"So, it comes down to this," Tertium Averruncus reflected, hovering vertically over the ruined land of the large part of Old Ostia floating high above Mahora. "Look at yourselves. All those allies you made along your way, they made you feel invincible, didn't they? In the end, it just means you have drawn all that many down with yourselves."
Rakan was fighting Secundum. Erza, Natsu and Gray were handling Nii. Kotaro and Godel tried their best against Dynamis. The six Elements were working together to hold Septendecim back. Negi and Sextum were battling the Mage of the Beginning himself, and they were losing badly, quick. The rest of their allies had been reduced to so many stone statues, all scattered across the battlefield, on the spots where they had fallen.
Hopeless. It was all hopeless.
Chisame, Ayaka, Misora, Haruna, Keiichi, Setsuna and Misa stood, breathing heavily and clad in wildly torn clothes, under the shadow thrown by Tertium from his aerial perch over them. They had fallen into a single last line, along with a few last remaining allies of heart or convenience-- Shidou Hikaru, Wendy Marvell, Tamaki the dragon girl, Tsukuyomi, the Joker himself, and Darkness-san, for all the help she was-- and with Tertium standing-- mid air-- between them and the sleeping Asuna in her prison of stasis.
"Any... Any grand plan you'd want to set in motion now, Joker-han?" Tsukuyomi asked tiredly, gripping onto her sword while bright spots flashed before her. "Even if it's to screw us all...?"
It seemed like it'd been an eternity since she'd followed him out of Kyoto, and even since they'd parted ways shortly after in predictably explosive fashion. She still held a certain amount of respect and even admiration for this demon of a man with a heart to match her own, and who had willingly stepped into Mundus Magicus to achieve Kami knew what. So she asked. And then, waited.
The wide grin tightened, yellowed teeth surrounded by bleeding ruby lips smashing against each other. "Any moment now," Joker promised. "The payoff..."
Tertium landed on his feet before them, extending a hand towards the mismatched group. "One last chance," he said. "Tamaki. Learn from the mistakes of your partners. Don't follow Sextum in this foolish rebellion..."
She hissed like a reptile, but clearly out of breath. "I'd rather fall with her than march with you..."
"You never were a true believer, then, "Tertium said, almost melancholically. "What do the rest of you have to say? You still can walk peacefully into this eternal paradise."
"N-Never!" Darkness gasped, raising a large blade that never could hit, anyway. "What, what a repulsive idea! An anathema to all I stand for as a paladin...!"
Tertium considered telling her that for her Cosmo Entelecheia would probably be just non stop suffering, but then he decided she was not worth the effort and the saliva.
"I've been there. Wasn't impressed," the Joker said. "You can't create perfection, since perfection doesn't actually exist. What a joke...!"
"Maybe that's just the nature of your soul, unable to find solace anywhere," Tertium mused, almost pitying. "And that is your best retort? No true attempt at what you would call humor? You are trying to stall me, aren't you? But it will not work regardless. Even if you happen to dispose of me, you will never break through the bounded field, much less stand a chance against the Master."
Keiichi took a painful step ahead, beginning to heft the Keyblade he'd received from Aqua-san. No, not that Aqua-san. The one with a brain. "I say I can break in. With this!"
"Yes, you could. If you could reach her. That is the power of a Keyblade, able to pierce through any gate, to unlock any barrier. But it will never touch the Princess' container, and we will just take it from your petrified body. Thank you. It will be a great boon for our plans for Earth."
And the darts, once again, flew from his hand, so many tiny flechettes of magical concentrated power. Keiichi braced himself to block with the Keyblade, this weapon he didn't know how to use, and instinctively, Setsuna began the leap ahead to shield him with her body.
But.
Then.
There was another voice. A cold voice from above.
"Dead. Scream!"
And everything exploded in a downward trajectory towards Tertium, impacting him squarely in the chest, blowing his shirt off and smashing him against the barrier protecting Asuna's coffin. A massive sonic onslaught bursting through the battlefield forced Ala Alba and company to cover their ears in great pain. Chisame, suddenly suffering a headache, winced and looked up. "What the--"
And there it was, flying over them, starkly contrasting against the blood red sky blotted by flying imps and critters. Just like during Mahorafest, the Chao Bao Zi was flying, with Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Pluto, and another girl in a Senshi uniform standing on top of it. Ku Fei, Fuuka, Fumika and a very nervous Ako all poked their heads out of the car and waved at them.
"O-o-Ooooo- Okuchi-san!" Ayaka gasped.
Akira smiled down at them. "Iinchou," she said fondly. "Chisame-san. Misora-chan, everyone. Sorry for taking so long..."
"Sailor Senshi!" Venus commanded loudly. "You know what to do!"
"Yeah!" Mars and the short Senshi in green said, and then the whole lot of them jumped off the vehicle, landing together on their feet between Ala Alba and the recovering Tertium.
"We'll never forget anyone attacking our school, harassing our classmates!" Minako said, assuming a dynamic pose. "Sailor Venus will punish you, in the name of Venus!"
"Um, Chief," Mars doubted for a moment. "Before we kill him, we are sure THIS is the bad guy, right?"
