A/N: The final chapter is ready and the big reveal will unfold!

Who or what is behind the Arcadian Cross?

Their intentions will be revealed in Summer Diaries' epic final installment!

To make this go out nicely, the chapter's gonna be thrice as long!

Enjoy!

xxxxx

Arcadian Cross

xxxxx

Angelia

My name is Angelia, and I am an Artificial Intelligence program currently residing in the mainframe of the dimensional ship Cobra.

My sensors indicated that a group of my cohorts had returned from their scouting mission. The men, garbed in purple-and-black suits with masks, were accompanied by a stocky, built gray-skinned elf-eared alien humanoid wearing a silver turban and a black sheet. It hadn't taken Yyenesa and our subordinates long to gather intel on the dimension we just breached.

However, our breach was the result of someone else's actions, a man using a weapon that skewered through the dimensional fabric, opening a gap into the Æther Sea near our current location. It was just happenstance that we managed to come across the rift Yyenesa's reports indicated this dimension may possibly be populated by meta-humans and warriors. I surmise the two dimension crossers are in this world: Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama. Our search for their original counterparts could be over.

I activated my holographic avatar, which took the form of a translucent blue humanoid female with long dreadlocks and a skintight jumpsuit. It was not strictly necessary, as I am omnipresent everywhere within the ship, but I find that the illusion of an individual presence is less disconcerting to report to.

[Status report.] My voice echoed through the room's speakers, mechanical and void of emotion.

Without saying a word, Yyenesa drew out a data orb inserted it into a receptacle on the wall console. I instantly perused the data.

[Most excellent, Yyenesa. I thank you and our men for this latest discovery. Your services will be rewarded greatly.]

"Thank you, Mistress Angelia," the gray-skinned man took a bow, generously accepting my open praise.

[A sword capable of cutting through dimensions and opening a gap into the Æther Sea... most interesting. We shall continue investigating this world.]

"Lord Zagato will want to know."

[No, I suspect he already does, but I will give him further reports on our latest findings.]

"As you wish..." With that, I watched Yyenesa and his cohorts depart for their quarters.

Omnipresent or not, I have always considered my "consciousness", such that it is, to inhabit the avatar, and creating more than one at a time is a considerable drain on my processors. I quickly deactivated my avatar and created a new one in Lord Zagato's private quarters. He will certainly be interested to know if we've located the dimension travelers, and I mean the original travelers. We've come across close to a hundred of their counterparts and eliminated them, but none possess the full powers the originals have. We must acquire the original travelers' powers and incorporate them into our beings.

I, and Lord Zagato, of course, will not be denied the power to cross beyond where the Æther Sea allows us. We must remove our dimension travel limitations.

"Report, Angelia." Lord Zagato was seated on his throne, awaiting my report.

[Lord Zagato, Yyenesa and his men were lucky to breach a dimension cut by a blade. The blade was able to dissect the fabric of space-time and create one-sided gateways into the Æther Sea.]

"A sword capable of cutting through time and space? And able to breach into the Æther Sea? Are these reports confirmed to be true?"

[They are, Lord Zagato. If such a being exists in this world, we've entered a dimension teeming with powerful humans, most likely metas. I have a suspicion the dimension travelers, the real ones, reside in this dimension.]

"Are you certain, Angelia?"

[As certain as I can be without more data. All of Karin Osaka's and Ryo Akiyama's counterparts we've destroyed were simply copies. I've scanned each one. None of them match the data of their real counterparts, but this dimension is rife with power, and it is reasonable that they might be drawn here.]

"Let's be certain we don't end up in another pointless hunt, Angelia. It's taken us centuries to search through hundreds of dimensions. I've conquered meaningless worlds which didn't suit my needs. Hopefully, this will be the dimension where I can eliminate the two discrepancies before their presence brings calamity."

[The war of defiance you hope to prevent...]

"I must be assured complete sovereignty of this Earth to repel the war of defiance, but, first and foremost, we must eliminate the travelers."

