Continued from here.
Final Chapter
"United We Fall"
Unbeknownst to Lalonde or anyone in the Command Center, Junko Enoshima had not slipped away under mysterious means. At some point, she had simply had enough of the yelling and fighting, deciding to retreat silently and explore the Coalition Headquarters she had only managed to hear about before today. Or at least, the today from her perspective. Time stuff was a bit confusing!
The majority of the activity ongoing in the base was centered around the Medical Bay, where Junko found herself wandering by curiosity. She watched the people rush around her, in a hurry to check on the heavy amount of wounded hurt during Umbrella's assault. She supposed the injured from whatever Ilona had accidentally done were here as well, which meant this room was probably experiencing more activity than it had in a long time. It was a little tough for Junko to watch.
Children who had somehow joined the Coalition's ranks were crying, though even some grown men and women were dropping tears as well. It was hard to miss the critically wounded, those who were unconscious or (sickeningly) missing limbs. Though it devastated Junko to watch such a concentrated amount of hurt and pain, she found herself transfixed by the scene. There were Coalition members at the side of every crying child and every member who needed the quickest medical attention. Even if the Coalition had messed up, it was clear to see that many of them cared deeply for each other.
If only she could stay...
Junko's wandering eye eventually caught sight of a familiar sight... or, she supposed, a familiar man. He was sleeping soundly in one of the beds and Junko was thankful he didn't stir as she approached to get a look at him. She looked down at him, examining his face as he slept.
"Ellis..." Just one of the many people she had met during her many shifts, though she had no idea if this Ellis had even met
her yet. Had he mentioned something like this happening? It didn't really matter, as Junko didn't plan to stick around long enough to find out. Whether it was her decision or not, she was soon to leave, off to another pocket in space and time. There was no point in holding on to emotional attachments if one knew they would always break sooner or later.
She lingered for a moment, staring at him just long enough that she felt comfortable with. As she turned around, she was surprised to find someone grabbing her arm and roughly pulling her away from the bed. She tried to scream, but a gloved hand was slapped over her mouth to muffle her cries. Things were just too hectic in the Med Bay for the scene to go noticed, though it helped that the woman's attacker seemed to have a knack for stealth...
***
Junko didn't know entirely where she was. At some point, her attacker had held his other hand over her eyes, leaving her disoriented as he carried her (presumably) throughout the Coalition Headquarters. She tried to fight him, to squirm out of his grip or activate her abilities, but she seemed unable to do anything at all with them ever since opening that portal in the Command Center. Was it related to the mist, or something more?
The attacker dropped her to the ground and let her go, allowing Junko to see she was in some kind of large meeting room with seating all around a center circle, though about half of it was buried in junk that had dropped from the ceiling. Before her, standing in the center, were two bald men. They both seemed almost familiar to Junko.
She associated one of the men's pointed ears with elves, so she figured he was one. He smiled at her.
"So the young girl has arrived," he said evenly.
"Brought to the place where she may finally end her journey."
"What the hell...?" Junko stood frozen at the top of a staircase that led down to the two men waiting for her.
"What is this?"
"It seems the time has come, my friend," said the other man beside him, hovering slightly above the ground.
Her memory was dim, but Junko believed this one was named Zaheer. He loomed, a proud grin on his face. Moving his way to the elf, he nodded. It took a lot of work between the two men for them to reach this point.
"I knew your cause was a noble one, Solas. Thank you for trusting me. I am glad to call you my friend." Zaheer's eyes glared slightly at the third man in the room. Junko could pick up on the fact Zaheer didn't seem to trust the other man in the room. Turning to Junko, Zaheer hovered slightly higher.
"Thank you too, Junko. I'm not sure if you recall, but you freed me some time ago. Which luckily led me to Solas. Which led to what this multiverse need most of call." Turning back to Solas, a firm nod came from the Anarchist.
"Change. It's time to embrace the true natural order, Disorder."
A leering grin seemed evident on the captor that had brought Junko here in response to Zaheer's statement about disorder. His features were shrouded in the shadows, and it appeared he had chosen to stay silent throughout this operation. Junko had a hard time making out many, if any distinct features about him. At least, ones that she could work with.
