"For what it's worth, kid," said L'Arc, "we don't have anything against you personally."
Therese nodded. "It's true. It pains me to do this, especially after you showed us so much kindness. But I'm afraid we don't have any other choice."
"But if I'm killed," Aris retorted, "this world won't be able to survive the Waves!"
L'Arc narrowed his eyes. "That's the idea."
Therese nudged him. "Maybe you should explain the situation properly."
"Long story short," L'Arc sighed as he explained his situation to Aris, "the two of us are Heroes, much like you. But we're from another world that's connected to this one."
"And just like this world," Therese added, "ours is on the brink of total destruction. And there's only one way we can save it."
Raphtalia shuddered. "Y-You don't mean..."
"Basically," said L'Arc, "we have something to fight for, too. That's why we can't afford to lose. You got it? But if we're gonna fight, we're gonna fight fair and square."
Back on the flagship of Queen Mirellia's armada, Sora narrowed his eyes. "This whole time, he's just been after Aris..."
Queen Mirellia gritted her teeth. "We have no other choice." She addressed her soldiers. "Be advised! Those adventurers are now to be treated as hostiles! We will defend the Heroes and bring them down!"
"Yes, ma'am!" all the soldiers responded in perfect unison.
L'Arc used his scythe to parry Itsuki's arrows. Motoyasu charged with his spear, only to be knocked away. Ren followed up and was sent to the ground via a kick to the stomach.
The queen's soldiers fired a hail of arrows from the ships. Joker joined in by emptying the magazine in his handgun. Therese shielded L'Arc from the onslaught with a disc of blue fire.
She held out her other hand toward Aris, using the bracelet he'd crafted for her to cast a barrage of gale-force winds.
"Bejeweled Meteor Shower!"
A salvo of blue meteors erupted from the sky and rained down on the ships.
"Therese..." L'Arc chided.
The mage in question sighed. "I know, I'm only making sure we don't have any interruptions." She lifted a hand. "Bejeweled Silver Lining!"
A soft rain appeared above the ships, snuffing the flames that had started to consume them.
What happened to her attacking them? Aris wondered.
"We're only here for Aris," said L'Arc. "The rest of you should just stay out of it."
"Right," Therese agreed.
"News flash, idiots!" Ness shouted. "You mess with one of us..."
Melty finished his sentence, summoning Waters of Justice. "you mess with all of us!"
"No!" Aris stopped them. "It's me they want. I don't wish to have any of you getting hurt because of a vendetta that isn't directed toward you."
"We don't care!" Filo readied herself. "L'Arc, Therese, if you're gonna hurt my papa, you need to go through me!"
She exploded off the ground, launching herself at the traitorous two.
L'Arc pulled out something Aris had never seen before. It was a small sphere. One half seemed to be made of some red material, and the bottom half a lightly colored wood. There was a clasp in the middle, indicating that it could open.
L'Arc pressed on the clasp. "Scizor, use Bullet Punch!"
A strange, abnormally large, bipedal red bug creature emerged from the ball in a flash of energy, rearing one of its crab-like claws as it used them to pummel Filo with a flurry of punches.
Filo was sent flying back by the strange creature called Scizor.
Therese took out a ball identical to L'Arc's, summoning a bipedal black and blue canine with spikes on the back of its front paws. She pointed at Aris. "Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"
The canine manifested a ball of blue energy in its paws and sent it barreling toward Aris.
The hero summoned his Soul Eater Shield. The shield absorbed the Aura Sphere with ease.
L'Arc took the opportunity to attack Aris himself, clashing his scythe against the shield.
The shield's grimacing face came to life, taking a powerful chomp at L'Arc, wounding him.
"Are you okay!?" Therese exclaimed as the scythe wielder jumped back.
"I'm alright," replied L'Arc. "Didn't feel anything. My arm's a little numb, though."
"L'Arc, what are these things!?" Aris eyed the two creatures.
