Space

by NegaiFreak

Three years have passed since Shiki and his friends have gone after Ziggy, aiming to stop him from wiping out everything except machines in the universe. And a battle to decide both its fate and the fate of the rest of the multiverse hangs in the balance... with an Infinity Stone on the line as well. Can our heroes stop Ziggy before it's too late? PLEASE READ, REVIEW, & ENJOY!

12. Alternative

Hi everyone! Welcome back to "Space"! The last chapter had a lot of things that went down! Three of the Dark Stars were taken out. But at the same time, those of the infiltration team discovered the horrifying plan that Ziggy had enacted, abducting mothers all across the cosmoses as a part of it. And one of them happens to not only be one of the Oración Seis Galáctica, but is also Rebecca's own mother.

So now what'll happen? Well, let's find out!

SPACE

The battles across Lendard have grown ever more furious. And with so much at stake, there are bound to be tremendous losses. Our heroes are fighting on several fronts to stop their enemies, whether they be Deadend Crow, God Acnoella, Justice, Ultron… or Ziggy.

And there are also those who've sought out to destroy the factory producing not only Ziggy's Skeleton Army, but also the training robots that have duplicated the abilities of the Dark Stars. We haven't checked in on them in a while, have we? Hm. Why don't we fix that?

Flying around the factory aboard their respective Broombuggies, Noel and Ninny were planting flat, circular devices onto its surface. Inside, their allies of the Omni Force were continuing to battle back the duplicated androids sent their way. One Clown attempted to fire onto Tanjiro, only to wind up suddenly in a flash of lightning by Zenitsu, who tore him asunder with a single swing of his sword.

"Jeez…" he muttered out, trembling a little, "WHEN'S IT GONNA BE TIME FOR US FOR GET OUT OF HERE?!" he questioned aloud.

"Calm down, Agatsuma!" Tenya insisted while kicking aside a Killer, "Creati's plan is in motion," he confirmed, "Once we get the signal through Miss Martian's telepathy, we'll escape and let this factory crumble down onto these robots," he explained further.

"Might be easier said than done…!" Magna admitted while narrowly evading getting tackled by a Brigandine, who instead rammed into a hardened Eijiro, "Seriously, can we get a move on with this damn thing?!" he shouted in question.

"I wanna hurry, too, ribbit!" Tsuyu chimed in as she hopped about, about the blasts of lightning shot her way from a Wizard, "We still need to find out what happened to Ochaco!" she pointed out before lashing a Killer to the ground with her long tongue.

"I'm worried as well…" Tenya admitted aloud, "I have a bad feeling there's a reason she was taken away…" he mentioned grimly.

"Whatever the reason, we'll get her after we trash these guys!" Luck declared with an excited grin across his face.

"Agreed," Fumikage concurred, having Dark Shadow join the Black Bull in tearing through several more of the androids in the vicinity. Yuji slammed his right fist into a Brigandine's chest, resulting in a black flash of light going off at the moment of impact. A second passed before the duplicate android shattered to pieces.

'Yuji, are you there?' Noel's voice echoed in the jujutsu sorcerer's head.

'Hey, Noel!' he exclaimed inwardly.

'Don't shout, you idiot!' Ninny reprimanded, making him wince, 'We're all sharing the same link here…' she noted in a grumble.

'I assume you speaking through the telepathic link means that we're almost ready to make the move?' Tenya inquired through the telepathic link.

'Yes…' Momo answered, sounding exhausted. Outside of the factory, she was crouched in the alleyway facing the factory with M'gann and Zora alongside her. Sweat was trickling down her face, which she wiped away with her left hand as she breathed heavily. 'I used all of my lipids to create the explosives we'll need…' she pointed out to the group, 'This is our only chance, so we have to take it!' she affirmed.

'Right,' Klaus responded with a nod.

'Just give us the word, and we'll be outta here!' Eijiro assured as he punched a Killer away.

'And please make it soon!' Zenitsu begged in a whimper, screaming as he almost wound up getting crushed under the fist of another Brigandine.

"Good grief…" Zora muttered out, "You sure this plan's gonna work, ponytail?" he inquired of the Creation Quirk user.

"If it doesn't, then we'll be overrun with androids with no way of escape," she responded grimly, "But I'm confident that it'll work," she assured as she clenched her fists.

"Heh," the Black Bull chuckled, giving off a toothy grin. None of them seemed to realize that the real Wizard had returned to the scene, narrowing his eyes onto the explosives the two Pipers were setting upon the factory. He clutched his polearm tightly.

"I'll be putting an end to your schemes here, you foolish otherworlders…" he vowed, equipping his Battle Dress in a flash of light.

As that conflict continues to escalate to its climax, another is about to begin. Shiki and his friends were close to infiltrating Lendard's core. However, they discovered faint life signals and went to investigate, only to discover a multitude of women that had been brought to Lendard.

And they weren't just any women. They were mothers. One in particular that Ziggy had taken…

"Saintfire Nox," the Machine King introduced as he glanced at the vat he had brought over to his side, "She's one of the Oración Seis Galáctica…" he continued, "and the mother of Rebecca Bluegarden," he confirmed finally.

"…What?" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user uttered in disbelief. Everyone alongside her was just as shell-shocked by the revelation. Shiki's face twisted into an angered scowl.

"Ziggy…!" he snarled out, making his Ether Gear markings expand along his arms before shooting forward instantaneously.

"Granbell, wait!" Shoto yelled in warning. All Ziggy did was throw his right hand out. His fellow Satan Gravity Ether Gear user suddenly found himself struck by the force of his power, getting blown back onto the floor and sliding to a stop.

"Master!" Pino cried out.

"Damn it…" Azari cursed, "We've gotta get the stone off of him…" he insisted of his colleagues.

"More importantly, what the hell is going on here…?" Rin asked while trembling.

"Yeah… what are all of our moms doing in this place…?!" Weisz questioned frantically, gnashing his teeth together before aiming his rifle again, "Talk, you skull-faced bastard!" he demanded of Ziggy.

"Rest assured, I will tell you, even without your empty threats," he retorted to the frustration of the Machina Maker Ether Gear user, "First, your mother, Irma Steiner," he began, glancing toward the vat containing the woman in question, "She died as a result having her life force stolen by Drakken Joe," he explained, "The doctors kept and preserved her body as a research specimen for three months," he mentioned further, "My subordinates recovered her and brought the body here to Lendard," he confirmed to Weisz, who was trembling a little, "I apologize for getting your hopes up, but she is dead," he finished, causing him to widen his eyes in shock.

"So the life signals weren't coming from her…" Rin whispered in realization, only to blink, "Pino!" she quietly called out, getting the anti-bot android's attention.

"Next is Kurenai Kogetsu, Homura's mother," Ziggy continued, gesturing to the vat containing the former criminal mastermind, causing the Soul Blade Ether Gear user to tense up slightly, "We recovered her two years ago from Sun Jewel, where she was imprisoned by a gang of delinquents," he told his foes, "She was in quite a weakened state… and it appeared we found her a little too late," he confirmed on, "She is dead," he stated.

"Mother…" Homura uttered, staring up at the capsule with an expression of shame.

"And Rebecca's mother, Saintfire Nox," the Machine King kept going, turning to the vat beside him, "Archbishop of the Church of Saintfire, a religious organization said to have control over time itself," he explained.

"What?!" Nezuko exclaimed in shock.

"Over time itself…" Shoto repeated as sweat trickled down his face. Izuku clenched his fists tightly. He looked over to Rebecca, who was trembling with disbelief.

"Her powers were deemed as a threat to the cosmoses, and she was designated as one of the Oración Seis Galáctica," Ziggy further told the group, "It was no easy task to recover her," he mentioned, "We had to massacre every single one of her followers," he said to everyone's shock, "Unlike the others… this one is alive," he confirmed. Rebecca put her hands over her mouth.

"My…My mom…?" she whimpered out as tears were pricking her eyes.

"The life signal was coming from her only…" Pino noted while shaking.

"I figured as much…" Rin grumbled out, gritting her teeth.

"This is Leen Rutherford, the mother of Jinn and Kleene," Ziggy introduced, gesturing to a vat that contained a woman with neatly combed green hair and rounded eyebrows, "She too is dead," he said, "The same goes for Laguna's mother, Urfa Husert," he added as he looked over to a vat with a woman that had dark blue hair. It was mostly pulled back, save for a portion in the middle, where it was swept to her right. She had a sharp face and prominent eyelashes. "And Shiki…" the Machine King continued, making his fellow Satan Gravity Ether Gear user perk up as he growled, "Unfortunately, your mother is not here," he confirmed.

"You monster!" Nezuko roared, assuming her demon form as her body grew, while a horn protruded from her head, "Why would you desecrate their graves?!" she bellowed in question.

"And why would you bring them here…?!" Homura inquired.

"The only reason I brought your mothers here was to teach you a lesson," Ziggy responded, "In reality, any mother would do," he affirmed.

"You said something about them having unique Ether…" Rin recalled, narrowing her eyes.

"Correct," the Machine King replied, "The special Ether they possess: the power to create life itself," he noted aloud, "By collecting this Ether, I will open the path to the mother of the cosmoses," he declared.

"To Mother?!" Shiki presumed.

