A/N: Thank you to Greatkingrat88 for his work on the chapter, and Jameyofthemegacosmos for his input and ideas.

This chapter is going to be an experiment of sorts while we focus on another world and events taking place there as part of a "soft introduction" to a world with a number of noteworthy characters while giving more insight into the villain Ieyasu Partas while testing too on how dangerous as potential final boss material I've made him while trying to avoid making him OP.

I don't want to say anything further to avoid spoilers, so let's move on. After I address reviews I cannot reply to via PM.

Captain Imaginat: I don't see any reason at this moment why Hades would do that, and mind you it depends on during which events I'll introduce the world of Cross Ange.

Thank you and rest assured I got something in mind for the Foretellers much MUCH later in the story, but I don't want to give spoilers. Maleficent and Organization XIII might have some trouble dealing with Lelouch given what he'll need to do in order to deal with Britannia.

Chapter 5

Fated Outcome

Two months later, Lelouch was facing Byleth in a sparring match, both of them using training swords. In the time since they returned to Remire Village, Lelouch had improved considerably. Although he still couldn't beat Byleth in a sparring match, he had come a long way. He no longer got exhausted from a simple jog, and he knew the weight of a sword in his hand, knew his limits, knew how to avoid overextending and how to counter, how to exploit an opening in a heartbeat.

Lelouch successfully parried a strike from Byleth. He tried to counterattack, but Byleth deflected it. The two continued to trade blows as Solus and Jeralt watched.

"Despite my concerns, he has really shaped up in these last two months." Said Jeralt approvingly.

"I concur," Solus agreed.

"He has a way to go though, especially if he ever wants to have a slim chance to beat my daughter," Jeralt said, paternal pride in his voice.

"I agree on that one too," Solus said amusedly. "It will take MUCH longer before he has even a remote chance of winning against her."

"Anyone else, that is debatable."

"That's fair," Solus nodded.

Solus continued to watch with vested interest as Lelouch continued to develop.

Lelouch dodged an aggressive sweeping strike and tried to counterthrust, but she merely sidestepped the attack. However, Lelouch had expected it, and twisted his sword to the side to catch her. Byleth was ready for that too, though, catching the strike with her blade. She smiled approvingly. Two months ago, would he even have thought about a move like that?

"Not bad, but you still have ways to go."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

The young prince continued his spar. The fact that he could hold his own against a swordswoman of her caliber spoke of his growing skills with the Keyblade.

On the world of Orience, Ieyasu stood abroad the bridge of the lead Aerial Dreadnought of the Milites Empire. Four other Dreadnoughts accompanied it as part of a surprise blitzkrieg attack upon Akademeia, the capital of the Dominion of Rubrum.

Besides the Milites Officers on the bridge, there was one man who stood out. A proud, blond, blue-eyed soldier who had risen to the highest ranks of the Empire through merit alone. He wore a black eyepatch over his left eye, and wore the white and black uniform for his position, modified so he could fight in battle on the frontlines if need be, carrying a pistol and a katana on his person at all times.

"Sir, we have entered the visual range of Akademeia," the vessel's helmsman called out.

"Broadcast to all ships, Operation Solar Eclipse begins now," Brigadier General Qator Bashtar declared. "All ships, advance and deploy troops upon arriving at your assigned points."

"Yes, sir. Relaying orders," A communications officer replied.

"Where is this Class Zero supposed to appear?" Qator asked Ieyasu.

"They will summon a Special Eidolon against us," Ieyasu said. "Its summoning will not sap their strength, but it will remove three of them from the battle for a short time. They'll sink two of your ships once the battle begins and your forces are locked in battle."

"Is that why you suggested two of my ships should have their crew and soldiers evacuated?"

"Yes," Ieyasu nodded. "With the carefully sealed explosives aboard each one, I can use them as weapons against the Dominion to change things up a little."

"I thought you would just observe?" Qator asked.

"That doesn't mean I can't help out a little, to try and minimize your losses," Ieyasu retorted.

Akademeia was situated upon a large island out in the middle of a vast bay, surrounded by a deep ocean, miles from land. At one time, there had been an enormous mountain in the center, but much of it was mined away to build a city within, while the remains provided impressive natural barriers. The academy and government were built into the upper sections, overlooking the surrounding area.

Just before ten in the morning, the fleet of airships began their attack, as soon as their weapons were in range of the city-like island. Heavy artillery down upon the buildings and homes near the coastline, close to the only bridge leading to the mainland. The bridge itself was left untouched, so the Empire could form a bottleneck for approaching enemy soldiers. It stretched for miles, which made it dangerous for an enemy soldier to cross without snipers picking them off.

One of the airships lowered itself to the ground after the two forward airships demolished much of the residential district to clear a landing zone for it and other ships. Upon landing, the Airship released dozens of soldiers, accompanied by specialists with Magitek armor. Even the Nymurod, the tripedal tank-like assault machines with assault cannons were deployed.

As they had seen the airships coming, Akademeians were quick to prepare a defense, their red armor-clad legionaries engaging the Imperial Soldiers. Milites' soldiers used rifle-like machine guns with sword-like blades built into them. They boldly charged into battle against the Dominion's forces, as spells unleashed from its young magic wielders killed dozens of them. Other students from Akademeia's Vermilion Peristylium academy created magical energy barriers to shield their spellcasting fellows from enemy gunfire.

It should be deployed any time now, Ieyasu thought, overlooking the battle from the observation deck.

The last Airship made a beeline for the academy before deploying a machine from its underside into the middle of the Vermilion Peristylium's training arena. The device released a jamming effect, cutting off the whole of the Dominion's people from the Vermilion Crystal, stripping them of their magic.

The effect of the Dominion losing access to magic was instant. Students casting spells to create projective barriers failed, cut down by gunfire within moments. The Eidolon beasts fighting against the Empire's heavier weapons and airships fell onto the ground, cut off from their power source. The Dominion of Ruburm had long since been dependent on magic, using only weapons like spears or swords otherwise.