"Those are our Pokémon, kiddo!" L'Arc replied. "They're creatures from our world. But I won't bore ya with the details right now."
On the flagship, the queen issued order after order. "Concentrate fire on those anomalous creatures. Something tells me they don't have any good intentions toward the Heroes, especially considering it was those two traitors who summoned them."
"What about the other three Heroes?" asked Sora.
"Their party members have taken rowboats to help them," replied the queen.
One such party member, one Rishia Ivyred, sat panting in a rowboat, having been worked to the bone rowing to rescue Itsuki.
Suddenly, the world around her darkened. A little butterfly made of blue light fluttered in front of her.
A voice pierced Rishia's mind. "I beckon you from another world, for you are to awaken something that has dwelt within you a long time. From within your heart, a spirit of great rebellion shall make its presence known."
Aris blocked another strike from L'Arc's scythe as his friends dealt with Therese and the two Pokémon.
"L'Arc, you don't have to-" Aris was cut off by the sound of crackling electricity. His prosthetic right arm had somehow been damaged.
Melty raised Waters of Justice and warded off L'Arc. Her Keyblade clashed with his scythe as sparks flew from the metal-on-metal collisions.
Therese lifted her arm. "Bejeweled Sin Flame!"
A searing ball of blue fire hurtled toward Aris, only to fizzle out and disappear just before it could reach him.
Therese looked down at her bracelet. She muttered to herself, "Of course...you really don't want to fight him, do you?"
"Is it the bracelet I made for her?" Aris wondered aloud.
Ness channeled his psychic powers. "PSI Lifeup!"
Aris checked his display, noticing that Ness had restored the entire party's HP. What was that thing L'Arc did? he thought. Did it...ignore my defense stat? No...it couldn't have. I wouldn't have taken such a hit from merely the tip of his scythe.
"Well, L'Arc," said Aris, "I certainly wasn't expecting you to use a defense-reversing ability."
"Bingo!" L'Arc replied. "The higher my target's defense, the more damage they take from that move. In short, it's the perfect counter against someone like you. Normally I wouldn't have revealed that, but you figured it out, and my policy's to fight fair. I got nothin' to hide."
He wants to fight fair in a battle to the death? Aris pondered. What is he playing at? Something tells me he's attempting to throw me off.
"A sound strategy, I must say," Aris commended. "Those defense-reversals would certainly do me great harm. That is, unless I dodge all of them. I have certain abilities that will render your technique completely invalid. I plan on using those abilities if I must. I trust you remember my Air Strike Shield. That will be the key to my triumph."
"Aris!" Melty chided. "Why would you tell him that!?"
"He revealed his strategy," Aris pointed out. "I suppose it would only be fair for me to reveal mine."
L'Arc smirked. "Seems like we both know each other's hand."
He charged. Aris dodged. Filo bore down on L'Arc's scythe as Aris tore into him with the Master Sword.
The Chimera Viper Shield manifested on Aris's arm. The snakes came to life and sank their fangs into L'Arc's skin.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Therese commanded.
Ness jumped into action, rearing the Magicant Bat and swinging. He sent the Aura Sphere out of the park.
Sora leaped from the water in his merman form, Ariel summoned at his side. He lifted his Keyblade and combined Aeroga with a blast of water from Ariel to send L'Arc and Therese flying.
"Air Strike Shield!"
The green shield appeared and prevented L'Arc and Therese from being sent too far.
Aris took the opportunity to charge, cutting into L'Arc's left arm with the Master Sword.
Melty attempted to follow up.
L'Arc strained, "Scizor, X-Scissor!"
Scizor attempted to strike Melty with its claws, only for Ness to hit it with PK Rockin'.
L'Arc staggered to his feet with Therese's help. "Man, that packed a wallop. You kids are good."
"We thought that you were just going to use your Air Strike Shield for defense," said Therese. "We never anticipated that you'd use it as a trap instead. You definitely duped us there."