"Disorder is only one such cause among us."
"Oh, god..." Junko's hands raised to grab at the sides of her head. She shook it slowly, memories coming back to her.
"I remember you... Zaheer... Why do I think this isn't so you can give me a thank-you present?" She let out a small nervous laugh at that.
"Your memories are mere fragments," the elf, Solas, said.
"Splintered and cracked by the trauma placed upon your body by the Anchor. You do not remember me, even though we have met twice already. I had been testing you, to see if you could recall my face. You were just as lost then as you are now."
"The Anchor...? Are you...?" Junko raised her right hand to examine the scar placed upon it. Realization slowly hit her, and she felt as if she was falling.
"You call this thing the Anchor... You did this to me...?" She wavered on her feet, stumbling slightly to fall against one of the seats next to the stairs. Solas looked unimpressed.
"Come closer."
The elf raised his staff, conjuring some kind of energy that pushed Junko forward, forcing her to stumble down the rest of the stairs. Zaheer stood firmly as the energy gathered around Junko. Zaheer's voice called to her,
"Solas gave you a burden to bear untill he needed it back. This isn't just about you. You see, the three of us all have different wants and needs out of this Anchor. However, we all agree on a simple fact: We need to wipe the slate clean."
Junko stopped at the bottom of the stairs to stand before Solas and Zaheer. Her hands shook as she looked up to meet their twin gazes. Seeing them, staring into their eyes... she shrank away, turning to look upon her earlier attacker, only to end up stumbling once against into the stairs.
"If you gave this to me then take it away!" she yelled, tears forming around her eyes. She beat at the ground with her fists as she began to sob.
"Why me?! What did I do to deserve this?!"
Solas responded by pulling an item from one of his pockets, revealing it to Junko.
"The Orb of Fen'Harel was given to you so that you would act as an incubator for its power. This was necessary. There was no specific reason why you were chosen, no method to which I made the decision. It could have been anybody, but it was you, and now you have held the Anchor long enough for us to make use of it."
Junko looked up at him, the orb bringing up memories she had long since buried. Solas had posed as a merchant, having told her the orb would allow her to travel to other worlds. That it did, but little did Junko know the terrible burden she would be given in the process. Now she had been used in some insane plot she couldn't fathom the endgame of.
"... I don't want to die," was all she could say.
"You may have luck on your side."
Junko felt that magical force push her up and off her feet. Solas dropped his staff to grab hold of Junko's wrist so that her scar was pointed toward the ceiling. With the orb in the other hand, Solas pressed it to the Anchor, causing what felt like a great amount of pressure to build up in Junko's hand. As both the orb and mark began to glow green, Junko screamed.
Solas calmly pressed the two together, holding it there long enough for Junko's screaming to become a low whimper.
"... My, my, what a bother. I suppose the saying is true after all. Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth," a calm, feminine voice would suddenly say, interrupting the exchange between Junko and the three men.
With an uncharacteristically casual, almost uncaring mien to her, Leia Rolando let out a tired sigh, as though the presence of the strange men were nothing more than an inconvenience to her at the moment. Anyone who knew anything about her would know right on the spot that it wasn't like her to be like this, but in this moment, the individual that stood before the four people was confident that remaining in character wasn't necessary in this pressing time.
"I do all this planning, I keep this patient, and yet, as expected, mortals are so eager to fly close to the sun that they beat me to the punch. Of course, this simply means I'll have to try extra hard to catch up," she said, putting one hand on her hip while making a raising gesture with the other,
"No doubt, Othinus will be irritated that it turned out there was an unprecedented threat to the plan, but even more if she'd find out I couldn't deal with it appropriately."
Suddenly, with an expression that turned deathly serious, the girl's eyes went completely blank and deathly serious, devoid of emotion, some sort of killing intent replacing any semblance of true feeling.
"Looks like I'll have to dispose of you," she stopped, before her lips curled into a smile and letting out a brief, girlish giggle,
"... Oh, but where are my manners? I suppose a person is entitled to know who the one responsible for their undoing will be, right?"
The more and more the individual spoke, the more apparent one thing would have become for anyone present who knew anything about Leia Rolando.
