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  1. ♫ Small Shock ♫ Team Lombax had gone deathly silent after hearing Avatar Resolution’s explanation, and for good reason; if anyone wanted their memories, bonds, and development to remain, one of them would have to sacrifice themselves and their individual identity to be able to reshape the Multiverse. If not, then Avatar Resolution would reset everything--and everyone--back to how they were before the Origin War began. “... … can I… retract my nomination…?” Alexander chimed in meekly, feeling mortified that he had originally suggested that Alister should use the Key before being made aware of the consequences. “Alex, it’s fine,” Bayonetta reassured him as calmly as possible, despite also being as shaken by the information as anyone else. “Many of us assumed using the Door would be simpler than it turned out to be, even though we should have seen this coming.” “And we know you weren’t offering to have Alister sacrificed--none of us even knew the Price at the time, and even then we know you’re not the type of person who’d do that,” Red added as he gave Alexander a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Although… ah, shit…,” Umbris cursed as he glanced at Alister, with most of the other members of Team Lombax (and Kyros) following suit. “... what?” Alister blurted flatly, perturbed by the stares he was getting. “C’mon, Al, you know exactly “what”,” Umbris replied with arms crossed. “What, you guys think I’m just going to offer to sacrifice myself all willie-nillie just ‘cuz of prior events? Just ‘cuz the idea of doing so is now in my head?” Alister scoffed. “I mean, that kinda hurts, to be honest.” “Well, he’s got us there,” Gabriel admitted with a sigh. “Listen, I know it’s a very difficult decision to make, especially with what’s at stake,” Alister spoke to his teammates (and Kyros). “We either have one of us lose their humanity to essentially become a god in order to rebuild the Multiverse, or we have Avatar Resolution undo everything we’ve gone through to live our lives as if the Origin War never happened. Of course we can’t just blindly choose where to go from here--we need to carefully think and take into consideration all the factors before we can proceed. That being said… there is a lot to consider, and much more at stake here than just us in the here and now,” he added with a hand held to his Pocket Watch. “After all, it’s not just our iteration of the Origin War that will be affected by our decision; it’s all of them--forty-two thousand iterations, including this one. If we want the Multiverse to have a chance at recovering and becoming stabilized, most, if not all of those other iterations must be pruned off, so to speak.” “Makes sense,” Atsuko agreed. “Many of those iterations were either dead ends or Bad Ends, right? So getting rid of those shouldn’t be a problem.” “Meanwhile, the residents of the Pocketwatch--the Altisters, the Souls, Orvus and Alpha--they’re deliberating which handful of their timelines can continue, right?” Alexander asked Alister. “That’s what I was informed, yes,” Alister confirmed. “Many of the Altisters are perfectly fine with their respective timelines getting erased, though Alpha felt that there are some that should be preserved or salvaged--Zayon and Reid’s timeline especially.” Red lightly gasped, understanding what Alister meant. “Rex….” “... but, that begs the question,” Kyros wearily chimed in: “Will that plan work regardless of whomever is chosen to use the Key…?” At this, Alister briefly froze up. “... that… I don’t quite know.” “But you have a portion of that power now, right?” Ratchet spoke up. “The “Philanthropist's Oviposition” or whatever it’s called?” “... … … … … …” “... erm, Little One, this really is not the time nor place to be discussing kinks in public,” Bayonetta pointed out to Ratchet while doing her damnedest to suppress a laugh. “... wait, what?!” Clank let out an exasperated sigh. “The “Philosopher’s Observation”, Ratchet,” the little robot helpfully corrected. “Y-Yeah, that,” Ratchet stumbled as he attempted to recompose himself from his malaproper, before returning to addressing Alister, “you can use that to look ahead, can’t you? See what the possibilities are that could allow those other timelines to exist?” “It’s only a portion of that power, Ratchet,” Alister reminded the younger lombax, “and it’s a power that I’m still not used to using; there’s no guarantee that what I end up seeing is the answer we’re looking for.” “In other words,” Gabriel shrugged, “we’re shooting blind.” “There is also still the matter of Alpha,” Clank pointed out, “or rather, the other Alpha. He still exists somewhere, and most likely has not given up his own ambitions—which he may attempt to resume should we return everything to how they were before the Door was discovered. Which, as a reminder, happened in a branch of our original timeline.” “... … …” Alister stood silent, grimacing. “Al…?” Ratchet spoke up, concerned for the eldest lombax. Alister sighed quietly. “... Clank has a point, as does MachGaogamon. Returning everything to how it was before the Origin War and the cycles began would mean that Protheus returns to wreak havoc across the Multiverse, and Isamy--as either the separate Isabella and Amy, or the combined entity we know them as--will either follow in his footsteps again, or be made to suffer… and Alpha, the first “me”... who’s to say that he won’t try and destroy our universe in an attempt to find the Door again, even if we permanently seal it? And if not that, what else would he, in the mental state he was in, attempt to do to find a way to accomplish whatever goal he’d have in mind? Or even… … … oh, gods… ….” “What is it, Alister…?!” Red asked, concerned for what Alister had realized. “... it’s what Alpha’s “Better Half” said: Alpha is still around somewhere, even now. “A hidden location”, “close to the Door”, “with no way for him to ever reach it.” But what if Alpha doesn’t need to try and reach it himself? What if he tries to reach one of us--especially whomever has the Key? Our attempt to open and use the Door could be compromised…!” “... okay, I get where you’re going with this, Al,” Ratchet spoke up, “but how do we know for certain that Alpha will try and swoop in on us? Isn’t he sealed away in that location?” “That’s what I thought, too. But Good!Alpha mentioned something else before that; specifically, the weapon Alpha used to destroy his After Images and split himself in two--the “Sacred Artifact” that can sever bonds, from the physical to the immaterial.” “... wait, Alpha mentioned all of that while you were--” “--and I told you guys then--I could still hear you all even in the depths of my despairing,” Alister clarified in an almost prideful manner. “But you are picking up what I’m putting down, right? Alpha does have a way to get out of that dimension, and who knows how his strength has changed since splitting off from his Better Half and being trapped in there, but regardless… no matter who is ultimately chosen out of all of us here to use the Door, we need to take Alpha out of the equation first.” “... you mean “you”, don’t you…?” Ratchet darkly sighed. It seemed obvious to Alister where Ratchet was about to go with this. “If need be, Ratchet, then yes. But it won’t be because of an impulsive need or desire to redeem myself, or to fix the mistake--or “mistakes”, rather--made by a different version of me,” he replied firmly. “In fact, as far as I’m concerned, Alpha is just another villain seeking to force their dream upon the Multiverse, nothing more, nothing new. But I will admit,” he added sheepishly, “dealing with Alpha sounds a lot easier than deciding whether one should lose their identity to essentially become a god. Which, honestly, I’m not sure I can do, if only because, well… I made a promise to you guys. A promise that we’d all get out of this alive, to be able to live a new life, to support each other in our new beginning. If I were to become the Origin’s Will, I won’t be able to do that, because I’ll have lost my chance to be with you all… after all we’ve gone through… and all you guys have done for me just so I can get to this point,” he quavered. “I would never have gotten as far as I have without you guys… all of you,” he added as he clutched his Pocket Watch. “That’s why… I’m scared… truly scared… of forgetting everything, especially how much you guys mean to me....” ♫♪ (“Dreaming Your Dreams”) ♪♫ “... fear hasn’t stopped you before, has it?” These words Ratchet spoke carried a calm, sincere tone--different from the scathing, livid edge Alister had anticipated. “Look, I know you’ve ended up going through a lot in such a short time--we all have--and you’re right that we’ve all made it this far because we had each other, whether to pick each other up when we were down, or to slap some sense into each other before we jumped off the deep end… believe me, I know,” Ratchet added with a somewhat guilty glance towards Red--or rather, the dragon’s kneecap. “I mean, if you think about it, dealing with Alpha--the “Old You” as you say--is just one more step towards your growth as a person… and you’ve grown so much already, and I’m proud of you for that, Al.” “You have greatly matured from this endeavor, too, Ratchet,” Clank chimed in assuringly. “Pffft, well, yeah, but that’s kinda my thing, y’know?” Ratchet humbly chuckled as he playfully tapped his knuckle to Clank’s head. Alister couldn’t help but give a slight chuckle of his own, his prior doubt and unease slightly alleviated. “... thank you, Ratchet,” he nodded. “If you truly believe that this is something only you can do, Al, then we won’t stop you,” Alexander surmised. “I figured that’s the sentiment behind Ratchet’s little speech, and I agree; if anyone can put to rest Alpha’s ambitions and the threat he poses to the Multiverse, who better than the one who shares his Origin?” “Besides, it’s not like he’ll be alone in taking on Alpha,” Umbris added; “he’ll be going in with a whole squad of Altisters and Souls backing him up.” “Not just them,” Alister confirmed. He then focused his mind to converse with one of the residents of the Orvus Apparatus--specifically, one of its “co-creators”. “Orvus, you can alter the Apparatus’s functions, right?” “Indeed I can, Azimuth,” Orvus confirmed. “Disable the “Return to the Past” part--there’s no point in having it active at this point.” “... ah, fair point,” Orvus acknowledged. “And you want the rest to operate as-is?” “Of course,” Alister replied. “May I ask why?” “... something tells me to keep that to myself, to be quite honest.” “I see, I see~ Very well, I won’t pry, then. You just “do you”, as the kiddies say, meh-heh-heh-HEH-heh-heh-hee!” “Thank you, Orvus. Truly….” “... okay. I’m ready,” Alister declared to the others physically with him. With the Key of Origin still in hand, he glanced around at each of his companions (and Kyros), before settling his gaze upon Clank. “Clank, I’ve a favor to ask.” “Ask of me?” a perplexed Clank pondered briefly. He quickly put two-and-two together. “... … oh, but of course.” Without another word, Clank opened the compartment in his torso and retrieved the Chronoscepter from within. “You plan to use the Chronoscepter to reach Alpha’s location--the location his Better Half sent him using the facsimile Orvus created,” Clank clarified as he handed Alister the Artifact. “Right. It should have the same, or similar effect,” Alister nodded as he took the Chronoscepter into his hands. “That leaves me with one last thing,” he said as he held out the Key to Alexander. “Alex, I need you or one of the others to hold onto this while I’m gone, doesn’t matter who. But I am trusting you, specifically, with this one very crucial task: if you at any point can no longer sense me on the other side of Alpha’s space… you need to give the signal for whoever is chosen… to use the Door quickly. We cannot afford to let Alpha get to it, so you mustn’t falter, no matter how badly you wish to help me. Have I made myself clear, Alex?” “... crystal,” Alexander solemnly nodded as he carefully took the Key from Alister’s hand. “... Al, just please--” Alexander finds himself interrupted by Alister suddenly embracing him. “I know, Alex. “Please make it back to us safely.” Trust me,” he assured his fellow Lombax as he pulled himself away from the hug, “I have every intention of making it back to you guys. Wouldn’t want to miss the Grand Opening of the Door, y’know?” he added with a light-hearted chuckle. Yes, Alister was scared and worried deep down, but he couldn’t help but to put on a brave face, both for his friends’ sakes and his own. Alexander seemed to understand this, as he, too, did his best to keep a straight face, even as his eyes welled up with tears. “Y-Yeah, wouldn’t have it any other way.” “... welp, time to mosey on out, yeah?” Alister reckoned as he moved away from the rest of the Counter Corps, with Chronoscepter in his right hand and Praetorian OmniWrench in the-- “--Mr. Zurkon knows General Fuzzbutt isn’t about to leave Mr. Zurkon behind!” blared Mr. Zurkon as the synthenoid forcibly fused himself with Alister’s OmniWrench once more, much to Alister’s bemusement. “Mr. Zurkon helped beat your butt once before,” the Z-Wrench declared proudly, “so Mr. Zurkon shall help you beat your alternative timeline butt.” Vexed yet amused and appreciative, Alister could do nothing but grunt and roll his eyes in response. “No point in me telling you “no”, huh?” After a slight chuckle, Alister held the Chronoscepter upright before himself, the Artifact radiating a bright blue glow that quickly spread all around Alister’s body. Soon, his body began to slowly vanish before everyone else’s eyes, signaling that he would soon depart for the hidden location where Alpha awaited him. Before he vanished completely, Alister turned back to face his comrades, his friends, and with the straightest face and most reassuring smile he could muster at that moment, he uttered what he hoped would not be the last words he’d say to them all: “... thank you all. For everything….” … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ♫♪ (Where a Dreamer’s Emptiness Resides) ♪♫ Alister found himself standing within a featureless, grey area--not even a horizon line was visible to separate the ground from the sky. His footsteps were muffled, yet echoed, as he made his way through the grey void, for what seemed like minutes. Several long minutes. It soon became clear to him that the area was in fact shrouded in a deep fog, as he could make out a figure gradually coming into focus. “... so, this is where you’ve been,” Alister scoffed as he eventually got a clear-enough view of the individual before him; though they looked somewhat emaciated--yet surprisingly less emaciated than they probably should be--it was unmistakable who the individual was--or once was--and thus, who they are now-- “... a curious thing to say, as if you had been looking for me all this time,” the figure spoke with not an ounce of emotion in his tone. “Maybe not, but I suppose you were always the End Game to my journey,” Alister leered at his Alternate Timeline Self. “Took about forty-one thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine tries too many, but I’m finally here. I’m sure you’re elated--or you would be, if not for you cutting away your “better half”.” Alpha merely shook his head slightly. ““Better half”, you say. As if that half of me hasn’t brought endless grief and suffering.” “For you, anyway,” Alister clarified semi-mockingly. “I’m already aware of your backstory and plan, Alpha--or at least the gist of what you hope to accomplish.” “And you intend to stop me how, exactly?” “You saying I can’t or won’t be able to?” “I have been able to observe the iterations of the Origin War from this space, and all of your iterations as well,” Alpha clarified-- “--well thanks for confirming one of my suspicions,” Alister interrupted. “Alpha told me that he bestowed a portion of the Philosopher’s Observation unto me, yet he never exactly clarified if he possessed the rest of it or not. It had to have been a significant portion, though, for him to assume he had the whole thing. So you still had a fragment after all….” “... … …,” Alpha ellipses’d in Alister’s direction. At this, Alister rolled his eyes. ““Of course he would make such an assumption--he was the part of me prone to making such humiliating mistakes--but that isn’t relevant to our current discussion. Speaking of which, if you are done rudely interrupting me I’d like to continue ranting about how you have no way to stop me from achieving my dream.” That’s what your dead-eyed glare was saying, basically,” Alister shrugged. “How much of that did I get right?” Alpha merely blinked once, slowly, before continuing. “Much like your attempts to irritate me, Azimuth, you will come to find that your attempts to put an end to me shall likewise bear no fruit.” “Such self-assuredness,” Alister mockingly praised. “Lemme guess, that blade of yours--”Boundless Tail” I believe it’s called--you used its power to sever your bond to mortality, I bet?” “... … …” “... oh, I see, not gonna confirm or deny any of my guesses, huh? Well, whatever,” Alister scoffed as he prepared his Z-Wrench for combat, “there’s always more than one way to skin a Blargian Snagglebeast.” “... so you still intend to waste everyone’s time with this endeavor,” Alpha sighed as he summoned the Boundless Tail to his hand. “I intend to put an end to you and your self-serving dream,” Alister snarled, “and after that, I intend to return to my comrades’ side and see this journey to its conclusion.” “... so be it, then,” Alpha declared as he, too, entered a combative stance. “This day, one dream shall die for the other to live.” … … … … “... is… is that the best you can come up with?” Alister blurted after a full ten seconds awkwardly passed by. “... what are you getting at?” Alpha questioned, still in his stance. “I mean, I know you’re lacking