Reaper Invasion - A Nightmare Without End

Hydra continued devouring the remains of the forgotten Shop Handsome, still hungry for an abundance of existence. Chimera seemed to be absorbing reality, crouching on the ground, literally taking in particles of the Earth into its open crack. The twin Deletors: Legion floated about, "Gaele" munching down on buildings as it went along with its other mind, and "Zaele" simply watching humans scream and panic, thrashing about like insects. Such was natural, and as fate would have it, a line of them were running.

"A͏͏̧H̨.̧̕.̶͜͡҉.͞҉̢̛ ̵̕͡͡͏T̷̴̴Ḩ́҉E̷͟͝͝ ̵̴̡͜V̴̀̕͟O̧͏̴I̧͘͞͡D͏̕҉Ş̧ ̕͜҉̴L̸̢͠͡I̵̶Ń̡̕͡E̶̡͝͞ ̴̶̡̢͡Ư̢͜P̵͟.̴͜͡" The calm, yet booming tone of Legion bellowed, immediately firing out laser beams of void that incinerated those in its wake. Line up they did, and in a line, they fell to nothingness. Four Reapers roared loudly for various reasons, getting the attention of the entire nation with how they were no longer pulling any sort of stop whatsoever.

The Chosen Sword arrived with a large platoon, more of the Resistance on the way, and immediately no one knew how to go about this. When Hydra and Scorpion attacked, they couldn't do much of anything but focus Scorpion while keeping Hydra at bay. Now? There's... Yukino held up her Reality Bangle, showcasing the Legion pair of the Number Three of the Reaper forces: the Juxtapose Deletors. This included information of Hydra and Chimera, in case anyone forgot or simply needed the information at hand. Everyone knew their priorities without the commander speaking: evacuate and fend off the Reapers. The only one they were absolutely certain they could take was Chimera, who was visibly terrified by the militia appearing.

"T-THE HUMAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!!" Chimera screeched, getting the attention of the other Reapers.

"FOOD?" Hydra posed the same question it did back at the Mall.

Exculpate gripped at her heart before flying out, feeling the beating grow severely worse. The unknown of fighting so many Reapers at once instantly kicked in every stress-filled gear in her body. Now wasn't the time to pass out - now wasn't the time to be hindered by mortality. Summoning Alfred XIV's jetpack, gauntlets, greaves, and Blaster Blade's sword, she dashed toward the skies. Almost immediately did she regret doing so, as Chimera, Gaele, and three of Hydra's heads let loose hell via Void bullets. Yukino attempted dodging a number of them, but got hit by one, and initially believed she could just take it like she did before when she became enlightened. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and the Chosen Sword was blasted out of the sky.

"Aaaah!!" Yukino screamed and crashed as the Resistance rushed over to her while also beginning to counter-fire at the Reapers.

"The fuck do we do, man?! We can't get near Chimera again! Not with those three other guys!" Jessie shouted, panic in his voice.

"Maybe we should all split up again, try to get at least one down or get one's attention!" Aoi responded.

"Legion is one mind! Ugh..." Yukino yelled from the crater she was getting pulled out of. "If you distract Legion... both of those Deletors will focus. Distract him, and Hydra is your only obstacle to Chimera... Then you need to take Hydra, and only then will Chimera be defenseless."

"Okay, and the bit about not knowing where Hydra's skull is or what the hell to do about Legion?" Bashiro turned, reminding everyone of the unknown factors needed to get at their weakness.

"Fight and figure it out! We don't have time to sit around and question how we can do what! Just fight for the sake of helping the populace escape, and we'll try to find a solution in the middle of battle!" The Chosen Sword ordered, and received nods from the others, who rushed outward.

Chronos was floating nearby...

Karin stood atop one of the many buildings that lined this section of the city. The Reapers lurked about, destroying and deleting things left and right. She looked around at the destruction that now surrounded her. She would have to be a part of this too, inevitably.
"You will assist them until I arrive. This is your role. Fulfill it without question, or..."
Karin felt a tug on her heart, and a sharp pain shot through her chest. She winced, clutching her chest and gasping for air. "I-I know..." She choked out through strained breaths. The pain was lifted, and she fell to her knees, her entire body shaking as she slowly brought herself to her feet once again.

She put her fingers to her deck, pressing against Sovereign's card. She would now have to act as his Vanguard, in both the literal and metaphorical sense of the word, taking his power to battle against whatever members of the Resistance showed themselves here. She wouldn't just be fighting against the Resistance, to stall their assault on the Reapers. No... She would almost be acting like a Reaper herself, wielding Sovereign's immense power not just to stall the Resistance, but to end it.

She stretched out a hand in the direction of the twin Deletors known as Legion. "...I'll be relying on you, then. At least you know what friendship is..." Karin muttered to herself, hopping across rooftop after rooftop, an ominous purple aura beginning to surround her. Landing at Legion's side, she stood and waited for the Resistance to come, staring down with her burning, orange eyes, watching as the first waves of the Resistance forces appeared.

From the skies above, Darren descended down onto the battlefield atop Sin Buster. He held onto Noel onto to be sure she wouldn't fall. He didn't know if she was 100% yet but she at least needed to see what was happening. He gave a glare as his eyes flashed purple. He could see the Deletors perfectly with no pain. Four in total, at least for now. "Two familiar faces, one from Malice and the one I couldn't take on. Topping the list, two I've never seen before, but their energies are swirling together."

