Hey folks! Welcome back to "Space"! You can think of this chapter as the climax to this epic ordeal, as I'm excited for us to get into a lot for the rest of this story. That said, do expect some chapters to be a little shorter from now on. I've carefully made sure that I'm adapting two chapters at most from the canon material. But the add-ons should help make up for everything.
We've still got a lot to get through before the end of this story, so let's get right into it!
SPACE
Throughout all the conflicts on Lendard, one of the more troubling battles was against Deadend Crow, the Eternal Titan. Or rather, Cure of the Oración Seis Interestelar. As it turned out, he was a mastermind behind many of the evils that plagued the cosmoses for many years, proclaiming it was his way of making balance as he and his colleagues would snuff out the darkness he created.
Thanks to our heroes, that darkness of his creation has been snuffed out for good. With Crow destroyed, our heroes now have one less problem to concern themselves with. Or do they…?
"Huh… huh…" Holy breathed out tiredly from her Knight Gear. Her vision was growing hazy as blood dripped from her wound, creating a small puddle on the metal floor. Beside her, Vi took notice.
"Hey," she said, trying to get the Oración Seis Interestelar member's attention, "let's get back and get you patched up," she advised insistently. The Melt Ether Gear user ignored her.
"Feather, is Crow gone for good?" she inquired of her colleague. Aboard her starfighter, the Eye of Venus Ether Gear user's eyes flashed gold as lines streaked across them.
"I'm able to determine that Crow's body is eradicated," she confirmed in response, "However…" she continued, making Holy perk up from the Steel Sorceress, "I do detect that Cure himself is still alive," she said. Without a moment of hesitation, the Melt Ether Gear flew her vessel downward. Vi sighed.
"Guess that's enough of a reason…" she grumbled out. Meanwhile, Hermit, Connor and Mosco were walking through the halls of the Edens Zero. The portly man was somewhat anxious. Even with the titanic android destroyed, there was still the Interstellar Union Army to worry about. Their presence made things a bit less comforting.
"We don't need to worry about the army," the Mind of Edens assured, getting his attention, "They would've attacked by now," she pointed out.
"Quite right," Eraser's voice chimed in, appearing upon a holographic screen beside her, "We're not gonna try and fight you today," he promised, earning a glance of suspicion from the Shining Star.
"Eraser, you knew who Cure really was?" Holy communicated in question.
"We only just found out ourselves," her dark-haired colleague responded.
"The members of the Oración Seis Interestelar rarely ever meet in person," Feather chimed in, "Our councils are always held online," she pointed out, "and during our joint operations, we've only spoken via comm channels from our individual ships," she explained further, "I never had any reason to look into my allies' locations until today," she admitted.
"So you figured out the bastard wasn't on his own damn ship," Vi concluded.
"Yeah, it was unmanned," Eraser confirmed in reply.
"In fact, Cure's exact coordinates shared the same location as Crow," Feather mentioned, "And that location hasn't changed… for thirteen years," she added on, making Holy tense up as she gripped the throttles of the Knight Gear tightly as it descended into the dissipating cloud of dust.
"So you guys are saying that the whole time this 'Cure' was in the government's army, he was also Deadend Crow?" Laguna inquired from his starfighter.
"I'm having trouble making sense of that…" Yuno admitted aloud.
"Yeah, he's been working with someone who has basically the same power as Noah," Kris chimed in while aboard his own vessel with Yuta, "You should know exactly where everyone is," he recalled on.
"So then how did he never get caught?" the jujutsu sorcerer wondered as he blinked.
"That was a failure on my part," Feather ashamedly admitted, while her starfighter streaked across the sky. Eraser exhaled a sigh.
"Come on, guys…" he muttered, "Let's not go blaming Feather for this," he advised of his allies, "None of us figured it out," he noted, "That makes us all stupid," he said bluntly.
"Stupid…?" Feather repeated aloud over the communication line, appearing upon a holographic screen behind her fellow Oración Seis Interestelar member.
"Besides, Cure had taken steps to ensure that Feather couldn't find him," Eraser pointed out, "When Holy and the others started busting him up from the inside, his camouflage shield went down," he explained as the Melt Ether Gear user landed her Knight Gear upon the ground.
"Still, this was a result of my own negligence," Feather admitted from her ship, "If I had taken an interest in my friends, then…" she continued, only to stop herself.
"If you took no interest in your friends in the first place… can you really call them that?" Hermit questioned back. The Eye of Venus Ether Gear user opened her eyes in contemplation.
"Hermy, let's not blame anyone for this!" Kleene insisted over the communication line, having just arrived in the hangar with Torunn, Atsuko, Henry, America, Jessica, Jaime, and Asta, "Crow's been defeated, and that's what matters!" she affirmed.
"Well, you're half-right," Eraser chimed in over the intercom, causing everyone to perk up, "Cure's still alive, in case you didn't hear," he pointed out while re-boarding his starfighter, checking a few of the holographic screens, "Luckily for us, his Ether levels are too low to be of any threat," he mentioned reassuringly, "Holy, you've got it from here, right?" he presumed of his colleague, who had the Knight Gear kneel down, allowing for her and Vi to disembark from it.
"Of course," she responded, closing her gauntleted hand into a fist. She and the redheaded woman walked forward as the dust settled, revealing a figure lying upon the ground. Narrowing her eyes, the Melt Ether Gear user could see that it was Cure. Most of his body was charred and torn asunder, with both of his legs and left arm completely gone. Half of his face was burned beyond recognition. Vi could see that the Ether lines he was able to manifest were weakly flickering along his right arm. He turned his head, seeing the two women approach. He breathed out a chuckle.
"You actually did it…" he pointed out, "You snuffed out Crow's darkness, Holy…" he said. The Melt Ether Gear user took a deep breath through her nose.
"I snuffed out your darkness, Cure," she retorted, "I don't care what kind of justification you have for the evil you did, whether it was to restore some sort of 'balance' or make us 'shine brighter' when we stopped it…" she told him, "However long you've done this, I hope you suffer ten times as much of that…" she snarled out.