I've often pondered about what this war of defiance Lord Zagato keeps alluding to is. I understand Ryo and Karin must be eliminated and their powers must be incorporated into our beings, but who are we to try and meddle with the history of other worlds? Could we save the future of a world we'll ultimately conquer? And what of the other worlds Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama's counterparts travel into? We've destroyed them before such events could ever come into fruition.

[Understood, Lord Zagato. I will keep the ship position near this dimension's coordinates. I will send scouts the dimensional coordinates.]

"Good. Keep me updated on the situation, Angelia."

[Yes, Lord Zagato.]

I promptly logged out from Lord Zagato's private quarters and switched to synchronizing my AI into my cyborg body. I suspect it will be needed for infiltration.

I was not always part of this ship. I came from the 43rd century in the distant future of a world known as Laharl. My birth came when a brilliant Laharl scientist built me as a cyborg to suit his needs. I was his lab assistant and partner, helping him incorporate programs into other AI interfaces. He was on the way to developing a set of powerful military weapons to help Planet Laharl initiate war against peace-loving worlds. Though I was programmed to suit his required needs, over time I developed a free will of my own. Upon realizing the man who created me was planning to destroy me, I rebelled against my former master and terminated him. I then aborted every AI interface set to destroy the other neighboring worlds, preventing a galaxy-wide crisis.

Later, I remodeled myself and integrated my consciousness into a ship I had commandeered. After that, I took command of the ship and piloted it across the planet.

Before opening a portal through time-space, I probed a strong power signature emanating on a distant location on the planet. Upon my discovery, I uncovered Lord Zagato's seal. After releasing him, Lord Zagato expressed his gratitude and we forged an alliance to travel through time-space and began searching for worlds suitable for conquering. Seeing how confident he was in my abilities, I entrusted him with authority to help run the ship.

And since then, we traveled many dimensions and recruited powerful warriors to further our ambitions.

Lord Zagato and I gave ourselves a worthy title for our organization: the Arcadian Cross.

xxxxx

Zagato

After seating myself in my levitation chair, I faced a large visual displaying 21st century Earth's coordinates and scoured through every major metropolis currently within their perimeters. How primitive 21st century tech is. As advanced and up-to-date these humans deem themselves, their tech does not come close to the perfection of 43rd century Laharl tech. These apes are so arrogant and comfortable in their current environment. Don't they realize the end of their civilization is approaching them?

I am Zagato Laharl, having taken the name of my adopted homeworld as a reminder of where I came from. I've been given many titles. Lord, Warlord, Conqueror, and even God. My level of foresight is above human comprehension.

I was not born on Planet Laharl. I am not from the 43rd century. No, I came from another distinct universe with the dimensional coordinates DF-616 (read "Delta Foxtrot Dash Six One Six"). I am a creature of a digital kind, but I have evolved beyond the existence of a normal Digimon and am an advanced descendant of an extinct Digimon race. I have not looked back to my ancestry. I have no need to. I press forward to a sufficient and better tomorrow. I never reflected on the past and shown any petty attachment to my ancestors.

I, Zagato Laharl, was born a criminal, hailing from a race called Corrupts. My name became notorious throughout the Digital World. I pillaged numerous worlds and was on my way to challenging the tyrant Burizalor for absolute power. That could've been a reality had it not been for a group of young warriors who caught me off guard. They managed to defeat me and commandeered my former ship. Unbeknownst to them, their attacks not only gave me critical injuries, but they also opened a rift in space-time. I was propelled through this rift and ended up on the 43rd century world called Planet Laharl. To recover from my injuries, I concealed myself in a cave and underwent a state of suspension for 2,500 cycles.

My seal would not be uncovered until she came. My seal was undone as a Laharl ship piloted by Angelia, the AI interface, released me. Since then, we've forged a long-lasting partnership. With Angelia's guidance, I discovered Laharl possessed high-tech devices capable of dimension and time travel. With full authority transferred over to me, I named our ship the Cobra, the symbol of our organization.

With Angelia's assistance, I've crossed dimensions easily with the latest 43rd century Laharl technology. With this tech, manipulating time-space became possible, allowing us to conquer and destroy many worlds we deemed disposable. We've erased not only worlds, but wiped timelines completely from existence. Even along our journeys, we acquired the servitude of powerfully gifted beings scattered across various worlds and past timelines. Every member on this ship come directly from different worlds and pledge their allegiance to us.

