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!

14. To Shine

Hey folks! We're finally back with another two chapters of "Space" to get through! Once that's all set, we'll be three quarters of the way through this story!

The last time we left off, a lot happened. Ziggy was revealed to actually be Shiki from an alternate timeline, Ultron's body was destroyed, only for him to take over Lendard, and Deadend Crow's continuing to cause problems for our heroes with the Edens Zero, even as they're so close to taking him down.

So now, let's see how the tides are turning as this battle continues on! Take it away, Xiaomei!

SPACE

The masks have been dropped. And now, our heroes' enemies are resorting to victory by any means necessary. Deadend Crow, God Acnoella, Ultron, and of course… Ziggy. From the horrific reveal of the Demon King being a Shiki from another time to Ultron taking over Lendard as his ultimate body, things have gone from bad to worse for our heroes.

And as the dust settles, it may not get better…

The billowing cloud of dust rose into the smoggy Lendard sky, as more buildings in the vicinity came crumbling down. Looming over them was Crow, who stood up with a maniacal grin upon his face. The Omni Force members below watched on in disbelief.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Cannonbolt muttered out with shaking eyes. Jaime clenched his teeth.

"Pym, how are Jess and America?!" he asked immediately in concern.

"They're okay!" the enlarged Avenger assured as a response over the communication line. He had crashed down elsewhere, shrinking back to normal and retracting his helmet as he sat up next to the pair of girls alongside him, "What about you guys?" he asked.

"Well, we're standing underneath the damn giant, so not great…" the Arburian Pelarota responded.

"Does anyone have eyes on Kleene or Yuno?!" Jaime asked over the communication line. From the Edens Zero, Connor and Hermit were left in shock.

"Lads, is Kleene alive?!" the portly captain inquired.

"And what about Yuno?!" the Mind of Edens asked, "I'm not getting any life readings…!" she noted in panic, looking at her holographic screens as they fizzled with static.

'Crow's jammer must be affecting the scanners…' she concluded inwardly, 'So they could be alive…' she inferred to herself.

"MISS HERMIT!" Mosco suddenly cried out, snapping her away from her thoughts, "I think there's a massive attack incoming!" he warned. The Shining Star gasped as she looked back at her monitors, seeing the spike in energy readings emitting from the titanic android. He was opening his mouth as an ominous red glow was building up within it.

"Uh oh!" Cannonbolt yelped from below.

"Hermit, you guys gotta move!" Jaime advised quickly.

"We're not gonna be able to dodge something like that!" the Mind of Edens realized with a grimace, "And the shields aren't at a hundred percent, either!" she mentioned.

"We'll have to do what we can!" Connor decided. A massive beam of searing red light was shot out from Crow's mouth, closing in on the battleship. It started veering to the right in an attempt to evade the blast, all while those inside braced themselves. The beam pierced right the weakened energy shields, slicing through the port side wing as it was blasted off.

"Ah!" Hermit yelped as warning signs flashed on with a blaring alarm, "Port side wing's been hit!" she confirmed while gritting her teeth, "The Ether condenser's malfunctioning, too!" she mentioned grimly.

"No ordinary attack can do such damage to the Edens Zero…!" Connor noted out of shock, "That beast has some mighty firepower indeed…!" he admitted as smoke wafted from the mouth of the chuckling Crow.

"Ergh…" Cannonbolt growled, "We're never gonna be able to stop this guy if we keep letting him swat us around like flies!" he pointed out, twisting the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, "Guess it's time for a—!"

"Wait!" Jaime interjected to his surprise, "Go help fix up the ship!" he insisted, "I'll go see if Kleene and Yuno are okay!" he decided, deploying a pair of beetle-like wings to glide off toward the billowing cloud of dust.

"Ah, fine…" the Arburian Pelarota grumbled in response, enveloping himself in a green flash of light. When it subsided, it revealed that he had transformed into a humanoid creature that had a black exterior with green stripes that resembled circuitry all over him. His front torso was colored green with black circuitry-patterned lines. The Omnitrix symbol rested in the ring of his eye. He hurried off toward the Edens Zero, which was starting to descend to the ground.

"Well, this certainly isn't ideal…!" Holy muttered as she kicked back another avatar from within Crow's body. Three more converged onto her, only to be cut down by Yuta's katana.

"Without our Ether Gears, this is like trying swim upstream!" Laguna complained, about to be tackled by another avatar, who was subsequently hacked to ribbons by Rika.

"Something happened to Kleene out there…!" Kris realized with a grimace as beads of sweat trickled down his face, "Dammit…!" he cursed, punching away an avatar that ran up to him.

"Go back then!" Holy insisted, "I'll handle things here with Yuta and Rika!" she promised, elbowing away an enemy before dodging another's attempted tackle. The Wind Rage Ether Gear user clenched his fists.

"No… I'm gonna see this mission through!" he affirmed.

"But aren't you worried about your sister?!" the Oración Seis Interestelar member inquired as Rika tore apart another avatar that was about to pounce on her.

"Of course I am…" Kris responded as more of the monstrous duplicates closed in on him, "But I promised!" he exclaimed, kneeing one of them before Yuta dashed back, slashing down the others. The Wind Rage Ether Gear user kept a determined look in his eyes. He thought back to when he and his sister had spoken before the battle had begun.

FLASHBACK

"Brother… I want you to help Holily," Kleene requested of her cyborg sibling as he blinked in surprise, coming to a stop.

"Sister, we don't owe that woman anything," he pointed out in response, "I wouldn't sleep well if she died, sure…" he admitted, "But what's helping her going to do for us?" he asked. His sister lowered her head in thought for a moment.

"…Hermy and I looked into her past," she said, "She lost both her sister and her father, the only family she had…" she told Kris as his eyes widened in shock, "And it was all because of Crow thirteen years ago, during the Bloody Atmos Day incident," she mentioned further.

"She… lost her sister?" her brother inquired, quite shaken by the details.

"You have me, but Holily…" Kleene continued, giving off a saddened expression.

"I get it," Kris said, "You want me to help her because you feel sorry for her…" he assumed.

"No!" his sister shouted, making him flinch in surprise, "Holily… she needs a family," she affirmed, giving off a soft smile, "And since she's boarded our ship, she's our family now," she added on. Her brother was a bit stunned for a moment. But then he smiled.

"Was this something Shiki said?" he presumed.

"Kris, I want you to promise me," Kleene requested, causing him to blink in surprise at hearing her address him by his name, "Your family… it isn't just me," she pointed out, "It's everyone on this ship," she stated.

END FLASHBACK

As another avatar closed in, Kris flipped over it. He launched his left arm, letting it rocket around and punch down more of the monstrous creations. Before one could tackle him, it was slammed down by his prosthetic.

"We're all family," he affirmed to Holy, whose eyes widened in surprise as they shimmered. Yuta grinned.

"You have that much faith in her, huh?" he presumed, "That's good as a brother," he complimented, making the cyborg crack a grin of his own before his prosthetic returned to him, clicking back into place.

"You can leave these guys to us," he assured to the Oración Seis Interestelar member, "I'm sure our friends here can handle themselves just fine…" he pointed out as he glanced over to the jujutsu sorcerer and the cursed spirit battling back avatars together, "and I'm a cyborg," he mentioned, "My body's built with all kinds of weapons," he noted, "If you're going to get through here, you'll need our help," he added further. Holy sighed with a smile.

"I'm not alone, you know," she retorted, "I have the Interstellar Union Army, after all," she mentioned.

"Even so, we understand how important it is for you to stop Crow!" Kris responded to her surprise, flipping over another avatar before launching his fists to bowl down others.

"And what about your sister then?" the Oración Seis Interestelar member inquired.

"…There's someone out there who'll make sure she doesn't die," the Wind Rage Ether Gear user responded, "I'll stake my life on him protecting her," he affirmed on.

"Hm," Holy huffed with a grin, "So the dear big brother trusts his crew that much…" she realized.

"That other guy also went back!" Yuta confirmed before punching down another avatar, "We can't waste this chance!" he insisted seriously, "We need to get to that core!" he yelled.

"Right!" Kris and Holy agreed with nods of their heads.

X

"Black Blaze…" Wizard began from the factory ruins as both Tanjiro and Yuji were charging towards him, while he raised his polearm, "INFERNO!" he bellowed. Several columns of black fire erupted, trailing out at his foes. Yuji hopped and rolled away from those heading towards him, though he found himself entrapped in a circle of dark flames. The Dark Star aimed his weapon, ready to do away with him first. But all of a sudden, Tanjiro closed in instantaneously.

'Sun Breathing…' he began inwardly with a deep, concentrated breath, 'Solar Heat Haze!' he exclaimed, slashing mightily. Wizard didn't know where his sword was aiming until it was too late, ending up with a gash across his torso. He yelped in pain, gritting his teeth before zipping back in a burst of wind. However, Yuji wound up getting behind him, rearing his left fist back as cursed energy swelled around it. He threw it out, only for the Dark Star to launch himself into the air in a burst of wind.

"Huh…" he exhaled, "You're both quite troublesome…" he admitted aloud.

"It's over for you!" Tanjiro shouted out, "Your factory's destroyed, and there's no one coming to help you now!" he affirmed on.

"I wouldn't say that…" Wizard retorted as the wind whistled by, causing the demon slayer to blink in surprise, "You heard, did you not?" he inquired rhetorically, "Ultron has assimilated with the planet," he pointed out.

"And what does that mean?" Yuji asked.

"What do you think, human?" the Dark Star questioned back, "With his powerful intellect and the capabilities he has, Ultron can lay waste to you in but an instant…" he proclaimed.

"Hmph," Noel's voice scoffed, as she flew up behind the android via Wordsworth, "Like we'll believe that lie," she said, aiming her Witch Kit. Wizard grimaced as he whipped around, narrowly bending back to evade the beam of light shot by the piper's weapon. However, it left him wide open as her boyfriend leapt in and grabbed him, pulling him down and slamming him onto the ground hard.

"GAAHHHHH…!" he gasped out.

"Well, looks like they're havin' all the fun…" Zora noted from afar alongside most of the others, "We gonna join in?" he inquired of Momo, who was breathing somewhat heavily.

"No…" she responded to his surprise, "We can't take anything to chance after that announcement…" she advised seriously.

"Momo's right," M'gann agreed, "Even if Ultron's not in total control of the planet, I wouldn't put it past him to send an army of drones from somewhere else here," she told the group, "Don't forget, this isn't Lendard's only factory…" she mentioned.

"Right… just the one producing the tougher bots…" Finral grumbled out.

'We're fortunate that we destroyed the factory just before Ultron took over…' Momo noted to herself, narrowing her eyes, 'Regardless, I'm sure the circumstances now are much direr…' she realized, 'We definitely need that Chronophage to hit the planet!' she affirmed inwardly. Growling, Wizard blasted Yuji off of him in a burst of wind, followed by swinging his spear to make a wave of ice rush toward Tanjiro, who steeled himself as he clenched his teeth. All of a sudden though, Noel flew out in front of him, waving her Witch Kit aimed forward.

"Magic Number Thirty-One…" she began as the tip of her weapon glowed while being held sideways, gathering energy into its barrel, "Blue Spark!" she exclaimed, releasing a five-pronged blast that eviscerated the wave of ice before it could reach. The Dark Star scoffed, followed by moving back to weave away from the punches thrown by Yuji, who had rushed out at him amidst the confusion.

'Why is this one so hard to keep down…?!' he wondered inwardly, weaving aside from a fist that would've hit his face before piercing him straight through his stomach with his polearm.

