"Celestial Fireworks!" Athena pointed her scepter forward, sending a sphere of light towards Hubert. While Hubert was able to avoid this, this did prompt a lightshow within the Obsidian Cosmos. The beams of light that scattered out caught a few Knight Gears and destroyed them. "Tch! I don't feel like we're making much progress against him! What's the hold up...!?" As she said this, she barely blocked a strike from Hubert's sword. It was still a strong impact and she was pushed back while within the Steel Sorcerous!
"How's it looking in the Eden's Zero!?" Max questioned. He was focusing his fire on the Knight Gears, trying to keep them busy as Elsie and Justice also fought as well.
"Hello...!?" Sister was the one finally making contact with everyone else.
"Sister!? What the hell has been keeping you guys!?" Ano asked. "Is Hermit ready!?"
"We had...a problem." Sister said. That was the best way she could describe it. A problem. "Hermit was hacked and we had an unwelcomed guest, but we took care of it! Geno is working on fixing Hermit, it shouldn't take him long!"
"So we're almost ready to go! Good, because we can't hold out much longer..." Ano said.
Just as Ano said this, Hubert twirled his sword around. This prompted a blast of fire to erupt in space, blowing back the Goldstones, Elsie, and Justice. The GIU were barely able to hold their ground. "...This is starting to get annoying." Kamara grunted.
"I agree." Hubert said while adjusting his glasses. "You all have endured far longer than I anticipated. It's impressive...but I do not have the time to waste with all of you anymore. It's time to enter the final phase of my plan."
"The final phase?" Elsie questioned.
"What else does this guy have up his sleeve?" Jesse was starting to get annoyed at Hubert and his endless bag of tricks. It was always something with this one!
"Don't worry. This will be the last one." Hubert said this ominously. With a snap of his fingers, all of the Knight Gears in play stopped. "This is an order. Merge."
"Merge?!" Feather did not like the sound of this.
The Knight Gears moved towards Hubert, all of the suddenly colliding against each other in the process. There was nothing anyone could do but watch, for they had no idea what was happening. Within mere moments, the Knight Gears coalesced into something gargantuan. A gigantic Knight Gear, roughly half the size of the Black Moon, towered over everyone. "The ultimate Knight Gear: The Azure Titan!"
"W-What the..." Athena's eyes were wide at the titan before them
"Holy shit..." Sister's jaw dropped.
"You may think of this as my final gambit, but that could not be any further from the truth .This is your final stop." Hubert spoke and his sword doubled in size. This was clearly Hubert giving it his all. "You will not get passed me." And at this moment, one thing was clear: the Galactic Fleet had no intention of leaving the Black Moon. Once they succeeded in their plans...it would surely spell the end for everything.
.
.
Vanessa sild back from Rebecca, Blair, and Cynthia. With all of the conflict happening around the Black Moon, these four were still within the interior. It was the best place to combat Vanessa; an enclosed area where her Veil wouldn't be able to fool their surroundings too much. "My my!" Vanessa said while flipping her hair, grinning towards the women in front of her. "You all are trying very hard, and for what reason?"
"Because you have to be stopped, Mom! All of you do!" Cynthia said while clenching her hand into a fist. The things her mother had done in the name of her research. Cynthia saw it for herself first hand with Blair and the end result of Mercurius. She had to stop this. "The things you've done...the things you support...why?" As she spoke, she punched the air in front of her, sending a blast of flame towards Vanessa.
Vanessa held her hand up, creating the illusion of a barrier in front of her. Due to how the Veil worked, as long as Vanessa believed it was real, it did become real. As such, she was able to protect herself from Cynthia's attack. But it did make her frown; her own daughter, raising her arms against her? "It's too late to stop, Cynthia. I've come this far. I have to see this through to the end. For the sake of my research!"
"Shut up about your damn research!" Blair lunged forward with her Therion claw, leaping ahead to try and slash Vanessa. Vanessa, fully aware of the Therion's abilities, leapt backwards as her barrier was destroyed. Blair pursued her and swung her leg out, colliding against Vanessa's temple. However, at the moment of impact, Vanessa's body turned into mist. "What the...!?"
"Did you forget? Whatever I want to happen, will happen!" Vanessa appeared behind Blair and pointed her hand out. A blast of ether caught Blair by surprise, and this in turn tossed her right into Cynthia. The two of them tumbled along the ground before coming to a halt.
Rebecca was up next, taking her Happy Blasters and opening fire on Vanessa. With Rebecca's speed, she was pretty difficult to pin down. "Bullet Festival!"
