[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions

Revolutions – Chapter 22 (Climax III - Prince)

A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic

Written: April 21, 2014 – April 28, Sept 24 – Oct 10, 2014

Word Count: Approx 19,500

*A MONTH AGO; THE NIGHT OF THE GALA*

In the ruined music room, Chikane wasn't quite aware of how long she'd been crying for, nor how long she'd stopped, only that she finally had. Drained and miserable, she continued to rest her forehead on her knees with her arms wrapped around her legs as she tried to figure out what to do – what there could possibly be left in this world for her - but her mind wasn't really able to focus at all, still lost in gloom.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

'This isn't the way it's supposed to be...'

The slight crunching of shoes stepping on debris told her she was not alone with her thoughts, and her eyes snapped open, though she didn't raise her head from her knees. A couple moments later, a pair of white shoes appeared at the corner of her vision.

Despite the shambles her spirit was in, Chikane instantly tensed.

When she didn't look up, Akio crouched down beside her, and gently pushed his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up to look her straight in the eyes, his own ancient green ones unreadable. "Now are you willing to listen?" He asked, his voice smooth as silk.

She stared into those eyes for a long time, so similar to the ghost's that had haunted her for so much of her life, that she wondered if perhaps they weren't two sides to the same soul...

... but, no. Though in 15 years, that spirit had never spoken to her before, somehow, Chikane had been able to tell that she had never meant her, or her mother, any malice. Indeed, if anything else, it was like she was their guardian angel in some way.

Not like this man - her supposed father.

While Chikane had always thought her mother magnificent and remarkable, she had also always thought that Tenjou Utena was a normal woman, and it had been simple luck that she had been born to her. Since her transformation into Orochi however, she had come to suspect that this was not actually the case.

Her mother had all but confirmed her suspicions when she had asked - just the once - who her father had been; her mother's completely out of character reaction suggested that she knew more than she was letting on. But as subtly as Chikane had tried to pry the truth from Utena that summer, one of the main reasons why she'd stayed away from Fuuka as long as she had, she had been largely unfruitful, and then she had thought that perhaps her mother simply had been a victim, caught up in supernatural events after all - like all those mortal women Zeus had toyed with in Greek myths...

But, in any case, it was neither the ghost nor her mother who was in front of her now, and Chikane silently cursed herself for letting her thoughts get away from her when she was facing down such a dangerous man. Despite her piercing her gaze directly into his eyes, she could not figure out what was going on through his mind. There was no chink in his impressive facade.

Deciding to retreat, she angled her face out of his light grip, and looked away from him, resting her cheek back on her knees. "Go away." She commanded softly. "I don't wish to speak with you."

But Akio did not. Frowning in disapproval, he rose back to his full height and put his hands back in his pockets, a picture of casual disinterest and ennui, though, of course, he was anything but.

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know." He said. "As I'm sure the Obsidian Lord has said to you, maybe even right now, as we can *make* her yours. Do as he bids. Manipulate the Hime against each other and turn the winner into your puppet, as he has for centuries. Create a new world where you are together. There is nothing wrong with that. The gods themselves specifically created the Hime Festival as a mechanism for humanity to re-create the future according to their wishes." He smiled kindly. "Think of all those lives you've both spent, sacrificing your own happiness to undo Orochi's evil. Isn't it about time the world be recreated the way you want to see it made?"

Chikane refused to acknowledge her father. She simply continued to look away from him, though her eyes were burning with intensity.

"You can't decide yet, can you? Oh, the Obsidian Lord is doing his best to convince you to follow through with it, but you know what I think? I don't think you will." Akio laughed. "You are too much like your mother."

Chikane couldn't stop herself from narrowing her eyes.

"No, you are probably thinking that if you *were* to go through with such a plan, then how is it any different from *forcing* Himeko into loving you? And don't you already know something about that." He gave a short back of harsh laughter. "No, you want to be someone *worthy* of her love. Someone as self-sacrificing as *she* is, don't you?"

Now Akio leaned down, his lips so close to Chikane's ear, his words tickled the little hairs on her skin. "But you are no longer on the side of the angels, dear daughter. You are the new Orochi. Despair incarnate. You have committed atrocities and brutalities. You are a monster... so there is only one way for you to remain well thought of in Himeko's heart, isn't there?"

Chikane's eyes widened as she slowly straightened up. She turned to lock her damaged eyes onto Akio's magnificent emerald own.

Akio smiled broadly, bringing his hands out of his pockets in front of him. "See this through to the end, daughter of mine. Play the villain, through and through. It's not exactly a role you are uncomfortable with, after all. Force the Prince to action, and let Ame no Murakumo slay you, *finally*, so that Orochi may never walk the earth again. Only then, perhaps, may you deem yourself worthy of your beloved 'little princess'. Only then, could you free yourself from the revolutions through this ridiculous cycle."

Akio's words struck deep into Chikane's heart - much deeper than she had anticipated him being able to, and it alarmed her how intimately he seemed to know her thoughts.

But in striking out to ensnare her, he had also finally revealed the opening into his own motives that she had been looking for.

Chikane regarded Akio coolly. "Why do you want to see the Prince summoned?"

And Akio smiled thinly, a cruel, malicious smile with no joy. "Because it's about time she did her job. And understands how difficult it is."

As everyone else stared up at the sky, stupefied at the almost biblical apocalypse they were witnessing, Himeko pursed her lips, turned, and walked away purposefully out of the guest room.

'The brave and mighty Susannou no Mikoto,' Himeko thought solemnly to herself.

"Himeko-san?" Natsuki asked weakly, even as Nao and Midori each took one of her arms to pull her up to her feet. "Himeko-san, where are you going?"

Himeko didn't answer Natsuki. She just continued the incantation in her mind as she left the living quarters of Oogami shrine entirely, and moved over to the main building of worship.

'The country of Izumo falls on the river of sunlight...'

"Kurusugawa-san, wait!" Kazuki hurried after her, confusion and frustration clear on his face, as Himeko walked straight towards the main shrine building and threw open the doors. She walked purposefully inside, crossed the length of the prayer room, and went directly for the most sacred place in the back of the shrine.

'... eight-headed dragon of the land...'

"What are you doing, Kurusugawa-san!" Kazuki cried, grabbing onto her wrist roughly, trying to stop her from entering the sanctuary of Oogami shrine, where its most sacred treasures were painstakingly stored.

Himeko simply turned and gave Kazuki a disapproving look, her amethyst eyes fully catching Kazuki's golden own, and the head priest of Oogami Shrine was struck dumb by the vast age in her eyes. Gaping, Kazuki released his grip on Himeko's wrist - the woman whom he had known since she was a child, or at least, thought he had known - and the tawny haired woman entered the sanctuary.

'... diminish at the blade of the Tasuka sword...'

She found the wooden box she was looking for, and opened it carefully, but quickly, her fingers working adeptly, as though she had done this a hundred times before.

' ... Takemi katana no kami. Iwatsutsu no oh gami.'

Inside the box were the uniforms of the Solar and Lunar Priestesses, kept in absolutely pristine condition.

'... Kanayana Hiko no kami...'

Himeko quickly pulled the sash open around her waist and allowed her sleeping yukata to slip over her shoulders, falling to the ground quietly. By the doorway leading into the room, Kazuki, Souma, Natsuki, Nao and Midori had poked their heads around the door way. Kazuki, Souma and Natsuki all blushed and quickly looked away.

'...God of Kanayama Hime no kami...'

Himeko slipped the nagajuban on first...

'...Tsurugi no Ikasagami. Tate no Ikusa gami...'

... then came the stylized gi, and the red hakama...

'...along with the powers of the eight hundred million gods...'

By the time she had finished dressing into the ceremonial robes of the Solar Priestess, Himeko was nearing the end of the incantation, and as she left the building to stand outdoors in the middle of Oogami Shrine, she finished the chant out loud, looking up at the sky in determination.

Her voice echoed clearly and solemnly enough for everyone who had been following her to hear, the authority in her words riveting and full of command: "I wish for the revival of Ame no Muakumo! Release the god of Susanou! The atoning life shall be driven out! Shichoku!"

Deep in the heart of the mountain that Oogami shrine was built upon, with no one witnessing this, Ame no Murakumo's omikoshi burst into light, and the six stone swords embedded deep into the ground in front of it all shattered into fine dust.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then, to the bewildered stares of everyone at the shrine, (except for maybe Himeko herself), what looked like a giant white missile in the shape of a sword came hurtling down from the heavens, and stabbed into the ground in front of the tawny haired woman.

Kazuki's jaw dropped, even as Midori clapped her hands together in pure rapturous delight. "Oh! My! GOD!" She squeaked, with virtual stars in her eyes. She gripped Kazuki's shoulder in excitement even as she gushed. "This is AMAZING! I can't believe we're witnessing this first hand!"

With a rumbling that shook the earth, the sword transformed into the gleaming white armor of Ame no Murakumo, and right away, Himeko could tell that something was very different this time, something that hadn't happened since the very first time the Solar and Lunar Priestesses had summoned the God of Swordsmen to their aid: the armor wasn't empty.

There was a heavenly Prince inside.

Himeko took a single step towards Ame no Murakumo, before remembering that she was now addressing a god, rather than his empty shell of armor. She dropped to her knees and touched her forehead to the ground in reverence, causing everyone else at the shrine to do some semblance of the same belatedly (except for Nao who just continued to stare, and then belated cross herself), before she stood up again. "Great Ame no Murakumo," Himeko said, softly, and yet her voice carried. "Heavenly Prince of Swordsmen. Dios. Is... it finally you? Have you... have you returned?"

The giant God did not answer Himeko. Instead, he knelt down on one knee, and extended his palm outward to her.

Staring at the giant palm, Himeko got up out of her own prostration, and stepped onto the hand.

Ame no Murakumo lifted Himeko upwards, towards the circular emblem in the middle of his chest, and Himeko felt herself absorbed within him.

It wasn't until she was inside the godly armor, feeling the essence of the Prince of Swordsmen all around her, that she noticed something that surprised her a little; Ame no Murakumo felt distinctly feminine inside.

Inside the god, where everything was glowing a warm golden color, Himeko gasped in surprise.

"You... you are not Prince Dios..." Himeko whispered, as she felt the feminine presence permeating all through Ame no Murakumo. "Who are you?"

Sudden images came into Himeko's mind's eye, images of a pink haired, blue-eyed girl wearing a black boy's uniform. A quick succession of images followed shortly after this one, too quickly for Himeko to make out the individual details, though she could catch certain themes and sensations.

The girl was... was fighting. There were many flashes of battles, of duels, fought with swords, in a large, circular dueling arena, with the crest of a rose painted on the floor. A boy with blue hair. A woman with orange hair (who reminded Himeko quite a bit of Juri-chan, actually). A green haired boy. A red haired one.

Then, there was a long and lingering sequence of images about a dark, purple haired woman, domestic images - sharing a meal, bunk beds, laughter. Himeko could feel a distinct feeling of longing and nostalgia as these images flashed through her mind's eye.

And then, the images turned to that of a dark, lavender haired man. The emotions that accompanied these images of the man, first with his hair bound back, wearing a crimson shirt, and then, in a militaristic white uniform, interspliced with images of the man as a younger, short-haired boy, were... complicated. Anger. Desire. Guilt. Longing. Pity...

The images of those last two people, so similar they could have been siblings, tugged at other memories in Himeko's mind - she felt like she'd seen them before, met them before. Though, without concentrating, she couldn't quite remember exactly when...

... then, there was a flurry of swords, an endless cyclone of them, and Himeko gasped as she watched the swords tear the pink haired girl completely apart...

... and then... an image of a baby girl, with blue-black hair and marvelously intelligent blue-green eyes.

Himeko put her hands to her mouth, feeling her heart squeeze unbearably in her heart.

