Author's Notes: HUGE THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS ABOUT SKYCON! Seriously! I've received so many messages that I made this chapter as soon as possible, purely so I can give the shoutouts to the following users: EmmaPaul472, Janet Emily, carmel.c20067, Helena 8778, Lunapuresoul, zaraluxe24, Juliasimon77, GloriaCox109, eliza43e, 09098, and 557. Heck, most even offered to make my stories into a comic! There's just one problem. With me being unemployed, I don't have any money to pay back. There is, however, a solution: /kingtallzilla
Just $5, I will write micro-fics for any fandoms on any topics in 300-500 words. The first 3 will get double the word count. Do that, and maybe with enough money, I can talk about turning at least one of them into a comic. Thank you so much, and I hope you support me.
Kagutsuchi
Wind howled across the emptiness, carrying dust and echoes. A black coat whipped in the breeze, weathered and worn.—footsteps—slow, deliberate—crunched against broken stone. Ragna the Bloodedge stood alone, staring out over the horizon, where faint cracks shimmered like spiderwebs across the sky. His hair was longer now. His eyes were tired. He had returned. And he shouldn't have.
"...I wasn't supposed to come back, I was just a trace. A ghost."
And yet—he existed. Not fully erased. Something called to him. The sky cracked. An otherworldly roar shook the air—an unholy mix of Nox machinery, Shadows, and arcane anomalies surged through the split like a floodgate unleashed.
Ragna sighed. "...Figures. I try to disappear, and trouble still finds me."
He clenched his fist, and with no grand speech, no dramatic declaration, Ragna turned and ran headfirst into the breach, his silhouette swallowed by the light.
"One more time, huh…?"
The Phantom Zone
There was no air. No time. No direction. Only stillness. Rachel Alucard floated in a place beyond cause and effect—an endless white nothing, like the paused breath of a dying universe. Her parasol hung at her side, unopened. Her eyes were closed. She had chosen this. To sleep where her Observer role would no longer bind her. To forget the weight of timelines, of tragedies she could no longer shape. And then—a ripple. It started as a whisper. A memory long buried. A name.
"Rag...na."
Rachel's eyes fluttered open. She saw Gii and Nago as if waking from a nightmare. With them came a flood of vision: a Keystone shattering, Valkenhayn's defeated state, Carl's invasion of her castle, portals, voices, lost ones returning. And Ragna—alive again in a world that should not know him, now getting beaten up, as confirmed by her returning Observer powers.
"...You fool. You came back." "Gii, Nago." Her familiars turned to her. "We must go. Now." WARP!
Cold wind rushed through shattered windows. Dust danced in empty office corridors. Flickering lights above buzzed like insects, giving off a sterile white glow. Yu Narukami awoke lying on a cracked tile floor. His head throbbed—not from impact, but from emptiness. Names teased the edge of memory. Faces. Voices. Gone before he could grasp them. He sat up, eyes narrowing as he looked around. The room was unfamiliar, but intact—an abandoned office or apartment. Yet something felt… off. He stood slowly, brushing dust off his uniform. He still had his Persona compendium, his card case, and Izanagi's presence lingered faintly inside him, like a hand waiting to be held. But there were no allies beside him. No Yosuke. No Chie. No Yukiko. No one. Just silence.
"...Where am I?"
A sudden tremor shook the building. He moved to the window and looked outside. The city stretched into the horizon, but pieces of it were floating, disconnected. Skyscrapers dangled at odd angles, connected by metallic roots and broken shadow matter. Down in the streets below, Voids slithered, Nox units patrolled, and Grimm prowled side by side with Shadows. Yu's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. His eyes narrowed.
"It doesn't matter where this is." He slid a card between his fingers. Izanagi shimmered into view for a moment—then vanished, awaiting command. "I'll find the others… even if I don't remember who they are." "PERSONA!"
The sky overhead glowed a dull crimson, as if stuck at the moment before nightfall. Half-frozen clouds hovered above a maze of silent, cracked streets. Streetlamps flickered even though nothing powered them. A figure stirred from beneath a collapsed bus stop. Hyde Kido slowly sat up, groaning.
