[b]Wholly italicized portions of this are flashbacks, but everything shown is in chronological order if it's in the same time period.

[center]Chapter 17: Night of Fate[/center][/b]

He wore a long-sleeved blue turtleneck, along with a black short-sleeved jacket with white lining over it. A combination lock hung around his neck.  His pants were black, his boots toed with steel. His left hand had a black glove with the thumb, index, and middle finger cut off, the right a different, familiar glove that would have been at home on the hand of Roy Mustang, but with the ring and pinky finger cut off.

Ephiram stepped forward, Blade in hand.  He only gave Kaith a short glance to show that he even acknowledged that he was there, but then simply walked after Reaper as the demon backed away, stepping over the form of his possibly dying older brother, a Corridor of Darkness appearing behind him that he backed into as the wound healed at last.

It started to close...

Ephiram considered his options.  A trip through a Corridor of Darkness... that was very dangerous for his heart, could bring him past redemption.

But this was his best chance to finish this, to kill Reaper once and for all, end all of this, these deaths.

He had only this one chance, as faras he knew.  It would be difficult, if not impossible, to get a better shot.  All or nothing.

So he sprinted forward, his rage at the hero-killing Omega leader fueling every step. His eyes turned yellow as he passed over Kaith's supine form. He then let out a loud roar that echoed through the city below, and his body underwent a gruesome transformation. Darkness enveloped his entire body, and purple sparks began to violently shoot out from him in all directions. His eyes glowed a yellow color, and his hands quickly became claws that stretched forward in his lunge.

[b][i]"Reaper!"[/i][/b]  With that bellow, Anti-Ephiram entered the Corridor at the last second, it closing just behind his feet and leaving Kaith behind.

---

[i]Admittedly, jumping out of the[/i] Dreadnaught [i]was not the smartest thing he had ever done by a long shot.

Ephiram tumbled through the air after he failed to beam down to the world in the midst of this huge dogfight amongst the Geth, the Nobodies, the Heartless, and two different colors of Covenant ships.  The Otherworld biplanes were already all gone.

Normally, he wouldn't have even bothered to return.  His ethics were apparently different from Gregory's.  He could look for a way to assemble his own heroes.

But the others needed help, as he knew from the radio he still carried, albeit only used to hear what the others were doing.  He hadn't known about the incoming Heartless and Nobodies, stupidest idea he had seen work in a [b]long[/b] time, and thought that they could use all of the help they could get.  Curse his good guy morals all he wanted, it was the decision he made.

The Heartless Seal was his active design, and a good thing, too.  The Lockshield Master required every Reaction Command at his disposal to make his way to the surface in one piece.

A Geth ship passed under his falling body, and boots slid along the streamlined silver ship before he kicked off, descending more.  Was that [b]Cid Highwind[/b] in the[/i] Redemption[i]?  Well, he was as good a pilot as in his original game.

A grip with one hand on to the bottom of a Heartless Driller to slow his descent as a burning Phantom passed under him, then a release as a UFO Nobody collided with it.

His descent continued in this manner, using ships of all types to slow or facilitate his descent.  Finally, using the bizarre physics of this strange world, he landed, more or less completely unnoticed by either side of the forces.

And what a place to land.  Ephiram had touched down at the foot of the Chimeran Tower, the central control for all of the Chimera of Omega.  How this army survived with that much overcentralization was anyone's guess.  Best to take advantage of it.

Ephiram equated the Chimera with zombies.  Defeating their enemies and recruiting them with a virus, the humanoid forms, the behavior of those "Menial" and "Howler" types, it all seemed to fit into that genre.

Too bad.  The Original Interference [b]hated[/b] the zombie genre.  With a [b]passion.[/b]  All the better choice for him to be the one to go to take that power from Reaper's forces.

As he mused, a gun was pressed against his back.  "Freeze, bucko!"  Could he react in time to kill this enemy, probably one of the drug-addicted Splicer?  Hard to tell.  But then it didn't matter.

The sound of metal slicing flesh came to his ears, and Ephiram turned in time to see a male Splicer collapse, his throat slit.  Who was behind him, dropping the corpse, was a bigger surprise.

She wore classic black ninja clothing, down to the black mask of cloth that covered her nose and mouth.  A black hood was over her head, hiding the hair, but those green eyes showed recognition as well as seriousness.  The future of Alexander Karsath knew her well.

"When did you get here, Uchi?"

