Chapter 27: The Key to Spartans

It's been about a month now since Ed’s visit, and about 2 weeks since Sunset left us, and I now find myself watching a battle between Sin Eaters, and Luna. Now, before any of you call me a hypocrite for allowing her to fight when I said I didn’t want her to, this is just a simulation pulled from Final Fantasy. Surprisingly enough, the depiction of The First in the Shadowbringers story is actually accurate, according to Faust.

“OK, that’s enough,” I called down to Luna. “Finish them off.”

The alicorn jumped into the air, wrapping herself in green energy and slamming into a group of Sin Eaters, hoisting them into the air with her new Strand abilities, before switching to Double Form and calling “ULTIMATE FINISH!” Beams of light and darkness arced from her two Keyblades, almost appearing like starlight to decimate the false angels she had been battling.

“Computer, end simulation.” I called with a nod, motioning Luna to follow me out.

“About time you two finished. I need you two down in my lab.” Melissa called over the comms.

Luna and I glanced at each other, before taking off towards the lab, being careful not to trigger any of the techie’s traps. Upon arrival, we found a rather odd sight; a rifle of some sort with what looked to be a bayonet of pure energy mounted on the barrel hovering in the air, being bombarded by sensors.

“Good, you’re here,” Melissa’s voice floated to us as her face was buried in the bank of consoles the sensors were hooked up to.

“Yeah, but would you mind telling us why we’re here, as well as what that is?” I asked, pointing at the rifle with a raised eyebrow.

“We don’t know,” Sumire replied, stepping out of the shadows. “I found it in my room, when I know it wasn’t there before. It was just leaning against the wall when I came back from a bath.”

“It’s also saturated in Void energy,” the techie added. “Meaning that it's most likely a Token of some sort.”

I nodded. “OK, so, a possible new friend and ally, then?”

Melissa nodded as she finally turned to face us. “Possibly, but don’t forget, there is still the possibility that whoever comes isn’t friendly.”

“I know, I know,” I muttered, stepping up to the rifle. “Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

I grabbed the rifle, allowing the message to play in my head, a male voice echoing in my mind: “For those who are in need of a scout, a commander, or a friend, I will answer the call. My name is Eliteslayer, but for those who knew me back then as Sebaste, I have returned… and I am ready to protect and serve.”

“Sebaste, you say…” I muttered, trailing off as a portal crackled into being, but as it did so, electrical arcs suddenly began ripping through it, as if something had started interfering with the energy. A large armored form soon came flying out and crashed into the ground in a heap, allowing us to catch glimpses of red and black on them, along with gold on what looked to be their visor, arcs of energy sparking over whoever they were, as the portal then imploded as the energy inside it proved too much for it to be stable.

“Kuso!” I rushed to the figure’s side. “Sumire, help me get them to the medical wing…”

It didn’t take us long to get the armored… well, I’m actually not sure if they’re a man or woman. Can’t tell with the armor on, and we can’t seem to get the helmet off either. Anyway, it didn’t take us long to get them to the medical wing, however, our sensors couldn’t penetrate the armor. So, we’ve pretty much just been trying to get the thing open for the past hour.

“It's no use,” Melissa growled in frustration, tossing aside her cutting torch. “Based on how tough that armor is, we’re dealing with Mjolnir armor. No chance of us getting it off them while they’re unconscious. We’ll just have to wait until they wake up.”

“Any idea, how long that’ll be?” Sumire asked, just as one of their fingers twitched.

“I think they’ve been awake for a while now actually,” I pointed to the twitching finger.

A feminine groan then came out of the helmet, "Uuuuugh, I feel like I got slammed by a Brute chieftain…" the figure said, putting a hand to their head.

I chuckled. “Sounds like my first summoning all over again. Might I have the pleasure of knowing who I’ve just summoned into my home?”

"Name's Sebaste, Spartan 997, callsign "Eliteslayer"…. Okay, Kyra, did you activate the voice changer in my helmet without me knowing? Cause I swear my voice wasn't like this before I got pulled into that portal." The figure said as they struggled to sit up, making us wonder who this 'Kyra' he mentioned was. "And why does my chest armor feel so tight all of a sudden?"

