As Shining Armor pulled his head from the portal, he took in a breath of air through his grit teeth. He didn’t feel any pain, any loss of breath, or anything that hurt his physical form. No, instead, he felt… odd. It was like something was missing, like a piece of him had been stolen away from his mind and soul. It didn’t hurt him, it just confused him.

Pulling the figure in his teeth backwards, he let it drop almost roughly on the tiled ground. Still the feeling did not leave him. A snort of breath left his nostrils as aggravation quickly took place over confusion. It was like a void at this point, consuming anything that came near it. His concerns, his questions, his worries. Everything just fell into it and vanished.

“Shining?” He heard the voice ask beside him. He turned only to face the speaker, knowing full well already just who he was going to be speaking to.

“Hey Twily.” Shining Armor spoke evenly; face still scrunched in an array of emotions ranging from either anger or curiosity. He didn’t know which himself. Putting a hoof over his face, he put on the mask he wore when duty called. “How did I do?” Twilight was unconvinced.

“Shining,” she began, voice no less critical than when she reprimanded Spike for eating jewels before dinner. “We all experienced some kind of pain or phenomenon when using the portal. I know you are, too.” He sighed bitterly. Trying to trick his little sister really was an impossibility.

“I’m not in pain.” The captain of the guard began carefully. “I just… feel like I forgot something. Like something was taken from me and I don’t know what it was. I don’t even know if it was important. It just feels… gone.” His sister regarded him carefully, eyes full of curiosity, but lips turned into a concerned frown.

“It’s alright,” she began. “It’ll probably fade away in a little bit. All of ours did, and they ranged from cramped wings to tears.” Shining sucked in a breath of air at the thought. “Besides, I’m sure you’re a little more concerned about how Cadance is doing.” That made his tail drop in unison with his face.

“Is she hurt?” Concern flooded his words as much as they dominated his features. Twilight’s smile was a comforting sight. Pointing her hoof beyond him, she spoke.

“See for yourself.” And he did.

Cadance was there, no pain marring her features or body. She was eyeing her own draw from the portal, bathed in misty white and still as wood. Shining let out a breath of air in relief.

“That’s good.” He spoke how he felt. Letting a smile overtake his features, he began to trot forwards. “Cadance!” His called earned the attention of the pink alicorn, who in turn let a smile grow on her own lips.

“Shining!” Her voice spoke brightly, trotting the last few hoof lengths between them. They nuzzled one another happily, letting their eyes shut in the small amount of bliss their light intimacy gave them.

It was a low whistle that broke them apart.

Cadance turned from her husband with a blush visible on her red hued coat. Shining was little different, those made the impression of a sun trying to peek from beneath the fur on his cheeks. Their eyes looked towards the source of the noise. What they expected was the goofy hedgehog who seemed to take everything in stride, or perhaps their little sister’s friend Rainbow Dash, who would doubtlessly be less careful with the sensitive matters.

Instead they found Discord glass paned and resting on the Crystal Heart of a kingdom to the north.

“Oh come now, don’t mind me.” The glass figure spoke, waving a claw in his two-dimensional pane. “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one enjoying the show.” He chuckled lowly as the gazes fixed on his glass form. It took all but a moment before the warriors readied their weapons.

“That is the monster?” The Gray Wizard questioned, sword in one hand and gnarled staff in the other. “I expected a larger foe.”

“Larger?” Discord mocked. “I take offense to that old man.” He jumped from the crystal heart to the pane on the far side of the hall, standing on the flying form of Chrysalis as she was banished from Equestria. “You’re no different than the rest of these poor ponies the first time I met them. What’s the point in being what you expect? It’s far more fun to be whatever you want to be, and right now, I want to be something you can only see, but never touch.” A dark chuckle came from his lips as his sharp talon traced the still glass form of the Changeling Queen beneath him.

“It wouldn’t be that hard to hit you.” Gandalf raised his staff with his words, glowing an ethereal white. It did nothing to frighten or shock the draconequus.

“Do you really think that shattering glass is going to kill me? You’re more disappointing than I ever expected if you honestly think that will work.” The wizard scowled at the mocking demon. “Still, brownie points for effort.” The glass paned monster snapped his flat claw.

A platter of sugary chocolates landed in front of Gandalf.

The wizard jumped back out of shock before peering down at the plate with confusion, his eyes shifted from the plate to the multi-formed entity still embedded in the glass of the grand hall. He was not alone in his curiosity, as nearly every warrior among him shared in his misperception. Only the ponies kept their gaze full of anger.

“Food!”

The cry of joy was a shock to nearly all. It only took a moment until their gaze found the pirate Luffy lunging towards the platter of sugary sweets, his reach grabbing at the food and taking greedy mouthfuls of the chocolate sweets. He had a smile little different than Discord in the glass. But he was smiling from joy, Discord from mirth.

“Wha?” The star hat pirate said through a mouth full of sweets. “I’m hungry.”

“I like him.” Pinkie Pie eagerly spoke up from the shoulders of Fawkes.

“As do I.” Discord agreed from his window pane. “A bit of an oddity among the odd. I like it.”

“Enough Discord!” Celestia roared to the monster of glass. “Show yourself now! Whatever your plan was, we have changed it. We’ve bested it! Now surrender yourself to us!”

“Oh don’t dull your pointy little horn princess.” The draconequus mocked towards Celestia. “I’m a great many of things, quite possibly everything in fact, but I am not a fool. Why would I even possibly let myself appear in front of, oh quite a few new additions to your little posse of power?” His eyes shut as he cackled with mirth. “No no, this isn’t me, at least not all of me.”

“You speak in more riddles then.” Samurai Jack voiced to the glass paned draconequus, slithering from the remnants of the Crystal Empire to the stained image of his second defeat. “What game are you playing at?”

“Ah, finally a man who understands.” Confusion riddled the samurai’s features. “Maybe not, but you’re closer than the rest, and I even gave them the answer.”

“Discord!” Celestia bellowed with anger. The reflection of the monster nearly bellowed his own laughter in return.

“Seeing you so angry is a welcome change in my book Celly, it must mean something is going right.” The Princess of the Day snarled her lips. Many of the warriors around her were not far behind, fists clenching in anger upon the grips of their weapons.

“Honestly, have none of you thought of the right question yet? I’m all for the unexpected, but it’s impossible to solve a riddle unless you have some clues.” His glass form grew as he spoke, expanding across the panes of every window in the hall. He surrounded the group of warriors and ponies alike.

“If you’re just a fake,” Riku began carefully, eyes hidden beneath the long bangs of his alabaster hair. “That means you’re a distraction. There wouldn’t be any reason for you to make sure we’re all here unless you were doing something that either threatened us, or we could stop. What is the real you doing?” When his sharp blue eyes gazed at the pane holding the clear form of Discord’s mismatched golden eyes, the draconequus broke into a wide grin.

“That question earns you the riddle.” His form slithered from the panes until he was gone from view. The ponies and warriors circled the room with their eyes, searching for the form of Discord as quickly as they could. But not a soul laid eyes on him. That was when he chose to speak.

“As the youth in this room hold the wisdom of the wise, I look for the innocence of others to help draw the most wicked of my kind. Where am I?”

His dark laughter rolled off the broken walls.

“W-What’s going on?!” Scootaloo shouted with more fear than anger as she looked around herself. Gone was the familiar wooden frame of the CMC clubhouse, warm and well lit by candles and fire. Now she was in the densest parts of the Everfree Forest, gnarled trees and dark canopies chilling to her bones. Sweetie Bell was just beside her, hugging her own cape against her white coat in a vain attempt to gain some warmth. Apple Bloom trotted around the two, Spike on her back, as they looked for any possible reason for their sudden disappearance.

“I really wish I knew.” The baby dragon spoke up, looking around himself as he scratched his chin. “This feels like something that would happen to Twilight. Maybe one of her experiments went wrong.” He quickly shook his head. “No, no, no, she told me she went to Canterlot to see what was wrong with Princess Luna.”

“That’s why she dropped you off with us?” Sweetie Bell asked as her hooves shivered. “Cause the stars are going out?” The dragon nodded his response.

“Yeah, she and Dash went off to find the rest of the girls before they went to Canterlot. Maybe Nightmare Moon is back.” They heard whipping hair before they heard any words.

“No way!” Scootaloo practically shouted. “There’s no way she’s back. Rainbow Dash blew her away with the Elements of Harmony!” The rest of her friends only stared back in response.

“Whoa, relax Scoots.” Apple Bloom spoke up, trotting closer to her friend. Spike slid off of her back as she did. “It was just Spike ‘ere thinkin’ up a good reason for wha’ happened. It ain’t like it’s what really happened.”