most of your capacity for emotion, but like, c’mon, man! I don’t feel like I’m facing the last obstacle to this story’s ending, the Greater Scope Villain who will upend the entire Multiverse to see his desires realized and will make a bombastic display of tearing down anything and anyone that would stand in their way… no, all I’m seeing before me,” Alister clarified, “is a man too broken and tired to do anything more than to just go through the motions.” “... are you saying… I don’t have what it takes…?” Alpha pressed with a weary leer. “Just saying, if you wanted to go the no-nonsense route and get straight to the point, you would’ve done so by now. I mean, c’mon, we all want this to come to a close alre--” Between the moment he uttered the last “to” in that sentence and the instant he began to say “already”, Alister found himself suddenly ten yards from where he was standing before, his face now mere inches from Alpha’s and with the latter’s blade pierced through his chest. “Is that “straight enough to the point” for you…?” Alpha retorted calmly to the surprised Alister. “V… Very…,” Alister croaked through a mouthful of blood… which for some reason had the color and consistency of… grape jelly?! Alister proceeded to (playfully?!) spit a huge wad of the jelly into Alpha’s appropriately stunned face before straightening himself out, the sword still impaled in his chest. “Yes, that’s much better,” he asserted in a clear and composed, almost taunting tone while wiping away the excess jelly from his mouth. “However, I fear that was just Step One towards finishing this encounter….” “... how--?' “Ugh, we told Too-Dee not to fill that papier-mâché model of Alister with jelly,” scoffed Moony as he materialized to the right of Alpha. “Nono, I believe we specifically said “no grape jelly”,” Alizure clarified as he materialized to Alpha’s left. “What does that matter? Either way, he didn’t listen!” “TO BE FAIR, GRAPE WAS ALL WE HAD,” I.T. monotonically admitted sheepishly as he materialized behind Alpha. “And WHY is that?! We don’t even LIKE grape that much--!!” “... shut. UP!” Alpha barked as he decapitated the three Altisters and the papier-mâché Alister in one swing, causing all four to burst into clouds of tattered paper (and jelly in the model’s case). As the cloud dispersed, Alpha was left standing alone, humiliatingly covered head-to-toe in jelly and paper. “... … enjoying yourself, I suppose…?” Alpha quietly uttered as his face quickly returned to its emotionless facade, though now his right eye is twitching violently. “Perhaps. Should I, though?” the actual Alister spoke up as he emerged from the fog, accompanied by a couple dozen Altisters. At the sight of the group coming to outnumber him, Alpha’s face twitched into what resembled both a grimace and a smirk. “You think coming at me with those mistakes will give you the advantage?” “Unless you’ve got a way to even the odds, then yes,” Alister replied bluntly. “... does he?” he mentally added as an aside to Light!Alpha. “I… I think he does?” Light!Alpha stammered. “... dammit, don’t tell me he took that portion of my memory in the “divorce”…!” “I mean, he still has a portion of the Observation, so that’s also likely,” Alister noted. A thought occurred to him shortly after: “Wait, what can he do with his portion of the Observation…?” ♪♫ “(lost grip of time)” ♫♪ As if to answer Alister’s unheard question, Alpha proceeded to pull out a card from the inside of his coat. “You see, the Pathways weren’t just literal pathways to the Door--they were also made to provide me with valuable information. Information that I can use however I see fit with the Observation’s power. And since you were foolish enough… I mean, “ever-so nice” to employ your portion of the Observation in my vicinity….” “So that’s it… he can access the Observation whenever I do. I was right to not’ve used it right away…!” Alister realized. “Ah, but of course my “better half” failed to mention that to you,” Alpha surmised almost mockingly. “So, naturally, that failure rests on his shoulders.” He proceeded to hold the card high above his head, and shattered the card with a snap of his fingers, causing the data recorded within to materialize and spill out as a swirling, amorphous dark cloud. The dark cloud rapidly coalesced into the emaciated, semi-decayed form of a legless feline-headed monster, the remaining shadows forming a tattered mantle. “... Umbris?!” Alister gasped in shock, suddenly remembering what Alexander and Umbris told him about their experience in the Pathway of Death. “So, this is the “Void-Spacian Phantasmal Panther” they had faced before. And I suppose you’ve got other nightmares up your sleeve, too, right?” he barked at Alpha. “It would be foolish for one to not use whatever tools are at one’s disposal,” Alpha calmly boasted as he once again entered his combat stance, the Void-Spacian hanging behind him like a living shadow. “And my tools shall make quick work of yours….” “... did he seriously just call us “tools”?” Vortex Al spat. “Pots and kettles, this one…!” “Big talk from a stupid fuzzball ignoring the cracks in his own weapon…!” Alister’s Z-Wrench returned to its ordinary state as Mr. Zurkon separated from it, blaster and focus aimed at Alpha. “That sword may as well be holding itself together by sheer force of will alone. But Mr. Zurkon’s will is stronger--Mr. Zurkon will send that sword to the museum it belongs to!” Mr. Zurkon proudly boasted. “Alister should focus on Umbris’s Nightmare in the meantime--” “No need for all of that~” Orvus’s voice chimed as the Zoni emerged from the Pocket Watch as a wisp of light blue energy. “I believe I’ve stayed on the sidelines of this whole shebang long enough. Wouldn’t you agree, Alpha?” “So,” Alpha scowled calmly at the sight of his old “associate”, “you’ve chosen now of all times to finally get off your--” “--oh, silly me, I should have specified, dear boy” Orvus’s energy projection chuckled at Alpha just as Light!Alpha materialized by Alister’s side. “I was referring to your “Better Half”, natch.” “It’s obvious what you plan to do, Alpha,” Light!Alpha joined, hand to his chin. “You intend to use the Yakumo no Chigiri--”Boundless Tail”, as it is also known--to sever the connection between Alister’s Soul and the Orvus Apparatus, thus robbing him of his ability to call upon the Altisters and Souls within to assist him.” “wow you came up with that all by yourself” Alpha replied in a flat, sarcastic tone, his “Better Half’s” presence making him clearly irritable. “More like he and I, but that’s beside the point,” Orvus corrected. “Likewise, it is admirable that you figured out how to use a small fraction of the Observation still within you as a “backdoor” to access the rest of that power, even forcing-slash-tricking Alister into giving you that access. Yes, yes, very clever of you, indeed…,” the Zoni nodded. “Wouldn’t you say, Better Alpha?” “I mean, if you’re asking what I would say,” Light!Alpha shrugged, “that it would be something to the effect of: “Wandering Dragon slumbering within, I beseech you by my name as Alister Azimuth, rend yourself and disperse into a rainbow of 24 dragons, bound no more!”... that’s what I’d say if I were that Alpha, anyway.” “Which is funny, because that is exactly what he just said!” ♪♫ “Reversal Judgment” ♫♪ At this, Alpha panickedly reached his free hand to his throat. Had he truly repeated what his “Better Half” had recited? Did his “Better Half” compel him to say it? What trickery was this?! “... WHAT…?” Alpha croaked in shock, looking down at the Boundless Tail in his other hand just as the artifact suddenly exploded in a brilliant technicolored display of wisps and sparkles. “... how…?!” “Why, your discarded half used a “backdoor” of his own, of course!” Orvus chuckled, a sparkle in his eyes as he watched the wisps take on the vague form of serpentine dragons, dancing and twisting in the fog-filled air. “We all figured your intensifying emotions were either from your heart “rebuilding” itself to fill in what it lacked, OR due to you being in such close proximity to your “Better Half”,” Alister explained, silently acknowledging the distorted silhouette of what appeared to be a Japanese High School student that he caught a glimpse of out of the corner of his eye. “The latter hypothesis, as well as your demonstrated ability, gave us the idea of having your “Better Half” sabotage you.” “Aww, but Mr. Zurkon wanted to destroy the museum piece…,” Mr. Zurkon pouted uncharacteristically as he sulkingly fused back into Alister’s Omniwrench. “... you will pay for this…,” Alpha seethed, his glare focused on his discarded half. “Pay for what, exactly?” Light!Alpha tauntingly asked. “Making you dispel your own ill-gotten weapon? Or making you refer to yourself by your real name…?” “That is NOT… forGET it!” Alpha hissed in unison with the Void-Spacian’s roar. “The Void-Spacian and his power will be more than enough to deal with you all--!” “--so long as you can maintain it,” Orvus calmly smiled, “which you need the Philosopher’s Observation to do so… say, Al? Would you like a “Tee-El; Dee-Arr” of what the Observation actually is?” the Zoni asked Alister as he nonchalantly snapped his fingers. The world began to horribly spin for Alpha for a few seconds, necessitating him to call out his own Praetorian Omniwrench to support him in the midst of his sudden dizzy spell. “What... what did you…?” he hoarsely sputtered. “Something I should have done long ago, if I am being perfectly honest,” Orvus sniped at Alpha, his usual jovial tone carrying a hint of bitterness and remorse. “And could have had you not put me in “Time Out”. But now it’s high time for you to be grounded, and that includes no playing with your kitty.” Alpha regained his senses just in time to see that his conjured Void-Spacian was now disintegrating before him, the monstrosity’s pitiful howls of anguish barely audible among the almost elated sighs of the spirits trapped within it. As the creature vanished before his eyes, Alpha felt his legs grow weak if for but a moment, the Praetorian Omniwrench being his main support as a numb feeling washed over him. “The “Philosopher’s Observation”, as it is now called,” Orvus began to explain, “is of course a fragment of the Origin--or rather, a fragment of our universe’s Origin, which itself is a fragment of the greater Origin. A fragment of a fragment, ever-so miniscule, yet with so much potential. And we, the Zoni, managed to find one such potential use: as the power source of the Great Clock. Wasn’t easy figuring out how to regulate it and whatnot, but we managed, given enough time… in spite of what the Fongoids had done to it, but still.” “Regulate…,” Alister blinked, the math suddenly mathing for him. “... and so, when the Great Clock exploded, taking out the rest of our universe, part of our universe’s Origin--the “Philosopher’s Observation”--ended up being absorbed by Alpha….” He paused to take a brief glance at Alpha, noticing the DATEA Founder was regaining his wits and predicting he would most likely come after him, especially in a rage. “... so, I take it you helped him to craft the Orvus Apparatus from his pocket watch, not only to regulate the energy inside of him… but also to siphon it out of him.” “So clever, Al, exactly!” Orvus nodded, happy that Alister caught on. “Yes, I had hoped to pull the Origin out of him so that closing him off from it would be an easier task--” “--so, you intended to betray me from the start…!” Alpha growled as he turned around, all traces of his stoicism gone as he glared at the Zoni with a burning fury in his eyes. “... oh, you misunderstand, Alpha--one cannot betray what they were never loyal to to begin with.” the Zoni replied chillingly, his jovial, cordial persona stashed aside. “Did you really think that my helping you--after your overblown temper tantrum led you to murder your best friend’s son, destroy my assistant, send MY SON plummeting to his presumed doom, and destroy both the Great Clock and our entire known universe--was purely out of the goodness of my heart? Why else would I “help” you?! Granted, I gave you the smallest benefit of doubt in the hopes you would see the error of your ways, but CLEARLY YOU DID NOT!! “Anyways~” Orvus continued, his mood swinging horrifically back to jovial in an instant as he once more addressed Alister, “now that Alpha’s been stripped of pretty much all his resources he had planned to use against you… what would you like to do next?” Alister, still suffering whiplash from Orvus’s abrupt mood shift, took a few moments to quietly compose himself. “What would I like to do next? I mean, it’s as you said, Alpha’s had both his access to the Apparatus revoked AND his Sacred Artifact destroyed… at this point, it’d probably be simple to just leave him in this space and be on our way,” Alister proposed as he glanced over at Alpha, the latter clearly seconds away from having his rage reach its breaking point. “Just leave him here, with nothing but his unfulfilled dream, the crushing weight of his mistakes and failures, his endless life, his thoughts… leave it all unfinished, no end in sight… it’s what he deserves, really… … … and yet….” ♪♫ “Second Chance…?” / “March Toward Completion” ♫♪ “And yet?” Orvus blinked hard, already sensing that Alister had something different in mind. “Personally, it’s not exactly something I’d like to happen,” Alister expressed. “Not so much out of pity for Alpha, mind, but, really, will it ever truly be over if we were to just leave him in here. Even without the Observation, who knows what he may attempt to escape from here.” “How do you propose to put a stop to him, then?” Light!Alpha wondered. “If he can’t be killed, how else will you end him?” After a brief moment of thought, Alister asked out loud to Alpha, “Hey, you still want out of here, don’t you? I mean, regardless of your ability to do anything.” Light!Alpha blinked hard. “Al, what are you doing…?” “Proposing a way to get Alpha out of here, of course,” Alister shrugged matter-of-factly. “After all, it wouldn’t be right to just let him see the last bits of his hopes and dreams crumble here in such a dismal place… when he can see it crumble someplace else.” “... now you’re mocking me…?!” Alpha growled, suddenly invigorated by his rage that he was now standing on his own legs, ready to pounce on Alister at any moment. “You proposing a so-called “deal” to try and lower my guard, are you?!” ““Try”? Heh, I don’t have to try with you,” Alister snarked. “And I’m not just mocking you “now”--I’ve been doing that from the very beginning. Or have you not been paying attention all this time?!” Light!Alpha was getting a strange--yet familiar--feeling. Specifically a feeling that felt like it was his own, yet wasn’t. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea…,” he whispered to Orvus. “Me neither but I wanna see where this goes,” Orvus snickered. “What are you getting at?!” Alpha fumed at Alister. “Do I seriously have to spell it out for you, quark-for-brains? (“Hey…!”) There’s a reason you’re trapped in here, and that’s because you couldn’t truly face yourself or your mistakes--you would rather destroy everything you once were just to get away from it all… but you never could, and you never will! You denied yourself the chance to actually learn from your mistakes, your sins, your past, and THIS,” Alister declared, motioning to the void all around them “is what your cowardice got you!” Though still extremely furious, Alpha managed to keep a steady composure, if only for a moment longer. “Cowardice?” he seethed, the left corner of his mouth twitching into an almost smirk. “Sure, I suppose you would see it that way. But really, I’m just tired. Tired of my failings, of being Fate’s plaything, of everything seeming to go right for just about everyone else regardless of my own efforts. Even you and the rest of the participants of this blasted “war” will somehow earn their “happy ending”--even that “daughter” of Protheus Maximus that you managed to bring to your side… she still has a chance at happiness even after all she’s done… AND WHAT ABOUT ME?!! WHAT THE HELL DO I GET??!!! AND HOW COME YOU” he bellowed furiously, jabbing a furious finger in Alister’s direction, “GET TO HAVE BETTER THAN ME??!! What makes YOU so goddamned special, HUH?!” “There’s nothing “special” about me, Alpha,” Alister retorted, “I just did things differently from you, is all. You could’ve avoided your misfortune if you had, for one thing, just listened to Ratchet--” “--ALISTER!” Orvus’s cry alerted Alister just in time to stop an attack coming at him from his right, his would-be assailant succeeding only in plunging a glowing dagger through Alister’s left hand while his right hand grasped his assailant’s wrist. “Tch…!” Alister scoffed, wincing in pain as he struggled to keep the dagger’s pointed end from plunging into a more vital area of his body while also preventing his assailant from retreating. “Guess there was still another backdoor you two shared, huh Alpha…?” “A-Alister…!” Light!Alpha struggled to speak as his body attempted to act of its own will--or rather, by Alpha’s will. “Alpha, he… the longer he and I… are in proximity of each other… the more that he and I… re-synchronize… soon he and I… will be one and the same again… and I won’t… be able to help you anymore… I’m sorry, Al…!” “Why be sorry?” Alister replied calmly, in spite of the pain shooting through his left hand and arm. “At least one half of you did the best you could, and I’m glad to see that at least some part of you is capable of being a better person, even if there’s not much you can do about it at this point. That said,” Alister added as a light briefly flashed from within his vest, “you and your other half reuniting… is exactly what I’m hoping for!” “What…?!” “I-It is…?!” Alpha and his better half blurted out sequentially. “That’s the only way to truly put a stop to him: by first making you whole again!” With that, Alister quickly kicked