"ITADORI!" Tenya cried out from afar upon seeing, while many of the others gasped. Ninny was ready to charge in and help, but then noticed something. The jujutsu sorcerer steeled himself, spitting blood out onto the Dark Star as he yelped in surprise.

"You disgusting cretin!" he shouted, throwing his foe off of his weapon as he tumbled along the ground, rolling to a stop upon his stomach. At that moment, Tanjiro closed in, rage burning in his eyes. Wizard saw him making his approach.

'That last attack of his only landed because I was uncertain as to whether or not it would strike…' he noted to himself, raising his polearm, 'This time, I'll make certain he won't be able to reach me,' he declared through his thoughts, banging his spear down.

"Divine Lightning!" he exclaimed, unleashing streaks of yellow electricity that struck the incoming demon slayer, rendering him immobile as he grimaced.

'Crap… he got me!' he realized. The Dark Star spun his polearm before swinging it out, shattering the apparatus off of his foe's left arm while also knocking the sword out of his hands.

"Tanjiro, no!" Zenitsu cried out, seeing his friend's arm start shriveling up.

"Hm," Wizard huffed, "I was wondering what purpose that contraption served," he admitted aloud to his hindered opponent, "What a pity…" he muttered, "In the end, machines are superior to you humans…" he proclaimed, rearing his spear back as he was prepared to pierce his target like he did with Yuji earlier. All of a sudden though, the blood upon his face bubbled and exploded. "Ah!" he yelped as he stumbled to the side.

"Whoa, what was that?!" Magna asked as he blinked rapidly.

"The blood exploded…" Ninny noted aloud, looking over to Noel as she was continuing to fly about, "So that's their plan, huh?" she assumed, narrowing her eyes. As quick as Wizard was to recover, he failed to take notice of an incoming figure. When he did, it was too late.

'BLACK FLASH!' Yuji roared inwardly as he lunged out feet first, striking the android. A flash of darkness appeared for about less than a millisecond before the right hip of the Dark Star was completely shattered.

"AGH!" he cried out in agony, stumbling back. He looked over to the jujutsu sorcerer, widening his eyes to find that his wound was completely gone from earlier. "You bastard…!" he growled out, only to notice a glow coming from his left. He turned and gasped to see Noel there with her Witch Kit aimed his way, bracing her right arm with her left hand. Energy gathered in her weapon as its tip glowed brightly.

"Absolute... DRAGON SHATTER!" she bellowed out, unleashing an aurora-colored blast of light that seared toward the Dark Star. Before he could even put an energy barrier up to defend himself, the beam pierced right through his head in an instant. Cracks spread from the hole in his cranium.

"Im…possible…!" he grunted out, yelling before he exploded in a fiery blast.

"They got him!" Magna exclaimed with a pump of his fist.

"Thank goodness…" Momo sighed out, while Zora chuckled.

"Tanjiro, are you alright?!" Zenitsu yelled as he ran over to his fellow demon slayer, who managed to stand up on his feet.

"Yeah…" he assured in reply, "Although, I won't be able to use my left arm anymore…" he noted, glancing down at the damaged apparatus on the ground.

"The fight's pretty much over, thankfully," the Thunder Breathing user pointed out with a smile, watching as the remainder of the duplicate Dark Stars were being electrocuted by a speedy Luck, who blitzed straight through them in a flash of teal lightning.

"Aw man, that's it?" he assumed as he landed down, letting his electric armaments dissipate around him, "You guys beat the stronger one…" he realized with a dejected sigh.

"Itadori!" Tenya called out as he ran over to the jujutsu sorcerer, getting his attention, "What happened back there?" he asked, while Noel hopped down from Wordsworth, approaching as well, "That wound should've been fatal…" he pointed out.

"It's reverse cursed technique, right?" Ninny assumed before Yuji could offer a reply to the Engine Quirk user, "Didn't think you picked up something like that…" she grumbled.

"Huh?" the jujutsu sorcerer uttered in confusion, "Noel didn't tell you?" he inquired in surprise. The blonde-haired piper blinked before narrowing her eyes onto her uniformed colleague.

"Slipped my mind, I guess," she said with a shrug.

"Tch," Ninny scoffed, "'Course it did…" she muttered, folding her arms behind her head.

"At any rate, we've successfully neutralized this factory," Tenya noted.

"Now we can go search for Ochaco," Tsuyu chimed in, "She couldn't have been taken far, right?" she presumed.

"Unfortunately, we still have the matter of Ultron to deal with…" Momo pointed out as the rest of the group converged, "I think it's in our best interest to head back to the Edens Zero and provide support," she advised of the others, "With our MPGs offline, it's better to regroup with our comrades and help however we can," she explained on.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Ultron's voice echoed over what sounded like an intercom, causing her and the others to gasp in surprise.

"That was Ultron, right?!" Eijiro assumed as he hardened his arms.

"We should've assumed his reach would've spread this far…" Fumikage noted with a grimace. All of a sudden, any corridors that would've been escape routes for the Omni Force members started getting sealed off by metal walls.

"Watch out!" M'gann yelled, shoving Zora and Finral forward so that they would avoid getting crushed by accident.

"Well that's bad…" the Ash Magic user muttered out.

"And that's worse!" Zenitsu screamed upon looking up. Hundreds of drones were converging onto the area, closing in as their eyes burned red.

"Ultron must've sent them to finish us off when we assumed victory was assured…" Tenya realized with a grimace under his helmet.

"And we're already running on fumes…" Tsuyu pointed out additionally.

"It doesn't matter!" Momo called out to their surprise, "I'm sure Hermit, Riri and the others are coming up with a plan to deal with Ultron's interference," she assured, "Right now, we need to hold the line for them as best we can!" she advised seriously.

"You got it, Creati!" Eijiro responded, smacking his hardened fists together, "Let's smash these guys to pieces!" he roared out.

"Sounds like fun!" Luck chimed in as electricity crackled around him.

"Tanjiro, can you still fight?" Zenitsu asked, seeing his fellow demon slayer pick up his sword.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he assured in reply. He and the others were prepared to keep fighting, even if it was going to be a seemingly endless battle. Meanwhile, Ultron's consciousness could see almost all of Lendard, witnessing the battles occurring across the planet. But what he wasn't able to see were both the planet's core and Ziggy himself. Not to mention that any visual on the Edens One wasn't available to him.

"Agh…" he growled out in frustration.

'I don't understand it, Ziggy…' he grumbled, 'Why are you keeping me from helping you?' he wondered, 'Are you really after humanity's extinction?' he questioned on. At the planet's core, the Warrior Maid 95 had arrived, taking hold of each capsule that contained relatives of those that lived on the Edens Zero.

"Is that all of them?" Homura inquired from the cockpit.

"Think so," Weisz replied with a nod, "Can you carry 'em?" he asked in concern.

"It should be manageable," the Soul Blade Ether Gear assured, "Inosuke can activate the extra arms to grab more if needed," she mentioned, glancing back at her colleague behind her. He didn't say anything. "Inosuke?" Homura said, giving off a worried look.

"Is he alright?" Nezuko questioned. A groggy groan was all she and the others heard.

"Sounds like he isn't…" Rin concluded worriedly.

"Kogetsu, once you get back to the ship, you and Hashibira should stay to rest up," Shoto advised, much to Soul Blade Ether Gear user's surprise as she blinked.

"But I—!"

"Todoroki's got a point," Izuku interjected before she could argue, "The two of you went through a lot against that Dark Star," he noted, "Plus, it's not like we won't be able to complete the operation without you," he mentioned on.

"Izu's right," Rebecca agreed, "Just head back to the Edens Zero and report to Hermit," she advised of her friend, "That way, we'll have a clear idea as to whether or not we can start Operation Starbiter," she told her. Tensing up, Homura gripped the throttles of her Knight Gear tightly. However, she ultimately sighed with resignation.

"Very well," she said, "I'll leave this place to you," she decided, having the mech suit start to hover off of the ground.

"We'll just wait for instructions in the meantime," Weisz noted as the wind breezed by.

"Be careful, Homura!" Happy warned.

"And please keep Inosuke safe!" Nezuko insisted on.

"I shall," the Soul Blade Ether Gear user responded with a nod, "Our mothers'll be safe as well," she affirmed further before departing, blasting off into the distance.

"Huh…" Rebecca exhaled.

"Are you alright?" Rin asked, getting her attention.

"Hard to say with everything happening…" she admitted in reply, "Ziggy kidnapping all these women, him being a version or something of Shiki, him knowing our plan…" she listed off, clenching her fists, "Even if we're able to summon the Chronophage, what if Ziggy planned for it?" she wondered aloud. The mage wasn't sure how to respond.

"I'm sure Ziggy must've done something to bug the Edens Zero and wiretapped our plans," Weisz presumed as he sat down on the ground, "It'd make sense after what happened in the Aoi Cosmos," he pointed out.

"Yeah…" Rebecca agreed, "That would make sense…" she concurred with her right hand upon her chin. A quiet air fell amongst the remainder of the group. Ochaco was leaning up against a column with an ashamed look upon her face, wondering if there was more she could've done to put a stop to Ziggy with what she knew. Izuku looked to her in concern, followed by glancing around and blinking.

"Hey… where's Azari?" he asked.

"Wait, what?!" Weisz exclaimed as he shot to his feet, "When'd he ditch us?!" he questioned frantically.

"He must've gone while Kogetsu was gathering the mothers," Shoto inferred in response, "But where…?" he wondered aloud.

"Unfortunately, I'm betting he's after Shiki and Ziggy to get the Space Stone…" Izuku answered grimly, "Dammit, we gotta stop him!" he realized, about to rush off.

"Please wait, Mister Midoriya," Pino chimed in, causing the One For All inheritor to blink in surprise as he stopped himself. He looked back at the little bot, who was turned away from everyone else.

"Pino…" Rebecca uttered, "Hey, you've been awfully quiet this whole time…" she pointed out worriedly, "Are… you okay?" she asked.

"…Ziggy knew about our Operation Starbiter," Pino noted, "And Mister Weisz," she addressed, getting the attention of the Machina Maker Ether Gear user, "you and Mister Azari had asked if there was a traitor…" she mentioned on.

"Whoa, hold on," Weisz said, letting off a nervous grin, "Like I said, Ziggy could've tapped into the Edens Zero the way he did back then," he pointed out, "Just forget I mentioned the other thing…" he insisted with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Yes, anything could've happened," Rin affirmed in agreement. Pino kept her head lowered.

"Or anyone…" she said, causing the others to blink in surprise.

"Pino?" Happy uttered worriedly, seeing his fellow bot tremble.

"I'm afraid there was a traitor…" she admitted to the group, "And… it was me…" she confirmed. Everyone widened their eyes, with some gasps coming from Nezuko and Izuku.

"Wait, how?!" Rin questioned, "None of us have seen any signs of you feeding Ziggy information about the plan!" she pointed out.

"Not by choice…" Pino responded, making her blink in confusion, "After we learned that Ziggy had knowledge of the plan…" she continued, "I accessed my data log and discovered several instances of unauthorized usage…" she told the group, "And those instances date back to three years ago…" she mentioned further.

"Back when Ziggy first lost it…" Weisz recalled.

"Now it makes sense…" Izuku noted in realization.

"All this time… I never knew that Ziggy had been looking at my data… using me…" Pino confessed as she kept trembling.

"Pino…" Rebecca uttered out.

"I'B ZO ZZORRRRYYYY!" the little bot bawled, tears streaking down her face. The others watched on sympathetically.

"Pino…" Rin said, approaching her and crouching down, placing a hand atop her head, "There's no need to cry," she assured, "You couldn't have known that Ziggy was using you to feed him information," she pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly!" Happy agreed.

