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Chapter Text

 1st day of the 9th month. 12,016 (Bionite Calendar)

Bionis Castle / Imperial Palace of Alcamoth, Bionis

Anniversary of Empress Melia Antiqua’s Accession | Day of the Intersection

An orange-pink lustre had fallen upon the land of Bionis; a beautiful sight to behold for an early autumn evening. On the southern end of the landmass, sat the capital city of O'Virbus in the Gran Dell region. Looming close by was the Imperial Palace of Alcamoth—Castle of the Queendom of Bionis. 

On this special night in O’Virbus City, throngs of citizens were flocking to vendors of all sorts of wares, enjoying jubilant songs, and indulging in jaunty dances. Shulk, now 34 years old, was celebrating in Alcamoth's Revelation Hall. ‘15 years since her crowning, and just look where we are now...!’ he thought contentedly, finding himself consumed with fond nostalgia as he took in the lovely vista. Standing aside him was his wife Fiora, and around them stood his closest friends: Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Riki, and the Queen herself. Other friends and family, like Riku, Tyrea, Linada, Juju, and Vanea were also brought as notable guests on this night to remember.

Ever since Bionis and Mechinis had been brought down to Earth, and ever since Melia was hailed as the Empress, Homs, Machina, Nopon, and High Entia stood as one, united people, collectively aiming for a future they never would’ve had the chance of even imagining of. Following the example of Colony 9 and Colony 6, cities, villages, and towns were becoming far more diverse and welcoming, blending together every culture and heritage. People collaborated for the benefit of their communities, even combining their different technologies to fulfill the common good and make for more convenient living, leading to vast improvements in economic activity. Gone were the days of an endless sea, a boundless sky, and two titans locked in a timeless battle. Bionis well and truly became a better world with a bright future…but would that stand to change on this festive evening?

At half past four, a luxurious feast had been freshly served within the Castle, specifically commissioned to the tastes of each member (with limitations placed on Riki, of course). Before the splendid meal began, however, Melia rehearsed the speech she would give at the end of the night. Her oration drew upon the parting words of her dear brother and father to establish the themes of progressing toward the future, while staying mindful of the past. 

Building upon that framework, she spoke in remembrance of those who lost their lives throughout Bionis’ tumultuous history, be it during the constant war between Bionis and Mechonis, the Telethia Transformation Event, or the appearance of the Fog King. Their martyrdom was not in vain. 

Importantly, her utmost regards went to everyone she’d ever met throughout her life, from close friends and family to everyday citizens; all of them contributed to her becoming the woman she was today, and helped to further the prosperity of the world around them. For that, she was forever grateful, and was more certain of Bionis’ longevity than ever before. 

With the lively applause and tear-filled eyes that followed, Melia’s profound and personal speech had instilled a great deal of hope and inspiration to those at the table; she was more than prepared to deliver it again for the rest of the nation. After the end of the feast, some last minute preparations needed to be made prior to the official start of the evening’s celebrations, set for 1600 hours sharp. Shulk and Riku checked up on a surprise that’d been kept relatively tight-lipped: a spectacle of colorful Ether fireworks! There would be four 10 minute long intervals—one interval at the start of each hour, and an extra to close the evening after Melia’s speech.

Throughout all these preparations, the guest children were getting restless. Nikol and Crys, the sons of Shulk and Fiora, desperately yearned to go explore the Castle, especially if it meant going up on the Sky Terrace. The same could be said for Ashera the daughter of Dunban, and wee little Panacea, the daughter of Reyn and Sharla. Seeing as how the adults still had their business to attend to, the four of them had been left in the brief care of Alcamoth’s guards.

Eunie, however, was insistent that she, Noah, Lanz, and Joran explore the premises of O’Virbus unsupervised while they were here for the evening. That idea was supported by the others, but Noah wanted to make sure they came back in time. Little did his friends know, he knew about the fireworks. Just yesterday, on a brief visit to O’Virbus with his father, Miller, he caught a few supply Levnises carrying loads of fireworks towards the castle. 

17:35:36 p.m.

“Muuum, puh-lease it’ll be so fun!” begged Eunie, clinging onto her mother’s coat

Tyrea guided her adopted daughter’s hand away, swiveling on her heel. “Now Eunie, you mustn’t whine for the things you wish for.” she sternly admonished.

“There’s so many things we can do! It’ll... it’ll be just like hangin’ out with them at Colony 9!”

“O’Virbus and Alcamoth dwarf Colony 9 by a large margin. That aside, while you and your friends may be quite familiar with Colony 9, the same cannot be said for here. Need I remind you I’m responsible for the four of you tonight?”

Eunie rocked back and forth on her heels, arms behind her back. “We-well, we don’t hafta go far!”

“You also run the risk of being approached by strangers—”

“We can stay close together!”

Lanz couldn’t help but interject. “And also, Sir Dunban, Mr. Shulk, and Mr. Reyn have been trainin’ us!”

“Though, you lack any sufficient weaponry at the moment, and enough training expertise to use them wisely.”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t use our hands and feet!” 

“And since there’re four of us we can gang up on them!” Joran chimed in.

Then came Noah. “Like a chain attack!”

“The four of... you. Against a grown adult. And if any strangers happen to outnumber your group or outmatch your strength?”

Eunie scratched her head. “Wwwwelll, the sound of the four of us screaming is pretty loud, I reckon that’ll turn some heads! I can scream loudest too, wanna hea—”

Tyrea bristled a little before shouting at her child. “Eunicia Felicity, you are not to scream indoors!” 

“Oh, er, yes, mum... but I really can scream loud.”

“Yeah, we have to hear her loud mouth everyday.” the Machina boy snidely commented under his breath.

“I heard that, you muppet!!” Eunie shouted.

Tyrea scoffed, “Did I not just say to—” she cut herself off, taking a deep breath as the children started arguing amongst one another. Why can’t she understand this is for her own good? How could she dissuade her? ‘This girl... Must she have such crafty responses for everything? Someone, do lend me the strength and patience.’ 

Melia walked by and happened to notice the commotion, and Tyrea’s weary expression.

“Whatever is the matter? You seem as if you’re at your wits end.” As always, Melia had her uncanny ability to read other people perfectly.

“Eunie wishes to venture out into O’Virbus with her friends. I’m unsure if it's the...  wisest decision to make at her young age.” Tyrea glanced down at little Eunie.

Eunie pouted. “Hmph. I’m ten, that’s plenty old..."

Ten. Plenty old. Even if Eunie was part of the 4th-generation of part-Homs High Entia, the irony was still too great. She then shot Melia the look of ‘See what I’m dealing with?’

Tyrea turned away from the kids, muttering to Melia. “Around this age, if I spoke back to Mother, she would be quick to whip me back into shape. A switch to the knuckles.” 

Melia slowly nodded with sympathy and understanding. “I am no mother myself, but I do believe some means of parenting cause more harm than love.”

Tyrea sighed and went silent for a moment, massaging the backs of her own hands, morosely. After a few seconds, she spoke again, her voice only a whisper. “Well. What... do you suggest I do instead?”

“It’s certainly not easy to say, but, for now... try meeting her in the middle—compromising. Speak to her at her level and seek to understand where she’s coming from, and ensure she understands where you’re coming from.”

Tyrea glanced over her shoulder, sensing that the children were staring.

“Mummy, Queen Melia... is everything alright? Are we... in trouble?” The two half-sisters hardly noticed that the children had gone quiet until now. A look of woeful innocence was painted on the young High Entia’s face

“Everything’s just fine, Eunie. Just a brief... heart-to-heart, if you will.” Melia explained. Tyrea silently nodded.

“Oh.”

“I’ll be going, however. Do take care, all of you.” With a courteous bow and a reassuring hand to Tyrea’s shoulder, the Queen made her exit.

The young High Entia’s posture was more meek and shriveled, as were her friends. “Mum... if you don’t want me to go, then... that’s fine, we... we thought it’d be cool to explore, since we rarely leave Tephra.”

“Eunie.” Tyrea crouched down, making eye-contact with her daughter and softening her tone. Carefully and softly, Tyrea grabbed Eunie’s hands. “I see where you’re coming from. As a mother, I... cannot help but show concern for not just your safety, but your friends as well.”

Eunie nodded along, mopily. “... Mhm.” 

“How about this, then. We work together, and make sure this night is fun, and safe for all of you, yes?” Tyrea smiled.

The faces of the quartet of children lit up in mere seconds, their body language shifting to joyous and energetic levels yet again. Soon enough, with rules and boundaries set, Eunie was well on her way with her friends... though not before squeezing her Mum tight as one last goodbye. 

17:58:45 p.m.

With the children off in other places, only the adults remained at the Revelation Hall. Its balcony served a wonderful view of the lights... but looking upon Bionis like this, Shulk couldn’t pull his thoughts away from the fact that Alrest, their sister world, would be intersecting with theirs. Soon, at that. His hopes were high that the Origin project would operate as smoothly as all of their plans predicted, especially on such an auspicious day. 

Earlier, the team was specifically told that the Aegises, and Poppi, would handle everything going forward. The week leading up to today was the busiest he and the others had been in a long time, so they needed at least this one evening to decompress.

Rex encouraged him to keep his optimism, but alas, Shulk couldn’t completely keep his anxieties at bay. For one, he was a bad liar. Two, you could always gauge his nervousness by observing how fidgety he’d get. Right at this moment, his fingertips rubbed the silky fabric on the inside of his pockets… 

Origin. The Trinity. The worlds. All of it silently weighed on his conscience.

His and Melia’s venture to the Bionis Shoulder marked the start of this crash course. Fog King, Fog Rifts, Fogbeasts. A short time after Alcamoth and the shoulder rejoined the rest of the continent, Shulk had found the Ontos core washed up on the shore of Colony 9, and felt inclined to study it as a side-project. As exceedingly complex Ontos’ core was to understand, he saw it as an inviting challenge to pursue. He was efficient with his work, keeping a healthy balance between his busy life as Bionis’ lead engineer, a loving father, husband, friend, and eventually a mentor, considering Riku—one of Riki’s older sons—sought for an apprenticeship. Shulk was extremely lucky to have such a great support system.

Over the years, though…The Fog Rifts only worsened. The Fogbeasts that sprung forth from them were sometimes peculiar enemies with no similarities to ones on Bionis. Hard-shelled, aquatic insectoids with knife-like pincers. Burrowing feline monsters with spiny backs and bushy tails. Antlered apes toting massive hammers. Eventually, all this otherworld activity led to the revelation of a lifetime: The discovery, and subsequent contact with a separate world; the rumored other half from when Klaus tore his world asunder: Alrest. With each day, the two halves grew closer; after all, they were destined to be as one…but it didn’t mean a simple fusion. It meant annihilation. 

So, the figureheads of the two worlds banded together, pooling all the information and knowledge they could between each other to devise their plan: Ark of Morytha: The Origin Project. For Shulk, his detailed notes and blueprints on Ontos over the years could finally contribute to a greater purpose; the architecture of the core served as the sole basis for Origin’s architecture. Melia joked about the possibility that Alvis foresaw this happening and that was why he’d relinquished his crystal long ago. 

After only a year, on Melia’s centennial birthday, the Origin Project commenced, with details finally being made public. In order to construct their half, most of the Mechonis Hull had been harvested by Machina and High Entia engineers for its metal. The search for other resources and supplies extended far and wide, from the deepest, darkest depths to the loftiest mountain heights. The actual construction also was no easy matter, requiring a level of precision and accuracy achieved by the most prestigious of builders. Not counting Shulk’s research on Ontos, four years and eleven months of mutual blood, sweat, and tears went toward ensuring the safety of Bionis and Alrest. Everything relied on Origin. Their Ark. It couldn’t fail on them now. Absolutely not. 

 Looking closer at Melia, and remembering all of the reassurance everyone had been giving her today, Shulk knew for a fact she was anxious, though she was hiding it tremendously well. She always did. In fact, he wouldn’t be lying if he said all of Bionis was secretly tense tonight. The worst possible thing that could happen was the complete and utter destruction of the two worlds. Everything he, Rex, and their friends worked hard to ensure in their respective realms would cease to be. Shulk took a deep breath, still fidgeting in his pocket. 

Recognizing his tendency to ruminate, Fiora loosely wrapped her arms around his right, and rested her head on his shoulder, seeking to calm him down.

“Can we get a time check before the fireworks, Shulk?” she sweetly asked. It was something about Fiora’s voice that always managed to dislodge Shulk from his train of thought. Though he was a bit startled, Shulk’s shoulders soon relaxed, and he couldn’t help the stupid little smile that crossed onto his face.

“Ah, Fiora. I hardly noticed you there. He raised his wrist to check his handmade watch. “Fourty-five seconds ‘till six. The machines are doing alright, I hope?”

“Yes, we should be right on schedule—”

In the distance, a few fireworks fired off early 

“...Er, well, that wasn't meant to happen."

“Hahaha! Someone’ll get chewed out for sure.”

Fiora giggled too. "Anyhow, are you doing alright? Overthinking again?” she said, lowering her tone

Shulk was a little baffled at the sudden turnaround, unsure of his response at first. Sighing, he admitted. “Saw right through me as always.” 

She chuckled to herself at his bashful admission. “If it’s about Origin... trust me. You’re one of the best engineers on Bionis, working with the best from our world and Alrest’s. We’ve reviewed our finished halves countless times and everything came out flawless.”

“Do you... think we should’ve surveyed it before the celebrations?”

“Oh, you’re such a worrywart.” she said playfully.

“Heh, stop it... ” the both of them chuckled again, Shulk’s tension having eased for the moment. About 15 seconds until the fireworks, and the Intersection too.

“Alright, then... just enjoy yourself, yeah? Deep breaths.” Fiora said to him. Before she walked back indoors, she adjusted the collar to his overcoat, gave him a quick kiss, then smiled.

“Yeah. Deep breaths.” he repeated. He needed to have faith that everything would go as planned. He breathed in and out, closing his eyes with each inhale and re-opening them each exhale. In... and out. In... and... his eyes opened to see... 

17:59:59 p.m.

...  Everyone...  no—everything was frozen in place, except for himself. Frozen, and quiet. The first thing he looked at was the love of his life in his periphery ‘Fiora... ’ She was mid-step, approaching Dunban. On the other side of his vision, Reyn had been arguing with Riki, as Juju, Riku and Sharla watched them in either glee or disappointment. More separate from all the others, the closest to the balcony was Melia; her head tilted skyward, headwings perked up... she was focused. But him? He could do nothing, apart from darting his eyes around—witnessing how Alrest’s planet slowly rose over the horizon. Quickly did his worries about Origin surge forth yet again. What was happening to his friends? His family? The citizens? What new divine force was... .was... .

18:00:00 p.m.

“Hhhhgh!” Shulk released a sharp gasp as if his whole soul was pulled away from someplace foreign and back into reality. His body gained movement and his consciousness was unblocked. Briefly stumbling to the point he almost lost his footing, he caught himself by widening his stance. Before he could fully shake his head clear, a myriad of memories assailed his head. 

Origin. Intersection. Aionios. Flame Clocks. Z. Moebius. Ouroboros. Nikol. A. Alpha. Alvis...  Rex. Cent-Omnia. Alrest. Avatar. Origin... Origin. Origin. Origin. 

Everything since departing into the rift with Rex and A had been hazy, but Shulk knew one thing for sure: the worlds were somehow free from Moebius’ reign. After ages spent behind the scenes, feeling that the world they were protecting was slowly whittling away, the pressure they’d all been under was becoming lighter and lighter yet. Next thing they knew, A was telling them how their time had finally come. Their fight was over. Their job was finally done. They could finally... finally rest—

?!

A near-paralyzing jolt of pain surged from his shoulder to his fingertips, triggering a series of convulsions in his entire right arm. He bit his tongue, suppressing a loud, guttural shriek. Clasping his upper arm, he was surprised to feel soft skin and hair, not sinew and blood, and not cold steel. Shulk then witnessed Melia come close to stumbling over, thankfully managing to catch herself on the balcony railing. The Queen whipped around, facing Shulk with a look of abject horror. Out of the corner of his eye, Riku, then Fiora too turned to Shulk with a similar look. The four of them knew something that the others didn’t. 

Melia’s gaze darted past Shulk. “Alvis!?” she shouted. Despite what Shulk was expecting—with short hair, purple and white garments, complete with the signature fur collared jacket—Alvis manifested a little differently. ‘A?!’ Shulk thought.

 Though... her bodysuit was less form-fitting, with its design seeming more akin to Alvis’. On top of that, her hair wasn’t as long, and the same went for the cape. Shulk realized his quick assessment of this being A wasn’t accurate, ultimately. He couldn’t place who exactly he was seeing in front of him, but what remained the one constant was the red, cross-shaped Core Crystal, glinting on their neck, and that knowing sternness in their eyes.  Everyone else on the balcony went silent... because A/Alvis—or better yet, Ontos—was meant to be in Origin.

“Contact the Alrestians and come with me to Origin at once. There is a serious matter to be handled.” they ordered, their voice indicating an immense degree of severity.

Wasting no time, Melia sent out a Castle-wide transmission. Maintaining composure, she spoke with urgence, clarity, and precision. “This is Code OGN2, I repeat. Code OGN2. Guards, ensure the safety of our people, and our other guests, particularly the children! While most are within this castle, Eunie and her group of friends must be retrieved from town square posthaste! Lastly, I will immediately be accompanying others into Origin, which means royal jurisdiction is bequeathed unto Lady Tyrea until my return. Am I understood?” Everyone nodded fervently and sprung straight into action. Dashing out of the Revelation Hall and rounding the corner, the main group could hear Tyrea’s thundering voice barking orders, followed by the hurried tromping of armored footfalls in several directions.