Light!Alpha away from him, his right hand now free to reach into his inner vest pocket and retrieve what was just bestowed upon him, courtesy of the Alternate Alexander residing in the Apparatus: “I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, “Super Polymerization”! Now if I understand the rules correctly, in order to activate it I must discard another card from my hand. Of course, I don’t exactly have another card in my possession, but,” Alister explained as he gestured to the bleeding wound in his palm, with some of the blood dripping out coalescing into the shape of a card before disappearing, “I suppose my own blood should be able to suffice.” With its activation requirement paid, the Spell Card began to take effect in the form of a swirling vortex suddenly appearing behind DATEA!Alpha. “The hell is this…?!” he uttered, anchoring himself with his Praetorian Omniwrench just as the vortex began to generate a suction force that threatened to pull him within. “The effect of Super Polymerization,” Alister recited, “allows the caster to combine any two or more creatures present in the area--even those not on the side of the caster-- and create a new, singular monster. And what’s more, once it’s been activated, not a thing can be done in response to prevent its resolution--not even the one who cast the Spell! “Now I’ll get straight to the point, Alpha,” Alister declared: “I’d prefer you be reunited with your “better half” sooner rather than later, so I’m speeding up the process right now using the two of you as the Fusion Materials!” “I see,” Light!Alpha uttered understandingly as he too could feel himself getting drawn toward the vortex, only for Alister to grab him by the wrist. “I’m sorry,” Alister sincerely apologized to Alpha’s “better half”, holding onto Light!Alpha at least long enough to say his peace, “the last thing I wanted was to betray you after all you’ve done.” “No need to apologize,” Light!Alpha sadly smiled, having already accepted his fate. “I had always figured, always known, that my fate is tied with the rest of Alpha--that I, one way or another, would have to be your enemy. So no, I feel no betrayal--neither of us were ever really loyal to the other to begin with. All I could hope to do was guide you towards putting my dream to rest. I merely used you, as I’ve tried to use the other Alisters before you--” “--y’know, I’m gonna miss this sincere, remorseful side of you,” Alister interrupted, slowly losing his grip on Light!Alpha’s wrist. “It’s a shame, really, that you’ll likely be overwritten by Alpha’s malice and desperation; you reuniting with him may not do much to fix his damaged heart, if at all… I know you did all you could, despite everything… so that’s why, at least with what little time we have left here, I wanted to say: goodbye, and thank you.” “... I see. Then, I too shall say “thank you” to you, Al,” Light!Alpha quavered with one last, hopeful smile, just as he slipped out of Alister’s grip and felt towards the vortex, colliding with and dislodging Alpha on the way. “... and “good-bye”...” The vortex erupted with a brilliant light as soon as both halves of Alpha were absorbed within it. “... I must ask, Al,” Orvus chimed in as he and Alister awaited the result of the “Fusion Summon”, “why didn’t you also include yourself as a “Fusion Material”? Would’ve made this whole Boss Fight much shorter, for one.” “As if you’re that concerned with the length of time,” Alister shrugged. “And besides, fuse myself with Alpha? No thanks, I’d rather not have so many of the other Alisters in my head like that--eh, no offense, guys,” he added as an aside to the Altisters both physically present and still in the Apparatus (to which they collectively replied, “None taken!”)--much less the worst possible Alister in all of space-time; the last thing we need is for him to ruin what would otherwise be a positive outcome.” “But then how do you intend to--?” “--shh, he’s coming,” Alister hushed the Zoni just as the light of the Fusion died down, revealing the result that was now the complete Alpha; the plain jumpsuit he wore beneath his now-blood-colored coat was replaced by his old Praetorian Armor, and all hints of stoicism he had before were now completely eradicated, his furious expression now tinged with a touch of… insanity. “... what have you done to me…?!” Alpha gurgled as he shakily examined himself, mortified to see that he closely resembled his old self, the self he tried to distance himself from. “What. Have. You. DONE?!!!!” “I put you back together,” Alister stated flatly. “Trust me, it’s for your own--” “STUDDUP!” Alpha hissed, reflexively firing an energy blast from his OmniWrench at the alternate self that dared to taunt him, dared to vex him with his very presence. Of course, Alister merely sidestepped the blast, but even if he hadn’t, the damage to Alpha’s psyche was already done. “Just SHUT UP!! I don’t want to hear another word from you, from ANY of you!!” he shrieked, his eyes darting between Alister and all of the Altisters currently present. “It was bad enough that I had all of you FAILURES in my goddamned face… but NOW?!?!” Alpha clutched his head violently, his eyes bulging out as if threatening to pop out of their sockets. “NOW!! Now I have all of your failures playing in my head… MY HEAD!! MY FUCKING HEEEEAAAAAD!!!!” “His better half…!” Moony gasped in realization. “Alister played his cards correctly… pun unintended,” I.T. spoke without his synthesized voice filter. “Fusing Alpha’s two halves before they were completely synchronized must’ve allowed Alpha’s better half the chance to flood Alpha’s mind with images of all the previous Alisters’ Bad Ends.” “But what now?” Zayon questioned. “All this will likely accomplish is make him even more pissed off than before, not to mention have him do the “Yami Marik Face”... or is it the “Vector Face”...? W-Whatever, the point is: what was even the plan, Alister?! Make him want to die even though he can’t??” Alister was prepared to answer, but a sickening crunch and squelch seized his attention; Alpha had, in the throes of his ((technically) self-inflicted) psychological torture, rammed one of his hands through his own chest and torn out his own darkened, lifeless heart. “Talk about “what’s the plan”...,” Alister blinked in mild disgust. A deranged, mirthless giggle gurgled out of Alpha’s throat, a thick ichor oozing out of his mouth like festering tar. “I… am done. So very done… with you… with all of you… with EVERYTHING…,” Alpha growned, his dead heart nearly bursting with how tightly it was clenched in his hand. “I am… SO very tired of getting my hopes up, just to have them dashed against the rocks… first Tachyon, then Protheus, and NOW! all of you--you, Orvus, your various mistakes, those Souls, even my so-called “better half”... how dare you all, trampling over me and my dreams, subjecting me to and making me the butt of this cruel, sick JOKE, after everything I’ve done, and can’t ever take back… … can no longer take back… … … if I can’t take it all back… … … … then… … … … … … … … … that’s it.” I’ll Just End EVERYTHING!!!! “I’ll end it all, I’ll end EVERYTHING!!!” Alpha boldly declared in invigorated delirium as he crushed his own heart completely, the blackened, oozing blood splashing onto the left side of his face and upper torso as well as the floor beneath him. “This cruel Multiverse has had its fun with me for FAR too long!! No more will I allow myself to be its sad little CLOWN performing for its amusement!!” “... aaaaaaand he’s snapped. Of course that’s the conclusion he comes to,” Alister rolled his eyes, somewhat disappointed that Alpha didn’t have a sudden epiphany, but also not surprised. His train of thought was interrupted, however, as something in the spilled black blood caught his eye: a single red eye belonging to… SOMETHING, shooting its hateful, piercing glare in Alister’s direction as the pool of blood began to expand on its own. Clearly, Alister realized, Alpha ripping out and crushing his own heart wasn’t just for dramatic, theatrical effect, nor to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he cannot die--no, Alpha was calling something to aid him. Something… from deep within. “If I cannot undo what I’ve already done,” Alpha continued to rave as the pool of black blood surrounded him and grew ever wider, “if I cannot bring my dream to reality, if I cannot have my happy ending, THEN NO ONE SHALL!!!” The pool of blood suddenly erupted upwards, engulfing Alpha completely as the stream rose ever onwards. “Knowing as much as I do,” Alister uttered as he watched the tower of blood reach the height of a 20-story building, “I’d say Alpha’s is calling upon his Shadow… how right am I?” “A very good guess, Al,” Orvus nodded as he and Alister watched the tower of shadowy blood begin to take on a quasi-humanoid form. “Though to me it seems he’s attempting to summon his Shadow as a Persona. “Attempting” being the key word here.” ““Persona”…?” Alister repeated. “Oh, right, Alexander and Umbris didn’t get that far in their Shadow explanation last time, did they? Well, best way I can “Tee-El;Dee Arr” it is this: a Persona is what happens when one’s Shadow--the manifestation of their inner self--is “refined” and tamed by own’s ego, and acts as a “mask” for one to be able to face hardship. In this case, however, eurgh…” “We could say his inner self has become a beast barely contained since his two halves reunited,” Alister completed, “but it looks like he’s managed to surpass and overpower that beast by sheer force of will… or just sheer force, really…” He glanced back up at Alpha’s Shadow, seeing it take on the towering appearance of a kneeling, porcelain-skinned, ball-jointed doll with an angelic, masculine visage, complete with wings sprouting from its back and the sides of its head. Various cracks in the figure’s porcelain skin--mostly on the right side of its body--reveal a clockwork skeleton within, along with a starry void; from the largest of these cracks in the center of its chest dangled a synthetic heart branded with a mark similar to the engraving on Alister’s pocket watch. Grand, golden chains materialized from a portal in the center of a giant floating gear high above the Shadow, shackling the figure like the strings of a marionette. Atop the Shadow’s head lay a pool of the blackened blood, a festering bog which contrasted with the bright porcelain of the figure, and residing in this pool, submerged up to his waist, stood Alpha, grasping what looked to be his own set of golden chains shackled to his own wrists. ((pardon the crude sketch, but here's a rough visual representation of the Shadow as described above)) “Combining with your own monster, huh? How very “DM-Era”, as Alexander would put it,” Alister shrugged at Alpha’s display. “Continue your mockery at your own peril, ”General”,” Alpha sneered as he raised his left arm, the Shadow forced to make a similar motion due to the chains puppeteering its arm. “Just know that you will be the first to taste oblivion by my hand!!” “Yeah, yeah, shuddup,” Alister scoffed as he got into combat position, alongside Moony, I.T., Aligore and Zayon. “Let’s get this shindig over with already--I’ve got people to get back to and a party to throw. And that’s “Alister” to you,” he firmly added. ♫♪ VS Shadow of Alpha (Apollyon) / “Avatar Beat” ♪♫ “No, you are NOTHING to me, and soon you will BE nothing!! MAFREIDYNE!!!” Alpha bellowed as he ordered his Shadow to cast a Nuclear Spell at Alister and the Altisters, all five dodging out of the way and dashing towards the Shadow just as five small nuclear explosions erupted where they each once stood. “Aligore, I.T., you two focus on the Shadow’s cracked limbs along with Pearl and Vivi, starting with the right leg!” Alister instructed as he summoned the Crystal Gem and Furret Pokemorph out of the Apparatus. “Moony and Zayon, see what you, Homura and Reid can do about that heart!” “And what about you?” Zayon asked as the Puella Magi and the Dragon Elder appeared by his side. “I’ve got some backup in mind, but otherwise I’m going straight for the head.” “Then allow me to give you a boost, Adonis,” Reid offered as he grabbed hold of Alister mid-stride and, with Zayon, Moony and Homura clung to his back, kicked off into the air, soaring up towards the heart of the Shadow before flinging Alister upwards towards the head. “Give him all the Hells, Al!” “... anything else you wanna tell me, Orvus?” Alister mentally said to the Zoni as he zipped through the air. “You could tell, huh?” Orvus replied. “Okay, I must confess that there is one more thing I must tell you so that you may be best prepared: while the Philosopher’s Observation allows you to call upon the Altisters and Souls from within the Apparatus, there is a limit to how long you can maintain them before they’re forced to go back, proportionate to how many you have out at a time.” “And how much of that limit have I used up so far?” “... a little over twenty percent. And counting.” “... that should be plenty,” Alister mentally nodded just as he landed atop the Shadow’s head, a few yards away from Alpha. “I know that look,” Alpha taunted. “Orvus just now told you something last minute that he could’ve brought up sooner--specifically about the Observation’s limits with maintaining your After Images… I know I’m right,” he added with a smirk. “And what if you are? Whaddya want, a cookie?” Alister scoffed. “In-before you say “No, Azimuth, I want you to DIE!” or something like that.” “Tch… I actually WANTED to say that, you dick!” Alpha angrily scowled. “Yet another thing you denied me just by existing…! ATOMIC FLA--hrrRRK-*!” Alpha attempted to cast yet another Nuclear Spell, but Alister had thrown a “Gyakutenno Megami” card right into his open mouth, causing him to choke and stopping the reciting of the Spell’s name. “... really…?!” Alpha grunted after pulling the card out of his mouth and crushing it. “Not our fault you made it so easy with that big mouth of yours,” an Alister-esque voice taunted back; while Alpha was distracted from the mouthful of “Goddess of Reversal”, Alister took a risk to call upon three Altisters that Alpha almost immediately recognized: Alpha-Romeo, Alpha-Delta, and Alpha-Tango. “You three… but HOW?! You three should have ceased to exist when the Pathways were destroyed!!” Alpha exclaimed with shocked outrage. “Yeah, we were wondering about that, too,” Alpha-Romeo scratched the back of his head. “Turns out that interacting with Alister--whether we were conscious or not--caused us to sync up with the Apparatus again, and thus created a backup for each of us.” “So it’s not enough for you to throw YOUR mistakes in my face,” Alpha seethed at Alister, “NOW you’re pitting MY mistakes against ME—?!!” “Quit giving yourself so much credit, Alpha--our mistakes and deaths were ours alone, while you were just along for the ride and subsequent crash,” Alpha-Delta retorted as he called out one of his Mini-Mechs to fire its missiles at Alpha. Alpha shielded himself from the missile strike by spinning his OmniWrench before himself, but still sustained a fair bit of damage from the impact of the explosions. “We wouldn’t even be here if not for your experiments, so consider this karma for dragging all of us through your bullshit!” Alpha-Tango sneered as he unfurled his ragged cloak, several lasers firing out from within the cloak aimed for Alpha’s head. (Zayon’s Group P.O.V.) Despite Alpha’s attention being otherwise occupied with Alister and the AlphAltisters, the Shadow was still able to defend itself without input from its “Master”; a swarm of locusts began to spill out of the “Deity’s” mouth, converging on Reid and his passengers. “The one time I forget to bring bug spray… figures,” Moony scoffed as he, Zayon and Homura provided cover fire against the cloud of locusts. “You don’t need bug spray,” Reid boasted, “not when you’ve got a living flamethrower!” “Having an actual flamethrower wouldn’t hurt, though,” Homura pointed out flatly as she retrieved said weapon from behind her buckler, back-mounted fuel tank and all. “... this child scares me,” Zayon and Moony blurted in unison. The Puella Magi, after a quick smirk and a flick of her hair, proceeded to douse the oncoming swarm with the ignited fuel, giving Reid time to surround himself and his passengers with a swirling spherical cage of flame, just as a new swarm of locusts made a beeline for them once again, yet only succeeding in becoming ash as they collided with the cage. “That’s odd,” Reid mused as a third stream of locusts collided with his flame cage. “Is it me, or does it seem like these locusts aren’t even bothering to protect the heart? It’s as if they’re less interested in defending a possible weak point by acting as a distraction, and more interested in attacking us for the sake of attacking.” “... perhaps because Alpha doesn’t see the heart as being something worth protecting,” Moony hypothesized. “Even if doing so would be more beneficial to him.” “... … because, just like what it seems to represent,” Zayon added, taking special note of the mark emblazoned on the heart’s surface, “he must not want anything to do with it, even if it was once something he couldn’t be without, for the pain and suffering he now associates with it.” “So do we just ignore it, then?” Homura pressed. “Maybe, maybe not,” Moony shrugged. “We’ll have to come up with something while we deal with these locusts.” “Fair enough,” Reid nodded, having already prepared to fire off his Quad-Kill Attack. “Though I have to wonder if the group on the ground floor are having any issues with the locusts too?” Zayon pondered. “Meh, I’m sure they’re fine,” Moony shrugged. (Aligore’s Group P.O.V.) “This is NOT fine!!” Pearl shrieked indignantly as she, Vivi, I.T. and Aligore fought to fend off the swarm of locusts pestering their group, having made little-to-no headway on their objective of cracking the Shadow’s porcelain skin further. “It’s like there’s no END to them!” “Aligore, don’t