Well. Finally, here we are at the end of the second part. I had bits of varying trouble writing this, from a small bout of writer's block to college tests to sickness, but I finally got it done. I tried to make this chapter as good as I could possibly make it, due to this being one of the first major finales that will be written, and I hope it lives up to expectations. Enjoy!

Book I, Part II: Mortal Conflict - The Zodiac Brave Story

Chapter XIX—Heavenly Gambit, Part III

[Ethereal Plane, Palace of Creation]

(Play: Sacred Moon - Yoko Shimomura, Kingdom Hearts II)

"So, what kind of trouble has Fayt been causing here?" I ask as the four of us walk through the expansive castle.

"Next to none, that most have seen," Xeios responds, looking over to me. "She has been low-key in her affairs, but it has been reported that she has been stirring unrest against Freya with those who already feel strongly against her position as leader."

"That stops here," Odin adds. "More turmoil in the realm is something that we can ill-afford."

"Doesn't look very unruly to me," I comment, shrugging slightly.

"That's because Lord Odin does his job well," Angel says from beside me, speaking up for the first time since leaving Freya's chamber.

"Oh?"

"Lord Odin is what you might consider a peacekeeper of the Realm," Xeios explains. "As the leader of the Ethereal forces, he has command over all military forces. To upset the peace is to call that might down upon you, and as such, that threat keeps most open action quelled."

"I almost feel sorry for Fayt, then," I say, joking mostly in an attempt to hide my own worries.

"Do not underestimate the Pillar of Fate. If you do, it will be the end of you," Odin says bluntly. "There is a reason that Freya requires our combined presence to deal with her."

Quietly, I nod, feeling a fresh wave of fear shoot through me momentarily. Fayt was already outclassing all of us on Gaia, so how much more powerful is she up here, I wonder?

"We'll get it done, you know," Angel reassures me. "If anyone can, it's these two."

"Yeah...I hope so. By the way, Angel...Freya said you were a Planeswalker too, right?"

"That's right."

"Do you come here often? To the Ethereal Plane, I mean. You look a little uncomfortable," I comment, causing him to look away and suddenly take an interest in the paintings on the wall.

"Not often. I don't like spending time here, even if my status lets me - it feels like my being here is a…desecration to the plane. The feeling is worst here, inside this palace."

"Oh…sorry," I say, now regretting bringing the subject up. Angel waves it off as we keep walking, following us as we reenter the main hall where I can see the large, ornate doors of the palace. Odin steps up to the doors, easily pushing them open with as little effort as I might open a door at Garden.

(End: Sacred Moon - Yoko Shimomura, Kingdom Hearts II)

"Fayt will be expecting us, so we must make sure we are prepared," Xeios says as we exit the palace, stepping back into the courtyard outside. "This will not be an easy fight for any of us."

"I'm ready," Angel says without hesitation.

"No sense waiting any longer," I remark with a shrug. "If you're ready, I am too."

"Then we wait no longer," Xeios agrees. With a nod to Odin, the old mage raises his staff above his head, causing it to glow with energy before the four of us vanish in the blink of an eye.

[Ethereal Plane, Fayt's Domain]

I'm greeted by the sight of a nearly endless expanse of blue sky and white clouds, looking down upon a field full of green grass and flowers as we arrive in another part of the Ethereal Plane, much different than the lavish palace we were at moments ago.

"So, this is...Fayt's little part of the realm?" I ask, looking around at the seemingly unending field around us.

"You would be correct," Odin says. "Each Pillar maintains their own sub-plane, free to shape and mold as they wish."

"Isn't it lovely? I decorated it myself, you know."

All eyes scan the area briefly as a voice cuts through the silence, before finally settling on the familiar, child-like figure of Fayt, standing calmly amidst the field of flowers.

"I doubt you're here to give suggestions for the decor, though. Looks like you decided to follow me here after all, little Planeswalker. And you brought friends, too...you really shouldn't have."

Odin steps forward, his stride purposeful and resolute. "Fayt. You are to cease all hostilities immediately and hand yourself over to the judgment of Her Majesty. You are charged with high treason, conspiracy to overthrow your sovereign, murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation, and illegally meddling in the affairs of the mortal realm. What is your response?"

It becomes silent for several long, tense moments, Fayt appearing as if she was seriously consider her response…before merely shrugging as light begins to gather around her, beginning at her feet and moving upwards slowly. As it does, she begins to change radically in physical appearance. Her clothes turn from the simple shirt and skirt she was wearing to a more elaborate and colorful loose-fitting robe of sorts, tied at the waist with a red sash, and her very form shifts into that of an adult woman with shoulder-length dark hair instead of the brown-haired little girl she was moments ago.