"That means they have a symbiotic relationship. They cannot exist separately, only together. That makes them stronger, and more difficult to deal with."

"Don't sweat the details," Darren said as he pounded his own fist into his hand. "We're not the only ones here but I'll do as much damage as I can. The more I do, the easier its gonna be for the others!"

"You speak as if you will not be joining them."

"It's not like I'm a soldier, or even a human. A monster like me's best at the front lines." In all the excitement, he didn't even remember Noel could hear every word they both were saying. He didn't have time to get her opinion. People were in trouble. Metalborg Mist Ghost appeared behind Darren, grabbing a hold of him from the back and began to fly like his own personal jet pack.

"Do you even have a plan?"

"Yeah, go over there and wait for the first dog to bark, then we'll take it on."

"That isn't a plan..."

"Best we got! Let's go!" He pointed towards the Reapers as Mist Ghost followed the order, flying Darren directly there.

Meanwhile, Raiden walked towards the battlefield himself. He had fully recovered but took the time to disappear into the shadows. He had nothing to offer Yukino, the Resistance, or to anyone else. With that said, he equipment all but overloaded at the readings in this place. It was practically off the map before now. This must have been where the Reapers were all along. If only he had discovered it sooner.

"There isn't much I can do, but I will still do what I can..." Raiden said as he placed his hand onto his modified Bangle. He rushed to where Yukino was as he called out, "Yukino, what is the attack plan?!"

Trinity was suddenly next to Karin, her laser sword in her hand though not her armor. She looked down at the battlefield before she spoke. "I will assist you and Lord Sovereign in any way needed. Merely say the word and I will cut a path for you." There was no respect in her voice...but no disrespect either. She also wasn't doing this from someone's order. She merely decided she was better use assisting Lord Sovereign in Lord Harbinger's absence. And if that meant obeying and assisting Karin, she was ready to.

Beatrice stood next to Jessie as she looked at the Reapers, ready to fight. "Me and the girls are ready to distract one or both while you all take the others. I believe its more efficient if you all pool your strength to end one as quickly as possible." She had decided she was ready to put her life on the line for the resistance. After all, how can she find her perfect master or mistress if there was no world to serve them on?

Neo started running along with Haruto toward the direction where the reapers were and the scene was not pretty. There was alot of destruction where what was left of Shop Handsome. Neo ran into a building and up the stairs as fast as possible to get a better view of what was going on.

Thats it! Time to put an end to this!

So Neo strapped on his new steel fists and was ready to fight once again to save the people of the city!

Karin shot an irritated glance at Trinity. She recognized the girl from Shop Handsome, that one drone that kept ogling Harbinger. Gross.

Karin sighed, turning her attention back to the beginning battle. "It doesn't matter to me what you do. Just... do what you'd normally do, I guess. He'll be here soon." She put a hand to her forehead, trying to ward off an oncoming headache. Today was going to be a long day, and she sure as hell didn't want to spend any part of it with this weird girl.

It was a rush to get here but it was pretty much regretted. Why'd he have to come here? Oh right, he was on the side of not being erased. Seemed like things here were already getting underway to, Yukino climbing out of a crater... Everyone pretty much panicking, or getting ready to jump at the Reapers with their... kind of bare hands? In any case, the brunette glanced around at the carnage and destruction and... ...Was that Reaper inhaling the earth into it's backside? Oh well, details. Still needed to be stopped but this... Tactically this made sense, as Seifer recognized the area as to where Shop Handsome used to be. But he knew that it wasn't about tactics, they just weren't holding back anymore.

Giving an audible sigh as he approached, the brunette continued to walk forward, everyone just standing around like they usually did. He didn't blame them, there being four reapers, and possible drones nearby... It's something daunting to ask of even super powered people. "We should only have two or three people try and distract Legion." he gave his input on the situation as he walked into the little gathering group. "That's if we can afford it though. It doesn't look like there's many of us even here." well there were the foot soldiers but... Could they actually be of use... ...Maybe... "If we do hit and run tactics on Legion, and use some of the soldiers to try and keep their attention as well, we could hopefully buy enough time to figure out what to do about Hydra, and finish off the one from before." a sound plan, but then again who would ever listen to him in comparison to their leader.

"We should also not be as grouped up in this fight, so let's try to stay spread out."

It was a shame that this all had to be destroyed. The Reapers were causing so much pain and chaos and death... The pinkette frowned as she arrived at the battlefield alongside her fiancé. At least they were trying to think of a plan before jumping into the scene head first. "So Legion, Hydra, and...." Pause to glance at her Reality Bangle for information. "Chimera? Right... Well, three groups of giant icky monster things. I can summon as many Angel Feather as I can, but this is going to be a long fight... If I summon five units, I can have three teams of two. My two legion pairs can care for those distracting Legion and Hyrda, while I and the last unit treat those on the front line against the one we can hopefully finish off first..." Or, ya know, whatever the plan is with these creepy-crawlies. But whatever the plan, she was also ready to fight if absolutely necessary. She would do her part to end this battle as fast as possible...

Haruka had made his way as fast as he could to the nearest spawned Reaper in the area, which happened to be the one he had faced off with only a few nights ago. The flying armored fortress. Aqua Force was preparing to resume the assault they had begun a few nights ago. A night at war is only the beginning. They're a naval force, they're used to this.

