Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners and not me with the exception of original characters. All songs mentioned belong to their respective artists and I am in no way making any money off this. Only this story is mine, nothing else. Please read and review. Helpful reviews welcome, really bad flames shall be ignored and/or deleted. Enjoy

The Twilight Will
By Demonabyss

Chapter 50: Day 525: Constants, Variables, and Chaos

Roxas quickly made his way to Battleship Bay, where he had seen his companions land as he had tangled with that overgrown pigeon. He made good time using Flowmotion and soon found them near a beach like area in a side alley. "You guys okay?" he asked as he landed. Pandora ran up and hugged him, having been scared for him after leaving him.

"We should be asking you that kid. What happened with that bird thing?" Booker said concerned. Anything that could crash into buildings without consequence was something he did not want to tangle with. They kid had guts to do so to buy them time.

The Nobody shrugged. "Froze the thing's wings. With any luck it'll fall into the ocean."

Raziel nodded before speaking. "Good. Now, can you create a Corridor out of here?"

Standing to the side, Roxas summoned Metal Eternal and attempted to make a Chaos Corridor to lead them to Bladehenge. As the Light, Darkness, and Nothingness formed into a gateway, something happened. The Corridor became unstable and started to waver with patches of static appearing all over it. The Nobody grabbed his forearm and tried pumping more energy to forcefully stabilize the Corridor, though this did little to help. The static built until the gateway destabilized and blew apart, knocking them all back. Roxas dropped his Keyblade, causing it to disappear, clutching his arm as his hand twitched and sparked badly; a feeling of incredible numbness overtaking his forearm.

Tammy helped him to his feet as he worked to get the feeling back into his arm. "What happened? Are you all right?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah," he said uncertainly, "I'm okay. It was … some weird interference. Something about this place is messing with Corridor. I've never felt feedback like that before," he said as the feeling slowly returned to his arm.

"You … can create tears … like me?" Elizabeth said confused.

Tamamo-no-Mae shook her head. "No. What he does is go to different dimensions … worlds completely separate from this one. Your tears are something else," she said as Roxas shook his hand awake. "What are they anyway?"

"Tears are … windows. Windows to other worlds. I used to open them all the time at my tower. Usually they're nothing special, like tea instead of coffee or a different colored dish towel. Sometimes though I saw something amazing and was able to pull it through," the girl explained.

Pandora looked at her, the Olympian's mind burning with ideas. "When you say other worlds, what do you mean exactly?" she asked as she needed clarification.

Elizabeth tried to think of a way to explain what she usually saw. "It's usually a different version of what is here. Like I said, I could open a tear on a book cabinet and there would be different books there or the cabinet itself would be different.'

"How long have you been able to do this?" Raziel asked as new pieces were added to the puzzle.

The girl shrugged. "Since always. I remember being able to control them when I was younger. Now, I can only bring a few things here or there," she explained.

The wraith nodded. "Likely due to that machine we saw in your tower. It acts as a siphon and a leash to your power. Comstock wants to use it for his own ends. Very likely he uses these tears as the source of his prophecies, seeing worlds of what could be and then pandering them off as visions from God." Memories of Moebius and his time streaming device flickered through his mind. He looked at Roxas who had regained the feeling in his arm. "It's likely that tower and your powers are what caused the interference with the Corridor. Short of destroying the tower, it looks like we'll need to physically leave the city in order to get out of its range."

"And how do we do that? Right now this entire city is searching for us and our previous mode of transport was destroyed," Tamamo-no-Mae summarized.

Looking around, Pandora found the answer. "There," she said pointing to a sign. It showed an advertisement for the First Lady Airship. "If we … commandeer that airship, we might be able to slip out of the city with little problem," she suggested. They quickly agreed; making their way through the area called Battleship Bay. The place was essentially an artificial beach and ocean, though Tammy, Roxas, and Pandora found it to be a poor substitute for the real thing. They slipped by crowds in line for the ship, going through the back hallways. Any locks were easily taken care of by Roxas' Keyblade. Passing through a large game room with Duke and Dimwit machines along with a mechanical version of George Washington, they kept as inconspicuous as possible, not drawing any attention.

Approaching some turn styles, there was a woman in a black outfit that seemed to know Elizabeth. "Annabelle? Annabelle, it's me Ester," she said cheerily.

The former tower captive shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not Annabelle. My name is Elizabeth. Do I know you?" she asked cautiously.

The blonde woman cocked her head to the side. "Elizabeth, that's a lovely name," she said before leaving through the turn style.

"That was … odd," the dark haired girl commented. The rest silently agreed, not liking the interaction at all. Something was off here. They continued on to the ticket booth, though the feeling of uneasiness continued. DeWitt went to the counter to get some tickets, though the cashier seemed busy for some reason. As they waited, people around the station seemed to move into a circle around them.

Seeing what was going to happen, Booker pulled out his machine gun as the cashier pulled a knife, stopping him from being stabbed in the hand. Immediately the people around them attacked, yelling to get the girl, referring to Elizabeth. Said girl panicked and ran off while the other five dealt with the attacking citizens and police that came at the sound of gunfire. Booker and Pandora took them out at range while Roxas, Tammy, and Raziel got up close and personal. Some of them had chosen to wear armor and wield vigors, thinking it would allow them to overwhelm the False Prophet and his companions.

They were severely wrong.

Some tried to use Devil's Kiss, lobbing fire grenades at them. These were proved useless by Roxas' ice spells, Leviathan Keyblade, Tamamo-no-Mae's Icestorm technique, and Pandora just absorbing the flames when they got too close. Same thing happened with another using an electricity based vigor, only with the kitsune absorbing the power into her swords. What firepower they brought was partially useless as in such an enclosed space it was easy for Roxas, Raziel, and Tammy to close the distance and take them down.

After tearing the group apart, they quickly spread out to find Elizabeth. During their search, they found a voxophone belonging to one of the attackers, most likely the woman that had greeted Elizabeth at the turn style. "This is the moment we've trained for. The False Shepherd is here … but he is not alone. While the Prophet's sight was true … it was also wrong. He said nothing of the other four who have come for the lamb. People have started to whisper, that they are not human, but devils here to destroy Columbia. We cannot lose faith now. We must retrieve the girl alive … or we will be given to the Songbird," it ended fearfully. Interesting, apparently their presence had caused some doubt to be planted.

Moving on, they quickly tracked her down to the gondola that would take them to the aerodrome. She was frantically trying to activate it in order to leave them behind. Unfortunately she was strong enough to move the lever and thus they were able to board. Once there, DeWitt pulled it, sending the group on their way. Elizabeth pointedly looked out the window, avoiding looking at any of them. "You killed all those people. I can't believe…" she muttered to herself more than the group around her before turning to them. "You're monsters," she accused.