you have any Fire moves that can hit as many of these locusts as possible?!” Admiral Vivi called out while trying to shake off a cluster of locusts that had clung to his long, bushy tail. “I’m trying!! BLOOMING EMBERS!!!” Aligore called out while spinning his Praetorian Trident above him, unleashing a flurry of petal-like flames from the weapon’s ends which encircled the group. Many of the locusts harassing them exploded upon making contact with the flaming petals, but more quickly took their place shortly after. “I’m going to run out of Tension Points (TP) at this rate!” “Your Asgore Half isn’t from that continuity--you’re not using TP!” I.T. blurted out, trying his best to mark the “shatterpoints” of the Shadow’s skin while swatting away the swarm with his Cable Tails. “Point being, I can’t keep this up forever, I.T.!!” Aligore grunted. “They all seem dead set on going straight for us,” Pearl noted while firing beams from her spear. “Maybe if we had more of us out here….” “But that would put tremendous strain on Alister’s use of the Observation,” I.T. revealed. “He’s already using quite a bit just having us out and about.” “We just need one to help us out,” Aligore surmised. “One specific Altister.” “...!” I.T. ellipses’d in realization. “That has to be your most brilliant idea to date, Aligore! Get your Blooming Embers ready!” I.T. proceeded to put out what looked like a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Get to multiplying, Too-Dee!” Unfolding in I.T.’s hand, Too-Dee gave a cute giggle as he began to duplicate his body exponentially, each copy grabbing hold of one of Aligore’s Blooming Embers as they floated through the air before landing on I.T.’s Shatterpoint Marks. The locusts, drawn to the sudden appearance of Too-Dee’s duplicates, redirected their focus to bombard the scribbly decoys. The Blooming Embers that each duplicate held detonated as soon as the locusts made contact, setting off a chain reaction as the explosions cracked the Shatterpoints of the Shadow’s porcelain skin in rapid succession until, with a loud crash, the Shadow's right leg shattered completely, throwing the Shadow off-balance and forcing it to support itself with its right arm. “... … wait, so I.T. just had Too-Dee with him the whole time?” Pearl blurted confusedly. “I ain’t gonna question it,” Vivi shrugged, glad that the spectacle saved them a lot of time and effort. Speaking of… (Alister’s POV) The Shadow’s loss-of-balance caused Alister’s group and especially Alpha to stumble in the midst of their scuffle, with Alpha even faceplanting into the pool of black blood surrounding him. As Alpha struggled to pull himself out of the ichor, Alister and the AlphAltisters seized the opportunity for an All-Out Attack, attacking the DATEA Leader from all angles in rapid succession. “Fuck… OFF!!!” Alpha bellowed angrily, setting off a point-blank Megidolaon that struck right where he stood, and managed to catch Alpha-Romeo in the blast radius even as the other two AlphAltisters and Alister retreated just in time to avoid the damage. “Alpha-Romeo!” Alpha-Tango and Alpha-Delta cried out as they watched their fellow AlphAltister disintegrate into sand before his eyes, a sign that the AlphAltister had Timed-Out. “And that,” Alpha declared with malefic triumph, in spite of having lost small chunks of his own flesh as a result of his desperate counterattack, “is what’s going to happen to the rest of you!” A bestial growl erupted from Alpha-Delta’s throat. “Well why wait?!” he furiously barked as, despite protests from Alister and Alpha-Tango, Alpha-Delta dove into the cockpit of his Mini-Mecha. “You want us gone that badly?! Consider that wish granted, but just know we won’t go down without a fight!!” “Freidyne!!” Alpha immediately unleashed another Nuclear Spell aimed at Alpha-Delta’s Mini-Mecha, yet the machine bowled through the attack as it made a mad dash for Alpha’s position, prepared to do as much damage as possible to the DATEA Leader and/or his Shadow even if…. “Al, take cover!” Alpha-Tango shrieked, dragging Alister to the floor and covering him with his own body just as a great explosion erupted, firing shrapnel from Alpha-Delta’s Mini-Mecha all around them. “Well, that was excessive on Alpha-Delta’s part,” Orvus chimed in as he appeared by Alister and Alpha-Tango’s side. “Are you two okay?” “Alister is… at least,” Alpha-Tango grunted in pain, having taken several searing shards of metal to his back. He gingerly lifted himself up from Alister, relieved to see that the lombax had not sustained any injuries as a result of Alpha-Delta’s kamikaze attack. Yet something in the back of his head was bothering him. “... ah, shit, is there one in the back of my head, too…?” “I’d, uhm… rather not say,” Orvus gulped. “Ugh… Al, don’t look,” Alpha-Tango advised Alister, keeping the back of his head--and the piece of shrapnel sticking out of it--away from the latter’s view. “Okay, but… did that get him?” Alister worried, turning his attention towards the wreckage that was once Alpha-Delta’s Mini-Mecha. “At least tell me if that put a dent in him….” “... I’ll admit, it did.” The voice that calmly answered came from the now mostly-stripped skeleton of Alpha, with only the left half of his face and upper-left side of his torso still having any flesh clinging to his black blood-covered bones. “A valiant effort on that After Image’s part, though it still amounted to nothing in the end….” “... holy fuck…,” Alister and Alpha-Tango gasped at the horrific display which proved beyond all doubt that Alpha was not going to be killed… at least not physically. “... you’re just a cruel imitation of a living creature now,” Orvus shook his head, his tone almost pitying as he, Alister and Alpha-Tango watched Alpha regenerate his flesh using the sickening black plasma. “I daresay the Shadow beneath us is more “you” than you are now--” “--but of course I’m not “the old me” anymore,” Alpha sneered as his body regained the appearance it had before--minus his outfit, now replaced by a layer of black ooze covering the forearms and lower half of his now otherwise naked form. “I have forsaken the old me long ago--no more shall I be “Alister Azimuth” ever again--” “--but you’ll always be Alister to me… won’t you…?” Alpha, Alister and Alpha-Tango were all taken aback at the sudden appearance of Kaden, the yellow-furred lombax staring Alpha down with a slight tinge of pity in his barely-noticeable smile. “Kaden…? But I didn’t sense him being called from the Apparatus…,” Orvus thought to himself. “Some of the others have retreated, though, and yet….” “... Kaden…?” Alpha-Tango uttered, just as confused as Orvus was. As if to ease Alpha-Tango’s mind, Kaden placed a reassuring hand gently on the Altister’s shoulder. “Alister and I can take it from here, so you go ahead and retreat… okay, Tango?” A slight gasp escaped Alpha-Tango’s lips, as if realizing… … a slight, knowing smile quickly appeared on his face before vanishing in a cloud of dust and sand, Timing-Out from the damage he had sustained prior. With the Altister gone, Kaden helped Alister to his feet before returning his attention to Alpha. “You know there’s still a chance for you to stop what you’re doing, Alister,” he told the DATEA Leader. “Even with this whole, erm… display you’ve got going on here.” Alpha stood regarding Kaden in mystified, paralyzed silence. “... you… can’t be real.” “I mean, it has been quite some time since you last saw me, right?” Kaden replied calmly. “That’s not what I--,” Alpha grunted, stumbling upon his words. “You… you know me, Kaden… do you really think… that I can stop now…? Even if I wanted to now, I… I can’t. I can’t stop now, not ever… I’m too far into this to be able to…!” Kaden couldn’t help but to shake his head at Alpha’s response. “You always were stubborn, weren’t you?” he asked in a way that made it sound like the question wasn’t just for Alpha… or even for Alister. “... Al, if you don’t stop now, you will cross the point where it will be too late to turn back. You’ll destroy everything, up to and including the Multiverse itself, and for what--?” “PAYBACK, Kaden…!” Alpha barked, his insanity snapping back into place. “Our universe, the entire Multiverse, saw fit to thrust tragedy after tragedy upon me and the ones I love, tear it all from my hands no matter how tightly I try to hold on to it, and I was supposed to just continue on with whatever little the Multiverse desired to leave me with?! No… no, Kaden… I know that the Multiverse is MY enemy, and I will be the one to bring it to its knees and--” “--and make it your “bitch”,” Kaden scoffed, glancing up at the chains hanging down from the halo-like gear above the Shadow, the same ones binding its limbs and wings, the same ones which Alpha now holds in his hands. “Much like how you feel the Multiverse has made a clown out of you, is that it?” “That’s what happens when one takes the universe’s humor the wrong way--they try to burn the entire comedy club down with everyone in it…,” Orvus sighed. “YOU BE QUIET!!!” Alpha bellowed at Orvus, firing a plasma blast from his OmniWrench at the Zoni for good measure. “Always getting on my last nerve with that “Universe and its great sense of humor” BULLSHIT!” “Well MAYBE!” Alister cut in as he swatted the blast away from Orvus with his own OmniWrench before firing off his own volley of plasma blasts at Alpha, “some of us should’ve listened to what the Universe was trying to tell us instead of taking the punchline the wrong way!” “Of course YOU would say that!” Alpha hissed back, deflecting Alister’s projectiles. “YOU got to have a second chance to live YOUR life, and to see where and what you did wrong-- “I didn’t need a second chance at life to see WHAT I DID WRONG!!” Alister bellowed as he took the chance to clash wrenches with Alpha. “What I NEEDED--what YOU needed--was someone to beat some SENSE into us to get us to STOP what we were doing before we FUCKED THINGS UP FURTHER!!! Which is fucked up in its own right because we shouldn’t’ve NEEDED all of that to begin with--WE should’ve known damned well enough to just stop and listen in the FIRST PLACE!!!” Before Alpha could retort, Alister had backhanded him across the face hard enough to temporarily dislocate his jaw. Kaden used the distraction to fling several CryoMines in Alpha’s face, the explosives freezing Alpha within a block of ice. “Clearly you must know, Alpha,” Kaden spoke as he stared into the shocked expression on the frozen lombax’s face, “that what you plan to do will destroy every universe, every timeline, everything and everyone in them! The lives and very existences of the ones we love will be erased… do they mean so little to you now?!' Even through the layers of ice, Kaden’s words struck a chord in Alpha. Not a Chord of Epiphany, mind, but rather a Chord of Betrayal. Breaking out of his icy prison with a roar, Alpha materialized a separate golden chain to ensnare Kaden, the binding links steadily tightening around the lombax’s ribcage. “STOP TRYING TO TALK ME OUT OF IT, KADEN, AND GET OUT OF MY WAY!! NOTHING WILL KEEP ME FROM ACHIEVING MY DREAM!! I’VE MADE UP MY MIND!!!!” “... so have we.” A few seconds after hearing this line, spoken by another familiar, yet raspy voice, Alpha glanced down to see the right half of his face, lying face-up in the pond of blood and staring back at him with the same stunned expression as his left. It had been blasted off by the assailant standing behind him, their Constructo Pistol still aimed at (what’s left of) Alpha’s head. “Regardless of what you have planned for the Multiverse, know that we won’t let it come to pass… Alister.” Alpha’s body became paralyzed, frozen, with terror, realizing who it was speaking to him, confronting him, at that very moment, not even reacting to the Kaden-shaped Decoy currently deflating in front of him. His right eye, however, despite currently being separate from the rest of his head, could see this adversary clear as day: Ratchet. His Ratchet. “Now Ratchet…?” Orvus mused to himself in confusion. “Again I failed to sense a calling from the Apparatus--oh. Ohh… goodness, my mind really does tend to slip, doesn’t it? Why didn’t I make the connection sooner? Myeh-hee…!” Alister, too, seemed about as confused as Orvus was at the sudden appearance of Ratchet (or I suppose we shall call him “Ratchet-Zero” for clarity’s sake), yet something in the back of his mind seemed to tell him what was really at work here, and so he decided to run with it. “Your sins and your guilt are finally catching up to you, Alpha,” he taunted sternly. “Even here you can’t run and hide from them forever.” “... me, hide…?” Alpha croaked, his paralysis doing nothing to keep his rage at bay as he turned his focus back onto Alister. “What about you? You yourself are hardly any better than I when it comes to the sins you committed, or were willing to commit. It’s as you said: you “needed” someone to beat some sense into you to get you to reconsider activating the Orvus Chamber. What if that “someone”--your Ratchet--failed to bring you to your senses? I’ll tell you: YOU STILL WOULD HAVE ENDED UP LIKE ME!!! You still would have killed Ratchet, and then destroyed the Great Clock AND your universe, THEN be “rescued” by that bastard Protheus and offered to join him in his crusade to find the Door of Origin--!” “--so me becoming “just like you” comes down to specific variables lining up in just the right way, basically,” Alister rolled his eyes, interrupting Alpha’s monologue. “Sure, you’re right, I could have become just like you had Ratchet failed to stop me… but he didn’t, and so I didn’t, and quite frankly when it comes to you and I, what did happen is more important than “what could have happened”--what has happened cannot and should not be changed--!” “You are a COWARD!” Alpha barked back, the hole in his head quickly resealing itself with more black blood. “A coward and a hypocrite!! You and I both know that you should be DEAD right now--” “--and that Isamy’s intervention is what’s kept me from dying,” Alister once again finished Alpha’s thought while cutting yet another monologue short. “It’s true that her turning me into a Distortion has effectively prolonged my life, or perhaps more accurately… delayed my actual moment of death--I could very well be on a timer, and once it reaches zero my death will catch up to me… and honestly, that’s fine by me.” “Alister can accept when his time is up,” Ratchet-Zero spoke up, still holding Alpha at gunpoint, “unlike you, who severed himself from death despite having killed himself--when you ran yourself through with “Boundless Tail”! It’s like Orvus said--you’re nothing but a “cruel imitation of a living creature” now, just a soul trapped in a festering mass that can’t even be called a “corpse” anymore! You’ve… twisted yourself into something unnatural, all in the vain hope of achieving your ambitions, and not even death can free you of it now; you’ll be stuck like this even after the rest of Multiverse comes to its natural end. Do you even realize how thoroughly you screwed yourself over?!” “... so what if I have, Ratchet?” Alpha coldly shrugged. “If becoming an undying perversion of nature is the price I must pay to realize my dream, then consider it paid! I will spend that eternity either reshaping the current Multiverse, or crafting a new one once the slate cleans itself!” “And how many times WILL you be recreating the Multiverse, then?!” “As many times as it takes!!” “You’ll never be satisfied, then,” Orvus spoke. “You’ll be spending many Multiversal lifetimes chasing that dream, falling short of your expectations every time--” “--he knows that already,” Alister interrupted Orvus. “Or at the very least he’s willing to go through with it, even if his dream can never be realized. He’s already resigned himself to that fate because he sees no other option for himself. No other potential for himself.” The response took everyone else by surprise--even Shadow Alpha flinched slightly before going deathly still. Alister continued, “You asked me before about what made me “special” compared to you, Alpha, and my answer moments before was that there was nothing, aside from what I ended up doing differently from you. I still feel that holds true, but there’s more to it than that. “You and I still share the same core, Alpha--we’re selfish, arrogant, impatient, ambitious, hard-headed and prideful to a fault… hell, at least a little bit insane, even. The difference, however, is that you no longer see yourself--or me--growing much beyond all of that. But I do see it--have seen it--my potential to grow beyond the pain and suffering that would lead us astray, my potential to hope for greater things and a better tomorrow not just for myself, but for those who will come after me. All that you saw and wrote off as “mistakes” I see as possibilities for myself and all those I hold dear, and that is why I am here to put a stop to you--!” “--of course it is,” Alpha cut in with a flat tone that sounded almost bored and irritated. A second later, Alister and Ratchet-Zero found themselves impaled and pinned down by various spears made out of Alpha’s black blood, all of which conveniently avoided puncturing any vital organs--but only because Alpha willed it to be so. “Bored as I am with everyone’s incessant prattling, I can’t help but to at least throw in my own two cents. Of course you’re here, Azimuth, risking your life to try and stop me, all for the sake of those you care about,” he said, ignoring Ratchet-Zero’s gasps and whimpers of pain as he strolled over toward Alister, backhanding and sending Orvus flying as the Zoni made an attempt to confront him head-on. “I know this, obviously, because I am--or was--you, once. We who would do anything for those in need, those who would never ask for our help or even thank us for it, if for no other reason that it being the only way we can ever live with ourselves for what we’ve done… even if it means we don’t live at all… but I’m done