The battle turned into a massacre as the Imperial Soldiers quickly gained the advantage, gunning down any enemies in their path, showing no mercy.

"Broadcast the Grand Marshal's message to the Dominion Leadership," Qator commanded.

"Yes, sir," a communications officer replied.

"This is Grand Marshall Cid Aulstyne to Chancellor Khalia Chival VI," Cid's message said. "Your crystal can no longer protect you. I insist you surrender and transfer custody of the Vermilion Crystal to the Milites Empire in exchange for your people being spared. You have six hours to comply. Otherwise, you will face the full might of our forces. I promise you the streets of Ruburm will run red with the blood of her people if you do not surrender."

"They'll refuse, of course, and unleash Class Zero," Ieyasu said, taking a deep breath.

"When will they attack?" asked Qator.

"Now," Ieyasu replied. Moving lights shot across the skies, striking one of the airships before jumping over to the nearest one.

The two airships were suspended telekinetically by Ieyasu, who had closed his eyes to focus on holding the two burning wrecks afloat. Both airships were critically damaged, but instead of crashing into the ground, Ieyasu extended both hands outwards, guiding their descent towards the town square. A monstrous inhuman rider appeared atop a six-legged horse in the middle of the square, its landing decimating over a dozen imperial soldiers. Using its sword, the horseman sprang into action, cutting down dozens more. Nearby, Class Zero to appeared as the twelve-student squad raised a fallen banner of the Dominion.

"After this attack, they will separate up into groups. One group will be heading for the Vermilion Bird Gate to receive a Crystal Oriented Messaging Medium device to communicate with Ruburm's forces."

"Why weren't they given one when they were deployed?" Qator said.

"Because their deployment was top-secret until the last minute. They were to wait there for Class Zero to arrive, then ambush them. But tell your men to wait until Class Zero arrives, not the delivery boy," Ieyasu advised.

"Understood."

Meanwhile, unaware of the impending trap awaiting them, Class Zero engaged the enemy in battle. One of these groups consisted of four members, working to relieve their besieged forces until they could eliminate whatever was blocking the power of the crystal.

"Is it just me, or have those airships managed to stay afloat?"

It was a teenage girl with ginger braided hair, wielding a mace that looked too heavy for someone of her dainty frame to handle. However, her innocent teal eyes concealed a powerhouse in a fight, and anyone who assumed she was harmless would be in for a deadly surprise. Her uniform consisted of a black jacket with gold-padded shoulders, a red skirt, thigh-high black socks, and a red cape.

"We don't have time to waste, Cinque. We need to keep going."

The group leader was a year older, with the sides of his head shaved, the rest of his blonde hair spiky. His red eyes were focused on the path ahead, and he didn't want to waste any time on anything that wasn't part of the mission at hand. His dress style made him stand out because his jacket was shorter. He never fastened it, revealing a white undershirt, a black coat with gold-padded shoulders, a red cape, and white trousers. Unlike Cinque, his weapon of choice was a pair of handguns.

"Don't sweat it, Cinque. Let's charge in there and take them out!"

The third member of their group was around Cinque's age. Unlike Cinque's innocence and child-like personality, the girl was competitive and bold. Her fiery short, flared auburn hair and steel-blue eyes combined with her tanned complexion made her stand out. Her Class Zero uniform was the same as Cinque's, except she carried a backpack carrying ammo for a powerful Magicite pistol that utilized explosive rounds.

"We shouldn't be so reckless. The enemy could attack us from anywhere. We don't want to walk into an ambush, Cater."

The final member of the group was a brunette with dark blue eyes. Her uniform was identical to Cinque and Cater's, but her red cape was longer, wrapping around her neck and shoulders like a scarf.

"Quit the chatter, all of you! But Deuce is right. We shouldn't be reckless. We must be mindful of possible enemy ambushes," King aimed one of his handguns, and fired. "Like over there!"

King had shot an imperial sniper that had been hiding in a ruined home. His demise prompted his comrades to emerge from their hiding spots. Suddenly, they were facing down a dozen Imperial Soldiers. Coming up from behind them was a pair of S-242 Terrain MA, small bipedal machines controlled by an Imperial soldier.

Cater took aim and fired an explosive magical bullet that hit the Striker's head. The explosion from the shot caused the machine to spin out of control, impacting with a wall and exploding. Cinque then slipped into an alleyway to ambush a group of Imperial Soldiers. The soldiers opened fire, but Deuce, Cater, and King took cover before the latter two began counterattacking. Meanwhile, Deuce began playing Concerto on her flute to strengthen her teammates. She emerged from an alleyway behind the soldiers to attack the last Striker, which had retreated behind a ruined building to avoid being shot. It would've made its way around the buildings to ambush the others, if Cinque hadn't cut them off first.

"I got this one," Cinque chirped as she swung her mace.

The enemy machine turned around to gun her down, but it was too late. Cinque's attack connected, and in a stunning display of strength, it knocked the machine into the air, crashing down on a group of enemy soldiers. Cater took the chance to shoot the heavily damaged machine with her pistol, setting off an explosion that claimed the rest of the enemy hostiles. But the attack wasn't over, as more Imperial Soldiers arrived to avenge their fallen comrades.

Cinque raised her mace, slamming it onto the ground and unleashing an Earthquake-like shockwave. Several enemies were knocked off their feet while some were shaken, and Cinque took the opportunity to hit one with enough force that it didn't just shatter bones, but also sent the unfortunate soldier flying like a ragdoll. A soldier tried to shoot Cinque, but King shot him first. Cater fired a round from her weapons, but instead of an explosive bullet of magical energy, her shots released bursts of lightning, spreading to the nearest enemy soldiers.

King joined the fight, mopping up the soldiers not killed outright by Cater's bullet. At the same time, magically manifested musical notes began appearing, seeking out the nearest enemies. When one made contact, or an enemy soldier was foolish enough to swat it away with their weapon, it would explode and kill them.