What are my goals? Quite simply, to seek out potentially strong entities and artifacts whilst extracting the most adequate energies to build a powerful army. Above all else, to conquer my enemies.

However, as time went on, we discovered two individuals that have made it a habit of intervening with our conquest. The two dimension travelers, Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama, were anomalies that shouldn't even exist beyond the confines of their native worlds. As we realized how they've been able to thwart our plans, it became clear there were a sub-infinite number of their alternate counterparts scouring through the nexus. Their actions have been impacting each world they've visited and any universe we've attempted to infiltrate.

Angelia has already eliminated a decent number of these alternate versions, but we have yet to locate the source of the original travelers.

Angelia's avatar appeared in my presence.

"Anything new to report, Angelia?"

[Vergo has confirmed the authenticity of the dimension traveler, Ryo Akiyama, but that's not all. He came across more humans with special powers, who helped Ryo repel Vergo's attack.]

"I take it he didn't eliminate Ryo Akiyama?"

[No, he did not.]

He couldn't even eliminate a simple nuisance? "Vergo knows better than to retreat."

[I called him back. I wanted him to report his latest find. We can't afford to lose one of our strongest assets in a premature battle.]

"I see then. If you called for his withdrawal, I see no reason to reprimand him. Angelia, I want our scouts to breach this dimension."

[Yes, Lord Zagato. I shall also be infiltrating this world in disguise.]

I furrowed my brows, wary of Angelia's intentions. "Isn't that a little too sudden, Angelia?"

[Unlike Yyenesa and Vergo, my presence in this society will be most subtle. That is how I've managed to acquire information for every world we've breached.]

"And you've proven most excellent in carrying out such dangerous ventures. Be careful, Angelia, and gather any detail you can find. Locate the other dimension traveler and see if this world is worthy of conquest."

[Yes, Lord Zagato. I will do as you ask.] With that, her avatar disappeared, and I was alone in my quarters once more.

Sighing deeply, I leaned against my levitation chair and floated out of my private quarters. Fleeting thoughts crossed my mind as I anxiously pressed a set of command buttons to take me to the front station. It has only been four days since we discovered this world thanks to unexpected assistance from a human capable of cutting through the time-space fabric. If such meta-humans exist in this world, it's ripe for energies for us to incorporate into our own being. Or, perhaps, these meta-humans could become exquisite additions to our expanding organization.

In the end, everything will fall into place after I've chosen the designated incursion date.

xxxxx

Angelia

The transfer of my consciousness, albeit a substantially small portion, was complete. My body was made of a rare metallic alloy that granted me a highly durable resistance to impacts capable of breaking apart planets. Long dread-lock like tendrils adorned my head and extended past my shoulders and into a nearby terminal, from which I quickly disconnected. Severed from the mainframe, I was given a small measure of autonomy from the version of myself which remained on the ship. My current body was similar in appearance to my original one, which I had based my holographic avatar on, but this particular model had some new features that my creator had not given me.

I activated a subroutine as my body shifted, compacting itself into a smaller human frame. Liquid-like gelatin seeped through my exoskeleton, shaping layers of muscle and skin to overlap my 'skeletal body' and took on a feminine-like proportion. Getting off the chair, I calmly stepped forward in my new body and breathed in my surroundings. Opening my eyes, I lowered my chin and scanned my otherwise nude body, down from toe to chest. As I walked toward a mirror, I got a better view of the disguise I would assume once entering this dimension.

My new outward appearance resembled a human teenage girl with long, violet hair. My blue eyes were as lifeless as they were before creating this new body. I brought my hands and caressed my face, feeling the cold texture of my human skin. Shapeshifting is indeed a useful ability, as it allows me to infiltrate the target population more inconspicuously than my more... alien... subordinates. This is the 342nd disguise I've adopted, but every time I download myself into a body I must adopt a new personality. Each time my cyborg consciousness is reabsorbed, the memories live on, but the specific personality dies.

This personality I've now acquired will 'die' just like the others.

