Kingdom Hearts: Grand Order

by KingSora3

You all know the events that lead up to Sora's disappearance from his and his intense battle with Yozora. But what if instead of ending up in the city Quadratum, he ended up in the fabled Clock Tower, meeting the infamous Wizard Marshal. Guided by him, Sora ends up in a world where humanity is on the brink of destruction and must save it with Chaldea's Final Master

7. Orleans Singularity: Finale

Disclaimer: I don't own neither the Kingdom Hearts franchise nor the whole Fate franchise. They are owned by their respective companies.

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Order 7: Orleans Singularity - The Final Battle Ends

Image Cover: The image depicts the Chaldea group charging forward with Ritsuka holding his hand outward as if he was a Commander, leading the charge. On the opposite side was Dark Jeanne riding on Fafnir and her Servants charging at them. Looming over them was Caster Gilles with his arms spread out and a silhouette of a monster shrouded in darkness with yellow eyes behind him.

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The Chaldea group had to stop running towards the castle as they were now fighting the remaining wyverns. They all remained in a circle with Ritsuka standing in the center. Once Mash took down the last of them, they were about to make a run to the castle but were stopped by Romani's panicked voice.

["Be careful everyone! There are several Servant signatures! Coming at high speed!"]

"ARRRRRRRRTHURRRRR!"

"RULER!"

Battle Music: The Corrupted [Kingdom Hearts 2]

The moment that roar was heard, Artoria felt a chill go up her spine as her eyes widened. No…it couldn't be! The Dragon Witch actually summoned him here!?

Jeanne was pretty much in the same boat as Artoria as she too recognized that angry roar that called her by her title as it made her remember the battle they had in another Grail War.

Feeling their presence getting closer, she, Artoria, Elizabeth and Sora instantly turned around. Sora blocked a sword strike from a redheaded woman, Jeanne blocked a claw strike from the beast-like woman, Eli blocked a strike from Carmilla and Artoria blocked a fist from a large black knight with darkness emitting around him.

"Atalanta!" Jeanne exclaimed, trying to push Archer of Red back and was shocked for a moment when she saw the black cracks on her face and the black stuff covering her eyes

"Lancelot!" Artoria also exclaimed, shocked to see one of her Knights once again in this Singularity.

"Carmilla!" Eli growled, glaring angrily at her older self who very much did the same thing.

"Who are you!?" Sora asked the older woman, who only glared at him with such a ferocious scowl on her beautiful face.

The black armored knight roared in anger as he and his companions sent themselves, along with the opponents they were facing, away from the group and going in separate directions, leaving them shocked over what happened.

"GUYS!" Ritsuka called out to them worriedly. Damn it! So in the end, they've split them up!

["Hang on Fujimaru! There's two others heading your way!"]

They soon heard a loud feral roar, making them look up in time to see three figures descending upon them. Mash and Siegfried moved and blocked the strikes from the enemy Servants. The power in their strikes caused the ground to shake beneath their feet before it got pushed down, forming a crater. Emiya and Cú moved to attack them but they jumped back to land a few feet away from them.

There before them stood Vlad and Chevalier.

Seeing her knight once again made Marie take several steps forward but was stopped when Amadeus placed his arm out in front of her. She glanced at him then looked at her former knight, her eyes full of sadness as she was going to fight her dear precious friend.

"Chevalier."

She was still as beautiful as she remembered her to be. She was even wearing one of the gifts she gave her back when they were alive, only it was more of a darker color.

"My…Queen." Chevalier spoke in a slightly dead but trembling voice as she stared at her queen.

"Well now, this is a touching little reunion. Don't you agree, Saber of Black?" Vlad asked in amusement, looking at Siegfried. "A shame that Archer of Red and Ruler left to take care of some personal issues."

"You know him?" Ritsuka asked the Dragon Slayer.

"Yes. He and the others I fought in Lyon." Siegfried replied, glaring at Vlad slightly. "But this one, along with the enemy Archer, are who Jeanne and I fought somewhere else."

"Much as I love a good reunion party, I believe that we have a battle going on." Cú said, walking ahead to face the legendary Dracula himself.

"I agree, Hound of Culann! However, what say you that we even the odds?" Vlad asked, snapping his fingers.

Five Wyvern Heartless appeared behind them, though Emiya noted that those five were of different variations, just like the one he and Sora fought against the other night.

One, the Avalanche, has white and light steel blue skin, save for its belly, which is pale green. Its body is rather thin, while its feet are quite large and somewhat resemble clogs with tips that curve upward. Its wings seem rather short and have a rough, jagged appearance. They also seem to be segmented, each segment alternating from white to steel blue. Its tail is long, wide, flat and sports a few short spikes on its sides, as well as a dark gray, zig-zagging stripe near its tip. Its forehead sports a large horn that curves upward slightly.

The second, Wavecrest, has light blue and dark blue skin, save for its belly, which is light gray. Its body is rather thin, while its feet are quite large, dark blue, and somewhat resemble clogs with tips that curve upward. Its wings seem rather short and have a rough, jagged appearance. They also seem to be segmented, each segment alternating from light to dark blue. Its tail is long, wide, flat, and sports a few short spikes on its sides, as well as a pale yellow, zig-zagging stripe near its tip. Its forehead sports a large horn with yellow highlights that curves upward slightly.

The third, Phantomtail, has pink skin. Its legs and shoulders are black. This Heartless is thinly built and has large, peculiarly-shaped feet; each foot has a black claw on its front and another on its back. The tip of its long tail is hooked, as are the tips of its wings. Short, forward-facing horns appear atop this Heartless's head above each of its eyes.

The fourth, Windstorm, has faded green skin on its back and white skin on its underbelly. Its shoulders and feet are black and its legs are striped with bright mint green. Its body is rather thin, while its feet are quite large and have a peculiar shape, each one consisting of only two black claws; a large front one and a small rear one. The tail is long and ends in a large, bent hook. Its wingtips, which are bright mint green, end in small hooks. Its head sports two short horns above each of its eyes that point forward.

And lastly, the Dustflier has brown skin, save for its belly, which is tan, and its shoulders, feet, and the tip of its tail, all of which are black. Its body is rather thin, while its three-toed feet are quite large, each sporting orange talons. Its wings seem rather short and bulky when compared to its feet and tail, and its light orange wingtips looked like some kind of symbol. The Dustflier's tail ends in a large, misshapen club with three conical, orange spikes on it.

"Heartless!" Ritsuka exclaims, glaring at the five draconic beings of darkness. "So we were right after all! Caster is the one controlling them!"

"That's right." Vlad said. "Ever since he heard of them, Caster has been quite obsessed with these abominations. When one of those Shadows came into the castle, he took it and started to examine it, trying to learn more about them and their nature. Once he was done, he used its dark essence to transform the wyverns into Heartless as well." He spread his arms out. "As you can see before you, he granted five of them with enough power of darkness to turn them into what you see before you. There was a sixth, but it looks like you all took care of it."

"You're welcome." Emiya quipped.

"Tch!" Ritsuka grit his teeth at that. Great, so he was experimenting with the Heartless just like Xehanort did and turned the regular wyverns into Heartless. He seriously hoped that he didn't turn any people into Heartless. But then again…this is Gilles de Rais they were dealing with.

"Master! Your orders?" Mash asked, her shield ready for battle.

"We stick with the plan!" Ritsuka ordered. "Cú and Marie, you take care of Vlad and Chevalier! Everyone else, take care of the Heartless!"

"Yes!" The Servants acknowledged the order as they charged at the enemies they're facing while Mash remained at her Master's side.

Marie and Chevalier had taken their battle elsewhere while Cú and Vlad remained where they were, both of them using their weapons against each other. Everyone else moved somewhere else to take care of the Heartless.

Avalanche roared and tried to go after Fujimaru by rushing at him, though Mash appeared in front of him and used her shield to block it. The Heartless was about to put more power into it, but Mash yelled and knocked it back into the air. It then let out a painful screech as it felt powerful flames hit its wings, getting it to flap them frantically as it put them out before it fell on the ground.

"Quick! Kiyohime, keep using your flames on the wings to keep it down. Mash, attack its head!" Ritsuka ordered.

"Understood!"

Mash charged at the larger Heartless and struck its head with heavy strikes. Kiyohime nodded her head and summoned six fireballs and launched them at Avalanche's wings, getting it to screech louder.

Mash was about to strike again but then jumped back when she saw it stand back up. It then launched itself up in the air. The Shielder looked up in alarm as she saw it was about to slam itself towards her. But Kiyohime had already launched a massive fireball at it, landing a direct hit on its torso, resulting in an explosion of flames that caused it to disappear, with no heart seen coming out.

"Alright!" Ritsuka cheered. At least they stopped it for now. But unknown to him, a dark light was seen heading straight towards the castle after Avalanche was destroyed. He turned to see how the others were doing against the Heartless and it looked like things were going great.

Siegfried was taking care of the Dustflier with ease as he slashed its tail clean off, getting it to screech and fall to the ground as it flapped its wings wildly. He grabbed the rest of the tail, then looked back to see Phantomtail charging at him with its drill attack. The Dragon Slayer then spun around, keeping his grip on Dustflier's tail and smashed it against Phantomtail, making it crash on the ground.

Gripping his sword, Siegfried released Dustflier's tail and he stabbed it through the head, getting it to stop moving. He then charged at Phantomtail who was about to get back up before Siegfried cut its head clean off. It remained motionless for a second before it fell over, dead.

"Awesome…" Ritsuka muttered. He knew Saber was strong, but he had no idea he was that strong. Siegfried was definitely worthy of bearing the title of Dragon Slayer. Turning to the Heartless, he was surprised to see them enveloped in darkness before shooting off back to the castle.

"What was…?"

The Master shook his head. No he has to focus on the battle and not whatever happened to those Heartless. Already knowing that Siegfried was going to help the others with the Heartless, especially Mozart as he looked like he was having some trouble dealing with while Archer was already taking care of the Heartless he's fighting, he turned to see how Cú and Marie were doing.

Cú was obviously keeping up with Vlad as both Lancers were using their weapons to clash against each other with sparks flying between them as they moved around the battlefield. It looked like Cú was winning the fight as Vlad kept disappearing and reappearing around him as though he was a mist.

Nearby, Marie had created a shield made of crystals which she used to block the sword strikes from Chevalier. After blocking the last sword strike, the Rider counterattacked by sending a blast of pink wind at Saber and knocking her back.

Chevalier grit her teeth as the sharpness of the wind made cuts appear around her dress. She glared at her Queen, though to her it looked like she was looking at her sternly. "Why? Why are you blocking me and not attacking?"

Marie wore a smile on her face. "Because, I want to talk with you, mon beau Chevalier."

"...talk?" Chevalier asked, not believing what her queen was saying to her right now. She ground her teeth and glared harder at her. "This is a battle! There is no place for talking!"

Marie shook her head as her smile turned into a sad one. "You're right. This is a battle. But I still want to have the chance to talk to you. Please?"

Chevalier still held her glare but didn't say anything, which let a grateful Marie continue on with what she had to say.

"Ever since I heard that you were summoned here, I've been wanting to see you again." Marie admitted, shaking her head again as she bowed her head a little. "This just isn't how I pictured our meeting would go. To see you like this…becoming cursed by Dark Jeanne and forced to be a killer. It hurts me…knowing that you were suffering like this."

Chevalier winched and she felt her arm, that was holding her sword, tremble slightly by her queen's words. If she were honest, she too wanted to meet her queen once she learned that she was here but because of this curse…she felt she didn't deserve to meet her.

She was also quite surprised to learn that she survived her encounter with Assassin, only to be shocked when she learned that that young man with the key was the one who helped her not only fight Assassin, but to also knock her Master's dragon back when it tried to destroy Montluçon.

Now here she is. Still alive in this Singularity and now they were meeting each other for the first time.

"That's why…" Marie moved her head up and looked at Chevalier with a determined expression as pink mana appeared beneath her feet. She raised her hand in the air. "As your friend, and most importantly as your queen, I shall end your suffering!"

She pointed at Chevalier as orbs of pink mana flew out from below her and were making their way to her knight who looked quite surprised by the action and was struck by them as a result. One that was done, she created a glass shield in one hand and a glass sword in the other and charged forward.

Ritsuka watched as Marie continued to fight with her knight. Good. It looks like they are going to win this fight very soon. He unconsciously placed his hand on top of the other where the Command Seals are, looking very determined to end this Singularity once and for all. He hopes Sora and the others are doing okay.

---

Meanwhile

Sora and Berserk Rider were currently fighting, key clashing with the sword as sparks flew. Thankfully, there weren't any wyverns, both the Heartless and normal, there to try and interrupt them. The Keyblade Master was quite surprised by the scowl on the woman's face as she continued to attack him with ferocious heavy strikes with him either blocking or avoiding it. He struck her again and she struck as well, both of them trying to push the other back, getting Sora the chance to look into her eyes and was stunned by what he saw.

Sadness. Pain. Anger. But most of all, hatred. He can see a deep-rooted hatred in her eyes that made him gasp out loud. It was hatred not at him specifically, but at something else. What that is, he doesn't know. Dark Jeanne's curse must have affected her greatly if it caused this girl to have this much hatred or better yet caused her to him as someone else.

The Berserk Rider then brought her head to his, getting him to cry out in pain as he backed away and held it with one hand. "ROMAN SCUMBAG! DIE!" She yelled as she brought her sword up to strike him, but Sora raised Kingdom Key at her.

"Thunder!"

A bolt of lightning struck her and caused her to cry out in pain as she dropped her sword. Sora took this opportunity to strike at her several times before knocking her away as she landed on the ground.

Rider looked up at Sora with a glare and stood up. "Damn you!"

"No! Wait! Let's stop for a second!" Sora told her as he held his hand out to stop her from making a move.

"Shut up! You think I would listen to the words of an enemy from Rome!?"

"I'm not from Rome! I don't even know what that is!" Sora argued back. "Please, listen! You're under a curse! What you're doing and feeling is because of the Madness Enhancement that Dark Jeanne placed on you after you were summoned! You have to fight it!"

"C-Curse…?" Rider's eyes widened in confusion and with slight recognition. W-What was this Roman fool…no…that's not a…w-who is this boy? "Wait…you're not…what have I been…?!"

Sora could see the confusion in her eyes and saw them light up a bit which made him hopeful that she was starting to fight it, but then got worried when she then started to grab her head and let out a scream. Seeing her getting enveloped in darkness made Sora reach out to her and help but stopped. She had looked up at him, the light in her eyes fading away and returned to the dark hateful kind.

"You…!" Rider removed her hands from her head and was now glaring hatefully at him. "You damn Romans! You…all of you…took everything away from me! My home! My family! YOU ALL TOOK EVERYTHING!"

Sora's eyes widened as he saw the tears falling down her eyes. He tried to talk to her again but she already picked up her sword, aiming it at him.

"YOU BASTARDS! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Rider yelled furiously as she charged at the 'Roman' enemy that's before her before he could say anything else.