"Hahaha…" the android laughed weakly, "Yet you can't deny that this too will make the army shine even brighter…" he noted, "I've done you all a great service over these years…" he proclaimed, making Holy clench her teeth angrily, "And I could create more darkness for you all to snuff out!" he added in declaration, "It'll be the perfect balance for the cosmoses!" he yelled, "We'll all be—!" Before he could say another word, his head was crushed as Vi slammed her gauntleted fist onto it. The Melt Ether Gear user let out a light gasp in surprise at the action. The energy lines that were flickering along Cure's hand disappeared completely. Standing up, the redheaded woman swiped her right arm to the side, ridding her gauntlet of the oil that would've stained it.
"If you weren't gonna do it, I was," she pointed out to her colleague, "I mean, he killed your sister and your dad, right?" she inquired of her, causing her to blink in surprise before thinking back to her family. She lowered her head sadly.
"I had an impression that Cure could be forcibly reprogrammed, but…" she started to say, exhaling a sigh, "Hermit's right," she affirmed, "He was never really our friend," she said.
"Hey, don't go beating yourself up, princess," Vi insisted as she turned to walk past the Oración Seis Interestelar member, "We still got our big win at the end of the day," she pointed out, putting her left hand onto her shoulder, "And you got to avenge your family," she mentioned. Blinking in surprise, Holy gave off a little smile. "Now come on, we gotta get you fixed up," the redheaded woman advised, heading toward the Knight Gear.
"Wait," the Melt Ether Gear user said, causing her to stop and glance back, "Through all this chaos… I never got your name…" she pointed out curiously. Her colleague smirked.
"It's Vi," she responded. Holy chuckled.
"What a charming name for such a brutish woman," she remarked. At that moment, she started to feel faint as she toppled forward. Luckily, Vi caught her. She let off a chuckle of her own.
"I'll take that as a compliment, princess," she said, lifting her up and carrying her back to the Knight Gear.
X
"Yuno!" Kleene cried out as she saw her boyfriend be helped out of the starfighter that had arrived in the Edens Zero hangar by Laguna. Running over, the Wind Snatch Ether Gear user immediately embraced her boyfriend as he grunted in surprise. However, he smiled, rubbing the back of her head gently as she whimpered into his chest.
"Hey!" Sylph shouted while floating over, "Yuno's hurt, ya know!" she pointed out angrily, tugging at Kleene's hair to try and pull her away. Reaching over, Laguna pinched her wings and yanked her off in a yelp. "Hey, lemme go!" she insisted.
"So, where's Sister?" he asked of his colleagues, ignoring the wind spirit.
"On her way, I think," Jessica answered, crouched beside her groaning boyfriend on the floor, "Hate that we have to give her more work after the crap she went through earlier…" she admitted aloud. In the meantime, Kris' starfighter arrived as well, docking down before both he and Yuta disembarked.
"And without Mimosa here, healing will be much more strenuous for her…" Torunn mentioned.
"Hey, I'm the one who got Asta back on his feet!" Atsuko pointed out emphatically.
"Yeah, and thanks for that, Akko…" her boyfriend responded, having transformed back to normal himself, "But…" he continued as he rubbed the back of his head, "your healing spell only got me at most a few minutes of stamina…" he admitted to the witch's shock. She lowered her head sadly.
"Well… it worked at least…" she mumbled out.
"All of us could use a breather…" America noted as she rolled her right shoulder. At that moment, she and the others overheard a rumble. They looked to see the Steel Sorceress entering the hangar, though it wound up crashing into the wall and collapsing to the ground.
"Wh-What the heck?!" Henry yelped out as the others looked on in confusion. The port to the piloting section opened with a spray of smoke. Exiting from it with the fainted Holy being carried in her gauntleted arms was Vi.
"Hey, where's the doc?" she asked.
"Vi!" Jessica exclaimed in surprise, "Wh…When did you get here?" she asked.
"Ring, you really wanna worry about that right now?" the redheaded woman questioned back rhetorically.
"R-Right, sorry…" the Green Lantern stuttered in apology.
"Yo!" a familiar voice called out, enticing everyone to look over and see Sister walking in, "Anybody need a quick pick-me-up?" she inquired, having a basket of what looked like soda cans in her right arm.
"Are those… energy drinks?" America inquired with an arched eyebrow.
"It's medicine," the Shining Star responded, tossing her a can, "It's basically my Ether in a condensed form that acts as a restorative," she pointed out, passing more of the medicine out to others whom she assumed would need it, "Not a cure-all, by the way," she mentioned, "But it'll at least be a good painkiller," she affirmed, tossing a can over to Yuno. Laguna caught it for him.
"You're going to tend to Yuno and Holy then?" he presumed.
"Yeah, after I get settled with another patient first," Sister replied with her hands at her hips.
"Who could be hurt more than those two look?" Jessica asked while helping Vi tend to Holy. At that moment, the group heard another rumble. They looked to see the Warrior Maid 95 enter, carrying five vats.
"What the hell?" America said with an arched eyebrow as the Knight Gear landed. It gently set down the capsules. The others widened their eyes at the sight of the naked women within them.
"What in the world is going on here…?" Torunn asked aloud as the door slid open, with Hermit, Connor and Mosco entering.
"Good, you made it back safe," she noted toward the Knight Gear. Inside, Homura nodded, while Inosuke groaned behind her.
"Wanna fill us in on what's going on, Hermit?" Jessica insisted, "Who are these women?" she asked.
"Wait…" Torunn uttered, approaching one of the vats in particular, containing Kurenai, "That's… your mother, Homura!" she exclaimed in shock.
"What?!" Henry yelped, while some others gasped.
"To put it simply, part of Ziggy's plan to find Mother involved taking Ether from those that had the power to give life, being mothers," Hermit explained, "The ones you see here…" she continued, "are the mothers of those who live on the ship," she confirmed to everyone's shock.
