It was time to end the war on Delta Ridge once and for all. Shiki and Casey were going to face off against Prometheus and Pandora, empowered by the power of the Black Moon Star, all while Ziggy watched from the screen in the back. That was a later issue, because they had to liberate Delta Ridge here and now. "It's time to end this!" Shiki said while pushing off towards Prometheus and Pandora.
"Hmph." Casey scoffed before following suit. Beating these two wasn't his goal, but they were in his way, so he had to get rid of them. He was the one who started the fight, making use of G's gravity to draw Prometheus and Pandora inward without warning.
Shiki used this to his advantage, twisting his body around with gravity aiding him. "Gravity Windmill!" As Prometheus and Pandora were close, he spun and his legs struck the both of them, knocking them back with a direct hit.
Prometheus spun around before landing, twirling his scythe around. "You call that a hit!?" He cackled while Pandora floated next to him.
"Just like before." Shiki narrowed his eyes. The Black Moon Star was really dangerous to power up these androids if a hit like that didn't even faze them. However, since this was his third time fighting someone with this power, he knew how it worked. They weren't invincible.
"We'll show you how strong we are!" Prometheus said while holding one hand upward, wisps of black flame appearing in his hand, taking the shape of a skull. "Skull Flare!" He threw his hand forward, these skull-like flames flying towards Shiki and Casey. They were faster than the two expected, so they exploded between them, causing them to fly in separate directions with burns on their bodies.
"So that's how it is…" Casey tumbled along the ground before catching himself. Not a moment too soon, because Pandora was upon him, swinging her scepter in his direction. Casey crossed his arms and blocked the hit, but Pandora's augmented power still sent him flying.
"You will not escape me." Pandora pursued Casey, clearing going for a divide and conquer strategy with Prometheus. She swung her scepter once more, sending numerous icicles towards Casey. Casey brought his arms up, using Lluvi's barrier to protect himself. However, even he was surprised by how the icicles stabbed so deeply into his barrier.
"…" Casey understood what he was really up against like this. This wasn't a fight they could afford to waste time with. If they spent too long on this, things would sway out of their favor. So he dropped his barrier and threw his arm forward and brought it down, inflicting a force of gravity to slam Pandora into the ground, but she remained standing.
"That will not work on me." Pandora said while swinging her scepter once more, sending two beams of lightning shooting towards him like snakes. Left with no choice, Casey had to fling himself elsewhere with gravity.
Meanwhile, Shiki was having an aerial battle Prometheus. Shiki threw a gravity infused punch towards Prometheus, but he blocked with his scythe, causing a shockwave to boom out. Shiki flipped over and swung his leg down for an axe kick, but Prometheus avoided this, immediately whipping around to land a slash on Shiki's chest with his scythe. "Gh!"
"Come now, surely you can do better than that!" Prometheus laughed, attempting to grab Shiki, but he evaded this and punched Prometheus in the face. Prometheus flew back before landing in a crouched position. "That's more like it! Isn't this what you wanted, Master Ziggy!?"
"Stop playing. Finish him." Ziggy demanded. "Or I will."
"Kyahaha! Of course you would!" Prometheus said. Pandora landed next to him while they stared at the two captains.
"Throwing lives away so carelessly, that's not something I can forgive!" Shiki exclaimed. "So many people died and for what!?"
"Because that is the way of things." Pandora stated calmly. "A world devoid of humans is the end result of all universes…this is the one exception. It cannot be allowed to stand. You are the problem, Shiki."
"What?" Shiki didn't understand.
"You don't need to understand." Prometheus said with a cackle. "All you need to do is perish! I'll gladly reap your soul! Pandora, let's go!"
"Yes." Pandora nodded while detaching part of her helmet which flew into the air, while Prometheus called forth four flaming skulls that spread out. A bombardment of fire, ice, and electricity began on the two captains, who frantically tried to avoid this. Casey used Lluvi's barrier to try and shield himself, but it was simply too much.
"Gravity Center!" Shiki was using his gravity to try and push away the projectiles. It did work to a degree to keep them away. But they weren't prepared for Prometheus.