“Oh boy, I remember this as well,” I muttered, before turning back to Sebaste. “You, uh, might want to check… well, down south, if you know what I mean.”

"Oookay?" Sebaste muttered, sounding confused as they unsealed their helmet, revealing a mop of short red hair, green eyes and a face that showed off several scars, two in particular ran down the right side of their face over one of their eyes. As they did so, their armor seemed to shimmer and vanish, revealing a black jumpsuit underneath. Unfortunately, as it did so, two certain mounds spilled downwards on their chest. "OH WHAT IN CELESTIA'S PINK BEARD?!" They yelped, feeling them crash against their chest. "How?! These weren't there when I got summoned!"

“Yep, that sounds about right,” I sighed. “Could something have interfered with the summoning on your end? I mean you did kinda come shooting out of an unstable wormhole.”

"Last thing I remember was scolding a certain chaos lover over a mess he had made that involved one of the other displaced in my world, then I was called here, but as I went into the portal, I heard a snap and my body felt like it was on fire… I must've lost consciousness afterwards, cause next thing I know, I'm in here." Her eyes widened before gritting her teeth and yelling, "DISCORD, WHEN I GET BACK THERE, I'M PUTTING YOUR HEAD ON A FAUST DAMNED HUNTING RACK FOR THIS!"

“Of course it was Discord,” Melissa sighed. “This whole thing has his name written all over it. Which means I have no way of reversing this. You’ll just have to live it while you’re here.”

I nodded. “Luckily, you’re in good company. I was in your shoes when I first arrived.”

She looked over at me in surprise. "You used to be a guy as well? Guessing the Merchant had something to do with that?"

“Indeed he did,” I confirmed with a nod. “Not really complaining about it though. Aside from…that time of the month, I haven’t really minded the change.”

Sebaste gave a small chuckle. "It's not the first time I've had a run in with a displaced who got genderbent, I got summoned once by a female Kamen Rider who also had a genderbent Ruby running around her world. Ended up helping her deal with a Grimm that had gotten fused with something called a Roidmude," She said.

“Sounds like you’ve been around,” Melissa replied with a nod. “Plus a Roidmude fused with a Grimm? That’s not an easy thing to take down.”

“Roidmude?” Luna, Sumire and I chorused in confusion.

"They're robotic foes, androids actually, of this particular Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Gold, I think they're called, but they fuse with certain stuff to become pretty powerful enemies." Sebaste explained.

“Grimm,” I nodded in understanding, Luna turned to me in confusion. “Creatures of Grimm are essentially darkness given form, much like the Heartless we battle on a daily basis. The difference is while the Heartless have a sort of instinctual cunning to them, the Grimm are simply mindless beasts, killing all in their path, unless being controlled by Salem, the one who originally created them.”

"Yeah, and add to that they can range from being the size of a bear to the size of a full grown dragon, which means not all of them are easy to bring down." Sebaste said. She then swung her legs over the side of the table before standing up with her helmet underneath her arm. This caused us to crane our heads up as she practically towered over us, even without the armor. "So other than Princess Luna and Kairi, who I do remember the character from playing at least a small bit of KH2, I don't know who everyone else is." She said, rubbing the back of her head.

I nodded. “Alright, first is Melissa, our tech expert. Next is Sumire, Phantom Thief extraordinaire. And, over there sleeping, and being overall lazy, are both Haley, and Chirithy. I was wondering where they were holed up.”

Luna snuck up next to them, before yelling “WAKE UP!” right in their ears, causing them to jolt and fall out of their little hidey hole.

“I’m awake!” Haley yelled, popping up off the floor. She looked around a bit before narrowing her eyes. Right at a spot that seemed to have nothing. “Oh, so now you’re gonna include me in the story? About time!”

“Uh, Haley, what are you doing?” I asked in confusion.

“Oh, she’s just giving the author a piece of her mind for not showing up in the LLLLLLLOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGEEEEEEESSSSSSSTTTTTTT time!”
Pinkie explained, popping into existence, before winking at the same spot Haley is glaring at, then popping away again.

Sebaste deadpanned before putting her helm down and throwing her hands up into the air saying "Nope, not even gonna even try and question it, it's friggin Pinkie, just don't bother trying to figure it out…"

“And she clearly taught Haley her tricks.” I nodded in agreement.

