The Age of Fairy Tales

The New Gods VIII

It couldn't be…

BOOM!

There was an explosion of magical energy from the top of the rocky terrain that the cave led into and a giant black four legged figure jumped out of it. The three watched as it landed on the ground in front of them. It was the same Cerberus Grimm that Aqua and Poppy had seen guarding the lamp but it was now different.

It was larger and even more muscular now.

And its middle head has been replaced by a feminine torso with arms and a skull like face with red eyes glaring at Aqua.

"Don't listen to her, Ozma! She gained favor with the Gods and convinced them to strip everyone of their powers and curse me! They gave all the power to her!" The humanoid head spoke with Salem's voice as she pointed at Aqua. "Look at her! She looks exactly the same while you and I have been changed! She stood with them and whispered into their ears, convincing them to kill anyone who questioned them and that she was the only one worthy of magic!"

Aqua narrowed her eyes and glared at the monster that was acting as some sort of avatar for Salem while Ozma nervously looked back and forth.

"Ozma, quick!" The Grimm looked imploringly at him. "Use the sword and destroy her!"

Ozma's eyes went wide. "What?!"

"If you don't she'll just take it." Salem pointed at Aqua. "Look at her. The Grimm sense a mythical energy around her like the Relics. Meaning she already has one of them and must be here for the Lamp. Stop her before she takes the Lamp and the Sword!"

Ozma nervously looked back and forth between Aqua and the Grimm that Salem had seemingly possessed to communicate. "Salem, what are-"

Aqua meanwhile face-palmed herself as she looked at the Grimm with a look of exasperation. "Are you really that desperate for things to go your way, Salem? Divine beings have no reason to do ANYTHING a mortal asks of them. What could I have possibly said to get the Brothers to commit mass genocide? Besides, you know as well as Ozma does that I'm not that kind of person. Just admit that you made horrendously bad decisions for the sake of your own selfishness and stop embarrassing yourself."

The Grimm simply snarled at her. "You…"

"Go ahead and try, Salem. You and I both know that even if you are controlling that Grimm it won't attack me." Aqua crossed her arms. "You just tried that earlier and saw the result."

Salem snarled through the Grimm, which even sounded more beastly though it was hard to tell if it was the Grimm's own vocal cords or Salem herself. Meanwhile, Ozma didn't know who to believe. One was a good friend while the other was the love of his life. Even if his beloved told him to, he couldn't just use this sword to destroy his friend.

And Salem was quick to notice his hesitance. "Ozma? What are you waiting for?"

"Salem, are you sure? This is Aqua, a good friend of ours. We fought together side by side." Ozma's hand on the Sword of Destruction was trembling.

Salem, or rather the Grimm being possessed by her narrowed its eyes. "Fine…Then I will use it!"

The Grimm's hand stretched out and snatched the Sword out of Ozma's hands. "Salem!"

Poppy was becoming terrified as she looked on, fearing what may happen to Aqua who remained stoic as she summoned her Keyblade.

Salem held the Sword of Destruction and pointed it at Aqua. "Now die!"

She swung the Sword at Aqua who hastily blocked with her Keyblade, reinforcing it with a barrier as she blocked. "Defend!"

To the surprise of nearly everyone the Sword rebounded off the barrier and actually caused the Grimm to stagger back.

"What?!" Salem's eyes were wide as she held up the Sword and looked at Aqua. "Why didn't it destroy you? It's the Sword of Destruction!"

"But you haven't activated it." Aqua lowered her Keyblade. "You can't just use the Relics by picking them up, Salem. Unless you know the password to each Relic, they are useless."

"Password?" Ozma gaped.

How did she know?

"Password?!" Salem snapped, gripping the Sword so tightly that if it was just a normal sword it would have been snapped in two. "How do you know?!"

"Because I know how the Relics work." Aqua answered.

She knew that each Relic had a Spirit that was bound to them because she had met all of the four Spirits:

Jinn for Knowledge.

Ambrosius for Creation.

Nimue for Destruction.

And Janus for Choice.

Aqua had guessed that unless Salem or Ozma knew Nimue's name, they couldn't activate the Sword's power, making it useless.

Ozma remained silent as he knew of the Spirit inside the Sword and even knew its name: Nimue but he had been hesitant to use her name to activate the Sword's power. He didn't want to believe Aqua about Salem's crimes but Salem was his beloved and he knew she wasn't capable of the crimes Aqua had accused him of.

Was she?

Salem hadn't been with him when he found the Sword and she didn't know that he had spoken with Nimue when she sensed someone picking up the Sword.

Perhaps if he could convince Aqua and Salem to stand down he could try and figure things out from there.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Grimm Salem had possessed screeched and threw away the Sword of Destruction in a fit of rage and frustration.