"Consider this my response."

(Play: Those Who Fight Further - Tsuyoshi Sekito, Kenichiro Fukui; The Black Mages)

"Suffer!" Fayt cries, her hands glowing as she lets fly with a brutal assault of spells – Blind, Silence, and Meltdown, as best I can tell – towards Odin and Xeios. Even as she does that, I notice a sickening looking cloud of green haze beginning to envelop her, likely some kind of poison. Immediately, I find myself wanting to curse, as the poison will make my melee skills either too dangerous or outright deadly to use. Despite that, I still take one of my swords from its sheath, deciding to wield it two-handed for more power and control.

Beside me, Xeios spins his staff in a circle as a shield of force appears, resisting the status spells and causing the Meltdown to explode around the shield, passing by both of the Ethereal warriors harmlessly. Odin goes on the attack as soon as the spell dissipates, leaping in and swinging his curved blade towards Fayt's chest in a vertical arc that misses as the Pillar of Fate spins aside from the strike, blasting Odin in the face with a Fire spell in retaliation.

Seeing an opening, both Angel and I begin to attack, with Angel pulling out one of his pulse rifles from beneath his coat and opening fire. I pull out a handful of knives and throw them, watching as they multiply and become enchanted with electrical energy as they fly towards Fayt. Sneering, she turns to us and watches almost condescendingly as both Angel's pulse rifle blasts and my knives bounce harmlessly off a barrier of energy around her.

"You mortals are playing in my court now," she intones, smirking. "You're nothing more than bugs to be stepped on."

She ducks immediately after finishing her statement, narrowly avoiding being beheaded by the Zantetsuken as Odin swings again, the warrior growling as the more agile Pillar leaps away, preparing more magic in her hands.

"Safeguard," Xeios says from beside me, raising his hand to both Angel and myself and casting a spell over us. "You'll be resistant to the poison now, but only for a short time. If you're going to attack, move quickly!"

I nod, listening to the elder mage's words, before turning to Angel and beginning to prepare magic of my own. "If you've got anything in that bag of tricks of yours, now would be a great time for you to use them!" I say, glancing back at Odin and his continued attacks on Fayt. "Doublecast: Haste, Aura!"

Both a faint red and brighter yellow aura cover my body for an instant as I watch Odin smash Fayt away with a powerful strike, the sword's blade slamming into the Pillar's chest and sending her flying easily several yards away. Her body crushes flowers beneath her as she bounces across the dirt before rolling to a stop.

"Insolent…" I hear Odin mutter from his position, looking down at the fallen female. "Cease your games."

"Why Odin, I never knew you cared," Fayt says as she rises back to her feet, sporting a long tear across her loose-fitting clothing but seemingly uninjured otherwise. The feel of magic in the area suddenly rises again, and Xeios sends a torrential wave of water towards Fayt, drowning both the ground beneath her and the Pillar of Fayt herself in the magical liquid. An instant later, he places his hand within the water, not yet receded, and bolts of lightning turn the entire flooded area into an electrified field of water, shocking the Pillar even as the force continues to push her away.

"Definitely need to practice more with my magic…" I mutter, watching the water continue to churn for several seconds before receding into the ground, leaving only Fayt lying on the ground and looking decidedly worse off than when she began.

Tendrils of energy suddenly snake out from Fayt's position, wrapping around Xeios and lifting him into the air before beginning to smash into his body with ferocity, both attacking physically and with bursts of varied status magic and elemental energy. Odin wastes no time beginning to sever the tentacles with Zantetsuken, but still more begin to fly from Fayt's position, forcing not only Odin but Angel and I to defend ourselves. Puffs of dispersed energy erupt all around me as I sever one tentacle, seeing Odin slash two more in half before leaping above a third and stabbing it into the ground. My sword comes across in a sweep to cut one tentacle apart before a second slaps me away, sending me flying head over heels along the ground with surprising force. The Aura spell also dissipates from my body as I hit dirt again, leaving me with only the Haste magic I cast.

Even as I hit the ground, Angel gets a chance to strike, cutting apart two tentacles in one fluid motion before leaping for Fayt and crossing the distance between him and her in barely a second thanks to his great strength and speed. Both his swords fly from beneath his coat, in his hands in a blink, and he begins to slash at Fayt, cutting into her side before she can react and dodge the second blade headed for her chest.

