kirito. "Now she's sending her drones at me?!" Kirito cried out, seeing the drones drilling towards him. He avoided all the attacks, then heard the Queen call them back.
Kirito noticed the drones starting to come from behind, and avoided them, then seeing their backs having the same glowing gem as their Queen on her forehead. "Hmm, I wonder…" Kirito muttered, and he shot at one of the drones, hitting the gem on its' back. The drone went dead, and vanished. "Gotcha!" Kirito realized, now knowing the weak points. He went to another one as the Queen unleashed bright dust to blind Kirito, but he was able to endure the lack of vision and still hit his target.
The two remaining drones returned to their positions, facing forward at Kirito again. "Gotta wait for the opportunity to happen!" Kirito told himself as the Queen started firing more stingers at him. He dodged them with fast-act movements, now having a stronger sense of determination with knowing the weaknesses. The Queen ordered her drones to attack Kirito, but he dodged them as they passed by. When they came back, Kirito slashed the backs of the two final drones.
The Queen Buzzerfly got in close to attack Kirito with close-range shots from her stinger, but Kirito dashed right passed them, got to the forehead of the Queen, and struck it a few times before the Queen backed off. She summoned four more drones in front of her, and the battle repeated itself.
The Queen did the same pattern as before; first attacking with needles shot from her stinger, then ordering her drones to drill at Kirito. Now that Kirito knew the algorithm, he was able to dodge the attacks with ease, then retaliate with attacking the backs of the drones as they attempted to fly back to their positions. This time, Kirito was able to dispatch all four drones before they got into positions.
The Queen tried to attack Kirito again by getting in close with attacks, but Kirito knocked the attacks aside with his Keyblade, then slashed at the gem on top of the Queen, finally breaking it. The Queen clutched its' forehead, in agonizing pain as it tried to turn and flee, but it started tumbling down far away from Kirito until it disappeared from view.
"I'm glad this flight's over." Kirito stated, seeing the gate opening in front of him, "Time to see what this new world has in store for me!" Kirito dashed through the gate, and was bathed in a warm light as he passed right through, going into the next world.
When Kirito opened his eyes, he found himself standing on top of, what looked like, a floating island fortress in an atmosphere similar to the one he use to travel through in the Gummi Ship, only darker and more ominous, and with lightning striking around it. He was at the front gate of the fortress, columns with glowing blue balls of light shining on top of them, with a large entrance door. The entire building looked like it was built into a mountain.
"What a cheery atmosphere." Kirito stated in a sarcastic tone, looking high above, seeing the bright purple lightning striking down here and there. He looked ahead, seeing the only path he could take. "I wonder who would own a place like this in the middle of space?" Kirito asked himself, pulling out his two Spirit cards and summoning Komory and Kyroo to his side, who cried out as they appeared, "Only one way to find out."
As soon as Kirito took a few steps forward, he was met with several Nightmare Dream Eaters that came in front of him. He pulled out his Keyblade, and he and his Spirits started taking out the Nightmares left and right, destroying them all.
As soon as he was done, Kirito looked to one side and saw a Portal that was in between a couple of columns. "Another one of those Portals already?" Kirito asked as he stepped forward, "Might as well take the challenge within it."
Kirito placed a hand on the Portal, feeling the presence of the person dreaming inside. In his mind, he saw the image of a young woman with long, blue hair that fell down her back, and blue eyes to match. "So the dreamer's name is Shiida." Kirito understood, backing off and reading the task he had to do, "And it says I mustn't use magic attacks. Easy enough."
Kirito readied himself as several salamander-like Dream Eaters surrounded an bird-like Dream Eater with a large mouth for a belly. "I'll check them out after I defeat them." Kirito told himself as he unleashed his Strike Raid technique at the bird, hitting it, then calling his Keyblade back.
The salamanders, which he found out were called Toximanders, were slow movers but very poisonous Nightmares. The bird, known as Ducky Goose, was just plain strange, slobbering with a long tongue from its' mouth, chasing after Kirito with firecrackers, and trying to bite at him. Nevertheless, Kirito, Komory and Kyroo all worked together to take out the competition without Kirito utilizing any magic spells.
When the battle was finished, Kirito panted slightly as he fell back, having been poisoned by one of the Toximanders. Fortunately, he had a Panacea on hand, and used it to heal himself of the poison. "That was rough." Kirito sighed, "But at least we did it." The Portal shined brightly, then disappeared as munny and Dream Pieces fell all over, and a new Dream Eater recipe was given to Kirito.
Kirito flipped open the book, seeing what he had faced before, along with the new Dream Eater he could create; 'Woeflower'. "Guess I'll create this thing." Kirito decided, standing up and taking all the Dream Pieces he gained before getting to work. He placed down Troubling Fancies and Wondrous Figments he gained, along with sacrificing his Confuse spell to add more magical strength. He backed off as he placed a card down.
"Dream Eater, beckon to my side." Kirito chanted, "Come forth, and fight with me against Nightmares!" The ingredients spun around and came together, then there was a flash of light, a puff of smoke, and Kirito's new Dream Eater appeared.
The Woeflower was similar to Asuna's Wheeflower, but more gloomy. It had purple-spiked horns on its' head and purple eyes. Its' arms were not leafy, but more like closed, thorn-shaped buds. It was mostly comprised of purple, with light blue and yellow parts.
"Great to have you aboard the team." Kirito greeted the Woeflower, "I think I'll just call you 'Woe'. Does that work for you?" Woeflower chirped in response, then was sent back into its' card. Kirito was confused as to what happened until he looked through the book and realized the rules of summoning Dream Eaters out.
"Guess that means I'll just have to switch out my team depending on the occasion." Kirito understood, pulling out the three Spirit cards, "I think I'll give Woe a go while Kyroo takes a break." He set up the team, and set out towards the door. He opened it up, and entered through.
The halls of the building were dimly lit with magical energy. Despite the abrupt attack from the entrance, the halls were a bit more peaceful, and he only got attacked a couple times. Woe was pretty strong, utilizing dark-based attacks to take down the opponents. The only sound, apart from Kirito's battles, was the sound of thunder from outside. Plus, Kirito had a funny feeling he was being watched by someone.
Kirito reached the end of another hallway, and found himself in a large, circular room. It had stone columns and purple curtains surrounding the walls, with other closed hallways that led to other parts of the castle and a red carpet going down the center of the room from where Kirito stood. The only light in the room came from a wide radius pool of light shining from an unknown source coming below.
Kirito looked around the area, wondering what this place was suppose to be. "Where did you come from?" a woman's voice demanded. Kirito turned towards the opposite side of the pool of light. The red carpet continued on towards the other side, leading up a small platform that had a small round table and a throne on it, with a woman sitting on top of the throne.
