Nightfall has arrived at the castle as everyone took a long rest in their respective guest rooms. Zeo, who's sharing a room with Akira and Gaius, had trouble sleeping as he gazed at the night sky through an open window.
"Can't sleep, brother?" Akira asked, earning Zeo's attention.
"Yeah. I feel very uneasy about this, sis." Zeo replied. "I think all three of us know why."
"Mm." Gaius nodded. "This is the part where everything came crashing down. And Alear's definitely not gonna like the aftermath."
"I'm starting to wonder if we should let the events play out, or if we should do something about it." Zeo pondered.
"I want to do the latter, but a lot of things will change if we do so, which could turn out to be either good or bad." Akira said.
"Hmm…" The three XDR leaders hummed in thought on what their next move would be.
"Am I interrupting your sleep, dear leaders?" Woz asked, appearing in the room.
"No." Zeo replied as he and the others shook their heads. "Just thinking about tonight. We know what's going to happen, but we're not sure if it's okay to change the events."
"I see." Woz noted. "I'm sure you both know the pros and cons about changing events. You must be prepared to adapt to the changes without looking back."
"Mm, we're aware of the risks." Gaius nodded.
"Good. Then I believe that time is fast approaching, because I discovered some intruders infiltrating the castle." Woz informed.
"So they're already here, huh?" Akira remarked. "Woz, call in the Alliance and the rest of the Rebellion. Time to kick those invaders out."
"Understood." Woz bowed before vanishing.
"Alright, you two." Zeo said as he and the others picked up their transformation items. "Get ready for one busy night."
Most of the group was either asleep or taking a walk around the grounds before they heard a loud boom go off nearby.
"That came from…" Gray said.
"The Ring Vault." Alear said.
"Queen Lumera's there." Ace said.
"We need to hurry. She might be in danger." David said.
The group hurried to the Ring Vault as they found Vander, Clanne, and Framme fighting off mysterious soldiers.
"What's going on?" Jexi asked.
"The Ring Vault is under attack by thieves." Vander said. "I don't understand. We haven't been attacked by anyone in over 1000 years."
"Whatever the case, we must hurry to the Queen's side." Azura said.
"You're right Azura, but first, we're gonna need to fight past those Soldiers blocking the way." Hope said.
"There are lots of them… I'm sure we can fight them all off, but.." Alear started.
"Through this door, right?" they heard a young male voice ask in the distance.
"Yes, this is the one." a tough female voice answered.
"Then let's go." an older male voice added.
"Company, coming from behind!"
Galloping into the hall on an armored horse was a young man with blonde hair in royal white clothing holding a spear before he dismounted. "Made it! And not a moment too soon…" he said before spinning his spear. "The Crown Prince Alfred of Firene is here to help. Let me at 'em!"
After the new face announced his arrival, two others came up beside him. On his left was a towering man with orange hair and armor wielding an axe and on his right, there was a young woman with long brown hair as she held a bow. She wore an orange, white and light green maid-like ensemble with a bow of the same colors in her hair, and the midsection was bare and exposed her stomach, showing a row of abs.
"The prince of Firene?" E. Constance asked.
"Why is such a…wait…do you know something about these guys?" Theo asked.
"These people…they're soldiers from Elusia." one of Alfred's men said.
"What?!" Vander said in surprise. "I knew they worshipped the Fell Dragon but…"
"We're just as surprised as you to know they attacked Lythos like this. Lucky we were paying a visit, and…" Alfred said before he saw Alear. "Divine Dragon! You're back! We heard that you were captured some time ago."
"I was, but I was rescued. And you said your name was Prince Alfred of…Firene, was it?" Alear recalled.
"Yes. And these are my retainers. Boucheron and Etie. We're here to help fight back these intruders." Alfred said.
"You guys know anything about why Elusia is attacking like this?"
"No clue, we know just as much as you." Alfred said as he got on his horse again. "There's only one thing to do in a situation like this. Pin down whoever's in charge and get some answers!"
"The ringleader behind this should be at the end of this hall, past all of these soldiers." David said.
"Leave the fliers to me. Archers are a flyer's worst enemy." Etie said.
"She's right. Let us handle the air cavalry while you all head for the vault." Legolia said.
"Thanks, Legolia." Ethox nodded as he pointed his Keyblade down the hall. "One lance, four swords, and one archer…no problem!" he counted off as he dashed down the hall, taking down the archer.
"Nice work. But…don't forget these sellswords." Gabiru said as he and Cocytus went and cut down the remaining four sword wielders.
