When the group had sailed on the Sunny back to Lythos with Mauvier and Marni, they were shocked to find much of the vegetation and plant life dead.

"Oh man…" Hope said.

"What's happened to Lythos? The land, it's fallen to rot and ruin." Alear said.

"I think this is what happens when you let Sombron do the decorating." Connor said.

"A sure sign of Gradlon's return, or that our foes are now destroying the Divine Dragon Shard." Vander said.

"Where is it?" X asked.

"It's in the castle, Queen Lumera's home." Vander answered.

"Who would have thought we'd return here to see everything…come to this." Alear said.

The group hurried to the castle as they soon entered the throne room.

"We know you're here, Sombron! Show yourself!" Alear called.

"Ah, the Divine Dragon has arrived. Or should I call you the 'Divine Impostor'?" a voice asked as Zephia and Griss stood before the group. "You've arrived earlier than expected. How did you know where to find us? My other two children haven't even caught up to us yet…"

"Can it, Zephia! You knew the truth all along, didn't you?" David asked.

"You know what we're talking about, too. The fact that all along, Alear was born a Fell Dragon." Hope said.

"I see Griss shared with you the news. He also said the Divine Dragon wasn't shocked by it." Zephia said.

"That's because some of us already knew." David said.

"And after I traveled with these people outside of Elyos before my return, I don't care what kind of Dragon I am." Alear said. "But if you know something about my past, share it."

"Well, if you're interested…" Zephia smiled. "You see, a thousand years ago, Lord Sombron sent you to kill Queen Lumera herself. But at the exact moment you had the dearly departed queen on her knees, you suddenly had a change of heart. You fought Lord Sombron and struck him down, and you were nearly at death's door yourself."

"And I think we know what happened after that. Queen Lumera took Alear in as her own child and used all her power for the last thousand years to revive Alear, turning her from Fell to Divine. Well, almost." Ethox said. "The whole process and being near death at the time must be the reason why you lost your memories." he said to Alear.

"Yeah. That's why I couldn't remember anything when I first woke up while you were in Shanghai looking for the Bracelet of the Three Houses." Alear said.

"And after spending a long time away from home, here you are, back after being kidnapped by some human scientist with dreams of conquest." Zephia mocked. "Unfortunately, you won't get to play the part of hero this time."

"You won't be mocking us when we take you both down and stop you from raising Gradlon." Ty said. "And where the heck is Eveyle?"

"Right here." a voice said as Eveyle approached with her appearance changed as she wore a black and dark pink dress with dragon wings along with a horned headdress of the same color.

"Nice look. Really suits you." Connor said.

"Don't joke around with her too much, Connor." Lysithea said. "There's lots of dark magic coming off her, even more so than in Florra Port."

"That's because I've taken the liberty of pushing her Fell Dragon powers to their full potential, along with the helmet she's wearing that's been enchanted by Lord Sombron." Zephia said.

"Plain English? She's now Super Eveyle." Ty said.

"...Really?" Legolia asked.

"Bad naming aside, her power isn't something to laugh at." Mayumi said.

"Will we be able to win? She's so strong now…" Veyle said.

"Chin up Veyle, no one said anything about us losing." Hope said.

"And think of it this way. If you can defeat your evil side when she's so hopped on power right now, you'll not only prove to yourself that everything everyone said about you, including your own dad was false, but you'll also prove to them that you're the one who should be in charge." Connor said.

"For once, I agree with him." Boss agreed. "This is your chance to settle the score once and for all, Veyle."

"Oh? Can you say that after witnessing this?" Eveyle asked as Marth appeared next to her with his eyes closed.

"Marth." Alear said.

"His fellow Emblems, stolen away. You turned your back on him. Oh, lonely thing. Just like me. But I'm here for you, little Emblem. I'm all you need." Eveyle said to Marth before turning back to the group. "Now, had I known I had a sibling who survived the years…I would have killed you. I'd like to make sure I'm my Father's one and only child. I have no need for this sort of family, or friendships, or bonds of loyalty."

"That just makes you all the more pathetic then." Ace said.

"I agree. How utterly asinine." Rafal said.

"Indeed. Just like Sombron, you only care about bringing destruction." Nel added. "But you will fall just as he will."