She looked about fifty, with dark eyes and long, dark hair and bangs that covered her left eye, and a tiara-shaped mark on her forehead. She wore a long plum-colored robe that showed fell to the floor, but it exposed her cleavage, a diamond-cut hole showing her midriff, along with her hips. Two black belts with silver rings were held in place underneath her chest and around her waist. She also had on a long black cape over that with a gold buckle holding it above her chest. She also wore long purple armguards that had purple jewels with gold frames at her wrists.
Kirito saw the woman shift her position on her throne, looking down at Kirito with a curious and sinister stare. "How did you manage to discover my Garden of Time?" the woman demanded, "With my powers, no one should've been able to discover it."
"If you're implying I discovered this place on purpose, then you're mistaken." Kirito retorted, "I simply dropped in without knowing where I would go."
The woman continued to look down at Kirito, then smirk slightly. She had an ominous glow to her that made her smirk be more malicious than kind. "Tell me, what is your name?" she asked him.
"Kirito." he replied, "And yours?"
"I'm Precia Testarossa." the woman answered, straightening herself properly, "The Garden of Time is my domain, one of which you should not even be apart of."
"Sorry for intruding. I didn't know this floating rock was taken." Kirito apologized, though keeping himself at the ready in case he needed to fight. Something about this woman did not settle well with Kirito.
"I don't think so." Precia retorted, "Since you've discovered this place, I am not allowing you leave it alive!"
Precia waved her hand forward, and several Nightmare Dream Eaters appeared right around Kirito. "Dream Eaters!" Kirito gasped, looking around, "She was able to summon them?!" He pulled out his Keyblade as he, Komory and Woe got ready to fight.
Kirito heard his Dream Eaters cry out to him, and he turned to see them ready to go for a Link Style. "Both of you, huh?" Kirito questioned, "Okay, let's try it!" Kirito concentrated as he, Komory and Woe linked their hearts together. "Dual Action! Chaos Snake!" Kirito shouted, and his Dream Eaters gathered light into his Keyblade as Kirito started to float a bit off the ground.
Kirito then unleashed a powerful beam of light with a dark aura surrounding it at the Nightmares, blasting back any that got too close to him with its' power. Kirito could only be in one place, but was able to turn all around his position in order to attack the Nightmares. In his last attack, Kirito twirled his Keyblade upward, and unleashed a wide radius blast of energy all around him, destroying all remaining Nightmares surrounding him. Kirito's feet touched the ground again, and he placed his Keyblade away while Woe and Komory disappeared back into their cards.
Kirito turned to Precia, who wasn't interested in Kirito's battle. She was looking at a tall, filigree designed framework. Kirito looked to it as well, and noticed a circular hole in the design, and a hologram screen within it, showing a battle happening between two girls in battle garments and magical staffs. The girls couldn't have been older than nine or ten years old each. Unknown to Kirito, it was the battle between Nanoha and Fate.
"What, my fight with the Dream Eaters isn't good enough for you?" Kirito asked the ignorant woman.
"Yours isn't as important." Precia corrected. Kirito was confused as he looked at the screen. He saw Fate shoot her Phalanx Shift at the bound Nanoha, but come out only slightly battered from the attack. Nanoha then unleashed her Divine Buster at Fate, who endured the attack with a magical barrier. Fate's clothes were ripped in most parts, but she was barely hanging in there.
"What a pathetic sight." Precia sneered, "Fate should've gotten rid of that mage a long time ago."
"Fate?" Kirito questioned, looking at the screen, "You mean that blonde, twin-tailed girl?"
"Yes, her." Precia answered, "I raised her like a daughter, but all she had ever done was disappoint me. What a useless child." Kirito didn't like what she was saying about Fate, regardless of not knowing her.
Kirito looked to the screen again, and saw Nanoha charge up and fire the Starlight Breaker at Fate. The attack consumed Fate in its' wake, and when it died down, Fate fell into the sea below, with Nanoha diving in after her, pulling her back up to the surface again.
Precia looked away from the screen, her nostrils flaring. She then raised a hand, and a dark aura surrounded her. Kirito wondered what she was planning to do until from out of a dark smoke, another Dream Eater appeared. It was the Commantis. "Retrieve the Jewel Seeds from Fate." Precia ordered the Dream Eater, "She is of no use to me. Do what you must to take them from her." The Commantis understood and disappeared, going to the battlefield.
"What do you plan on doing to Fate?" Kirito asked the woman as she stood up, summoning her staff.
"You should be more worried about what I plan to do to you!" Precia retorted, and she pointed her staff at Kirito. She unleashed scattering bolts of energy at Kirito, who tried to endure, but was sent flying into the wall away from her. Kirito fell to the ground after, but rose to his feet, moaning in pain from what he just been dealt with.
Kirito was ready to fight Precia full on, but noticed that she started to cough up blood. 'I haven't even hit her, yet.' Kirito thought to himself, 'Or is she suffering from some kind of condition?'
Suddenly, nine small, diamond-shaped blue gems surrounded Precia as she fell into her seat again. "Damn it. My dimensional magic." she moaned, "The Bureau's finally discovered my location. They'll be here soon."
She looked to the screen, where Nanoha was holding the barely conscious Fate. "I think it's time I put an end to this." she muttered, staring at Fate with a look of loathing.
"What are you talking about?!" Kirito demanded, readying himself.
Precia looked to Kirito, seeing him standing there. "You don't know what you have gotten yourself into, little man." she warned him, "But I won't let you interfere! Alicia and I will go to Al Hazard!" Kirito was not even more confused than before. Alicia? Al Hazard? None of it made sense.
Just then, the doors to the throne room barged open, and a couple dozen people in long robes, chest armor and wielding magical staffs entered the room, surrounding Precia. Leading them was a boy in his early teens, wearing black garments with shoulder spikes. His hair was messy, with damp spikes in front.
"My name is Chrono Harlaown. I'm with the Time-Space Administration Bureau." the boy introduced himself, "Precia Testarossa, you are under arrest for violating time-space administration laws. We would ask that you drop all weapons you have and come with us quietly." Chrono turned to see Kirito standing there. "That includes you, too." he added, "If you are here, then you must be in league with Precia Testarossa."
"What? No, I came here by complete coincidence!" Kirito argued.
While Chrono stood at the door, the magic soldiers started to scatter about, securing the area. Four of them surrounded Kirito, their staffs pointing at him. Kirito wasn't sure what to do, so he raised his hands in surrender. Some of the soldiers surrounded Precia's throne. Others went to other parts of the room. However, it was when some went to a room to the right of Precia's throne did Kirito notice the sinister glare she made, like they were intruding on some secret she didn't want claimed.
Precia raised her staff, and unleashed a wide-radius burst that sent the soldiers surrounding her flying backwards, toppling to the ground. The soldiers surrounding Kirito turned to Precia. "Secure her!" Chrono ordered the soldiers as she raced to the room she did not want the soldiers to enter. The soldiers followed in pursuit.
Kirito, ignorant of the soldiers around him, raced after them, hoping to stop Precia. "Stop, you!" Chrono ordered, firing a Snipe Shot from a staff he carried, but Kirito deflected the attack with his Keyblade, sending it into the wall near Chrono.