"Yes," Ziggy answered, "If I'm to annihilate the human race, I cannot allow the source of all life to continue to exist," he told the group before him, extending his right hand out before slowly closing it into a fist, "I will seek out Mother… and destroy her," he stated ominously. Everyone was shocked. And then, Rebecca heard a crackle of electricity.

"That's not going to happen…" Izuku growled out, catching the Machine King's attention, "WE WON'T LET IT!" he roared, shooting forward in an instant. The skull-faced android didn't even have a chance to dodge. "SAINT LOUIS… SMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the One For All inheritor bellowed, slamming his right leg into the face of his target in a powerful roundhouse kick. The force of the blow sent him flying back down the long corridor of vats, crashing at the very end in a flurry of dust. Everyone widened their eyes in shock.

"Izu…!" Rebecca gasped out, seeing her crush land down, glaring at the cloud of dust at the end of the hall.

"Gah… ah-ha…" Ziggy's voice chuckled out, "To think I just repaired myself…" he grumbled, starting to stand up, "Though I suppose if I hadn't managed to react in time, I would've most certainly been destroyed…" he admitted aloud. The dust settled, revealing that most of his face was littered with cracks, while his left horn had gotten broken off. Izuku reassumed his ready stance, letting green bio-electricity crackle around his body.

"He took a direct hit from Midoriya…" Shoto noted out of shock.

"And he's still standing…!" Weisz mentioned, quite stunned as well, "How?!" he asked.

"It's the Space Stone…" Azari answered, getting their attentions, "If it's bonded with Ziggy long enough, then…" he continued, letting off a grimace.

"I'd advise not trying that again," the Machine King remarked to Izuku, having a blue portal appear beside him. He reached into it, pulling out something. Everyone widened their eyes to find that it was Ochaco, who yelped as she was brought into a headlock by the skull-faced android.

"Ochaco!" Shiki screamed.

"What is she doing here?!" Rebecca inquired in shock.

"Shiki…!" the Zero Gravity Quirk user gasped out with tears pricking her eyes. Her boyfriend growled, making his Ether Gear markings shine brightly as he shot forward.

"LET HER GO!" he roared. Ziggy let off a grin. He released Ochaco, causing her to fall forward. In that same instant, he formed another blue portal in front of his fellow Satan Gravity Ether Gear user. "Wah!" he yelped, getting engulfed into it.

"Shiki!" his girlfriend and Rebecca cried out, seeing him completely disappear along with the rift.

"Shiki and I need to talk privately," the Machine King noted as he started to walk into another portal that formed beside himself, "If you'll excuse us…" he remarked, ready to depart. At that moment, both Azari and Nezuko lunged out at him.

"You're gonna give us that stone first!" the Wakandan prince declared, ready to slash at him with his claws. Scoffing, Ziggy merely flicked his left hand, blowing the pair back in a shockwave of air. They crashed onto the ground in pained yelps.

"Guys!" Rebecca exclaimed, quickly going over to check on them. As she did, the Machine King disappeared into the portal.

"I do have one piece of good news for you all," his voice confirmed to the group in an echo, "The core of Lendard rests here," he said, much to their surprise, "You were searching for it, weren't you?" he presumed, chuckling to himself, "Good luck with your Operation Starbiter," he remarked. Everyone widened their eyes in shock.

'He knows about the operation?!' Izuku exclaimed inwardly.

'How?!' Shoto inquired through his thoughts, grimacing all the while.

"Ochaco!" Rebecca called out as she ran over to the Zero Gravity Quirk user, helping her get back up onto her feet, "Are you okay?" she asked immediately in concern.

"Yeah…" she answered shakily.

"How come Ziggy captured you?" Weisz inquired upon approaching, "And where'd he take Shiki?" he questioned further.

"Weisz, hold on," Rebecca advised before Ochaco could respond, "There're a lot of questions we got right now…" she noted with a grimace.

"Agreed," Azari chimed in, "Like who leaked the plan?" he asked with a growl, much to everyone's surprise.

"Azari, none of us would've done such a thing!" Homura shouted out.

"But… how did Ziggy know…?" Happy wondered aloud while trembling.

"It is impossible!" Pino exclaimed as she too was shaken up.

"If there is a traitor, then—!"

"Stop it!" Rin yelled, interjecting Weisz, "No one here's stupid enough to do that!" she affirmed, "Besides… we've got a lot more to worry about now…" she noted while looking around at the multitude of vats containing mothers that Ziggy had stolen. She then glanced over to Rebecca, who was trembling as tears pricked her eyes. Bringing forth a Chronophage was no doubt crucial to the plan's success. But with all of the mothers here, including those of her friends and her own…

"…I can't…" she whimpered out in frustration.

"What do we do now?" Shoto inquired, "Granbell's probably fighting Ziggy alone," he noted to the group, "Should we go help him?" he presumed.

"No, Shiki'll be fine," Izuku assured in response as he shook his head, "He's the best matchup for Ziggy given his powers," he mentioned. Hearing that, Ochaco tensed up. "Uraraka, why did he have you captured?" he asked of her, causing her to blink in surprise, "It might just be a coincidence or that you're close to Shiki, but—"

"No," the Zero Gravity Quirk user interjected suddenly, "He did capture me for a reason," she confirmed to the group.

"Then you're the one who leaked the plan?!" Azari presumed angrily as he started stomping toward her.

"Hey, calm down!" Weisz insisted as he grabbed him by his right shoulder.

"I didn't leak anything!" Ochaco exclaimed, "In fact… Ziggy's the one who told the truth to me," she confirmed to the others' surprise.

"The truth… about what?" Rebecca asked while approaching.

"About who Ziggy really is," the Zero Gravity Quirk user responded, "And why he's doing all this in the first place…" she added. The tension in the air was thick. And that tension was spreading all across the planet…

X

Shiki found himself falling out from the portal, flipping before landing on his feet in a crouched position. He saw that he was upon a docking bay of a building that towered high into the smoggy sky. The wind breezed by as he covered his mouth with his left arm, letting his coattails flap about.

"Where the hell am I…?!" he questioned in a growl, "Where are my friends?!" he asked on. Just then, he heard something land behind him.

"Not to worry," Ziggy's voice echoed, enticing him to turn and see him there, "I only brought you here," he confirmed. The two stared at each other for a moment. A memory flashed through Shiki's head of himself training with his android grandfather as a child. He could never beat him, even when he learned how to use his Ether Gear. And now…

"You're really gonna let me settle this one-on-one… Grandpa?" he asked of the Machine King.

"But of course," he answered, "It is my ultimate mission, after all," he pointed out. He and his grandson took on ready stances, both rearing their respective right arms back and clenching their fists.

"Magimech Attack…" they started to echo simultaneously, throwing their fists out, "GRAVITY FIST!" they exclaimed, colliding fiercely. The shockwave that erupted from the impact shattered the dock, followed by causing the rest of the building to collapse under the pressure of their combined gravity. A flash of green light had enveloped the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user, as he assumed his Overdrive form. He gnashed his teeth and glared at the skull-faced android who had raised him, floating in midair. They flew out and slammed their heads against each other, with the gravity around them pulsating all the while before they broke away.

Noticing the debris in midair, Shiki threw his left hand out towards it. He then swung it forward, sending the rocks out to pelt Ziggy. He flew out of the way, but was then met with a knee to his face from his grandson, blowing him back. He let out a chuckle.

"Well done, Shiki…" he complimented, "I see you've grown stronger…" he pointed out. His fellow Satan Gravity Ether Gear user closed in and landed a powerful left hook to his head, making him careen back momentarily. He quickly retaliated by zipping up and kneeing his grandson's chin with his left leg, causing wads of blood to fly out from his lips.

However, he maintained a determined glare onto his android foe. The Machine King stuck his right hand out, swinging it forward to make pieces of nearby debris shoot out at his opponent. He flipped back onto a portion of debris from the destroyed tower, swiping the incoming debris and deflecting it as it bashed through other pieces in explosions of dust. Green energy trailed from his artificial left eye as he and his grandfather stared each other down. More debris orbited around them both as they floated in midair, letting the wind breeze by.

"So this is the power of the one who exists outside the wheel of time…" Ziggy noted aloud.

"What are you talking about?" Shiki asked. The Machine King merely stared back at him.

20,000 YEARS LATER

"Did you find something?" an android asked of his fellow robot of the same model as they were traversing the moon of a nearby planet, which seemed to be pulled apart.

"Two human corpses," his colleague responded, "They're really old…" he mentioned as the other android approached, making holographic screens appear around himself to scan the two bodies.

"A man and a woman," he confirmed. He and his colleague then held their hands together in prayer. "O Mother… please guide these souls," he requested, looking up to the stars, "Take them to the Blue Paradise beyond…" he added. At that moment, he took notice of something at his feet. "What's this?" he wondered aloud, crouching down to pick the object of interest up. It was a small cube with a pink, heart-shaped marking upon it, connected to a necklace of pearls.

"I have no idea what that could be…" his android colleague chimed in, "I've never seen anything like it…" he mentioned. Still holding the cube, the robot twirled it around.

"There's something written on it…" he noted curiously, reading the words that were engraved, "Edens Zero…" he said. Neither of the two robots knew what that meant. They could only assume so much. Then, they started hearing beeping. Looking back at the holographic monitors, the pair gasped.

"Impossible!" one of them exclaimed in disbelief.

"Th…These readings…" the other started to say while stuttering, "They're life readings!" he yelled.