After all, it is war.

War never changes.

With Okuri on his heels, they were going to have to make a flank attack it looked as the skull that had been cracked and damaged before has had a bit of time to heal. They couldn't afford to waste time on this one, whether it was in the air or decided to stay on the ground with the rest of the Reapers.

"Okuri, you might be needed here to aid in the assault, but if you feel another Reaper might be a bigger threat, might be best you head there instead. Stay safe."

Haruka left his companion with those words as he started commanding the troops for battle. It was only just beginning.

While on her random travels, Mirai sensed the presence of multiple Reapers coming out of Shop Handsome. The former base where Harbinger and her minions used to be located in. That area now became a complete war zone with multiple monsters just destroying everything in sight. Was... was this right? Was their thirst for destruction the only way to save the future? No... that can't be right... That doesn't make any sense! But... if the Resistance win, who is to say that her future repeats itself? The Seed was completely lost and confused. She was not sure which side to take. That only angered her more, being unable to decide what to do. Who to fight. Who to protect. She arrived to the battlefield, deck ready, not knowing who she will end up fighting. "Dammit... I don't know anymore. I'll just..." The confused soul stood in the middle of everyone, who ever her true enemy would be decided here and now.

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Noel heard Darren what would be the torment he has been feeling this entire time that he has been back. Him questioning his humanity. Honestly at this point in life, all of the accomplishments the Resistance has made thus far shows no one here is a regular human. It wouldn't surprise her if Darren or even herself would be something else other than human. Being able to wield the power they all held is something a regular person can't do.

She didn't have a chance to reply back to what he was talking about until they were interrupted by Sin Buster. Noel wasn't sure Darren knew that she can see his unit but she was listening in and most likely he knew that she was. More Reapers? So much for this brief period of peace. It seemed like Shop Handsome, the enemy's former base was the area of invasion. Makes sense honestly for the Reapers to gather there. Before Noel had a say in any of this, Darren grabbed her and pulled her into Sin Buster's hand and started heading to the place in record time. The speed was surprising but nothing Noel couldn't handle yet Darren was holding her. Once this Reaper battle is dealt with, she will deal with that in her own way. Anyway, the scene was horrifying. There was about.... four Reapers?! At once?!

"What the hell... you got to be kidding me..." Noel gulped and swallowed her fear, her arm shaking. She wasn't fully recovered and already another huge fight has started. Civilians being immediately evacuated. This was too much. Why can't this just end?! She looked at her deck and then looked at what awaited her. There's no tuning back. Fighting is the only way to find peace.

Jellal approached the scene that could only be described with a single word: destruction. He saw many fighters taking their position, looking for a fight. "I need to help out in anyway that I can!" he said. He held onto his deck of cards in his right hand as he surveyed the area.

Okuri moved quickly alongside Haruka to arrive at the scene. When the notice had said several Reapers it really meant it. There were four present, though two acted very much as one. Word was there was a potential fifth in the area as well. This was going to run the Resistance incredibly thing. The two arrived nearby to Chimera, the flying beast from the night of the tournament. It still seemed on edge and rather vulnerable. One might almost think of it as an easy pick off to lessen the threat of the situation but then Chimera was no push over. Even in a panic he would no doubt prove incredibly strong.

Responding to the reality bangle the units of Great Nature once again arrived on the scene. The last fight with Chimera had not gone well and it was clear they raring to get another shot in at the beast.

"I'll stick with you for now Haruka. The others are grouped together and we should do the same. Chimera's already injured and taking it out quickly would help." he said as he continued running through the town. It so happened that the whole of Great Nature had worked on equipping Okuri's team with some ranged science-y weaponry. They looked more like lab equipment but whatever worked was what they would go with. As fun as flying on birds had been it was a move they didn't want to repeat. And this way they wouldn't have to put extra strain on Okuri to maintain more units. This was the power of science.

Haruto had just arrived with Neo, they seemed somewhat late to the party but then again this did happen out of nowhere, now the important subject is to deal with the threat this time....five reapers....

"...Seriously...." he thought, as he watched the scene in front of him. "We can't let them fight alone." he said, as he took out his deck and was ready to battle.

The question was which Reaper to focus on or whether there was a plan at all. He then spotted Rose fighting against one of the Reapers, she was unfortunately defeated, causing Haruto to feel rather angry at the Reaper. He did not like to see his friends suffer, aside from being a friend, Rose helped him after training now he wanted to repay the favor.

"I'm next!" he shouted, jumping off his location and heading straight at Hydra.

Sera was on the scene as fast as he could with Sakuya in tow as soon as the alert to go was given. Sera wasn't all to sure if Mitsuki was part of the Resistance when leaving the shrine, and therefore didn't give much knowledge as to where they were off to, but if she had any affiliation with them, she would know where to go and follow close behind.

Sera didn't waste a moment getting in the faces of Reaper grunts, locking them down and keeping control of the situation. Despite "control" of the situation, there were... three Reaper bosses all grouped together in the same area. Sera's heart was pounding at the thought. He nodded off to Sakuya, leaving her to take on a boss with a group. While he desperately wanted to aid his brother, he knew them staying grouped together was a poor distribution of strength. He wanted a rematch with the multi-headed guy anyways.

"Big guy it is."

He declared war with Hydra.