"I'm trying to help here!" Kirito shouted back at Chrono, and he went after Precia.
"He deflected my attack without even looking?!" Chrono gasped, shocked at Kirito's quick deflection.
When he entered within, he found a long, narrow room with large columns aligned with the walls. There were also, what looked like, tree roots scattered on the floor and wrapped around the columns. However, what Kirito saw up ahead was startling. Several magic soldiers surrounded Precia, who was standing in front of the source of light in the room; a large, cylindrical tube of glowing liquid attached to a gold pedestal. Inside the tube was a girl with long blonde hair, naked, and curled up in a ball, with no signs of life coming from her. Kirito's immediate reaction was recalling the girl that he had just seen fighting before on Precia's screen.
"What the heck? That girl… Why is she in there?" Kirito asked.
Chrono raced after Kirito and was about to attack him until he saw the tube, and gasped in surprise. "That must be her." Chrono understood, "Precia's real daughter."
Kirito looked to Chrono in confusion. "Real daughter?" he echoed, "But I just saw someone like her fighting against that brown-haired girl."
On the Arthra, the Bureau's inter-dimensional spaceship, Lindy, Nanoha, Yuuno, Alph and Fate were all witnessing the same thing that Chrono was seeing on a screen. The sight surprised everyone, but none more so that Fate, who wore a white dress after her damaged attire, and had her arms shackled.
"You keep away from my Alicia!" Precia hollared at the soldiers, who readied their staffs.
"Ali..cia?" Fate repeated, stunned at seeing a look-a-like of her.
Chrono waved his hand forward and ordered, "Fire!" They shot beams of energy at Precia, who placed up a barrier without moving, nullifying their attacks.
"Be silent!" she sneered, and she waved her hand forward.
Kirito looked up to see purple bolts of lightning rain starting to rain down. "Look out!" he shouted, producing his Keyblade. The lightning struck all around the area, hitting everyone in sight.
When the lightning attack died down, Kirito and Chrono were the ones who weren't on the floor. Kirito had just used his Keyblade to endure the attack, but he was surprised to see that Kyroo had popped out of his card, using its' lilypad shield to protect him and Chrono from attacks as well. The attack heavily damaged Kyroo, and he fell to the ground.
"Kyroo!" Kirito gasped, racing to his Dream Eater's side, "Why did you do that?!" Kirito pulled out a potion, raised Kyroo's head, and poured the liquid into its' mouth. Chrono looked at Kirito, surprised and relieved that Kirito and his Spirit saved him from the attack.
Precia lowered her hand, and turned to the tube where Alicia slept. She walked up and placed her hands onto the tube, her expression softened as she gazed at her daughter. "There's no time. I only have nine of the Jewel Seeds. I don't know if it will take us to Al Hazard or not, but it will have to do."
Precia glared up at Chrono and Kirito, still kneeling down after healing up Kyroo. "It's all over." she muttered in a harsh tone, "I've spent years trying to revive my daughter. And all that time, I've been treating a useless counterfeit copy as my daughter."
"A counterfeit?" Kirito gasped, "You mean that girl in the tube is…"
"That's not the same girl as the one you saw." Chrono told Kirito, "Fate and Alicia are two different people. The one in that tube is Alicia, Precia's real daughter. Fate is actually a copy of that girl, created by Precia Testarossa." Kirito was even more stunned. She was able to create life?
Precia continued to speak, only she spoke to one person in the Arthra. "Are you listening, Fate?" she asked her, "I went through all the trouble of giving you Alicia's memories, but you were still not the same. All that you are is a cheap toy, a fake."
"Years ago, Precia was part of a secret project that went horribly wrong, which caused the death of her daughter." Chrono explained to everyone in general, "The project was known as 'Project Fate', and it was suppose to create the ultimate familiar, one that would surpass others. The result of her experiment became Fate Testarossa, which she named the project after." Kirito was lost for words, but his fists were curled as he looked down at Precia.
"I'm quite impressed you know that much about my 'project'." Precia chuckled, "But it is all true. The whole project was a failure, my daughter died, and her replacement was a complete waste. Alicia's smile was brighter, and she was ever so much kinder than you, Fate. She may have been selfish at times, but she always obeyed me. Understand, Fate? All you ever were was a fake Alicia. And I don't need you anymore. You are free to go, you fake!"
"Shut up!" Kirito shouted at Precia, infuriated at how she was treating Fate.
Inside the Arthra, Nanoha was also pleading her to stop saying that. Fate was silent, petrified, and unable to take it all in. All Precia could do was laugh at this.
"You want to know something?" she asked Fate, "Ever since I created you, ever since you thought you were my daughter, I have hated you so much."
Those words hit Fate hard. She dropped her triangular piece she used to transform, and the gem on it shattered the moment it hit the floor. Fate's eyes went blank, and she fell to her knees, her heart broken.
"Wake up, Fate!" Nanoha cried out to her. She didn't reply. The only thing that came out of her were the leftover tears in her eyes.
From inside the Garden of Time, Precia's laugh became maniacal. Kirito whipped out his Keyblade, and charged at Precia, his eyes enraged with fury. "What kind of a devil are you?!" Kirito demanded, his Keyblade glowing as he unleashed his Sonic Leap Sword Skill. The attack connected with the barrier Precia created, and Kirito attempted to force right through it. However, Precia unleashed a shockwave of energy that sent Kirito flying backwards, hitting Chrono in the process and knocking both of them to the floor.
Precia raised her arms up, and the area started to shake all around them, caused by the energy from an unknown source.
From inside the Arthra, someone was crying, "There's a massive amount of Class A magic activity happening from inside the Garden, and it just keeps on increasing!"
"Precia Testarossa, what are you doing in there?!" Lindy barked.
"The Garden of Time is of no use to me, anymore." Precia answered, turning to her daughter's tube. The binding around it unveiled itself, and using her magical powers, Precia made the tube float behind her as she started walking out of the room. Kirito and Chrono got to their feet again, and had to stabilize themselves with the shaking ground.
"We're leaving, so don't try to stop me!" Precia warned everyone, summoning the Jewel Seeds and activating them all around her, "Come, Alicia. Let us go to the forgotten capital of Al Hazard!" She started maniacally laughing as the tremors around them were increasing.
"Al Hazard?! You're crazy!" Chrono shouted over the tremors.
"What in the world is that?!" Kirito demanded. Precia didn't respond to them. Instead, she floated into the air, with Alicia's tube behind her and the Jewel Seeds around both of them. She then disappeared from view in a flash of light.
"No! She's getting away!" Chrono snarled.
"Don't worry, Chrono." Lindy called out to him and Kirito, "Precia Testarossa has only retreated further into the Garden of Time. However, the tremors are making it impossible for us to directly send you to her. You will have to make your way there on foot." Lindy then addressed Kirito as she continued, "You there, young man. What is your name?"