She could recognize Chikane-chan anywhere.

As Himeko watched, mesmerized, the baby girl's life unfolded as the pink haired woman raised her into a toddler, and then an older child, and then an adolescent, a series of heart-warming images – birthdays, graduations, family, laughter and love... until the baby had become a beautiful young woman, with long blue-black hair and achingly deep blue-green eyes.

"You're the one who brought Chikane-chan back from the lunar shrine," Himeko whispered, love and gratitude and thankfulness suddenly blossoming so fully in her heart it threatened to overwhelm her. "You're Chikane-chan's...!"

And then the pink haired girl herself appeared as a ghostly apparition in front of Himeko's eyes, rather than inside of her head.

'... I'm sorry it took me so long to return her to you...' Whispered a soft, sad voice from the pink haired girl, though her mouth never moved. She simply tipped her head to the side and looked at Himeko a little sadly.

"No! No, of course not!" Himeko cried, even as she reached out slowly. The pink haired girl mirrored her action, a shy smile on her face. Their fingers touched briefly, and intertwined.

"Thank you." Himeko whispered, so heartfelt she was shaking.

The girl smiled, and closed her eyes. And then she faded away, her presence disbursing all around her.

Himeko smiled sadly, closing her eyes and holding her hand to heart.

'... thank you...'

She stood there for a moment, basking in the warmth, knowing that her Chikane-chan hadn't suffered the last fifteen years, that those years had been warm, and happy ones, with a loving, if small, family.

She didn't know how she'd ever be able to properly thank the one who had brought her beloved back into the world.

All she could do was promise that she would continue in that line – to keep Chikane safe, and happy.

But first, of course, she'd have to get to her beloved's side.

"Come on," Himeko said softly. "Let's go to her."

And though no one answered her, she could feel a slight shift in the essence permeating through Ame no Murakumo's heart: the Prince agreed.

"Wait! Wait, Himeko-san, Wait!"

Himeko opened her eyes.

These voices were coming from outside of Ame no Murakumo. It took her a moment, but Himeko was able to remember how to see through the God of Swordsmen's eyes. At the feet of the giant white armour were her friends, now the size of ants, staring up at her: Souma, Kazuki, Natsuki, Nao and Midori.

It was Natsuki who was speaking. She had run right up to Ame no Murakumo and was beating her fists against the giant robotic feet, desperately trying to win her attention. "Himeko-san, wait! Please!"

Himeko smiled. Taking a step back, Himeko brought Ame no Murakumo down into a kneeling position, careful not to crush anyone in the process, though this still caused everyone at her feet to scatter backwards for safety. She held out Ame no Murakumo's palm.

For a moment, Natsuki looked at the giant hand a little stupidly, as though she wasn't quite sure what it meant, before Himeko projected her voice out from the god.

"Well? Are you coming?"

The Hime boggled, Natsuki, Nao and Midori exchanging slightly panicked looks with one another, before Natsuki's face set in determination and she scrambled up onto the palm. Midori gave a whoop of excitement and climbed aboard too while Nao gave the giant robot a look like she thought this was a terrible idea, though, in the end, she stepped up too.

"Hold on tight!" Himeko advised.

The Hime barely had time to each grab onto one of Ame no Murakumo's giant fingers before the God of Swordsmen took off into the sky like a shot.

'Wait for me, Chikane-chan! Wait for me!'

No one moved.

No one could quite comprehend exactly what had happened.

Mai stared at Shizuru's body, still in her arms, eyes wide in complete disbelief. The color had mostly drained from Shizuru's face, leaving her a ghastly pale color that only served to make the trickle of blood coming out of the corner of her mouth even more disconcerting.

"Shizuru-san..." Mai pleaded. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. "Shzuru-san...!"

Then suddenly, Shizuru's body jerked and spasmed and Mai almost dropped the girl in panic. As she watched, bewildered, the shuriken embedded in Shizuru's chest disappeared, and the fatal wound it had caused simple closed up. Shizuru blinked once, twice, a little bit of color coming back into her cheeks, before her eyes seemed to swivel in her eyes sockets to look at Mai in a dead-eyed stare that prompted terror to rise in the back of the redhead's throat in a barely repressed shriek.

Mai dropped Shizuru and back pedaled away a few steps.

Shizuru slowly stumbled to her feet, and continued to fix her stare at Mai. The color had returned to her face, and she whipped the trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth absently, automatically, but the stare in her crimson eyes continued to make her more undead than alive - just like the rest of the Hime - turned necks.

"S-Shizuru-san?" Mai tried, voice hollow with disbelief. "Shizuru-san?"

Shizuru didn't answer Mai. She simply threw her arm to the side, and summoned her naginata, brandishing it in a menacing pose though the expression-less mask that was her face never changed.

Seeing Shizuru in an attack position, the rest of the Necks of Orochi resumed their own battle positions, surrounding the remaining Hime in the middle. Yukino, Akira and Mai all stood back to back, staring at their former comrades wearily.

But before the fighting could resume, all of the necks suddenly tensed, and turned to look at their master, as though some sort of telepathic command had been sent to them. They all turned to look at Chikane, who was not looking at the Hime she had trapped anymore, but was actually looking up at the sky.

This unexpected shift in the attention of their enemies prompted Yukino, Akira and Mai to look at each other confusedly, before they suddenly figured out what had done so:

The entire world, suddenly and noisily, started to rumble and shake.

At first, the vibrations were slight, but they quickly built to a crescendo as the ground itself started to break up, giant crevices and cracks opening up everywhere. Several of the stone torii gates cracked and fell noisily, smashed to bits against the ground, even while others still were swallowed up.

Overhead, cracks even seemed to appear in the sky, great fracture and fault lines appearing.

The remaining Hime all gave cries of panic as they tried their best to dodge the devastation. The Necks themselves weren't faring any better.

But before this entire world could be destroyed however, with everything still in it, suddenly, everything seemed to fuzz over and shift, and everyone found themselves back in the real world again, at Fuuka Academy, still on school grounds but a bit further away from the buildings, closer to the forest.

"Oh my God!" Mai cried in disbelief as she looked all around her in panic. "What happened?!"

There were tears big and small all over the sky, which rumbled and roiled with ominous black clouds, and orphans big and small were raining down in droves. It wasn't just orphans either, but other structures were falling out of the sky too.

In fact, pieces of one of the torii gates that Mai recognized from Orochi's villainous hideout, was falling out of a particularly large crack in the sky right then, smashing down into the roof of the recently repaired gymnasium and caving a good chunk of it in.

Suddenly, a shadow seemed to loom over everything, darkening the skies.

"Mai-san!" Yukino cried, eyes bulging as she pointed up. "Run!"

Whipping her head up to look at what Yukino was pointing at, and what was so big it was blocking out the sun, Mai boggled as what looked like an enormous bowl had appeared out of the sky, and was about to crush them all. Mai couldn't even move, she was so gobsmacked. Whatever it was, the thing was massive, easily the size of the school auditorium – if not bigger. There was no way they'd be able to get out from under it in time!

Luckily, with a screech, Kagutsuchi came rushing to her rescue, scooping Mai, Yukino and Akira up in his claws and narrowing flying them all out from under that which would have crushed them.

The giant object landed with a thunderous 'BOOOOOOM!', flattening a huge swatch of the forest, and causing tremors in all directions to rumble through the ground. Luckily Suzushiro Construction had a reputation for top quality workmanship, and the reconstruction efforts at Fuuka Academy had not been for naught. Despite the shockwaves, no buildings collapsed, though nearby lamp posts did.

Looking out from Kagutsuchi's claws at what had dropped out of the sky so, Mai stared as her Child did a flyby of the object: it really did look like a giant filled-in bowl, with a rounded bottom and a flat top. Its weight had embedded its bottom half well into the ground. As an architectural structure, it had definitely seen better days, as it was crumbling and dilapidated. Around parts of the circular edge of its top was what looked like the remains of a stacked stone wall, including what looked like an entrance gate, although most of it had been destroyed.

Its surface looked like it had once been lined with a series of once-white tiles, with some sort of circular, stylized shape painted into its top. Most of the tiles were gone, revealing crumbling stone and rubble underneath, and too much of the painting had weathered away for Mai to be able to tell what it might once have been.

Staring at the structure, Mai couldn't help but think that it came out of some sort of western fairy tale story book; in its prime, the structure looked like it might have been an old fashioned dueling arena...

Kagutsuchi gave another scream of fury as he flapped his wings to fly up and over the dueling arena that had fallen out of the sky, flapping down to land on it, depositing Mai, Yukino and Akira on its surface. Even with the phoenix-like Child's substantial weight on top of it, the arena didn't tilt.

Mai was almost surprised to be able to set foot on the thing – it was so strange and out of place, she had half expected it to be an illusion of some sort, but the hardness under her shoes seemed steady enough.

They were not the only ones to narrowly avoid death, as Take no Yamikazuchi had also scooped up his master and her disciples, and had somehow escaped being crushed by the arena. The robotic servant had then leapt up onto the arena also, aided by the thrust of powerful rockets in his back, and dropped off Chikane, Shizuru, Fumi, Mikoto and Yukariko on top of the arena, facing Mai, Yukino and Akira.

"What the hell!" Mai repeated, half-screaming in disbelief as she kicked at the stone under her shoe a few times for good measure. "Where did this thing come from?! What is going on?!"

"Mai-san!" Yukino cried, utter despair in her voice as she tugged on Mai's sleeve and pointed out to where the city of Fuuka was.

Turning, Mai's jaw dropped as they could see what looked like orphans - so! - many! - orphans! - raining down on the city of Fuuka. "Oh my god...! It wasn't...! It wasn't nearly this bad just a few hours ago!"

"It's the paradoxes." Came a deep, powerful, resonating voice. "They're just too much."

Everyone turned, bewildered, in the direction the voice came from - at the edge of the dueling arena, where the remains of the wall looked like they formed a gateway of sorts.

Despite the pandemonium happening all around, somehow, the distinct sound of shoes walking against the ground could be heard reverberating all around.

As everyone watched, a tall figure appeared to come out from the gates.

He was very tall and lean, but broad shouldered. His skin was a deep brown, in direct contrast with his shock of light lavender hair that fell about his shoulders carelessly. He wore a magnificent, white, military uniform, and his casual yet powerful gait, with his hands in his pockets, showed he was one accustomed to commanding and receiving undivided attention.

Mai frowned in confusion. She didn't recognize the man.

But then, as he came closer, to stand in the middle of the platform, with Mai, Yukino and Akira on one side of him, and Chikane and her disciples on the other, the redhead could see the yellow of his eyes, see the cracked jewel in the middle of his forehead, and the feel of him, his aura, was instantly familiar to her.

"You!" She hissed.

Obsidian.

The man turned to regard Chikane with a smirk on his face. "You were too indelicate, dear daughter," he laughed. "Time just couldn't take your twisting it so roughly anymore. You should take more care in selecting the members to join your ranks."

Mai whipped her head over at Chikane, bewildered. 'D-Daughter?! Chikane-san is the Obsidian Lord's...?' And then, she realized, it was probably more complicated than that. The Obsidian Lord didn't have a body after all...

"Why do you chid me as though you care what happens to this world?" Chikane replied, her voice cool as ice. "End of the World."

Mai swallowed. "Please, Chikane-san!" She begged. "Stop this! Do you really mean to destroy the world?!"

Chikane gave Mai a pointed look, but didn't answer her.

"No, Mai-kun," the man in the white military uniform replied, chuckling. "That is my name. End of the World." He winked. "Three guesses what happens when I show up, and the first two don't count."

Mai stared at him, incredulous. But before she could say anything, his eyebrows lifted in surprise, at the same time that a similar expression came onto Chikane's face. Both the New Incarnation of Despair, and the End of the World turned and looked up at the western skies at the same time.

