Chapter Summary:
As Ren & Skye close in on their way home, they come across some things that they will never forget.
Author's Note:
So... this took longer than I expected. Got carried away playing Starfield & the current Call of Duty season. But I'm back to writing again! Hoping to get new chapters of The War of the Wildcards & Two Sides to a Story out soon.
This is also the last chapter of the canon part of this fic. Any chapters posted from here on out any chapters posted to this fic will be non-canon. It was also co-written by InviernaInvicta once again & features the return of Death!Kotone from The Reaper's Retribution. I already linked in Chapter 1, so I won't link it again. It also incorporates some ideas from a different Persona fit I was at one point planning to write, but then scrapped due to it getting needlessly edgy, convoluted & too far into "I'm inserting my own Canadian politics" territory.
It wasn't long after Skye's epiphany that she & Ren were distracted by what sounded like crying. Assuming the worst, Ren & Skye immediately stacked up at the door like soldiers did in a Call of Duty game, preparing themselves for a fight. Whether it be a gunfight or a Persona fight.
"Ready?" Skye asked Ren.
"Ready," Ren answered.
"Alright. On the count of 3," Skye said.
She raised her hand and counted down.
3…
2…
1…
Upon reaching 1, she opened the door just enough so that the door could close again when they were done… and kicked it the rest of the way open.
But what Ren & Skye saw in that room was NOT what they expected.
Instead of some sort of hostage situation or act of abuse as they'd expected, what they were greeted with was a room almost packed to the brim with Mishima variants all either sitting or standing in a circle… and crying their eyes out.
Some were holding each other, some had their faces buried in their hands, some were just… crying. Neither Ren nor Skye were sure why they were all crying. Nor could they see their universe's Mishima amidst the crowd of crying Mishimas (albeit with how similar most of them looked to theirs, it was hard to tell).
Sensing that it would be best to leave them to it before any of the Mishimas noticed their presence, Ren and Skye quietly walked out of the room and closed the door, thankfully they hadn't gone full Medal of Honor: Door-Fighter on that room's door.
"So… that's a thing," Ren finally said.
"Yeah… Let's never speak of this again," Skye said.
"I don't know… Morgana might get a good laugh out of this," Ren responded.
"...You're probably right," Skye acknowledged.
"Anyways, let's get to that staircase & find our way home," Ren finished the conversation by saying.
And with that the climb up began. Skye said that she lived 3 floors down from where they arrived. So it didn't take long for them to reach the floor they wanted to be on.
When they reached the lobby Skye quickly bolted through it to the door that, in their universe, lead to her apartment.
Wanting to be prepared for anything, Ren & Skye quickly decided they'd do the same thing they did with the Crying Mishimas room. Stack up on each side of the door & kick it in.
3…
2…
1…
Upon reaching 1, just like last time, Skye opened the door just enough so that the door could close again when they were done and kicked it the rest of the way open.
But when they went inside, they didn't see a normal apartment.
Instead they saw a massive coliseum, there were a couple of portals on the other side of the room, but nothing to indicate that they led to Earth-5524…
They also saw another alternate Ren, this one also being an adult. But instead of an eye patch & ragged appearance, this Ren had a more… tactical… outfit. Sporting military fatigues, an MP7 submachine gun & some sort of futuristic tech that seemed strangely familiar to Skye, but not from any of the worlds Skye had been to during the War…
The second man was a variant of Goro Akechi, the famous detective that was all over the news. Except instead of a jacket, suit, tie & briefcase, this Goro was sporting similar tactical gear to Ren, except he traded the MP7 for what to Skye's eye appeared to be an assault rifle & the emblem on his chest armor had a logo with a skull with a knife stabbed through it and text reading "Task Force 141". He also had some scars across his face that implied that he'd seen plenty of combat.