"This isn't your fight, vampire!" Fayt yells, focusing and beginning to heal the now-bleeding wound even as she simultaneously lashes out with a burst of Holy-element magic that whizzes by Angel's shoulder. Angel doesn't respond, but instead pulls a pair of short blades from his coat, lunging quickly and stabbing them into Fayt's arm and shoulder before leaping back, magic readying in his hands.

"Thunder II!"

The electrical magic leaps near-instantly from Angel's hands to the blades embedded in Fayt's body, acting as conductors and causing her to twitch and shake from the energy as well as grunting in slight pain, letting us know that she at least felt the attack.

"Banish IV!"

I look over as I finally get to my feet to see Xeios following up Angel's attack. Pointing the tip of his staff towards Fayt, Xeios watches as swirling white energy pours from it and forms into a wave of power that engulfs Fayt, imploding upon her in a brilliant flash. When it clears a second or two later, Fayt is still standing, but she looks either somewhat fatigued or in pain now - which, I can't say.

"You can still surrender and make this easy on yourself," Odin intones, his voice booming above the sounds of combat.

"Surrender for what? To go back to an arbitrary and apathetic ruler? The Ethereal Plane needs change, Odin, and it's time for someone to bring that change into existence!" Fayt yells, glaring at Odin as she clenches her fists then thrusts both hands forward. A multitude of orbs composed of what look like pure energy begin to rise from the ground, circling around Fayt before speeding off in varied patterns, headed straight for each of us. One spins around me, bouncing off my sword as I block without a sound, before another smashes into my back suddenly with an equal lack of sound but far greater effect. Coughing, I stumble and fall to a knee, stunned not so much by the force of the impact but by the power contained inside the orb being released all at once in such close proximity. Beside me, I can hear a grunt as two of the orbs impact Odin at the same time, and Xeios' staff clatters to the ground as he also staggers, stricken by another of the many orbs.

One more floats in from in front of me, and I lift my blade from my kneeling position in an attempt to block, only to have the orb zigzag around it and impact my shoulder. For a moment, I'm surprised that there was no force in the strike, right before I realize the true intent as a sickening wave of nausea passes over me in an instant. The majority of my lunch for the day is promptly deposited onto the flowered ground as I try to stand back up, noticing Angel out of the corner of my eye standing still as several orbs circle around him, reflecting off of a blue barrier of energy around him as they try to attack. A mere second later, green balls of pure energy revolve around Angel before vanishing, and I watch silently as all four of us become translucent, taken to another plane of existence as the clouds begin to swirl overhead.

A break in the clouds suddenly appears, growing and widening at a fast rate as light begins to shine down from the new opening in the clouds. As one, four figures descend down from the light - one, a dragon a bit smaller than Bahamut, and the other three appearing to be some kind of cloaked, angelic figures with broadswords in their hands. The dragon hovers above momentarily as white energy gathers in its clawed hands, while the three other figures take up a formation in front of the dragon, holding their swords out to form a Y-shaped formation. The energy around the dragon's claws finally reaches its peak, and it lets loose two glowing beams of Holy energy that fly towards the swords that the three figures are holding, impacting them in a bright flash...and causing all three of the figures to vanish as the two beams turn into a shower of bright energy blasts that rain down, hammering Fayt and the ground around her with raw Holy power.

All the energy suddenly disperses violently, however, revealing Fayt's scowling form in the epicenter of the blast radius, covered in a now-fading barrier of energy and looking decidedly ticked off. The energy from the barrier begins to melt back into the very ground itself as the four of us return to the physical plane, just in time to witness Fayt let loose with a barrage of varied spells, splitting her attacks evenly among each of us.

Still feeling weak from the sickness that was cast on me, I try to stand up to block the spells headed for me...only to have another wall of force appear in front of me to reflect them. My head snaps over, expecting to see Xeios' staff pointed towards me after a cast spell from the mage, but he's still focused on deflecting the spells Fayt is blasting him with. Unthinking for the moment, I cast an Esuna spell on myself to try and ward off whatever sickness Fayt might have inflicted on me, before shakily getting to my feet. If Xeios didn't cast the spell, then who did?

"You mortals really need to learn how to fight," a voice comments, both distinctively female and decidedly not Fayt's. My eyes move towards the source of the voice, coming from behind me, and I blink in momentary shock as I see who spoke. A dark-haired woman in black clothing, with strange vein-like markings on her face is standing behind me, lowering one hand - placing her as the one who cast the spell.