"It's Kirito." Kirito responded, "Listen, I'm sorry for intruding on this arrest, but I can't let someone like that get away with what she had said to Fate. Speaking of which, where is she?"
"She's on the Arthra, but she has fallen unconscious." Lindy answered, "Precia's words affected her greatly." Kirito closed his eye, angry at Precia.
"Captain, what do you wish to do with Kirito?" Chrono asked, "We do not know if he's in league with Precia Testarossa or not."
"He has not shown any signs that he is in league with Precia, so I believe we can trust him. Plus, the weapon he wields should help us here." Lindy assured Chrono, "Listen up, Kirito. If you truly want to help us arrest Precia Testarossa, then I won't stop you from assisting. However, I must ask that you follow Chrono and my orders while you are here. Is that understood?"
"Count on it!" Kirito answered.
"Very good." Lindy understood, "I shall have Nanoha, Yuuno and Mrs. Alph will join you three shortly. Just keep going further into the Garden of Time."
"Yes, Captain!" Chrono understood, then turned to Kirito, "Let's go, Kirito." Kirito nodded in understanding, and the two took off further into the building.
Kirito and Chrono charged further into the Garden of Time, Kyroo and Woe joining on their run. The Nightmare population around the area increased greatly, probably due to the surplus of energy around the area. Plus, there were large gaps with black splotches throughout the pathway that Chrono said were Imaginary Planes, that once you fall into one of them, you won't be able to get out, even with magic.
According to Chrono, the Jewel Seeds weren't the only thing causing the tremors and imaginary planes. Precia had also created reactors that were build similar to the Jewel Seeds, but were much more unstable.
"We have to hurry up!" Chrono ordered Kirito, "These dimensional tremors are incredibly powerful. If we don't retrieve the Jewel Seeds from Precia and shut down the generator in the Garden in thirty minutes, it will cause a hole to rip in the dimension."
"Yeah, I don't like the sound of that!" Kirito replied.
As Kirito used Flowmotion to get over to a higher platform quickly, something came to mind. "This might not be the best time to ask, but mind telling me what the heck this Al Hazard place is that Precia's so interested in?"
As Chrono got next to him, he answered, "It's a long lost capital that's suppose to contain enormous scientific and magical advancements compared to other worlds. In other words, it is suppose to create miracles most believed impossible. Some say Al Hazard contains a way to rewind time or revive someone back from the dead."
"That does sound tempting." Kirito stated, "But I get the feeling it is too good to be true."
"Exactly my point." Chrono replied, "The place is a mere rumor, a myth. No one knows it even exists."
"So you're telling me that she's gonna cause cataclysmic destruction all for the sake of a myth?!" Kirito summed up, "She's insane! There's no way we're gonna let her get away with this!"
"My point, exactly." Chrono agreed, "We should get moving if we want to stop her."
Just as the two barged through a door, they heard a young girl's voice cry out, "Chrono!" Kirito and Chrono turned to see three characters coming up to meet them. One of them was the young girl with brown hair and small twintails, wearing her mage attire. The second was a boy the same age as the girl, with green eyes and tan hair, wearing a mage's attire and a cape. The third was a teenager girl with orange hair that fell in two parts, blue eyes, and wore a skimpy outfit, though she also had wolf ears and a tail. The trio were Nanoha, Yuuno and Alph.
"Good, you've made it." said Chrono as they arrived, "Just to let you know, this is Kirito. He's helping us on this mission to capture Precia Testarossa."
"Wish we could greet one another, but we don't have the luxury for that." Kirito told the trio.
"Agreed." Yuuno replied, "So how should we work things out?"
"You and Nanoha should go to the top floor and seal the reactor." Chrono ordered them, pointing to the stairs that led above, "Meanwhile, Kirito, Alph and I will go find Precia." Alph came to Kirito's side as the two teams divided.
Suddenly, there was an abundance of Nightmare Dream Eaters that appeared in front of them, including a few Zolephants. "We'll clear a path for you!" Chrono told Nanoha and Yuuno, with Kirito and Alph at his side.
"Be careful!" Nanoha told the three. They nodded in response, and Kirito led the attack with a Strike Raid, hitting the targets in front.
Kirito, Alph and Chrono split up as they started taking down the Dream Eaters like crazy. Yuuno and Nanoha used the confusion to escape to the stairs. The trio's attacks were so destructive, that in mere moments, a large smoke cloud surrounded the scene where the battle was taking place.
Kirito had just finished taking out a couple Tama Sheep with his Spirits, but was worn from the continuous fighting. "Gotta…regain myself here." Kirito panted. As he took a breather, he noticed something in the shadows of the smoke. He got ready to fight, but what he wasn't ready for was who was behind it.
"Oh, the irony of it all." the figure spoke, and Kirito was stunned. He knew that voice. Sure enough, when the man came into view, Kirito became fully aware of who the man was. Although he wore the Organization XIII's cloak, his head was the same. It was Heartless Oberon.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Kirito gasped.
"Isn't it interesting how that even if you can create a exact duplicate of another person, the creator would be able to tell the difference?" Oberon asked, "I mean, in this world, you can just recreate a person's appearance, have the same memories, but they still wouldn't be the same. You can never create an exact duplicate of yourself."
"Why don't you get straight to the point!" Kirito barked back.
"My point is that woman is unable to love what she had made, no matter how much Fate loved her." Oberon answered, "All that love could not reach a closed heart like her's, who only wants what she had lost. I get the feeling you and Precia are a lot alike; Chasing after an impossible goal, and ignoring the hearts that call out to you in the process. By the time you hear them, they can no long be able to speak to you again."
"That's a lie!" Kirito barked at Oberon.
"Kirito!" shouted Chrono's voice from behind.
Kirito looked back, then heard Oberon chuckle, and he turned to watch him back away into a portal he made. "Is it really a lie I am telling?" he asked, "Are you positive you haven't ignored other people's hearts? Cause I hear a heart crying out to you, and you can't even hear it."
"What do you mean?!" Kirito demanded as Oberon stepped into the portal, and disappeared from view.
Just then, Chrono and Alph appeared from out of the smoke, coming to Kirito's side. "Who were you talking to?" Alph asked him.
Kirito paused for a second, thinking about Oberon's last words. "It's nothing." Kirito answered, then asked, "Chrono, can I speak to someone from inside that ship of your's?"
"If you mean the Arthra, then yes." Chrono responded, "Anyone in particular?" Kirito thought about Oberon's words as he said, "Let me say something to Fate. I have a message to give her."
Inside the Arthra, Fate was laying back in a medical bed, regaining the light in her eyes, but still in despair for what happened to her. She kept thinking about her mother, wishing she would smile at her, despite all the punishment she had done to her. Even now, she still wanted to be with her mother, even if she threw her away.
"Fate, can you hear me?" Kirito called out to her. Fate shifted herself in the bed, and saw Kirito, Chrono and Alph standing there, looking up at the screen. "You don't know me, but my name is Kirito." Kirito introduced himself, "Listen, I have seen and heard all that Precia said about you. I realize you must be hurting really badly." Fate looked back at Kirito's face, her look expressing how right he was.