Frustrated, Mai turned to see what everyone else was looking at, and her eyes widened when she saw a bright star suddenly flash in the sky, and grow bigger, and bigger.

It took Mai a moment to realize what was going on, before it became clear to her: Something very large was headed their way at very high speeds.

End of the World smiled. "Well now, I suppose, Mai-kun, soon you won't even have to guess."

"Yukino! Akira!" Mai cried, as she crossed her arms in front of her. Her fellow Hime quickly fell in behind her, the golden rings around her wrists and ankles started to spin furiously, generating a strong field of fire around her just in time as the shooting star landing with a 'BOOOM!' in the middle of the arena, sending a massive shock wave out in all directions from where it had landed. If Mai hadn't raised her barrier in time, the Hime would have been blown sky high.

As it was, most of the Necks had been blown back and slammed against one of Take no Yamikazuchi's legs, the only thing that had stopped them from tumbling off of the massive arena as well. Only Chikane, and the End of the World, was able to stand their ground, peering dispassionately through the blowing debris, hair whipping all about.

'Great!' Mai thought wearily as the dust cleared. 'What now?!'

When the dust finally cleared, Mai stared at what had arrived, and saw what looked like a giant blazing white and golden robot the size of Kagutuschi and Take no Yamikazuchi. He shone with a bright, obvious godliness to him, and had a halo of fire behind him, blazing like the sun. The robot was kneeling on one knee, one fist punched into the arena, while the other fist was cradled to his chest. It was this fist that he opened now, and put to the ground. From it stepped three familiar girls.

Mai's eyes went wide. "Natsuki!" She cried. "Midori-chan! Nao-san!"

"Hi!" Midori grinned as she leapt off of the palm, summoning her labrys and spinning it over her head dramatically, even as Gakutenoh appeared at her side. "Sorry for the wait! Did you miss us?"

Natsuki's heart beat furiously in her chest with excitement, with exhilaration, with fear, as she stepped off of Ame no Murakumo's palm. The high speed flight clinging to the giant robot-like god's fingers had been an experience that Natsuki would never forget - like the first time she had ridden a motorcycle. "Mai!" Natsuki called back, though her attention was mostly on the group standing on the other side of the arena, her eyes scanning for a certain tawny haired girl...

When her eyes found Shizuru's blank, lifeless own, standing close to Chikane, Natsuki felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Shizuru!" She cried, running towards the girl she loved. "Shizuru!"

As Natsuki approached Shizuru, the tawny haired girl tilted her head to the side, her gaze still blank; doll-like. But when Natsuki had gotten too close, she suddenly exploded into action, spinning around and transforming her naginata into its whip form.

Natsuki gave a cry of dismay as she had to quickly lunge over the snake-like weapon that was coming at her and use that forward momentum to flip into a barrel roll to avoid being cut off at the knees.

This action broke the precarious peace that had momentarily settled on all the combatants in the arena, and chaos erupted anew, as Chikane's necks all leapt out to engage the reinforced ranks of their enemies.

In the corner of her vision, Natsuki could hear Mai's voice cry out in anguish, "Mikoto!", even as she thought she could hear Nao snarl out, "hey, what's your problem, Sister?!", but she wasn't able to pay either redheads any more mind as Shizuru was currently coming at her like a demon possessed.

"Shizuru!" Natsuki cried, spinning to save her neck (though she lost a few strands of hair), "Shizuru, please! What are you doing?! It's me! Natsuki! Your Natsuki!" But the blue-black haired girl's cries appeared to fall on deaf ears, as Shizuru didn't respond to her words at all. With a cry of desperation, Natsuki had to dodge desperately to one side again, summoning her derringer pistols as she rolled, and then firing a shot to deflect the naginata-whip away from her.

They had never fought so intensely, ever. Not even at the height of the festival, had Natsuki felt such intent from Shizuru to harm her before. Even in that battle, that saw the destruction of the student's council room, part of the school, and the church, amidst a hail of bullets and a snaking naginata-whip, neither Natsuki nor Shizuru had truly aimed to actually hit the other.

This was not the case anymore as Natsuki jerked her head to the side a little too slowly, and felt the edge of Shizuru's weapon open up a gash on her right cheek. Gritting her teeth, Natsuki continued to roll with the hit, redirecting her energies to spring up under Shizuru's guard, until she was able to tackle the other girl in her middle, slamming the both of them down onto the ground roughly.

Shizuru struggled wordlessly to try to free herself, pummeling Natsuki's unprotected back and head with elbows and knees, and Natsuki grunted, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face into Shizuru's chest, trying to block out the pain. "For god sake, Shizuru, fight it! FIGHT IT! Come back to me! I can't lose you like this again, Shizuru! I can't!"

But Shizuru continued to struggle. And Shizuru continued to strike.

And Natsuki continued to hold on, refusing to let the other girl go, no matter how hurt she was getting in the process.

... and gradually, Shizuru's attacks lessened. Her punches became weak slaps, until her hands simply stopped moving, before her fingers arched, and suddenly, instead of striking Natsuki, she was gripping her, clinging to her, holding her tightly. "Na...!"

Natsuki grimaced in pain as she looked upwards, and could see Shizuru staring back at her, a grimace of determination on her face, tears of effort streaming from the corners of her eyes. "... Na...tsu...!"

And as Shizuru struggled against reality, struggled against her re-written personal timeline, the world groaned fearfully, tearing a little further apart.

A giant crack appeared in the sky, on top of the dueling arena, and from it, giant rubble and the broken remains of Orochi's eight massive torii gates threatened to spill out and crush them all...

It was at that moment that Natsuki could hear Mai, screaming in desperation, somewhere behind her, "Yukino! Akane-chan and Shiho-chan! Are they there yet?! We can't hold on much longer!"

As her necks harassed and engaged their former fellows, relieving her of the tediousness of having to deal with them directly, Chikane simply stared at Ame no Murakumo's giant glowing form, a grim expression of resignation on her face, even though the sadness and heartbreak in her eyes was unmistakable.

She stared at the God of Swordsmen, Ame no Murakumo. She stared at the Hero, the Saviour, the Prince.

She recognized her mother instantly.

"Oka... sama..." Chikane whispered softly, feeling the epiphany, the disbelief, rising in the back of her heart. She wanted to laugh and cry at the absurdity of it all. She turned to look at her Father, the End of the World, Ohtori Himemiya Akio. "Is this it?" She asked. "All of this? Forcing the mantle of Orochi onto me. Goading on the destruction of the world. All of this to get back at my mother? To break her heart?"

"She was the Prince before she became your mother. Indeed, she only became your mother because she was the Prince," Akio said easily. "It seems fitting that your destruction should be what reminds her of the higher calling she's eschewed."

He flicked his cold eyes at Chikane, his voice dispassionate. "Tenjou Utena opened the Gate to the Prince, and brought goodness back to the people. Humanity should be experiencing a new golden age, and yet, it continues to suffer because she does not uphold her destiny. Because you monopolize her attention with your existence. In that regard you are no better than the Witch. The time has come to release the Prince back to the people, don't you agree? Starting with your destruction. Orochi's destruction."

Chikane gazed at the man, saw the unreadable expression on his face, and lowered her own eyes to the ground. Wordlessly, she called for Take no Yamikazuchi, who walked up behind her. Her Servant reached down, cradled her in his palms, and brought her up to the crystal gate in the middle of his chest, into which she disappeared.

Once Chikane entered into that other realm, she was able to see through her Servant's eyes, a world vastly different from that perceived by regular humans. In addition to the world as normally seen by people, she was also able to see that which did not exist in the visible light spectrum; that which seemed to exist on just a slightly different wave of reality. So, as she looked over at Ame no Murakumo, she could see the giant, golden-white robot that everyone else could see, but at the same time, the Prince of Swordsmen seemed also to exist in the form of a ghostly young woman with long pink hair and ocean blue eyes, noble in bearing to the point of regality, wearing a Prince's sterling white military uniform, not un-similar to the End of the World's own, complete with golden tassels at the shoulders, and a short cape with red lining, holding a sword in one hand.

"Hello, Okaa-sama," Chikanehe said softly, even as she couldn't help but smile a small, sad smile.

Nobility really suited her mother.

And yet, despite addressing the Prince first, it was neither of her forms (neither the image of the robotic god, nor the noble pink-haired girl) who really captured her attention, but the third: the image of the shimmery golden world within Ame no Murakumo's heart, where the pilot of the giant robot stood, similar to the place she herself existed within Take no Yamikazuchi.

Chikane's heart squeezed tightly in her chest, squeezed so tightly, she thought her heart would burst - that is, if she could convince herself that she still even had one.

But despite the high emotions running through her, she managed to keep a tight rein on them, and none of the turmoil and yearning in her heart showed on her face. She smiled, politely, but distantly, as though simply greeting someone that she used to know.

"Hello, Himeko."

When the fighting erupted anew, the black-haired wild child went straight for Mai again, just like the redhead knew she would.

"Mikoto!" Mai begged. "Please! Just listen to me!"

But Mikoto simply whirled around in a circle, dragging her claymore along the ground, sending sparks shooting up into the air. With a cry of exertion, she slammed her sword directly into Mai's fiery barrier. But rather than bouncing backwards from the force, instead, Mai grabbed onto the claymore, redirecting most of the force away, and pulled Mikoto directly towards her, grabbing the smaller girl and wrestling her messily down onto the ground.

Mikoto howled with fury and indignation, struggling mightily to try to unpin herself from Mai's grip, and largely failing.

In the skies above them, Kagutsuchi and Miroku continued to roar, smashing against each other. And just below them, a giant crack appeared in the sky, giant rubble threatened to spill...

The darkened sky drew Mai's attention momentarily away from Mikoto, and she looked up to see imminent death just above her. Her eyes widened and her face paled.

"Yukino!" She cried to the nearby brunette, "Akane-chan and Shiho-chan! Are they there yet?! We can't hold on much longer!"

Deep under the school, two unlikely Hime had reached the entrance to the Obsidian Palace, also known to some as the Gates of Valhalla.

In the giant underground cavern loomed an ancient platform carved from stone. The platform was large enough for twelve stone columns, each as large as a man was around, to be positioned on it with enough room for someone to walk between and amongst the columns.

Currently, four of the stone columns had been raised out of the platform, twice as tall as a man, each radiating a dark purplish, crackling, dangerous energy that seemed to suck the joy and warmth right out of the cave.

In direct contrast to these four columns, a fifth one had been raised part-way out of the platform, and then stalled, reaching only to about hip height. This column, in direct contrast to all the others, glowed a brilliant golden yellow, warm and triumphant.

Munakata Shiho and Higarashi Akane stared at the ancient architecture in front of them, nervous and fearful, and maybe – just a little – incredulous that such an important task had fallen onto them, when so many others of their sisters in arms were so much better suited to their duty.

Indeed, Shiho looked like she wanted to run away, and couldn't believe she'd made it as far as she had.

Seeing the discomfort the younger girl was in, Akane put a hand on Shiho's shoulder, and smiled as bravely as she could. As she did so, her Child, Hari, a pale yellow tiger-like beast with a row of spikes jutting out of his back appeared at her side.

Shiho smiled weakly back at Akane, even as her Child, Yatagarasu the Crow appeared to her.

Both Hime looked at the unguarded platform with determination lighted in their eyes.

"Hari, go!" Akane commanded.

"Yatagarasu!" Shiho summoned. "Destroy everything in this cave!"

The tiger-like and the bird-like beasts gave roars of enthusiastic approval, and started firing blasts of energy from their mouths, striking the stone columns head on, and smashing them to bits.

Everyone in the dueling arena felt it when it happened - when Shiho and Akane succeeded in their mission to destroy the physical representation of the corruption of a Hime's love for their most important person.

The destruction of the pillars had a magnificent cascading effect.