"Nobody here blames you!" Rebecca affirmed on. Pino sniffled, wiping her teary eyes.

"Hff…" she whimpered out, "I… have a favor to ask all of you…" she said to the group's surprise.

"What is it?" Izuku asked upon approaching, while Rin removed her hand from the little bot.

"I am going to find my master," she decided, "Please do not try to stop me," she requested of the others, as they blinked in shock.

"But… Shiki's fighting against Ziggy right now!" Rebecca pointed out.

"You shouldn't be risking getting caught in the crossfire…" Shoto noted seriously.

"Even if you feel responsible for all this, there's no reason to go throwing your life away," Weisz added.

"No, that is not it," Pino retorted to his surprise, "The information leak was my fault," she confirmed, "but while I was looking through my data log, I discovered a certain record," she explained to the group, "I believe it will be the key… to defeating Ziggy," she affirmed confidently. Everyone gave off worried looks to each other. At that moment, Ochaco stepped forward.

"I'll go with her," she decided.

"Uraraka…" Izuku uttered.

"I know I'm not strong enough to stop Ziggy or Shiki…" the Zero Gravity Quirk user admitted, clenching her trembling fists, "but… I need to be there," she insisted firmly.

"Ochaco… are you sure?" Rebecca asked.

"I am," the Zero Gravity Quirk user replied with a nod.

"In that case, I'll help you both get there," Izuku decided as he approached, "We need to get Azari back, too," he pointed out, picking up Pino in his arms, "Hop on," he advised of Ochaco, enticing her to climb onto his back.

"Izu…" Rebecca uttered worriedly.

"No matter what, when Hermit gives you the green light to call for the Chronophage, you do it," the One For All inheritor advised of her, "I know you can," he added assuredly with a grin. The Cat Leaper Ether Gear user's eyes shook, tearing up a little. She went over and placed a tiny kiss onto her crush's right cheek, making him blink in surprise.

"Be careful…" she insisted of him as she stepped back. Izuku gave off a serious nod. Green sparks of bio-electricity crackled around him before he took off.

"Lead the way, Pino!" he insisted of the bot in his grasp.

"Right!" she responded as the One For All inheritor took a great leap into the air.

'Shiki… I hope you're winning!' he prayed inwardly.

X

Seeing his grandfather's Overdrive form made Shiki sweat. He was already having a difficult enough time keeping up with him, even when in his own empowered form. Now that the Machine King had resorted to his new state, things were looking bleak. He stuck his right hand out at the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user. Instinctively, he leapt away, widening his eyes to see the ground where he stood get instantaneously crushed into a cloud of dust.

"Oh shi—!" Shiki's shout was interrupted as some debris flew up against him, slamming him up against some large cables nearby. Gritting his teeth as he crouched down, he threw the metal slab aside, ready to launch himself down at his foe. But the moment he looked to target him, he was already coming. He reared his left fist back and instantaneously slammed it into his stomach, sending him flying through the cable and other walls before he could react.

Blood flew out from Shiki's mouth as he tumbled through the air. He regained his balance, quickly thrusting his right hand out. Debris still in midair fell under the attraction of his gravity, shooting out at Ziggy. He crossed his arms over his head, enduring the bombardment while still closing in on his grandson, whose eyes widened.

"Magimech Attack…" he began, shaping his right hand as a sphere of dark, gravitational energy condensed around it. He zipped right up to Shiki, who gasped. Before he could do anything, the Machine King slammed his palm into his gut. "ULTIMACHINA IMPACT!" he bellowed. The force of the blow, combined with the crushing weight behind it made the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user spit up more blood, yelling all the while. The gravitational sphere expanded from Ziggy's palm, pushing against him before sending him flying across the Lendard skyline. He grinned, while his grandson grimaced.

From afar, Azari watched on in disbelief while fully armored. He knew that Ziggy was going to pose probably the biggest threat to him and his colleagues. And Shiki was likely one of the only ones who could fight him in a one-on-one conflict. So seeing him get so overwhelmed… it didn't bear any good sign.

"Dammit…!" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user cursed, righting himself and landing upon the ground. He gnashed his teeth together, charging gravitational energy into a sphere around his right fist. His opponent loomed overhead, smirking.

He outstretched his arms, practically inviting his grandson to try and land a blow on him. Shiki blinked in surprise, growling angrily. He shot up toward his grandfather in an instant, rearing his right fist back.

"Magimech Attack…" he began to echo, "METEEEEOOOOORRRRR… BRRRREEAAKKKKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" he roared, slamming his clenched extremity into his target in a massive shockwave. The sound of it echoed far across the planet. Shiki looked out at the skull-faced android… and immediately widened his eyes.

His fist hadn't made impact with him. Rather, it struck a blue field of energy just in front of Ziggy's chest, from which a glow of the same color emanated. He let out a chuckle.

"Do you understand now, Shiki?" he inquired of his foe, who suddenly found himself crashing down onto the ground upon his stomach in an instant, causing him to spit up more blood. He tried to push himself up, only to be stomped down as Ziggy appeared in a flash of blue light in front of him, pressing his left foot against his back. "My gravity is no longer just stronger than yours…" he pointed out, "it's surpassed it," he affirmed, pressing his foot down harder.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user bellowed with pain as he could feel his bones crack, "That's… only because of that stone you got…!" he grunted out.

"That's right…" Ziggy responded, "But I'm not foolish enough to waste such a power when I can use it for my ambitions…" he noted confidently, "I'll seek out and destroy Mother, ending any hope of humanity's life for good…" he declared, taking his foot off of his grandson before lifting him up from the ground with his gravity, "And then…" he continued, punching his opponent back in an instant, "machines will rule this world eternally," he proclaimed on. From where he was, Azari's eyes were shaking under his helmet.

'The only way Shiki's gonna have even a chance of winning is if we get that stone back…!' he realized, wondering how to take the entity from the Machine King.

"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Natalie yelled, having formed a giant ball of fire in her hands before throwing it down onto another Dragon's head, making it screech with pain. In that same moment though, Acnoella dashed by, causing the hybrid Dragon Slayer to yelp in surprise. Before she knew it, she was met with slashes to her back, causing her to lurch forward. From afar, Katsuki took notice.

"Salamander!" he cried out, needing to blast himself over the head of a beast that attempted to chomp him with its teeth.

"Ugh, these things keep coming!" Devlin complained while ripping a Dragon's right wing off, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Yeah, but at least we're not dealing with more of Ultron's crappy drones…" the Explosion Quirk user pointed out as he landed, uncorking a flurry of small blasts onto other beasts.

'Come to think of it, how come there aren't any crappers coming to back the dragon bitch up?' he wondered, launching himself back into the air to fire off another explosion into a Dragon's mouth, 'Bastards don't wanna help each other?' he presumed before uncorking more blasts to roll away from another beast's diving attack onto him, only to crash in a fiery blaze. Devlin morphed his upper right arm into a blade, using it to bisect one Dragon's head before another crashed into him, slamming him against a wall. Fortunately, Katsuki rocketed over, firing a massive explosion to blow it apart.

"Look alive, freakshow!" he called out to his colleague, "We're gonna kill all these damn Dragons!" he declared.

"Yeah," the hybrid Osmosian agreed, flying out, "Hope Nat can handle that other chick in the meantime…" he added aloud. In the meantime, battles were continuing all across Lendard. Across the planet, battles between humans and machines raged on. Shirou and Justice continued to clash blades, while Kyoka, Gowen and Hyoga were still searching for Elsie, who remained in Jesse's clutches. All the while, the Edens Zero was slowly descending to the ground as Crow loomed nearby.

"Hermit, how are we looking?!" Connor asked frantically from the bridge.

"Our wing's fucked!" the Mind of Edens responded, "Sister can try to get it fixed up, but it's gonna be a minute…" she grumbled as she typed along the holographic keyboards, "And we're already in a bad spot with Crow over our heads…" she mentioned.

"Maybe I can help," another voice chimed in, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"What in the world…?" Connor uttered.

"MOSCOYYYY!" Mosco shrieked. A black coating with green circuitry-like lines spread along the bridge. In fact, it spread all over the entire ship, with the Omnitrix symbol appearing upon the hull.

"Wait a minute… Kenny?!" Hermit exclaimed, noticing the Mechamorph's head pop up beside her.

"I can worry about fixing the wing," he assured, "You guys figure out a plan so that we can put an end to the giant pain in our asses," he advised of the group in the bridge.

"That depends on whether or not Holy and the others get out…" the Mind of Edens noted grimly. Inside Crow, Yuta continued to hack and slash down avatars of the Oración Seis Galáctica thanks to his katana, leaping about speedily. Others were taken down thanks to Rika's brutal blows or Kris' prosthetic arms. As the latter returned to the Wind Rage Ether Gear user, he took notice of something ahead amidst the array of cables.

"Holy!" he called out as the Oración Seis Interestelar member hopped back from getting tackled by another avatar, which was subsequently ripped apart by Rika.

"What? What is it?" she asked of her cyborg colleague.

"That gap right there," he pointed out, enticing her to look over to see an opening in the cables ahead, appearing to lead elsewhere, "Feels like there's a lot of energy coming out of that…" he mentioned, kicking away yet another avatar, "Go on ahead!" he insisted, "We'll take care of these guys and catch up!" he promised.

"Right! Thank you!" Holy responded, squeezing her way through the cables as she grunted.

'I can definitely feel it, too…' she affirmed inwardly, 'If this is where we find Crow's power source, we can win!' she proclaimed through her thoughts. Managing to shimmy her way through the cables, she popped her head out what looked to be a more open area. 'Is this Crow's core…?' she wondered.

"I'm surprised to see that you've actually made it this far, Holy," a voice at the other end of the room said, catching her attention as she looked ahead. Her eyes widened.

"What…?" she uttered out. Sitting before her with his arms crossed over his chest was Cure. "Cure?!" she exclaimed, "Wha…What are you doing here?!" she inquired out of shock.

X

FLASHBACK

Kris' eyes were shaking in disbelief as he sat across from Yuno in the Edens Kitchen. Sylph was there as well, looking back and forth between her partner and the Wind Rage Ether Gear user. She could hardly believe what the former had just said, with his right hand atop a small, velvet box.

"I know this probably comes as a surprise to you…" he noted to the stunned Kris, "but I wanted to make sure you knew first," he affirmed.

"You're… planning to marry my sister…?" the Wind Rage Ether Gear user questioned. The wind spirit fainted onto the table, her soul practically leaving her body. The green-haired cyborg tensed up. "Why are you telling me that?" he asked of the Golden Dawn captain.

"I wanted to have your blessing," he replied.

"M-My blessing?!" Kris repeated with a stutter as he shot up onto his feet, "You know damn well that—!"

"You're the only family Kleene has left," Yuno noted, interrupting the Wind Rage Ether Gear user as he blinked in surprise, "At least, by blood," he corrected, "I wouldn't feel right asking her to be my wife without permission from her own brother," he admitted on. The green-haired cyborg sat back down, folding his arms over his chest.

"Damn it…" he cursed quietly, "Even though I don't want to lose my little sister to you…" he continued, trembling a little, "I know you're a dependable guy," he pointed out, "And when Kleene's around you, she's always so happy…" he recalled on, "There's no way I could get in the way of that happiness," he affirmed, standing back up, "So… you'll have my blessing," he decided after a deep breath, "But you have to promise me something…" he said, causing the Golden Dawn captain to blink in surprise, "No matter what…" he began.

END FLASHBACK

"Kleene! You there?!" Jaime yelled in question as he flew about the clearing cloud of dust. As it settled, he could make out a few figures.