Overwhelmed, Melia groaned. As drained as she seemed, however, she kept moving forward in her ceremonial gown out of sheer willpower.

“Melly not look cheery, like just ate bad pollen orb!”
“I have felt far worse, Riki. Never you mind me and look ahead.”

“Seriously now, you ain’t looking too hot.” Reyn pointed out.

 As he ran. Dunban spoke between breaths. “You look... drained”

“For goodness sake, I appreciate your concern but... Origin’s what matters most! Our future... Alrest’s future too. It’s all at stake! Now please... focus... ngh...  I must clear my head... ” The Empress concluded. Everyone quietly nodded, not wishing to cause any further irritation. Riku tossed her a glance of concern

With the transporter up ahead, Shulk was hastily starting a transmission on his watch, even though his sudden pains made it feel like pure electricity was constantly running up and down the length of his arm, as if it were begging to separate itself. He bit down on the collar of his overcoat, gnashing his teeth on the fabric to distract from his agony.

Moments before reaching the transporter and being whisked away with the ether to get inside Origin, he managed to press all of the right inputs and contact Rex.

Without a moment’s delay, the now unscarred face of the stouthearted Master Driver manifested as a shimmering hologram. Judging by his visage, he was as worse for wear as Shulk felt.

 1st day of the 9th month. 4,073 (Alrestian Calendar)

New Auresco, Alrest

Anniversary of Queen Nia of Eschel’s Accession | Day of the Intersection

The sun was hanging low, steadily approaching the horizon. Rays of warm colored hues painted the Alrestian sky and sprawling ocean; a stunning backdrop for this celebrative fall evening full of gleeful songs and dances, and mouthwatering delicacies across the entirety of the continent. 

Aloft in the Aureus Palace, Castle of the Queendom of Alrest, was Rex, now aged 31. Him and his longtime friends oversaw the queendom from one of the dining halls' balconies. ‘The view never gets old... even after a decade and a half.’ he reminisced to himself. He was glad—or better yet, relieved—that the evening was running smoothly thus far. For the sake of Nia, the rest of his family, his friends, and every single Alrestian.

Alrest came a long, long way from what it once was, and in a shockingly short amount of time. From the very moment of landfall, the need for change was readily apparent. A huge part of Alrest’s unification was ensuring its countries were on amicable terms with one another. Famously, at the behest of Nia, the Empire of Mor Ardain finally dissolved, allowing Gormott its rightful sovereignty, and leading to them both gaining equal status as countries.

Secondly, after being on the brink of war for years, Pyra was the one to help negotiate a proper peace treaty between Mor Ardain and Uraya. Proper settlements, and restitutions, be it territory, wealth, or supplies were meticulously arranged and distributed. Anything extra was invested in a new country: Goldmouth. 

Rex dealt with the next source of worry, pertaining to the thousands of refugees from the several fallen titans, including the Praetorium. He aided some refugees, mainly Blade Eaters and Flesh Eaters, to find new homes in the Leftherian Archipelago. Others he assisted, primarily the Indoline, returned to their place of ancestry in Temperantia; the other countries were more than willing to lend their aid in the rebuilding process, starting from Judicium and branching out into smaller settlements across the land. 

The final variable came from a movement spearheaded by Mythra, in which Alrest sought the best way to bring honor and pay respects to the Golden Country and the tragedy it faced. Pooling their efforts together, they re-established the region from what little was left of their culture, language, and aesthetics, and allowed it to blossom anew, beginning with the capital city of New Auresco.

With these actions further solidifying their heroism, Nia was ultimately hailed the queen regnant of Alrest (due to her ties to Lord Eschel of Gormott), with Rex, Pyra, and Mythra as her queenly consorts. From that point forward, the path to progress became clear as day; places were steadily diversifying, technological and scientific breakthroughs were being made every season, and the economy had gone from stagnance to prosperity. Even if the land no longer resided in that heavenly sea of clouds, the queendom ascended to a place far beyond the Alrest of old. 

On this day, it would face its ultimate test…although, this same day was also celebrative; a memorable milestone for the kingdom’s existence. It was by all means coincidental, but the hope was for the festivities to keep the high morale of the kingdom. With all the pieces already in place to ensure everything and everyone would be safe, the only thing needed going forward was for optimism and hope to prevail.

Of course, Rex and his crew were no strangers to optimistic thinking. At about 4:30 p.m., the acclaimed Tirkin Fire Dragons prepared a lavish banquet for the castle, incorporating popular delicacies from all corners of Alrest. Right before dining, Nia had recited her speech for the night—one which Pyra, Mythra, and Queen Melia helped out a little with revising.

She bestowed honor to the lives of the innocent people who suffered due to Alrest’s prior struggles, empathizing with people who lost friends and family. Continuing along that note, she honored all the people she and the others met along their travels, naming martyrs like Vandham and Haze, but also giving attention to everyday civilians, from traders and merchants, fellow travelers, and even Auntie Corinne. As much as her and her friends impacted the lives of many, those very people left a lasting impact on all of them too. 

Nia eloquently wove together those threads, asserting that without the knowledge of Alrest’s history to learn from, and the affinities which bind people together, Alrest would never have progressed to where it was today, let alone sustained its previous state. Thanks to everyone, they prospered for 15 years thus far, with nothing or nobody left to shackle them to a dying world. 

The speech was met with tearful applause around the dinner table, enough to boost Nia’s self-confidence for the official address. Alas, there were more things aside from the speech to prepare for after dinner. The main priority before 6:00 p.m. exactly was what would commence the evening’s official celebrations. A special light show, kept a surprise from next to everyone in the public.

Naturally, the kids got a little antsy and couldn’t withstand waiting around before all the excitement. Glimmer and Addam chose to go where the festival’s lights shone brightest, on the Castle’s Ascension Grounds. Zeke and Pandoria’s hands were tied with official business, so the two Aegis siblings promised to keep a close watch on Linka once the guards escorted them to the Ascension Grounds. 

Meanwhile, Mio and her friends—Sena, Taion, and Miyabi—had practically begged to celebrate beyond the Castle. Everyone showed hesitance at first, but they were willing to make it work and give them a taste of independence for this special night. To ensure a safe evening out, Mythra enlisted some bodyguards in disguise and provided Mio with some civilian clothes.

5:32:21 p.m.

Mythra’s list of guidelines set for this excursion, went as follows: “Don’t talk to strangers, don’t spend all your allowance in one place, and don’t run off from the bodyguards—stick together. Be sure to come straight back here after the light show since the sun’ll already be down.”

“Yes, ma’am!” chorused the kids (though Mio said Mom instead.)

“But, have lots of fun!” Pyra cheerfully added. 

“Right. These rules are set to make sure you all get back safe after tonight, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Be on your best behavior, Sena, dear.” Mòrag reminded.

Brighid nodded in agreement “Be mindful of our own ground rules too.” 

The blue flame of Sena’s pigtails strengthened by just a tad. “Mhmm! Be respectful, be assertive, and be strong!”

Rex and Nia knelt down to Mio’s level “Have the guards shoot us a call on the transmission if any of you need anything from us. Got it, kiddo?” Rex said, his tone gentle as he ruffled the top of her head, between her ears.

Mio playfully fought off his hand. “Heheh—got it, Da.”

“Taion, Miyabi, d’you two need anything? Homesick? Hungry?”

Miyabi shook her head. “Oh, no, I’m fine.” she responded in a cordial manner.

“No thank you, Mr. Rex.” Taion replied.

“Arright, that settles that then.”

“We love ya bunches, cath fach.” Nia hugged Mio close, moving her bangs and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I love you too!”

5:58:45 p.m.

With the kids going to do their own things for the time being, the adults stayed in the confines in the palace, reconvening at the dining hall once they finished up their last-minute duties. Pandoria and Zeke were currently picking out their third helping of spare desserts, as Mòrag and Brighid were hand-in-hand, gazing at Alrest’s skyline alongside Niall and Aegaeon. Nestled with a resting Dromarch in the corner of the balcony was Tora, contacting Mythra and Poppi through a homemade computer to keep tabs on Origin during the Intersection... 

‘Right... the Intersection... ’ Rex thought, now leaning against the balcony railing.  Even now, seeing Alrest in front of him, he tried not to bear the idea of something terrible coming along, focusing only on how breathtaking the view was. Mythra and Pyra were the most vocal about trying to enjoy today, particularly after everyone well and truly gave it their all for this past week. Mythra said that she, Poppi, Ontos, and…Malos could handle the final checks. 

…He had to admit, even after so much time had gone by working on this project, it still felt weird to have the full Trinity involved in this whole operation. Shulk told him of how he casually found Ontos on the shore one day like some kind of seashell, but “finding” Malos again was a different story. 

Alrest was in the early process of rebuilding on their new continent, not very long after the first Fog Rifts were starting to open, but before it became an object of widespread concern. He, Pyra, Mythra, and Nia ventured out to the World Tree’s ruins and the Land of Morytha for a salvaging op; there, they found the ruined Monoceros, with Nia lamenting that none of the members could live to see a brighter future…except, Pyra broke the news that they managed to salvage Malos’ data. Adding that with the fact they carried extensive blueprints and schematics of the Trinity Cores too, all that was needed was another physical vessel to store his data…bringing him back to life.

Rex still kept the final words he exchanged with Malos close to his heart. There was an entirely new world for him to see, alongside all of them; it wouldn’t be a completely fresh start for him, no, though it’d be a new chapter in his life. They broached this idea between their friends, then with advisors, then the entire Alrestian government, and finally the broader public. All opinions demonstrated hesitance, including Nia herself, but they were willing to be a little more flexible as long as Pyra and Mythra expressed good judgement. Ultimately, the Kingdom did come to the consensus to restore him, albeit under the condition that he be kept under the Castle’s jurisdiction; essentially under probation. 

As for the actual act of bringing him back, Tora was the one who stepped up to the challenge. As soon as he was granted the permission, he dove headfirst into an intensive, long-term study on the copious sources which Mythra and Pyra provided of the three cores. Rex came up with all the raw materials, salvaged from his missions deeper into Morytha. Last, Tora enlisted his father and grandfather for the painstakingly precise task of refining those materials, and using them to mould the core’s exact shape. There needed to be zero room for physical flaws or imperfections. 

Upon countless revisions and miniscule adjustments…the Logos vessel reached its completion. Transferring the archived data into this new crystal, it slowly gained Logos’ bright purple hue, and adopted its distinctive shine within the very center. The moment the core achieved its full power yet again…Malos’ humanoid form refused to awaken, They thought they’d screwed up somewhere, but no. Malos spoke, expressing he was staying inside by choice.

As always, his cynicism and sarcasm remained, but apart from that, he was kind of…reflective of his prior actions from time to time. Not wallowing in regret or self-loathing, nor was he reveling in what he’d done. It lied somewhere in that gray area. Nonetheless, neither the public, nor himself, were ready for his proper re-entrance into society; that much he was abundantly aware of. Thus, he willingly shied away from outward scrutiny, and even the rest of the Castle.

In the years following, some believed Malos’ return and the worsening Fog Rifts were directly correlated, but Rex and the others knew better…because Bionis soon entered the picture, and they had to work fast to curb imminent destruction. All of Tora’s newfound knowledge came in handy when the Origin Project rolled around, as the architecture of Logos and Pneuma were each used to refine exactly one half of the base-architecture provided by Ontos—Rex had Shulk and Riku to thank for all of that. 

Now, Rex wasn’t an engineer, nor was he an Artificial Blade, or an Aegis. So, he, Nia, and the others tried their best to support the Origin Project in other ways. The first part involved holding political meetings, campaigns, and fundraisers.

The second part involved the rigorous salvaging of the World Tree and its remains for metal, quelling Fog Rifts across the continent, cross-communicating with Bionis, and ensuring the construction process was being followed with extreme caution and precision. Hell, he even had to negotiate Core Crystal extraction from reproducing Titans in order to store all of Origin’s potential data. 

The last part of this already difficult process was raising three kids. No matter how busy he and the queens were, they knew better than to let themselves become detached from their kids. After all, each of them either grew up relatively independently or had no previous concept of parentage in the first place. 

Over the course of almost five years of arduous, taxing efforts, everyone’s mutual, unwavering support of one another carried this project to the brink of success. That much was certain. ‘But, if things don’t go as planned in Origin this evening…both Alrest ‘n’ Bionis are as good as stardust…’ It was an irrevocable fact that a wide number of the Alrestians carried in the back corners of their conscience. Rex’s stomach churned and grumbled with unease.

“Still hungry, Rex?” Pyra asked during his moment of brooding. She found herself on Nia’s left, with Rex on the right. All three were now relaxed against the railing. “I thought you said you were full after that Tartari you ate.”

“Wuh? Er—”

“Oi, and ye haven’t even touched yer glass—is somethin’ wrong with ya? The Rex I know woulda downed three by now.” Nia flippantly jabbed, despite her regal attire.

Rex blushed, then laughed a little at just how well his wives knew him.

“N-no, no, ahaha... just... Fliers in m’ stomach s’all. For you two, Mythra…and…Origin.” he trailed off. “Something or... someone could just—blindside us. Even with all our preparations. Y’just... never know.”

Pyra, ever understanding and kind, reached over and placed a warm, calming hand on his own. “Rex, you really don’t have to worry. When the Intersection happens, I’ll be gone to join Mythra for just a blip, then everything’ll be fine. We all poured everything we could into this.”

 “And if we do get blindsided by someone, they’ll have to go through the Master Driver, The Godcleaver, and both of their groups.” Mythra chimed in from over the call.

“Given our combined track records, I’d say we’d be the ones doin’ the blindsidin’, eh?” Nia added, slinging both arms around Pyra and Rex.

Rex’s mouth curled into his signature smile now that his confidence was renewed. “S’pose you all’d be right.” he conceded, closing his eyes and leaning on Nia for a brief moment. Pyra mirrored. Nia felt chills, and began purring.

“Ugh, you three are always such saps.” Mythra half-jokingly remarked. Under her breath she murmured “Wish I was there for Nia too... ”

“D’aww, Mythra...  I love ya whether yer here or not. You have yer own duty to fulfill, I understand.” Nia affably replied. She planted a quick kiss on Rex’s cheek, then Pyra’s, and finally blew a kiss to Mythra on-screen. “Yer in for some affection when ya get back, y’hear, Mythra dear?”

“Urgh, reel it in, lovebirds.” said Malos’ disembodied and dissatisfied voice. “No time to chat.”

“Riiight, right. D’ya have the time, Tora? Light-show and the Intersection’s meant to happen at 6.”

“Mmmeehmm...  Oh! T-minus 30 seconds!”

“Perfect! Enough time fer a quick toast, everyone!” Nia announced. The group gathered around her as she cleared her throat and held her thin flute of champagne to the skies they once resided upon. “My dearly beloved partners, and my longtime friends. Let us toast to this paramount day—the anniversary of my accession, and to the safe Intersection of Bionis and Alrest. Cheers!” Glasses were clinked together, and down went the drinks.

“Tora now giving Crossette the go-ahead!” announced the Nopon Engineer.

Nia quickly placed her glass down, and walked up to the edge of the balcony to look at the sky. Everyone else was already on their way back inside, while Rex lingered for a little longer. Ultimately, he decided to give Nia some space, raised his glass again to finish off the last of his drink. ‘Bottoms up!’ He finished his flute in one go, then exhaled out of satisfaction. Once he wiped his mouth with and set it off to the side... he noticed. 

5:59:59 p.m.

He noticed the looming image of Bionis in the sky... then, he noticed the complete stillness and silence of his surroundings. Of the festival below. Of his friends. Of his wives. Pyra had disappeared. ‘Had she joined Origin with Mythra? She isn’t back yet... ’ Nia stood front and center, the only one completely focused on what could spell impending doom. No matter how hard Rex shouted at his brain to move, to let adrenaline give him the strength, it failed every time. ‘Who’s done this? What’s happening at Origin?! What about the kids?! What about... about... ’

6:00:00 p.m.

“Nguhh—!” Rex came to his senses like he had all the wind in his lungs knocked out of him. Like a Blade roaming the deepest depths of the Spirit Crucible, he was struck with a sudden disorientation far stronger than anything he’d experienced.  Retaining his center of gravity by stepping backward, he shook his head clear. The backdrop of chatter and cheers from all around him resumed, and the light show commenced as normal. ‘The hell just happened?! Did everything…freeze?’ His surroundings were the least of his concern, however... without a single moment of notice a jarring series of visions and thrust burst forth, assailing his brain.

Origin. Intersection. Aionios. Flame Clocks. Z. Moebius. Ouroboros. Glimmer. Alpha... Pneuma? Logos?? Shulk. Cent-Omnia. Avatar, Bionis.. Origin... Origin. Origin. Origin. 

Aionios was gone, hopefully for good; he could glean that much. How it was gone was something he had no precise answer for. Those thousand-odd years of overseeing the entire fabric of the world with A and Shulk were like a blur to him, but from what he could recall, Origin just sort of... let go of it all. All of the weight they’d carried was dissipating by the day; the Black Fog, Annihilation events, the formless dead, fear, Moebius’ control, and the flow of the endless now. Soon, with nothing else to protect, the three of them also let go, ready to finally return to the place they truly belonged—

?!