That this was
not Leia Rolando.
And whoever this person was, they'd reveal that very fact shortly after they'd finish speaking. Suddenly, "Leia's" body would morph and shift, as though a parasite lurked inside and wormed around. The structure of her face changed a bit, as did the color of her eyes, and her hair suddenly turned blonde and began growing exponentially until it extended down to the back of the legs, and her body would become just a tad slimmer. The changes also extended to the clothing as well, as Leia's traditional outfit was replaced by yellow and black clothing. Grabbing the hat with their hand and tossing it aside, the transformation was complete, and the individual who had been posing as Leia grinned with malicious intent behind their teeth, extending out his fingers, summoning what appeared to be energy blades from his fingertips.
"My name is Thor. And while I'm sure that your plan is important to you in your own right, I cannot allow you to interfere with my own. That girl is coming with me... So I suppose this is the end of the line for you. It came sooner than expected, eh?"
Solas, who looked calm throughout this intrusion, barely paid him any attention.
"You're too late."
With that, the feminine looking man lunged forward towards Solas, Zaheer, and their mysterious third associate, ready to attack. He prepared to swing his arm around with the intention of cleanly cutting through them, before--
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the entire room before anyone knew it, and even Thor was taken aback by it.
***
It was not entirely long after Kyoko had moved the majority of the group into looking for Junko alongside Lalonde that something happened. A shaking rumbled through the halls of the headquarters, a movement so grand that it could have been mistaken for an earthquake if the base was located on a landmass of any kind. A strange buzzing energy followed after the rumbling, seeming to vibrate through the floor and walls of the base. Anyone with hair would feel it standing on end, as if in the middle of some kind of electric field.
"!"
Kyoko, an alarmed expression drawn on her face, would let out a sharp, yet brief gasp, as the halls would seem to violently shake without much logical explanation. She struggled to remain on her feet, but tried her best to refrain from touching the walls, if only out of paranoia that coming into contact with the vibrations would come as quite the physical shock that could threaten to numb her already less than unblemished hands.
Her mind raced as the situation suddenly went from calm to urgent once again, attempting to think through what the source of the vibrating could possibly be. If it could affect an area like this, then the easiest thing to think, assuming it was affecting not just this hall, but also extended to the rest of the headquarters, was...
"Could it be... coming from the Command Center?" She thought in exclamation aloud, eyes widening briefly, before proceeding to run towards the area, wasting no time in attempting to ascertain where this was coming from, all while attempting to retain her footing.
The portal left in the Command Center had grown in intensity, flashing green and shooting out a harsh wind that battered the group. Intense waves of energy beat at the debris left within the room from the fighting and sent it slamming to the walls. This energy was only growing in intensity, threatening to throw anyone in the room off their feet. Lalonde could only bark out a plea to run before the portal exploded and sent the group flying, some into the walls and some back out into the hall.
"Kyoko!" Makoto screamed, grabbing her hand before both he and her were carried into the air.
"Hold on!" The explosion ripped apart the ceiling and cut through the walls, sending out a tremendous force that was carried throughout the base.
***
Those in the Medical Bay soon felt the aftereffects of the explosion, a green wind whipping throughout the room to toss stray objects and knock over some of the beds. Though the force wasn't as powerful here, something else seemed to tug at the ceiling of the Med Bay, pulling it apart so that all inside could see the sky above. All Coalition members knew there wasn't even supposed to be a sky, for there normally was no actual space above the base. However, all could see the undeniable sight a swirling green void now occupying the space.
Looking up at the new sky, Jude was in at a loss for words. His arms fell to his sides, eyes wide in wonder.
"Im... possible..." Behind him, he could hear Byakuya issuing orders for the clean-up of the Med Bay. Jude slowly turned away from the green sky, watching as room exploded into outright panic over these developments. Even despite the explosion from before, even after Umbrella having taken over the building, everyone had assumed they were safe, To face a third tragedy now was almost impossible for some to bear at this point.
"Please wait... Please stop!" Jude ran toward the exit out into the hall, watching as people who were once loyal Coalition members flee from the room, injured and all. He could only assume they were heading to the gateways to make an escape, injured and all, though who knew what dangers they would face now.