"Agh…" the Wind Snatch Ether Gear user groaned out as her eyes fluttered open. The last thing she remembered seeing was Crow's fist about to collide with her. And then… someone had flown in and grabbed her protectively. She noticed a few drops of blood nearby. She turned and gasped. "YUNO!" she screamed, seeing her boyfriend lying upon his knees beside her, blood streaking down his head as he breathed heavily. His left arm looked mangled, and the mana that had been building around his body was completely gone. Floating next to him with tears in her eyes was Sylph.

"Yuno, you gotta get up!" she insisted of him, "Otherwise that big guy's gonna stomp us dead!" she pointed out. The Golden Dawn captain was tuning her out. With all of his available effort, he had managed to fly over to grab his girlfriend, taking the brunt of the attack meant for her with his body.

'No matter what… promise you'll protect her with your life,' Kris' voice echoed in his head.

"AAAAAHHHHHH…!" he bellowed with pain, clenching his teeth together as he lurched forward slightly.

"Yuno!" Kleene cried out as she went over to his side, "I…I'm sorry!" she apologized with tears pricking her eyes, "If I didn't get myself caught, then…!" she started to say, whimpering with shame.

"It's… okay…" her boyfriend assured weakly, coughing up blood. The wind spirit floating beside him growled.

"Darn it!" she yelled, "If it wasn't for the fact you're Yuno's stupid pretty fiancée, I'd have made sure you took that hit instead!" she shouted to the Wind Snatch Ether Gear user. The Golden Dawn captain widened his eyes, while his girlfriend blinked.

"His… what?" she uttered.

"Bell…" the Wind Magic user sighed out. It took a moment for the wind spirit to realize what she had inadvertently did.

"AH!" she yelped, clapping her hands over her mouth, "Sorry, Yuno…" she apologized. Her partner let out a chuckle.

"Well, I guess the secret was bound to get out…" he admitted, looking back over to his girlfriend, "I was going to wait until after this was all over…" he told her as her eyes were shaking, with tears flowing down them. She then clenched her fists, standing back up. "Kleene?" her boyfriend said, feeling the wind start to swell. Outside the clearing dust cloud, Jaime could see it start to blow apart. Green lines of glowing Ether curved along the green-haired girl's face.

"Yuno, you don't have to ask me yet," she assured to the Golden Dawn captain, whose eyes slightly widened as he saw her appearance change while she rose into the air with the building gust, "Once this is over, I'll give you my answer," she promised. Her attire transformed into that of a long, light-trimmed sleeveless black dress and a pair of large, swan-like wings. Her two hairpins gained black, horn-like appendages. She also had black stockings and white, feathered ballet shoes. She also had Ether lines going from her hands to her shoulders and face, and a black tattoo with a curved, wing-like design on her right wrist. "In the meantime, I'm going to make sure Crow doesn't hurt anyone else!" she declared fiercely. The dust was sucked away almost instantaneously.

"Whoa!" Jaime yelped, bracing himself before looking out and widening his eyes. Kleene rose into the air under a torrent of air, extending her hands out towards the titanic android, who didn't seem to be paying her mind. He didn't even notice the small starfighter that shot out from his right leg, being piloted by Laguna.

"Hermit!" he called out into the communication line, "What happened with Kleene?! Is she—?!" Before he could ask another question, he widened his eyes in surprise to find the Wind Snatch Ether Gear user herself releasing her torrent of wind onto the Oración Seis Galáctica member. And he didn't seem to take notice at all.

"Kleene's alive!" Upgrade exclaimed excitedly from back aboard the Edens Zero.

"Thank goodness…" Hermit sighed out in relief.

"But what about that Yuno boy?" Connor asked.

"Guys, come in!" Jaime's voice yelled over the communication line, getting their attentions, "Yuno's in really bad shape here!" he confirmed, standing beside the weakened Golden Dawn captain, "We need an evac for him now!" he insisted.

"On my way!" Laguna responded.

"Setting coordinates for your location!" Hermit added, typing furiously on her holographic keyboards, "We need everyone to make sure Kleene doesn't get interfered with as she takes away Crow's jammer!" she noted to her colleagues, "Distract him as long as you can!" she insisted. The titanic android turned his head slightly upon feeling the gust pulling against him. However, he failed to take notice of an incoming figure, being America.

"WITH PLEASURE!" she roared, slamming her right fist fiercely against his head in a star-shaped shockwave. He lurched back, staying on his feet as he turned to attempt a powerful right hook onto the young Avenger. However, he suddenly found his feet stuck to the ground by a pair of green clamps constructed by none other than Jessica. She clenched her teeth, sweating bullets as she groaned with strain.

"You're not moving!" she declared fiercely.

"Damn right!" a shrunken Henry agreed as he flew up and enlarged himself, punching the Oración Seis Galáctica member squarely in the face.

"Agh…!" he gasped out, growling afterward. He tried to swipe at the enlarged Avenger, but he shrunk down to evade the attack, followed by America landing another heavy blow to his head with both of her fists.

"That's the way, lads!" Connor yelled from the bridge of the Edens Zero, "Give him hell!" he insisted loudly.

"We got a clear shot, but we still don't know whether or not Holy and Kris are out…" Upgrade noted, letting out a growl of frustration, "Hermit, what do we do?" he asked of the Mind of Edens.

"I'm not sure yet, but…" she began to reply, "Crow's movements… they're slowing…" she pointed out, narrowing her eyes, "What's going on inside of him?" she wondered. Within the titanic android's body, more and more avatars were coming out from the beds of cables, charging in at Kris, Yuta, and Rika. The latter of the trio continued to bash and hack her way through them with ease, while the jujutsu sorcerer did the same. The Wind Rage Ether Gear user kicked and punched aside a few others. All of a sudden though, he saw smoke spewing from his right arm.

"No, not now!" he complained, kicking away another avatar. Noticing his colleague in a bind, Yuta flipped over and slashed ahead, cleaving down their enemies.

"What's wrong?" he asked of the cyborg.

"It's my joints… they're wearing out…" he confirmed in response as he grimaced, barely able to flex his arms, "Guess I can only do so much without Ether…" he grumbled with frustration.

"Yuta!" Rika called out, getting the jujutsu sorcerer's attention before he held his blade up to block an avatar from attempting to bite him.

'It's not that these guys are trouble, but there's way too many of them…' he noted inwardly, 'I don't know if using my domain would help much, either…' he admitted to himself, narrowing his eyes.

"Rika, give him support!" he called out to his cursed spirit, enticing her to hurry over and bash aside avatars that were about to tackle him.

'Miss…' he began inwardly, thinking of Holy, 'I hope you've got a way to stop this guy!' he yelled through his thoughts as he bisected another avatar with his katana.

X

"Cure…" Holy uttered as she emerged from the forest of cables into the room, "wh-what are you doing here?!" she asked with a stutter, stunned to see her colleague before her, let alone in such a place. But the shock turned into relief as her expression changed into a soft smile. "It doesn't matter, this is great!" she exclaimed, "If you can help me find Crow's power source, we can finally—!"

"Hm," her fellow Oración Seis Interestelar huffed with a small grin of his own, "That relief was exactly what I expected from you," he affirmed as he stood up.

"Huh?" Holy uttered in confusion. At that moment, Cure aimed his right pointer finger, firing off a beam of golden light. It pierced right through the abdomen of the Melt Ether Gear user, whose eyes widened. "What…?" she uttered out, seeing blood pour out from her new wound, "Why…?" she asked before toppling over onto her stomach. The android before her lowered his hand.

"I am the power source," he confirmed, placing his right hand onto his chest, "Or rather, I should say that I'm Deadend Crow's main body," he mentioned, much to Holy's shock as her weakened eyes were shaking. She tried to speak, only for blood to spill out from her mouth. "Poor girl…" Cure uttered, shaking his head, "If you didn't make it this far, you never would've found out…" he noted with narrowed eyes.

"GAH…!" Holy yelped with pain, hacking up more blood, "What… do you mean…?!" she questioned, "You were that villain all along…?!" she presumed, trying to force herself back up.

"Villain?" her fellow Oración Seis Interestelar member repeated, letting off a smirk, "You're mistaken, Holy," he said, outstretching his arms to both sides, "I'm a force… for balance," he stated, "Therefore, I am good and evil," he confirmed, much to her shock as her eyes were still shaking, "Doesn't that make sense?" he inquired, "In order for the Interstellar Union Army to shine brighter…" he continued, "galactic darkness must be essential," he affirmed. Out in the space above Lendard, Dragons and battleships continued to clash as beams rained about left and right. "Long before you were appointed one of the Oración Seis Interestelar, I was creating all kinds of darkness…" Cure noted, "and then eliminating it myself… all to make us shine," he added.

"You… created darkness?" Holy questioned weakly. The android before her huffed.

"Tell me, what is the purpose of our existence?" he inquired back to her confusion, "We safeguard the universe, do we not?" he presumed, "Then we would need an evil to save it from…" he pointed out, making the Melt Ether Gear user clench her teeth angrily as her eyes widened, "I gave power to people like Drakken and Nero… waiting for the darkness of their actions to grow denser," he explained on, "Then I erased it, thus bringing us closer to the light," he mentioned, "A perfect balance, as all things should be…" he stated, closing his right hand into a fist.

"I don't understand…" Holy said, "Weren't you created… to be a force for good?!" she questioned before hacking up more blood, "What happened to you?!" she inquired on. Cure smirked.

"Nothing at all…" he responded.

FLASHBACK

"We've officially finished our work on this high-model battle android!" a spectacled scientist with dark brown, scruffy hair confirmed to his colleagues, gesturing toward the figure just behind him, "We're calling him Cure, a force that'll bring balance back to the cosmoses!" he proclaimed on.

"Hmmm…" a soldier hummed out, folding his arms over his chest, "I'm not exactly sure about having an android taking the helm with the rest of the Interestelar…" he admitted aloud, "Who manufactured him?" he inquired.

"Oh, a startup in the Aoi Cosmos!" the scientist replied, "They're really confident that this model's capable of learning fast and helping make a perfect balance for the cosmoses!" he affirmed confidently with a wink.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" another soldier asked, making the spectacled man chuckle nervously. Meanwhile, the android beyond them listened on intently. One word echoed in his mind.

'Balance…' he uttered inwardly. A year went by.

"We've successfully taken down two of the Oración Seis Galáctica!" a high-ranking official confirmed to an excited crowd of people, "We'll continue our work to safeguard the cosmoses so long as we have evil to snuff out!" he declared proudly, making the audience cheer. Standing behind him was Cure.

'Balance…' he uttered inwardly again. Later on, he was introduced to new colleagues.

"It's nice to meet you," Eraser addressed in greeting.

"So you're the famous android of the Oración Seis Interestelar…" Justice noted upon approaching, "It'll be a pleasure to work alongside you," he affirmed, bowing politely. Cure was indifferent to their presence. However, his eyes widened upon seeing another figure enter the room.

"Gentlemen, hello," Jaguar greeted as he approached.

"Well… this is a surprise…" Eraser admitted with sweat trickling down his face.

"So the rumors were true…" Justice concluded, stunned himself, "The infamous beast Jaguar joining the Oración Seis Interestelar…" he noted aloud. The tall man gave off a grin.

"Come now, don't get nervous!" he insisted of the pair, putting his hands atop their heads to their surprise, "The only time you'll see me bare any fangs will be when we take on those Galáctica rats!" he assured.

"O-Of course…" Eraser chuckled out with a stutter.

"The Beast Lord Jaguar…" Cure uttered, his eyes shaking. The man in question overheard, taking notice of him.