“Yeah, it’s just me theorizing.” He earned more confused than understanding stares. “It means I’m coming up with ideas for what’s happening. It’s what Twilight does when she gets a problem.” Three young mouths opened in understanding. “Just don’t worry Scootaloo, I’m sure that whatever it is, it’s no big deal.”

“You’re words are kind young Spike,” a mare’s voice spoke from between a thicket of trees, causing the fillies to freeze. The group of four shivered as a group until the hooves and legs of the intruder appeared. They were followed by a bright pair of golden eyes. “But what I have to say you may not like.”

“Zecora!” Apple Bloom cheered happily at the Zebra. “How ya doin’?” The elder mare smiled to the young filly before she spoke in return.

“Apple Bloom, it does me good to see you well. Though I fear we may soon discover why the stars fell.” The zebra wore a stern gaze undirected towards the group of fillies around her or Spike between them. Her golden eyes were trained to the empty sky far above. “I did not come here by my own will. It was by magic unseen around any plain or hill. A flash of light gave me fright, but now I find myself here near without sight.”

“So… we all just basically were warped by something none of us has any idea was?” Scootaloo questioned with a hoof behind her head.  Uncertainty filled her words as much as it did her features. “That all sounds really messed up.”

“It isn’t the weirdest thing to happen to us though…” The group turned to Sweetie Bell, still curled into her red cape for warmth. “I mean, I remember being brainwashed by Twilight to fall in love with a doll. This isn’t a whole lot different.”

“Hey!” Spike shot back. “That was different, and she was really sorry afterwards. Besides, there’s no way she would just cast a spell on us for fun. She’s not like that.”

“Spike’s right.” Apple Bloom agreed. “Besides, there’s no way mah sister would let this happen, let alone yers Sweetie.”

“Or Rainbow Dash…” Scootaloo weakly spoke. “Still though, what they heck happened?”

“That’s my que!”

All five of them froze.

“Uh, what was that?” Scootaloo questioned as she lowered herself to the ground, hooves getting ready to jump, her eyes already moving in every direction. Her friends were silent, caught in the midst of their own confusion and fear. Apple Bloom found herself pushing against Zecora, depending upon the older mare with a fear she couldn’t voice. The Zebra put a hoof around the younger filly as her golden eyes scanned the trees around them.

Yet they found nothing. The forest was just as eerily still as it was on any night, starless as this one was. There were no beady eyes staring at them from behind the dark shadows, no sharp teeth gleaming with unseen light. The forest was no scarier than it was before. But that didn’t mean that they were alone. It was Sweetie Bell who saw it first, only because a gust a wind blew her thin cape from her eyes.

A dark mass growing on the ground.

Her shriek earned the attention of her friends, who didn’t need to question the reason for her fright. The ponies and dragon all backed away from the growing darkness on the ground, swirling and misting with an aura none had ever seen before. Spike, who had been with Twilight near all her life, had never seen any spell she had cast come close to this kind of mist. Zecora, who worked with potions of every form, never saw a mist so dark or sinister in all her life.

Hooves pushed back from the growing darkness with a great sense of urgency, pushing until their backs were against the hard bark of the trees. Still though, they did not run. Curiosity and terror keeping them from venturing into the haunted woods around them.

Cries of fright ripped from the throats of the fillies and dragon as a claw dragged itself from the darkness. It pulled against the ground around them bring more and more of its form into the waking world. Slowly, horrifically, the form it belonged to became all too vividly clear. The name of the monster came from Zecora in the same tone as a curse.

“Discord!” She shouted the name as the twisted draconequus freed itself from the dark portal on the ground. His twisted smile and crooked tooth gleamed with joy as his name was spoken, golden eyes fixing on the zebra with a near sadistic gaze.

“Well hello Zecora, so good to see you.” He spoke with a mocking tone. “It’s a shame it’s never been muzzle to muzzle until now. I’ve always loved that rhythmic tone of yours. Oh, but that’s not to say I’m any less pleased by the rest of you!” His paw and claw spun with his body as the last of him popped from the dark portal, the misty blackness clinging to him with dark tendrils. The remaining ponies cowered into balls.

“It would be such a joy to sit here and talk about all the wonderful things you have all done. Making ponies fall in love with one another to nearly killing your own family out of your desperate search for your talents. It’s almost a tragic kind of irony.” He laughed as the tears began to show in the eyes of the young fillies.

“What do you want?” Discord turned to look at the only other creature in the group scaled like himself. His smile fell not a hair as he gazed at Spike.

“Oh little Spike, the baby waby of the group.” He laughed as the dragon snarled. “It’s good to see you’re the brains in this group. It makes sense that the foals are led by a baby. The less sense the better, I always say.”

“What…” Scootaloo hissed through her grit teeth. “What do you want?” She repeated the words of her dragon friend, though with much less force or strength.

“Is that all you little ponies can think of?” Discord let out an exasperated sigh, ignorant to the tension around him. “Fine, fine, if you are all so insistent to get on with this.” He snapped his claw.

Instantly, the ponies and dragon found themselves pulled towards the floating embodiment of chaos, hovering above the massless portal from which he had emerged. Their hooves and claw beat on the forest floor in a desperate attempt to sway their forced movement. It did little to no good.

“Let me be clear and fast.” With a cough into his hand, Discord began. “I need the help of some very capable ponies to bring in a brand new form of chaos into this drab world of ours. Every time I seem to have a spare opportunity to make it happen, something happens and then your precious Elements of Harmony jump in and save the day. It’s so… predictable.” Zecora did not miss the spark of anger that flew across his golden-crimson eyes.

“That’s when I had the idea. The best way to make things new is to add something new. If I want to make this game less predictable, I need to bring in the most unexpected of things. Those being, different forms of life.” The what would be curious and wondrous gazes were fixed in terror and fear. “Amazing isn’t it? But I know you are all so shocked with awe you can’t even speak. Never worry, I’ll explain.”

“All you five have to do is reach into this little portal of mine and break out a brand new addition to this plain land. It’s that… or I throw you all in.” Discord never stopped smiling.

The three fillies quivered and squirmed in their hooves desperately searching for any kind of hope that could save them. Spike prayed and wished on everything he could remember for Twilight to save him, for her to teleport here with all of her friends and put Discord back in stone. Zecora kept her eyes on the monster above them, ignoring the draw of the darkness just before her. She kept her anger at the front of her mind, never forgetting just how wicked this god of madness was.

“Tick Tock little ponies,” Discord spoke wistfully above them, letting his arm swing back and forth with his words. “Every second wasted is just another reason for me to send you far far away. Sorry to say I can’t promise it would be to a magical place.” Tears fell from Sweetie Bell’s eyes, her soft cries begging for her sister to come save her. She looked among her friends. None of them fared any better.

Scootaloo was biting her lips close to the point of drawing blood, probably to stop herself from cursing at the deity above them. Her wings shook and bristled at her sides, legs doing much the same. Spike gripped his tail with his claws, holding it close in a habit he hadn’t done since his hatchling days. Apple Bloom quivered as she pulled her legs to her chest, leaning as hard against the zebra in their midst for strength. Only Zecora, the eldest of the group and only mare among fillies, looked strong and hard against the beast of terror above them.

“You are a coward and a fool, yet still a monster. Harsh threats and empty taunts will only doom you faster.” The striped pony swore in her rhymes. They earned only a mocking grin from the multi-formed beast above.

“Oh, is that the best you can do? I’ve seen ponies write songs on whim and all you can do is rhyme. Seriously though, you’re going to have to use this sooner or later.” Discord let his talon swim through the portal just beneath his floating form, twisting in the swirling mist with the same twisted grin he wore. “It’s really quite fun, speaking from experience here.”

“You’re amusements are twisted, your games a bone. Be gone from our lives demon, or be sentenced once more to stone.” Once more, Zecora’s word did little more than amuse the embodiment of chaos.

“That was a good one, but I digress, time is getting away from me, and I am on a very strict schedule this time.” With a snap of his mighty paw, the group found themselves transported around the dark portal on the ground. Cries erupted from the fillies, fear taking hold of them with an iron grip. Zecora fared little better, her anger towards the monster mocking them the only thing holding her sanity strong.

“Let me be absolutely clear about this.” Discord spoke to the tear filled ponies, floating above them upside down. “All you have to do is reach in a pull something out for me. I don’t mind what, because the less I expect, the better it is. Once you do, you’re free to go. No chaos included.”

“J-Just once?” Apple Bloom stuttered out to the draconequus above, tears falling unabashed from her lids. “Th-then we can all go h-home?” The draconequus swayed his head from left to right, rolling it against his shoulders.

“Yes, yes, back to your pathetic, boring, and predictable lives.” He spoke in a bored tone, rolling his paw in the same manner he did his head. “Back to your miserable existences without purpose or meaning.” A wicked smile drew itself across his features.