"Ugh… feels like I got hit by a Void twice over…"
He looked around, blinking at the broken skyline. There were buildings here—some intact, some floating sideways—but no voices, no footsteps, no signs of life. He reached for his back—The Insulator was still there. Good. At least they didn't take that. He stood and instinctively reached for his communicator. Static. Dead. No Linne. No Waldstein. No Vatista. Not even Yuzuriha picking up. Nothing. A cold breeze swept through the hollow streets, bringing with it the smell of scorched steel and old blood. That's when he noticed it—movement. Down the road, hunched figures dragged themselves along the edge of reality. Shadows. Voids. Blitzsoldiers. All mixed like a dish made by someone who'd never read the recipe. Hyde's grip on the Insulator tightened. He didn't know who he was supposed to protect anymore. He didn't remember the mission or the others. But he remembered this:
"If they're hurting people… I stop them."
He flicked his jacket back and stepped forward into the failing light.
A single red petal drifted through the air, carried by an unnatural breeze across the surface of an empty battlefield. Then came a sudden gust, followed by a crack in the atmosphere. From it, a torrent of red petals hit the ground like a meteor. Dust and petals were scattered. Ruby Rose coughed, staggering as she pushed herself off the ground. Her cloak was torn, her fingers scraped. She clutched Crescent Rose, still intact, still loaded. Her eyes scanned the empty field, desolate, unfamiliar. Broken weapons and faded banners lay trapped mid-motion in the air, as if time had half-frozen the moment they fell. No Weiss. No Blake. No Yang. No team.
"...Guys? Where are you…?"
Nothing answered but the wind. She clutched her weapon tightly, trying to focus, but her mind was fogged. She remembered how to fight, how to run, how to lead…But not who she led. She turned sharply as something skittered across the edge of the field. Black mist crawled between shattered flags. In the distance, Grimm stalked beneath a floating building. They weren't alone. Behind them: Shadows, and even a twisted Drexler drone, dragging an Arcana-forged chain. Ruby narrowed her eyes. Her hand brushed the trigger of Crescent Rose.
"Whoever you are... you're not gonna stop me from finding them."
And with a crack of red light, she vanished into motion, petals exploding behind her as she charged into the dark.
Petals swirled gently in the air, untouched by gravity. The grass was only half-real—parts of it blinked like a dying screen, stuck between animation frames. In the center stood Heart Aino, fists clenched at her sides, eyes bright with tears—but not fear. She knew this feeling. She'd been through it before. Nitroplus. The dimensional collapse. Fighting side by side with strangers who felt like friends. But this was worse. She looked up at the bleeding sky. Cracked. Crying. Calling out.
"First Mildred… now Weiss… and the Arcana are silent." Her Arcana, Partinias, hovered beside her, dimmer than usual. "I remember them all. Saki, Mei-Fang, even Konoha… but they're not here. Not yet."
She looked down at the floating platform of reality beneath her feet, already fragmenting. Then she saw them. Shadows, Voids, and Yoma, prowling the outskirts. A lone Grimm howled in the distance, joined by a corrupted Drexler construct dragging its broken limbs. Heart exhaled slowly while smiling.
"No matter how far the world falls apart, I'll keep fighting until we're all back together. That's a promise!"
She raised her fists, her gloves pulsing with Arcana light. Partinias flared behind her, realigning with the will of her soul. Then Heart dashed forward, launching into the fray with explosive force, pink trails streaking through the air.
"Let's go, Partinias! We've got hearts to protect!"
The air smelled of ash and cherry blossoms. Asuka slowly pushed herself up from a crater in the stone floor. The shattered remains of a torii gate loomed over her, glowing faintly with otherworldly energy. She looked around. No Yumi. No Homura. No Miyabi. Not even another Hanzo girl. But her ninja blade was still in hand, and the fire in her heart still burned.
"This isn't the first time I've been scattered. I'll find my way. No matter what."
She moved toward a nearby hill, only to stop when she spotted strange creatures creeping through the shrine grounds. Voids. Grimm. Shadows. Their shapes flickered like broken illusions. Her instincts screamed danger, but her resolve never wavered. She drew her blade, eyes narrowing.