Vanessa had to defend herself from these bullets at first. Then she snapped her finger, causing a veil of mist to appear around her. In the next instant, the bullets were stopped in their tracks, despite the fact Rebecca was opening fire on her. "Not good enough." She taunted, much to Rebecca's annoyance. She then swung her arm forward, causing an invisible force to strike Rebecca in the chest.
"Guh...!" Rebecca's eyes widened from the impact. She tumbled along the ground, but caught herself soon after, panting softly. "She's...really strong..."
"My veil cannot be pierced." Vanessa said while dusting her hands off. "So long as it exists, anything I perceive to be real, will be real. I know my illusions won't work on you all anymore...but I can make those illusions reality for myself."
"So she can pretty much do whatever she wants, as long as she thinks its real..." Blair grit her teeth. This was the most annoying kind of opponent to go up against.
"Why are you doing this, Mom? Do you really want to erase the heart of the cosmos that badly?"Cynthia asked.
To that, Vanessa shook her head. "I believe there's been a misunderstanding about things. My allegiance to Alexei and the Galactic Fleet is not because I believe in his cause. Honestly, I assumed this would be the more surefire way to encounter Mother, who can grant any wish to those who have encountered her."
"And what exactly...would you wish for?" Rebecca asked.
"Honestly...I have nothing to ask. Vanessa shrugged her shoulders.
"Why go through all this effort if you're not even going to ask anything!?" Blair spat.
"Because I had a different plan in mind. I wanted to use the Therion's power...to consume Mother." Vanessa said.
"C-Consume Mother...?" Pino's eyes were wide. "But...that seems improbable. How can you..."
"I know it'll work." Vanessa said. "That girl from Mildan confirmed it herself."
"Xiaomei...!?" Rebecca was shocked to hear that the Galactic Fleet had contact with Xiaomei.
"You have no idea what doing that would cause for the cosmos, you selfish bitch!" Blair clenched her Therion arm into a tight fist, boiling over with rage. "What the hell do you even intend to do after that!? You'll just get eaten by a Chronophage sooner or later!"
"Oh, Blair! You find trees but miss the forest!" Vanessa spread her arms apart. "You think a Chronophage would lose to a Therion in a fair fight? Maybe. But there's something different about the state of Therions now, compared to the last extinct one." She pointed Blair, and then Rebecca. "The power of the Cat Leaper."
Both Rebecca and Blair gasped at this. It didn't take Cynthia long to realize either. "Wait..."
"When you saved Blair on Mercurius, she undoubtedly ate some of your Ether." Vanessa surmised. The truth of the matter was, this happened well before then. But Vanessa saw it for herself at that moment. "That means the power of the Cat is swirling within you, Blair. To what potency, I'm not sure...but it should be more than enough to consume a Chronopage."
'I still don't understand...why do all this? There won't be anything left if Alexei even succeeds..." Cynthia placed a hand on her chest.
"It's simple, Cynthia. I want to extend my reach beyond this third universe of ours." Vanessa said. "There are so many out there. I want to explore...expand...i want to see how far my research can take me!"
...
"We won't let you do that." Rebecca said as her body flared into Overdrive. Cynthia followed suit, as did Blair. "We're going to stop you all, right here, right now!"
"I wonder about that." Vanessa tapped her chin, unfazed with the increase in power before her. "You had a good plan, separating everyone. But I believe this is as far as that plan goes. After all, you forgot the most important part of all: you have to win."
.
.
Jinn, Kleene, Nina, and Julia all slid back from each other after a massive explosion. Nina punched the air in front of her excitedly, both sides having clear signs of wear and tear on them from the battle. "These two are tough..." Kleene told her brother. Jinn had no choice but to agree. The Roulette siblings were putting up far more of a fight than he expected.
"They are. They're really siblings..." Jinn said quietly. He could see the bond between the two of them in a fight. They trusted each other and went ahead. Nina was the more reckless one, but they couldn't even capitalize on that, because Julia was good at covering for it.
"You two...you're not bad!" Nina said with a grin.
"Don't compliment the enemy like that!" Julia chided. But she had to admit that Jinn and Kleene displayed a strong bond of their own. "Still, they are tough. I can sense their sibling bond. It's just as strong as ours. But not stronger."
"You got that right!" Nina nodded in agreement.
"Answer me something." Jinn said while keeping a battle ready pose. "Why are the two of you with Alexei? You know what he wants to do, don't you?"
"Are you really okay with the cosmos losing its heart and soul!?" Kleene questioned.
Julia and Nina looked at each other. Julia, being the older sibling, decided to answer. "We're not with him out of any sort of grand reason or purpose. We're here for one reason, and one reason alone: it's a gamble."