"Wait… then that means…" Kris uttered as he approached one of the vats alongside Yuta. Kleene jogged over herself, widening her eyes before clasping her hands over her mouth.
"That's… our mother!" she gasped out, tearing up.
"MOS?!" Moscoy exclaimed in shock.
"Is it… really her?" the Wind Rage Ether Gear user inquired, "I mean… there's no way…" he uttered out as he trembled. Yuta put a hand onto his shoulder. Laguna was also shaken, seeing his own parent in her capsule.
"Mum…" he said, "But she was dead…" he pointed out, closing his hands into fists, "So Ziggy's been collecting our dead mothers for his plans?" he assumed of Hermit, who nodded.
"And there's also Weisz and Homura's mothers," she noted to the group.
"Then… what about that one?" Jessica asked, pointing toward the vat containing Nox, "Is that… Rebecca's mom?" she guessed. The Mind of Edens merely nodded. Meanwhile, Connor was sweating madly as he stared at the particular vat. He slowly started to approach it, reaching his gloved hands out.
"Rachel…?" he uttered, causing everyone to perk up in surprise, "What are you…? How did you…?" he tried to ask, pressing his hands against the vat.
"What's wrong, old man…?" Asta asked in concern.
"That there is Rebecca's mother," Hermit confirmed as a response, "She's the only one who's still alive," she mentioned.
"She's alive?!" Jessica repeated out of shock.
"Then we should free her from that capsule!" Torunn declared as she held out her sword.
"Wait," Vi said, causing her to stop. She then turned her focus onto Connor. "How do you know her?" she asked of him.
"Alright, step back, people," Sister advised as she went over, picking up the vat easily, hoisting it over her left shoulder before carrying it off, "I'm taking her to the infirmary," she confirmed.
"W-Wait!" the portly man stammered as he was prepared to follow, "She's—!"
"Your wife, I know," the Life of Edens interjected to his surprise. Everyone widened their eyes in shock.
"Wait… then that means…!" Jessica started to exclaim.
"Connor is Rebecca's father," Hermit said with a nod of her head. The ship's captain lowered his head with shame.
"He's… her dad?" America inquired with shaking eyes.
"But they don't even look alike!" Asta pointed out emphatically.
"That's not how genetics work, Asta…" Yuno muttered. Connor trembled.
"You…You knew…?" he inquired of Hermit.
"That doesn't matter, Mister Connor!" Kleene shouted as she stepped forward, "Why didn't you tell Rebecca?!" she asked of both him and the Mind of Edens.
"We were hoping Connor would've told her himself…" the latter replied, putting her hands onto her hips. The portly man groaned with discomfort.
"I…" he tried to say, still trembling.
"Look, let's save it for after we're done with all this shit," Vi advised.
"Exactly," Sister agreed, "Don't worry, I'll get your wife back to life," she promised to Connor, who kept his gaze lowered as she departed the hangar.
"Rachel…" he uttered. At that moment, a holographic screen flashed on beside Hermit.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything important, Edens Zero," Eraser remarked in greeting.
"Guessing this means you're actually not done with us…" the Mind of Edens assumed, folding her arms over her chest.
"Afraid not," the Oración Seis Interestelar member responded, "Cure might've been taken care of, but there's still God Acnoella and Ziggy left to deal with," he pointed out, "We're heading to join Justice in stopping the former first," he told the group, "Come along when you can," he insisted, "I'm sure your friends'll need all the help they can get…" he noted with a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah…" Hermit grumbled repeatedly, "Our ship's a bit dinged up, but we'll be able to fly again soon," she affirmed.
"I can head there in advance," Homura chimed in to everyone's surprise.
"Homura, wait a sec…" the Mind of Edens said, "Pino told us you and Inosuke were pretty banged up and—"
"As long as this battle isn't over, we have to fight," the Soul Blade Ether Gear user insisted, interrupting her colleague, "I'm sorry, but I can't stand by as my friends are fighting for the sake of the cosmoses," she stated firmly, gripping the throttles of her Knight Gear.
"Homura…" Hermit uttered.
"What about Inosuke?" Jessica asked.
"I wanna keep fighting, too!" the demon slayer roared out, "If everyone else is, so should I!" he declared on. Vi let out a chuckle.
"Then I guess we've got your answer," she concluded. The Mind of Edens sighed.
"At least take some Sister Energies for yourselves," she advised of the pair, who both nodded. Moments later, the Warrior Maid 95 departed, soaring across the skyline after the army starfighters. "Huh…" Hermit exhaled, "Okay, let's get the ship up and running," she insisted of the others, "Before we help the Union Army, we should probably pick up the group at the main factory," she affirmed, earning nods in response from her colleagues. Meanwhile, Connor stared down at the floor in deep contemplation. A lot was on his mind with his wife being here. And now that the secret of him being Rebecca's father was out…
'Rebecca…' he uttered inwardly.
X
Sitting up against the wall with her legs tucked in to her chest, Rebecca was left with a lot to think about. She looked out at the thousands of vats containing mothers from all across the cosmoses. Some were probably alive before Ziggy had found them, as her mother was evidence of that. And it pained her to know that all of them would be erased almost instantaneously if a Chronophage were to appear.
"You alright, Bluegarden?" Shoto asked as he approached, getting her attention. She lowered her head for a moment.
"Everyone here is someone's mother," she pointed out, "So if we go through with Operation Starbiter…" she continued.
"Come on, we talked about this," Weisz chimed in seriously.
"I know, sorry," Rebecca apologized as a reply.
"We all understand how hard this must be on you," Rin noted as she approached, sitting down next to her.
"Sad as it is to say, all these women are dead," Happy said, "And Ziggy's going to use them for evil if he's not stopped," he mentioned further, "It'll be better to give their lives back to the stars," he affirmed.