The third man was a variant of Ryuji, decked out in similar gear to Akechi, complete with a "Task Force 141" badge on it. He had a shotgun of some sort on his person though instead of an SMG. Both Ren & Skye felt some pain in their hearts seeing their late friend all grown up. Something that their universe's Ryuji would never get to do.
This was when Skye realized where she had seen that tech before! It wasn't in her participation in that Multiversal War. It was in Call of Duty! Memories of playing Black Ops II (the game where the tech originated from) & the Modern Warfare games with friends back in America came flooding back into her mind immediately.
"What are you doing Mercer?" Akechi asked Skye.
"...What do you mean?' Skye asked
"Is this some sort of false flag operation? How and why do you have someone who looks just like me? And where the hell are we?!" Military Ren asked.
"OK… Just to be clear, we're not from your universe. I don't know what the hell I did in your universe to get this kind of treatment, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume I deserve it," Skye responded.
"What did you do?! YOU AIDED & ABETTED MAKAROV IN NEARLY STARTING A THIRD WORLD WAR! YOU KILLED HARU OKUMURA & GHOST!" Military Ren screamed.
'Damn? I killed Ghost in that universe? I guess I don't blame them for hating their universe's version of me then. Ghost was the best and I hated General Shepherd for killing him in Modern Warfare 2… BUT THAT WASN'T ME!' Skye thought to herself.
"Did you skip the part where I said I'm not the Skye Mercer you know from your universe?" Skye asked, ignoring the bit about her variant in their universe helping to start WW3.
Military Ren, Akechi & Ryuji responded by simply pulling out strange guns like the one Akira had on him earlier, aiming them at their heads & screamed "PERSONA!" as they pulled the trigger & summoned their Personas.
Military Ren's looked similar to Arsene (Ren's initial Persona), but with a tie & more yellow on his wings rather than them just being black. Ren had to assume this was some sort of evolved version of Arsene, like a Pokemon or something.
Akechi's Persona was black, wielded a ridiculously large bow and arrow & was wearing armor that covered him from head to toe, with the initials "RH" emblazoned on his chest. It also had a tattered cape hanging off its back.
"They're just a bunch of weak & inexperienced Persona users, Akechi. This should be an easy fight," Military Ren said, arrogance & feelings of superiority plain to see in his voice & on his face. Even Akechi seemed disturbed by this Ren's behavior…
"What the hell happened to codenames, Joker?!" Akechi asked Military Ren.
"Who fucking cares? They'll be dead in minutes anyway. Then we can go back to hunting Menendez," Military Ren answered.
"But what if there's Sha-" Akechi started before cutting himself off, as if he knew Military Ren didn't care.
"You know Ren doesn't give a shit about them right now, right?" Ryuji asked
Ren & Skye knew they had a fight on their hands, so they would prepare for battle and start referring to each other by their codenames ((Hey, it's either this or constant differentiation between variants of the same people in combat, so I don't care about how arbitrary this may seem)).
Joker tried to summon Jack Frost, a cartoon looking ominous snowman who mostly had Ice spells at its disposal, but then remembered that they don't have their masks with them because this isn't the Metaverse. So he was gonna have to improvise.
Phoenix, on the other hand, recognized that the odds of victory were stacked against her & Ren if they just used their Personas. Sure, hers had gotten stronger in her escapades across the Multiverse, but she was still no match for the much more experienced Akechi & Military Ren… But Phoenix didn't have to rely on her Persona for this fight.
Phoenix reached into her pockets & found a pair of Crystals that her Warrior of Light variant had entrusted her with after Skynet was killed.
_
Phoenix remembered it like it was yesterday (because it kind of was). They were in the Zephyr-4, their base of operations & a plane turned spaceship from Turner's universe that could traverse the Multiverse.
"One day Phoenix, you may find the odds stacked against you. That, even with all your strength & everything you've learned, you can't hope to match your opponent alone as you are," Warrior of Light Skye once told Phoenix (her variants addressed her by her Phantom Thief codename to differentiate her from the other variants).