"So with Sumire, I assume she's a Persona displaced?" Sebaste asked.

In response, Sumire’s mask flashed into existence. She reached up and yanked it off. “Come, Cendrillon!” Immediately, her Persona appeared in a burst of blue flames before winking out of existence again. “Just the one Persona, but yeah, I am.”

"Huh, I personally never played the games myself, but I did witness Joker entering Smash Bros Ultimate back before I had been displaced." Sebaste commented.

“And he was easily the best fighter when I was displaced,” I nodded. “Sumire comes from the same game as Joker, Persona 5. Specifically the director’s cut of the game, entitled Persona 5 Royal.”

“I, however,” the red head cut in. “Came from Tokyo, after dying while saving my brother. I knew nothing about who I ended up as, and Kairi here had to give me a crash course.”

Sebaste winced. "That's honestly the first time I've actually heard of someone being reincarnated as a Displaced after meeting an end like that," She said.

I glanced over to Melissa. Surprisingly, she was hiding her discomfort over the topic pretty well. I turned back to Sebaste, just as an alarm began to blare. We all shared a quick glance before we bolted to the control room, Sebaste hot on our heels as she slammed her helmet back on and her armor reformed around her body.

"What's going on?" Sebaste yelled over the sound of the alarm.

Melissa quickly pulled up an image of the Everfree Forest, teaming with the telltale white forms of Sin Eaters, along with an unnaturally bright sky, despite it being close to midnight.

“Sin Eaters,” I growled. “And they brought a Lightwarden with them.”

"Sin what? And what the heck is a Lightwarden?" Sebaste asked.

“Sin Eaters. Ponies, and creatures that have had their internal magics twisted through an imbalance of light,” I quickly explained. “Abominations that need to be put down. As for Lightwardens, they are greater Sin Eaters that exude an unnatural Light that, with enough of them, can permanently leave a world bathed in light with no day and night cycle.”

“Sebaste, if you want to help, we won’t turn you away,” Melissa chimed in. “However, I strongly advise caution. Even the smallest cut will corrupt your own internal magics, and turn you. On top of that, slaying a Lightwarden usually corrupts the one who slayed it. We have a method to make sure that doesn’t happen, but it's reliant on Kairi dealing the killing blow.”

"I'll help to the best of my abilities, but if things get too much, I will have Kyra call in backup if that's alright?" Sebaste asked.

“Considering we have a veritable army on our doorstep, the more the merrier,” I replied with a smirk. I took another glance at the screen. “It looks like Twilight and the Elements have already started holding them back, so you have time to get them here and briefed.”

Sebaste nodded before saying, "Alright Kyra, you're up!" Holding her palm out, a blue A.I in what appeared to be an armored vest and holding a laser weapon of some type shimmered into view.

"Open up a portal and get the gang here, we've got some work to do." Sebaste said.

"On it. Locking portal coordinates and message has been sent out." The A.I said, just as a new portal opened up, and 3 more armored figures walked through, two looked to be Spartans like Sebaste, with red and silver for their armor colors and different armor from hers, but I then noticed that one of them had a much bulkier right arm that ended in a clawed gauntlet and had a sword strapped to their back. The third figure was a shade of dark green with a red stripe on his knee, a sideways double arrow on his left shoulder pad, an image of a winged sword on his right shoulder pad and a gold double-headed eagle on his chest. They easily towered their companions, their armor looking almost archaic and high-tech at the same time. A strange looking backpack was mounted on their back, with what looked like vents jutting out of the sides while a pair of red lenses glared out from the helmet, glowing almost hellishly in the light.

"Everyone, meet Alexia, Viktor and Sasha." Sebaste said as the three came to a halt in front of us.

“A pleasure,” I nodded. “But we don’t exactly have time for pleasantries. Melissa can get you up to speed. Meet us in the Everfree when you can. Sumire, Haley, Luna, let’s go!”

With that, a portal opened behind us, courtesy of Melissa, and we charged out to meet the enemy head on.

The first thing we saw upon exiting the portal, was the Everfree awash in flames, and hordes of Sin Eaters on the march towards the Tower. Luckily, I could easily see Twilight’s purple shield snap into existence around the Tower, solving one problem.