"Excuse me...?" Kleene blinked at this information. It didn't make any sense to her.
"When Alexei found us, he told us what he was planning to do. Considering we didn't have anywhere else to go...we took him up on it!" Nina explained. "My sister and I...the nature of our very being is gambling. My Ether Gear, hers...every step we make is a gamble. Why are we here, right now? Because we want to see if Alexei can really do it or not."
"T-That's it...?" Kleene couldn't wrap her head around this way of thinking.
"That's it." Julia nodded.
"Don't bother trying to make sense of it." Jinn told his sister. "They're resolute in their own ways. At the end of the day, they're here because they want to be. That means we have to stop them, no matter what."
"Yeah." Kleene could agree to that.
"Honestly, it doesn't matter if we win or lose here." Julia shrugged. "All that matters is if Alexei wins or loses. But that doesn't mean we won't do our part." At that moment, there was a strong vibration that made everyone stumble. "Huh?"
Nina looked up and whistled. Up above, the sight of Hubert's massive Knight Gear could be seen, even from the surface of the Black Moon. "Whew! Looks like it's time for the final gambit already!"
"What is that!?" Kleene gasped.
"The beginning of your end!" Julia grinned. "Once Hubert clears away your friends up there, there won't be any way for you to retreat. You'll be trapped on the Black Moon, forced to watch Alexei gain power! Or lose it all. Either way...by the time this is over, only one side will be walking away from this conflict."
A gambler's soul was dangerous. They were truly risking it all... "That won't happen." Kleene said firmly. The winds picked up around her and Jinn as they entered their Overdrive. "We won't lose."
"The ones who will emerge victorious on this bout is us. You can bet on that." Jinn said while taking a stance. The Roulette sisters grinned and charged towards their adversaries once again. Both sides were unfazed with the table before them. Because they intended to wind it all one way or another.
.
.
X was using her blade, Rage, to deflect attacks from Homura, Lowell, and Amira. Even though they had the numbers, X's skill with a blade was unparalleled. The effect of Rage allowed her to deflect opposing Ether as well, making it easier for her to avoid Homura and Amira's attacks. She evaded one of Homura's slashes, spinning around to kick her in the stomach. This knocked her straight into Amira, and the two of them tumbled along the ground. Lowell moved in with his Second Star sword, only for X to block this one, sparks flying in all directions. Eventually, Lowell was pushed back, but he managed to stay on his feet. "Damn, she's still tough..."
"You didn't think two days would be enough to make a real difference, did you?" X said with an annoyed scowl. "You think you're all tough, but you can't even fight me without your numbers. All you're doing is pissing me off."
Amira shifted her gun into a large barrel sniper rifle. "I have to repay you for your hospitality!" She took the shot, firing off a focused bullet towards X's chest. She, of course, deflected this. It was then that Lowell and Homura moved in, slashing at X in unison while she was distracted. Homura flared into her Overdrive at this moment, giving her slash a bit more oomph as X was pushed back from the direct hit. "Excellent hit, Homura-chan!"
"Ngh..." X grimaced in pain. It had been a while since she took a hit like that. So two days made a slight difference...it succeeded in pissing her off a bit more. "You are all the worst."
"Says the criminal!" Amira pointed out.
"Good, bad...who cares? Those are just useless labels. I live the way I want to. If I'm deemed a criminal for it, so be it!" X said while her sword remained firm in her hand. "Good and bad won't mean a damn thing when Alexei gains the power of the Black Moon Star. There won't be anything left."
"I'm assuming you're okay with this." Homura said while keeping her stance.
"Of course I am." X shook her head. "I don't care about this cosmos. This universe. Nothing here matters. People are judgmental, they try to force themselves on you. Your actions are labeled and you're branded a criminal if you don't fall in line. If my way of life is criminal. then I'll stay that way until I die. Alexei offered me a chance to change this ridiculous cosmos for the better. I agree with him. Getting rid of emotion is the best thing for it."
"You cannot be serious..." Amira shook her head. "It's a horrific genocide! If people have no heart, they won't do anything. This universe will slowly die out because of it!"
"And?" X lifted a brow. "Nobody's going to kill each other. Nobody's going to fight. Are you really going to go against an ideal cosmos like that? A universe where everyone can be happy doesn't exist...but this is the next best thing."
"You're insane." Lowell spat.
"Not as insane as you all, for thinking you have a chance." The rumbling occurred at the same time. All eyes looked up to see Hubert's Knight Gear. X shrugged. "See? That's the signal. We're getting ready to end this."