"True… But why are you telling me this?" Phoenix asked Warrior of Light Skye.
"Because what I am about to give you will help you do both of these things," Warrior of Light Skye responded.
Warrior of Light Skye then proceeded to take out two Crystals. One similar to the one she'd seen her keep close & secure at almost all times in shape & the alchemical sun symbol emblazoned on it. But instead of an amber color, it was a deep red… Similar to that of the Phantom Thieves' logo & calling cards.
The other was slightly larger, more cylindrical & more clearly coursing with power. This was something that the denizens of Earth-316 would think was impossible. Condensing the power of the Dominant of Ifrit into a crystal that one from another universe who already possessed a form of magic or other great power. Theoretically without the drawbacks of The Crystal's Curse, but it was difficult to know if that was the case.
"If what we've been through with this war is any indication, you never know when someone with a lot of power will become delusional and fancy themselves a god. This crystal will give you the power to even the odds," Warrior of Light Skye said, motioning the larger Crystal in her hand.
"And if that isn't enough… Azem's magic will allow you to call us, or any of your other trusted allies, to your side. None of us would have been able to defeat Stark without the aid of the others after all…" Warrior of Light Skye continued, explaining what the smaller Crystal could do.
"You… you're really entrusting me with these? Why not Turner or Glaive Skye or Daisy or any of the others?" Phoenix asked.
"Because, more than any of the others, I have a feeling you're going to need these in the months, or even years, ahead. And I don't want you to go through any of that alone. Sure, you have those Phantom Thieves by your side, but I want extra assurance. You are like a sister to me, remember?" Warrior of Light Skye answered.
"Thank… Thank you Skye. I won't forget this," Phoenix tearfully said.
"Don't you dare. If I find out you got yourself killed and I could have prevented it if you called for help, I'll find a way to your universe's afterlife and kick your ass," Warrior of Light Skye said.
As Skye returned from her memory, she saw that everyone else in the room was staring at her, baffled by what she was holding.
"What the fuck is that?" Military Ren asked in a tone somewhere between confusion & rage.
"What are you doing Phoenix?" Joker asked.
Phoenix ultimately decided that she didn't think she needed the aid of the others just yet & put the Azem crystal away. The power of Ifrit should be enough.
"Showing them what I really am," Phoenix boasted as she gripped the Ifrit Crystal tighter & let its power course through her.
Joker started to step away from Phoenix when he saw fire bursting out around her, but even through the flames he could notice the changes the Crystal (or at least Joker thought that was the cause) was causing on Phoenix. The sleeves & pant legs of her Shujin uniform had been replaced by black, hard, animalistic skin with cracks coursing with molten lava underneath. Parts of her hair, neck & even face were now glowing orange, occasionally blinking like neon lights. Even her sword was affected by this.
And then, when the flames died down, Joker saw her eyes. Where they once were hazelnut brown, they now glowed a dark blue. Joker had no idea what kind of power Phoenix had unleashed on herself, but all Joker could do in the moment was hope that it would be enough to turn the tides in their favor.
"Not so weak now, huh? You're not the only one who's had their life destroyed by terrorism and corrupt men hellbent on war! Show me what you can do, soldiers. But know that you will get no pity from me! NO PITY! AND NO MERCY!" Phoenix said in a slightly distorted voice, seemingly confident in her abilities & enraged at how dismissively Military Ren regarded her.
"NOW DIE!" Military Ren & Phoenix said simultaneously, rage in both of their voices.
And with that the battle began. Military Ren & Phoenix immediately charged at each other and clashed sword & dagger. Phoenix got the first hit in, but Military Ren was nevertheless able to dodge & even parry most of Phoenix's sword slashes. But Phoenix wasn't just relying on those, because whenever she was able to dodge one of Military Ren's attacks, she shot some fire out of her left hand at Military Ren, inflicting some damage on him. The first go around, it knocked Military Ren down, implying to Phoenix that the Persona he had active was weak to fire. Phoenix exploited this & started going ham with her attacks. Phoenix was starting to flip & spin as she tried to inflict as much damage as she could before Military Ren could recover and switch Personas.