with that now, so allow me to bring this farce to an end,” he declared, stooping down and grabbing the kneeling Alister by the neck, “by taking your life--snuffing it out along with all that hope and potential you’ve been ever-so keen on defending, attached to all those insignificant lives you hold so dearly, before moving on to erasing the rest of this accursed Multiverse and everything in it… what have you to say to that?” “... I’d say,” Alister strained through the pressure against his throat, managing a slight, defiant smirk despite the immense pain he was otherwise in, “... that not even you can help… but to monologue, Mr. Straight-To-The-Point…!” “INFINITE IMPERMANENCE!!!” Hearing the declaration behind him, Alpha had only enough time to frantically turn around to face Ratchet-Zero before being blasted by a blinding light that enveloped him is a thick blue aura, which then dissolved, along with the chains connecting him to his Shadow, into a cloud of cyan bubbles that floated up and away, silently fading into the empty sky as a similar, familiar feeling of power-loss washed over Alpha. “Lost your cool, lost your focus,” Ratchet-Zero taunted, proudly showing off the Trap Card he had just used on Alpha as if he hadn’t been made into a parody of a pincushion mere moments before, “and now lost your power, if for but a moment.” The young lombax smirked as his appearance rippled and warped, settling on those of Kaden. “‘Course I couldn’t have done this without “Soul Alexander” teaching us how to play Duel Monsters his way, without your deep-seated guilt over killing Ratchet making you choose to deal with “him” second, nor…,” “Kaden” added as his entire being now rippled and warped again, revealing his true appearance: Moony. “... without Alister helping me to distract you long enough to pull this off. Speaking of, he was right,” Moony added tauntingly; “even us “mistakes” can learn and grow from what we ourselves or each other have experienced since becoming Altisters, so what’s really been your excuse, Alpha?” “You… worthless…!” Alpha growled through his teeth, prepared to do one of the few things he’s capable of in his current state and blast a hole through the Altister with his OmniWrench. Alister, meanwhile, attempted to take advantage of Alpha’s distracted state and tackle him from behind--even though, unlike Moony, he was more affected by the pincushioning he he was subjected to. … yet neither would get their chance at the moment, as Alpha’s Shadow--no longer bound to its “Master”--suddenly convulsed and writhed violently, catapulting Alpha, Alister and Moony off of its head with an ear-grating screech. Thankfully none of them had very far to fall as, due to I.T.’s quick thinking, Too-Dee formed a nearby papier-mâché platform with his many duplicate bodies upon which the three landed relatively safely. “Oh good!, we’re all back in the picture now,” Reid chimed sarcastically, having wondered just when the screentime would return to the two groups dealing with the Shadow. “Anyways, don’t mean to rush you, Al, but could you hurry it up whilst you clearly have the advantage?!” “I’m working on it!” Alister grunted as he got back to his feet as quickly as his injuries would allow. Alpha, however, was already making a murderous dash towards the lombax, OmniWrench in hand and energy charge, ready to fire-- --yet Alpha would once again be briefly inconvenienced as a dagger plunged right in the center of his back, throwing him off-balance. “Oh good,” Moony snarked, dagger-throwing hand still raised as he began to vanish and retreat back inside the Apparatus, “I managed to hit my mark this time.” This brief inconvenience was just enough for Alister to make his own move, tackling Alpha to the ground and disarming him of his OmniWrench, which the Z-Wrench proceeded to pin to the ground. “You say you wanna “take my life”, Alpha?!” Alister roared as he straddled Alpha, pinning him by the neck with his left hand while, with his free right hand, he grabbed hold of the Pocket Watch dangling from his own neck, breaking the chain as he furiously yanked it off-- “When you love something, never lose it… you must always keep it safe, close to your heart….” --a shadowy, distorted energy erupted around Alister’s hand as he plunged the watch into the gaping hole still in the center of Alpha’s chest, into the chest cavity where Alpha’s heart once existed. “Then go ahead and TAKE IT!!!” The same distorted energy began to radiate all over Alister’s body, billowing behind him almost like a cloak blowing in the wind. “What are you doing…?!” Alpha gasped in shock at witnessing this spectacle, frantically wondering just what Alister was trying to accomplish at this very moment. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!” “... giving you back what you’ve lost,” Alister calmly responded as he began to pour every ounce of the distorted power within his body into Alpha’s. “Wait, is he…?!” Pearl gasped as she and the rest of Aligore’s group watched what was happening on the platform above them. “He’s… utilizing the power of Distortion granted to him by Isamy,” Aligore uttered in awe. “He’s blasting Alpha from the inside with it! And it’s affecting the Shadow, too!” Admiral Vivi added as everyone else witnessed the Shadow crumple onto its own back, crying out in agony. “But being made into a Distortion is what’s keeping him alive in the first place,” Homura informed. “If Alister uses up and removes that power from his own body--!” “--he’s aware,” Reid uttered solemnly. “It’s why he’s even doing this at all--he got the idea from what happened to Zayon and I….” “Ceasing to be a distortion will bring his own life to an end,” Zayon quavered knowingly, tears calmly falling down his face, “which will create an Altister within the Apparatus, and in turn will also steal away Alpha’s own soul--whether he is capable of dying or not--since he’s the one in closest proximity to the pocketwatch. That’s how it happened, with me and my Red….” “So THAT’s your game, huh?!” Alpha snarled hysterically, laughing in Alister’s face even as the Distortion was flowing into him. “Once again you throw your life away to try and patch up your failings! Some things never change at all do they--?!” “Make no mistake, Alpha,” Alister calmly stated, all while he could feel his own lifeforce steadily draining from his very being, “this is not me giving up on life or living--far from it. I’m resolved to never give up on myself ever again--and that includes ALL of my alternate selves… even you.” “!!” Alpha was utterly taken aback by this declaration, but once again it was for but a moment, as this amazement quickly gave way to indignation. “Of all the insipid drivel to come out of that blasted mouth…! SAVE YOUR FUCKING SYMPATHIES FOR SOMEONE WHO DESERVES IT, AZIMUTH!!!!” he shrieked as he reached both of his hands up as if to grab Alister’s head, his palms glowing with concentrated Almighty energy--a sign that the effect of “Infinite Impermanence” had come to an end. “MEGIDOLAO--!!” The spell Alpha intended to unleash would never appear; heralded by a warped slashing sound, both of his arms began to crumple apart into small cubes of flesh and bone, leaving stumps up to his shoulders. Stunned by this development, Alpha glanced away from the minced remains of his arms cascading upon him and up at the figure that had partially emerged from the cloak of distortion billowing behind Alister: a familiar, teal-haired young woman in a cute, fancy outfit complete with a tophat, wielding a shadowy scythe in her hands--the very same scythe that had just finished dicing up Alpha’s arms before he could decimate Alister’s head. “... Isamy… you brat.” Though the effect of “Infinite Impermanence” no longer restrained him, Alpha found himself somehow unable to merge the minced pieces of his arms back together to the rest of his body, nor manipulate his blackened blood for any other use. Was this a result of Isamy’s own power interfering with his, or was there something else-- “Seems we’ve truly reached your checkmate now.” Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Orvus slowly materialized back into Alpha’s view--whether Alister could see this too, or if this was for Alpha’s eyes only, no one quite knew at that moment. “Granted, you’ve had yourself in check for so long, it was bound to happen eventually; thankfully it happened sooner rather than later.' “So you’ve come to gloat now that I’m seemingly defenseless?” Alpha scoffed at the Zoni. “Nothing “seemingly” about your state, Alpha--this is it,” Orvus chided. “In just a few more seconds the results of Alister’s actions will make themselves quite apparent, though perhaps not in the way most believe they will--” “--how so?!” Alpha snapped. “Everyone already knows what’s happening--Azimuth is going to end his life just so he and I can be sealed inside the Apparatus along with the rest of the Failures and their Plus-Ones. Then we’ll get to sit through yet another cycle and watch as yet another--” “--nope,” Orvus cut in, wagging a finger in Alpha’s face. “As per Alister’s request before we entered this domain, I had the “Return-To-Start” function of the Apparatus disabled. Permanently, I might add, so regardless of what happens here, this will be the final “Loop” that the Apparatus will make, whether anyone likes the results or not. “As for the whole “Alister giving up his life for the sake of those he cares for and/or the world/universe/Multiverse” bit, while it is true that he would do so without hesitation--and I mean, c’mon, we’ve seen him try that so many times--the truth is that would be his last resort… and what he’s doing now is anything but.” “WHAT.” “Right now, what Alister intends to do,” Orvus explained, “is use the power of Distortion bestowed upon him AND the Philosophers’ Observation he gained from your Better Half to not so much breathe life into you again, but rather to restore your severed connection to the Cycle of Life... the connection you severed when you attempted to separate yourself from your emotions, your inhibitions, your identity… the action that rendered you undying even as your own blood festered and coagulated into ichor, your body wasting away with no chance of release from your own rotting corpse, a prison of your own making keeping you from joining the afterlife to be reunited with those that would welcome you with open arms… even despite everything. Granted, effectively becoming a Lich did grant you access to some rather… unenviable gifts that served you well in this battle up to this point, but all of that will soon end; in fact, your inability to reform your arms after Isamy destroyed them means that Alister’s efforts are already bearing fruit. “Now, I must ask, and feel free to give an answer or not, I don’t mind either way,” Orvus said, taking a moment to study Alpha’s expression of astonished realization, “so: with your connection to the Cycle of Life being restored while in your current state, what do you suppose will happen to you? Even without being an otherwise amorphous mass of rotten flesh, you literally have no heart--you made sure of that with your little display before calling out your “Persona”. And even if your heart were still intact, you’d surely bleed out from your wounds (and I’m not just talking about bleeding from those two stumps that were once your arms)... okay, I’ll go ahead and answer for you since you seem ever-so preoccupied with what may be your final thoughts: You’re going to die, Alpha. Death will finally catch up to you after being denied the chance for so long. Hell, it’s likely you’ll die before Alister gets the chance to--how embarrassing would that be for ya, amirite? And all because you kept putting yourself in check: from the moment you murdered your Ratchet nottomentionCLANKlet’snotforgetthat, to the moment you overloaded the Great Clock, to the moment you denied accountability for both… ALL the way up to this exact moment, everything you’ve ever done to get yourself out of check only served to keep you in check, and not even a stalemate can end this prolonged game of Chess that you should have lost long ago. Everyone’s tired--even you, I’m sure--and they want to go home, but they can’t until THIS game comes to a close… your dream must remain a dream, Alpha, and you need to let yourself rest, too. You need to…” ♫♪ (Determination) ♪♫ “... you need to rest, Alpha,” Alister croaked exhaustedly, removing his hand from Alpha’s throat to gently touch the side of his doppelganger’s face. “Rest, and go home… please.” “... … …” He couldn’t figure out if his interaction with Orvus just now was genuine, or a hallucination in which he was really speaking to Alister, but… at this point, Alpha feeling too drained to care either way. “... … …” He spent another ellipses wearily looking into Alister’s tired eyes, seeing in them a sort of pity, a sort of empathy…. “... … … if I do… … will you do… what I could not…? … … will you… make your dream… come true… … …?” “... … …” Wordlessly, Alister gave a solemn nod. “... … … … … … then… go… … do it… … … your way… … … … … … ….” While Alpha’s face remained stoic to the very end, a look of peace and what appeared to be the slightest smile flashed across the face of Alpha’s Shadow as both it and Alpha’s body began to crumble away into ashes, the pocketwatch glowing faintly as Alister pulled it out from Alpha’s remains…. “... … does this mean,” Alister hoarsely uttered, glancing down at the pocketwatch in his hand, sensing Alpha’s Soul silently resting, waiting, inside, “... we can start to roll the credits…?” As if to answer his question, the domain around him began to waver and tremble, as his next destination faded into view…. “... not just yet, Al.” Epiloguous Alister was still too exhausted to properly raise his head, but he could tell that he was back in Epiloguous, somehow, surrounded by his teammates, his friends (… and Kyros). “We still have a ways to go before then,” Alexander continued as he knelt down before Alister, placing a reassuring hand on the latter’s shoulder, overjoyed to see him again safe and sound. “... you’ll be able to stick around long enough to cross the finish line, right…?” he added with a hint of worry. “… I’ll try,” Alister nodded, attempting to get to his feet, yet failing quite miserably. “Shit… losing my adrenaline again….” “I gotcha, beefcake,” Red declared as the dragon stooped down to pick Alister up from the floor, opting to carry the lombax with one arm. “I’d say you definitely deserve to stay off your feet for a while.” “Thanks, Big Guy…,” Alister said appreciatively, petting the scales of the dragon’s underbelly tenderly. “... how’d you guys know I was done with Alpha…?” he asked, puzzled. “How else?” Bayonetta shrugged whilst gesturing in Alexander’s direction. “Alex was practically on the verge of a panic attack worrying about you, so he used that connection between his Soul Room and yours to get a peek at what was happening.” Alexander scoffed incredulously ““Panic attack”? Why’d you have to frame it like that?! If anything I was being affected by Ratchet and Red’s collective anxieties--” “--SHUT UP, ALEX!!” Ratchet and Red blurted out, furiously blushing in sync. “Just saying, I’m an empath. 'Sides, I would've pulled you out myself, but it seems Orvus used the Chronoscepter to bring you back here himself--” “Hate to have to break this brief respite, everyone,” Gabriel chimed in, “but we’ve still got one last matter to deal with.” The Luchador pointed upwards (specifically for Alister’s benefit) where Avatar Resolution was currently “having a fit”, with Koishi and Lydia being its current audience, held up to the sky on marble hands. “We’re in a stalemate about who will have to use the Door, and all that entails, so Avatar Resolution is having a hearing to decide.” “I see…,” Alister acknowledged. “... so, can anyone have a say in that discussion?” “You’re saying you want to join in?” Kyros asked. “Will you be able to, in your current state?” “All I’ll need are my mind and my voice, won’t I?” Alister argued, glancing down at the various wounds still covering his body. “You will need to stay alive as well,” Jeanne pointed out. “Expiring in the middle of your appeal would certainly put a damper on your case, I would imagine.” “I can last long enough, I assure you,” Alister said in a confident tone, despite his own confidence in his opinion being shaky at best. Seeing through Alister’s bravado, Alexander sighed. “Well, someone’s gonna have to make sure you well enough for this hearing, so I’ll join you as your Plus One. ‘Sides, you entrusted me with the Key,” he added as he produced the Card, “so having me join you will kill two or more birds with one stone.” Alister sighed relentingly. “Giving me very little choice, huh? Alright,” he nodded, glad to at least have some company for this last upcoming bit. Red gently stooped down to hand Alister off to Alexander, helping the younger lombax support the elder lombax on his feet. “Hey, Resolution. Got room for one more and his Plus One?” As if in reply, another marble hand rose up through the floor beneath Alister and Alexander’s feet, lifting the two up to join Koishi and Lydia in one last debate to settle on how the Multiverse will be saved. “... by the way,” Alexander spoke up a few seconds after the “elevator ride” began, “is, uhm… what is Alpha doing now? In the Apparatus, I mean.” Alister glanced down at the pocket watch still in his hand, as if staring deeply into its contents. “... he’s in the process of being sealed to make sure he doesn’t pull a fast one, but… he’s not resisting it. In fact, it feels like he’s… waiting,” Alister replied. “I see…,” Alexander mused slowly, wondering just what Alpha could be waiting for. “... and his last request? He really wants you to realize your dream?” Alister nodded. ““To do what he could not”… maybe he became lucid enough in his last moments to regain some sense of reason--actually realize where he went wrong… but I guess we’ll see.”