They really are heroes from another world, Aris thought to himself. Their strength, their spirit, their camaraderie...they're even more heroic than the other three here.
"I was bored out of my mind fighting those monsters on the islands." L'Arc brandished his scythe. "But there's nothing like a man-to-man fight with real strategy involved!"
But this isn't the time to be admiring how respectable they are, Aris chided himself. This is do or die.
"Come on, kiddo!" L'Arc jeered. "We've got plenty left in the tank, how 'bout you?"
Just as Aris was about to draw the Master Sword, a woman's voice echoed across the battlefield. "Would you two please quit fooling around?"
A beam of purple energy blew a ship out of the water as a black-haired woman descended from the sky. She landed beside L'Arc and Therese.
"Glass!?" Aris shouted. "Where have you been!?"
"Yeah, where have you been?" L'Arc added. "Been wondering that myself."
"I had business to take care of," replied Glass. "Sorry to keep you two waiting. But it looks like I'm here right on time."
L'Arc shrugged. "A few minutes ago wouldn't have been so bad."
Aris clenched his jaw. "So you're here to kill us, too?"
Glass nodded. She unfurled a pair of war fans. "Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons!"
A barrage of energy blades was sent Aris's way. He blocked them with ease, thanks to some help from Sora casting Reflega.
"Rupture Stance Rondo: Tortoise Shell Cracker!"
A beam of pink light clashed against Aris's shield.
"Is that all you have, wench!?" Aris shouted. "I can do this all day! And I haven't even shown you my trap card yet!"
"Your...trap card?" Glass raised an eyebrow. "Don't get cocky."
She charged, thrusting one of her fans at Aris's face. He ducked, rending the flesh of her side with the Master Sword.
Aris equipped his Soul Eater Shield. Glass gasped and dodged back as if evading a strike, though Aris did nothing to attack her upon equipping the shield.
She's...scared of it? he noted. Normally it drains the target's SP, but if Glass is a foreign Hero like her friends, she probably has lots of SP. Why would she be so careful to avoid losing it?
Therese took a gem from her pocket and tossed it forward. "Bejeweled Compression Bomb!"
"Meteor Shield!"
The jewel exploded like a high-powered grenade. Aris's Meteor Shield skill successfully shielded him from the blast. "Her magic is powered by the jewels she carries," he noted to himself.
Therese cast another spell. "Bejeweled Blizzard!"
Glass raised her fans. "Combo Stance: Reverse Hail Seasons!"
A storm of ice and an onslaught of energy blades rocked the Meteor Shield. Aris used Shield Prison to further defend himself.
The assault died down. Aris lowered his defenses.
"He truly is remarkable," Glass said to L'Arc and Therese. "That was one of our strongest moves, and he just blocked it like it was nothing."
Meanwhile, Aris turned to his comrades. "I have a plan. You all deal with L'Arc, Therese, and their...Pokémon."
"What about Glass?" asked Loretta.
Aris clenched his jaw. "She's mine."
He jumped into the air with a forward somersault, holding out his shield and chucking a Bomb Flower at the ground below him. The flower detonated and sent him flying at one of the ships. He landed with ease.
"Oh no you don't!" Glass leaped after him.
L'Arc attempted to follow her, only to be yanked to the ground by Loretta's plasma whips. "Your fight is with us!"
Glass landed on the empty ship right near Aris. "You're placing an awful lot of trust in those friends of yours, letting them fight my friends without you."
Aris changed the subject. "L'Arc informed me as to why he's fighting us. He's a hero from a world connected to this one. I take it you are, too."
"Correct," replied Glass. "I am what my people call a 'Vassal' Hero - the Fan Hero, to be exact."
She cast Reverse Four Seasons. Aris dodged, smacking some of the projectiles away with the Master Sword.
"Rupture Stance Rondo: Tortoise Shell Cracker!"
Epona appeared in her ethereal form, rearing her hind legs and kicking Glass into the mizzenmast of the ship before returning to Aris's arm.