And so the fight continued with Sora blocking every sword strike the Servant tried to dish at him, with him trying to counterattack. But whenever he tried to strike back, she would always use her shield to block it as well. He did catch her off guard by using magic and striking her, but after that, she made sure to block his magic with her shield. Wanting to take it up a notch, Sora transformed into his Second Form. But as he continued to gain an edge in the fight, Sora couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

He didn't know who this woman was nor these Romans she keeps talking about…but it looks like they caused her a great deal of pain for her to react this way. This curse that Dark Jeanne placed on her just made it a whole lot worse. She must've seen the people of France as Romans and in her madness, she killed them, not knowing who they really are.

While Sora was lost in his thoughts, so was Boudica. All she could see in front of her was a Roman scum who invaded her home. She will never forgive those disgusting creatures! They killed her husband, they raped her young daughters right in front of her and now here they are mocking her once again! She will kill them! Kill them all just like she did to the others in this accursed era she was in!

So then…why? Why was her heart crying out to her, telling her to stop!? Something inside her heart was telling her that this wasn't a Roman she was fighting! That all of the others 'Romans' that she killed weren't actually Romans! But…but they had to be! She's looking at one right now!

"No…no…that's wrong!"

Every time she blinks, she keeps seeing a young man holding a strange key trying to defend himself from her. But when she blinks again, she sees the Roman soldier, looking at her smugly as though she was nothing but dirt. But what was it saying about a…curse?

T…That's right. She remembered being summoned and meeting her Master, the Dragon Witch. She…she did something to her. Just like she did with the other Servants she summoned! She…she tried to fight whatever it was she did to her, but it grew stronger and stronger to the point where she ended up losing herself to it. In the end, she became exactly like she was back when she was alive before her death.

She cried out in pain when the Roman soldier…no…the young man struck her and sent her flying back.

"Stop! Please! I don't want to fight you!" Sora tried to tell her again. "I want to save you!"

Boudica glared at him angrily but then closed her eyes and shook her head, trying so hard to fight the curse. "No!" She called out, her voice losing the anger. She dropped her weapons and gripped her head, shaking it back and forth. She opened her eyes to show the light had returned. "It's…too late for me! I…can't fight it! Just…end me…before I hurt you like the others! Please!" She pleaded to the young man as she looked at him with her eyes reflecting it and the regret she has for what she's done in this Singularity.

Sora looked conflicted. Here she was trying her hardest to fight the curse and here he is trying to figure out how to lift it with his Keyblade. He stopped when he remembered the words Goofy and Master Yen Sid told him.

"May my heart be my guiding key…" He looked at her still struggling form and then towards his Keyblade, a look of determination on his face. He aimed it and fired a golden beam of light from the tip towards Boudica, who looked at it with widened eyes just as it struck her.

Background Music: Ever-Present Feeling [Fate/Grand Order]

The Berserk Rider felt something. She couldn't describe what it was she was feeling. It wasn't painful. No. It was…a warm feeling. It felt so bright and warm and it made her want to fall asleep. She could feel the curse of the Dragon Witch leave her Spiritual Core, but at the same time as it left, it also destroyed it.

The beam of light soon vanished once the curse with the Boudica falling backwards. Sora immediately ran to her, his Second Form fading out and got on one knee next to her. She looked up at him and had a gentle smile on her face.

"Thank you…for freeing me."

Sora looked sad at that and turned away from her, biting his lips. "I'm sorry. That this happened to you." He blinked when she placed her hand on his cheek, gently turning him to look at her.

"No. It's…my fault for answering the call. This is…all on me." Boudica said, her form starting to disappear in gold dust. "I'm Boudica. What's…your name?"

"Sora."

"Sora. What a…wonderful name." Boudica closed her eyes and vanished into gold dust, returning back to the Throne of Heroes.

Sora closed his eyes and clenched his fist. He knows that Servants are just copies of Heroic Spirits…but it still doesn't sit right with him that they're being summoned to cause such destruction against their will. Now the memories of what happened here will be transferred back to their main body.

"ARRRRRTHUUURRRR!"

The Guardian's eyes widened at the angered roar and turned to see Artoria and the Black Knight, whom she called Lancelot, fighting a few meters away from him. He shook his head. He can't think about this now. They were now split up from Ritsuka and the others. They needed to defeat these Servants now and hurry back to them!

He summoned his Keyblade, focusing entirely on the Black Knight as a blue aura appeared around him, just as when he was about to strike Artoria with his sword. He used his Airstrp to instantly dash at Berserker, knocking him back slightly and then struck him with his Keyblade, pushing him further back.

"Sora?" Artoria asked, surprised to see him show up.

"Hm!" Sora smirked at her which made her return at it as they both turned to Lancelot, who roared angrily at them and summoned his red sword.

Battle Music: The Battle is To The Strong [Fate/Zero]

The Berserker charged at them and swung his sword down, getting them to jump back to avoid it. He wasn't done yet as he performed a sweeping strike at them with Sora attempting to block it only only for it to be broken by the power put into it, which also caught the wielder off guard. Artoria took this chance to charge at her former knight and strike him, only for the Berserker to grab her sword.

"Fire!" Sora yelled as he fired his spell at the Black Knight's head, getting him to turn at him in annoyance.

"RRAAAAH!" Lancelot roars at him, throwing Artoria aside, his attention fully on him. His red sword suddenly transformed itself into a gun and he aimed it at him.

"Uh-oh!" Sora's eyes widened comically at this, showing that he wasn't expecting that to happen. He quickly ran away when the Berserker opened fire at him. He then summoned a shield of light as the bullets attacked it.

The barrier then erupted into mini explosions which knocked Lancelot back. Artoria came rushing in and struck him several times. Sora joined in immediately and struck as well, even going so far as to strike Lancelot's head, getting him to stumble back more.

The Black Knight let out an angry howl as darkness erupted from him, pushing both Artoria and Sora backs they used their forearms to block the powerful wind that blew past them. They looked up at the angry Lancelot, darkness coming off of him in waves. The red line across his visor was glowing ominously red to show he was glaring hatefully at them.

"Be careful!" Artoria told Sora, who nodded at her as they both took their stances.

"Got it!"

Lancelot let out another howl as he charged at them, both swords drawn in each hand as to fight them at the same time. He leaps in the air, spinning forward and slammed his swords down at them, getting them to dodge in time as the swords unleashed waves of dark energy. The Black Knight then spun around in place with his swords out and unleashed another wave of dark energy at them.

"Reflect!"

Sora did another Reflect spell, covering both him and Artoria, as the energy wave attacked the shield, causing it to explode once again and making Lancelot stop and turn to them with a turn of his head.

"Man! You guys weren't kidding about Berserkers! They're tough!" Sora exclaimed.

This wasn't a Servant who was cursed by the Dragon Witch. This was a pure Berserker they were fighting here, one that isn't like Kiyohime. From what he can understand, some if not all Berserkers are completely lost in their Madness Enhancement, losing their sanity as a result.

Meaning he had the overpowering strength of his class, and the reckless abandon to throw it at them again and again until they fell. Meaning that he can't be reasoned with just like with Boudica.

"Indeed." Artoria said, her eyes not leaving her former knight. She had a look of sadness on her face. "To think I would fight him here again."

"You fought him in another Grail War?" Sora asked curiously, his eyes still remained on the Berserker as well, though he could still hear the sadness in her voice. "How'd you beat him last time?"

"By sheer luck." Artoria answered. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him glance at her, a curious look on his face. "He drained his previous Master of all his magical energy, stopping him for a moment to allow me to strike."

"Well, in that case, you're in luck again." Sora said, getting her to glance at him as he smiled at her. "You're not facing him alone."

Artoria briefly looked surprised for a moment but then returned the smile. "No. I'm not."

"AAAAAARRRRRTHHUUURRR!" Lancelot let out another howl that's similar to a mad dog, having enough of hearing them talk in his presence. The two turned their attention back to him and readied their weapons.

"Let's hurry and take him down! Master and the others are waiting for us!" Artoria said.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed.

The two dashed at the Berserker and swung their weapons at him together. Lancelot blocked them with his swords, getting sparks to fly. He pushed the two back and went in for the kill. They blocked the sword with Artoria kicking him away from them and Sora aiming his Keyblade to fire a Blizzard spell at one of his arms, causing it to freeze in place which only earned an angry yell from Lancelot.

Artoria charged in again, her eyes focused on the frozen limb and she managed to cut it clean off, letting it fall and shatter to the ground. The Mad Dog howls in pain at the loss of his limb. He raised his sword again, turning it into a machine and aimed it at his King. Before he could even fire, the gun was knocked out of his hand and into the air.

"Artoria! Ready?"

"Let's go!"

The two stood shoulder to shoulder, their weapons drawn in the same position and ready to strike. They charged at Lancelot, not giving him the chance to recover or try to counterattack. As if they were two knights performing a synchronized dance together, they landed a couple of graceful slashes at Lancelot, with each hit causing Kingdom Key and Excalibur to glow. After the last slash pushed Lancelot back, showing the glowing slash marks all over his armored body, and once their weapons glowed bright enough, Sora and Artoria crouched into a stance and pulled their weapons back.

"Shining Victory!"

The two slashed upwards at the same time, sending a very large powerful wave of yellow and blue energy, in the shape of the letter V. Berserker looked up at and tried to block it, only for it to be futile as the attack was too powerful, even for him. He let out a painful howl as the attack landed a direct hit on and pushed him back. Cracks started appearing all over his armor causing darkness to leak out, with pieces of his helmet cracking and falling off, showing his face.

The V-shaped energy blast then exploded, sending Lancelot flying into the air for a second or two, then crashing on the ground.

Battle Music: End

Sora and Artoria didn't celebrate just yet. They kept their eyes on the not moving Berserker. Their eyes widened slightly when they saw him stand up albeit weakly. With his helmet nearly gone, Sora got a good look at his face. A mature older man with wild purple hair and an expression that was full of madness as if he was a dog. In other words, a very mad dog.

"Arr…thur…!" Lancelot spoke up, his voice still slightly rough but softened up a bit. He was slowly but surely trying to regain his sanity in his last moments. "Ar…thur! I…I…!"

Seeing that he was regaining his sanity, Sora was going to try and say something to him but was stopped by Artoria, who merely shook her head at him. She turned back to her knight and a look of sadness and guilt appeared on her face.

"That's enough, old friend." Artoria said sadly, watching as he tried to walk towards them despite him fading away. "It's over."

"Ar…thur…I'm…sorry…" Lancelot apologized, his eyes showing sadness and guilt within them and he ended up vanishing.

"...I'll always forgive you." Artoria said, lowering her head. Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, she looked at the concerned Sora.

"You okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine." Artoria reassured him, though her tone of voice still had that lingering sadness in it. "Come. Our friends need us."

Sora still looked a little concerned but nodded his head, knowing she was right. Now wasn't the time for that. They had a battle to win and a Holy Grail to get.

---

"RULER!"

Jeanne had to run away to avoid the barrage of dark energy arrows crashing down at her from above. The dark arrows landed on the ground from where she ran, making her jump back and spin her flag to block the remaining others. Looking back at her enemy, she saw that she vanished prompting her to quickly turn around and hold her flagpole out in front of her

Just as she expected, Atalanta tried to get the drop on her just like in the Great Grail War the last time she used this form. Her hands gripped her flagpole while she was clamping her teeth down on the bar. Jeanne grit her teeth and spun around, throwing her off her weapon and on the ground, as it started to glow.

"Shining Ring of Promise!" She shouted her technique as she swiped her flag and caused a ring of light to shoot out.

Berserk Archer jumps in the air to avoid it, summoning her dark crossbow and aimed at her as darkness gathered, taking shape into an arrow.

"DIE! RULER!"

Jeanne got ready to block it the moment she fired, however she saw an orb of light destroy it, resulting in a mini explosion. Atalanta's eyes widened in anger at this and she, along with Jeanne, turned their heads to see where it came from, only to see a wave of golden light making its way towards Archer.

Atalanta immediately leaps out of its way, landing on all fours while doing so. She looked up to see both the Knight King and the boy who wields that mysterious key weapon standing in front of her nemesis, who also looked surprised by their sudden appearance.

"Sora? Saber?" The two looked back and nodded at her before turning their attention back to Archer of Red who bared her teeth at them.

"Jeanne…do you know her?" Sora asked, seeing the dark aura that's covering the beast woman's form. He asked the question because while he and Artoria were making their way to her, they could hear the burning hatred in her voice as she ferociously attacked Jeanne like a wild animal. It also didn't help that she looked the part.

"Yes. Her name is Atalanta, Archer-class." Jeanne answered, a look of sadness on her face as memories of the two of them fighting appeared in her head. "I fought her in another Grail War before. I know the reason she became this way is because of the Madness Enhancement. But…her hatred for me it's…"

"Never mind that, Ruler." Saber spoke, glancing at Sora to address him about this. "If you wish to save her from this just like you did with Rider, do so now."

Sora nodded his head and walked forward, prompting Jeanne to reach out to stop him but was stopped by Artoria who shook her head. She looked at her but then looked at Sora worriedly. He stopped walking, standing a few away from Atalanta, who was growling at him. He gave her a friendly smile, slightly confusing her.

"Hi there. You're Atalanta, right?"

"Move!" Atalanta barked.

"I'm Sora. It's nice to meet ya."

"I said move boy!" Atalanta roared, angry and confused that he was talking to her. "The only one I want is Ruler! You and Saber stay out of this!"

"We can't do that." Sora said, shaking his head, further angering her. "Atalanta, listen. You don't have to do this and I know you don't want to do this either. The reason why you want to kill Jeanne is because of the Dragon Witch, right? Because she looks exactly like her?"

Jeanne wanted to tell him that it wasn't because of that. To explain that the reason why she wants to kill her specifically isn't because of the Dragon Witch because of another matter that happened elsewhere. But she didn't. She wanted to watch and see what happens next.

At being reminded of her Master and what she and Caster did to her, Atalanta had her dark crossbow out, ready to fire at him. "I'm warning you boy! Get the hell out of the way or I'll take you all down together!"

Background Music: Tears of the Light [Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep]

Sora frowned sadly, not paying any mind to the threat whatsoever as he watched her whole form trembling. "You were forced to kill a lot of people because of Dark Jeanne. Innocent men, women and children, who did nothing wrong." She flinched horribly at the mention of the children. "I know that deep down inside you've been trying to fight the curse, just like Martha, Charles and Boudica were before they got consumed by it."

Now being reminded of her actions against the children and feeling the curse was slowly driving back, the black stuff that covered her eyes and mouth started to disappear, showing her grinding sharp fangs and her feral green eyes with the right sclera being black while the left was white. She was still trying to glare at Sora, but it was hard for her to do so because she had tears seeping out of her eyes. Tears that were full of pain, anguish, anger, regret and guilt, all eating at her, for all the innocent children she's killed by her own hands and for what Caster and that Fake Saint did to her before her transformation with those disgusting demons. The memories of what happened were so bad that she began to sob loudly, not even trying to fight it nor cover her face.

It made Sora, Artoria and Jeanne look at her with sadness.

"Atalanta…" Sora continued walking, prompting her to try and aim her bow at him but was shaking so terribly that she couldn't keep it steady enough. He gently grabbed her hand and pulled her bow down slightly. "Let me help you get rid of it."

