"So...this is it." Hope said as they stood in an eerie looking place.
"This is just like those places where we fought those nightmares." Sunset said. "Guess this is where fear manifests itself too."
"Alright, where's Mark?" Eddy asked, looking around before he spotted something. "Hey, there's someone coming!"
Out of the fog, Subtilizer walked out, passing by the group as if he didn't see them.
"I get it… this must be where all the other trauma monsters come from." Double D said as the group saw the other cognitions they had fought walking around, paying them no heed.
"Ira was right...you can't destroy trauma for good." Jexi said.
Suddenly, the cognitions turned their heads towards the group, stopping in place.
"Why are you here?" the cognition of Kajii asked. "Didn't I tell you to let me go?"
"Wait...Mark?" Ace asked.
"Yes." Cognition Frieza said. "We all may look different, but we're all a part of Mark, so we are Mark."
"I guess you figured it out… what happened to me in those seven years." Cognition Marx said.
"Why couldn't you just let me go?" Cognition Eddy's Brother asked. "I'd rather die with friends than live on without any."
"Because Mark… no matter what you've been through in the past, you're still our friend." Hope said.
"...I can't believe that." Cognition Sidious said. "I'm… I'm dirty. I still have scars from those days… and to top it all off, I've made mistakes that I can't undo. Why can't you just leave me behind?"
"We don't leave friends behind, Mark." Hope said. "Sure, all that trauma you've been through was rough, but you're forgetting that you've had plenty of good times with all of us as well. And you've proven on more than one occasion that you're deserving to be called a hero."
"Yeah! Remember when you fought Gentle Criminal all by yourself to stop him from getting into UA?" Eddy asked. "You were there too, Deku! Tell him!"
"Yeah...you were amazing. You beat him down and...he didn't even regret it. He went and turned himself in because of that fight, because you got through to some lingering goodness left in his heart." Izuku agreed.
"He's right. There's people who will say there's no second chances but those are the people who don't want to change. But you...you got that man to change his heart and maybe go down a cleaner path." Indigo said.
"You see, Mark?" Steven asked. "We all don't consider you worse for having gone through all that. You're still our friend, no matter what!"
"Yeah, we're rooting for ya kid." Sans said.
"You beat a demon king, child. You can defeat this fear." Vegeta said.
"You're an Anarchy, Mark. We don't give in to fear, right Stocking?" Panty asked.
"Hell no, we don't!" Stocking said. "What that c*** did to you doesn't change a fucking thing! You're a good kid… and we love you to death!"
"Please Mark! Beat back your fear and come back to us!" Hope said.
"...I can't." Cognition Mark said. "She won't let me."
Just then, the sky above them started to shift, smoke raining down from the heavens. It clumped together and started to take shape, until a giant version of the woman from the memory appeared.
H̅̋̀̅ͥ̀̿͊̀̀͝͏̛̜̯̠̹̲͖ͅȨ̴̛̳̱̞͎̗̥̝̟̝̗̼̲͕̻̻̯̩̉̔̄ͥ̽̆ͬ̑́'̣̫̟͚̗̙̭͍̤̭̝̣͙̝͔̻͙̣͎ͦ͗̅ͤͮ̾̈̐̀́͢͠͡S̵̵̢̭̬͓̹͈͖̲̥̖͎̜̤̓̓ͭ̓ͭ̌̋ͣ ̨̫͓̭̭̳̯͎͍̩̫̬̰͂ͧ̈́̅ͨ̔͌͒͡M̃̌̔̎͂ͪ͌̽̇̾̿̎͒̋͂͏̨̣̝̣̺͍̦̜̹̬͙̙͓̺̀I̴͔̲͎͗͒ͮ̎ͬ̕͢͞ͅN̨͉̟͚̪͇̋̏̌̽͗͗̐͋̒̒̿̓̇́͘͟͠E̶̵̢͚̺̜̹̤͎̰͔͙͍͉̣͇̟̙̬ͬͤ̾̉ͩͦͬ̊̑̌̓͑̽͜͜
"Sorry, but he's not an object for you to use as you please. Sorry...but we're taking him back whether you like it OR NOT!" Ace said, invoking Celestial Force.