The artificial twisting of time was undone, forcing history to correct itself, erasing the paradoxes that had been wreaking havoc in the world for the last several weeks, sealing up tears and mending up holes in the fabric of time and space.

And so, once upon a time, Kazahana Mashiro met Himeno Fumi on the streets of Fuuka City, and took the starving, dirty orphan under her wing.

And once upon a time, Ishigami Yukariko narrowly avoided a miscarriage scare, carried her first child to term and gave birth to a healthy, happy baby boy.

And once upon a time, when Tokiha Mai spied the hungry cat-like girl who's fighting with a blue-black haired girl had almost killed her the night before on the ferry ride to Fuuka, she declined to turn her over to the authorities, and decided to extend a bowl of ramen in kindness instead.

And once upon a time, Fujino Shizuru laid eyes on Kuga Natsuki, for the very first time.

It happened, seemingly, all at once. There was a suddenly, and inexplicable stillness in the air... and then, suddenly, all the rips and tears in the fabric of reality started to fade away. Those orphans and objects still caught even partially within the gaping maw of a tear, disappeared along with the wound to reality. Only those objects whom had already dropped free and clear from their origins remained in the world.

The massive stone torii gate ruins that had been about to fall out of the giant tear atop of the dueling arena, faded, and faded, and disappeared into nothingness, still only part-way out of the crack it had appeared from, scant meters from the top of Mai's head. For her part, Mai had looked away from the sky, her eyes squeezed tight with fear and disbelief, and tightened her grip around Mikoto.

And then... something clicked inside the redhead.

Images, no, memories, began to flash through Mai's mind in quick succession, memories of Mikoto; laying eyes on the half-drowned girl for the first time as she stepped forward to give her CPR. Putting a giant bowl of ramen down in front of her. Dunking her in a bathtub. Bracing herself for a flying glomp from an exuberant Mikoto.

It all came rushing back to Mai like a dam broken, and her eyes snapped opened even as she gave a gasp of disbelief and bewilderment. It took Mai a few moments to remember where she was, and what was going on. And then she noticed Mikoto had stopped struggling, and was looking up at her, from where she was still pressed into the ground, gazing up with wet, glimmering, clearly cognizant eyes.

"... M-...Mai?" Mikoto whimpered, too scared to hope, too scared to believe.

A sob of relief threatened to overwhelm the redhead. With gritted teeth and eyes squinted almost shut in an effort to contain the emotions running wildly through her insides, Mai's pulled the girl up off the floor roughly into a tight hug, even as the remaining strength left her legs and she crumpled.

And the dam that had been holding back Mikoto's tears burst too, as she cried loudly, though her cries were largely muffled as her tear-stained face was buried into Mai's chest. "...Mai! Mai!"

"It's okay, Mikoto." Mai soothed, though she couldn't really tell if she was soothing the other girl, or herself. "It's okay. I'm here. I'll always be here."

Mikoto could only continue to bawl into Mai's chest.

And as the two girls embraced, Kagutsuchi settled on the dueling arena beside them, giving a whale-like chirp of relief. He sported a multitude of wounds, clearly damaged from his tussle with Miroku, but evidently victorious, as he held the other Child cradled in one of his claws. Miroku had shrunken to the size of a basketball (still holding onto a similarly shrunken, awkwardly bent tetsubou), and had confused swirls in place of eyes, as well as a multitude of comical white bandages all about him. He was dazed, but otherwise healthy, no longer the frightening, skeletal form he had been as a Neck of Orochi.

Natsuki could feel the fight bleed out of Shizuru's body. She could feel Shizuru's body suddenly tense up, as though in recoil, and then quickly relax, completely limp - lifeless, even - in Natsuki's arms.

And Natsuki was scared, so scared, as to what this could mean, she couldn't quite bring herself to open her eyes and check. She could only tighten her grip on Shizuru, and prayed that her beloved was still with her, that she hadn't expired, or... or otherwise left her.

Then she felt Shizuru lift an arm, and slowly stroke the back of her head, gently, as though to comfort her. And only then, could Natsuki bear to open her eyes, her heart pounding in her ears, that lump blocking all comprehensible noises from escaping her throat. She slowly, almost timidly, hoping against hope, loosened her death grip on Shizuru, and pulled herself up a little ways to be able to look down at her girlfriend.

Shizuru gazed up at Natsuki, still on the floor, her pale hair spread out like a halo around her face, crimson eyes tired, but sparkling, a matching smile on her face. The front of her shirt was terribly, terribly blood-stained, but under the stain, Shizuru's chest was unbroken, unblemished by the gaping, fatal wound that had previously been there.

Shizuru swallowed. "Na... tsuki?" The soft wonder and awe was clear in Shizuru's voice, even as she slowly moved her hand from the back of Natsuki's head to the side of Natsuki's face, cradling her cheek in a palm, and gently massaging an errant tear from the corner of Natsuki's eye.

Upon hearing her name, it was all Natsuki could do to choke back a sob as she buried her face into Shizuru's neck, pulling her close, breathing her in, wrapping her arms as tightly around Shizuru's head as she could. "I thought I'd lost you," she whispered, her voice hoarse, almost squeaky with emotion. The tremble wasn't just in her voice, but all through her body.

"Never," Shizuru breathed, moving her arms down to wrap around Natsuki's body, her fingers digging so deeply into the girl's back, she may have drawn blood. And then she nuzzled Natsuki's face away from the side of her own so that she could catch her beloved's blue-green eyes fully with her crimson ones - so that Natsuki could see the gravity of the promise held within them. "Never. I made you a promise, didn't I?"

Natsuki's eyes crinkled. Wordlessly, she lowered her head and pressed her lips deeply against Shizuru's, sealing her girlfriend's renewed promise to her with a kiss that Shizuru was only all too happy to oblige.

A little ways from Shizuru and Natsuki, Yukariko, who had had an arrow cocked and aimed at Nao's wide-open back, gave a cry of disbelief, as small beams of light suddenly consolidated into the form of a baby boy just in front of her. She dropped her weapon, the bow dissipating into nothingness before it even hit the ground, to free up her hands to catch her baby, her first child with Ishigami Wataru, whom she hadn't miscarried in the second trimester after all.

The former nun crumpled to her knees, cradling her baby boy to her face, tears of relief streaming down her face as she thanked the heavenly father for bringing her baby back to her.

Midori, smiling tiredly, came over to put a hand on Yukariko's shoulder, even as Nao breathed a giant sigh of relief and collapsed on her butt, thanking god as well, though her gratitude was in the form of muttered blasphemies of relief under her breath.

On the far end of the dueling arena, Suishouhime glowed a brilliant, blinding white, then began to shrink, smaller and smaller. By the time the glowing wore off, she had taken on the form of an 11 year old girl with pale lavender hair, and striking green eyes. Unfortunately, in that particular form, Suishouhime's (or more correctly, Kazahana Mashirou's) legs didn't work very well, and she fell over, collapsed on her side on the floor of the dueling arena. But that didn't stop her from smiling brilliantly as Himeno Fumi rushed over to her, crying out her name in joy and disbelief.

And all was right, once more. And all was as it should have been, for all.

Except for one.

Himeko's heart leapt up into her throat as the dust settled after she landed Ame no Murakumo onto the dueling arena, and let Midori, Natsuki and Nao disembark from the giant God of Swordsmen's palm. She was only marginally aware that there were other people on the dueling arena – that her former passengers were engaging with those other individuals – her attention was focused solely on the blue-black haired girl standing just a little ways away from her, dressed in the black miko uniform.

The expression on Chikane's face was one of momentary disbelief and incredulity, before it changed into one of sullen acceptance and futility. Seeing that change in her beloved's expression twisted Himeko's heart into complicated knots.

What should have been reunion's joy was completely overshadowed by feelings of grief, and guilt, and shame.

"Chikane-chan...!" Himeko whispered, her voice hoarse.

But her beloved couldn't hear her.

At once, Himeko tried to disembark – took her hands off the navigational panels, and tried to step out of the golden realm that was Ame no Murakumo's heart, but before she could, she could feel the will of the Prince all around her, staying her.

Eyebrows crinkling in confusion, Himeko tightened her hands into fists. "Please!" She rasped, her shoulders shaking, knowing that the Prince could hear her, no matter how quiet her words. She probably didn't even have to speak to communicate; just think.

'Please, I must go to her! She's... she's right there! She's right *there*! Just let me go to her...!'

There was no direct reply from the Prince, but Himeko could feel the response all around her, permeating through the golden space.

And Himeko realized that something was not right.

She watched as Chikane, her beloved Chikane-chan, turned to speak a few words to the dark man in the white military uniform beside her; only then did Himeko even pay the other person any mind at all.

Himeko stared at the man, and felt her heart now drop into her stomach.

She... she recognized him. Not only had he been at Oogami Shrine, yesterday. Somewhere in the depths of Himeko's memory, as far, far back as she could remember, she had met him before:

When he had appeared, the very first time, to the very first Solar and Lunar Priestess.

When he had taken up the sword, and don the armor of Ame no Murakumo, and battled the Demon of Despair, for the very first time

When his name had been Dios.

And she could feel the Prince's thoughts and emotions towards this man keenly.

'He has not been Dios for a very long time. He is now, only, The End of The World.'

The grief and pity that was already running rampant so freely in Himeko's heart as to render her physically shaking could only grow until it over-spilt in the form of tears from her eyes; She could not quite tell if the feelings were strictly her own, or an extension of the Prince's.

Dios had become nothing, a ghost of his former self. Even the power that was roiling off of him at the moment was not his own but borrowed from someone else. This truth, the Prince could tell from a glance and shared with her Solar Miko.

Long since cut off from the source that powered him, the End of the World had no power but the cunning of his mind, turned cruel and malicious. The one who has supplied him with his power so far, was the incarnation of Greed and Ambition: the Obsidian Lord.

But before Himeko could comprehend the implications of what that partnership could mean, Chikane had finished her few words with The End of The World, and had called for Take no Yamikazuchi. The faithful Servant appeared, and Chikane floated up into the air, hovering in front of his chest, before entering into his heart, and appearing now in that other dimension slightly off from the one humanity dwelt in – where Himeko herself currently resided.

From within Take no Yamikazuchi's heart, Chikane could now see Himeko, riding in Ame no Murakumo's own, and hear her too.

The expression on Chikane's face was dispassionate, cold, even. Her yellow eyes flicked up towards Ame no Murakumo's head, and she said, simply, "hello, Okaa-sama."

And then she flicked her eyes back down to Ame no Murakumo's chest, and looked into his heart.

"Hello, Himeko."

The coolness and distance in her polite greeting to the tawny-haired woman tore savagely at Himeko's insides, shredding her resolve, and was almost enough to completely break Himeko's heart.

The strength threatened to leave Himeko's legs entirely and her gaze fell downward, unable to meet Chikane's cool, dispassionate own.

'Oh... Chikane-chan! What's...! What's happened to you?'

Himeko didn't know what to do. A million thoughts and words ran through her mind, and for the life of her, she could not figure out, after all that had happened between them, just what to say to the girl, her other half, her past, her future, her everything.

From deep within Himeko's stomach, there was a desperate, churning sensation, that almost physical knotting of pain, violently slamming against the dam that was her self-control, as she struggled to contain herself, to hold back the torrid of emotion.

Until she could take it no more.

With a cry, Himeko used all of her spiritual and emotional power to take a single step forward. It was a small, single step that was also a gigantic leap across slightly different dimensions that ripped her free from Ame no Murakumo's heart, flung her presence across the distance between the two giants, and allowed her to appear inside Take no Yamikazuchi's heart, so that she was standing just in front of Chikane-chan, her Chikane-chan, close enough to touch her.

Close enough to pull her into her arms.

