Here's the next chapter for you guys, hope everyone is having a great time. Happy this didn't take me nearly as long as the last one. Enjoy!
Broken Angel: Rising Demon
Chapter 46: Love and Hate.
-Prime Kamui-
"So do you have a plan?" RileyAlter inquired, the two standing within the expanse of Kamui.
"Simple one. We show up, kill the initial guards, I place a barrier around you and the vessel containing your power, and I unlock it. Then I go outside of the barrier and defend it while you power up. Simple, straightforward, difficult to screw up. I'll keep everyone off their game by pretending to be you. By the time anyone realizes what's happened, or begins to understand, you'll have your power back, and we can dismantle them together." Riley answered, earning a thoughtful look from her alternate self.
"Okay. Sounds good. If that's what we're gonna go with, then you'll need to know about those coming to face us. Some of them are actually dangerous." RileyAlter said to her. Riley nodded in acceptance of that and the two sat down. She sat across from her alternate, listening as RileyAlter began to explain the challenges they would face.
"My power, along with Kurama and the soul of grandfather Madara are contained within Planetary Devastation, in an alternate dimension. There it is guarded by a troop of Green Lanterns. Probably two whole squads, meaning twenty-four of them. They have the means to instantly send an alert to Oa if they are attacked, as well as sending a message to all nearby Green Lanterns around Earth. That means that members of the Justice League, like the Green Lantern Hal Jordan will immediately alert the rest of the league and use their own dimensional technology to travel there quickly to aid the Green Lanterns. Naruko is a member of the League, just like I was, so she'll immediately contact Albion, and get everyone else. Needless to say, we won't have more than a couple of minutes before everyone shows up to the party." RileyAlter explained to her.
"Alright. I've faced Lanterns before. Got into a skirmish or two with the Green Lanterns, but I fought against the Yellow Lanterns on their own home world. So, I know how to fight those with Power Rings. What about the Justice League? Anyone I should be concerned about?" Riley inquired.
"Yes. All of them, if I'm being honest. I was once a member of their group, the Justice League. I fought beside them, they were my friends, my comrades, each one has their own skills and abilities that make them deadly. They have a clause to never kill if it can be avoided, so they hold back, but they know well enough that it isn't so easy to kill me, so they won't when facing us. Starting from the top, you've got Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, and Naruko, as I said. Do you know any of them aside from the Green Lantern?" RileyAlter explained to her.
"I've fought Superman before, I could have killed him if I wanted to, but I chose not to. Never fought Batman before or the Flash, but I've heard of them. I know nothing about the rest, save for Naruko, the little twerp." Riley answered back, earning a snort of amusement from RileyAlter for the Naruko comment.
"Alright well, Batman is their tactician and strategist. He's a genius, and a master detective. He'll probably be the first to realize that you aren't me, and that's saying something considering he's just an ordinary human. He knows a bit of magic, just enough to protect himself from certain powers like mind-reading. Aside from his intellect, he'll most likely have spent the last several months preparing for an attack like this, so he'll have devised several plans, and will probably come equipped with anti-magic weaponry, things that could hurt or contain me, even if only momentarily. Aside from that, he has the skills of a shinobi. A master of stealth and deception, but he's just an ordinary human, so he won't be difficult to take down, if you get past whatever plans he's made. The Flash will be an issue. He's faster than anyone else. His powers are drawn from an energy source called the Speed Force. Basically, the concept of Speed itself. He can push himself faster and faster, so don't try beating him in a battle of speed, he'll win. He also has the capacity to think, using the Speed Force, and he's highly intelligent to boot, so he can think faster than us too, meaning most basic illusionary powers won't work on him either. He can use his powers to vibrate through solid matter. The best methods of beating him are to keep him from running at all or use heat or cold to defeat him. Pulling him into Kamui is also a good counter. Hit him with a powerful illusion to distract him, and then dump him into Kamui and drop the temperature until he freezes to Death. Shazam will be a difficult one to beat, he's only a kid, but he was imbued with the powers and magical abilities of six different gods. He has incredible magical powers, and the ability to manipulate lightning. By saying his name, he can transform between the form of Shazam, and his actual body. When not in the form of Shazam he has no powers and is just a kid. He has the wisdom of Solomon so manipulating him with illusions will be difficult. Killing him outright will also be difficult. His powers are similar in scope to Superman's, but his biggest weakness is that he's just a child. If we got creative with an illusion, we might be able to trick him, but we'd have to be very clever about it. Best I've been able to come up with, it to trick him into thinking he transformed back into his child form, and in a panic, he'll try to transform back, making him transform for real, and in a human form we can take down easily. We just have to be quick about it, since we won't get a second chance to fool him like that. I don't want to kill him though, or permanently maim him. His real name is Billy Batson, and he's a good kid. He was one of the only ones who refused to participate in the trap they set for me, and he came to see me a few times over the last few months. He's my friend, and I know he wanted no part in what the rest of the league did." RileyAlter began to lay out, explaining the powers and abilities of the various Justice League members and the best way to beat them. Considering that this Riley was once a member of the league alongside Naruko, she knew them and their abilities well. In truth, they were all her friends once, and Riley could tell that. Despite her fury, and her need to retaliate, her desire wasn't without hesitance.
"Next is Wonder Woman an Amazonian, a demi-god descended from the Greek Gods. She is incredibly powerful, and skilled. She and I shared a brief romantic relationship before she broke up with me. I know her intimately. Her powers make her dangerous, but she's not as impervious as people like to believe. Despite being half-god, she is also half-human. She has many gifts bestowed upon her by the Greek Gods, and they, along with her natural abilities and training make her a powerful opponent, but she's not indestructible. Get past her defenses and she'll go down. I'd ask that you not kill her, I'd like to deal with that one myself." The Alternate continued, her gaze darkening as emotion flashed in her eyes.
Riley was surprised to hear that the counterpart had shared a romantic relationship with one of these people and that they'd broken up. Riley had never gone through a breakup before, so she didn't know how to empathize. Using Minato's memories, she could clearly see that the relationship that the Alter spoke of, was far more than just a brief fling. RileyAlter had been in love with this Wonder Woman and was devastated when she broke up with her. She tried to hide it from the other members of the Justice League, but Naruko saw through her, and of course was there at the Alternate's home when she would confide in her other mates how hurt she was. It got especially messy when it became apparent that the reason for the breakup was because Wonder Woman and Superman had gotten together. Needless to say, there was a sore spot there, even before all of this.
