Hey guys! Welcome to the last chapter of 2023! It's been a wild year to say the least. Between getting "Reality" and "Power" completed to finally having the chance to work on this story, things have been great. Of course, there have been some rough times every now and again.
I do find myself not getting motivated, whether it's because of life or the things I'm trying to get invested in. It does bring me down a little, especially when I want to do a lot. But I hope that you can understand I'm not always able to work on things like this. I have more to my life than writing, and the next year's probably going to be more of the same for that. But that doesn't mean I'll be giving up on my stories. It just means that at some point, updates might not come as frequently as you'd expect. These weekly updates are good, but they could turn into bi-weekly updates at the drop of a hat.
But that's enough lamenting over what the future holds. Right now, I'm just happy to be writing for you all and ending this year on the highest possible note. I'll let Xiaomei take it from here.
SPACE
Hello, everyone. It feels like it's been a while. Then again, it will be longer at some point soon.
When we last left our heroes, Elsie and those of the Omni Force opposing Ziggy battled him to seemingly the brink of defeat. Unfortunately, a moment of hesitation on Elsie's part led to Ultron intervening, and Ziggy using the Space Stone to best everyone else. Now separated, the objectives for our heroes have changed ever so slightly.
Katsuki has gone after Elsie, who was taken away by the likes of Justice. Megumi went into the shadows, looking to send word to the rest of the team about the situation. And as for Torunn… she's been joined by her friends as they face off against Ultron himself…
"Saint Louis Smash…" Izuku started to bellow as he leapt up, rearing his right leg back, "AIR FORCE!" he roared, swinging it forward to unleash a blast of pressurized air that was heading for Ultron. With a huff, he snapped his fingers. A metal wall suddenly shot up from the ground, blocking the attack. However, it's force left a significant dent in it.
"Fascinating…" the bulky android commented, right before needing to fly away from a lunging Nezuko, who attempted to swipe at him with her sharp fingernails. More drones arrived on the scene, their right arms morphing into cannons that fired off blasts of blue energy.
"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Cradle!" Noelle exclaimed, composing a dome of multiple whirlpools around herself and her colleagues, blocking off the incoming blasts.
"Hmph," Ultron scoffed.
"Torunn, how'd you guys take him out back in your universe?" Noelle asked of the demigoddess beside her.
"The Hulk had severed him in two before I threw him into the vastness of space," she responded to her shock.
"W-We don't have a Hulk!" she noted emphatically.
"Doesn't mean we don't have the strength to do the same thing," Devlin pointed out.
"But it's going to be hard, especially with the other drones in play," Nezuko added.
"I can make it work," Izuku assured to everyone's surprise, "Silva, you and Torunn take on Ultron," he instructed of his colleagues, "The rest of us'll deal with the drones," he affirmed.
"Right," the demigoddess replied, while the Water Magic user nodded. Black energy tendrils with teal outlines emerged from the orange sights upon the One For All inheritor's gloves.
"Black Net!" he exclaimed, making the tendrils expand from the dome of whirlpools, wrapping around several of the drones in the area, while some managed to escape. Unfortunately, one wound taking a powerful kick to its chest from Nezuko, sending it crashing against the wall before exploding. A few of the others attempted to fire onto her, only for their cannons to be struck by the pale green crystals shot by Devlin. He flew out from the dome, grabbing them with his upper arms and crushing them in his grip. Watching on, Ultron scoffed again.
"I don't have time for this farce…" he muttered out, following by narrowly evading getting slashed by Arnbjörg as Torunn swung it up at him. She then brought it down onto his shoulder, making a loud bang echo. Her eyes widened as she saw that the blade hadn't even cut into him.
"What?!" she exclaimed in disbelief. The android chuckled.
"My chassis is composed of pure adamantium," he told her, grabbing her by her right arm, "You'll have to use much more force to even try and scratch me…" he stated.
"Torunn!" Noelle cried out, unleashing a ball of water from the tip of her created lance up at them. It forced Ultron to let the demigoddess go as he flew back, followed by firing off beams of red light from his hands down at the Black Bull mage. She let out a gasp before getting struck, crashing onto the ground.
"Silva!" Izuku yelped, followed by seeing other drones converge towards him. Gritting his teeth, he had the black tendrils pull the entrapped drones in, making them crash against the others as their pieces rained onto the ground around him. Ultron growled at the sight, raising his left arm. More drones were swarming onto the scene.
"Crap…" Devlin grumbled, making his upper right arm shape into a sharp blade before he flew up, hacking at a few of the drones. Nezuko followed suit, thrusting her hand through another drone before flinging it aside to crash into two others. The scene was turning chaotic, with Noelle getting up in time to avoid a few blasts from some of the drones, blasting them away with torrents of water she unleashed. The outer layers of Izuku's gloves jolted forward as he flicked his fingers, firing pressurized air blasts to knock other enemies out of the sky.
"Ah… how perfect…" Ultron noted, seeing more and more of his drones fly out and converge onto his enemies, "By the end of this war, the only thing that'll be living in this universe… will be metal…" he proclaimed, watching his foes struggle to take on so many drones at once. Grimacing, Izuku clenched his fists as he kicked away another. Back up in the space just above Lendard, more Dragons were being eviscerated by the beams shot from the Midnight Fleet's cannons. Shiro and Ibuki grinned at their work, seeing fewer and fewer of the space beasts flying about.
"Looks like they've got a handle on things here…" Riri noted, floating about alongside Jaime, Jessica, and Jetray.
"Should we have come back in the first place?" the latter of the group inquired.
"Better to make sure no Dragons went after the Edens Zero and the others," his girlfriend responded, "Speaking of which, we should probably get ourselves an update," she advised, earning a nod in reply from the armored Avenger.
"Hey, you kids heading down?" Gowen's voice asked over the communication line, getting their attentions as they perked up in surprise. The Skull Fairy was descending toward the planet. "We wanna make sure the princess is alright," the Flame Bolt Ether Gear user noted from the ship's bridge.
"Your help would be appreciated," Hyoga mentioned.
"Yeah, we'll be behind you," Riri affirmed as a response, activating the repulsors at her feet before soaring down after the Skull Fairy with her colleagues. Within her armor, she shivered a little. She knew that not only Ziggy was on Lendard, but also Ultron. And she could only imagine just what kind of mayhem could unfold on a planet that both were in complete control of.
X
The standoff between the Dark Stars and those of the Omni Force lasted for a few moments. Steam puffed out from the nostrils of Inosuke's hide, while an icy mist wafted off from Shoto. Homura readied an intricate energy blade in her left hand, and Weisz steadied his rifle. Holographic icons appeared around Pino as she analyzed the four androids before her and her allies.
"The Demon King's Four Dark Stars…" she confirmed, "Successors to the Four Shining Stars," she mentioned, "I'm now analyzing their battle abilities," she told the group.
"If they're successors, they're probably stronger," the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user noted aloud.
"Strong or not, we can't let them get in our way," Shiki stated, clenching his fists tightly.
"Master, they do surpass the Shining Stars in performance and numerical statistics," Pino pointed out.
"That doesn't matter," Happy said as he stepped forward, "We're not gonna lose to a bunch of jerks with no hearts," he declared.
"Hearts?" Wizard repeated in confusion.
"If you fiends had hearts, they would be pained at the thought of hurting innocent people," Homura told him.
"That's why we're gonna rip you to shreds!" Inosuke proclaimed, tightening his grip on his dual swords.
"Hearts… hm," Killer chuckled out.