"Get…rid of it…?" Atalanta asked, her voice returning to normal, as she looked up at Sora, her eyes showing nothing but pain in them. "What's the point in getting rid of it now? It won't change what I've done to them. To all those children!" She covered her face in shame and shook her head as she kept remembering the faces of the children she brutally murdered. She backed away from him until she was far enough away with Sora reaching out to her but stopped himself. "It's…already too late for me. But…still…" She removed her hands and gave him a teary smile. "Thank you Sora, for your kindness."

Jeanne and Artoria tensed when she dropped her bow, yet she still kept her smile. Sora was about to talk to her again, when she suddenly leaps at him, her claws out and her mouth open as if she was about to bite him, even letting out a roar that made Sora jump. The reaction between Saber and Ruler happened at the same time as they both charged at Berserk Archer while grabbing Sora and pushing him back. They raised their weapons and together, they stabbed Atalanta through her chest, damaging her Spirit Core.

Sora's eyes widened, staring at Jeanne and Artoria and then turned to the Archer. "W-Why? Why would you do that, Atalanta!?" He couldn't understand! Why would she try to attack him? After he managed to get through to her!?

She gave a wet cough in response, looking up at him and smiling at him. "Please. Don't look at me like that. It's…better this way. Now...hurry up…and beat them..." She weakly ordered. "My only regret…is that I won't get to...see her and that disgusting Caster's face when you…win…"

One last exhale left her mouth, and her vision dulled. Her body dissolved into a cloud of golden light, leaving nothing behind.

Background Music: End

Sora, Jeanne and Artoria bowed their heads and closed their eyes for a brief moment. The Keyblade Master clenched his fists tightly. Another person dragged into Dark Jeanne's conflict, forced to fight for a grudge that wasn't even hers in the first place. They felt nothing but pity for her. Still, she was right, they had to move on.

Hearing music coming from his phone made Sora take it out and answer it, seeing Roman on the screen.

["Sora! Thank goodness I reached through! Where are you?"]

"I'm with Jeanne and Artoria." Sora answered. "We took care of the Servants that dragged us away from the others. The only one not here is Elizabeth. How are they?"

["Fujimaru and the others have dealt with the enemy Servants and are currently advancing to the castle as we speak."] Roman started to explain the situation, his expression serious. ["Our suspicion was correct. Gilles de Rais is the one who's controlling the Heartless."] Everyone's eyes narrowed. ["After you split from the others, Vlad the Third told us that Gilles has been experimenting on the Shadows and managed to turn the regular wyverns into Heartless as a result."]

"Then let's go hurry and catch up with-"

"Sora! Behind you!"

At Jeanne's alarmed yell, Sora turned around to find four wyverns charging at him with a screech. Thankfully, a gallant white horse came in the nick of time and knocked the wyverns away. Jeanne was surprised by the arrival, Artoria had a knowing smile and Sora looked happy.

"Hey Georgios! You made it!" The islander greeted him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Though belated it may be, I've arrived on the battlefield." Gerogios said with a smile.

"Excellent work, Sir Gerogios." Artoria complimented him on his timing of rescuing Sora. "But what took you so long?"

"I gathered some allies on the way here." Georgios answered, only to earn confused looks from everyone. "It was a proposal from Chaldea's Mage. After I finished evacuating the civilians, I was tasked to meet 'him' and require assistance."

Sora looked down at his phone, seeing 'Chaldea's Mage' was still there and gave him a questioning raised eyebrow as if wondering where the title came from. The good doctor just shrugged in response.

"Him?" Jeanne asked, wondering who it was he was talking about.

"As you know, after the death of King Charles VII, French's army fell into disarray. However, a certain someone brought them together in order to fight the Dragon Witch. I told him of the situation between us and he agreed to a joint operation." Georgios continued his explanation, turning around to show them what he was talking about.

Looks of awe appeared on Sora, Jeanne and Artoria's faces. There before them stood a whole army of soldiers with the numbers counting the hundreds. Each of these soldiers were either riding on horses, holding weapons and preparing the cannon balls.

"Is this…?" Artoria trailed off, too amazed by the whole army's appearance.

"Yes. All of the county's remaining military forces are gathered here." Georgios said, smiling quite proudly at the army. "It's an all out war!"

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed, looking around at the army French soldiers gathered. "Awesome job Roman!"

"Indeed. With this many soldiers, we'll be able to fight back the remaining wyverns." Artoria said. "Very wise decision Doctor."

["Hm-hm! Ya see? Even I can act like a Commander."] Roman said, feeling proud of what he did.

"Hey, wait…" Sora placed his hand to his forehead as he saw a familiar face in the crowd and he was riding a horse. "Hey! Look Jeanne! It's Gilles of this era!"

Jeanne remained silent as she stared at the army, before turning her attention to her childhood friend. She felt wrong about this. While true that their assistance in battle is necessary, this was something different. This isn't like when they were fighting against England as they're humans. It feels like the whole army is being sacrificed.

"Jeanne, I have a message from Marshal Gilles de Rais." Georgios informed her, getting her attention. "No matter who our enemy is, we fight by our own will. This is how we Frenchmen have always been even before you appeared, right?"

Jeanne immediately turned to Gilles, a look of sadness but also acceptance at his words while the man himself stared at her with a soft smile on his face. Sora and Artoria looked at one another with smiles on their faces.

["Wait a sec! Something's going on!"] Roman suddenly exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. ["A super high level magical energy reaction has appeared in the sky!"]

"The sky?" Sora looked to the girls, seeing them look up at the sky and getting him to look up as well. His eyes widened at the large black figure coming out from the gray cloudy sky.

["It's Fafnir!"]

Background Music: Apprehension [Kingdom Hearts 2]

There he was. The mighty dragon, Fafnir, flying high in the sky looking down at them with a whole army of wyverns flying behind him. The Evil Dragon stared at three, his eyes moving towards Jeanne, Artoria then lastly Sora. His eyes remained focused on him as memories of what happened days before flashed in his mind. He let out a deep heated growl, showing his fangs with his narrowed eyes turning into a glare.

Sora, feeling the glare directly aimed at him, returned it with his own, not backing down in the face of the Evil Dragon (Who was secretly impressed by it). But he noticed a certain someone wasn't mounted on top of him. He let his eyes wander around before seeing no sign of her anywhere, which kind of surprised him as he and the others expected her to be with him. He looked back at the Evil Dragon and summoned Radiant Sky.

Fafnir roars as the wyverns begin to dive down through the sky, heading straight towards the army, with the humans letting out a collective war cry in response. Fafnir then turned around to head back to the castle, getting Sora and the others eyes to widen, realizing where he was heading.

"It's going to where Master and the others are!" Jeanne exclaimed, turning to her three friends. "We must hurry!"

Georgios and Artoria agreed with the idea and together were already moving though Sora stopped himself from going as he realized someone, who was also split from their group, hadn't shown up yet.

"Artoria! Jeanne! Georgios!" Sora called out to them, getting them to stop and give him their attention. "You go ahead, I'm gonna find Elizabeth!"

The three looked at one another and nodded their heads at him. "Okay! Be careful, Sora!" Jeanne told him.

Sora smirked and gave her a thumbs up before running off to find the dragon idol with everyone else going straight for Fafnir.

---

The sound of clashing weapons is heard amongst the rubble of destroyed buildings. The black spear with the microphone attached to it met with the staff. Elizabeth flew high in the air to avoid the wave of blood that was sent her way. She stood on top of a destroyed rubble, glaring down at her older counterpart, who was also doing the same thing. Looking behind her, the dragon idol saw blue bat-like creatures with red hooks standing behind her. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she saw the emblems that were on their bodies.

"Tch! I can't believe it!" Elizabeth said, scowling at her older self. "To think that even you of all people would control those Heartless!"

"I'll admit, I wasn't too keen on the idea myself." Carmilla admitted to her younger, more naive and disgustingly colorful self. "But I will admit, these creatures have their uses."

"You have no idea what those things are capable of!" Elizabeth yelled as she remembered the stories of the Heartless Sora told her and the others. "Sooner or later, they will take your heart and you'll become one of them! Are you stupid or something!?"

"You are the stupid one!" Carmilla retorted, pointing her staff at her, causing the Hook Bats to charge at her. "Just look at yourself! What a disgusting appearance for a so-called idol!"

Elizabeth let out a yell as pink sonic waves collided with the Hook Bats, causing them to vanish. She already knew the portal was opening up beside her, getting her to leap back as a chain shot out to hit nothing. She let out a shout and lunged forward, thrusting her spear at Carmilla, only for her to slam the tip of her staff down to trap it beneath. The two glared up at one another, equal amounts of hatred shared in their gazes.

"I won't allow anyone to bad mouth my dream, especially you!" Elizabeth said angrily.

"Do you honestly think that by denying me, you can achieve this dream of yours?" Carmilla asked. "How utterly foolish! We are the same person! Our crimes can't be prevented, they already happened! We're both murderers! We're both the serial killer Elizabeth Báthory!"

"Shut up!" Elizabeth went to claw at her face but she stepped back, getting her to remove her staff from her spear. "I know that! But I don't want to be like that anymore! I want to become someone people can love, not someone to be hated or feared!"

"And you think that following this dream of yours can change that!? That's all it will ever be! A dream! A childish and stupid dream!" Carmilla remarked. "No matter what nonsense you get up to while manifested, the World and its people will always remember you as a monster!"

"That's not true!"

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the voice that spoke. She and Carmilla looked behind her to see Sora walking up to them, a stern frown on his face as he stood beside her. "Kitty!?"

"You…" Carmilla said, staring at the boy up and down as she narrowed her piercing golden eyes at him. This was the boy her Master wanted them to bring back alive. The boy who holds that mysterious key weapon. She remembered seeing him that day when they first met, along with that weird feeling she felt from him the moment her eyes laid on him.

"Kitty! Why are you here?" Elizabeth asked.

"I was worried about you, so I came to see if you were okay." Sora answered, surprising her greatly by his response which also caused her to blush slightly and turn away from him with a pout.

"I…I don't need you to worry about me! I was just fine!"

"...'worried'?" Carmilla asked, getting their attention. "What? Did you just say you were worried about her?"

"Of course I was! She's my friend, obviously!" Sora said strongly.

"Friends!? Are you a fool!?" Carmilla demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Elizabeth. "Do you know who she is! Who we are!?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And you're okay with it!? You still accepted her!? How can you act like the good hero that you think you are while being friends with her?! She's just as much of a murderer as I am!"

"At least she's trying to change herself!" Sora argued. "She's trying her very hardest to become a better person now because of what she did! What's wrong with that!?"

"It's foolish naivete! It doesn't make the least bit of difference!" Carmilla answered. "What happened happened! You can't go back and change the past, no matter how much you want to!"

"That isn't what she's doing and you know it!" Sora shot back. "Deep down inside her heart, Elizabeth hated what she was doing and what she was turning into, but it was too late for her to stop! But now as a Heroic Spirit, she now has a chance to try and move on from what happened!"

"Move on? Do you hear yourself! We're ghosts of the past! We can't move on from what we did!" Carmilla exclaimed, not believing what this boy was saying to her.

"Says who? Your previous masters, or are you telling that to yourself?" Sora asked rhetorically.

"...!?" Carmilla opened her mouth to say something but no words came out as she couldn't find the answer. Was…was she really trying to tell herself that?

"Carmilla…you and Eli are the same person. I know that like her, you also regret everything that you've done as well." Sora continued on, getting her to step back in shock, her eyes widening behind her mask because of what he said. "But unlike you, who's still stuck in the past, Eli made a choice. She's putting the past behind her and going forward! She already accepted what she did and is willing to let go of what once was. Now, she's living for today and found a new path to look forward to! If she can do it, then why aren't you?"

Elizabeth couldn't help but stare at Sora as he kept talking. Once he was finished, she looked down at the ground, her lips trembling slightly before it blossomed into a smile. That's right. That's exactly what she wanted. Kitty always knew what to say, didn't he?

Carmilla stared at Sora with disbelief hidden beneath her mask. This boy…everything he just said. It was crazy! Childish, even! No matter how much she wanted to deny his words, nothing came out of her mouth. Because this boy was shining so overwhelmingly brightly. It was like the light was touching her heart and it made her all the more want to reach out towards it. To embrace that let and never let it go. And it's because of that, she was taking a couple of steps back away from him, as if she was afraid of him.

"I can't believe it..." Carmilla said, gripping her staff while placing a hand on her heart. "Such complete utter childish drivel!" She slammed her staff on the ground, and a fresh wave of blood rocketed across it, already hardening and sharpening into spikes.

Sora immediately summoned Radiant Sky and was about to do a Reflect spell, though he let out a surprised yelp as he felt Elizabeth grab his shoulders and flew upwards to avoid it. He looks up at her, looking grateful. "Whoa! Thanks Eli!"

"Hm." Was all she said as she landed away from where the blood was. Sora believed that she may be upset that he was here fighting with her even though she said she wanted to fight Carmilla alone.

"Sorry, Eli. I know you said you wanted to fight her on your own but-" Sora was stopped by Eli placing her finger on his lips.

"Hush, Kitty." She said firmly as she turned around to face Carmilla, who was glaring at them hatefully, and lowered her hand. "You're right Carmilla. You are who I really am, my final destination. The symbol of my sin, that no amount of tears will ever change." She shook her head. "Denying you means looking away from the crimes I've committed."

"Eli…" Sora thought.

"But that doesn't mean I can't take responsibility! It may be ugly self depiction, however, I will say it anyway! I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE YOU!" Elizabeth said, with all her heart and spirit as she twirls her spear and takes a fighting stance. "Let's take her down, Kitty!"

"Right!" Sora smirked, taking his own stance.

Theme Song: AKOGARE×TION [Fate/EXTRA CCC]

Elizabeth was already launching herself at Carmilla again, while Sora launched a Fire spell at her. The vampire avoided the magic attack, but it only left her open for Elizabeth to thrust her spear at her once more. Even as she tried to step aside, the edge of the spear sliced along her exposed side, a slight splatter of blood spraying out. With a shout, Carmilla placed a hand on her wound, only to throw it back out in a wave of sharpened blood. Elizabeth ducked underneath it while Sora leapt in the air to avoid.

"Thunder!"

Carmilla yelled in pain as she was struck by the lightning bolt that came from above. Elizabeth takes this chance to kick Carmilla's abdomen, sending her crashing into rubble. She shouted once again, swinging her claws and more waves of sharpened blood flew out, forcing Sora and Elizabeth to avoid them, even more so when a new flurry of blood spikes flew through the air at them.

Sora used his Keyblade to swipe at the blood spikes and was about to attack Carmilla when she summoned a small iron maiden, catching him by surprise as she used it to hit him, throwing him aside. She continued to swing the torture device over head, turning and hurling the object at Elizabeth, who likewise was caught in her side and flung to the ground.

The Assassin dropped her iron maiden down and lifted a foot, preparing to kick it forward at Elizabeth, only to be caught unawares when Sora appeared in front of her, using his Keyblade to cut it in two before using his Strike Raid ability on her.

Using her staff to block it, Carmilla was then blown caught in the middle of another eardrum-shattering scream, shouting in pain as she held her ears. "You...and your terrible singing!" She spat, before she was attacked by Sora and was sent back after he landed a finishing blow at her.