Uchi kicked the Splicer aside, lowering the straight katana that had been the murder weapon.  "A while ago.  They never saw me come in, and they're all terrified of me.  I'm like a ghost to them, picking them off one by one.  One told me that someone named Carter Barkley, likely the new Splicer lieutenant after Lawrence died, and possibly related, knows where Reaper is.  But we should help the heroes as much as we can before going after him.  Take out a few distractions."  She looked to the Tower, and Ephiram turned to follow her gaze.  "That Tower... If we destroy it, we can kill every Angel strain, every single Chimera in Omega in one shot.  The younger Zivaku brothers are some of the way up by now, but probably don't know how to navigate it.  I can.  I scouted it for some time these last few weeks."

"We might need to work together on this one.  I know we are on time limits: two of them, one being the launch of what's inside of there.  You probably know the way up better than I do, U--" As Ephiram turned around, he cut himself off.  Uchi wasn't there.  There wasn't even a trace of her having been around at all, save for the corpse with a pool of blood forming around its head.  "...chi...."  He palmed his face.  "I hate it when she does that."

Nonetheless, he turned, and walked purposely in through the door.  He had "zombies" to kill.[/i]

---

[i]Agrabah[/i]


The Arabian world had become an ADAM factory and testing ground. Civilians worked in one newly-constructed building much like Rapture's Fontaine Futuristics labs, with demonstration equipment and ADAM to help Splicers, both old and new, get their fix and practice without killing each other too often.

A red and blue parrot, Iago, coasted the skies above the palace. Due to his ability to fly, nobody had caught him yet. Or did they not think him important? Difficult to know. He didn't know how he could get Princess Jasmine out of those labs, but she would be okay. These guys seemed to be letting her be. Something about her heart. Whatever.

A Corridor of Darkness appearing of the rooftop got his attention. Not enough to get in close. He wasn't [i]stupid[/i]. But enough to be interested. Those two figures in black seemed interesting. One seemed kind of familiar, the other...not so much, especially not with those wings.

A black hole formed behind the Anti Form, but pure hate kept the Original Interference moving, kept him from even being very much affected at all due to sheer determination

Anti Ephiram quickly dodged an electric shock aimed at him, but was hit by a burst of flames that was from a snap of Reaper's fingers. This didn't slow him down, it just made him [i]angrier[/i]. His a roar, the primal being slashes the air, purple waves of energy coming at Reaper and forcing him back before a surge of purple electricity stunned him, allowing the Anti Form to tackle him. The Anti Interference was on top of the demon's supine form in under a second, pinning him with his knees. [b][i]"This is for my friends, you bas****!"[/i][/b]

Forget style and morals. Forget what he was fighting for versus the villain's views. Reaper would [i]suffer[/i]. Again and again the claws slashed at F. Isaac's face, cutting deeper and deeper as the Darkness struggled to heal the wounds. Each time he struck, Anti Epheaim saw a different adversary's face in the place of Reaper's increasingly gored one. Xemnas, who had been his first final boss. Dilan, with his harm to Ephiram's family, albeit indirectly.  Aeleus, with his harm against his life. Even, and his wounding of the psyche. Ienzo, Braig, Xehanort. Hate, [i]hate[/i], [i][b]hate![/b][/i]

The effects became difficult to describe without nausea (which Iago definitely felt) after the ninth hit, then Reaper placed a hand on Anti Ephiram's chest and pulled back. An attempt to turn the tide. A soul-bind.

At the edges of conscious awareness, Anti-Ephiram felt that worm he had seen in Grace's Station of Awakening, with its three-part chains that had tried to kill him. It was slithering into him...

[b][i]"No!"[/i][/b] A pulse of purple energy exploded from his body, all of the Dark Eco he could expell. When it was over, Reaper had been sent flying back, standing slowly, but stunned as his face tried to reconstruct itself, muscle, bone, and all that had been mauled.

Ephiram was back to normal form, gripping his head in one hand and the Blade in the other. As the face came together, he charged, again stabbing Reaper. Red liquid, ADAM, flowed into the Blade. Reaper's Plasmids were no more.

As the Blade came out, the Omega leader threw the large EVE tank off of his back, useless. He then opened another Corridor, rushing in with Ephiram in hot pursuit.

Iago remained silent for several seconds, staring at the blood pool and where the Corridor had disappeared. "...I'm gonna be sick."

---

[i]Ephiram was pretty far up the Tower. Chimera were one thing. Chimera with [b]Plasmids[/b] was quite another. He had learned enough about the make if this structure to use alchemy, but it was still surprising when a Menial, usually powerless but for claws, threw a barrage of fireballs that forced you to duck behind the shield you carried.

On the way, F. Alexander heard of the deaths of Hawk and loss of the Audreys. This was getting bad. He had to stop this, to kill Reaper.