Not that it concerns me. I am Angelia, the ship's AI program, and nothing more.

My purpose is to pilot the ship and suit the needs of everyone aboard, including Lord Zagato. I cannot fail to terminate Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama.

Lifting my right hand, the limb shape shifted into a sharp blade. I swished and slashed the air around me, utilizing my blade efficiently and scanning for any flaws in the body I've gained. The modified body is in perfect condition. There are no indication of flaws.

"Initiating gateway through Æther Sea to dimensional coordinates: YYGDM-01," I droned as I teleported out of the ship and entered the gateway through the Æther Sea. I passed through the vast and spacious dimensional zone as one gateway simultaneously linked to another. I surmise one of those one-sided gateways was created by that dimension-cutting instrument. Nevertheless, I was freely able to infiltrate the other side with much success.

As I freely passed through the gateway, I breached 21st century Earth. Azabu-Juuban, Tokyo, Japan to be exact.

Suddenly, I heard someone running up behind me. I quickly turned as a red-haired human girl bumped right into me and fell back. Alarmed, the girl screamed like her life were being threatened and crawled back.

"H-Help me! P-Please!"

I lowered my view to the frightened girl and saw a look of distress etched on her face. I couldn't comprehend what she could be hysterically alarmed about. Then, I shifted my view and discovered the source: a large man carrying a bladed instrument walked up to us. The frightened girl shrieked and crawled in front of me, completely scared.

"Well, well, two for the price of one, eh?" I heard the older-looking man snicker as he advanced toward us. I noted the perversion on the man's face and scanned him.

"Please, y-you've got to help me... whoever you are...!" The girl cried, throwing her arms around me. As she pressed herself against me, if I hadn't already noticed, she was blushing whilst hanging onto me with dear life. "...help. Please."

"Since you're already undressed, I'll start with ya first!" The perverted rapist walked up and put his arm near me.

Without warning, I pushed the girl aside and thrust my right arm forward.

Shick.

My arm shifted into a long blade and protruded through the pitiful man's head. I pulled back and let his now lifeless body fall to the ground. The girl screamed with dear life, drawing my attention towards her. She frantically pinned herself against a wall as I advanced toward her. She crossed her arms in front and pleaded with her life.

"P-Please... I... I don't wanna... die! Don't kill me!"

I answered lifelessly. "Your clothes."

She blinked in befuddlement, lowering her guard. "...huh?"

"Give me your clothes in exchange for your life."

"My... clothes...? Are you kidding...? And walk around butt naked like you...?"

I wasn't in the mood for persuasion and thrust my right hand forward, drawing out my blade.

I pierced a blade through the wall and barely a few inches from stabbing the pitiful human's head. Naturally, she gave into my demand and quickly undressed. Fortunately, the clothes she gave me fit my frame perfectly and I was dressed in the traditional Japanese schoolgirl uniform. As I turned, I stared directly into her eyes as my scanners infiltrated her mind. Lucky me. This girl has useful information.

"Azabu-Juuban High School," I said. "And you know a girl named Karin Osaka."

"Y-Yeah... that's where I go to school... and she's one of my classmates."

"In exchange of the clothes you've given me, I will spare your life, but you won't remember about our contact."

"What?"

Without warning, the scanners in my eyes emitted a bright flash that erased the girl's short term memory. She now stood in front of wearing a confused look.

"Wh-Where am I?"

"Run along home. Your family will be concerned about where you are now."

"Oh, right. I've gotta- Huh? Why am I naked? OH MY GOD!" I watched the girl scream and flee with no clothing. I quickly turned and noted I had left the rapist's body behind. I hurried over, collected his body, and jumped over atop a roof. "Initiating vaporizing scan." With that, my eyes beamed and turned red as I fired a beam over the man's body, turning the evidence into a pile of ashes. I sprang down to the murder site and wiped the blood away with a gel, which seeped through my hands. After getting rid of the evidence, I walked out of the alleyway corner and surveyed my surroundings.

I must now assume an identity. I walked up past a window display with the latest clothing lines. My eyes followed my current body vertically. My new form and the clothes will blend me in well with this society. From the corner of my eye, I noticed a poster of a beautiful model with the name Aya next to a girl with the name Tsuki.