Close enough to bury her face into that cascading waterfall of beautiful blue-black hair, taste her skin and sob her name out like it was the only word in the world that had any meaning at all.

Which was exactly what Himeko did.

"Chikane-chan!"

Chikane's eyes widened in disbelief and stupefaction.

While the different necks of Orochi could appear inside the hearts of each other's servants at will, and even against that neck's wishes (indeed, once upon a time, a lifetime ago, Chikane herself had stepped right up into Sister Miyako's space and squeezed the nun's head right off of her neck), this was because they were all ultimately connected and made the same entity – Orochi.

The Celestial Priestesses on the other hand, since they were not part of Orochi, could only communicate from the hearts of their god. Neck and Miko could not actually enter each other's space unless invited (as Souma had once extended to Himeko, and Himeko to Souma).

So Himeko... should not have been able to just walk into Take no Yamikuzhi's heart.

And yet, there she was, in Take no Yamikazuchi's heart, embracing Chikane so tightly it almost hurt, shaking like a leaf.

"I'm sorry, Chikane-chan!" Himeko cried, fighting back tears, fighting back shudders. "I left you all alone again, didn't I? I'm always leaving you alone! I'm... I'm so sorry!"

And Chikane continued to just stand there, stunned, her arms at her side and her back ramrod straight, looking straight ahead, unable to trust her eyes or her ears or her nose or her hands, unable to believe what she saw, and heard and felt, Himeko's form, Himeko's words, Himeko's trembling, trembling body...

She could not comprehend that Himeko was apologizing to her.

As though Himeko had been the one who had wronged her.

As though Himeko had been the one to push the world to the brink of destruction.

As though she was somehow worthy of forgiveness.

"Please, Chikane-chan," Himeko whispered, her voice hoarse, her body trembling, her arms shaking as she moved them away from Chikane's waist to cup her hands around Chikane's face as she kissed her eyes, and cheeks, and her lips, softly at first, and then again and again, even as she pleaded, begged even, "please! Please, Chikane-chan! It's me. Me!"

And Chikane... Chikane could only continue to stand there dumbly, staring at the tawny-haired woman, still disbelieving, unable to respond, unable to react, only able to marvel at how warm Himeko's body was, how soft her lips were, how mesmerizing her tears...

And time was completely lost to Chikane...

... until the gears of destiny started to turn once more.

With an almost audible 'click', Chikane was able to feel the destruction of the pillars at the Gates of Valhalla, signaling the reversal of the corruption of four Hime's love for their most important people, and the freeing of the Childs who represented that love from the chains of despair that tied them to Orochi.

With all her Necks thus liberated from her, Chikane could feel all of the powers of Orochi she had been feeding into her disciples suddenly stop, reverse direction, and come rushing back at her.

And in that momentary calm before the storm, that split second just before she became engulfed, Chikane remembered.

Really, who had she think been kidding?

No matter how infallible her machinations, no matter how wretched her sins, no matter how complete her hopelessness, of course, of course, Himeko would see through it all, see through the monster she had become, see through the layers of lies and deception, and see the girl hidden so far deep inside she might as well have been dead - or more correctly - hiding in a coffin.

Himeko was Himeko.

And the disbelief that had been so deeply lodged in her heart disintegrated under the onslaught of the epiphany.

Trembling, Chikane reached up, and finally, finally, returned Himeko's embrace. Her grasp was light and tentative at first, until she realized just how few moments she really had left, and she hugged Himeko tightly, burying her face in the side of the smaller woman's neck.

"I'm sorry, Himeko," Chikane fought to reply, that damn lump now appearing in her throat to frustrate her. "I'm sorry, but I seem to have really stepped in it this time."

"It's okay, Chikane-chan!" Himeko insisted tearfully, continuing to kiss her and refusing to let her go. "It's okay! We'll make it through this! We'll make it through this together!"

"Yes," Chikane whispered, even as she savored the scent of Himeko's hair, the weight and warmth of her body pressed so desperately against her own. "Yes, we will. Himeko. We will. We absolutely will."

And then, with one last squeeze, Chikane pushed Himeko away from her with all her might, expelling the other woman out from her mindscape – from Take no Yamikazuke's heart, ejecting Himeko right out of that plane of existence, and back inside of Ame no Murakumo.

And then, all the powers of the manifestation of despair meant to be split amongst eight different necks slammed directly into Take no Yamikazuchi.

And Himemiya Chikane finally accepted her mantle, screaming with pain and fury and helplessness as could only befit the new incarnation of despair.

With chaos erupting all around him, still, Ohtori Himemiya Akio's expression remained one of passive ennui. With his hands in his pockets, he continued to simply stare up at Ame no Murakumo's giant, shining white form. He didn't even flinch when part of a giant pillar smashed down into the ground beside him, a scant hand's breadth away from his face.

While the Hime had their hands full with the disciples of despair, and the Celestial Priestesses had their attention solely upon themselves, so too was nothing deemed worthy of the notice of the Prince and End of the World, save for the other.

Akio smirked. Closing his eyes, he raised his chin up in invitation, exposing his throat.

He ignored the indignant sputtering of the Obsidian Lord in his mind, 'W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!'

Ame no Murakumo's glowing eyes blazed with fury. Blasting forward, the giant white Prince summoned her heavenly sword, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and stabbed it forward in one mighty thrust so powerful it blew all the debris within a 10 meter radius of Akio clean away and off of the dueling platform entirely.

The End of the World's long lavender hair blew wildly around him in the back draft of the thrust, but he didn't flinch and he didn't move, keeping his head back, even when the point of the razor sharp giant blade several times his size stopped less than an inch away from his exposed throat.

Ame no Murakumo remained frozen in this striking position, and the End of the World could see the furious expression of the Prince overlaid with her mechanical-robotic form, her mouth twisted into a snarl, ocean-blue eyes ablaze with fury.

The giant white god lifted her sword upwards, swung it around in a circle about her head to gather momentum, and brought it down once more directly onto Akio's face, and he could practically hear her scream of fury...

... but she stopped, just shy, once again, scant inches from cleaving the End of the World straight into two.

Akio's smirk grew nasty. His shoulder shook as he laughed, hollowly. "You can't do it, can you?"

Ame no Murakumo's expression was as mechanically blank as always, but the giant's god's arms were shaking.

The End of the World's eyes narrowed. "Or rather... you won't."

His smirk twisted into a snarl and what started off as weak chuckles suddenly grew stronger, and more and more unhinged, until he was practically roaring. "Even after all this time, after all you've done to me, after all you've taken from me, you still won't give me the mercy I so crave, will you?"

Ame no Murakumo didn't move. Overlaid on top of the god, the Prince's snarling expression of hatred had calmed into a simmering pity tinged with disgust.

And now, it was time for the End of the World's expression to twist into one of barely contained hatred. "Do you really find me so lacking, Tenjou-kun? Unworthy of salvation by your sword?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Then know this, oh great, Prince. It is I who find you lacking. It is I who deem you unworthy of this mantle you have taken from me, then so shameless abandoned. You are not ready to be the God of Swordsmen. You still requiring tempering, and so help me, Prince, so shall you be tempered by trials of fire!"

And as the End of the World made this declaration, he turned his attention away from the gleaming white armored god, and looked directly at Take no Yamikazuchi.

The dark crimson servant gave a roar of anguish, and smashed one gigantic fist into Ame no Murakumo's face, sending the giant white god tumbling.

Continuing to roar, Take no Yamikazuchi threw its head up towards the heavens, where dark clouds had started to gather, and black lightning had started to strike. Eight separate bolts of lightning crashed down from the heavens, striking the giant red Servant in a blinding display of power.

As everyone watched, giant boils started to appear all over Take no Yamikazuchi's body and limbs, exploding outwards and expanding its size two fold. Its color darkened from crimson to a hellish purple color, even as some of those boils appeared to cool and congeal and reshape, some into fearsome faces, others into foreboding spikes.

When the servant roared once more, Take no Yamikazuchi had fully transformed into Yamata no Orochi, and the Eight Headed Demon of Despair walked the earth once more.

For a moment, Himeko was dizzy and disoriented, unsure of what had happened or even where she was. It took her a little while to realize that Chikane had tossed her out of Take no Yamikazuchi, back into Ame no Murakumo's heart, and then punched her in the face, and sent her sprawling. And now, the adversary in front of her was no longer Take no Yamikazuchi, but Yamata no Orochi, Demon of Despair herself, coming right for her.

Himeko was so shocked, she barely had the time to raise Ame no Murakumo's arms up in a block as Yamata no Orochi charged forward, swinging madly with his spiked sword.

Himeko gave a cry of dismay as Orochi pummeled away at Ame no Murakumo, each strike absolutely brutal in its power, forcing Ame no Murakumo back a step with every swing.

"Chikane-chan!" Himeko cried, begging for her beloved to listen to her, even as she gave a cry of pain as another one of Yamato no Orochi's strikes smashed into Ame no Murakumo's arm.

She was dearly relieved that she was not alone in piloting Ame no Murakumo; the Prince's presence was soundly suffused all around the giant robotic god's form, and it was as much the Prince's will that moved the robot as it was Himeko herself piloting it.

"Chikane-chan!" Himeko cried, projecting her voice out, as loudly as she could, so that not only her beloved could hear her, but everyone else in the dueling arena as well. "Chikane-chan, please! Stop this! You don't have to do this! You're not Orochi!"

Yamata no Orochi stopped mid attack at the sound of Himeko's voice, and for a moment, Himeko was hopeful that she had gotten through to the other girl, but those hopes were dashed, as Orochi simply roared, in pain, in anguish, and renewed the attack.

Himeko gave another cry of dismay and painful disbelief. "Oh, Chikane-chan! Why won't you just listen to me?!'

'...why don't you just listen to *her*...? '

"What?" Blinking confusedly at the thought that was not her own - nor the Prince's - appearing inside her head, it took Himeko a moment to understand what the thought had meant, though not where it had come from.

And then... with a dawning realization of horror, Himeko realized what Chikane had been trying to say to her, through Orochi's actions, since the start of the fighting.

To Himeko's eyes, with all her memories as a Priestess of the Sword, all of Orochi's attacks were a wide open invitation for a counterattack; the dark god of despair's swings were so slow, and so deliberate, and required so much time to complete, it was abundantly obvious that the completely non-existent guard in the aftermath of each swing was a wide open opportunity for Ame no Murakumo to strike back – one, Himeko realized in horror, that Chikane was practically begging for her to seize.

'What Chikane-chan is asking for... what Chikane-chan wants...!'

"N-no!" Himeko cried weakly, those tears that had been at the corner of her eyes finally spilling freely. "No, Chikane-chan! I can't! I can't!"

She couldn't do it! She just! She just couldn't do it!

And it wasn't just Himeko herself either; she could feel the Prince's feelings all around her.

The disbelief, the despair, the refusal to believe that this battle was even happening. The Prince didn't want to harm Chikane – her daughter – either!

Ame no Murakumo reeled backwards, and suddenly froze, thrown into discord. The golden energy that made up Ame no Murakumo's heart, where Himeko was riding, began to flicker ominously, as the will of the Prince became conflicted and torn.

And then, a command roared forth from Yamata no Orochi – Chikane's voice just barely recognizable as the core around which noises of discord were wrapped around. "Just DO it! Before it's too late!" With a mighty roar, Orochi gave a particularly vicious blow that ripped Ame no Murakumo's left arm right off at the elbow, sending the vaguely mechanical object flying through the air to smash down onto the edge of the dueling arena, and fall over the other side.

Himeko's eyes went wide as the damage done to Ame no Murakumo – the pain and shock the God of Swordsmen was experiencing – seemed to be broadcasted and reverberated all about her. In her mind's eye, the pink haired girl was screaming in agony, and for a moment, Himeko couldn't tell if she'd lost her own arm, in the process.