"ENOUGH!" The Blood Countess roared, having enough of this annoying game. "This ends NOW!" She shouted to the heavens as she unleashed her magic energy in the form of darkness and blood.

" Blood, blood, blood...! Eternal beauty, an eternal banquet, it is time for the end of the ugliness of old age───"

Sora and Elizabeth's eyes widened as Carmilla started to do her chant. Feeling a chill go up their spines made them look back to see a giant version of the torture device she's using. The chains that covered it were destroyed and the massive Iron Maiden opened up to show sharp spikes hidden inside.

"Phantom Maiden!"

The Iron Maiden moved forward to try and get to the surprised Elizabeth but Sora wouldn't have any of that. He aimed his Keyblade at her and fired a spell that encased her inside a barrier just as the Iron Maiden closed on her. The barrier prevented the Iron Maiden from closing in on her and within a couple of seconds it exploded, knocking the massive torture device away.

"WHAT!?" Carmilla shouted in disbelief, not believing what she just witnessed with her own eyes.

"Thanks Kitty!" Elizabeth thanked him, smirking as she spun her spear on the microphone side and taking a pose. "Now let's end it with a bang!"

"You got it!" Sora spun his Keyblade and held it like a guitar, posing as well.

Carmilla was about to comment on that but widened her eyes as she was surrounded by four speakers. She looked back at them with a dreadful look on her face as she realized what was going to happen.

Sora played his Keyblade like a guitar while Elizabeth screamed in her microphone. The speakers let out soundwaves of pink and yellow energy together. Carmilla let out screams of pain and covered her eyes to try and block. If that wasn't bad enough, she got hit by these glowing pink hearts and yellow crowns, completely knocking her back and forth from one speaker to another.

All the while, Sora and Elizabeth kept doing what they were doing. Once they saw Carmilla had enough and were dazed, they looked at each other with smiles on their faces and stood back to back, pointing at Carmilla.

"Ultrasonic Concert!" The two of them then screamed into the microphone together, making the speakers explode in bursts of pink and yellow lights with the colorful effects of hearts, crowns and stars. The final attack made Carmilla howl in pain as she was blown away and crashed into some rubble.

Theme Music: End

Sora and Elizabeth looked into the cloud of dirt, trying to see a silhouette of Carmilla. They didn't have to wait long as they heard an inhumane feral roar of anger as Carmilla charged at the two of them, her mask all but destroyed and her staff left behind with blood coming out of her ears. She was heading straight towards Sora, not paying any mind to Elizabeth whatsoever, which was a fatal mistake on her part.

Just when she got close to Sora, Elizabeth appeared in front of him and pierced her spear right into Carmilla's chest and out through the back. The Vampire Queen's furious yell was stopped along with her movement as she stared at her younger counterpart. Shocked and disbelieving golden eyes meeting the stern but determined sky blue eyes. She then fell on her knees, coughing out blood in the process.

"Why would you kill me? In reality, we're the same Heroic Spirit, you know…" Carmilla reminded her.

"You're right." Elizabeth said. "It's just the 'future' me who became a vampire and the 'past' me who was on the way to doing so. There's hardly any difference between the two of us."

"That's right. The two of us are Anti-Heroes. Evil that ought to be defeated by the hero." Carmilla told her, glancing towards Sora slightly, who was silent and watched the exchange between them. She looked back at her younger self. "The Madness Enhancement doesn't change anything. We were the ones getting drunk on the blood of others after how far we've gone. Even if we try to atone for our sins, what would the point of that be?"

Sora wanted to say something but he couldn't as Elizabeth once again stopped him by placing her hand out in front of him. Her hair covered her eyes as she answered.

"Once a sin has been committed, it doesn't disappear." Elizabeth stated. "No matter how righteously I act from now on, I can never be forgiven. But I understand now. What we did was wrong. That's why…I can't allow you to continue your slaughter. Maybe, in the end, there's really no point to what I'm doing." She placed her hand on her chest and looked even more determined. "But even then, I'll keep on screaming! I'll put the past behind me and live for as long as I can, because there's someone who believes in me and my dreams! So I won't let him down! I'll keep telling you as many times as I can! Elizabeth Bàthory doesn't want to become like you, Carmilla!"

"I...see. The future doesn't reject the past, but rather, the past rejects the future?" Carmilla questioned as she started to disappear. "Such drivel that comes out of your mouth. But that's why... you're so annoyingly dazzling." She fully turned to look at Sora again. "It must be you, isn't it? That light of yours…it's shining so brightly that you've shared it with her. Honestly…it makes me feel...a little…"

She vanished before she could finish what she had to say, the black spear falling to the ground as a result. The dragon idol closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then let the breath back out. She reached out to grab her spear and made it vanish.

"Eli? You okay?"

Elizabeth looked over at Sora, and when she saw his concerned expression, she just replied with a grin. "Of course I am! Now come on Kitty! Everyone's waiting for us at the final stage!"

"He's not going anywhere!"

"Wha-"

A black blur suddenly swooped in, knocking Elizabeth away on the ground. Hearing Sora's surprised yell made her look up to see he was flying away by a wyvern gripping onto his shoulders tightly. And the person riding on top of the wyvern was none other than the Dragon Witch herself, a manic grin on her face as she laughed loudly and disappeared from her view.

"Sora!"

---

Back with Fujimaru's Group

Battle Music: Power to Unleash [Fate/Grand Order]

["Fujimaru! What's the situation!?"]

Ritsuka looked around at the Servants as they were killing the wyverns. Earlier, they had taken care of the Heartless and the enemy Servants, just when they were about to make it to the castle, they were stopped and surrounded by a small army of the remaining wyverns. The only problem is that they are being more aggressive.

"We're surrounded by wyverns! Their attacks are getting more intense!" Ritsuka exclaimed. He reached into his pocket, taking

"It's Fafnir's influence! He's causing them to be more aggressive!" Siegfried added in after slicing a wyvern in half.

"Well, that's just great!" Cú retorts as he twirls his spear around, killing the wyverns that were getting close to him.

"Master! Are you alright!?" Mash asked worriedly, slamming her shield down on a wyvern. "There's a lot more stress being put on your body due to the increased magical energy consumption!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ritsuka replied back. "The charms I got from Sora are working and I still have a lot more Ethers and Elixirs on me!"

Seeing a large shadow looming from the sky made everyone look up to see Fafnir looking down at them.

"Well, look who decided to join the fun." Cú said, a serious look in his eyes despite the grin he's wearing.

"Damn it! He's here!" Emiya cursed angrily at the situation they found themselves in.

"Get ready! We're his targets!" Siegfried exclaimed.

Ritsuka took out an Ether and quickly consumed it, feeling completely recharged by a good enough amount. "Good! Now we can-!"

The sound of multiple dying wyverns were heard, getting everyone to look back to see Jeanne, Artoria and Georgios arriving on the scene. They also noticed the small army of wyverns had now dwindled.

"Everyone! You're okay!" Marie said happily but then noticed Sora and Eli weren't with them. "Where are Sora and Eli?"

"I'm here!"

Before they could answer, the latter of whom Marie was asking about came in flying from above and landed on the ground. They also saw that she looked very worried right now and they didn't like it, especially since she was alone.

"We have a problem!" Eli said, her voice matching the expression she wore.

"What do you mean? And where's Sora?" Mash asked.

"The Dragon Witch came and took him after we beat Carmilla!"

The whole group looked at her in shock with Marie even covering her mouth in fear for what Dark Jeanne might do to him after their last encounter together. A loud angry roar caused them to look back up at Fafnir, as he landed on the ground and was glaring at them.

"Jeanne! Go find Sora and help him out!" Ritsuka ordered, causing her to look at him with widened eyes. He gave her a determined smirk. "Don't worry. With all of us together, we can take Fafnir down!"

Jeanne stared at her Master for a couple of seconds before nodding her head with a determined look on her face. She turns around and leaps into the sky, turning into a golden projectile as a result.

"Well, now. Look at you Master." Cú said, getting his attention. He tapped his spear on his shoulder, looking at him with one eye closed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you almost sounded like Sora just now."

"R-Really?" Ritsuka asked, not expecting that comment. He turned to Mash for confirmation and saw she nodded her head at him with everyone else doing the same with smiles on their faces. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, feeling a little embarrassed. "I just felt like that no matter how scary things get, as long as we stick together, we can handle anything. That's all."

"And that's something Sora would say!" Marie chimed.

"Looks like Romani was right." Emiya smirked. "That hopeful optimism of his is starting to rub off on us."

Fafnir growled angrily at them, getting sick and tired of their squabbling. Everyone's attention returned to the dragon as they took ready stances.

"Everyone! Attack!" Ritsuka ordered.

---

"Ah!"

Sora yelled as he was dropped on the ground quite harshly as if he was thrown. He hisses in pain as his shoulders hurt a little due to the grip the wyvern had on him. He looked up and saw Dark Jeanne looking at Sora blankly, not a single emotion on her face despite her earlier enjoyment of catching him. She jumped off the wyvern and landed on the ground, which made it fly to where Fafnir was.

The Keyblade Master stood up and looked at her. "Jeanne."

"Bug." Dark Jeanne called him. She raised her hand up and summoned her flag. "Now it's just you and me. After I get rid of you, the other me and your friends will be next, then nothing will stop me from destroying France."

"Are you serious?" Sora asked, looking quite incredulous. "You still want to destroy France? Why? You know that Caster is the one who created you using the Holy Grail!"

Dark Jeanne's face twitched. "Shut up."

"You know that your desire to destroy France all came from him!"

"Shut up."

"So what's the point in continuing to do this!? All you're doing is giving Gilles exactly what he wants!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Sora had Radiant Sky ready as he blocked Dark Jeanne's heavy strike. The two glared at each other as they tried to push one another back.

"You think I care about that crap!?" Dark Jeanne asked angrily. "I'm doing what I'm going to do!"

"And what's that?" Sora asked, just as angry as her. "What are you going to do after you destroy France? What then!?"

Dark Jeanne grit her teeth and headbutts Sora, getting him to yell and stumble back, holding his head slightly with one hand. "Fine! You wanna know what happens next!? I'll tell you! Once I've killed every person in France, I'll scorch the entire land into ashes! Nothing living here will be allowed to go on! My dragonkin will then fight with one another in an endless conflict that will spread around the world! That will be the true Hundred Years War!"

Sora grit his teeth, shaking his head and glared at her with determination while taking his stance. After hearing that, they were past the point of talking. "You're crazy if you think I'm gonna let that happen!"

"Come and stop me then, you damn cockroach!" Dark Jeanne twirls her flag and takes her own stance.

Battle Music: Marks of the Dragon [By: Hiroyuki Sawano]

The two then charged at each other with battle cries as their weapons clashed. They then tried to strike each other which only caused their weapons to clash against each which made sparks fly. Dark Jeanne took out the sword hanging from her waist and tried to strike him, only for Sora to roll out of the way and put some distance between them as he aimed his Keyblade at her.

"Freeze!" He fired a Blizzard spell at her but flames coated her sword and she slashed it, destroying it.

"That stupid trick isn't going to work on me again!" Dark Jeanne snarls, remembering that stupid spell that nearly froze her arm. She slashed her sword again and sent a wave of flames at him.

"Then how about this!" Sora launched his Water spell.

The moment the water touched the flames and splashed, they evaporated and caused steam to appear, blocking Sora and Dark Jeanne's view of each other. Sora was already prepared as he heard Dark Jeanne's yell and saw dashing out of the towards him with her flag aimed directly at his heart. He held his Keyblade and blocked it, but because of her brute strength that came from her hate towards him, she was pushing him back.

Sora grit his teeth as he kept his ground despite her still pushing him back. He moved his Keyblade up, taking the flag up with it, which surprised Dark Jeanne greatly. She let out a yell of pain when Sora did a diving kick at her, sending her flying back.

Dark Jeanne glared at him for that and raised her hand at him. Sora was confused for a quick second but then cried out in pain as a burst of fire exploded in front of him, knocking him back slightly. She grinned maliciously at him as she raised her flaming sword up and summoned multiple flaming spears above Sora, who looked up at them in shock before looking at their summoner, who then pointed at him. He immediately moved as the spears landed to where he was before flames erupted from them

Looking up, he saw more of those flaming spears above him. "Uh oh!" He kept running as they landed where he was only for more to be summoned. He turns to Dark Jeanne when he hears her laughing at him and aimed his Keyblade at her, once again firing a Blizzard spell at her, only this time it was leaving a trail of ice behind.

"Idiot!" Dark Jeanne destroyed the magic spell with her sword. "I told you I won't fall for-THE HELL!?" She yelled in disbelief as she saw the Bug grinding on the ice trail and was making his way towards her. "You fucking punk!" She slashed her sword multiple times, sending out waves of flames at him.

Seeing this, Sora leaps off of the ice trail, avoiding the flames, flipping in the air and aiming his Keyblade at her, focusing quite intently at her. Once he felt he was at full power, he briefly changed into his Lily Form, with Radiant Sky transforming into Glass Saber.

He raised Glass Saber into the air as pieces of glass shards appeared around Dark Jeanne, who looked around at them in confusion.

"Shining Radiance!" Sora called out his Shotlock attack as he fired a pink beam of light at a large shard in front of him, which completely filled it before it fired multiple beams at the other glass shards and each fired a beam of light at Dark Jeanne.

The Dark Saint howled in pain as she got hit from every angle. The attack lasted for a couple of seconds before the glass shards shattered and Sora returned to normal. Now getting angrier at him, Dark Jeanne let out a roar with fire erupting from her which blew Sora back slightly for a moment with the fire disappearing.

"You goddamn roach! Just fucking die already!" She cursed heatedly at him as she charged at the already ready Keyblade Master.

She didn't get far as a bright light crashed between the two, stopping the already annoyed Dark Jeanne.

"NOW WHAT!?"

Battle Music: End

The bright light disappeared revealing Jeanne d'Arc, glaring sternly at her counterpart. Seeing her light counterpart made Dark Jeanne growl at her while Sora looked happy.

"Jeanne!"

The Saint didn't say anything to acknowledge Sora, her eyes still focused on her dark counterpart.

"Well, look who decided to join us." Dark Jeanne sneered. "You finally made it here. As unsightly and roundabout as that journey was. Right? My 'remnant'?"

"I don't know whether to call it unsightly or not, but I do know that I made it this far because of my friends." Jeanne told her dark counterpart as she placed her hand on her heart.

"What?" Dark Jeanne asked, trying to figure out what the hell her light counterpart was saying.

"Being with them, I learned so many new things, only to now realize just how big our universe is." She smiled and turned to look back at Sora. "I feel as though I'm truly blessed to have met such wonderful people. And I'm very thankful to be able to meet them."

Sora smiled happily at her while Dark Jeanne remained quiet. Jeanne turned back to her counterpart, her smile not leaving her face.

"And thanks to that, I'm sure that by now you also realize it as well, don't you?" Jeanne asked.

"Realize what?" Dark Jeanne asked back.

"You are you, and I'm me."

Dark Jeanne's eyes widened at what she said. Her expression became neutral as she lowered her head slightly, which made her hair shadow her eyes. "Pfft! Hahahaha!" She suddenly let out a laugh as she placed her hand on her head and looked up at the sky.