"You don't even know why Lord Sombron is invading the other worlds, do you?" Zi-O added before shaking his head in disappointment. "How very short-minded. No wonder our Veyle is better than you."

"But before you bad guys say anything that Eveyle is better, save it. You won't believe us if we say it. So we'll just show it." Hope said. "Whaddya say, Eveyle? You and your pals, vs us and our Veyle, right now. We're gonna finish this."

"I couldn't have said it better. Let's put an end to this." Eveyle said.

"This time…" Ace started as he drew his sword. "We're taking Marth back."

(Cue- Scutum *Decisive Battle*- Tales of Rebirth)

An army of Corrupted backed up Griss, Zephia, and Eveyle as the battle began.

"Let's do this, guys! Mauvier, you want a piece?" Connor asked.

"You would truly allow me to fight alongside all of you? After all I've committed before?" Mauvier asked. "I don't deserve this honor, but I will fight by your sides. To protect Lady Veyle and end this conflict."

"What about you, Marni? I take it you want some revenge as well?" Madeline asked as she held up Roy's ring.

"Wait, back up. I get Mauvier, but you seriously want me in on this?" Marni asked.

"It's either that or get killed by your own 'family'." Ty said.

"Please, join us, Marni." Rime said. "If you don't, your death will come at Zephia's hand."

"...Ah, what the heck. If vision lady says I'm gonna die, then I may as well die fighting!" Marni said. "Madeline, right? Let me have Roy's ring. I want to fight alongside him properly this time. This time… It will be my turn to protect Mauvier!"

Madeline handed the Ring of the Young Lion to her counterpart, who slipped it on.

"Welcome aboard." Ty said to Marni.

"(And just like that, Marni's fate is averted.)" Geiz thought with a smile. "(Now we no longer have any regrets moving forward.)"

"Knew you should've killed those two when you had the chance." Griss said to Zephia.

"Don't worry. It's a mistake I plan to correct." Zephia said.

With Mauvier and Marni now in their ranks, the group fought against the Corrupted army, fighting their way to Zephia, Griss, and Eveyle.

"Even though they don't have Emblems, watch out for Zephia and Griss. They're still threats." Hermit said.

"Just keep me away from Griss, and Mauvier and I can handle Zephia. I want some payback on her for what she did to us!" Marni said.

"So you're going to turn your back on us after everything, Marni? I am disappointed in you." Zephia said. "Mauvier, I can understand. He was too softhearted and attached to that wimpy Veyle for his own good. But you…"

"Zephia, I loved it when you gave me praise. I loved it when you said we were family. I loved belonging somewhere. I loved the Four Hounds. But this has gone too far. I have to do what I know is right, praise or no praise." Marni said. "Even if it means having to fight you! Let's do it right this time, Roy!"

"I'm ready!" Emblem Roy said.

"...Emblem…Engage!" Marni said as she transformed, her hair turning red as she donned a female version of Roy's outfit.

"So whaddya think? Divine Dragon Engage better than Fell Dragon Engage?" Nemo asked.

"Oh, definitely!" Marni said.

"How dare you insult the Power of Lord Sombron!" Zephia said as she blasted a Thoron spell right at Marni. She dodged and drew the Binding Blade.

"You know… I'm kind of surprised you didn't do this yourself, Maddy. After all, as counterparts, our strength is almost identical." Marni said.

"I always did want to engage, but I feel this is your time to get some retribution." Madeline said.

"Fair enough, I guess. So, shall we?" Marni said as the Binding Blade lighted on fire. "I won't lose… I won't!"

"No, we won't!" Madeline said as they both carved through the attack and pounced on Zephia before beating her into the ground.

"How can…you will regret this." Zephia said as she took off.

"That was incredible! You two were amazing!" Valfor said.

"Oh man, did that feel good!" Marni smiled.


"Two hounds or four, doesn't matter to me. I'll fight, and that's that." Griss said.

"Then you'll die doing so." Jin said.

Griss blasted his own spells at the group, prompting everyone to dodge.

"Hahaha!" E. Constance laughed as she cast Agnea's Arrow on Griss, dealing a critical hit.

"That feel good, y'psycho?!" Nemo said, throwing some of his knives at Griss as they nicked his skin.

"Yes! HAHAHA!" Griss cackled as he used his Excalibur spellbook to blanket the battleground in heavy winds.