"You may have been a copy of Alicia, but you still wanted to be accepted for who you were, right? That's what you were trying to get from Precia, was acceptance." Kirito continued, "But no matter how much you tried, she wouldn't give you that, would she?" Fate's eyes watered with tears, frustrated that she wasn't able to obtain that.
"You don't have to worry, though." Kirito assured Fate, "You do have people that care about you, right? You have someone who accepts you as an individual."
"He's right!" Alph agreed, "I care for you, Fate! It doesn't matter what you are, you're still my master and someone I love!"
"Alph…" Fate muttered.
"She isn't the only one!" called out another voice. It was Nanoha, flying up the tower, taking down Dream Eaters. "Fate, you have always shown a sad, lonely expression in your eyes." Nanoha told her, "I wanted to be your friend, so that's why I kept calling out to you. No matter how many times we fought, I still wanted to be your friend!"
Fate sat up in her bed, tears pouring down her face after hearing Nanoha's words of encouragement.
"Fate, we may not know one another, but I do know this much." Kirito told her, "You can't run away from the truth; that you are not Precia's real daughter. Instead, use that knowledge you gained, and begin a new life that was made for you! However, if a part of your heart is still saying you want to be accepted by her, then be around people that consider you family, like Alph and Nanoha, and confront her. Shout with all your heart that you want to be accepted by your mother. Make her listen!"
Fate paused for a second, thinking about Kirito's words. She then stood up and held out her broken triangular piece, which was named 'Bardiche'. "I do want to be accepted by my mother." she muttered, "That's why I want to keep moving forward, cause my life hasn't even started."
Her Bardiche glowed brightly, taking on its' staff form, which was filled with cracks at the head. "We don't want it to end like this, don't you, Bardiche?" Fate asked her staff, placing her forehead on the head of the staff.
"YES, SIR." Bardiche responded. Fate's expression got serious as she concentrated. Her hands glowed brightly with yellow energy, and her staff glowed brightly. In mere seconds, the light shattered off the staff, revealing it completely restored. "RECOVERY." Bardiche confirmed.
"I now know what to do in order to start living my new life." Fate told herself as her body glowed brightly, and she now wore her battle garments. A magic circle appeared underneath her feet, and she disappeared from the room.
Kirito waited to hear a response from the Arthra, but wasn't sure if she was able to listen. He got his answer when Fate reappeared in front of Kirito, Alph and Chrono by teleportation. It surprised Chrono, but Alph seemed overjoyed. "Fate, you're okay!" she cried, racing to her master and hugging her.
"Sorry for making you worry so much, Alph." Fate apologized, "I now know what I have to do in order to live a new life." She looked at Kirito, then answered, "I'll tell my mother that my past is gone, and that I want a future, with her accepting me as her daughter!" Kirito smiled and nodded.
Just then, a Zolephant appeared out of the smoke, trumpeting as it became red in rage. "Let's go then, Fate!" Kirito declared, readying his Keyblade.
Fate prepared her Bardiche. "GET SET." the staff stated. "Thunder Rage!" Fate shouted, unleashing a storm of lightning at the Nightmare. Kirito roared in determination as he threw his Keyblade in a Strike Raid. The two attacks united as one as they struck the Zolephant, completely defeating it. Kirito caught his Keyblade again as it came back, and turned to Fate, smirking. Fate nodded in response.
"Chrono, I hope you don't mind the extra pair of hands." Kirito told the black-clothed boy.
"By regulations, I would be against this." Chrono warned Kirito, "However, under the circumstances, and what I believe Nanoha would do, I think I'll make an acceptation." Kirito, Chrono, Alph and Fate stood together as they saw the door in the distance of the large room. "Let's go arrest Precia Testarossa together!" Chrono declared.
As they made it to the door, Kirito pulled out his Spirit Cards, and pulled up each of their Link Boards. Considering the amount of fighting he had done, there was a lot he could unlock on each board. He had gathered about 400 Link Points in total for each Spirit.
From Komory, Kirito increased his magic speed twice, increased his magic strength, unlocked the Drain Dive technique, gained resistance to confusion, increased his attack speed twice, and increased resistance to dark attacks.
From Kyroo, Kirito gained a boost to healing magic and water-based attacks, a boost to attack speed, resistance to water-based magic three times over, a boost in attack strength, and resistance to stop magic.
From Woe, Kirito gained access to the Poison and Sleepra spell and another Drain Dive technique, increased his magic speed and attack speed twice, increased resistance to dark attacks, and gained the Treasure Magnet ability, which allowed him to attract monster drops straight into his hands.
"Now I'm ready to take on Precia for real, this time." Kirito stated, pulling out his Command Pad. He exchanged his Spark Dive with one of his Drain Dive techniques, allowing himself for a healing spell of some kind, and exchanged his Zero Gravity spell with the Sleepra spell. This meant his attacks were Sleepra, Drain Dive, Sonic Leap, Fire and Strike Raid.
"I've never seen a person set up their attack strength in such a way." Chrono pointed out, "Just who are you?"
"Just your everyday Keyblade wielder. Nothing else." Kirito replied, "Now hurry! We have to find Precia." With the team prepared, they entered inside the doors, drawing closer to their destination.
Inside the deepest part of the Garden of Time, Precia was on a ledge, surrounded by imaginary planes, clinging onto Alicia's tube. The nine Jewel Seeds were also right next to her, glowing brightly as they continued to feed to the dimensional tremors. The withered trees and floor were broken and warped, but stable.
The shaking from the dimensional tremors were going off, and Precia could hear the sounds of the battles between the heroes and the Nightmares behind her. "They're almost here, but it's too late." Precia stated, turning to her deceased daughter, "Isn't that right, Alicia?" Alicia lifeless body didn't respond. Precia began to sob as she fell to her knees. One way or another, it was over for her.
Kirito, Alph and Kyroo led the attack in the front lines with their close-range combat. Fate, Chrono and Komory were assisting from behind, sending long-range attacks for support. Kirito's Drain Dive was now more useful than before, since he now healed himself every time he used it. The Sleepra spell was also extremely useful, since it placed all the Nightmares to sleep for a short period of time, making them easy prey.
"We're nearing the deepest part of the Garden of Time!" Alph told the team as they ran.
"I can tell. The floors are getting more warped, and there are more imaginary planes than before!" Kirito noticed.
"Not to mention the dimensional tremors are getting worse." Chrono added, "I hope Nanoha has taken care of the main generator."
Within minutes, the team found themselves blasting through a door, and into a highly distorted room. At the back bottom part of the room was where Precia stood, holding her daughter's tube. She looked back to see who entered the room. "So the fake decides to return." she sneered, seeing Fate at the top.