"Huh, too much noise..." Thought Carlos in his sleep. After carrying he favorite thug along with his favorite dog and his favorite kid to his favorite base, the young man found himself in an awesome adventure that he'll likely never remember because he was drunk as hell at the time. Not bad for a first timer. That's why, after a number of interesting and strange happenings, he ended up sleeping in a random bench for what seemed like weeks. Green lipstick all around his neck and face, a sign stuck to his shirt with "Memes are god! Repent!" written, a taser gun, and of course, empty beer bottles where the proofs that whatever he did actually happened.

However, the ruckus of the city wouldn't let him rest for too long. "Ugh, what's the problem with the people in this country? Don't they see I'm trying to sleep?" He said while getting up. Thanks to a terrible headache, he took some time to understand the current situation of the city. People running scared, cars on fire and destroyed buildings... It was clearly a festival of some sort. "Huh, what kind of messed up people do messed up festivals like this!?".

After walking the streets looking for the source of all the noise, his still sleeping capacity of analysis managed to wake up after seeing a familiar figure among the buildings - A giant, horrible, and of course, menacing Reaper. "Wait, that's no festival. No problem, let's just rip it a new-" He stopped, after noticing a second monster in the distance. "T-Two!? W-Well, I see no problem with tha-" Suddenly, a third and a fourth one. "... Shit". Indeed. He could recognize at least two of the invaders - The one he utterly destroyed with Armor Break and Detonics Stinger Dragon and the one that utterly destroyed him. The sight of the Hydra filled him with anger that he thought only his older brother could bring out.

"Recklessness Dragon" He summoned his trusty Avatar with the bangle. "Are you ready for some old fashioned revenge?". The bluish Thunder Dragon nodded. Hopping on the back of his Unit, he charged towards the multi-headed Reaper. He was ready to strike the monster right in one of its many heads, but two unknown Reapers came out of nowhere and blocked his path. If it weren't for the efforts of Recklesness Dragon, the young Narukami user could've fallen to a certain death. But he was only focused in attacking. "Out of the way! I can be very violent when I have a headache! Also, you're not the monsters I want to fight!". The monster, who seemed to busy, ignored his warnings. With no further options, Carlos directed all his attacks to the newly arrived Deletors. "So be it... Let's go, my Units!".

As the group tried to formulate some sort of plan of attack, it looked like the consensus was to distract Legion and Hydra, then take down Chimera. In the end, they would all have to be taken out, but one at a time seemed to be an easier route than splitting their forces entirely. Of course, they still had to split up anyways for the whole distraction part. Rosalia knew her role as a medic, but she couldn't sit on the sidelines forever, right?...

As if to answer her question, one of the closer Reapers was munching on a nearby building. The pinkette had two options: fight, or summon units to evacuate the civilians that were just too close. The rational part of her brain said to play it safe and assist the civilians. Whatever came over her, however, pushed Rosalia forward with deck in hand, staring up at the creepy-crawly of a beast. She put herself between those running away, and took a deep breath. "Stop snacking around, and face me! I won't let you keep harming these people!"

What did I get myself into...

And so the fight began. It would have been nice to have healed a few times when she damage checked a heal trigger, but she was (for once) pushing damage a bit harder than she thought. At least, it seemed that way. This beast, Hydra, was certainly not something she would like to face again. Its multiple heads was hard to keep track of, and even with Legion skills, her field was only half empty by the time it started to finally delete-lock her field.

At the first Delete, the pinkette froze up. Not again... not again... I can't be Deleted again... Her mind started to malfunction, or at least shut down. She had to push through, but what can one do when Deleted, and when Hydra swung for her a second time in the same turn? Luckily, the female had enough to guard, but at the start of her turn, time itself seemed to freeze. She just.. couldn't see straight. No, she saw just fine, but what she saw was darkness. Being Deleted... lost in the void... Was it all going to happen again?... Was she going to vanish from reality once more?...

"All soldiers, when your vanguard is deleted, discard cards from your hand that equal grade three or higher during your Ride Phase!"

Those were Yukino's words when they fought against Chimera the first time after the tournament... Stride.

Rosalia didn't know the first thing about Stride, but a light appeared in her thoughts. It was like the light from her deck, the one she initially discovered that gifted her with an affinity for healing. But this felt.. different? Something new, something.. something to reach for.

"I'm breaking your Delete!" True enough, as the medic discarded a Grade Three, her Legioned vanguards returned, along with her Hael rear-guard. This was... Stride? Well, close enough. It was a power that could help her forward, and she took as much of an advantage as she could. It wasn't enough to end it, and come the next turn, the female was pushed to Delete once more. And she couldn't... move on. She was going to lose, just like she thought... because she's a medic, not a fighter...

Sixth Damage was a heal trigger. Quite honestly, it seemed both Hydra and Rosalia were confused, shocked, or simply in disbelief. Well, at least Rosalia was. She couldn't say for Hydra completely. Her deck, however, pushed it further again, as a Quintet Wall saved her for another turn.

Unfortunately, in the end, it just wasn't enough... When she took her Twin Drive, Hydra having a Perfect Guard to save him, the pinkette maybe could have ended it with two triggers to her avatar in the rear-guard. Asmodel, however, only got one critical from the checks, to which Hydra had plenty of guard. This was definitely the end. Hesediel was the sixth damage this time, Rosalia looking up with half shut eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stared at the ugly tentacle coming straight for her.