"Martian Manhunter is a Martian. He has great strength, and speed, he can pass through solid materials, shape-shift into other people, and has powerful telepathic abilities. His biggest weakness is to fire, plain and simple. Set him on fire, use fire to keep him away, dealers' choice really. Hawkgirl is a Thanagarian, they're stronger and faster than normal humans and have advanced technology. She carried with her a special mace made of nth metal, that can disrupt magic so don't let yourself get hit by it. Take it from me, it doesn't feel good. Then you have Aquaman, he's an Atlantean, the ruler of Atlantis actually. He's armed with a powerful trident and has great speed and strength, just keep him away from water, or the ocean and he lose a great deal of his strength. He can control water as well as oceanic creatures, so yeah, keeping him away from water will limit his powers considerably." RileyAlter finished listing off the members of the Justice League and some things about them.
Riley had listened to her explanation, noting how hard it was for her, because these people were her friends once upon a time. Knowing how badly they had hurt her, just infuriated Riley even further. She couldn't imagine any of her own friends or family turning on her like this, she could believe them capable of it, which is why it was such an effective means of tormenting her. It was why when Parallax forced her to endure visions of this very same scenario it drove her deep into the depths of pain and despair.
"Taking down the Justice League won't be easy, but it's also not as hard as some might think. Just don't underestimate them, and don't let them work together. Break them apart, and tear them down, one by one. They all have their weaknesses; you just have to exploit them quickly and tear them down. Be ready to face the consequences as you do though. The Justice League has a 'no killing' policy that they try to stick to as much as possible. They'll hold back at first, but if you start to kill them, they'll lose themselves to fury, and go all out." RileyAlter finished explaining.
"And Naruko is one of them, so she'll be with them too. What about Sasuke?" Riley asked.
"Sasuke is a loner. Always has been. He'll no doubt be right behind them when they come after us." RileyAlter responded.
"What about your mates. I learned about them from Minato's soul, but anything you want to add?" Riley inquired.
"Fleur, Katie, Luna, Daphne, Gaara, and Artoria. The first four I trained myself. They're skilled. Powerful in their own way. Gaara is Kazekage, and ascended to demonhood when he became my path, and Artoria is armed with Excalibur, the Holy Sword of Promised Victory, she's dangerous to us on principle. I'm guessing you know enough about them, to guess their powers and abilities." RileyAlter answered back with a thoughtful look.
"I do know them, and their powers are a lot like my own mates. I have eight mates though, instead of six, and in my time, Gaara is actually a girl, named Gaia. I'm surprised that one of your mates is a man, I only ever considered one man good enough for that role and he was dead at that time, and by the time he wasn't well… things had changed." Riley offered up, earning genuine interest in return from her Alternate.
"Wow… Gaara as a girl… ya know, I can't really imagine that…" The Alternate hummed curiously. Beside them an image formed of Gaia, drawing both of their attention to it. Riley smirked as she showed her alternate self her mate's gender-bent form.
RileyAlter let out an almost playful chuckle at the sight. It was the closest thing to genuine elation that the Alternate had expressed since Riley had come here.
"She's cute… so you have two more mates as well?" RileyAlter inquired, causing the image of each of Riley's mates to appear around her. For a moment, the Alternate's gaze drifted over the others forlornly until they fell upon Artoria in her older form.
"God damn…" The Alternate muttered while Riley let out a laugh.
"An aging potion led to some interesting results for our dearest queen. Beyond that though, all of my mates are the same with the addition of Kaede, and Yugito." Riley said to her before gesturing to the two in question.
"Wow. She's definitely a beauty. And you ended up with Yugito… wow. I'm happy for you." The Alternate offered kindly, showing that despite her anger, she was still just like Riley, someone who tried to be kind to those who deserved it.
Because of Minato's memories, taken from his soul, Riley got a much clearer picture of her doppelganger and how they were the same, but also how they differed. This Riley walked almost the exact same path as Riley, the only difference was, that she embraced the image that others created for her. They had started on the same path, basically had a mirrored childhood, all the way up until Hogwarts when things began to change. Instead of following Riley's path, the Alternate began walking a different one. As people began to see her as a hero, and a savior, she began to embrace those ideals. Much like the heroic Narumi that Riley had met on her first venture into a what-if, her Alternate chose to accept people's view on her, becoming a hero, and a protector. She became the knight in shining armor that her mates perceived her as. She became more of an angel, than a demon. To the point even, where her demonic form, took many cues from an angel. Pure white wings, a golden aura, a sense of safety, and protectiveness exuding off of her. She had become a protector of the world, someone who was admired and loved, much like the superheroes that came afterwards. In this world, RileyAlter was attributed as the first actual Superhero.
It made her into an icon, one that people loved. It allowed her to form connections with people that Riley would have never tried to in her time. Despite being a demon, her alternate self-walked the path of an angel. It was because of this path that her alternate self was able to forgive people like Minato for the things that he had done to her. How she was able to forgive others for their missteps.
Of course, because she had taken Minato's soul, Riley knew something that her alternate self didn't. A secret that Minato had kept from her. That secret being Kushina. In this time, instead of tormenting Danzo and learning about Kushina, her alternate self-had killed him quickly, her vengeance came swiftly and immediately, preventing him from revealing that truth before he died. It was also because of her nature that she chose not to absorb his tainted and wretched soul, feeling that it would sully her to have it. Because of this, she never learned about Kushina, and when the day came and she retaliated against Konoha for murdering Katie's mother, she destroyed the village and her birth mother as well.
That was sad, and deeply disappointing but Riley kept it to herself. Telling her Alternate the truth now, would have devastated her even further.
"I hope something like this never happens to you… it sucks… it… no… there's no real way to describe how I feel. I want them all back. I want my life back. I want the love and friendship that I had, but I know I'll never have it again. I thought I was everything they wanted me to be. I thought I was their hero. They knew… they were some of the only people I ever told, how I felt growing up. How lonely I was, how much it hurt… I can't help but feel like they used that against me. They took my greatest fear, being used, being turned into a faceless weapon to be wielded by uncaring owners, and they forced it upon me. I want so badly to have them back, but how do I ever forgive them for that? How do I ever look at them and not feel the pain of their betrayal?" RileyAlter expressed, melancholy taking over as her gaze drifted off.
"You make them earn it. You put them under your heel, and you force them to rise. I know you want them back, but they have to earn it. They have to see what they've done, and they have to feel the repercussions of their actions. You said it yourself. You were willing to give them everything, but they put the world between you and them. They chose humanity over you, so now… you make them regret it. Remind them what you are. Burn it all away and shackle them to the walls! Force them to watch as everything they feared is washed away by a terror that should have kept them in check. If I were in your position… I would remove that fear from ever existing again. I would melt away Elizabeth's lies and manipulations by a terror so great that no words could ever pierce it." Riley declared, her eyes blazing with rage.
