Rijuku Park

"U-uuu..." Aoi grew quieter, not wanting to think for a while. Or a long time. Or forever, really. How long was forever, seeing as they're all going to vanish? Sakuya says it's another chance, both say it's a chance to start over. Make things brighter. She can't just forget about everyone she let down because she was spineless, not wanting to hurt anyone as Cyan with Admiral Maelstrom.

But she knew voicing that was pointless in itself.

She stayed in Sakuya's embrace, reduced to a small whimper yet again.

They were going to disappear? Die? Again? ...That was pretty surreal, though the Irishman, who was largely ignored at this point finally stopped crying... using the tree as a brace to stand up and then just... walked away. To where? He probably didn't care. There was a lot to digest at this point and quite honestly, maybe he should just be alone at this point.

Darren saw the fear within Aoi's eyes begin to calm, if only slightly. He closed his own eyes as he moved his hand from Aoi's head to her back. He knew she would be okay. This was all a big shock, but they had to get over that. The fight wasn't over. They hadn't won, nor lost. Not yet. In Darren burned a new resolve to defeat the ones that hurt all of these people. To him, the Reapers were the ones that brought the Reverse to the other worlds just to destroy them. Even if that wasn't true, it was something he could take everything out on.

"I'll make sure all of you guys have a future," he said softly. He moved his hands from Aoi and Sakuya as he gave them a smile. "I'm not really different from you guys. That demon Malice used three Seeds to fuel his power. That demon... was me. Two of them are still fragmented in me now... Thanks to that, I'm not even really human anymore. Not like you guys... but I'll make sure you guys have a future in this world. You deserve it."

With a light sigh, he looked out to the horizon. "Chronos is gone, so we can't take this in Stride... but I've used a power that was basically the same thing before, only easier to manage. We're not done until we give it all up, and beore that, there's gonna be a chance to get through it all. Just like... there's always a chance to start over and make up for past mistakes..."

He wanted to give them something to contact him with, but he didn't really have a phone any longer. He smiled at an idea. He handed Aoi a card. Enigman Ripple. Fitting considering what deck she used. "Hey, ever need me then tell it to this. I don't really have a phone, but this guy will come get me wherever I am. See ya later."

That's right, be strong. Strong like Yukino would be. If everything in the world was crumbling, someone had to piece it together. Darren never was great with puzzles... but he had a lot of fixing to do. He couldn't really afford to go off on his own like he wanted to. That was why he hesitated just to walk away. He wanted to be sure they would be alright before he did.

Mirai had enough. Chronos left therefore the only enemies around where them. It wouldn't be such a good idea to stick around. She was on Harbinger's side after all. Willing or not, it was a fact and her body reacted accordingly. It was telling her to leave. It was then when she decided which side to take and rid herself of all doubts. The world was cruel. No matter what she does, she is going to disappear. A cruel fate for being a Seed. It wasn't fair, she just wants to live. If that's how things are going to be, then the decision is simple. Everything needs to be destroyed. If she can't live, then nothing else will.

Her black and red wings appeared on her back and she took flight, leaving the park. She will have her Revenge against the cruelty of the world. It's true, she has had enough watching people die but if everyone else dies, then no one else will ever die because there won't be anyone left that can die. Death would cease since there won't be anymore people around.

Aoi took Enigman Ripple in her hand, and wondered if this was another frozen soul from her world. ... Aoi's optimism was breaking apart, unable to really move on. A future in this world was leaving behind the world she failed. As long as her vision remained in a frozen-solid terrain, she could never forget. Though, maybe it's better she doesn't. To remember the countless lives Harbinger ruined. That was the most insulting part of all. The Reapers didn't even truly destroy her timeline. They let it decay, as there was nothing left of it, no way to grow, stabilize, recover... Unlike others, however, the gumball could not operate on hatred and rage.

What could she do then?

"Thank you..." She murmured to them, and hoped Aedan could find an answer before her, just to tell her.

... That's right, Aedan is Seyer, and he... killed "Cyan" - he killed her.

Aoi shook her head, they would have to talk later. For now, she just... didn't want to hear much of anything. She didn't think anything would be okay until she figures out why she should keep moving on, not because what someone tells her. The gumball proceeded to leave the park.