"Of course he is, why wouldn't he?!" Chisame yelled. "He looks just like Sextum, doesn't he?!"
"But this Sextum girl is with you now, isn't she?" Mars asked back. "I mean, she just dropped in Mahora for a short while, and Negi-sensei vouched for her..."
"HE'S STILL EVIL, THOUGH!" Ayaka, Chisame, Misa and Misora screamed at once.
"Fine! Just asking!" Shiho said, then pointed a finger at Tertium. "Whatever, you'll be punished in the name of Mars too, creep!"
"Right, right, punished in the name of Jupiter and Pluto as well," Sailor Jupiter groaned, bringing her hands together and starting to gather electricity between them. "Must we do these little pointless theatrics every darned time?!"
Large chunks of stone began floating up from the ground, gathering all around Tertium. "... how foolish," he muttered, frowning grimly. "Why are so many struggling to fit into a single grav--"
"The punchline," Joker chuckled, lifting a pointer finger.
Tertium raised an eyebrow. "What?"
The ground right under Tertium exploded upwards, once again taking him off balance, and from it erupted, screaming maniacally and bleeding from the eyes, a desperate Quartum, not quite dead yet and punching madly at the other unit, pushing him further up with each frantic blow. "WAHHHHH!" he screamed deliriously. "WHATTA HATTA RARRRHHH! GRRRRRAAAAA!"
"What the..." Misa gulped, noticing the bulging veins on Quartum's increasingly whitish ruptured flesh, right before both struggling Averrunci ascended out of clear view into the bleeding skies.
"Ah ha ha ha ha haa!" Joker broke into rattled laughter, slapping himself on a knee. "That's why I wasn't joking before, Terts! This is the joke! I injected something into Quarty long ago in this silly little adventure, and whenever he'd sustain enough damage, my juice would leak all through him and--"
"Whatever! Aside!" Ayaka shouted, pushing him aside and then running towards the Chao Bao Zi as it landed. She ran towards someone who was hopping off and running towards her as well, arms outstretched. "C-Chuh- CHIZURU!"
"Ayaka! MY AYAKA!" Naba Chizuru sobbed, both girls coming together and hugging each other tightly. Naba began actually bawling on Ayaka's shoulder, probably the most incredible thing Chisame had seen all day long. "Oh, thank God, thank God so very much...!"
"Yo!" Ku Fei said happily, also hopping out of the car, swinging a pole staff around. "Paru, good to see you again! Where are Bookstore and Yue?"
Haruna sighed sadly. "It's... a long story, Ku-chan."
Kaede was coming out next, actually opening her eyes to take stock of her surroundings. She soon caught a glimpse of statues of Nodoka and Yue half buried in the rubble, and grimaced. "This one... I mean, I think I understand," she said, sounding much more somber and sedate than usual, and firmly keeping the twins close by her side. "I'm sorry, Haruna, Chisame, Misa. I should have come with you..."
Joker huffed indignantly, dusting his suit off. "Why, so there'd be more unruly brats pushing me around?" he asked, while Fuuka, Fumika and Ako stared in muted horror at him. "It's not like you would have made a difference, Skyscraper, none of you could-- Well. Maybe one of you fellas."
Evangeline A.K. Mc Dowell was stepping outside now, whipping her long gold hair aside and scowling at the whole stage. "Typical of your lot, Hasegawa Chisame!" she scoffed. "I leave you alone, and you fall to pieces almost right off the bat, shame on you! Where's Chachamaru? And Boya? Why the hell is Kagurazaka inside of that thing?"
Chisame flinched. "Ah, well, yes, about Chachamaru, you'll see, the thing is that--"
That annoying brown haired Senpai from Honnouji had come out after them. "Haruka-chan! Where's Haruka-chan?! Damn it, if these assholes have done anything to her, then I swear that I'll--!"
"You are to just die and follow everyone else into the great bliss," said another Averruncus, with longer and even spikier hair but otherwise almost a living image of Tertium. He had just floated in from another site in the fray, to backhand Keiichi away as he tried to shove the Keyblade against the layer blocking access to Asuna's coffin. "Tertium will be back before long, but even before that, I, Quintum, shall dispose of you."
"Like hell you will, asshole!" Issei roared, readying his right arm as it was covered on Ddraig. "C'me here and tell me where Haruka-chan is already...!"
"Hyoudo-san, there will be no need for that," said Tearju Lunatique, now exiting the car with an air of cold aplomb so unlike her habitual nervousness. Yami landed from her flight guarding the Chao Bao Zi, standing next to her creator and sheathing her wings back in. "This is what the paid help is here for."
"Paid help?" Quintum asked. "What manner of--"
Then a long end of rusty chain flew towards him, finished into a huge metal hook that smashed against Quintum's mouth, silencing him through the gentle method of caving his teeth in.
Chisame, Keiichi, Issei, Misora, Misa and Haruna all looked up while Yami facepalmed. From an infernal looking machine shaped like a twisted madman's idea of a flying motorcycle, a hugely muscular, chalk skinned, hairy and smelly creature clad in black leathers and lots of bad taste tattoos was leaping off, to land on Quintum's chest, slamming the thick soles of his boots on him.