"How?" Her alternate self asked.
"They moved against you because they were convinced that you were a threat to the world. They depowered you to keep this world safe. Show them that their actions, doomed it. Shackle mankind to your will. Drag this planet into hell itself. Wipe away their fears of a coming doom, with one of your own making. Force them to live with what they've done. Only then, can they be put on the path of redemption in your eyes, only then can they see you for what you are. You are the master of your own destiny. You are the lord of your fate. They do not control you. They do not command you. Once, you would have stood by their side, now you tower above them. You bent for them, until they broke you. Now they will break. Unleash hell upon this world, and don't stop until they fucking beg! Until they scream from the pit of their goddamn souls that they were wrong! That's what I would do. That's how I feel right now, just seeing you, seeing what was done. Ultimately though… what you do, is up to you. Maybe there is no answer. Maybe… at the end of this, you walk away. You beat them into the ground, and you abandon them to their fate. Maybe there is no saving this. In the end… do what you know is right. Don't overthink it. You are a demon! Forge your own path, in blood if you must! Burn away everything that stands in your way! If you want your family back, then take them. They are powerless to stop you!" Riley declared to her, reaching out and placing her hands on her shoulders. Riley's gaze was intense, filled with wrath, and fury.
Her Alternate met her gaze, and slowly, her conviction began to manifest once more as the image of Riley's mates faded.
"How much time can you buy me?" RileyAlter asked.
"As much as you need. I'm not going anywhere until the job is done." Riley declared with full intent.
"When you place the barrier around me, place a time dilation function on it. Give me a day or two. Once I finish absorbing my power, I'm gonna go into Kamui for a bit… there's some things I need to prepare." RileyAlter declared.
"As much time as you need. Unless there's anything else… you ready?" Riley asked.
"I'm ready… and… thank you. For this. I've been living in despair since the moment it happened, and I never in my wildest dreams imagined that something like this would come about. Having you here has been the first ray of hope I've had in months. So I wanna thank you. I don't know what'll happen after this is all done, but I promise you, if I'm able to, if we are able to meet again, I'll be there to repay you." RileyAlter declared.
Riley smiled resolutely and offered her hand to her alternate self.
She took it, and the two locked eyes, affirming their dedication to see this through to the end.
"Let's begin." Riley declared.
"Yes, lets." RileyAlter responded.
-A pocket dimension far from home-
A portal opened onto the blasted wasteland of a dry desert. Using the powers of the Rinne Sharingan Riley was able to sense the location of the RileyAlter's power, and open a dimensional portal to it. She emerged to find a near infinite expanse of desert, overseen by a dim green sky. Black clouds hung low in the air, and hovering over it all as the only real describable landmark was a titanic earthen sphere, a planetoid about as large as the moon, that hovered several kilometers from the ground.
Floating around the sphere were several groups of Green Lanterns who were all immediately alerted to her presence. They began to fly towards her, no doubt already sending a signal to everyone else to converge on this location.
"Time to play." Riley growled with demonic glee.
"Bleed them dry, one by one." Parallax chanted with similar enthusiasm.
"You! Wait…" One of the lead lanterns began.
"Is that…?" Another spoke as the two dozen lanterns took up formation in front of her, forming twin hexagons in the air.
"It's the princess… but why?" Another spoke as they all stared down at her in disbelief and surprise.
Riley smirked as her eyes blazed with fury.
In an instant, she was gone. Using Amenotejikara she switched places with one of the lead lantern's rings, stripping him of his emerald powers. In an instant she decapitated the man, and then did it again.
Two were dead, before the troop could recover from their surprise.
With the death of the second, Riley spun in the air, and send dozens of Hiraishin marked kunai sailing in every direction, including at the surrounding Lanterns who all began to unleash their powers in some form or another.
Even for the warriors of law, trained by some of the greatest peacekeepers in the universe, Riley's powers were too great. Using her full strength and speed, coupled with the Hiraishin and Amenotejikara. Riley blitzed through the air. Teleporting at random, jumping to new locations, moving outside of their visual perceptions, only to rush at them with Kryptonian speed. Even without removing their rings, a full powered punch to the head was enough to blast straight through their energy barriers and kill them outright.
None had the strength of will to resist such unspeakable strength, not with how quickly it was delivered. Each punch hit with enough force to shatter moons.
It was over in an instant. One could blink only thrice, and they'd be left with nothing but the image of two dozen corpses raining down from the sky.
Riley lowered herself amongst the crowd of bodies and stood in silence for a moment. Almost in unison every single one of their power rings began to rise from the ground and fly away, no doubt being summoned back to Oa to be placed on a new Green Lantern candidate. One ring, flew right by Riley's head, and she caught it in an impossibly fast motion.
She held the Green Power Ring between her fingers, staring down at it with a cruel grin. Slowly, she slipped it onto her finger, opposite the one she wore the Yellow Power Ring on.
Green light began to bubble up out of the ring, and much like with the Yellow, Riley was able to clearly feel the power of Willpower in all it's clarity and acuity.
"Hahaha… their loss, is our gain." Parallax chuckled, as Riley absorbed the souls of the fallen Lanterns, learning how to control the Green Lantern Ring in the process, as well as learning how Green Lanterns fought. While not the exact same entities, the Green Lanterns of this time would help her to understand the Green Lanterns of her own time. Meaning that if, and when the time came to fight them, she'd be far more prepared for it.
"Indeed, it is." Riley lifted her gaze to the towering Earthen Satellite. With a smirk, she sped released RileyAlter from Kamui.
"Ready?" Riley asked her.
"Do it." RileyAlter responded, her gaze lifted up to the giant sphere.
Riley nodded and brought her hands together. She sped through handsigns as she prepared to unleash one of her own personal sealing jutsu, one that she had developed with her mother as a means of defeating powerful enemies. This sealing jutsu essentially acted as a funnel, taking magic from one thing and directing it into another. In order to work effectively you had to overpower the will of the target so that they couldn't resist the technique. Considering this was just raw chakra, along with Kurama and Madara, they wouldn't resist returning to RileyAlter's body, so Riley herself wouldn't need to put any effort into maintaining the jutsu once it was cast. All she needed to do was rip open that Earthen Satellite, just enough for some of the demonic power inside to start leaking out.
So while she finished preparing the jutsu, she manifested several massive arms formed out of yellow light. The light shot up into the air, the giant hands impacting with the floating sphere where they began to tear into it.
"You have a Yellow Power Ring… when you said you fought them before… I should have suspected." RileyAlter noted.
"Heh." Riley offered in response.