"Stand aside." Shanoa said to the leader of the soldiers, Abyme.
"I have my orders. No one reaches the vault." Abyme said.
"Then you leave me no choice. Vol Fulgur!" Shanoa said as she called on lightning bolts that homed in, shocking and damaging Abyme twice as she fell to the ground.
"You're not just any soldiers, are you?" Abyme said before falling unconscious.
"That was easy…but…it looks like all the rings are already gone." Rimuru said.
"Who are you?" Ace asked a hooded figure as he approached before he stopped as she powered a spell.
"Not a friendly visitor are you?" Jexi asked as he approached her.
"Whoever it is you are, the rest of your forces have all been defeated. So surrender now. If you refuse, we will stop you." Alear said as she aimed Liberation before she was knocked out to the ground with a chop to the neck by Jexi.
"What is…" the hooded figure said before they saw both Natsu and Izuku going for a double takedown before she jumped back and disappeared, leaving behind a pendant of some kind in red and blue.
Geiz approached the dropped pendant and retrieved it. "(The Dragonic Time Crystal… Kinda careless of you to drop something useful, huh Veyle?)" He thought.
"The Vault is in ruins." David said before seeing a figure on the ground. "Lumera!" he said as they ran towards her. "Damn… Whoever it was, they hurt her pretty bad."
"No…they didn't hit her." Theo said.
"Huh?" David asked.
"She collapsed 'cause she was weak before this battle." Jexi said.
"You noticed it during her match with Alear, did you? Her power was severely worn out. Her energy was nearly spent." Kokoro said.
"So…you knew?" Lumera asked.
"Yeah…and I kinda know why. You spent that power to keep Alear alive while she slept. You spent 1000 years revitalizing her, didn't you?" Dan asked.
"Yes. All the years she was sleeping…healing…I was transferring my Divine Dragon powers to her. I hoped it would be enough to bring her back to me someday. But now, it would seem that I am…" Lumera said before she was given an abundance of energy. "What is…"
"You're getting a donation." GS Pikachu said as the healers transferred energy to her.
"But…how did…" Rime said.
"I have you to thank Rime. Your muttering visions in your sleep…it can be helpful." Jexi said with a smile.
"Well, thank Rime and Siege." Mark spoke up. "That e-mail was pretty helpful, all things considered."
"But the flow of the world…it said…" Rime said.
"Know what I say to that sometimes…screw how the world turns." Jexi said. "What's wrong…with saving people if you know you can?"
"I suppose that is true. Even a princess I once knew believed destiny could be changed." Rime said.
"You know the same applies to a lot of us, right?" David asked. "Either way, we can use this to our advantage. The assassin and their associates believe Lumera is dead."
"So this is what you're going with, huh David? How clever. Make the enemy think that the queen's dead." Zi-O remarked.
"Yeah…but she's still too weak to move. So for now, we'll keep her on our ship's infirmary to recover." Jexi said.
"You have my thanks, young heroes. Please take this, the Ring of the Holy Knight." Lumera said.
"Thank you, Lumera. I promise we will make good use of him." Jessica said, taking the ring.
"Also…" she said, handing another ring to Alear. One with a red and blue design.
"What's this?" Alear asked.
"It's a birthday gift. Never gave you a chance before you went to sleep. You can keep it safe for now." Lumera said.
"(That ring…)" Cure Starlight recognized the ring Lumera gave to Alear.
"Lumera, do not strain yourself. You still have a lot that you wish to do with Alear, correct?" Nesma asked.
"Yes. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to do everything I wanted with my daughter. We'll be able to chat for hours, take long walks together, share meals…" Lumera said.
"Both you and Alear deserve a chance at happiness after being separated for so long. But for now, rest." Ace said.
"You're right, that will have to wait. The perpetrator of this attack, as I'm sure you've no doubt discovered, is Elusia. They worship the Fell Dragon, and since Alear was kidnapped, they've had abundant time to prepare for their attack. Sombron's resurrection could happen very soon…. We can't let him revive and bring chaos to Elyos once again." Lumera said.
"What would you have us do?" Jin asked.
"Gather the 12 Emblem Rings. Their powers will be able to help you defeat Sombron. I would give you the rings of the Azure Twins, Princess Exalt, Sage Lord and Instructor, but they have unfortunately been stolen." Lumera said.
"Don't stress over it. If we could handle going across 7 worlds getting 7 bracelets…what's wrong with going across a few countries to get back 10 rings?" Ranma said.
"Rest easy, Lumera. You have nothing to worry about." Esmeralda said.