"We're picking up a vital signature from the man!" his colleague confirmed as up above in space was a graveyard of destroyed Interstellar Union Army ships, "He's alive!" he shouted out.

X

"Ugh…" Inosuke groaned as he slowly awoke, "What's… goin' on?" he asked tiredly.

"Inosuke!" Nezuko exclaimed as she jogged over, having transformed back to normal, "Are you alright?" she asked while crouching down beside her fellow demon slayer.

"Yeah… I think so…" he replied, turning to spot one of the vats with a naked woman inside, "Whoa!" he yelped, shooting to his feet, "There's a naked lady in there!" he pointed out as he blushed, "There's a bunch of 'em!" he added emphatically out of shock.

"Yes… that's part of our problem right now…" Nezuko confirmed to his confusion. He then looked over to see the others with shocked, shaken expressions upon their faces after listening to what Ochaco had to tell them.

"You're… kidding, right?" Weisz inquired as he trembled.

"I wish I was…" the Zero Gravity Quirk user admitted, "But it's the truth…" she confirmed sadly.

"How… is that even possible?" Homura asked.

"You sure Ziggy wasn't trying to mess with you?" Azari questioned of Ochaco.

"I'm positive!" she affirmed in response, "He tried to tell me everything he could about what was going on and why he's after Mother before…" she continued explaining, only to stop herself as she lowered her gaze.

"Before what?" Rin inquired expectantly.

"Before he lost control of himself again…" Rebecca chimed in to her surprise, "like he did back on Granbell…" she recalled grimly.

"That tracks, given what Elsie told us back then about Ziggy's body…" Weisz remembered, "Whatever that Ether was that infected him, it's making him do all this shit…" he pointed out.

"Hey, what's with all the naked ladies?" Inosuke asked as he approached alongside Nezuko. Rebecca, Weisz and Homura perked up in surprise, followed by lowering their heads sadly as they trembled a little. "Huh?" the feminine-faced demon slayer uttered in confusion, "Did I say something wrong?" he inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"All the women here in these vats are mothers from across this universe," Shoto explained, "That includes their mothers, too," he mentioned as he glanced back at the troubled trio.

"And it turns out that not only is Rebecca's mother the one survivor of this recovery effort by Ziggy," Rin continued, "she's also one of the Oración Seis Galáctica…" she mentioned as the Cat Leaper Ether Gear looked over to the vat containing who was said to be her parent.

"Rebecca…" Izuku uttered worriedly.

"Are you guys gonna be okay…?" Happy inquired.

"…My mom died a long time ago, so this isn't much of a shock…" Weisz admitted after a moment, "It does freak me out that somebody dug her body up and put it right there in front of me…" he confessed on, "And for real this time…" he mentioned as Azari spared him a glance of concern.

"I never wished to see my mother again…" Homura chimed in while looking at Kurenai's vat, "But… the fact that she is dead…" she continued, "It's… hard to accept…" she admitted with the slightest of trembles. All eyes then turned to Rebecca, who stared at the vat containing her mother.

"Ochaco… did Ziggy tell you about his plan?" she asked of the Zero Gravity Quirk user.

"He mentioned he'd been going around collecting mothers…" she answered, "He didn't bring up your mom, though…" she added. The Cat Leaper Ether Gear user lowered her gaze.

"Miss Rebecca…?" Pino chimed in worriedly.

"From the earliest memories I can piece together, I was already alone on Blue Garden…" Rebecca noted to the group, "I don't remember anything about my parents," she mentioned, "Did they abandon me? Or leave me as an orphan?" she questioned, "Or maybe I was kidnapped… and never knew?" she presumed, "As I got older, I just didn't bother thinking about it…" she admitted on, "And now… my mom's suddenly right in front of me," she pointed out, "And she's the archbishop of some church?" she mentioned in question, shaking her head.

"I know it's probably a lot to process…" Rin said as she came over, putting a hand onto her friend's shoulder.

"Honestly… it makes no sense to me…" she admitted aloud.

"Still, she's the only one alive," Weisz pointed out.

"Yes, the life readings I detected are from her," Pino confirmed.

"What should we do now, Midoriya?" Shoto inquired of the freckled hero, who put his left hand onto his chin, "If we're letting Granbell take care of Ziggy, then we can at least do something about all these women here," he told him.

"Yeah…" he agreed, "But I'm not sure what we can do…" he admitted aloud, "Looking at all this… there's too many to try and get off of the planet," he pointed out.

"And our MPGs are currently down," Rin mentioned, "We don't have the luxury to try and transport them all to another universe for safekeeping," she noted on. Homura then took on a determined expression.

"In that case, let us at least rescue Rebecca's mother before enacting Operation Starbiter," she advised of her colleagues.

"W-Wait!" Nezuko stammered out.

"I can't do that!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user shouted, "There're so many people here!" she pointed out emphatically.

"But… they're all dead, aren't they?" Happy inquired back.

"That is affirmative…" Pino confirmed sadly.

"Even so… Weisz and Homura's mothers…" Rebecca began as she clenched her fists, "And Jinn and Kleene's…!" she continued, gritting her teeth, "Laguna's, too!" she exclaimed, "We can't just leave them here!" she insisted firmly.

"Yeah…" Weisz agreed, "If we can, I'd like to take my mom back and at least bury her on Norma soil," he told his colleagues.

"Then we have a middle-ground," Homura concluded, "We'll recover our own mothers and bring them back to the Edens Zero," she decided, "I can carry them all with the Warrior Maid Ninety-Five," she confirmed on. Rebecca still seemed troubled.

"Do we really have to leave most of them here?" Nezuko wondered aloud, "What about the families of these people?" she inquired on.

"We can't dwell on the details, as much as it frustrates us…" Shoto responded, "Right now, only one of these women here is alive," he pointed out, "Rescuing her should take priority," he advised.

"I agree," Pino responded, "In that case, we should let Rebecca's mother out first," she advised.

"Wait, hold on," Izuku chimed in.

"Oh, what is it now?" Azari grumbled in question, rolling his eyes. Izuku sighed.

"You heard what Ziggy said, didn't you?" he inquired of his colleagues, "She's one of the Oración Seis Galáctica," he pointed out, causing them to blink in realization, "It's not that I believe she'll wake up and attack us…" he admitted as he glanced over to Rebecca, who gave a solemn look, "but we don't know what kind of state she's in," he noted, "Keeping her in that vat will make it easier to bring her and the others we take back to the ship," he told the group.

"Sounds fair to me," Weisz concluded.

"Alright, I'll be back shortly," Homura promised, jogging off, "Inosuke, I may need your help," she called out to the feminine-faced demon slayer as she ran past him.

"Right!" he responded, throwing his boar hide over his head before following her. As they departed, everyone else turned to Rebecca. Izuku approached her, giving her a sympathetic expression.

"I'm sorry…" he apologized, "I know you want to save everyone here, but…" he continued, only to stop himself.

"No, it's all right…" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user assured, "We can rescue our individual mothers, then I can start the operation," she affirmed to the group, "As for my own mom… I'll wait to see what happens after this is all over," she decided, "Right now, I'm going to pull Operation Starbiter off!" she declared firmly.

"In that case, let's get them down," Shoto advised.

"Right," Weisz agreed, pulling his right sleeve back and equipping his Arsenal armor. As they started to move about to the particular vats, Izuku kept his eyes on Rebecca. As worried as he was for her well-being, especially given the latest revelations, he was glad that she was willing to persevere.

X

As many battles rage across Lendard, one that may potentially decide the fate of this tale is between our heroes and Ultron. Will they emerge victorious? Or is the android with an evil AI more than capable of doing away with them?

Hm. I guess we'll find out…

"Four of you against all of me…" Ultron noted, chuckling as his plethora of drones swarmed about the quartet of Riri, Denki, Mina and James.

"Uh… this isn't looking good…" the Electrification Quirk user admitted aloud.

"No shit…" his girlfriend concurred.

"Riri, how are you looking on power?" James asked of the armored Avenger.

"About forty percent, give or take…" she replied, "Probably gonna take twenty-five to at least reach Ultron now…" she mentioned with a grimace.

"Man, we could really use some backup…" Mina pointed out, sweating profusely.

"I wouldn't count on help coming," Ultron advised upon overhearing, causing her to grimace, "I've taken the liberty of cutting off your MPG communications," he pointed out to his foes, "Along with the ability to generate portals…" he mentioned further.

"Great…" the Acid Quirk user mumbled out.

"So what will you do with all of this against you… Ironheart?" the android inquired curiously. The armored Avenger steeled herself, clenching her fists.

"Denki, you gotta hit him with one of your pointers…" she whispered to her boyfriend, getting his attention, "If we can give him a little shock, it's enough of an opening to maybe take him out…" she noted aloud.

"Easier said than done…" the Electrification Quirk user retorted in response, "Not to mention that a maybe doesn't inspire confidence…" he added with a grimace.

"Incoming!" James yelled, causing him to perk up as a few of the drones started flying towards him and his colleagues. Mina leapt forward.

"Acid Veil!" she yelled, expelling a wall of colorless acid for the drones to soar into, melting away as they fell to the ground.

"Oh crap!" Denki yelped, seeing more and more of the drones diving down at the group. James flung his energy shield, knocking a few of them out of the sky for Riri to blast with her repulsor rays. Mina threw more globs of acid from her hands onto others, melting parts of their bodies as they crashed upon the ground. All the while, Ultron watched with a grin on his face.