  2. “... it’s… really over now… isn’t it…?” Alister hoarsely whispered, his Pocket Watch once more clutched tightly to his chest. His breathing was somewhat heavy, a stunned expression on his face as if he were still trying to process everything that had transpired in the past several minutes. “... sooooo, is this the part where we rejoice?” Ratchet nonchalantly asked the rest of the “Subjects of Kingdom” as he and Clank unfused into their separate selves again. “Well, you lot are free to do so,” Bayonetta shrugged. “I mean, for Jeanne and I, this is just another Night Before Christmas.” “”You beat one “Mad Deity”, you’ve beat ‘em all”, eh?” Rubedo!Gabriel chuckled. “You could say that,” Jeanne laughed slightly. “That said, it’s not like we’ve got a shortage of things to celebrate,” Alexander chimed in as he separated from Umbris and Terris, rejoining the others while leaving the two Neo-Spacians to happily, and lovingly, embrace each other without a care for who was watching. “You can say that again,” Kokonoe spoke up as she and Rodin approached the group. “The passengers and crew on The Aeon are throwing a celebration as we speak,” she added in a displeased tone “The music selection is cheesy as all Hell, and the food is shit,” Rodin scoffed as he adjusted his sunglasses. “Kokonoe and I couldn’t get outta there fast enough.” “It would be nice to join them,” Red nodded. “Although, it still feels a bit too soon for jubilations just yet,” he added as he craned his head to look towards Alister, seeing that the lombax had a thousand-yard look in his eyes once more, though not as concerning as last time. “Al, you okay over there?” “Ah--” Alister gave a short gasp as Red caught his attention. “I… I’m alright,” he hoarsely replied as he glanced around at his companions. “It’s just… … ….” His legs suddenly failed him as he dropped to his knees. “Al!” Ratchet and Alexander yelped as they ran to Alister’s side to assist him. “I… I’m fine, really” Alister panted softly. “It’s just… my adrenaline suddenly went away. Can’t remember the last time I... had this feeling….” Alexander gave a soft chuckle. “I’d say it’s a feeling well-earnt.” “Well-earnt, huh…?” Alister repeated with a faint smile. The smile dropped as he glanced down at his hands, which now rested on his legs; the right hand was still clutching his pocket watch, while in the left, glowing faintly, was…. “That’s… that’s the Key…?!” Ratchet quietly gasped. “Al, you got the Key!” “Th… That’s right…! Isamy appeared before Alister moments before we fought Izanami,” Alexander realized. “That was her Soul, wasn’t it? Itsu… she said that the Key would be within her… then, that means… Al, what happened in those three seconds?” “Long story short? I… changed her mind,” Alister replied slowly, holding up the pocket watch in his right hand. “She’s in here, now… she’s not alone anymore….” “... you granted her peace,” Alexander breathed out as the rest of the team (and Kyros) joined the Lombaxes. “You could’ve ended her in any other way, and yet you gave her a peaceful way out. I do hope the other souls in there are treating her okay.” “Aligore actually seems to have taken to her pretty quickly, actually,” Alister replied with a sad smile. “That was the large “Altister”, right?” Bayonetta asked. “He did seem to have a fatherly aura about him.” “Who…?” Jeanne blurted with a tilt of her head. “Good that Isamy’s living her best afterlife, I suppose,” Red joined in, “but I can’t help but wonder what will become of her once the Door has been used. Which brings us to the main topic at hand--Alister’s hand, in this case,” he added as the group focused on the Key of Origin in Alister’s hand. “... right… … about that…,” Alister croaked as he held the Key between the index finger and thumb of his left hand. “... I… I don’t think I deserve to--” “Stop right there, Alister,” Red knowingly interrupted. “We never said anything about whether or not you’re deserving of using the Key--” “--I know. But I just--” “Alister, please, if you try to list all the reasons why you feel you’re not deserving of anything, we’ll be stuck here for another month,” Bayonetta shook her head. “But I--” “Ah-ah-ah, General Fuzzy, no more fishing for that Self-Deprecation Boner. We really do need to get on with it; Mr. Zurkon especially wants to get this over with.” Mr. Zurkon scolded cheekily while zooming around Alister's head. “But--” “Get on with it, Al!” the rest of Team Lombax droned in unison. “Guys, c’mon--” “Yeah, get on with it!!” blasted the passengers and crew of The Aeon. “But if I can jus--” “YEAH, ALISTER, GET ON WITH IT!!!” the voices of the souls and Altisters inside the pocket watch erupted so loudly that Alister fumbled with it as everyone was taken aback in shock. “SERIOUSLY, YOU GUYS TOO?! Great, who else is gonna give me grief--?” https://i.imgur.com/E1lDlzZ.png “GET ON WITH IT, ALISTER!!!" " AlsofriendshipisthegreatestforceintheMultiverse!” “... … … okay, but can I at least mention that the scene we’re parodying should at least involve characters that have yet to make an appearance--?” https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/a/ab/Persona_4_The_Animation_Margaret.png/revision/latest?cb=20111007134915 “Please, do get on with it, Mr. Azimuth.” “Yeah, hurry it up so I can hate on you in the next Volume, old man!” “ALRIGHT, ALREADY!!!” Alister roared in exasperation. “Sheesh, I suppose I should take it as a sign when even my alternate timeline son gives me shit from beyond the fourth wall… … anyways, any takers?” he sighed out as he held the Key of Origin out to the rest of Team Lombax. “Think it’s a bit too soon to decide that, General Azimuth,” Rubedo!Gabriel said while waving his hand. “We should at least discuss it with the other survivors first.” “Truth be told, though, if we had to decide now,” Alexander joined in, “I think most of us would agree that Alister’s got a good chance at being the one, given all the progress he’s made.” Before the thought of attempting to interject again even crossed his mind, Alister found his mouth suddenly sealed shut with duct tape. “Keep that on your mouth until it’s time for our next post, dearie,” Bayonetta cheerily chastised him as she spun the roll of duct tape on her finger. Alister could only make a muffled growl behind the duct tape as he threw his hands up, rolling his eyes as the rest of Team Lombax made their way towards Avatar Resolution. “... Mr. Azimuth?” a quiet, hoarse voice spoke to the Lombax. Alister turned to find Kyros standing before him, appearing very unkempt and emaciated compared to his doppelganger Sayer. Oh, and tired, too. Oh so tired. And yet there was an oddly warm sparkle in his amber-colored eyes as he gave Alister a weak, yet kind smile. “... congratulations on your progress, Mr. Azimuth. And thank you… all of you.” He then unsteadily made his way to join the others by the statue further away. A few yards in, Kyros tripped over his own feet, and would have landed flat on his face had Alister not rushed to his side and caught him as he stumbled. “... thank you, again,” Kyros meekly chuckled appreciatively. Alister merely nodded--since his mouth was still sealed with duct tape and he couldn’t remove it until the next post, God is that gonna sting--as he helped Kyros walk the rest of the way.
  3. SUBJECTS OF KINGDOM vs PRIDE IZANAMI [The Final Battle] Origin Cosmos [The Final Battle] “CHILDREN OF ORIGIN... BEASTS WHO THINK YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT… IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF PRIDE, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!” On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the various Subjects of Kingdom, where Ratchet, Clank, Alister Azimuth, Alexander Zenith, Red, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Umbris, Atsuko and Gabriel were her opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time. “VOID INCLUSION:" "OTTO SKORZENY" Upon the invoking of a name that may or may not be familiar to them, black robes resembling an SS Uniform adorned IZANAMI’s form, her scythe morphed into a giant Walther PPK handgun, and the faint trace of Hitler-esque facial hair could be made out where her face ought to be. As far as she was concerned, this was a Nazi Dark Signer whose vast control over darkness, army of shadow creatures, and overall advanced technological expertise may be the perfect counter to her current opponents. “Oh great, she’s invoking the literal Nazi,” Umbris blurted out upon recognizing the outfit. “I mean, given her stated goal, it does make sense she would do this,” Alexander replied. “Nice~ now I get to punch her without feeling guilty for doing so!” Gabriel chimed in. “Still strange how we ended up with such a person on our side,” Jeanne mused. “UmbraWitchImplyingANaziWasOnTheSideOfTheCounterCorps say WHAT?!?!” Gabriel shrieked in shock. “Okay, but what IS a “Nazi”, exactly?” Red questioned. “Well,” Alexander began, “imagine if Adrastos--” “Got it, Alex, thanks,” Red hastily interrupted, getting the idea almost instantly. “HOWEVER… THIS MAY NOT BE NECESSARY.” But then, before they could begin engaging in combat, a tiny human-shaped object grew out of her form and promptly detached; landing on two feet was a being shaped just like the original Isamy. “Hi, Alister.” The Isamy Maximus construct approached the warriors. If any of them could sense energy, they’d be able to clearly tell she was just a husk of an avatar, unable to fight or do them any harm. Then, a short distance away from the lombax, ignoring the rest of the crew altogether, she approached cautiously. “I know, I know. I know this has all gotten so complicated, but if anyone’s going to understand what I’m going through, it’s you. Maybe for you, it’s only been a few hours… But for me, it’s been years since our previous meeting. Alister, seriously, I’ve been surrounded by maniacs-you’re my last hope in this dark, crazy reality. You haven’t given your answer yet, right? Welp, any holes I had in my plan last time have now all been cleared up. So I’ll ask again… Join with me, Alister.” With the far larger IZANAMI behind them all, the teal-haired girl was trying her best to remain calm, to keep her words straight. There was a genuine sense of desperation in her tone, but at the same time, a sense of hope. Unlike the last time she talked to Alister, this time she didn’t have the luxury of constructing the perfect response. Instead, all she could do was be honest. ”Did you know? It was our predecessors who built up DATEA, who constructed the Pathway to Origin… An alternate incarnation of you and a previous incarnation of me… Alpha and Omega… They once worked side by side, and together, they achieved greatness. We can be just like them, you know. Wait, no! We can be even better!” Compared to the sociopathic explosion of emotions IZANAMI had been displaying earlier, the lombax may very well be one of the last few hopes keeping this girl together. “If we join forces, if we fuse our souls, I swear I’ll leave your friends alone. I swear the two of us can just abandon this fight altogether and make a beeline straight for the Door of Origin. Because we’re both ‘Distortions’, I bet we can take on the rest of the warriors and make it there!” Perhaps third time really was the charm, she reasoned. Perhaps this was exactly the reason why she had persevered so long, to find a positive answer at last. Perhaps her Isabella aspect really was wrong about everyone else. “One final time, I ask of you, Alister Azimuth: do you accept?” Then, in a weaker voice, “Can you accept?” Alister breathed out a deep sigh. “... Isamy and I are gonna need a moment, guys,” he said to the rest of the group. “Al--” Ratchet began to protest. “Time Isolation Field - HASTE,” Alister calmly declared with a slight reverb in his voice, conjuring a clockwork sigil beneath himself and the Isamy construct. The gears of the Sigil proceeded to spin rapidly, creating a barrier that separated Alister and Isamy from the rest of his team in the process; everything outside of the barrier appeared to have become frozen in time, but in truth… “... you and I are currently being sped up,” Alister explained, having also conjured a table and chairs for the Isamy construct and himself to sit on. “From the perspective of everyone outside my Sigil, we’re invisible. A result of the time dilation--to them our conversation should take no longer than 3 seconds.” “No longer than three seconds, huh?” Isamy muttered in response, as if pondering something to herself. A warm, relieved smile grew on her face. Her gaze moved out towards the distance. “Yeah… That’ll do just fine. Three seconds is more than enough time to decide the fate of the multiverse. The Izanamis will allow the existence of the field, and we’ll do our best to support your Sigil with distortions. So neither of us have anything to worry about! We have all the time in the world, and you can tell me all about your answ-” Then, as Alister moved to take his seat at the table, a tea set appeared, resting upon a decorative doily. “Have a seat, if you wish,” Alister offered to “Isamy” as he poured two cups of tea. “O- oh?” As if a little surprised by the warm reaction, the Isamy construct stayed in place for a moment. After a small pause, she nodded with a faint smile, pulled out her own chair, and gently took a seat opposite Alister. It might’ve been an incomprehensibly long time since she last had a casual moment like this. “In that case, don’t mind if I do.” And with that, gestured towards the lombax to continue. “Fallen Saviour... As I was saying, it looks like we have all the time in the world. So please, do take as long as you need with your answer. I’m here to listen.” ~ Voice of No Return ~ Alister merely nodded as he handed Isamy her tea cup, which she gratefully accepted. The girl drank from the cup, slowly but surely, in an attempt to calm her nerves. She’d been waiting to hear an answer for so long now. Too long, in fact. So long, she almost dreaded to hear what would await her. However… Everything needs a conclusion. This was no exception. With a sigh, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy steeled herself, and let her eyes meet with that of the being before her. By then, her expression had reverted to a cold, neutral state. The time had finally come to hear this man’s answer. There was no turning back now. And so… Alister Azimuth spoke. “I must first apologize for taking so long to give you an adequate response,” Alister began as he settled back into his chair. “Being near death the first time and experiencing an existential crisis the second time tends to, uhm… have one’s tongue tied.” ““Have one’s tongue tied”? Seriously, Alister?” he mentally scolded himself over his metaphor, taking a sip of his tea to keep Isamy from seeing him roll his eyes at himself. Setting his cup back onto its plate, Alister spoke once again: “You and I do have a lot in common, don’t we? And not just whatever connections certain versions of us had to Protheus, either. We both… desired for others to be cared for, to be protected, to be happy. I felt that it was my duty, as a General, to do whatever I could to make sure my people were safe and prosperous. As long as they were, that was enough for me… and yet,” he continued somberly, tracing a finger along the rim of his tea cup, “... and yet… I couldn’t protect them forever. One mistake on my part--a foolish belief in a lie--was all it took to lose it all--my rank, my home, my people… my loved ones. I was exiled from joining the rest of my kind in the new dimension, left alone to live with the weight of my sins, my mistake, slowly crushing me… “Why me?” I thought to myself. “It’s not fair.” “Why must I be left alone?” “Why couldn’t I come with you all?” “If you’re going to punish me, at least take me with you.” “They should’ve just executed me and be done with it.” “Why… do I have to suffer, alone…?” And yet, suffer alone I did,” he uttered softly, wiping away a tear from his eye, “for twenty long, agonizing spans. Spans in which I struggled to find a way to redeem myself… to undo what I had done. I