“About time you got here!” Rainbow snapped, dive bombing one of the many Sin Eaters around us. “I thought you had an early warning system, what took you?!?”

“It's not exactly a fool proof system, Rainbow,” I snapped back, cutting one of the Eaters down. “I’m here now though, where’s the Lightwarden?”

“You mean the big one that seems to be leading them?” AJ grunts, holding an earthen wall up against the onslaught.

I nodded, tossing her an Elixir. “That’s the one!”

“At the back,” Rainbow yelled. “Good luck getting to it though.”

As she spoke, the roar of what sounded like rockets ripped through the air, before a series of explosions sent Sin Eaters flying left and right, showering us in dirt in the process. Soon the screeching of tires and the roar of a car engine was our only warning as an armored blur zipped past us, smashing into one of the Sin Eaters left unscathed by the bombardment. “Anyone call for heavy firepower?” I heard Sebaste’s voice ask from the vehicle where she and two of her companions sat in. As I watched, I saw one of the other Spartans, the one she called Viktor swing what appeared to be a tri-barreled machine gun turret mounted on the back of the vehicle towards more of the Sin Eaters and open fire.

“Nice timing!” I replied with a grin. “I was just wishing for some Spartans! Now remember, these things need to be taken down with EXTREME prejudice! It's the only thing we can do for them at this point.”

“Roger that.” Sebaste then pressed something on the side of her helmet before saying, “Alright Sasha, get over here, we’re gonna need you for this one!”

A loud rumbling was then heard within minutes of her saying that alongside branches and the occasional log shattering, before a massive tank rumbled into view, with a single cannon mounted on the turret and what appeared to be two heavy caliber guns, one mounted on each side of the tank. As we stared in shock, the turret and one of the side mounted guns swung to the side before both weapons roared to life, the BOOM BOOM BOOM of the main gun mixing with the THUDTHUDTHUD of the side gun as both sent heavy caliber rounds tearing through multiple Sin Eaters, some of which were then ripped apart by internal explosions after some of the rounds from the side guns connected.

I shook myself out of my stupor, before turning back to the rest of my group. “Right, we all need to carve a path to that Lightwarden. Don’t hold back, and Haley, use swords for this. I have no idea what the Light aether will do to you if you attack bare handed.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Sumire cut in with a grin, Cendrillon appearing behind her, with a sort of techno violin starting to play. “I can use Ed’s gift to shield you from that, so Haley, go right ahead and cut loose!”

We all grinned as we charged into the fray.

“Who sings this song about us pain and sorrow?
(Who sings this song about us pain and sorrow?)
Kagami utsushi no gou wo sumashita furi tsukurotte mitsumeteta
(We've been staring at our mirrored karma, pretending we're done for)”

Luna jumped into the air, swinging through the forest on her Strand, and throwing green daggers out, skewering the Sin Eaters in her path, before crashing down into a dense group of them, suspending and immobilizing them for easy pickings. Haley, meanwhile, was currently in one of her Satan Soul Take Overs, ripping them apart in demonic fashion.

“Kurikaesu itami ima da shiranu akogare
(The pain repeats, a longing yet unknown)
The weight of my sin nails me down agaitemo
(The weight of my sin nails me down, no matter how I struggle)”

Sebaste and her group provided what fire support they could to deadly effect, she and the other two spartans having apparently abandoned their vehicle, although I could have sworn I saw it dematerialize out of the corner of my eye, and were now using what weapons they were armed with, while the tank continued to wreak havoc with its firepower on any Sin Eaters that made the mistake of getting in its sights. A startled exclamation from Rainbow caused me to spin around in time to see one of the Spartans, the one with the clawed gauntlet Sebaste called Alexia, fire off a magic blast that sent a Sin Eater flying.

“Is it the future falling guuzou suuhai mitai da
(Is it the future falling, just like idolatry?)
Kasuka na fuan no ashioto wo despair of all
(The faint footsteps of uneasiness are the despair of all)”

I whistled in awe, before throwing one of my own Shackle Grenades towards a rather dense cluster, suspending them, before casting an overpowered Firaga spell in an attempt to replicate the Solar Guardian’s Fusion Grenades. Didn’t quite work how I intended, since instead of exploding, I simply immolated the lot. Meh, that worked just as well.