Aris equipped his Soul Eater Shield. The shield came to life, its maw gaping as purple energy left Glass's body and entered its mouth.
The Fan Hero screamed in utter agony.
The shield returned to its dormant state as Aris mentally cheered. "Normally, this shield just drains enemy SP," he said to her. "But against you, it almost seems to siphon your vitality. This fight is over, Glass. I don't want to kill you. If you retreat now, I will let you go in peace."
"Retreat...?" Glass strained as she staggered to her feet. "No...this battle is far from over. Either you kill me, or I kill you. That is when this fight will conclude."
She charged, slashing with her fans. Aris parried with the Master Sword. His Soul Eater Shield activated, draining more of Glass's vitality - and causing her more pain.
"Glass, I don't want to kill you!" Aris shouted. "You have a world to protect, just as I do! I'm not going to slaughter someone whose people count on them!"
"Which is why I will do anything and everything in my power to slaughter you!" Glass got to her feet. "You say I have a world to protect, and I do! I must protect them by destroying the Heroes of this world! That is the only way to save my people! I'm going to defend them or die trying! Aris...we're not that different, you and I. Your task is to protect this world, and to do that, you'll need to kill me here and now!"
Aris tightened his grip on the Master Sword.
"As we speak," said Glass, "my people are fighting against a Wave of their own. They await my triumphant return. That's why I can't lose this fight! Don't you understand!? It's do or die, Aris! You of all people should understand that!"
Must I really destroy her world's hopes and dreams in order to defend those of this one? Aris thought.
"Glassy, think fast!" L'Arc interrupted the Hylian's pondering by tossing Glass a potion of some kind. Aris recognized it - a Soul-Soothing Elixir.
Glass popped the cork and downed the potion in a single gulp. Her body became outlined with an orange glow, a fiery determination blazing in her eyes.
She charged Aris with renewed strength, knocking him into the water.
"Aris!"
Cloud jumped into action, grabbing Aris by the cloak and pulling him back on board the empty ship. He parried Glass's fans with his Fusion Sword.
Raphtalia sprang from the water, shifting from her mermaid form to her Demi-Human form and drawing her sword. "I won't let anyone in this world have to face the same destruction my friends and I did all that time ago! Never again!"
"See, Glass?" Cloud brandished his weapon. "We have reasons to fight, too!"
Glass lunged with her fans. Aris's body crackled with white lightning.
The Hylian bellowed with exertion as the Fierce Deity came forth.
He slammed the Fierce Deity Sword into the deck of the ship. White lightning burst all around him, lighting Glass's body up like a firecracker.
Panting through clenched teeth, Glass remained standing.
"S̷̯̐͐T̷̥̼̈́͂Ĩ̷͉L̸̃̋ͅL̶̢̲̑͌ ̴̠̈́̂͜N̸͓̗͘Ơ̷̊ͅT̶̝͑ ̶͇̤͗Ḡ̵͍̼̀I̸̛̳̐V̶͚̭̽Ǐ̶͓̬N̵̠̑G̷̬̹̀ ̸̫̞͋́Ȕ̵͍͔͗P̸͇͕̈́,̶̠̀ ̵͍̉̉Ā̵̢̳R̸̜̘͘E̸̘͂͝ ̷̜͆͆Y̸̮̞̐Ó̴̫U̴̖̫͆̈́?̷̘̬͠" Aris sneered.
"Never!" Glass shouted back.
"Glassy, you can't!" L'Arc cried from the side of Monstro's corpse. "He's too strong now!"
Aris's voice pierced through the body of the Fierce Deity. "My friends...they are my strength. They are the reason I fight. I don't intend to allow this world to perish, not as long as my friends still reside in it."
The Fierce Deity burst with more lightning.