"Well, you could say we don't have hearts," Clown admitted, "But you could say that we do, too…" he mentioned with a giggle.
"We fight for the good of all mechanical lifeforms," Brigandine stated upon stepping forward, "That is our heart," he said.
"That's no heart at all…" Rebecca retorted.
"It's all just programming," Weisz muttered out, "You're only following Ziggy's orders…" he mentioned with narrowed eyes. Wizard lowered his gaze.
"I suppose you may be right…" he confessed.
"Don't worry, though," Shiki assured as he took a step forward himself, "We're gonna set you all free," he promised.
"Set us free?" Killer repeated, chuckling again.
"What a fine phrase," Wizard remarked, "We use it often when addressing humans like yourselves," he mentioned to his enemies, "We destroy their flesh… and 'set them free' from their miseries of life," he confirmed, causing his foes to growl angrily. Shoto then rushed forward.
"Heaven-Piercing…" he began to bellow, planting his right foot down and swinging his arm up as ice built up massively, seemingly crashing into the quartet of androids, "ICE WALL!" he roared. Half of the coliseum was covered in ice, which glistened in the light. The Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user exhaled a cold breath before igniting flames over his left shoulder, regulating his temperature.
"HEY!" Inosuke shouted angrily, "I WAS GONNA TEAR 'EM APART FIRST!" he pointed out, swinging his swords around.
"Calm down already…" Weisz insisted as a drop of sweat rolled down his head.
"I doubt they would be defeated so easily…" Rin noted with a grimace, while the others took ready stances. Loud bangs started echoing after a moment, followed by the ice structure shattering to pieces. The mist settled, revealing the Dark Stars still standing, with Brigandine in front of them as his arms were crossed.
"What an unsporting attack…" he grumbled out, making Shoto grimace.
"We must stick to our master's orders," Wizard advised, "Killer, now," he instructed of the hooded android beside him.
"Right," he responded, holding his right hand out. Several ones and zeros of light appeared around him, like binary coding.
"Here they come!" Homura warned.
"Let's do this!" Inosuke yelled as he charged forward. However, the ground suddenly started shining underneath him and his colleagues, causing them to yelp in surprise.
"Hey, what the…?!" Rebecca gasped out.
"What's happening?!" Rin asked frantically.
"It's a landscape plugin!" Pino exclaimed in reply after a moment, "That android's attempting to create a new dimension!" she confirmed to the group.
"Bastard!" Weisz shouted, aiming his rifle at Killer. He pulled the trigger… only for nothing to happen. "Wha—? My gun!" he yelped out. The light surrounding him and his allies grew brighter before they all found themselves needing to shut their eyes to avoid getting blinded. After a moment, the Machina Maker Ether Gear user looked around, finding himself somewhere completely different. He seemed to be in an abandoned hospital, with much of the hall he was in left in tatters. "What the hell…? Where…?" he tried to ask, turning his head left and right, only to find no one else in sight, "Guys, where are you?!" he asked, "Damn…" he cursed, "Comms aren't working…" he realized with a grimace.
"Welcome to my subdimension program," Killer's voice chimed in, causing Weisz to whip around with his rifle at the ready. The hooded android had suddenly appeared behind him, grabbing his cloak. "I've created unique backdrops in this space, where we'll kill each and every one of you," he told his future foe, throwing off the cloak to reveal his body, which included a metallic tendril protruded from his back, "I am Killer, the Brain of Edens," he introduced, "and I'll be the one killing you," he vowed.
"Brain, huh?" Weisz repeated, narrowing his eyes while steadying his rifle, "You don't look strong in that department," he remarked mockingly, "As for me, I'm the Flame of Edens," he said, "I'll roast you to cinders," he proclaimed. His android foe chuckled. However, he was almost unaware of a figure charging at him from behind. He whipped around too late as he seemingly wound up taking a slash to the face from Azari's claws.
"GWAH…!" he yelped out in pain.
"Azari!" Weisz exclaimed in surprise, seeing the Avenger skid to a stop beside him. He looked out at the Dark Star, who staggered a little… but then smirked.
"Guess I picked a tough one…" he concluded as his body fizzled to his opponents' surprise, "But oh well…" he sighed, "This only makes it more of a challenge for all of us…" he presumed before fading away completely.
"A hologram…" the Machina Maker Ether Gear user realized, "Guess this jerk's gonna be playing hard to get…" he muttered out.
"We have to get him quick," Azari insisted to his ally's surprise, "He's the only one who can undo this thing, right?" he assumed.
"Y-Yeah…" Weisz stuttered in agreement. Elsewhere, Rebecca and Rin found themselves in a dark space.
"What the heck just happened…?" the former inquired as she looked around for a sign of her friends, "Guys? Where are you?" she asked, grimacing worriedly.
"Seems we're the only ones here…" the mage with her realized, attempting to take a step, "Let's find out- AH!" she yelped as she suddenly fell.
"Rin?" Rebecca uttered upon turning, only to suddenly find herself wavering. She looked down to find that she was standing on a tightrope high above the ground, falling off and barely managing to grab onto it with both of her hands. "Wh-What's going on with this place?!" she stammered in question, "Weren't we just in the coliseum?!" she inquired on, trying to pull herself up.
"Pino said something about a landscape plugin…" Rin noted, also holding onto the tightrope with her hands as she dangled from it, "That must be why we've been separated…" she concluded.
"Correct, correct~!" Clown's voice sang as he clapped his hands, getting their attentions, "Though to be fair, we only wanted the ones from Three-One-Seven-Seven…" he pointed out.
"It's that clown guy…" Rebecca realized.
"Where is he?" Rin inquired with a grimace.
"Rebecca! Rin!" Happy's voice suddenly cried out to them, causing them to look over and gasp to find both him and Pino entrapped in a birdcage hung by a chain.
"Happy?! Pino?!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user exclaimed in surprise.
"Why did you two get captured…?" Rin wondered aloud.
"What's a circus without a captive audience, am I right?" Clown inquired jokingly of his foes, causing them to look over to standing upon the tightrope with perfect balance. Spotlights flashed on, revealing the circus tent-like setting they were in. "Now let the greatest show from hell begin…" the Dark Star said, grinning deviously. Both young women clenched their teeth.
Meanwhile, Shiki opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in an open field with trees and rocks nearby, while a town loomed in the distance. He had to blink a couple times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. It all looked… so real.
"Where am I…?" he asked aloud.
"Granbell!" Shoto's voice called out, getting his attention as he turned to see the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user running over to him, "So you got sent here, too," he noted.
"Yeah…" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user responded, "This place…" he uttered on, clenching his fists.
"I'm betting the others got separated in pairs," Shoto affirmed as he walked about the area in search of something, "They'll be fine if they stick together, I think," he added assuredly, only to get no reply from Shiki, "We should get going and figure a way out of here," he insisted of his colleague.
"R-Right…" he stuttered out, ready to follow the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user.
"Do you not remember this place, Shiki?" a robotic voice suddenly inquired, causing him to instantly halt as his eyes widened with shock, "Take a good look around," he advised as the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user turned. Standing there was a short machine with a very simple design. His head was maroon, large and ovular in shape; he had no visible eyes but two sunken holes in their place, and he had thin, rod-like neck and limbs. He wore a pointed hat and a green cloak with golden stripes and covered his hands with white fabric gloves. "This is the land of swords, magic, and dreams," he listed off, "The Kingdom of Granbell," he said, "Your home," he added, "Hello, Shiki," he greeted with a simple wave to the Oración Seis Galáctica member.
"Michael…" he uttered out in disbelief.