Kirito and Fate started walking into the room, leaving Chrono and Alph standing at the blasted doorway, preventing Precia to escape. The tremors that shook the room were starting to die down, then they stopped altogether. "What is this?" Precia demanded, looking about, "Why have the dimensional tremors stopped?"
"This is Captain Lindy speaking." Lindy spoke out to everyone, "Nanoha and her team have sealed the Garden of Time's generator core. I am sustaining the remaining energy, but the Garden of Time is about to collapse on itself."
"Impossible!" Precia gasped, "My strongest monster is guarding the generator. How was that stupid girl able to defeat it?!"
Kirito paused for a second, somehow knowing the answer. 'Asuna must've taken care of that.' he thought to himself, smiling.
"Precia Testarossa, we have stopped your dimensional tremor from happening, and sealed the generator core." Lindy continued, "We now have you surrounded, led by one of our finest enforcers. You caused all this trouble for the sake of trying to reach the lost capital of Al Hazard. That place is nothing but a myth. It's all over for you."
"No!" Precia shouted, "It is never over! Al Hazard lies between the dimensions. Once I tear a hole in the dimension, the lost capital will be within reach, and then Alicia and I will venture forth into it. I can erase the mistakes that never should happen. I can revive Alicia again! I'll create a brand new future for the two of us!"
"Listen to yourself!" Kirito barked at her, "You're causing a lot of pain to people, gambling everything for the sake of a legend that no one believes exists, and for what? To rewrite the past, making it the way you want it to be?"
"Nothing's ever the way it's suppose to be!" Chrono followed Kirito's statement, "How dare you try to undo something that can't be undone. It has always been like this, and it will always be like this for everyone, including you!"
"You've been so blind and ignorant to everyone and everything around you, you fail to notice someone reaching out to you, wanting to connect their heart with you." Kirito indicated, waving a hand to Fate, "Why won't you accept reality, and accept her as your daughter?!"
"Mother, please…" Fate muttered.
"How dare you call me your mother!" Precia sneered, waving her staff towards her. She shot a blast of purple lightning at Fate, who was too shocked to move.
"Fate!" Alph cried out, racing towards her. Kirito stepped in front of the line of fire, and unleashed his Strike Raid technique, which was sent quicker and stronger than before, thanks to the upgrades he made from his Spirits. The spinning Keyblade connected with the lightning, and it sent the bolts flying everywhere, but not hitting Kirito or Fate. Both attacks stopped, and Kirito recalled his Keyblade back into his hand.
(Cue KHII OST 'The Encounter')
"I already told you that you are no daughter of mine, and that you are free to go." Precia reminded Fate in a harsh tone, waving her staff to one side, "If you still don't understand, then I'll have no choice but to eliminate what I had made!" Her body started emanating a dark aura as she readied herself to fight.
"She's consumed by despair and selfish desires." Kirito noticed, "Fate, I'm sorry, but I have no choice. If she won't listen to words, then I'll have to knock some senses into her!" Fate was shocked at these words, but Alph came from behind and pulled her away from Kirito as he, Kyroo and Komory readied themselves to fight the evil sorceress.
Kirito charged forward as Precia, who produced a magical barrier around her body. She then started firing Photon Bullets from her free hand. Kirito dodged all around the scattering shots, and came at Precia with a Drain Dive. His attack was unable to penetrate the barrier she made around her. Komory's supersonic attack and Kyroo's strike with his blade were also ineffective.
Precia chuckled at the trio's failure, and waved her staff. "Be silent!" she shouted, and unleashed a Photon Burst from all around her, sending the trio flying away. Kirito pulled off an aerial recovery, and unleashed his Fire spell at Precia, but it was also stopped by the barrier.
"Gotta find a way around that barrier she made!" Kirito stated. He looked around the area, and noticed the nine Jewel Seeds floating a wide radius around Precia. Kirito saw the faint, pink glow they started to show, and Kirito remembered what that meant.
The moment Kirito landed onto one of the warped upper parts of the ground, Kirito shouted, "Drift!" He activated his Reality Shift, and encountered the same board that Asuna had in this world. After figuring out how it works, Kirito sketched a path around the nine Jewel Seeds, forming a ring around Precia. He leapt out of the Reality Shift, now grinding on the rope of light he created using Flowmotion. He made the Jewel Seeds glow whenever he passed underneath them.
When all nine Jewel Seeds lit up, they unleashed a burst of energy that struck Precia, destroying her barrier and making her fall to her knees, stunned from the attack. "Im…possible!" she moaned. Kirito leapt off the rope of light, shooting straight at Precia, along with his Dream Eaters. Kirito utilized his Flowmotion status to deal a series of combos onto Precia, along with his Spirits.
Precia got knocked back quite a bit, but was able to recover herself. "You will pay for that!" she barked, transforming her staff into a whip. She cracked it at Kirito, who barely dodged it. She struck again, hitting his shoulder. The sting of the whip injured Kirito as he backed away from her the range of her attack.
Kyroo came to Kirito's side and croaked at him. "You wanna have a go together?" Kirito asked his Spirit, "Kay, let's do this!" Kirito and Kyroo concentrated, then Kirito shouted, "Link Action! Decussation!" Kirito and Kyroo worked together, and teleported straight in front of Precia, unleashing a series of slashes at her. They did this about three more times, circling around Precia and hitting her so quickly and strongly, she did not have time to react.
"Enough!" Precia shouted, transforming her whip back into a staff and unleashing her Photon Burst. Kirito and Kyroo were carried away by the attack, and Komory was also blown back. "Time to exterminate all of you!" Precia declared, raising her staff high. Kirito felt the sensation of being targeted, and dodged just as he almost got hit by the purple lightning bolts she summoned, which was her Thunder Rage attack.
Kirito snarled as he charged at Precia again, unleashing a Strike Raid at her as she unleashed more Photon Bullets. Kirito's Keyblade deflected a couple, but several others came at Kirito. He crossed his arms in front of him as he took the hit, blasted backwards and skidding to a halt. He then fell to one knee, injured. Since his only healing attack was Drain Dive, he was running low on stamina.
Precia smirked at the sight of Kirito. "Seems you're running out of time." Precia told him, "It is pointless to stop me. Once I'm done with you, I'll create a stronger tremor, and head to Al Hazard with Alicia. Nothing will get in my way!"
Kirito gritted his teeth as he raised to his feet, keeping himself stable. "You know something? I don't care where you go or how you're gonna get there." he told Precia, "Because no matter what, I won't let you get away with how you treated Fate, or what you said to her!" Fate looked startled at Kirito's words.
"What would you know about that?" Precia demanded, "I can treat her however I want to her. She's a fake Alicia I made. She can call me her mother as many times as she wants. In the end, I loathe even the sight of her!"
"You shut your mouth!" Kirito roared, silencing everything and everyone in the room. "You asked my how would I know about that? Well just like you have Fate, I have a daughter, too. She's not my real daughter, and she's an artificial creation. But even so, she called me her father, and I accepted her being my daughter. I love when she smiles, I sympathize with her when she's sad, and I listen to her if she wants to speak. I love her like how a real parent should, and she loves me as a daughter should. I wish you could at least be the same with Fate, but you ignore her love, blinded by Alicia's death. Why won't you move on with your life?!"