Tamamo-no-Mae snarled at the naïve girl as she hated being talked down to by humans. "What did you think was going to happen, girl? Do you comprehend what is going on here? A madman has created a city in the sky; a massive gilded cage to keep a leash on your abilities which he needs to keep power, and has set you has a main aspect of his cult. With that much investment into you and your value with your abilities, do you honestly think they would just let you walk away as if you had a choice? People have and will kill for far less than that and if you give them a chance, they will take away everything." She drew Ninestrike as it crackled ominously. "If you don't strike first … you give them that chance and that is all it can take."

The girl looked down in contemplation for a moment before speaking again, this time much more softly. "What happened back there … it's not the last of it is it?"

Despite being a rhetorical question, Raziel answered anyway. "Very unlikely. Men like Comstock who believe they have "divine right" behind them rarely stop and think on their actions or truly consider how they affect others. Followers of such men are the same. Until we get out of this city, we must remain cautious."

As they traveled alone the line, Tamamo-no-Mae seemingly gazed through the window in silence, though she was also eyeing the two humans in the gondola with interest. Despite her senses being dulled in her human form, they were still sharp enough to detect something odd about them. Elizabeth and Booker had similar scents. It wasn't the smell of two people who had simply come in contact with one another; the similarity ran deeper than that. Considering they had never met until recently, that peaked her interest. There was a connection there but what it was she didn't know, though she resolved to keep her senses open as they went along.

The gondola stopped and they entered a new area, Soldier's Field Welcome Center. The place was set up like an amusement park attraction with mechanical eagles and a corny song playing over the nearby speakers. It was obvious this place was geared to introducing children to the idea of national service, more specifically the military. While this wasn't an unusual idea to Tammy or Pandora, the commercialized method of doing so disgusted them in comparison to their homelands. Nearby was another kinetoscope. This one showed a clip of the city in the sky and who had made it possible. After looking at it, Pandora frowned. "I don't like this. According to that thing, Rosalind Lutece helped create this city by figuring out how to make it fly," she stated. Why would one of their "employers" send them here if they were such a respected figure?

"This stinks of treachery," Tamamo-no-Mae snarled. "I knew we couldn't trust those two."

"More likely we were sent to undo a mistake of theirs. Regardless, we're too far in to back out now," Raziel said calmly as thoughts of the Ancient Vampires and what he had to go through to clean up their mess flashed through his head. This discovery however did make all of them, minus Elizabeth, even more ill at ease than before. "We'll just have to keep our eyes open."

They continued on coming to a gate that was powered by the results of another vigor called Shock Jockey. Apparently what it did was allow people to control electricity through the creation and use of strange blue crystals. Despite their obvious power, the crystals were inherently unstable and would fracture either over time or if exposed to too much stress. Tammy found it interesting, though she considered it an amateur attempt at truly harnessing lightning.

They came to a boardwalk area, trying to draw as little attention as possible as they made their way to the next gondola. On the way, Elizabeth decided to get to know her rescuers a little more. "Do you know why you were all hired to come and get me?"

"Most likely to meet you and your abilities," Booker answered as he kept a wary eye out though he didn't sound sure of that explanation. If their employers, at least one of them, was so important to this place, why would they need to hire someone like him to get the girl? Couldn't they just arrange a meeting with her or something? Then again, she was treated like a lab rat so it was unlikely. Still, why come to him for this? As Tammy said, this stank of treachery.

"Why you?" she said motioning to all of them.

"In our case, we're … travelers and if we get you to them they'll provide passage to a place I really need to get to. It's a long story," Roxas answered. "As for Booker, no idea."

The aforementioned soldier just shrugged. "I've never even heard of this place before I got here. Guess I got a bit behind current events."

"Huh," the girl replied quizzically, "I assumed Columbia was common knowledge below. So, Mr. DeWitt, what are you?"

Knowing this was a tricky question, he answered carefully. "Call me Booker, and I'm a, uh independent contractor. Used to work for the Pinkertons and such. Not something I like to advertise," he hedged.

"What were these Pinkertons?" Raziel asked curious.

Elizabeth answered, though unsurely. "Weren't they the ones businesses would call in to settle things when the workers took to striking?"

Booker snorted. "Settle things … that's one way to put it." They soon came to the gondola lever that summoned it. Unfortunately, after pulling it, the power source which was Shock Jockey, blew out. "Figures," he groused before turning to a nearby sign that advertised Shock Jockey at the Hall of Heroes. Heading over there, they ran into more policemen trying to stop them, though much more heavily armed than before, several of them using vigors. One tried to use Devil's Kiss on them only to have his fire consumed by Pandora's. Tammy dashed around the battlefield in flashes of lightning while Roxas did the same in with Flash Step. Raziel and Booker stayed close to Elizabeth. Any police that tried to come near them either got blasted by Booker or had their soul ripped out by Raziel. Once the opposition was cleared away, they continued on. The Hall of Heroes was blocked by a police blockade with a sign saying it was closed until further notice.

They walked right in without a care.

After a short delay in the elevator, they entered the Soldier's Field. The place was quiet and looked like a touristy museum more than anything. It had several mechanical men in white wigs and blue suits with flags out their backs reciting an awful fusion of bad poetry and propaganda about the Prophet. Both Pandora and Tamamo-no-Mae were disgusted by this as it reminded them of the self-important pride of the Greek gods and Nippon nobles respectively. It was obvious this so-called hall was made by the Prophet simply to promote himself.

Moving through the place, they found crates containing bottles of vigors, all of them labeled Bucking Bronco. Booker picked up a few of the bottles and handed them to his companions, even Elizabeth. "We don't know what's coming, so bottom's up people," he said reluctantly.

Bucking Bronco was a telekinetic based vigor, made to send targets into the air and suspend them there. Reluctantly, they each took a drink and experienced a hallucination. For Booker and Elizabeth, they saw their own hands crack as if made of stone with blood seeping out as well as orange colored energy swirling around them. As with the other vigors, this one had a different effect on each of the non-humans. For Roxas, the hallucination was the same except it was fragments of Light, Darkness, and Nothingness around his hands. The vigor mixed with his Chaos abilities to grant him Chaos Wave, either as a wide attack or as an area of effect attack around himself if needed. For Tammy, the vision had used her lightning and had altered it into an electromagnetic wave that could temporarily disrupt machinery. For Pandora, the energy appeared as silver chains and instead of blood it was molten slurry of different kinds of metals. For her, the vigor had merged with her latent aspect of Noise. This would allow her to focus her Solos when played, focusing their effects in a straight line rather than an area of effect around her. It had the most drastic effect on Raziel, as it enhanced all of his telekinetic abilities. He could now shoot waves of compressed space rather than just bolts and could use his Stasis Field ability on multiple targets instead of just one at a time.

After recovering from the hallucinations of the vigor, they got ready to move further into the Hall. They ran into a group that looked like they were preparing to attack, but not them. One of them, most likely the leader, was talking about taking down some man named Slate … a name Booker seemed to recognize. Raziel noticed immediately. "Do you know this Slate they speak of?"

The former soldier nodded. "Yeah, we used to serve together in the army. After our time there we went our separate ways. I lost touch with him after that. Never thought I'd find him here." Peeking around the corner, he noted where the enemy was. "Ok, we've got several guys on the roofs as well as a small squad near the entrance of the Hall of Heroes."