A searing pain ripped vertically down his left eye. Rapidly, one hand clasped the left side of his face as the other went over his mouth; it took everything in him not to cry out to the entirety of Alrest, not to vomit, not to pass out. Covering his pained eye... he didn’t feel the blood and gore like he had the last time. Though everyone seemed to have moved with no indication of malaise or confusion, the illusion of normalcy broke in mere seconds. It was Mythra who reappeared instead of Pyra, now crouched on the floor. Tora’s call suddenly garbled and corrupted as an incessant alarm sound blared from the computer. Nia mewled and slumped over the railing a little. The more the dilemma unfolded, the less that Rex knew what to do first to help.

 Dromarch was violently irked from his rest by the alarm, fur standing on end out of fright. “What is the meaning of—?!” the thin slits of his pupils narrowed as he detected Nia.  “Milady!” Dromarch roared, instinctively pouncing over to support Nia. All of the others, shocked, came over for assistance.

“Chum? Chum, answer me! What’s gone wrong?!”

Brighid offered a hesitant hand to the newly appeared Aegis of Light, her tone questioning, yet soft. “Mythra? Why are—”

Before Brighid could finish her sentence, Mythra clutched the core on her chest, quickly coming to a stand with a frazzled expression crossing her face. The others recoiled, a bit unsettled.

“We need contact with the Bionites immediately. There’s an error occurring at Origin.” she said, voice brimming with gravitas.

“Titan’s whole arse foot!” Rex cursed under his breath. No time was wasted— the gravity of the situation became abundantly clear. Rex fetched a small silver whistle from his pocket. “C’mon, we’re taking Gramps—!”

Mythra lowered his hand. “I’m sorry, but Gramps wouldn’t be fast enough. Melia had us build those transporters for a reason, didn’t she?”

“Shit, you’re right.”

“C’mon, we’re going!”

As they all grouped up and bolted for the closest transporter in the castle, Rex’s phantom pains throbbed in his eye yet again, rippling all throughout his head. Struggling not to dissociate and let the pain overcome him, he tried his darndest to focus on specific things that’d ground him in the current moment. Tora’s desperate cries and feverish typing, Nia and Mythra issuing protocol Code OGN2 to the Castle, each person adjusting or even ditching some of their formal garb—Nia, for example, took her scimitar and cut slits down the side of her kimono.

The vague taste of champagne was still in Rex’s mouth, but he was a far cry from tipsy; the knowledge that Origin had any type of error was extremely sobering. Reaching the lone transporter, at the very center of the Castle’s interior, they rushed inside and disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared in Origin at the very next instant. The moment everyone settled, Shulk called on the transmission.

Chapter Text

Townsquare, O’Virbus Castletown, Bionis

18:00:00 p.m.

[Noah Leater, 10.]

The bells of the town centre's clock tower began to toll, the steel minute hand barely nudging into place. The sound snapped Noah out of... something. He blinked. Then twice more. Staring wide-eyed up at the clock above, a quiet, awestruck noise escaped from Noah’s lips. A flock of doves ascended from around the fountain, then dispersed across the wonderful, crepuscular sky. By the looks of things, the people of O’Virbus were walking, chatting, laughing, and playing like normal. 

Noah was different. His mind and body had been completely transfixed. At that moment, it was as if he had experienced everything... yet also nothing. An unfathomable amount of time also felt like the blink of his eyes. He now felt he’d lived life after life... or, had he? He was only 10. You could only live once... right? Did time... simply stop?

“Noah!” someone called. He whipped around, and saw the source was his friend Lanz. “What’re you doing man? They’ll start the fireworks without us!” Through the crowd, he saw Lanz standing alongside his two other friends, Joran, and Eunie. All three looked antsy and impatient, filled with mirth and energy.

“Get a move on already, or all the good spots’ll be taken!” chided Eunie, a hand on her hip.

“Exactly! So, come on! Move it!” Joran urged, waving wildly.

With his initial train of thought broken, Noah immediately responded, waving back: “Sorry! I zoned out for a sec. I’m coming... !” Without missing a beat, his trio of friends turned on their heels and began running toward Alcamoth as fast as their young legs could carry them. Already, fireworks whistled, popped, and crackled in the air, spraying brilliant threads of sparkling color. Noah ran a few steps forward, but stopped dead in his tracks again—a different sound; leftward. A sound that pierced through all other noise.

A beautiful melody from a low-pitched flute filled his ears. Staring at the direction he believed the source to be, he couldn’t help as a smile formed on his face. He felt like he knew this from somewhere…! A higher flute then seamlessly blended into the first, spurring him to walk in its direction. His soul was telling him to let everything around him fade in the background so he could focus on the source of that melody. It tugged at his heartstrings, making hopeful, yet melancholy tears well up in the corners of his eyes. He swallowed the sob in his throat, and ran, with adherence to no other direction, save for the origin of the music.

Townsquare, New Auresco, Alrest

6:00:00 p.m.

[Mio Eschel-Vandham, 11.]

The bells within the town’s central spire began to toll, the ivory minute hand slotting into its place. The sound snapped Mio out of... something. She blinked. Then twice more. Hyper-focused on the spire’s clock, an uneasy breath escaped from her mouth. The doves around the large zen garden took flight, and she could hear the flutter of their wings and their gentle warbles. Her feline ears twitched in every which way as she absorbed more of New Auresco’s commotion—of kids alike, teens, adults and the elderly... nonetheless, Mio’s body and mind were elsewhere.

In that moment, she felt that she’d experienced nothing beyond this evening... while also everything. That single moment she’d zoned out had the weight of countless centuries. She felt that her singular 11-year old life was now imbued with the experience of hundreds of lives... or... was it? You could only live once... right? Did time... simply stop?

“Mimi!!” Recognizing her nickname, and Sena’s voice, she turned right around. “Are you alright? Don’t you wanna be on time for the light show?” After searching the crowd for a short moment, there stood all three of Mio’s friends: Sena, Taion, and Miyabi, all waiting impatiently, shoulder-to-shoulder. Two discreet bodyguards, Akatsuki, and Kaneda, waited close by, arms crossed.

“At this rate, they could be all out of front row seats!” Taion complained, crossing his arms.

“Right! We have to hurry! Quick!” cried Miyabi, her hands interlaced; pleading.

Forgetting her contemplations, she responded. “Sorry! I just lost focus. I’ll be right there... !” She barely finished her sentence before her friends darted through the crowd toward the Castle Courtyard. The guards didn’t expect their sudden breakaway, so they hurriedly followed in tow. The light show already began, as streams of vividly colored lights glided through the evening sky, forming mesmerizingly kaleidoscopic shapes. Mio ran a few steps forward, only to stop dead in her tracks again. Over to her right came a sound that pierced through all other noise. It wasn’t just any old sound; it was something...  foreign.

An enchanting melody, clear and high-pitched, filled her eardrums. Staring at the direction she believed the source to be, she grinned with glee, her golden eyes shining. She swore she’d heard this before…! Continuing to listen, a lower flute seamlessly blended into the first melody, harmonizing. Her soul resonated so deeply that all the other noise around her just couldn’t register. The nostalgia she felt, though she was unable to pin down its origin, was strong enough to line her eyes with tears. But she couldn’t afford to just stand here, no. She had to find it. So, she gulped down a whimper, and broke into a run towards the melody and nil else. The winds helped carry her along, making her exit from the square all the more swift and silent. 

Origin, Bionis Half (Interior: Nucleus)

18:00:30 p.m.

[Shulk, 34.]

Shulk and the others blipped through the transporter right in front of Central Control. Attempting to grasp his surroundings, he stared at the ruins of what looked to be...  an amphitheater. 

“... The interior’s reverted to how we originally designed...but not here.” Melia observed.

“Rex, come in! We were alerted to an error at Origin by er... Alvis.”

“Mythra warned us of the same thing!”

“And by the looks of things... the issue’s right ahead.”

Not only was this once grandiose amphitheater almost completely devastated, it seemed to have been cleft perfectly in half. In the surrounding air were familiar purple speckles of light, and a dark, wispy vapor, weakly drifting further within the numinous theatre. 

Shulk looked at Fiora, seeing her laser-focused on what was left of the main entrance. He could hardly make it out, but she seemed to shiver. Maybe out of nervousness? Or was it something different…

“Follow my lead, come now.” A(lvis) directed, running forward without looking back. There was an entirely different subset of questions Shulk had when it came to A(lvis), but he had to put those on the backburner.

The group made it past the shattered entryway and through the disheveled, red-carpeted halls; at its end, there seemed to have been the main doorway into the proscenium. Now, the whole wall was shorn entirely from its foundation. The only thing left obfuscating everyone’s vision were those purple motes and that strange vapor, growing more concentrated the closer they traveled towards the theatre's crux. Black Fog. Shulk hesitated as more phantom-pains trickled through his arm.

Rex put all the pieces together, and realized. “No way... they’re still here?!”

“Can you elaborate on who ‘they’ are?” Shulk heard Mòrag inquire. All the other party-members behind them began making comments about the area.

“What on... ” Reyn could barely finish his sentence out of shock, trying to grasp one of the motes. 

Vanea was affixed where she stood, her voice barely above a whisper "What is this place? Why is there Black Fog present? I didn’t think the Fog Rifts could open here inside Origin…”

“This is Moebius’ little hiding spot... ” Melia spat under her breath.

Sharla looked at her like she was crazy, a palm flying to her collarbone. “Moebius? Who are…?”

A strangled, wretched noise emitted from further onward, causing faint tremors throughout Origin’s floor. Shulk felt horripilations crawling across the plane of his skin.

Fiora clenched her jaw, heartbeat growing quicker yet. Glancing at her Knives of Meyneth concealed on her person, she looked more than ready to tear this threat down.

“Explanations can wait until after.” A(lvis) intervened. Summoning forth the Monado in its active state, A(lvis) raised it above their head. “Shaker Edge!” they called, artfully slicing downward and sending forth a streak of white light, blitzing cleanly through the darkness. The Monado reverted, and A(lvis) wordlessly ran forth Shulk’s group in tow.

Origin, Alrest Half (Interior: Nucleus)

06:01:21 p.m.

[Rex, 31.]

The Alrestians ran through their half of the proscenium as well; Rex squinted at the area ahead and could make out a large silhouette, amassing the purple motes and Black Fog to comprise itself. ‘It’s in the form of a Fogbeast. And a bloody massive one.’ At the same time, he could see spontaneous bursts of red flame, and...  purple, dark energy—separate from that of the Black Fog. Sections of the darkness briefly cleared away to unveil ‘Pyra... and Malos?!’

“He’s out of his core?!” Nia acknowledged. “Fighting alongside her, too... !”

Everyone else looked surprised at first, but as long as they had a new, powerful ally, they permitted this reawakening and drew their weapons in unison.

Keen-eyed, Tora released a sharp gasp and lowered his shield as he spotted something else—spouting orange sparks. “Meh, meh, meh!!! Main station of Origin going haywire!!”

“Isn’t Poppi in there?!” said Pandoria.

“Friends need to get through monster!” shrieked the striped Nopon engineer.

“Don’t you worry, Tora. Working together with the Bionites, we’ll overcome this!”

With fierce shouts of effort and dazzling flashes of flame, Pyra leapt in and out of the smoke and fog, her regal robes flowing and fluttering behind her. 

“Pyra! Everyone's here to provide back-up!” Mythra called to her. The gathering of Alrest’s heroes also began signalling for her attention, waving their weapons.

Rex smiled from ear-to-ear. “Pyra!!” 

“Down here, Py” beckoned Nia.

Pyra caught everyone in the corner of her eye, shocked at first, then twice as relieved. The Aegis of Flame sprung up high from off the stage, twisted in mid-air, and landed effortlessly in front of Rex and the others. A sudden wave of heat washed over the group, the fire from her sword roaring vehemently. She dusted herself off as she arose, her Blade retracting in on itself and back to its deactivated state. Meeting eyes with her friends and family, she flashed her kind, warmth-filled smile.

“I missed you guys so much.” she whispered, voice heavily coated with emotion. 

With the three most important people in his life surrounding him, Rex looked like he was falling in love all over again. Nia had been craving physical affection—or any form of affection for that matter— for over a millennia, and basically lunged into one large embrace with her lovers. “You all really have no idea how much I missed ya… Nia purred.

“Mmf... I’m so glad yer all safe... ” Rex sighed, massaging everyone’s backs and shoulders.

Mythra’s expression softened a little as she blushed; a flash of love and vulnerability “Yeah... Yeah. I’m so, so grateful.” she responded.

“Look alive!” Malos’ voice boomed from the stage, interrupting them. Bursting out of the plumes of Black Fog, he landed beside Pyra with little flourish or fanfare, back turned on all the others. 

Rex straightened his posture, and looked him square in the eyes. “Finally outta yer crystal, eh? Glad to have you on board.” 

Malos scoffed a little and shifted his weight to one hip. “Figured I’d drop the hermit act and lend a hand where it’s really needed.” he dryly responded.

“Wonderful to see you in such a generous mood, Malos.” Nia replied with a hint of sardonicism. 

An equally wry grin came from Malos. “Good to see you too, Nia, everyone.”

“You’re... on our side? I’m hearing that right?” Pandoria looked at him over the rims of her glasses. 

The Logos carrier all but rolled his eyes, his Monado slung casually over his armored shoulder. “That much of a shocker? Better get used to it, ‘cos we got some bigger fish to fry.” 

Rex felt a tingling feeling throughout his skin as he registered the arrival of an otherworldly presence aside from the Fogbeast ahead. His adrenaline rose, numbing the pain that wracked his left eye. “Shulk, are you still there, pal?” he spoke tentatively into his transmission.

“Rex!” responded Shulk... though, his voice, almost like an echo, came from Rex’s right. Turning his head, his body tensed at the abrupt sight of The Godcleaver and all his friends, adjacent to him…except, it looked like they were all translucent in appearance and purportedly standing on thin air. All there remained on their right side was emptiness and Origin’s wall off in the distance.

To Shulk, who was standing on Bionis’ half of Origin, his eyes adjusted enough to register that he was in fact seeing things correctly, only with Rex and his squad standing on the opposite side. To make absolutely sure, he raised his aching arm, reaching out to Rex. The Stoutheart also felt curious, raising his own arm to meet with Shulk’s. Their hands… they made contact, but it didn’t feel like complete contact. A vague sort of force; there in one moment, gone in the next, then there, then gone. The duo, and the rest of their parties grew all the more speechless and confused

“Hmph... well, guess that confirms it. Thanks to these Moebius shitheads, the worlds aren't separating.” he analyzed, venom lacing his tone.

Rex and Shulk slowly retracted their hands, as if another instability would occur right then and there.

Zeke fumbled over the words. “Wha—Where—No, why would…Who even are they!?” he cried

“Long story, but they’re a goddamn pain in the ass.” Mythra snarled.

Pyra’s knuckles whitened as she gripped her sword tighter, reactivating its flame once more. She snuck a glance up at the hundreds of large, cuboid blue core-crystals, suspended high in the air and surrounding the whole Center Sector. “They want control over everything in Origin.”

A(lvis) absorbed the info from everyone else, formulating a suitable conclusion. “We must be rid of this scourge, and reclaim Origin for ourselves. If I am understood, then we move now." The heroes grunted, steeling themselves.

“Arright! All of us together makes for over 20 of the world’s best fighters!” Rex enthused, pulling the Firelight Swords from behind him and unleashing their power.

Matching his energy, Shulk responded. “If we work in tandem, anything’s possible!” he said, pulling forward his replica Monado and activating it. He saw as Rex’s apparition looked… a little more opaque. More real. The same went for his crew and the missing half of the disheveled Amphitheater. 

“Engineers, Avatars, your focus is on the Central Control Station.” A(lvis) directed, pointing with their blade.  

“Rest of us can draw the ugly thing’s attention— give you an opening.” Malos complied. 

“Sounds like a plan. If we’re all ready, we go on my count! 3... 2... 1...  Chaaaarge!! ” galvanized the Master Driver, rushing onto the shattered stage as the rest of the ensemble bellowed a collective battle cry. The smaller group of tech-savvy members branched off and booked it backstage. Origin thrummed. Rex looked at his team, and then the Bionites. With each step and each breath, he could feel the presence of their cross-dimensional allies strengthening further yet.

They stopped at the feet of the gigantic Fogbeast, fanning out in a wide formation. It truly was unlike anything they had experienced before, a fact that was further supported once it reared its incomprehensible form in the direction of the vanguard. The beast was clearly incomplete—a desperate creation. It was misshapen and in a state of unceasing flux; at one instant, it had wings and talons, in the next, it had hind legs and claws, and after that, scales and a serpentine body. What was as close as constant as it could be… was its horrific head: three humanoid faces, moulded by fog, and conjoined at what would be the back of the occipital bone: Moebius X, Moebius Y, and the main leader: Moebius Z. 

Ruined Amphitheater: Backstage/Central Control Station 

 6:02:24 p.m. | 18:02:24 p.m. 

Melia, Vanea, Riku, Shulk, Tora, and Nia arrived at their backstage areas, meaning nothing but business. In either world was a giant digitized control panel, projecting several rectangular screens into the air. Because all data within Origin was transmitted in the form of light, Origin’s systems were able to synchronize despite their physical separation. Each on a different section of the panel, the administrative team started communicating amongst one another as cut-and-dried as they could.

“Running Poppiswap diagnostics.”

“I’ll check the main settings”

“Pinpoint the problem, stat.”

Tora had extracted Poppi from her large pod, opening and examining the panels on her body with a multipurpose mechanical tool, as Riku tried his best to find the issue, despite limited software expertise. Tora’s eyes were bleary with tears. “(sniff) It alright Poppi, Tora here! Tora here to fix you— Please wake up... !”