The Sword landed right near where Poppy was and stared at the Sword with wide eyes.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES BUT I WILL DESTROY YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!" Salem shouted as she stamped the Grimm's feet on the ground, causing the area to shake.

"Salem!" Aqua shouted, frustrated by attitude of the woman she had once called a friend. "I am not your enemy!"

Salem roared as she charged at Aqua like a speeding bull, not caring that the orders of the God of Darkness would forbid the Grimm she was possessing from killing Aqua.

"Nimue! Destroy Salem!"

Then everyone paused from hearing a young voice and Aqua turned her head to see Poppy holding the Sword of Destruction, shouting as she swung. "Poppy!"

There was a golden flash of light followed by a screech.

"SALEM!" Ozma cried out.

Xxx

Inside the castle, Salem was blasted from her table and slammed into the wall, her entire body seemingly burning away…

Then her curse kicked in and she stood up as her body regenerated.

And let out a deafening scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Xxx

"What did she just do?"

Neo barely had any time to see what had happened when Poppy had swung the Sword of Destruction.

"She activated the Sword." Oscar answered, staring stoically at the 'window'. "Like the Lamp, the Sword can only be activated by calling out the spirit's name. Nimue, the Spirit of Destruction. Once her name is spoke, she can destroy whoever and whatever the person holding the sword wants. The price though is that whoever is holding the sword can only destroy one thing and one thing only just Ambrosius can only create one thing at a time."

"Just one thing?" Terra 'glanced' at Oscar. "Nothing else after that?"

"Well, each of the Relics were given a set of rules by the God of Light to abide by. Knowledge is precious so Jinn was made to answer only three questions every one hundred years. Creation is wonderful but never lasting so Ambrosius can only create whatever the holder of the Staff wants but when a new person is holding the Staff and makes their wish, whatever Ambrosius created before fades away. Choice is important because of the outcomes that come from it, so Janus was made to show whomever wears the Crown of Choice a choice they will have to make and what might come from it." Oscar slowly explained. "And Destruction, once something is destroyed it is gone for good. So the rules for Nimue is that she can only destroy something for one person once and only once in their entire life time. Oz could work his way around that rule because people who hold Oz's soul are still two people so there is at least one loophole. That's how the King of Vale was able to end the Great War."

Everyone turned back to the window, watching the aftermath of Poppy using the Sword of Destruction.

"So…did she actually kill Salem?" Neo asked.

Oscar shook his head. "No, not even the Sword of Destruction is powerful enough to kill Salem and break her curse."

"Damn…" Neo muttered under her breath.

"The Sword can destroy almost anything but the exception would be something created by the Brothers meant to survive anything, such as the other Relics and Salem." Oscar clarified. "Believe me, if Oz thought the Sword would have been enough he would have used it long ago…"

Xxx

Poppy fell to her knees, gasping for breath as she leaned on the Sword of Destruction.

For a moment there was silence…

"What…" Ozma slowly spoke as he gazed at Poppy. "What did you do? Did you kill her?"

"Oz…" Aqua slowly turned back to the wizard. "She-"

"Did you kill her?!" Ozma marched over to Poppy with a frantic look on his face. "Did you use this to destroy her?!"

"Ozma!" Aqua called out.

Poppy looked up and glared up at Ozma as he stood over her. "She…She deserved that!"

Ozma's eyes widened and he grabbed the Sword of Destruction from Poppy's hand while holding his scepter at her face. "What have you done?!"

Aqua teleported between them, brandishing her Keyblade at Ozma who stepped back in surprise. "Don't threaten her, Ozma!"

Ozma looked shocked but narrowed his eyes at her. "What did she do?! She commanded the Sword to destroy Salem! How could she?!"

"Oz-"

"How could you allow that?!" Ozma pointed the Sword at her. "I trusted you!"

"She-" Aqua tried to say but Ozma thrust his scepter forward and fired a burst of green magical energy at her. "Reflega!"

Aqua's spell blocked and reflected Ozma's own attack back at him but he hastily dodged out of the way.

(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Dark Impetus)

Ozma landed a few feet away on the ground, brandishing both the Sword of Destruction in one hand and his scepter in another. He cast an angered look at Aqua who remained calm but held a fierce gaze as she kept Poppy behind her. Driven by anger at the supposed death of his beloved, Ozma slammed his scepter into the ground and released another magical blast that traveled through the ground towards the Keyblade Master and her friend. Aqua spun and grabbed Poppy, teleporting out of the way in time and reappearing several yards away.

Aqua then released Poppy and turned back around. "He's not going to listen to reason now. Stay here and don't let him see you."