Armed with Minato's memories, Riley was able to devise a strategy for breaching the Six Path's: Planetary Devastation. The great Earthen sphere was designed as a massive sealing construct with a gravity well at the center. Any attempt to damage the sphere would simply cause it's own bulk to fall in on itself, closing any holes made. This made it night impossible to just pierce into it, to take back the power inside. Even if you managed to breach it, it would take hours or days to remove all of the power inside, and without a means to keep the breach open, you'd only be able to steal small parts at a time.
Each molecule of the sphere itself was part of the seal formula, which is what made it so powerful. Though made of simple stone, each grain of dirt was imbued with magic designed to contain the specific energy of whatever the technique was used upon.
With this knowledge, Riley came up with a strategy. Using the power of the yellow light, she would bore into the Earthen Sphere, creating a tunnel directly into the power contained within. She would then use a sealing jutsu that she and Kushina had designed to create a link, a funnel between RileyAlter and that power. This funnel would act like a pressure hose, shooting the raw power out of the sphere and into RileyAlter's body. If everything worked as intended the outflow of power would continuously punch through any rock that tried to move to obstruct it, but just in case Riley created a number of Shadow Clones who'd remain inside and use the Yellow Light to keep the planetoid from healing itself.
The process of boring into the sphere took several minutes as it resisted her attempts to dig into it. Finally though, a breach was made, and Riley caught sight of the torrents of power raging at it's core.
Slamming her hand into RileyAlter's back, she activated the sealing jutsu.
"Cursed Seal Technique: Devouring Sacrament of the Goddesses of Chain!"
From RileyAlter's chest, exploded a chakra arm, that shot up into the air, into the hole made by the yellow light. It pierced deep into it's core, grabbing hold of the massive magical energy therein.
When she felt that power in her grasp, Riley pulled the chakra arm back, causing the arm to rescind pulling with it a colossal glob of magical energy that stretched down from the sphere until it reached RileyAlter's chest. The moment contact was made, the process began. With a scream of pain, her magic began to race back into her.
Riley stepped back as an incredible force of pressure was released from the Alternate's body.
She quickly created the Shadow Clones needed to keep the hole open and retreated a few hundred meters away.
Using the power of the Yellow Power Ring she created a towering yellow barrier that formed a cyllinder around RileyAlter and the torrent of power raising out of the planetoid. She then used the Green Power Ring to do the same, forming a second layer of defense. Once that was done she began speeding through handsigns
Red flames erupted from around her hand and she slammed it into the ground, activating the Uchiha Flame Formation.
Red flames exploded out of the ground, shrouding her first two barriers with a third layer of defense while also obfuscating what was happening within.
At it's end, a solid column of red flames was left connecting the ground and the satellite above. This column was about a kilometer across, and no one was able to tell what was happening inside of it. With the flames up, Riley stepped forward to place one final barrier. This barrier would dilate time within it's confines, by speeding up the passage of time in comparison to the outside world. This would allow the process of reabsorbing RileyAlter's powers to occur in a matter of minutes, rather than the hours or days it would have taken otherwise.
With the last barrier placed, Riley leaped over to a nearby rock and sat atop it. She then closed her eyes, let out a breath, and waited.
She didn't have to wait for long.
A flash of light appeared several hundred meters away, and from it appeared Naruko, and the entire Justice League. They arrived to the sight of the towering column of flames, their eyes going wide in surprise.
"What is that?" Came the question from Hal Jordan.
"The Uchiha Flame Formation. It's a powerful barrier, known to the Uchiha Clan. There's only one person I know of, who has the knowledge and skill to create that barrier alone." Naruko answered his question as her eyes darted around.
"There!" Superman spoke, being the first to catch sight of Riley.
"Riley!" Naruko called out to her, causing Riley to rise to her feet.
The members of the League moved towards her, stopping several dozen meters away.
"Her eyes! She has her eyes back!" Hawkgirl spoke.
"That's… impossible…" Naruko muttered as she met Riley's gaze, her blood running cold as she took in the blood red glow of the Rinne-Sharingan.
"How could she have regained those eyes? I thought you said it was impossible without her power being returned to her in full." Superman questioned.
"That's what I thought too. Something's draining her power out of Planetary Devastation. I can see power within it, pulling towards the barrier. Something inside it… she's somehow drawing her power out." Naruko stated, her gaze hardening as she focused on Riley.
"Someone who's helping her?" Batman questioned.
"It has to be. There's no other explanation." Naruko agreed.
"Stupid bitch…" Riley's voice crossed the expanse. It was spoke with disappointment and anger, yet it carried heavily over the distance between them.
"Riley… What happened to the old man? He went to check on you when we felt the seal register magical activity in your body. What happened to the Green Lanterns that were here?" Naruko questioned her twin.
Riley was silent as she stared down at the troop of heroes. Her gaze was heavy, filled with malice, and an unspeakable rage.
"All dead." She finally spoke, her words cutting through the air.
"All dead? How?" Hal Jordan questioned in disbelief. He knew there were no less than twenty Green Lanterns posted here at all times. That was an incredible fighting force. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since they sounded the alert. There's no way they could all be dead in such a short time."
"She's working with someone, someone strong enough to take down several Green Lanterns at once, someone quick enough to even surprise the Fourth Hokage. We need to restrain her, and break through that barrier." Batman declared.
"Riley, please… I understand you're angry, but you can't do this." Naruko spoke up.
"She's right… let's talk about this…" Superman agreed.
"Talk… that's all you've done since you neutered me is talk. You stole what doesn't belong to you. You emasculated me, stole my power, stole my pride. You wanted to make me into your weapon, your tool. You… were deceived. Manipulated by that rotten time-traveling bitch. I hold no pity for you though. You still went through with it. My friends, my comrades. You betrayed me. Gods… I want nothing more than to tear you all apart!" Riley snarled back at them, her face twisting with inhuman rage.
"This isn't working, she's pissed off. We need to bring her down immediately and stop whatever is happening in the barrier." Batman spoke up.
"Shit!" Naruko tensed, knowing that he was right.
"We don't wanna hurt you Riley. It was bad enough once, don't make us do it again." Flash called out to her.
"He's right… none of us want to hurt you. Please… we can talk this through." Shazam added in.
"You really expect me to believe that? I just murdered two whole squads of Green Lanterns, and you expect me to believe that we can 'work this out'? Idiots… all of you." Riley let out a hateful laugh.
"Y-you? You killed them?" Shazam questioned with surprise.
"Who's helping you? Who is here with you?" Batman questioned.
"Please, Riley… this isn't you…" Naruko tried to speak up, recognizing how far south the situation was going.