"Leave the ones on the roofs to me and Roxas," Tamamo-no-Mae said with a vicious grin.

"I will take the ground troops while Booker and Pandora provide cover fire," Raziel stated which the others agreed with. With that bit of planning they attacked. Booker used a machine gun to mow any soldiers that tried to get too close to his position while Pandora sniped them from further away. Roxas and Tammy had no trouble jumping to the roof tops and slaying the men stationed there with ease. Raziel similarly cut a swath of death through the ground troops with the Reaver, tearing out their souls left and right. Soon the area was cleared out and the way to the Hall of Heroes was open to them.

They salvaged a few weapons from the corpses of the dead soldiers. Walking up to Elizabeth, Tammy handed her a couple of pistols. The girl was shocked at this. "But … I can't," she tried to protest. While she understood the necessity of killing from what happened earlier, that didn't mean she accepted it or was willing to do so herself. Her protests were silenced by a feral growl and crackle of electricity.

The fox growled as in the previous couple of fights she had seen several men go after the girl to take her away in the confusion. While the girl had fought back, it would only be a matter of time before she was overpowered and or knocked out and carried away. "If you are captured again, not only does our mission fail, but you will be locked in that tower with no hope and no future other than what Comstock decrees. Is that what you want? To be nothing but a puppet, a tool for some madman!?" the disguised kitsune growled lowly. Her tone became cold serious as her eyes sparked, turning into slits and hinting at what she truly was. "Let me be perfectly clear, we're not doing this to be altruistic. We are not here to be saviors. We were hired to get you out of this city and that's what we'll do and I refuse to fail due to some shut-in's weakness. If anyone tries to take you away you will shoot to kill. If you don't then I guarantee what Comstock will do to you will seem like NOTHING compared to what I will do to you. Am I clear?" she snarled. Elizabeth just shakily nodded, not wanting to anger the sparking woman any more than necessary. Also, deep down she knew she couldn't avoid it forever given the situation. None of their companions said anything.

The continued on and soon came to the hall itself only to find it had been desecrated. The title sign had been vandalized to read Hall of Whores with graffiti all over the area. Several of the statues made in Comstock's image had their heads torn and or blown off. As they got closer shots rang out, causing all of them to take cover. "Sniper, on the left side roof," Roxas called out. Reaching with his hand, Raziel focused and telekinetically grabbed the sniper, lifting him into the air for a moment before pulling him harshly forward off the roof top. The sniper's scream caused more men to come out of the building to repel the attack.

Several more gunners appeared on the higher steps, but this proved useless as Raziel was able to use Stasis Lock on all of them, leaving them sitting ducks for his companions. One down, they got a good look at the men who attacked them and were surprised. "These aren't police," Pandora stated confused as the men in question wore wearing odd blue uniforms that looked more military than what the police wore.

Booker frowned, recognizing the clothes. "No … these are uniforms worn by the US military down below. It seems Slate has his own troops."

"Think we can reason with him?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

No one said anything as they entered the building.

Once inside they found several corpses of police, guards, and a few civilians, showing that this place had been taken only recently. The found a voxophone from Slate himself, saying how he was part of the Vox Populi and that he and some woman named Fitzroy were allies only by necessity. "Seems not everyone is happy with this utopia Comstock has created," Pandora idly commented.

"Given that recording we found earlier from Comstock, are you really surprised?" Roxas asked casually referring to the slave recording that he had destroyed.

They came to the main entryway where a statue of Comstock stood. Underneath was a plaque that Elizabeth read out loud. "Our Prophet. Father Comstock. Commander of the 7th Cavalry."

Booker immediately snorted in disgust. "That man did not lead the 7th. Hell, I don't even remember the guy …" he was cut off as a voice came over the speaker system.

"Corporal DeWitt proved his worth on the field that day," Slate's voice rang out. "You've always been different haven't you Booker? You crave no glory."

The tone the old soldier spoke in was disturbingly familiar to the dimensional travelers. Raziel spoke up, assuming Slate could hear them. "We just want some Shock Jockey. Give us a bottle and we will leave you to whatever it is you're doing."

He apparently didn't hear or more likely didn't care as he continued on. "That tin soldier Comstock, wants my boys dead. We won't die at his hands!" That did not sound good to any of them. "All my men have left is a choice; die at the hands of a tin soldier … or a real one!"

With those words, several soldiers came barreling out of the side doors only to be stopped by Raziel's telekinesis and then hurled into the walls, knocking them out. "This is pointless. We only want the Shock Jockey, nothing more."

"If you want the vigor, you will give my men a soldier's death," Slate said calmly. "They wait for you at Wounded Knee and Peking."

Roxas turned to Booker, "Do you know what he's talking about?" The moved forward to find the path separated into two exhibits. One was on the left was labeled "The Boxer Rebellion" while the other was titled "The Battle of Wounded Knee".

The former soldier sighed before answering. "We were both soldiers in the same unit in the army. These are … battles that we participated in," he said reluctantly as images of death haunted his eyes.

Slate's voice came over the PA again. "Indeed. The tin soldier has taken credit for the deeds of the real ones. Now, your companion … he wrapped himself in glory on December 29, Eighteen-Hundred and Ninety at Wounded Knee." He said nothing as his companions all gazed at him with various looks of horror and interest. "Tell them, Booker! Tell them how we strode that battlefield like the heroes of Sparta! I still hear the screams...does Comstock?"

Pandora shivered a little at the mention of Sparta, images of Olympus and the Spartan that brought death to it flashed through her mind before she spoke again. "So Comstock … rewrote history … to promote himself? Then what happened in this Boxer Rebellion?" she trailed off. It was a well known fact that history is written by the victors, but to go this far ...

"In Peking? It was my hand that put the city to the torch. Of course, that's not how Comstock tells it …" Slate stated, his rage bubbling just beneath the surface. "The Boxers took my eye and thirty of my friends! Is there even a stone to mark that sacrifice?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes as more pieces were added to the puzzle. Once again this was far too much of a coincidence to ignore. Not only does Comstock know about Booker coming into his city, but rewrites not just any history, the history that specifically applies to Booker? There was more a connection between the old soldier, this city, and Comstock then any of them knew. "Look Slate, I get that you're pissed at Comstock for stealing your past and you want the record set straight, but sending your men to a pointless death won't change that," he yelled out.

"Then what would have me do boy? My men deserve better then to be forgotten and to die at the hands of Comstock's tin soldiers," Slate said scornfully.

Despite knowing Slate couldn't see him; Roxas had a smirk on his face. "Since he stole your past … why don't you steal his future?"

There was silence for a few tense moments as the grizzled veteran seemed to consider that statement. "Go on."

The Nobody knew he had the commander interested as he continued. "You know this young lady with us is the lamb and you know that Comstock has pretty much pinned everything about the future on her. Also, her abilities are likely what he uses to make his predictions. We've been hired to take her out of Columbia. If Comstock loses her he loses his promised future and his ability to make predictions. His precious city will crumble. Game over."