Ame no Murakumo stumbled backwards, rearing in pain, twisting and falling, and instinctively called for her heavenly sword, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi. It appeared in her right fist, and with one smooth twist, turned her falling momentum into a spin, she then sprung forward towards Yamata no Orochi's complete open, unguarded position.

With one mighty swing, Ame no Murakumo cut Yamata no Orochi clean in two, from one hip to the opposite shoulder.

For a moment, everyone was too stunned to move.

And then the top half of Orochi smashed down face first into the dueling arena, even as the bottom half collapsed down onto the ground too.

The robot began to disintegrate into tiny purple-black particles.

Himeko stared down, stunned, at Orochi's gigantic robotic form, collapsed onto the dueling arena floor.

"CHIKANE-CHAN!" She screamed. In her mind's eyes, the Prince's ocean blue eyes widened in complete horror...

Something... snapped.

Ame no Murakumo fell to her knees as well, Kusanagi no Tsurugi clattering from one fist. The giant white god's head fell back, staring up into the heavens.

A jagged crack appeared in the bottom half of her face as Ame no Murakumo's mouth opened and a bellow of absolute anguish and despair erupted forth.

It was a scream of torment, a cry of grief.

The pain of a mother forced to destroy her child.

It was too much for the gentle heart of the girl who had become the Prince to bear.

The light disappeared from Ame no Murakumo's eyes entirely, leaving them dull and lifeless.

Ame no Murakumo's mindscape began to shake, and rumble, as though that entire dimensional plane of existence was experiencing a cataclysmic collapse – in many ways it was. The golden yellow light that bathed the inside of the god flickered ominously, threatening to turn into darkness.

Himeko didn't notice any of this. She just continued to stare through eyes not her own, at the collapsed form of Yamata no Orochi in front of her, quickly disappearing. "Chi... chikane-chan..." Himeko whispered, her heart broken. "Chi..."

... but it wasn't just Himeko's heart that had broken either.

So had Ame no Murakumo's.

And as the Prince felt her heart break, and felt true despair creep into it, that which had lain dormant inside her heart – that which, as the God of Swordsmen, had been Ame no Murakumo's duty to contain – came bursting forth: the Swords of Humanity's Hate.

With a cry of anguish, Ame no Murako's golden white form darkened into purple black, and the shining golden light in the middle of her chest, over her heart, darkened. The giant God began to shake and vibrate, as though its insides were highly pressurized, before she could not contain them anymore, and her entire chest cavity was torn to shreds as the giant geyser of the hundred thousand Swords of Humanity's Hate erupted out and streaked up into the sky, screaming with pain, and anger, and hate.

They ripped out from the depths of Ame no Murakumo's soul, ripped through the Prince's heart, piercing through everything that was in their way... including Himeko, standing, catatonic, at the entrance of the Prince's heart...

Ame no Murakumo fell backwards, disintegrating, dissolving into a smattering of black particles that faded into nothing, completely gone before she even reached the surface of the dueling arena, leaving no trace of her existence behind save for that massive swarm of swords – a cyclone of swords really – now swirling and churning around dangerously above the dueling arena... and one Solar Priestesses, who had been riding in the God of Swordmen's heart when it had broken.

Himeko re-appeared back into reality, high up over the dueling arena, her eyes wide with shock. She seemed to float in the air for a little bit, before she began to fall backwards, head first, down, down, down, down down, the concrete surface of the dueling rushing up to meet her.

The New Age of Despair... did not last long. Hours into the first day of the Godless Month, the reborn Prince was finally forced to slay her eternal foe.

And with the defeat of Orochi, so too did the next cycle of the Festival begin, but, unlike previous iterations, this cycle of the Festival began with the markers of the Hime's sacrifices already broken, and destroyed.

And the Red Star of Wishes - that mechanism created by the Gods as a method to re-create the world as the winner of the Festival saw fit - was pushed into its final state, appearing in the skies above the earth with a quiet, ominous silence.

No sooner had the fight between the Hime ended did the battle amongst the mechanical titans start, and Natsuki was powerless to do anything except hold Shizuru close, huddled behind Duran, and in front of him, Kagutsuchi, hanging on for dear life as the shockwaves from the battle waged.

Most of the other Hime had taken up shelter behind Kagutsuchi as well, and even the magnificent phoenix seemed dwarfed between the forms of Ame no Murakumo and Yamata no Orochi.

They watched, stunned, unable to interrupt or do much of anything really, as Orochi continued to attack, and Ame no Murakumo continued to defend, and could hear the Solar Priestess's heart-rending pleas, ignored, until that fateful blow took Ame no Murakumo's forearm clean from her elbow, and the God of Swordsman was finally forced to retaliate with a thunderous strike that cleaved Orochi in two.

Natsuki stared in abject disbelief as the giant machine that her friend, Himemiya Chikane had been riding in, was completely destroyed, split into two. There weren't even remains left; the two halves of Orochi disintegrate into small purple-black particles that floated upwards into the sky before they too fading away into nothingness.

Natsuki's insides felt hollow, and unreal - none of it seemed real! - none of this could be happening! - and Natsuki could feel nothing, absolutely nothing at all, as her eyes followed those little particles upwards...

... until her eyes noticed that something massive was shimmering and wavering into existence in the sky, just behind those particles.

Natsuki's mouth fell open. She could hear Mai's horrified voice whisper close by, the dread clearly distinguishable in her words, "what is that doing here?"

It was Kazahana Mashirou who answered, her voice also full of wonder. "The defeat of Orochi signals the beginning of the Hime Star Festival, when the gods allow a single maiden, who has triumphed through so much loss, and understands the meaning of sacrifice, to recreate the world as she sees fit. With the pillars marking the process of the Festival broken, the star must think the Festival over, and has come to grant the victor her wish..."

Natsuki stared over at Mashirou, who was being held in a bridal carry by Fumi. "But who won the festival?! I mean, we're all still here!"

The Child, for her part, seemed lost. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could come out, a familiar, thunderous voice bellowed.

'THE WISH IS MINE!'

'STAR OF WISHES!' Boomed the Obsidian Lord, glowing and pulsating with rapture and delight from the End of the World's forehead, roiling in ecstasy that his ultimate goal was in sight. 'YOU KNOW ME! I AM OBSIDIAN, GOD OF AMBITION! LONG HAVE WE WORKED TOGETHER! GRANT ME MY DESIRE THAT I MAY HAVE VENGEANCE AGAINST MY ENEMIES! I WISH FOR POWER! POWER TO DESTROY THE HIME! POWER TO DESTROY THEM ALL!'

And everyone present on the duelling arena was shocked, that this would be the wish granted by the Star.

For a moment, nothing happened, everything was still...

... and then the Red Star shattered.

And the entire world began to shake.

'YES! YEEES!' Laughed the Obsidian Lord. But even as the cracked god's voice boomed, so too could he hear the calm and dispassionate thoughts of his host. It was an entirely unsettling sensation for the Obsidian Lord; long had he been the whispers in the mind of his hosts - Kanzaki Reito, Himemiya Chikane. To hear the End of the World's whispers inside his own head was entirely disturbing.

'Oh, Obsidian, do shut *up*.'

And that was when the Obsidian Lord realized that the rumbling was not from the Hime Star, the Red Star of Wishes, granting his heart's desire.

Rather, the rumbling was coming from Ame no Murakumo, and it culminated into the most gut wrenching cry of grief to ever pierced the heavens, capturing everyone's attention. Ame no Murakumo continued to scream, her head thrown back, and began to blacken. The blackness crept upwards, moving up the legs and into the lower body. When the darkness was up to the giant formerly-white god's chest, Ame no Murakumo was ripped completely apart, a hundred thousand swords erupting out from her chest, tearing the mechanical-like god into twisted shreds.

The Hundred Thousand Swords of Humanity's Hate swarmed the skies, darkening the heavens as though they were the biblical locus of yore, destroying anything and everything in their path.

Obsidian could only stare, slack-jawed (or would have, had he eyes or a mouth).

They twisted and screamed, mindless in their hatred, headless, purposeless... and in their purposelessness, they were compelled by a nearby power, that which had been screaming with pain and hatred so loudly it called to the Swords like a siren, beckoning and attracting them like a magnet:

The Fallen Prince. The End of the World.

Akio stared up at the swarming, screaming swords... and smiled. And as he smiled, so too, did the swords suddenly all stop, in mid flight, and point themselves directly at him.

'The star is not going to grant your wish, Obsidian.' Explained the End of the World coldly. 'Just telling it you are the victor does not make it so.'

Akio spread his hands to this sides, and closed his eyes.

'NO!' Screamed the Obsidian Lord inside of Akio's mind. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THEY WILL DESTROY US BOTH!'

But the End of the World only smiled.

And the swords came screaming for him, smashing into him and ripping him and by extension, the Obsidian Lord as well, into shreds, absorbing what remained of them - that which they had exhibited so strongly it had called out and resonated with the swords to become as one:

Pain. Anger.

Hatred.

As the Hundred Thousand Swords of Humanity's Hate erupted from Ame no Murakumo's chest, so too did a single human form fall from the same place - Kurusugawa Himeko.

With a howl, Duran took a running leap and caught the falling miko on his back, bringing her down to land on the dueling arena safely if roughly. He turned to nudge his mechanical nose against Himeko's face, snuffling.

"Himeko-san!" Natsuki shrieked, running up to the Solar Priestess, everyone else hot on her heels. "Himeko-san!" At first, the red of Himeko's priestess uniform masked just how gravely she was hurt, and it wasn't until Natsuki had collapsed by Himeko's side that she could see the extent of the blood – oh god – so much blood! – that had stained through Himeko's midsection and lower torso.

Mai gave a cry of dismay behind her. "Natsuki! Is she-! Oh god!"

Then Himeko surprised them all by fluttering her eyes open. "Chi…? Chikane-chan?" She asked, brokenly. "Where is...?"

Natsuki's brow crinkled. "She's... she's gone." Natsuki whispered. She looked over at where Yamata no Orochi had fallen. There was nothing there except for the destruction and indentation in the surface of the dueling arena where the giant mechanical form had fallen. "She's... gone..."

Himeko stared at that empty spot, a completely stunned and uncomprehending expression on her face... and then her eyes widened. "No!" She screamed, suddenly pushing Natsuki away, and trying to stumble onto her feet. She gave a cry of pain when this proved unwise and fell forward onto her face, causing blood to splatter messily. "Hnngh!" With a groan of pain, Himeko weakly tried to pull herself to her knees. "... no!" She insisted softly, so softly no one else could hear her. "She's... she's right there! She's right there!"

To the complete and utter disbelief of all the Hime in attendance, Himeko managed to drag herself to her feet. She stumbled forward, her feet moving by some ancient, indomitable power resilient in all men who knew love, and what they had to do to keep their most cherished ones safe and whole. Blood splattered against the floor, leaving a trail as she stumbled and hobbled.

The Hime, too stunned by this display to do anything, could only stare, incredulously. It wasn't until Himeko had tripped, close to the middle of the crater in the dueling arena where Yamata no Orochi had disintegrated, that Natsuki could even think to scream, "Himeko!" and belatedly run forward to try to catch the falling woman.

But Himeko never hit the ground.

Instead, as she stumbled forward, she fell against a white coffin, somehow hiding in plain sight, as though it had always been there – though it couldn't possibly have – leaving a smear against its top.

Himeko gasped for breath, even as she continued to bleed, clinging heavily against the heavy wooden box for support, before she fought against her injuries and struggled mightily to her feet.

She dug her fingers against the edge of the coffin, where the lid met the box.

Desperately, Himeko pulled, her arms shaking with exertion, beads of sweat dripping down her face, even as beads of blood pooled in the gaping wounds in her mid section, soaked her clothing a deep red, and slowly seeped downwards.