"Ah, you must be Cure," he noted, going over to stand before him, "Very nice to meet you," he greeted, extending his right hand out. The android blinked in surprise.

"Likewise…" he responded, taking his extremity into his own for a firm shake. However, he felt distressed.

'This… isn't balance…' he noted inwardly. As the years went on, the heroics of the Interstellar Union Army were stopping all sorts of villainy across the universe. And peace was abundant. But Cure felt that it wasn't right. The scales were tipped too far for his allies. Darkness was being snuffed out almost completely. And he was the only one who could see that imbalance.

"You've been hard at work lately, haven't you?" the scientist responsible for his deployment presumed, checking the android soldier as he sat upon an operating table, "Every day, I'm hearing great things about your work as a member of the army," he pointed out, tapping a few icons upon the tablet he had, "You really have brought balance back to the cosmoses!" he affirmed happily. Cure's eyes shook.

"No… I haven't…" he said, causing the scientist to blink in surprise, "There's… too much light…" he noted, grabbing his head in both of his hands, "It's all an… imbalance…!" he proclaimed, trembling all the while.

"Whoa, hold on…" the scientist said, "I think there's an error in your diagnostics," he inferred, checking his tablet again, "Let me see if I can—" All of a sudden, the android grabbed him by his neck, hoisting him off of the floor as he flailed his legs. "C-Cure!" he choked out, "What are you… doing?!" he asked.

"There is nothing wrong with me…" the Oración Seis Interestelar member affirmed, standing up, "It's just that I've failed to create balance in the universe…" he concluded, causing the scientist to widen his eyes.

"N-No! There is balance!" he assured with a stutter, trying to break free from his grasp, "You created it!" he affirmed desperately as tears were pricking his eyes, "You've been the cure for the universe all along!" he proclaimed.

"…I will be," Cure responded, squeezing tighter on the scientist's neck before he heard a loud snap. He dropped his body to the ground. From that day on, the android sought out to correct what he felt were mistakes. And the results rang like music to his ears.

"What the hell's happening?!" one soldier cried out, "How did these guys get all the power to take over two of the cosmoses?!" he questioned on.

"We've lost over thirty-thousand men thanks to that damn Nero!" another yelled.

"The Sakura Cosmos are gonna be in ruins if something isn't done about this Drakken bastard!" a woman shouted out.

"Families are being ripped apart and enslaved thanks to him!" someone else noted emphatically.

"Why'd this have to happen when we had such a long time of peace?!" another soldier inquired. To Cure, their dismay pleased him. The imbalance had been corrected. For every evil that the Interstellar Union Army would snuff out, he would create another or enhance those that had yet to be stopped.

"Balance… as all things should be," he said, taking notice of Holy's presence as she introduced herself to her colleagues as the next member of the Oración Seis Interestelar. She spotted Cure and shot him a small smile, which he returned.

END FLASHBACK

Holy's eyes were shaking with disbelief. The implications behind Cure's actions may have led to millions upon billions of lives being lost. And he said it was all for balance…

"Of all the creations of evil, Deadend Crow is what I'd consider my greatest masterpiece…" the android stated, "His darkness is so dense… so deep and twisted…" he noted as outside, the Eternal Titan swiped at those attacking him. He almost hit Kleene, only to be stopped by America as she slammed her right foot against his arm in a star-shaped shockwave. "I always knew that you would be the one to defeat Crow someday…" Cure pointed out to Holy, "All so that we may continue to shine," he mentioned.

"Ergh…!" his fellow Oración Seis Interestelar member growled out, glaring up at him. He merely grinned.

"But that day is not today," he stated, "I will not allow you to alter my plans here," he affirmed.

"Why…?" Holy asked, staggering up onto her feet, "How can you…?" she tried to say, only to hack up more blood, "We… risked our lives to fight these evils…" she pointed out, "and you're the one who created them?!" she inquired angrily.

"Not all of them…" Cure responded, "Ziggy and Acnoella were already villains in their own rights," he pointed out, "And all that needed to be done for both Nox and Elsie was giving them bad names to make them out as villains," he added on, "That's what makes Crow a real masterpiece, solely created by me," he affirmed. The Melt Ether Gear user trembled.

"So many lives were lost… all because you thought it would bring balance?!" she shouted in question.

"Of course," Cure responded, "Trust me when I say that losing all those people makes it worthwhile if my purpose is fulfilled," he told her. She clenched her fists tightly

"Then… you're the one who was behind the Bloody Atmos Day, weren't you?!" she inferred angrily with a fierce expression.

X

Mahoraga continued to tear down drones converging onto the area, as Eve, Megumi, James, Noelle, Mina, Denki and Francis battled back others. One bot flew down attempting to tackle the Electrification Quirk user. He flinched in surprise, bracing himself. But suddenly, a ray of blue light shot in and struck the drone, sending it crashing into a wall.

"Huh?" Denki uttered in surprise before looking over and smiling. Flying over was his girlfriend alongside Rachael. The latter of the two enveloped herself in a flash of golden light, diving out at the incoming drones. As the luminosity dissipated, it revealed that she had requipped into a fusion of her two armors, most evident by the pairs silvery metal wings and bat-like ones on her back.

She had the tiara and neck guard of the Heaven's Wheel Armor, while sporting the shoulder pads and slim gauntlets from the Black Wing Armor. Black plates flanked her hips, with her breastplate being black with silver trimming as a blue jewel was at her cleavage. Her waist was circled by large, decorated plates reminiscent of feathers that lied on a long skirt, which was also decorated by two plates flanking her hips, adorned with silver crosses. She wore a pair of plated boots, which were partially hidden under her skirt, each sporting metal ornaments shaped like wings.

"Heaven's Wheel plus Black Wing…" she began to bellow, "Dark Angel Armor!" she roared, slashing back dozens of the drones.

"Woohoo!" Mina cheered, "We got the Scarlet Knight in the fight now!" she affirmed excitedly.

"What the hell happened with taking out Ultron?!" Megumi asked of Riri as she landed down, firing off more repulsor blasts.

"We did!" she responded, "But he had a backup plan to upload himself into the damn planet!" she noted.

"Yeah, we heard…" Eve chimed in, firing off pink arcs of light to blow several other drones back, "So what's the plan for dealing with that?" she questioned.

"Wouldn't the Chronophage do the trick?" James assumed, bashing down another drone with his energy shield.

"Probably…" Riri replied, "But that's gonna depend on whether or not Rebecca can get it here," she pointed out, "Plus, we've gotta worry about Ultron trying to keep us on the planet for too long," she mentioned.

"Ugh… kinda runnin' low on steam here…" Denki groaned out with a dopey look upon his face.

"If we don't figure out a way to stop Ultron from sending more drones out here, we won't be able to do anything!" Megumi noted with a grimace. Up in the air, Noelle pirouetted as her watery lance slashed through several of the drones. One was about to crash into her from above, only for it to be pierced by Rachael's sword. She chucked it aside, summoning more blades in flashes of light. They shot out, striking several drones and causing them to explode into pieces.

"Huh… huh…" the requip user breathed heavily. She could see more drones closing in from the distance. "Ugh…" she groaned, "It's gonna be one hell of a day…" she grumbled out. Up in Lendard's space, the Interstellar Union Army's starfighters were continuing to gun down Dragons. Dozens of them converged upon one of the flagships, but suddenly, a white flash streaked across their bodies, bisecting them completely.

"Phoo…" Eraser exhaled from his ship, sweating trickling down his face as his blue Ether Gear markings shined over his left eye, "At least there aren't much more of them now…" he noted aloud. All of a sudden, a holographic screen appeared beside him. He blinked in surprise to see Feather's face.

"Eraser, I believe there may be something wrong with my Eye of Venus," she told him. He scoffed.

"Sorry, but you should save the whining for later," he advised in response, "We're almost done here," he pointed out.

"Right now, I cannot accurately determine someone's location," Feather noted.

"Then have Cure fix you up!" Eraser retorted, barrel rolling his starfighter to avoid getting shot down by nearby drones, "All I do is erase stuff!" he pointed out. The Eye of Venus Ether Gear user opened her eyes.

"I am speaking over a channel that's excluding Cure," she confirmed to his confusion, "His Brain-class ship… is currently unmanned, as far as my 'eye' can see," she told her colleague, who widened his eyes in surprise.

"So either your Ether Gear's out of whack…" he began to infer, "or Cure's somewhere else right now…" he concluded. Within Crow, Holy staggered forward with a wince, looking out at the android she thought was a colleague of hers.

"Were you the one responsible for that day?!" she questioned of him, "Answer me!" she demanded, hacking up more blood.

"Bloody Atmos Day…" Cure said, narrowing his eyes with a small, "That was thirteen years ago," he recalled.

"Upon the planet of Swan in the Yukino Cosmos…" Holy noted further, grabbing at her wound with her left hand as she trembled, "My father, my sister and I were there…" she remembered, tearing up.

FLASHBACK

"Sissy, hurry!" an excited Sara called out, getting the attention of the young woman at her desk, "We're gonna miss all the cool stuff!" she noted, happily running off down the hall. Sighing, the young Holy closed her computer, standing up. She could hear her sibling giggling with excitement downstairs.

"Why is she so excited about Atmos Day?" she inquired aloud as a figure approached, "It's just another holiday, isn't it?" she questioned on, turning to the person beside her. It was a man with well-combed purple hair and a five-o'clock shadow, wearing a jacket over a plain white t-shirt with jeans and dress shoes.

"Atmos Day isn't just another day off of school for her," he pointed out, "It's a way to honor the savior of our planet and remember the lives she saved," he mentioned. The purple-haired girl hummed, glancing away out of suspicion. "Reina, come on," the man before her said, reaching out and patting her atop her head, "Atmos Day is meant to be good," he affirmed, "Your little sister gets the chance to honor her mother, whom she never got to meet after being born," he mentioned, making his daughter tense up, "Don't you wanna honor her, too?" he inquired on. Holy simply nodded. "Alright, then let's go," her father said.

"Just don't pet me anymore, alright?" she requested, "I'm not a little kid…" she noted, looking away as she blushed. Her parent chuckled. A while later, the trio was out in the streets, which were bustling with all kinds of activity. People were running about, exchanging flowers, eating all kinds of food, letting balloons fly up into the air, and so much more.

"Whoa…!" Sara gasped out with sparkling eyes.

"There's even more people than last year…" her older sister noted in surprise.

"Hans!" a voice called out, being from a spectacled man nearby that was carrying some boxes, "Could I get some help here?" he requested.

"Sure thing!" the purple-haired man responded, "Reina, keep an eye on Sara for me, alright?" he advised of his eldest daughter, jogging off. The young woman turned… and found that her little sister was gone.

"Wha…? Sara?!" she cried out, quickly looking around amidst the big crowd, "Sara!" she yelled while wandering through the square, "Huh…" she sighed with frustration. She honestly didn't want to be here. The years she had spent enjoying Atmos Day were long gone, mainly because of her mother's death.

She found herself standing in front of a statue at the center of the square, being that of a man dressed in robes with a tall, crested helmet and a scepter in hand. Parts of his body made it seem like he was actually an android, when it was really just his armor. Holy remembered always standing in front of this statue with both of her parents, marveling its beauty and the stories of Atmos that she'd always hear. Now she looked at it… and felt nothing.

It wasn't as if she held any grudges toward her little sister, whose birth did result in their mother's demise. She just became indifferent and focused more on what she knew she could achieve rather than dreaming about things out of her reach. It felt right.

"Sissy!" Sara's voice cried out, catching her attention as she saw the little girl make her way through the crowd with a pair of soft serve ice cream cones in hand.