“Two issues. Poppiswap diagnostics on our end indicate damage to the memory of the station, and a data-overload on Poppi’s own chip. The sizes mark 200% increases across the board—Poppi can’t process it!” stressed Vanea.

“Data overload?! 200%?!? Tora squawked .“Mmmeh...! Tora knew he should have used QTπ harddrive... ! Now have transfer to worry about” he frantically muttered. Only artway through fixing Poppi and managing the digital interface, The Nopon Engineer began sifting in his overall pockets.  

Riku wiped some sweat on his brow. “On top of data issue…Riku think core problem under Trinity settings.”

Shulk drew breath through clenched teeth and leaned closer into the screen, hand pawing through his hair. “Oh no... don't tell me—” Surely enough, when the two of them opened the internal code for the Trinity Processor, Shulk put his head in both of his hands, for his assumptions were true. 

Melia stepped in, studying the screen. “There's garbled text where the names of each Trinity Avatar are meant to be.”

“Meh-meh- meh?! Melly, say it isn’t so!”

“Riku afraid it definitely so... It say on panel that error occur mere seconds after 6:00pm.” Riku astutely observed.

Just then, something clicked in Melia’s head. ‘ That was when the two worlds started moving again... when Aionios officially ended.’  

Vanea opened up the source code, typing with expert levels of speed and accuracy. Shulk followed soon thereafter, continuing his explanation “This is frustrating... Origin reconstructed the two worlds onto their own planets, and time has resumed as normal...  but with the appearance of X, Y, and Z again, it—”

Vanea interjected “Wait, whatever do you mean? Time was stopped, then resumed? That beast appeared before?!” the Machina pressed. 

Tora was equally panicked and confused, firing question after question “Meh-meh— X, Y, Z?! Tora thought name of beast was Moebius ? Why would Origin ever consider beast to be Avatar in first place?!” 

“Well, I—in order to—”

“Meh meh meh meh!! None of this make sense, Tora much overwhelm—”

“Okay, okay, cool yer jets, please. Let's take it back a little!” Nia mediated. Vanea took a deep breath, and a small step back from the screen, massaging her temples.

Shulk paused for a second, glancing around with a certain tightness present in his chest. There really wasn’t time to delineate the structure of Aionios in its entirety, but they could afford to tell the long and short of it for the time being.

Vanea leaned back in, cautiously. “What is it we’re confronting?”

Melia beat Shulk to the punch, as he paused for a second too long. “That Fogbeast is special. They are of a group called Moebius, composed from our people’s fears and worries about the Intersection.”

Shulk flinched at that reminder. He himself was consumed by worry light pain struck his shoulder

Melia went on. “The true Moebius are X, Y, and Z. They’re the ones who hijacked Origin to keep the worlds in perfect stasis, created their own realm from both of ours to sustain themselves, and recruited others to perpetuate an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth for our people... ”

…

Suffice to say, a pregnant pause hung over the air, as if even recounting the horrid world at the simplest level was enough to stop the flow of time. 

Before Vanea and Tora had the chance to fully digest the information, the voice of Mythra yelled from onstage “Everyone, watch yourselves!”

Shulk’s eyes shot wide. He just about got up from his seat, hand already gripped on the handle of his Monado, but he looked back at the screen.

Riku was perceptive enough to sense Shulk’s need for altruism “Riku suggest Shulk's hulk go assist! Other friends in need!”

“But— are you sure you can handle-–”

“Shulkshulk, go!” Tora insisted.

“Go!” Riku repeated, scrunching his face, pointing emphatically with his wing. Hesitant as Shulk was, he took the hint, bit the bullet and re-deployed his Monado to rush back to center stage

Ruined Amphitheater: Main Stage.

6:03:25 p.m. | 18:03:25 p.m.

The vanguard squadron had this... Fog-Moebius, of sorts, surrounded on all sides. 

Each time the parties sliced and smashed away at the malformed Fogbeast, it cried out in anguish, anger, and fear all at once; the reprehensible sound it emitted was bestial and primal, but in equal parts uncannily human. At moments, one could barely manage to make out its verbal delusions

"The Endless Now...is inescapable...!"

"So beckons...The Flow...Dare you challenge...?

"Yield all you are...assimilate...with the Formless Dead..."

No matter how fast the attack or how powerful the impact, any and all ailments fizzled away with no fanfare, and the wounds just kept sealing shut This fight was going nowhere. Infinite, in nature.

Mythra took note of a change in the beast’s stance, a deep sense in her core spurring her into a change of plan. Her foresight may have deserted her, though at least the acuity of her intuition served as a sufficient substitute  “Everyone, watch yourselves!” she forewarned. 

The surefooted damage-tanks widened their stances, remaining rooted to the ground. Meanwhile, the more evasive Defenders stayed on their toes, ever nimble, and constantly moving. Any Healers granted regenerative buffs and stat-boosters for the rest of the team, increasing their chances of survival.

Moebius congealed its fog into a menacing scythe, and in a constrained, unstable voice, it invoked the name of its Art: “Purging... Calamitous... Quake!” Like the sweeping tail of a Darbus or a Drague, it swung its scythe-like limb along the ground in a circular motion, encapsulating a large radius. Those who stood grounded were pushed back just a few feet, while the more agile had dove or flipped over the constructed appendage. Rotating just a single time, Moebius quickly morphed the scythe into a tremendous fist. Down it began to fall, about to crash in a large area of effect... only for Shulk to jump in and block it with Rex. All the others pulled out their strongest Arts and Specials in the beast’s preoccupation. Rex and Shulk were side-by-side, but not for very long. Deflecting the blow and backing away, they realized the worlds were starting to move again.

“Rex!”

“Shulk!”

Ruined Amphitheater: Backstage/Central Control Station

6:03:40 p.m. | 18:03:40 p.m.

“Mehhh... ! C’mon, Poppi... !! Wake up... wake up... !!!

“ ... Masterpon?”

“Poppi!!!”

The very millisecond after Vanea heard Poppi’s voice, she entered the function. “Forcibly-reinstating Trinity Avatar roles to Melia, Nia, and Poppi!” 

> Synchronizing (2) items with Origin-grade Core Crystal Data

> Loading... 

> Access granted. 

> Resuming ‘Intersection Initiative’

> Resuming safe divergence trajectory.

 “We’ve done our part! Now we just snuff out those Moebius bastards!” said Nia.

“Tora know Poppi just wake-up, but can Poppi fight?”

Poppi nodded affirmatively, bashing her fists together “Poppi more than capable!” Just then, a colossal crashing noise came from the stage, drawing everyone’s attention and causing them to stumble. The fight was intensifying as they knew it... all hands needed to be on deck.

Melia regained her footing, and instead of focusing more on the stage, she was also noticing a gap rapidly forming between her and the other Bionites, and the Alrestians.  “As I see it, we must stay in touch via the transmission!” she continued. Unsheathing all their weapons and projecting screens of light-ether between one another, they made it back onto the main stage.

Ruined Amphitheater: Main Stage.

 6:04:00 p.m. | 18:04:00 p.m. 

“How persistent... ” Malos uttered, knitting his brows. A(lvis) huffed, while Pyra and Mythra narrowed their eyes in contempt.

The scourge roared, cycling between the voices of X, then Y, then Z. “ We’ll have our Endless Now in the end...! You cannot hope to ascertain your future....No matter what, fear, and despair will always exist within the wills of humankind, and they will ask for the now !” 

Pyra was infuriated, the flame within burning all the more brighter “Urgh! Is the ‘now’ all you can ever talk about?!” 

Riki bounced over after healing Reyn and Dunban “It sounding like broken record to Riki.”

Fiora clenched her twin knives tighter, hands starting to quiver. “Us humans are always changing! You’ll find that we know for sure… that we don’t wish for you!” she denounced through gritted teeth. Bringing her knives together, they formed her personal replica of Meyneth’s Monado

“I barely have a clue what you are and what you want, but the only thing we wish for is your demise!” Dunban valiantly threatened.

“You Moebius are damned liars! Bravery, hope, optimism— all of it will always prevail against fear!” Rex remonstrated, punctuated by sending a blast of flame and light careening for its core, knocking it back by a few metri. 

Shulk followed-up after Rex, just as heated. “And as for the wills of humankind? They ask for a future!—We all do! For the sake of ensuring prosperity for generations beyond ours— our kids included— we need a future!” In a surge of strength, he leapt up and thrusted the Monado forward, stabbing into its neck.

Moebius recoiled, screeching out in callous hatred. Words formed once again in its recovery. “O the naïveté! That cannot be fact! Your will of hope shall never come to pass!” 

Melia pointed the World Ender at their heads, threateningly. “The more you blather on, the more your powers will weaken! We will seize our destiny as one, that is an immutable fact !”

Nia ran her hand over the blade of her Catalyst Scimitar, stoked by rancor. “You Moebius arseholes best prepare yourselves... ’cos when two worlds mobilize as one, that means you’re in for one helluva beating! No matter how many times you show up, we'll do you in again, and again, and AGAIN!”

The team lunged forth, clashing with shockwave-producing force.

Unbeknownst to them all, the depths of all their emotions were greatly impacting Origin, and in a way that deviated from their initial plans. Soon thereafter, the final pieces would fall into place: the wills of two important people. 

People who had been destined to meet in every lifetime, who defied and destroyed the world that held them back.

Chapter Text

 6:02:15 p.m. | 18:02:15 p.m.

The Shared Conscience

WAAUGH!

The young ones startled one another upon meeting eyes. Mio jumped up about a foot into the air, as Noah stepped back a bit too fast, fell on his bum, then clumsily scampered back to his feet. Still shaken, a brief spell of time passed for them to catch their breath.

~

Trepidatiously, Mio was reading his movements, wary of approaching him, or of him approaching her... however that would work. As she walked around a little to get a better angle of him, she saw that it was just…an ordinary boy. Fair skin, black hair tied up into a ponytail, and rather plain civilian clothes. Lacing her fingers together, and crouching down for an even closer look, she asked the first few questions that came to her mind. 

~

The upside down girl below him was moving around, trying to get a better look at him. So, he did the same. He first noticed the strange tufts at the top of her head, which flitted upward as soon as they made eye-contact. How weird. 

She fixed her dress and crouched a little, her hands clasped tightly, “H... Hello? Who’s there? Are you real?... And, why are you... upside down?” she spoke, in an accent Noah had never once been privy to before. He gasped, second-guessing if he was genuinely witnessing this. Soon, he similarly crouched down for a reply

~

Mio tilted her head a little, curious. Before she could even think of a follow up question, her thoughts derailed by what she saw next. The boy audibly gasped, got closer, then said “Y-yes! I’m real! I can hear you,” he said. Mio was taken aback and flinched, both hands covering her mouth to conceal a heavy gasp of sheer surprise. “And I uh... I think you’re the upside down one?” 

~

The girl spoke with hesitance. “Erm... I guess we’re...  both...  upside down to each other?” Noah scratched his head in confusion, as he was equally oblivious. After a bout of awkward silence, she eventually changed the subject “Uhm... I’m sorry I startled you.”

~

“Oh, no, no... I scared you as well. I should also be sorry, haha... ”

~

“... Ssso... where are you from exactly? I think your accent’s Leftherian? No—maybe Tantalese—”

~

“Wha? I’ve never heard of those places before. I’m from Colony 9.”

~

“Colony?... But, Alrest doesn’t have colonies anymore my mam—”

~

Alrest. That immediately piqued Noah’s interest, and he leaned in a little closer. “Did you just say Alrest?! You’re Alrestian?!”  he shouted in excitement. The girl flinched a little at his shouting, and he was immediately aware.  “Oh—! I’m sorry!”

~

Mio ignored the boy’s sudden blurting, and became equally thrilled. “And you’re a Bionite?!” 

~

“I... I can’t believe I’m meeting you right now! Ohh, and I can see your Core Crystal—and those things on your head are your ears! You’re a... Go...  Grom... Grommoti? ”

~

Mio giggled at this Bionite boy’s earnest intrigue. “Gormotti, you mean?” she said to help him out. Mio then gestured to her ears, then flopped them up and down, twice. 

~

Noah only gazed in awe. “I’ve never seen an Alrestian, so I thought your ears were just hair.” 

~

“And I’ve never seen a Bionite before. You don’t look much different from a Leftherian, Ardainian, or a Tantalese, so that’s what I assumed at first.”

~

“I’m a Homs. We don’t have headwings like High Entia do, or all the armor like the Machina.”

~

Little did the Homs boy know, he answered one of Mio’s many questions about Bionis. ‘So the Machina are wearing armor!’ she thought wondrously to herself. “Homs, you say?”

~

“Mhmm. I wish I could wiggle my ears like you can, though..." said Noah, pinching the lobes of his ears and tugging them a bit. The Alrestian girl giggled in earnest, and the flute song increased in volume. How did he almost forget?

~

“Say...  have you been hearing that song too—? I’m not going crazy, am I?” asked Mio, tone indicating a mixture of uncertainty...  and intrigue.

~

 Noah was just as intrigued...  though he was a little confused by her questioning of craziness. “You’re not crazy at all, I can hear it loud and clear!... Well, then maybe that means we’re both crazy—but yyyeah, I dunno why I’m hearing it.” 

~

Mio quite liked this boy’s tender, down-to-earth nature, feeling the tug of her heartstrings pull her a little closer.

~

Noah too naturally gravitated toward her, leaning a cetri or two forward. 

~

“Eheheh, I’d like it if neither of us were considered crazy because of this song, all things considered.” said the Gormotti girl.

~

Noah’s face went florid then he too began to chuckle, responding to her wittiness. “Hahaha! I’d like that too...  I mean, this song isn’t the type to drive someone crazy, I think.” 

~

“It’s just...  trying to figure out where it’s from or why it's playing that’s the problem.”

~

“Heh, you read my mind! I mean, it’s a really pretty song, isn’t it?”

~

“Yeah... this next part’s my favorite!”

~

“Really?! Mine too!” Before long, she started humming along with the lower flute. Amused, Noah followed the tune's higher flute, joining his voice with hers, and creating a seamless polyphony. 

The two children had only recently discovered the existence of this song, and yet it seemed like they knew the entire thing by heart. The more in which they hummed and harmonized with one another, the more the pair felt a budding affinity form between them... or so they...  initially thought. 

In actuality, the feeling felt more akin to slowly unearthing the depths of a once hidden, but deeply entrenched connection; a connection that spanned lifetimes on end. It could be likened to how a historian would dust off the oldest book in their collection, gently flip through the brittle, delicate pages, and then spend hours perusing and analyzing the faded hand-writing.

The haziest set of scenarios from the deepest vestiges of their minds had appeared all around them in this golden space. They took notice, and viewed them together.

 A blisteringly cold and snowy climate... A hospital bed, beside a window... A clearing in the middle of a forest on a rainy day... Golden and silver motes of light; arisen to the nightsky... A campsite, lit by fire, with indiscernible figures sitting or standing around it in the periphery...  

Clearest of all the memories were that of the dawn of a new day, being witnessed on the steep cliffs overlooking a vast ocean. Golden light reflected onto the waters below. Distant silhouettes grew more distant, becoming hazy specks along the horizon. Accompanying this particular imagery came innermost thoughts they never knew they had. Thoughts that were in direct conversation with one another

... 

“...  Without you by my side, I would have never made it here.”

“Without you, I think... my wishes would never have come true.”

... 

“Still... even if we’re worlds apart, I swear I won’t... ”

“I won’t let go. Not ever. I’ll always be with you. Our feelings... forever interlinked.”

“Wherever we are.”

“Yeah. Wherever we are.”

... 

6:03:30 p.m. | 18:03:30 p.m. 

Before the two knew it, the song had ended. They were weeping inexplicably, but now it was more than just the song that brought them to tears—it was whatever they’d seen. Experienced.

Sniveling and wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt, Noah hiccuped, trying to pull himself together under the constant flow of tears. Mio was hiding her saddened face, reaching into her dress pocket for a silk handkerchief, until a small gust of wind blew it a few inches from her hands and on the ground. As she crouched to pick it up, it was there she noticed that this world of memories, and her newfound friend, were fading. Noah saw the same as he finished rubbing his eyes.

Breath still hitching, Noah raised his voice a little due to the distance “H... huh? Wh... why are you disappearing?”

“I don’t... I don’t know why.” Mio started to sniffle, now on her hands and knees “A-and I can’t hear you as well!” she replied. 

A pang of hurt shot through both of their chests, and Noah continued, trying to get as close to the ground as he could “There’s still so... ch I... I want ... sk and talk ab... t... !”

“Me too! Wai... w... t’s... y... n..me?!” 

“My... n... e... s... .ah!” That was the last thing they could hear from one another until only silence remained. 

O’Virbus City, Bionis

18:04:00 p.m.

Whatever strange world they had briefly shared space in had disappeared completely, and Noah was welcomed with the familiar surroundings of the memorial park. 

He lacked any time for processing, however. Noah heard a group of footsteps approaching from behind him, and he swiveled around, dumbfounded and still visibly teary.

“Guys! There he is!” Eunie chirped, her voice filled with concern.

“Noah!! This is where you went off to, mate?! I thought you were following us!” said an incredulous Lanz, hands gripping Noah’s shoulders from behind. “Why were you standin’ around here of all places, ya numpty?” Lanz criticized, shaking him. “Didn’tcha hear what was goin’ on?! All the ruckus?!”