"You'll pay for that! You WILL find out what happens to those who cross the Phantom Thieves!" Military Ren screamed upon recovering.
"CROSS YOU?! I'LL KILL YOU!" Phoenix screamed in response. That worried Joker, he'd have to try to stop her from killing him later if he can.
But for now, Joker had to worry about Akechi & Ryuji. Akechi's fighting style was fierce. He was nigh on constantly rushing at Joker, but also knew when to pull back and defend. The 3 of them were clearly more well trained than either Joker or Phoenix, but if they wanted to get home, they would have to do the best they could.
Eventually, Ryuji slipped & Joker was able to knock him unconscious by kicking him at the wall & letting gravity & head trauma do the rest of the work. Joker felt bad doing so, the guilt about the fate of his universe's Ryuji still fresh on his mind, but Joker knew he'd have to push that aside for now.
Joker instead took the strange gun that Ryuji had on him. It seemed to be an alternate means to summon a Persona outside of the Metaverse. It didn't seem to have any kind of firing mechanism. Just the words "SEES" engraved on it & a feather inside. Recalling what his variant, Akechi & Ryuji did earlier, he raised the gun to his head and, as absurd as this idea seems, pulled the trigger.
As he did so, he could swear he heard the sound of glass shattering & feel a brief, but excruciating pain. But the result was that he had access to his Persona once more, so he wasn't going to complain.
"JOKER! THE OTHER YOU STOLE SKULL'S EVOKER!" Akechi screamed at Military Ren before proceeding to fight Joker.
But Joker's best wasn't enough. No matter what Persona he threw at Akechi's Persona, he just couldn't knock him down. And Akechi was able to overpower Joker all too easily. Knocking him down multiple times and doing massive damage, not even having to pay attention to elemental weaknesses. It wasn't long before Joker was on the floor, borderline unconscious and catching his breath.
Meanwhile, Phoenix was also starting to have trouble with Military Ren. While Military Ren had realized that in this Semi-Primed Dominant form she had no elemental weaknesses, he was able to figure out that he should keep his distance from her and was able to start doing serious damage. Eventually Phoenix was also knocked down & was returned to her normal form.
"Maybe… we should retreat, Phoenix… I don't think we can get past them on our own…" Joker said, pain & exhaustion seeping through.
"You're right, Joker. We can't. But… I… still have… one more card to play," Phoenix said in response, also clearly in pain.
Phoenix proceeded to get back up on her feet. It took some effort, the battle before had left it's mark on her after all.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you Skye? You really are just like her! The variant of you in our universe, I mean. WE BEAT YOU! YOUR LITTLE PARTY TRICK DIDN'T WORK!" Military Ren said while Phoenix did so.
"I haven't used up all my "tricks" just yet," Phoenix said as she pulled out the smaller Azem Crystal.
She recalled what Warrior of Light Skye told her about how Azem's magic worked.
"Just remember these words: "When the way forward is hidden even from the mind's eye, look not to the invocation, but within yourself." Just think of those words in your head along with whom you wish to call to your side and let the magic do its work," Warrior of Light Skye said to Phoenix when describing Azem's magic.
With those words in her mind, Phoenix thought of the Warrior of Light & Daisy. They were the ones that, more than any of her other variants, she wanted at her side for this battle. As the positive memories from their time together came flooding back, Phoenix clutched the Azem Crystal close to her chest, hoping and praying that they would come.
The other occupants of the Colosseum were startled when, as Phoenix clutched the Crystal, strange red markings flooded across the room. They seemed themed around the Sun & had 8 circles, their use unknown to all but Phoenix. Two of them shot white beams of Light up into the ceiling.