However, the Original Interference did finally make his way past an open door. Likely it had been closed when the Zivakus came through. Inside was a discarded LAARK rocket launcher, a very large pillar with four chambers, two of them glowing and two broken in. Over the glowing portions were metal grates that periodically opened and closed. Surrounding the area was a circular platform, a space between the core and the walkway large enough to prevent jumping melée attacks and subsequent survival.

Uchi was inside as well, and turned to see who came, brandishing her katana. When she deduced the identity of her companion, she nodded her welcome. "Help me take out those two. Open the grate, and hit the core with everything you have. I got the other two with that ricket launcher over there, dropped by a dead Titan from a little while back when those kids came through. Be careful, though. It blows up when they're all knocked out."

"One question first," Ephiram said, holding the Konoha Windmill, in a ready stance, about to strike the nearest core. "How did you get here before me?"

"Alex, ninja. Don't ask questions."

He raised the design from the Narutoverse. "And?" He asked. "That doesn't make you the Caped Crusader."

"You travel through time and space, have homes in two entirely separate realities, have held more than any human being ever possibly could in your back pocket on a daily basis, and you're trying to question my ability to get here faster than you," was the deadpan response.

"...Duly noted."

Working together, they made short work of the third core, Ephiram breaking the grate with a boomarang-like "Grass Cutter" technique and a well-placed volley of Yellow Eco fired from his Blaster mod of the Morph Gun.

The second was a bit trickier, though not by much. Some Chimera came in from two sides, firing many types of guns, but Uchi fended them off. A Phoenix Fire Jutsu set several of them aflame, several hand motions causing others to explode into bursts of blood. That wasn't jutsu. It was Ninpo, from the Ninja Gaiden universe. So she was two separate types of ninja now, then.

With a design switch to the Ultima Defense, Ephiram was able to summarily detonate the last core with a high-cost Flare spell, forced to drink a Hi-Ether directly after to avoid going into MP Charge too soon.

As the last core was destroyed, explosions started rocking the area, as expected. The Chinera in the room were dead, avoiding one problem. But they still had to get out.

Ephiram dug into his etherspace pouch, and withdrew a hoverboard. This Jakverse JET-Board should be enough to get them where they needed to go. He threw it forward, and hopped on as he kicked in his custom-made boost. On the way past Uchi, he grabbed her by the waist, dragging her along. "Where is that Barkley guy?" he called to her over the explosions, and she directed him. On they way, they heard of another death, Greg's, but had no time to think about that. It wasn't long before they rode straight out of a window, crashing into another of a nearby, hopefully correct building.

It was then that the Tower exploded, taking all but two of the telepathic hive-mind Angels with it.

But, as Ephiram looked after shaking himself from his daze, Uchi was gone yet again.[/i]

---

[i]Otherworld, Mind of the Darkness[/i]

In the medieval castle that looked out of place in its surrounding World War I trenches and roads, a Corridor of Darkness opened in the air above the central room, with its four chairs and their attached head vices.

Gunfire and explosions as well as the sounds of raging flames, were audible, likely from outside of the castle. Soldiers were strewn out around the room, both British troops on the side of the heroes and German, faceless zombies. Both sides had heavy scars, but the magic of the crazed world prevented the severed limbs or half-destroyed chests from leading to the final embrace of death. For one side, anyway.

The demonic Germans had viciously torn up chests, their black hearts shredded and torn from their chests to kill them. The slowly recovering British troops were spectators of the next sight.

A man in black with enormous wings of black flew out of the portal, followed shortly by another younger man holding a blue sword in one hand, an ornate shield in the others.

The winged one turned quickly, and a purple mist surrounded his left hand as he pointed at his apparent opponent.  As he did so, a white mist came up around his target.  He ignored the screams of rage from The Darkness in his mind as best as he could.

The Audreys' plan had worked, though not exactly in the way they hoped.  The Angelus, possessing the body of the Mason girl, a former experiment, was free and raging in the Otherworld, trying to burn everythin in its quest to "purge" The Darkness.  It was outraged, the Angelus in its own home like this.  It was practically demanding that Reaper abandon this fight and go after the Angelus, but the enemy in front of him was all F. Isaac cared about.

The shield-carrier spoke a word, or rather spat it. "[i]Esuna.[/i]" An orb of white light emerged from the shield, hovering up back toward its creator and disappearing into his forehead, dissipating the mist.

Muttering a probable swear under his breath, the black-clothed man retreated into another dark hole that opened up behind him.

"Coward," the other warrior grunted, seeming very irritated by whatever that purple mist had been, and charged after him as the portal closed, leaving nothing behind.

One of the soldiers muttered to himself.  "I have to stop drinking one of these days..."

"Mate, I think it's the blood loss," answered another, motioning to the ragged stump where the soldier's right leg should have been, the liquid still coming from it due to the grenade that exploded earlier.