Darren gave a light sigh as he saw her leave. He had to think of what to do next. He crossed his arms for a moment in thought. There was no way that he could fight alone, and he would need to prepare some things before even thinking about going on offense. The only ways to do anything about it are either through the Training Facility or Umano. Those were the only places he could really think of that could aid him.

Umano it is... He could see who is there and maybe get some support. More than anything, he wanted to use the facilities to reacquaint with his long lost friends who had finally seemed to return in full. Even in the darkest of times, having Daikaiser and Daiyusha with him gave him hope. They always had. Even in the worst of moments, a hero shines forth and protects those who need him. That thought returned, as did the past where he wanted nothing more than to be a hero like that.

"We'll save what we can," Darren said lightly as he looked up to the sky. He raised his hand to the sky as a unit was in his hand. Dimensional Robo Daidragon swooped down from above and picked up Darren who jumped up, landing on the wing of the flying Dimensional Robo. He soared off towards Umano, waving to Sakuya and anyone else still near the area. Noel 2 had left and that Aeden guy went into his own world. He would do what he could for all of them... later on.

Karin approached the wall, holding her sword at her side now. This had been the spot of her fight with Yukino, her encounter with both her and Haruka when Overlord was still missing, and doubtless many other memories. Here, Overlord had come back to her, after leaving his Reverse behind. Here, she carried a near-death Yukino through the snow to save her life. Here, she was forced to fight against Yukino, and a promise to return the favor, to save her life, failed. Within so little time, Karin's life had changed so much. And now, another memory would undoubtedly be created in this very spot.

...But, she was running low on time. She could feel the seed tightening around her once again. She wouldn't be able to bear the strain for much longer.

Karin took her sword and thrust it into the ground, between her and the wall. A beam shot from it high into the air, and the ghastly phantom of Sovereign appeared, hanging motionless in the sky- To serve as both a warning, and a message. And so Karin stood still, waiting for whoever remained to come and answer the call to duty once again.

Neo had decided to go for a walk through Rijuku Park to clear his head and to think about recent events. While he was injured from the recent reaper attacks, he wasn't going to let that stop him. He could only think to himself:

"All of these attacks, people dying.. getting hurt.. losing there units to the deletors.. why is this happening to us? What did we do to deserve this? Friends that I thought were dead were actually alive as reaper drones.. We all thought Yukino was dead because she got killed in front of our very eyes and even she is alive as our enemy! When will all of this pain end and when will we get back to our normal happy lives? Sure we all have been pained and scarred but.. maybe after all of this.. We can find peace and for me, maybe I will be able to fi--"

Neo stopped and his reality bangle started going off and he noticed Sovereign in the distance.

"... Not now..."

Neo then ran toward where he was with his deck in hand and was ready for another fight in the string of never ending battles to begin once again, to protect those in harms away!

As Darren ran to the Park...

Darren was panting as his body was still wounded from the battles before. The stab to the chest still lingered and he didn't look like he was in any condition to fight. His two ace units were both concerned.

"You sure you should do this, kid?" Daikaiser asked to him.

"No choice... I sat out on the Glendios fight and Tsubasa... died... Now Tomato Head is using his likeness as a puppet. Can't expect others to fight alone anymore."

Daikaiser felt guilty about this. He was the one who forced him out of that fight in fear it would weaken the restraint placed on the Seed, a fear that was soon after made true anyway.

"There is a means that you can be battle ready for this." Daiyusha spoke to them both. "Kaiser and I should be able to pour our energy into the Seed. It should not take much of that for it to recover its power and heal you. Beyond that, it will return to producing energy inside of you as normal."

Darren scoffed slightly at the idea that he had to rely so heavily on a fragmented seed that had caused so much trouble when he was Malice. Still, he needed to do it in order to continue fighting.

"I'd thought about it, but it's probably gonna drain us a bit. Your power is gonna have to make up for any losses, kid."

Darren nodded his head at that and the process happened as they moved towards the park. Upon arrival, he saw the phantom Sovereign and Karin not far away. It was clear what this was about. Karin, drone of the Reapers, wanted a personal fight with the resistance. He wasn't going to leave her disappointed.