Prometheus' scythe was enlarged and on fire. "REAPER'S SCYTHE!" He yelled while passing both Shiki and Casey, breaking through their defenses with a single swipe. An explosion of black flames erupted on the spot, blowing the two of them back. He and Pandora had a powerful combination attack and simply waited to see the smoke clear from their efforts. To their surprise, Shiki and Casey were still standing… "Oh?"
"They still stand. Was that not enough? That amount of damage would put anyone down…" Pandora tilted her head.
"The pain I'm feeling now…" Shiki said while clenching his hand into a fist. "It's nothing compared to the people and androids of Delta Ridge." He then pulled his arm back, a mass of gravity beginning to form within his palm, growing larger and larger. "You two said I don't have to understand, but I understand one thing. The weight of the lives you've thrown away so carelessly, those who died in this fight…" The androids that were sacrificed, Sarisse…it ended here and now. "Magimech attack…"
"Here it comes! We can evade this and win!" Prometheus grinned, but just as he got ready to move, a barrier appeared above him and Pandora, infused with gravity to completely weigh them down in such a confined location. "Huh!?"
"This is…" Pandora stared at Casey.
"Just sit there and wait for the end. You're in the way, so move." Casey stated.
"No! This isn't how it's supposed to be…!" Prometheus was trying to break through the barrier, but this wasn't working. It was weighed on all sides.
Shiki nodded towards Casey before glaring at Prometheus and Pandora. "BLACK SKY!" He threw this orb of gravity towards the opposing androids. It easily chewed through the barrier that Casey put down while slamming into the two androids. The power behind this attack was so vast it completely destroyed the top of the tower, reducing it to nothing as the whole building shook. Prometheus and Pandora collapsed onto the ground from the end of this attack, the power of the Black Moon Star fading from their mostly destroyed bodies. Prometheus and Pandora were finally defeated…. "Hah…." Shiki's body returned to normal. "It's over…"
"About time." Casey said, grimacing slightly. Promethus and Pandora hit hard. "Did you have to destroy the tower?"
"…My bad." Shiki admitted. But the Black Moon Star was in front of them now. All they had to do was…watch as a strange wormhole opened up before them and…Ziggy himself stepped out. "What…!?"
"What the…!?" Even Casey was surprised. Ziggy himself was here!? "How did you!?"
"I stole Wormhole from Nero." Ziggy said calmly, looking to Prometheus and Pandora. They were effectively unconscious. Shiki didn't kill them, as he expected. "I thought they would be able to finish the job, but I was mistaken. I have a chance to get rid of you myself. I wasn't expecting the Black Moon to appear now, but…"
"What are you talking about?" Shiki said.
Casey immediately went to his comms. "Get the ship ready. NOW!"
Ziggy didn't answer. Instead, he clenched his hand into a fist, and the power of his Satan's Gravity was shown as the entire Tower began to crumble from his might with no warning. The whole building was going to collapse.
.
.
The rumbling from the inside of the Tower caught so many people by surprise. "W-What's going on!?" Rebecca gasped.
"This power…it couldn't be…" Pino's eyes went wide. "Ziggy is here…!"
"WHAT!?"
"We can worry about that later!" Happy flailed his arms. "We have to get out of here!"
"Right…" Rebecca glanced at the unconscious Athena. "We have to bring her with us. We can't leave her here to die. It's not right…!"
"…I knew you were going to say that." Weisz groaned and quickly hoisted Athena into his arms. Even though the Goldstones caused them nothing but grief and trouble during their times on this planet, they couldn't just leave them to die. It would leave a sour taste in his mouth. "Let's go!"
.
.
"What's happening!?" Asuka said, watching the tower literally crumble with them inside.
"It's collapsing!?" Homura gasped.
"We must leave immediately!" Kleene said while helping Lowell up. He regained consciousness, but was barely able to stand. "Lowell, hurry."
"I am…" Lowell rubbed his head, then glanced at Kamara. "…."
Homura was picking Kamara up into her arms. "We're leaving now. All of us."
"But!" Asuka objected. Saving the woman that killed Sarisse!? Were they crazy!