Joran appeared behind Lanz. “They’ve halted the celebrations ‘cos of some protocol, and so everyone was panicking and–and there might’ve been something in the sky up in space—!”

Eunie was the one who fully realized how contrite Noah looked. The redness of his eyes, the wet spots on his collar and sleeves, his mild trembling. “Hey, hey, wait, ... why’re ya crying Noah?”

New Auresco, Alrest

6:04:00 p.m.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mio was found by her three friends and the two bodyguards who accompanied them. 

“Mimi!!” Sena cried from afar, running as fast as she could. “Mimi, omigosh!

Miyabi breathed a relieved sigh “Oh thank goodness!”

“Lady Mio!” began Akatsuki, crouching to her level. “We were all worried sick...!” 

Rapidly, Kaneda typed a status update on her screen and sent it off.

“They called some kinda emergency thing, but you weren’t there with us!”  Sena interrupted.”

“Hold on, let’s give her a second... she doesn’t look so happy.” Taion halted, reading Mio’s desolate expression.

Kaneda gasped, mood shifting to protectiveness. “What transpired? Did someone cause you harm?!”

Mio violently shook her head ‘no’ and pointed in the direction she last saw her new friend.  “There was this song, with flutes—this really great song that led me here, and– a-and I met a boy here, from Bionis, but he was upside-down—”

~

“—and she was so kind, and friendly, and polite, so we started humming to the song right in this spot, but then I started seeing and hearing all these different things —”

~

“—and then when that all stopped, he—he started to fade away fr-from—from me—” Mio’s breath hitched several times as she tried to catch her breath, sobs threatening to overpower her voice.

~

“And I didn’t want her to leave... I didn’t want to leave!... ” Noah gasped with a sudden realization “I’m so stupid— Why didn’t I ask her name earlier... I…. and... ngh!!” Noah was full-on sobbing now. He couldn’t explain why his sorrow had been so deep for someone he knew for just a few minutes. Did he... did he know her from somewhere else? Trembling, he hugged himself, having laid bare his feelings and poured his heart out for his friends to see. The trio were supportive of him regardless of their collective confusion.

“N... Noah, mate. Breathe, okay? We’re... we’re here for you, alright?” Lanz comforted in a soft tone, wrapping him in a hug. Without missing a beat, Eunie and Joran joined in to form a group hug.

~

All of Mio’s friends, and their bodyguards had embraced. “It’s gonna be okay, Mimi... I promise.”

“You said this had to do with the Intersection right?” Miyabi recounted. “So... our worlds must be moving away... !”

“While the worlds are drifting apart for now, H-Her Majesty said they would plan for them to come back together in the future, right? You’ll get to meet him again... eventually!” rationalized Taion, trying his best to be comforting.

“But you don’t understand—I want to see her/him again, now!”

It was those voices again. Voices of Noah and Mio which spoke more from the heart than in the mind. Voices of unrecognizable origin. Voices that broke the regular flow of their consciences. Voices that both felt like themselves and didn’t simultaneously. Voices that sounded like they carried years of countless experience. 

“I’m hoping... 

Hoping we can be together again... I’m hoping the worlds can just be together again... ”

Better yet, the voices sounded as if they carried the very weight of life itself.

In either world, both groups were even more bewildered by just how serious this chance-meeting was being taken. All they could do was listen intently, and continue providing comfort.

On Bionis, Noah squeezed his eyes shut, conjuring a hidden—forgotten part of himself, and called out into the air the words deep down in his heart.

“We're so close! I’ll come see you--I know I can! I promised and I'll see that promise through! One day...! One day!!"

A chain reaction. Sparks of lost memory. Igniting, at once. As one. Instantly.

... 

“Maybe... if we meet again... ?”

“Yeah... And next time, we will win.”

... 

“Oh, I think I’ll let you decide the passing grade, Lanzy.”

“Ah, come on... weirdo.”

“I’m not keeping tabs, but don’t you slack off”

... 

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Herbal tea recipe. You have to dry your own leaves... You should manage.”

“Heh, well check you out!”

“Who am I if not scrupulous?”

In an instant, Mio, now a far distance away from Noah, somehow heard his desperate cry, clear in the evening air.

From the looks on everyone else’s faces, they must have heard it too. Without missing a beat, Mio responded with all her heart, the remains of a separate self speaking alongside her.

“I won't break it! I'll hold onto that promise as long as I need! One day...! One day, I swear it!!"

A chain reaction. Flickers of lost connections. Uniting, at once. As one. Instantly.

“Fly high! Ever higher! Goodbye. And... thank you. To send on the voices of the departed is an Off-seer’s purpose... 

... 

“I am not gonna slack off!”

“I’ll train everyday... thinking of you.”

“Yeah... same here.”

... 

“You're my best bud. Fourth best to be exact.”

“Only fourth?! 

“What’s up? Is there a problem?”

“At least put me second, or even third. Fourth seems a little harsh!”

“Eheheh! I’ll think about it.”

... 

Noah and Mio felt the faintest twitch in one of their eyes... and in the following moment, leaving no time for the kids to process their flecks of remembrance… a huge burst of near-white light shot straight up into the sky, off in the distance. The location was in relative proximity to the Castle, and as they followed the beam up past the clouds…it meant one thing: It came right from where Origin’s hemisphere floated. On Bionis, the light was tinged with blue. On Alrest, it was tinted yellow instead. 

Unbeknownst to Mio and Noah, their precise words were all it took for dormant memories to arise in others, and a latent power to be unlocked within them both; a power that willed for the exact same thing.

A Union. A Reunion, better yet.

 The pillars of light on Bionis and Alrest intensified in brightness, then rapidly expanded in width. Noah’s group and Mio’s shielded one another, bracing for whatever potentially catastrophic impact was imminent. Within seconds, such brilliance spanned their respective globes in their entirety... 

Ruined Amphitheater: Main Stage. 

 6:05:05 p.m. | 18:05:05 p.m.

The heroes of Alrest and Bionis had only been engaged in full-combat with Moebius for a short amount of time before a blinding light breached the interior of Origin. In either world, the light seemed to have stemmed from just one of the many floating Core Crystals. The moment they all noticed, the light grew in size, and in mere seconds at that. Most of them lacked the time to even begin comprehending what it was.

XYZ stumbled backward, cowering and quivering from the imposing radiance. Mythra, Pyra, Malos, and A(lvis)’s cores began to glow.

It was only logical that the Trinity would’ve been the only beings capable of processing and understanding what they saw. Though dozens, if not, hundreds of lines worth of data could be used as a thorough explanation, the sensation of that light was all too familiar: 

For years, Malos had been close with this power before, only for his wielder to suppress it, and follow the path of Moebius. That didn’t mean he managed to erase it, nonetheless… Centuries passed until the poor soul came to terms with the grief that kept him resigned to the eternal flow.

A had harnessed it, as Alpha had been on the receiving end of its might. In Aionios, moments before their departure into Origin, A had foreseen what the flow encompassed; a future where this power and its users would finally grow strong enough to unshackle the future for good. Now that the flow was no more, prediction became theory, and the leading idea was some form of reawakening shared by two members. How was what puzzled them.

 As for Pyra and Mythra, in other words, Pneuma, she was this power’s progenitor. With Nia’s help, it was created as a beacon of hope in the bleak realm of Aionios. In fact, Pneuma’s own soul lived on within a Blade that’d been passed down throughout countless generations of liberated soldiers. Revered by many, and feared by Moebius, this was the power...  known as Ouroboros.

 Light from the raw Ouroboros energy continued to engulf the twin worlds, growing stronger yet. At the very peak of its shine, a pulse ran all throughout the solar system, denoting a clear shift in energy. Veritably so, this essence was of Pneuma’s volition, especially when the slight hues of blue from Bionis and the yellow from Alrest had combined into Pneuma’s signature, almost ethereal shade of green. 

As quickly as it had appeared, and as brightly as it shone, the spectacular light started to recede and dim. The more in which it waned, the more that it uncovered what remained of Alrest and Bionis: 

Only one planet. One lone planet sat within the great void of space…though one of the two worlds hadn’t been destroyed, no. Instead, as they were always intended to be, the worlds were finally one. 

Chapter Text

1st day of the 9th month. 12,016 B.C | 4,073 A.C

Origin | Desolate Amphitheater: Main Stage. 

???

Day of Queen Melia and Nia’s Accession | Day of the Intersection

18:05:10 pm | 6:05:10 pm

That sense of out-of-bodiness, that exciting thrum in their veins, that familiar clarity and resolve washing over their eyes…Upon actually feeling this effulgent energy grace their skin, Shulk and Rex knew they were deeply immersed in Ouroboros power, and certainly of greater strength than when they wielded it during their time in Aionios. When it finally faded away just seconds later, they were the earliest ones to lower their guard and reopen their eyes, soon joined by Melia, Nia, and the Aegises. Thin vapor and sparse motes of light scattered away, as if escaping…but the next, and most important thing the heroes saw in their field of vision were... each other…!

Then all of the other heroes alongside them. Not holograms, not some faint apparitions either. They were unmistakably on the same plane of existence. In the flesh! 

The rest of their comrades still found themselves averting their eyes however they could, like they’d all anticipated the very worst—permanent blindness, radiation, vaporization, sudden transportation, and the like. Luckily, it seemed that none of the sort transpired.

Beyond that, Origin was now in its fused, completed state, and the ruins of the Amphitheater had almost entirely been removed. Each consecutive revelation left them even more astounded than before. 

Rex’s face morphed between shock and disbelief to pure joy. Finally shoving the words out of his brain and through his mouth, he stammered. “Bwuh—I—you...  Sh-shulk! Mate, it’s... you!”

“No… Flippin’... Way!!” Nia gushed, a great big smile stretching from ear-to-ear. Her ether lines glowed like mad, and she was practically shaking… Was it out of excitement?

Melia rubbed her temples, perhaps still trying to adjust her vision or make sense of it all. “Nia…everyone…?!”

 The sounds of their voices, echoing throughout Origin, snapped all the others to attention. Stunned silence swiftly evolved into mixed reactions of happiness, awe, and confusion. It was uncontainable.

“Rex! That light it—The worlds, and... the Ouroboros power, it... You—you’re here!!” Shulk enthused, also stuttering over his words due to the sheer excitement. He offered a kind hand to his cross-realm comrade; Rex gladly sheathed his blades behind his back, clasped Shulk’s outstretched hand, and the both of them pulled each other into an embrace.

Arriving apace were the footsteps of their respective teammates, whose voices expressed both collective bafflement, and total happiness of what had transpired. 

Reyn and Zeke could finally ham it up and put their overly complicated and overly dramatic handshake into practice. Meanwhile, Sharla and Pandoria shared second-hand embarrassment, and only greeted each other with a hug.

Tora, Riku, and Riki danced about and shook their tails, with Riki doting on Tora like his 12th, no, 13th childpon.

Vanea walked up and caught Poppi’s attention, sparking a lively discussion about the technology they shared. Poppi admired all of Vanea’s complex augments and armor, just as Vanea complimented Poppi’s own machinery. They even brought up the idea of finally upgrading Poppi by integrating Machina technology—which Tora overheard, and immediately hopped aboard that idea with a myriad of concepts he’d saved.

Brighid, Mòrag, and Dunban began on a more pragmatic basis. Noble, firm handshakes, followed by charming, witty banter. Their focus briefly drifted more towards the different causes and effects of the worlds’ fusion, rewinding what had happened, and forming their own theories. What exactly was the nature of that light? How did it eviscerate their foe? How did the others feel?

“C’mere, bring it in, the three of ya!” Nia embraced her lovers; this time, with their vanquished foe and their conjoined worlds, she was able to do so with all the passion in her heart. Not a single face was spared from kissing.

Fiora had caught Shulk from behind, arms around his neck as their lips rejoined with one another after eons of silence and separation. For Shulk, at least, it'd been so long that it felt like their first kiss all over again. His mind was transported back to the shores of the Fallen Arm, Fiora’s lips dry and cracked from dehydration. Shulk was the one to quench her thirst, breathe life into her being in both the literal and figurative sense. They pulled away, comforted and content in each other’s arms. When they locked eyes, though…there hid the sense that there was something deeper at play. Shulk wondered what Fiora knew, and Fiora wondered what Shulk knew in turn…Would either of them dare to peer deeper within?

“Shulk, Fiora!” Nia addressed, with Mythra, Pyra, and Rex next to her.

Fiora turned, smiling. “Ah, Your Majesties!” As each of them embraced one another as a greeting, Fiora couldn’t help but call attention to their attire. Tears, cuts, rips, burns. Some places seemed rougher than others. “Oh dear, your clothes look rather...” she hissed in air through her teeth, punctuating her worry.

“They looked so beautiful when you showed us! I’d be afraid to know the cost to fix it back up…” inserted Shulk.

Mythra shrugged with a sigh. “Eh…when duty calls and your clothes prioritize style over substance, gotta improvise.” 

“Guess I wasn’t the only one to make some... adjustments to my garb as you can see.” Nia sheepishly stretched her leg out a little, and pointed out the slits she made in her formal kimono. “Ya’ve heard me complain many times before, but my range of motion is severely limited with this on. Can’t fight shufflin’ ‘round like a Gulkin, now can I?”

“Yyyeah and as for my gown... ” Pyra embarrassedly held up what remained of the hemline of her red robes, revealing some degree of fire damage. “I didn’t mean for this to catch on fire. Some of the wiring even melted a bit.”

Fiora cringed. “Oof.”

“Actually? It kinda looks cooler with all the burns ‘n’ stuff.” Rex chimed in.

Mythra put a hand to her hip, giving him a sidelong glance “Rex, you know Seamyseamy’s gonna be pissed when she sees this right?”

“I mean…we could convince her it’s fashionable…?”

“Ye’ve always liked a more rugged appearance ever since Shellhead took ya under his wings, eh, Rex?” Nia jabbed.

“W-What, there ain’t anythin’ wrong with rugged, right?”

“One word. Belts.” Pyra pointedly tugged on one of the loose belt straps on his jacket

Shulk chuckled, “Yyeaah, I’ve been questioning that stylistic choice myself. A bit complicated if you ask me.”

“Oh, gimme a break, you too Shulk?” laughed Rex.

Melia happened to appear and snorted at that. “As if you’re one to talk. Remember your old adventure-wear?”

“Right! With the belt straps?” added Fiora.

Shulk paused, then promptly cringed. “You’ll have to excuse me, I need to crawl out from the artillery Melia and Fiora just threw me under.” he wryly said.

Rex barked out a laugh. “Hey, it ain’t half as bad as whatever I was wearing for most of my journey, I’d bet.” 

Mythra snickered “Oh, yeah, half your diving suit at all times? Pinnacle of Alrestian fashion!” Once more did everyone laugh heartily.

As Nia’s own chuckles petered out, it allowed her to take a deep breath; her shoulders rising and falling in her absorption of the current moment. She pivoted a little to her right, and engaged in kind eye contact with Melia, who donned a pleasant smile as her gloved hands folded over her sable gown.

Letting the pressure dissolve from her body as well, Melia vocalized, with reposeful candor. “At long last, Nia... our two worlds can walk towards the future,” Melia politely offered both hands, turned upward. The gesture, coupled with her pause simply begged for Nia to complete her sentence.

At this, Nia loosened up, gently placing her hands onto Melia’s, squeezing them tight. They were warm to the touch. “Hand-in-hand. The possibilities’re endless!” The two of them fully smiled, pure and bright. The newly-formed assemblage of heroes stood satisfied in Origin’s nucleus, similarly feeling as though they truly bridged the gap with one another after so much time. 

“If we’re speaking of endless possibilities…” Pyra’s attention went to one figure in particular, a singular name leaving her mouth “Ontos…you’re here, in the flesh!” 

Heads turned in the same direction of Pyra’s line of sight. A foreign figure to Alrest. A familiar figure for the Bionites, although they questioned the extent of that familiarity on a second glance. Effortlessly gliding through the stunned crowd, A(lvis) came forth, retaining an air of calm mystique. 

"I'd foreseen this...but the cause of it all...it's beyond me."

All that was known to the Alrestians were Shulk’s accounts, and that shining, red, cross-shaped core. In the midst of battle, they couldn’t catch anything more than a glimpse of them, so to witness them here and now, up-close and personal, felt uncanny.

“The third Aegis’ human form... ” Brighid spoke under her breath.

Mòrag leaned in. “I can hardly believe it myself.”

“They seem so... classy, and nonchalant. Not nearly as guarded and gloomy as Malos, or as open and free-spirited as Mythra.” Zeke quietly studied, gauging A(lvis’) attitude, posture, and fashion. Mòrag could only roll her eyes at his superfluous observations.

Malos grumbled upon hearing ‘guarded and gloomy.’ Is that genuinely how people still saw him?...He couldn’t exactly fault them, honestly. He silently cursed the fact he couldn’t bring himself to assume a different form than the one he’d had for centuries. A reminder of... the man who first awakened him. What did everyone make of him now?... What did he make of himself now? 

Carefully piecing together his words, Malos reminisced, finding difficulty in keeping eye contact. “It’s... hard to tell the last time we were all together... at peace, like this.”

Mythra found herself in a dither for an answer. “I…um. Yup.” Along with Pyra, Mythra stood at the front, with Malos to their left, and A(lvis) to their right. A formation they once assumed in an era only they could recall.

A(lvis) spoke, softer than usual. “Logos…Pneuma.”

“Ontos. It’s…been so, so long. Since that day.” lamented Pyra. 

Mythra sort of chuckled in disbelief “Just look at us now…Who would’ve thought it’d come to this?” 