Seifer... Oneesama... I'm sorry you had to watch me fail...

At least she wasn't this creeps next meal. The attack sent the pinkette flying into the closest pile of rubble, all of her beloved Angel Feather units disappearing from sight on the battlefield...

"The plan of attack is separate them! Split up and attack in groups!" Yukino shouted, relaying this same command to all latecomers through the Reality Bangles if they hadn't come up with the strategy themselves. The Chosen Sword zoomed outward, the Hakaisha brothers were charging for Hydra, and the little gumball Aoi dashed to Legion. Karin stood in their way, but Darren took her on in order for the others to advance against the dual-minded Reaper. Jewel Knights and Ripples attacked the Juxtapose Deletors, keeping up well with the twins with Jewel Knights having an early charge thanks to Swordmy and Tracie's efforts. Aoi tried her best just to come up with Baorus and Lavisse, but was rather happy seeing one of the two beacons of light for the nation and Vanguard tear into the enemy. Legion's voice boomed loudly, but calmly each time it spoke, not raising its voice like the masses did when it literally performed Legion. Just how much did the Reapers have at their arsenal?!

Noel continued getting Draw Trigger after Draw Trigger to keep up with Legion's deletes and locks. It was incredible, and the Resistance's morale skyrocketed as Yvain continued to persevered. Then, with a double Critical and Yvain's Legion Skill, it literally exploded as Legion lost the cardfight from two damage to six in a single blow. While it was a victory... they didn't know how to damage Zaele and Gaele. He called humans... arrogant. They didn't know their place. The same thing Chronos preached to them over and over. Noel's attitude left an impression in the twin Reapers.

Bashiro threw himself in the way of smaller Reapers attempting to pursue Rosalia, and punched them all away in a flurry of his fists firing like machineguns. Jessie tried to swoop in and catch Rosalia, but didn't make it in time. Instead, he quickly threw the rubble off of the girl, and crouched down, shaking her. "Hey... Hey! Rosalia! Rose get up!" Jessie called out, remembering her name from hearing it all over HQ. Bashiro began fighting with the others: namely Sera and Haruto at the moment, and began simply punching the air. He created shockwaves that were like bullets that struck at Hydra.

Hydra was under immense firing, crying out in pain after Celestials and Liberators battled him. Something isn't making sense: everyone is attacking Hydra's heads, but nothing is happening. He's definitely not on the same level of sturdy as Gigaton and Sovereign, so what gives? Jessie stood up, and gazed... at Hydra's giant red eye at it's waist-

Wait a minute.

"Holy shit." Jessie swore, eyes going wide as medics came to help the... medic on the ground. "Heyyyyy!!" The white haired youth shouted.

"What?!" Bashiro responded.

"The eye!! The eye is the weakpoint, not any of his damn heads!!"

Those fighting Hydra stopped. ... It... was right in front of them...?! No wonder he looked like he took damage before!

Exculpate the Blaster and Chronos, the Agent of Time smirked. There was an end to this after all. In fact, it was right in front of them. Noel did exactly what she needed to do: hold off Legion. they was so interested in the Jewel Knight Vanguard, they were distracted. Such a little job for one of the twin beacons... yet an immense push for humanity. Every little thing has meaning - everyone being here meant something. Chimera was scared, Hydra didn't seem to think they all figured out where to aim, Legion was too busy being so intriguing in humanity and studying them. Finally... true leverage in this war filled with destruction and heartache. Jessie summoned Spinocommando, the apex predator of dinosaurs staring down the hungry beast known as Hydra. Jumping on the Tachikaze's head, it launched the boy skyward. Bashiro let loose another bullet of air that gave Jessie an even grander height. Like a sword, his leg was positioned to come down at great velocity, on his way to drop kick the evil with his legs of heavenly might.

"AAAAIIIIIIEEEE!!!" Chimera screamed, now entirely open to be assaulted, as the other Reapers were distracted and no longer helping barrage humanity with void bullets. In an attempt to fly away - just to get very far away - the Chosen Sword roared as the brilliant bullet of transcended light slammed directly into its body, knocking it out of the sky.

"NOT TODAY!" Yukino screamed, forcing Chimera into only a far away state. Its legs had been sliced apart, and still registering pain, they were unusable. The chaos fusion Reaper was rippled, wailing in fear.

The Reapers took them seriously too late - humanity's ready to finally start winning.

Darren darted forward, going straight for the strongest source of power he could sense. His path was blocked by someone. It was Karin standing in his way. Darren knew about Karin from battling the Resistance but never met her personally. He knew her more from his time as Malice. Malice always watched Karin closely. She was a strong fighter who all but crumbled when Dragonic Overlord was taken away by the Deletors. Malice was there when she made the deal to reunite with Overlord at the cost of her freedom. All he could do was shatter the chains that held her to the Deletors.

Battle of Redemption! Dark Heroes Battle the Sovereign Deletor!

Darren begun by saying he understood why Karin did what she did. He lost Daiyusha and almost took the Reverse Daiyusha from Trinity to restore his body more quickly. It didn't take long for him to realize that was a bad idea, but he knew the desperation of losing a partner. He didn't blame nor hate Karin for being on the other side. He wanted to help her, and his deck responded.