"Sara…" the young woman uttered, being handed one of the cones. She smiled and accepted it, taking a lick and sighing contently. "What do you think of Atmos, Sara?" she asked of her little sister, causing her to perk up in surprise, "Do you think that he's an honorable warrior like all the stories say?" she questioned, "Or is he just a story people tell to make for another holiday?" she wondered on. The spiky-haired girl beside her looked up in thought.

"…I dunno…" she answered honestly, "But… I wanna become a hero like that someday," she admitted to her sibling's surprise, "Heroes are super cool!" she pointed out, "I wanna be a hero so I can protect you, Daddy, and everybody!" she added in declaration. Holy blinked before laughing somewhat uncontrollably. "Hey, don't laugh!" Sara shouted, puffing her cheeks as she pouted.

"No, it's not that…" her older sister assured as she calmed down, "I think it's great that you wanna be someone who fights for justice like Atmos did," she told her, "I'm sure Mom would be proud, too," she mentioned. The little girl beamed.

"Oh, I should get one of those cool lantern things we can fly for her!" she decided, running off again.

"Sara!" Holy called out, sighing again. She looked back at the statue, giving off a little smile.

'Mom… I hope she gets to be someone as great as you were…' she noted inwardly, taking another lick of her ice cream. And then suddenly, the statue in front of her was blasted to pieces.

"Huh?" she uttered as debris flew past her, with one piece almost striking her in the head as it knocked the ice cream cone out of her hand.

"What the hell?!" one man yelped out.

"Was that a rocket?!" a woman inquired in panic.

"Wait! Up there!" someone else yelled, pointing upward. A shadow suddenly was cast over the entirety of the square. Looking up, Holy widened her eyes. Towering over everyone was the titanic figure of Deadend Crow, who looked down and sneered. He raised his right foot and stamped down.

It was in but a matter of moments when he appeared. The life-squashing… building-burning… manically-laughing devil… Deadend Crow.

Hurrying away as quickly as she could, Holy looked back to see all of the bodies in the wake of Crow's destruction. One of them was Hans. Tears poured out of her eyes as she forced herself not to look back again. She had to run. There wouldn't be anyone to help save her now. The least she could hope for…

"SISSY!" her little sister's voice cried out, causing her to gasp in surprise. She looked to see the spiky-haired girl running toward her.

"Sara!" she screamed, reaching her right hand out. Buildings and other structures started collapsing around them. The siblings lunged toward each other just before the debris was about to reach them. Opening her eyes, Holy looked to see that her hand was holding onto her sister's. A look of relief came across her face. But it soon changed to one of horror when she saw that arm was no longer attached to a body. In fact, there was a pool of blood under the rubble right behind the little arm. "S…Sara…?" the purple-haired young woman whimpered out.

There were over one million people who died… including my father and my sister. It was the deadliest act in the entire Yukino Cosmos…

END FLASHBACK

"My little sister… Sara…" Holy sobbed out as tears streaked down her cheeks, "She was a good kid…!" she recalled, "She was only eight… but wanted to be a hero… to be a champion of justice…!" she remembered on, glaring out at Cure, who stared indifferently, "Any women who survived the atrocities were unfortunate enough to become Crow's playthings…" she noted, thinking back to when she had been strung up for all to see, stark naked, "All of them died, one after another…" she said, "except for me…" she confirmed.

"Yes, that tracks," her fellow Oración Seis Interestelar member responded, "That's when your story was established," he affirmed, "You would eventually become the light that would defeat Crow," he told her. She stomped her trembling right foot down.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she questioned angrily, "Why did you have to attack Swan…?" she inquired on, "Why do any of this…?" she asked further.

"Oh, you still don't get it?" Cure assumed, "It doesn't matter where," he said, "If evil is created in one place, light will surely follow with it," he affirmed confidently, letting off a grin, "That Bloody Atmos Day gave birth to a new darkness…" he pointed out, "Yes… that day, seeds were sown to make us ultimately shine brighter," he stated.

"And Sara… gave her life for that deranged idea…?" Holy questioned as she gritted her teeth, "One million people had to die, including my family…?" she assumed.

"Huh…" the android sighed, "How many times do I have to repeat myself…?" he wondered aloud, "For us to be 'good', there must also be 'evil'," he told her.

"Good people don't create evil!" she shouted.

"Exactly," Cure agreed, "That's why I am both good and evil…" he pointed out. The Melt Ether Gear user snarled.

"YOU ARE ONLY EVIL!" she roared as she lunged out at him with her right fist reared back, attempting to strike him. He huffed, moving aside and elbowing her in the back onto the floor as she yelped with pain.

"I would advise not trying that again," he said, hearing her wince.

"You lied to our comrades…" she growled out, "You created evil!" she shouted, tears still pricking her angered eyes, "You don't give a damn about human life!" she roared on.

"Without evil, we wouldn't have a reason to exist," Cure noted, putting his foot over his fellow Oración Seis Interestelar member's wound, causing her to yelp with pain.

"Stop associating yourself with me, you monster…!" she snarled, "Someone as vile as you has no right to offer prayers to the stars…!" she exclaimed, letting out another yelp of pain.

"And how do you plan on stopping me?" the android questioned, failing to take notice of the rustling cables nearby, "Last I remember, you couldn't use your Ether Gear…" he pointed out. Holy grimaced in frustration, knowing that she was too weak and hindered to even try to fight back. She shut her eyes, praying for a miracle. "Goodbye, Holy," Cure said, aiming his left pointer finger down at her. Suddenly, something shot out from the cables. Before the green-haired Oración Seis Interestelar member could react, he was suddenly met with a gauntleted fist to his stomach, causing him to let out a pained gasp before being sent flying back, crashing into the wall in a flurry of dust.

"Good and evil, huh?" a female voice uttered, causing Holy to jolt her eyes open as she didn't recognize it, "Pretty sure I heard you say you were this guy's core or something, right?" she assumed, reaching her gauntlet-covered left hand out to the downed Melt Ether Gear user. She accepted it, getting pulled back up onto her feet. She looked out at her rescuer, blinking in surprise.

It was a woman who stood at an average height, possessing strong build in her arms along with a fair shade of skin. Her red-hued hair was styled in a choppy manner, with the end tips going down to a darker shade and the right side of it shaved. She sported a nose ring piercing, a 'VI' tattoo on her right cheek, a small scar in the middle of her right brow, and a fingerless pair of bandages on her forearms.

Her attire consisted of a white top that had a royal blue hood attached with it, covered by a short red leather jacket that had royal blue sleeve hemlines, snaps, and lapels. With that were some thin edges layered in the same color that had the sleeves rolled to her elbows. Her top was tucked under a pair of baggy sage green pants with dull grey stripes running downward in a pattern. The right pant sported a brown flap pocket. She also had a pair of worn and weathered knee-high boots and goggles over her forehead. The large gauntlets in her possession were a royal blue with gold trimmings and intricate designs.

"Agh…" Cure groaned as he picked himself up, "Another otherworlder, huh?" he noted, "I'm surprised you actually made it this far…" he admitted.

"Yeah, that's what they all say…" Vi grumbled, taking on a ready stance as she rolled her neck with a crick.

"Um… I…" Holy tried to say, only for the redheaded woman beside her to suddenly let her left gauntlet fall off onto the floor, making her yelp.

"Think you can use that, princess?" her new colleague inquired, giving off a smirk. The Oración Seis Interestelar member blinked in surprise, followed by giving off a determined expression as she nodded. She shoved her left arm into the gauntlet, lifting it up and closing it into a fist.

"Of course I can," she affirmed, earning a chuckle out of Vi.

"Hm," Cure huffed, "This little farce won't be doing you any good without your Ether Gear still…" he proclaimed. But the very moment he said that, he widened his eyes to find the lines of purple light appearing along Holy's right arm.

"Oh, thank goodness…" she uttered with relief, "Jinn's sister is still alive," she realized, letting off a little smile.

"Which means we've got nothin' to worry about but him," Vi affirmed. The pair of women lunged out at him as he swiped his right arm, colliding with their gauntleted fists in a fierce clash. Outside, the upgraded Edens Zero was positioning itself ahead of Crow.

"Okay, we're all set!" Upgrade confirmed as he poked his head up next to Hermit, who nodded.

"Everyone, Crow's mobility is down!" she communicated to the rest of the group battling the Eternal Titan, "We need you all to get out of there!" she insisted seriously, "This'll be our best chance to fire the main cannon!" she confirmed on.

"I don't think so…" a voice echoed over the intercom, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"Uh, that wasn't me…" Upgrade confirmed.

"We've got bogeys inbound starboard!" Connor warned as he looked toward the radar, seeing several markings pop up. He and the others looked out to see several drones heading their way.

"This is mos-bad!" Mosco yelped.

"Dammit…!" Hermit cursed, realizing that this was likely Ultron's work. If she and the others didn't take advantage of the chance they had before them, there'd be no way to stop Crow…

X

"VARIABLE CYCLONE!" Kleene bellowed, making a massive torrent of wind pull and tear away the Ether lines from the titanic android's body. Watching from afar while inside Laguna's starfighter was a weakened Yuno.

"Kleene…" he uttered.

"Hey, try not to talk too much," the Tears Lover Ether Gear user advised, "We're almost back to the ship," he pointed out, "You'll get fixed up quick," he assured on.

"He better!" Sylph yelled as she floated, "I don't want Yuno's stupid fiancée to be the one to finish that guy off!" she pointed out.

"Bell…" her partner grumbled, causing her to clap her hands over her mouth.

"Oopsie…" she squeaked.

"Fiancée, huh?" Laguna said, "Congrats," he complimented.

"I… haven't actually proposed yet…" Yuno pointed out, "Bell just let it slip…" he noted.

"Sorry…" the wind spirit apologized again, "Wait, what's that?" she asked, pointing ahead. Her partner and the Tears Lover Ether Gear user looked out and gasped to see the hundreds of drones closing in on the Edens Zero.

"That's not good…" the pilot of the starfighter realized, "Hermit, you've got bogeys inbound!" he warned into the communication line.

"Yeah, we noticed!" the Mind of Edens responded, furiously typing on her holographic keyboard from the battleship's bridge, "Unfortunately, we're stuck!" she confirmed, "Ultron just hacked into our systems and locked down our propulsions!" she pointed out, "Ken's keeping him from accessing anything else, but we need backup!" she insisted. Missiles fired off from the Edens Zero struck down many of the drones. However, more were converging, prepared to attack the ship. And then, without warning, a black streak of light zipped by instantaneously, slashing through all of them. Hermit and those in the bridge widened their eyes in awe. Laguna was just as stunned. And Yuno… smirked.

"It's about time," he said, seeing that it was none other than Asta in his Devil Union, soaring across the skyline toward Crow with his Demon-Slayer Sword in hand.

"Let's finish this already!" he roared out. Within the titanic android, Kris breathed heavily as he watched Yuta and Rika fend off more of the conjured avatars. All of a sudden, he noticed his Ether Gear markings appear along his arms as the wind swelled around him. He flashed a grin.

"So you kept your promise after all…" he realized with a grin. He thrusted his arms forward, launching a torrent of air that blew several of the avatars back. Yuta looked back at him and nodded before they charged onward.

"Ergh…!" Kleene grunted out as she continued to have her wind pull against the pinned Crow, who bellowed loudly. He attempted to backhand her with his left hand, but was stopped in a flash of lightning, as Torunn countered his attack with her electrically-coated Arnbjörg.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" she roared, blowing the hand back.