He twisted in the air, putting his snout only hoof’s length away from Zecora. She snarled in return, near gagging on the toxic breath that came from the embodiment of chaos and disharmony. A deep throated chuckle made her hooves rumble across the ground.

“Maybe that’s what you’re so afraid of,” he cryptically began to the zebra. “Never being able to see your home again, being kept far away from the land you grew up in. Forever a stranger in a strange land.” The golden eyes of the striped pony furrowed in anger at his words. He paid it no more mind than the wind.

“Or maybe you,” he spun to Apple Bloom, her bow falling with the rest of her terrified features. “It’s hard to threaten you with anything, probably because you already have so little. No parents, no wings, no magic, no talent, yet you keep believing in yourself? I really want to know just how you can believe in nothing.” Tears fell from the frightened filly, her sobs shaking her trembling form.

“Then you,” He flashed behind Sweetie Bell, wrapping a claw on her stuck form, causing the fibers of her coat to stand to their tallest. “You know I wondered the most about you. You always look like a third wheel with your friends, doing as they say, saying as they do. I think there’s another word for that. An anchor, a burden, a thing that’s better off to be cut.”

“Leave her alone!” The mismatched eyes of Discord glared at the shivering pegasus behind him, her eyes the only thing about her that was defiant.

“Or what?” He mocked with a crooked grin. “Are your broken little wings going to blow me away? Or maybe that large mind of yours will simply subdue me. Hilarious, I know, but jokes are all that I can come up with when I look at you, crippled in almost everyway that I can imagine. The only thing left is to blind you, then you really will be just a sack of flesh and bones.” The fire that burned in Scootaloo’s eyes died without a fight.

“But I can’t forget my least favorite dragon!” Discord nearly sang as he spun in the air towards Spike. “After all, you’re probably the most hilarious among the group! At least they all have someone who watches out for them, but you? You’re just a fax machine for that namby pamby princess! I’ll bet my magic, wings, and claw that in just a few years, you’ll either be useless or in the way. And we all know what your “mother” does with useless things. I believe her own phrasing is “imprison them in the place they were banished to.” Wouldn’t that be exciting?”

The four foals quivered and writhed in the fear and sorrow, too terrified to speak and too tearful to move. Zecora herself was too fueled with rage to do anything more than glare at the monster above her. It was a sight he had yet to bore of.

“But enough beating around the extra-dimensional portal, it’s time to really get things going. And I promise, only once.” He snapped his claw with a resounding click.

The four ponies and baby dragon found themselves reaching head first into the portal of swirling darkness.

Spike was terrified by thought of Twilight forgetting him. What if he was forgotten? Thrown away like a molded book. Once he was dead, there would be nothing left of him.

“Focus Simon! Simon!” The voice rang through his ears like the drill of his greatest friend. The waking world slowly returned to him, beating his broken form all the way. Kamina let a breath roll off his teeth.

Begin

“What’s a guy gotta do ta get some rest around here?” He pushed himself off the controls of the Gurren. Pain shot through him instantly. His teeth bared themselves as the pain took its toll, both waking in slumbering form and taxing him of the little energy he had. Ragged breaths came from his lips. His eyes swayed to the chair beneath him, sideways as his Gunman was on the ground. With a force of effort, he pushed his way into the chair, choking on pain with every motion he made.

But he could not give up yet. Even if the pain took everything from him, he would give all of that for his friends who still fought high above him. The gunfire and cries of panic were evidence that they needed him. He would not abandon them now. His hands gripped the controls of the Lagann, watching as the screens around him flickered to life. The pain had yet to subside.

He turned his eyes skywards, looking for the massive battleship that had just so recently nearly been his grave. Another sigh of pain left his mouth, both for his body and spirit. Simon had control of the carrier, but he was not in control of himself.

The massive ship moved across the scorched ground, firing every gun on the deck as it did. Gunmen from both sides fled from the pillar of destruction, moving like a titan across the land. A smile broke through his pain. He knew what he had to do.

“Simon!” He cried. “Let’s see you grit those teeth!” Without waiting for a response he aimed his arm towards the small structure that was the Lagann.

He launched his arm forward.

The metallic structure flew like an arrow through the sky, propelled by rockets and clenched in a fist. It impacted the small orb atop the carrier beautifully. He heard Simon shake and rock through the small robot as his fist made contact. Laughter wasn’t beyond him to produce. He heard the cry of his brother through the panels almost instantly afterwards.

“Kamina! You’re still alive!” He smiled through bloody teeth.

“Simon, who the hell do you think you are?” He pushed the controls for the Gurren, pointing his only remaining arm high into the sky, aiming for the stars and beyond. “Isn’t your drill the one that will pierce the heavens, the earth, and through to tomorrow? What are you doing messing around here? We’ve won, the big guy is yours now. There’s no reason to hold back.”

“Bro,” he heard Simon almost whisper through the com link, the massive ship holding still. His heartbeat through his ears. “Right!” That was when the ship began to move again.

Color spewed from every hole in the carrier’s side. The windows, the doors, the cannons and deck. Everything began to move under the control of the Lagann again. Kamina couldn’t have been happier.

The mighty ship rocked back and forth, the controls awkward and foreign. But then the arms along the ship’s sides pulled a pose both familiar and sacred. With one held to its hip, the other aimed high into the sky, Simon’s voice cried out through the battlefield.

“Everyone! It’s alright now! The Dai-Ganzan belongs to us! Jump on board!” Cheers and hoorays of joy echoed from the compatriots of the two, familiar Gunman jumping into the sky with their large metallic bodies. But just as quickly as the celebration began, it had to end.

An explosive line traced itself across the ground, erupting before the human controlled Gunmen. Kamina raised his eyes skyward again, looking for the source of the power almost lazily. He eyes fell on the familiar figure of white.

“Damn human scum!” He heard the gorilla cry in vengeful anger. “It’s mine! Given to me by the Helix King! If you punks wanna take it from me, I’ll smash it up!” Kamina rolled his head back and sighed. The pain was starting to get to him, blood dripping from his torso with every beat of his heart.

“That damn beast doesn’t know when to give up.” He let the words come from his lips, unfiltered through his mind. He fell forwards, catching himself on his knees. Another stupid idea rolled through his mind, making him smile. “Simon, listen…” he made sure the comm link was active. “Let’s finish this in one go. By combining with the Gurren Lagann one last time, let’s settle this!” It was almost painful to give that battle cry, but the voice that responded didn’t lack in enthusiasm.

“Alright bro!” He watched the small Gunman that was the Lagann shoot from the mighty structure sailing through the sky. It grabbed at his glasses, throwing it forward in one fluid motion. Kamina looked boringly at the flying boomerang, watching it sail over his head and impacting two enemy Gunman ready to attack him. He couldn’t have been any prouder of his brother.

“Let’s go!” He shouted above the pain that rang in his ears.

The Lagann landed on top of the Gurren, drilling straight through the top of the robotic machine. The power began to flow almost instantly. The metal sheets that had been cut were repaired. The missing limbs that had been severed regrew. Kamina could only grin like a maniac as it unfolded. He knew what was happening, knew like an old man knew about life.

“Whether it’s impossible or laughable, great men open up paths of battle!” He let the power of the Lagann continue to flow through it’s beaten vessel, filling him with a strength that dulled the pain and sharpened his mind. He could do this, he and his brother. Simon wasn’t far behind.

“If there’s a wall, we break it down! If there’s no path, we make it with these hands!” He reached their conjoined hand upwards grabbing as the black glasses sailed towards them again. They both knew what they had to do.

“The heart’s magma burns with flames! Everlasting Combination, Gurren Lagann!” The glasses fell into place, healing and sharpening like sword’s edge in combat.

“Who the hell do you think we are?”

With a mighty cry from the two, the volcano behind them erupted.

Cries and cheers of excitement blew through the air with more ferocity than any bullet or rocket fired that day. Their friends, their family, were all behind them. This was their time, their moment. As brothers now and until their end, this was how they were going to end it.

“Take ‘em!” The gorilla Gunman cried, pointing towards the Gurren Lagann like a child would a lion. Still, the enemies all lunged for them, dozens of the ships ready to tackle them. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Don’t mess with us!” Kamina shouted as he pushed his controls to the floor. Holes erupted from the Gunman they controlled, glowing with energy all too familiar to him now. With a sudden lurch, drills erupted from the empty sockets, impaling all of the enemies with a single blow. The eruptions of destroyed ships soon followed. He had yet to drop his smile. He had yet to forget his pain.

“You bastard, take this!” The gorilla general aimed his spear at the two. It was more than obvious what it was meant to do. “Condemn Glaize!” The blue beam of energy shot towards the two. Kamina didn’t flinch.

“That can’t break this hand!” He reached forwards catching the energy with the metal palm of the Gurren Lagann. It spilled out from the grasp, shooting around their form, but never hitting them.