When the beams dissipated, two women who looked similar to Phoenix, but with drastically different outfits appeared on opposing sides of her.
The one to Phoenix's right was wearing some kind of skin-tight bodysuit & arm gauntlets like she was some kind of superhero, had blonde hair with purple highlights, brown eyes & also seemed to be carrying a pistol of some sort.
The one to her left on the other hand was wearing what looked like black metal armor from neck to toe with large shoulder pads & a giant greatsword sheathed on her back. She had deep red hair & dark brown eyes too.
"What did I say about calling upon our help when you need it, Phoenix? If this wasn't clearly a life & death situation I'd probably be chewing you out right now!" Warrior of Light Skye, the variant to Phoenix's left, exclaimed.
"Oh, come on, Warrior of Light! We both know she's as stubborn as the rest of us! Cut the girl some slack! At least she used the Azem Crystal. I don't think our Shiva variant from Earth-2287 would have done that," Daisy Johnson, the variant to Phoenix's right, said in response.
The Warrior of Light simply sighed and said, " You're right… That woman is going to get herself killed one of these days if she keeps up that whole "lone wolf, I was betrayed once, never again" act."
"Anyways, I think we've been bickering long enough. So, to what do we owe the pleasure Phoenix?" Daisy asked.
"Just some much more experienced Persona users that want to kill us for things the Skye Mercer of their Earth did," Phoenix answered.
"Oh? Well we can't let that happen, can we Quake?" The Warrior of Light said.
"Nope! Who else am I gonna bounce prank ideas off?" Daisy, Quake, responded. The non-Skye variant denizens of the room could only wonder what THAT codename meant…
Phoenix simply pulled out the Crystal she used earlier & channeled its power once more.
"Any advice for dealing with them?" Quake asked.
Joker stepped in "Their Personas are strong. If either of you can have any Curse attacks, I think Akechi's Persona is weak to Curse attacks & Phoenix confirmed that one of my variant's Personas is weak to Fire attacks. Ryuji's Persona is weak to Wind attacks, but he's unconscious, so don't worry about him," he said whilst pointing to the people he was talking about.
"Copy that. I think I've got us covered on the Curse front," the Warrior of Light responded as she unsheathed her sword.
"Let's do this," Phoenix said.
And with that, the 4 charged back into battle. Phoenix & Quake attacking Military Ren, the Warrior of Light & Joker attacking Akechi. It was still a struggle, but the 4 of them were starting to make some headway before Military Ren retreated to heal. Quake decided to pursue him while Phoenix switched to finishing off Akechi. Akechi may have been a strong & powerful Persona user, but the combined might of the legendary Warrior of Light, the Fire Eikon Ifrit & a Persona user was too much for Akechi to withstand. Phoenix simply decided to knock him unconscious by kicking him in the face & letting blunt force trauma do the rest.
But then, when they turned to Military Ren, he had brought out a powerful Persona. All 4 of them could tell that this was unlike any Persona they had seen.
"Ravage them, SATANAEL!" Military Ren exclaimed.
The Persona, Satanael, obliged by dropping what seemed like a Nuclear bomb on them. It was devastating & did a lot of damage to Joker in particular. But Phoenix was undeterred.
She simply raised her sword and said, "Enough. I get it now. You don't attack the Persona user. It's the Persona you must kill first with Wild Cards. COME TO ME IFRIT!"
And with that, Phoenix transformed again. But this time, she transformed into a giant Kaiju. The magma arms and legs had grown much larger & now her entire body was consumed by similar material. And her face was replaced by that of a fiery demon. Complete with horns.
'So this is Ifrit,' Joker thought to himself.
Ifrit would proceed to charge at Satanael. Ifrit would first punch Satanael in the face. Satanael responded in kind. Satanael tried to shoot Ifrit, but Ifrit simply backflipped it's (his? Her? Joker had a hard time deciding what pronouns to use) way out of the line of fire. Ifrit responded by forming some sort of Fire Ball and shooting it at Satanael. Military Ren had Satanael try to shoot again, but then Quake jumped up and used some sort of vibrational blast to deflect it. Ifrit followed it up by shooting a laser blast at Satanael. The pain from the fire was too much for Satanael to take & it dissipated.