X
"Huh… Huh…" Katsuki breathed heavily as he landed atop a building, crouching down as sweat trickled from his body. He wiped some off his right cheek as he stared at one edifice in particular.
'Bastard was fast, I'll give him that…' he muttered inwardly, having pursued Justice for quite a while, 'But it worked out, since he didn't even notice I followed him…' he added to himself, 'So now what?' he wondered through his thoughts, 'The redhead probably can't use her power now if he's got her,' he noted inwardly, 'Plus, there's other crap that could happen at any second…' he mentioned through his thoughts with a grimace, 'If the government's got more forces here, did that harlot bitch set us up?' he inquired inwardly, 'It'd make sense…' he concluded.
"Kacchan!" a voice chimed in, causing him to gasp as he reflexively whipped around, aiming his right hand. However, he blinked in surprise to find Natalie there, giggling at him. "Good, you're alive," she pointed out.
"Tch," the Explosion Quirk user scoffed, "'Course I am, ya damn Salamander," he grumbled out, noticing Kyoka, Shirou, and Francis there as well, "How'd you all know where I was?" he asked.
"Fushiguro called," the Earphone Jack Quirk user answered, "He's planning to rendezvous with us before we try to get Crimson back," she told him.
"Sounds like it'll be easier said than done with Justice in the way," the archer of the group grumbled, looking through a scope to see that the Oración Seis Interestelar member was cuffing his enemy to a pole, "You heard how he beat Shiki three years back, right?" he inquired.
"Yeah, but that's not going to stop us," Shirou affirmed.
"Justice isn't the only one we're gonna to worry about," Kyoka noted to the others, getting their attentions, "There are more enemies coming this way," she confirmed while having her earphone jack plugged into the ground, "I think they're the Dragons from earlier," she mentioned, much to the shock of her colleagues.
"That might mean that Acnoella bitch is with 'em…" Katsuki inferred with a grimace.
"It was already bad enough with needing to get Elsie back…" Francis grumbled, "What are we supposed to do?" he wondered aloud.
"…Don't worry," Natalie chimed in, getting their attentions as they saw her sock her right fist into her left hand, "You've got yourselves a Dragon Slayer, after all," she pointed out with a grin. Katsuki and Kyoka smirked in response. Meanwhile, explosions rained about as Noelle flew away from the swarm of drones in pursuit of her. She clenched her teeth, aiming her watery lance at them.
"Water Creation Magic…" she began to echo, "Sea Dragon's Roar!" she bellowed, unleashing a torrent in the shape of a draconic beast, tearing through the drones and crashing into the ground. However, more and were popping up like flies, emerging from ports in nearby buildings. Torunn flew over and slashed away a few more, growling with frustration.
"This is a never-ending nightmare!" she remarked aloud.
"I'll say!" the Black Bull concurred, "Where's Ultron?" she inquired, "Beating him might help us stop these things!" she pointed out before flying away from a few more drones. Back on the ground below, Izuku reared his right leg back before swinging it out, unleashing a powerful blast of pressurized air to knock away several more of the robots appearing on the scene. He landed down, whipping around in search of Ultron.
'This really isn't good…!' he noted to himself, watching Devlin struggle to handle fighting back against more drones converging onto him. Torunn and Noelle were struggling themselves, as so many drones were firing blasts of blue light onto them. 'At this rate, we'll be overrun!' the One For All inheritor concluded with a grimace. Elsewhere atop another building, Ultron watched on with satisfaction.
"Ultron, come in," Wizard's voice suddenly echoed, getting the bulky android's attention as a holographic screen appeared beside him with the Dark Star upon it.
"Wizard," he addressed.
"We have Ziggy's grandson captive in Killer's subdimension," the Dark Star confirmed, "He'll be dealt with shortly," he proclaimed on.
"…Good," Ultron replied, "Ziggy is off getting repairs from his previous bout," he mentioned to his colleague, "Once he returns, the battle will shift even more in our favor," he affirmed on, "I'm planning on defending the factory from the Omni Force," he decided, "Join me once you're done," he instructed.
"I will be there at least," Wizard assured, "Of course, the others have been given different objectives first…" he mentioned, much to the bulky android's chagrin as he huffed.
"Always so focused on himself…" he muttered out, "Fine," he said, ending the communication as the screen disappeared. His propulsion systems activated as he started floating up, ready to fly off. But suddenly, he found himself ambushed with a powerful kick to his head from none other than Nezuko, sending him crashing into another building. The other Omni Force members took notice, widening their eyes in surprise. The smoke settled as Ultron flew out from the indentation his collision has made in the building, glaring at the hybrid demon as she glared back.
"You can't fight us yourself?!" she inquired as she lunged out again, this time readying her right hand.
"Tch," the bulky android scoffed, sticking his right hand forward and uncorking several searing beams of red light, all of which pierced through the demon slayer's body.
"Gah…!" she gasped out.
"Nezuko!" Izuku screamed, making the green bio-electricity around his body crackle wildly as he leapt up, hopping from wall to wall in order to gain momentum. Ultron took notice of him approaching, moving aside to barely evade taking a high leg kick from his enemy, releasing a powerful blast of pressurized air in the process.
"ULTRON!" Torunn bellowed, getting the bulky android's attention as the demigoddess soared down, slamming the flat end of Arnbjörg against him as they crashed down hard against the ground in an instant, resulting in a flurry of dust and dirt. Growling, Ultron fired off a beam of red light that pierced through the Avenger's right thigh, making her wince with pain. She was then thrown off, slamming against the wall and falling down onto her side.
"More and more worthless flies…" the bulky android grumbled out, making his eyes shine bright red. Hundreds of drones were suddenly emerging from the ports around the area, converging onto the scene.
"You're kidding…!" Noelle gasped out upon noticing.
"It's bad enough with just this many already…" Devlin grumbled while ripping one drone in half. Izuku grimaced, seeing the drones veer around and dive towards him and his friends. But suddenly, green rays of light shot down from above, with some piercing through the drones, while others formed into chain constructs, wrapping around dozens and crushing them. Those below gasped, looking up to see the likes of Jessica and Jetray coming. Following them were Riri and Jaime.
"Let's shut 'em down here!" the armored Avenger insisted, unleashing a massive beam of blue light from her arc reactor, "Uni-Bomber!" she exclaimed as it seared through several of the drones. Forming his right arm into a sonic cannon, Jaime fired off sound waves onto more of the drones, making them short-circuit and plummet onto the ground. Seeing that, Ultron growled with frustration.
Devlin flew up at him amidst the chaos, grabbing him with his upper left hand. The heat it exuded burned into the bulky android, making him wince before blasting the hybrid Osmosian back with rays of red light from his eyes. He then magnetically made the pieces of his drones shoot up and bombard those in the air. Jessica was quick to get in front of her transformed boyfriend, shielding him by constructing a sphere of green light from her ring that surrounded them both. Riri countered the debris by releasing a volley of mini-missiles from her shoulders that exploded against the barrage.
"Tch…" Ultron scoffed. Nezuko lunged toward him again, but he spotted her coming, whipping around as his left arm glowed a fiery red. He swiped at her, relieving her of her left arm as blood spurted out, with some splattering onto the bulky android.
"Nezuko!" Noelle exclaimed, flying down to catch the hybrid demon as she fell, "Are you okay?!" she immediately asked in concern.
"Yeah…" the demon slayer responded with a wince as her arm started to regenerate, "In fact, I got just what I wanted…" she mentioned to her colleague's confusion.