"Even if I don't know where I am..." "I still know what I fight for."
She leapt into the moonlit air, blade drawn, ready for battle.
Flakes of frozen light drifted through the air, dancing around Yumi as she stood alone atop a hill of glassy snow. The world here had no sound, no wind—only tension. Like a breath forever held. She wrapped her arms around herself, not out of cold, but absence.
"Where's...everyone..."
She looked around. No sign of the others. Only a rift in the distance is slowly closing. It pulsed with strange magic, and beasts roamed its edges: Yoma, corrupted Arcana, Blitzsoldiers—all hunting. She drew her folding fan and stood tall.
"If the world has scattered us… Then I will carve a path through it to find them."
She closed her eyes. Snow swirled. "Watch over me, Kurokage." She advanced into the snowstorm, a trail of frost following behind her.
Akatsuki emerged from a heap of shattered rebar, fists clenched, breath slow and measured. Sparks crackled in the air as unnatural lightning rippled across the sky. He rose to his feet, brushing ash from his uniform.
"...Another battlefield."
The base around him looked vaguely familiar—military, concrete, scorched from within—but it was impossible to tell which reality it belonged to. Signs were half-erased. Lights flickered as if trying to remember they were supposed to exist. He scanned for comrades. None. No Blitzkampf units. No allies from Under Night. Not even Eltnam. Just silence. Then came the sound—marching, but wrong. Inhuman. He turned to see a legion of mixed enemies: Blitzsoldiers, distorted Nox constructs, Drexler drones, and shadow-things too undefined to name. All advancing in unison like they shared a pulse. Akatsuki exhaled, rolled his shoulders, and dropped into a stance.
"Doesn't matter who you are. If you threaten this world... you'll be silenced."
His gauntlet flickered with electricity as a storm of lightning burst around him. He charged. Alone. Again.
The ground shook as lightning split the air above the wreckage. Rail cars dangled from warped rails, suspended mid-collapse. Smoke choked the sky, and sparks leapt from dead power lines like dying fireflies. From a pile of collapsed debris, a fist slammed upward, clearing metal and stone in a blast of heat and blood. Naoto Kurogane rose. Breathing hard. Head throbbing. His coat was torn. But he was alive. Barely. He staggered to his feet and looked around. The world felt wrong, distorted. Familiar and alien all at once.
"Where the hell...?"
He instinctively checked for Es—nothing. The silence hit harder than the collapse. The smell of blood was everywhere. His own... and others'.
"No. She was with me. She—"
He froze. His head buzzed. Names were missing. Faces half-formed. He remembered loss, but not who he'd lost. He remembered Ragna—but not why it burned so deeply. And then… the sky tore open again. A shimmering scar in reality. He saw a face that made his eyes widen in fury. Ragna the Bloodedge. Alive and well.
"You. You're not supposed to be here. Not again." His red arm pulsed. "If this world fell apart because of you, then I'll be the one to end it." Naoto charged at that face.
The streets were silent. Ragna the Bloodedge walked through the crumbling remains of a city that looked like Kagutsuchi—but the angles were wrong, the lights didn't flicker, and the sky was… bleeding. Pieces of other cities floated overhead like puzzle pieces waiting to be forced together. He paused beneath a warped streetlamp.
"This isn't the world I left behind…"
He didn't know why he was back. He shouldn't be. Not after that choice. Not after giving it all up. Footsteps. He turned, and three Shadow-fused Voids lunged from the fog, screeching like rewound tape. Their forms twisted like bad memories. Ragna didn't hesitate. He surged forward. Stabs. Slashes. Chops—critical strikes in brutal precision. No Drive, no flashy magic. Just experience. Just instinct. The last one burst in a puff of data. He exhaled, staring at his own bloodied blade.
Feels the same. But nothing is."
He stood still for a beat, gaze drifting to the crimson crack hanging above like a judgment.
"If I am back… what the hell am I supposed to do now?"
*THUD!*
A heavy impact hit the rooftop behind him. Dust kicked up. A silhouette stepped forward, with clenched fists.
"Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing."
The voice rang out from behind. Naoto Kurogane stepped into view, eyes narrowed, blood arm already active.
"You," Ragna said out of recognition.
"You just couldn't stay gone, could you? You were supposed to be finished. You chose to erase yourself. Why come back now?"
"I didn't ask to come back."
Naoto's rage boiled. "Doesn't matter. You being here—you existing—is enough to throw the whole damn multiverse into chaos!" Ragna was silent. "Raquel told me everything about you—Ragna the Central Fiction, the Bloodedge. You're the one who drew everything together, even when it was supposed to fall apart. Your story should have ended, but you had to claw your way back." His voice cracked with anger. "Because of you, all of my loved ones are in danger again!"
"And you think I wanted this?! I gave it all up to make sure the world could move on! But if not even that can keep the universe in peace…" Ragna stretched his arms out. "...Then maybe I deserve whatever comes next."
Naoto clenched his fist, dashed forward, and landed a punch.
*PUNCH!*
Ragna didn't even block. Not because he couldn't—but because in his mind, he was cursed. Cursed to be a source of grief, guilt, and rage. And Naoto refused to let go of the pain.
*PUNCHING!*
Naoto kept hitting him, each blow sending shockwaves through the fractured ground. "Why are we here?! Why is Raquel gone?! Why is Es fighting for her life in a world that shouldn't exist anymore?!"
Elsewhere, atop a crumbled wall, Rachel Alucard watched.
"Nago."
"Already on it, Mistress."
Nago transformed into a parasol.
"Gii…"
"Y-Ye-Yes, Mistress?"
"What you did back at the castle was beyond reckless and stupid. Had the invasion not occurred, I would have inflicted a much more brutal punishment. But for now, I'll settle for having you as a projectile."
Gii sighed. "Yes, Mistress."
Rachel clutched Nago tightly. Her eyes shimmered—not with pity, but with understanding. "This time… I won't stand back."
*THWACK!*
She slammed Gii like a baseball.
"You broke my world… and brought chaos with you—"
*SMASH!*
Gii crashed into Naoto's head, staggering him.
*THUD!*
Naoto landed hard. Then Rachel descended, parasol open, face tired. Ragna blinked. "Rabbit?"
"Enough, both of you." She raised her hand. A barrier pulsed, pushing them apart. "Naoto. Ragna's return wasn't what caused this. It was what followed. The Keystone. Gii. Carl. And System XX."
"Keystone? System XX?" Naoto asked.
"Give us a more elaborate explanation, Rabbit," Ragna said.
Rachel nodded. "When I was made an Observer, my father used all his resources to create a machine that would surpass even our powers. That machine is called System XX, powered by a powerful jewel called the Keystone."
"So it was supposed to do your job—but better?"
"The machine worked. Too well. It didn't just observe possibilities—it created them. Entire new realities."
"And that's bad, how? As long as it's not destroying this one—"
"Tch." Ragna cut in. "You're green, huh, kid?"
Naoto clenched his teeth. "Don't want to hear that from you, you white-haired bastard!"
Rachel glared at him. "Naoto, this might be one of the few times I agree with Ragna." Ragna folded his arms. "Have you forgotten what just one Susano'o did to this world? Imagine multiple."
Naoto and Ragna both shuddered.
"And another thing," Rachel continued, "Ragna isn't the Central Fiction anymore. He's just another survivor—like us. None of us should be here. But we are… because of me."
Naoto and Ragna froze.
"You caused this?" Naoto barked. "YOU!?"
Ragna interjected, "Hold on. Rabbit's too careful for that."
He turned to her. "What happened?"
Rachel's eyes narrowed. "It was Carl Clover."
Naoto blinked. "Carl? That kid from Sector Seven?"
"Not a kid anymore. He's building a war. He kidnapped my successor, invaded my castle, and even defeated Valkenhayn. In desperation… Gii shattered the Keystone to stop him."
"Why?! Why go so far?!"
"He didn't want to destroy the multiverse. He wanted the Keystone… to revive Ada. His sister. And to destroy the Boundary—to make sure no other soul would ever be exploited again."