Raziel spoke up at the point, deciding to add to their argument. "Besides, wouldn't your men rather die for a cause then for no reason? Even if the cause is revenge, at least it's more honest than Comstock's," he said as he thought of the Sarafan and how driven they were as well as Kain's words at the Pillars from long ago.

There was silence until they heard a chuckle over the PA that grew into uproarious laughter. "Yes indeed, better to die taking away the future of the tin soldier. All men, stand down," he ordered. "You'll find me past the First Lady's Memorial. We'll talk there as there are a few things you should know about your charge. You've learned what Comstock has done to my history, now see how he's rewritten his own." The PA went dead, leaving them all to wonder what he meant.

The moved forward as Slate's men let them pass. This exhibit showed a portrait of Lady Comstock, a regal woman in a blue dress, with multiple candles lit all around. Moving past the initial shrine, they came to an open area with a statue of Lady Comstock holding an infant while standing in an ornate chariot. Confused, Elizabeth read the plaque on the exhibit. "The seed of the Prophet lay in the womb of our Lady but for a single week. Comstock had a child … my books never mentioned anything about a child," she said confused.

The wraith snorted. "Considering who provided your books, I doubt that was unintentional."

She continued to read. "But the child took ill and Our Lady prayed for the Prophet's heir both day and night." Disturbed, the group moved forward to the next area where a statue of Comstock was walking across the bridge with the infant. Looking up, Elizabeth's eyes widened at the sight of a model of a building on the other side made to look like a large angel. Despite almost never seeing it from the outside, she knew what it was. "That's my tower …"

The voice of Comstock interrupted her via a recording before she could saw more. "Lo! While Daisy Fitzroy has murdered my beloved, she shall not have the child! She shall not come betwist her and prophecy! The seed of the Prophet shall sit the throne, and drown in flame the mountains of man!"

The dark-haired girl was shocked at what she was being told. "I'm … I'm Comstock's daughter?"

Tammy snorted at the revelation. "Indeed and apparently he wants you to follow in his footsteps given that prophecy at the end."

"Well I want a puppy buy that doesn't mean I'm gonna get one," she replied angrily as she moved forward, her mind racing with this new information. Tammy was tempted to shift into her small fox form and bark just to mess with her but decided against it for the time being. The next room showed a statue of a woman hiding behind the side of the entryway with a red rope, looking as if she were getting ready to strangle someone with it. Directly ahead of them was another statue of Lady Comstock on her knees praying. The plaque under the hiding woman labeled her as Lady Comstock's murderer, the anarchist Daisy Fitzroy. The next part of the exhibit showed Comstock throwing anarchists into a fiery pit, saying that he pursued them for vengeance to this day.

All of them were unimpressed. This entire place oozed propaganda and covering up up some larger conspiracy. They finally came to an open area where a grizzled bald man with a white beard, large mustache, and an eye patch waited for them with a group of armed men. "It's been a long time Corporal DeWitt. Tell me, what do you and your companions think of the tin soldier's history?"

"In a word … bullshit," Booker said bluntly which caused Slate and a few of his men to laugh at the response.

Raziel nodded. "A crude if accurate summation. A child conceived and then born in only a week? A random woman murdering a noblewoman for no apparent cause shortly after said child's birth? Only a fool would fail to realize something was amiss."

"Smart lad," the old soldier nodded in approval. He turned to Elizabeth with a sympathetic look in his eye. "The truth is girl, is that Lady Comstock wasn't your mother." Said girl's eyes widened. "I acquired her diary while working for Fink Industries. Apparently Comstock told her that she was created from whole cloth by divine will." Booker snorted though Pandora, Roxas, and Tammy were quiet given how the Olympian was created from a mystical silver fire. "Unlike the rest of Columbia, she wasn't a fool. She was going to reveal his dishonesty and he had her silenced."

"So, Fitzroy was just a scapegoat to turn Lady Comstock into a martyr. But that still leaves many questions. The first being where did she come from? Her powers? And what's Booker's connection to all of this?" Roxas stated which surprised most of them here.

Booker himself was the most surprised. "What makes you think I have anything to do with any of this? I told you, I haven't even heard of this city till just before I came here to get Elizabeth."

The disguised kitsune chuckled. "Don't be naïve Booker, it doesn't suit you. There are too many coincidences for you not to have a connection. You were hired by two of the founding members of this city, the Luteces, to retrieve a girl who is vital to Comstock's power. The so-called prophet not only knows about you and your past, but predicted your arrival and that unique brand on your hand to identify you. Last but not least, he rewrites history to further his agenda. Not just any history, but YOUR history, battles that you yourself were at. Either you were set up specifically to be a devil to sacrifice for his ridiculous faith … or you have a connection to all this you don't know about."

One of the men around them caught something in her rant that didn't seem right. "Did you say you were hired by the Luteces, as in Robert and Rosalind Lutece?"

"Yes … why?" Roxas asked cautiously as he was sure he wasn't going to like the answer.

"They were declared dead nearly three years ago," Slate answered. "They supposedly died in some science experiment of theirs while working for Comstock."

The dimensional travelers looked at each other, silently communicating with their eyes as a sense of dread came over them. They knew the Luteces weren't normal humans by any stretch given their powers. Despite that however, they had appeared as alive as any of them. Though given the existence of Nobodies like Roxas, perhaps they should have considered it more closely. Pandora asked the question they were all fearing to ask. "What exactly, were they scientists of?" They all had a clue given their interactions with the two, their apparent powers, and how they helped create this city.

"Quantum physics," Slate answered which caused their eyes to widen, "the study of atoms and their behaviors I believe is the definition."

"I see … so that's it," Roxas said softly as the pieces fell together. He looked at Elizabeth and then at Booker. The information from Slate, the girl's ability to create tears, the Luteces powers and involvement, and the most likely connection between Booker and Columbia. "Comstock isn't your father … he's your kidnapper." He stated which surprised everyone. "The Luteces found a way to create tears themselves and Comstock used one to grab you. Lady Comstock was going to reveal it so he had her and the Luteces silenced. With no one to argue, everyone believed the stupid story about you being born within a week. If I had to guess, I would say you come from the same world as Booker. What connection he has beyond that, I'm not sure," he stated clearly.

"That's … that's not possible," Elizabeth said stunned.

"But … I didn't come through any tears to get here. I was shot up into this crazy city from a lighthouse below," Booker exclaimed confused.

Raziel narrowed his eyes in thought. "Do you remember how you got to the lighthouse? The entire trip from your home to there?" Booker's silence was telling as he tried to remember the whole journey from his office to that rocket that brought him here. Other than the rowboat ride to the lighthouse … he had no memories of actually going to the coast, no flights, no journey, no planning, nothing. He absently brought his hand to his face as he felt blood drip from his nose.