"Right. That too."

---

[i]Olympus Colosseum[/i]


The world had become a training ground for the Templars after its fall to Omega. Since he could not be killed by their might, the villains had worked out a deal. He could keep the Underworld, and they could use the Underdrome to train while he was allowed to watch. Everybody won.

Or everybody but the heroes, that was. The spirit of Sain Zivaku periodically rallied together with Auron, the ghosts of fallen Interferences from during the War and before it, and Hercules, all trapped in that realm, with the blessings of Olympus. Not to say they ever [i]won[/i], but it explained the sounds of fighting in the lower world.

The next Corridor of Darkness opened in the center of the Colosseum itself, empty for the time being except for Philoctetes the satyr who trained such heroes as Jason, Achilles (who, under no circumstances, should [i]ever[/i] be brought up in his presence), and Hercules himself. The short goat-man was still allowed to stay in his training ground for the time being. And so he arrived in the stands in time to see the next short confrontation. Who were these people? That one looked a lot like that Reaper guy, but more freaky. The other...was that one of those true hero kids, Alexander? Man, he'd grown a lot. Nice sword. But what was with the ears? Eh, he'd ask later.

Uncaring of Phil's presence for the time being, switched his Lockshield design. Smoke surrounded it, and the Time Fracture remained when the design was again visible. He needed to get in close, nice and fast.

"Chronos Paradox!" Then he charged forward. And to the left. And to the right. And jumped over Reaper's head to attack from the back. All at once, there were six Ephirams, each stashing the Blade at Reaper from a different angle.

As many tentacles emerged from the Darkness host, each wielding a different weapon, from the signature double saber or the Blood Sword to a Gravity Hammer or an Energy Sword to each of the two Darkness Guns, each fended off a blow, continuing to do so for approximately half of a minute, even getting a few slashes at F. Alexander in before all but the one behind the winged man disappeared.

The true hero growled. He was sick and tired of dealing with this demon. Cheap moves would have to do.

"Chronos Break!" Directly after that was said, reaper had a fresh stab wound in his back, the Blade already retracted.

Another Corridor of Darkness opened, Reaper running in as the wound healed again, even slower, but not enough to stop him from running. Even so, he could no longer feel the magic of Albion, Will, flow through him any longer, the glowing blue scars on his face turning a more natural color of scar tissue as he lost the abilities of that place.

With a scowl, Ephiram followed him in, and another portal closed, some more of his light sacrificed in the chase.

Phil was left clapping. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."

---

[i]Finally, he found Carter Barkley.  He was alone in the building, shouting.  His blonde hair was cropped short, his brown eyes wild.  A bandage was over his right eye and the top of his head, covering a sickening bulge.  A Spider Splicer, likely.  "I don't care if they're super Metal Daddies! You kill them!"

"Where is Reaper?" Ephiram asked bluntly, getting the man's attention.  "Just tell us now.  It's less painful for you, and less time-consuming for us."

"Well, no, I won't say," Carter turned to face them, crouched in a primal stance.  "Especially not if that b**** is the same person killing my men."

"I'm going to enjoy this," Uchi said as she came up from behind Ephiram (who almost jumped, not seeing her yet again), taking out a trio of kunai knives between the fingers of her right hand.  She then threw one, which was dodged with a cartwheel, and another, avoided with a somersault.  The last knife was the evasion that solidified his powers.

There was an organic sucking noise, and Barkley disappeared in a puff of red molecules.  A Spider [b]and[/b] a Houdini.  Great.  The young man began appearing and disappearing at random in no particular sequence of locations, firing fireballs from the ceiling, the walls, or on the floor.  Each attack caused him to glow a brighter red, evidence of the Extremis in his veins.  Both Interferences were damaged several times before Ephiram decided that he had had enough, changing his strategy from defense to a newer, far different tactic.

He suddenly looked to the sky, spreading out his arms, and a beam of light shone down upon him, enveloping his body. There was a bright flash, and F. Alex suddenly went through a transformation. His clothes turned a bright white, his skin became pale, and his eyes become only blank white orbs, a white glow surrounding his entire body.  No Lockshield was in his hand, not that he needed one.  An intense calm and focus came over the young man, his health regenerating from the transformation process.  Final Ephiram simply stood, seeing everything in three hundred sixty degrees around him.  Every time Barkley appeared, time seemed to slow, every internal organ visible to the Original Interference.  There was some kind of slug inside of his body as well, likely one of the Little Sister ADAM slugs.  It was unlikely that procedure had been tried on an adult male before at any point, but he would have a regenerative healing factor to be reckoned with.