After her attack, Deuce used her flute to unleash a magic-based melody, the Requiem of Ruin, releasing a wave of destructive energy. Anyone caught in the crimson tide of force released was killed or left close to death. Using this chance, King and Cater pressed their attacks to finish off the attack wave. Cinque then looked back, noticing the two wrecked airships had vanished.

"Hey, those airships Ace wrecked with Odin are gone." He called.

"Forget about them, Cinque, and focus on the enemy!" King said, taking a shot at a sniper in a building, taking aim at them.

"Okay," Cinque replied, before rejoining the fight.

Miles away from Akademeia on the mainland, Legionnaires had rushed to the capital to defend it when the Vermilion Bird Crystal was cut off. Instead of supporting the towns, bases, and outposts they were meant to protect, they abandoned them, making haste to the capital in a panic.

As these men and women gathered, drawing closer to the bridge to reach the island the capital stood upon, a dark corridor opened in the skies above them. An enormous portal had opened before the flaming wreck of the Milites airships laying crashed upon the ground. Knowing these men would come running back to the capital, Ieyasu had waited until the right moment to drop the doomed airships filled with explosives, killing hundreds of disorganized soldiers and confusing others.

The Heartless soon appeared to begin picking them off, one by one. Snipers would pick off any who made it to Akademeia.

Elsewhere in the war-torn city, another group of Class Zero arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate, one of the most direct routes to reach the academy situated on top of the mountain. The three students happened upon a dozen imperial soldiers, surrounding a wounded Ruburm soldier and a yellow Chocobo mount. Disobeying their orders to pick off the wounded soldier, the Imperial Troops unknowingly left themselves open to attack. Their arrogance would be their undoing.

A wall of flames separated the enemy soldiers from the wounded Chocobo Rider before the first member of Class Zero made himself known, a young blonde-haired teen with green eyes. He wore a uniform identical to King's, but his black coat was buttoned up, and he wielded magic playing cards as his weapon.

"I am here, Izana!" he cried.

Ace drew three cards into his hand hurling them at the soldiers. As they sailed through the air, they homed in on their target. Despite their mundane appearance, the cards glowed with magic, hardening them into metal that allowed them to cut through armor and flesh with frightening ease, effortlessly.

As Ace dealt with the soldiers near the wounded Izana, another member of Class Zero made his presence known. He was a young man with a muscular build, a tanned complexion, a scar on his face, and spiky blonde hair. His uniform was disheveled, the jacket left unfastened, and his trousers slouched. Armed with a spear, he quickly struck down a soldier, quickly impaling another on his spear. He tossed the body into a group of incoming enemy soldiers to stall them from firing upon him.

The group's final member, a dignified-looking young woman with long black hair, bangs clipped back with a green barrette, joined the fight. The girl was armed with a longsword,and had violet eyes and glasses. She wore the standard uniform of Class Zero with a black jacket with gold-padded shoulders, a red cape, a short red skirt, and knee-high black socks.

Wielding her longsword, she cut down an imperial soldier. Several soldiers tried to surround and attack her, but she conjured flames of a holy nature, forming a cross around her. As she turned, the fire moved with her, engulfing the enemy soldiers unfortunate enough to be caught in their path, killing them within seconds.

As the members of Class Zero finished off the last of the enemy soldiers, Ace hurried to the wounded Izana.

"Izana, I am here," Ace said, kneeling next to his friend.

"You're late," Izana managed a pained chuckle. "Here…"

Reaching into his pocket, Izana handed Ace a small device, a COMM. It would allow Ace and Class Zero to communicate with Dominion HQ.

"Thank you," Ace extended a hand, casting some healing magic.

Izana grunted in pain but nothing happened, much to Ace's sadness.

"It's too late," the female member of Class Zero said sadly.

"But he risked his neck, especially when I asked him."

"I knew the risks," Izana said, coughing up blood. "I wanted my younger brother to be proud of me, but now he isn't likely going to remember."

"I am sorry we couldn't save you, but thank you for helping us," Queen said. "We will save the Dominion, you have my word."

Nine remained silent, but Queen approached Ace, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't regret my choice to accept your offer, but I don't want to…."

Drawing his last breath, Izana Kunagiri died, his mount soon following the one who raised her. Ace was in tears. But there was no time to dwell on this, and Ace and Queen rose within seconds of his passing. The trio moved on silently without another word. Within seconds, Izana Kunagiri was erased from Ace's mind, allowing the young man and his companions to move on without being weighed down by his death. Such was the rule of their world.

The dead were forgotten.

Aboard the leading Milites Empire airship, Ieyasu quietly listened as Qator was informed that the men they had waiting to ambush Class Zero had not only disobeyed orders, but were also wiped out as a consequence. Qator was furious, but Ieyasu quietly knew what had happened. Unseen by Qator and his men, Ieyasu had seen them. Two ghostly entities, made of gray tattered hooded cloaks with a cold mist and no visible limbs. Ieyasu knew them as Whisperers or Arbiters of Fate, creatures born of their respective world to enforce the rules of fate. They would keep destiny on its correct course. Although the world of Orience was slightly different in this regard, its future led to the same end. Tempus Finis, the apocalyptic end of the world. The people of Orience didn't know this event had happened over six million times.

The events that lead to it vary each time the world's history has repeated, but critical events have remained constant.

Ieyasu knew from observing other cycles of Orience's repeated history that the invasion of the Dominion happened the same. No matter how much of a disadvantage the Dominion faced, they would win the war. Thanks to Class Zero, which would be vital in defeating the Milites Empire, unknowingly triggering Tempus Finis once the Dominion- sometimes by technicality- had control over the other crystals across their world. No matter which of the four nations come out on top, once one of them had control over the others, the end of the world would begin.

I suppose I was too optimistic. I could have changed things instantly, especially when fate favors Class Zero.

Or rather, Ieyasu realized, perhaps the fate was made to favor them by the architect of this world.