"Give them back to the stars…" Rebecca repeated with a small smile, "That's a nice way of putting it," she noted. Seeing her discomfort, Rin put her left hand atop her right, getting her attention as she looked to see the reassuring expression upon her friend's face. Nezuko went over and sat beside them as well, leaning next to the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user for comfort. "Thanks, you two…" she said gratefully, "Huh…" she exhaled, "I still don't get why my mom's the only one…" she admitted with a slight shake of her head.
"What, the only one still alive?" Weisz presumed, "That what you're thinking?" he inquired on.
"No… I mean…" Rebecca tried to say.
"Well… I don't know about Jinn and the others," the Machina Maker Ether Gear user began as he looked up in thought for a moment, "but I know that Homura and I got to spend time with our mothers, even if it wasn't much," he pointed out, "You didn't get that," he added to his ash blonde-haired friend, "Maybe the universe is telling you that you can make that time now," he suggested with a small smile.
"Time with my mother…" Rebecca said.
"When Tanjiro and I lost our mother to Muzan, I wasn't aware of everything that had happened," Nezuko told the others, getting their attentions, "I did my best to protect my family, but it wasn't enough," she recalled.
"Nezuko…" Rebecca uttered.
"I'm thankful for the time I spent with her," her half-demon friend confessed, "But I'm even more thankful that she gave me life so that I could help protect others," she mentioned further.
"I never really got to know my mother all that well," Rin admitted, causing the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user to turn to her, "I only got to hear stories about how peaceful of a parent she was before she suffered injury," she mentioned in remembrance, "Rebecca, don't let this chance slip you by," she advised of her friend.
"Yeah," Shoto agreed, chiming into the conversation, "The time you could spend together would be great for you," he affirmed with a little smile.
"You guys…" Rebecca uttered, wondering what to do.
"HRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Eijiro slammed as he slammed a hardened fist into a drone, sending it flying as it crashed into two others. More fired blue laser bolts down at him, enticing him to cross his arms over his face to defend himself, keeping his entire body hardened. "Ergh… damn…!" he cursed out. Flying about, Ninny and Noel launched magical beams of light, striking down drone after drone.
"Tch!" the former of the two pipers scoffed, "They just keep coming!" she pointed out in frustration.
"Without help, we're in a lot of trouble…" her friend admitted aloud. M'gann psychically took hold of a couple drones, slamming them against each other. Unfortunately, she wound up taking a few laser bolts to her back as she yelped.
"Miss Martian!" Tsuyu cried out, quickly shooting her tongue to wrap around and catch her colleague, reeling her in.
"Ugh… thanks…" she groaned out.
"Creati, there's gotta be a way we can get out of this!" the Frog Quirk user called out to her friend, who was being protected by Magna and Zora as she breathed heavily with exhaustion.
"I'm afraid without help from the MPGs, we're stuck…!" Momo confirmed as she grimaced.
"That doesn't give us a lotta options, ponytail!" the Ash Magic user yelled before catching a drone in a trap of exploding ash, followed by his colleague tossing a fireball at it, making it explode in a fiery blaze. Luck and Tenya hurried about, blitzing through as many drones as they could. Zenitsu joined them, cleaving through more bots with his sword in a single draw, much like a flash of lightning. But every drone destroyed, more would soon swarm in.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the yellow-haired demon slayer shrieked, "THEY'RE COMING OUT LIKE COCKROACHES!" he screamed out.
"Is there really no way for us to deal with them all…?" Tanjiro wondered aloud. At that moment, smoke started spewing out the exhausts on Tenya's legs.
"Crap!" he yelped as he came to a stop, only to see several drones converging onto him.
"Iida, look out!" Momo screamed. It didn't look as if there'd be anyone able to assist the Engine Quirk user before he could get tackled. He grimaced under his helmet, bracing himself for impact. There was a loud crash.
"Iida!" Yuji yelled as he ran over, only to come to a stop as he blinked in surprise. Lowering his arms, Tenya gasped in surprise. In front of a pile of ruined drones was a fair-skinned man of above-average height. He had black hair with a widows-peak that is combed back with a few strands sticking up, and brown eyes. His physique was lean and very defined. He wore a suit that had a yellow mask with goggles. The suit itself was yellow down the middle, stopping at his waist in an upside-down triangle shape, also bearing blue on the shoulders and going into the yellow in somewhat of an M shape. The rest of his costume was black aside from the yellow gloves and blue boots that started from his knees down.
"Well… that hurt a lot less than I thought it would…" he noted, rolling his right shoulder.
"Y…You're…" Tenya stammered out, getting his attention.
"Invincible, yeah, hi," he greeted in response, "So, I heard you guys were fighting all these robots and… well, I'm here to help…" he told the others, "So uh… should I go ahead and…?" he started to ask.
"Hey, quit stallin' and tear 'em apart already!" Zora yelled out.
"Right, right! Sorry!" the hybrid Viltrumite responded apologetically, quickly diving out and bashing through several drones.
"Whoa-ho!" Luck yelped out, "This guy's strong!" he noted excitedly.
"I'm surprised he showed up…" Tsuyu admitted as she hopped over to Tenya's side.
"Given the circumstances, it makes sense…" her fellow hero said, "Even so, we're going to need more than just him to deal with all of this mess…" he pointed out. Just then, a rush of wind raced by them and the others. A large shadow cast over the factory ruins and its surroundings as everyone looked up to see the Edens Zero overhead.
"Everyone ready for a pickup?" Hermit's voice asked over the intercom, as she was sitting in the bridge with Connor, Mosco, Henry, and Kenny.
"YES, PLEASE!" Zenitsu shrieked in response as tears were pouring out from his eyes. Flying down from the ship were Jaime, Jessica, and America, joining their colleagues in bashing apart the drones. The former of the three landed down in front of Momo, causing her to blink in surprise.
"Jaime…" she uttered out.
"Hey beautiful," he greeted, "Need a lift?" he offered, holding his right hand out to her. She blushed, letting off a smile.
"Thank you…" she said, allowing for him to take her hand and pull her in before picking her up like a bride. He flew to the battleship above with her, while the others were making their own routes to follow.