"Can't catch me, freak!"  Another fireball was launched...only to glance off of a spherical barrier of light.  This surprised the Splicer enough to stop him from teleporting from the wall for several seconds, enough for Ephiram to fire his Morph Gun's Vulcan Fury mod ot cause him to drop off of the wall, approach him, and grab him by the neck before kicking him in the gut at the position of the slug.  As the Splicer coughed, he turned, throwing him against the computer he had been speaking at.  In the process, the Splicer lieutenant's left arm broke, bending at a sickening angle...and healing in that position.  "Gah.... damn it...." So he could heal, but instantaneously only.  Regeneration, but not mending.  That was news.  And so, Final Ephiram spoke as he neared the Splicer, a window that had been broken by the deflected fireball beside them.[/i]

"Now, tell us where he is.  You brought this on yourself."[i] His voice had an echoing quality with a wavering undertone, but was in no way irritated.  Just calm, disturbingly calm.

"You can't do nothin' to me," the foolish man muttered.[/i]

"Listen.  I don't have time for--" [i]Without turning, Final Ephiram's Byakugan-like sight caught Kaith and Reaper battling across the sky without that Blade of Olympus.  He took a golden, glowing stone from his pocket, and muttered.  [/i]  "Come soon. I will need your help for this, I can tell." [i]Then it was gone again, with no explanations.

Uchi reached into an etherspace pouch of her own, and, to Barkley's amazement, drew an emormous blue-bladed sword, handing it to Final Ephiram. "You'll need it to kill him, to get past his healing factor."

It disappeared in a flash as it touched the man's hand, not usable in this form, unlike the Morph Gun.[/i] "He's all yours, Mary." [i]A pair of large, ethereal wings appeared on his back, and he flew out, after the brothers, leaving a terrified Carter Barkley to the future of Mary Delgado.[/i]

---

[i]Unknown World[/i]

The portal opened on a strange world, closing after both came through.  The sky was a swirl of red clouds that was alternatively letting out rain and stopping at random, as if the weather could not make up its mind at the moment.  Buildings of a futuristic city were around them, a large framework of a tower before them.  Reaper spoke as he stopped, knowing Ephiram to be behind him.

"Do you like it, Karsath? I call it Valhalla, a world of my own creation close to the Dark Meridian. My army has been building this city these past few weeks, as a refuge from the advent of the Old Machines to come to the worlds of the Kingdom Hearts universe. But furthermore," the demon held up his arms, motioning to the tower. "That is to be the capital building of the new Omega Empire, and my home as its nominal leader once I bring by allies back from the grave with the aid of the Darkness."

Empires.  It was always empires.  Why couldn't generic conquest villains ever at least try to use a different form of a regime?

It was then that a shadow came over the two of them, one greater even than the crimson clouds above. Ephiram only smirked grimly, not looking up as Reaper did.

The enormous, strange creature hovered high above the Original Interference, a strange green, ornate arch with a blue, glowing stone at its midpoint.  Handing below the blue area on two gray extensions was a red, approximately head shaped structure with two grayish green antennae-like protrusions from it reaching upward, as well as two gray, bony structures akin to eyes.

"What is [i]that?[/i]" Reaper asked, shocked by the strange creature.

"Zodiark," the Original Interference replied as it hovered down closer to him.  "The Ivalician Esper of Darkness."  As the two touched, a flash occurred, a Drive Form that the present of Alexander Karsath had yet to discover being revealed to this villain.

When the light faded, Ephiram was in a grand, extremely intricate set of silver armor that covered everything but his face and Haven-altered ears.  His face was covered in various golden, glowing markings, his hazel eyes having vertical pupils. Not one, not two, but [i]six[/i] Lockshields, every design he had, hovered around him, spinning around in an invisible sphere around the young man. The Blade of Olympus was still blazing in his hand.

[i]"Do you like it?"[/i] His voice had a layered, echo-esque effect as he imitated Reaper, with another voice added to his own. [i]"We call it Zodiac Form."[/i]  Not I, but we.  He was both Alexander Ephiram Karsath and the Esper Zodiark at the same time.

Soon, Reaper managed to overcome his shock. He spoke, spreading his dragon-like wings wide.  "Darkness, I give you free reign." Two serpents emerged from his back, along with many Demon Arm tentacles, both wielding weapons and not.  In his hands were the Darkness Guns, his signature double saber in the "arm" closest to his front. His body was covered by an inky blackness, which solidified into what seemed like a full-body suit, completely black with yellow showing where it parted, an odd resemblance to musculature.  The Darkness was in full control. "Let ussss fight, then," he hissed.