“I-Impossible!” The general stuttered, his massive Gunman taking a very visible step back. Kamina gave a laugh. He fell forward in pain. It was going to happen soon. He knew it.

“Listen Simon,” he began, whispering into the comm link they shared. He knew his brother was listening with rapt attention.

“Don’t forget, believe in yourself. Not you who believes in me. Not me who believes in you. You have to believe in you that believes in yourself.”

“B-Bro?” Simon was already beginning to shake, but it couldn’t end, not yet. Not until Kamina avenged his own death. Beams of green shot from his Gurren, knocking the glasses from their position. Reaching upwards, he grasped their frames, holding the sharp object like the deathly tool it was.

“Certain kill!” He cried, throwing the object like a boomerang. It flew forwards, spinning until all that could be see were black wheels. It impacted the Gorilla General, lifting him into the air, and pinning him against himself. His arms were pierced with his legs. He couldn’t move at all.

Kamina focused all that was left in him. The combined Gunman raised its hand high into the sky, letting the will of its pilot move it.

“Giga!” He screamed, causing a massive spiral of metal to grow from the Gurren Lagann.

“Drill!” The metal increased in size until it dwarfed the figure it came from.

“Breaker!” The Gunman jumped with the drill, spinning it until only a spear of death could be seen. It propelled itself forward through the air.

The General never stood a chance.

The Gurren Lagann flew through the enemy Gunman with more ferocity than nature could ever produce. It decimated the gorilla inside, tearing apart the hull and metal of the object, ripping it until nothing but scrap were left.

The Gurren Lagann landed on the ground without a scratch.

End

Kamina couldn’t breathe anymore. Kamina couldn’t see anymore. This was it.

He couldn’t be happier.

“Farewell… Comrades…”

Scootaloo thought of nothing but her own crippled wings, useless and pathetic. They weren’t born great and she couldn’t make them great. She was a disgrace.

“Tell me who you are girl?” The young girl being addressed looked up at the intimidating figure. He was honestly no taller than she was, but he looked like he ate steel for breakfast and concrete for dinner. A thick beard hid most of his face, but the snarl beneath it was just as clear as the bullets he had strapped around his belt and torso. She sighed before answering.

“Yeah, no.” The answer only made him show teeth. “Oh what, you were expecting me to get up and kiss you? Sorry bud, but I got standards, and you don’t even pass the height requirement.” She saw the breath leave him through his teeth.

“Settle down there Salv’.” A taller man spoke from behind the shorter one. The girl turned her attention to him. Another guy who looked tougher than bricks, but not nearly as intimidating as the brute she was talking to. At least he looked like he had some class with his straight haircut and clean shaven face. Heck, she could go for the metal implants he had on his forehead. Her vision was caught by his eyes when he looked down at her, the shorter man now walking away from the pair. “Sorry about him. Haven’t known him for long, but I’m guessing he’s not big on conversation.”

“Eh, no biggy.” The girl replied easily, letting her hand wave the air in front of her. “I’m pretty used to people blowing smoke at me. Comes with the territory.”

“And what terrain would this be?” Now the girl looked at a woman. Woman might not have been the best word for her. No, that implied mortality.

This was a goddess.

Her blue hair curved to frame her face, ice blue lips lifted into just the smallest of smiles as crystal orbs gazed down at her. Blue markings, unlike anything the girl had ever seen before, were tattooed across her left arm. She couldn’t see the right, hidden beneath a tight fitting suit of yellow and black. It made the girl pull against her own baggy sweater and skirt, suddenly very much aware of how juvenile she must have looked.

“Well, uh…” the girl trailed off, the right word escaping her. “That’s… mechanics! Yeah, mechanics and other engineering principles. I’m probably the greatest engineer alive.” She gave off a goofy grin as she lifted her left arm, scratching at the back of her head. She pulled away from her own hand as a few hairs were torn from her scalp. The girl brought the arm back down, looking at the fibers caught in the metallic frame.

“I bet you have quite the story behind that gizmo.” The man spoke to her, crossing his arms as she gave off a grin. She felt both proud and insulted by it, the oddest feeling she’d experienced yet on this planet. “Did you get bored one day and decided to play Mrs. Fix-It?” Insulting it was.

“No,” the girl breathed out, “A particle saw cut through my arm when I was trying to shave off a piece of sheet metal for my DT-Project. NBD, it only went like half way to the bone. It was actually really convenient, ‘cause it gave me the radical idea for how to transport my digistruct module for the Project.” She flexed the metallic appendage in front of her, giving off a pleasured smile as the gears churned inside. A high whistle earned her attention.

“This is probably where I say I’m glad I was born with mine.” The woman held up her own arm, comparing it to the metallic structure of the girl’s. The young girl found her face growing warm as the blue haired deity came closer to her. “Tell me though, what is this DT-Project that is so worth severing your own limb for.”

“Nah, I got a better question.” The man interrupted the two. The girl pouted with a stuck up lip. “What’s your name girl? A sweet little redhead like you, wearing what I’m willing to bet the Misses over is a schoolgirl uniform, on a planet like Pandora? You’ve must have done something either pretty wicked or pretty stupid to end up here.” Yeah, he was definitely being insulting. She opened her mouth to tell him just that when the woman answered for her.

“That is a bit rude Axton.” The woman spoke as she stood to her tallest, crossing her arms just like he had.

“What? It’s an honest question.” He spoke back without a hint of guilt about him. “I mean, c’mon, let’s go down the list here. I’m wanted for war crimes and deserting the Dahl Military, here only ‘cause my Ex-Wife told me I wouldn’t be pursued.” Axton put on a large grin as he pointed a finger at the woman in front of him. “You’re name is Maya. You’re being chased by like a hundred different splinter groups for being a Siren, one of six magically gifted women who are literally born badasses. I’ll take your word that you’re here for info on this mysterious siren and vault.” He coughed into his hand before pointing past the small trio. “That down there is Salvador. I don’t have the time to list all the shit he’s wanted for. Let’s just say it starts at swearing and ends at cannibalism.” The girl’s eyes were wider than when the conversation began. “Last but not least, we have Zero.” Axton motioned with a thumb over his shoulder. “An assassin that I know nothing about, other than he killed a politician for the challenge. He doesn’t scare me, just worries me.”

The girl turned her attention to the thing the man had spoken of. It wore a large black suit and stood taller than anyone else she had seen in the group so far. That was not to mention the mask he wore, a sleek metal that she couldn’t identify. The plasma sword on his back, however, she knew instantly was deadly.

“Divert your focus / Do not stare at me young girl / Or I will kill you.” The girl felt her skin prickle.

“See, he even talks in Haiku. I know nothing about him.” Axton finished with an almost proud smirk. Neither the girl nor the woman returned it. “Now, why don’t you fill us in on just what your story is? At least give us the juicy parts. Train’s at least a good five minutes out.” The girl debated the idea of telling him off. Waiting five minutes wouldn’t be a bad thing to get him out of her hair. Besides, she might just be able to talk with Maya then. But… earning a little respect on a planet like Pandora was never a bad thing, unless he had a bounty on her head, but that could wait.

“My name is Gaige.” She spoke as proudly as she could. “I’m wanted for the creation of unauthorized and illegal technology. Basically, my DT-Project.” Gaige watched Maya raise an eyebrow at the information. It was Axton who spoke up first.

“That’s it?” The young girl fought back the urge to slap him. A slap from a piece of particle metal could hurt. “I mean, where are you from, what’s this tech, why are you here?” She sighed again.

“Fine,” She spoke without concealing her pout. “I’m here because my DT-Project wasn’t illegal until I took him to my school science fair. So yes, this is my school uniform.” Gaige did well to ignore the clicking of Axton’s tongue. “On Eden-5, the science fair is a big deal, cause a lot of major corporations try and get us to sign up and build them stuff for their corporate agenda and blah blah blah.” She droned out the words. “Basically, I hate all those big name companies. I was there just to prove that there isn’t an engineer alive who can match my skills. My DT-Project was really impressing the judges, too. But that’s when Marcy showed up.”

“Marcy?” Maya questioned with an almost amused voice. “She sounds like a… a child.” Gaige was too fumed by the memory of her adversary to care much for the break in the siren’s voice.

“More like a bitch.” She spoke venomously. “Marcy stole my DT design to impress the judges, and ‘cause she has more money thanGod, the judges actually let her win. But that’s not all, apparently she sold the designs to the police force and like five other gun companies to design and modify, meaning that she took my idea and made billions off of it!”

“Yeah, bitch sounds about right.” Axton spoke in agreement.

“Damn right she is, but… that’s where it went… bad… very bad.” Gaige let her voice drop as the horrific memory surfaced in her mind. Her right arm rose to grab her metallic left, holding the metal like a comforting bear, knowing the design she had inside would keep her safe.