Sora and Jeanne looked at her as she continued to laugh though it was only getting more fanatical. They looked at each other with uncertain looks before turning back to Dark Jeanne as she stopped, her mouth opened slightly.

"I'm me, and you are you, huh?" She gripped her head as she looked down and shook it. "How nice. To be able to say something like that. Knowing that you have happy precious memories of your life before becoming a Heroic Spirit. Unlike…unlike something like me."

Sora and Jeanne could see the Dragon Witch's whole body start to tremble. Judging by the sparks of flames that's popping up around her, they could tell she was getting angry. She removed her hand from head and glared at the two.

"That's right, I admit it!" Dark Jeanne exclaimed. "I'm a phony! A fucking fake! My appearance, my powers, my hatred towards France! It was all from Gilles' stupid wish to create me as a replacement for the one he really lost! Everything about me is fabricated by him! I…I don't have memories from before I even existed! Not my childhood, not my family, nothing! I have no memories! I'm just a fucking weapon for Gilles' revenge against France for what they did to you! The only thing that I have is this deep burning hatred inside me!"

Sora and Jeanne didn't even flinch when Dark Jeanne started to shroud herself in flames, all the while glaring hatefully at them. They also noticed the flames also had a tint of darkness this time as they began to turn purple. There were also tears falling from her eyes but because of the flames around her, they evaporated.

"Because of you three, I've been nothing but a mess! And that's why, I don't care anymore! I don't care who's real and who's fake! I just want to destroy everything! You two, France, the whole damn world, EVERYTHING!" She took out her flaming sword and pointed it at them. "I am the Dragon Witch, a copy of Saint Jeanne d'Arc! I'm going to make sure you feel the fires of Hell itself!"

"...I see." Jeanne had a pitied smile on her face as she stared at the ferocious glare of the Dragon Witch. "Thank you for telling us your feelings. And I'm also sorry that you had to find out this way. But I'm afraid, we can't let you do that!" She raised her flag and pointed it at her. "Dragon Witch, we will defeat you! Not out of anger nor rejection, least of all out of hatred! Dragon Witch, we shall defeat you out of sadness!"

Sora, despite still feeling sorry for Dark Jeanne after hearing her spill out her feelings, nodded in agreement as he took his stance.

Battle Music: The Force In You [Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories]

"THEN DO IT BITCH!" The Dark Saint roared in anger. "DIE FUCKERS!" She charged at them, both weapons drawn covered in flames. She spun mid charge, turning herself into a fire tornado with dark violet energy surrounding it.

Sora and Jeanne quickly moved out of the way of the tornado as the flames died down. The two then charged at Dark Jeanne, their weapons clashing with hers for a second before she pushed them away. She roars as she slashes at the ground in front of Sora, creating a wall of fire that bursts in front of him. Dark Jeanne then turned her attention to her counterpart and charged, swinging her flag pole wildly at her.

Jeanne blocked all of the wild heavy strikes her counterpart was throwing at her. She found the opportunity to counterattack; she knocked her flag in the air and then kicked her in her abdomen and charged at her with her flag aimed at her.

Growling at her, Dark Jeanne moved her body to the side, grabbing the flagpole and pulled Jeanne in close to give her a headbutt, getting her to cry out in pain. She then roundhouse kicked her across the face, sending skidding across the ground. She summoned her flagpole again and was about to summon a wave of flames at her but was blasted by water from behind, completely dousing the flames around her and soaking her wet. Now getting more angry and annoyed, she turned around to the only person responsible only for her eyes widened as she saw his outfit had changed colors and the stupid key turned into a crystal saber.

"What the hell!?" She asked, trying to figure out what's up with that new appearance and what happened to that key.

"En garde!" Sora immediately dashed at the Dragon Witch, with her noticing that his speed picked up.

Jeanne sat up on the ground and shook her head trying to ignore the pain of that last attack. She looked up and saw Sora and her counterpart fighting it out, with Sora actually landing a few hits to her due to how fast he's moving.

"That's…Lily Form!"

She still remembered the first time she and others saw this form in action, the following day after Sora and Archer told them about it. She and the others were of course amazed to see it happen and to actually see Radiant Sky's form changed into Glass Saber. Marie was the most enthusiastic about it, as not only did Sora's clothes matched the colors she was wearing but Radiant Sky also changed into a saber just like her knights wielded.

She also recalled what Da Vinci told them about this new form. Apparently whenever Sora taps into the power of his Keyblades, not only does his form change but so do some of the Keyblades themselves, granting him an extra power boost. The Renaissance Master even showed everyone the various forms Sora turns into based on what they represent/emphasized on.

But Da Vinci believes that Lily Form is something different. Whereas Sora's other forms, like Strike, Guardian, Element and Blitz are forms from Keyblades that he received from other worlds, Lily Form is a special case.

Since Radiant Sky is a Keyblade he got from Marie Antoinette, who's a Heroic Spirit, the Formchange and the powers it has are all based around Marie herself, further showing the bond Sora has with her. That just means that if Sora receives a Keychain from a Heroic Spirit, he will be able to use the powers and abilities of the Heroic Spirit in question with the Keyblade even changing its form to match whatever weapon they use, even those who don't necessarily have weapons.

It's because of this that Jeanne and the others will never stop being amazed at the power of the Keyblade and its incredible potential of doing something good, or evil if fallen in the wrong hands.

After the slight dizziness disappeared, Jeanne immediately returned to the fight to help Sora.

Dark Jeanne meanwhile was getting more and more angry at this shitty situation. That damn bug and her light counterpart were actually pushing her back! Was she…was she losing? How? How the hell was this even possible!? She knew that she was capable of taking both of these idiots down! She's the Dragon Witch! She has the power to control dragons, including the evil dragon Fafnir himself! She was created so that nothing would be able to stop her! So why!? Why was she losing to these losers!?

"ENOUGH!" The Dragon Witch roared as flames once again erupted from her, blowing Sora and Jeanne away from her. The flames that surrounded her suddenly started to turn black and purple as darkness covered her form.

"Darkness." Jeanne said, twirling her flag behind her, glaring directly at her dark counterpart who was glaring back at her with her eyes glowing slightly.

Dark Jeanne let out a roar as she slammed her flag pole down, creating pillars of flames that surrounded Sora and Jeanne as they spun around to keep them from escaping. They also noticed the pillar of flames was getting closer.

"Sora!"

"Got it!"

The two grabbed each other's hands and spun around in place, creating a barrier of golden light that prevented the flames from getting closer to them. The barrier held up for a couple of seconds before it erupted, pushing the dark flames away briefly but not destroying them. Sora and Jeanne hovered off the ground, then raised their weapons in the air as they were both covered in white and golden lights respectively.

"Heaven's Faith!"

They unleashed a colonnade of white mixed with golden lights together. The pillar of lights collided with the pillars of dark flames for a couple of seconds with the flames trying their hardest to push the lights away only for them to not budge at all and was even pushing them away.

Despite this, Jeanne couldn't help but be awestruck at what she was seeing around her. This is the first time she's seen such a new amazing power. It was the combined power of both Heaven's and Sora's light together to form something incredible. Something that's like…dare she say, a miracle.

The two let out determined yells as the pillars of light expelled outwards and completely destroyed the dark flames, shocking Dark Jeanne greatly. But the lights weren't finished yet as they came together around the Dragon Witch herself, who looked around at them with a fearful look on her face. Another massive pillar of light then erupted from below her.

The pain of the attack caused the Dark Saint to howl in pain with the darkness around her completely disappearing. To her, it was almost like she was being burned alive by the powerful light that seemed like it came from the Heavens themselves. The light was so great and massive that it could be seen from all around, by the soldiers, Ritsuka's group, and Caster Gilles de Rais who cried out his Saint's name in anguish.

---

Meanwhile with Fujimaru's Group

Fafnir himself can also see it. Countless lights flickering from all over the battlefield. The lights of humans and his own kin. The light of where his witch was shone right far off behind him. But where there's lights, there's also darkness.

Yes. He could see the darkness of those creatures that took the form of his kin. He didn't acknowledge those creatures as his kin, despite them taking their form. Those blasphemous creatures are darkness. Pure darkness that was somehow able to gain physical forms. And that darkness was being destroyed by the lights.

But out of all the lights he can see, there was one light that was unique amongst them. One that was different and much more powerful. He knew who's light that was. It belonged to the one who came outside their realm. The one who holds the key, who was currently fighting against the witch with the help of her twin. He still remembers the first time he saw him back in the town he destroyed a couple of days ago. The boy showed no fear in his presence.

While he was shocked by his appearance, there was no ounce of fear. It was almost as if the boy fought one of his kind before.

The Evil Dragon was still in disbelief that someone other than his hated nemesis was able to hurt him like he did back in Montluçon.

Speaking of his nemesis, he could see him among the many humans who were attacking him. In fact, he was being from all around his body which greatly annoyed him immensely. And with that, he attacked too. He swiped his massive claws at them, only for them to move out of the way. He snapped his teeth so he could eat them whole but they dodged it as well. No matter what he tried to do to them, they would also attack him, not even giving a second of a chance to do another attack. Even when ordered his wyverns to act as a barrier between him and his attackers, they kept going. So je put some distance between them and fired a breath of destruction to destroy the soldiers. Even if he hadn't, he had enough power to handle whatever happened.

That's what he had thought at first.

Fafnir's eyes widened as he stared ahead at the figure that was charging right at him while riding on a crystal horse with the shield girl beside him. The Evil Dragon was vigilant and didn't fall to his pride. He just couldn't imagine it. The astonishment locked him in place, because everyone he had faced until now had been soldiers.

The one glaring at him, the one who led the charge to assault, the one who also had the largest light just like the boy with the key. The two of them were in fact quite similar to each other.

They weren't Heroic Spirits, they weren't soldiers, they weren't even mages. But there was some difference between them; The boy who injured him carries the power of that mysterious key. And this one…was just an ordinary human.

The Mighty Dragon was again getting ready to fire another breath of destruction when he felt something happen from behind him. Looking back, he saw a massive pillar of light from where his Master was currently at. He could hear the screams of her pain crying out from within the pillar.

But because of this distraction, it will cost him his life.

"Senpai! Now's your chance!" Mash called out.

Ritsuka grounded his teeth together as magic circuits started to appear on his arm. Despite him giving it his all during the Singularity, he always felt like a burden, especially when it came to the Heartless. He always asked himself: "What if I hadn't been the one left alive?".

But two days ago, after his heart to heart moment with Sora, the self-doubt he had up until then had all but vanished into thin air and had turned into raw, powerful determination. Sora was right. He wasn't alone! Chaldea, the Heroic Spirits he summons, Sora and Mash, they're all right beside him in this!

No matter how scary it will get after this Singularity, he will face those fears head on and save as many as he can! He will not die, he won't let others die! To not let the world end by the Singularities and the Heartless themselves, he will stand and fight with everyone with all his heart!

With his final resolve cleared, the Final Master raised his hand in the air and let out a yell as the Command Spells started to glow a bright red with green electrical circuits appearing all around him. He immediately started to feel pain throughout his entire body, but he already knew what that meant. He was getting ready to activate an Anti-Fortress Class Noble Phantasm. He didn't know much about them, only that the intense pain he's feeling is eating away at his body.

He doesn't know what will happen to him once he releases all the magical energy from his body. Just thinking about it, still scares him greatly.

BUT SO WHAT!?

"SABER!" Ritsuka yelled out, making a connection with Siegfried, who was already ready and prepared. "WITH THIS COMMAND SPELL, I ORDER YOU! TAKE DOWN THAT WICKED DRAGON!"

"Understood! Master!" Siegfried, feeling the power of the Command Spell coursing through him, leaps high in the air until he is directly above Fafnir, who already turned around to look up at him in shock and slight fear. "I shall reply to your righteous anger and courage with my belief and justice! True Ether: Full Release!"

A massive sword energy erupted from Siegfried's sword, shooting high into the gray clouds which blew them all away. The energy was so great, it even reached out to the stratosphere itself.

["No! This isn't good!"] Da Vinci exclaimed, looking at the readings from within the command center. ["With that kind of output, those two will be burned out by the magical energy flowing through them!"]

The Servants who heard this all looked at the two with worry clear on their faces as they could hear Fujimaru screaming out loud as he continued to pour more energy out.

["Fujimaru!"]/"Senpai!" Romani and Mash cried out, worried about him as he continued to scream in pain.

"I'M…NOT GIVING UP!" Ritsuka yelled out through the pain as his left eye started to red slightly. "SIEGFRIED!"

"Phantasmal Great Sword: Full Release!"

Everyone looked up at Siegfried as he got ready to swing the energy at Fafnir, who was already charging up a breath of destruction at him.

"Prepare yourself!

The Evil Dragon shall fall, and the world will reach its sunset.

I will bring you down ―Balmung!"

Siegfried unleashed his Noble Phantasm against Fafnir as it let out a loud, devastating roar as he was enveloped by the powerful energy of Balmung, completely destroying him as his roars disappeared.

Battle Music: End

"It…can't be…." Dark Jeanne muttered, staring at the massive light where she saw Fafnir just seconds …defeated by humans? By humans!?" She gave a wet cough. "HOW!? HOW DID HUMANS GET THIS FAR!?"

Because of that earlier attack from both her counterpart and the bug, she was greatly injured to the point where she was struggling to even stand up yet somehow managed through sheer willpower alone. But her body still felt greatly after that exposure to that dark power she just used.

"It's over Jeanne!" Sora told her, huffing slightly as his clothes and Keyblade had returned to normal. "Just give it up!"

"You have been defeated!" Jeanne also told her counterpart.

"You're wrong!" Dark Jeanne tried to take a step forward but then fell on her knees. Her body had reached its limits and she could feel her Spirit Origins had been damaged to the point that she would end up fading away into nothingness. "No! I…I can still keep going! As long as you're still around, I'll never be nothing more than a shadow!"

Sora shook his head. "You are more than just a shadow." Dark Jeanne looked at him in confusion. "Even though you aren't Jeanne's darkness, even though you're just a copy of her, it shouldn't have to change anything." He smiled at her. "Because at the end of the day, you are real. You're still Jeanne d'Arc despite all this. And that means that you have every right to be your own person just like everybody else and not be a shadow of someone else."

Dark Jeanne stared at him with her mouth open in disbelief at his words and the gentle smile he sent her way. Her other self…nodded her head at her and shared the same smile as well, as though to tell her that she too felt the same way he did and that she too wanted her to be her own person.

Wha...just what the hell were these two saying? Is this supposed to be some kind of sick twisted joke or something!? It just doesn't make any damn sense! Were these two really stupid or something?

Damn it, these two are giving her a headache!

Before she could say something to them, more than likely an insult, she felt a tingle hit her head.

"Gilles…? Fine. Just…just get me out of here." The moment she said that, she vanished into thin air.

"What…she's gone!" Sora exclaimed, looking around for her.

"Gilles." Jeanne said, turning to stare at the castle with Sora doing the same thing. "He must've called her back to the castle."

Sora glared at the castle for a couple of seconds as he nodded at her words. He turned away from it to look at the Saint. "Come on! Let's go meet up with Ritsuka and the others!"