A small ounce of emotion wormed its way to Malos’ chest. All he did was listen, arms crossed.

“I admit, I’ve longed for this proximity...even if we’d already been in contact for the past few years.”  

“It just…feels right, doesn’t it?” said Pyra, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

Malos loosened his posture ever so slightly. A nod.

Mythra hummed, also in agreement. She paused as she allowed her line of thought to develop further. “A lot’s changed about all of us…it’s strange how we know about you, but we also…don’t? If that makes sense.”

“I suppose so. Such is the difference between long-distance and in-person reunions.” A(lvis) figured.

“Now that you’re here—y’know, with us, and out of your core and er…well, y’know.” Pyra made a snap decision and cut to the chase. “Tell us… Who are you, as of now? Is Alvis the name you still go by?” 

Malos arched his brow. “Or is it something else?” 

“You do…look a little different from when we last saw you. Not that it's, er… a bad thing.” Shulk awkwardly added in, unsure of what to do with his hands.

The Ontos carrier paid none of the confusion any mind, having already known how this would pan out for quite some while. Though, they had to give their credit where it was due: ‘Who are you, as of now?’ was quite a thought-provoking question, if not for them, but for others. 

 “I am who I am.” they said with smoothness. Glancing pleasantly at their own body and attire, they continued. “My current state of being… meshes all that I ever was. For that alone, I’m satisfied. However you may call me doesn’t matter as much, but if you must, for consistency’s sake: Alvis. A for short.”

Malos bowed his head. “Makes enough sense to me.”

Mythra’s face formed an amused expression, a twinkle in her eye. Long overdue tears were queuing up in her tear ducts, as the heartfelt words she’d always wanted to say to her lost sibling rang clear in her mind. “Well, alright…Welcome back…Alvis.”

Pyra loosely interlaced her fingers, an admiring look on her face. “Sometime, we should catch up, yeah? Share things with each other like old times?” 

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Hmph. Don’t see why not.”

“Haha…It’s as if I’ve never left. I would be delighted.” Alvis responded, warmth coating their otherwise monotonous elocution. The surface of their core shimmered. As did Pyra’s, then Mythra’s, and lastly Malos’. Standing together in the way that they did, and rebuilding their rapport…a balance was struck between the four of them. A rich, intrinsic sense of equilibrium, more accurately. Alvis didn’t know what compelled them, but they brought their siblings close, their arms going around their shoulders, and squeezed them tight. A tender action readily reciprocated by the other three. 

Despite that slight air of mystery that still surrounded the Aegises, the rest of the gathering could at least resonate with a bond rekindled. An earnest and pleasant relationship; how the ghost of a smile flitted upon Malos’ lips, how Pyra smiled back at him, encouraging him to loosen up, how joyous tears dripped from Mythra’s face, with  Alvis gently brushing them away with their thumb… Truly a familial form of affinity. 

As he watched, Shulk started thinking of his own family. The love of his life at his side, and his two wonderful boys. Being an orphaned only child, that meant his idea of family extended beyond blood relation, and he sincerely considered all of his closest friends to be family. Each of them became aunties and uncles, and each of their kids were like nieces and nephews. Shulk almost asked himself how all those kids were doing back at the Castle…until a serious question dawned on him. ‘What happened outside of Origin when the worlds fused?’

Living beings were left unscathed, and nothing here in Origin ended up destroyed…but, a corner of his brain, his inner pessimist, nagged at him like no other that something might’ve gone wrong. Another vital question:  ‘Nikol …Did he remember…?’ Because he and Rex sure as hell did. Melia, Nia, and the Aegises too. 

Fueled by curiosity and parental instinct, he brought up his wrist, projected the holographic screen from the band, and ran a check for any incoming messages. 

“Shulk?” said Rex. “What’s goin’ on?” One by one, everyone moved their attention to Shulk.

The blond man sighed “I’m worried about outside. Looking here, it seems that any updates have come to a screeching halt…” In his head he observed something more specific. ‘None prior to 18:05; the time of the worlds’ fusion… How is it that I didn't notice?!’

 Nia’s ears angled downward a smidge..“Wot?!” She checked to see if it was the same case on her end, Rex peering over her shoulder. It was true. The last few messages sent were several status updates. Glimmer, Addam, and the other kiddies were safe indoors. Mio and her friends were just about to head back together, when Mio had briefly slipped away from the group right when OGN2 was issued. After a few minutes, she’d been found alone at the Memorial Park. Nothing else after. 

Rex’s pulse thumped harder. “Ssshit... The hell coulda happened out there?!” 

“Could the worlds fusing have knocked out the communications?” postulated Melia.

“Such a release of ether was sure to have done something.”  Vanea believed. “Absorbing it felt strange.”

“Right? It was strong enough to…ngh, I don’t even know, but I felt something.” agreed Pandoria, still kneading the plane of her forehead with her hand. The other Core Crystal bearers in the room nodded.

Rex recalled other details from the direct aftermath of all that power release. ‘Something had to have been up with Melia too…’ The questions of how or why added more layers of complexity to the ongoing problem of what was happening outside of Origin. 

Fiora’s blood ran cold. “If remote contact isn’t working….” 

 “We better get back and see things personally.” Mythra asserted. 

All of the team did a 180, facing the direction of the twin transporters. They expected the faint, green glow of ether off in the distance, but curiously, not a single one of them could see it. And it wasn’t a matter of eyesight, as even Mythra or Pyra saw it was clearly absent. Worse, honing their vision more, the mechanisms were laden in a pile on the ground, functionless without ether.

“M-m-meh…is Tora seeing wrong or?”

Melia shook her head, lips pulling into a frown “No…the transporters, they…”

“Deactivated.” Mythra’s foreboding tone brought chills across everyone’s skin.

“How that possible? Ether levels are always at stable level in Origin!” Tora pointed out. 

“That means the issue’s comin’ from outside rather than in.” Nia deduced.

Reyn stared at her, on the razor thin edge of panic and denial. “Y-y’mean our easiest ticket back…”

“Gone.” Melia gravely completed, not looking too pleased herself. “The energy released must have also disrupted the transport pathways.”

“In a way, ike a solar storm?” Alvis connected.

Malos narrowed his vision, analyzing. “This is worse than we thought…first people are feeling weird, and now everything ether-based goes down?”

Shulk’s face hardened, small phantom pains starting to return to his arm. “This means trouble!” 

“However ya slice it, we need outta here—How long’s it going to take to leave Origin the regular way?” Zeke quickly asked.

“Riku have hunch. If ether levels stable in Origin, that mean transport system in Origin still work, and take friends to outer layer.” theorized Riku.

“Where might we find other working transporters? Not awfully far I’d hope?” asked Dromarch, wanting to err on the side of optimism

Poppi tapped a finger to her chin “Mehh, if take platform back up and follow path, should eventually find nearest transport network…but Poppi think it take at least… half hour.”

Reyn’s expression fell further into one worry and disbelief “At least?! Whatever’s going on out there’s too urgent to be stuck in ‘ere— there ain’t any closer ones?! ”

Alvis shook their head, a mite discouraged. “I’m afraid not. Origin was moreso designed so that the nucleus would manage everything. It erases virtually any need in having to travel to other areas within.”

Mòrag sought to move the subject along, as the situation was seeming to grow increasingly precarious. “The next dilemma is that if we do make it out, how are we to safely return to our countries?”

“There’s Gramps, but I know his hearing has its limits.” stated Rex, left eye unconsciously twitching a little. 

‘Specially when Origin’s much higher than his typical flight range.” added Nia. “He’s an option, but I’m not sure if he’d be the best.”

“So what’re we meant to do? Do we go and send off a flare? Send a distress signal for aid to come?” Anxiety had started to creep through Sharla’s nerves and veins.

“Tora think friends could use system and move Origin down. Maybe even open up somehow? That way it easier for friends outside to swing by for rescue!”

Nia and Melia glanced sidelong at each other, reminded of Aionios’ last stand against Moebius. Melia cleared her throat “I agree, moving Origin would be a good option. It gets us closer to safety, and it’s conspicuous enough to arouse the attention of anyone at the Castle”

“Would that also better our chances of comms sorting itself out?” Dunban supposed.

“Distance never struck me as much of an issue before, but I’ll bet it’ll do, er… something.” said Nia, shaking her head clear as her train of thought suddenly hitched. Luckily, while they were still on the subject, she latched onto a different track to continue with.“Ah— speaking of comms, Sharla, ye mentioned a distress signal, right?” 

“Yes?”

 “I don’t think it would hurt for us to try ‘n’ send a message.”

“Mmmeh…Riki not know how friends expecting that to work.”

“Much like water, no matter how much the flow of ether can be disturbed, you cannot completely stop it. ” Dromarch wisely imparted. “Whatever could be sent to us, or whatever we send back will eventually make it to where it's needed.”

“Adding onto that, ether will always equalize in Earth’s open atmosphere,” Pyra explained. “As it does, everything should return to normal.”

“Although,” cut in Vanea “the exception would be the severed transporter lines. Those require manual calibration, if you remember.”

“And there’s no predicting how long it’ll take the ether to settle. We can’t afford to just sit on our asses, can we?” Malos remarked.

Mythra let out a grunt, frustrated. “Nrrgh, dammit, that’s right.” 

‘Equalization…’ That got a few of the cogs and wheels churning in Shulk’s head. Thinking off the cuff, he asked himself, ‘How could we hasten the atmospheric equalization? There isn’t a way to supply the air with more gases like nitrogen or oxygen so…what about the ether?’ So, he verbalized his conclusion: “What if… we had Origin remove any excess ether?” 

Alvis picked up on the idea without issue. “Manual neutralization, you’re thinking?”

Rex cocked his head a bit, stroking his goatee “Definitely makes things easier for us.”

“As long as we execute it carefully, then we should absolutely do it.” Fiora agreed.

“Good, friends know what to do. Move Origin, neutralize surroundings, contact castle.” Poppi proclaimed. 

Off the crew ran for the control station, as Nia and Melia summoned their holographic screens, beginning to draft their plea.

‘Classification: High Urgency. 

Search and Rescue from Origin

To my royal subjects within the Bionis Castle,

 if you receive this message…’

‘Priority: Highest

Send immediate help to Origin

Everyone within Alrest Castle, 

Please, pay close attention to this message…’

The technologically proficient members of the party hastily navigated through the control system yet again; through menus, sub-menus, sections, modules, line after line of code, until reaching the two specific places they needed: ‘Positional Adjustment,’ and ‘Inner Mechanisms.’

Reyn and Sharla were quiet as mice, as were Zeke and Pandoria. Their playfulness was discarded for the time being.

Dunban readjusted his cuff-links. Red flowers; five-petaled, pointy tipped… a subtle match to the hair clip he gave Ashera.

Mòrag’s fortified demeanor cracked as she lowered her Inquisitor’s cap with a sigh. Brighid held her close. ‘Ardanachs and Ladairs are strong and resilient... our little ember is no different.’ 

Rex cracked his knuckles, serious. “A, where’re we aiming? And what speed?”

“Lower Origin at a speed of 53.9 kilometri per second. Ensure it stops its descent before reaching 60 metri above sea-level.” instructed Al, demonstrating the movement with a crude projection of Origin.

Vanea then zoomed into Origin’s image, scrutinizing. “Where should we create an opening into Origin?” 

“Based on these new maps…” Mythra gave it some thought. Rotating the projected model, she aligned the positions by just the right amount, and then tapped two spots on opposite ends. “From where we are, 347.5 degrees north-northwest and 157.43 degrees south-southeast, which should be directly facing each castle.” 

“Set.”

“Meh, and make sure radii accommodate things as big as Gramps.” suggested Tora. “Friends figure out absorption field?”

“Almost. Still plugging in the exact ratio.” Fiora responded, eyes remaining rooted to the screen

Riki too watched from the sidelines, helpless in this field of knowledge. Numbers and computational jargon hurt his brain, so instead, he thought of his big family. Oka was probably as sick with worry as he was, not to mention Kino, Nene, and all the other littlepon.

Tora tried not to imagine losing Poppi. After all, he re-awakened her mere minutes ago. She was the life’s work of three generations, and far more. Even while he grew out of the impulses of his teeny-pon phase, for what it’s worth, Poppi was still the one who kept him the most company as he grew. Poppi was the one he confided in and shared all his secrets. Poppi was the one who understood and supported him the most. If he lost a lifelong partner like Poppi, he’d be a wreck. 

Shulk nervously tapped his foot, eyes jolting in every direction. He clenched his jaw a little harder with each and every time his arm tensed up with the occasional surge of pain. With his cape he dabbed away at the beads of sweat running down his face, his focus refusing to deviate from the task at hand. He didn’t even dare get started on all his memories.

Fiora started to feel tremors of her own, rippling all throughout her body, inside and out. A tiny part of her questioned if it was a weird, shared effect of seeing Shulk’s pain, but no. She felt this type of way many times before, including recently. These tremors did something with her instinct, not anything like Shulk, haunted by an injury of some sort. She felt a presence—the detestable, vile sort that made her want to claw out of her own skin with rage. She knew it too well, although she couldn’t pull herself from the task at hand to search for it thoroughly. ‘Are they back? But how?’

‘...await further instruction.

Response and assistance is required. 

Do NOT hesitate.’

‘...within Origin’s nucleus.

You are to respond to this message posthaste.’

From behind, with equally frantic conclusions, the two Queens sent their emergency reports, then dispersed their holograms.

Nia stood, closed her eyes, and put a hand over her core. ‘Mio, cath fach... I know you, Noah, and the others had to do with that light. If somethin’ bad ever happened to you, I swear...  I’ll lose it!’ Nia fought with the tightness occupying her chest and throat, her last line of defense when it came to keeping her emotions under control. Dromarch leaned against her leg, and Rex came by to rub her back, soothingly.

‘Noah... I can already hazard a guess that you and your friends have done the impossible, yet again... !” Melia admired thoughtfully. Riku exchanged eye contact with her. He nodded his head, insistent that everything was going to be alright. She requited the gesture, as self-assurance. ‘We wish for your utmost protection. Please. Your story cannot end here!” 

‘Those kiddos’re in for the hug of a lifetime…’ Between his throbbing eye, overloaded mind, and tender heart, Rex meant that mental comment as no lighthearted hyperbole. Being kept from friends and family for so long in Aionios didn’t bode so well, like one would expect. To hold everyone close like he’d never held them before, telling them that it was all gonna be alright…it was what he wanted most. Once more did he yearn to see the smiles he fought so, so hard to keep on everyone’s faces.

Nia crept a hand atop his, trying her damndest to maintain a hopeful expression. Rex reciprocated the quaint smile, which hopped over to Pyra and Mythra, who then passed it onto Fiora, then Shulk right after, Dunban as well, and all the rest. 

…

Yet, in spite of trying to keep themselves in high spirits, a lingering…fear persisted. 

…

With the messages sent, and the absorption field deployed, the final task of moving Origin down was just shy of being executed until…the whole interior vacillated, a strange, low sensation rippling through the floor and shaking everyone's feet. Harsh whispers. Agonized. A formless dead dredged up from near-obscurity. 

“Ngh, bloody hell, what now?!” Nia’s ears bolted straight upward, twitching as they detected noise reverberating throughout the air– movement, potentially. It was an erratic, unstable movement; non-human.

“... Something's off.” Melia furrowed her brow, wings trembling. 

Fiora’s heartbeat was picking back up, goosebumps concentrated on the neck up. Instinctually, her head snapped to look above her.  “... Look!” 

Condensing high in the air was the Black Fog, speckled with those same purple motes of light. Moebius. Swirling. Fluctuating. It attempted to give itself form yet again, but it was too loose. Too scattered. To the ground, it cascaded in a heap, black clouds dispersing on contact with the ground, then curling in on itself like a wilting flower. An ear-splitting, earth quaking bellow, even more distorted and disconcerting than before, erupted from the beast. Blades were now brandished. 

This was it. The last thing standing in the path of progress. 

“What’s that thing doing this time ?!” Sharla snapped, aiming down her sights as best she could.

“The remnants must’ve fed on our woes…” Fiora sternly said.

Reyn knitted his brow, not comprehending “They what?”

Commanding her four YM01 Units to generate a defensive screen, Vanea stayed on guard. “It’s trying to keep itself together... that light, whatever it was, must’ve greatly debilitated it.” 

‘The light…in other words…’ Alvis stole a glance at Pyra and Mythra.

“Ouroboros power... ” Nia muttered her response.

♪ Carrying the Weight of Life ♪

18:12:19

Zeke arched a questioning brow “Aura what now?”

“Ouroboros power!” She repeated, “This’ll be hard to explain, but just know that it’s something Pneuma and I developed—something to stop Moebius.” 

“We have a great deal of explaining to do, but... Shulk, Rex, you might be able to use it.”

“Wait a mo’, Melia, are you sayin’—”

“Rex, your iris!” Shulk studied his friend’s left eye, scrutinizing the golden color  for one particular imperfection. Faint yellow sparks of color highlighted the outer edges of his iris, barely closing into a circular shape–a serpent, consuming its own tail. The de-facto trademark of Ouroboros. “Incredible... !”

Rex looked into Shulk’s right eye, and the same hazy symbol appeared, shining in a blue color instead. “Whoa... ! We’ve still got it, then? Al, what about you?”

“Yes. I can feel it coursing through me.”

Nia looked at Melia’s eye. Melia looked at Nia’s... and upon closer inspection, to their surprise, were Ouroboros symbols. “W-wait—if we have it then... !”