"It fits," Tammy said idly as she walked up to the stunned girl and grabbed her right hand, the one with the missing pinkie finger. "It would also explain your powers. While most of you made it through the tear, one small part didn't. You're literally in two places at once which is why you can create and control tears," she said as the words from Rosalind's voxophone from Monument Island flashed through her mind. "Without the Luteces and their science, he had you studied and had that tower built to siphon your power for his own use. Added to that "prophecy" from earlier, and he's wagered everything on you," she said with a sneer, disgust dripping from the word prophecy as it left a bad taste in her mouth. She had developed a thorough hatred for prophets at this point

The noblewoman let go of the girl's hand and sighed. "None of this matters however. Our goal has not changed. We must leave the city and the First Lady airship is our best chance of leaving. To get to the airship, we need Shock Jockey and we've better move soon. I imagine Comstock isn't going to like all of us talking and comparing notes."

"True enough," Slate said before turning to his assembled men. "Okay boys, we got us an escort mission here. Our job is to get this group, specifically the young lady here out of Columbia and away from that tin soldier by any means necessary. Pack up everything, we're moving out," he ordered. His troops immediately complied, grabbing weapons and supplies. Turning back to them, the old soldier pushed a crate towards them. "Here's what you came for. You're gonna need every advantage you can get," he warned.

Nodding, each of them took a bottle of Shock Jockey. Booker and Elizabeth went first, experiencing visions of crystals emerging from the palms and backs of their hands as their skin turned light blue. Electricity arcing within their grip as the crystal grew and darkened to almost black. With a final pulse of lightning, the crystals shattered and the coloration receeded.

Raziel and Roxas had similar visions, though the energy involved was much different. For Raziel the crystals were dark emerald and the coloration was light green. The energy arced less and was more like flowing water, similar to the eldritch power he had seen on the Pillars of Nosgoth. This wasn't just simple electricity, but the raw energy of lost souls that was now at his command.

For Roxas, his affinity for Chaos came into play. The crystals were colored a swirling mix of black, white, and gray with the discoloration being a pure white similar to his Void Form. The three Primal Elements wove together in a twisted harmony in his hands. Straight beams of Light, swirling ribbons of Darkness, and twisted bolts of Nothingness danced around his fingers for a few moment before it ended.

For Pandora, the reaction was altered by her aspect of Metal. There weren't crystals but spires of polished steel that emerged from her body in the shape of tesla coils. Rather than random arcs, the electricity moved in directed currents that ended at her fingertips. She was able to physically grasp the energy like it was writhing snake and use it as a whip. After a moment, it died down.

Before she cracked the bottle open, Roxas stopped Tammy, causing the kitsune to look at him oddly. "Hold on a moment," he said before running back and taking cover behind some nearby pillars. "You all might want to do the same," he warned. Raziel and Pandora immediately did so, given what happened with the other vigors. Booker and Elizabeth followed suit while Slate and his men backed away, curious as to what the issue was.

Tamamo-no-Mae only grinned at them before uncorking the Shock Jockey and downing the whole bottle. Immediately the reaction was much more severe than anyone else's. For one … it wasn't some hallucination or minor mutation. Lightning arced all over her body and struck the area around her as Slate as his men quickly took cover. She partially shifted into her anthro form as the vigor took effect. Claws of electric crystal came out of her fingertips as her mouth started to widen in a demonic grin. Her body grew in size somewhat, as it was trying to shift but her will prevented it, though an electric aura appeared around her form in the shape of nine tails, sparking wildly. Crystals filled with lightning, divine, and demonic energies appeared on her body under her clothes. Unlike other drinkers, these weren't random protrusions, but deliberate extensions. From her upper shoulder and on the sides of her thighs, spire shaped crystal started to grow, trying to pierce her clothes though their growth was limited through her own will. On her head two distinct crystals grew from her forehead just above her temples. They curved backwards for a few inches before sharply turning forward and growing into sharp, lethal looking horns. Lightning arced everywhere, scorching the area as she got the vigor under control, reverting back to her human form, the crystals retracting into her body.

"What the HELL WAS THAT!?" one of the soldiers yelled out much to everyone's agreement.

"I've never seen a vigor do that before, even to some of them vigor junkies," another called out.

Tamamo-no-Mae breathed deeply as her power settled before grinning at the stunned soldiers. "Let's just say I have a closer affiliation with lightning than most and leave it at that." They nodded, not wanting to find out what would happen if they dug too deep.

The platoon moved out, Booker and Elizabeth in the center of the group, Raziel and Pandora in the rear, with Tammy and Roxas taking point. They get to the lever, activating it with Shock Jockey and summoning the gondola. However, shortly after doing so, Comstock's unwanted voice echoes out above them. "They will abandon you, my sweet Elizabeth. Once they have what they need, they will leave you alone. What else could you expect from a liar and a killer of women?" he said in his usual holier-than-thou voice.

Raziel answered, yelling up at the airship above them. "Probably a lot more than from a kidnapper of children and a robber of childhoods like you. Tell me Prophet, is Elizabeth the name her birth parents gave her … or the one you forced on her after taking her through the tear?" When no answer came, he turned to his companions. "Get ready everyone, I have a feeling he will not take kindly to our defiance."

Slate's men took positions as several airships closed in on their position. Unfortunately, those airships were carrying Firemen, Handymen, Raven Zealots, as well as several Motorized Patriots. Like the mechanical gorilla-like being they had seen at the fair earlier, the Handymen were men who had most of their bodies replaced by machinery. The Patriots looked the same as those corny displays they had seen in Hall of Heroes, only now they were marching with Gatling guns. The Firemen and Zealots were already yelling about the glory of the Prophet and the departed Lady. "Sir, we can't fight these kind of forces," one of Slate's men reported as they tried to take defensive positions.

"Oh yes we can," Roxas growled as he was sick of laying low. "Time to cut loose," he muttered before calling out. "Praegressio." The soldiers around him and in front of him stepped back in surprise as his armor appeared around him, looking for all like a demonic knight out of Arthurian legend. "And now to set the stage," he said as he summoned Metal Eternal and activated Showtime. The enemy forces as well as the rebels sans Roxas' companions were all shocked as a massive Metal Megastage appeared on the boardwalk, seemingly build into it now. "And one more trick before we get this party started, since you seem to feed on faith, I'll take advantage of that. Wraith!" he called as he entered another transformation.

Blue spiritual energy wrapped around him like a living fog, altering his armor as it adapted to his blue form. The black colored portions of his armor shifted into a dark blue with the leather portions of the suit taking on a shimmering aspect, as if made of water from darkest parts of the arctic. The crosses on his armor shifted into open crescent moons cradling snowflakes within them. Over his head appeared a dark blue hood trimmed with silver waves that shadows his forehead and eyes. Mist along with a chill of winter formed around him as the Eco Surge appeared in right hand while Leviathan combined Defiant Arctic on his right, attaching to his forearm the same way his Keyblades did in Maverick form. Last but not least, the winglets on his back shifted into a metal brace bearing the kanji for wraith that held two Keyblades cross over his back, Sanity's Edge and Lunar Eclipse, making him appear as his form's namesake.