"General," Ieyasu said as he approached Qator. "Class Zero will now be heading for the Airship currently on the ground to disable the auxiliary Crystal Jammer aboard. Once they destroy it on the Airship, they will attack the primary Jammer at the training arena."

"Yes, I recall you mentioning that. I have already mobilized forces to reinforce our positions there."

"Good," Ieyasu said.

No matter what happens, I win. Then soon, I'll break the binding chains of fate, allowing the future to be altered, to increase my chances for victory. I doubt it will make a difference, but it should drive home how hopeless the Militesian efforts are.

In another part of Akademeia, a group of Imperial soldiers managed to use a trading post's storage area in the downtown area as a forward outpost. It was also the location they chose to interrogate any enemy soldiers they captured. Among them was a member of Class Zero, dressed in the traditional attire of his male classmates, with black boots and fighting gloves with reinforced knuckles. His chestnut hair and matching eyes made him stand out a little among his classmates.

"Alright, the other two couldn't offer me much," an Imperial soldier said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's see if you might be more willing to talk."

"Please don't," Eight said feebly.

Eight was tied to a wooden chair as the Imperial Soldier beat the young man to within an inch of his life. No matter how many times Eight was hit, leaving a plethora of bruises on his face, the young man didn't break.

"Hey, you'll kill him at this rate before he talks," the soldier's superior said, stopping the torturer. "We need him to tell us where the crystal is. He is no good to us dead."

"So what?" the Imperial Soldier roared, backing away from the beaten Eight. "My parents are dead because of this Dominion Scum!"

The enraged soldier pushed past his superior to punch Eight across the face.

"I don't care if they suffer!"

"Sir," another Imperial said as he entered the room. "We have a situation at Point 2B. They are requesting backup."

"Understood," the second soldier turned to his angered comrade. "Are you going to be fine by yourself?"

"He is unarmed and can't use magic. Besides, how much of a threat can a coward who surrendered to us be? I'll be fine, thank you very much."

"Fine. Just don't kill him before he talks."

The two soldiers left the lone Imperial Soldier alone with a restrained Eight. After a few minutes of silence, the young man spoke.

"What is taking them so long?"

"You FINALLY speak, and that is all you got to say?"

"You know," Eight looked up at the soldier. "Everybody's lost a loved one. Dominion or Empire, we all share that pain."

"Just what are you talking about? Do you have a death wish?"

"No, but," Eight said, as his bindings came undone, allowing him to stand up. "How about you?"

"How did you…" The soldier said in surprise, as Eight adopted a fighting stance. "Do you think you can win without a weapon?"

"Yes, because these are my weapons," Eight said, raising his fists.

The soldier leveled his weapon to open fire, but Eight expertly dodged, rolling to the side and springing forward. He delivered a powerful right hook with enough force that the soldier staggered backward, dropping his weapon. Faster than the eye could track, Eight's hammered the soldier with punch after punch, and despite the enemy's armor, it did little to help weather Eight's mighty blows. One final blow sent the Imperial Soldier crumbling to the ground in defeat.

"Don't worry. Now that my fists have felt your pain, it will never be forgotten."

The soldier never knew Eight surrendered as part of a ploy to locate some students who had been kidnapped. But before Eight could do anything else, two of his classmates had arrived.

"Sorry that we're late."

Among the two members to arrive was a young man with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, armed with a bow. He wore a man's uniform, with an additional holster on his back for his bow, and an archer's glove. Behind him was a teenage girl with spiky silver hair and blue eyes, styled into a messy top-knot ponytail. Her name was Sice. She wore the female uniform, but the red cape was in tatters from battle wear, and she wore black heeled knee-high boots and matching thigh-high socks. Her weapon of choice was a scythe.

"Status," Eight said.

"All the markers are set," Trey answered.

"What about you," Sice inquired.

"All of the prisoners were dead by the time I arrived," Eight reported, gesturing to another room that had four dead soldiers inside.

"Hah, you took a beating for nothing then," Sice mocked.

"Enough of that. Let's move onto phase two."

"Affirmative, the enemy camp should be straight through," Trey said before Sice interrupted him with a look of bloodlust in her eyes.

"Let's murderize 'em!"

Trey and Eight could only sigh at Sice's bloodlust, but there was little the pair could do to restrain their battle-eager comrade.

Trey, Eight, and Sice demolished the enemy camp with explosives to hinder their advancement and destroy their forward base. Ace, Queen, and Nine boarded the Airship landed on the ground. Although the opposition they faced was fierce, the trio had successfully entered the Airship with the aid of two more of their classmates.

"TAKE THEM OUT!" an imperial soldier shouted, firing his rifle at the invading students.

Queen, Ace, and Nine were under heavy fire as they tried passing through the Airship's cargo hold. A wall of storage containers helped them weather the bullets, with Queen using magic to project a barrier for further protection. The classmates who had joined them entered the battle to deal with the attacking soldiers. A seventeen-year-old young woman with short silver hair and violet eyes stood on the right side of the catwalk overlooking the storage area. She wore the same uniform as her female classmates, except with black boots and matching biker shorts.

Seven used her whip blade to deflect the bullets as she hurried towards her attackers.

After getting close to an enemy soldier and using him as a shield, Seven kicked him in the stomach before slashing his throat with her weapon. She used the dead soldier as a shield before tossing him across the catwalk to distract her enemies. She broke their line of fire so she could close in on the next target.

On the opposite side of the vast chamber was Jack, the swordsman of Class Zero and its class clown. Even so, his coiffed blond hair and blue eyes were unmistakable, as was his undeniable mastery of the katana. Not only did he use it to deflect the bullets of the imperial soldiers, but he just as quickly cut them down once he had closed the distance between them.

Thanks to Jack and Seven, Ace, Queen and Nine could continue their advance.

Ace and Nine took point, as they engaged the enemy imperial soldiers, but barring their way were enemy troops piloting small bipedal machines with machine guns on them. Ace focused on the soldiers so Nine could concentrate on the enemy machines in their path.