“Bad how Gaige?” Maya questioned softly. The young engineer bit her lip.

“Okay so Marcy was all proud that she won over me, so she started bragging to me and showing off the prize money and trophy. But what she didn’t realize was that I had Deathtrap active and I had his FVF system calibrated to physical force. So when she pushed me, he saw her as a threat and went to attack her. But I… I-I must have misaligned the Discord circuits when I was adding the Pre-Shrunk Cyberpunk mods to the comm link channels. So… so when he hit her she… kind of… sort… um…” Gaige let her eyes look up pleadingly to the two adults she was talking to. They both looked back with nothing short of curiosity. She relented.

“Okay, she exploded!”

“Wow! Damn!” Axton laughed as he put his hand on her shoulder. “That’s one way to handle a bully.”

“That is beyond inappropriate Axton.” Maya warned again, when her vision returned to Gaige, the child saw nothing but sympathy now. “It’s alright if you don’t want to continue. I understand how hard it can be to carry memories such as that.” Gaige, however, was still in her foal mood from the fresh memories.

“Don’t treat me like a child,” she spoke quickly to the blue haired siren. She regretted it immediately. “I-I’m sorry I…”

“It’s alright; believe me I understand that as well.” Maya spoke with a smile to the young engineer. “I’ll have to tell you sometime about just why I left my own home to come here.” Gaige felt her face growing warm, and she couldn’t be sure if it was because of the digitechnology in her arm growing lambent or not. What she did know was that those golden eyes looking at her were… beautiful.

“You want me to give you two a minute.” Gaige shook her head as Axton’s voice broke her from her daze. Fortunately for the young engineer, the siren seemed all too willing to voice her displeasure.

“Listen asshole,” Maya started out, pointed her tattooed arm at the army deserter. “Why don’t you-”

“INCOMING!”

Begin

Bullets flew past the trio.

Gaige was pulled behind a cargo box as Axton ran by her, reaching into his modulator for a weapon. The engineer watched with quick breaths as he turned towards the direction the bullets were coming from. She had yet to see what was firing at them. His arm was thrown upwards and out came a device Gaige didn’t recognize.

“Meet the Misses!” He shouted outwards. The engineer watched as the small box unfolded itself at a quickening pace. Metal rods, tubing, and chaises connected almost instantly to form an object recognizable but not at all familiar to her.

It was a turret, and it sounded like it was firing nukes.

“My turn.” Gaige turned to see Maya crouching by her, her arm on top of the engineers. The siren gave her a quick look and command before moving out of cover. “Stay here.” That was when Gaige noticed her arm was glowing.

The engineer felt a vacuum suck the air from the train cart, a boom echoing across the metal hull as it did. She fought to take a breath of air. She didn’t know if it was because of the power she felt or the sight of the goddess taking the form of a woman just beside her.

“Now get out of here!” Maya shouted with an almost animalistic roar, swinging her arm to her side. Gaige heard metal crunch and shatter as she felt the train drag to the side. Whatever the siren had just done, it packed one hell of a punch. She watched enraptured as the blue from the woman began to fade, her glowing tattoos fading into what appeared to be ordinary ink. She wouldn’t think it was just ordinary any more.

But the bullets were still coming. Maya took cover across from Gaige, letting the two have eye-contact through a shower of bullets and metal. The engineer felt herself smile.

“My turn!” Gaige shouted as she twisted out from behind the box. Her green eyes looked down the length of the car, looking for the enemies that were firing on them. She saw large metal figures walking towards them, colored gold and holding objects ranging from spinning blades to mounted machine guns. It took her all of a minute to figure out what they were.

“My design!” The engineer shouted with anger at what she took to be a mockery of her life’s work. Her lips snarled as she lifted her metallic arm up. “Let me show you posers what a real mech looks like!”

Her arm began to work.

The digistruct module inside the metallic appendage spun with life as electricity flowed through it. Gears churned at revolutions far above the necessary amount. The structure shook left and right at the base of its attachment as the hidden compartment began to work. Sparks of blue began to fly out from the crevices in the metal sheets. That’s when the work began to show. A memory construction grid folded out in front of Gaige, three dimensional blocks expanding and forming on one another as the modulator inside of her arm continued to spin. That was when the magic happened.

A mech of impressive size materialized in front of her, throwing out arms that easily reached and blocked off the train car. Taller than Axton or Maya, it towered over Gaige as it roared with a mechanical strength. The engineer had never felt so proud.

“Sick ‘em boy!” That was when Deathtrap charged.

The legless robot hovered down the hull of the train, pushing over the boxes and cargo shipments in its way. When the robot floated above its inferior clones, it swung a claw at them. Scraping metal echoed throughout the hull, dulled only by the sounds of crunching circuit boards and flying bullets. It swung again, repeating the ear shattering sound that doubtlessly did as much destruction to the imposter bots as it did the ear canals.

“Yeah! Yeah!” Gaige cheered with a pumping fist. “I am a badass!” Her rush had yet to die down. The young engineer turned towards the siren, now standing to her tallest with the majority of the threats demolished, or soon to be.

“You’re awesome.” The siren spoke simply to the mechanical savant. Gaige smiled like a child on Christmas Eve.

“No, you’re awesome!” She spoke back to Maya, pointing her mechanical arm towards the woman. The blue haired siren smiled in response.

“I’m sure.”

“I am never going to intentionally try and piss either of you off again.” Axton spoke evenly behind the pair, his turret repackaging itself into its container. The two women smiled at him.

“Enough of your talk.” The three turned to see the assassin and behind them with a bloody sword. “We have to search for more foes / The fight is not done.” Without waiting for a response, he turned from them, running down the hull for the conductor’s room. With a nod of confirmation, Axton followed close behind.

“Guess that’s our queue to go, huh?” Gaige asked absently. Maya gave her only a nod before jogging towards Axton, her arm already beginning to glow the same blue as before. Gaige made sure she was watching that. Watching the siren’s arm and not her barely contained backside moving up and-

“No, not now!” She cajoled herself. Raising her human digits to her hand, Gaige blew a whistle behind her, earning the full attention of the Deathtrap. “C’mon boy!” Without looking to confirm if he was following, Gaige followed the path of the others.

She opened a door to find herself in another train compartment, visually different only by the lack of broken metal and scorch markings. Her eyes looked towards the end, seeing the other four members of the party already at the door of the conductor’s room. Grinning, she ran forwards, raising her metallic arm to direct the DT-Project behind her. Maya gave her a smile as she drew close.

Axton looked back at the group, counting to make sure they were all there. Silently, he motioned his head towards the door. Gaige flexed her arm, Maya doing the same. She saw Zero raise his sword, gripping it with both hands as Salvador brought two guns in front of him. She would have raised her eyebrows if she weren’t preparing for another fight. The soldier deserter took a deep breath then. Raising his leg, he kicked down the door.

End

All five of them froze.

Bombs were stacked from the floor the ceiling, compartment high and wide. Wires and timers connected all of them in a pattern that Gaige couldn’t follow with the time that she had. At the center of them all sat a solitary figure, hunched over with rope around him. Slowly the chair spun towards them. Axton raised his gun, ready to fire at first chance, but he never had to. A wooden dummy was looking at them, smiling with a plastered face and chiseled jaw. Then it spoke.

“It’s cute that y’all think you’re the heroes of this little adventure… but you’re not.” Gaige glanced at one of the timers, panic overtaking her.

“Deathtrap!” She called almost desperately. She felt warm protective arms warp around her. Then she felt a hard metallic wall pull itself around her.

“Welcome to Pandora kiddos!”

The world erupted into a bright light.

Sweetie Bell thought of nothing but her magic, non-existent. She really was just an anchor to her friends.

Begin

“A-are you sure about this Maka?” A young boy tentatively asked, hunching in on himself despite his impressive height. The girl he addressed looked back to him, smiling with a comforting gaze.

“Yeah,” Maka spoke simply, her green eyes turning back down the hall, darker than black and soundless as space. “We have to check it out.” Her words carried a confidence he did not.

“But… why now. We could wait for Kid-sama, or Soul-sama, or even Black Star. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for them? I don’t know how I can deal with doing this alone.” He lowered his gaze to the ground, visible only through the knowledge he was standing on it. All his eyes could see, through his pink locks of hair, was darkness thicker than his own robe.

“You’re not alone though.” He saw her gloved hand grasp his own lifting it upwards. He followed it carefully. “I’m here, and I’m not leaving you.” He felt her hand grip his own stronger, the fibers of her glove moaning under the stress. “Not again.” Now he felt bad.

“Maka…” He droned with pity. “I’m alright, I promise.” He heard her hair whip back and forth, the air slicing beneath the pig tailed strands.