Behind him, Reverb had already taken to the control booth in the Megastage and summoned reinforcements in the form of a squad of Neon Nobodies and a squad of Ninja Nobodies. It also had a couple other Echo Nobodies manning the stage lights and fog, ready to give support to Slate's men.

(AN Void Stage music: "Riot" by Three Days Grace)

Tamamo-no-Mae laughed loudly at this. "So we're forgoing stealth now? That's fine with me. Truth be told, I'm not sure I could stand being this cramped much longer," she howled as a dark aura covered her, blocking out her entire form save her two red eyes. From the back of the shadow appeared nine extensions that swayed like a large fan as the mass of darkness reformed into a much larger being. With a small explosion of lightning, wind, darkness, light, and power, the kitsune stood in her anthro form wearing her normal battle attire, brandishing Ninestrike and Thunder Edge. Her form showed that she had been affected by the Shock Jockey. The crystal horns from before were now on her canine head along with several spire-like crystals jutting from her upper shoulders and from the sides of her upper thighs, basically replacing the divine extensions she had before in those places with crystal instead of fur.

Raziel sighed at his companions' impulsiveness, but really couldn't argue. Besides, this gave him an excuse to truly test his revived form. The illusion that Kain had taught him melted away like a mirage to reveal his true wraith form. Spreading his new wings, he brandished the Soul Reaver in darkness mode, causing many people's eyes to widen in shock. Pandora followed suit, igniting her body in silver fire, her hair and eyes blazing with divine flame. "I will take down the Firemen," she said simply, walking towards the opposing forces, who were now very unsure about these … beings and the strange powers they had demonstrated.

Tammy laughed she sent an EM Wave at the Motorized Patriots, freezing them in place. "These toys look fun, I want to see what makes them tick," she said as she dashed forward in a blaze of lightning and impaled two of them, causing them to sputter and spasm as electricity ran through their systems. "They break too easily, but at least there's more," she said with a toothy grin as she looked at the stunned and fearful soldiers of Comstock's army. They tried to open fire, only for her to close the distance and take them out with wide slashes of her blades.

Pandora marched towards the Firemen who started lobbing fire grenades at her. "Burn in the fire of the Prophet!" they yelled as they did so, not caring about any collateral damage. Many of them were smug as the silver girl was engulfed in a massive pillar of fire.

It didn't last.

This self-righteousness turned to surprise and fear as the pillar changed colors from red-orange to a shining silver with the girl plainly seen in the center. She glared at them as she activated her own Devil's Kiss vigor, creating a ball of silver plasma like energy. Her eyes narrowed, flames dancing from them as she glared at the zealots in front of her. "Your Prophet's fire is false and weak. Now feel how truly divine burns," she yelled before throwing the ball at them like major-league baseball pitcher. The orb exploded and covered the Fireman, consuming his flames, growing in intensity, and immolating the man into ashes. The other Firemen backed away in fear, their faith shaken by this act as Pandora created two more silver flame spheres in her hands.

The Raven Zealots tried to keep their distance from the blue-skinned demon that was hunting them down one by one. With burning eyes and flaming sword, he cut down their ranks with savage efficiency, his weapon tearing their souls from their moorings and devouring them. In Raziel's eyes he saw images of the Sarafan superimposed upon the zealots, mindless and ruthless followers who never questioned their faith or the horror they caused in its name.

Enforced Wraith Roxas darted around the battlefield like a vengeful ghost, leaving a trail of death and frost in his wake. With Eco Surge he was mowing down the normal soldiers. Their armor and weapons were of little use against an advanced his, especially as it was enhanced with ice properties from both Wraith form and Defiant Arctic. Ice formed wherever he hit, the effects different depending on what mode he used. All the red Eco modes sent out large explosions of ice, flash freezing whatever they hit. Bolts of yellow Eco powered ice pierced anything they hit. The blue Eco caused sheets of ice to form on whatever or whoever they hit. The massive blasts of dark Eco were similar to contained explosions of winter, covering massive areas and freezing whatever they hit.

The Nobody was targeting the Handymen, much to their dismay. While they were fast and agile for their size and build, they had nothing on the sub zero specter that was picking them off with relative ease. All his attacks were extremely fast and long range. This coupled with his speed, agility, and maneuverability made it impossible for them to close the distance. Last but not least, the arctic temperature of his assault froze the fluids in their artificial bodies, slowing them down further, causing various pumps and hoses to clog and burst in ice, killing them from with inside out with extreme cold. Their frozen corpses were now standing in the middle of the battlefield in various positions of fear, pain and death, deterring the enemy forces from advancing.

Comstock watched the battle from his airship in dismay. This wasn't supposed to happen! He had seen none of this in his visions! These four monsters didn't exist in any of the timelines he had seen and they had changed everything. He should have been able to retrieve Elizabeth with ease given the overwhelming force he had brought. Slate and his small band should have been killed by Booker in some foolish ideal suicide attempt. Instead they had allied with one another and now his forces were being wiped out by the four demons that had come with the False Prophet. His greatest champions were being slaughtered by these monsters while Booker and Slate's men were taking out his standard troops with the aid of the white demons being summoned from that massive unholy altar that the black coated boy had created. Booker and Elizabeth were staying near said altar, using its defenses to keep any of his men from getting close enough to capture her. On a side note, that … music … was demoralizing his troops while bolstering Slate's. All and all, if something wasn't done, he would suffer a massive loss in resources, respect, and he would lose the child of prophecy.

He had no choice.

Turning to a strange control panel on his airship, he started to flip switches as a machine similar to the siphons on Memorial Island came online. His ship turned itself and aimed the device at the Void Stage, more specifically at Elizabeth. The machine activated and energy began to drain from the girl, causing her to scream and everyone to turn to her in alarm. White light flashed from her body as she howled in pain. Immediately all the soldiers tried to target Comstock's ship but what remained of his army and heavy hitters were running interference, preventing them from stopping the machine.

While engaged in turning a small group of soldiers into living ice statues, Roxas heard Elizabeth's scream as Comstock used a strange device her. He could see what it was doing and thanks to Sanity's Edge, he knew what the old man was planning. He was going to use the dimensional energy to revive all his lost troops and keep them alive whether they liked it or not. If he kept doing that then he would win through sheer attrition as their forces would eventually get worn down while his would continue on. The crazed Prophet was so desperate to see his "vision" fulfilled that he was willing to warp time, space, and life itself to see it completed. The Nobody knew he couldn't allow this and thus activated Checkmate.

Instantly the world seemed to freeze in grayscale colors highlighted in dark crimson. As before on the ghost ship in Nippon, strands of black and red energy shot from the Keyblade to various targets, encircling them as the weapon calculated the best plan to achieve his goals. The strands circled the Void Stage, the heavy hitters of Comstock's army, the airships, Elizabeth, the machine, Booker, and even himself. After a few moments, several pieces turned solid red as a plan was formed. Once created, the world faded back to normal and Enforced Wraith Roxas initiated his counterstrike.