(Cue: OMORI OST - 168 OMORI (Final Boss Theme))
The giant cognition of the woman lumbered over the heroes before she roared as she raised her arms out.
Paraphobic Nightmare
The nightmarish giant began slamming her hands all over the area, as well as firing beams from her eyes. The Heroes battled the cognition, damaging her, but they knew there was only one way to end this.
"Mark! You know the only way this ends is if you face your fears and destroy this thing!" Hope said.
"He's right. We can't destroy it. You're the only one who can banish this thing for good." Jexi said.
Mark however was unresponsive to this.
"Fine...if that's how you want to play it." Jexi said as he attacked the woman as she marched towards him.
"What are you doing?" Hope asked.
"Giving him a choice. Either give into fear, or lose a friend." Jexi said, standing there, doing nothing as she approached.
Meanwhile…
Mark sat at the bottom of the void, curled into a fetal position.
"Hey."
Mark lifted his head to see Ira looking at him.
"What do you want?" Mark asked.
"Oh, not much, just wanted to talk." Ira said as he sat down besides his reincarnation. "So… this is how it ends for Mark Anarchy, huh? Sitting here at the bottom of your mind, wasting away, feeling sorry for yourself? What an effed up way to go."
"Just leave me alone." Mark said. "This is for the best. The others will-"
"Be better off without you, blah, blah, blah." Ira said. "Well, one thing's for sure: Jexi won't."
Ira then conjured up an image of Jexi standing in front of the cognition of the woman.
"Jexi, what are you doing?!" Mark asked, sitting back up in panic.
"He's giving you an ultimatum." Ira said. "He's gonna die here if you don't get off your ass and do something."
"N-No…" Mark said. "H-He can't…"
"You bet your ass he can! And he will!" Ira said, grabbing Mark to stare right at him. "Look, you've gone through some shit, so have I. But right now, your friends are fighting tooth and nail to save you. You gonna let all their work be for nothing?"
"...I...I don't deserve them…" Mark said, tears starting to form. "After what she-"
"Enough with that crap!" Ira yelled, slapping Mark across the face. "You know what you need to do? You gotta look deep. Stop focusing on the bad and start remembering the good! So start thinking, dumbass!"
Mark then started to think… Anakin. Gentle Criminal and La Brava. The Eds. Even Issei and the Occult Research Club. He remembered them all.
"...So… was it all for nothing?" Ira asked.
"...No." Mark said, starting to get up.
"Now you're getting it." Ira said. "Time for me to officially pass the torch, so let me offer you one last piece of advice:"
"When faced with the evils of this world, happiness can give you the foundation to bear it. Sadness can give you the wisdom to acknowledge it. And ANGER gives you the strength to oppose it! So rise, Mark Anarchy! AND BE! ANGRY!"
Mark stood up, looked to the sky, and roared, flying up.
Back with the Hero Alliance...
"Jexi, get out of the way!" Hope called out.
"Relax, everyone knows that when you die in a dream, you just wake up." Pinkie said.
"Uh...actually, cause of the prospect of the machine sending physical things in, when you die in here, you die for good." Twilight said.
"Oh...Ooooh." Pinkie said. "Jexi move!"
"I won't!" Jexi said defiantly as the woman stood over him with an arm raised.
(Cue Music Change: In Your Belief - Asura's Wrath)
Then, a yell was heard, growing louder by the second. Suddenly, a light appeared in the distance, getting closer rapidly before it slammed in the construct, sending it crashing to the ground.
"What the-?!" SE asked in shock.
"That's…" Moltar trailed off.
The aura slowed down, showing Mark looking down on the woman, his eyes blue and his expression angry.
"Stay away from my friends!" Mark yelled as he slammed down onto the women, creating a dust cloud.
"Alright! Go Mark!" Hope said.
"I knew he wasn't gonna just lay down and die!" Eddy said.
"Come on, Mark! Kick that bitch's ass!" Panty called out.
The woman reared up and glared, eyes glowing.