"H̴̛͎Ȃ̵͕R̴͍̟̈́̊K̵̯̾̀,̷̥̀͜ ̸̧̓͠K̴̥̬̿N̶̖̰̾A̶̿͝ͅV̴̛̖͒Ë̴̯́͠,̴̡̽̔" the Fierce Deity seethed. "Ḯ̷̭ ̷̗͕͆S̴̲̰̈̎Ē̶̥̹N̴̤̿̕T̵͓́͋E̵̩͑̇Ņ̵̨̎̔C̶̖̬͊E̵͉͒̆ ̵͉͌͠T̴̮͠Ḩ̸̕E̴̞̔̿͜É̵̻̙̇ ̵̡̈́̾T̷̘̟̄O̷͈̬͆ ̷̰͠C̶̡̍A̸̳͚͆̐Ś̷͖̀T̷̼͝ ̷̰̊̀T̵̳̺̐H̸̰͛Y̷̯̒͋ ̶̨̅S̸̰̈C̶̟̍Ŕ̷̙͝Ë̸̻̳́Ā̵̧̮̃M̷̲̦̌S̷̱̰̽̀ ̴͔͇̅̕Ú̴̦͂Ṕ̶̝Ò̷̟̫̆N̷̰̽ ̸̢̥̊̒T̵͍̔H̶͚̕Ȅ̵̖̼ ̴͉̊͝ͅH̴̫͈̽͑Ę̶̈́͘A̴̞͆V̶̭̝́E̶͙̔N̸͕̊̄S̵̜̉.̸̤̳̈́ ̷̳́Ť̸̳̤H̴̱̮̀E̶̳̪̎ ̵̳̈́͐P̷̟̄Ỡ̶͇ͅW̴̠͎̏̓Ȇ̸͎̙̕R̷̘̰͗̚ ̷͙̂̑O̷̮͗͝F̶͈̾ ̴̘̏͝T̴͕̜̓H̸͈͕͂̈́E̸͎̦̅ ̶͇͉̈́͋G̷͖̏O̸͙̪̒D̴̢͗̓ ̴̰͇̎̂N̶̨̟̋͛A̶̱̓̋M̵͈̈̌E̴̯͗͝ͅD̶͚͊ ̶̺̖̀͠O̴̹͗͂N̶̢̍͜Ḯ̶̗ ̴̩̟̆̓S̵͚͇̿H̵͎̀͋Â̷̧͛L̷͔͈̒͘Ľ̶̟͂ ̸̟̪͛̉Ö̸̘́̈B̶͔͖͛̍L̵̬̹̎Í̴̪̖̄T̸̘̎ͅE̸̞͓͊R̴̗͎͊A̴̮̓T̷͖̓̽E̶͓͂̇ ̴̙̗̍T̷͙̾Ḩ̴̣̋́Ę̸̯́̕E̸̖̼̐͗ ̶̞͉̔A̴̺͝N̶̟̐D̷̮̪̐ ̵̹̯͋̄M̵̻̔̂Ầ̴͕̱K̵͍̽̓Ë̶͓́ ̵͓͐T̵̜̿̈́͜H̸̖̀̚O̶̡͋Ù̵̟̪ ̸͎̤̆S̶̥̞̓̐E̶̝͒R̴̢͖̃V̷̜͓͘E̵̛ͅŤ̵̻̚H̴̯̒ ̴͈̓͜A̷̛͓̾S̶̤̙͒̈ ̵̋̇ͅÃ̵̤̹̊N̸̢̿ ̷̛̝̓͜O̵̻̾͝F̴̛̗̣F̸͖̪̉̂E̷̟̯͐̿R̶͔̋Ỉ̸͔̘͐N̵̯͙̎̃Ǵ̷͚̲ ̵̣̓T̷͎̘̋O̵͓͒ ̸̝̅ͅT̴̫͒͝H̴͔͗͒E̵̻̙̾ ̴̪͇̍Ḡ̷̮̌Ò̸̖D̷̢̤̉͐S̵̻̕,̴͎̘̍ ̶̯̳̈́T̶̨͚̄H̷͍̼͝Ä̵͍́T̶͓̠̆͝ ̴̻̉͝ͅT̶̨̖̈́H̴̞̱̚Ȩ̸͎́Y̵͙̓͑ͅ ̸̹̱̀Ḿ̶̞͂I̴̪͊G̴̲̽̎H̴̠̭̀͗Ţ̵͆́ ̶͔͝Ẻ̶̘̘͝Ñ̶̨͙͝J̵̖̱̃Ȯ̵̩̩̒Y̵͇͊ ̴̤̰́̑T̷̳̈́͂H̸̬͌E̷̠̓ ̶͕̎S̴̤̋Ö̵̹́̋ͅƯ̵̥̣̿Ň̸̙͖D̷͈͓̈́̄S̸̛͍̅ ̷͖͌̌Ơ̷̺F̷̙̟͊ ̵̫̈̓T̵͙̮̈́̇H̸̡͚͌͌Ý̸̨̱ ̸͖̀̈S̴̱̤̓C̵͓̗̏̿Ṙ̷̭̹E̵̟̜̚A̷̫̐̈M̴͙͉͒S̵͚̒!̷̛̫"
BGM: Awakening - Persona 5
Rishia clutched her temples. Pain shot through her head as she cried out.
A voice echoed through the depths of her mind.
"Many a door has closed upon thy life, mortal. Your freedom to truly excel all has been stifled by the Bow and those he calls his comrades. You say you are willing to follow him to the death, yet I know what it is you truly want: freedom. You wish to close the door of your life upon the cruelty of the Bow and open the door into your rebellion."
"Y-Yes..." Rishia strained.
"Good," crooned the voice. "Then let our pact be forged. I am thou, thou art I. Let the doors of thy heart open to a new awakening and an age of rebellion within thee! Call upon my name, and let your rebellious soul howl like the west wind!"
In a flash of blue flame, a mask appeared on Rishia's face. It looked to be Greek or Roman in origin. She clawed at the mask and tore it away, screaming as blood caked the upper half of her face. More flames covered her body, replacing her usual adventuring garb with a set of gladiator armor.
