"It is all so exceedingly normal," Dorian replied to Connor after letting out a small sigh. After a moment, his expression turned to amusement.
"... I am glad to hear that you are getting used to it all."
Junko beamed at Little My and was about to reply positively, but Ben's comment made her scowl.
"Ugh, so tired of people mistaking me for, uh, evil me," she said, crossing her arms.
"Why can't people just be open minded and not assume that someone is evil--?"
Junko turned her head to Milla, only to find the magical projection of Makoto Naegi standing next to her.
"Gah! It's Makoto! Everyone, he's secretly evil!"
"Oh, I don't know about that. He looks too cute to be evil if you ask me," Muzet giggled light-heartedly in response to Junko's outburst.
"Besides, any human my sister has chosen to ally with could not possibly be of evil."
Makoto let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed at the back of his head.
"Ah, I'm a good guy, I promise." He stared at Junko for a moment, longer than he meant to, and the girl scoffed.
"Okay, well, what the hell is going on?" Junko asked.
"The entire reason these people were here in the first place was to find you, Junko," Makoto said.
"Well, it eventually became about finding Muzét, but ODMA wanted to help you."
"Ahuh... ODMA? Another group who wants to lock me up, right?"
"No! It's..." Makoto looked around the room.
"I don't see Ilona... Well, listen, Ilona decided to go with them, right? She's been kept safe and learning how to control her power. You can too, Junko. It won't be like last time. No longer will you have to find yourself somewhere unknown over and over again."
Junko let out a long sigh.
"I see. Jeez, Makoto..." The girl closed her eyes.
"I miss everyone so much. All the people I've had to leave behind. Like... you..."
"You know what? I trust you, okay? Let's get the hell out of here already."
"Well, that didn't take long for her to change her tune," Touma murmured, scratching the back of his head idly, though of course, as bad as he felt for being a bit pessimistic about it, he was used to looking gift horses in his mouth, given the misfortune accursed to him because of his right hand.
Even if he was always able to roll with the punches and keep moving forward.
Now more than ever, he had to keep going, just like everyone else.
"It is just so. Being that this is evidently a critical point in time, it stands to reason that the interfering forces are predisposed -- aware of it or not -- to return to their natural state of being," Crowley interjected, expression still not changing for a single moment despite the introduction of several unfamiliar faces. These were concerns for different worlds. Crowley cared more for the matters of his own universe, after all.
Piper let out a hiss of annoyance at Frank.
"Come on, he switched with me after the second explosion!" she exclaimed, though this was hardly the time.
As the boy was restrained by Billy, he glared daggers at Lapis and the others.
"Of course I would stay true to my word," he said, an edge to his voice.
"As long as I got what I desired. You don't understand. Perhaps you're incapable of understanding. You see, all Revan wants is to create a new world. A world for all of us. A world... for my sister and I."
Light burst out of Mithos, forcing Billy to let go. Where Mithos once stood was now the angel, Yggdrasil.
The angel cared little for Frank's taunts.
"I will simply raze this entire station to the ground if I must."
God how Frank hated brats. Yaggdrasil raised a hand toward Frank, but Frank was far faster than expected. He grabbed the angel's arm and used his free hand to clutch him by his hair. Frank then adjusted Yggdrasil's head so that he could look him right in the eyes.
“Here, you Revanchist bastard, how do you like this?” The Penance Stare was a Spirit of Vengeance's most powerful tool in punishing the guilty and wicked of heart. Every negative action, behavior and sensation, from sins to the pain of others, that Yggdrasil had ever committed in his lifetime overtook his mind. For once the great hero felt all the suffering he had delivered to others fall right back unto him.
Yggdrasil fought against the man's overwhelming power. His body writhed and he lashed out with beams of light. Several around the room, endangering the patients and the staff trying to hide from the fighting. In a last ditch effort, Yggdrasil surrounded himself in light and exploded outward, throwing Ellis across the room and causing small light explosions to go off around the medical facility.
As the dust settled, Hope stood in front a few of the patients. He had conjured a shield of magic around as many as he could, but Yggdrasil's magic had put holes in his shield. He let out a shuddering breath, realizing that one had hit Shi-Long Lang, killing him.
As for Ellis, the blow he had received had knocked him completely unconscious once again. Wynne had recovered from her attack and was now checking him, but she realized the worst.
"No... No... He's gone."
The old mage let out a long exhale. Yet another life taken. Ellis was just another in a long list of young men and women taken far too early in this terrible fighting. She laid her hands upon the boy, her eyes welling up with tears.
"I must try. I must try to save at least one."
Wynne had always known she herself was living on borrowed time. She had died herself, once, only to be saved by a spirit of some kind. It had filled her with life, saved her for a greater purpose. She did not know if the spirit had something specific in mind, but she felt this had to be enough. Saving a young man's life had to be enough. No matter who Ellis was or what he would go on to do, he deserved to live his life to the fullest.
They all did, but Wynne had only one life to give.
"Goodbye," the mage whispered. She then collapsed lifelessly.
Piper ran over to the pair of them. After checking pulses, she shuddered. Ellis was breathing. Wynne, however...
"She's dead," Piper said.
Chapter Six
"Down On All Fours"
With Muzét secured and a few more members of the Revanchist out of commission, things were finally looking up for the Coalition. The medical facility had been cleaned and those who had not perished were recovering nicely. However, there was no clear understanding of where the last remaining Great Spirits were, leaving the Coalition unable to immediately retaliate.
"Our joint operation in Avalon is likely nearing its head," Mom Lalonde said to the gathered Coalition board over a conference call.