Precia didn't speak when Kirito said his speech. Fate, Alph and Chrono all listened to Kirito's words. "Kirito…" Chrono muttered.
"He and Precia have something in common." Alph muttered, "They have daughters that love them." Fate watched Kirito, wondering what kind of girl was his daughter.
"Are you done talking?" Precia asked in a silent and uncaring tone, "If you are, then let me say something to you: I sentence you to oblivion!" Precia raised her staff high, and Kirito had the sensation of being targeted by another Thunder Rage attack.
"Kirito! Look out!" Alph cried out. Kirito looked up, seeing the attack about to come upon him. He was too weak to move.
Just then, Kyroo croaked with all its' might, and its' eye color shifted to a green hue. It leapt above Kirito's position, its' shield raised. The lightning shot down, and struck its' shield. "Kyroo!" Kirito called out, fearing it was gonna nearly be defeated again. However, Kyroo was somehow more enduring than before, and managed to survive the attack with its' shield.
When it landed onto the ground, it raised its' sword high, and Kirito felt himself being rejuvenated by Kyroo's Cura spell. "When did you learn to do that?!" Kirito demanded to Kyroo. Kyroo looked back at him, and Kirito noticed his eye color change.
As Komory flew at Precia, striking her to distract her, Kirito pulled up his Dream Eater Book. "Each Dream Eater can shift between four different dispositions, therefore changing their style of combat." Kirito read, "Sometimes, it requires the owner to pet the Spirit in a certain way. Other times, the Spirit will change on its' own accord if it unleashes strong feelings for his or her owner." Kirito looked at Kyroo, now understanding what he had done. Kyroo's feelings for Kirito helped him change his disposition, allowing it to protect Kirito. "I really owe you one, buddy." Kirito told Kyroo.
Precia used a Photon Bullet to blast Komory away, where it fell to the ground, injured. Kirito noticed this and raced towards Precia. "Kyroo, get to Komory and heal him up!" Kirito ordered his Dream Eater, "I'll take care of Precia, myself!"
Kyroo went to Komory's aid as Kirito unleashed his Sleepra spell onto Precia, which was ineffective. It did draw her attention to Kirito, and she transformed her weapon into its' whip form. She cracked it at Kirito, but he deflected it with his Keyblade. He then unleashed his Sonic Leap Sword Skill at her. She placed up a barrier, and the Sword Skill connected. Kirito struggled to overpower the shield while sparks emanated from the barrier and Keyblade clash. Precia believed he wouldn't get through her barrier.
Komory regained enough strength as it and Kyroo turned to see Kirito's struggle. They then joined in as Komory struck the shield with its' wings while Kyroo unleashed a swing from its' cattail sword. The three attacks united as one, and broke through the barrier, striking Precia and tossing her back.
"I've had enough!" Precia declared, "Time is running out, and I have no time to play games with a wench like you!" She raised her staff high, and a massive bright ball of photon energy emanated above her.
"She's insane!" Chrono gasped, "A Thunder Rage of that magnitude would not just destroy Kirito, but the entire Garden itself!"
"Then we'd better stop her before she destroys everything!" Kirito declared, with Komory and Kyroo focusing themselves with Kirito. "Dual Action! Ragnarok!" Kirito shouted, raising his Keyblade high. He and his Spirits stood in a triangle formation from one another as golden decorated rings appeared at their feet. The trio then turned into balls of light as they started spinning together, gathering a massive amount of light energy. As they spun faster, they divided the lights into several dozen pieces of light. When they gathered enough, the trio bursted with the energy, sending the light shooting at Precia like a salvo of laser shots.
Precia was stunned at this sight, and she wasn't able to unleash her attack in time before she got peppered by the salvo of shots. She screamed in agony as the attack consumed her. The ball of photon energy above her disappeared in a blink of an eye, and she fell away from them, landing right next to Alicia's tube. Precia had lost the fight. Kirito defeated her.
Kirito, Komory and Kyroo stood there, watching as Precia stumbled to her feet again. She started coughing violently, blood coming from her mouth. Her condition was far worse thanks to their fight. Fate raced to Kirito's side, who looked to her as she appeared.
"Mother!" Fate cried out, "There's something I want to say to you!" Precia was able to sustain her coughing as she glared up at Fate. "I know I am not Alicia Testarossa. I am just someone you created to look like her. I'm Fate Testarossa, and no matter what you say to me, I'm still your daughter."
"You little idiot." Precia chuckled, "Do you really think of yourself as my daughter? Even after everything I said about you?"
Kirito wanted to smack her for that, but Fate raised a hand in front of Kirito, stopping him from doing so. "If you wanted me to protect you, then I would do it." Fate assured Precia, "I would willingly protect you from anything that would cause you pain. I wouldn't do this because I'm your daughter. I would do this…" Fate reached out to Precia as she finished, "…because you're my mother."
There was a moment's pause between Fate and Precia. "How stupid." Precia told Fate with a sinister grin. Fate was shocked at these words. Kirito could only frown at Precia's behavior.
Precia placed her hand onto the ground, and unleashed a burst of energy that caused a tremor to happen within the room. "Chrono!" Lindy's voice called out, "I order you to get everyone out of there! We're retreating to the Arthra."
"Roger that!" Chrono understood, turning to the group, "Fate! Kirito! Alph! We're leaving!"
Kirito recalled his Dream Eaters, and turned to Fate. "We need to retreat, Fate. C'mon!" he called to her.
Fate showed no signs of response as she watched her mother as her demonic grin glared at all of them. "I'm going to get back everything I have lost!" she declared as the floor beneath her started to give way.
"Mother!" Fate cried, about to go save her.
"Fate, no!" Kirito shouted, and he and Alph grabbed her before she could go any further.
Precia and Alicia both fell down into the imaginary plane together, Precia's staff flung away from the two. "We'll go together, Alicia." Precia told her deceased daughter, "This time, we'll never EVER be apart again." The two figure disappeared from Kirito, Alph and Fate's view as they fell into the black holes of the imaginary plane.
"Hurry, we gotta move!" Kirito told the two as everything around them started to collapse on itself, falling into the void below. Alph nodded in agreement, and the two pulled Fate to her feet again.
"Fate!" cried out a voice from above. The trio looked up to see Nanoha flying down to meet them. "Everyone, grab my hand!" she shouted to them, "I'll get us out of here!" Fate saw Nanoha reach out to her, specifically. Fate took one last look down where her mother disappeared to, and closed her eyes. She then looked back up at Nanoha, and reached out to her, taking her hand. Chrono used his own teleportation magic as he and the other four disappeared from the room. From outside, the Garden of Time exploded on itself, then was sucked into the imaginary plane, until there wasn't a trace of it left. It was over.