From the building he was standing on he launched himself towards the army of zealots holding his forces back. Dismissing Eco Surge, he summoned Two Become One and Nemesis of Fate while still having Leviathan on his arm and Lunar Eclipse and Sanity's Edge on his back. It was strange having five Keyblades affect him at once especially with Sanity's Edge being one of them, but none of them clashed so he was fine for now. Activating Shadow Dance, after images followed him as he swung Leviathan attached to Defiant Arctic. The initial swing and after images froze whole lines of troops solid in moments, creating excess ice and providing a barrier for his comrades. Using Flowmotion, he jumped from ship to ship, freezing them solid while making his way towards Comstock whose machine was almost done charging with dimensional tear energy.

Once the machine was fully charged, the Nobody made his move. He ricocheted off the ships and got into range. Once in the air, just as the machine was going to activate, he used a double Strike Raid and threw Two Become One and Nemesis of Fate at the firing point where the energy had been building. The blades struck and jammed the emitter, causing everyone's eyes to widen in surprise. "NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Comstock cried in fear and rage as he was unable to stop the dimensional energy from being released right into the Keyblades. It was also at the moment that Roxas remembered the main flaw in using Checkmate.

It would guarantee victory of this specific battle at ANY cost.

In this case that cost was all interdimensional versions of hell breaking loose.

When the tear energy hit the two Chaos based Keyblades, the result was the two forces mixing and causing a shockwave to erupt from the machine and cover the entire city. The corrupted energy immediately caused the city and its inhabitants to reform into a nightmarish conglomerate of itself and … other places. Roxas' eyes widened in alarm as he immediately recognized some of the new architecture.

"EVERYONE FALL BACK TO THE STAGE, TAKE DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!" he yelled as an energy storm erupted from the impact point. Comstock, being right next to said impact point, was seemingly vaporized as everything mutated.

The area they were in, the boardwalk, seemed to shift into a dingy, metallic harbor. Roxas recognized it as the harbor from Haven City with the edge of the "water" being cut off by a long dimensional tear that crackled with unstable energy. The attacking forces were changed along with everything else. Some changed so that they were no longer flesh and blood soldiers, but humanoid machines, far more advanced than the automated patriots. Others became clay figurines, soldiers of Orochi's Clay Army. Several of the Handymen became large, rhino like creatures with blue skin, metal plates, glowing yellow eyes, with large, oval gems on their foreheads. The Nobody recognized them as Ramhead Metalheads from Wasteland near Spargus. A few of the police had been changed to the deranged card guards from Dark Wonderland. It didn't take long for Roxas to understand what happened.

That dimensional energy had been meant to revive Comstock's army. When his Keyblades got in the way, the Chaos energy in them interacted with that beam. So instead reviving Comstock's fallen army, their current enemies, it instead warped time and space and revived them as the previous enemies of all the worlds Roxas had been to that weren't Heartless. He wondered why in the name of Nothingness Sanity's Edge thought this was a final victory until he saw all the enemies attack each other in confused rage. Slate's forces, which weren't targets of the initial energy, were able to pick off the stragglers with relative ease. In short order the area was clear of enemies, though the battle had left its scars.

All of Columbia now looked like a mishmash of all the previous worlds Roxas had visited since he had been created. Haven's harbor connected to Greek looking roads and buildings with cherry and peach trees like those found in Nippon with giant children's toys and neon glowing mushrooms from Wonderland littered all areas. In a nearby park was the fountain from Halloween Town with giant flowers nearby like those found in both Light and Dark Wonderland. He dismissed his armor and landed near the stage where everyone was regrouping. Booker came up to him, freaked out by what had happened. "What the hell did you do!?" he yelled at Nobody.

Roxas sighed before answering. "Stopped Comstock from reviving his army again and again. He would've overwhelmed us through sheer numbers then," he explained.

Slate nodded grimly. "The boy's right. We were outnumbered to begin with and it is only because of him and his allies that we won. With the city in chaos like this, we may have a better chance of leaving with everyone fighting each other. We'll have to move soon," the old man explained.

Booker sighed before turning towards Elizabeth who was leaning against the Void Stage, exhausted and in pain from the forced transfer of energy. "That might be an issue," he said grimly. The girl in question was barely able to stand and was breathing heavily, clutching her chest as her heart threatened to burst from its confines.

Raziel spoke up at then. "We'll have to take shelter somewhere and figure out our next move. We're too vulnerable out in the open."

"Any idea where we can go with the city like this?" Booker asked tiredly.

Oddly, the answer came from Reverb who had left the control booth of the Void Stage and joined the group. The Echo Nobody had changed even more than before. Its … her boots had shrunk to look more like high-heels boots. Around her waist was now a short blood-red dress with the Nobody signil repeated along the edge in dull silver. Her torso was now looked much less like other Nobodies and now bore the shape of a petite female with her arms and hands being nearly human shaped except for the claws and energy disks at the end. The gray had darkened completely into black with the Nobody symbol changed to the same blood-red as her dress. The black ended at her neck, leaving her head still pale gray, enhancing the dress-look even more so. The hat was gone, showing off her now crimson hair that covered where her eyes would be, which was short framed her face well. Her headphones had shrunk to be more streamlined than before, looking more like a headband. She held out her hand and the energy disk formed into a map of the restructured area, showing where they were and what was around them.

Looking at the map, they saw that the transformation wasn't just limited to the immediate area, but to the entire section of the city and possibly further given how strong that shockwave had been. Looking around, Tamamo-no-Mae was surprised when she saw something familiar and pointed to it. "There. We can hold out there while we figure out how to get out of this mess." She was pointing to what had once been the First Lady's Aerodrome, where they ironically were going to go in the first place. Now it had changed drastically into a large, but familiar fortress, her fortress from Oni Island.

Slate nodded in agreement and the group packed up quickly as the Void Stage faded away, the battle done. Once packed up, they headed to where the gondola control was only to find it had been replaced by a large ornate horn. Having no other option, Roxas blew the horn, letting out a massive bellow that seemed to shake the whole area. In response to the bellows, a series of train cars suspiciously in the shape of teapots that wouldn't look out of place in the Hatter's Realm in Dark Wonderland come down. Their small battalion tentatively boarded and quickly set off for the fortress.

Once there they saw the whole place had become a small flying island with a hollowed out mountain holding the fortress. Lava bubbled around it as the main drawbridge was lowered for them as it appeared the place was now staffed by demons from Dark Wonderland who still held loyalty to Tamamo-no-Mae. The humans were understandably nervous given the aura the place and the various demons glaring at them, though they didn't go any further than that given their master was here.

Once inside, they tended to the wounded as the dimensional travelers, Booker, and Slate all met in a large room to discuss what to do next. Several Echoes stood there recreating the map of the area of Columbia they were in with Reverb seemingly directing them. Slate turned to Roxas, "So, you wanna tell us just what the hell happened out there boy?"

The Nobody sighed before starting. "Comstock was going to use the dimensional energy to revive all his troops again and again to overwhelm us. My weapons blocked the energy with their own power. However, it caused the two energies to mix and in turn caused all this. Instead of reviving his army, it revived all MY old enemies from places I've been."