"Pillar of Destiny...why are you here?" Xeios asks, turning towards the female as both Odin and Angel go back on the attack, showering Fayt with a variety of melee blows from all directions that the Pillar is hard-pressed to avoid and deflect.

'Another Pillar...? How many are there?'

The woman - now identified as the Pillar of Destiny - begins to walk up to Xeios calmly, glancing over towards Fayt momentarily as Odin gets thrown back violently from a searing burst of magical energy.

"Why, to give my assistance, of course." With a strangely sweet smile, she looks over at me, sending a chill down my spine for a brief moment. "Pay attention, Planeswalker. It's not always just about the power. Sometimes, it's the execution."

Her hand rises again, this time in Fayt's direction, and I can both see and feel the magical energy building up around her. Backing away, I throw up a Shell spell around myself, just in case - I have no idea what this Pillar is about to do, after all. A few seconds later, I get my answer as a variety of magic springs from her fingers towards her fellow Pillar. Angel leaps agilely out of the way as fire springs up all around Fayt, slowly enclosing her in a scorching wall of fire, even as electrical energy leaps over the wall, shocking Fayt to the core and causing her to cry out in pain. Ice rains down above Fayt as the fire continues to encroach upon her now partially paralyzed form, stabbing and slicing her with shards of hail as sharp as knives right before the fire touches her body and sets off a tremendous conflagration, with elemental energy roaring everywhere around the epicenter of it all.

A flurry of spells - Meltdown, Bio, and Silence among them - flies from the storm of elemental power as it begins to subside, with the Meltdown slamming into Destine before she can react and opening her up to the rest of the spells in the barrage. Fayt steps out of the scorched and torn area, covered in burned patches of both skin and clothing and still twitching a bit from the lightning, but manages to glare at the Pillar of Destiny.

"This isn't your business, sis," she spits, venom in her voice as she watches the dark-haired woman. "Walk away."

Odin and Xeios seem to tense up, both combatants ready to make a move but also seemingly unsure as to whether to stop or aid the Pillar of Destiny. The woman scoffs at Fayt briefly, before once more glancing to me.

"However, sometimes it is all about the power," she comments, adding on to her earlier statement as a bright orange glow begins to overtake both of her hands. "Scathe!"

The glow around her hands vanishes, and a disc of energy with the same orange color appears in the air over Fayt, hovering momentarily before discharging a stunningly powerful blast of energy that rips and tears at the Pillar of Fate's whole body. Her cries of pain are the only thing louder than the sound of the discharging magical energy, and it takes several seconds for both the spell and the cries to silence themselves once again, leaving Fayt to sink wearily to the ground on her knees. She's breathing heavily now, something that she wasn't doing during the entire fight with Odin and Xeios, and seems to be in quite a bit of pain from just two attacks by her fellow Pillar.

"You've...ruined everything..." Fayt rasps, still managing to turn a hateful eye on the woman.

"Except for maybe your life," the Pillar of Destiny comments offhandedly, before pausing. "Oh, wait. I ruined that too."

Fayt just lets out a scream of rage in reply, lunging forward in an attempt to get at her fellow Pillar by any means. Odin, now sporting some scorched clothing and scuffed armor, acts quickly in response, lunging into Fayt's path and slamming the hilt of the sword into her stomach. Her forward momentum arrested suddenly, Fayt lets out a mixture of a cough and a pained grunt as the wind is forced from her lungs. Odin elects to not do anything else, merely letting Fayt collapse back to the ground rather than continuing to attack. Another orb of energy begins to build around the Pillar of Destiny's hand, however, showing that she seems to have no qualms with trying to incapacitate or kill her counterpart.

"Odin. Destine. Cease your attack."

(End: Those Who Fight Further - Tsuyoshi Sekito, Kenichiro Fukui; The Black Mages)

Before she can attack again, though, a familiar voice rings through the area, giving way to Freya's presence an instant later.

"Lady Freya," Odin acknowledges, immediately lowering his weapon and standing aside for Freya to step towards Fayt, who stops several feet away from her.

"Fayt," Freya begins, glancing down at the fallen Pillar. "Why did you not simply surrender yourself to Odin?"

"I don't need to bother explaining to you," Fayt counters, malice in her voice. "You've got Will's counsel. You should already know."

"That may be true, but this particular piece of knowledge eludes me."