"Riri, you're the only who can fly!" James pointed out as he grabbed a drone by its head and slammed it against the ground, followed by Mina landing an acid-covered kick to another before it could tackle him, "We'll try to give you cover!" he assured.

"Right!" the armored Avenger responded, taking off into the sky. Almost immediately though, she was tackled aside by a pair of drones, crashing into a nearby building.

"Riri!" Denki cried out.

"Hmph," Ultron scoffed, getting his attention, "How amateurish…" he muttered. Growling, the Electrification Quirk user aimed the support item attached to his right arm, firing off several orange discs from it. However, more drones intercepted them before they could even come close to the villainous android. "Did you really think I wouldn't have seen that coming?" he inquired of his foe, making him grimace. Just then, a massive blue beam of light shot out from the building that Riri had crashed into.

"ULTRRRRONNNNNN!" her voice roared as she flew out and tackled the villainous android. He scoffed again, kicking her off of him before magnetically pulling her into a fierce blast of red light.

"Oh no, Riri!" Mina cried out.

"Armor integrity down to fifteen percent," the A.I. of Riri's armor confirmed, causing her to grimace before she crashed into the ground again.

"Agh…" she groaned out, being slow to sit up.

"You seem to have trouble understanding…" Ultron noted as he floated down toward her, getting her attention, "so allow me to enlighten you," he offered. In the meantime, James found himself tackled to the ground as he yelled with agony. Mina tried to go and help him, but she herself was slammed against the earth by a couple of drones that came at her from behind.

"Guys!" Denki screamed, unleashing small shocks of electricity onto drones that were coming his way. He didn't want to risk letting out a strong discharge, knowing that not only would he be rendered useless, but his colleagues would be caught in the crossfire. Ultimately, he too was pinned to the ground in a pained yelp.

"Humans aren't special," Ultron said, "All they do is create… and then destroy," he pointed out additionally to Riri, who staggered to her feet. Pieces of her armor were sparking. "What did you hope to achieve by challenging me?" the villainous android asked, "That humanity still reigns over machine-kind, because they are their creators?" he assumed further, "No, that's far too lenient…" he muttered, "Machines are what create, what help to build better worlds…" he proclaimed as he outstretched his arms, "This universe will come to be the greatest example," he declared on.

"And Ziggy's just your puppet…?" Riri guessed.

"He's been surprisingly cooperative," Ultron noted with a chuckle, "And once he accomplishes what he's set out to, then the rest of the multiverse will soon follow," he mentioned. He moved his head aside to evade the repulsor beam sent his way from his foe's right hand. "Oh, come now…" he muttered, magnetically flinging Riri aside before she crashed up against another building.

"Riri!" Denki cried out, still pinned to the ground.

"Hmph," Ultron scoffed, marching over to the armored Avenger, who could barely push herself back up. Half of her faceplate had broken off, revealing a good portion of her exhausted face as blood was trickling down her head. "Even if he were here, Stark wouldn't have been able to overcome this," he told her, aiming his right hand out at her, "And neither will you…" he added. The red light reflected off of Riri as she grimaced, knowing that this fight seemed to be in vain. Her armor was on the verge of breaking down completely. She was about to die, and no one was bound to come and save her. There was only one other time that she felt so helpless.

FLASHBACK

Kyoka's whimpering echoed through the dusking forest as she and few of the others overlooked Robbie Reyes' dead body. In the wake of Gigantomachia's rampage that the young student heroes were unable to stop, several pros had wound up dead. A helmetless Riri looked on at the wake of destruction trailing right through the forest, trembling with fear. She took a step forward… and felt a hand come onto her shoulder.

"Riri, don't," Itsuka Kendo insisted as she held onto her, "We can't let you end up like Robbie and the others…" she pointed out.

"So I'm supposed to just sit here and do nothing…?" her armored classmate questioned back, gritting her teeth, "Itsu, you have any idea how that—?!" She stopped herself from lashing out the moment she saw the tears in the eyes of the Big Fist Quirk user. She too had discovered that her own mentor had unfortunately perished in the wake of the giant villain's rampage. Riri gave off an ashamed look. "Sorry…" she apologized, "I just…" she tried to say, clenching her fists tightly, "If I could've thought of something in tandem with Momo's plan, then…" she continued, tearing up herself. Itsuka just hugged her, letting her cry as she did, too.

That whole war against the League of Villains or whatever they were called was a real eye-opener. I realized that even if you have the best plans and the best heroes… it could all be for nothing. Everyone had to think on their feet, rely on each other… I felt like they'd just slow things down.

We could've lost a lot more that day. And when we fought again only months later, we still kept having to improvise… There was someone who wasn't as smart as me… but she was the person who didn't waver when things didn't go to plan. She's the one who'd charge blindly into danger… even go up against one of the strongest villains in the world with just one arm…

That person…

END FLASHBACK

"Farewell, Ironheart," Ultron remarked, firing a powerful ray of red light toward the downed Riri. She didn't flinch, hearing her colleagues cry out to her. And then, a figure landed down in front of her. An explosive blast erupted as the beam struck, with smoke lingering for a few moments. The villainous android narrowed his eyes curiously. All of a sudden, he found himself tackled by the armored Avenger, who shot out and slammed him up against a building in a flurry of dust. She then palmed his torso with her left hand, firing a powerful repulsor ray that pierced straight through him. "GAH…!" he gasped out before she flew back, "How…?!" he questioned, placing his right hand over the hole in his body.

"You're right," Riri said, "I won't be able to overcome this…" she admitted aloud, "Not alone, anyway," she corrected, glancing back toward the lingering smoke. It slowly dissipated, revealing a red-haired woman there clad in a bulky, darkly colored armor. The armor on her body consisted of two parts. The first part, a lower plate which covered her stomach and most of her chest bore a simple diamonds-and-stripes pattern engraved into it near the top. On top of that lied another plate which hangs from the neck and went to her midsection. Extending over this top plate were four round, metallic extensions which attached underneath the plate around the neck. The neck featured a large cylindrical plate which is sectioned off into six progressively larger sections. Around each shoulder were very large shoulder guards with four distinct sections with a large spike jutting off to separate each section from the next. The armor featured large gauntlets bearing the sectioning pattern of the rest of the armor with the sections becoming smaller as the gauntlets moved in towards her hands. Underneath the bottom chest plate was a skirt bearing a woven pattern. The edge of this skirt bore small spikes and a larger spike hung beneath every other small one, dangling over the leg greaves. The greaves had the same sectioning pattern as the rest of the armor but were split down the middle with a large piece covering the knee. Several curved spikes jutted out from the outward facing sides of the greaves. Atop her head sat a large, spiked headdress.

"Who would've figured you'd need my help, Ironheart?" she remarked aloud.

"Rachael!" Mina exclaimed happily upon seeing her fellow hero. All of a sudden, the drones pinning her had her colleagues were torn asunder. "Huh?" she uttered in confusion. She turned to find a towering, muscular humanoid figure with four wings protruding from its eye sockets and a tail-like appendage extending from the back of its head standing just behind her. Hovering just above its head was a large eight-handled wheel. It also sported black hakama bottoms and a white sash around its waist to cover most of its lower body. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" the Acid Quirk user shrieked, crawling back in fright.

"What the hell's that thing?!" Denki exclaimed out of shock as he got back onto his feet.

"Don't worry, it's under my control," another voice chimed in, belonging to Megumi as he walked out from an alley, "You made the mistake of not killing me when you had the chance, Ultron," he noted to the villainous android, who growled, "I'm sure you must be aware of Mahoraga's technique…" he mentioned further.

"Not that it'll matter after I turn him into scraps!" another voice chimed, belonging to Noelle, who was dressed in her Valkyrie Armor as she floated overhead.

"Noelle, too…" Riri said, letting off a little smile.

"You really think that all of this will be enough…?" Ultron inquired of his foes, raising his right hand. Several more drones started converging onto the scene. "All of me can simply overwhelm you into extinction…" he proclaimed as a couple of those below grimaced. However, a pink light suddenly washed over the incoming drones, turning them all into water. "What?!" the villainous android exclaimed, while everyone else widened their eyes. The water rained down over them.

"Whoa, what the heck?!" Denki yelped, shaking himself off.

"Noelle, did you do that?" James inquired aloud.

"Uh… that wasn't me…" the Black Bull responded with an inquisitive look.

"So that's Ultron, huh?" another voice chimed in, getting her attention as she looked to see someone floating alongside her with her arms crossed over her chest, "Yeah, definitely screams bad guy…" she pointed out, being a beautiful young woman with very long red linear hair, green eyes and brown pupils. She was wearing a pink and light pink outfit, with the atom molecule logo and rings covering it and a pink cape.

"Eve?!" Riri exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, isn't that a surprise…" Megumi remarked with a small grin.

"YES!" Mina yelled excitedly, "Now we've got a fair fight!" she proclaimed as she clenched her fists as she smiled brightly.

"Heck yeah, we do!" Denki agreed while smirking, "While Atom Eve handles those stupid drones, we can take care of Ultron nice and easy!" he proclaimed confidently.

"How did you…?!" the villainous android snarled in question.

'So Hermit's plan worked out in the end, huh?' Riri noted inwardly.