"It looks as if even with such great numbers, Ultron's reach is stretched quite thin…" Torunn noted aloud.
"Yeah, that's what's bothering me…" Hermit admitted to her surprise, "And I'm sure it's bothering Riri, too…" she added, putting her left hand onto her chin.
'Assimilating with the planet means that he should have more control over it than just locking down a few areas or sending drones out,' she told herself, 'Does that mean someone's interfering with him?' she assumed inwardly, 'But knowing how strong of an AI Ultron has, I don't think either Ziggy or Acnoella could be a problem for him to deal with…' she noted on through her thoughts, 'So that leaves the question… who or what else could be causing problems on the planet?' she wondered.
X
"Agh…" Azari groaned lowly as Ochaco held him up in her lap, while Izuku stood in front of Shiki defensively. Ahead of them was Pino, who had a determined expression upon her face.
"Pino… don't…!" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user grunted out as he attempted to bring himself up onto his feet, only to fall back down as he winced with pain.
"Shiki!" his girlfriend exclaimed, going over to his side.
"Hm," Ziggy huffed as he stomped forward, "This is the moment you were born for, you said?" he inquired of Pino, who trembled a little, "What a naïve little bot you are…" he muttered.
"Don't move!" Izuku demanded, holding his right hand out as he kept his middle and pointer fingers back with his thumb.
"You think you can scare me, Izuku Midoriya?" the skull-faced android inquired of the One For All inheritor, who tensed up slightly.
"You guys… you need to get outta here!" Shiki insisted in panic.
"Master, it will be okay," Pino assured to his surprise, "I discovered that Ziggy had been using me to know our plan," she told him, "He hacked my database," she confirmed on.
"What?!" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user exclaimed.
"You figured that out…" the skull-faced android realized as he huffed again, "I'll admit, I'm impressed…" he complimented.
"You shouldn't overestimate yourself," Pino advised, "You had left a data trail behind for me to discover the truth," she pointed out.
"A trail?" Ziggy repeated, "I would never be so careless…" he muttered in claim.
"Maybe not you…" Izuku retorted, flicking his fingers to release pressurized blasts of air onto the Machine King. He crossed his arms to withstand them, sliding back a few feet.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" he questioned aloud.
"That you left me the key to defeating you," Pino answered.
"Huh?" Shiki uttered out, "Wait, there's no way Ziggy would just tell us his weakness…" he noted aloud, only to remember what he had theorized earlier when he and Shoto had beaten Wizard's duplicate.
'Do you think Ziggy knew he was gonna go crazy?' he had asked of the fake Dark Star after their battle. Between the memories he saw throughout today and the questions still left unanswered, there was very much a possibility that his grandfather had planned for an instance where he would lose control of himself. And that plan seemed to revolve around the little bot willing to stand up to him.
"Pino…" Shiki uttered out.
"EMP activate!" the little bot exclaimed, having a burst of purple energy exude from her body. It washed over Ziggy, though he hardly seemed phased.
"You know that won't work on me," he noted, holding out his right hand. All of a sudden, a plethora of black energy tendrils outlined in teal shot out and ensnared his body. He looked to see they originated from Izuku, who gritted his teeth.
"Do it now, Pino!" he called out.
"Right!" the little bot responded, having her energy wrap around the ensnared skull-faced android.
"Hah!" he laughed, "Even if you've bound me, there's no point!" he bellowed out, "I'm immune to your EMP!" he noted loudly.
"But not at a certain frequency!" Pino retorted to his surprise, "This is the key you gave me!" she yelled as a golden light shrouded her body, which started to transform. She gained what looked to be a black dress with spiky ends and mechanical wings. Lines of Ether spread all along her modified body.
"Is that… Overdrive?!" Ziggy inquired out of shock.
"The real you put that key inside Pino, in order to stop the you now!" Ochaco noted aloud.
"What?!" her boyfriend exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah… Ziggy's old personality is still there!" Izuku affirmed, keeping his Blackwhip's grip tight on the skull-faced android, "And Pino can bring it back!" he added confidently.
"No…!" the Machine King gasped out, pushing back against the bindings entrapping him, "There's no way… you can…!" he tried to say as his eyes flashed a bright blue. Pino clenched her teeth as tears pricked her eyes.
"Please… GO BACK TO THE WAY YOU WERE, MASTER ZIGGY!" she pleaded loudly as the light of her EMP brightened around the skull-faced android.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he bellowed out. Everyone flinched from the luminosity's brightness, shutting their eyes. It soon subsided, with Pino collapsing onto her hands and knees as she had transformed back to normal. Retracting his Blackwhip, Izuku took on a defensive stance just in case. Ochaco helped Shiki to his feet, while Azari managed to stand up. They could hear heavy breaths coming from the cloud of dust where Ziggy dwelled. It slowly cleared, revealing that his appearance had changed to that of what his grandson had remembered before he first shut down.
"Grandpa…?" he uttered out.
"Good work… Pino," he said with his fixed smile upon his face, trembling a little, "It worked…" he confirmed. The little bot beamed happily.
"Huh…" Ochaco exhaled with relief, while her boyfriend shook a little in shock. He didn't know how to properly process what had just happened. But before he could say anything…
"'Ziggy' might be asleep for now, but he'll awake again soon," the revitalized Machine King noted to those before him, "This is our only chance…" he pointed out, "Please… kill me…" he requested simply.
X
"So what about everyone else on the planet?" Mark asked aboard the Edens Zero as he was walking down the hall with Hermit and Momo.
"We'll catch up with Riri's group next," the Mind of Edens decided, "Right now, we've got confirmation that Shiki and Ziggy are still fighting, while the government's gone off to deal with Acnoella," she explained.
"And we're going to help them, aren't we?" the Creation Quirk user assumed, earning a nod in response from Hermit.