"What was I supposed to do? If I had surrendered, who would've been left to finally bring some change to this place? You? Don't make me laugh!" Fayt yells, furious.

"Are you so unhappy with my rule?" Freya asks, unflinching at Fayt's words. Fayt doesn't actively say anything, but her eyes say enough. Freya just sighs, folding her arms.

"In time, you will learn to see why I have taken the actions I have, and maybe understand what might have transpired had I chosen otherwise," Freya continues, speaking like a mother to a child. "For now, however...I suppose I have no choice."

As Freya finishes speaking, she folds her hands as if in prayer, chanting something in a voice almost too low to hear but definitely not in any language I'm familiar with. Fayt takes a hesitant step back, shying away from the Creator and looking decidedly unsure of what turn of events things are about to take.

"Fayt, for your crimes against both the Ethereal Plane and my subjects, I hereby remove your powers as a Pillar of Reality until I deem you fit to serve in that respect once again."

Fayt doesn't even get a chance to object before Freya unclasps her hands, lifting one hand up towards Fayt as if gesturing for her to come forward. Fayt suddenly freezes against her will, crying out in protest as a white glow begins to envelop her body, flowing off of her body and back into Freya's hand like it has a will of its own. Several seconds pass before the transfer of power stops, and Fayt sags, but remains standing in Freya's presence.

"You may remain within this plane, but I advise you to be wary of your actions," Freya says, the light around her hand vanishing. Fayt doesn't say anything in response, clearly too shocked or angered to bother with words, but immediately vanishes from sight instead of staying any longer. Satisfied, Freya turns to Odin and Xeios.

"You have both done well," she continues, watching as both her subjects bow before her. "Fayt's plans are broken, and the realm will once more be at peace."

"Thank you, Your Grace," Odin says, lowering his head in respect. Destine takes the moment to also bow in respect to Freya, looking up with an expression of apathy.

"May I be excused from these proceedings, Mother?" Destine asks, her voice somewhere in between true respect and mocking disregard.

"As you wish," Freya replies calmly. Destine doesn't reply, but gives me a final, unreadable smile before her body seems to vanish in a puff of magical energy.

"As for you two," Freya starts, turning to myself and Angel, "you have also done well. Liam Bayloh, you are ever the brave warrior, I see."

"I appreciate the compliment, Lady Freya," Angel says, also bowing out of respect to Freya.

"Benji Powell, my newest Planeswalker...your actions were sufficient to succeed in the task you were given. However, you seemed rather hesitant to face Fayt in combat," Freya says, turning to me.

"...I mean no disrespect, Lady Freya, but I am just a mortal. It's hard for me not to be a bit scared at the idea of fighting a goddess, essentially," I reply after a moment's hesitance, also bowing.

"I understand that, certainly. I will say it again, though - as a Planeswalker, you may not know the true danger of any given task you are faced with. If you do not believe in your own abilities, you may fail in your task before you even begin. Fear is a natural reaction, but you must not let that same fear control you."

Silently, I nod, knowing that Freya is exactly right. I wasn't just hesitant, I was afraid to face Fayt down, even with Odin, Xeios, and Angel with me. I can feel myself starting to get a bit angry at being so cowardly, but bite back the feeling. It won't do me any good to get mad at myself - I'll just have to work harder in the future.

"Your task for me is finished," Freya continues, back to looking between both Angel and myself. "You may return to the mortal realm when you are ready, with my thanks."

With that said, Freya, Odin, and Xeios all teleport away, leaving Angel and I alone in the battle-torn field.

"So, care to show me around this place? I'm sure there's a lot left that I haven't seen, and I better get used to it if I'm going to be working for Freya, right?" I ask, smiling. Angel chuckles.

"Believe me, there's a lot more than this. I'll fill you in on some of the details as we go," he replies, nodding.

"You'd better, since you've been doing this about two hundred years longer than I have," I say with a laugh. I'm tired from all the excitement, but I don't feel like relaxing one bit, what with a whole new realm to learn about.

Somehow, I think I could grow to like this line of work.

And there you have it. Fayt's plans have finally been derailed for good. I had a lot of difficulty when it came to writing the battle in this section, because I felt that it needed to live up to a sort of "higher standard," given that it's not just mortals fighting it out this time - it's several upper-class beings as well this time around. Whether I succeeded in hitting that standard is left up to you readers.

Next chapter begins an entirely new arc and a shift back to affairs of the mortal realm, at least for the immediate time being. As always, please read and review.