Military Ren screamed in pain, but had no time to do anything else as the Warrior of Light followed it up and shot a darkness blast of some sort at him. Quake then blasted Military Ren into the air. Ifrit then transformed back into Phoenix & then slashed him with her fiery sword, an extremely loud grunt coming out of her mouth. Phoenix then landed back on the ground and simply twirled her sword before putting in the ground as Military Ren landed on the ground with a simple thud.
And yet, somehow, Military Ren was still alive. His vest was severely damaged, but the man himself was alive.
"You… you bitch! You have achieved nothing! You will never return to your world! AND I WILL NEVER SURRENDER! SO DO IT SKYE! KILL ME! SHOW THEM ALL THE KILLER YOU ARE!" Military Ren shouted as Skye took her sword out of the ground.
Skye simply angrily screamed before proceeding to sheathe her sword.
"No… you're wrong. I may hate you. But I won't give you what you desire." Skye responded.
But as she did so, a familiar chill fell over the room. Everyone in the room turned around and saw that Grim Reaper-esque woman (Kotone?) come into the Colosseum.
"Ohohoh, oh thank you!" Kotone laughed delightedly, clapping her hands as she surveyed the aftermath of the battle. "Man, I was starting to miss that melodrama. Thanks Ren, I really needed that. All the other yous in here are so… normal." She grinned. "I was getting bored."
"And who the fuck are you?" Military Ren asked Kotone.
"We'll get there, don't worry." She strode forth, nodding at the various interdimensional variants. "Afternoon. Hope I'm not barging in on anything here."
"If anything, Kotone, you're just in time. Your name is Kotone right? But that's besides the point," Skye responded.
"It is. For you." She nodded, stepping over to Military Ren and looking him up and down. "Bit different for you though. What a pathetic little man you are, huh Ren? It's embarrassing to even look at you."
Military Ren looked between Kotone & Joker Ren & asked, "You're talking about him right? The weak fuck barely did anything in the fight against me! I could have killed him with my bare hands if these identical war criminal bitches hadn't intervened!"
"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you?" Her eyes glinted dangerously as she placed her boot on Ren's chest, pressing down. "But here's the thing, Ren. Strength doesn't mean shit, if this is what you're doing with it."
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN "WHAT I'M DOING WITH IT?!" DEFENDING MY COUNTRY? DEFENDING SOCIETY?! DOING WHAT THOSE COWARDS & ARTICLE 9 PREVENT ANYONE ELSE FROM OUR COUNTRY FROM DOING?!" Military Ren said, much to Joker & Phoenix's horror. 'What have you become, alternate me?' Joker simply wondered.
"Hey." Kotone snorted, using the butt end of her scythe to smach him in the jaw. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a lady while she's talking?" She shook her head, stepping back and sighing. "Man, you're so far gone it's not even funny. 'Defend your country?' 'Defend society?' You're not even Joker anymore." She grinned. "You sound like Shido."
"Shido?! That incompetent politician?! HE COULD NEVER DREAM OF ACHIEVING WHAT I HAVE ACHIEVED! I STOPPED WORLD WAR 3! I SAVED THE WORLD FROM MALEVOLENT GODS TWICE! How dare you compare him to me?!" Military Ren screamed, clearly in denial of the truth of what Kotone was saying.
"Because with all that strength, all that power… what did you do with it?" Kotone smirked. "You attacked an innocent girl, for a crime she didn't commit." She leaned forwards, her eyes glimmering a deep and vibrant red. "You're not just what you swore to destroy, Ren… you're worse. And that's what makes you so pathetic."