Before Poppy could say anything else, Aqua teleported again and reappeared in front of Ozma just as he was about to take off into the air to find them, holding her Keyblade at his neck. "Stand down, now."

Ozma banged his scepter into the ground, releasing a shockwave of green energy that knocked Aqua back. Aqua somersaulted and landed perfectly on her feet, just in time to block a strike as Ozma swung the Sword of Destruction at her head.

CLANG!

Aqua grunted as sparks flew. "Are you really using this sword against me?"

Ozma said nothing as he thrust his scepter forward but Aqua broke off and spun out of the way. Aqua then swung at Ozma's head but the wizard ducked under the slash and swung the Sword at Aqua's feet. Luckily Aqua jumped over the Sword, spinning as she did and brought her Keyblade down on Ozma who blocked with both his scepter and the Sword. It was now a grappling contest as both struggled to push the other into submission.

"Ozma, stop this!" Aqua shouted as they struggled. "We don't know if the Sword really destroyed her!"

"It destroys everything the holder wishes!" Ozma shouted back. "She killed Salem! And you're defending her!"

The gem on Ozma's scepter glowed and released a shockwave that blasted Aqua back, making her hit the ground. Ozma then turned to Poppy, pointing his scepter in her direction and releasing a magical blast. Poppy gasped as the blast shot right at her.

"NO!" Aqua teleported in front of Poppy. "Reflega!"

Her barrier spell reflected Ozma's attack back at him again, forcing him to jump out of the way. Ozma then slammed his scepter into the ground and a tornado rose up, lifting him into the air. Aqua looked up defiantly, keeping Poppy behind her as Ozma's tornado approached. Ozma waved his scepter and the tornado was set on fire as it moved to engulf them both!

"Diamond Dust!" Aqua called as an icy blue aura surrounded her.

Particles of ice emitted from her body as Poppy stepped back, not wanting to be frozen. Aqua shot forward and slashed through the fiery tornado, freezing it on contact. She turned around, watching as the ice traveled up towards Ozma who jumped out of the way in time and landed on the ground several yards away. The wizard spun around; still looking angry from the glare he was giving Aqua who remained stoic.

Ozma then sprinted at Aqua as she pointed her Keyblade. "Fire!"

A barrage of fireballs was shot at him but he slashed through them all with either his scepter or the Sword, resulting in explosions in contact. Ozma flew through the smoke and clashed both his weapons with Aqua's Keyblade again.

Only this time, Ozma followed with another magical shockwave that sent Aqua flying back.

Aqua grunted and recovered as Ozma fired more several bolts of magic at her, causing her to flip backwards to dodge them all. Aqua landed on her feet and shot forward again, clashing her Keyblade with both Ozma's scepter and Sword, creating a shockwave that sent desert sand kicking in all directions.

Poppy had to cover her eyes as the wave of sand slammed into her, knocking her down. "Gah!"

Aqua shoved Ozma back and released another blast of fire at him but this time Ozma surprised her by creating a wall of green magical energy that actually deflected the fire blast and sent it flying back at her!

"Reflega!" Aqua shouted, reflecting the attack and sending it back at Ozma who deflected it again.

This carried on for the next few minutes with both combatants sending the fireball back and forth with its speed increasing each time it was deflected. Aqua and Ozma kept up their deflection spells for the longest possible but eventually they were both starting to grow tired and soon enough their spells would break.

Though it was not before Ozma had enough and batted the fire ball away with his scepter.

Holding the Sword of Destruction, Ozma looked at it…and then at Aqua. "…Nimue."

Aqua's eyes widened upon hearing the Spirit of Destruction's name, realizing in that split second that Ozma knew how to activate the Sword.

'What is it you wish me to destroy?'

…

…

…

"Her weapon." Ozma said and charged forward.

As he charged, the Sword of Destruction began to glow with a blue mist surrounding it. Aqua raised her Keyblade to block as Ozma swung and there was a golden blast of light….

BOOM!

"Aqua!" Poppy shouted.

(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Dark Impetus Ends)

There was silence at first as Poppy waited anxiously for the dust to clear…

And when it did she was shocked.

Xxx

Back in the Ever After, everyone was surprised except for Penny who continued watching silently.

"What happened?" Neo looked at Penny. "I thought of the Sword of Destruction could destroy anything."

"And it normally can…Unless faced with a power equal to or greater than it." Penny answered. "The Keyblade may not have been created by the Gods but it is powerful enough that not even power of Destruction can destroy it."

"Correct, child."

Terra, Neo and Oscar stepped back in surprise as the Spirit of Destruction herself appeared in front of Penny.

"Nimue." Oscar gasped in shock and stepped back at the sight of the Spirit.