"We can discuss it later!" Homura knew how everyone felt. But leaving a person to die…that wasn't how she was raised. It was no different than killing Kamara herself. What happened after this decision, however, was a completely different story. For now, they were leaving!
.
.
"I don't know what's going on, but…" Ano said while staring at Max. "Can the three of us even lift him…?"
"Don't worry about it." Geno said while reappearing, hoisting Max into his arms. The man was pretty heavy, but he was able to do this. "Let's just go!"
"…" Hermit was silent as they escaped. This level of power could only be caused by….
.
.
"What's happening to the Tower!?" Stella gasped, watching the pride and joy of Delta Ridge crumble to dust. Everyone inside the tower managed to escape, while the others outside were all huddled together. Everyone stared up at the lone figure floating in the sky, slowly descending to the ground. "Who is that…?!"
"No…" Sister gasped. "He came here?!"
Blair hopped over, drawn in by the complete and utter collapse of the tower they were trying to take back. "What the hell!?"
Ziggy floated above everyone, holding a piece of the Black Moon Star. "This planet…"
"Is that…" Medi stared up at Ziggy.
"So the big boss came to play!" G said while cracking his knuckles.
"What is he doing here?!" Jinn grunted. "How did he get here!?"
"Though Wormhole…" Shiki responded.
"Ziggy! What are you doing!" Hermit asked.
"The Black Moon is a key that can lead to Mother if used properly. With all five pieces of the Star, it will lead you to the Black Moon, which can also lead to Mother." Ziggy explained, his robotic arm grasping the star piece in front of him. Everyone's worst fears were coming to light.
Shiki wasn't going to stand around and do nothing. He entered his Overdrive once more and flew towards Ziggy throwing a punch at him. "GRANDPA!" He swung his fist, but Ziggy stopped it cold with his free hand. He could feel Shiki's power and a shockwave boomed out as he moved ever so slightly, but it wasn't enough. "Put it down."
"No." Ziggy shook his head and kicked Shiki down to the ground. "The Black Moon Star is a fascinating object. It amplifies the Ether of an individual, human or android, to new heights. It is only a fragment of the Black Moon, but it grants astonishing power. Do you know what happens if you apply a force of gravity to this star?" Ziggy was doing just that. Nothing happened at first, but then he released the Black Moon Star shard. There was a tense silence in the air before the gravity fueled into it was suddenly amplified greatly, spreading outwards as everything was slowly starting to be drawn into the growing mass of darkness. Buildings were coming apart and the ground itself was being uprooted. "It turns into a Black Hole." As Ziggy said this, the black hole started to grow larger and larger. "Something large enough to consume this very planet."
"ZIGGY!" Sister yelled. "You can't do this!"
"I am." Ziggy replied, not even giving Sister a second thought.
"This is bad!" Hermit said. She didn't even need to run the numbers. "If this thing goes on for even a few more minutes, this black hole will consume the entire planet with us on it!"
"I can't even rewind to warn everyone about this…" Rebecca cursed herself. She was out!
"What do we do!?" Asuka panicked.
"Steel Creation: Iron Wall!" Tristan slammed his hands on the ground, creating multiple iron walls rooted deeply in the ground. This way, everyone could buy some time and keep themselves grounded.
"Damn it!" Blair shouted at Ziggy. "What's your god damn problem!?"
"…" Ziggy turned to Blair and for a moment, he looked surprised. "You…"
Shiki knew what he had to do. "If it comes from gravity, we can counter it!" He said before launching himself forward towards the Black Hole. With his Satan's gravity he was going to try and fend off the Black Hole and stop it from getting any larger. But he wasn't going to be able to do this alone, so Casey and G did end up joining him on opposite sides of the Black Hole, triangulating around it while using Gravity to keep it from growing larger. "Ngh!"
"Damn, this is a lot stronger than I thought!" G grunted. "Boss?"
"If worst comes to worst, we'll have to throw it into the sky if we can." Casey grit his teeth. "But even then, there's no guarantee we still won't get sucked into it!"
"So we're really just up the creek without a paddle, huh?" G groaned.
"Everyone, retreat back as far as you can!" Laguna exclaimed.