“Emptiness follows you here this never ending war
(Emptiness follows you here this never ending war)
Shinjitai mirai e makimodoshite
(Rewind to the future we want to believe in)”

Luna then came crashing down in front of me, glowing green with Strand, as she then combines it with her Double Form! How in the heck did I not think of that first?!? Anyway, with her Keyblades wrapped in Strand, she then whips them around her, making them extend out until they pierce through multiple Eaters, before whipping them around, causing them, as well as the other Eaters that they hit, to unravel into green threads.

“Yurusenakute escalate shite escalate shite
(Can't accept it, so escalate, escalate)
I need someone to me wo fuse
(I need someone to cast down my eyes)
Pray in my name taiko e inotte orete wa tsunaide
(Pray in my name, pray to ancient times. Broken, then joined again)
Again and again and again rasen no you one thing
(Again and again and again. Like a helix, one thing)”

“Alright, time to bring out the big guns!” Sebaste shouted, before throwing up her rifle. It then shimmered as the weapon changed into a heavy machine gun, which she caught with a grunt with both hands before opening fire, while Viktor went from a rifle to an Energy Sword and Alexia drew her own blade. As one, the two charged in, their strikes precise and devastating. Meanwhile, the tank driver, Sasha, had exited his own vehicle and was tearing through his own group of Sin Eaters with a pair of large gauntlets with metal claws mounted on top of them, each blade crackling with energy, just as an earth shaking roar blasted through the area.

“Naze tatakai tsuzukeru no? mada sutekirenai mono wa
(Why do I keep fighting? What is it that I can't let go?)
Karisome ka tashika na kibou ka fureru hari
(Is the needle's touch something fleeting, or a definite hope?)”

Coming through the trees was the Lightwarden. I instantly recognized it as Philia, the very first Warden to fall to the Warrior of Darkness.

“Looks like we found our target!” I called out, quickly activating Angel of Black and White, while channeling Strand. The black wing was now green, while Strand energy wrapped around my right side. “Seb, you got anything that can take it out quickly?”

“Searching to find the truth there’s no tomorrow
(Searching to find the truth there’s no tomorrow)
Samenai yume moyou wo satotta fuu ni ashiratte sagashiteta
(I've been searching for the pattern of an endless dream, pretending I've already attained it)”

“Yeah, I got at least 2 weapons that’ll fit the bill.” Sebaste said. “Vik, Alexia, switch to Gauss Cannons, time to ground this turkey!” The two other Spartans nodded before sheathing/ deactivating their weapons and summoning a large two handed railgun, Sebaste following suit with her own gun. “Ready….” As one, the three Spartans took aim at the Lightwarden. “Aim….” A headache-inducing Vreeeeeee was then heard as the weapons charged up, the coils glowing blue. “FIRE!” Sebaste shouted, and at once, all three sent a single hyper accelerated slug streaking faster than we could blink into the Lightwarden, causing it to roar in pain as the tungsten slugs smashed into its body.

“Same vision repeats itself houkai sunzen no rakuen
(The same vision repeats itself, a paradise on the verge of collapse)
Aragatta hate no ketsumatsu wo resisting me
(The outcome of all my resistance, resisting me)”

“Here it comes,” I muttered, jumping out of the way of a claw slash. “How long until those railguns are ready for another shot?”

“A few seconds!” Sebaste said, jumping backwards to avoid the same slash. “These guns can fire a bit faster than the MAC guns they’re based off of!”

“I must be near to break down release me i’m in pain
(I must be near to break down release me I’m in pain)
Shinjiau sekai e kakikaeru ima
(Rewrite it now, into a world where we have faith in one another)”

“Good!” I grunt, rolling away from a ground pound. “I’ll keep it off of you while they charge. We’ll finish off the small fry once this thing is dead!”

I quickly jumped into the air, throwing needles of Strand into the Warden, causing it to roar in pain as it turned its attention towards me, only to cover its face as Sumire starts taking potshots with her Ace of Spades, the shots exploding on contact.