"Torunn!" the Wind Snatch Ether Gear user exclaimed with a smile.

"I see that you're making great use of your Ether Gear," the demigoddess complimented, earning a nod in response.

"Do you know what's going with Holily and my brother?" Kleene asked, "Are they out of Crow yet?" she inquired on.

"That I do not know, unfortunately," Torunn replied before zipping out in front of her colleague, using her blade to deflect the laser beams shot from Crow's eyes, "Our goal now is to protect you until we've confirmed they have exited this foul beast's body!" she affirmed, grunting before swinging her sword to make the beams dissipate, "Until then, do not waver in the slightest!" she advised of the Wind Snatch Ether Gear user.

"I won't!" she responded firmly with determination. Meanwhile, America yelled before slamming her right fist up against the titanic android's head in yet another star-shaped shockwave, causing him to let out a low groan of pain. She smirked.

"What's wrong, big guy?" she asked mockingly, "Feeling concussed?" she guessed. Growling, the Oración Seis Galáctica member opened his mouth, making a burning light build up within it. "Oh shit!" the young Avenger cursed, about to fly off. But it looked as if she wouldn't be able to get away…

"Eherya Tanana!" a voice suddenly chanted. At that moment, ice spread all over Crow's head, casing his open mouth. The beam he attempted to fire exploded within, resulting in smoke spewing from his cranium as bits of ice fell down as well.

"Whoa…" America uttered in surprise.

"Need a little hand?" the female voice presumed, getting her attention as she looked over to see none other than Atsuko Kagari floating in the air nearby with her wand in hand.

"Akko!" Henry exclaimed happily.

"What a pleasant surprise indeed!" Torunn remarked. Meanwhile, the Edens Zero was starting to float back into position.

"Okay, I think the Ultron hack's done for!" Upgrade confirmed as he poked his head out in the bridge.

"Good work, Ken!" Hermit complimented, "Now we're ready to fire the main cannon!" she pointed out, "With Crow moving slower and Kleene canceling out his jammer…" she noted on.

"We'll be firing as soon as Holy and Jinn escape that beast's belly!" Connor decided.

"Let's not let up, moscoy!" Mosco insisted while posing.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Asta roared as he landed a powerful slash diagonally across the upper body of the titanic android while flying by. Inside, Holy thrusted her gauntleted fist out at Cure, who dodged and smirked before his eyes flashed brightly. The Melt Ether Gear user gasped in realization as he fired off beams of light, but Vi ran in, projecting a blue energy barrier from her gauntlet. It deflected the rays, which struck the ceiling.

"Tch," the android scoffed, leaping back to evade a swipe from the brutish woman.

'As I thought…' he said to himself, 'the only unique thing about this woman is her gauntlets,' he affirmed inwardly as Vi put down her energy barrier, 'If I disable them, I'll only have to worry about Holy…' he concluded.

"He's working out a plan…" the Melt Ether Gear user noted aloud, narrowing her eyes.

"No shit," Vi retorted, "You got an idea on what we can do?" she inquired of her colleague.

"Perhaps one…" she replied.

"If you're done talking, I think it's time we wrapped this up!" Cure yelled, firing off a flurry of laser beams from his fingers at the pair of women. They both ran to opposite sides to evade his attack, seeing the rays slice through the cables at the other end of the room. Holy gave off a grimace, especially as the pain from her wound hadn't subsided. She peeked out, noticing a machine in the corner of the room that seemed to be humming with energy. A grin crossed her face.

"So you took the idea of balance too literally," she assumed of her former colleague, "I hadn't realized your manufacturer installed you with such a fatal flaw…" she remarked. The android scoffed.

"It wasn't a flaw in the slightest," he retorted, looking around to try and see where his foes would attack from next, "When they tried removing that 'flaw', I simply killed them," he noted on.

"And you didn't think that you yourself were contributing to that imbalance of evil by doing that?" the Melt Ether Gear user inquired back.

"That's why I became the light to snuff out the darkness," Cure responded, "Honestly, if you don't understand it at this point, why bother asking?" he questioned. At that moment, Vi lunged toward him. He blinked in surprise, pivoting around her attempted blow before tripping her up as she tumbled over onto the floor. He then aimed his right pointer finger, firing a laser her way. She quickly rolled back to evade it, being forced back toward the wall. The android sneered, thinking he had her pinned. But he failed to realize that Holy was coming up behind him.

"Got you!" she yelled, making him gasp. She swiped her right arm out as her Ether Gear markings shined brightly. The upper right half of Cure's body started melting away. However, he grinned.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten my power, too…" he muttered, slamming his left fist into her stomach before she could strike him herself, while the right side of his body reformed, "My Regeneration is quite useful, isn't it?" he presumed, grabbing the Melt Ether Gear user by her face before slamming her down against the floor, making her gasp with pain, "As long as people exist, there will be evil," he noted as he let his foe get back onto her feet, only to pummel her with a barrage of punches, "And as long as evil exists, there will be good to fight against it," he added firmly.

"And what's your point…?" the Oración Seis Interestelar member asked before being slammed against the wall.

"That we must be the good!" Cure shouted with a maniacal grin upon his face, "Creating evil for the purpose of thwarting it ultimately leads to harmony!" he proclaimed, "For every flaw in the universe, we can regenerate it and start anew!" he added vehemently, continuing to pound away at the Melt Ether Gear user, "Do you understand now, Holy?!" he questioned of her, pinning her with his left arm pressed onto her throat as she gasped.

"Hey, freakshow!" Vi yelled, getting his attention as he looked back to see her charging toward him, "Done with your little speech?!" she roared. The android huffed with a grin, turning to her as he threw Holy aside.

'You're not fooling me in the slightest,' he noted to himself, 'Your only attack is with that gauntlet,' he pointed out, 'If I destroy that, then any hope of you stopping me will be lost…' he affirmed through his thoughts, raising his left pointer finger. A light shined off of its tip as he was prepared to fire a beam that would pierce through her armament. But without warning, a fist collided with the right side of his face, being the red-haired woman's left. He gasped as he stumbled back, while she smirked. 'The gauntlet… was a feint?!' he exclaimed inwardly, 'Moreover… I didn't expect a simple punch to be so strong…!' he admitted to himself. The moment he recovered, his eyes widened. Both Vi and Holy were lunging out at him, rearing their gauntleted fists back respectively. And he had no time to either dodge or counter.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" both women roared, striking him fiercely in his stomach as he gasped with agony. The meters on both armaments went into the red, unleashing a powerful force that blew the Oración Seis Galáctica member back instantaneously. He crashed into the wall in another flurry of dust. Both Holy and Vi breathed heavily. The former then let out a wince.

"My shoulder…" she groaned out.

"Thought you said you knew how to use that thing, princess," her new ally remarked with a wink, causing her to huff with a grin, "So what now?" she asked. Holy turned to her right.

"If what Cure said about Crow is true, then his main power source is that," she explained, pointing toward the machine at the other end of the room, "Destroying it should be simple enough," she affirmed, aiming her right hand out. All of a sudden though, cables shot down, wrapping around her arms and restraining them as she yelped. Vi attempted to rush to her aid, only to find up entrapped by the cables as well. They both grunted as they tried to pull themselves free, with the Ether lines upon the Oración Seis Interestelar member disappearing. "Damn it!" she cursed.

"Heheheheh…" Cure's voice chuckled as he slowly staggered out from the cloud of dust, completely regenerating the damage to his midsection, "I'll commend you for coming this far, Holy," he said as he walked over, "But you humans will never win," he affirmed confidently, "I shall be the victor… of both good and evil," he declared. The Melt Ether Gear user growled, but then noticed a rustling of the cables beyond the room.

"You really believe this is your way of justice?" she inquired of her foe, "That doing this will bring balance?" she questioned on.

"Of course," Cure answered, "Machines like myself will bring balance to the world," he proclaimed, "And humans will still exist, of course," he added assuredly, "We'd just be taking our rightful place as rulers over you," he affirmed on with a grin.

"You say that…" Holy began to respond, letting off a smirk, "yet you've forgotten how resilient us humans can be," she pointed out to his surprise. At that moment, Rika burst out from the bed of cables behind him, with two avatars torn asunder in her grasp. He turned and widened his eyes, followed by gasping as he caught a glance of Yuta below the cursed spirit. In a ready stance, the jujutsu sorcerer shot forward and landed a powerful slash across the chest of the Oración Seis Galáctica member, severing his body from the shoulders down. In that same instant, Kris leapt in over Rika.

"Skymech Ninjutsu…" he began, crossing his arms over his face as green Ether lines spread along them, "Windstorm Slash!" he roared, unleashing blades of wind that hacked through the cables restraining both Vi and Holy.

"No!" Cure yelled as he regenerated his body back together, turning around. Unfortunately, he was met with the red-haired woman rearing her gauntleted fist back. She struck him fiercely in an uppercut, sending him crashing into the ceiling as he gasped again.

"Hurry it up, princess!" she yelled to the Oración Seis Interestelar member, who nodded as she quickly aimed her right hand out at the machine, letting off a smirk.

"I do know what your power is, Cure," she pointed out to the android as he was regenerating his damaged body, causing him to perk up as his eyes widened, "And I know you can't regenerate two things at once…" she mentioned, closing her right hand into a fist as her Ether lines shined a bright violet. The machine started to melt apart before exploding in a gooey blast. "Melty Kiss," Holy said, looking up to see the grimace of frustration upon the Regeneration Ether Gear user's face, "I'm also aware that you have to regenerate things within a certain time they're destroyed," she noted further, "And given that you won't survive without regenerating your own body," she continued, "you're going to have to give up on Crow…" she declared. The Oración Seis Galáctica member growled.

"I think you've forgotten that Crow is my creation…" he said, causing the Melt Ether Gear user to blink in surprise. Cables shot out, attaching to his body.

"What's he doing…?" Yuta asked.

"Looks like he's fusing himself with Crow to become his power source…" Kris assumed in response, lunging forward, "Nice try!" he yelled, swiping his right arm to release a crescent-shaped blade of air toward the Oración Seis Galáctica member. However, he sneered, firing laser beams from his eyes to blast it away in a fiery blaze.

"I am Cure… and I am Crow…!" he proclaimed as he disappeared into the bed of cables above, "I am good… and I am evil!" he echoed on.

"CURE!" Holy roared angrily, aiming her right hand up, "You're not getting away!" she yelled. All of a sudden, there was a loud rumbling, causing her and the others to almost lose their balance.

"Now what?" Vi asked. Kris took notice of many wires breaking apart and small explosions erupting from the walls, along with the intensifying heat and smoke emitting.

"Looks like this place is starting to overheat…" he pointed out, "We don't get out of here soon, we'll get roasted alive!" he mentioned in panic.

"Then let's move!" Yuta insisted, "Miss!" he called out to Holy, who was still glaring upward.

"Damn you, Cure…!" she cursed, "If I don't kill you now, I'll never be able to—!" A hand then suddenly came upon her shoulder, causing her to stop talking as she turned her head to see Vi there.

"Doubt you wanna end up dead like he'll be, princess," she pointed out seriously to her surprise.

"I know the others will take care of the rest," Kris affirmed as he stepped forward.

"All of you…" the Oración Seis Interestelar member uttered out, letting her expression soften, "All right… let's move," she decided, earning nods in response from her colleagues.

X

Explosions were erupting all around Crow's body as smoke spewed from his mouth. From afar, Jessica and Jaime watched on with astonished expressions.

"The hell's happening to him?" the latter of the two asked.

"Looks like he's going out of control…" the Green Lantern answered, seeing her constructed clamps at the Oración Seis Galáctica member's feet shatter apart, "Hermit, you seeing this?!" she inquired into her communicator.