"It's massive..." Amira gulped. She was worried for the others fighting in space right now.
"Ano..." Lowell grit his teeth.
"Do not give in!" Homura exclaimed. "We are still capable of fighting! Until I draw my last breath, I will do all that I can to protect this universe we all live in! I will not let the heart die on my watch."
"Homura-chan..." Amira stared at her in awe.
"Why would you do that?" X groaned. "That's a lot of work. It's much easier to accept the way things are going to be."
"I will do no such thing!" Homura shook her head. "The heart is a beautiful thing. We laugh, we cry...we experience heartache, but over time, it mends. These experiences are what make us all feel alive; humans and androids alike! If my teacher were standing here right now, I know she would agree with me. My heart cries for battle; I wish to fight for the sake of my friends who believe in me! I will not allow you to stand in the way of this. I will cut you down!"
"..." Lowell was awestruck as well. Homura was clearly in a different league and he could see that now.
"..." X responded with a twitch of her brow. Rage disappeared, and it was instead replaced with Wrath. She was completely angry now. "You just don't know when to quit. Fine. My last act of heart in this universe...will be making sure that yours stops beating."
.
.
Marshall had Laguna, Percival, G, and Lluvi on the ropes. The Walking Sin felt like too much for them to handle, with all of his different sins providing him a different advantage in the battle. With Envy, he could steal G or Lluvi's barriers; Wrath allowed him to overpower everyone, Gluttony kept him in the fight, Pride had him one step ahead of everyone else, Sloth allowed him to dodge everything...and lust had him eying Percival and Lluvi, specifically gunning for them on occasion. "This man is a revolving door of personalities!" G grunted in fustration, throwing a gravity infused fist to Marshall's face. It was a direct hit, and the man slid backwards. If it were that easy to take Marshall out, they would've done so already...
"Where's Weisz..." Percival grunted.
"I don't think it matters." Lluvi shook her head. "We've been throwing everything we have at him, and he's still getting up! We can't get a decisive hit on him!"
"Of course you can't!" Marshall laughed. With purple eyes at the forefront, Pride was running the show once again. "I'm not letting anyone stop Danchou from getting what he wants! Even all seven Sins can agree on that front!"
"All seven of you, huh? Or would it be...all eight?" Laguna questioned with heavy breaths. Marshall's expression twisted. "Seven sins make up your personality...but where is the real Marshall Izumi?"
"The real one?" Percival looked at Laguna.
"...That loser?" Marshall scoffed. "I already told you. That's what we're all in agreement of." His eyes then flashed red. Wrath took over. "You just DON'T GET IT! Not having control of yourself for even a few moments. We exist in this one body, constantly shifting about! That's why we joined Danchou! If he erases emotion...he'll erase everything about us as well."
"You're basically asking to die...!" Lluvi pointed out. If Marshall was a man who existed solely off of emotion, then...
"Exactly." Sloth replied. Marshall was on the ground, yawning. "We can't do it oursevles...and we haven't met a single person able to kill us. We joined because Danchou soundly beat us in a fight. Of course, we wanted to fight him again...but he offered us this deal instead. If we help him with his plan...we'll get exactly what we want. But I want to have a little fun first before I go!" Sometime between words, Lust took over and eyed Percival's chest. "I just want more...more...and more!" It was hard to tell what came next; gluttony or Envy. And then, Hubert's Knight Gear was visible to them. "Ah...so it's the end."
"What is that!?" Percival shouted.
"It's enormous..." G gasped.
"That's Hubert, getting ready to lay waste to you all!" Marshall laughed. "But you won't have to worry about that. Because I'll be done with all of you before he gets here."
"That won't happen." Laguna said confidently. "I won't lose a man who's already lost himself."
.
.
Within Hermit's datascape, Geno was dealing with the virus that had been plaguing her for days now. Most of her datascape was in ruins with the virus causing so much damage, but not anymore. With a single shot, Geno fired upon the bird-like virus. His Megabuster was a direct hit, exploding against the virus and causing it to disappear. "Got it!"
"Nice shot, Geno!" Omega cheered. With that task out of the way, the damage dealt to Hermit's memory slowly began to recover. The damaged parts were fixing themselves, and the old memories that were deleted were restored, bit by bit.
"Whew..." Geno let out a heavy sigh of relief. Between fighting Waltz and dealing with the virus, he was putting in his fair share of work. "Hermit should be alright in a moment or two now." As he watched the memories come back, he noticed the first ones. "Huh...that's weird. These memories from 17 years ago are...locked? No, it's more like...they barely exist..."