"Perhaps I should focus on maintaining the factory first…" Ultron concluded, ready to head off. However, crimson-pinkish flames suddenly engulfed his body. "AAAAAAAHHHH!" he screamed out. Everyone looked over in shock.
"Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood," Nezuko said as Noelle looked to her out of surprise, "Even if his body's made of some strong metal, it won't be able to withstand my flames!" she declared as her severed arm was fully regenerated. The bulky android grimaced as sparks of electricity emitted from his body, as some of the fire was burning within him. As if that wasn't bad enough, he didn't realize that Izuku was zipping up the wall behind him, leaping high into the smoggy sky. He swung his left leg up as a reddish energy crackled around it.
'One For All… One Hundred Percent…' he began inwardly, 'Plus Fa Jin…!' he continued as he started coming down rapidly. Ultron noticed too late.
"MANCHESTERRRR… SMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSHHH!" the One For All inheritor roared, slamming his foot onto his foe's right shoulder, tearing right through it and severing his arm, with bits of burning metal flying off of him.
"Ergh…!" he winced out, "You damn insects…!" he cursed. His anger left him unaware of another presence closing in on him. A crack of thunder went off beside him as he slowly turned, seeing Torunn there, rearing Arnbjörg back in her grasp. Her grip on her sword's hilt was tight as lightning crackled mightily around it.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she roared, swinging her blade out to strike her enemy's neck, cleaving right through it instantaneously as a shockwave echoed from the attack's force. The red light of Ultron's eyes faded as his entire body and head fell onto the ground below, clattering just beside Izuku. The remaining drones all started fleeing the scene, only to get themselves blocked off by a wall of green light that Jessica constructed from a beam shot from her ring.
"Uh-uh," she said with a shake of her head, "Can't let you ruin the fun for us…" she remarked.
"Yeah," Jetray agreed, enveloping himself in a green flash of light. When it subsided, it revealed that he had turned into a small white alien made up of silicon. One of his most noticeable features was a square appendage resembling an MP3 player behind his back with a port on it, decorated with a '10' symbol and what looks like cassette tapes on his lower legs. There were green, circle-shaped indents on the back of his hands, and the inside of his mouth was also green with lines that gave it the appearance of an amplifier. He also wore headphones upon his ears. His slit green eyes were bulging out, he had two black stripes on both of his earplugs, which were quite pronounced, his legs were stubby, he had three toes on each foot. He bore the Omnitrix symbol on his forehead. His body was outlined in a green light as four duplicates emerged from it, all taking deep breaths with him before unleashing sonic screams onto the drones.
"You guys good?" Riri inquired as she landed down next to Izuku, letting her helmet's visor retract to reveal her face.
"Yeah, thanks to you," the One For All inheritor confirmed in reply as he smiled, "Seems like things are working out great up there," he noted on, glancing upward. The armored Avenger looked up herself, narrowing her eyes a little.
"Sorta…" she admitted, while Noelle and Devlin landed down, with the former letting go of Nezuko, "Anyways, we need to go after Ultron," she advised seriously.
"But… we just defeated him…" the hybrid demon of the group pointed out, tilting her head in confusion.
"Nay," Torunn said as she floated down, landing next to Riri, "This is merely an extension of Ultron's self," she noted to the group, "It's likely he has more bodies at the ready to inhabit in case one should be destroyed," she mentioned further.
"That's why we need to take down the factory as soon as possible," the armored Avenger added firmly. The others nodded in agreement.
"What should we do now, though?" Noelle asked, "The factory's already getting surrounded by the others, and we've still got a lot more to worry about," she pointed out.
"A fair point indeed," Torunn agreed. Just then, Izuku felt a buzz in his pocket, getting his attention as he quickly pulled out his MPG, pressing its center icon. A hologram of Megumi appeared over the device.
"Fushiguro!" he exclaimed.
"Good, you picked up," the jujutsu sorcerer noted, "Listen, all of you," he began, lurking in an alley as several Skeleton Army robots were marching by, "We weren't able to stop Ziggy," he confirmed to his colleagues, "And to make matters worse, the government's here," he mentioned, "Justice took Crimson away with him," he told the group.
"Should've figured it'd come to this…" Riri muttered in admittance as she folded her arms over her chest, "Holy said she didn't have control what the rest of the Oración Seis Interestelar could do…" she pointed out.
"Megumi, are you alright?" Torunn inquired in concern.
"Yeah, I'll be okay," the jujutsu sorcerer assured in response, "I'm going to be meeting up with Bakugo to get Crimson back," he confirmed further to everyone's surprise, "The rest of you should focus on helping the others," he advised of his colleagues.
"I guess that means backing up Shiki," Riri affirmed.
"I'll go on ahead then," Izuku decided.
"Me too," Nezuko chimed in as she reverted back to normal.
"We still need to worry about Crow and Acnoella, too," Devlin pointed out.
"You guys can make the call on how to stop those two yourselves," Riri affirmed as she walked off to the side for a moment.
"Huh?" Noelle uttered in surprise, "Wait, what are you going to do?" she asked of the armored Avenger, who let her visor come down over her face.
"I'm gonna go make sure Ultron doesn't escape…" she declared, blasting off into the sky in an instant.
"Riri…" Devlin uttered with concern.
"We could use some extra muscle to help us deal with Justice here," Megumi pointed out over the communication line, getting the group's attention.
"Yeah, I'll head on over," the hybrid Osmosian confirmed in reply.
"Same here," Noelle decided.
"I'll head back to the Edens Zero for the time being with the others," Torunn said, wincing as blood trickled down her leg, "I do need some time for recovery after battling both Ziggy and Ultron…" she admitted.
"No argument there," Izuku concurred, ending the call with Megumi as he pocketed his MPG, "Okay, let's get moving!" he advised of his colleagues, letting Nezuko hop aboard his back before speeding off. Everyone else headed for their intended destinations, having determined looks in their eyes. Elsewhere on the planet, a vat opened with steam wafting out before a figure emerging with the sound of a loud clang that echoed. Emerging was Ultron, whose entire body was a silvery-black with red lights emitting from the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet.
"Children are tenacious…" he muttered out, "but oh so fascinating…" he added with a smirk.
X
Back at the corroded coliseum, Inosuke lunged out at Brigadine with his blades at the ready. He swiped mightily at the large android, who threw up his left arm to block the attack as sparks flew. With a mere shove, he made the demon slayer go flying back before he landed upon the ground, sliding to a stop beside Homura. She was looking around the area in surprise. One moment, she and her friends were right next to each other. And now, they were gone.
"Where are the others?!" she inquired aloud in panic, "The other Dark Stars are gone as well…!" she noted on with a grimace.
"They enjoy fighting in those alternate dimensions," Brigandine confirmed, causing her to perk up, "But not I," he said, "I find this arena to be the place most suited for battle," he admitted to his foes.
"Me too!" Inosuke agreed, crossing his swords.
"Bring our friends back!" Homura demanded.
"Huh?!" the demon slayer exclaimed angrily, "But I wanna fight this guy myself, Kogoma!" he shouted to the Soul Blade Ether Gear user.
"It's Homura!" she corrected in frustration.
"There is nothing to 'bring back', as you say," Brigadine told the pair before him, "They are here," he confirmed, "We just cannot interact with them," he added.
"Ergh…" the Soul Blade Ether Gear user growled, "I haven't the slightest idea what any of that means…" she confessed out of frustration.
"Who cares?! Let's just fight!" Inosuke insisted.