"We do owe those guys for helping us take out Crow…" she noted, "Or… Cure, rather…" she corrected. The trio turned a corner, only to blink in surprise upon seeing Connor seated at a bench beside the door to the infirmary. He was sweating quite a bit, twiddling his thumbs nervously.
"Is… something else going on?" Momo inquired of the Shining Star, causing her to exhale a sigh.
"Just go get ready for if we run into some trouble," she advised of the Omni Force members, enticing them to walk off, though not before exchanging worried looks with each other. That left Hermit to lean up against the wall on other side of the infirmary door. "Mosco's taken the helm for now," she noted to the portly man.
"I'm sorry for the trouble…" he apologized, keeping his head lowered, "I just… couldn't wait, knowing that Rachel was…" he tried to say, tensing up before he could finish.
"Then why couldn't you wait with Rebecca?" the Mind of Edens asked, "Didn't she deserve to know that you're her father?" she questioned on. Connor said nothing, exhaling a sigh.
"I won't deny that I made a terrible mistake…" he admitted, "There always felt like something that was… keeping me from telling her the truth…" he told the Shining Star, "Maybe it was all this…" he suggested aloud.
"…Maybe," Hermit concurred with a shrug. She too had her concerns about the whole situation. And all the while, she was still tuned into the conversation happening across the planet.
"What do you mean 'Ziggy' is asleep?" Shiki inquired of the skull-faced android before him.
"I know you must have many questions, Shiki…" he noted in response, "But I don't have the time to answer them all…" he mentioned, looking toward his trembling left arm, "'Ziggy' will wake up soon, so you need to kill me…" he requested seriously.
"Wait, so what exactly happened?" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user asked.
"I used my EMP to block the other personality that was controlling Ziggy," Pino replied, getting his attention, "This is apparently the personality that you once knew now," she mentioned to Shiki.
"Wait, this doesn't make sense!" he yelled, grabbing at his head, "A personality?! What the hell does that mean?!" he questioned, "You just told me you came from the future to save the human race!" he pointed out, "So how'd you end up turning into that guy?!" he inquired on.
"Shiki," his girlfriend chimed in, getting his attention as he saw her give him a reassuring look, "I can help explain," she affirmed.
"Thank you, Ochaco…" Ziggy said gratefully, "This… wasn't exactly another personality of mine…" he admitted to the group, "I had been taken over," he confirmed, causing most of the others to gasp, "I have none of my past memories, including from when I was Shiki…" he explained, "I don't even remember coming from twenty-thousand years in the future…" he added.
"But the other guy does?" Azari inquired, "How?" he asked on.
"In twenty-thousand years from now, I set out on the Edens Zero, leaving the planet Eden on the quest to find Timeline Zero," the Machine King told the group, "But then… the unthinkable happened…" he said, recalling that soon after he departed from the planet, his ship had a run-in with a Chronophage. He tried to evade it, but it washed over his ship, eating away at its time.
"A Chronophage…" Pino uttered, quite shocked.
"It was right before I was about to make the jump for Timeline Zero…" Ziggy remembered, "I didn't learn until later that… I never actually reached Timeline Zero," he noted on, "Instead, I wound up on a planet in Timeline One," he pointed out.
"The one where Shiki died…" Izuku recalled, while Ochaco tensed up.
"I had lost all of my memories except for my name…" the Machine King said, "And I was on an unfamiliar planet… with no idea who I was…" he added on as he looked upward.
"And what happened to the Edens Zero?" Azari asked.
"…It fell apart right in front of me…" Ziggy answered, "The explosions that rang out sounded… so familiar at the time…" he pointed out, "Like the ringing of a bell…" he mentioned in remembrance. The others shared surprised looks with each other. "I named the planet Granbell, after that sound," he noted on, "I repaired the ship and built robots," he added as Shiki's eyes shook, "Of course, I couldn't find anything about myself or my mission anywhere in the ship's memory," he explained, "Before too long, I had a town on my planet… and it eventually became a theme park," he told the group.
"And that was Granbell…" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user realized. His grandfather nodded.
"One day, a guest to the planet mentioned Mother," he recalled, "So I set out into space on the rebuilt Edens Zero, on a quest to hopefully retrieve my memories," he remembered on.
"But you ended up finding me instead…" Shiki noted, "Or at least, before you tried to get your memories back…" he corrected as the skull-faced android tensed up slightly, "So… where did you find me?" he asked.
"…I can't tell you that…" Ziggy replied.
"Why not?!" his grandson bellowed in question, "What planet do I come from?!" he inquired on, "Can't you tell me anything important?!" he asked angrily.
"I'm sorry…" the Machine King apologized. Shiki growled with frustration.
"Pino, do you know anything?" he asked of the little bot amongst the group.
"I do not have such information…" she replied with a shake of her head.
"Can you answer this then?" Azari chimed in, pointing toward Ochaco as she blinked in surprise, "What does she have to do with this?" he inquired.
"She's the one who was able to free me from being controlled, even if it was only for a few moments…" Ziggy answered to everyone's surprise.
"What?" Izuku uttered out.
"Ochaco… how did you…?" Shiki started to ask.
"I can explain," his girlfriend assured, interjecting him.
FLASHBACK
"Huh…?" Ochaco uttered upon seeing Ziggy take off his skull-like face… and reveal that underneath was a face that was very similar to her boyfriend's. She blinked a couple times before letting out a shocked yelp, stumbling back a step. "Wh-What's going on here?!" she stuttered in question, "Y-You're…!" she stammered, pointing with a trembling finger.
"Please, calm down…" the Machine King requested, "I don't know how long I'll be able to keep control like this…" he pointed out.
"Control?" Ochaco repeated, "So it is Ultron in control of you?!" she presumed.
"Ochaco, listen," Ziggy said, crouching down in front of her to meet her eye level, "The reason I had you brought here was because you're the key to stopping 'Ziggy'," he told her, causing her to blink again.
"Wait… but you're…" she started to say.