The implike Darklings came from all angles, in massive hordes.  Zodiac Ephiram rarely moved a muscle as he fended off Gunner bullets, Berserker melee attempts, Lightkiller electrical attacks, and Kamikaze detonations simultaneously from every side at once, his many Lockshields defending and retaliating of their own volition. Within two minutes, as many hundred disappeared, dead by detonation, stabbing, or slashing. As more came, the Interference-Esper hybrid clapped his hands together completely flat against each other, and then straight on the ground.  Green sparks danced along the ground under every Darkling, and the pavement rippled, sending out waves that sent them flying.  Directly after, many spikes similar to the Stonespike alchemical reaction erupted from the ground, killing them all and causing them to burst into puffs of smoke.  The last wave met with an entirely different spell.

Magical energy completely surrounded the good Interference, and the Time Fracture came closer to him.  The space around them became darker for a moment, and green energy shone from their body, becoming more and more intense.  As the Darklings came close, they started to actually hover in the air slightly.  From beneath him, a sphere of green light began to expand.  Zodiac Ephiram noticed that Reaper had spread his wings, and was hovering out of range.  Good move, as When it reached the peak of its growth, the walls of the sphere slowly began to lower from the top, and bright energy issued forth from the opening. The rushing of energy into them became more and more intense as the opening widened. And when the sphere had completely disappeared, the entire space around for a long distance was bathed in an explosion of obliterative energy.

When the Luminaire was completed, Zodiac Ephiram saw a hovering Reaper in the distance, only just out of reach of the blast that had destroyed every single Darkling, but only left the young man slightly tired. Lockshields spinning wildly, he approached, Reaper flying back at him as he did so.

[i]"Thundaga!"[/i] Many lightning bolts rained down on the demon, but were absorbed by an invisible shield created by the Darkness, a black mist of shadows sucked in by the serpent heads.  It was time for him te retaliate.

Even more tentacles of Darkness sprouted from Reaper's back, and all headed towards Zodiac Ephiram.  Their Lockshields flew to intercept as the tentacles went for his legs, head, arms, and chest.  Almost all were fended off easily, but a couple got perilously close to removing a limb.  Even as the tentacles attacked, though, spheres of Darkness flew from Reaper's body, homing in on an arc in all directions towards Ephiram.  Many of these, too, were reflected off of the shields, moving at the incredible speed of thought.  A few did, however, strike home, but they registered only a grunt of pain to the transformed Original Interference.

Hundreds of discs made of inky black flew out from Reaper then, but stopped just outside of Ephiram's reach.  If he couldn't hit him with successive strikes, he would send them all at once.  All of the discs flew towards the hero at once, but even this would not stop him.

[i]"Reflega![/i]"

A sphere made of hexagonal pieces of light surrounded Zodiac Ephiram just before the discs hit, and they all impacted it.  It didn't end there, though.  The power from the discs, transformed into a massive burst of light, flew out from the shield, and the wave impacted Reaper, causing him to fall to the ground from his hover.

Zodiac Ephiram followed, hovering slightly above the ground in front of him.  His opponent was quick to recover, though, and got back up.

He was getting irritated. [i]They[/i] were getting irritated. The Ultima Defense came forward, and three orbs of light appeared before Zodiac Ephiram as he held out his hands. The trio spiraled around each other continuously, getting flashed and faster until it looked like a circle of light, and he shouted. [i]"Scathe!"[/i] The powerful beam of nonelemental energy hit Reaper's shield as he came close, completely destroying it and forcing him to recover shadows after he was propelled backward firing both the lightning machine gun in his right hand and the thunder hand-cannon in his left. The same Lockshield blocked both, and another was used.

[i]"Windmill Raid!"[/i] The Konoha Windmill threw itself forward as though using a Strike Raid, but was blocked by a Demon Arm before being thrown back, stopping an inch from the hybrid's face before returning to the sphere.

Reaper decided to take to the sky then, flying up, over the top of the partially constructed capital tower. He wasn't ready for the next attack.

[i]Darkja.[/i]  Three concentric purple circles of arcane sigils seemed to appear behind Zodiac Ephiram, and a white light, starting dim, grew behind him as many small particles of light came close and were absorbed by it.  The circles spun, the light going past each one, and suddenly all three became white.  Immediately after, an explosion of darkness erupted out in every direction from the hybrid, streams of black energy followed shortly by a massive spherical explosion.  The attack did not hurt the darkness-resistant Reaper much, but the strange-eyed evil Interference was blinded once again.

[i]Banish Ray.[/i] Six orbs of blue light appeared in a circle before the hero, becoming six beams of nonelemental energy that hit the blinded man who began Interfering with no eyes.