Ragna's eyes widened. "Shit."
Naoto added, "Wait… Raquel told me about the Azure wish. Carl was one of the chosen… and you denied it, didn't you?" Ragna looked away. Naoto laughed bitterly. "Didn't even have to answer. You lost your Saya—and still turned your back on him?"
That lit Ragna's fuse. "Alright, brat. Now you're starting to piss me off."
Rachel stepped between them. "Blame whoever you want. But the Keystone's shattered. The multiverse is unraveling. And what we're seeing now… isn't a consequence. It's correction." She looked between them. "We fight together—or we all vanish."
The two stared each other down. Then finally— "…Tch. One shot," Naoto muttered. "I'm not doing this for him." He turns to Ragna "You want to fix this? Then stop being a story… and start being a person."
Ragna sighed. "I didn't want anyone else pulled in. But I'm here now. And I'm not walking away."
Rachel gave a faint smile. "Good. We'll start there."
And for the first time in this fractured world…A team was formed.
The sky screamed. Cracks spiderwebbed across the firmament, leaking color—red, blue, green, memories. A spark. A heartbeat. A body formed. Piece by piece. Red Hat. Flame-colored hair. Nine, the Phantom collapsed to one knee, gasping like it was her first breath. Next to her, glowing gold hexagons spun—materializing into a warm white cloak and soft brown hair, with a robot next to her.
"Celica?"
Celica A. Mercury blinked as her hand gripped space. "Minerva?! You're still with me..."
Minerva nods and the two look at the shock Nine with her flame flickering, and eyes watering. "This shouldn't be possible. I was gone. You were gone."
"But we're here," Celica whispered with tears in her eyes.
They looked up. A massive rift overhead. Celica uses the power of order and gets an intense headache.
"GAH!"
"Celica!"
Nine rushes to her side. "The world's...breaking...I can feel it."
Looking at the rift, they see a swirling convergence point where shadows, machines, beasts, and timelines are bleeding together. Minerva picks up Celica princess style and carries her to Nine. They both understand Minerva's intentions.
"Minerva...You...Want us to run?"
Minerva slowly nods
Nine's eyes hardened. "No. We're not running. Not this time."
Celica smiles, "If we're back... We'll help set things right."
Minerva put down Celica, and they all stepped forward—sisters, restored not by magic or science, but by a universe breaking apart.
Author's Notes: At last, the real fun has begun. Now, before I close this chapter, I want to set up a few ground rules for a story as unique as this one.
1. All stories from the following franchises (BlazBlue, Persona, Under Night, RWBY, Arcana Heart, Senran, and Akatsuki) will be rendered non-canonical from this one unless it's stated otherwise. The reason for this is that I don't want to cause any continuity errors regarding my works (especially regarding shipping)
2. Because this work technically has the most MASSIVE cast of all of my stories to date, (due to being a crossover, obviously), the main focus of the story will be every single playable character in Cross Tag Battle. Characters like Carl (and Nirvana) and Asuka are an exception, albeit for two different reasons. For Carl, it's because at the end of CF, he was the only one who didn't get a happy ending, a perfect way to set him up as a villain for a sequel. As for Asuka, well, let's just say that as a guy who has SERIOUS mixed feelings about franchises like Senran, even I have to say that snubbing your main protagonist a crossover invitation was pretty uncool.
3. And this is the most important one out of all of them. Because BlazBlue has a nox-nytoriously complicated story, I decided to headcannon this video as the BlazBlue storyline: /c37s3BA4i8E?si=1veWDj_GeQCQUxUC
Let me make this clear, though: the link does NOT belong to me. It belongs to a video game fighting reviewer named Thorgi. That video is the sole reason why I had enough confidence to even make a BlazBlue sequel in the first place. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even touch it, and the crazy part is that despite its length, it's supposed to be the Cliffnotes version. THAT'S how crazy the plot is. So I'm not kidding when I say that I HEAVILY recommend watching that link; and as always, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you next time.
(One last thing before I go, thanks to the positive reception from SkyCon, I decided to cross-post my two unfinished stories onto this site.)