“You’re not okay though.” The response wasn’t a question, but the concern was more than clear. “You nearly died. You did die. All I could do was sit above you and cry!” He felt her hand press against something soft, deforming slightly under the pressure. He held back a gasp as he realized what it was.

The wet sensation of tears made it obvious.

“Maka…”

“You probably know exactly what it’s like, having to watch something you love fade in front of you.” He pulled his free arm across his chest, doing all that he could to resist the urge to curl into a ball. He did know, too well. “I… I’ve never felt so useless before. Right in front of me, right when I could have saved you and… a-and you ended up being the one who saved me.”

“I’ll never let anything hurt you Maka.” There wasn’t a trace of hesitancy in his voice. There didn’t need to be, there was nothing to think about. That statement was as true to his soul as the blood in his veins.

“You’re… You’re alive, Chrona, and I couldn’t be happier about it.” He couldn’t understand why she sounded so sad then. “I just… you promised me-we promised each other that we wouldn’t let anything hurt us. I’d protect you and keep you safe, no matter how hard you thought it was going to be, no matter what you thought was going to happen. You… you gave your life to save me… then thanked mefor it.”

“I’d do it again too.” Chrona could feel Maka drawing him closer, her head falling into the crook of his neck. His hand fell to his side just before he drew it back around her. Her lips sucked in a slow breath of hair, tickling his neck.

“Don’t say that.” She whispered slowly. “Don’t throw away your life so easily.” It was hard to say there was any empty space between them, the distance between them closed.

“I wouldn’t know how to deal with being alive if you weren’t there though.” Chrona continued to list his actions easily, his logic seamlessly. There was no question in his resolve.

For a moment, a still peaceful moment in the dark silent hall, Maka said nothing, opting instead to hold Chrona close to her, savoring the warmth she felt through his still breathing body, not pierced by any sword and free of any wound. Alive and living.

“But you lost Ragnarok.”

Chrona could say nothing.

The strength in his arms grew weak at the reminder, a memory that only grew in length with every passing second of his life. One year, two months, four days, and 21 hours since he was pierced by the vector of his own mother, draining the blood from his body. Just as long since his blood was drained from him, his dark black blood. Only 32 seconds after that, the life in his blood fading away, the soul kept within it passing away.

It was when he first began to feel alone.

“It’s not your fault.” He spoke lightly, unconvincingly.

“It is.” Maka argued, pulling back for her forehead to push against his, blonde hair twisting with pink. “If I wasn’t so… stupid, you wouldn’t of done what you did and… and Ragnarok would still be alive. You wouldn’t be alone.”

“You… You said I’m not alone.” Chrona felt his own voice begin to shake. Maka was not far behind.

“You said that you were. I am here. I am not leaving.” The confidence in her voice grew with every syllable she spoke. “And I am not going to let you think low about yourself ever again. You don’t deserve that, not after everything you’ve been through.”

Chrona took in a deep breath before letting out a small smile.

Maka always did know the best words to say. She was always there for him, saying the things that he needed to hear, lifting his spirits in ways he thought useless or impossible. No matter how hard he pushed, how far he moved away, she always did something to bring him back, and now was no different. He wasn’t gone, far from it, savoring the contact he had with her, but any little thing that told him she would stay was a blessing to be had.

“Are you ready to go now?” Maka asked gently, slowly moving away from him. She grasped his hand again as she did, not letting go. “We can’t be far now, and I’m sure we’ll find what we need at the end.” Chrona didn’t doubt Maka’s words, he never did, but he couldn’t help the feeling of unease that wormed itself into his chest. He felt the pressure on his hand increase. “But don’t worry. I’m not going to leave, and there’s nothing we can’t handle.” And just like that, he was alright again.

“O-Okay,” he replied with all the conviction he had, raising his slender form to its tallest. Just a head above Maka’s own height, though it was barely visible in the dark hall. He felt a tug on his hand, the soft clatter of shoes on stone, and he knew that she was walking again.

They continued in silence for a time, walking down the hall with only the sound between them. Chrona never let go of Maka’s hand, feeling the warmth of her body through the thin layer her glove provided. His own gown was long and black, a blanket more than clothing, but he found that simple contact with his greatest friend warmer than any other part of him.

The darkness of the hall never seemed to end. His eyes looked forward, at least in the direction in which he was moving, but saw no dot of light or fading darkness. It felt like a great void that was still as stone. Never growing in closer to him, but neither expanding and leaving him in nothingness. It was an almost comforting feeling. Then again, it may very well could have done with where they were.

He knew where they were, more so than Maka. It was not because of deception or trickery. He would never do something like that to her ever again. It was because where they were was more than just a place he’d been to before. This was a place he had grown up in.

For lack of any other term, it very well could have been called his home.

It was lighted back then, by candles forged through his mother’s magic and kept ablaze through captured souls. His childlike ignorance for the torture of the souls at the time turned to apathetic pity as he grew, as much love in his life then as light in the tunnels now. Who was he to care about the lives of these captured souls?

He, Chrona Gorgon, the child of a witch and subject of torturous research. Drained of his blood at an age too young, replaced with a metal enchanted with magic. No blood flowed through his veins now, no red liquid of life. Only blood as black as the halls he walked within, a metal he could harden into steel and swing like a sword. Blood that was his weapon, blood that used to have a soul, blood that used to be his only friend. And now, Maka was taking him back here, back to where he had so many nightmares and nights alone, filled only with a weapon that mocked him for comfort.

But he didn’t feel any fear, and absolutely no regret. He knew why they were here. It was what Maka called “hope to bring Ragnarok back, so you won’t be alone again.” How could he say no? The one thing he had lost for all the things he had gained, and now he was being offered to have that back. How could he say no to taking back the one thing he found comfort in all his childhood, given to him by the comfort who was so kind to him now. It was enough to make him smile.

“Thank you Maka.” He spoke quietly, knowing full well no matter how low he spoke, the blonde would hear his words. The grip between the two tightened in response.

“No problem Chrona, but just wait until we get there.” That reminded him.

“We should be there soon.” He felt her slow at his words, stopping slow enough to prevent him from running into her. Her silent question was obvious to him. “There should be a door ahead. I wasn’t allowed to go in there. Mother always said that I wouldn’t be able to deal with it.”

“Well I’m with you now, and I say that you can.” He smiled again. Whenever she said that, he knew that he could. She walked forward again, slower than before. Chrona listened to Maka’s gloved hand traced the stone walls, feeling for the door he knew was there.

It didn’t take long. Her fingers drummed on metal as they slipped from stone.

“I guess this is it, huh?” She asked with an amused tone. He couldn’t see her well, but Chrona knew she was smiling.

“Yeah,” he whispered almost blissfully. “B-But be careful!” The warning almost felt redundant at this point.

“I know. Medusa isn’t exactly careless with her research.” The voice of the blonde girl had gone from joyful to indifferent at a speed he had only heard in one other voice before, and he didn’t enjoy the woman who had that voice. Not even a little. “We’ll just have to be careful for anything that happens, huh?”

“Y-Yeah.” This time, Chrona strengthened his grip on Maka’s hand. Somehow, he felt it grow warmer.

“Here goes.” Slowly, Maka slid her hand from Chrona, putting both of her gloved palms against the hard steel . Giving out a feminine grunt, she put her muscles to work, pushing on the steel frame. It groaned in annoyance to her effort, but did little more than that. “Won’t budge.” She noted through her grit teeth.

“Here, I can help.” Chrona offered behind her, moving to her side. In perfect synch, he put his hands next to hers. “Um, whenever you’re ready.”

“Alright, this time for sure.” The confidence in her voice was infectious. “3, 2,” Chrona took a deep breath, putting all the strength of his stance. “1, go!”

They both gave a push against the rusted metal. It cried before falling away in a pile. For only a moment, just a moment, Chrona saw Maka next to him, brows scrunched in effort and eyes forward. Then he looked forward and saw what he never expected.

A blinding light, turning the empty darkness behind them into a haven he wished to retreat to. The light burned, scorched and drew cries from his throat. He heard Maka do the same.

The light sucked them both away.

End

Apple Bloom thought of herself, but she found nothing she could believe in. No strength, no intelligence, nothing that was worth any faith or trust.

Begin

“Are you comfortable father?” A voice gurgled above him. He had met many species in his life that had been disturbed by the sound. It was unique among the dozen of alien races throughout the galaxy. Sadly and honestly, it was rare to hear such a tone, the race it belonged to grounded and stranded aside from the few uplifted by the other races that took pity.

It was a pity, because it matched his voice.

“Yes.” He spoke upwards, lighter than the voice that spoke down to him. “As much as I can-” His words were cut off as harsh coughs rocked his form, sending pain through his torso and throat. He shouldn’t have spoken, he knew that, but he needed to.