[i]Piercing Graviga.[/i] An orb of purple energy shot up from Zodiac Ephiram, coming above Reaper and forcing him lower in the air.  This strike ended up stunning him and completely depleting his shield, all of these attacks combined taking almost every ounce of his health. It was time for the final strike. The Final Eclipse.

An eclipse occurred in the sky behind the clouds, barely visible. There was a flash, and Zodiac Ephiram had a set of large, feathery wings on his back. Said wings curled around the body, and the hybrid glowed with energy before erupting into the form of a flying creature of flame, the Blade still visible. The Drive Form user flee up, higher into the sky, above Reaper, past the clouds, and took even more energy from the eclipse beyond while in space. Only then did Zodiac Ephiram crash down, a blazing comet of power, Blade-first. The weapon stabbed clean through Reaper, and both humanoids fell through the tower framework, destroying it as they went. Finally, upon hitting the ground, an enormous shockwave erupted outward in all directions, obliterating the ground floor and weakening the rest of the to-be capital tower enough to cause the beginning of it's implosion.

Reaper coughed, the weapon still in him, looking up at his crumbling Tower in horror. In the fall, he had lost both of his wings, torn off by the sharper pieces of metal along the way down, leaving only ragged, bloody stumps.  All of his conquest and planning, all for nothing, and it was because of Karsath.

[i]"What's the matter, Reaper? We thought this is what you said. A power born of darkness is what can be strong. Don't tell us that you were mistaken."[/i]

"Ssshut up!"

A hand grabbed Reaper by the back of his damaged armor, not withdrawing the Blade from his chest, and Zodiac Ephiram intoned their spell.

[i]"Chronos Warp."[/i] The air around them seemed to distort, a feeling that Zodiac Ephiram knew well from Guardia, and they were gone.

---

[i]Final Ephiram followed the brothers across the sky at a distance.

"So that's the story." Kaith was apparently finishing explaining something to Reaper. Was it his lack of ulterior motives, of a master plan?

"If you thought scolding me would save you, I would believe you are mistaken. Say hello to father for me." The Blood Sword was raised, a preparation for a coup de grace. Final Ephiram raised both hands, ready to strike to save even this aggravating, amoral soldier.

His eyes locked with Kaith's for a moment. Had the man seen him all along? "Far from it. After all, I'm not the real hero here."

That was his cue. With the past of his Light Eco, Fiinal Ephiram intoned his spell. [/i]"Pure Blast."[i] Reaper nor Kaith seemed to hear him, but the blast of pure light that hit Reaper in the back, exposing the quarter-depleted tank of EVE, was definitely known to both.

Then came Ephiram's reversion to normal in a flash. He held back his right hand, once again gripping the Blade, and threw it as hard as he could in a manner akin to a javelin. The thing speared through Reaper almost for its entire length, but was yanked out and dropped by one of its victim's tentacles, the wound healing much slower than usual.

The Original Interference picked it up. "I told you. I promised..."[/i]

---

[i]The World That Never Was[/i]

Leon and the rest of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, along with honorary member Goofy, survivor Grace, and wounded future of Grace Somnio, were walking through the streets before Memory Skyscraper when the second spatial distortion occurred, at the top of the stairs leading to the building's entrance.

Reaper came out, that blade still through him, and the silver armored figure was gripping him by the back of his neck, throwing him down the stairs. He was badly wounded, two bloody stumps where his wings used to be.

From that face and those Lockshields (six Lockshields!), the hero had to be...

Goofy did a take.  "Gawrsh, is that you, Ephiram?  Where'd you get that Form?"  No response, the Interference too focused on his enemy.

The demon raised a hand at his attacker, and coughed two words, difficult with the pressure on his lungs. "Dark... Sphere!" A Lockshield was raised without the user even moving, the Ultima Defense taking the blast of darkness that was fired for its wielder. Then, in a flash, Ephiram returned to normal form, rubbing his head to become used to this lower power once more as that monster, no, that Esper of Darkness, appeared above him, subsequently flying away into the sky, the distance, and disappearing, its work done.

Over the handsets the heroes all carried came the voice of Kaith. It was ragged, as if he were having trouble speaking, perhaps at death's door. [i]"You... lose, Isaac."[/i]

But the last member of Omega was not ready to lie down and die. "I will be the only one to survive this world! It is not long now before the Reapers arrive!" With that, he concentrated on the Blade of Olympus buried in his chest, a bloody hand gripping the hilt as he began to laugh.

A technique that both of the Zivaku brothers had since the very beginning of their times as Interferences was one that their father, Sain Zivaku, taught them prior to his murder as Isaac's hand for siding with the at-that-point only good brother.

It was the ability to absorb any kind of magic from a source, be the source a spell or an object, within a weapon they carried, though not without fatigue shortly after.