Queen channeled magical power into her longsword, releasing a blast of energy from it. The explosion traveled across the room, hitting the pilot of a Striker and causing it to veer out of control into a stack of metal containers.

Ace used his cards to deflect enemy bullets before homing in on the enemy soldiers. Nine was quick not to fall behind, as he dodged enemy gunfire to close and distance and impale the head of another Striker pilot. Once they were done with the enemies above them, Seven and Jack quickly joined the rest of their classmates to clear out the room. Despite the dozens of enemy soldiers and their efforts, Class Zero systematically wiped them out until none remained.

"And that should be the last one," Jack said, slashing open the throat of the last enemy soldier.

"Damn, it feels like they threw the whole ship at us," Nine said, catching a breath.

"It feels more like they knew we were coming?" Jack said, looking at the dozens of corpses they'd left in their wake.

"That shouldn't be possible," Queen adjusted her glasses.

"We haven't exactly been stealthy in our approach to this airship, but this feels like a lot more resistance than we should've been expecting," Seven said suspiciously.

"We can worry about that later," Ace said as he finished placing a red crystal at the base of the enemy jammer. "We need to run before this Magicite bomb explodes."

Ace and the rest of his classmates made a hasty retreat. Not long after they ran, the bomb exploded. Despite its small size, the Magicite bomb that Ace had planted was very potent, and upon detonating, the Jammer was annihilated in the blast. However, the resulting explosive chain reaction destroyed the ship, since the Jammer was integrated into the Airship as its power source. Ace and the others barely got clear of the exploding vessel in time, as the exploding wreck collapsed onto the area it had landed at.

The loss of the auxiliary Jammer didn't eliminate the jammer effect. Still, it allowed some of the strongest of the Dominion's magic users to regain limited access to their magic.

"Now we need to find the primary jammer," Queen said, dusting off her skirt from the dust kicked up by the crashing of the Airship.

"Right. Seven, Jack and I will head for the enemy target," said Ace.

"And Nine and I will secure the area to bar enemy reinforcements from assisting them," Queen said as she and the others began heading for the academy in search of the Jammer. Suddenly, there was a barrage of artillery fire from one of the airships, accompanied by dozens of enemy soldiers raining rockets and bullets down upon them. Queen was able to create a barrier in time to protect herself and her classmates from the initial bombardment, but she and her friends were forced to head for cover to escape the enemy onslaught.

"See? I am convinced the enemy is after us!"

"Well, no shit," Nine snapped. "They must be pissed about the airship we blew up!"

"No, this response is too fast for such a counterattack," Queen said.

Queen and Ace knew once they destroyed the Airship, they had to prepare to engage the enemy forces along the way to their next destination. Some likely would've detoured to assist in rescuing any survivors, or more likely to intercept those responsible. But to have so many enemy soldiers and airships focusing fire on them suggested the enemy didn't just know about them, but knew about their objective, so they tried to pin them down. Or outright destroy them if they could.

"Should we try to summon Odin?" Seven suggested before ducking to avoid a bullet flying over her head.

"No, we'll be helpless during the summoning and in danger of being killed," Queen said.

"Then what the hell do we do?" Nine snapped, losing patience.

"King, this is Ace. Come in."

Across the city, King, Deuce, Cinque, and Cater had just finished dispatching another squad of enemy soldiers.

"This is King. What is your status?"

"We're pinned down," Ace said. "The enemy has us trapped under heavy fire. We'll be unable to reach the objective. You and the others are in the best position to do so."

"I understand. Keep the enemy's attention on you."

"What was that about?" Deuce asked.

"Ace and the others are pinned down. The Milites Empire must be committing much of their forces to this effort."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Cater called. "Let's go back them up!"

"No. We need to complete their mission and destroy the Jammer. The longer the nation is cut off from the crystal, the worse things will be for the Dominion."

"But that means the enemy will be so busy with Acey and the others. We'll be able to reach the Jammer easier than them," Cinque said.

"That is exactly right, so let's hurry!"

As Ace and his group kept the enemy's attention on them, King and his group hurried to their destination to end the battle as swiftly as possible. Some time later, another group of students would make their way to the source of the jammer signal to disable the Jammer by themselves. Unfortunately, the primary crystal jammer was more well-defended than they could have expected.

Engaging the chief defender of the Jammer was a seventeen-year-old student with medium-length black hair and blue eyes. Although his attire was similar to the male member of Class Zero, his cape was dark blue instead of red. He wielded a pair of drill-like rapiers against the enemy.

Machina Kunagiri boldly charged, intending to impale his foe, but his opponent teleported away. She suddenly reappeared behind him, kicking him in the back, sending him tumbling to the ground. Machina's companion chose to step in at this moment, hurling a fireball. Due to the Jammer's effects it was weak, and their enemy swatted it aside.

In her late twenties, their foe was an older woman wearing a white jumpsuit with boots, gloves, and armor plating, complete with a white tiger mask.

"Is that it?" the masked woman mocked.

As the masked woman charged towards the young student, she summoned her weapons, a pair of blades too long to be called daggers, and too short to be called swords. The girl tried to land a blow on her masked enemy, but she skillfully deflected all of the young student's attacks, before kicking her aside.

"REM!" Machina shouted, rushing his masked foe. Once again, the masked woman teleported out of the way before reappearing to knock Machina to the ground. This time, she put one foot on top of the chest of her downed foe.

"You should've tried something new," Qun'mi mocked.

Machina tried to strike back, but Qun'mi teleported away. Rising back up, Machina was ready to face Qun'mi again. A green mark glowed from her shoulder, causing the Jammer to surge with power. As Machina rushed his foe, the jamming field grew in strength, so much that Machina's swords began breaking apart due to their magical nature. Qun'mi struck Machina with a roundhouse kick, sending him flying across the arena floor.

"Time to end this," Qun'mi said, teleporting into the cockpit of the Crystal Jammer. It was built into an MA, modeled after a tiger for mobility and combat.