"No Naruko… that's where you're wrong. This is me. You've simply forgotten. It's time I reminded you. It's time I showed you all why fucking with me, was the worst decision you've made in your pathetic little lives!" Riley snarled as she raised her hand over her head, causing the wind to begin the scream around her.
Over her hand formed a powerful Rasenshuriken, the sound of the jutsu tearing through the air.
"That's…! Everyone behind me!" Naruko declared as Riley tossed the sphere at them.
Naruko shot in front of it, activating the Preta Path as she did. The jutsu struck her and began to be absorbed.
"So much chakra… she was really aiming to…" Naruko realized in panic as she absorbed the attack.
Her eyes went wide as she felt Riley's presence behind her. She turned her gaze and was just able to catch sight of Riley at her unprotected back, her hand encased in lightning.
Before Riley could thrust Chidori into Naruko, she was shoulder slammed by the Flash and sent flying through the air.
Riley hit the ground and kicked up a huge cloud of dust. She sensed the Flash moving to continue the attack, so she used the cloud to hide her as she tumbled and created a special clone, one that had been created by Tobirama during his training with Riley. The Water Syrup Clone. She then vanished into the ground, her trap set, just as the clone landed on its feet and the Flash came running at her, Superman not far behind him.
Lightning crackled around the Flash as he drove his fist towards the clone's head. The force of the punch, caused her head to warp, reshaping into sticky thick liquid that immediately caught the Flash's hand. The clone had anchored itself to the ground with chakra, so as the sticky fluid grabbed at the Flash's arm it began to pull it back, pulling his arm out of its socket, and tearing the clone off of the ground, ripping its whole body away at the ankles.
The pulling motion had caused him to lose traction sending him tumbling at impossible speeds. He twisted and rolled for several kilometers, the sticky substance of the clone adhering to his body, traveling with him and actually shielding him from some of the damage from his fall. That coupled with the protections of the speed forces, left him relatively unharmed all things considered, despite the fact that he'd rolled nearly four miles.
"Ow…" Flash muttered, covered in the thick syrupy substance.
"Flash are you alright!?" Came the question over his comm piece.
"I'm alive, if that's what you're asking." He muttered as he struggled for a moment against the substance coating his body and keeping him prone.
The substance was seemingly growing thicker the more he struggled against it.
With a sigh, he focused his attention, and began to vibrate parts of his body to pass through the stick substance. Bit by bit he maneuvered himself out of it. The whole process was extensive yet still happened incredibly quickly, occurring in only a matter of seconds.
As it happened though, Riley reached up through the ground beneath him, placing a Hiraishin seal upon his back, right over his spine, before retreating.
"Where did she go?" Wonder Woman questioned, her eyes flickering about.
"She slid into the ground. I can sense her magic everywhere around us." Naruko responded, glancing about.
"We must be cautious. I can feel her anger. Her rage is almost maddening." Martian Manhunter spoke up.
"How did this happen?" Aquaman growled.
"Whoever it is helping her. Whoever is inside that barrier. They set this in motion. We have to capture Riley, and break through it to find out." Naruko answered his question.
"Naruko… Really? Are you honestly that stupid?" Riley's voice spoke out from around them.
A few moments later, and the Flash and Superman returned to the group.
"There!" Superman located her, spotting Riley standing upon the rock that she'd been on when they had arrived.
"You place the credit for my actions onto someone else. Honestly… pathetic." Riley shook her head and let out a sigh.
"You know why we did this, why we had to do what we did. I know it's been hard on you, but I thought you of all people would understand doing whatever it took to protect people. I know it hurts, and I know it must feel like we betrayed you, but it's not like that. It was only ever about protecting people. It's what we had to do. None of us took any pleasure in it. None of us wanted this!" Naruko called out to her.
"We're your friends Riley. Don't make us do this." Superman added in.
"Friends… friends don't betray each other. Friends don't steal from one another. Friends don't castrate each other and leave one another helpless! You are not my friends. You've made it perfectly clear with your actions… You! Are! My! Enemies!" Riley returned with a snarl before vanishing in a burst of speed.
Those like Superman, and the Flash could follow her, but others couldn't. The Flash moved to run, and right as he did, Riley pulled a Hiraishin kunai and teleported it into the marking on his back. He only made it a few steps before tumbling to the ground, losing all strength in his legs.
"Flash!" Batman called out in surprise.
The momentary distraction was all Riley needed to close the distance on Superman.
She was right on him, surprising him with her speed. A solid punch sent the Man of Steel hurtling skyward, where he bounced off of the side of the planetoid and sailed off into the heavens.
Before the other heroes could close in on Riley, she shot off the ground, flying after Superman, moving at impossibly fast speeds, and again, leaving the other heroes shocked.
In a moment of dread, all of them shared in the same thought. If her power was still contained, then how was she so powerful?
Superman managed to stop himself about a hundred miles above the surface of the dimensional plane. His eyes immediately settled onto the dark missile that raced up towards him.
"This isn't right…" Superman realized right as Riley made it to him, and the two began exchanging blows.
The first thing Riley noticed as she fought him was that this Superman was a far better fighter than her own. More skilled in martial arts, more experienced in battle against foes who could actually put up a fight, and it was obvious that he'd trained with her before, so he knew how she fought.
With that being said, she was the far more skilled fighter, and unlike the last time she had fought Superman, this time she came equipped with Kryptonian strength and speed. While he blocked or avoided more of her blows than his counterpart had, the ones that did land, hit with absolutely brutal force, and within moments she had drawn blood.
"She's so much stronger… How? How is this possible?" Superman wondered to himself in panic.
He knew he had to stop her, he had to somehow beat her. If she was strong enough to match him, then she'd tear through the rest of the league. Armed with his strength, and her fighting skill and magical abilities, she might actually be able to beat them.
A deadly smirk spread across Riley's face as she unleashed the full fury of her KI causing Superman's death to vividly flash before his eyes, momentarily stunning him, and allowing her to deliver a blow that sent him careening towards the land far below.
Those on the ground, saw only a flicker of something shoot out the sky and impact the ground many miles from where they were. A few seconds later and Riley shot down towards them, Martian Manhunter, Shazam, and Wonder Woman meeting her in the air.
She engaged the three in a blitz of lightning-fast movement, While Wonder Woman struck out at her with her magical sword, the others fought with their fists.
As soon as Riley's eyes settled onto the Martian Manhunter, she snapped her fingers, unleashing the Incinerate plasmid causing him to burst into flames. He fell from the sky in an instant screaming out in pain.
"J'onn!" Wonder Woman cried out to him, only to immediately be reengaged by Riley. The two traded blows for a moment before Riley batted away a swing from the amazonian with a Black Chakra Receiver and pushed her palm forward.