FLASHBACK

"In all likelihood, Ziggy's going to be focused more on those he knows are from this universe, aside from probably Holy, of course," the Mind of Edens explained to her colleagues in the conference, "The rest of you from other universes are going to be Ultron's priority," she affirmed.

"So in other words, we'll have to expect to face Ultron…" Noel presumed.

"Not exactly," Hermit responded to her surprise, "Ultron won't know who's who unless he has a way of keeping track of who's where," she told the group, "Meaning that he'll need to have a method to pinpoint your locations," she mentioned.

"Not sure what you mean by that…" Yuji admitted while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I get it," Riri chimed in, stepping forward, "He's gonna trace us by our MPGs," she said to the others' surprise.

"That's the theory," Hermit confirmed, "Can I borrow yours for a sec?" she requested of the armored Avenger, enticing her to hand over her device, "I'd been experimenting with the MPGs we've had on the ship for a while, trying to figure out if there's a way to better code them, maybe make them untraceable in case of things like deactivation," she explained.

"So you're gonna make our MPGs all untraceable?" Ninny assumed.

"No, that'd make it too obvious for Ultron," the Mind of Edens responded to her surprise.

"Then what's your plan?" Jessica asked. Hermit let off a grin.

"We make Ultron think there's only so many of you in one place… when we've got more waiting in the wings," she told the group as a reply.

END FLASHBACK

"Hey, Ultron…" Riri called out, getting the android's attention, "Why don't you quit worrying about how we caught you by surprise and actually finish this?" she suggested, "Unless you think you can't handle this setback…" she remarked on.

"Oh-ho…" Ultron chuckled out, "I see Stark left you with his flippant tongue…" he noted as he stepped forward, "Fine then…" he said, launching himself out at her. She did the same, rearing her right fist back as her armor materialized a battering ram that she slammed against her foe's right fist, resulting in a powerful shockwave. The two glared at each other, determined to win for their own sakes.

X

Back aboard the Edens Zero, the door to the bridge opened. Those inside looked to see Hermit entering alongside Torunn and Henry. The two Avengers looked somewhat concerned.

"Are you sure you don't wanna take it easy, Hermit?" the shorter of the two inquired worriedly, "It sounded like both you and Sister got pretty roughed up back there…" he pointed out.

"I'm inclined to agree with Pym…" the demigoddess added.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," the Mind of Edens assured.

"I take it that means the intruders have been disposed of?" Connor presumed.

"Yep," Hermit confirmed, taking her seat, "Mimosa and Alice took care of them," she mentioned, "They're now heading out to the factory to provide extra support in taking it down," she explained, "I do wish we managed to keep one of those two androids alive for interrogation…" she admitted aloud, "How are things on the outside?" she asked. At that moment, the doors opened.

"We've taken care of most of the drones," Kleene confirmed as she entered alongside her brother, Laguna, Jaime, America and Jessica.

"And all the anti-aircraft fire around Crow's been taken out, too," the Green Lantern mentioned.

"Which means all that's left is him…" the Wind Rage Ether Gear user noted. Outside, Asta and Yuno flew about, taking out any more of the drones that were still present. In the meantime, Way Big wrestled against the titanic android, their fingers interlocked as they tried to push each other back.

"Kenny…" Jessica uttered worriedly.

"He'll be fine, chica," America assured, "We gonna fire that damn cannon now?" she inquired of the others.

"Hold on there," Connor said, "We still need Holy to distract him long enough for us to make that move," he pointed out, "Can't go firing without our big friend getting out of the way…" he mentioned. At that moment, the To'kustar took a left hook squarely to his jaw, causing him to stumble back before being tackled onto the ground. The Green Lantern grimaced.

"Hermit!" she called out.

"I know," the Mind of Edens responded as she typed along her holographic keyboard fluently, "The cannon's charge is sitting at eighty-five percent, which should be more than enough to do the job…" she told the group.

"No, that won't be enough," Laguna argued to her surprise, "If we don't go all in, we'll be putting ourselves in more danger," he said.

"And I noticed something when we were fighting," Kris chimed in, "He absorbs energy," he noted to everyone's surprise.

"What do you mean?" Hermit asked.

"Wind Magic: Crescent Moon Sickle!" Yuno chanted, extending his arms outward to unleash a thin, crescent-shaped blade of wind. It collided with Crow's head, but seemed to be ineffective. "Dammit!" the Golden Dawn mage cursed in frustration.

"It doesn't matter if it's magic or Ether or whatever," Kris explained back aboard the ship, "He's able to absorb it," he pointed out.

"So only physical ammunition will work?" his sister presumed.

"No, his armor's too tough," he replied with a shake of his head, "The only one who's been able to leave lasting damage at all is Asta," he pointed out, "And even then…" he continued.

"Absorption, invulnerability, and apparently regeneration, too…" Hermit listed off, "It sounds like the only one who can fight him is Asta," she presumed, "Even then, he's still outmatched by whatever regeneration that Crow has," she noted on.

"I think it's safe to say that we gotta bank on him and Holy for this…" Jaime chimed in.

"Yeah…" Jessica agreed. Back on the ground, a green flash of light enveloped Way Big as he transformed back into Kenny, who groaned as he took to his feet.

"Huh?" Crow's voice echoed above him, "Where the hell'd that big guy go?" he wondered aloud.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Asta roared as he slashed past the titanic android's face with his Demon-Slayer Sword in hand.

"Agh!" he yelped in pain, having a distinct gash along the bridge of his nose, "Damn fly!" he yelled, attempting to swipe at the Black Bull with his left arm. He winced for a moment, but steeled himself.

"Dweller!" he yelled out. The grimoire floating beside him opened up. Popping out from it was a sword with black markings on the blade and was mostly covered in dirt. The sword also had a heavily ornate hilt with a four-sided guard, a grip with a spiral design, and a sphere for the pommel. He grasped it in his left hand, spinning around rapidly to slash away his foe's arm. He yelped in pain again, gnashing his teeth. In the meantime, his foe regained his balance in midair, rearing back the Demon-Dweller Sword in his grasp. "BLACK SLASH!" he roared, swinging it forward to release a crescent-shaped blade of dark energy. It struck Crow upside his head, making him falter slightly.

"Ergh…" he growled out. The gash around his nose and the ones formed along his left arm were starting to disappear.

"I see…" Hermit said from the bridge, "Asta's anti-magic is working, but it's not enough," she confirmed, "We need to find a way to fire the Star Bringer so that it ensures we'll completely destroy Crow," she told the group while typing along upon her holographic keyboard, "Even then, I don't know if it'll be enough…" she admitted aloud, "The Star Bringer fires high density pressurized Ether," she explained, "In other words, energy rounds…" she said with narrowed, shaking eyes.

"So we don't know if it'll work at max power…" Jaime realized.

"It will work!" Holy's voice suddenly communicated as a holographic screen of her appeared over the main console.

"Holily!" Kleene yelped out in surprise.

"According to my calculations, if you fire the Edens Zero's main cannon directly at his core…" the Oración Seis Interestelar member began telling the group as she was closing in on the titanic android aboard her Knight Gear, "we will destroy him," she proclaimed.

"His core?" America repeated over the communication line.

"Yes," Holy responded, "And it's my job to uncover that for you all," she mentioned further. The Steel Sorceress soared in. Asta took notice, seeing it draw its scepter. "Lightning Ether!" Holy exclaimed, having the weapon in her Knight Gear's grasp unleash a blast of yellow electricity, striking the neck of the Oración Seis Galáctica member.

"Huh?" he uttered in confusion, seemingly unbothered by the sudden attack.

"Holy, what are you doing?!" Hermit inquired aloud from the bridge, "We just went over how he absorbs energy!" she pointed out emphatically.

"I have to do this to locate his core!" the Oración Seis Interestelar member retorted in response, causing her to blink in surprise.

"Hey, look!" Henry exclaimed, pointing ahead. The others took notice of the energy lines appearing along Crow's body, trailing down from his neck.

"Are those…?" Kleene started to inquire over the communication line.

"Yes, it's his Ether flow," Holy confirmed in reply, "That's what'll lead us to our victory!" she proclaimed, having the Knight Gear aim its scepter towards where the energy lines had halted, "FIRE ETHER!" she exclaimed as the weapon unleashed a spray of flames onto the titanic android. It did little but seem to irritate him.

"Another damn fly?" he presumed, rearing his right arm back and clenching his fist tightly, "Stop buzzing around…" he growled before throwing his extremity out.

"BLACK METEORITE!" Asta roared as he shot in, countering the attempted punch with both of his blades in hand, making a powerful shockwave erupt. Holy grimaced as her Knight Gear tumbled back, regaining its balance.

"Heh…" she chuckled out, "Thank you, my dear Asta…" she exhaled gratefully, "I'll take care of the rest," she affirmed, relocating the Ether lines upon the Oración Seis Galáctica member's body. She aimed the Knight Gear's scepter. "Ice Ether!" she yelled, having it release mounds of ice that formed patches upon Crow's body.

"Tch…" he scoffed, "That's not going to work!" he shouted, smacking Asta away with his left hand as he screamed.

"Asta!" Yuno cried out, flying after his rival. Holy let off a grimace momentarily, but grinned upon seeing the flow of her foe's Ether trailing toward his stomach.

'I see it!' she inwardly concluded, quickly clicking another button upon her throttle. The Knight Gear released a volley of cylindrical-shaped missiles, striking Crow's head and veiling his vision thanks to the resulting smoke. That allowed for the Oración Seis Interestelar member to fly the Steel Sorceress up to her foe's stomach. The Ether lines she had been uncovering were now in a circular pattern in the middle of his torso. She smiled.