As the masked woman prepared to finish off Rem and Machina, Cinque arrived on the scene, using a powerful strike from her mace to generate a powerful dust tornado. The enemy soldiers caught in it were thrown high into the air. The tornado did little damage, but provided cover. Deuce kept her distance, using her flute to generate mystical musical notes that sought out Imperial soldiers to eliminate them.

"Take them out," an imperial soldier shouted to a comrade armed with a rocket launcher. The projectile was launched, but King shot it in mid-air, setting off an explosion. The soldiers were left uncertain if their enemies were caught in the explosion, not knowing King shot the projectile before it could hit them. Taking advantage of their uncertainty, King, Deuce and Cinque pooled their magic together to summon the Special Eidolon, Odin.

Manifesting from a magic circle as the smoke cleared, an intimidating man in black armor with a grim-reaper-like visage emerged, mounted on a six-legged horse. He held a sword in his hand. Odin towered over Class Zero and the enemy soldiers, appearing as a giant on horseback.

"WHAT?" Qun'mi shouted, slamming the console inside her cockpit. "How did you summon that thing inside my jamming field!?"

Shoving her anger aside, she faced the Eidolon. It was a powerful monster created through magic that served the Dominion as a siege weapon. Taking direct control of the Dáinsleif, Qun'Mi transformed it into its battle mode, resembling a mechanical tiger. The crystal jammer operating as its tail made it akin to a nine-tailed fox.

Odin made short work of the enemy soldiers, unleashing waves of dark energy from his sword to cut them down. Qun'mi used this chance to retreat to the other side of the arena, the Dáinsleif firing a volley of missiles at the giant swordsman. Odin dodged the missiles, using his sword to cut down any that drew too close to him. Some impacted the ground near the house riding Eidolon, but they didn't seem to slow the siege engine down.

"Time for you to see what a l'Cie can do!" Qun'Mi cried.

Channeling green energy from her body and into the Dáinsleif, the Magitek armor glowed with power. Odin rushed the enemy machine, but now the movements of the Dáinsleif were faster, displaying unexpected agility for such a weapon. The enhanced Dáinsleif was just able to stay out of range of Odin's sword, evading the blades of dark energy unleashed.

"Take this!"

Pale green energy glyphs appeared above the Dáinsleif as it partially transformed back into its original mode, allowing its tail to reform into the Jammer. It was from this light the glyphs were forming, firing energy beams at Odin. It deflected the first volley using its sword, then held it firm to deflect a focused energy beam.

"I got you!"

Little did Qun'Mi realize Odin was absorbing the energy of her attack to empower himself. The sword Odin held began glowing with dark power, and once it had absorbed enough energy, the black-armored warrior knocked the blast away to cancel it out. Then it unleashed his ultimate attack with one mighty swing, the Zantetsuken, nearly cutting the enemy machine in half. The Dáinsleif was seemingly destroyed, its tail broken into pieces. Its rear legs and parts exploded, crashing onto the arena floor in a damaged heap, black oil leaking from it.

Seeing the enemy machine wasn't moving Odin, his task complete, vanished with King, Cinque, Deuce, and Cater approaching it.

"Did we just win?" Cater asked.

Before anyone could answer, a green glow of power surged through the heavily damaged Dáinsleif. Qun'Mi was trying to use her energy to restore the damaged machine, but the damage it has suffered was too extensive for her powers to recharge. More hauntingly, it began howling like a wounded animal trying to make its last stand. As it attempted to move, Qun'mi noticed her machine's rear legs weren't working at all.

"Come on, move!" she shouted. In the corner of her eye, she saw Cinque rushing her. "Stupid fool, charging at me won't…."

She was interrupted when Cinque poured her strength into her next blow, striking the head of the Dáinsleif. The impact was strong enough to flatten the head, and Cinque's second hit knocked its head off before one final blow knocked it into the air, slamming it against the arena wall. Cinque retreated as it fell back onto the ground, but this time it erupted into flames. It had finally been destroyed.

"This just sucks," Qun'mi said in anger, teleporting away just before the cockpit exploded.

"Yahoo, we won!" Cinque cried, happily skipping along as the machine collapsed.

"Mission accomplished," King said.

"So, what should we do now?" Cater inquired, feeling tired.

"Maybe we should check if they need help," Deuce said, pointing to Rem and Machina.

The result of the Crystal Jammer being destroyed quickly became known across the battlefield. Qator was told what had happened to the Crystal Jammer within minutes of its destruction, combined with reports of the Dominion regaining use of their magic.

"Nine tail is down," A communications officer aboard the lead airship reported. "Communication has been lost with Qun'Mi!"

"Impossible!" An imperial captain said, in disbelief. "What happened out there?!"

"The Vermillion Bird Crystal is fully restored, magical readings in all sectors!" The first communication officer reported, but another officer had another troubling report. "Wait, at point 68…a Vermillion Bird l'Cie. An enemy l'Cie has been sighted."

"We've just lost communication with 204th and 208th!"

"Get our men out of there!" Qator commanded. "Attention all units in Dominion territory, you are to halt all operations once and withdraw at once!"

"I'll do my part and cover your retreat," Ieyasu said, summoning his Keyblade into his hand.

Ieyasu's Keyblade had a handguard composed of white angelic wings. A woman's face was above the handle with flowing white hair extending upwards, framing a blade-like shaft. It enveloped a golden eye at the top, with a pair of white crystalized gears, forming the weapon's teeth that made it a Keyblade. General Qator was quiet. As he preparied to give more orders, Ieyasu spoke again.

"As I told you, General, by all accounts, your operation should have succeeded," Ieyasu used a hand gesture to open a portal. "But Class Zero and other unseen forces controlled by the creator of the crystals rigged events against you."

Unlike the Corridors of Darkness used by Ieyasu's allies, Ieyasu's portal was composed of light energy.

"Now hurry and get your men out. I'll handle the enemy."

With those words, Ieyasu departed through the portal.

"Contact HQ send a Code 999, tell me we are to begin Operation Twilight Arc. Tell them everything we have been told is true."