“Shimarenakute escalate shite escalate shite
(It can't be dyed, so escalate, escalate)
I can live and die for sora wo kake
(I can live and die just for a dash through the heavens)
Give me a name namae wo tsukete shibori dashita koe wa
(Give me a name, christen me. My voice is wrung dry)”

“FIRE!” Sebaste shouted, the THOOM of the Gauss Cannons ripping through the air as they sent their hypersonic payload into the Warden once again, completely blowing its head off this time.

“Whoo! Bullseye!” Viktor cheered.

“Celebrate later!” Luna cut in. “We still need to finish off the rest of them!”

“Again and again and again arashi no gou always
(Again and again and again. In a storm of karma, always)
Mada aragai tsuzukeru no? mabuta ni yakitsuku mono wa
(Am I still going to struggle? Something is burnt into my eyelids)
Moredasu hikari ka zangai ka yureru kage
(Are the swaying shadows just light leaking out, or are they broken remains?)”

I nodded. “Keep them off me for a sec, I’ve got an idea, but I need a little time!”

“You got it!” Sebaste said. As the three moved up to engage the rest of the Sin Eaters with Sasha and the others, I heard Viktor say to her with a snicker, “I can’t wait to hear how you got into this scenario, Seb.” To which the only response he got from that was an annoyed groan.

I quickly began charging up a Megidolaon spell, but instead of using shadows, I began pumping in Strand.

“Vik, call in a Cyclop!” Sebaste shouted as she sent another hypersonic slug into a Sin Eater. The Spartan in question nodded before leaping into the air. The space around him began to shimmer before a large mech formed around him, equipped with a single arm mounted cannon. Stomping forward, the mech slapped aside one Sin Eater before disintegrating another with the arm mounted cannon. Alexia and Sasha for their part, fought back to back, their blades and guns flashing as they coordinated their moves.

“Yurusenakute escalate shite escalate shite
(Can't accept it, so escalate, escalate)
I need someone to me wo fuse
(I need someone to cast down my eyes)
Pray in my name taiko e inotte orete wa tsunaide
(Pray in my name, pray to ancient times. Broken, then joined again)”

I could feel it as the spell finished charging. The usual murky, gray orb, replaced with a shimmering orb of tangled threads, shifting through the colors of the rainbow. With a nod, I took to the air, ready to unleash my newly created spell.

Luna’s eyes widened as she saw my jump. “GET DOWN!”

“Again and again and again rasen no you one thing
(Again and again and again. Like a helix, one thing)
Naze tatakai tsuzukeru no? mada sutekirenai mono wa
(Why do I keep fighting? What is it that I can't let go?)
Karisome ka tashika na kibou ka fureru hari
(Is the needle's touch something fleeting, or a definite hope?)”

“Megido-Needlestorm!” I cried, throwing my spell directly at the advancing army, watching as it broke into a hundred bolts before impacting the Sin Eaters. I watched as the bolts then exploded, destroying the vast majority of the army, with little creatures created from the energy killing the last of them.

“Pray in my name”

I slowly lowered myself back to the ground, collapsing to a knee as I panted for breath as Sumire’s song ended.

Where Sebaste and her group were situated, an energy dome surrounded them, having protected them from the barrage. It soon deactivated, leaving four stunned figures looking at me. “Bloody hell, just what powerset are you packing?!” Sebaste asked. “Cause that sure as hell wasn’t something I remember from KH2!”

“Something… I can’t really do… Without passing out…” I panted out, my vision swimming. “Speaking of which…” With those parting words, my vision faded as I passed out. The last thing I heard was someone yelping “Crap! Grab her before she hits the-!”

“Ugh!” I groaned, awakening to the mother of all headaches. I slowly opened my eyes to find myself within the Tower’s infirmary, with Luna, Melissa and the Spartans around my bed peering down on me. “Hey guys,” I croaked.

“Geez girl, don’t scare us like that!” one of the Spartans, Viktor if I remembered correctly, said, relief in his voice. “You’re lucky Alexia managed to catch you with magic before you faceplanted into the ground from exhaustion. She also helped heal everyone else that needed it.”

Melissa nodded with a glare. “Just what in the HELL were you thinking combining a paracausal ability that we know precious little about, with your light magic?!?”