"I agree, boy," Brigandine responded to his surprise, "I too dislike those difficult concepts…" he admitted, stepping forward, "O human who has nevertheless become one of the Four Shining Stars, and human who fights as wildly as an animal," he addressed to his enemies, "I am the counterpart to Valkyrie, the Armor of Edens, Brigandine," he introduced, "And you both will be facing me," he added in declaration.
"Valkyrie's counterpart…?" Homura repeated out of surprise, while Inosuke growled.
"This is a place fit for battle," the android noted, "Let us cross swords," he insisted. Elsewhere upon the planet, America crashed against a building as she yelped with pain, having been swatted away by Crow. He attempted to grab her, but was suddenly repelled by a rush of wind that slammed into him. He glanced over and growled to find Yuno there, cloaked in a green mana with a circle of connected crosses appearing behind his back, two wings, and a full crown.
"How annoying…!" the Oración Seis Galáctica member grumbled, attempting to swat at him. He suddenly found himself pelted with rounds of ammunition shot from the trio of starfighters flying by. Kleene glanced out at her boyfriend, worriedly watching him struggle to push back the titanic android.
"Well, we've got his attention…" Hermit noted from the Edens Zero's bridge.
"But now what…?" Sister muttered in question as she grimaced, "We're already down a man with Hornet on the mend…" she noted while in the infirmary, the short Avenger was being treated for his injuries by Mimosa, who was covered in vines and flowers that formed a dress as her glowing hands were aimed at her patient. From afar, Alice watched on worriedly. Back outside, Crow's eyes shined brightly.
"RRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared, unleashing powerful laser beams that seared across the skyline. They narrowly missed Yuno, who grimaced with fright, seeing several buildings explode in the beams' wake.
"Yuno!" Kleene cried out.
"Hermit, is the main cannon charged up yet?!" Laguna asked into the communication line.
"We're sitting at seventy-two percent!" the Mind of Edens responded from the bridge, "I bet only anything over seventy-five's gonna be enough to do anything significant…" she mentioned in admittance. The Eternal Titan then reached out toward Yuno, who gritted his teeth as he flew off to the side, hoping to not get snatched. Suddenly though, a black blur zipped past him in the opposite direction, going straight through the titanic android's hand. Everyone widened their eyes in surprise, including him. He looked at the hole in his extremity for a moment before clenching his teeth, glancing over to spot Asta there.
He was cloaked almost entirely in darkness, having horns, a tail, slit crimson eyes, and claws at his hands and feet. His hair was spiked up and darkened as he tightened his grip on his Demon-Slayer Sword, which had grown slightly. Crow's expression turned into a smirk.
"So the Zero's packing more firepower, huh?" he realized, closing his damaged hand into a fist as it started to repair itself, "Interesting…" he said ominously, glaring the devil-possessed magic knight down. Back in the subdimension setting of Granbell, Shiki was trembling at the sight of his long-lost android friend. Shoto noticed how disturbed he seemed.
"Hey, it's good to see you again, Shiki," Michael greeted, "You really have grown," he added. The Satan Gravity Ether Gear user clenched his fists tightly. His colleague looked on worriedly. He was aware of what this operation meant to those of this universe, especially Shiki.
FLASHBACK
"Todoroki, you got a sec?" Ochaco chimed in, getting the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user's attention as he turned to see her approach.
"What is it, Uraraka?" he asked.
"Hermit told me you're gonna be teamed up with Shiki for the mission," the Zero Gravity Quirk user pointed out.
"Yeah," Shoto confirmed, "Is there something wrong with that?" he inquired with a tilt of his head.
"N-No!" Ochaco stammered out with a wave of her hands in response, "I just wanted to ask you to look out for him," she requested, bowing her head as a sad expression came across her face, "Ever since what happened with Witch three years back, he's been… determined to make things right by stopping Ziggy," she told the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user, "Sometimes, I get worried that he's putting too much of a burden on himself," she admitted on, "So please, make sure he doesn't have to take on everything alone," she pleaded to her fellow hero.
"…You have my word, Uraraka," he responded firmly.
END FLASHBACK
"Granbell…" Shoto uttered as he started to reach out to the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user.
"I know…" he said suddenly, "This is all fake…" he growled out, "That's not Michael…" he added as the android before him tilted his head in confusion, "Stop your stupid games and show yourself already…" he demanded, clenching his teeth together. All of a sudden, more androids similar to Michael started appearing.
"What's gotten into you, Shiki?" one with a top hat and moustache asked, "Why the scary face?" he inquired on.
"Oh dear, is he at that rebellious phase of life?" an android with pigtails and a bonnet wondered aloud.
"Here… have some bread while you've got the time," another offered with a basket of food in her hands.
"You're not real… This… is all just an illusion…" Shiki pointed out while still trembling, "It's not them. They're all gone," he affirmed to himself.
"Granbell…" Shoto uttered.
"True, we all did die," another voice chimed in, getting their attentions as they looked over to see a robot decorated to resemble an elderly king. He had a thick mustache and beard, and gear-like symbols around his eyes. He wore a multicolored, striped crown and blue robe trimmed with fur, with the symbol of the Granbell Kingdom on the back. "However…" he continued, "in a virtual space, one can live for eternity," he noted, "Especially machines," he added, "We can take all of our memories with us," he affirmed to the pair of humans before him.
"Lord Demon King…" a female voice suddenly addressed, causing Shiki to jolt with disbelief. Shoto recognized it as well, letting off a grimace. They both turned to see none other than Witch there. "I'm… so happy… to see you again," she said.
"Witch…" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user whimpered out with tears pricking his eyes.
"Lord Demon King," the Shining Star addressed again as she approached him.
"Granbell, careful!" Shoto warned as his colleague grabbed at his head with both hands, shutting his eyes.
"This isn't real… Stop it…" he demanded in a low growl.
"That human heart of yours…" Witch began as she embraced the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user, "Those hearts are your weakness," she said, while the young man in her grasp seemed to lower his guard for a moment. His walls had seemingly come tumbling down upon seeing the android who he had witnessed perish appear before him, granting him a loving hug.
But it wasn't real. And he hated that. He hated how this was just his foe's way of taunting him for being so kindhearted.
'I love you,' Witch's voice echoed in his head. Tears streaked out from his eyes.
"NO!" he roared, swinging his arms out to remove himself from the Shining Star's grasp, "It's because I have a heart…" he continued, rearing his left fist back before thrusting it forward, "that I'm not gonna get fooled by you!" he declared, striking his foe's hand as she caught his extremity. A light appeared around her as she unveiled herself to actually be Wizard, making Shiki growl. Fire and ice started forming upon Shoto's arms.
"Let's do this," he said.
X
As the illusion of Witch faded around Wizard, so too did the other androids in the area. He and Shiki remained deadlocked for a moment as Shoto pressed his right foot down, unleashing a wave of ice towards them. Both of them leapt back, evading the attack.
"So I won't fool you because you have a heart?" the Dark Star inquired of the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user, "No, that's not the case at all," he affirmed, much to his foes' confusion, "You took a swing at Witch," he pointed out, "That was something impossible for you to do three years ago," he mentioned further, making Shiki growl.
"Flashfire Fist…" Shoto began, making thin beams of fire emit from white-hot points at his left hand's fingertips, "Hell Spider!" he exclaimed. Wizard leapt back, flipping around the beams as they razed through the ground, burning into it. "As far as I can tell, Granbell knew that it was all an illusion!" the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user pointed out, "He didn't try to swing at Witch… he was swinging at you, you bastard!" he roared angrily as the beams of fire subsided, allowing for the Dark Star to land down, raising his right hand up.