"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else, you hear me?!" Mark shouted. "DO YOUR FUCKING WORST."
The cognition glared before pulling back a fist.
.
.
"Y̷̰͎̥̩̹͗͆̈̆́̈͢ͅọ̷̧̝̺̮̹̽̐̀͂̕ǘ̶̢̬̮͕̲̘̍̏͐̏ͅr̗̦̗͓͚̜͚̉̃̓̈̏̾͜e̡͙̲̤̦̤̫̓̀̇͗̂͆ ģ̷̱͚̺̠̿̋̑̄͛͒̆̈͝ͅơ̴̛͙̤͎̣̤̠̟̓͋͗̔͛͞͠i̦̺͔̤̲͙̣̘̩̙͆͛̈́̉͝͡͠ň̷̡͈̝̥̳̙̣̥̋̌͂͂̾̕͟͞g̱̬̮͇͔̞͍̝͕̎̂͐̂̀̄̽̄̕ ţ̴͎̫͚̳̤̝͕̐̔̈͋́́͜͡ǫ̛̱̮͔̦͔̙̰̑̿̃̈̓͐̎̒͟͢ b̷̙̳̙̘̱̰͈̜̦̐̂̓̆͆͘͝͡͞ě̶̤̠̪͉̻̹̠̉͂̾͒̃ m̨̤̫̪̦͔͍͋̍͌̒͗̋̈́̐́ͅi̵̡̬̻̬̬͔̙̝̅̑̑͆̃n̙̠̙̟̮̜̎͊̽̍̒̋̈͝e̶̛̝̫̖͍̣̙̮̘̥̍͂̓̇͝͡.̧̢̦̩͇͕̮̳̠͇̌̂̎́̓͡͠.̧̨̬̫̤̻̠͖̋̂͒̏͘.̧̢̥̬͕̦̝̱̜̐͗̽́́͂͞͠.̢̩̠̻̜̟̼̍̽͗̔͂̔̔͢͝͠͠F̡̡͚̳͚͓̒́͂̈̕͞͝O̶̭͕̰̲̼̺̺͈̔̍̊̔̑̉͒̏R̯̤̺͇̟̥̜̰̍̐́̎́́Ę̵̡̠̦̣̥͇̅̍̀͊̈́ͅṾ͍̗͖̲͎̠͙͛͂̀͋̀͜͡ͅE̷̢̘̞͖̞͇͕̹̓͒͋̑͂̉ͅR̴̜̻̞̗͕̹̳̺̯̉́̋͂̄̾͆̈́̓!̵̛̬͍̘̘̂̿͗͒͐͑͘͘͢"
The cognition threw a punch, but Mark blocked it with his own punch that shattered the cognition's right arm, making her scream.
"All those years, I was afraid of you… afraid of what you did…" Mark glared at the cognition. "No more. I won't live in fear of you anymore, and I won't let that fear shape me. GO TO HELL!"
Mark dived down towards the monster, grabbing the monster's eye and punching it, releasing another scream from the monster.