The group was silent for a moment before one of Slate's men came up with what looked like a radio transceiver. "Sir, we're getting a call from Fitzroy. Seems like it wasn't just this area that was affected by the shockwave," the soldier explained.

"Put her on speaker," the commander ordered.

Immediately a woman's voice came over the radio, sounding both scared and pissed at the same time. "Slate, what the hell did you and your boys do!? You were supposed to divert some of Comstock's forces to Soldier's Field, instead the old man rallies an army against you, some kind of wave erupts from there, and now the entire city has gone crazy. I've got reports of monsters, demons, and mechanical horrors tearing up the city! What in God's name happened!?" the woman frantically yelled.

Raziel sighed before he spoke. "Lady Fitzroy, the transformation of the city was an unforeseen consequence of stopping Comstock from overwhelming us," he said salmly.

There was silence for a moment before Daisy spoke. "Who is this?"

"My name is Raziel. My companions and I were hired to aid Booker DeWitt in removing Elizabeth, Comstock's Lamb, from the city. We ran into Slate and his men in Soldier's Field and allied with them to remove the source of Comstock's prophetic visions. The Prophet didn't like that and brought an overwhelming force to stop us. Despite this, we were winning the battle when he forcefully used the girl's powers to try and revive his troops. My companion Roxas stopped him by blocking the energy with his his weapons. However, in doing so it overloaded the machine, causing it warp everything in the city," the wraith explained as clamly as he could.

Fitzroy let out a sigh and gave the impression that she rubbing her eyes in exasperation. "What happened to Comstock?"

Roxas answered. "He was right next to the center of the shockwave. We don't know if he was blown away or what happened to him. All we know was that he was gone after everything changed."

"Good riddance then," she immediately responded. "So how are we gonna fix all this? People are hunkering down where they can to try to avoid the monsters. There's no way you'll be able to leave the city while it's in this state."

Things were silent for a moment before Pandora spoke up. "This was all caused by Comstock leaching the dimensional energy from Elizabeth which was then blocked by Roxas' weapons. If the leeching system were destroyed, could Elizabeth fix all this since it was her power in the first place?"

"Even if she could, she's in no condition to do anything," Booker replied.

"So the girl was the source of the old man's visions huh? Makes sense given how isolated she was. I take it this leeching system you mentioned was on Monument Island?" Fitzroy asked.

Tamamo-no-Mae spoke up then. "It was her entire tower. From what we found, they had to replace some of the machinery daily in order to keep up with her powers. What state it's in now is unknown, but I assume it's still in effect given that the city is in this state."

"So we have to demolish that tower in order to reclaim the city," Slate said calmly. "We don't have the manpower or firepower to pull that off right now, even if the tower is still as it was."

Daisy spoke up then. "I'll have some of my boys check out the tower and see about acquiring some explosives. We get this city back to right and the people will see Comstock as the madman he is. For now, just lay low and we'll see what we can find out." With that the radio went silent and the meeting ended. Within the following silence, a sense of unease, as if there was something about this situation that they were missing came over them, particularly the dimensional travelers.

-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-XIII-

Far away from their fortress was another stronghold that had been summoned by the energy wave, though this one was far different in design and feel. Whereas Oni Island's Fortress was oriental in design as if out of the Sengoku period of Japan, this other bastion was style like a European castle from the dark ages. In place of Monument Island, this castle was massive but … broken. All around the main island were smaller ones floating around with pieces of bridges and roads. The air was dark with pitch black clouds above that crackled with lightning. Large twisted vines stood tall from the islands like twisted trees, pulsing as is made of flesh with neon blue lines running across them outlined in black. These fleshy extensions seemed to wrap all around and through the various structures, almost as if they were holding the ruined place together.

Deep within this compound was an entire room that was pulsing, as if to heartbeat. It was dark, dank, and saturated with the stench of death. In the center of this room was a throne of flesh with four figures; all watching several large mirrors in front of them that were held in place by strands of flesh. One was an old man with a large white beard dressed up as worn jester with several strands of that same strange flesh attached to his back, neck, wrists, and ankles, making him seem like a broken puppet lying helplessly next to the throne. Two others were restrained and hung up like twisted decorations. It was the Lutece Twins, both sealed inside grotesque cocoons that pulsed like twisted hearts, rendering them unable to do anything, even use their dimensional abilities. Last but not least; there was the figure sitting on the throne, obviously the one in charge.

She wore a form fitting black and blood-red dress like that of an empress that hugged to sensual body like a glove … or a leather straitjacket. Upon closer inspection however, the dress was ragged and the red wasn't just colored like blood … it was blood. Her skin was pale white like marble with her hair being long, pitch-black, stained with blood, and flowed like water. There were three striking things about this pseudo queen's appearance that marked her as inhuman. The first was her shark-toothed grin that stretched wider than humanly possible, her teeth stained red like her dress. The second were her eyes, slanted and angular, with pitch black sclera, crimson colored slit-shaped pupil, and blazing gold iris that seemed to crackle like fire with amusement. Last but not least was her right arm. From her shoulder, few thick strands of pale flesh connected it to a metallic black skeletal arm that had neon red lines of energy on it. The bone like structure however was larger, and more jagged than a human arm with her right skeletal hand being bigger than her left normal one.

The "woman" chuckled at the scene in the mirrors as she watched the meeting end. "So the game begins again," she said in a sultry voice that contained a metallic echo to it. In front of her appeared a model of the castle and the surrounding city. On one side was her flesh-held keep and on the other was the clockwork fortress. In the fortress appeared multiple little game pieces, each shaped like one of the current residents, but all primarily colored white. On the other side was her piece in her castle, colored black. In the center, throughout the city with numerous other pieces, all colored different shades of gray. Lifting up her skeletal hand, she opened it materialize several more black pieces, none of them human. "Well, I'll just have to see what they do. After all, white normally makes the first move, but that doesn't mean I can't set up my pieces."

Journal Entry 525
Author: Robert Lutece
Secret Report: It seems our experiment to introduce an X factor has backfired … quite spectacularly if I do say so. Our intention to introduce new variables has changed the entire exercise into something we never could have predicted. We are no longer able to simply observe or make controlled changes. We no longer have any control.

I'm … afraid.

My sister and I should have never involved ourselves with Roxas or his companions.

As a scientist, we often ask how or why. Rarely do we ask if we should. Our unique condition made us arrogant, thinking we were invincible and separate from the experiments we conducted.

We were wrong.

So vErY wRoNg …

Story Ideas:
Star Wars: Set in the Clone Wars, what if there was a group that was sick of all the crap that the Sith and Jedi keep putting the galaxy through? I don't mean the original Sith or the Mandalorians, but a group of non-force users and or those that have nothing to do with either side. Considering everything the Sith/Jedi rivalry keeps doing to the galaxy and those who are caught in the crossfire, you would think there would be some people who would be sick of it and want to wipe both sides out. Could be done as a crossover.