"Unfortunately..." the Mind of Edens answered as back upon the bridge of the upgraded Edens Zero, she grimaced, "His Ether levels just spiked again, even in Overdrive!" she pointed out.

"We got the main cannon ready to fire, but we can't do a thing without knowing that Jinn and Holy are out!" Upgrade mentioned as he popped his head up beside her.

"RRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Crow bellowed mightily, his voice sending shockwaves. It was enough to break Kleene's concentration as her torrent onto the titanic android ceased. She transformed back to normal, letting out a low groan before starting to fall. Fortunately, Torunn flew over to catch her, flying back toward the battleship alongside America, Atsuko, and Henry.

"Might have to be now or never!" the shrunken Avenger advised in a panic. Aboard the bridge, Hermit grimaced. She didn't want to make any sort of sacrifice, even as the situation was growing dire.

"Wait, there's signals coming out from Crow!" Connor alerted, causing the Mind of Edens to perk up. Emerging from a hole in the right leg of the titanic android were both a starfighter and the Steel Sorceress.

"Hermit, take the shot!" Kris' voice shouted out from the communication line.

"Right!" the Shining Star responded, prepared to press the button to use the main cannon upon her console. However, she took notice of something, along with the others. The hole in Crow's stomach was starting to regenerate.

"What in the world?!" America exclaimed.

"It's the same thing that happened with all the other attacks Crow took!" Henry pointed out in shock.

"A shot from the cannon won't work unless we've got a clear hit on the core…" Jessica realized with a grimace. At that moment, she spotted a black streak zip by her, being none other than Asta.

"SLASHER!" he bellowed. Floating beside him, his grimoire's pages flipped before shooting out a katana that the anti-magic user took hold of, gritting his teeth. A dark energy flowed off from the blade as he closed in on the closing hole. "You're getting off that easy!" he roared, holding his weapon over his head, "Infinite Slash…" he began, swinging his blade downward, "EQUINOX!" he echoed upon unleashed a massive, flying slash of dark energy. It struck the regenerating hole, causing it to remain open as the Ether lines building around it stopped glowing momentarily.

"Nice shot, Asta!" Atsuko complimented, earning a wink in response from her boyfriend as he grinned.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Crow cackled heartily, "WORTHLESS! INSIGNIFICANT!" he bellowed, firing off laser beams randomly from his eyes, destroying anything in sight. Aboard the Steel Sorceress, Holy glanced back.

'He's losing control of himself…' she realized inwardly.

"You humans can swarm all you like…" Cure's voice echoed out of the titanic android, "but you'll never be a match for the great Crow!" he proclaimed, stomping forward toward the Edens Zero, "You were all doomed to fail the moment you met me!" he yelled on, "I'll erase your pitiful lives… then bring them back just to do it all over again!" he declared, continuing to laugh.

"What a maniac…" Yuta commented while aboard the starfighter with Kris.

"He's not going to be wrong if we don't find a way to keep that hole to his core opened up," his cyborg colleague pointed out, seeing the gap in the titanic android starting to close up again. From within him, the merged Cure sneered. Victory was his for certain. Or so he thought.

"Yo," a familiar voice echoed out from above, belonging to none other than Eraser, who stood atop his starfighter as it hovered over the titanic android, "Erasing stuff's my job," he noted with a smirk.

"Eraser?!" Holy exclaimed in shock from the Steel Sorceress with Vi beside her.

"Friend of yours?" she presumed. The Oración Seis Interestelar member overhead made his blue Ether Gear markings shine along his body. His hair turned a pure white as he held up his right hand.

"This guy's pretty huge," he pointed out, "I doubt I can erase him all at once…" he admitted aloud, "But with a little help…" he continued, taking notice of Asta rocketing over with his Demon-Slasher still in hand. Eraser swiped his right arm. A white streak of light went across the titanic android's stomach, stopping the resumed regeneration. The anti-magic user bellowed as he slashed mightily from the opposite direction, keeping the Oración Seis Galáctica member from repairing himself.

"His core is still exposed, moscoy!" Mosco confirmed from the bridge of the Edens Zero.

"Nice!" Upgrade exclaimed excitedly. At that moment, both he and Hermit took notice of a holographic screen flashing on beside them. Upon it was Feather.

"Edens Zero, I've gone ahead and used your data link to upload the precise trajectory for your main cannon," she told them.

"Wait, what?" the Mechamorph uttered in surprise.

"You're… helping us?" Hermit inquired as she blinked.

"Please, hurry," the Oración Seis Interestelar member insisted, "Crow will still be able to unleash his attack if you do not act in time," she pointed out seriously.

"Hermit!" Connor yelled, catching the Shining Star's attention as she saw the building light within Crow's mouth.

"Kenny!" she quickly shouted.

"On it!" Upgrade responded, sinking back into the ship.

"THIS IS WHERE… YOUR LIVES WILL MEET THEIR END!" Cure's voice proclaimed from the titanic android, "IT'S A DEAD END FOR ALL OF YOU! YOU LOSE!" he bellowed on.

"The only one losing…" Asta's voice began as he rocketed down, bringing forth his Demon-Slayer Sword and enlarging it to a massive size as it crackled with black sparks of energy, "IS YOU!" he roared.

"FIRE!" Connor commanded from the bridge.

"For all of us, there's no dead end!" Hermit declared, shoving a lever forward. The mouth-like cannon at the front of the Edens Zero brimmed with a bright green light, as energy circles appeared before it as well. It then fired a massive beam. In that same moment, Asta brought his blade down cleanly through Crow's head, slicing it in half. The beam struck the exposed core. Explosions went off in a chain reaction. From within his body, Cure widened his eyes.

"Im…possible…!" he gasped out, yelling as he was caught up in the blast. The bright light that resulted from the explosion caused everyone to flinch as they shielded their eyes. Aboard the ship, Atsuko peeked out worriedly.

"Asta…" she uttered.

"Did we get him…?" Connor asked from the bridge. The dust was slow to settle. But as it did, there didn't seem to be a trace of Crow. In fact, everyone saw Asta looming overhead, flashing them all a toothy grin of reassurance.

"It seems victory is ours," Torunn confirmed with a smile.

"ALRIGHT!" Atsuko and Henry exclaimed. America huffed as she folded her arms over her chest with a grin, while Jessica took notice of Upgrade oozing out from the Edens Zero, groaning with exhaustion. In a flash of green light, he turned back into Kenny, who was slow to push himself up. Thankfully, his girlfriend helped get him onto his feet, followed by cupping his cheeks before passionately kissing him.

"Huh…" Kris exhaled with relief, while Yuta let out a little chuckle. Kleene had tears of joy in her eyes as she smiled, wiping them away. Everyone was relieved that the threat of Crow was finally neutralized. Holy exhaled from her Knight Gear.

"You okay, princess?" Vi asked.

"Sara…" she uttered out, "Your sister's fight… is finally over…" she noted aloud. The redheaded woman beside her huffed with a grin.

"Well, that's one down…" Hermit noted, standing up and stretching her arms, "Let's go," she beckoned to her colleagues in the bridge with her, much to their confusion.

"G-Go where?" Connor stuttered in question.

"The hangar," the Mind of Edens answered, "Homura and Inosuke are coming back, and I think you're gonna wanna see what they brought," she told him, causing him to blink in surprise. However, he adhered to her request, following her out with Mosco.

X

Shiki tumbled across the ground, crashing into another building in a flurry of dust. Things hadn't gotten better in his fight against his grandfather. No matter what attack he tried, his foe would always be able to counter with something stronger. As the dust settled, he could see his arms turning back to normal, causing him to gasp in surprise.

"No, not yet…!" he gasped out, only to suddenly be pulled forward by the force of gravity. He found himself stopped just inches away from Ziggy, unable to move as he was held up in midair.

"Three years since then…" he muttered out, "Did you really think that I wouldn't be prepared to face you, Shiki?" he inquired of his opponent, who gritted his teeth. He was forced back onto the ground, sliding back across it before coming to a stop. He breathed raggedly as blood dripped down his body.

"Ziggy…" he groaned out, trying to pick himself up. The Machine King flicked his right pointer finger down. A piece of debris suddenly fell out from the sky like a meteor. It came down and struck Shiki's left leg in an instant. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in pain, falling back down.

"Why would anyone lose to their past self?" the skull-faced android inquired rhetorically, "Especially when I have infinite power at my side…" he mentioned aloud.

"Ergh…!" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user winced out, grabbing his leg, "Is that why you went crazy…?!" he questioned, "'Cause of that stone?!" he inquired on.

"Enough," Ziggy said, holding his right hand out, "This is where you finally meet your end," he decided. At that moment, a figure raced in, being none other than Azari. However, the Machine King's eyes flashed blue before he turned and grabbed him by his neck.

"Azari!" Shiki gasped out, seeing his colleague try to claw his way free from his enemy's grasp.

"Azari T'Challa…" he uttered, tightening his grip, "I assume you too are here for this stone?" he presumed as a blue glow emitted from the mouth upon his chest, "With Ultron no longer able to take it himself, I don't see the reason to give it up anymore," he noted, "Besides, I've grown fond of it…" he admitted with a grin. The Wakandan prince growled, making blue electricity crackle around his body. It then shaped into the form of a panther, which roared in the face of Ziggy. "Pity," he grumbled. Just as the entity of lightning was about to strike, it dissipated instantaneously from a powerful shockwave. Both Azari and Shiki gasped in shock. "This is what happens when you face a true king, you kitten," the skull-faced android remarked, slamming his foe fiercely against the ground.

"AZARI!" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user yelled before tumbling back along the ground, coming to a stop upon his stomach. As the dust settled, it revealed the Wakandan prince groaning as he lied upon the ground. His helmet dematerialized, revealing the blood escaping his lips.

"How considerate of you to remove your helmet…" Ziggy noted, lifting up his right foot over his foe's head, "That'll make crushing your skull far easier," he mentioned, about to stamp down.

"STTTOOOOPPPPPPP!" Shiki screamed out. He knew he couldn't do anything in his current condition, tears pricking his eyes. He was about to see Ziggy be responsible for another friend's death. But then…

"Saint Louis Smash…" a familiar voice echoed, getting everyone's attention as they perked up, "AIR FORCE!" he bellowed as a pressurized rush of wind shot out, slamming into the skull-faced android and sending him sliding back away from Azari. He came to a stop, looking to see none other than Izuku land down with both Ochaco and Pino, as the latter hopped out of the One For All inheritor's arms.

"That's enough!" she yelled out to Ziggy, outstretching her little arms, "You won't be hurting my friends anymore!" she declared.

"Wha…?" Shiki uttered, "What are you guys doing here?!" he questioned in shock.

"We're here to help put an end to this," Izuku responded, while Ochaco tapped her fingertips against Azari, lightening his body for her to pick up.

"No, you gotta get away!" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user insisted, seeing his grandfather stomp towards them, "He's gonna kill us!" he proclaimed.

"Master," Pino uttered, getting his attention, "I believe this moment is the very one I was born for," she affirmed, clenching her fists.

My, what a cliffhanger to end on. But sadly, we've gone through quite a few too many battles for today. Even I've had my fill of them.

There's more to be told, though. We still have quite a few conflicts throughout Lendard still. Until then, I'll be seeing you!

END

Phoo… what a chapter. I think my favorite thing about adapting this sort of story is being able to add on flashbacks for characters who really needed it, like Cure and Holy. But along with that, I also got to use some of my favorites in a big, epic battle.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! We're down to six more, so I'll do my best to get them done! Thanks for reading!