The battle begun intensely. Darren had to keep his own powers in check. He knew that he couldn't afford to pass out like before. He rode Sin Buster and attacked. Sovereign was able to guard, but triggers went to the rear and connected. This left the Deletor lord the power to delete Sin Buster and power himself up by 10000. Darren had no choice but to take two attacks, barely blocking the third. Karin informed Darren that the power of Chornojet Dragon would not work against Sovereign. That was fine, as Darren never intended to use a power that wasn't his own.

The Dark Hero destroyed the chains of the Sovereign and appeared without Deletion!

He continued on, receiving delete and guarding the attacks the Sovereign had to make by himself and striking afterwards by breaking the chains and riding again. Eventually he could not Legion again, but Sovereign could not defend himself. Darren won the battle, but he could tell this wasn't even a fraction of what the Sovereign could do. What was worse, Karin wasn't freed from his grasp. He would have to handle that another time. Spending too long outside of the true threat hurt him the last time a Reaper attacked. He wouldn't get distracted again.

Mist Ghost came from the rear guard and lifted Darren into the air. "Karin, they're not unbeatable. Keep being yourself and well bring you and your dragonic pal back!" He grinned her way before flying off. This time, his target was one of the giant reapers threatening to destroy everything around them.

As the enemy was distracted, Raiden had his chance. He barely survived the Chimera before but this time his wounds were fully healed. It was weakened, so he knew he would be able to take it out. He rushed forward, his modified Bangle glowing as he said, "I'll defeat you again, but this time, you won't return!" His Bangle still had the ability to take a living sample from a Reaper. Another subject to study would help him understand the mutation of these creatures. Since they seemed to be growing stronger, it would assist in future battles.

Once exposed from the pile of rubble, it didn't take long for the fallen battle medic to awake. The shaking and her named being yelled indeed helped, but as soon as the pinkette's eyes opened, she glanced up at the white haired guy who was now shouting orders to the others... and then to the other medics... Right, she was supposed to be helping the injured, not leading the front lines. What was she thinking... Part of her filled with regret, while the other was hoping that her fight at least helped the battles in the long run.

Rosalia shut her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths before raising her hand as the others attempted to treat her. "Just.. Focus on others. All I need is a moment to catch my breath..." Was she just trying to act strong after visibly crying on the battlefield at the end of her fight? Perhaps, but there was a reason behind it.

She glanced up at Jessie before he left, and only smiled softly. "Go help with the fights. I know where my role is for now.." Right on cue, as Jessie disappeared into the fray, the pinkette shut her eyes. Her hands over her own chest and forehead, and light appeared at her fingertips. She could heal herself physically, though erasing any exhaustion was more or less counter-balanced. She had to spend energy to get energy back, but she had to push through for the Resistance.

I'm not going to fail again... I will fulfill my duty...

Though still tired from her fight, it wouldn't be enough for the female to pass out now. She had her role... The light she saw the moment she activated "stride", the future she wanted for herself and her loved ones... That is what she would push forward for. Rosalia struggled to her feet for a moment, panting softly before tapping at her Reality Bangle.

Five Angel Feather units appeared: Holy Edge Celestial Malchedael, Overdose Celestial Asmodel, Clumsy Celestial Batrael, Seizing Celestial Hael, and Solidify Celestial Zerachiel. "Angel Feather is the clan of medics, and medics we shall be. Split up into teams of two as previously planned. We won't let anyone fall on this day!"

The units split up as instructed, flying on sky-colored wings. Malchedael and Asmodel headed for those attacking Hydra, while Hael and Batrael went to assist those who were battling Legion. Zerachiel carried Rosalia herself, since the pinkette still needed some more time to recover, as they headed for the Resistance preparing to attack the primary target: Chimera.

Haruto challenged the Reaper known as Hydra immediately, he was doing it to protect Rosalia, now that she was knocked into the rubble he had to make sure that this creature did not harm her until someone could help her. Haruto was able to avoid deletion for the full fight, testing his own endurance as he took all the attacks done by Hydra itself and blocking the other units that struck at him. He first summoned Percival to setup his formation better for his next attacks later on, and used his Brunos and Brennius to achieve high power and push the Hydra in damage, revealing two Alwilla did support his charge.

The Reaper continued to strike back and Haruto withstood every single blow, it was clear that his one day of training with Yukino and the boys was paying off on his endurance. He proceeded to summon Alfred, setting up 3 Brunos and a Brennius to benefit from Alfred's 'Liberate the Lock' move. After the reapers blocked Brennius and Alfred, Aglovale and Haruto synchronized for the final strike dealing the sixth damage to the Reaper and keeping at bay for a bit.

"Great job guys, let's get back for now, we have to make sure everyone is safe." he said, as he went back to make sure Rosalia was okay and any other individuals who could fall victim to this Reaper attack.

Luckily her Angel Feather units came to her rescue so now Haruto can move ahead to support them on the offensive, once he made sure no one else in the current area was at risk.

Xat and Riko showed up and began using their skills to help the others in the battle. Riko being on the offensive and using his Leo-pald while Xat took up the defeance with Shirayuki though she felt the pain that was happing on the boarder she pushed it aside and contuned to fight. Xat hopped on the wolf and began to head for the hydra after all if you cut off one head 2 more apper. She was determand to strike it in the heart.

Riko quickly ran over to the wounded and handed out some herbal medican. "Xat made it. Its suppsoe to help wiht the injuries." He said before taking off to fight and prove his worth.