This was his son, a boy and voice he had not seen for nearly two dozen years, a child he knew he had, but was never able to raise. He was now the only legacy he had left. Speaking to him was an action he needed to do, no matter the pain it brought.

“Please,” the same voice spoke to him. “Relax, I am sure she will be here soon.” He did relax then, under the comforting palm and grasp of his kin. He didn’t speak the name, but he knew who his son meant. It was obvious, almost as painfully obvious as his approaching demise.

But he felt no fear.

This was a moment he had been preparing years for. His illness was never a secret, its eventual end obvious. It was only by the grace of the goddess and hunters above that he had done so much good with the little time that he had left. A soft sigh left his lips, rumbling on the same chords he spoke with.

Memories of his life slowly slipped through him. Training at the hands of the Hanar, falling in love with the warrior goddess Siha, witnessing the birth of his son, avenging the murder of his wife, the contracts and time spent alone with no purpose, then meeting her.

“Thane?”

It was not his son’s voice that spoke. It was soft and feminine, carried on the same tone and pitch. It flowed through his tired form the way a desert wind washed across his scales. Comforting in warmth, prickling his nerves, reminding him that he was still very much alive.

“Commander Shepard.” He heard his son speak. He was polite, calm, and respectful. It made him proud. “My father told me you were no longer incarcerated.” The small pleasures. “I don’t know if you remember me. My name is Kolyat Krios. I came to draw blood… and…”

He felt their vision lie over him, watching his vulnerable and prone form. The training in him told him to flex his quadriceps, preparing for an assault. His heart told him to be at ease. There would soon be nothing left that could hurt or harm him.

“He asked me to take off his oxygen mask, so he could be comfortable. I don’t think it will be very long.” His son sounded sad, remorseful, so different than the resenting tone he had carried when they reunited two years ago. It did his fading life good.

“Your father helped me save a lot of lives. I’d like to be here.” There was never any doubt in his mind that she would stay, just as there was no other feeling but peace and acceptance to her wishes.

“Of course.” He son spoke with an understanding undertone, moving away slowly so it left only him and her. Only he, the assassin, and she, the soldier. His Siha.

She approached him with a grace he wasn’t sure she possessed. Hair swaying ever so slightly as she walked towards him, muscles moving in a practiced motion, from training no less rigorous than his own. Light pink lips smiled down at him, soft blue eyes watching him with adoration and respect, two things of many things he never thought he would possess.

“Siha,” he spoke in his echoing tone. “I’m afraid I’ve picked a bad time to leave.” She leaned in close as he spoke, unabashed by the distance that closed between them.

“You couldn’t disappoint me Thane, not even now.” Her hand slowly drew itself over his face, feeling every bump between his scales. Her soft flesh caressed him lovingly. He loved it.

“Such pleasant things from your lips.” He stopped, coughing upwards as the pain began to sear his fading form again. He resisted the urge to swallow. “Forgive me, words are difficult.” Thane turned his gaze to the ceiling, watching the unmoving metal as he calmed his sore nerves and decaying flesh.

“Siha,” he began again carefully. “I need to know if the councilor survived.” It was his son who answered him.

“Yes, father.” Kolyat spoke with an unchanged tone. “Three of the councilors are still alive thanks to you and Shepard. Udina… he instigated it. He is dead.” He felt no joy for the life he was told had left. All life was sacred to him now. Thane turned his attention to the woman beside him.

“There is something I must do before it gets worse. I must-” More coughing ripped through his lungs, forcing his laying form to bend forwards with the pain. He saw his son standing at the far side of his bed, hands folded in prayer as he stood by his father. Kolyat had regained his faith too. There was little left for him to regret. Leaning backwards, he began to speak, careful with every syllable that left his lips.

“Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness. Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand-” Again the coughing returned, as did the pain. Thane moved forward again, putting his own green scaled hand to his mouth to catch the liquid that moved forth. His son watched him, pain in his own dark eyes.

So Kolyat continued for his father.

“Kalahira, wash the sins from this one and set him on the distant shore of infinite spirit.” Thane turned his dark eyes to Shepard, the woman, his Siha standing still just beside him. He had never seen such sad eyes on her face before. It didn’t suit her.

“Kolyat,” he spoke as proud as his shivering voice could manage. “You speak as the priests do. You have been spending time with them.” The smile he gave took all the energy he could imagine. His son nodded in return, face betrayed the depths of the storm Thane knew brewed within him. That was alright. Strength took many forms.

His son moved around his bed, moving towards his Siha with a respectful space between them. When he stood by her side, Kolyat spoke again.

“I brought a prayer book. Commander, would you care to join me?” He watched Commander Shepard take in a deep breath before nodding. She was hiding her pain little different than his son. His son had faith. He knew his Siha did not. That was alright. The gods may favor the faithful, but that did not scorn the ignorant.

“Kalahira, the one who’s heart is pure, but beset by wickedness and contention.” His son spoke carefully, reading from the scripture with practiced tones. That was when Thane’s Siha leaned over, carefully reading on from where Kolyat left off.

“Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve.” He could feel the pain in her voice, a pain he could no longer help to remove. It was hard to undo his own impending death. “Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me.” Thane listened with rapt attention as his Siha finished the prayer. She had recited it perfectly.

The words asking for Shepard’s forgiveness.

He had said his prayers and wishes not before Shepard entered his room. He was prepared the moment his son had removed his oxygen mask. The only task he had left in the realm of the living was the knowledge that his love, his mate, would be able to join him as well.

And now she would.

He turned his head towards the window beside him, gazing out along the many buildings and cars that flew by. Life was such an odd thing. Easy and blissful to experience, yet all together tragic and confusing. What was he but another life passing from this world to the next? Another soul letting his spirit fall into the waters of the great beyond, letting the warrior goddess and angels guide his once broken spirit.

Thane felt that familiar warmth reach over his gaze, gently holding him close. Her chest pushed against the back of his head, holding his already fading form and passing spirit. She yearned for him to stay, but they both knew he could not. Thane was a being of faith, and Shepard a woman of will. He knew what awaited him now, and he only needed to be sure that his lover’s soul would be forgiven as well.

Breathing was becoming much more difficult.

“Kolyat?” He heard her question his son, her voice crying with her eyes, though he could see neither. “Why did the last verse say “She”?”

“The prayer was not for him commander.” His son spoke with no less love and devotion as he had before. “He has already asked forgiveness for the lives he has taken and ended. His wish was for you.”

He heard the gasp and tears from his Siha just before he heard water drip across the floor. It was painful, he knew. Painful to his soul and body. But pain was what began all methods of healing. Guilt was pain of the soul, and guilt would lead her to forgiveness.

“Goodbye Thane,” she whispered above him gently, letting her hand run smoothly over his scales.

“Meet you across the sea.”

Thane began his journey home.

End

Zecora thought of her home, of her kind that fought against nature itself to survive. She had to keep to her ways. She had to keep her mind strong. She could not forsake her own ways now.

Begin

“This place is really messed up Tenzin.” The woman noted dryly as she followed the elder man. She rolled her head back against her hands, digits knitted together. “I mean, c’mon, I already mastered the avatar state, not to mention beat the crap out of The Equalists. Air bending is all I got left, and I really doubt you’re gonna be able to teach me much in… wherever we are.” I low sigh came from the man in front of her. She heard that sound at least half a dozen times a day.

“For the last time Korra, we are going to the private study chambers of Avatar Aang, my father.” It was hard for the woman to not smile at the exasperated tone she heard. “Whenever a difficult situation arrived in the world, one requiring more than a demonstration of force, Avatar Aang would come here to meditate with his former selves, your former selves.”

“Yeah, I got that, but I don’t know why I have to be here to do it.” Korra blew out a breath of air, watching as the small gust she created form a cloud of dust. “I mean, didn’t Aang do all of that on the back of a Tiger Turtle, er, Shark Tortoise? Whatever that thing was before Sozin’s comet.” Another sigh. That was two, only four more and she would hit today’s quota. The idea brought a wicked smile to her lips.

“You miss the point Korra,” Tenzin reprimanded in what he thought to be a harsh tone. To her, it sounded no different than the monks trying to teach her waterbending. “Accessing your Avatar state is difficult process you have not mastered yet, no matter what you may think of yourself.” He must have felt her mouth opening to argue. “Yes, I am thrilled you spoke to my late father and have restored the bending of nearly ever bender in Republic City, but there is a difference between what you have done and what prior Avatars can do.”

“And that is?” Her hand put itself outwards, palm raised up as she waited for an explanation. They had yet to stop walking down the old and what appeared to be abandoned hall.

“As of now, you can speak to your former selves like you and I talk over morning meals. I do not hold that as anything but an accomplishment, but that is not the Avatar state.” That is when he turned to her, eyes conveying a message and wisdom the young Avatar found difficult to ignore. “When you reach the true Avatar state, there is no discussion among your past lives, no consensus or conversation. You will literally become one with your past lives, knowing what they know and seeing what they see. If you can do that, then you will truly have mastered all that I can possibly teach you.”