"Understood, sir," the captain said with a salute.

Outside of the city, Ieyasu emerged from the portal hovering above the ocean surrounding. He lowered himself until he was close enough to the water's surface, gathering power into his free hand. He slammed his empowered hand onto the water. Instead of dipping below the water, the surface was flash frozen. For miles around the city, the ocean surface was frozen solid with a thick layer of ice. Standing upon the surface, Ieyasu extended his Keyblade as power began gathering into it, the white blade beginning to glow blue.

Holding the weapon with both hands, Ieyasu stabbed the ice at his feet, triggering a powerful blizzard that quickly engulfed Akademeia and the surrounding areas. In seconds the blizzard grew in intensity, with heavy snowfall and strong freezing winds. The Militesians were given an opening in the blizzard, allowing them safe passage thanks to providing the ships with pre-made charms to ensure they could safely travel through the blizzard. A heavy mist began to surround Ieyasu, and much of the area around him.

"Go forth and protect my allies. Do all you can to cover their escape. Help them to their escape craft if you must!"

Materializing around him were centaur-like soldiers of ice, with a built-in lance in place of a left hand. At first, a dozen appeared, more than two hundred materializing within a few minutes. The ice soldiers charged into Akademeia to cover the imperial retreat.

Although the enemy retreated, there was widespread confusion in the city. Then the ice soldiers entered the city, attacking the Dominion soldiers and cadets they came across, using themselves to shield the retreating Imperial soldiers. Many were trampled, squashed by their colossal feet, or swatted around like flies by their large lances. The sudden blizzard threw off the surviving defenders, leaving them cold and unable to adapt.

Ieyasu took to the air once more, flying towards the city with his weapon in hand. He joined the fight when he saw a group of Dominion soldiers accompanied by cadets, pursuing a fleeing group of Imperial Soldiers.

Reflega, Ieyasu thought, casting a spell.

A wall of magic suddenly separated the fleeing Imperial Soldiers and their pursuers. All magic or ranged attacks used by the Dominion Soldiers was caught, before a blast of magical energy was released. A few unlucky soldiers and cadets were caught in the resulting explosion of the redirection of power. Ieyasu boldly approached them.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the Dominion soldiers stuttered as Ieyasu faced him.

"Someone who has decided to intervene on behalf of the Milites Empire. If I were you, I would give up trying to take revenge on your defeated enemies and start regrouping."

"You think that we're just going to take this lying down!?" one of the cadets replied in anger.

"As people of a country who has been invaded, you have every right to retaliate. Unfortunately, as an ally of theirs, I must protect them."

"Then we'll fight our way through you," the lead Dominion soldier declared, raising a sword.

"You are welcome to try. This is a battlefield where you must either fight, die, or run," Ieyasu said, dodging the lead soldier's first attack before swiftly beheading him. "Not to sound arrogant, but I would advise running."

The cadets cast spells, hurling fireballs at Ieyasu. Using his Keyblade, he batted them aside as he made his way towards them. He eyed a group of soldiers armed with swords rushing to join the fight. Reaching out with a free hand, Ieyasu telekinetically tore their weapons from their hands, flipping them around and impaling their owners.

Then blades of ice began materializing around Ieyasu, the projectiles launching with an unseen gesture towards the enemy cadets. Some quickly realized they were outmatched and fled, while others boldly held their ground. More Legionnaires arrived to help the cadets with ice, thunder, and fire magic, but nothing they used worked. Ieyasu either dodged them or deflected them with his Keyblade. One legionnaire got close enough to engage Ieyasu in combat, but after deflecting his attacks, he kicked the soldier in the back with enough force to send him through the wall of a building.

Telekinetically grabbing his dropped sword, Ieyasu hurled it into a spellcasting enemy, striking them right through the heart. Another Dominion soldier tried to advantage his comrade, but Ieyasu deflected all of his strikes before slashing open his throat in passing.

"Consider this a mercy. All of you who have been treated as disposable lab rats as part of some divine experiment," Ieyasu said under his breath, cutting down another enemy soldier.

"Damn it. We're not doing anything to this guy!" cried one of the soldiers.

"Don't give up!" another soldier shouted. "We have the Vermillion Bird Crystal back!"

"Those crystals are your puppet masters and key to this experiment," Ieyasu said, unleashing a bolt of lightning from his hand. It sought out the soldier, electrocuting him to death before his stunned comrades. Using the distraction, Ieyasu hurried in, cutting down the remaining cadets and soldiers in the area with swift slashes from his Keyblade. Ieyasu used telekinesis to pick up bricks, discarded weapons, and shields against the remaining enemy soldiers as projectile weapons. His movements were unnaturally fast, with the enemy barely able to follow them, and by the time they realized what was happening, they had already been cut down. If not by Ieyasu's hand, they met their ends at the hand of a dropped sword that found its way into them.

That ended quicker than I had expected, Ieyasu thought.

"You," a new voice questioned.

Ieyasu turned around to face his foe, a man in his late twenties, but Ieyasu knew he was far older than his appearance would suggest. He has a tan complexion with steel gray hair, a scar across his face, and blue eyes. He was dressed in a customized version of the cadet uniform with a black coat, matching pants, white shoes with armor pieces on his chest and shoulders, and a red and black tattered cape. His weapon was a sizeable double-bladed battle axe.

"You are not an l'Cie," He said.

"No, I am not, but you must have some sense of the power I wield," Ieyasu replied, adopting a fighting stance. "Even if I am stronger than you, I know you are someone I cannot take lightly."

"State your name."

"I am Ieyasu Partas. You are Zhuyu Voghfau Byot, aren't you?'

"I am," Zhuyu replied in a monotone voice, his eyes glowing red.

"Well then, do not disappoint me."

Zhuyu said nothing, flames beginning to surround his weapon.

The two stood silently, staring one another down. A second later they crossed blades, charging in an instant. Each blow unleashed a shockwave as the two continued clash, and the walls and street they stood on began showing cracks.