"Oh, how I've waited for this day…" she said with anticipation, gripping the throttles tightly, "This is the moment I can finally destroy you…" she proclaimed as purple lines of Ether appeared along her arms, "Connecting Ether Link!" she exclaimed, "Activating Melt!" she confirmed, aiming the scepter of her Knight Gear forward. All of a sudden, a hole was melted open in the middle of Crow's torso, just as the smoke had settled around his head.

"Ah!" he gasped out.

"There! I've exposed his core!" Holy called out to those aboard the Edens Zero.

"So that's her Ether Gear then…" Laguna realized, quite surprised.

"Pretty brutal if you ask me…" Jaime commented.

"We got our opening!" Jessica exclaimed, "What's the charge on the cannon?" she asked of Hermit.

"A hundred percent!" she answered, "Holy, pull back!" she called out over the communication line, "We're ready to fire!" she confirmed.

"Right, I'm on my wa—" Before the Oración Seis Interestelar member could finish her sentence, wires suddenly shot out from the hole in Crow's torso. They ensnared her Knight Gear. "Wha…?" she gasped out.

"Oh crap!" Henry yelped from the Edens Zero's bridge.

"Holy!" Hermit cried out. The wires pulled the Steel Sorceress in, all while the Oración Seis Galáctica member himself sneered.

"HEY!" Asta's voice shouted out, getting his attention as he saw the Black Bull himself flying toward him with his swords in hand, still in his Dark Form, "LET HER GO!" he roared demandingly, rearing his blades back.

"Hah!" Crow laughed, "You flies really are annoying!" he yelled before swatting aside the anti-magic user again, this time sending him crashing through several buildings in the vicinity before he struck the ground in a massive explosion of dirt and dust.

"Asta!" Jaime cried out from the bridge.

"Damn it, I'm heading back out there!" Kris decided, running off.

"I'll join you!" Torunn yelled, flying after him. Jessica and America turned and nodded to each other before following the pair. Outside, Yuno flew over and saw the Knight Gear get engulfed into Crow's torso before slowly starting to close up, with him grinning all the while.

"He took her in?!" Laguna exclaimed from the bridge.

"Holily! Holily, respond!" Kleene cried out through the communication line. The holographic screen over the main console only showed blurry, static-filled images.

"Fire…" the Oración Seis Interestelar member insisted over the line, "Take me with him…" she requested on.

"Holy…" Henry uttered out.

"Hey, should we—?"

"NO!" Hermit shouted before Jaime could finish his question, "If Shiki were here, he wouldn't allow it!" she affirmed, "We have to save her!" she insisted, while a downed Asta lied bloodied and unconscious in a crater far from the scene. The battle against Crow was only worsening with every fighter lost…

20,000 YEARS LATER

"I've confirmed that the man is alive for certain," the former of the two androids noted to his colleague, "Unfortunately, the woman is dead," he added.

"So what do we do?" his partner asked.

"What else?" he retorted in question, "We recover our findings and return to base," he told him, "Neither of us have ever seen a human before in our lives," he pointed out.

"But why would a species that went extinct twenty-thousand years ago…?"

"Our job is to find out," the lead robot answered before his colleague could finish his question, "This is EX-Five," he communicated, "We are now returning to base on the planet Eden," he confirmed, looking toward a blue planet in the far distance.

X

'Alright, the bombs are all in place!' Momo confirmed over the telepathic link set up thanks to M'gann, 'Evacuate as quickly as you can!' she insisted of her colleagues.

"FINNNAALLLYYYY!" Zenitsu screeched, dashing off out of the factory in but an instant, "I don't have to deal with all these freaky robots anymore!" he screamed out.

"Zenitsu…" Tanjiro grumbled with a sigh.

"He's right, though!" Yuji concurred as he flipped back from a Clown's gunfire before punching away a Brigandine, "We better get a move on!" he yelled out.

"Right!" Tenya agreed.

"Everyone, let's hurry!" Fumikage called out, having Dark Shadow fend off more of the duplicate androids. The Omni Force members hurriedly escaped the factory, though some Wizards were flying after them. Reacting quickly, Ninny pulled out her Witch Kit from its holster.

"Magic Number Four: Stunball!" she exclaimed, firing off a sphere of energy flanked by four smaller spheres that were attached by thin beams of light. It struck one of the duplicate androids, knocking him down. The other closed in, only to soon be downed by the same attack, this time from Noel.

"You used an incantation," she noted to her fellow Piper, who scoffed.

"Yeah, and you didn't…" she muttered out.

"Creati, we're all out I think!" Tenya yelled, getting their attentions as they saw the rest of their colleagues coming to join with them.

"Good!" the Creation Quirk user responded, pulling out a remote she had in hand, "The explosion shouldn't reach us at this distance, but it'll be enough to make the factory collapse," she told her comrades.

"Well, what the hell are you waiting for?!" Magna shouted in question, "Hurry up and press the damn button!" he insisted.

"Right!" Momo responded, about to click the bright red button upon the remote. At that moment, M'gann took notice of the Wizard standing atop a building afar, raising his polearm as lightning started crackling off of it.

"Cosmic Lightning," he uttered. Streaks of dark lightning shot out from his spear, heading for the factory. More specifically, they were heading for the bombs planted upon it. Each one of them was struck simultaneously, while those of the Omni Force watched on in utter shock.

"That's the guy who took Ochaco!" Tsuyu exclaimed.

"So he wasn't done with us after all…" Fumikage growled out.

"Hey, are the bombs still gonna go off?!" Yuji asked frantically.

"No…" Momo uttered out, sounding dismayed, "That lightning disabled all of them…" she confirmed to everyone's disbelief.

"Then that means…!" Ninny started to realize as she grimaced.

"Your plan was going to be fruitless from the very start," the Dark Star stated as he descended, landing before the group, "My assignment was to ensure the factory's safety and do away with any attempts to attack it," he mentioned further to his foes, "Now that I've removed your explosives, your only options are to either surrender or die," he told them. The Omni Force members grimaced, all wondering what they could do. Momo even dropped onto her knees. There were still hundreds upon hundreds of duplicate androids they'd need to fight, and more could be made easily to further invalidate their efforts. It all seemed lost. But then, Zora smirked, stepping forward.

"Well congratulations, ya walking, talking hunk of scrap metal," he remarked to Wizard, who narrowed his eyes, "You planned for our plan perfectly, A-plus," he added, clapping in applause, "Although…" he continued, "I think you might've been a little shortsighted…" he mentioned to the confusion of the Dark Star. All of a sudden, an explosion erupted behind him, causing him to gasp as he whipped around to see blasts going off from the factory, with pieces of it collapsing off before ultimately coming down in a flurry of dust.

"Impossible…" Wizard uttered in disbelief. Several of the duplicate Dark Stars had managed to escape the collapse, but many more were trapped in the bombed factory, likely destroyed along with others.

"You guys were really banking on bringing out all kinds of rust buckets to take us down, huh?" Zora presumed, "Thing is, we figured you'd have an idea of what we were up to…" he pointed out, while Momo took to her feet.

"And that's precisely why I created bombs to be planted inside the factory…" she confirmed with a grin. The Dark Star gasped, widening his eyes.

"But when did you…?!" he growled out.

"It wasn't easy," M'gann responded as she stepped forward, "We had to make sure those other bots inside didn't notice," she noted.

"Not to mention having to plant them in the right places…" the voice of Finral chimed in as he stepped forward.

"Whoa, Finral!" Luck exclaimed in surprise.

"Wait a minute, where the hell were you?!" Magna questioned upon blinking in realization.

"Now I see…" Tenya concluded.

"Yep," Zora said, "Thanks to greenie and our portal pal here, they set up the real bombs inside," he told the group.

"Then why'd we plant the ones that were outside?" Ninny asked, sounding annoyed.

"To draw attention away from the real bombs," Momo replied, "That way if there was someone watching from the outside ready to stop us at a moment's notice…" she continued, letting off an uncommon smirk, "we'd be able to fool them into thinking the only explosives were the ones upon the factory," she confirmed.

"You're a real genius, ponytail," Zora complimented, "Now all we've got left to do is clear out the crappers…" he noted.

"You damn—!" The moment Wizard whipped around to aim his spear at his foes, he was met with the incoming figures of both Yuji and Tanjiro. The latter had drawn his Nichirin Sword, while the former clenched his right fist tightly.

'Sun Breathing…' the demon slayer began inwardly, 'Dancing…' he continued.

'Black…' Yuji started echoing through his thoughts as cursed energy swelled in his extremity. As he struck Wizard's torso in a flash of black light, so too did Tanjiro slash his chest.

'FLASH!' they exclaimed simultaneously. The Dark Star found himself blown back by the combination of attacks, barely managing to land on his feet and slide to a stop in front of all the other duplicate androids. Pieces of his body crumbled off of him as he breathed heavily, gritting his teeth as he glared towards his foes.

"Might wanna surrender, pal," Zora advised, echoing the Dark Star's earlier words, "After all, we've got something you rusty pieces of scrap metal don't…" he pointed out.