Jeanne turned and nodded her head at him as the two ran off to where they saw Siegfried use his Noble Phantasm on Fafnir. It didn't take them very long as they saw everyone gathered together around Ritsuka, who was sitting on the ground drinking some Elixir.

"HEY~!"

Hearing Sora's yell made everyone turn to them as they saw the two running up to them. Marie immediately ran up to them and quickly gave a hug to Jeanne first and then Sora.

"Jeanne! Sora!" The Queen said happily as she released Sora from her hug.

"Thank goodness you're both okay." Mash said with much relief in her voice.

"Same with all of you." Sora smiled at her but then turned to Ritsuka with a worried look. "Ritsuka, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Ritsuka reassured him with Sora nodding at him but still looking worried.

"What was that earlier?" The Keyblade Master asked. "That big blue fire that destroyed Fafnir."

"It was Balmung, my Noble Phantasm." Siegfried answered with a smile. "Fujimaru used a Command Spell to help increase my power. Thanks to the fact he keeps doing crazy things, alongside the enhancement charms you gave him, his body's getting used to it. So Dr. Romani explained."

["Yup. That was a little too close, if you ask me. There was a chance his magic circuits might burn out, but thankfully it didn't happen."] Romani said.

Sora looked amazed by that and his smile suddenly got bigger. "That's awesome, Ritsuka! That means you're a Dragon Slayer now!"

Ritsuka laughed sheepishly at that, scratching the back of his head. "It was thanks to everyone here that we managed to beat him. I'm really glad that we're all together again."

"So what happened with Dark Jeanne?" Emiya asked.

"Gilles called her back to the castle." Jeanne answered. "Though…it won't be long until she disappears."

"So then all that's left is Caster." Artoria stated.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Cú asked, motioning his head towards the rampaging wyverns that were fighting against the soldiers on the battlefield. "We got rid of the Evil Dragon, but with no leader to guide them, those dragons are out of control now."

"Some of us are going to stay and help take care of them." Siegfried said, lifting his sword up. "I shall stay behind him."

"I will stay as well." Georgios said. "There's a good chance the Heartless will pop out during the battle and I'm afraid they might be too much for them. So I will offer my aid, however I can."

"So will I." Marie placed a hand on her chest and looked determined. "As a Queen, I shall do my best to protect my citizens."

"And I can't leave my Queen by her lonesome." Amadeus scratched his cheek with a finger. "Especially after the tearful goodbye she gave to Chevalier after their fight."

"Amadeus! Don't tell them!" Marie cried out as she tried to hit him on his chest as he tried to block them. She was truly saddened that she had to part ways with her knight despite them on opposing sides. She still remembered the tears Chevalier shed as she was disappearing asking for her forgiveness. With tearful hug, she forgave her dear knight.

Ritsuka nodded at them, before turning to his own Servants. "Emiya, Cú, you both stay here and help them out. Like Georgios said, the Heartless will probably pop out so they're gonna need an extra hand."

"Understood." Emiya said, Cú nodding in agreement.

"So that means the rest of us are going to the castle?" Mash asked.

"Looks that way." Sora said, helping Ritsuka stand up, who nodded in appreciation for the action.

"Then let's not keep Gilles waiting." Ritsuka told everyone.

---

Inside the Castle

Background Music: Missing You [Kingdom Hearts 2]

Dark Jeanne felt so incredibly tired right now. She tried to keep her eyes open but couldn't. She couldn't even stand on her own two feet right now. After she was summoned back into the castle by Gilles, he carried her all the way to her throne and sat her down as gently as he could. She still couldn't get over what that bug told her.

"Gilles…I am real, aren't I?" She asked him.

"Yes, Jeanne. You are real." Gilles said softly, rubbing her hair softly. "Please. Get some rest. You must be very tired."

"...yeah. I am. I'm just…I'm done with this." Dark Jeanne told him as she closed her eyes.

So…this is how it all ends for her, huh? To die like this and not even getting the chance to destroy France for…no. No. That's wrong. Like that bug said as she hates to admit it, but they didn't do anything to her. The real Jeanne d'Arc didn't have darkness inside her, even after those bastards killed her in cold blood. She still loves France, because of the wonderful happy memories she had of her family and friends while she herself had no such memories. She was just a replica who had nothing but hatred inside her.

It's funny. Death doesn't frighten her at all. In fact, she felt nothing about her predicament. Only acceptance. Good riddance to a fake like her. Still, it does make her wonder…what happens to a fake like her? Where will she go? Will she just vanish just like that?

Well, who cares anyway? Not like it matters.

"Jeanne!"

Dark Jeanne tiredly opened her eyes and looked up to see that bug and his friends running inside her throne room. He and her counterpart both had that disgusting sad look on their faces as they stared at her. It was almost like they didn't want her to go. She looked at Gilles, who didn't bother to acknowledge their presence and kept on rubbing her head.

"Don't worry, Jeanne. Leave everything to me. I'll take care of it." Gilles told her.

Dark Jeanne looked at him, then to Sora and Jeanne. There was no hatred in her eyes as she stared at them, especially towards Sora as she seemed to stare at him the longest. In fact, without even knowing it herself, she gave the two a small apologetic smile, which of course surprised them and the others who saw it, as she closed her eyes and vanished, leaving behind the Holy Grail in her seat.

"Jeanne…" Sora said sadly.

Background Music: End

["Looks like we were right all along. Dark Jeanne was the Holy Grail the whole time."] Dr. Roman spoke up.

"Yes. It truly is sad, isn't it?" Gilles asked, picking up the Holy Grail and staring at it. "My Saint…I can't believe this whole time she was exposed to the truth of her origins." He then turned to look at everyone. "I must say, it's a pleasure to meet you all. And it's been a while hasn't it, Jeanne d'Arc?"

"Gilles…" Jeanne said softly, staring at his current form with sadness in her eyes. He had truly fallen after her demise. "Tell me, how were you able to be summoned in this era?"

"I was summoned by the Grail through my connection with the me of this era." Gilles answered with his smile turning into a smirk. "So of course, that also means that I was the first Servant to find the Grail and use its power to destroy France!"

"So you created Dark Jeanne just so you can use her as a tool of destruction for what France did to Jeanne!" Sora accused.

"Foolish boy. I never saw her as a tool." Gilles said, looking genuinely angry at the accusation. "My only wish was for Jeanne's revival. That was all I ever wanted of the Grail. A wish from the bottom of my heart." His face warped into one of anger "But my wish was unfulfilled!" He screamed "But I only wished for you and you alone! That was the one thing that omnipotent wishing device can't do! So instead I created a new you! The Saint I believed in! The Saint I longed for! I created her! Jeanne d'Arc - The Dragon Witch! The Grail itself!"

"...I see." Jeanne said. "At first, she had no idea of her origins until at the very end of her lifespan. Gilles, even if you could revive me, I would never be your Dragon Witch." She closed her eyes. "It's true that I was betrayed, it's true that I was mocked. My life ended as a tragic tale. But I could never hate my homeland. This is where you and the others live, where I have so many precious memories of before I joined the war."

"...So kind." Gilles' face returned to a more serene expression as he smiled at her. "Your words are always too kind. However, Jeanne…" The serene expression disappeared and was more blank. "Your kindness has made you forget one thing. Even if you never hated this country…" His eyes went wide and veins along his neck bulged as his face contorted with rage. "I HATED THIS COUNTRY! I swore I would destroy it for this betrayal of you!"

Jeanne's eyes widened as she heard this, looking at her childhood friend with sadness. Everyone around all tensed while Sora's hair shadowed his eyes.

"You will forgive them I'm sure. But I never will! Not God! Not the King! Not the nation!" Gilles continued on with his ranting rage. "I will destroy them! I will kill them! That is the wish I made-!"

Gilles' cried out in pain as he was struck in the chest by a thrown object, which knocked him back and made him crash on the throne. Everyone was shocked by the action as they looked at the object that was thrown and saw it was Kingdom Key, which vanished and reappeared in Sora's hand. He didn't say anything as he took several steps forward until he was in front of Jeanne.

"What's wrong with you? Are you that selfishly blind or just ignorant?"

Gilles, who placed his hand on his chest after being struck, looked at Sora to listen to what he had to say.

"I know the pain of what it's like to lose your friends. It's unbearable. I can also understand your anger and hatred for this country after they killed Jeanne. I know because I felt the same way when I learned about Jeanne and Marie's history." Sora told him, getting everyone's undivided attention as he said those words. "But there's a difference between me and you. I don't hate the country, I hate the people, the ones who killed them after all the good they tried to do for them. If there's anything that you should hate, it's them!"

"Sora…" Jeanne was about to stop him but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Glancing back, she saw her Master shaking his head at her to tell her not interfere.

"You say you want to destroy all of France and its people for their betrayal of Jeanne, but what about those who cared about her?" Sora asked rhetorically, though with an added tone of anger in it. "Were you so upset about Jeanne's death that you didn't even think about how it also affected them?"

His voice was getting louder as he started to show his anger at Gilles for what he said to Jeanne. Everyone else was also surprised to hear Sora's sudden increase in volume as he spoke.

"Her hometown, her friends, her family!" Sora yelled at Gilles, who was looking at him in surprise. "Are you going to tell me that they betrayed her too? When they had no idea what was going on with her until it was too late?"

Gilles gave no reply, though his eyes did widen just as Sora continued showing Gilles and everyone his righteous anger at Gilles' selfishness.

"Did you even bother to check up on them!? To comfort them, to cry with them, to share the happy memories you all had with Jeanne?! No, you didn't! You didn't do any of those things! You fell into darkness, practiced Black Magecraft and as a result you committed so many horrible things just so you could prove a point! Do you really think Jeanne would want you to do something like that after she died!?"

He still couldn't get over what he learned from Jeanne about Gilles' history, a loyal French soldier who fell into ruin after Jeanne's death. He lost sight of God and devoted himself to Black Magecraft out of his despair. His hands became stained with blood. He kidnapped young boys from his territory, raped and then murdered them.

Sora was completely horrified and sickened greatly once he found out that he's been doing this action alongside many others for 8 years after Jeanne's death. But it wasn't until in 1440, was Gilles executed. However, the people back then, they didn't do it as justice or for the children he raped and murdered. No, they killed him just for his fortune and his land. They say they killed him for the children, but it was an excuse to satisfy their own sick greed.

It just made Sora even more hateful and angry at the people of this era. Did they really not care for the children that Gilles killed in cold blood? Of course not. Because according to Jeanne, the people of that era were split into two groups; Nobles and Commoners. Those children that Gilles killed were all commoners.

Because the nobles of the era disregarded the human rights of commoners, they felt the populations of their territories were no more than disposable livestock. They equated their slaughter to no more than animal abuse and would not have even dealt with Gilles had his land holdings not been so large and him being wasteful of his fortune.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited 8 whole years just to finally execute him. But those nobles, they didn't do it for justice or their faith, it was just so they take his fortunes for themselves. It was really disgusting to learn how the people of this era acted out and the kind of system they lived in during that time.

It was hard to believe that this version of Gilles became a Heroic Spirit. He could see the Knight Gilles being one, but this one, not so much.

"And that's why, Gilles de Rais!" Sora called out his name, his voice echoing out in the room. "We're not going to let you destroy Jeanne's home! The home she fought to protect, the home where she has precious memories of everyone in it, including you!" He looked at Gilles and showed him the angry but very determined expression he wore. "We will stop you and end this fight once and for all!"

The Chaldea group all stared at Sora with awestruck looks on their faces though Ritsuka had a knowing smile on his face as he agreed with what Sora said. He never felt emotions as strong as Gilles, so he won't pretend that he knows how he feels. But he doesn't think Gilles is wrong. It's natural that he would hate this world, so it's not wrong of him to try and destroy it. But they're going to stop him regardless, because if none of them is wrong, he knew that leaving Gilles be is.

Jeanne's face turned red slightly with her eyes also glistening slightly. She looked ready to cry right about now but after closing her eyes for a couple of seconds, she opened them back up and nodded to herself, her face and eyes reflecting the same determination as the Keyblade Master.

Gilles meanwhile just stared at Sora with widened eyes, his words all but ringing inside his head. Jeanne's family…that's right. He never once thought about them after Jeanne's death. They all just slipped his mind after he fell into despair with Jeanne's death. All he cared about was Jeanne. His world, his motivation, all revolved around her because she was living proof of his salvation and God's existence. His precious Saint.

But now this boy…who wields…the key…

"...I see. It was you." Gilles said as he stood up, his eyes staring at the Keyblade before looking directly at Sora. "You were the one who broke my Dragon Witch. The one who took her away from me." His face soon turned into a hateful scowl. "UNFORGIVABLE!"

Sora remained silent, not even flinching away at how messed up Gilles' face looked right now with the scowl on his face. He was even stomping his foot on the ground angrily.

"UNFORGIVABLE! UNFORGIVABLE! UNFORGIVABLE!" Gilles continued to yell as the Holy Grail entered his body, granting him near-infinite power. He took out his book, which looked to be made of actual human flesh, and opened it up. "YOU WILL PAY FOR TAKING MY DRAGON WITCH AWAY! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU WILL DIE A GRUESOME PAINFUL DEATH, BOY! YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE!"

Battle Music: Dread of Night [Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance]

Darkness had appeared all around Gilles, which made a strong gust of wind to try and blow them back, yet they remained strong and firm in the face of it. The Servants quickly summoned their weapons as well.

"EVEN IF I HAVE TO USE THIS NEW DARK POWER, MY WISH FOR FRANCE'S DESTRUCTION WILL BE REALIZED! DON'T STAND IN MY WAY, JEANNE D'ARC!" The darkness that appeared around Gilles soon covered his whole entire body in a massive orb that started to hover up in the air.

["Everyone! Stay away from him! The readings we're picking up from him are all messed up! They're not making any sense!"] Dr. Roman said in alarm and a slightly scared tone.

"Everyone! Take cover behind Mash!" Ritsuka ordered. Everyone did as ordered with Mash holding her shield up, though Sora had to grab the frozen Jeanne's hand and get her to join them.

The dark energy soon erupted off of his body, blasting upwards, through the ceiling of the room, breaking through the stone and wood that made up the castle roof and leaving the debris to scatter everywhere inside and out. They couldn't see how far the energy went from where they were, but it was safe to assume that it reached far up into the sky. The dark energy soon dispersed to reveal a new kind of creature that made Sora narrow his eyes up at it while everyone else was shocked and mildly disgusted at it.

It was a grotesque monster that looked like it was created in a laboratory from a mixture of different demons. Its lower body was a mass of darkened flesh that was mixed together with some parts of it even pulsing with various tentacles moving around. It has a dark purple octopus head complete with bulging glowing yellow fish-like eyes and razor sharp shark-like teeth with 'hair' in a style similar to Gilles.

The creature also had claws, one big and one smaller, but there were crevices on them, like cracks in the earth itself, which glowed a sinister eerie purple. The creature also had two large tentacles on its back.

"KYAAAAA! THAT'S SO GROSS!" Elizabeth screamed out loud, ducking behind the shield.

"EW! EW! EW! EW! DISGUSTING!" Kiyohime also screamed as she joined Elizabeth in ducking behind the shield.

["It can't be! We're picking up readings of the Grail from that thing but it's like something is corrupting it! W-What the hell is that thing!?"] Dr. Roman asked.