"NO! I… I… I…" Military Ren stuttered, clearly unable to deny what Kotone was saying to him any longer.
"Kotone's right Ren. You've become a tyrannical & corrupt soldier hell bent on bending the world to your will. All because you let your hatred of politicians & criminals consume & destroy you. Until you became a monster yourself. I could kill you for attempting what you did to me. But you're not worth it. Do what you do best, Kotone," Skye said.
"Sure, mom." Kotone rolled her eyes, pulling the faint silver gleam of an Evoker out of her hood. "You like drama, don't you Ren? Wanna ask me my name again?"
"Who… WHAT… are you?!" Military Ren asked her.
"Yup. Just as dramatic as I thought." She snorted, placing the barrel under her chin and pulling the trigger. A plume of blue fire surged around her, the silver mask of death emerging from within her as she smiled. "It's simple, Ren. I'm Death."
And then Thanatos ripped him to fucking shreds.
"Thanks for the assist Kotone. Quake, Warrior, can you check the portals over there? I'd like to know for sure one of them goes to Earth-5524," Skye said.
"I'm just doing my job." Kotone shrugged, banishing Thanatos and sheathing her Evoker once more. She smiled at Joker, a strange and unwelcome look dancing behind her eyes. "Keep that in mind, eh Ren?"
"I will. See you around Kotone. We'll probably be back here sometime soon." Ren responded.
"You really don't want to see me again, Ren. Trust me." She exhaled, still smiling as she turned once more to walk away. "But… we'll see, won't we? Just remember…" She glanced back, the hood concealing much of her face, leaving nothing but a smile. "If you become like him… no amount of Skyes will keep you safe from me."
And then she was gone.
"She's right, you know Ren. We really shouldn't want to see her again," Skye responded.
"I suppose you're right. But a man can hope, right?" Ren said.
Skye simply gave him a look of incredulousness.
"I don't mean in a romantic way Skye! I don't know, I guess I'm just saying I hope we run into more Kotone variants in the future. I have my eyes set on someone else," Ren clarified.
"Good, but I'm not sure how to process what this says about your taste in women…" Skye simply replied.
Before either of them could say anything else, Daisy came back and said "The portal on the right leads back to Earth 5524. The one on the left leads to their Earth, Earth-2025."
"Thanks for the assist you two," Skye said to Daisy & the Warrior of Light.
"I'm just glad you're not dead," the Warrior of Light said to Skye.
"No problem. Don't be afraid to use that Azem Crystal again if you & the Phantom Thieves need help with your next infiltration. I'm not THAT busy these days," Daisy followed up with.
"You two are the best. But how are you gonna get home?" Skye asked.
Daisy & the Warrior of Light simply looked at each other as if they realized they forgot something.
"Shit! I knew we forgot something!" Daisy exclaimed.
Daisy took a small case out of one of her belt's pockets and said, "This watch will allow you to transport yourself back to your world or the Zephyr. The case also contains a flash drive containing a special chat app you can install on your phone to chat with us with."
Skye simply took the watch out of the case & put it on her wrist. It came to life and displayed a message that said "Welcome, Skye Mercer of Earth-5524."
"Sorry we didn't give it to you last time," Daisy said to Skye.
Skye wiped the tears off her eyes and said, " Thank you guys!"
"Just don't forget to shoot us a message every once in a while," the Warrior of Light said as she & Daisy used their watches to return to their universes.
Skye simply stood there for a moment and said, "Let's go home."
And with that, they walked toward & through the portal to Earth-5524.
When they returned to Leblanc, Morgana was just sitting there and said "Wow… That was quick. You were just in and out in an instant. What happened?"
Ren & Skye looked at each other & asked "Wait, no time has passed?"
"Nope," Morgana responded.
"Huh… Well boy do we have the story to tell you!" Skye exclaimed.
"Let's get Shiho to come here so we only have to tell this story once," Ren added.
Skye agreed & pulled out her phone to call Shiho.