She squeezed her eyes tight, even as tears formed at the corners of them, and pulled at the lid of the coffin, trying to wedge her fingers into the crack to get a better hold. She could only get her fingernails in at first, and she broke several of them, snapping them painfully as she pulled, but at least after a bit she was able to burrow her finger tips into the crevice.

The entire time, she begged for her other half to hear her. "Chikane... chan!" Himeko cried. "Please! Chikane...!"

She prayed, to the 800 million gods, to any one of them who might be listening, that somewhere, in the deepest parts of Chikane's mind, where she had hidden herself for safety and sanity, her other half could hear her.

The Swords of Humanity's Hate screamed for vengeance, for justice. Like a terrifying tornado of steel and metal, they swarmed and circled in the air above the arena, careening and regrouping themselves to take another strike at the ones that had wronged them, the women who had dared to take the Prince from them so many aeons ago, and was now threatening to dismantle the mechanics of the Festival, that sacred wish-granting Red Star, a gift to humanity from the gods themselves, a methodology through which they could escape from the suffering of life through the promise of the creation of a better world.

They continued to circle and scream, a hundred thousand moans of suffering, a hundred billion cries of hate, tighter and tighter, faster and faster, until they finally lashed downwards, diving downwards and aimed for the back of the Solar Priestess, who wasn't even facing them, wasn't even acknowledging them, who's full attention was focused solely on trying to open the lid of the coffin, the door to the Lunar Priestess.

Down and down they rushed, screaming for blood, until they were stopped by a magnificent burst of fire, and spinning golden rings, a scant few meters in front of the Solar Priestess, shielding her, and deflecting them in all directions, shooting upwards into the sky again.

Tokiha Mai's amethyst eyes were set, and they burned with fire and determination as she glared in challenge up at the swirling, swarming swords. "Stay away from them!" She shouted, holding her hands out in front of her as a giant column of flame exploded from her palms and shot up into the sky, disbursing the swords, and keeping them from reforming. "Kagutsuchi!"

The giant white Child, hearing the summons of his master, gave a roar of affirmation, and appeared in the sky, flying at the swords, and trumpeting in challenge, opening his mouth as a ball of white light appeared in front of his jaws, and then shooting the energy beam directly at the swords. He took out a large swath of swords, but not all of them, not in the least.

Even as this happened, a wolf could be heard howling, followed by a loud, grim command, "Duran! Load silver cartridge!" Twin ice spears shot up into the sky and exploded, freezing another swatch of swords, and causing them to fall to the arena's surface, shattering upon impact.

And then, suddenly, the remaining swords found themselves under all manner of attack, as other Childs joined the fray – Miroku and Kiyohime, Gakutenoh and Julia. Diana and Gennai. Suishouhime.

In the face of so many unexpected, and strong enemies, the Swords flew higher up into the air, spiraling and spiraling, tighter and tighter, regrouping, until they were such a tight swarm, that they actually seemed to be one dark, spiraling maw of hatred. They almost looked like they had eyes, and through these, they stared down at the Hime, and they remembered them through the mind of the Obsidian Lord.

The Hime. Those wretch girls, children, whom had ruined everything! Destroyed him beyond healing, tortured him and driven him mad with pain.

I KNOW YOU! Roared the Swords of Humanity's Hate, in the voice of the Obsidian Lord. I'LL KILL YOU! IF I CANNOT BE THE VICTOR OF THE FESTIVAL THAN THERE WILL BE NO MORE FESTIVAL!

"That suits us just fine," Natsuki said grimly, coming to stand beside Mai, beside Shizuru.

"Humanity doesn't need the Festival anyway." She slipped her hand into Shizuru's, and smiled softly at her most important person. "We all have the power, the right, to change the world as we see fit, not just us, not just the Hime, but everyone, by the strength of our own hands, and our own hearts. We've no need for wishes – we already have something eternal, something miraculous, something shining, and we can bring revolution to ourselves through our own efforts, so long as we remember what's really important to us, who's really important to us."

Natsuki looked over and could see Mai smiling at her too, Mikoto standing beside Mai.

"Ara, I don't think even Mai-san could have said that better herself," Shizuru smiled, looking at Natsuki proudly, even as she tucked a lock of blue-black hair behind an ear.

The redhead in question laughed. "Nope, I definitely couldn't."

Behind them, Nao sighed, while Midori cheered, Yukino and Akira traded awkward but pleased looks, and Fumi smiled.

"Did'ya hear that, Sister?" Nao said to Yukariko, who had remained silent this entire time, cradling her baby boy to her chest to protect him as best she could, even as St. Vlas stood on guard near her. The former nun looked at her one time student, a perplexed and worried expression on her face.

Nao smirked. "I do believe Kuga's just told God to take his miracles and shove them up his ass."

Yukariko looked aghast. And then, she sniffed, clearly put out. "That, Yuuki-san," she said, motioning up to the swirling swords with her chin, "doesn't even come close to resembling my god."

Midori cocked her head to the side as she studied the swirling swords with interest. "Hmm! I wonder if each individual sword represents one of the 800 million gods of Shintoism? Maybe Shiho could point one or two out!"

"I'm fairly certain that Shiho isn't a practicing Miko," Akira offered up of her classmate. "Just because her family owns Fuuka Shrine."

"I wonder what Akane-san would think if she were here," Yukino wondered of her own classmate.

"We'll be sure to ask them when this is all over and done with," Fumi assured her staff and students. "But in the meanwhile..."

Mikoto looked up at the swirling swords. "Umph!" She said, mostly to herself, nodding her head in determination. "We're not taking part in the Festival anymore, and we're not going to make any wishes this time around either!" She said. "We're just doing to destroy you, and the world will already be a better place!"

FOOLISH CHILDREN! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO?! YOU ARE BUT MORTALS STANDING BEFORE THE GODS THEMSELVES! THE OBSIDIAN LORD EMBODIES ALL GREED AND AMBITION, WHILE THE SWORDS EMBODY HATE! BY WHAT POWER DO YOU THINK YOU COULD DESTROY SUCH FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF HUMANITY?!

And then, even as the Hime continued to glare defiantly at the swirling ball of hatred and dark ambition, they could hear a single voice answer, seeming to come from all of their hearts.

There was a loud roaring, rumbling sensation, and it took the girls a while to realize what it was, and where it was coming from.

Natsuki looked at Shizuru a little worriedly, squeezing her hand.

Mai put a hand on her chest – her heart felt like it was burning, overflowing.

It was coming from within them – all of them – from the depths of their hearts.

With a blinding flash of light bursting forth from each of them, Ame no Murakumo re-appeared in the air above their heads, glowing a bright, triumphant gold.

And though the Prince's form was that of a giant, gleaming, white armored god, when gazed upon by all of the Hime looking up at her, somehow, rather than the God herself, what they saw instead was the ghostly form of a young woman, with pink hair, and ocean blue eyes set with steely determination, wearing a black school uniform with red shorts, glaring defiantly at the Swords.

And they all heard her say, quite clearly:

MINE.

Ame no Murakumo charged the Swords of Humanity's Hate. Behind the white mechanical God, several Childs screamed, eager to play their part in the destruction of the force that had manipulated and seen them into suffering through so many cycles of violence against each other.

Kagutsuchi was at the forefront, flying just above Ame no Murakumo, giving a mighty song of challenge, as he summoned up a ruinous gout of fire from deep in his chest. The flame was so intense, it was visible even as it traveled up his throat, before being unleashed straight into the middle of the cyclone of swords catastrophically.

To the white god of Swordsmen's left, Kiyohime gave her own screams, sending six blasts of acidic venom. Duran dodged the blasts masterfully, leaping and spinning in the air, even as rockets of ice shot form from his cannons.

Not to be outdone by their Childs, the Hime charged forth as well, Mikoto screaming like a wild woman as she rode on top of Miroku straight into the fray, dodging energy blasts this way and that, even as she cut down the swords with her own claymore. Mai expanded her fire barrier outwards to protect those Hime who's talents were less suited for straight forward tanking, concentrating quite a bit of her powers to protect Yukariko and her newborn.

Natsuki was one of the last to go forward, trailing the other Hime by a few steps. She turned back to look at the coffin, at the tawny-haired woman they had been defending, who had been pulling at the lid of the coffin so desperately.

Himeko was no longer trying to open the coffin lid – she had opened it.

And she was no longer visible, having disappeared inside of it.

Natsuki boggled, unable to fathom just what this meant. But an errant sword flying directly for her quickly captured her attention, and she was able to just barely dodge out of the way at the last second, due, in part, to Shizuru's cry of her name.

And then there was no time for Natsuki to think of anything else, as the frenzy of battle overwhelmed everything else.

The battle was impossible to describe save for one word: chaotic. The Swords of Humanity's Hate continued to swarm, resembling a school of angry piranha, at times swelling outwards in an attempt to buzzsaw through its enemies, at times shrinking into a concentrated ball for protection.

But the onslaught of Ame no Murakumo was relentless, supported by the hearts and emotions of the Hime and their Childs, showing such magnificent displays of valor, and courage, and love for one another that they glowed with the same golden energy of the Prince. And the energy, the fundamental building block of the universe of which the Swords personified, from which the Swords derived their power - Hate - was slowly drained, and depleted, with every sword destroyed representing the chipping away of that Hate by the forces that opposed it.

In the end, when there had been but a handful of the Swords of Humanity's Hate left, Ame no Murakumo summoned Kusanagi no Tsurugi. Eyes ablaze, the giant white god rushed forward, and smashed the pitiful remains of the Swords of Humanity's Hate apart, all the remaining blades withering away into tiny particles, that then faded to nothing.

As the Hime watched this display, even they could see, for a brief moment, the ghostly form of the pink haired girl, holding a stylized sword in her hand, wearing a black school uniform and red shorts, overlaid with the form of the giant white God of Swordsmen. She was facing away from them, at her vanquished enemy. Slowly, she turned to look at the Hime, and everyone present could feel something... something wonderful inside their hearts as she gazed at them with her ocean blue eyes: Gratitude. Pride. Hope. Love.

And then, with a smile, she too faded away into a smattering of stars, that then became nothing.

When it was all said and done, the Hime were all collapsed on the ground, gasping and panting for breath.

The Swords were gone, destroyed, the Obsidian Lord as well, finally. They were no longer fueled by the essence of which they previously personified.

Which wasn't to say that there wasn't any hatred or greed and ambition left in the universe, no, of course not. So long as humanity existed, there would always be these emotions, just as there would also be longing, and goodness, and hope. It was just that those concepts were no longer so strong that they were embodied by the gods themselves.

It was cruel, really, for any one thing, any one deity, or soul, to embody only such things as hate, or greed, or, despair, or in the case of the former Witch, longing. At least humanity had the chance to experience all there was to life. Yes, there was hate, and greed, and despair, and longing, but there was also goodness, and kindness, and hope. Orochi, Obsidian, and the Witch, did not known this.

At least, not yet.

Several gods found themselves in a curious location they'd never been to before.

It was the river Styx, and they were being invited to cross it, to give up their immortality, those dark powers that had fueled them for so long, for a chance at a mortal life.

One of them waded out across the river with no hesitation. He had been there for a little while longer than the rest, by a few months now (really, no time at all, in comparison to all the time that had passed before that). Too long had Orochi known only despair, and he did not want any of that anymore.

Obsidian stared with wide eyes as Orochi went forward. He looked down at himself. There was no longer a giant crack in his body; he was no longer damaged. He was no longer in pain, and that realization made him feel curiously... hopeful. He strode into the river after Orochi.

This left two more by the river bank – an ancient pair of siblings.

Akio looked over at Anthy, who simply continued to look forward, watching Orochi and Obsidian disappear into the mortal coil.

"Will you join us?" Akio asked his sister.