"Wow, he's really goin' wild!" Eddy shouted over the winds.

"Anybody have an idea about how to stop him?" Gemini asked.

"I've got one!" Flamberge said, drawing and swinging her sword, the flames dispelling Griss' Excalibur barrage by heating the air. "All his bluster is gone!"

"Then on to the beatdown!" Mark declared as he charged, coating his arms in metal. "You like pain, clown? Here, have plenty of it!" he declared as he unleashed a barrage of punches onto Griss, sending him flying back.

"Oh…so much pain." Griss shivered. "Shame I can't stick around more to enjoy it." he said as he took his leave.


Things then shifted over to Veyle and Eveyle as they clashed knife against knife.

"This grows more and more tiresome. Just give up and disappear already." Eveyle said.

"I won't. Not until you're gone for good!" Veyle said.

"You're just nothing but a failure! A nothing! A…" Eveyle called out before she was being forced back by the real Veyle. "What? How…"

"I'm not a nothing. After so long, I finally have siblings to relate to, and friends who support me. But what I don't need…is you!" Veyle said as she fought ferociously, leaving Eveyle no chance for a counterattack.

"Just shut up and die!" Eveyle said, firing a massive blast of dark magic at her. "Hahahaha! See? You will…what? What?!" she said as she saw Veyle holding the magic as it increased in size in her grasp.

"We're both Fell Dragons. But…I've known how to master magic longer than you! So…you'll…take it all!" she called out, firing it right at Eveyle.

"This…this isn't possible! I…I…ah!" Eveyle screamed out as she was eradicated by the blast, leaving only the Emblem Ring in her wake.

"Farewell, my shadow… The one who stands at the end of the path I chose not to follow." Veyle said as she picked up Marth's ring and brought it to Alear. "Here… This was yours, right?"

"Yes. Thank you." Alear said as she took hold of the ring. "Yes. All 12 rings are finally back on our side."

"(Heh. Well fought, Veyle. You've proven your worth.)" Boss thought with a satisfied smirk.

"I bet Marth would be happy to see you again." Sachiko said.

"Let's reunite properly, then. Shine On, Emblem of Beginnings!" Alear said.

Marth soon appeared before her once more.

"It's good to finally be by your side once more." Marth said.

"Sorry we took so long, Mar-Mar." Cure Starlight said.

"And with this, we now have all 12 Emblem Rings." David said.

"But we weren't told why it was important to bring all 12 Emblem Rings together." Ross said.

"Well, it's because we possess a special sort of power that can only be performed once ever." Marth said.

"Only used once? That is a big deal!" Petra H said.

"But if it can only be used once, then it isn't something that can be used willy-nilly." David said.

"No. And with luck, we might not even need to use it." Sigurd said.

"That aside, tall, dark and scaly isn't anywhere in sight." Theo said.

"Yeah, you think he would be here since he wants to bring back Gradlon." Simon said.

"Or maybe…he's already succeeded." Ainz said as the group felt the ground shake. "Seems the hounds and the girl were just distractions."

"He's already rising Gradlon?" Clanne said.

"Yes. These are aftershocks resulting from the island being risen right from the sea." Ainz said.

"Look, up in the sky!" Klonoa said as a portal was seen forming in the sky.

"He's already started trying to bypass the barrier between dimensions." Sheer said.

"(Huh, looks like Sombron decided to skip killing Alear and went ahead to his plan.)" Zi-O thought. "(Looks like our meddling caused plenty of changes from this world's canon path. But you know what, that's fine with me.)"

"We know he wants off Elyos, but why? Does he want to conquer everything beyond it?" Le Kraken asked.

"His motives don't matter. He's going to end up destroying everything if he keeps this up." Jexi said.

"Right. We can always ask after we defeat him." Alear said. "For now, we need to work on getting to Gradlon and stopping him."

"It won't be easy. I'm sure he has a few defenses in place himself." Connor said.

"He's likely somewhere beyond that portal. But there's a powerful barrier surrounding it." Hermit said.

"Well, then we'll just smash down the stuff powering the barrier and get to Sombron, no matter what obstacles he's put in our way." Hope said.

"And our best bet is in Gradlon." Darkmoon deduced.

"You better be ready, Sombron. We're coming for you." Jexi said.