The flames coalesced behind Rishia, forming a masculine figure in Greco-Roman garb. Two white-feathered wings protruded from the figure's back.
The wings swept outward, summoning a great blast of wind. The blast sent some of the remaining Cohol Bombs out of the water and into the air near where Glass and Aris fought.
End BGM
"Use those!"
Aris heard a high-pitched feminine voice call out to him as a bunch of Cohol Bombs somehow sprang out of the water.
"Perfect!" He lifted the Fierce Deity Sword, sending a blast of lightning at the bombs. All of them detonated at once, soaking Glass in crimson juice.
Aris stepped forward, the Fierce Deity form no longer activated. "Are you done yet?" he asked Glass.
The Fan Hero coughed some juice out of her mouth. "Never..." she seethed. "I'll-"
"Stand down," L'Arc finished for her, grabbing her shoulder. "Fight's over. Our time's up."
Aris checked his display. Sure enough, the timer indicated that there were less than 60 seconds left before the Wave would end.
"Congrats, kiddo!" L'Arc commended. "Guess you win this round."
"But you haven't seen the last of us," Therese reminded him.
"What are you two saying!?" Glass shouted. "If we don't kill him right now-"
She gagged.
"You can yell at us all you want when you're not about to puke your guts out," L'Arc chided.
The trio disappeared in a flash of light. The crimson sky gave way to the familiar blue of daytime and the sea returned to its usual hue.
Motoyasu groaned as he sat up on the deck of Queen Mirellia's flagship. "Did...Did we win?"
"Looks like it," said Itsuki.
"Did Aris and his party just solo it again?" Ren wondered aloud.
"No," said the queen. "Every single one of us played a part today. This victory belongs to all of us!"
The sailors cheered happily.
Rishia looked down at her hands, gazing at her new outfit. "What...What just happened to me...?"