“I was thinking that we needed to get rid of a small army of Sin Eaters before they marched on town,” I groaned, slowly pushing myself into a sitting position.

The Spartan with the clawed gauntlet, Alexia, put a firm hand on me. “Easy, you’re still recovering from mana exhaustion.” She said, as I then heard a faint whirrr from the clawed arm as it moved. “I would suggest taking it slow and steady.”

“Agreed,” I groaned, before pointing over towards the cabinet. “Grab me an Elixir from the cabinet. It's designed for situations exactly like this.”

This time Sebaste moved to grab it. As she opened the cabinet, she was met with bottles of different shapes and sizes. “Oh bloody hell…” She muttered. “Which one am I grabbing exactly?”

“Gold bottle with stars and moons on it,” Melissa replies from where she’s analyzing… Something.

“Got it.” The Spartan soon backs away from the cabinet with the Elixir in hand, before walking over and handing it to me. “So what exactly was that thing you did? I’ve never seen anything like it before!” she asked as I chugged the bottle.

Viktor cut in, “It almost looked like something that was teased/rumored for Destiny 2 a year before Sasha, Alexia and I were displaced.”

I sighed in relief as I set down the empty bottle before turning back to the Spartans. “OK, the short answer is that I took a power that was gifted to us by a friend, and combined with my own magic. Long answer, I took the Darkness energy that permeates the universe, and combined it with my natural Light magic.”

"So you somehow managed to combine the two elements that are complete anathema to each other?" Sebastian spoke up, having walked in at that moment.

“Not exactly,” Melissa replied. “While that would logically be what happened, we’ve since learned that Light and Darkness are not diametrically opposed to each other. Light would be a creation power, while Darkness would be a power of the mind.”

"So basically you're saying Light is the physical power while Darkness is the mental power? That's a bit to wrap my mind around…" Sebaste commented.

I snorted. “Tell me about it. I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a master of using it either.”

"Well, I *do* happen to know a place that can help you with getting better with your abilities and get to meet more displaced. Beacon Academy, run by Sun Wukong. I'm actually one of the combat teachers there." Sebaste said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I sighed, dragging myself out of the bed, stretching and popping my back. “Much better.”

"Out of curiosity, who have you met so far, displaced wise?" Viktor asked me, having taken his helmet off.

“Well,” I close my eyes, trying to remember everyone. “First was a Spider-Man OC who called himself Dark Spider,(there was a visible start from Sebaste at that name) then there was Lex, who was a Levy Displace, then Ed, Lex’s sisters Nat and Sora, not to mention her brother Adam. Hmm, oh yeah! The Wendy and Juvia Displaced, not to mention Mina, who was a younger version of me, now THAT was a weird one. I think that was everyone…”

“Don’t forget about Alex,” Luna pipped up.

“Right!” I nodded with a smile. “Alex was a Xion Displaced in the same sort of boat as me, since he was originally a guy as well, not to mention all the other baggage he’s picked up…”

"I must've had something in my ear, cause I swear I heard Dark's name in that list…" Sebaste muttered. "And by Ed, I assume you mean Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

“Correct on both,” I nodded with a smile. “I take it you know them?”

"Edward, no, I know of him through what I've heard from other displaced, Dark, I do know, I was actually the first displaced he summoned, me and a…" here, her voice cracked a bit. "Former friend of mine."

Silence fell in the medbay as I watched the Spartan pull herself together. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do, but apparently, Luna did, since she went straight up to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, your highness." Sebaste said, returning the hug. "I do apologize for my loss of composure there, I've got a bit of baggage on my end I'm still dealing with."

“No apology necessary,” I replied quietly, glancing over to Melissa, who was pointedly not looking at any of us as she tinkered on her control panel.

The Spartan sighed. "In any case, last time I saw Dark, he had been hanging out in Canterlot due to some evil doppelganger shenanigans that ensued when another displaced got pulled into his world and a certain mare whose daughter bullies a certain trio went and started fear mongering the ponies into booting him out just because of a look of anger on his face."

“He was back in Ponyville, last I talked to him,” I shrugged. “Along with a… Passenger…”

"A passenger? Who, Cece? Rainbow?" She asked.

I grimaced. “Not…that…kind of passenger.”