"And that's heart," Tanjiro confirmed, gripping his katana tightly.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," Yuji insisted. Wizard grimaced, knowing the situation had fallen well out of his control. Elsewhere in the skies of Lendard, green streaks of light chased after each other, belonging to Shiki and Ziggy as they continued to clash. The former of the two clenched his fists, dashing out at his grandfather and tackling him straight into a building. More of his face was cracking.

"Hmph," he scoffed, "Not bad at all, Shiki…" he commented to his grandson, who didn't relent as he kept pushing against him, "But you still lack power!" he roared, elbowing his foe squarely in the back before kicking his stomach. That knocked the wind out of him as he gasped for breath. The skull-faced android reared his arms back. "Magimech Attack…" he began, unleashing a furious flurry of heavy punches onto his opponent, "GRAVITY INFERNO!" he exclaimed, sending his fellow Satan Gravity Ether Gear user flying back through the air. He shot after him, ready to land another series of blows. However, Shiki's eyes jolted open as he inhaled a sharp, deep breath. As his grandfather approached, he reared his left leg back before whipping around.

"Magimech Attack…" he began before striking his target upside the head with his foot, "Gravity Windmill Kick!" he yelled, sending the skull-faced android flying back several feet. He grinned all the while, only to then be met with his grandson closing in and bringing his fists together. Rearing them back over his head, he slammed them against his foe's face, sending him crashing down onto the ground below in a flurry of dust.

Not relenting for even a moment, he shot down in an instant, extending his right hand out. His grandfather shakily managed to get to his feet, still grinning. The mouth upon his chest flashed blue.

"GRAVITY COMET!" Shiki roared as he was about collide with his target, only to be stopped by a blue force-field that suddenly projected around Ziggy. He gasped in surprise.

"Hahaha…" the skull-faced android chuckled, "Do you see now, Shiki?" he inquired of his grandson, turning to look up at him, "This is true gravity," he proclaimed, blowing his fellow Satan Gravity Ether Gear user back in an instant. He regained his balance in midair, grimacing as his grandfather floated up to meet him. "Killing you will be what resets the wheel of time, and fate will be restored," he declared on.

"What the hell are you even talking about…?" Shiki growled in question, "Tch, forget it…" he scoffed, "I already know that you're too far gone," he noted, "So I'm ending this here and now…" he decided, clenching his fists tightly.

"Then come," Ziggy challenged. His grandson threw his hands forward. Several pieces of debris shot up from the ground, converging towards the Machine King. His eyes flashed blue before he merely swiped his right arm to the side. The incoming pieces suddenly exploded into dust.

"Ah!" Shiki gasped, followed by needing to avoid the debris sent his way by his fellow Oración Seis Galáctica member. He flew about the area, weaving around the makeshift ammunition his grandfather fired his way. Dust and dirt billowed into the smoggy sky, with the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user emerging from it, exhaling a few heavy breaths. All of a sudden, he winced as he felt a sudden surge of pain in his head, grabbing at it with his left hand. He shut his eyes before opening them, letting out a light gasp.

"Doc… there's really no hope for me, is there?" a woman sitting in a hospital bed presumed. To Shiki's shock, she looked exactly like Sister, though she was human.

"You'll be fine…" another voice assured, belonging to a figure approaching the bed. For a moment, the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user was having trouble placing his face. He was evidently a doctor from his coat, but his short, fluffy brown hair made it somewhat difficult to determine who he was. But thinking back to the other visions he had, Shiki came to a realization.

'That's Clown…!' he concluded through his thoughts, 'What is all this…?!' he asked inwardly.

"Trust me," the doctor said, flashing Sister a thumbs-up with a wink and grin, "I'm the acrobat of the operating table, after all," he remarked, causing her to chuckle.

"Enough of the corny jokes, doc…" she grumbled with a smile. Blinking, Shiki found himself back in reality, shaking his head.

'Why am I getting all these weird memories now?' he wondered for a moment. He failed to notice the blue portal opening behind him until it was too late. Ziggy emerged and landed a powerful left hook to his opponent's head, sending him flying back before he crashed up against another tower.

"Agh…" he groaned out, batting his eyes open and barely managing to move away from another heavy tackle from the Machine King, which caused the tower to instantly collapse.

"Why are you getting distracted, Shiki?" he inquired of his foe, flying after him while making more debris soar his way, "Weren't you going to put an end to me?!" he questioned on as he thrusted his hands out, making the pieces of debris veer out in an attempt to pelt his grandson. He realized that he couldn't evade them all, so he came to a stop. A green force-field of energy started to surround him.

"Magimech Attack… Anti-Gravity!" he roared. The incoming debris was deflected away from him, pelting the surroundings as he remained unharmed. Ziggy chuckled.

"Not bad…" he complimented, disappearing into yet another portal.

'That's the Wormhole Ether Gear he stole from Nero…' Shiki realized, narrowing his eyes, 'I didn't know he could take other powers like that…' he admitted inwardly, looking around for a sign of where his foe would reappear. He then found himself struck from above by his grandfather's left fist, sending him crashing down onto the ground in a flurry of dust.

"Ergh…" he groaned, trying to push himself up.

"It's a pity how weak you are…" Ziggy remarked to him within the cloud of dust, getting his attention as he got back onto his feet, "but you're still the greatest threat to this universe…" he mentioned further.

"I don't get it, how am I a threat?!" Shiki inquired as he looked around.

"You were trained by me, were you not?" his grandfather retorted in question, "You defeated the likes of Drakken and then Shura," he added on, "And most importantly, you made the wrong choice back then…" he finished firmly. Blinking in realization, the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user snarled at the memory. Because of the android who raised him, he lost someone precious to him.

"I don't care what the hell you think…" he began while clenching his right fist tightly, "I didn't make the wrong choice!" he proclaimed as his grandfather burst out from the dust just behind him, about to tackle him again, "What I did… was make sure we'd stop you!" he roared, pivoting around and landing a fierce uppercut to the Machine King's head. His skull-like face began cracking even more before completely shattering. And beneath it… was another face. "…Huh?" Shiki uttered out.

X

"Asta!" Torunn cried out as she and Kris had arrived to where the Black Bull had been downed, no longer in his Dark Form, "Asta, can you hear me?!" she inquired again desperately. In the meantime, the Wind Rage Ether Gear user looked back to where Crow stood. Though he still had a gaping hole in his torso that was slowly regenerating, he had all the advantage he needed. With Holy in his possession, there was nothing his enemies could do without risking harm to her as well.

"We've lost contact with Holy, and the Steel Sorceress' signal is gone!" Kleene confirmed from the bridge.

"What about Kenny?!" Jaime asked, "Can't he go Way Big again to hold this guy off until we can get her out?!" he inquired on.

"I don't think it'll work out…" Hermit admitted aloud, looking out to see the titanic android grinning. America had joined Yuno in trying to close in on the Oración Seis Galáctica member's hole, but they were thwarted by the laser beams and missiles he shot their way. The Golden Dawn captain narrowly evaded one of the projectiles as it struck a nearby tower, creating a powerful explosion.

"Dammit…!" he cursed, "He's not letting us get close!" he pointed out.

"No shit…" America agreed, putting her left hand up to her ear, "Hey, we still gonna fire that damn cannon?!" she inquired loudly.

"We can't!" Hermit shouted over the communication line, "Not with Holy still inside!" she pointed out desperately from the Edens Zero's bridge

"Then what should we do?" Henry asked. The Mind of Edens grimaced, clenching her fists.

"Right now, we don't have much of a choice…" she concluded after a moment, "We need to make a tactical retreat!" she decided to everyone's surprise, "Once we can find a way to get through Crow and get Holy out, then we can make our attack again!" she explained to the group.

"Right then…" Connor responded, "We're moving out, lads!" he declared, having the ship start to turn away from the Oración Seis Galáctica member. He took notice.

"You're not getting away from me…" he said ominously. Ether lines started spreading along his body, which started creaking as it was transforming. Yuno and America widened their eyes.

"Hey… isn't that…?!" the latter started to presume.

"Hermit!" the Golden Dawn captain cried out. Those aboard the Edens Zero widened their eyes and gasped.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" Laguna exclaimed.

"I'm picking up a huge spike in his Ether levels!" Kleene pointed out to the others.

"He's Overdriving?!" Hermit assumed with sweat trickling down her face, "But at that size…!" she gasped out, clenching her teeth, "Connor, we need to take evasive maneuvers! NOW!" she screamed to the captain, who blinked in surprise at her sudden panic.

"R-Right!" he responded with a stutter. Crow had kept his gigantic form, though his eyes were now a pure crimson while trails of Ether lines floated off from his mouth. He lunged toward the Edens Zero in but an instant. The resulting shockwave was enough to blow Yuno and America back. From the ship, those aboard the bridge watched in shock as the Oración Seis Galáctica member reared his right arm back while tearing through the buildings below from his charge.

"He's so fast…!" Henry gasped out.

"We're not gonna be able to dodge!" Jaime noted in panic.

"All hands, brace for impact!" Hermit quickly warned, her voice echoing over the intercom in both the infirmary and safe room, causing Sister, Mosco, Couchpo and Labilia to perk up in surprise, "Setting the shields to a hundred percent!" the Mind of Edens confirmed, quickly typing commands along the holographic keyboard. A sphere-shaped energy barrier surrounded the ship, shining brightly. However, it didn't stop Crow from striking it fiercely with his right fist. The impact of his punch sent the Edens Zero flying until it crashed through a few buildings, razing through the ground. Everyone inside was bracing themselves as best they could, screaming and yelling all the while.