N̵̴̺̥̟̹̫͖͇͚̫͇̩̳͈̯̙̦ͦ̌ͩ͠ͅO̧͇̞̪͇̮̟̙̣͕̱͖̣̝͖̟͔͇̥̓ͨ̓̏͆̉̒͢͝ ̵̛̼̣͕̃̈̔ͯ̓ͧ̿̉̔ͬ͛ͫ͢͠O̷̵̷̶̦̖̜̮̠̱͔̞͍̘͉̖̍̎̆̄̋̽͗͒́̏̽̚Ň̷̛̲̘͍͚̤̳͕̦̘̣͓̜̏͗͆Ḙ̶̡̯̦͇̪̰̙̜͎͈͔͚͓̟͕̪͖̒̀̏ͥ́͛͆ͅ ͕̥͎̱͕͛ͬͫͫ͜C̢̆̏̉̊̂̒ͯ̽̿ͪ͐҉̟̥̳̜̠̘̲͉͙Aͩ̌ͯ҉̩͎̠͢N̸̮͇̳̮̜̜̹͎̮̄̄ͩ͋̌͒͋̊̑̌͒ͫͦ̆͒͗͒̚͝ͅͅ ͙̯͉͔͇̪̩̭̪̤̦̖̠͚̺̞͉̪̓͐͋̾ͯͯͯ̀͜L̴͙͖̟̺̩̩̳̙̥̣̱̪͍̞̺̪͚͕̫ͮ̿ͪ̉ͩͯ͊́͡Ơ̴̷̵̪͚̺̜̳͍̙̳͍̮͔͔̹ͯ̈ͩ̇ͤ̅͌ͣ͆ͦͩ̈́̎̆̊ͭ͛̓̃V̧̖̮͉̙̝̺̻͉̝͓̎ͥͮ̃̇̓͐ͫ͊̚͡E̡̤͚͇̭͓̝̪̝͙̰͎̣̤̾̇́̇͒͞ͅ ̛̲̘̪̞͇̖̫̲͇̹̰̲̪̽́̽̔͋̎ͦ̂̃̂̌ͪͪ̀͜Ŷ̠̲̝̣̈́̌̓̀Ǫ̒͆͋̋̿͌̊̍̾̐͠҉͙͓̲͚͔͙͖̙̳͈͍̩͓̟̖̮̻̪U̶̼̫̘͔̤͎͖̠͓͊̾̎̽̎̇ͣ̎̃̕ ̛͆̔ͦ̌̾̽̽̃͏̙̬̳̻͕̹̲L͎̩̗̳̖̫̫͛̌͒ͬͩ̿ͥͦ̋̑ͫ͂ͬ̿̋ͣ̓̓̏͘ͅI̵̶̧͓̻̼̼̱̠͙͉̬̣̳̭̟̲̪̰̪͉͊̀͆̂̂̇̿͗͟͠K̃̅ͤ͛̍ͫ̇ͯ̌̓҉̷̪̲̗̞̘̜͈̘͇̜͎̼̫̺̞̻̤E͉͙͕̜̥̩̮͚̗̪̥̭͕͇̺ͨ̾̓͋̈͋̍̎̍̅̈͞͠ ̷̤͈͔̩̯̩̩̖͎͒̌͋̔̒̿͆ͯ̑̑̀ͫ́͜Į̵̦͔̰̣̱̭̘̲̫̤̭̰̫̩͖̞ͨͬ͌͑̓̅̑̐̍ͯ͢͞ ̧͇͔͉̜̰͇̜̪͕̬̪̟̣̟͉̤ͨ̃ͯͩ̄̈̎ͦͣ̊̓͛̓̚͘͜C̸̨̧͚̦̹͎̬̱̮ͦ̆̂ͪ̏̀ͭ͌ͬ̃̒̋̏̎̐͘͠A̶̛̭̭̱̠̺̻̮͚̹̱͓̝̼̜͓͔̲̞̽ͥ̌̌ͅÑ̈́ͦ͐̓͆ͤͮ͌͡͠҉̻̝̺̣̟̲̥̩̥͍̟̙̩͟
"Yeah… they'll love me more." Mark said coldly as he powered up, four arms sprouting from his back. "Ten seconds…"
Mark then started punching the cognition at blinding speed, each hit starting to break the creature apart.
"Five… four… three… two…" Mark counted as he landed a final blow on the cognition. "...One."
The monster gave one final scream before dissipating into nothing, Mark returning to normal.
"Stay forever buried in the dark… where you belong." Mark said.
(End Song)
Mark then turned back towards the group, suddenly looking nervous.
"Okay, I know you're all probably pissed at me saying I want to die, so… go ahead!" Mark said, leaving himself open. "Hit me, noogie me, kick me in the…"
"Yeah, we don't need to go that far." Jexi said. "We're just glad you finally snapped out of it."
"Yeah, it wouldn't be the same without you with us." Hope said.
Mark just smiled at the group. "Thanks for not giving up on me."
"No problem."
"Oh, wait! I almost forgot, Superbia! What about his crusade, we need to-!"
"Ah, don't worry about him." Hope said. "I get the feeling he's gonna get his comeuppance, and we don't have to do a thing."