"Thank you." Lumera said as she passed out.
"Mikan, Shuna…we'll leave you two in charge of her healing." Theo said.
"I-I'll do my best!" Mikan said.
"So, where should we start on our second treasure hunt?" Letfor asked.
"Well, since we have some locals from there…we'll start with Firene." Meowscarada said.
"That sounds like a good place to start." Meitenkun said.
"Also, that hooded figure from before dropped this." Miriam said as Geiz showed off a red and blue crystal with an hourglass outline imprinted on it.
"What is this?" Alear asked.
"Could it be…? That's a Draconian Time Crystal!" Kokoro said.
"A Time Crystal?!" Houki and the IS team exclaimed.
"Draconian Time Crystal?" Serena asked.
"It's a crystal that allows whoever is holding it to turn back time. But only a few minutes at a time." Kokoro said.
"So like Divine Pulse then." Roy said.
"Uh… Yeah. Basically, if you feel like you made a mistake during battle, you can use this to rewind and correct it." Kokoro said.
"Does it have a limited use?" Kanade asked.
"Not that I can see. It could come in handy." Entrapta said.
"If anyone wants to use this crystal, feel free to take it from my hand." Geiz offered.
"I got it." SE accepted, taking the crystal. "I've got limited time powers myself, so I'm qualified, if I may say so."
"Well, now that's taken care of, shall we head out to Firene?" Double D asked.
"Maybe we should do that tomorrow morning. It's still night time here, and we need to sleep." Grey suggested.
"You make a good point." Moltar said. "We're gonna need all the sleep we can get since, once again, we're in a war."
"I think I know a place we can all sleep along with your various ships." Alear said.
It was then that the group were then led to the floating island that docked with Paradise, the Galaxy King and the Zi-O Liner, the Somniel.
"Whoa…a sky island!" Luffy said.
"So this place is…" Dan said.
"This was where Alear slept for 1000 years." Marth explained.
"So, her home, basically." Sachiko said.
"With our ships connected to it, it's kinda all our homes for now." Riolu said.
"It has quite a few places to check out. There is an arena if any of you are interested in a few sparring matches, and even a restaurant for those that like to dabble in the culinary arts." Sigurd said.
"This place…it feels so calming…it's perfect for our base." Connor said.
"It feels like living in the Serenitea Pot, a pocket dimension." Paimon remarked.
"One of those choices is floating islands, but we went with the one with the ocean so we can do some swimming." Zi-O said.
"Did I forget to mention there is a pool here too, now that you brought it up?" Sigurd asked.
"Yeah, that works too." Zi-O replied.
"You have a lot of knowledge on this place, Sir Sigurd." Bassam said.
"I was by Queen Lumera's side for the better part of a millennium. She always came to heal Alear here, so I know how things work here." Sigurd said.
"Question! Do Sombron's guys know about this place?" Mark asked. "Because if they do, we should think about setting up some defenses."
"They shouldn't. Especially considering how high up it is." Alear said.
"Defenses are a good idea, though. We'll brainstorm on that as we go along." Bardock proposed.
"Also, add a cloaking system so they won't find us." Laura B. suggested.
"All that can come later. For now, let's rest before heading to Firene." Hope said.
"Right…with all that happened…forgot it was still…night." Jexi said as he went and passed out right on the ground.
"We should probably head off to sleep as well. Today has been a pretty long day." Cheetah said.
"Was he waiting for an opportunity, or did it just all catch up to him?" Scarlet wondered aloud.
"Knowing Jexi, it could very well be both." Mark said, he and Hope picking Jexi up. "Let's go, Captain Rainbow, we've got a busy day tomorrow."
"Oh by the way Mark, about the e-mail you mentioned, could you send a copy of that onto our Zikan Phones? We might need it for later." Zi-O requested.
"Oh, sure thing." Mark said, doing so quickly. "There. Make sure you read that. Oh…and don't mention future events to the locals. Even disregarding messing with the timeline has its limits."
"Don't worry, I won't do that." Zi-O nodded. "We know the risks. Though saving Queen Lumera's life is one of them, so there's no turning back."
"Although, the Elusians will think Lumera is dead. We should play along with the notion for the time being, just so we don't throw off that something is wrong." Cheetah said.
"Of course." Cure Starlight nodded as she, Zi-O and Geiz reverted back to civilians. "Okay, I think that's enough for today. See you guys in the morning."
"Yep. Night, everyone." David said.
And with that being said, they all retreated to their beds for a long night's rest and in preparation for the start of a long journey.