Stella was running back, only for a chunk of a building to break off and nearly strike her. She let out a scream from fear, but Geno appeared and used his fist to smash through the rubble before it could hit her. She saw the Blue Bomber before her and gasped. "Ah! You're alive?!"
"…Yeah…" Geno nodded. "Sorry about the trouble before…are you okay? You should really be getting back."
"Thank you." Stella said with a smile. She glanced back at the growing Black Hole. "But is running going to do anything for us? I want to stand here and support them…! It may sound foolish, but…!"
"They can do it!" Medi exclaimed.
"They'll run out of steam before they can decide what to do with that thing…and he's just watching…" Rebecca stared at Ziggy. If they all weren't so weak and exhausted, they might've stood a chance, but... "Huh?" She glanced up at the buildings, noticing Blair was making her way towards the black hole. "Blair!?"
"What is that chick doing now?" Sister asked.
Blair's Therion arm was still active and she leapt upwards, coming down arm first into the eye of the black hole. "HAAAAH!"
"Blair!?" Shiki gasped. "What are you doing!? It's dangerous!"
"No more dangerous than what you're doing now!" Blair said as her Therion arm was latched onto the center of the Black Hole. "That asshole watching us from above said this was just gravity ether, right? THEN I CAN EAT THIS!" She had a ravenous expression on her face as she began to consume the Black Hole. But…this was a Black hole. Even if it was composed of Ether, that didn't make this easy by any means.
"Is she trying to eat this!?" G said. "How the hell!?"
"Don't question it!" Casey barked.
There was plenty of ether flowing into Blair. Eating an entire black hole was not an easy feat, but it was something that only a Therion could pull off. She clenched her teeth as she continued to feed off the black hole. Slowly but surely, the size of the black hole was staring to shrink with all of the effort she was putting into it. "She's actually doing it…" Hermit was in awe.
"….." Ziggy watched with a curious tilt of his head. This woman must have been…
"GET…OUT!" Blair finally consumed the Black Hole after a few minutes of struggle. The force of gravity it emitted was so great; it flung everyone off to the side once it was consumed. The black hole was dealt with and the Black Moon Star piece just hovered in the air. "Ugh…"
"She did it!" Rebecca clasped her hands together.
"I did not think such a thing was possible…" Homura was staring in awe with everyone else.
"I did not realize you were on this planet…or that you were alive in general." Ziggy told Blair. "If that is the case, there is no point in pursuing the Black Moon." A wormhole opened up behind him.
"So you think you can just set a black hole on us and leave!? I'll tear you apart!" Blair snarled and sprang up, immediately lunging into the air to try and stop Ziggy. But she was pushed back by his gravity and into the ground. "Damn!"
"This is the first and last time we will meet. Even in this Universe divorced from the flow of time, your fate is still sealed." Ziggy said as he passed through the wormhole, unable to be followed by anyone.
"Wait, come back!" Shiki said, but it was too late. Ziggy was already gone.
"…What the hell…" Weisz had no idea what just happened. But they were alive…"Is…is it over?"
"Yes." Casey said while snapping his fingers. On that cue, the Eclipse Ark descended from the sky. In the brief moment of confusion from Ziggy's departure, no one noticed that Percival was the one that snatched the Black Moon Star piece and was on the ship. "It's over, and we finally have what we came here for."
"Huh?" Rebecca blinked. That…happened so fast! The rest of the Eclipse Ark were boarding their shup as well. "Hey, wait!"
"We don't want to cause any problems on this planet." Lluvi stated. "We want your shard as well, but we'll settle with having this one for now. We fought for it just as hard as you did."
"One shard down, four to go." Casey said while disappearing into the ship.
"We're taking off!" Ano said. Lowell, G, and the others of the Eclipse Ark vanished inside, and the ship took off into the sky.
"Wait…!" Rebecca tried calling out to them, but they were long gone. "What the heck…"
"…It's fine." Hermit ultimately said. "At least we know where it is now…"
The battle of Delta Ridge was finally over, but it was hard to celebrate with the events that just took place. Everyone was exhausted and tired, and the destruction left behind from Ziggy's actions did damper the mood considerably. But there was one thing that was certain…the fighting was over. The people and androids that fought hard could finally rest…