"That thing is Gilles!" Sora answered, coming out from behind the shield, taking note of the Heartless Emblem on the torso. "That's his Heartless!"

["What!?"]

"His…Heartless!?" Mash asked in shock, looking up at the abomination before she too noticed the emblem. This thing was the darkness that took shape inside of Gilles' heart?

Ritsuka recoils in horror and repulsion by what he's looking at. So this is what Gilles' Heartless looked like? It looked like a demon!

"The strong anger and hatred he holds for France." Artoria said, staring wide eyed at the creature. "It allowed him to transform into a Heartless."

["I…I can't believe it! A Servant can actually turn into a Heartless!? Something like is possible!?"]

"Gilles…" Jeanne said, staring at her friend with a guilty look on her face. This situation reminded her about what Sora told them the story about the Pride Lands. Just like what happened to Scar, Gilles had transformed himself into a Heartless because of the darkness inside him.

"Jeanne. Don't blame yourself." Sora told her, getting her attention. "It's not your fault that he became this way. Everything that's happened to him, everything he did, were all done by his choices. So there's nothing for you to feel guilty about." He turned to look at her with a smile. "Hakuna matata, remember?"

Jeanne stared at Sora for a couple of seconds before she smiled softly at him and nodded her head. He was right. There's nothing for her to feel guilty about. Gilles made his choice and he will forever have to live with the consequences of his actions. Looking back at his Heartless, she slammed her flagpole down and released her banner.

"In the name of Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, I hand down the sentence to that monster! Everyone, I request your assistance! Please, lend me your strength!"

Everyone acknowledged Jeanne's wish as they all nodded their heads at her with smiles or smirks on their faces.

"Did you even have to ask?" Sora asked, making her smile in appreciation at him.

"Thank you, everyone." Jeanne thanked them as they then turned to Gilles and got into stances. "Evil Marshal, Gilles de Rais! Prepare yourself!"

Gilles' Heartless, the Demon Bluebeard, roars at the group as it launches its tentacles at them. Sora, Jeanne and Artoria all cut the tentacles off with Elizabeth charging ahead to try and stab at it, only for one of the large tentacles to slap her away. The other large tentacle made its way to Fujimaru as though it tried to stab him, but Mash had her shield up and knocked it away. Kiyohime followed it up by swiping her fan and launched a wave of fire at it, burning it greatly as the flames danced on its disgusting skin.

Demon Bluebeard cries out in pain from that before pointing it's larger claw out at and fires a steam of dark purple gas at the group, getting them to move out of the way, not even bothering to figure out what it was nor what it would do to them the moment it touched them.

Artoria yells as she charges ahead and starts to strike the appendage off, only for the tentacles of its lower body to move and block it, getting her to cut them instead. She grit her teeth at this but then her eyes widened when she saw it was about to sweep its big claw at her, getting her to try and block and was launched into a wall.

Sora, Mash and Jeanne charged in at the same time. Sora fired a Fire spell at its face, getting it to screech and cover its face with its small claw. Mash jumps up and spins around while holding her shield out. She gave a yell as her shield landed a hit across its head, knocking it to the side and throwing its large claw up in the exposed air. Jeanne gave her own yell as she and Elizabeth both slashed the large appendage off, getting it to fall on the floor.

The gargantuan Heartless let out a roar of pain with a mix of anger. Surprisingly, in its rage it summoned dark portals and out came multiple small creatures, which were masses of tentacles with circular mouth-like openings marked with shark teeth-like blades.

"Tch! Even as Heartless, he can still summon those demons?" Artoria asked as she cut one that tried to jump and it disappeared.

"Oh come on! Just how gross can this thing get!?" Elizabeth asked, looking down at the small creatures with disgust.

"Stop complaining and fight!" Kiyohime told her, annoyed by her attitude but at the same also felt disgusted by them and was already setting them on fire.

"Master!" Mash immediately came to Ritsuka and knocked away several monsters that were closing in on him.

Demon Bluebeard roars again and charges at Sora and Jeanne while swinging its small claw. The two of them blocked it, giving Artoria the chance to come and attack it. First, she thrust her sword at it and then followed it up with several heavy attacks that pushed it back.

"Strike Air!" She released the wind in her sword and shot out a violent gale that blew Demon Bluebeard all back until it destroyed a portion of the wall.

The Heartless let out a loud screech with wind lashing around it. The large claw that was cut off had been regrowned and it was now glaring at them.

"It has regeneration!?" Ritsuka asked. "Everyone! Be careful!"

"Got it!" Everyone said.

Demon Bluebeard used its tentacles as a makeshift helicopter and charged at them. Everyone got out of its way as it landed before it charged at them again. It swung its claws around while it emitted dark energy. The group avoided it once again only to be caught off guard when they were all captured by the tentacles it had summoned and they all struggled to get out.

"EW! It's so slimy! Let me go, you ugly freak of nature!" Elizabeth demanded, before letting out out a Sonic Screech that made Demon Bluebeard counter it with it's own screech that shook the room. "Boo! You suck!"

Demon Bluebeard motioned it's claws upwards as which made the tentacles follow the motion. Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what it was going to do and they struggled more to try and get out. Before it could do the deed, it got hit in the back by a sharp weapon, getting it to yell in pain. The Heartless and everyone else looked back to see Archer with his bow drawned and aimed directly.

But he wasn't alone as Cú, Marie, Siegfried, Georgios and Mozart was with him. This of course made everyone happy.

"Yo! Hope we not late for the party?" Cú greeted them with a smirk.

"Guys! You're all here!" Sora said happily.

"Of course. Didn't want to miss this final boss fight." Emiya remarked. He fired his weapons at the tentacles releasing them from their capture while Cú threw Gáe Bolg at Demon Bluebeard, getting it to stagger backwards.

Siegfried dashed at it and swung his sword upwards, releasing blue flames from it and making the Heartless screech out in absolute pain.

"What in Heaven's name is that abomination?" Georgios asked, looking at Demon Bluebeard with disgust. "And where is Caster?"

"You're looking at him." Ritsuka answered, earning looks of surprise from them. "That thing is his Heartless."

"Eh!?" Marie asked, looking at the giant staggering Heartless in shock. "His Heartless?"

"Oh dear. What a revolting creature." Amadeus commented with a grimace expression. "The music around it is the most horrid sound I've ever heard. Truly fitting for a man like that."

"Not only that, he also absorbed the Holy Grail when he transformed into that monster." Jeanne informed them.

"I see. So we're dealing with a Heartless powered by a Holy Grail." Emiya stated, holding his twin swords ready.

Demon Bluebeard let out another screech, getting everyone's attention. It then summons dozens of tentacles into the battlefield, which sprout in groups of four. If that was enough, it also summoned the same demons from earlier, only they were larger.

"Well now, it looks like someone is a little angry." Cú observed as he looked around the battlefield.

"We got it down on its last legs!" Sora told everyone. "Even though it's using the Grail's power, it's still a Heartless!"

Ritsuka nodded. "That's right! This is the Singularity's final battle! So let's finish it off with a bang! Don't hold back! Give it everything you got!"

"Yes!" Everyone agreed with Ritsuka's determined words.

They all charged at Demon Bluebeard, heading straight into the battlefield filled with tentacles and monsters. The tentacles were easily struck down by Cú and Elizabeth as they dashed around to take them out. Marie used her Noble Phantasm, Guillotine Breaker as she moved all around the battlefield to destroy the tentacles. Emiya, Amadeus, Siegfried and Georgios all dealt with the larger demons. While this happened, Sora, Jeanne, Kiyohime, Artoria and Mash continued their charge.

Demon Bluebeard, seeing them charging at it, roars as it summons three large oceanic demons and launches them at the group, stopping them for a moment except for Mash, who moves in front of them, slamming her shield down as it glows.

"Lord Chaldeas!"

The barrier appeared as the three demons clashed against it. Mash grit her teeth for a moment before she let out a yell and the demons were sent flying back against Demon Bluebeard, knocking it back slightly.

"Now, it's my turn." Kiyohime said, pointing her fan at the Heartless with a small smirk. "While I was unable to meet my lover, I did gain something better. I gained a lot in this summoning."

She then turned her attention to Ritsuka and Sora, getting confused looks from them. She finally found two men who interested her greatly. But if they see what she looks like, then she's sure they'll be frightened. Well, Fujimaru might be.

Oh well, there's nothing to be done about it now.

"I will now exterminate the runaway liar."

Blue flames started to appear around Kiyohime before it began to cover her, taking shape and turning into a large flaming dragon.

"Samadhi Through Transforming Flames!"

The dragon roars as it fires blue flames at Demon Bluebeard, causing it to flail its claws around in pain as the tentacles were being burned as though they were being used as a barrier. Seeing this caused the others to keep going though Sora had to look back up at the dragon with an awestruck expression for another quick second before focusing.

Artoria leaps into the air, letting out a yell as her sword glows a golden light. She slammed her blade down. "EXCALIBUR!" She sent a strong strike wave of golden mana at the Heartless, destroying not only the larger claw but the smaller one as well.

"Sora! Ruler! Now's your chance!" Ritsuka told them.

"Right!"

Sora and Jeanne readied their weapons as they ran past Artoria, both of them gathering light. They jumped in the air and dashed at Demon Bluebeard, attacking the Heartless at the same time. After one final strike, they landed on the ground and pointed their weapons at it.

"It's over!" They both said, as they summoned multiple columns of light at it, getting it to once again cry out in pain as they vanished.

Battle Music: End

Demon Bluebeard cries slowly began to grow weak as the tentacles and the monsters it summoned all but vanished, getting everyone to turn to look at it. The Heartless motioned its body left and right before it gave one weak cry as it vanished in wisps of darkness leaving only behind the beaten Gilles de Rais, lying on the ground, with the Holy Grail out of his reach.

Everyone came together, all of them tired and grateful that the battle is finally over. Sora turned to Gilles and was about to go to him but Jeanne stopped by shaking her head. She will be the one to finish this. She walked over to the fallen Caster. She looked down upon him with the same pitying expression she had worn almost the entire battle. He, in turn, just shifted his head to smile wearily at her.

Background Music: Missing You [Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5]

"Even with the powers of both the Grail and the Heartless…I still lost. I suppose...this was...inevitable..." He whispered.

Jeanne knelt down beside him, smiling gently to her old friend. "I never thanked you enough, Gilles." She told him, earning a confused look from him. "You kept on believing in a clueless little girl who knew nothing about anything. Even if it became overbearing at times, your belief in me kept me going through the hardest battles I fought." Her smile was replaced by a saddened, reluctant expression. "I know what...what you've become and what you did. No matter who you are now, I believe in who you were back then." She then put a hopeful smile on her face and reached a hand out for him to take. "Don't worry. I have no regrets even until the very end. My death will light the way for someone else. That's all I ever wanted." She reached her hand out to him. "Now let's go back…to the time where we belong."

Gilles stared at Jeanne with his eyes widened in surprise. The smile he missed seeing on her face made him remember all the fun times they had together even during the war against England. With tears falling from her eyes, he gave her a weary smile. "Jeanne. I'm sorry...but it cannot be..." He answered. "Where I'm going...it's someplace where you shouldn't be. Someplace where I…deserve to be in." He gave a light sigh, Jeanne's sad expression doing nothing to change his viewpoint. He suddenly remembered what Sora told him earlier. "Before I go…I'm sorry…for never checking in with your family…after you…"

His eyes closed, and a last breath left his mouth. He soon faded into golden light, his body dissolving into the same particles that made up all other Servants. He was gone, with nothing but the Grail left behind to show he had been there at all.

Despite his words, despite his deeds, Jeanne's regret did not diminish. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, offering a quiet prayer for her friend. Perhaps God would hear her, and perhaps He wouldn't. She prayed for her friend, all the same. One day, he may find his redemption. That was all she wished.

Background Music: End

The others gave her the space to do so, and it wasn't long before she finished. She turned to her side, picking up the dropped Grail and rising to her feet. She made her way over to the group with it in hand, and Mash stepped forward to take it. Something shifted on the back of her shield, sliding open to reveal a small compartment. She placed the Grail within it, then slid the piece back into place with a snap.

["The Grail is secure. The battle has come to an end. The restoration of the First Singularity is complete."]

Sora gained a big smile on his face, trembling in excitement. "ALRIGHT!" He cheered as he grabbed both Mash and Ritsuka by their shoulders to bring them into a group hug. "We did it guys!"

"Yeah!" Ritsuka and Mash also cheered.

"Fou! Fou!" Fou barked, appearing on Ritsuka's shoulder.

"Hey Fou! Where were you this whole time?" Sora asked curiously.

"Fou! Kyuu!" Fou barked again, getting Sora to tilt his head as he wondered where Fou was.

["Good job you three."] Dr. Roman voiced over the communicator, sounding exhausted yet also very relieved. They could also hear cheering in the background from the others. ["The era's restoration has officially begun. We'll make preparations for your return."]

"Roger that!" Ritsuka said happily as Sora released him and Mash.

"Well in that case, I better head back." Cú said before saluting to the three. "See you crazy kids back at Chaldea!" He disappeared in a gold flash.

"It was a great pleasure to work with all of you." Artoria said as she looked at the Singularity's Servants with a smile on her face. "May we all team up again in the future." She too disappeared in a gold flash.

"Don't take too long you three." Emiya told them, vanishing in a gold flash.

Background Music: La Pace [Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories]

"Hey wait, what about…" The Keyblade Master was about to ask about Marie and the others when he turned to them and saw they were fading away. "You're all disappearing!" Ritsuka looked shocked as he saw this also.

"It means that our job is done." Marie said.

"Your job?" Ritsuka asked.

["Don't forget. They were summoned here by the Holy Grail."] Dr. Roman reminded the two boys. ["Since they've completed what they were brought to do by the Grail, then there's no reason for them to be here."]

"I get it." Sora said. "So they're going back to the Throne of Heroes."

"Exactly!" Elizabeth said happily as she prepared to say her goodbye to the three. "Mash! Little Puppy!"

"P-Puppy?" Ritsuka asked, caught off guard by the nickname, as he pointed at himself. "Me?

"That's right! You didn't exactly meet my standards at first but you've worked really hard, so from now I'll call you Little Puppy!" Elizabeth declared. "I'll be expecting more from you if we run into each other again." She turned to Sora and immediately felt butterflies enter her stomach. "Kitty…"

Everyone was caught off guard by this. She sounded super happy when talking to Mash and Ritsuka but when it came to Sora, she was acting shy.

"I...I'm not going to forget about that promise you made me!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she pointed at him. "So you better get ready, because I'm gonna need your full support, got it!?"

Sora blinked at her but gave her a happy smile as he gave her a thumbs up. "You got it! See ya later, okay?"

Elizabeth nodded, satisfied but also delighted at his response. She soon vanished.

"Honestly, that dragon girl is such an idiot." Kiyohime remarked, a soft smile on her face. "I'll be taking my leave as well. I'm sure we'll never meet each other again."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Of course we will!" Sora told her in reassurance, getting her attention.

Ritsuka nodded in agreement. "We're friends Kiyohime, we'll be able to see each other again in no time."