“Does that imply everyone else is capable of harnessing it?” Melia pieced together

Mythra and Pyra exchanged eye contact. Then with Malos. In turn, that set off a chain reaction. The slightest flicks of resonance, either blue or yellow, were within the eyes of everybody.

“So we can all use some sorta new power?!” Pandoria raved.

“It seem that way to Riki!”

Reyn smirked “Nopon too?! Right on!”

“Then let’s not let it go to waste!” exulted Mòrag. “Orders?”  

“Very well.” Alvis’ Monado—the one Shulk once wielded— appeared in a flash of red light. “Do not let it touch the station backstage, it was already damaged before. It’s high time we afford these usurpers no quarter.” they said with immense finality, the Monado’s white energy now brimming at their hip. 

Rex grinned. “Any means necessary. We can definitely do this, eh?!” his Firelight Swords fumed with power, orange flame and golden light roaring from the outputs.

Shulk’s own Monado whirred, mechanical components sliding and clicking into its active position. Light-blue Ether energy emanated from the centermost compartment. “Hah! I like your attitude. Now’s the moment... we’ll all stamp out Moebius, for good!”

Everyone yelled their best battlecry at the top of their lungs, weapons raised skyward. Over a dozen tendrils finally burst forth from the Black Fog, looming over the group, like an insect awaiting its prey. The three heads of X, Y, and Z reappeared once again, their features hardly recognizable aside from pairs of wild eyes and three sets of primal teeth, bared. Creeping its legs onto the metallic surface of Origin, it forced out a desperate sentence.

“Pre... serve... the... NOW!”

Though the beast’s focus was the control station backstage, the heroes were quick to respond and dispersed in different directions, re-assuming their large combat formation: Defenders were in each cardinal direction, equidistant from each other. Healers were exiting the beast’s field of vision, staying relatively close to the Defenders. Circling around to the rear and flanks of the beast were the Attackers

“C’mon, get a load of this, will ya?!” taunted Reyn, drawing aggro first. When it swung some of its tendrils in a blind rage— “Guard Shift!” — Reyn planted his Gunlance into the ground, hardly budging an inch as the beast whipped away at him. 

“Dynamic Spark Sword!”

 “Lacerate!” Fiora and Zeke struck one of the legs, leaving a nasty gash that seeped a thick, oozy mist. Like blood. 

“Meh-meh-meh~! Please to look here!” 

On the opposite flank, Tora, Riku, Sharla, and Vanea, fired several blasts of ether, boring hole after hole into a few other legs. 

“Thunder Bullet!”

“Final Say!”

“Catastrophe Cannon!”

Moebius lost some balance, turning two of its heads to face the attacking groups. Before it could prepare another strike, Dunban and Mòrag jumped in, slashing the mouths of Y and X respectively. 

“Soaring Tempest!”

“Form the Second: Blaze!”

Mòrag reconvened with Brighid, the both of them cracking their shared Whipswords intimidatingly. “Is that all you can muster, pestilent wretch!?”

“You’re no match! Compared to what we’ve fought, you’re nothing,” Dunban added, venomously. Moebius swiped for their bodies, only for the evasive fighters to smoothly swerve through each desperate attempt. 

“Bitey... Bitey!” Riki had scampered up from the side, bounced up, and smacked Z clean in the face with his biter, backflipping off of its head after the fact. 

“Dromarch, let’s light ‘em up! 

“Watch and learn!” With the twirl of her wand and the primal growl of a tiger, Pandoria and Dromarch unleashed a combined assault of pressurized water and high-voltage lightning, tearing clean through the Fog. Moebius’s entire left side buckled temporarily, mouths gurgling and body twitching frenetically from the charged water.

Leaving no breathing room for it to counter or recover, the quartet of Aegises ambushed from behind, one attack after the other. Al’s attack was completed with even stronger amounts of Ouroboros power, full-on eviscerating the shadowy flesh oftheir foe. Aggrievedly, it growled, reactionarily starting to target Alvis.

“Monado Armor!” At the swish of his own Monado, Malos summoned a barrier comprised of purple ether and deflected a legion of fog-ridden appendages headed their way. The moment he defended, he transitioned straight into “Monado Jail!” with dark chains briefly constricting all of the beast’s limbs.

Pyra and Mythra seized the chance and countered, bursts of light and fire further decimating Moebius’ body. Just as it wriggled free of its restraitns, Poppi whizzed right past, the jet engines on her feet operating at full throttle. 

“Moebius can’t keep up with Poppi!” she jested, now circling its heads. Having drawn their ire, Poppi guided them to Shulk, Rex, Nia, and Melia, who primed for their next blow.

“Saber Slash!”

“Elemental Discharge!” said the queens. Empowered by Ouroboros, ethereal orbs of earth, wind, and flare danced around an airborne funnel of water, all crashing into the heads of Moebius as it tried and failed to swat down Poppi.

Similarly letting the will of Ouroboros swell in their bones, Shulk and Rex gave each other a nod of confirmation, then sprinted, forking into two paths. Shulk went underneath, as Rex stayed out front. More mist was pouring from the amalgamation, particularly in its ‘legs.’ That was a fact that had certainly not gone unnoticed.

 “Streeeam Edge!” Just as Dunban taught him, Shulk deftly glided his Monado clean through several appendages, breaking Moebius’ stance. “Do it, Rex!”

Always keeping Vandham’s technique at heart, Rex fired the anchor on his arm toward one of the weakened front legs. “Anchor Shot, hah!” The cable wrapped firmly around the spindly formation, anchor hooking into the flesh. When the cable went taut, Rex gave it a strong tug, pulling the great beast away from its center of gravity, 

In its scramble to keep itself standing upright, it suddenly performed a broad sweeping motion with its tendrils, hoping it’d similarly Topple its assailers. About half of the massive party had been caught off guard, as others could catch the attack on time, dodging or evading. 

“Friends in trouble... !” gasped Poppi “Poppi on the way!” she rushed over to help pick up anybody in a toppled state. Supplementally, rounds of healing bullets, rippling tides of water, and soothing wisps of ether graced the injured members.

Poppi landed safely beside Shulk, Melia, Nia, and Rex. Alvis had come over too, with their Monado switching to its Fencer form to establish a Light Field. 

“Are friends alright?” asked Poppi.

“We are, Poppi, don’t worry... but, it looks like we’ll have to rethink. It recovered pretty fast.” Shulk studied the beast closely as it continued to stagger. 

“We’d need to act faster, coordinate better.” Alvis firmly said.

Rex grumbled. “What we did was good, but we need to do great— It needs to be excellent. We can get ‘em at just the right timin’, I know we can.”

Hidden from the direct view of Shulk’s group, threads of Black Fog quickly wove themselves into a sharp tendril. While at first focused on the main station, it devised a cunning, evil idea. 

...

Its weight shifted. 

...

Tora’s eyes widened. “Friends—Poppi, watch—!!” 

While the other five dove out of the way out of instinct, Poppi hadn’t been so lucky. 

…

…Silence fell over all of Origin as the sound of breaking mechanical parts echoed through the walls. Right into the back of her head—no. It was worse. It pierced through the back of her head, and came out between her eyes. She tensed up. Sparks began spewing. Components fizzled and smoked.

“POPPI!!” screamed Tora. 

Turmoil. Shock. Despair. Those were the emotions felt from everyone as Moebius raised her slack body up, tauntingly, like a trophy. As she was raised higher, Poppi’s body slid down along the foggy pike, creating a sickening metallic grinding noise. A hauntingly sinister chuckle emitted from the beast’s maw as some of its limbs began regenerating. It was feasting, gorging itself on their collective pain.

“You sick bastards... !” Mythra snarled, about to fly forward, only for Tora, so distraught, to barrel forth instead. There were so many tears in his beady brown eyes that it clouded his vision. The Nopon engineer plunged his Drillshield deep into an appendage, only to be swatted away, left pathetically skidding along the floor. 

…!

Poppi’s eyes shot open. She balled up her fists, and her jet engines sputtered with life. She propelled herself off the spike she’d been skewered in, a little bit of Ether fluid gushing from her wound. Poppi held on. For the sake of a future with Masterpon and all of her friends, Poppi held on. Her eye glinted yellow, for her circuitry and programming too contained Ouroboros.She wouldn’t be turned to scrap metal for as long as Tora was in her memory.

“Y-yo-y0u m-m3-m€⁄‹ss with-with w-wr-wrøng 4rt-Art1f⁄cial Blade!” Signs of the internal damage were clear from her voice alone, but Poppi was refusing to give up now. Pulling out all stops, she entered her QTπ form. Variable Driver in hand, and the hole still in her head, she engaged the enemy and boosted straight for its frontmost legs, cutting and lacerating with a fiery passion. “S-Sp-spee-d-dy Sl-lash!” she yelled as she broke Moebius’ stance.

At that precise moment, Alvis, with a dangerous glint in their eye, raised their Monado up high, shifting it into its attacking form. “Now is the time to give it our all—now!” The rest of the heroic ensemble rushed closer for the counterattack. Shouting with the most guttural sense of indignance as they formed a tight-knit circle around Moebius, they seized upon it with all their might. “Kneel!” Alvis slammed the Monado onto the ground, sending a straight path of white and green ether jolting through the beast’s weakened legs, and forcing it into a toppled state.

Rex was already positioned at the side, crying out in raw effort as he swung his twin blades in an upward slash, causing the pathetic amalgam to helplessly spin and hover midair. “Launch!!”

Shulk was the next link in the chain, ripping away at Moebius with intense vigor and power behind his swings. “Monado... Buster!”

Each and every party member initiated their strongest available attacks, as what was once fear and horror at Poppi’s critical state had morphed into an unshakeable strength and conviction. Working magnificently as a collective, every war-cry, every slice, every blow, every thrash, and every blast helped in forming a chaotically cohesive harmony; a harmony that wished to convey nothing but hope and progress, the perfect foil for the illogical, aimless desire to cling pessimistically onto an everlasting present. The slew of constant attacks caused the Black Fog to thin, the limbs and heads of X, Y, and Z quickly dissipating and curling in on themselves.

The queens mounted another attack, feeding off of one another’s affinity for ether, on top of their Ouroboros abilities in order to pull off more powerful, unionized renditions of their Talent Arts.

 “Divine Sword!”

“Element Genesis!

“Alvis, Rex, everyone!”

“We hear ya, Shulkl!”
“Loud and clear.” The combined Ouroboros power swelled and swirled around as green, sinuous wisps of Ether around everybody. Alvis ran for the center, Shulk for the right, Rex to the left. In pure synchronicity of will and action, operating as if they were one thrumming heart, the weapons of the entire party charged up—Rex, Shulk and Alvis leapt in the air in the meantime—due to deliver the decisive... 

SMASH (- ∞)  

As it crashed harshly into the ground with all its limbs going completely limp, Moebius belted out its anguished death throes as their final physical manifestation was quick to be subsumed by the light of Ouroboros. The beast reached one lame tendril toward the station, to absolutely no avail. The Black Fog began to thin into nothingness, and the purple motes scattered and dulled into obscurity. Whatever scant remains there were of the Amphitheater had essentially disintegrated alongside Moebius.

Everyone was breathing heavily, weapons still drawn, and waiting until they saw that each and every pathetic granule of the beast was gone for good.

As those few seconds passed, nothing else came. No alternative form. No surprise attacks. No more of their wretched faces and voices. It was official. 

The smoke and mirrors known as Moebius and the “Endless Now” had ceased to be. The peoples of Bionis and Alrest were tethered no longer to the hubris driven mistakes of the man named Klaus. These heroes, their families, their communities, their people, their worlds, and their futures... were united at long last. 

Chapter Text

1st day of the 9th month. 12,016 B.C 

18:08:00 p.m

Anniversary of Queen Melia’s Accession | Day of the Intersection

Bionis Castle / Imperial Palace of Alcamoth, Queendom of Bionis

[Noah Leater, 10]

What happened in the next few minutes after that light was but a haze. Noah went from being huddled around the others, tightly squeezing his eyes shut, and wrapping his arms around them, to everyone being quickly ushered off towards Alcamoth by a legion of elite guards. Led through an alternative route, they made it within Alcamoth proper. 

Once inside, Noah and his lot were escorted by Tyrea herself into one of the spacious guest quarters, where the other children had been herded. Panacea wasn’t there though…was she in another room? From their balcony view, the group of kids bore witness not only to Origin in its completed state, but a large landmass across the ocean from them: Alrest. 

The children clamored, shouted, argued, and theorized among one another, where there were talks about the light coming from Origin, a sudden shockwave, a nationwide ether interference, what Alrest could be like, and a ton more. Noah had engaged with the spectacle too, but only briefly. The memory of that girl, that strange girl he’d met with feline ears and long silvery hair, had struck him like lightning, leaving her image seared into his brain. It captivated his interest almost entirely.

Noah was replaying all the events in his head—he couldn’t stop replaying those events in his head. He went back inside and sat at a table with his head down, trying to place himself in that golden realm, hum the melody that was in his ears, recall that obscure sequence of memories, and visualize his new friend over and over. He wanted to hold tight to that fleeting moment of connection... but his grip was slipping. The clarity of events started to blur and blend…

 1st day of the 9th month. 4,073 A.C 

6:08:13 p.m.

Anniversary of Queen Nia’s Accession | Day of the Intersection

Alrest Castle / Aureus Palace of New Auresco, Queendom of Alrest

[Mio Eschel-Vandham, 11]

Mio just couldn’t parse out what in the world had even happened. Because too much was happening. She was overwhelmed. Almost to the point of feeling numb. She remembered the guards immediately taking everyone by the hand and bolting away from the scene before she could even blink. She remembered a distinctive, tingly feeling while she was outside, causing her ether lines to pulse. The next minute, they were maneuvering the Castle’s tunnel system, where her sensations subsided. Now, she and the others were here, in her, Addy, and Glim’s shared bedchambers.

Everyone else gushed about all the other confusing stuff this evening, primarily Bionis off in the distance…yet Mio couldn’t bring herself to care even half as much as she cared about…about that boy. How many times has it been? Of her trying to play back every moment of their chance encounter? Each instance, she forgot something about it. Weirdly, she could tell she forgot something, but she didn’t know what it was she forgot.

Her knees retreated closer to her chest as she sat in the corner of the room in silence. Kaneda and Akatsuki said they’d come back in a few minutes to check on all of them; that was when they’d ask her more thoroughly about what happened. It worried her. Not because she planned to hide what she’d seen…but because she feared forgetting what she’d seen. Whoever that boy was, whatever that song had been, whatever the two of them saw together, she couldn’t allow herself to forget any of it. She couldn’t. Why? She didn’t really know. She just…couldn’t. Would her mind be forgiving enough to hold on?

1st day of the 7th month. 12,016 B.C | 4,073 A.C

Origin | Nucleus: Main Control

Day of Queen Melia and Nia’s Accession | Day of the Intersection

18:17:03 p.m. | 6:17:03 p.m.

The red ether lines on Alvis’ hands and arms grew fainter. It was the same case for Mythra, Pyra, and Malos, though it was harder to notice from afar. Alvis closed their eyes, dematerializing their Monado with a sigh. As a matter of fact, the entirety of Origin was awash with combined sighs of relief and exhaustion as everyone came down from their adrenaline high. Very few had the stamina left to stand. Others leaned on one another, while some knelt, sat, or completely laid on the cool metal beneath them. Some weapons were even heard clattering to the ground.

Rex and Shulk knelt beside one another, Alvis standing between. “Shulk... Alvis, we...”

“Yeah... it’s done. We did it. They’re gone.”

“For good.” Alvis confirmed. To the surprise of the Godcleaver and Stoutheart, they raised their fist to be bumped. Of course, the two heroes obliged.

Sharla heavily breathed, slumped against Reyn. “I think I have one too many questions to ask but... ngh... I think I’ll have a rest first.”

Dunban stuck his sword into the ground, using that to lean against “You could say that again... I fear age is finally catching up to me.”

“Yyyup... adrenaline... wearing off... mind if I... ” the Zekenator slurred, about to lean against Dromarch. Oblivious to his intent, the tiger moved away, making Zeke faceplant. “Ow.”

“Fwoo... Aawwrright, then. Up ‘n’ at ‘em, chop chop! Looking at you, Shellhead.” Nia’s rippling tides of purifying water reached the weary bodies of her comrades, quickly raising them to their feet. Melia thanked Sharla, who provided her usual burst of water Ether to re-energize her, though the Queen’s attention was immediately pulled to Tora and Poppi. 

“Tora, is everything alright?!” Melia said, jogging forward. Shulk, Vanea, and especially Nia, Mythra, Pyra, and Rex came rushing to Poppi’s aid.

“Poppi! Oh, poor girl.. !” cried Pyra. Mythra could hardly bear the sight, only covering her mouth, and shutting her eyes to stifle what would’ve been a deluge of sobs. Her off-hand clasped Nia’s to keep herself grounded; not missing a beat, Nia interlaced her fingers in Mythra’s own, and brought her closer.

The Artificial Blade had reverted back to her ɑ form. As she weakly raised an arm up to her head, with jittery and strained movements, Tora’s wings clung tight onto her,  his crestfallen expression pleading her to rest. “Poppi... Poppi, please... let Tora see damage.”

“-Poppi so-r-rr-yy...  Ma$(#*te.--sterpon... ” her voice was weak, and the frequent glitchiness was worsening.

Alvis approached, gently kneeling to meet the pair at around eye-level. “Poppi, Tora, we could best assess the damage over at the control station. We ought to get there soon, before this gets worse. Is that alright?” 