"Huh." Omega tilted his head what little he could. "Didn't Ziggy make Hermit and the others? He probably knows more about this..."
"Do you think he did something to them?" Geno asked. Seeing that he couldn't interact with those memories, he walked along as Hermit's other memories were repaired. The most recent memories, of him and Hermit, were untouched.
After a moment, Hermit's data avatar appeared next to Geno with a bright grin. "You did it, Geno! I can feel my memories coming back! All systems are green!" And then she threw his arms around him for a hug, very grateful for his hard work.
Geno blushed at this, but he grinned all the same. "I'm just glad I was able to help...! Things sound like they've gotten really bad outside. We need you."
"I'm sorry for worrying everyone. I really let Hubert get the best of me." Hermit grumbled. "It caused everyone so much trouble. Hurry up and head back outside. You've done a lot for us. You two can rest and leave the rest to me!"
"Got it!" Geno nodded. Just as he was about to leave, the purple datascape suddenly turned a blazing red. "Huh!?"
"Ngh, what now!?" Hermit gasped. The Virus returned, and it was in a wild, unstable state. It was only playing dead, waiting for the right moment to strike. This was that moment.
'It's about to explode!?" Omega shouted.
"What!?" Geno and Hermit exclaimed at the same time.
"If it explodes, it'll completely erase everything Hermit...and us." Omega said as the virus was getting smaller and smaller, condensing itself for a massive explosion.
"You guys have to get out of here!" Hermit turned to Geno. "It's not safe!"
"Not safe?! What about you?!" Geno exclaimed. "This will kill you!"
"I'll...deal with it somehow!" Hermit shook her head. "If you guys stay in here, you'll die! I can't let you die on my account!" With this, she turned around and started to sprint towards the virus, but she was immdiately stopped when Geno took her hand. "Huh!? Geno, let me go!"
"...No." Geno shook his head. He and Omega exchanged a glance and nodded at each other. "We'll go."
"You can't...!" Hermit's jaw dropped.
"...I want to protect you. If it wasn't for you...I don't think I'd be here right now. I'd be alone with a damaged heart. You were the one who reached out to me on that day...you gave me something to fight for." Geno said firmly. Hermit turned around and the two stared at each other. Without a word, Geno leaned in, pressing his lips to Hermit's for a gentle kiss. Words could do nothing, but actions could. Hermit's eyes softened and she briefly returned it. When Geno pulled back, he whispered: "Thanks for everything, Hermit...I'll always be with you."
And then, Omega fired off a harmless blast of ether at Hermit, knocking her away. This was to keep her as far as possible from what was about to happen. "...You ready, kid?"
"...Yeah." Geno nodded. He then flew towards the virus. "...Sorry, Mom...I hope you can forgive me for this...but I have to do this."
"You turned into a man she'd be proud. Your father and Sarrisse, too." Omega said with a soft chuckle. "Me too, of course. Let's do this."
Hermit had to shake off the impact she took. She looked up, watching as Geno grabbed at the Virus. Due to its size, it was extremely small and he could hold it in his hands. He was putting it within himself to contain the incoming blast. "GENO!" Hermit let her feet carry her as fast as she could, running towards Geno with an outstreched hand. "GENNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" She cried out with tears in her eyes. Geno looked at Hermit with a sad smile, tears in his own eyes. Hermit made a leap of faith to grab Geno before it was too late, to hold him in her arms...but in a brilliant flash of light...he vanished...
.
.
Hermit jolted awake with a gasp, startling the now back to normal Mosco, Sister, and Couchpo. "GENO!?"
"Whoa! Are you alright!?" Sister felt like she would've had a heart attack if she could!
"Is Geno okay? Where are he and Omega?" Couchpo was waiting for Geno to pop out as well. But...there was nothing.
"Hermit...?" Mosco waited for an answer. There was none. All anyone could see were the tears streaming down Hermit's cheeks. Their expressions fell considerably.
"..." Hermit didn't say anything at first. She stood up and took her position at the bridge, observing the situation she was largely missing out on. Elsie and Justice were being thrown back from Hubert's massive Knight Gear. The Goldstones, Ano, and the GIU were on the backfoot in this encounter as well. Hermit's hand clenched into a fist, as her sadness began to turn into rage.
"That blue flower Geno got you...it's a symbol of love, you know?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hermit let out a wail of agony, slamming her fist against the console in front of her. She then exploded into her Overdrive state. The surge of power from the Eden's Zero caught everyone's attention, as the ship was forced into inactivity for a while. The most volatile thing in the Obsidian Cosmos, right now, was Hermit Mio's rage. "HUBERT! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAAAAAAAAAY!"