"Makes sense you'd wanna do this," Darren called out to her, knowing she didn't want to hurt anyone but was too deep in the hand of the enemy to go against their wishes. "I won't ask you to back down this time. We both know its not your choice. Just know... I'm not holding back!"

Moving with only one eye able to see was more difficult than first thought, as Seifer stumbled to catch his balance the entire walk here. Initially, it was just to find a quiet place to think. But now, seeing the massive image in the sky, the brunette's plans changed. Moving to the source of the image of Sovereign, he noticed Karin. Unlike Darren, Seifer didn't speak, only stopping nearby. The last time they had fought, Seifer had lost in the battle of past versus the future. He saw Karin as a friend, but failed in his attempt to save her, just like everything else. "Why do I even bother anymore." he muttered to himself. Why did he bother? What drove him to continue to stand after every fall? Now he supposed wasn't a good time to doubt himself, as he prepared for yet another battle.

The Kaiser arrived at the scene of the phantom Sovereign. He stared at the puppet, the husk, in front of him. Did this "woman" have a death wish? No other allies of the Reapers were here. She was alone. Cero stepped towards her, hatred and disgust filling his eyes. He didn't care about the others present or what they said. He was here for one reason and one reason only: To put an end to this woman. To bring himself a step closer to victory against the Reapers. To bring humanity closer to victory.

"I'm here to kill you," was all he said. The blade of lightning formed around his hand. Cero raised it and pointed it towards Karin, though he did not yet move. All he did for now was glare.

Running from the mansion, Haruka sent out the freak order as the power surged up. It was likely the amount of forces present to fight was very low, so he requested sparingly for the strongest and most commended to appear at the site, but only with confidence they can sustain further danger and potential damage.

He himself was not so much physically wounded as he was simply exhausted mentally. His brain was working under thirty-three percent of its usual capacity, and thus he needed recovery time, but could not grasp a moment to do it. Sera was left to the slums to take care of Okuri. At HQ he had valid enough time to de-brief him on the mission repercussions, but now the commander had other issues on his plate.

His feet carried him across the city, lack of vehicle as per usual, though the park was close to the estate. He made it within fifteen minutes, Seifer in tow only a few moments in steps behind him. The issue at hand was growing large as he caught sight of the initial objective. His face contorted in fear, remembering Bashiro's sacrifice against this thing before. It was not nearly as big, though it seemed as infinitely powerful, if only less. Haruka refused to take this fight as lightly as before. He waited too long last time, and lost too many comrades. This time he was going to force himself to take action, unsheathing the Apocalypse of the Wind's blade.

"... All units, progress with caution."

Haruka steadied himself, sending one last message to Seifer.

"When this all blows over, if I'm not able to fight any longer, relay to Noel to take the reins."

Silence, static, then one last message to the brother-in-law.

"I'm, very tired, Seifer."

He ended transmission, keeping the sword in his hand as he advanced towards Karin, still just out of view with her.

Noel got the park as she followed Darren from a distance. No real reason to keep a low profile but she felt having a distance and observe first what was going to unfold was necessary. She saw what looked like Seifer, Cero, and Haruka as well. It was at that time that she heard Haruka's transmission from her Reality Bangle.

As the distance between Noel and the others drew closer, clearly she noticed Haruka exhausted. And Seifer too seemed like he was ready to fall over. Darren was clear he was also injured and is just pushing his limits. Cero seemed lively though. But it was obvious they were all tired. "Don't worry guys, I'm here now. It's not fair that all of you are tired. Let me take care of things if it goes downhill." Noel spoke aloud. She might not save the day but if she can provide a good cover for a potential retreat, then that is better than a heavy loss vicotry.

It was a sad sight to see. Karin was fighting for her life, fighting to see it end. Each battle after his tore at his heart because he knew she wanted it all to end. That was when... it seemed to happen. Was this really how it would end for her? No... His eyes flashed as he felt a powerful flame, stronger than anything he had felt from her when she was a drone with the power of Overlord. He clenched his hands and braced himself for the force that came.

He saw a new power, a new form in front of him. He couldn't help but get excited. She was strong before, but this power was hers. He wanted to see what it was capable of, and it didn't take long for him to see exactly that. It broke through the phantom Sovereign with Karin's declaration of power. He was happy to see this was the end result of the battle. In the end, they won. She had been saved by... something.