"Ozma…No, not quite the same." Nimue noted stoically. "As you no doubt saw, my power failed to destroy the Keyblade despite your past self wishing it. Don't be surprised, that woman believed my power could end her life at one time but I failed that time as well."

"Aqua?" Neo asked.

"Salem." Oscar corrected. "I know the Sword of Destruction was unable to destroy anything touched directly by the Brothers. I didn't expect the Keyblade to be immune as well."

"Slightly annoying but it can't be helped. Even if the wielder of my sword wished it, I can only destroy what has not been touched by the Brothers with Aqua and likely other Keyblade Wielders being the possible exception." Nimue admitted with a small frown.

That surprised everyone, including the hearts resting inside Penny.

That meant even if Salem had the Sword, even with its power to destroy anything it wouldn't matter.

Aqua and the Keyblade are not of the Brothers' creation and her powers along with the Keyblade can withstand the power of Destruction!

Xxx

Back in the past timeline of Remnant, Ozma stared in shock at seeing Aqua's Keyblade completely unharmed by the Sword of Destruction. "Wha-How?"

Aqua had her chances.

"Time Splicer!"

Suddenly Ozma found himself being pummeled before he could even react as Aqua disappeared and reappeared, attacking him dozens of times and leaving afterimages in her wake until one final hit to the head sent Ozma crashing face first into the ground.

The great warrior known as Ozma had been defeated.

Aqua sighed in relief that the battle was now over and looked over at the Sword of Destruction.

Three Relics now…

The Lamp of Knowledge

The Staff of Creation

And the Sword of Destruction.

All three close together.

Aqua reached down and picked up the Sword, looking it over. "…Nimue."

'Hello, Keyblade Wielder.' The voice of Nimue entered her mind. 'Is there something you wish me to destroy?'

"No, I just felt like saying hello. I did the same for Jinn and Ambrosius." Aqua simply answered.

Nimue scoffed. 'I am not one for liking my time being wasted. Not even for you.'

"Sorry. You gave me a small scare when Ozma asked you to destroy my Keyblade. I have to wonder though, were you really trying to do that?" Aqua questioned.

'Yes.'

Aqua sighed and closed her eyes. "I figure that would have been your answer."

'Fortunately, it seems your Keyblade is immune to my powers, as we both learned during our first encounter.'

Aqua opened her eyes. "And you didn't bother to tell Oz?"

'Once my sword is within someone's hand and the person speaks my name, I am bound to carry my obligations to destroy whatever they wish, no matter if the object they wish to destroy is actually immune to my powers. It is no different than with the others.'

"Well, even if I have no wish to destroy anything can you at least tell me where Oz found your Sword? It's too dangerous for you to be left out to be found again." Aqua stated.

'I am a Spirit of Destruction, not Knowledge and I have no patience to humor you like Ambrosius would.' Nimue scoffed.

'Perhaps I can help.'

Aqua's eyes widened from the familiar voice in her mind. "Penny?"

'Miss Aqua, I believe you can use Nimue's power for one important objective.' Penny stated in an optimistic tone.

"To destroy Sin?" Aqua asked, holding up the Sword.

xxx

"Negative. Since Sin was formed from Kingdom Hearts it is likely as immune to Nimue's power as your Keyblade." Penny answered with a smile back in the Ever After. "However, with Drasil's own knowledge now part of me, I have reached an interesting conjecture to temporarily solve your current problem with Salem and Ozma."

Xxx

"Solve my current problem?" Aqua looked down at the unconscious body of Ozma. "I know that since both know I'm back it's going to be harder to move about. Salem obviously hasn't forgiven me for what happened the last time we met and even if Ozma learns that the Sword can't kill her, he won't be happy with Poppy or with me for protecting her."

'True but I did not speak up earlier because I saw a possible solution. The Sword of Destruction is capable of destroying anything.'

"You're not suggesting I use it on-"

Xxx

"Negative. Forgive me for temporarily misleading you, Miss Aqua." Penny quickly replied. "I was not suggesting you use the Sword of Destruction on Ozma. Even if the physical body is destroyed, the curse placed on his soul would lead him to another body."

Oscar looked a little nervous now.

"Rather, I was forming a conjecture that since the Sword is meant to destroy anything, that would include anything ranging from physical to mental." Penny continued.

Xxx

Aqua's eyes widened as Penny explained her plan and suffice to say it was shocking and yet also brilliant. "And you think this will work?"

'Temporarily of course. Eventually you will be discovered again and this time the Sword won't able to help you.'

Aqua took a deep breath. "All right, it's as good a solution as any. Did you hear me, Nimue?"

The Sword flashed. 'Yes. So…I ask again, do you wish to destroy something?'

Aqua held up the Sword over Ozma. "I wish…I wish that Salem and Ozma's memories of me, this encounter and even Sin were destroyed!"