"Shinra Tensei!" Riley intoned causing Wonder Woman to be struck by the full force of gravity at point blank range.
She was sent hard into the ground below, upturning hundreds of meters of rock and stone.
By then, Hawkgirl had reached them, and took a swing at Riley with her mace. The blow barely missed Riley's head, as she dodged away from it.
Shazam came racing up towards Riley, intend on grabbing her, just as he came up behind her and reached for her, she used Amenotejikara to trade places with Hawkgirl, causing him to grab hold of her.
"Wh-What? Shazam!" Hawkgirl shook against his grasp.
"Crap!" Shazam uttered but before he could release his captive, Riley was on the two, punching Hawkgirl and sending her and Shazam into the ground alongside Wonder Woman.
"This isn't good. Something is very wrong here. She's not fighting like she used to." Batman noted, as Naruko went to the Flash to try and help him, finding the Hiraishin Seal on his back where the kunai knife was embedded, while Aquaman worked to put out the Martian Manhunter.
"Her ferocity has reached new levels, and she's stronger than ever before." Aquaman called back as Riley shot down landing on top of Shazam and pulling him up into the air.
Riley shot up with him, her eyes meeting with his. Her eyes blazed, filling with a supernatural fury.
"Riley…" He uttered, meeting her gaze.
"You were my friend once, but when they came for me, you didn't even warn me. You stood on the sidelines and did nothing." Riley snarled at him, her words like a physical blow to the boy in a man's body.
"I'm sorry Riley… I know it was wrong. Please… don't do this! Don't prove them right!" He said, pleading with her.
"It's too late for that!" Riley hissed as she drilled her head into his, he flinched at the impact, and as his eyes resettled, he saw Riley launching a spell at him. It struck him in the chest, and he suddenly felt himself falling. His eyes passed over his body as he fell, and he saw his true self, the body of a boy. He blinked rapidly, panic filling him for a moment. That spell, she had found a way to force him to return to his original form. That didn't seem possible, but this was Riley, he knew how skilled she was with magic, she was the best in the world, everyone said so, if there was one person who could find a way or create a spell to force him back into his original body, it was her.
He had to turn back; he wouldn't survive a fall from this height.
The word left his mouth in an instant.
"SHAZAM!" Bolts of lightning arced out of the sky, striking the superhero.
Moments after the lightning struck him, he could see Riley racing down towards him. He tried to move, tried to fly, when he suddenly realized that he couldn't.
Suddenly she was on him, catching him before he hit the ground. She hit him with another spell, and he felt his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth preventing him from forming words.
Riley lowered to the ground and dropped the boy there. He stared up at her, confused and terrified. With a wave of her hand, she knocked him unconscious, removing the powerful magical foe from this fight. Taking the word of her alternate to heart, he was still just a boy underneath that powerful exterior. He could be tricked and deceived.
A wave of Green Light washed over Riley, trying to grab hold of her, while also grabbing hold of Billy and pulling him away to safety.
Riley carelessly phased through the Green Light as she turned her gaze over towards Green Lantern.
He stared down at her as Billy was placed next to Batman who knelt over the boy to check on him.
"You've been hiding in back." Riley noted, smirking up at him.
"We've done this song and dance a thousand times. No point in wasting power trying to fight you when I'd be better help supporting others." Hal replied to her.
Riley took a look around the battlefield. Spotting Naruko and the Flash moving towards her, while the others pulled themselves to their feet. Superman himself arrived about then, his cape and costume torn, and blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.
"Riley…" Naruko spoke to her, but before she could say anything else, Batman held out his hand to silence her.
Just then, a large poof of smoke erupted from nearby, revealing a troop of about a hundred Legionaries, led by Itachi, and with them was Sasuke, and all of Riley's mates.
The groups quickly surrounded her.
"Riley is that you?" Katie asked when her eyes fell upon her.
"What… but how?" Daphne asked when Riley turned her gaze towards them, allowing the group to see her eyes.
"She's not our Riley." Batman declared, causing silence to fall over both crowds.
"What? What do you mean?" Naruko turned her eyes towards the Caped Crusader, before looking back at Riley.
"He's right. This isn't our Riley. I tried sensing our Riley using my eye when we got the warning that something was happening here, but I couldn't find her. If I had to guess, she's inside of that barrier there, regaining her lost power." Sasuke spoke up, earning surprise from the Justice League while Riley smiled, and allowed her demonic form to emerge.
Gasps went up, as her wings erupted from her back, and all of her tails spread out.
Riley knew from Minato's memories that RileyAlter, took on a more angelic appearance. The horned demon in front of them was far from what any of them would consider to be the Riley they knew.
"What are you?" Naruko demanded.
"I'm Riley. Just not yours. Like they said." Riley responded with a shrug.
"You're from another dimension? An alternate version of our Riley. What are you doing here?" Artoria questioned as she advanced, drawing Excalibur as she did.
Riley turned her gaze over to the teenage form of her alternate's lover. A flicker of sadness passed over her before being replaced by a blinding fury.
An explosion of power tore out from her, sending colossal winds soaring across the landscape. Many were forced to shield their eyes as the wind blasted off of Riley's body.
"I'm here to right a wrong. To fix your Fucking Mistake!" Riley snarled in response, her voice coming out like that of a demon.
"I know how this must look, but you have to understand…!" Naruko began to shout, but the winds suddenly stopped as Riley cut her off.
"UNDERSTAND! I understand that you FOOLS allowed yourselves to be manipulated, and you turned on someone who gave every single part of herself for you! She loved you all more than life itself and would have given anything for you! You betrayed the woman who loved you! You betrayed your wife! Your friend! Your comrade! You all are pathetic cowards! You all make me SICK!" Riley snarled at them.
"You say we were manipulated. That we've been fooled. How?" Batman spoke up, questioning her with a critical gaze.
"Elizabeth lied to you. She's the one who sowed the seeds of this betrayal. She's the one who fed you lies and turned you against one of your own! She told you her powers endangered this world. She may have even provided you proof. Maybe she was right, maybe it was the truth, but even still, she used it to steal my double's power, to collar her, to be used as a weapon! She fed you all of this bullshit to get you to dance to her tune, and all the while you allowed yourselves to forget. You allowed yourselves to overlook something that should have stopped you in your goddamn tracks!" Riley snapped back at him, her words earning genuine concern and confusion from those around her.
"What is it? What did we forget?" Superman questioned.
"That she is Just. Like. ME!" Riley snarled, as she activated the Tenseigan causing the floral pattern to explode into her eyes.
Shockwaves of power rippled out from her body, strong enough to know many legionaries off their feet.