"HELLO THERE, SALLY!" Tearju's 'hired help' bellowed with savage glee, raising the hook again and bringing it back down on Quintum's face before the unit could recover. "Yer in luck tonite, Clyde! I'm gonna give ya some much needed facial recoms-- reconstit-- a fraggin' facelift, Sparky! Ya just stay quiet a sec--!"
"Oooohhh, me like," Joker said, making a curious little smile and putting a hand on his cheek.
"Yeah... He's kind of--" Tsukuyomi trailed off, blushing a little as she saw the large man brutalizing Quintum, giving him no time to get up and start attacking back. Then she noticed the stern way Setsuna was glaring at her, and amended, hewing, "I, I mean, he'd be, if I were into that kind of thing, I mean, person, I mean--!"
"Doesn't matter!" Setsuna said irritably, helping Keiichi back up and guiding him towards the containment field. Chizuru let go of Ayaka, so that the blonde could rush to their side. "Senpai, do you think you can do this? Tertium said you could...."
"The Keyblade can," Morisato said, starting to bash on the barrier with both arms holding the weapon. His elbows felt like they were made of butter, and each blow made his knees wobble. He just wanted to sleep, so much. Even thinking was getting harder by the moment. If only Sku-chan, if only she-- "But, but I'm not sure I can handle it properly! I wasn't trained by Yen Sid or anything, I--!"
"I was. Please let me try, Senpai," another tired voice said, and then they looked back, to see Rito walk towards them, with his own Keyblade in his hand, and a worried looking Asia by his side.
"Ri... RITO-CHAN!" Haruna said, gasping and then leaping onto him. "Oh, my dear, my beloved, my Rito-chan!" she hiccuped. "I, I, I thought they had--!"
For all answer, Rito grabbed her, planted an extremely deep and strong kiss on her mouth, and kept her held by her arms as she twitched in place. Haruna's eyes bugged out.
Chisame's glasses slid down her face.
Tsukuyomi bit on her lower lip. "That boy now fills me with pride..."
"Oh my God," Yami said blandly. "What in the world have you done to him?"
Finally, Rito gently let go of a dazed, happy Haruna, and stepped to stand beside Keiichi. "We can do this if we work together, Senpai," he told him. "Like Sora and Rikku, the two great welders of legend."
"Um... Okay," Keiichi said.
"AAAAHHHHH! SON OF A FRAGGIN'....!" Lobo shouted as Quintum finally managed to land a direct attack on him, blowing him back with a gigantic discharge of electricity that made every hair on the Czarnian stand in point.
Quintum stood on Lobo's fallen body, making sure to press him down, hard, against the ground, half-burying him in. "Very well," the Averruncus of Lightning said. "Now I see that Ba'al and Quartum were right. Creatures like your lot deserve nothing but--"
Then Lobo just moved an arm up, with an extra large black gun in the gloved hand, and shot upwards, blowing Quintum's head up, right off his neck.
"....!" Chisame said, watching Quintum's head fly up, quickly spinning across the air as it did so.
"I... I think I'm going to be ill," Tamaki said.
"Cool. I'm glad I came after all!" Joker said, and then began clapping like a very young and content child.
"Gaaaaaahhhhh," Misa said.
Quintum's body stumbled off Lobo's, waving its arms in all directions and then starting to throw punches around.
Issei frowned, asked "Asia-chan, please look aside," and as soon as she did, he punched a hole right through its torso.
Immediately, Setsuna and Tsukuyomi each brought their swords down, each attacking from a side as they cut Quintum's arms off, and then, somehow, shared a brief reflexive smile as the arms rolled on the dirt.
Issei kicked the armless and headless body back, and then the rest of it was pulverized when Yami's hair stretched over, turned into a myriad of long blades,and turned it into so much mincemeat.
"... we're still the good guys! Right?!" Misora eeped.
After a long, long trajectory flying vertically and briefly meeting Quartum and Tertium along its way, Quintum's head dropped back to the ground like a dead weight.
"Severe long term damage has just been sustained," it said. "Sending a message to Lord Dynamis for retrieval and--"
"AAAAAAAHHHH, SHADDAP!" Lobo howled viciously, and then smashed the head under his foot.
Ako fainted.
"No, really! We are, aren't we?!" Misora cried.
"... maybe," Chisame said.
Evangeline sighed. "All right, I think I'm not needed here for the time being." She glared towards where, in the distance, a hooded figure slammed Negi and Sextum repeatedly. "Yukihiro, Hasegawa, wake Kagurazaka up after these two stooges pull her out. I've got better things to do," she said stoically, and then speeded away in majestic flight to go greet her destiny.
"AH!" Chisame tried to call after her. "Eva! Wait! I..." she looked at all of the carnage around them, so many comrades still turned to stone. "I... I... For some reason, I don't think we can bring Asuna back without them!"
Asia's quiet, dull glare swept through the smoking cemetery of petrified bodies, and then she began rolling her sleeves up with a very deep sigh. "Please let me try something, in the name of our Lord Almighty."
The words briefly burned her mouth again, but Asia soldiered on.