A while later after the dimensional tremor was over, Chrono, Yuuno and Nanoha stood in front of Captain Lindy on the bridge of the Arthra. "Mrs. Alph and Fate Testarossa are in the brig, right now." Lindy told them, "Since they are key witnesses to the incident involving Precia, they will be there for a while."
"But why?!" Nanoha asked incredulously, "They helped us, and they haven't done anything wrong!"
"It isn't up to us." Chrono told Nanoha, "It's up to the higher-ups in the Bureau to judge for their crimes. They were involved with Precia, so like it or not, they must be responsible."
Nanoha looked down in a sad manner. "Don't you worry, Nanoha." Lindy assured her, "I'm sure that Fate and Mrs. Alph will be found not guilty for their crimes. All Fate was doing was trying to please her mother. I'm sure they will understand. We'll gather all the evidence we'll need to prove their innocence." This made Nanoha and Yuuno feel relieved.
"By the way, where was that other boy, Kirito?" Yuuno asked.
"He's down in the brig. He's speaking with the two, right now." Chrono answered, "He said once he was done speaking, he'll leave us."
"That boy is a wandering spirit. It would be a shame to let someone of that special of a gift to leave us." Lindy stated in an amused manner.
Down in the brig, Kirito had his hands at the bar of the cell, looking in to see Alph and Fate sitting on a bench, their arms in shackles.
"You two gonna be okay?" Kirito asked.
"We'll be fine." Alph replied, "Thanks for caring about us, though."
"Kirito?" Fate asked, "I'm just wondering, were you really trying to get my mother to accept me?"
Kirito paused for a second before answering, "I don't know. In a way, I guess I wanted to, but I could also see she was beyond help. She was so conflicted with not accepting Alicia's death, that she couldn't accept anything else. She closed her heart, hating everything that tried calling out to her, even you. I'm sorry, but that's what I think." Fate looked down, grieving for her mother's sadness.
"Fate, I know you're confused as to what to do right now, but I think I have the answer you're looking for." Kirito continued, making Fate look up at him, "Why don't you start a new life, like you said before. This time, listen to everyone that is calling out to you, and make them a part of your new life. I mean, you already have Alph, and you also have Nanoha. Not to mention that I consider you a friend. Just continue to grow that connection to everyone, and you'll regain your smile again."
Fate looked back at Kirito for a second, then asked, "How can I become someone's friend anyway? Nanoha asked me if I wanted to be her friend, but I don't know how to reply if I don't know what a friend is."
Kirito thought for a second. "That is a tough question." he stated, "However, the answer is pretty simple. Why don't you ask Nanoha that question, too. I'm sure she'll give you the right answer."
Kirito turned and walked away from their cell, thinking. 'How does one person become a friend?' he asked himself, 'To me, it's when you are able to hear them call out to you, say your name with kindness, and you feel happy when they are around. I think that's the way of accepting people as a friend or a family.'
Just then, a Sleeping Keyhole appeared in the air above the path Kirito was taking. Kirito stopped when he saw it. He produced his Keyblade, and waved it towards the Keyhole. The tip started to shine brightly, and shot a beam of light at the Keyhole, shattering the area around it to unveil more light. Kirito looked back at Fate and Alph's cell, then forward again.
"Yui, I'll always love you. You know that, right?" Kirito told himself as he was bathed in the warm light.
Realm of Arrival, Gretinal's Office
Yui sat there at a small table in Gretinal's room, drinking some juice that was given to her. Gretinal was at her desk, looking through some papers she had. Her crystal orb next had been glowing faintly ever since Kirito, Asuna and Leafa started their Mark of Mastery.
Gretinal took off her reading glasses, and looked at Yui, who was reading one of the books she found in the library all about magic. "You really should get some exercise, young lady." she told Yui, who looked up at her, "You've been sitting here for all this time, barely getting up to stretch. It's bad for your health."
"You're right." Yui agreed, closing her book, "Sorry, but it's just…"
"Don't you worry about your family. They'll be alright." Gretinal assured her, "I believe things will turn out just fine."
"Is there anyway of watching them while they are taking their test?" Yui asked, walking towards her desk.
"Unfortunately, that's beyond my sight." Gretinal answered, "The only thing I can do is sense their presence and conditions."
"If it is okay, can you please check their conditions for me?" Yui asked, "It would really help me."
Gretinal sighed in amusement. "You really are lost without your family, aren't you?" she asked, "Very well, then."
Gretinal shifted her papers aside, and placed her crystal orb in front of her. She then started to concentrate as she looked into the orb, which started to glow brightly. After a few moments, Gretinal said, "Looks like Kirito and Asuna are still going on the right path in their trials, despite some indications of darkness in their path." She continued to concentrate, and her expression fell.
"What is it?" Yui asked.
"It's strange, but I cannot seem to find where Leafa is at." she muttered, "I am still able to detect her, but as to where she is, I fear she might have stumbled off the path."
Yui looked worried at this. "Can't we do anything about it?! Is there anyway we can help?" she asked hurriedly.
"Unfortunately, we cannot." Gretinal responded, "But I believe something's happened within the Mark of Mastery, and all three of them could be in grave danger." Yui panicked slightly at this.
"Let me speak with Yen Sid about this." she told Yui, turning around and waving her hand, "He still has the crystal I gave to Mickey." A large crystal appeared in front of her, and it started to glow. Suddenly, within its' reflection, the figure of Master Yen Sid of Sora's dimension appeared before the two.
"Gretinal, what unfortunate timing you have." Yen Sid told Gretinal.
"It looks like both of us carry bad news." Gretinal understood completely.
"Are Sora and Riku okay?!" Yui asked, racing right next to Gretinal to get into view of Yen Sid.
"I believe so, though my foresight is having difficulty finding them."
"The same is happening here." Gretinal replied, "I'm afraid something dark is interfering with the Keyblade wielder's trial."
"Where's King Mickey? And Donald, and Goofy?!" Yui asked.
"I'm afraid they are not here." Yen Sid responded, "Maleficent has kidnapped Queen Minnie, and is demanding to meet with Mickey. Donald and Goofy are with him, as well."
"Oh, no…" Yui muttered, looking down, worried.
"These turns of events are too precise, wouldn't you say, Gretinal?" Yen Sid asked.
"I agree. The timing is too perfect, as if someone planned for all of this to happen." Gretinal assumed. Yui looked up at the two, shifting back and forth.
"Someone like Xehanort." the two stated in unison, fearing the worst.
Next time on SAKFF:
Kirito: I don't believe this! I'm in a land filled with magical creatures, and the defender of it is none other than Maleficent! Since when did she become good?! When did she have such huge wings? And why are my ears pointy here?! So many questions, and with an army with a powerful Dream Eater in the middle of it coming my way!
On the next 'Sword Art Kingdom: Falling Fantasy'
Moorlands! The Creator of Evil!
Kirito & Asuna: The Dreams have yet to be discovered!