Anthy shook her head. "No. Utena-sama has finally accepted the mantle of the Prince. I imagine it will be as lonely and as arduous for her as it was for you, Brother. I wouldn't want her to suffer through that alone."

Akio looked pained. "You are cut off from your power, Anthy. You are no longer the Witch. Just as the millenia I spent powerless as the End of the World, no longer the Prince, so too would you reside in purgatory, if you don't cross this river. You know what that did to me – how that corrupted me. Are you sure you want that for yourself?"

"There is a key difference between us, Brother." Anthy said softly. "You were the Prince, all that was good in the world. So you were corrupted in your quest to regain your power. Even after the revolution, though you protested that all you wanted was the end to your existence, to force Utena-sama to fully assume the mantle of the Prince, so that she had the power to finally end you, on some level, did not you wish? That she would reject that title? That you would still have a chance to reclaim it?"

Akio smiled as Anthy spoke, but did not confirm her suspicion one way or another.

Anthy smiled. "As for me, the Witch embodied loneliness, and longing, unrequited and unfulfilled." She smiled bitterly. "Freed from that burden, why would I, why would *anyone*, ever wish to hold that station?"

The siblings were silent for a long time after that, until Akio took a deep breath.

"I will miss your company, Anthy." Akio finally said. "I wish you, and the new Prince, good fortunes."

Without another word, he waded into the river.

'Chikane... chan! Chikane-chan!'

Chikane stirred. Who could possibly be calling her? Who could possible know where she was? She'd been forgotten by the world, by the universe, right? That was the deal. Her soul was sealed in the Lunar Shrine, and everyone would forget that Himemiya Chikane even lived in the first place...

... so, how could anyone even know her name to call it at all, much less to call it with such heartache?

Hesitantly, Chikane opened her eyes, and saw that she was still in the Lunar Shrine. She was no longer sitting in seiza, as she had when the giant doors had boomed shut, enshrouding her in darkness, but had curled on her side into a fetal position.

The shrine was dark, as pitch black as ever, save for a single line of light bleeding in through a crack in the middle of the massive doors to the shrine that fell directly over Chikane's face, in her eyes, almost blinding her. She squinted. It took her a long time for her vision to adjust, and Chikane had to blink several times to make sure she was seeing things right.

'How could this be?' Chikane wondered.

'Chikane-chan! Chikane-chan!'

And then, Chikane's heart dared to skip a beat.

There was only one who could be calling her thusly.

Himeko.

A lump developed in Chikane's throat, even as her vision finally focused.

The crack in the door was a scant five inches wide, but through it, Chikane could see a sliver of the giant bulbous form of the Earth, blue and green and dotted with white, looming over top of the moon.

And, infinitely closer to her, and yet, still so far away, she could see Himeko, struggling to squeeze herself in through the crack in the door. She had shoved one shoulder, and a trembling arm tipped with a torn up and bleeding hand through the crack, desperately reaching for Chikane. Only half of her face could be seen through the door, a cheek, and part of an open, screaming mouth, and a single lilac eye, luminescent with tears.

Tears silently fell from the corners of Chikane's own eyes as well, as she opened her mouth and tried to respond to Himeko's frantic cries of her name.

'... Hi.. ...' the first cry came out as a barely there whisper. Chikane swallowed, and tried again, with more strength.

"Hime... ko!"

And then, once more.

"HIMEKO!"

And before she even knew what she was doing, her heart had willed her legs into action, and Chikane stumbled those precious few steps towards the front door of the shrine, catching Himeko's hand, and intertwining their fingers. Chikane threw herself at the door, reaching through the crack to embrace the shivering woman on the other side as best she could with such a large obstruction between them, and for a moment, just that fleeting, small contact was enough, and Chikane thought she'd gone crazy with overwhelming emotion, before she swallowed and focused her attention on getting rid of that goddamn door in the way.

It was maddening, the amount of effort it took, both of them trying to force the gates apart, one pushing, one pulling, and the massive, heavy front doors of the Lunar Shrine stubbornly refusing to budge more than a quarter inch at a time.

It took forever. 16 years, it felt like. A lifetime. Her arms were jelly by the time they managed to eke out just enough of an opening for Himeko to force herself through, and then she stumbled through and fell against Chikane's body so heavily they both cashed down onto the wooden floors.

Chikane wrapped her arms around Himeko's head and pulled her tightly up against her chest and neck. "Himeko!" She couldn't stop saying the woman's name, her other half, her soul mate. The one she'd come back again and again to the mortal coil for, hoping against hope that finally, maybe, this time, they could be together. She buried her face against the top of Himeko's head, into her hair. "Himeko!"

And Himeko was squeezing her around the body just as tightly, her face against Chikane's throat, crying wildly. "Chikane-chan!"

They sat there, on the floor of the lunar shrine, clinging to each other, afraid to let go for fear that they'd never find each other again, shaking and crying, until Himeko finally let go of Chikane's body to reach up and pull her head down for a kiss. Chikane almost sobbed into her mouth, before moving her hands down to hug Himeko tighter against her, which, unexpectedly, caused the smaller woman to give a small cry of pain.

Chikane's eyes widened and she hastily pulled away. "W-what's wrong?" She cried. "Himeko, what-?"

And then she saw it – the large (and spreading) red patch in the middle of Himeko's midsection. The sticky fluid had smeared all over the front of Chikane's clothing as well too.

With a trembling hand, she reached out and gently touched the red spot, and then turned her hand back to gaze, in horror, at the sticky red liquid now coating her palm.

Blood.

Himeko looked apologetic, even as she continued to get more and more pale. "I'm... I'm sorry, Chikane-chan," she said weakly, even as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fell forward against Chikane's body heavily.

"No, no! Don't say that!" Chikane cried, patting at Himeko's face (leaving her bloody handprint all over one of Himeko's frightfully pale cheeks). "Himeko, no! No! Wake up! Himeko, no! Don't go! DON'T GO!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

*whew!* And that... is that! Oh god, I hope to never, ever have to write a scene with, like 20+ characters in the same physical space ever again. Ugh. -_-;;

Thank you for those of you who have been kindly leaving reviews (and giant, intelligent analysis that rival the fic itself in length, lol)! They have made this fic so, so rewarding for me. (And wolf-chan; glad you like the omake, lol!)

Oh Akio. You are just way too smart for me. I tried to pull off a Xanatos Gambit worthy of your Magnificent Bastard-ness, but I think it was only Xanatos Speed Chess in the end, if that. :(

And I couldn't resist bringing out the dueling arena from Utena. I've always liked it. If I could have made it work, I would have had everyone walk up the stairs (or ride up the elevator) to the arena somehow too. And then whipped out the sideways running sport cars. (Or better yet! Brought out the Giant Carwash of Destiny or the freaking Castle-Tank from the movie!]

Only two chapters left! Well, one chapter, and one epilogue. Stay with me, guys! They should be released in the next couple of days barring extreme real life weirdness!

Cheers,

jen-chan

jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com

OMAKE I: YEAH! WHUT! WHUT!

[It's the scene when the Swords of Humanity's Hate are going for Himeko. The scene suddenly stops and the CAMERA pulls back to see that MAI has pushed the pause button on the TV while the rest of the REVOLUTIONS CAST is lounging about the staff on various bean bag chairs evidently enjoying the show.]

MAI: [Smugly] And that, ladies, is the reason why the show is called MAI Hime, and not SHIZNAT Hime.

NATSUKI: [Rolls her eyes as she chews on her popcorn and grabs the remote from MAI] Yes, yes, whatever. Come on, we were watching that. [UNPAUSES.]

SHIZURU: Ara, [sipping tea] Then by that definition, shouldn't the sequel have been called ARIKA Otome?

MAI: [Grumps] Don't bring that up! I'm still sore about that!

OMAKE II: Count Your Blessings

[While all the other HIME are at the dueling arena, caught up in the joys of reunion, SHIHO and AKANE are sitting on top of the ruins of what used to be the OBSIDIAN PALACE they had totally just demolished. SHIHO stares at AKANE, who stares back at SHIHO.]

AKANE: Do you kinda get the impression we're missing out on an important reunion scene right now?

SHIHO: A little. But hey, considering we weren't even supposed to show up in this fic, I'd say this isn't bad. We were actually kinda important weren't we?

AKANE: I guess so. Though now I understand how Fumi-san felt at the end of Mai-Hime, when we all went charging off on our Childs to face down the Hime-Star and help Mai-san. She was the only one who got left out. Well, besides Alyssa-chan, I mean.

SHIHO: Yeah, but there's no really helping that. It would have been pretty weird, with all of us riding our Childs, if Fumi-san showed up riding on Mashirou-san. I'm faaairly certain that wouldn't have gotten past the network censors.

OMAKE III: The Last Mai-Hime Style Preview! (Or not!)

[A CHORUS of voices can be heard arguing loudly and angrily amongst themselves overlaid over a series of fast paced clips edited together very confusingly and with deliberate misrepresentation so brazen the AUTHOR should be ashamed of HERSELF but totally isn't HAHA!]

HARUKA: What do you mean this is going to be the last Preview? The next chapter is the 2nd to last one, right?! So shouldn't there be one more after this?

YUKINO: I'm afraid not, Haruka-chan! The next chapter is the denouement that ties everything up, and the last chapter will simply be a short epilogue, so the denouement is not expected to have any omake at all, and certainly not a preview.

NAO: What?! But, who gets to do this one then?

MIKOTO: Meee! Oooh, me!

MAI: Now, Mikoto, you've already gone once!

MIKOTO: But that was soooo long ago!

NATSUKI: Hey, what about me? My turn was even further in the past than your's!

SHIZURU: Ara, ara, if that's the way it is, Natsuki, shouldn't you let me do it then? I went all the way back in Chapter 6!

CHIKANE: Shouldn't I do it? I am the main character after all.

JURI: Like hell you are! This is an ensemble cast!

HIMEKO: [pushing her fingers together] Well, actually, Juri-chan, it might have started out that way, but I think it got pretty obvious by the end that Chikane-chan's the main character of this fic, I think.

UTENA: [Proudly] That's my girl!

FUMI: Main character or not, Chikane-san's already gone twice. It just wouldn't be fair to let her go again. Who amongst us actually haven't gone yet?

HARUKA: Meee! It's only me left!

ANTHY: [Coughs quickly] Actually, I haven't had a turn yet either, I'm afraid.

MIDORI: You? But you don't count! You were barely in this fic!

ANTHY: [Hooded eyes] I was more important than the cow.

AKIRA: Um, how about you guys rock-paper-scissor for it?

[ANTHY and HARUKA look at each other. Finally, they nod.]

HARUKA: Alright, that seems fair.

ANTHY & HARUKA: Jyan! Ken!

[HARUKA has chosen rock while ANTHY has chosen scissors.]

HARUKA: [With tears of joy and wonderment in her eyes] Finally! Finally! After all this time! It's my turn!

[All other lights are turned off, quickly masking the presence of the rest of the cast and a single spotlight is shone on HARUKA, who clears her voice importantly.]

HARUKA: Well then! In that case, without further ado! [Takes a deep breath] I, Suzushirou Haruka, cordially invite you to the last full chapter of Revolutions! Chapt -

[Suddenly, the GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY from, like, chapter 15 or something, shows up, sucks HARUKA into its bristles, and spits out HARUKOW instead.]

HARUKOW: ! M-Moou?! MOOU?! MOOOOOOOOU!

ANTHY: [sticks her head from out of the darkness into HARUKOW's spotlight] Chapter 23 – Mai Kannazuki no Revolution: A Denouement. [Blinks. Stares off screen for a moment with a wholly unsatisfied expression on her face.] That has got to be the most ridiculous, pompous, grammatically incorrect title I have ever heard.

MAI: [Sounding disgusted in the background somewhere] Ugh! Stop using my name if I'm not going to be the main character in the show!