"Now… tell me… where is Elizabeth? I know she's here…" Riley hissed.
"Riley." Came the familiar voice. Riley's gaze snapped towards the voice of her daughter. There emerging from the crowd was Elizabeth. She appeared older, at least several years older than Riley's Elizabeth, but many years younger than the Future Elizabeth.
"Ahh… and there she is." Riley spoke, taking a step towards her, only for Luna and Katie to step between them, trying to protect Elizabeth from the enraged demon.
"I know you must think ill of me, but it isn't what you think. You're wrong. Please… allow me the chance to explain." Elizabeth said to her.
"No." Came another voice, before Riley could answer.
All heads immediately turned to find RileyAlter hovering in the air above them, flanked a dozen or so Riley clones.
RileyAlter glowed with the power of Bijuu Mode, her Rinne Sharingan having returned.
She stared down at them with hate in her eyes.
"Riley!" A chorus of voices called out to her, as she raised a finger to point at Elizabeth.
"Mother, please… let me try to explain…" Elizabeth called out to her.
"Your words of poison. They turned my family against me. Turned everyone against me. You took everything from me. I feel nothing in my heart but hatred for you." RileyAlter declared, her words earning genuine shock from Elizabeth.
"Mother…" She spoke, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"Riley please…" Luna began to say to her.
"Die…" RileyAlter spoke without emotion, her pointing finger opening to her palm. From her palm a bone erupted launching through the air down towards Elizabeth.
Several people moved to intercept it. The fastest being the Flash who moved to grab Elizabeth only to once more receive a kunai to the spine, courtesy the Hiraishin marker which was impossible to remove once placed.
Others, weren't fast enough. Any who tried to get in the way of the attack were stopped by Riley. Superman and Sasuke were instantly teleported to different positions due to Riley's use of Amenotejikara.
This prevented Sasuke from using the same ability to save Elizabeth from the attack, and stopped Superman from moving in time to intercept or move Elizabeth out of the way.
The bone struck true, piercing into Elizabeth's skull. She was dead instantly, but that didn't stop RileyAlter from making absolutely certain that there was no chance she could survive.
The All-Killing Ash Bone quickly began to dissolve Elizabeth's body as screams of anguish tore up from her family members.
"NOOOO!" Luna cried out, grabbing at Elizabeth's body, only for it to dissolve in her hands, leaving nothing but a cloud of ash.
Silence filled the air as everyone witnessed the cold-blooded murder by a mother to her own child.
Apathy was the only emotion on RileyAlter's face.
"After everything I did to save you, and bring you here. I freed you, and you imprisoned me. I have no desire to hear what you have to say. Your soul will remain locked within my body. And you will watch through my eyes, as I break every chain you sought to place me under. One day… when the dust settles, I will revive you, my daughter… and when that day comes, you will stand before a world marred by your mistakes. Now… onto the rest of you." RileyAlter declared.
"Riley, your own child…!" Superman spoke up.
"She was never my child. Just some freak I took in and gave the benefit of the doubt." RileyAlter snapped back him.
"Riley…" Came Fleur's voice.
"It's time I repaid you for what you did to me my love. You betrayed me out of fear of a coming darkness, when darkness itself stood before you. She was right, you have forgotten, and now I must remind you. Come home, and look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" RileyAlter declared as a portal opened behind her, and she drifted backwards into it.
"Wait!" Artoria cried out for her, but it was too late. She was already gone and the portal was closing.
Above them, the Earthen satellite that had contained her power was beginning to fall apart. RileyAlter had completed the process of absorbing her stolen power, and recovering Kurama and most likely Madara's spirit as well.
"We have to go after her!" Naruko cried out.
"We need to move!" Sasuke agreed, only for them all to halt when Riley's laughter caught their ears.
All eyes turned towards her as she reached her hand out, and summoned the kunai out of the Flash's back, and into her hand. She placed the blade to her lips, drinking in his blood, earning a fearful realization from her alternate's mates.
"No…! She just…" Katie spoke with fear.
"You! Why are you here! Why have you done this!" Daphne screamed at her.
"I wanted to see what would happen." Riley responded.
"You wanted to see what would happen?" Batman parroted back at her.
"I've lived in fear of this happening to me. Lived in fear of being betrayed by my loved ones, being turned into a weapon. Truth be told, I only ever told a few people what my greatest fear was. My beloved mates. I'm assuming she did the same, and you brought that fear upon her. Despite knowing it would break her heart, despite knowing just how much danger it placed this world in." Riley said to them.
"What do you mean?" Superman questioned.
"She's a demon, Superman. You and your friends had the friendship and love of an actual fucking demon! She's just like me. She would have given the world for you all. And in repayment for that love, you gave her for the world." Riley threw back at him.
"It isn't what we wanted! We had no other choice!" Katie cried out.
"Keep telling yourself that. Keep lying. It wont fix anything. Tell me… as her mates… did she ever tell you about the Curse of Hatred?" Riley asked, her question causing a look of deep concern to appear on the faces of Sasuke and Itachi.
"The Curse of Hatred?" Daphne parroted back with confusion, which was mirrored by her fellow mates.
"It's the mirror to the Curse of Love. You see, an Uchiha is cursed to love with a passion that cannot be matched by other mere mortals. All Uchiha are endowed with this capacity for love. The Curse of Hatred is a direct result of that love being taken away. Usually it's in the form of death, however, this betrayal… Uchiha throughout history have fallen into unspeakable despair because of this curse. A curse you've no laid upon the shoulders of your so-called 'Wife'!" Riley snarled at them.
"We have to go. We have to stop her." Artoria declared.
"Good luck to her. I hope you all fail and die." Riley waved at them with rueful hate.
"Why? Why do this to us? Why do you hate us so much?" Katie demanded from her.
"I already told you. She would have given you the world. She would have fought with every fiber of her being to protect this world of yours, and you let fear destroy that love. I hate you for that. You carry the face of my own wife Katie Bell. And now I have to know, I have to reconcile the fact that in this SHIT timeline, there exists a version of my perfect wife who could be so rotten and despicable as to turn on someone she proclaims to love!" Riley snapped at her, at all of them really. Her words cutting through the crowd like a powerful blade.
Before anyone could say anything else, Riley retreated, using her eyes to teleport her back to Earth.
-Earth-
Riley arrived to find London in ruins. Smoke billowed out of the ground as nothing more than a five mile wide crater remained at the heart of the ancient city.
Riley felt herself smile, though it was a rueful one.
She rose into the air, and kept rising until she was in space. From there she looked down upon the world, and watched as city after city vanished in the fires of Armageddon.