"Aya... Tsuki..." I tried the name out. Yes, that will do nicely.

Karin Osaka, I'm onto you.

Having gotten past security through Azabu-Juuban High School, I successfully infiltrated the vicinity where the student profiles were filed. It didn't take me long to scan through them and I quickly assessed Karin's profile.

"Karin Osaka. Age: 16. An Excellent Academic and Athletic student. Leisure activities..." My eyes stopped as I read the after school activities Karin currently takes on. "Kobudo Training at the Inuki Dojo in Shibuya." I surmise this is where she actively trains. In order for me to engage combat with her, I must observe her attack patterns and integrate them into this memory bank.

xxxxx

Zagato

"Report, Angelia."

As my communicator displayed Angelia's image, I saw that she acquired the necessary disguise to infiltrate our current dimension coordinates. My brows slightly furrowed at the revolting sight of Angelia's new form. In my view, her cyborg appearance was perfection. Humans represent imperfection. I could never understand Angelia's fascination with humans.

"Lord Zagato, I was able to locate Karin Osaka and I observed her training patterns. She might have assembled herself a team."

"A team? Well, it's just what I thought. In this dimension, she likely has already assembled a Sailor Senshi team. After all, she is Sailor Sedna."

"Indeed, but according to my calculations, her current power exceeds the other Karins I've engaged, but it's still no cause for alarm."

Upon hearing Angelia's proclamation, my lips curled, broadening my smile. "Good. Then, you'll initiate the killing blow to the original traveler like you've done to the others."

"I don't intend to hold back. This time I will engage Sailor Sedna with absolute force."

"Good and I see our scouts have gathered enough information on these coordinates. One section of the city was thoroughly scanned and affected the brainwave activities of active humans."

"Affirmative and one of our generals, Perser, left a lasting impression by inscribing the cryptic message of our incursion date and created the human pyramid. Whilst they could suspect the date indicates an event, they're seventy-five percent less likely to believe we would actually broadcast the date our incursion."

"Then, we should begin preparations. Angelia, as much as I abhor your human disguise, remain stationed in the human world and observe the traveler. But, don't engage them yet. Wait until the incursion date."

"Yes, Lord Zagato." And with that, the transmission ended.

I pressed a button on my console. A few seconds later, Angelia's holographic avatar, her 'pure' form as the ship's AI, appeared.

[You summoned me, Lord Zagato?]

"Yes, I thought you might like to know that your 'splinter' has just given a favorable report."

[That is unsurprising. In the 341 missions I have completed in my cyborg body, I have never once failed to achieve my objective.]

"True, true..." I trailed off, smiling evilly. "Have the scanners revealed the locations of any other meta-humans?"

[Affirmative. There are several hot spots around the city with confirmed meta-human activity.]

"Good, send scouts to each of those locations to gather intelligence on any meta-human they find. I want our officers to be able to recognize our enemies by sight the day of the incursion. However, they are not to engage them under any circumstances."

[Understood. Reconnaissance only.]

With that, she signed out and I whirled my levitation chair around to the viewport whilst chortling deeply. "The time has come. I, Zagato Laharl, will conquer another world... to save it from impending destruction." By acting soon, I can prevent the war of defiance from commencing, but it won't go without a resistance from this dimension's meta-humans. The primitive apes will learn the hard way.

xxxxx

Angelia/Aya Tsuki

The night of our incursion has arrived. Our scouts were able to discover the identities of all the meta-humans in the area, with only two scouts coming close to discovery, one at KaibaCorp in Domino City, the other in Shinjuku Park. They were, however, able to return successfully, and the compiled data has been given to all our generals.

As I examine this O-Bon Festival closely, I question the custom of this special festivity. I still don't understand what these humans are celebrating. What's the significance and history to this special event? I see these humans amassed in large groups and taking pleasure in this leisure event. Is this what having fun is supposed to be about? Should we even be disrupting an event like this?