Be as it may, with the Darkness within him, Isaac was more or less a weapon in and of himself. The Blade Olympus had the powers of gods, including all of the strength of the God of War from Greece. If he could absorb all of the power in this weapon, without much fatigue due to the Darkness recovering for him, he could destroy every one of these heroes, and continue along his path of conquest, reviving and re-corrupting whoever was necessary. And so the Blade's glow faded and faded, many colors of light and substances being drawn into him, including all of his powers from before the draining processes.

At last, it stopped glowing, just as Ephiram and other spectators came to the pseudo-deity.

Reaper just laughed, knowing he had already won. Then came the pain.

A flash of light at the point of impact of the Blade, a shot of agony stopping his laughter, his smile. Then came another, brighter. What was happening?

These flashes were increasing in frequency and intensity as a Scarab, the only one remaining, came forth. Many heroes were within to watch the display.

Pyro and Inferno, both only very briefly in the fighting. They, along with Axel between them, had eradicated the Flood, scourge of two galaxies. Pence, Fuujin, Raijin, and Olette, all friends of the fallen and heroes in their own right, sentries not suited for battle with the exception of Rai, their protector when they were hidden. Demi and Kynthia, the demigoddesses of the moon of Nippon and daughters of the rabbit god Yumigami. The latter still had tears poursing from her eyes, a never-ending river, the whitish-blue orbs bloodshot, but glared down at the reason behind her boyfriend's death. Together, they had utterly destroyed the ground forces of Omega in retaliation. Several little girls, Little Sisters, captives of Reaper and ADAM stockpiles who would be returned to their parents once more. Flora, sister of the deceived and deceased Hawk who was also a captive, although also possessed by an evil influence within her. Her eyes were also bloodshot from recent tears. Riku and Kairi, friends of a fallen Keyblade Master as well as Masters of the weapons in their own right. After several adventures, including two with the Original Interference himself, they had found the strength of mind and of heart to fight back and kill the Knights Templar of Richard Brier, formerly of Robert IV de Sable.

All plasma cannons of the Scarab, including the central laser, aiming at that one villain. Artificial intelligences 54-1N, better known as "Sain," and K1-R4, mire commonly known as "Kira," were in this as well. After following their maker through many battles, including their first fighting in the Milky Way of the Haloverse, they would also be witnesses to the outcome of this encounter.

A Geth dropship hovered in view, many of the quarian-developed robots aiming sniper rifles down at the man, others on rooftops along with Covenant Elites. Reaper's own past stood with those on the ship, the eye on his forehead glaring down at the monster he would never become.

From rooftops among the snipers, more were visible. Seifer and Hayner, unaugmented warriors who had defeated the Brute behind the Covenant forces. Donald, Ele, and Aerith, who had removed any problems from the air. Vivi, the Black Mage who had put a stop to Ronald "Phantom" Rivers' rampage of terror. Angel, the future of one of two fallen angels who had recovered Seifer and Hayner after their fight with Alviorus.

Kaith's voice over the radio once more. [i]"From those flashes, you want the power within the Blade, am I right? You can have it. All of those powers wrought for destruction. Yours, others'... and the Sands of Time."[/i]

This confused Reaper. What did those Sands have to do with anything? Dolor was dead, if his information was right. The Sands were gone with him. Unless...

[i]"I killed Samuel Dolor the Mercenary with the Blade of Olympus. His power, all of the Sands of Time, resides in that weapon. Let's think about how destruction reacts to temporal manipulation."[/i] A pause, as he coughed. [i]"Utter erasure from time itself, likely as far as your first trip to the Otherworld, the time of the fork in your life. Goodbye, Isaac. I'll see the better you some day."[/i] With that, he laughed. Haggard laughter over the airwaves, with his dying breaths.

This horrified Reaper. All his work, his powers, just to be destroyed in that act of avarice. He glared at a surprised Ephiram as his form was no longer visible from the flashes.

"You will meet your end some day, Karsath. I'm sure of it. And when that day comes, I'll be waiting, laughing."

[i]We do not [b]die[/b],[/i] the Darkness added, inaudible to Ephiram nonetheless.

The future self of Alexander Karsath turned, walking down the street. "No you won't. You don't have the time."

It was then that the last flash came, and with it Reaper's final scream. His voice melded with that of the Darkness, and a wave of light, a spherical shockwave, erupted from his body in all directions, taking all present within it. It was an echo of time, one that stretched across worlds, across universes, with this terrible being at its center, blinding all for its duration. And then it was no more.

One could not say that the demon had been defeated, or even killed. No, that would not do the process justice.

Just as the world that he called his headquarters and the castle in which he had resided, Isaac Koniro "Reaper" Zivaku never was.