"No...you do need to do something." Tails' voice said.
"Tails? What's the situation?" Jexi asked.
"He just wiped out both Belphegor and Leviathan. Though at the cost of half his fleet. But it doesn't look like he's left from the same spot he was at. Looks like he's trying to find Jack." Tails said.
"Well, guess you guys still have a job to do." Ira's voice said as he appeared.
"'You guys?" ZS asked. "You're… not with us?"
"Nah, Mark here just got a promotion." Ira said, patting the boy on the back. "Boys and girls, meet the new - and much improved - Vice Angel of Wrath. Once you leave, my power and ego will be absorbed into his soul and… well… I'll be alright, but you won't see me again." the angel explained.
"Ira, thank you...for everything." Ace said.
"What, even for almost killing Jack and trying to fight Rain Bow?" Ira asked, smirking.
"Well, despite that you managed to help these guys in the end." Devil Ace, now named Xenos said, appearing next to Ace.
"...Huh. Guess I did." Ira said. "Well, tell Siege and Richard I said goodbye. Oh, and when you see Superbia, tell him he's an ass… and that I'm sorry it ended this way."
"...Will do." Emo saluted.
"Heh….guess this is it." Ira said as the group started to fade. "Goodbye… my friends."
The group soon returned to the physical world with Mark having fully awakened.
"Guys. Glad you see you all made it out okay." Tails said.
"Uhh… guys?" Mark asked as they all turned around to look at him. "What the hell is up with my hair?"
Mark's appearance had changed: his blonde hair had bleached into a silver color, and his once blue eyes were now a deep shade of purple.
"Looks like Ira's given you a makeover along with a power boost." SE noted.
"Yes...very fitting for the new holder of his power." Double D said.
"Aw, you're making me blush!" Mark laughed, getting out of the bed. "So, who's ready to kick some Crusader ass?"
"You don't even have to ask for it. Tails?" Jexi asked.
"Yeah, his fleet is still not moving." Tails said.
"Then let's not waste time." Jexi said as they headed off.
Meanwhile…
Superbia stood over the corpses of Leviathan and Belphegor as he floated in that space.
"Haa….haaa...Two demon lords...dead at my hands." Superbia said floating there. "A step closer. However, I was amused at first but now it's gotten annoying. Time to deal with that little thief."
"Aw...talking about me, sunshine?" Jack said on Superbia's comm.
"So, you've tapped into my communications." Superbia said. "I suppose this means you can undo the radio silence around the Demon Universe. So, will you summon the rest of the Ultra Hero Alliance to your aid? Lead an army into a final glorious battle against my crusade?"
"Nah, I get the feeling they'd come even if I did invite them. Nah...for the time being, the Phantom Thieves are gonna have some fun with you by dismantling everything you worked towards." Jack said.
"I think not." Superbia said. "You may hide now, but not forever. As you can hack into my comms, so too can my forces hack into yours. I will find you, Jack Ginova. And when I do… I will hear you beg for mercy as I crush your head beneath my heel."
"Yeah...but you gotta find me first. It's a fun game of hide and seek...with a twist." Jack said as one of the crusade ships exploded.
"...Hm." Superbia noted. "What is it? Every hour I don't find you, another ship explodes? Every day?"
"Maybe for a normal person. But since you're some self proclaimed angel…" Jack said as another ship exploded. "It's gonna be every minute."
Superbia watched the wreckage fall before he smiled. "...I will enjoy destroying you, Ginova… as I enjoyed destroying your team's world." he said before he ripped the comm out of his ear and flew off.
"So the truth finally comes out." Jack said sitting in the command room of the Prideful Crusade's flag ship.
"So...what do we do, Jack?" Joker asked.
"Stick with the plan. Mona?" Jack asked.
"Yeah...all is going to plan. All of the farms were shut down and the children and humans relocated." Mona said.
"Good." Jack said getting up. "Suppose I better get moving too. Don't wanna keep our friend too bored. After all, the real fun is about to begin." he smiled as he headed down a hall.
To be continued...