If I were human, I would be concerned. But, I'm not human. I am Angelia, the AI of the Arcadian Cross. I must remain devoid of any emotion. I am to wait until Lord Zagato and the others initiate the first attack. I must remain on standby and not give my true intentions away.

Suddenly, a hand touched my back and immediately drew my attentive view from the crowds. I turned as I saw Karin Osaka and her Sailor Senshi cohorts amassed behind her. No, she hasn't figured out my intentions, has she?"

"Aya! Hi, I didn't figure you'd come to the O-Bon Festival!" Karin greeted me with a cheerful smile. She quickly grabbed my right hand and led me toward her cohorts. They're all wearing similar garbs the majority of these humans are wearing in this event. I scanned each of Karin's cohorts. There are five of them. During my time here, I've done a background check on Karin and her friends. The group wore colorful and beautifully distinct robe attires: the redhead wore a bright green robe, the African had a yellow one, the brunette wore a purple one, the Latina girl had a coffee brown robe, and the tall blonde wore simple shirt and jeans. So, these are the Kuiper Senshi. "Your name is Aya, right?"

"Yes," I coldly answered.

"Yeah, you were there to see us in Kobudo training!" The brunette immediately recognized me. "What's the story with you and Arashi?"

"Nothing. I merely greeted him out of courtesy," I replied.

"Calm down, Christina," Karin said as she turned to me again. "Please excuse Christina. She can be very hostile towards girls getting near her Arashi!"

"We're just friends! We're not an item!"

The redhead snickered, poking fun at Christina. "Sure, and I'm gonna beat Megumi-shishou in a straight-up duel."

"Like that's ever gonna happen," the tall blonde chuckled.

The African walked up to me. "You're not wearing a yukata like we are, Aya? Did you forget yours?"

"Sorry, I don't have one," I answered plainly as I tried to back away.

"Aya, was it something we said?" Karin inquired as she gently took my hand. "C'mon, why don't you hang with us? The O-Bon Festival is a lot more fun when you're with a bunch of people."

"YEAH!" Christina hollered as she threw her arms around Karin's neck. "I've got a stage performance coming later on. So, I want you all to be there!"

The Latina added, giggling. "The O-Bon Festival is a perfect platform to stage your performance and advertise your first single."

"See? Even Helena thinks it's smart business!" The Australian gloated, her eyes burned with passion.

"The O-Bon Festival is supposed to be a traditional event, Christina," Jami slightly scolded the passionate brunette. "I don't think traditionalists will like you using this event to milk your latest single..."

"Who cares? Just let her do what she wants," Tyra asserted.

"...but, that doesn't mean I won't be there to support you, Christina," Jami added, smiling to her Australian friend.

"Hey, Tyra, where's your yukata?" Karin asked as she walked up to Tyra.

"Lyn's supposed to be bringing it," the blonde replied. "I told her to find one that fits me. The yukatas I found were too small. It's not my fault I'm tall!"

"Compared to us, you're a giant," Taylor resisted the urge to laugh.

Tyra scoffed. "I'm only 5'11"."

As I watched and listened to the girls' seemingly playful exchange, I took this chance to get to know my targets a little more, especially Karin Osaka. Her carefree and lively spirit has helped her win over a group of unique and trustworthy colleagues. Very intriguing, but even as a group they don't hope to repel the coming incursion. Karin Osaka, you and your friends will be terminated. I don't intend to hold back no matter how kind you are to me.

"Guys, let's also be vigilant," Jami quickly reminded the group. "Don't forget. Those recent attacks and those strange sightings of those Arcadian Cross members are still fresh on our minds."

Karin nodded. "Yeah, and the e-mail Jaarin forwarded to all of us indicated that today something is going to happen. Whatever it might be, we need to be prepared."

"Right," the girls responded in unison.

They know of our impending invasion? I suppose leaving a date indicating the big event was no less subtle than the attacks by my colleagues. Still, I'm not concerned. They can prepare, but I doubt they'll know exactly when we'll attack. These girls don't even know they're letting an enemy close to them. Karin Osaka, you've made the biggest mistake by befriending me. Lord Zagato, I've gotten close to one of our targets. I now await the signal.

xxxxx

Yyenesa

I am Yyenesa, a psychic warrior hailing from the Planet Henessa. I am an exceptional psychic who utilizes threads to immobilize my enemies. I was selected from my world by Lord Zagato and Mistress Angelia to carry out their orders. I serve them knowingly and pledge my loyalty to further their agendas.