"But…I showed you an ugly side of me. Aren't you repulsed?" Kiyohime asked, only to earn lost looks from the boys as they glanced at each other in confusion before looking back at her. She gave a flat stare at them. "Don't make me spell it out! My Noble Phantasm!"

"You mean when you turned into that flaming dragon?" Sora asked.

"That wasn't ugly, that was cool!" Ritsuka told her.

"Yeah!" Sora smiled and placed his hands behind his head. "If you wanna talk about ugly, you should look at Maleficent's dragon form. If you ask me, she's the real Dragon Witch."

Kiyohime stared at the two boys for a second with a stunned look on her face while they continued to talk about her dragon form. A massive blush appeared on her face as she sensed that both of them were telling the truth about her form being cool. Her eyes were flickering between them before they settled on Ritsuka. She nervously held her pinky out, getting the two boys' attention.

"F-Fujimaru…pinky."

Ritsuka looked confused but gave her his pinky. The moment they touched, Kiyohime vanished, shocking him.

"What was that about?" Sora asked himself. Looking back, he saw Georgios and Siegfried talking to each other. He approached them, getting them to look at him. "Hey guys. Thanks for all the help."

"You're welcome. Thank you again for saving me from the curse." Siegfried smiled at him.

"Indeed Sora." Georgios also smiled at him as the two shook hands. "It's truly been an honor to meet you and fight alongside you. You're a very courageous young man. The Keyblade was very wise in having to choose you to be its wielder."

"Hehe. Thanks." Sora said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Never lose faith. I'm sure that you will find a way back to your world someday." Georgios told him. "I pray that I will come to your and Fujimaru's aid once again." He vanished in gold dust.

Sora nodded his head with his smile widening. He suddenly saw nothing but darkness as someone placed their hand over his eyes.

"Guess who~?"

"Is it…Marie?" Sora guessed as the Queen giggled and removed her hands from his eyes. She ran around him until she was in front of him. Ritsuka and Mash ran over to join them.

"Good! It's time to say goodbyes!" Amadeus exclaimed before sighing tiredly. "This has been one crazy day. Magic trains, wyverns, Heartless, Servants. Honestly, my bum hurts from all this hard work."

"Want me to make it worse?" Marie asked rhetorically, seeing how he was rubbing his butt in front of them and was really getting ready to kick it.

"How rude, Maria!" Amadeus exclaimed as he covered his butt from her.

Sora, Ritsuka and Mash all laughed at this with Siegfried, Marie and even Amadeus doing the same thing.

"Sora. Ritsuka. Mash. This adventure has been one of the best adventures I've ever been on." Marie said, looking at the three with a dazzling smile. "When we meet again, let's go on even more fun adventures! "

The three looked at one another before turning to Marie with big smiles on their faces.

"Yeah! We'll see you later, Marie." Sora said to her, getting her to smile lovingly at him. He blinked when she reached up to grab his cheeks. Pulling him down, she kissed his left cheek which was a little bit too close to his lips. His face of course darkened into a cherry red as his eyes widened.

Ritsuka and Mash both blushed while Mozart sent a knowing smirk at Sora's way and Siegfried just blinked.

The queen removed herself from Sora and stepped back away from him as she giggled at his silly expression. "I want to hear more stories of the worlds you went to, Sora! See you later, everyone! Vive la France and hakuna matata!" She gave a wink and vanished.

Sora's face was still cherry red as he touched the cheek where Marie kissed him, feeling his lips just a tad close to where her lips almost touched his. He could feel his heart beating in his chest wildly from the close call which only got worse as Amadeus laughed.

"Oh that Maria! She always did fall in love so easily." The great musician said, wiping a tear away from his eyes. "Still, good on you guys for pulling it off! Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get to see how the next movement of your song goes as well! Oh and Sora?" He got the young man's attention. He winked at him. "I haven't forgotten about helping you with your vocal exercises and writing your song! I can't wait for the others to listen to it!"

With that, he bowed, as only a conductor would. He too faded into gold light.

"You know what he was talking about?" Ritsuka asked Sora curiously, who shrugged but then thought back to their meeting.

"Let's just say, he can listen to the music in someone's heart."

"Well, he is a famous musician after all." Mash added with a smile.

"Sora. Fujimaru. Mash." Siegfried said their names, getting their attention. "Your journey across the Singularities has only just begun. You'll meet new people and face stronger adversities." He smiles at them. "But I know that with you three together, you'll be able to overcome them."

The three smiled at Siegfried and nodded their heads. "Yeah. You know we will." Ritsuka said.

"See you around Siegfried." Sora waves at him.

Siegfried nodded at the two boys, his smile growing. Sora doesn't realize it, but Fujimaru has been taking a lot of inspiration from him. He may not have a Keyblade, he may not be a magus, he may even be afraid of dying, but the young Master has the drive, will and the heart of a hero, just like Sora. It was thanks to him that he was able to participate in the battle that he wished for.

He also had fun talking with Sora, learning much about the world he came from and those he had been too, especially when it came to the spiritual side of the human heart. It amazed him to learn that the hearts would hold such unique powers and abilities as with Sora. The power to connect his heart with others. And now, he was also a part of that connection.

The Dragon Slayer soon vanished.

"He's gone." Ritsuka said sadly with Mash nodding at him, also feeling the same. "They're all gone."

"Cheer up guys. I know we'll see them again." Sora told them in reassurance. The two looked at him. "You can summon them at Chaldea, remember?"

"Oh! Yeah, that's right!" Mash exclaimed, while Ritsuka rubbed his head sheepishly as he forgot about that.

"We still got one last goodbye." Sora said, turning around to see Jeanne talking to Gilles.

The Gilles of this era, who was very much alive and obviously before he became the man they just fought. He saw that he was crying to her. He could hear him apologize to her, his remorse over France's betrayal of her and not being able to save her.

"Gilles…" Sora thought to himself with a frown.

After Jeanne told him about Gilles' history, she mentioned that he was close friends with someone named François Prelati, an alchemist who studies black magic. According to her, it was because of him that Gilles ended up becoming the way he did after her death. He involved him in his dark rituals and the once proud knight ended up losing himself to the darkness of these rituals. The spell book that his Caster self carried actually belongs to Prelati.

Jeanne of course was very angry at Prelati for sending her friend down a dark path and he didn't blame her. It's just like what happened to Riku. Maleficent and Ansem both lead him down a path of darkness, but unlike Gilles, Riku got out of the path on his own with the help of King Mickey and is now Keyblade Master.

It's just awful that Gilles didn't get himself out of the path and no one was there to help him get out. To him, Jeanne was his only light and salvation. Even if it was someone else, they wouldn't replace the light that he lost.

The trio walked over to her, getting her attention. She gasped softly as she saw they were starting to disappear in blue light. She looked saddened by this. "It looks like you three are leaving."

"Yeah. Looks that way." Sora said softly. He got concerned when he saw her head was lowered. "Jeanne?"

"It feels…it feels like we've been on a very long journey together." Jeanne suddenly said. "It feels so strange, despite it being a few days."

She surprised the trio by bringing them together in a group hug. Her arms reached out to pull Ritsuka and Mash close while her head leaned forward on Sora's shoulder. Sora blinked and blushed slightly at the action.

"M-Miss Jeanne?" Ritsuka asked.

"According to Dr. Roman, everything in this Singularity will be erased." Jeanne told them, not removing her head from Sora's shoulder. "I will be glad that my mother didn't die. However…meeting all of you, fighting together. That being erased makes me sad."

Sora looked at Jeanne for a second or two and then smiled gently. "You're wrong Jeanne." She looked up at him as she released Ritsuka and Mash. "While it's true that everything in the Singularity will be erased. But all of the memories we shared together? All the fun that we had. That will never be erased." He patted his chest. "Even if you and the others may not remember it or us when you come to Chaldea, your hearts will remember it for you."

"Because…our memories are contained in our hearts." Jeanne said.

"Right!" Sora nodded happily at her. "So don't feel sad! This isn't a goodbye, this is a see you later."

Jeanne stared at Sora in surprise before she giggled and nodded at his words. Only Sora would say something like that. Grabbing his hand, she reached behind her and gave him something. It was a silver cross that had the symbol of her banner on it in gold. Sora looked at in surprise then gave her a questioning look but blinked when she gave him a thankful smile.

"Thank you, for keeping your promise." She told him before addressing all three. "Thank you all, for everything!"

Suddenly, the Chaldea Trio started to float away, letting out surprised yells with Sora comically shaking his legs back and forth before stopping.

["I'm starting the rayshift."] Dr. Roman told them. ["Any longer and you three will get caught in the restoration of history."]

"Jeanne!" Jeanne looked up at hearing Fujimaru and saw all three of them smiling at her, including Fou. "I'm glad I met you!"

"Thanks for helping us out!" Mash thanked her with Fou barking at her.

"See you soon Jeanne!" Sora exclaimed.

Jeanne's smile got bigger as she waved at them, watching as they disappeared into the swirling blue vortex, leaving France behind. It won't be long until she herself disappeared in a golden light.

Gilles, who watched the whole thing, went to pick up Jeanne's banner as he looked up at the golden light.

"May our Saint's blessings be here with us."

Background Music: End

---

First Singularity: Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragons

[Singularity Restored!]

---

Ritsuka opened his eyes and saw the familiar floating orb that was CHALDEAS. He sat up from his coffin and heard the sound of multiple footsteps heading his way. Looking up, he saw Sora and Mash in front of him, both holding their hands out for him to take. He smiled happily at them and grabbed their hands as they helped pull him out. After the huge battle and because of the rayshift, he was extremely tired.

Romani and everyone came in to greet them all and congratulated them on a job well done, even Artoria, Emiya and Cú were among them.

And so…under exceptional circumstances. Between the lack of other personnel and resources, with rayshifting still in its experimental phase. One out of seven points in human history has returned to what it should be with just six more to go.

Later on, after everything has calmed down and with the Chaldea Trio back in their regular clothes, everyone returned to the Command Room where ghe Doll prepped up on a table with Da Vinci next to it, holding the jar that contains the Director's heart.

Sora and Ritsuka looked at it with a slightly creeped out expression while Mash, with Fou on her shoulder, looked at the glowing heart.

"So…this is one of those Dolls thing?" Sora asked, looking at it all over.

"Yeah, creepy isn't it?" Romani asked, amused by their expressions.

Ritsuka nodded. It looked like something that would be in a horror movie. He looked at Sora. "Did the replicas look anything like this?"

"No, the ones I saw wore black coats and were more…blank." Sora answered, seeing the confusion, he elaborated. "Like no eyes and a mouth."

"That's even creepier!" Ritsuka exclaimed.

Sora laughed a little at that. "Well, we better not keep Olga waiting." He summoned his new brand Keyblade, which appeared in a shining gold light.

This new Keyblade had the elements of Jeanne d'Arc as it bore her colors. The blade looked like a double-edge sword with small edges sticking out and chains surrounding it. It has the image of a white cross with a yellow outline. The teeth had two red wings sweeping around the blade. The hilt guard is Jeanne's headpiece, and the handle is blue with a silver pommel that's similar to the one on Jeanne's banner. The chain is made up of Jeanne's braided hair and the token is the silver cross he got from her.

Naturally, everyone was stunned to see it. First Marie, now Jeanne d'Arc? This made them all curious to see what sort of abilities this Keyblade and the form Sora will turn into when he changes its form.

With Ruling Saint in hand, he aimed it at the tip of the Keyblade glowed before it shot a beam of light at the replica causing it to start floating off the table.

Da Vinci opened the jar and Olga's heart came out and made its way to the replica. Everyone watched in awe as the heart entered, causing the replica to glow in a golden light. Sora stopped what he was doing as this happened. It didn't take long for the glow to die down.

All of Chaldea were speechless as they saw her. Director Olga Marie Animusphere has returned. Some had covered their mouths with tears falling from their eyes while the others looked dumbfounded but also relieved. They all watched as she gently fell back down on the table.

Nobody didn't say anything, nor did they move from their spot. They waited for some kind of reaction from the seemingly sleeping Director. Though they didn't wait long as Olga groaned and slowly opened her eyes before closing them to block the light from hitting her eyes. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before looking around the room, seeing all the shocked looks on the staff's faces while Sora and Da Vinci had smiles on theirs.

"D…Director?" Mash asked.

Olga blinked at everyone. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was at. She looked at her hands and touched her face, even going so far as to pull her cheeks. Once she realized she wasn't dreaming, tears fell from her eyes and she broke down crying in front of everyone.

For she was alive.

---

In the void of nothing but darkness, the heart of the Dragon Witch wandered aimlessly. She had no idea where she was at or why she was even still…existing. Without the Grail to tether her to the world, she should be gone. But…here she is, still conscious but barely keeping it together as is.

What the hell was going on? No, how can something like her still…exist.

That's right! Gilles! She was created by Gilles' wish for revenge against France. Without the Grail, her existence was weak but it still exists nonetheless. Which means she has to find some way to be something again!

But…but how?

That's it! Jeanne d'Arc! She's the key! Even though she denied her being every aspect of her, she still acknowledged her existence along with that key wielding punk. All she has to do is to figure a way to get her to acknowledge the darkness that she kept hidden from her so that she can be some element of her

But that will be tricky. Like she just said, Jeanne d'Arc denied any such aspects she has within her. So if she doesn't have any flaws that would result in her existing, then that means she has to make that flaw happen.

Hehehehe…this is going to be so good! She can't wait to see the looks on that goodie-two shoes Saint and little bug's face when they see her again!

Those fools better watch out. Because the Dragon Witch is coming back!

---

Author's Note: Man, I gotta tell you guys. Being an actor is a tough job but at the end of the day, it's still a lot of fun. For those who were wondering what I've been doing since last month, I was filming for a movie that was in my area. It was not a major role mind you, just a supporting role. Filming is still going on, but my role is done now.

I'll admit, this chapter was really tough. So many battles going on, so much drama happening, but all in all, I'm glad it all worked out, though to be honest, I feel like I rushed it at the climax. I know some of y'all might be a little disappointed that Sora didn't fight Fafnir but I didn't want to drag this chapter more than I already did, especially since you've been waiting for it.

As you all probably already guessed from the ending of the last chapter, yes. Gilles de Rais has transformed into a Heartless, Demon Bluebeard.

"Demon" is for the creatures that Gilles summons using his spell book. For those of you who don't know who Bluebeard is, it's a folktale of a man who marries and kills one wife after another in a series of murders just like Gilles de Rais did to all the boys he kidnapped. Hence the name Demon Bluebeard.

Appearance wise, just think of it as a fusion between Specimen H0512 and Jenova Dreamweaver from Final Fantasy VII Remake.

With that said, the Orleans Singularity has been restored and our heroes will be having a well earned rest in the next chapter or as I like to call, the first Interlude chapters. Sora also has a brand new Keyblade from Jeanne d'Arc, Ruling Saint! I was going to call it something else but this just felt perfect.

Here's the stats for it.

Ruling Saint

Description:

A Keyblade prayed by a Saint to give it great strength.

Shotlocks:

Holy Flames (Basic): Launch a series of flame pillars at the enemies.

The Lord's Light (Max): Attacks the enemies repeatedly with blades of light.

Form:

Holy Form

Formchange:

Flag of Hope

Well, that'll be all. Enjoy and remember to review.