"The 'Ziggy' that you've been fighting is what's been taking me over," the Machine King explained, "The only reason I'm able to speak freely now is because I'm resisting their control…" he affirmed, only to suddenly tense up and buckle slightly, "Damn it…!" he cursed.
"Sh-Shiki!" Ochaco stammered in panic. The Satan Gravity Ether Gear user chuckled.
"It's so good to hear your voice… after all this time…" he noted, lifting his head up and smiling at her, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you…" he apologized.
"Huh?" the Zero Gravity Quirk user uttered in confusion.
"Well… I guess I'm sorry to the you that escaped from Nero Sixty-Six…" he corrected.
"Wait, Nero Sixty-Six?" Ochaco repeated, "We all escaped back then…" she remembered, "Well… except for…" she started to correct, only to stop herself as she gave off a sad frown.
"I'm sorry for that, Ochaco…" Ziggy apologized, "But let me explain all I can before it's too late…" he insisted of her. He went on tell her as much as he could, about how he was the Shiki who wound up sent into the future of Timeline Two, becoming Ziggy and having his mission to save humanity from extinction. He also spoke of what had happened to his body and why he had suddenly turned evil.
"So then… what about the Space Stone?" the Zero Gravity Quirk user asked, "Do you have it?" she questioned on.
"I do…" Ziggy confirmed, "But if I were to try and remove it, the one in control would no doubt take over again…" he pointed out. All of a sudden, he winced, collapsing to his knees again as his body trembled.
"Shiki!" Ochaco cried out, going over to his side. He clenched his teeth while sweating madly, but found it in himself to smile.
"Even after everything that's happened, you're still calling me that?" he inquired of her. She blushed a little.
"Well… your face, it's…" she started to say.
"I know…" Ziggy assured, wincing again, "Damn it…!" he cursed, "I'm losing myself again…!" he concluded, grimacing as he pressed his hands against the floor.
"D-Don't worry!" Ochaco stammered out, "Whether it's Ultron or anyone else, we'll break you free from their control!" she vowed, "I swear!" she promised on.
"Ochaco…" the Machine King uttered, causing her to blink, "there's something I need you to do…" he told her, "In order for Shiki to stop the one controlling me with his full power…" he continued.
END FLASHBACK
"Whatever's taken control of him, it won't matter if we try to stop them," the Zero Gravity Quirk user explained to her friends, "They can just use Ziggy's body as a vessel and keep hold over him," she added.
"Hence why I need to be destroyed…" the Machine King mentioned.
"Did he say anything about where I'm from, Ochaco?" Shiki asked.
"I didn't tell her a thing," his grandfather confirmed in response, getting his attention, "You will know when the time comes," he assured, "But that is one thing I cannot tell you…" he affirmed.
"So then what?" Azari inquired.
"A simple story," Ziggy replied, "I died on Granbell, and should've been left to rot…" he noted in remembrance, "But then, my body was taken over… and I came back to life," he pointed out.
"What about the stone?" the Wakandan prince asked on.
"From the moment I was taken over, it appeared right in front of me, like some miracle…" the Machine King answered, "I had no idea what it was," he admitted, "Only that it contained a great power…" he affirmed.
"And the one in control of you sought to use it for his own purposes…" Izuku concluded, only to end up blinking in realization, "Which means it can't be Ultron in control!" he pointed out to the others' surprise, "If it was, then the stone would be with Kronos long before now!" he mentioned.
"That is sound logic, given what we know of this Ultron character," Pino noted.
"What about your other memories?" Azari questioned of the Machine King, "There anything else you can tell us?" he inquired on.
"My memories from my life as Shiki, the claim that I came from twenty-thousand years in the future…" Ziggy started to respond, "Those were things that were told to me," he pointed out, "I haven't actually remembered them…" he admitted.
"Grandpa…" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user uttered out.
"The one thing I do remember…" the skull-faced android began as he gazed toward his grandson, "is the time I spent with you upon Granbell," he recalled.
"This is so weird…" Shiki admitted as he put his right hand onto his head, "I've been calling myself 'Grandpa' all this time…?" he wondered aloud.
"No, I'm not you…" Ziggy retorted to his surprise, "Even if I did start out as you…" he continued, "this personality is my own," he affirmed, starting to tremble more, "I still think of you as my grandson…" he confessed proudly.
"Master Ziggy…" Pino uttered worriedly, while the other ones watched on.
"So if Ultron's not the one in control, who is?" Azari inquired, narrowing his eyes.
"The real enemy… is the true evil you must fight," Ziggy responded, "And it's here on Lendard as we speak…" he mentioned.
"The real enemy…" Izuku repeated, putting a gloved hand onto his chin.
"Could it be one of the Oración Seis Galáctica?" Azari presumed.
"Or maybe it's someone who's planning to double-cross us…" the One For All inheritor suggested.
"Grandpa… who is it…?" Shiki asked.
"Your real enemy's name is…" Ziggy began responding, only for his mouth to suddenly lock with a crackle of static. Everyone blinked in surprise.
"Hey, who is it?!" Azari shouted in question. Trying to speak, all that came out of the skull-faced android's locked mouth was static.
"I… can't say it?!" he exclaimed out of shock.
"It must be a language control program…" Pino concluded.
"Whoever it is doesn't want us to know what they're up to…" Izuku realized with a grimace.
"And we may have used up too much of our time…" Ziggy mentioned, putting his left hand onto his head, "Shiki, this is our only chance…" he noted to his grandson, "I'll suppress my Ether to its lowest level…" he told him as he blinked in surprise, "and you'll unleash your Black Sky to destroy me," he instructed on.
"Wait… why would I do that, Grandpa…?" the human Satan Gravity Ether Gear user questioned as his body shook, "If there's a real enemy in control of you, then I shouldn't have to…"
"I'm too deeply connected," the skull-faced android interjected, "If you don't kill me know… I'll be used as a pawn again," he pointed out, "And with my Ether Gear and the Space Stone at their hands… I won't be stopped…" he added grimly, "Besides… I've already died…" he mentioned in a breaking voice as tears started pouring out from the holes acting as his eyes, "Please… put me out of my misery, Shiki…" he requested of his grandson, who trembled with trepidation. His girlfriend glanced over, clenching her fists determinedly. She knew that this would be hard on him. But if it wasn't done, more lives would be at risk…
X
"Well… that went better than expected…" Megumi noted aloud, standing amidst the scraps of the drones he and his colleagues had taken out.