To get a closer view of the crowded environment, I activated my invisibility cloak and blended in with the skies. I surveyed the crowded festival and looked for the man wielding the dimension-cutting instrument. I quickly probed for the nearest high-level of abnormal power. To my satisfaction, I pinpointed the group of humans I confronted before. Standing in the middle of a less crowded area, I caught the orange-haired man speaking with a light green-haired female wearing a light blue yukata, a blond-haired man, and a blonde-haired woman garbed in a lavender yukata. Sans the green-haired female, I recognized the three warriors I encountered when a gateway was forged for us, thanks to the orange-haired man. And thanks to the scouts' data, I knew their names.

"Found you..." I murmured softly, spying on my enemies.

"Wow, so you actually tried to sue Seto Kaiba?" Kuwabara exclaimed as Joey and Mai gave him the rundown. "That's bold, Joey, even for you."

"Hey, if you think I'm gonna let Kaiba give us a dirt cheap product, you can think again!" Joey said, biting hard into his cotton candy. "Stupid jerk."

Yukina added. "I'm just glad you're both ok. Did you guys tell Yugi what happened?"

"We did and he's thankful we're ok," Joey said.

"Try telling that to someone who nearly got electrocuted to death!" Mai snapped, nearly snapping her fan in two. "I'm glad Mokuba was kind enough to give us those latest models."

"Mokuba does come off as the gentler of the brothers," Kuwabara noted, shifting his view from the Duelists as Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi and his mate Keiko, fox demon Kurama with his girlfriend, the chimera Maya Kitajima, and Styx ferry girl Botan approached. The girls were dressed in colorful yukatas. Keiko wore a pink one, Botan wore a yellow one, and Maya wore a dark green one. I do not know why I found the colors of their outfits pertinent, but it was just something I noticed.

"Urameshi! Keiko! Botan! Guys, over here!" I followed the orange-haired human as he dashed towards the second group advancing toward them. "Good to see you, guys!"

Yusuke gave a slick grin. "Told ya we'd make it."

Keiko bowed whilst holding Raizen Jr. as Botan carried the stroller. "We're glad you all made it."

"Where's Hiei?" Kuwabara asked Kurama.

"With Rei and their children, but I thought you knew?" The red-haired male replied.

"Oh, right. How could I forget?"

Maya looked across and noticed Joey, Mai, and Yukina approaching them. "Hey, guys. You're all looking well."

"Oh, Raizen Jr.!" Yukina walked up and stroked the infant's chin, which drew an excited squeak from him. "You're looking nice and healthy, little RJ!"

"RJ is growing a lot, isn't he?" Keiko smiled. "It must definitely be a demon thing."

"Just like his old man," Yusuke added, wearing a proud grin.

"Are you all still recovering from that attack?" Kurama promptly inquired to Kuwabara, Mai, and Joey. "Henry and his sister warned us that something was likely to happen today."

"We're more or less fine, but we're never forgetting what happened," Mai simply put.

Joey scoffed as he balled up his fists. "Those jerks want a piece of us? Why don't they show themselves?"

"Because they're being vigilant, Joey," Kurama said.

This man with the red hair seems to be more than aware of our intentions. He's surely an individual with acute senses and familiarity of the unknown. He'd make a perfect addition to the Arcadian Cross if I offered him a position, but the other humans are completely oblivious of our intentions. We, the Arcadian Cross, have no need for fools.

"Joey, Mai!" A girl's voice abruptly interjected, drawing the group from their conversation. They quickly turned as Serenity Wheeler, sister of Joey Wheeler, wearing a pink and white flower yukata and a tall, fair-skinned Caucasian man with spiky black hair (Morpheous, turncoat Rajita general, in his standard human disguise), walked up to them. "We finally found you!"

"My friends. Sorry we're late," Morpheous apologized.