"Everyone…!" Kris gasped out from afar.

"Go!" Torunn insisted, getting his attention, "I'll join you shortly!" she promised. The Wind Rage Ether Gear user nodded, letting his markings appear before flying off. That left the demigoddess to tend to Asta, helping him sit up. Meanwhile, Crow overlooked where he had downed the Edens Zero, grinning deviously.

"Guess the damn thing's tougher than I thought…" he admitted, chuckling as he approached. Yuno and America flew over, both grimacing with worry.

"Great, as if he wasn't already tough enough to deal with…" the latter grumbled in frustration, "There's gotta be a way we can distract him from taking out the ship…" she noted aloud. The Golden Dawn captain took on a determined expression.

"Bell," he called out, enticing Sylph to fly over to the right side of his head, "We're going all out," he confirmed, causing her to gasp happily in surprise.

"You mean it for sure?!" she inquired excitedly.

"Of course," Yuno responded with a dark expression upon his face.

"Hold on, didn't Kris say the guy absorbs energy?!" America inquired loudly, "You're not gonna leave much of a mark on him…" she pointed out.

"There has to be a limit to how much energy he absorbs," the Golden Dawn captain retorted to her surprise, "And besides…" he continued as a second grimoire floated up beside him, "I've got more than plenty to offer," he affirmed.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Bell insisted with a pump of her fist. A bright green mana shrouded Yuno's left arm as he held it up.

"Mana Zone…" he started to chant, "Star and Wind Spirit Magic: Never-Never Land!" he exclaimed. A dome of energy appeared, made up of twinkling stars that rotated around the enclosed area, which contained Crow and separated him from the Edens Zero. He turned to see Yuno there with his arm still extended upward, while his two grimoires floated beside him.

"Wait, when'd you get two of those?" America asked. At that moment, Sylph blew into a star-shaped horn that appeared in her grasp. All of a sudden, several clones of herself were spreading throughout the area. One floated around America, appearing to sprinkle a sparkling dust onto her. She blinked in surprise, flexing her hands.

"This won't last forever," Yuno told her, "And since he's an android, he won't be suffering the negative effects of the Mana Zone," he mentioned.

"But you're giving us a boost," America noted, cracking her knuckles, "Nice thinking," she remarked.

"Whether it works out or not all depends on if the others can come help, too," the Golden Dawn mage pointed out. Sylph disappeared, followed by him becoming cloaked in a green mana as a circle of connected crosses appeared just behind his back. He also gained two wings and a full crown over his head.

"Then let's make it work!" America insisted before they flew out toward the titanic android.

X

The Steel Sorceress lied in a bed of cables, with steam hissing from its damaged body. A port opened in the center of the chest area, allowing for Holy to crawl out. She fell onto the cables in a grunt, letting out a sigh of relief.

'I've lost contact…' she noted to herself, standing up, 'So I'm inside Crow…' she realized, looking around with disgust practically written on her face, 'How revolting…' she grumbled inwardly. However, she blinked upon taking note of something else. She let off a grin.

"Although now…" she began aloud, "this'll make destroying him far easier," she proclaimed.

'Doing so from the inside would be child's play…' she affirmed through her thoughts, extending her right arm out. However, her Ether markings didn't appear. 'What?' she uttered inwardly, flexing her arm, 'Why can't I use my Ether Gear?' she wondered on.

"That won't work here, little missy," a familiar voice chimed in, getting her attention as she turned to see an approaching figure, "There's an Ether jammer for types like you…" he pointed out. Holy widened her eyes. The person coming toward her looked like a human-sized version of Crow, though without the large wheel at his back.

"Deadend Crow…?!" she exclaimed in shock, "Wait… is that your real form?!" she inquired.

"Heh, don't be stupid…" the Oración Seis Galáctica member retorted in response, "Call this an avatar of sorts," he said, "It's a physical manifestation of my personality," he told the Oración Seis Interestelar member, who glared at him, "Don't go thinking taking me out defeats the real deal, too," he mentioned as advice, "Not that you could without your Ether Gear, anyway…" he added mockingly. Holy was seeing red. She knew that the avatar before her wasn't even the titanic android. And yet…

"CRRRROOOWWWWWWW!" she yelled as she charged out at him with her right fist at the ready.

"Hey, did you not hear what I just said?" he questioned, catching her arm easily, "You can't use your Ether Gear, so you're helpless…" he pointed out with a smirk. The Oración Seis Interestelar member grimaced, still glaring at him. Crow stared at her curiously. "Hey… that face of yours…" he said, starting to recognize her. She kept glaring at him. And so, he pulled and snapped her arm.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked in agony, dropping down to her knees as the avatar released his hold on her.

"Yeah, I know I've seen you before…" he noted. Holy huffed, while tears pricked her eyes. Even so, she glared up at Crow.

"You… were the one who slaughtered all those people on Atmos Day…" she growled out, "One of them was my sister…!" she snarled on.

"Oh…" the Oración Seis Galáctica member uttered, making holographic icons appear alongside his right eye. He scrolled through the data being provided upon the small screen. "Yeah… you were one of those sisters!" he remembered with a grin.

"You monster…!" Holy gasped out, "You killed Sara!" she exclaimed, trying to bring herself back up onto her feet.

"But didn't I let you live?" Crow inquired back, "Stripped naked and hung up in the square for everyone to see!" he pointed out as he laughed, "Now that was my best work!" he added, continuing to cackle. Tears streaked down the Oración Seis Interestelar member's face. She got up and reared her left arm back.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she roared, attempting to strike him again. This time, he grabbed her by her neck. She gasped for breath as he choked her out.

"You want me to do it again?" he inquired with a smirk, "Nah, I better not…" he realized, "The last time, everybody complained about the smell of your crap…" he pointed out. Tears were pouring out of Holy's eyes. She wasn't only frustrated with being unable to stop the android who took so many lives, but also horrified over the torture she had suffered from him. And all he did was laugh. "Nobody survives two fights with me…" he remarked, squeezing tighter on her neck, about to snap it.

'Sara… Dad…!' the Oración Seis Interestelar member whimpered inwardly, ashamed that she couldn't see her revenge through. And then, all of a sudden, a blade slashed off Crow's right arm. Both he and Holy widened their eyes.

With a katana in hand was a man with disheveled black hair and dark blue eyes, having a scar along his forehead. He wore a loose white uniform jacket with sleeves that stopped at his forearms. He also donned slender blue jeans that tucked into white sneakers that matched his jacket. Holy fell down onto her bottom as the hand that was choking her tumbled over. She looked out to her rescuer in surprise.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked kindly of her. Her teary eyes were shaking.

"Who…?" she started to ask.

"Damn…" Crow cursed as he grabbed at his severed arm, "Guess some flies were bound to get in after you…" he grumbled. He then blinked in surprise. "Hold on, you don't have any Ether…" he realized. The man turned to him.

"Everything you said…" he began, "is it true?" he inquired with a dark look in his eyes. The Oración Seis Galáctica member cackled.

"Of course it is!" he yelled in response, "Then again, you're probably not familiar since you're one of those damn otherworlders, right?!" he presumed.

"I guess I'm not," the man replied, keeping a firm grip on his katana, "But I can tell by the way you treat others, the way you use them as toys…" he listed off, "you're not a good person," he stated.

"Ha!" Crow laughed, "If that ain't the most obvious shit, ya dumbass!" he yelled out, "Why not be a part of the fun, too?!" he offered as he lunged toward the man.

"Watch out!" Holy screamed.

"Huh…" the man sighed, "You shouldn't have said that," he noted. All of a sudden, the Oración Seis Galáctica member found himself being grabbed in a large hand with untrimmed fingernails. He looked to see what had caught him and gasped.

Holding him was a monstrous creature with a large muscular upper body, long arms, and a tail-like shadow that served as her lower body. Her head was a shell that looked similar to a brain. Extending from her head were several tendrils, and she had long untrimmed fingernails as well as a mouth full of thin sharp teeth.

"Yuta…" she uttered out, "DON'T BULLY YUTA!" she roared, slamming Crow repeatedly against the bed of cables, breaking him apart and tearing him open. Holy watched on with a horrified expression upon her face. The creature was relentless in massacring the Oración Seis Galáctica member's manifestation, to the point where he was practically just scrap metal lying in the cables. "He's dead…" she confirmed to the man beside her. He nodded.

"You didn't need to do that much damage, Rika," he pointed out to her.

"Sorry…" she apologized sadly.

"It's okay," he assured, turning and approaching Holy, who was still shaken by what had unfolded, "Can you stand up?" he asked of her, extending his right hand out. She blinked, slowly reaching out and accepting his hand, allowing him to pull her back up.

"Thank you…" she said gratefully, "Who… are you?" she asked, sweating as she could feel Rika watching her intently, even without any eyes. The man before her gave off a little smile.

"I'm Yuta Okkotsu," he introduced, "A member of the Omni Force," he added to her surprise.

Well… I think that's enough surprises for now… The battles all seem to be steering in different directions. But one thing's for certain. Nothing is over just yet…

I will see you later, everyone!

END

Woof. To think that I'm putting in as many characters as I am into this story, I should probably take it easy… But I won't. I want this to be as epic as possible with as many cool characters as I can bring up.

So that'll be it for now! Thanks for reading, everyone!