Captain-Commander Kieran entered then, pushing against those streaming out of the room.
"What's happened?!" he asked, looking at Jude, but the young doctor could only shake his head in disbelief. The man broke free of the crowd, moving toward Jude, but something caught his eye,
"Blast... what the hell?"
Jude turned around to see what Kieran was looking at, his eyes catching a black mist draped in a green glow descending from the void above. It materialized into a form, taking on the appearance of a man Jude had only seen in Coalition documents.
"W-Wesker?!"
"... P-Protect the injured!" Kieran exclaimed, holding up his axe to fight this strange threat.
***
Makoto groaned, blinking at a blurry vision of green dust all around him. He waved at the air, flinching at the stiffness he felt across his body.
"Everyone--" Makoto had to pause as he got to his feet, feeling as if he had to exert great effort to do so.
"Everyone okay?"
"Ngh... Never better..." Gwen, who had followed Kyoko, Makoto, and the others, groaned painfully, clutching her arm as she'd stand up on her two feet again, having been unceremoniously been knocked into the wall and hit by some stray debris when the explosion had occurred. Still, she wasn't too badly injured, still able to use her super strength to go around and push away a few decently sized debris to clear up the pathway a bit.
As Makoto's vision cleared, the dust around him settled to reveal his comrades all around him, most only dazed by the explosion. The sole exception was
Erron Black, half-buried under debris and unconscious.
Makoto found himself looking up, blinking at the bright sky above, marveling at what was honestly a beautiful display. It was such an impossibility that Makoto wondered momentarily if he had hit his head hard enough to start dreaming, but the soreness across his body told him that this had to be real.
He looked back down at the others, looking for Kyoko. The Command Center had mostly caved in on itself, the majority of the ceiling littered across the ground. Everyone had thankfully been cleared of the debris by the blast, though Makoto couldn't help but worry.
"Where are you...?" His heart skipped a beat at how long it was taking her to find that familiar purple hair.
"I'm right here, I'm right here..." Kyoko piped up once she caught her bearings, evidently not too banged up by the explosion, other than her hair and clothes getting a tad dirtied through all the commotion.
"... Oh!" When he saw her, he was beyond relieved to see she seemed okay. Makoto ran to her and almost threw her into a hug, but he opted instead to just hold out his hand and help her up. He knew there was no time to waste.
"I-- You see it, Kyoko? The swirling mass, it's coming down to a point within the base. I don't know what's going on, but I can't do it without you..."
"Yeah, I see it. I can't make heads or tails of what's going on either, but... It certainly doesn't look great," Kyoko remarked in response, before taking yet another moment to compose herself, her mind still racing all the while mechanically, akin to a never-tiring machine solving problems. In this case, she was trying to solve one mystery after another. Specifically...
"... But where is it...?"
Where was it coming from?
She was almost ready to pace back and forth, a oddly nonchalant action for such a dire situation as now, but as luck would have it, as soon as she'd ask herself that question, the answer, or at least, a possible hypothesis, would strike her like lightning.
The center of the headquarters that connected all throughout.
"The Meeting Room!"
And just like before, she would break into a run, gesturing for others to follow behind her with an urgent
"Hurry!"
With a nod, Gwen and the others around followed suit as expected. Lalonde quickly offered to take Erron to the Med Bay, leaving them. Kyoko's physical stamina was practically as tireless as her mind in this moment, wasting no time in getting over to the Meeting Room in order to see if that was indeed the source of where the portal was coming from.
However, she wasn't prepared for the sight that would wait for her when she'd turn the corner.
An vast space of destruction and a sky that was not supposed to be there.
A crater that filled up the headquarters like a meteor crashing through a building.
Kyoko was speechless, skidding to a halt when she'd do so, not realizing how frantically she'd been panting. And without giving herself any time to recover, she would let out another gasp upon catching sight of yet another peculiar sight; Junko Enoshima, smack dab in the middle of the area, isolated like an island surrounded by destruction.
"E-Enoshima...?!"
"Makoto!" yelled someone, running up to the group. Makoto turned his head to find Sorey joining them, as well as Mikleo.