"Even so, that 'heart' of his is bending…" he affirmed. Both Shiki and Shoto blinked in confusion, barely noticing the glint of light coming from above. Wizard's spear came down, crackling in electricity as it headed towards them. "It's bending toward darkness," he proclaimed, swinging his hand down to have his weapon veer to the pair. They both leapt aside to evade it, as it struck the ground like a lightning bolt. More flashes of lightning went off along with booms of thunder, separating the Omni Force members from each other as they grimaced.
"Lightning Ether, huh?" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user noted aloud, "So you've got the same power as Witch?!" he presumed as smoke wafted about in the wake of the attack.
"The power I wield is 'magic'," the Dark Star responded, aiming his spear forward. A chilling wind suddenly washed over Shiki as he winced from the cold. "Ice Ether," his foe said, entrapping his target in a mound of ice.
"Granbell!" Shoto cried out. He quickly had flames spew from his left side, enduring the chilling wind as he clenched his teeth together. Wizard appeared to give off a frustrated expression.
"We Four Dark Stars are the next generation of Shining Stars, and their respective counterparts," he told his foes.
"Counterparts…?!" Shoto repeated amidst the freezing air.
"Hermit, the Mind, is matched by the Brain, Killer," Wizard noted, "Sister, the Life, corresponds with Clown, the Death," he kept going, "Valkyrie, the Sword, is matched by the Armor, Brigandine," he mentioned, "And I correspond with the Shield of Edens, Witch," he added further, "I am Wizard, the Spear of Edens," he introduced as energy crackled around the weapon in his grasp, "My spear is a galactic pole arm that can shatter any shield," he proclaimed, unleashing a powerful lightning bolt toward the entrapped Shiki. However, within the ice, his Ether Gear markings glowed brightly. Just before the bolt reached, he broke free and seemingly caught the mass of energy in his left hand. The Dark Star perked up in shock. "You caught my magic in your bare hand?!" he exclaimed, "No… you're holding it back with gravity…" he realized, seeing the determined look in the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user's eyes.
"Shoto, do it!" he called out to his colleague, causing Wizard to lightly gasp as he turned to Shoto, who swung his left hand out.
"Thanks for the cold…" he remarked, "It saves me more time with this," he pointed out, unleashing an intense amount of heat onto the android, "Flashfreeze Heatwave!" he exclaimed, expanding the cooled air instantaneously to create an implosion that struck his foe, sending him tumbling back along the ground before bringing himself to a stop, getting onto his feet. He looked out and saw Shiki compress the energy he had harnessed in his hand.
"You can have this back!" he yelled, flinging it toward the Dark Star.
"Air Ether!" he echoed as a burst of air shot from his feet, propelling him upward to avoid having the energy crash into him. However, Shiki had launched himself after him, clenching his right fist as he reared it back. "So fast…!" his foe yelped out.
"Magimech Attack…" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user started to bellow, "GRAVITY FIST!" he roared, striking with a powerful uppercut to Wizard's chin, sending him flying back. Shoto flew up afterwards with fire emitting from his left foot, engulfing his left fist in flames.
"Flashfire Fist…" he began echoing, concentrating the fire into a white-hot point of his extremity, "JET KINDLINNNGGGG!" he bellowed as he slammed it into the Dark Star, releasing a violent explosion of flames that burned through his opponent as he crashed onto the ground in a flurry of dirt and dust.
"I doubt that'll be enough…" Shiki admitted as he floated beside his colleague.
"Yeah," he agreed. All of a sudden, several green glyphs appeared around the pair, getting their attentions as they saw them start shining.
"What are those?" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user asked, only to suddenly have to barrel roll away from the bursts of light they shot out, "Whoa!" he yelped.
"Damn it!" Shoto cursed, unleashing a wave of fire onto the glyphs, making a few of them dissipate. At that moment though, he was struck by a burst of lightning. "GWAH!" he gasped out in agony. Looking over, Shiki widened his eyes.
"SHOTO!" he screamed. Below, Wizard stood up from the cloud dust that was dissipating around him. He raised his spear up as a black flame emitted from its tip.
"Fire Ether…" he began as Shiki took notice too late, "BLACK BLAZE!" he exclaimed, engulfing the Satan Gravity Ether Gear completely in a column of black flames.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed in agony.
"Hmph," Wizard huffed, "Seems your gravity doesn't hold a candle to Lord Ziggy's," he proclaimed. At that moment, he narrowly managed to evade the beams of fire shot his way from Shoto's left hand, as he was still grimacing from the attack he had taken earlier.
"Dammit…" he cursed out.
"In the end, all you humans will fall to us machines," the Dark Star proclaimed.
"We'll see about that!" Shiki suddenly roared, getting his attention. All of a sudden, the column of fire was blown apart in an instant, much to his shock.
'He smothered my flames…?!' he inquired inwardly, only to notice that the Oración Seis Galáctica member's appearance had changed. His hair became white, both his arms were darkened with green Ether markings, and a pair of black horns with the same markings appeared out of his head. His clothing also changed into a sleeveless, high-collared tunic, while a flaming energy emitted from his left eye.
"That appearance…" Wizard uttered as a holographic scanner activated around his right eye, "It's certainly Overdrive, but it contradicts our recorded data…" he noted aloud, "Has he really changed that much in three years?" he wondered on.
"Shoto, you gonna be okay?!" Shiki inquired of the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user, who landed down and skidded to a stop.
"Yeah, go for it!" he yelled back in response. Nodding, the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user clenched his right fist tightly, condensing a purple orb of gravity around it.
"Magimech Attack…" he began, soaring down at his opponent like a shooting star, "METEOR BREAKKKERRRRRR!" he bellowed, about to collide with the Dark Star. He held up his spear to block the attack, as its force knocked Shoto onto the ground in a yelp. He sat up, blinking in surprise to see his ally unable to push their foe back, as he was standing his ground.
And then, something else happened. Shiki took notice of his Ether markings starting to peel off of him, getting pulled into his foe's weapon. The gravitational energy around him started to lessen in strength.
"Wh-What the heck?!" he stammered out in panic, "What's happening?!" he asked.
"Drain Ether," Wizard said to his shock, "Magic that siphons away the Ether of my opponent," he noted, "I'm quite fortunate you decided to utilize your Overdrive so quickly," he pointed out, "I would've likely had trouble dealing with a non-Ether Gear user such as your comrade if this battle were to be prolonged," he admitted.
"Granbell!" Shoto exclaimed as he hurried over.
"Crap…!" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user grunted out, trying to pull himself back from his opponent, but to no avail.
"The more powerful the Ether unleashed upon me…" Wizard began, opening his eyes slightly, "the more powerful the Ether I absorb," he affirmed. The Overdrive form of Shiki faded from his body as he fell to the ground in a heap.
"No…!" he exclaimed, gasping for breath. Closing in, Shoto clenched his teeth as he readied ice upon his left arm.
"This is the end, Shiki," Wizard proclaimed as a greenish-gold light started shining around him, "Battle Dress… requip!" he yelled. The Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user unleashed a wave of ice that seemingly crashed over him, but it was blown apart just as quickly. The luminosity around the Dark Star faded, revealing his own altered appearance. He had a black suit of armoring with green energy wings appearing off of his back, with the coattails of his robe hanging over his legs and a metallic guard over the frame of his face, giving him the appearance of having elf-like ears. "A human can never hope to defeat a machine," he stated.
"We'll see about that!" Shoto exclaimed, bringing his hands together. Blue and orange flames suddenly started emerging from his body, circulating around his heart and appearing like armor. "Phosphor!" he yelled out.