"I thought we'd be here forever," Eve admitted as she floated down with Rachael, "Wasn't Ultron supposed to have control over the whole planet?" she inquired, looking over to Riri.
"Yeah…" the armored Avenger responded, putting her right hand onto her chin, "That's what's bothering me…" she admitted.
'Ultron might be able to send in swarms of drones, but given that Lendard's basically a hundred percent machine…' she began thoroughly through her thoughts, 'how come he didn't try wiping us all out on the spot with anything else?' she wondered aloud. At that moment, she and the others felt a rush of wind. They looked up to see the Edens Zero arriving. Inside, Kris was at the ship's helm with Mosco and Laguna.
"Are you all alright?" he asked, his voice echoing through the communication line.
"Fine now," Riri responded as down below, she and the others gathered, "Guess this means you guys took care of Crow," she concluded with a grin.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy…" Laguna's voice chimed in, "We've picked up the team that destroyed the main factory, too," he mentioned, "Right now, we're on route to go face Acnoella," he told the group.
"The other Oración Seis Galáctica…" Megumi uttered in remembrance.
"Can't we just ignore her now that we've dealt with Crow?" Francis inquired.
"That's not our call," Hermit's voice chimed in, causing everyone to perk up. She was still standing outside of the infirmary with Connor. "The government helped us take out Crow, so we owe them the favor," she told the group, "Besides, some of our team is still out in that area," she mentioned.
"Nat and the others, right…" Riri realized from below.
"Guess we have no choice…" Megumi muttered out.
"Hopefully, it'll all be fine," Hermit communicated reassuringly, "Get onboard, and we'll get moving," she affirmed, ending the call as she sighed. Her mind was troubled. But not because of the battles she and her friends were facing. But rather… the truths she was learning through the comlink she and Sister shared with Shiki.
'There's way too much to take in…' she admitted inwardly, 'So Ziggy was taken over by someone or something other than Ultron?' she noted through her thoughts, 'And he can't tell us the secret of Shiki's birth or where he came from…' she mentioned on, 'And then there's Ochaco…' she added further, 'How does she fit into all of this?' she wondered on.
'Hermit, can you stop ramblin'?!' Sister's voice shouted in the Mind of Edens head, making her flinch, 'We're both thinking the same damn things!' she pointed out.
'Sorry…' her fellow Shining Star apologized, 'But… there's a lot to think about…' she affirmed.
'I hear ya,' the Life of Edens agreed, accessing holographic panels around the vat containing Rachel, which was plugged in, 'You think the reason he's not telling Shiki is because it involves our memories being wiped?' she presumed of Hermit.
'Maybe…' she replied, 'I wonder if Pino's creation might have something to do with it, too…' she mentioned inwardly, putting a hand onto her chin. At that moment, a light gasp of realization left her lips. 'Wait… if what Ziggy said is true…' she began.
'Hermit?' Sister said through their link in a concerned tone.
'The true enemy… could it be…?!' the Mind of Edens started to inquire, sweating with panic.
X
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Natalie roared as she swung her enflamed right foot down mightily onto a Dragon's head, sending it crashing down onto the ground. She growled in frustration, having intended to strike Acnoella, who had sped away. She chuckled, watching as the hybrid Dragon Slayer lunged toward her again, this time with her right fist at the ready. Smirking, her foe dashed away, slashing across her stomach with her claws.
"Hm," she huffed, licking the blood she drew from her opponent, who winced as she stepped back, "For someone who calls herself a Dragon Slayer, you're certainly not proving to be much to me…" she admitted, "But then again, you have gone and killed many of my children today…" she pointed out, looking over the several corpses of burnt space beasts strewn about. However, more of them continued to swarm the area.
"Geez, do these Dragons have a nest here or something…?" Natalie grumbled in question. Acnoella chuckled again upon overhearing.
"This is their birthplace," she pointed out, getting her attention, "And I am their mother," she mentioned. The hybrid Dragon Slayer narrowed her eyes. At that moment, she heard a fearsome roar beside her, seeing another of the beasts approaching and opening its mouth to release a hyperthermic blast. She leapt away from it before seeing another pair converge onto her, attempting to grasp her in their talons. Using the flames at her feet to propel herself, she rammed into one's chest, leaping off of it and rearing her enflamed right fist back.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" she bellowed before striking the beast upside its head, sending it crashing down onto another building, "Huh… huh…" she breathed heavily.
"You may be able to best most of my children…" Acnoella admitted as she shot up right behind the hybrid Dragon Slayer, causing her to widen her eyes, "but soon enough…" she continued, with Natalie turning and ending up getting pierced straight through her gut by her foe's right claws, "they'll overwhelm you just as I will…" she vowed firmly as blood was flying out from her foe's mouth. From afar, Kyoka perked up in alert.
"Nat?" she uttered out.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Gowen asked upon noticing her expression.
"Uh, it's nothing…" she claimed, "At least nothing to worry about right now…" she corrected as she continued onward, "Come on, Elsie's nearby," she confirmed, leading both him and Hyoga toward a shed-like building nearby. Inside, the bound Space Pirate tugged against her bonds with a frightened grimace. She looked over to see the maniacal expression upon Jesse's face as he held a gun in his right hand.
So much is still happening across Lendard. Yet some things haven't been solved… What has happened to Ultron? Who was controlling Ziggy if not him? And what enemy could be greater than even he?
These answers… will be coming soon.
END
And that'll end one of the shorter chapters of the story! And with three-quarters done, I think it's time for a well-deserved break! We'll be back with this story in a month or so!
Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as we set up for a climactic finale!