Ieyasu managed to shove Zhuyu away, allowing him to take the fight into the air. The two combatants met mid-air as their weapons clashed again and again. Realizing they were in a stalemate, Zhuyu broke away to unleash a torrent of fire against Ieyasu, who materialized a shield of ice to deflect it. The ice shield melted, but Ieyasu used magic to create a sudden fog that threw Zhuyu off for a second. That second was long enough for Ieyasu to charge him, coming down with a powerful swing.

Zhuyu blocked it, but the impact of the blow sent him flying, crashing through the roof of a tall building. Ieyasu pursued, coming at him immediately. The two crossed blades, and despite being in a smaller space, it did little to hinder their battle as their weapons effortlessly cut through any surrounding walls and furniture. Ieyasu pushed the warrior hard, and Zhuyu was forced to back away when a set of percussion-lock rifled muskets of ice materialized behind Ieyasu. Although made of, the barrage struck with great force, demolishing a chimney and a nearby section of wall.

Once the muskets had used their single bullet, they were sent flying towards their target as explosive projectiles, to make room for new muskets. On top of that, Ieyasu unleashed a wave of element magic from his Keyblade, a wave of lightning unleashed against the chosen warrior of the crystal. Zhuyu infused his weapon with power to unleash a wave of flames to deflect the thunder, before deflecting bullets from Ieyasu's ice muskets, and tried to close the distance between them. Their blades met in the middle and an explosion of ice and fire erupted between their weapons, but neither showed signs of backing down.

The two separated from each other. Zhuyu had already planned his next move. Once Ieyasu regained balance, he noticed another one of the same l'Cie, only that this one was engulfed in fire.

As expected, Ieyasu thought. Of course, there you'll have at least more.

As on cue, another copy of Zhuyu manifested, and the two clones charged forward, slamming their axes down at Ieyasu. One of the axes glanced off Ieyasu's chest, leaving him with a shallow cut. He stumbled back, regaining his balance just before they pushed their attack. He responded with a wall of ice, erupting from the ground. The clones both smashed through the ice, in a crash of sparkles and snowflakes melting from the extreme heat they exuded. Nonetheless, it was enough of a distraction for him to appear between both of them. They both tried to strike Ieyasu, but he dodged. His cold magic at play, he had prepared for this, locking their legs in place with ice. The clones, eager to strike, missed and hit each other.

The real Zhuyu charged again, smashing through a stone column, but Ieyasu has jumped over him. He swung his Keyblade in mid-air, missing narrowly before landing on his two feet. Zhuyu spun around to hit Ieyasu, the Keyblade wielder jumping back. Ieyasu then slammed the ground, causing his opponent to sidestep away, leaving a massive cut on the floor. Ieyasu surged forward, though he was blocked for the time being.

"I pity you," Ieyasu said, readying his Keyblade. "You are barely human after so many years as l'Cie. You remind me of another reason I hated this planet. All this world did is reinforce what I believe must be done for the better of all."

Ieyasu shoved Zhuyu back, hurling his Keyblade at him, Zhuyu backing into the side of a building. The warrior ducked to avoid the weapon impaling his head. Ieyasu had already fashioned a cannon out of ice, opening fire before the warrior could counter. Zhuyu barely escaped the round in time, as it demolished part of the building his back was against. He quickly tried to engage Ieyasu in battle once more, hoping to attack him without his weapon. Unfortunately for Zhuyu, the Keyblade Master summoned his weapon back into his hand in an instant, having lured Zhuyu to attack him under the false presumption he was open. Their weapons clashed again, but this time Ieyasu muttered one word.

"Stopza!"

Time froze around Ieyasu, allowing him to back away, unleashing a blast of magical energy from his Keyblade. Zhuyu took the brunt of the attack head-on, which sent him flying into the wall of a damaged building nearby. When the warrior did not get up again, Ieyasu knew he had won. Most importantly, he noticed the last of the Imperial Forces were away, so his job was done.

"I would've finished you, puppet of the crystal, but I doubt fate would allow you to die here."

Zhuyu was the Dominion's l'Cie, humans chosen to become agents of their nation's crystals by being branded with a mark that appeared on their body as a glowing glyph. In exchange for being a servant of his nation's crystal, he had been granted greater strength, magical power, and eternal youth for as long as he served the purpose of the crystal. All it cost him was his memories and individuality, making him little more than a puppet. Many in this world saw it as an honor, but Ieyasu saw it differently, and it was one of the many things he hated about this world. That so-called honor had taken away a woman he loved, and he had resented the world of Orience ever since, especially after learning certain truths about the planet.

Taking a deep breath, Ieyasu took to the air to escape the city, his work completed.

The Empire might've lost. But through that defeat, I've gained another valuable ally, and I am one step closer to realizing my goal of remaking this universe. One that is worth saving, where humanity can no longer disappoint me.

Ieyasu smiled. His plans were slowly but surely coming together.

A/N: whew I hope this experiment worked out, and while Ieyasu is undeniably a powerful foe he does have some limitations with the powers of Fate can hinder him. But on the flip side if his dialogue is anything to go by he has found an alternative means to force changes in Fate's grand design.

But Fate can push back, but its merely a question of how.

Undoubtably, I hope I've set Ieyasu up as an interesting if not a powerful villain who provide both Sora and Lelouch alongside others a considerable challenge when they face him in the distant future.

However due to a concerning lack of feedback, and hearing some less than positive feedback I've decided to post a poll on my profile page to determine if he should be kept or replaced. I just do not wish for an OC I've worked on with to be the reason I would have to redo this crossover the tenth time.

With Class Zero in the story it boils down to what's going to happen to their world and them once Ieyasu is done with it. More about his personal connections with the world will come into play in the coming chapters and reveal more about his motivations. I won't deny they could become allies of Lelouch or Sora, but that will depend on what is in store for their world next.

Next chapter events of Fire Emblems Three Houses begin along with other factions in the universe taking notice of the destruction the Heartless are causing.

See you guys next chapter.