"How troubling…" Wizard muttered. Meanwhile, Shiki tried to push himself up.
"Damn it…" he cursed out.
'My body's feeling heavy all of a sudden…' he noted to himself as his vision started blurring, 'It's like I'm seeing things…' he added inwardly, only to blink in surprise and gasp. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"You're like… like a wizard," a woman who looked almost exactly like Witch said while wearing glasses and a formal suit, seated beside a man that resembled Wizard, as he wore a suit himself, "A magician of the courtroom!" she flirted. Her colleague chuckled, sitting at a desk with her.
"If I'm a wizard, then you must be a witch," he noted to her, "A steel sorceress with the most ironclad logic," he added. Shiki couldn't believe what he was seeing. But there was one thing he did know. This wasn't an illusion.
"Ugh, that makes me sound so rigid and stiff…" the woman said in embarrassment.
"Ah haha!" her colleague laughed. Blinking, Shiki found himself looking over at Wizard again. There was no mistaking it now.
"You…" he uttered, getting the android's attention, "You knew Witch…" he concluded to his surprise.
X
"Okay, we're here!" Eijiro exclaimed as he, Klaus, Tanjiro and Ochaco were in an alleyway just beside the robot factory, where several Skeleton Army droids were marching about.
"But now what?" the Golden Dawn magic knight asked, "Do we have reinforcements yet?" he inquired on of his colleagues.
"Tsu and her team should be here since they told us about the factory's location first," Ochaco noted quietly, "But there aren't any Dragons around…" she mentioned, narrowing her eyes.
"Maybe that Acnoella person sent them to take care of the fleet above," Tanjiro suggested.
"Hmm… I doubt that…" Klaus admitted with crossed arms, "She's had to have realized that her Dragons aren't doing much to stop us up in space," he pointed out, "My guess is that she's having them swarm about elsewhere for a different reason," he presumed.
"Okay, so that just leaves the bots," Eijiro concluded as he peeked out again, "Should we bulldoze our way through?" he inquired of his colleagues. Spotting Tsuyu atop a building nearby with Noel, Ninny, and Yuji, Ochaco nodded.
'Don't worry, Shiki,' she assured inwardly, 'We're gonna make this job easier for everyone!' she vowed through her thoughts. Back in the subdimension of Granbell, Wizard looked over at the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user curiously upon hearing what he had said. His eyes narrowed.
"I am a second-generation android modeled after Witch," he noted, "Of course I possess all data relating to her," he mentioned on, "That said, I have no record of contact with her," he confirmed, "It would not be necessary," he added.
"Granbell, what's going on?" Shoto asked of his colleague, "What happened?" he inquired out of concern.
"I think… I saw a memory of that guy and Witch…" Shiki answered, only to blink in realization.
'Wait, this happened before…' he noted inwardly, remembering how he pulled in memories of his demise in World 29 from Rebecca… then garnered memories of Drakken Joe's childhood during their battle, 'So that means… this guy was a human before? And so was Witch?' he inquired of himself, 'But wait, the Shining Stars didn't have their memories…' he added through his thoughts, widening his eyes, 'That's right!' he exclaimed to himself upon remembering something.
"Ziggy erased the memories of Witch and the other Shining Stars had from outside the Sakura Cosmos," he pointed out, remembering what Hermit had explained around three years ago, "So maybe he erased some of you guys' memories, too," he inferred, "Memories of something… that he wouldn't have wanted you to know…" he added aloud, "And you must've known each other during the times of those wiped memories…" he finished.
"…Even assuming you are correct," Wizard began, tightening the grip on his spear, "Lord Ziggy must've had his reasons," he affirmed, "My mission to kill you remains unaffected," he stated, swinging his weapon forward. However, he was suddenly met by Shoto rushing at him, readying a conjoined mass of fire and ice in his hands.
"Icebound Crash…" he began, "COLDFLAME'S PALE BLADE!" he roared, striking the Dark Star and sending him flying back.
"Shoto!" Shiki cried out.
"I don't understand what's going on, Granbell…" the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user admitted to his colleague, "but it sounds like this guy must've been a friend of Witch's at one point," he noted.
"Yeah…" the Oración Seis Galáctica member concurred, "I'm not sure I have all the details right…" he admitted as he tried to bring himself to his feet, "but I think I pulled in a lost memory of his time before becoming Wizard…" he told his colleague.
"Lightning Ether!" the Dark Star's voice suddenly echoed, followed by a burst of lightning raining down and striking Shiki as he yelled in pain.
"Granbell!" Shoto exclaimed, glaring out at the android.
"He has no power left to fight with," he pointed out, "This battle is now between you and me, boy of fire and ice," he mentioned aloud, making the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user growl.
"You know…" Shiki began, catching their attentions as they looked over in surprise to see him slowly picking himself back up, "it looked like… you and Witch were pretty close…" he noted to Wizard, "I think… you were actually friends…" he added.
"That makes no difference to me," the Dark Star responded coldly.
"Well, it makes a big difference to me," the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user retorted, "'Cause if you were friends with Witch…" he continued, giving off a fierce expression, "then maybe you can be my friend, too," he concluded firmly. Meanwhile, in the circus-like subdimension, Rebecca started to swing herself around on the tightrope before throwing herself up to land upon it with her feet.
"Huh…" she exhaled with relief… only to wobble a little, "Ah!" she yelped, grabbing the rope tightly with both of her hands to find her balance.
"Rebecca, be careful!" Happy warned from the birdcage he and Pino were trapped in, which also had a layer of glass.
"The rope puts you at a disadvantage!" the little bot pointed out, "You need to find more solid footing!" she mentioned.
"Yeah, I know!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user responded, not noticing her opponent grin, "Rin, you need help getting—WHOA!" she yelped as she felt the rope shake, looking to see Clown wiggling upon the rope, "Ah, hey!" she exclaimed, "Don't shake it!" she insisted, struggling to keep her hold on the rope as it swayed.
"Clown dances an alluring dance!" the Dark Star noted as he spun atop the rope, posing like a swan, "Rebecca loses her balance!" he added.
"It's… some kind of commentary…?" Happy guessed out of shock.
"Or rather, it seems like an RPG system message from a video game…" Pino corrected, quite stunned herself. Rebecca was seemingly disgusted.
"How is that supposed to be alluring…?" she asked as sweat trickled down her face. Clown then started hopping on the tightrope.
"Clown dances an alluring dance!" he repeated like before. The rope's bouncing caused the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user to lose her grip, slipping off of it.
"AAAIIIEEEE!" she screamed.
"Rebecca!" Happy cried out. Luckily, the B-Cuber was quick to access her Overdrive form as her Ether Gear markings expanded from her ankles, wrapping her tail around the rope to catch herself.
"Whew, safe!" she exclaimed as she hung upside down. However, both Happy and Pino were mortified by the position their friend was in.
"No! You're out in so many bad ways!" the feline android pointed out emphatically.
"Your appearance has become terribly indecent!" the little bot beside him added. Clown cracked a smirk.
"Rebecca strikes an alluring pose," he commented.
"No, she doesn't!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user shouted back angrily. At that moment, she took notice of something. Rin had somehow made her way behind the Dark Star, having leapt up with her left arm trained on him, as a dark red sphere of energy was upon the tips of her fingers. "Rin!" her colleague exclaimed, causing the clown-like android to glance back and see her.
"We're not here to play games, you clown!" she yelled, firing off the energy sphere toward her target. He smirked, swatting it away easily with his left hand. "What?!" the mage yelped in shock, while Rebecca swung herself back aboard the rope, just as shocked.