would’ve done anything to get them back, even if it meant staining my hands, my soul, with further sin…. “... it all came to a head at the Great Clock,” Alister continued, his heart heavy with what he was about to say next. “Ratchet and I had a brief dispute over what to do about our timeline--about the lombaxes… I, of course, desired to undo my mistake that resulted in the massacre and banishment of the lombaxes, while Ratchet proposed that we should leave the past as it was and save them some other way. To me, however, there was no other way--there were no more Dimensionators, and the only ones capable of building a new one were gone--and to be told otherwise after having come so far and to be so close was… maddening. In my fury I lashed out at Ratchet… and that action would cause a split in my world’s timeline: … one in which my attack killed Ratchet, resulting in a separate timeline where I would inadvertently cause my universe’s destruction, … and another in which Ratchet was saved from my attack by Clank, resulting in a battle between Ratchet and myself… ending in my sacrificing myself to prevent the Great Clock’s destruction…. … and thus, two “Alisters” were “born”: one who denounced his true self and became Alpha, co-founder of DATEA; and one who would be brought into the Origin War to fight for the Multiverse’s future--and fate… of course, you already knew that,” he shrugged as he gave a half-hearted smile to “Isamy”. “My actions, one way or another, are the reason any of this is happening. All because I felt I needed to do something for the sake of others, no matter what I had to do to bring it to reality… … much like you. Isabella. Ameliorer. Isamy. Izanami. No matter the form, no matter the name, you’ve always had that one goal in mind, almost to--no, exactly to the point where it is all you are: She who wishes to help others, no matter the cost. Is that… really what you want?” he asked. “That’s a rhetorical question; of course it is,” he quickly added before “Isamy” could utter even a syllable in response. “The better question I should be asking is… “Is it what you feel that you truly need?”” To his words, Isamy only stared back at him in response. Almost as though she were a statue, frozen in place, in time, giving away no hint of what she was feeling deep inside. There were moments when her eyes fluttered slightly, or when her breath was briefly cut short, but she made her absolute best effort to remain rooted in place. To make sure he wouldn’t notice that faltering weakness inside her. Leaning back into his seat, Alister took a moment to study Isamy’s expression before continuing. “... you’ve been denied what you truly needed for so long… is it because you were made to feel you didn’t deserve it? Because your caregivers, and Protheus, made you feel that you, Isabella and Ameliorer didn’t deserve it? And that now only the Door can help you accomplish what you feel you need to at this moment? To reclaim what you lost? To fill the void…? “... don’t get me wrong, Isamy,” Alister spoke again after a brief pause, “I do want to help you, but not with what you’ve asked of me. I want to help you reclaim what you’ve been denied for so long, to help you find what you truly need, just as they,” he gestured to the group standing outside the Time Isolation Field, “had helped me to discover what I needed, what I was lacking, what I had denied myself… … ….” Another pause as he sorrowfully looked into Isamy’s face once more. “... … but, I… don’t know if I’m the one who needs to help you. And even if I am, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to help you. I mean, I got lucky when trying to help Alex and Red--I had help--but this… I don't know what I can do to help you without making a mistake. But I know that you deserved better--that Isabella and Ameliorer deserved better. And you still deserve better, Isamy… … which is why I feel you shouldn’t go through with making that wish,” he asserted, now with a stern, determined glare in his eyes. “I know what it’s like to make a catastrophic mistake that would lead to many lives being ruined or destroyed, and I refuse to let you do the same--for your sake, and the rest of the Multiverse’s!” At the sudden burst of determination, taking her by surprise, Isamy’s eyes widened. The cup in her hands dropped to the floor, shattering. “Wh-” “... in other words, Isamy,” Alister concluded as calmly and gently as possible, steeling himself for Isamy’s inevitable reaction, whatever it might be, “in regards to helping you attain the Door’s power, my answer to you, that you’ve waited so long to hear is…” Then, as he gave his answer… ...the Herald knew it was over. “I decline. That… is my final answer to you… … I am sorry.” “...” To that, Isamy stared at Alister for a moment. “... … …” Then… She hung her head low. “... … … … … … …” Despite having been so well-spoken up until now, despite seeming like she could choose all the perfect words and appeal to all the correct notions, with all the knowledge she had regarding all the people around her… Isamy Maximus didn’t respond. Instead, she stared down at the ground. For a second. A moment. An hour. Or rather, maybe it wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say her pause lasted entire years in this frozen shard of time. “.....................................................................................huh?” Then, after what seemed like an eternity, after what may as well have been an eternity, the Herald’s voice finally came out. Not in the form of an elegant prose of words. Just… In the form of a small, simple whisper. ~ The Tower ~ “Huh? W- what do you…” Isamy Maximus kept her head hung low, as she sat on that same table across from the lombax. Her expression tightened, as though her mind were forcefully trying to keep itself together. And, eventually… she found the strength to voice exactly what her emotions wanted her to voice. “What do you mean… you decline?” She looked up. “What’s with those words you’re saying, huh? What’s with… I-... I came all this way, you know? I waited all this time to hear you answer… You, more than anyone else… That’s why I held on. Even though this reality’s breaking apart, even though I’m cursed with Time Sense, even though everything’s hopeless and even though ‘Isamy Maximus’ should’ve long since been replaced with Izanami by now. I-... You were… you were my hope, Alister… and yet-” The Herald’s voice trembled as she spoke, struggling to put words together. “And yet… what do you mean you decline, Alister Azimuth...?!” With her fists clenching, she smashed the table before them with a single strike. Isamy stood up from her chair, facing the lombax--who remained seated, unflinching in the face of his guest’s outburst--head-on, opposing all of the emotions within her own heart. “You’re wrong, you know! You’re wrong! You’re… you’re so wrong about this! About all of this! Of course I need the Door of Origin! Of course it’s necessary! Y- you think I want this? You think I’m the one who wants to do any of this… I’m putting aside everything, everything, everything, EVERYTHING, and it’s not for me! It’s for you guys! It’s necessary because so many of you are gonna end up with bad fates, it’s necessary because there’s no other way! And you UNDERSTAND THAT, RIGHT?! RIGHT, ALISTER AZIMUTH?!” Her words grew faster and faster in pace, and tone, until she ultimately found herself screaming at the lombax. “YOU THINK I’M FILLING A VOID, HUH?! THAT I’M THE ONE WHO NEEDS HELP?! After everything I’ve done, you’re… I… I don’t… That’s not… L- look, sometimes, things just need to be done! Isn’t that what you did with the Great Clock?! Isn’t that what soooo, so, so, so many of your alternate selves did?! And there’s all sorts of messed up people out there, you know? Who think they know what’s right? My predecessor Protheus Maximus, putting himself above literally everyone else… That Counter Guardian Arturia, consumed in her self-righteousness, thinking it’d be better to just let countless people die… A lot of people in this very Origin War committed terrible things, pretty much proving my point... Isn’t that all so messed up?! There’s all kinds of people like that out there! All of them with their own reasons, all of them conflicting with one another, all of them hurting one another… Selfless people, selfish people, people in it for themselves, people in it for those close to them... What was I supposed to do, huh? Was I supposed to just sit back and let tragedies happen? Was I supposed to just sit back… and watch as people like you DIE UNFAIRLY?!” Her hands moved up to her head, grasping at it to keep herself steady. “I’m just… tired of all of that… This is all such a cruel joke… That’s why I needed to make the sacrifices I did… It’s not like it would’ve mattered anyway, you know? I… With this wish, I could bring everyone back. With this wish, I can bring everyone back. I’d change it all, fix it all, save it all. And then, at long last… Wouldn’t it all be over?!” Before, as if finally reaching the point of exhaustion, she looked back down at the ground. “…What... I need is...” Gazing down at the spatial platform upon which they stood, and the endless abyss beyond it, beneath which the energies of Origin flowed. “... …. You see, w- what I... …. … … … truly need is…” Isamy remained motionless. Stiller than even the very time and surroundings around them. “......................” Then she looked up. “I don’t… know what I need…” As she admitted this, tears were beginning to well up in her eyes⸺perhaps for the first time in eternity. “I… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do… I don’t know… I don’t know, I don’t know, I keep thinking about it and apparently I just can’t figure it out! I don’t know what the answer is, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, I don’t even know if the Door will be able to give me the answers I want, I just- I just don’t know… I don’t know anything anymore!” And her gaze meets with Azimuth’s. “If even you won’t support me, then… what am I supposed to do, Alister?” And the Herald looks to him with a pleading, desperate look. “No… Maybe what I should be saying is…” “Isn’t it too late to turn back now?!” “... … …” It was now Alister’s turn to respond with silence, mulling over what he had just calmly sat through and witnessed. Isamy’s anger, frustration, confusion, desperation… those were all emotions that he himself had felt that day… and to see them expressed before him by Isamy… he couldn’t help but to imagine himself in her place. “... it is… frustrating, I know,” Alister eventually spoke, voice cracked as he did his best to hold back his own tears. “I know what that’s like, feeling that you have to continue on and see it through to the end… to desperately make up for all the wrongs you’ve committed and hoped to undo, even if it means committing even more sins in the process. But when does it stop?” he continued, calmly rising from his chair. “When can it stop, before it gets out of control, before there truly isno going back? At what point can you see for yourself the Point of No Return placed right in front of you and stop yourself from crossing it, stop what you had put into motion before it grows beyond your control...?! “I… I was in that position once before,” he croaked, now finding himself standing five feet away from Isamy. “I had thought… that the Great Clock held the solution I needed, just as you see the Door. I attempted to use the Clock to undo my mistakes, just as you wish to use the Door to grant everyone their happiness. I… was made to realize, however, that what I did to try and fix everything would instead do the exact opposite if nothing was done to stop it before it was truly too late… … … and stop it, I did… … …. “... Isamy, I know it may be too late to ask you this… but if there was a part of you that wanted to stop this, if you had the choice--a chance--to stop this before it’s too late to do so… would you take it?” Alister asked Isamy, even though he knew that the being before him--the last remaining fragment of the girl named Isamy--may soon cease to be, completely overshadowed and replaced by Izanami. “Because there is still time to stop this… there’s still time… ....” “T- that’s, well…” To that, Isamy faltered for a moment. Even almost losing her balance as she stood. Tears continued to well up in her eyes, bit by bit, and her every attempt to fight back at them was only beginning to prove futile. Then, “...you don’t even need to ask. You already know the answer, don’t you?” Isamy whispered. With a sigh, she regained herself. She turned her gaze outwards, towards the Origin Cosmos space surrounding them. Towards the platform they were on, towards the onlooking Ratchet, Clank, Alexander, Red, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Umbris, Gabriel, towards the IZANAMI opposing them, and towards the six surrounding platforms upon which the rest of the Warriors of Origin were paused in time, fighting for their lives against six equally powerful aspects of the Omnibound Immortal. The survivors of this long, brutal Origin War, doing their best to defy death, to avenge the fallen, to save the multiverse, engaging in a battle to end it all at long last- “None of this is what I envisioned. None of this is what I wanted. None of this is… Every time I thought about quitting, every time I took things a step further, I told myself ‘there’s no turning back now’. But honestly…?” And with that, she simply admitted the truth. “It was a mistake… a mistake… all of this was a mistake, of course it was all a mistake!” The Herald returned to look at Alister, only this time with a sad, apologetic look. Broken. “And if I had the choice to stop it all before it happened, I’d take that… I would. But asking me to turn back now, after this, after everything I’ve done… It’s practically impossible. The IZANAMIs are an embodiment of my decision, you know? They can’t be reasoned with, they can’t be stopped, they’ll keep going until the Door is open. And after all the lives I’ve taken, after everything I’ve done in my the name of my wish, that’s… No matter how you look at it, I can’t just give up-” … … … … … … … … … “No… Maybe I’m just being a coward.” The Isamy remnant closed her eyes, as if in deep thought. “Hey, Alister. Knowing what you do about me, having been in the same position as me, understanding me as much as you do… If I said there was a way this can be stopped, once and for all… A way to go back on everything I’ve ever achieved… Would you take it? Do you think you could take it?” Alister blinked, somewhat taken aback by this suggestion. He was curious, but still very cautious, about what Isamy told him. “... I’d say that depends,” he stated apprehensively, “on whatever this “way” is that you speak of.” “...” The girl began to speak, doing her best to explain it, to put it into words. “First of all, I should probably say exactly what I am. In order to stabilize my existence, I needed to use the Key of Origin as a crutch for my soul. That holds true, even now. And what you saw emerge from Pride IZANAMI earlier… The entity talking to you… She’s not simply a construct. I mean to begin with, that was never possible…” She opened her eyes again. “Yeah. Instead, you could say I’m the Key of Origin.” Isamy uttered. “Or at least the parasitic core of Isamy Maximus, latched onto it. Everything that’s left of her, everything that holds her together. That’s me.” “... the Key… is what’s keeping you tethered…?” Alister blinked harder this time. “... ah, so that was what you meant about “making a beeline straight for the Door”--… … … so, what is it that you’re trying to propose to me now?” he pressed as he regained a calm composure so as not to make an impulse-driven mistake. “The truth is, IZANAMI never intended to lose. Not from the beginning. Not ever. Even in the event you and all your friends somehow defeat the seven IZANAMIs, the seven sins of the Omnibound Immortal, my existence would have served as the final backup plan⸺a timer to open and enter the Door. It’s not a decision I would make, nor a decision anyone can