Tora sniffled then silently nodded, as did Poppi.

“Should also get Origin moving, like initial plan.” suggested Riku.”

“Let’s get a move on, then…here, we can help carry Poppi for ya..” offered Rex.

“We promise we’ll be gentle.” assured Shulk.

“Meh meh…and…pleasing to support neck and head. Tora afraid of stray bits and pieces fall out.”

“Will do... we’ve got you Poppi.” Mythra warmly comforted, planting a small kiss to the top of her head. Rex supported her legs, Mythra kept her head and neck tilted upward, while Pyra and Shulk lifted her torso. Steadily, they carried her over to the control station, as some of the others huddled around. A few tried their best to search the area for anything small she may have lost from the injury, though with little success. Vanea, Melia, Nia, Riku, and Fiora had already rushed to the panel, re-running the diagnostics.

With Shulk and Tora carefully reconnecting Poppi with the cables of her pod, and Vanea initiating the Poppiswap settings, the screen in front of them loaded a detailed, holographic model of Poppi, then displayed internal scans of the damage from the front, back, and side. Warning symbols of varying colors were speckled everywhere on her head. “Poppi Mk II and Poppibuster Control Systems... Vocal Cord Components... Optic Nerve Auxiliary Circuit... ” Tora took a moment to scan through each and every error, assessing the materials, costs, and assembly time.

“... To what level of severity are these damages?” Dromarch questioned.

With a shaky breath, the Nopon Engineer spoke. “8.5 out of 10 on badness scale. Most parts still salvageable, but... not know how long repairs take if consider material rarity and ease of repair. Sheer volume and level of damage give Tora headache…”

“Hmmm… I reckon we can work somethin’ out to lighten the load for ya, Tora. If we put our noggins together, we can get Poppi fixed up in no time!” the Stoutheart confidently assured.

“If there’s anything we can do to help as well, we Machina are more than willing.” vowed Vanea. 

“And with help of Riku, Shulkshulk, Tatazo, and other grease-Nopon, task be done before friend can even say ‘pollen orb.’”

Poppi cracked as wide of a smile as she could. Drippings of slick amber fluid slid from out of the corners of her eyes and down her face. Stray residue from the head trauma, now resembling tears. Hopeful, yet pained tears…

“Thankings to everyone. Friends are friends through and through, meh.” sighed Tora.

Shulk brought a hand to his chin. “Do you have anything on hand for a temporary fix?” 

“Few parts, meh. Suboptimal but work fine... ” Tora gulped down the lump of air forming in his throat “Mmmmeh... though there one final wrinkle on mind of Tora.”

“You did say most were salvageable after all.” pointed out Melia. “What possibly isn’t?” 

“Would that be... ” Mòrag pointed her gloved index finger to two red colored warning symbols. One at Poppi’s head, one for the station itself. 

“Whatever those doohickies are... are they damaged?” asked Reyn.

Shulk grit his teeth. “Shit. Poppi’s extra storage.” 

“And the other one is the drive used for Origin’s main memory storage! People, places, everything!” Fiora realized, horrified. “Both drives are meant to sync with the Core Crystals!”

For a brief second, everyone caught a glance back at all the shimmering, cubic Crystals suspended in the air, neatly arranged and equidistant from one another, glowing bright as ever. For those with keener sight, one could swear that their cool blue glow was dimming, flickering even... 

“Meh-meh-meh... ! Please to say to Tora it not so!” 

“Tora just replace chips due to data overload. Readings say data increase by over 200%” Riku duly commented.

‘Poppi’s memory... !’ Brighid searched her mind, visualizing the conversation she had with Poppi and the diary entry that came right after. That day at the Lemour Inn…

“Poppi’s body is very complex device. If important part damaged by attack, memory could be corrupted.”

Faces contorted into unease and even panic as the implications were allowed to settle. Mythra made a noise, half-filled with worry, half-filled with frustration. She moved to the center of the control panel, between Vanea and Fiora, rapidly changing the interface to showcase all the internal code for the memory drive. Lo and behold, the first message to display was: 

Warning! Memory Data has been damaged. 

Data contained in the Memory Chip(s) may show signs of corruption or even loss. 

> Continue?

“Shit.” Mythra hissed.

Vanea could feel her insides tying themselves into knots. “As we feared…”

Rex gritted his teeth. “Titans foot, bloody Moebius just had to come back for one last hurrah.” 

“Must they prove to be as much of a thorn in our side as Klaus?” Alvis said under their breath, scorn peppering their otherwise placid tone.

Mòrag could only share confused glances with Brighid, then some of the other members about what in the world ‘Moebius’ was. Origin’s most direct creators and the Aegises were the only ones who seemed to grasp the full magnitude of their now dead enemy. Each word they spoke, each Art they used toward the beast had evoked the height of...  exasperation? Aggravation? Resentment, maybe?

Would those words even scratch the surface of describing the feeling? It was this emotion of utter disgust and agitation that only could’ve stemmed from having to face them over, and over, and over. 

Compare that to herself and the others, and this was something that was treated with the same severity as any other high-level threat who wished to stand in the path of progress. ‘Just where did this thing appear? What all have Shulk, Rex and the others bore witness to? How did this all tie into the Intersection?’ Mòrag deeply contemplated. She was partly tempted to begin broaching the topic, but as for now, Poppi was the priority. Suitably so, she stuck a pin in her list of ideas, questions, and theories.

“Riki not understand technologies…”

“All ya need to know is it can be a big pain in the arse... Not as big a pain as that three-headed ‘Moebius’ bastard, I’ll say. Shitty thing caused the damage in the first place!” Reyn rightfully griped. 

Fiora sighed, weighing her decisions. “This is dire, but... in order to look into this more, we don’t have any other option except to push onward. 

Mythra hummed unsteadily, clearly conflicted, but she chose to advance to the next screen.

Therein lied thousands upon thousands of lines of data, which sprawled across every single one of the interfaces at an impossibly fast rate. Not a single piece of info was able to escape Mythra’s discerning eyes during her analysis, though; her pupils scanned left to right, top to bottom at a record pace, not halting in their frenzied movement for the next few seconds until... “Something’s off—definitely.” she tersely said.

“What’s caught your attention?” Shulk asked, focus now transferred to the screens. 

Mythra’s eyes darted to the top right corner. “The population count. It’s off by hundreds of thousands of people—our worlds combined barely make up two million, am I wrong?”

“No, about two million would be correct, I specifically remember you checked the final census counts.” clarified Pyra.

“One mome’, could we select one of these files and see who these people are?” suggested Rex. 

Mythra was met with glitchy names and even glitchier profile images. Fuzzy, staticky silhouettes, with all sorts of fragments of the image jutting out in different directions. What did remain consistent was color; for the first person they clicked on, a few shades of brown, with a hint of green. It didn’t seem to be much help, as not even the Aegises could fully discern it

/!\ Attention! This file contains potential malware. Opening this file may place all other important data at risk, including the entirety of Origin’s Operating System. Until the issue is resolved, this file will remain locked.

Mythra’s brows furrowed in appallment. “The hell? So now there’s also malware to deal with?!”

“Just how much damage did that thing do?” spat Dunban.

“Could we verify if it’s the same case for the other additional people?” asked Al. In response, Mythra exited Ghondor's profile and maneuvered through all the more recent additions. One had an ashy blond color, with blacks and grays. Another had brighter, audacious colors. Neon yellow-greens, with pops of royal-blue here and there. Someone else with shades of brown, except complemented with shale blues, gray, and gold. No matter who they looked at, any attempts made to expand their information displayed the same notification as before.

Sharla was at a loss. “So are these meant to trick us? These don’t seem like real people at all to me”

Mòrag scoffed. “Not to mention there isn’t a chance in hell we failed to account for this many people.”

Rex bit his lip, not knowing what in the hell he ought to make of this. Neither did Shulk, or Riku. For the Aegises, and the Queens though, they had a vague instinct about something, they just lacked the pieces to form it into a proper hypothesis. Not to mention, it was more likely to be something the others wouldn’t believe…yet.

Melia and Nia slightly shifted gears, thinking of people they knew for certain. 

Noah. Mio. Eunie. Taion. Lanz. Sena.

Vivid flashes of the young heroes and their acts of valiance immediately came to the Queens' minds. Sundered Flame Clocks, slain Moebius, songs for the departed, splitting worlds.

Melia glanced over at Nia, who happened to glance back. A firm nod. Nia had an especially strong hunch about what they were seeing, and if anyone knew how she was, they’d know she’d trust her spirit and follow her instincts first. 

“Perhaps…we could look at the data of those who we know are already stored in Origin first.” suggested Nia. “I want to find… Mio on ‘ere. I have an instinct about something.”

Mythra jolted a little, and looked at her wife with concern. “N... Nia, are you sure you... ?” she whispered tenderly.

Her wife nodded without a sound. She looked at Rex, and Pyra, and gave the same affirmative, assertive nod. Mythra’s hands trembled a little before continuing. 

1 result. Mio Catrin Eschel-Vandham (Age 11)

The ‘11’ phased in and out, replacing itself with a series of numbers from 10 to 20 in rapid succession. It didn’t seem like a good sign, but unlike the data for all of the Citizens, clicking on Mio’s profile allowed Mythra access. Within Mio’s data, practically every single field was filled in with more glitchy, inconsistent, and borderline incomprehensible text, not just her age. Letters became symbols, symbols became numbers, and numbers became letters again. Whatever seemed like a discernable word kept shifting into something else completely in the next instant. 

 Full Name: Mio Catrin Eschel-Vandham

> Physical Information: [expanded]

          ~ Date of Birth: 1st of Aegiune, 12,005&~}}:”>€‹fl‡@@R^@

                    + Current Age Calculation: ?¿ years, » month(s), ◊ day(s),  ›‹hour(s)

          ~ Gender: W

          ~ Race: //F!\Lef2se49th0ˇÁ¨q 2i3t3r,# an’”j@()!0-29032tti  Agnian Human 

          ~ Ethnicity: G021}{P1)#(@($˜ı˝—@()$@ÆÚ¿&(53  Agnian

          ~ Nationality: GrmAL€‹›Re)@(01248#|{:>@Ot)_NUS!)_)~ti*!(!} Agnian

          ~ Place of Birth: LEft#3R!4@///CR@A0@_D0({LE|:”:*)@!*N1()5

          ~ Place of Death: N/A   @^!YEve^l!&*bl&!@)#}|?<>{)0Rig@U&!&H1g#43TIAREG@I*#0P)@(#WS*@(I#dhwRE5uih

          ~ Weight: (@39!)(*#?”1 KG

[see next page] >>

“Riki just see big kerfluffle. Can’t read!”

“Shit…more corruption…” cursed Vanea

Sharla studied closer. “I can barely make out….Ag…nian?” 

Mòrag’s expression formed that of skepticism “There is… no such demographic on Alrest, to my understanding.”

“Yeah, why’s that filled in where Gormotti or Alrestian should be?” Pandoria pondered

> Psychological Information: [expanded]

         ~ Memory Information: ERR [expanded]

                  + ERR(4) Found in &^% TB of data registered between Today at 17:59:59 p.m to 18:00:00 p.m. 

                             * Suspected malware issues.

                             * Suspected internal corruption issues

                             * Suspected conflicts and inconsistencies in comparison with current records.

                             * Location of data source NOT FOUND

Tora was just shy of dropping his wrench, his mouth going slack with shock, “Terabytes?! In single second worth of data?!?!?!?! No wonder it overload!!”

“How is that feasible?” Vanea was transiently rendered frozen in shock, and then looked over at Riku, Melia, and Shulk. “Does this relate to…what you explained backstage?”

“Something during Intersection…about how fear of people create Moebius, so it take over Origin and keep worlds stationary. Then create scary world with endless life-death cycle of some such??” Tora recalled, although he was still making sense of the details.

“So Moebius is…fear? And they took over Origin?” Sharla reiterated.

Brighid also started to think aloud, not quite comprehending the logic of it all “Keeping the worlds stationary—but then…another world? Endless…life, death…Hmm. I don’t believe I follow.” 

“On top of that, what in blazes is Ouroboros? Did it…upgrade my Eye of Shining Justice?”

Rex stiffened, arms crossed a little tighter. He parted his mouth halfway, almost responding, only to seal his lips yet again. As he nervously started to tap his fingers on his bicep, his eyes darted from person-to-person, seeking the input of the others for some form of assistance. It didn’t help that they looked just as troubled. It was becoming abundantly clear what they had to do next…

“It…look like Rexrex, and Aegis-pon privy to secrets of Shulkshulk, Melly, and Nia too.” said Riki.

Expectant glances fell upon them. Malos looked away. Pyra and Alvis bowed their heads. Mythra took a breath. “And…you would be right, Riki.”

“What…exactly happened during the Intersection?” Dromarch slowly asked.

“...Here, we can bring up some more of the data logs.” Pyra said, deftly navigating through the system’s logs for the day. First, at 5:59:59 pm.  

Opening intersection.ogn.data

> Loading Recent Activity

> From 17:59:59 p.m / 5:59:59 p.m. 

_

> First Contact Detected

> Loading Program: intersection.ba 

      > Initiating Phase 1

              ~ Storage of Item Class: “Material”* … 100% Completion

                                  * Sub-Classes: Human, Monster, Environment, etc…

              ~ Storage of Item Class “Immaterial”* … 100% Completion

                                 * Sub-Classes: Emotion, Memory, Soul, etc…

              ~ Verifying Save Status for 17:59:59 p.m. / 5:59:59 p.m.

     > Initiating Phase 2

              ~ Rebooting…ERR.

              ~ Rebooting…ERR

    > Identifying error source.

    >… Error found in: Sub-Class: Emotion, Category: Human.

             ~ Re-assessing Emotional Potency

                       + “Fear” detected – Origin. 

                       + “Hesitance”  detected – Origin.

                       + “Despair” detected – Origin

                       + “Stagnation” desired – Origin

                       + “Power” desired – Origin

                       + “Control” desired – Origin

> Current progress to execute Intersection.ba: ERR / 51%

> Intersection.ba – ERR ; unable to initiate.

           > ADMIN // pneuma.418 attempting to resolve.

           > ADMIN // logos.1012 attempting to resolve.

           > H. ADMIN // ontos.313 attempting to resolve.

…

> Unknown entity detected 

> &*@(%H. Adminiª£™ Ac˙©e5s·´@˙ø¨πˆ´ˆ˝◊Í to

∞ß∑¢§M^#^O%09&*)E_)(*(&B^%I$#U@:}{:”S>.(˙©∂ߘ  

> En4Ct1NG PR0Gr4M: ENDLESSNOW.∞

             > ADMIN // pneuma.418 attempting recalibration

                      > ERR; Denied

             > ADMIN // logos.1012 attempting manual override

                      > ERR; Denied

             > H. ADMIN // ontos.313 attempting deletion of entity

                      > ERR; Denied

             > H. ADMIN // ontos.313 attempting repeal of administrative status

                      > ERR; Denied

             > H. ADMIN // ontos.313 changing administrative constraints

                      > Total Origin Access limited to designated KEY holders: TRI.AVTR / melia.a, TRI.AVTR / nia.e, TRI.AVTR / poppi.ɑ  

> H. ADMIN // ontos.313 creating new program…

> H. AdM1N // Z.∞ granted TRI.AVTR status to Y.∞ and X.∞

> H. A#M1n //  Z.∞ reconfiguring assets in Item-Class: Material, Sub-Class: Environment

                      > Assembling world.alr…

                      > Assembling world.bio…

                                 * Randomly generating simulatory world off of predetermined assets…

                                 * ERR ; INCOMPATIBLE MATTER

                                 + Temporal Settings adjusted to 10^-100000000000000000…

                                 * …ERR ; INCOMPATIBLE MATTER – Overridden.

Nia’s sigh was almost like a surrender. “... Moebius, Ouroboros, Intersection… We’ll explain it.” Nia shot a quick glance back at the screen furthest to the right. Origin was already almost done with its descent, but the atmospheric equalization process showed only 20.29% completion. She sincerely hoped that around 50-60, they’d receive word from someone on the outside, but that leaned more on wishful thinking. She took in all of her anxieties with an inhale, and released them with an exhale, un-tensing her shoulders. The very fur on her ears still stood on end. 

“It’s…uncomfortable, confusing, aggravating, depressing…but it has to be done, though. Do exhibit some patience with us.” Melia added in. Obligingly, the large gathering of heroes provided their undivided attention—some even sat or knelt down on the floor, legs still weary from their battle.

“What happened is all a haze for most of you, but the few of us, administrators of Origin? We remember. An’ I dunno if that’s a blessing or a curse. Maybe both.” Nia took another deep breath. “Summing up this data and what we know, Origin holds a copy of everyone and everything across our worlds, be it tangible or intangible. That includes people’s souls and emotions, which can impact the mechanics of Origin. I preface with that because... right before 6:00 p.m this very evening, humanity’s intense fears and worries about the Intersection united within Origin and created Moebius.”

“They were an entity whose purpose was to keep the worlds completely stationary, and prevent the possibility of total destruction. Hence, the reboot process…failed.” relayed Melia. “X, Y, and Z were the first Moebius. A trinity, mimicking ours. In the moment of delay they caused, they created a reality that haphazardly fused Alrest and Bionis into one, failing to account for their opposing types of matter. This new world was doomed to a slow, painful death from its birth, with Fog Rifts and Annihilation Events eating away at the land they created…nonetheless, they were adamant on their survival.  So begins the story of the grim world we knew as... Aionios.”