Seifer didn't have much time to adjust to anything when Rosalia fought, and lost... Being thrown back. Instead of running over to her side like he should of, his aura exploded, Mordred's sword appearing in his right hand as he leveled the massive blade at Hydra... His eyes wide with rage, the Revengers appearing behind him. "Alright worthless trash, I'm going to destroy you and all of your fucking kind!" he shouted, the obvious rage building.

The Revengers, and their leader rushed forward, all cheering loudly as Masquerade and Judgebau lead the initial charge, followed closely by Blaster Dark... All of them slashing away and jumping around to avoid being hit. Then Mordred hit the field, and morale sky rocketed even further, allowing the Revengers to push even further against Hydra. They were holding their own, striking as fast and as hard as they possibly could, even as more enemies appeared before them... And then, from no where... The dread dragon made it's appearance, Mordred disappearing into the darkness to allow the dragon it's time.

"I'm going to destroy you, you over sized piece of shit!" a rage filled exclamation from the brunette, with Blaster Dark and Phantom Blaster "Abyss" siding with him... All striking at once at the massive eldritch abomination, three criticals appearing to completely seal Seifer's victory.

"GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET DUNKED ON!!" Jessie roared to the heavens, dropping the blade of righteousness from the sky known as his foot. Hydra fought the Star-vaders once again - the traitorous Glendios and the Illusionary Revenger. Knowing the weakness of the seven-headed horror, humanity crashed into its center eye, with Sera and Seifer at the head of the assault. For the most fitting form of irony, Dark Zodiac's massive power of control: Omega Lock born from Omega Glendios held Hydra down as Seifer and Jessie slammed into it. Filled with an endless stream of emotions, the boys caused Hydra to feel a snap in its body. Yes... Ancient Dragons, Revengers, and Star-vaders followed Liberators and Celestials for the decisive blow. The brunette who was brimming with hatred and rage inflicting the most damage - the killing damage.

Hydra choked.


Cracks formed in all of its heads, the beast wailed, again, again, yet again, once more, loudly to the heavens, and one final time for each mouth as it was engulfed in a humongous sphere of void, collapsing under its own power, and dying at the hands of the counterattacking humanity. The Resistance shouted that it was one down. One down out of four! Cheers were given to Rosalia, Haruto, Sera, and Seifer. Jessie didn't do anything but just come down and kick it, but he was fine with that. He wasn't standing behind people anymore, and that's all he cared about. He's standing with his brother, his friends, his units. With that, attention was turned to the frightened Chimera, and they had all gotten the attention of Legion. "Oh, shit..." Bashiro swore, then the battles with the other Reapers began. They still had absolutely no clue how to deal with the Juxtapose Deletors, but they could most definitely kill Chimera... But now Legion was in the way.

Goddammit.

"Get him!" Aoi shouted, and the charge began. Jessie was... leading this one. The white haired youth wasn't just standing alongside the fighters... he was running in front of a good amount of them!

Everything we've done today... It isn't futile! It isn't in vain! Nothing we do is! Jessie mentally pep talked himself and everyone else, attacking Zaele and Gaele with Ancient Dragons. Simulating a Cardfight, Jessie was aware of how much they could lock, but not exactly how Zaele itself worked. Much to his horror, it was true to its name: "Legion". Just as it shocked Noel, Jessie was frozen in fear for a moment.

In his mind flashed the scene of him and Bashiro coming down to attack Gigaton.

Standing against Sophie with the Resistance at HQ.

Fighting Hydra and Scorpion with everyone ahead of him.

His defeat in the tournament.

He saw himself standing with the heroes and titans. Monsters like Yukino Espoir and Cero Kirguis. Legends like Haruka and Noel. Friends like Carlos and Okuri... and his brother. He saw no one's back. He couldn't see their front either. Just their sides - only their sides. Smiling in this vision, resolution was engraved into the heart of the youth that stood bravely against the Reaper. Fear washed away, and he declared that he would break his limits over and over again. Though he cannot Break Ride with Delete, he can constantly use Spinocommando. Ancient Dragons attacked Legion without end, Jessie screaming and shouting with the Resistance as all of them attacked. "HOW INTERESTING", Legion jeered, still unfazed by the attacks on its heads. They deemed there was nothing more to learn of Jessie, but the boy surprised them by wanting the damage to Limit Break. Was it enough? Of course not. But with everyone's might combined... people like Rosalia were knocked away, humanity was slammed down by the Reapers they didn't know they could hurt... They could open their eyes and see their efforts meant everything just like his.

"I'M NOT GIVING UP!!"

Legion broke through Jessie's defense with two Triggers, one being a Critical, similar to a situation before. Jessie's soul truly resonated with Tachikaze, summoning a Heal Trigger in defiance. Yet...

"FAREWELL." The Deletors spoke.

Jessie's second check wasn't a Heal as well.

The Resistance still attacked, and Legion summoned beams and bullets of void. While they were easily dodged, Aoi was a bit out of position - way too far ahead with the swiftness of Aqua Force. Genovious had lost his composure today, seeing as they were actually going to be victorious. Blind arrogance and rage - the number of comrades in Aqua Force lost to total erasure... It built up in him, causing the Roaring Ripple's blood and the ocean around him to boil. With his optimistic Vanguard, he'll take this chance to eradicate the evil for vengeance. ... And Legion saw that, snickering. They - no, Gaele's eyes gleamed brightly, and in an instant, void was fired at Aoi. Seeing that, Jessie's body began to move on its own, faster than his own brother's.