reverse. It’s simply a curse I’m guaranteed to perform...if all else fails.” And so, she voiced what needed to be done. “So I’d have to ask you to do something a little difficult… No. Maybe a bit more accurately, I would like to request this of you.” . . . . . ~ Pocket Watch of Blood ~ “If you really think I should turn back… Then please kill me, Alister Azimuth.” With a sad expression, those were the words Isamy Maximus uttered. Holding both hands close to where her heart would be. “... Isamy…!” Alister uttered in quiet shock, horrified yet amazed that this was the young girl’s request to him--her final request. To be asked to grant a Mercy Kill was a possibility he had anticipated, and yet… he found it hard to maintain the pace of his breathing. Could he… really bring himself to end another’s life at their request, with no resistance on their part? “You seem to be struggling with your decision there, Al,” a voice spoke to Alister from within his Pocket Watch. Orvus’s voice. “We’ve a suggestion, if you would like to hear it.” “I… I’m all ears,” Alister mentally replied back as he subconsciously turned his head to the side, a bit frantic as time was truly of the essence here. “Isamy’s continued existence is due to the Key giving her form, yes? In essence, she’s already no longer of this world--just about anything you would do to her at this point would end her existence. That being said,” Orvus continued, a hint of sympathy in his tone, “you’d rather make it as painless for her as possible, if you could.” “... … …,” Alister sighed sorrowfully. “There is a way to do so, then,” the voice of Alpha’s Conscience joined in to explain. “Your portion of the Philosopher’s Observation will make it possible….” “... … …” Alister returned his attention to Isamy, his breathing still shallow. “... … okay,” he replied with a quavering voice, his right hand reaching up to clasp the Pocket Watch hanging from his neck. “I will do it, Isamy… I will… help you to rest….” With his other hand, Alister reached behind his neck to pull the chain of the Pocket Watch over his head, the Watch itself now fully secure in his right hand. Doing his best to hold back his tears, Alister swallowed hard, holding out his arms to Isamy as he stepped forward slowly. “It’s… going to be okay now… Isamy….” “...” The Herald of Chaos and Entropy gazed back at him in understanding, and also with a little fear. She tried to hide her nervousness, her worry, just to make it a little easier, but There wasn’t much left she needed to say, much left to this story, but she would accept it. Welcome it. “I know it’s a lot to ask, after how far you’ve come… So I hope this is the last time you’ll ever have to do anything this bad. Please be strong, okay? After this, I feel like… everything’s going to work out just fine.” And at last...she smiled at the lombax, as tears started to run down her face. “Y- yeah... Maybe this is long overdue.” There was just one last thing she needed to say. https://i.imgur.com/InKGz4u.png “Thanks… You’re my hero, Alister!” Isamy Maximus said, holding her arms out wide. ... a hero… it was an odd feeling that Alister felt when he heard Isamy say those words. He didn’t feel like a hero. Not one bit. Not after all the things he had done. He was just… someone who wanted to do what was right… … … but, to know that he was “someone’s hero”... … it filled him with… a painful sadness… but also… a somber ease…. … and with that feeling in his heart, Alister held Isamy close to him, hugged tightly, but gently. “You needn’t worry anymore, Isamy...,” Alister quavered, holding himself together as best he could even as his tears began to fall. “We’ll… we’ll make sure… that the Multiverse still has a chance. So… you don’t have to worry anymore… you can rest now…,” he tearfully assured Isamy, comforting her as best he could, all while the Pocket Watch still gripped in his hand began to glow. “... you can rest, now… you did your best… … just close your eyes… … you can rest… … ….” ~ Memento ~ . . . … when next she opened her eyes, she found herself in a strange room she had never been to before, and before her was an odd menagerie of individuals. For a moment, she blinked, completely confused as to what had just happened﹣or perhaps more confused that she still existed at all. “Is that… Isamy?” Pearl, the slender, pale feminine member of the group spoke in shock. “Alister seriously just pulled her soul into the Watch, didn’t he?” blinked Admiral Vivi, the gruff-looking man with a long ringtail. “But why…?” Homura, the raven-haired magical girl uttered, gazing leerily at the newcomer. “Now-now, Homura-chan, no need to be confrontational,” spoke the largest, regal-looking member of the group--Aligore Azimurr. “The poor girl has been through so much--I mean, we all have, but… anyways,” he added as he knelt down before Isamy, a gentle glimmer in his eyes, “it has been quite a while, hasn’t it? We may not have exactly parted on the best of terms, but… I hope now we can start anew.” “...” At that, the girl just smiled shyly. The realization of what Alister just did had finally dawned upon her. Where she was, what just happened, all of it- That guy, he… This is more than I could ever asked for… … Starting anew, huh... Finally, she tried her best, to put a voice to the words deep within herself. “Uh…” Facing the people in front of her. “U- um...!” Facing the new friends awaiting her, the tears now flooding from her relieved face. “My name’s Isamy. I may be new here, but... I hope we can all get along!” https://i.imgur.com/h2kGz6B.png Soon enough, the Time Isolation Field wore off, and time would resume. To the other Subjects of Kingdom, it would appear as though the remnant had suddenly vanished shortly after conversing with Alister, who they saw standing solemnly with tears in his eyes and his Pocket Watch clutched to his heart. Meanwhile, unaware of what had just transpired with the Key of Origin, and with their own core, the seven Omnibound Immortal IZANAMIs continued to fight on. Failing to understand that they’d lost access to the Key, failing to understand why Ariel’s attempt to cut off their Void Inclusion would actually succeed, and ultimately failing to understand why their energy was draining much faster than it should’ve been…the final battle raged on: The same held true for Pride IZANAMI, who was quick to engage into combat with her opponents. Ratchet, Clank, Alexander, Red, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Umbris, Atsuko, Gabriel, and even Alister: Ratchet and Clank were fused together, with help from Alexander’s “Polymerization”: Clank became a power suit for Ratchet in a style similar to the Murakumo Units, complete with various weapons floating behind Ratchet like a mantle or a set of wings. Bayonetta and Jeanne combined their powers to call forth Queen Sheba, the Ruler of Inferno, to fight alongside them and the rest of Team Lombax against Izanami. Drawing upon the bonds he shared with his teammates, as well as the powers of Burning Soul, Alexander was able to create a miracle in the form of successfully Summoning the Aeon to the Door’s location without any drawbacks, allowing those who had remained on the ship to join the fight against Izanami and the Great Leviathan. Alexander also combined himself with Umbris and Terris to become Nebula Neos Alexander. Neo-Spacian Red Dragon Archfiend also evolved into Neo-Spacian Morningstar Dragon to assist in the battle. Gabriel combined his powers with those of his Sworn Brothers/Other Selves, Nigredo, Albido, and Citrinitas, becoming "Rubedo, the Greatest Magnum Opus Knight". Lightray Garlandolf also joined him as his Familiar for the fight against Izanami. Red was able to invoke the Aspect of the Ancient (or was it “Blood of the Ancestor”? Can’t recall which), drawing upon the strength of the Dragon Ancestor of Fire, Tyndarion. The Great Leviathan, acting through Kyros, struck a deal with Izanami, offering his servitude and strength in exchange for being the one to devour the souls of those that had attained their “Happily Ever After”. The Great Leviathan was nonetheless defeated by the combined efforts of Team Lombax, the passengers of the Aeon, and even Kyros himself who had acted from within. After its destruction, the Leviathan made one last attempt at survival by attempting to possess Atsuko, but Kyros, wishing for Atsuko to not suffer the same fate that befell his own daughter, Reatrey, intercepted the Leviathan’s soul. In response, Gabriel/Rubedo used “The Grand Magnum Opus Barrier” to trap The Great Leviathan deep within Kyros’s soul in a way that prevented the Leviathan’s influence from poisoning Kyros’s soul, thus sparing Kyros from becoming evil again. Atsuko, meanwhile, briefly transformed into a “Mini Leviathan” while in the presence of the unleashed Great Leviathan, but still had control of herself, much to the Leviathan’s utter outrage. She then attained a Goddess-like form through her connection to her mother, Itsu. The Leviathan’s defeat and subsequent sealing inside Kyros’s soul caused Atsuko’s Orichalcos Heart to cease functioning, but Gabriel/Rubedo once more intervened by using his last remaining Cheato Card to transmogrifying the Orichalcos heart into an organic heart, allowing Atsuko to survive. And as for Alister, he employed his fragment of the Philosopher’s Observation to Summon the Altisters into the physical plane, as well as use the Altister’s Talents more freely and in combination. A ferocious battle ensued, but in the end--even with the Great Leviathan granting Pride IZANAMI its aid--the warriors emerged victorious against her Nazi Zombie powers. Then, when she finally attempted to invoke another Void Inclusion, she found herself unable to, rendering them the opportunity to deal the final blow. With that, at long last, Pride IZANAMI exploded into a brilliant display of rainbow light. Judging by the other six platforms, one by one, bright bursts of light also emanated from them, as if signaling that the other six aspects of the Omnibound Immortal were also being taken down one by one. And so it was that… Just like that… The Final Boss Battle came to an end.
  4. What if you wanted Junk Synchron to be good. Like. Really good? DP23-JP024 ジャンク・コンバーター Junk Converter Level 2 EARTH Warrior Effect Monster ATK 400 DEF 200 You can only use each effect of this card’s name once per turn. (1) Discard this card and 1 Tuner; add 1 “Synchron” monster from your Deck to your hand. (2) If this card is sent to the GY as Synchro Material: You can target 1 Tuner in your GY; Special Summon that monster in Defense Position, but during the turn that monster was Special Summoned, it cannot activate its effects. https://ygorganization.com/foryoungerpeoplethisisreferencinganavconverter/
  5. “I’m here!” says the bro of Solid Soldier and Blazeman. DP23-JP013 Elemental HERO Liquidman Warrior/Effect, WATER, Lv 4, ATK 1400, DEF 1300 You can only use 1 of the 1st and 2nd effects of this card’s name per turn, and only once that turn. (1) When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower “HERO” monster in your GY, except “Elemental HERO Liquidman”; Special Summon it. (2) If this card is sent to the GY or banished as material for the Fusion Summon of a “HERO” monster: You can draw 2 cards, then discard 1 card. https://ygorganization.com/everyonebelikegasmanwhen/
  6. #GrookeyGang

    * Err, right, what Kingdom said!

  7. Welp, it took him a while, but Asgore's finally come over for a visit once more!

    * Howdy, all!

    * Golly, so this is the "NCM" Kingdom told me about.

    * So, we're really having the Halloween celebrations here this year, huh?

    * I don't mind, though!  I'm sure it'll be as eventful as the ones back at YCM!

    1. Ivan Ooze

      Ivan Ooze

      Oh yes, I thought that was you. Another regular here to enjoy the festivities.

  8. What sorta throws me off is that the three WATER Attributes here are members of the Wu Kingdom, which was (at least in the Dynasty Warriors games) represented by the color red, which is odd considering the WIND Attributes are members of the Shu Kingdom which were represented with the color green. So, I’m guessing that for this Archetype, the monsters that would represent members of the Wei Kingdom might be given the FIRE Attribute (tired as it is when pair with the Beast-Warrior Typing, but I digress), unless they’re given a different Attribute/color scheme to throw us for a loop.
  9. The plot our favorite yokai gal pal tale thickens with the arrival of the yandere Yuki-Onna. IGAS-JP063 Ōka Yōreitan – Mayakashigatari (Ghost Meets Girl – A Mayakashi’s Story) Quick-Play Spell You can only activate 1 of this card’s name per turn. (1) During the Main Phase: Target 1 Zombie Synchro Monster you control; Special Summon 1 of your Zombie monsters with the same Attribute as that target, that is banished or in your GY, but banish it during the End Phase. You cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, except Zombie monsters. For those wondering, yes, it really is the same name as Ghost Meets Girl – A Shiranui’s Story with a swapped archetype. https://ygorganization.com/areyoureadyforthelovetriangle/
  10. At best, this is a Mirror Match tech. At worst, it’s free information on your opponent’s hand during (optimally) your opponent’s turn, at the expense of giving your own information away to your opponent. Not worth it, honestly.
  11. Considering how Search-Happy the game is, I could definitely see this getting plenty of use, especially since there's no limit to what you can grab. Sure, any hand traps one could grab would be useless for the turn, but it's still a great way to grab the one card you'd desperately need to turn the tide. inb4youropponentchainstheirownCatchCopytoyourCatchCopy
  12. Danger! Jersey’s Fiend! DARK/LINK - 2/Fiend/Link/Effect/1600 ATK Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right 2 “Danger!” monsters You can discard 1 random card from your hand, and if you do, add 1 “Danger!” Spell/Trap card from your Deck or GY to your hand, also, if you discarded a "Danger!" monster by this effect, you can draw 1 card. During the End Phase of a turn in which a “Danger!” monster was discarded from your hand: You can add 1 “Danger!” monster from your GY to your hand. You can only use each effect of “Danger! Jersey’s Fiend!” once per turn. Danger! Yeti! DARK/LINK - 3/Beast/Link/Effect/2000 ATK Up, Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right 2+ monsters, including 1 “Danger!” monster This card gains ATK equal to the combined Levels of all “Danger!” monsters this card points to x100. If this card would be destroyed by your opponent’s card or effect, you can discard 1 random card from your hand instead, also, if you discarded a "Danger!" monster by this effect, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster’s Level x200. If a “Danger!” monster is Special Summoned to a Zone this card points to: You can destroy 1 card your opponent controls. You can only use each effect of “Danger! Yeti!” once per turn.
  13. Arcana Force EX - The Elite Ruler LIGHT/Lv 10/Fairy/Ritual/Effect/4000 ATK/4000 DEF You can only control 1 “Arcana Force EX - The Elite Lord”. This card cannot be Tributed. You can Ritual Summon this card with “Academy Form”. Must be Ritual Summoned (from your hand) by using 3 “Arcana Force” monsters, or 1 “Arcana Force EX” monster, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. When this card is Special Summoned: Toss a coin and gain the appropriate effect. Heads: Once per turn: You can pay 1000 LP and target 1 Level 8 or lower “Arcana Force” monster in your GY; Special Summon it, and if you do, choose which of its effects to apply without tossing a coin. Tails: Once per turn, if your opponent activates a card or effect (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 “Arcana Force” monster from your hand or GY; negate the activation/effect of that card, and if you do, destroy it. NEXT: This "Academy Form" / "Elite" Ritual Monster thing was fun, but let's go with something new: a "Harpie" Ritual Monster.
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