"Karin, you're back to your flamey self again!" He called out to her, not getting too close because, well, fire is hot.

Seifer sidelined himself, regretting it but noting that in his condition... and with his past achievements being so fleeting he would of done more harm than good in the end. That's what he believed. And as such, he watched as each fight occurred. Cero, Darren, and Carlos all fought first... And then Karin shouted for Haruka. It almost made him flinch as he was nothing more than a spectator. He watched as his brother-in-law engaged against someone who he previously called a Kagero friend. Throughout it all, he felt out of place, unnecessary but he stayed. He needed to see this to it's conclusion. And to it he did, as the final fight concluded Karin collapsed seeming as if she was on the verge of death. Taking a few steps forward, he stopped as Haruka was there first. Their connection much deeper than he first though, they being siblings like he and Haruka were.

At the moment he thought her life gone, a blaze appeared and the head of the Sovereign image went flying. He blinked in surprise, before glancing at Karin. She'd attained a new form and seemingly come back to them. A tear ran down from his uncovered eye, which he quickly wiped away. It was a relief, one that was a long time coming.

Watching the fights one by one as they unfolded, Neo watched from the sidelines as everyone continued to fight Karin as they tried to save her. And then at the very last second.. seeing that strong blaze of fire appear, Karin was saved. Seeing how Karin was saved and how everyone was happy, Neo walked off and started heading back to the base.

"Finally on this day, we can say we claimed a victory but this wont last long. We still have other fights to fight and people to save. And just how Karin was saved and her family and friends were there waiting, I want to help Haruto save Tsubasa so they can be re-united again and be a family. As for my family.. my parents.. Maybe, just maybe they will come back to me. I will never give up in finding them"

The display of what Karin was able to do gave Darren hope that they were able to do something about all of this. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel that he was lacking in the ability to contribute. Again today, his power was just short of being able to vanquish a Reaper god. He could come close but he wasn't there. If he had mastery of his abilities, could he make more of a difference? The Reapers seemed unwilling to give him that kind of time. Even from one battle, he felt fairly drained.

He turned and began to walk away in silence. He would need to return to Umano. If there was time, he could work on a facility there for himself. With the way things were going, he would need a place to charge his power, his Seed energy. He wished that Raiden person could assist him, but it was already past that point. With what happened with Future Noel, he seemed all but dead. He didn't think that lightly, of course, but they had to move on.

Karin nodded to those who had fought with her- Those who had, ultimately, allowed her to be saved. She noticed Haruka was already leaving, and that he looked completely exhausted. Not surprising, given how much he'd gone through in such a short amount of time. Deciding her thanks to the others could be better delivered later, she hefted up her sword and dashed over to join Haruka, snatching up the original Overlord's sword from the ground on the way over. With a sword in each hand, she caught up to Haruka and began walking beside him. "Hey, you're going home, right? Let me come with you. There's a lot to talk about once you're all rested up."

The fight was over, and Carlos felt... Strange. Even though he fought with everything he got, he couldn't defeat the powerful Drone. No surprise, given that nearly everyone who fought her before him couldn't do it either. Neither Cero nor Haruka could defeat her, but the fight with the leader of the Resistance managed to start some kind of interesting reaction - Death, rebirth, light, flames, retribution, sweet sweet card-shoving action, you name it. And nothing of that came remotely close to the weirdest thing he's ever seen.

After the newly revived Karin thanked the present fighters with a nod (A more clear 'Thank you' would've been great, but the sentiment is appreciated), Carlos felt that he did something useful. He did absolutely nothing different from before, but everything ended really well. A good ending from time to time was everything he needed to recover from recent disasters and what not. He couldn't forget about Chronos' demise, or the words of Fuki and Chris, but this small victory meant a lot for someone who still believed despite how bleak the situation was and, in the end, helped him forget about it just for a moment.

Carlos took his new bicycle and began his way to the slums. "I can't wait to talk with Okuri and Bashiro about this! This literally just made my day! We could talk about new plans for my 'Drone Hunting' mission! Oh boy, I could invite them!".