Korra was silent.

The idea both scared her and intrigued her. It was odd enough just having to share her life with others. Living in a family that had a new baby to care for, spending so much of your day making sure everyone was alright, that was hard enough. Sharing a body, mind, and everything that was you? Somehow intimacy didn’t quite cover just how deep of a connection that needed. Then again, what would be more awesome than learning all of the greatest techniques in bending in a single moment? Being able to erupt volcanoes, summon tidal waves, rip the land into earthquakes and maybe even cause a typhoon.

It was so scary it was awesome.

“This is nothing to smile about Korra.” The reprimanding voice of Tenzin shook her from her thoughts. Her hand ran roughly across her mouth. “This is an important test that will require all of your concentration, you don’t have time to daydream about your friend.” Korra froze.

“Wait, what?” The elder monk turned to her as she stopped, brow knit into a confused look. Tenzin returned with a look of his own.

“Your friend Mako, you were just thinking about seeing him again, weren’t you?” The confusion on Korra’s face left her. Heat swelled in its place.

“What!? No, I was thinking about how cool it would be to be able to use the most powerful bending techniques, not just my own!” Tenzin watched with a mask of apathy, slowly cracking with a faint smile beneath his pointed beard.

“Now Korra, it’s alright.” He spoke honestly, putting a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “I’ve been young and in love too. I know how distracting those thoughts can be.” If asked later, Tenzin would have sworn on his father’s grace he felt her skin grow hotter with his words.

“Th-That’s ridiculous!” The teen nearly screeched, backing away from her airbending master. “I don’t fantasize about that kind of stuff.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I was serious the first time!” Korra shouted back without hesitance. “I was thinking of bending like with all my Avatar…ian powers, not making out with Mako over the Bending Stadium with a light show above us and cool breeze that would make us sit closer… together.” She let out a defeated sigh. Tenzin smiled like his father.

“You see, was that so hard to get off your chest?” He questioned in good nature the slumping form of the Avatar. “Now that you’ve gotten off your mind, you can focus on your meditation.”

“Yeah,” Korra admitted weakly, starting to walk forwards again with a hunched form. “Let’s just get this over with for today. I’m already beat after that.” She heard Tenzin chuckle as he continued to walk as well.

“Don’t worry,” he spoke to her. “I doubt you’ll be able to accomplish this the first time. It took my father many years. Just relax yourself in the room, and I’m sure you’ll find your peace eventually.”

“Peace, right,” she noted dryly. “Peace of mind in this dusty cold tomb.” He sighed again in front of her. At least she was halfway to meeting today’s mark.

“It’s not a tomb Korra, it’s a meditation room. One specifically designed by Avatar Aang through the study of other temples. He wished to recreate the Air Temples, but for a logical fear, kept one of the holiest rooms buried beneath the ground.” Korra wouldn’t have been able to swear on it, but Tenzin sounded almost… defeated.

“Kind of pointless for an airbender to sit underground, don’t you think?”

“Yes,” he agreed without reluctance, earning a curious glance from the younger of the two.

“Wait, you agree with me? Just like that?” He sighed again. That made four.

“I don’t fight you with words for my enjoyment Korra. What I do is to ensure that you become the Avatar the world needs you to be. You have already done so much, but Amon proved that any bender with a silver tongue can turn even one of the most peaceful cities into a realm of corruption and discord.” She felt him place a hand on her shoulder, stopping them both.

“You are the Avatar, the reincarnation of the world itself. You are meant to bring balance and peace to all, bender and non-benders alike. For that to happen, you need to feel the connection with the world, to live the lives of your past, experience memories not your own, and learn from all of them things no coward on a throne could dare argue with.” He placed his other hand on her opposite shoulder, directing her gaze to his.

“If nothing else, remember this. For as long as you are alive, and for as long as you are strong, the world will always need an Avatar. Whether it be to protect the weak or correct the wrongs, you, and you alone, have the power to change the world.”

Korra gazed back at Tenzin, letting his words roll through her mind carefully. It felt practiced, precise, but most importantly, convincing. She drew in a deep breath of air, shutting her eyes briefly as the words worked through her one more time. Carefully, she chose her own words, and responded in kind.

“That was really lame Tenzin.”

The elder monk sighed again. Five down, one to go. She couldn’t help a snicker.

“It’s a good thing that we are here then.” Without waiting for a remark from the young Avatar, Tenzin put his hand out, grasping at a handle Korra had not seen. A small wind blew past her, drawn into the opening doorway. Dust billowed in front of her, tickling her nose just enough to earn a sneeze. When she opened her eyes, she gazed into the room, or what little she could see.

Only small slits appeared through the rocky walls at the room’s opposite side. She couldn’t tell if the ground had risen since then or they were intentionally built to house such little light. What light that entered showed her a barren and empty room, filled with just dust and grime.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” She openly complained. “Aang stuck himself in here? For how long?”

“I’d say weeks, I think he survived off of eating the ants that crawled through the windows.” If Korra had turned any faster, her hair would have left a mark on Tenzin’s face. When she did look at him, all she saw was wide and proud smirk. “I am my father’s son. Joking isn’t beyond me.” Korra found herself smiling in return.

“Yeah, that, or maybe I’m just rubbing off on you.” She pushed herself to her tallest height, barely above chin high for the air bending monk.

“I’ll take my small victories.” He spoke easily, but he didn’t sigh. Dang, and she was so close to meeting that quota too. “Regardless, I’ll bring food often, and you will not sleep in here. When night falls, it will be obvious. For now, focus on the state of your mind when you communicated with your former selves. That will be the doorway you need to fully immerse yourself into the lives you have lead.” She nodded in understanding.

“Alright, guess I’ll catch you later.” Without another word, she walked into the room, moving around the empty space in hopes to find or see something that escaped her from the door. But there was nothing. Just dirt covering the walls and dust frosting over the grime. It was a bore inside of boredom.

End

The door clicked shut behind her. Korra sighed in annoyance. She sat herself on the dusty ground, pushing away the stray clumps of dirt that irritated her.

Time passed slower than frozen water in the artic. More than once Korra found herself scratching at itches that weren’t there, finding the specks of dust that danced in the soft light of the room more captivating than comets.

“Agh!” She shouted with no restraint to her aggravation. Pushing herself from the ground with a bit of her airbending, she twisted until she faced door. It was nearly as hidden as the rest of the room, at least in the darkness and with so much dirt everywhere else. Korra walked over to it, rubbing her hand over the sleek metal.

She remembered stories of Katara, talking of how the old Chief of Police, Toph Bei Fong, could bend metal to her will, that she was the first to do it. The metal benders were now a force to be reckoned with, debatably secondary only to the Thunder Squad of the Fire Nation Army. Then again, she’d only ever seen one in action.

Korra blew at a strand of hair that fell over her eyes. It refused to budge. Putting up both her hands, she ran her fingers through her hair, shoving all the dirty strands out of her vision. That’s when her elbow struck the wall.

“Ow.” She said more out of reaction that any pain. Her eye glanced at the marred joint, sporting a bit of dirt that doubtlessly covered a raw piece of skin now. The Avatar directed her vision once more at the wall. The area where she had struck it was clear, the dirt not on her skin having fallen to the ground. But that was not what captivated her interest.

There were markings beneath it. Her hand pushed against the dirt, scrubbing at the substance to get a closer view at the clearly intentional drawings. She did that for all of a minute before hitting her head against the wall.

“Duh?” Taking a few steps back, she positioned herself in the proper stance. A stomp of her foot, a thrusting of her arms, and the extension outwards. All the dirt fell away from the walls.

Korra gasped at what she saw.

Faces, markings, murals, designs, maybe even scriptures of every Avatar that had come before her. She didn’t know them all, not even a hundredth of the many faces that decorated this forgotten mural, but she knew enough. She knew of Roku, the firebending Avatar that had battle the King of the Fire Nation. She knew of Kyoshi, the earthbending Avatar that had split countries. She knew of Kuruk, the waterbending avatar that had tamed monsoons. And she knew one face more than any other.

She knew of Aang, the last airbender, the avatar that ended a hundred year war and brought peace to the world, the world she was now responsible for guarding. Her hand traced his image, from the blue arrow on his forehead to the staff he carried at his side. Even now, on a face carved in stone, she could feel him smiling at her.

Korra could sense them all smiling at her.

She could sense everyone of them.

Her body sat on the floor, eyes glowing white and bright.

Breath slowly left her form.

Discord, both above the portal of darkness and his pawn in the Hall of Harmony, cackled with mirth comforting to no soul.

“Now, the game can begin.” Next Chapter: The End of The Beginning Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 2 Minutes