"Wait, by passenger, you don't mean the symbiote kind, do you?" Alexia asked, shivering.

“Uh, yeah,” I nodded.

"Lemme guess, he got Venom." Sebaste said.

“With Carnage hanging around with an evil organization, yeah,” I nodded.

"Bloody hell…" she groaned. "And you'd think this multiverse would stop throwing curveballs at me…"

“And yet, I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Melissa cut in with a chuckle.

"It's funny, I've encountered a lot of different displaced, from Team Rocket and Kruger, to Doom Marines and characters from tabletop games I enjoyed before I was displaced, to even a freaking Ben 10 Jotun. And no, I'm not even joking on that last bit." Sebaste said.

I blinked a bit before shaking my head a bit as I summoned an orb of tangled Strand energy. “Anyway, if you want to know more about the Strand energy I used, take a look.”

"Looks like one of those yarn balls my mom would leave lying around the house when she did knitting." Sebaste joked.

I chuckled as Melissa pulled out a small containment unit, enclosing the orb in a tube of glass. “There you go, one orb of Strand energy to go.”

Sebaste shook her head and politely held her hand up. "We don't really have the tools to study this back in our Equestria. Besides, none of us are Guardians, if you know what I mean."

“Neither are we,” I grinned. “There’s something about our connection to the void that allows us to use paracausal energies such as these. Plus, you can always figure it out the same way me and Luna did; trial and error. I will admit though, that a source of Strand makes it much easier.”

“That’s where that containment unit comes in,” Melissa cut in. “It uses the tangle in there to locate a wellspring of Strand.”

The Spartan sighed before gently taking it. "Well, if nothing else, it'll give my Twi something to go nuts over. Although Nyx won't be happy her mom will be pulling more all-nighters, again." She said, snickering.

I chuckled a bit. “Well, it's been fun, but I do believe it's time I sent you home.” I turned around and beckoned them to follow as I led the way down to the Gate room. “You have your Token with you, right?”

Sebaste nodded, pulling out the same AR that started the encounter. "Right here."

“Good,” Melissa called from her control booth. “Just set it on that tray by the Stargate.”

“I’m sorry, Star… Gate?” Alexia asked in confusion.

"As in those portals from that tv/movie series?" Sebaste asked.

With a grin, Melissa brings the main lights up, revealing the Gate. “Yep!”

"First off, HOW THE HECK DID YOU EVEN BUILD ONE?! Second, are you sure you don't want to do the standard "X, your contract is completed"? Sebaste gave a nervous laugh as she looked at it.

“In order,” I laughed in amusement. “Surprisingly, the Doctor and Celestia tried to build it centuries ago, but they encountered some issues until I came around, and brought Ed in to help. As for the second question, I’ve been told that this method is smoother, plus it allows me to add to my database of worlds to explore.”

"Trust me, the Equestria we're in isn't the safest place to explore currently." Sebaste said. "Not to mention adding one of these things to my Equestria would put your world in greater danger than what the Heartless are capable of."

“Unlike the original show, this version of the Gate doesn’t actually need a receiving ring,” Melissa explained. “The only difference having a receiving ring would have for you, is that you could open your own wormholes, rather than be reliant on us to open one for you. That being said, we typically don’t make unexpected visits, except in emergencies.”

"Alright.." Sebaste said, sounding unconvinced. "To quote a certain franchise, ‘Beam us up, Scotty!'" she joked, setting the rifle onto the indicated tray.

Instantly, the inner ring began to spin, showing that the dialing sequence had begun. In no time at all, the portal was open for the Spartans to head home.

"Hopefully we'll run into each other again soon, Kairi." Sebaste said as the two other Spartans and the Space Marine gave their own farewells and walked through the portal. "If you do ever require our aid again, give us a shout."

“Of course,” I replied with a smile, and a bow. “Safe travels, and may your heart be your guiding key.”

"As my old friend would say, ‘The Emperor Protects!’." Giving a salute, she then walked through the portal.

Well, would you look at that! Two chapters in one day! I don't usually have that! In any case, this chapter is a crossover with Titan Commander Sebaste's fic Equestrian Black Crusade: Wardens. Go give that fic a look and some love, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!

Song used in this chapter:

Escalate by Aimer