"Oh, I'm not playing at all, Little Miss Tohsaka…" Clown affirmed as steam wafted from his arm, "It's just that you two don't really pose that much of a threat to me…" he mentioned, causing the pair of girls to growl, "But go ahead, try to prove me wrong…" he insisted, waving his hands goadingly. Elsewhere in the subdimension, Azari and Weisz were running through the halls of the ruined hospital in search of Killer. They turned a corner, finding him at the end of a corridor.
"I got him!" the Machina Maker Ether Gear user exclaimed, aiming his rifle and firing a flurry of bullets towards the Dark Star. However, they went right through him to his shock. He widened his eyes, hearing his foe cackle before disappearing.
"A hologram again, huh?" Azari noted, narrowing his eyes underneath his helmet.
"My role is an assassin, you know," Killer's voice echoed over an intercom, "You can't expect me to stay out in the open," he pointed out, "Try and find me, you two," he advised, "This game's going to be a lot of fun," he remarked with a chuckle.
"Enough of the bullcrap…" Weisz muttered, pressing a button upon the communicator in his ear. A holographic scanner appeared over his right eye. "There, that'll make this easier," he noted aloud. All of a sudden though, the scanner fizzled out to his shock. "The hell?!" he exclaimed.
"Ah-ah-ah…" Killer repeated from the intercom, "I call that against the rules," he pointed out, "Don't ruin the game, would you?" he insisted of the Machina Maker Ether Gear user, who growled.
"He overrode my program…" he noted aloud.
"So that means he's just as good as Hermit…" Azari realized, readying his metal claws, "Maybe even better…" he suggested. Back in the coliseum, Homura and Inosuke found themselves needing to endure the punches coming their way from Brigandine, sending them flying back as they tumbled along the ground to a stop.
"Ah… this guy's tough…!" the demon slayer noted through a grunt.
"We can't even hope to parry his attacks…" his colleague pointed out, standing back up, "We'll just have to dodge and counter!" she decided, rushing out at the Dark Star.
"Yeah!" Inosuke agreed, hurrying after her. Brigandine attempted to strike them again with his left fist, only for both of his foes to leap over him. Homura was first to strike at his neck with her energy blade, only to leave behind no mark as she gasped in shock. She was then swatted aside by her enemy's right arm.
"AH!" she yelped with pain.
"Koguma!" the demon slayer yelled, growling angrily, "Beast Breathing: Second Fang…" he began to bellow, raising his swords up, "Slice!" he exclaimed, slashing in an x-shaped pattern onto the Dark Star. Like his colleague, he left no cuts either. Under his boar's hide, his mouth gaped open in disbelief.
"No blade can pass through my armor," Brigandine exclaimed, smacking Inosuke aside with his left arm easily as he crashed against the wall in a flurry of dirt and dust.
"Inosuke!" Homura screamed, letting off a grimace.
'If neither of us can cut him…' she began inwardly, tightening the grip on her energy sword, while Inosuke arose from the rubble, puffing steam out determinedly from his hide's nostrils.
X
"You'd call us friends?" Wizard inquired of Shiki back in the Granbell-like space of the subdimension, "How absurd," he remarked coldly, firing off a blast of lightning toward him. However, Shoto stepped in and countered with a stream of fire he unleashed from his left hand.
"Granbell, come on!" he insisted of his colleague. The Satan Gravity Ether Gear user was still in deep thought over what he had just learned from that instant he saw that memory of Wizard and Witch together. They were human. They knew each other. So what changed?
"Ziggy was the one who taught me how important friends are…" he noted as Shoto and Wizard's attacks cancelled each other out, "but that Ziggy isn't around anymore," he mentioned.
"Of course not," the Dark Star confirmed, "Lord Ziggy had a short lapse of reason," he pointed out.
"Lapse…" Shiki repeated, only to widen his eyes slightly, "No… wait a minute…" he started to realize, "When Ziggy erased the memories of the Shining Stars and the Dark Stars…" he continued as Shoto looked over to him in concern, "it was before he went berserk!" he concluded, "In other words… he was still my grandpa," he said, "But what does that mean?" he wondered on, "Why would Ziggy erase his crew's memories while still himself…?" he questioned further, "What did he not want them to know?" he asked, only to lightly gasp in realization, "I think… I get it…" he finished, clenching his fists.
"I don't know what you're babbling on about, but it doesn't matter," Wizard chimed in as he raised his spear, letting a multicolored lightning crackle off from its tip, "With your Ether depleted, there's no way you'll be able to withstand this attack! You and your ally!" he proclaimed fiercely as his eyes flashed black, "Now turn to dust…" he began, "COSMIC LIGHTNING!" he bellowed, unleashing bolts of the electricity randomly.
"Shoto," Shiki said.
"Yeah, I know," the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user responded, dashing forward alongside him. With green Ether lines forming around his right arm, the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user blitzed through Wizard, cleaving a deep hole in his torso. Shoto did the same with intense flames around his left arm, burning out the left pectoral of his foe, tearing off his arm in the process.
"GWAH…!" he gasped out.
"Sorry…" Shiki apologized, "Guess we overdid it a little…" he admitted.
"You weren't giving us much choice…" Shoto noted as the flames around his body dissipated completely.
"Im…possible…" Wizard grunted before falling forward onto the ground with the sound of a thud, "I knew… you would… be trouble… for me to best…" he admitted weakly over to the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user, "But…" he continued, turning to Shiki, "I…I absorbed… all… your… Ether…" he pointed out.
"Yeah… about a tenth of it," the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user confirmed, much to the shock of the Dark Star as his eyes widened.
"Honestly, I'm ashamed I didn't think to end things sooner with my power," Shoto admitted, "Sorry," he apologized to his colleague.
"Don't worry about it," he assured in reply, "If I'm gonna be fighting Ziggy, of course I'm gonna have to save up as much strength as I can," he pointed out, "You were tough for sure," he noted to Wizard, who was still in utter disbelief, "If a tenth of my power wasn't enough to beat you, even with Shoto helping me out, then I know the others could be in just as much trouble," he mentioned further. The Dark Star grimaced.
'This power of his… it's overwhelming…!' he exclaimed inwardly.
"Attention all Dark Stars," his voice echoed over what sounded like an intercom, "Do not underestimate any of them," he advised. From the other spaces of the subdimension, Clown and Killer smirked. Meanwhile, Brigandine clenched his fists back in the coliseum.
"We should find our way out of here," Shoto insisted of Shiki.
"Hold on a sec," he said, turning and approaching the downed Wizard, "Hey," he uttered, getting his attention, "This is just a theory, but…" he began, "do you think Ziggy knew he was going to go crazy?" he asked. Elsewhere on Lendard, the Demon King was receiving repairs to his body as he smiled upon the platform where he stood, letting machinery prod him all the while.
And so the battle against the Dark Stars has begun. Shiki and Shoto have claimed their victory over Wizard… Or have they? One might not know what Ziggy has in store for our heroes… along with those still yet to join the battle…
We'll find out at some point. But I think it's time we took another brief reprieve before continuing. Until then, everyone.
END
Wow, I actually was able to get this chapter done a lot sooner than expected. With the new work schedule, things are hectic, but I wind up getting more done because I'm only working on one story per day, not two. Still, I can imagine that some story chapters are gonna take more than two weeks to complete depending on motivation and such.
I'm heading back to "Omni Force: ORIGINS" next, so that may very well be the case. But we'll see. I'm hopeful things work out! Thanks, everyone!