"We came as soon as we can...! Whatever's going on in the sky, it's spreading malevolence!" Beside him, Mikleo nodded.
"It's so thick, Sorey can barely breath... I feel it pushing at me as well, almost drowning me."
Makoto looked to Kyoko for a moment, the possibilities running through his head.
"... It's a portal, that's what we know Junko's power can do. A portal where? Well, there's only a few places it could be if it's pulling malevolence through."
"It must be Silent Earth, right?" Sorey asked.
"Maybe... or maybe it's a portal that connects to the Dark Place directly. That world made of despair and malevolence... This may be the escape they always wanted!" Makoto cupped his hands around his mouth so that he could yell to Junko across the crater.
"Junko, you have to stop it! You have to close it now!"
"I c-can't!" she screamed, sounding as if she was crying. She tugged at her right hand with her left, but it looked frozen in place, sending out waves of green energy toward the sky.
"I'm so sorry! This is so messed up!"
"It's okay! We..." Makoto swallowed and looked around at his group. They had all been caught up in arguments and in-fighting up until even a few moments ago, but now a bigger threat forced that all aside. They had to work together now, or else the multiverse would change permanently for the worse.
"Hold on! We'll come to you! I didn't think I'd ever say this, but...
"... Everyone, we must save Junko Enoshima!"
As Makoto, Sorey, and Mikleo dropped off the edge to slide down into the crater, bolts of green lightning slammed down from the void above, conjuring black mist that formed into various creatures. Two kinds were most evident... an army of small bears and an army of staggering human figures.
The bears brandished claws as they moved upon the their enemies, bearing a striking resemblance to the bear known as Monokuma.
"Oh, no... the Dark Presence..."
The humanoid figures, otherwise known as Husks moved slower than the Monokumas, but were known for their durability more than anything else.
"... It takes the forms of memories and ideas... it's using our memories against us!"
But the worst was just arriving.
Overhead, the sky emitted a titanic ripping sound. An enormous black leg covered with tufts of spiny fur pushed through it. The leg ended in a vast claw made of many faces. They screamed together, their cries creating a symphony of madness. There was a tenebrous rustling sound as the leg moved through the air, a sound that would give endless nightmares. It reached, it stretched, it touched the ground and scrabbled there like skinless fingers, leaving scorch-marks that gave off thick tendrils of smoke.
It was Mother.
Not
a mother, but
the Mother.
Soon, an old woman's voice whispered into the heads of all to lay eyes upon the many faces.
Soon I will be free and we will live forever.
Cast List
@Gummi Bunnies as
Add and Elesis (Elsword)
@DBZ7 as
Anna (Fire Emblem)
@Nater Taters as
Artyom Chyornyj (Metro)
@Jeremi as
Bekka and Red Tornado (DC Comics)
@Ringmaster as
Lucifer Anghelscu and Saber Alter (Murder Series / Type-Moon AU)
@Crow as
Maki Kido and Madoka Karasuma (Idolmaster OC)
@Atomyk as
Makoto Naegi (Danganronpa)
@Mason Moretti as
Mason Moretti (OC)
@darnerdemons as
Miko Wanijima (Air Gear OC)
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty as
Princess Ilona of Arendelle (Murder Series) and
Train Heatnet (Black Cat)
@Minerva as
Robin Aquilus and Corrin (Fire Emblem)
@york as
Ruby Rose and Zwei (RWBY)
@Kaykay as
Sakuya Izayoi and
Remilia Scarlet (Touhou Project)
@LuckycoolHawk9 as
Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf)
@Yun Lee as
Shi-Long Lang (Ace Attorney)
@Verite as
Shiki Tohno and
Len (Type-Moon)
@The Tactician as
Shizuo Heiwajima (Durarara!!)
@Takumi as
Toboe and Cheza (Wolf's Rain)
@Hospes as
Weiss Schnee and
Winter Schnee (RWBY)
@Josh M as
Wynne (Dragon Age)
@Sen as
Zen (Mystic Messenger)
@Bomb as
Zidane Tribal and Bibi Ornitier (Final Fantasy IX)