"Whatever the Revanchist has in store, it's likely to happen very soon."
Then came another voice, sounding tired and frustrated.
"Hold on," said Paladin Danse, speaking all the way from Ragnarok. His connection was strained.
"Ragnarok's gonna fall if we don't send more people out here immediately. There's nothing more the UN can do. The few we keep getting can't keep up."
Makoto looked uneasy.
"Right..." He looked to Milla.
"Without Aska or Verius, malevolence will keep just growing out of control?"
Milla sighed and crossed her arms.
"There might be a way to reverse the damage, but that will take time. And it will take a level of concentration we don't have considering this... war with the Revanchist. Places like Ragnarok, where malevolence is strong, can not be maintained by mortal hands alone right now."
"But--" Makoto let out an exasperated noise.
"We need to find Shadow and Chronos, right? And, we don't even know where Celsius is now."
"I would feel them if they were gone," Milla said. She paused then though, looking a bit unsure.
"... Either their methods of hiding are effective enough to avoid the Revanchist, or..." She shook her head.
"Or, whatever is happening on Avalon could be related to one of them. We should send people there right away."
"But we need people here on Ash!" Danse pleaded.
"We won't be abandoning anyone. You don't have to worry about that," Kyoko said suddenly to Danse, seemingly appearing before the group.
"Our numbers may be thinning, but we still have enough to be able to evenly divide some away teams for Ragnarok and Avalon," she said, arms folded as she stood resolute. Despite everything that had happened, it was a miracle she was able to continue steadfast, but perhaps it was just all she could do at this point.
"All we have to do is hope. Believe in them. Believe in us," Doppo said, standing beside Kyoko, almost looking like her own personal aide in place of Makoto, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.
***
For the forces sent to Avalon, the situation was a lot more quiet than what was going on in Ragnarok. At least for now. The group was met by four men, Alvin, Rowen, Byakuya, and Deadshot, half of them members of the Coalition and half members of ODMA.
"The guy who runs the hotel, he's been using a machine to make people," Alvin was explaining.
"Makes them incomplete and without personalities so that they'll do whatever he asks."
"He's been covertly sending them around Avalon," said Rowen.
"It's not entirely clear what exactly he's been doing with them. Setting up for some kind of spell, certainly."
"Frankly, he's slipped by us more than we would have liked..."
"And while we waste time catching them up, he's continuing his machinations," Byakuya said bluntly.
"There's no time. Split yourselves up in half. Alvin and Rowen will be going a warehouse in Electric Town. Deadshot and I are heading underground."
"Just don't get in the way," Deadshot himself spoke to the prospective few who would choose to accompany him and Byakuya, his masked features barely able to hide his cold, almost disinterested demeanor.
"As long as we don't waste time on frivolities, we can be in and out before dinnertime. Get it? Got it? Good."
The situation on Ash was dire. Many of the outposts across the landscape had already fallen, leaving the bulk of the Ragnarok forces in the city of Charon or maintaining a defensive line at the Outway station. The leader of the UN forces of Ragnarok, Gaius, met with the forces sent by the Coalition at Outway to brief them on what they could do.
"The situation at our defensive line is stable," Danse explained over a radio.
"That will not last long, however. There are places out on Ash that are pouring out malevolence at a staggering amount. It's making the wildlife and monsters go nuts. No one can last long outside of Charon or Outway long enough with getting sick or going mad, so we can't go to the danger sites."
"That's why we're sending two groups," Gaius said. He nodded to Milla and Alisha Diphda.
"One group will go with Maxwell, and another with Alisha. They have the power to keep each group safe long enough to get to the danger sites and see what they can do to stop the malevolence."
"I will be going to the Cathedral," Milla said.
"Alisha will be going to Piper's Landing."
"I won't let you down! Let's do our best, everyone!" The girl named Alisha exclaimed eagerly, clenching her fist as though barely able to contain her resolve to prevail against the enemies that waited for them.
CHARACTER LIST
@Crow as Ben Tennyson [Ben 10] and Cagliostro [Granblue Fantasy]
@Takumi as Chise Hatori [The Ancient Magus Bride] and Shigure [Fire Emblem]
@Minerva as Corrin [Fire Emblem] and Yennefer [The Witcher]
@Crunch as Deoxys [Pokemon] and Titus [Warhammer]
@Josh as Ellis [Left 4 Dead] and Clark Kent/Kal El [Smallville]
@Jeremi as Frank Castle AKA "The Rider" [Marvel] and Bayonetta [Bayonetta]
@amwexia as Little My (Moomin) and Foo Fighters (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)
@Alex Azure as Mason Moretti [Original Character] and Macy Moretti [Original Character]
@Donder172 as Meceliss [Star Wars] and Courier Six [Fallout]
@Sark as Yoda [Star Wars] and Guy Gardener [DC]
@York as Reiner Braun [Attack on Titan] and Schala Zeal [Chrono Trigger]
@Gummi Bunnies as Rinato "Rin" Dormi AKA "Lapis Lazuli" [Original Character] and Goro Majima [Yakuza]
@Yun Lee as Severa [Fire Emblem] and Libra [Fire Emblem]
@Space_Candy as Quentin Smith [Dead by Daylight]
@Kaykay as Shirou Yusa [Dies Irae] and Ren Fujii [Dies Irae]
@Ver as Touma Kamijou [A Certain Magical Index] and Riesbyfe Stridberg [Type-Moon]
@Lucky as Wade Wilson AKA Deadpool [Marvel] and Billy Batson AKA Shazam [DC]
@Ottonomous Ghost as Wolf AKA Sekiro [Sekiro] and Blitzcrank [League of Legends]