Not long after it all began, those that had come to fight them had been managed to make it back to the earth as well. Riley's friends and family lost all will to fight almost instantly when they arrive to find the smoldering crater that was once London. Every major city in Albion was wiped out in the initial attack, including the Hidden Village.
The Justice League tried to stop her, tried to go and face her, but they were torn apart one by one. Each one beaten into submission with the death of their home.
Superman could do nothing as Metropolis was annihilated. Batman was chained to a tree and forced to watch as Gotham was burned to the ground. Atlantic was crushed when RileyAlter activate Tengai Shinsei and dropped several meteors onto the ocean, allowing them to sink beneath the waves and smash the underwater kingdom.
East City, Central City, Themyscira, all destroyed, and with the death of each, the spirits of the heroes were broken. RileyAlter rampaged across the world, killing billions. Her family had sacrificed her for the world, so she would take the world from them, so they'd never be able to choose it over her again. She still needed them, needed them in her life.
Despite her hatred, she kept from killing any of her friends or family. They were all spared as she murdered her way across the planet in less than a day.
It was like that old saying, love and hate walk a razors edge. RileyAlter was filled with unspeakable fury, and she displayed it in her every action, but she had no intention of killing those she loved.
Riley watched as her alternate self unleashed all of her hatred and pain upon the world, leaving it spoiled and broken.
At the end of the massacre, she rose up to meet with her.
"It's so quiet now." Riley noted staring out over the world.
"It is. Did you learn what you needed to?" RileyAlter asked her, turning her sorrowful gaze towards Riley.
"I learned what I needed to." Riley replied, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"This pain… it never will go away will it?" RileyAlter asked.
"I doubt it. Love will make it fade, make it hurt less and one day you'll recover. And you'll be stronger for having endured." Riley offered in response.
"Love… How can I ever love anyone again. After all of this… how do place that trust in someone? How do I let myself love them after they've hurt me so much?" RileyAlter inquired softly.
"Maybe you don't have to. I mean… here you are. You're still alive. You don't need them to live. Keep your heart open. It's why we fell in love with so many before. You can fall in love again. Just keep your heart open, and keep advancing. Maybe one day those who hurt you will understand what they've done, and come to you for forgiveness, and it'll be up to you to determine what that's worth to you. It isn't going to be easy, but hell, you've endured it this long. I believe in you." Riley offered to her Alternate self, earning a small nod of acceptance from her, as they both glanced down at the ruined world.
Riley felt a light began to encompass her, signaling that she was being taken home.
"Guess it's time for me to go." Riley spoke.
"Remember my promise. I will repay you one day. I swear it! Thank you, for everything!" RileyAlter called out to her, as Riley felt herself drifting away.
"I know you'll be alright. I believe in you!" Riley called back to her, before finally being consumed by the light.
-Mindscape-
Riley found herself standing before Ralael once more.
She met the gaze of the hooded angel, knowing in her heart of hearts just what it had wanted her to see in that place.
"What have you learned?" Ralael questioned her.
"That I can survive without them. That I can live without those that I love so much. I never considered it possible. But she did so. She endured for months in hell, without love, without care. She is living proof that it's possible, possible that I could endure like she did, like she is. I truly believe she'll make it through this, and she'll be stronger for it. She endured hell, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but she's alive. If she could survive, then so can I." Riley declared with pride.
"They are your life. Your heart and soul. They give you purpose, they give you reason. You must never forget though, when you started this journey you had nothing. All were kept at arms length, and none truly had your heart. You survive alone, and you could survive it again. You fight for your love, as you should. But you shouldn't fear if you can survive. You've done it before. It will hurt to lose those you love, it may even break you, but you've been broken before. You have the strength to pull yourself back together." Ralael declared in agreement with her.
Riley offered the aspect of Zanpakutō and thought on how this information added to all that she knew about it, as well as the unique nature of her sword. She knew what Ralael was about to ask her, so she chose to think on it and see if this new journey had shown her any new revelations.
"Have you learned anything new that may help you to discern my true name and what I represent?" Ralael questioned her.
"Each time you take me on one of these journeys, you're not just showing me, another me. You're showing me a version of myself tied deeply to a part of myself that I've always questioned. First it was my heroic self, the version of me where my parents loved me, and cared for me like their own. I saw what my life was like I'd pursued the family I wanted in my childhood. The second time, it was a version of me consumed by vengeance, one who allowed the pain of her life to control her. Instead of rising above it, she was swallowed by it. The third time was Ramira, who cared only for herself, who cast aside connections to others, and became completely selfish. And now we have this version. A person who's just like me, but she endured the betrayal that I always feared in the back of my mind. At it's core though, this version of me faced the loss of love, the thing I feared more than anything and she survived it, she proved that I could survive. Each version of me, represents someone I could have been." Riley began, earning a slow nod from the angelic spirit.
"It's like the choices in my life, that led me to being me. You're showing me the versions of myself that I could have been, had I had other options, or the ability to make new choices. It's like you're showing me the versions of myself that represent major events in my life. Like that saying, 'standing at a crossroads.'" Riley hummed, thoughtfully, though she immediately noted a reaction from Ralael when she said the word crossroads.
Riley blinked at the angel for a moment before a realization struck her.
"Wait, 'crossroads'… that's it! Your name has something to do with 'crossroads' and it's tied to major decisions, choices that can change my life from one form to another. Like an entirely new path. Each version of me, is me, just having walked another path. We went separate ways at a pivotal crossroad. I'm right aren't I?" Riley said to the angel, excitement reflecting on her face.
"You've made some interesting progress. Crossroads does indeed have something to do with my name. It's up to you to figure out what that something is." Ralael admitted to her, earning a cheer from Riley.
"Awesome! Four down, five to go, and I finally have some direction!" Riley noted cheerfully, elated that she'd made some progress on top of all that she acquired from this trip.
"Shall we begin?" Ralael inquired, in reference to training her how to use her Zanpakutō's new form.
"Absolutely! Let's do it!" Riley responded with excitement, eager to learn, and then return home so she could kiss and love on her wives until they were all blue in the face. Her time in this what-if had shown her something about herself, shown her how strong she could truly be. To survive such a betrayal such pain, she could hardly fathom it. She had nothing but respect for her Alternate self, and she hoped that one day, they would meet again. Until that time however, Riley had more work to do.
-To Be Continued-
Alright, there's the next chapter. Decided to break this one into two, and just extend the next chapter, rather than this one leading into the next arc, I'll have the next chapter be the first chapter of the new arc. Normally I'd end this on like a cliffhanger leading into the next part of the story, but I like where this leaves off, and it nearly ends this journey with a bit of progress made in Riley's overall Zanpakutō training. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I can't wait to get to the next one. Later!