"Jessie?" Bashiro inquired, seeing his superhuman little brother dart forward.

"Aoiiiii!!" Jessie shouted, pushing her aside, and Spinocommando pushed Genovious aside.


"Jessie!!" Aoi screamed as the lasers of erasure hit the Ancient Dragon and the boy. His sixth damage was Spinocommando, and... a copy of the card few out... without the boy. Legion had wiped Jessie from existence, just as it did countless other humans. It meant nothing to them, but to those standing in awe... Bashiro felt the entire world turn white. Silence, not even howling wind entered his ears. Exculpate held a hand over her mouth, and Chronos was visibly moved - visibly upset. The eyepatched brawler, however, couldn't find himself for a moment. The Hakaisha brothers lived a dangerous life in the Umano Slums. Their parents died, so he was the father figure for the young boy, and he was a terrible figure at that. They simply... fit in to survive. No, Jessie didn't become a violent alcoholic or anything of the sort. Only "thuggish". Bashiro was a natural sleazebag, and even tried to show Jessie the ropes. Yet... Jessie refused to drink, he didn't gawk at women or rate them by numbers like the other men did. No, no...

He was a good kid.

That good kid was the last of Bashiro's family.

"YOU BASTARDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!" Bashiro finally found something: explosive fury. Supercharged with an ungodly amount of electricity, he and Big Bang Knuckle Buster shot toward the skies, destroying the earth underneath as they jumped to the Juxtapose Deletors. Aoi attempted to call out to him, as did a number of others. However, the expression of blind anger in his uncovered eye made it clear nothing would stop his warpath. They took his brother. THEY TOOK HIS ONLY BROTHER. Hollering with fist poised to completely decimate Zaele's skull-

A building was destroyed to his left.

It was Sovereign.

Even worse, Harbinger was right next to him.

Oh no.

"IT'S THE TWIN TOWERS!!" A vast multitude of soldiers shouted.

"I'M BAAAAAAACK!!" Graywon shrieked with amazing glee as the Grim Reaper and the Vanguard of Destruction went for Bashiro!

"AGAIN?! SERIOUSLY?!" Bashiro hollered just as everyone else was doing. Exculpate rocketed toward him, grabbing him to get him away from the Twin Towers of the End that just intruded. They both landed roughly on the ground, but on their feet. This now escalated to a disaster, as humanity only expected Sovereign to be looming about. But no, the Docking Deletor had returned with the Daunting Deletor, and the siblings howled violently and triumphantly. The death of Hydra was trivial. The queen's back, and she's ready to forcefeed the heroes a heaping slop of utter misery. Chronos had finally come down with the rest of the Resistance, approaching Yukino and Bashiro. "Holy shit, thank you!" Bashiro let loose exaggerated breathes of terror, nearly being ganked again by Sovereign. Yukino simply pat him on his shoulder, and let him go.

Exculpate sent her voice to everyone: "The Twin Towers of the End have arrived! If you value your life, do not engage unless you're going to hold them back!" The Chosen Sword ordered every last person who was sane to stay the hell away from the Armored Titan and the Destruction Vanguard, and those who were insane to hold them back. But... wait... hold them back? Shouldn't humanity retreat against the invincible foe?! Yukino cringed, feeling her heart angrily pound against her chest. She bit her lip, ready to make a risky decision. "We can... kill Chimera! We can kill him while his head is open, so go for him, hold back Legion, Sovereign, and Harbinger!"

"You fucking crazy?!" Bashiro inquired, and stopped to realize he already knew she was. At least... his fury was gone. Quaking fear began eating at the hearts of men, all of time distorting and contorting in fear with Harbinger's existence once again causing the skies to spiral into a storm - a hurricane. She was a living disaster under the red lights of a horrified Heaven.

"Chosen Sword-" Chronos was cut off.

"I know we can't do anything about Harbinger, and I got cocky with Sovereign! But I finally accept what we can and can't do! We can kill Chimera! I'm going to hold off the Twin Towers!" Yukino declared a complete suicide mission, baffling a number of soldiers. "Don't just stand there with your jaws dropped like idiots, get moving!" The commander hissed, and the fear that ate away at everyone's insides had to be put aside to focus. The gravity was immense, and they still trekked through. Massive centipede horrors known as Graywon and Wokshiz began trampling the area of their previous base of operations: Shop Handsome to challenge humanity again.

Trinity felt a surge of....emotion rushing from her at the sight of not only Lord Sovereign but Lord Harbinger as well. "Our Lord has returned. The end is nigh." She called upon her armor, calling forth her army of reverses and Star-vaders. "There is no need to go on the assault!! Our task will be the protection of Chimera! Let no one near Chimera!!! Lets move out!!!" With a cry from her soldiers, Halcion and her units moved to form a defensive position between Chimera and the Resistance, her blade ready to cut down the first that dared run from their deaths by the hands of the leaders of the Reapers.

Beatrice had watched with horror at the deletion of Jessie. She gripped her hands but attempted to calm herself. Now was not the time to be pigheaded. She would not let Jessie's death be in vain. She stood next to Yukino. "You will not take them alone." The maid and her Battle Sisters were ready to assist the commander with her suicide mission, ready to all put their lives on the line to buy more time for the others to accomplish defeating Chimera.