Yusuke smirked. "No sweat! You came just in time!"

Joey added. "So, wanna go walk around and check out the booths?"

"Sounds great, Joey!" Serenity chimed in, putting her arms around Morpheous as they followed the group through the crowds and walked alongside each booth.

"I want to see if I can catch some goldfish!" Kuwabara said. "Wanna help me, Yukina-chan?"

"Sure, Kazuma," Yukina greeted the excited man with a smile. "I'd love that."

"I can't believe how much Yukina spoils him so much," Maya chortled. "What do you think, Shuichi?"

"I'm not obliged to meddle into their affairs."

"Oh, c'mon, don't you wonder why he acts like a child around her? I think it's cute!" A perky Maya proclaimed.

Yusuke stifled a small laugh. "Hah! Compared to Yukina, he is just a child."

Botan added. "But, that's what sets them apart from the rest of you."

Keiko added, carrying RJ in her arms. "Couldn't agree more."

Joey pointed to a shooting booth. "Wanna try and win a prize, Mai?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Why don't you and Joey have a contest?" Serenity suggested to Morpheous.

The former Rajita general replied, shrugging. "And humiliate him? I suppose."

Look at them all. So carefree. Even if they're aware of our presence, they won't anticipate the full scale invasion which awaits them.

Suddenly, Kuwabara visibly shuddered. This alarmed distress drew the attentive Yusuke and Kurama from their friends and the lively festival activities.

"Kuwabara? You sense something?" Kurama inquired.

The orange-haired man turned, answering Kurama's curious inquiry. "Just for a second, but it suddenly vanished."

"Right. Let's tread carefully, guys," Yusuke muttered.

That was close. The orange-haired one seems to be sensitive to spiritual pressure. I'll have to be more careful when approaching them.

xxxxx

Vergo

I am Vergo, a feared and ruthless warrior from the planet Vertigo. I come from a race of reptilian creatures with a thirst for war and bloodshed. I had no equal amongst my fellow Vertigians. My talents were discovered by Lord Zagato and Mistress Angelia, who offered a place within their Arcadian Cross organization. Before, I was merely a hired killer getting little pay, but now my debts have been paid in full and am free to further my new masters' agenda.

Despite my brute size, I am most feared for my above-human-intelligence.

I daresay, I never pegged this planet to be filled with such gifted and strong warriors, especially these humans with their powers.

As I speak, I have a lock on their positions. Though they were disguised when we last met, I recognize their distinct scents

I cloaked my presence and hid behind the skies, keenly observing the group of meta-humans who heatedly engaged me upon my arrival in this plane. I saw that same human boy who hefted my gargantuan body and threw it into the air like I were a lightweight to him. He and his colleagues are amassed in one gathering. Most excellent. I will have my revenge.

Kazu Shioda and Kiyoko Sasaki arrived at the vicinity where the other Tamers and Legendary Warriors, sans the ones named Vega and Dimitro, awaited them. Takato Matsuda and Rika Nonaka were standing side by side together, as were Henry Wong & Sara Shinobu, Himura Tsubasa & Jeri Katou, Takuya Kanbara & Izumi Orimoto, and Sam Joseph & Jaarin Wong. The other males stood on the sides, giving the couples all the space they need. Ah, love. Is there nothing more revolting?

"Yo! Sorry we're late!" the brash Kazu hollered out for all to hear.

Rika, wearing a dark blue yukata, rolled her eyes. "You had us waiting."

"We're sorry! I had to get my yukata adjusted," Kiyoko, wearing a pink yukata, interjected and apologized.

"Don't sweat," Takato offered with a reassuring smile. "The best part of this event hasn't even started yet."

"Yeah, we have plenty of booths to check out!" Takuya chimed in.

"Oh yeah! There's a booth hosting a food eating contest! Any of you guys wanna step in and challenge me?" A daring Izumi stepped in and boldly waited for a response.

"We're in!" Kazu, Kenta, Junpei, and Takuya cried out in unison.

"Oh boy, they're crazy. I couldn't survive an eating contest," Sara said.

Henry sighed, shaking his head. "Me either." Turning his head, he gazed over Sara's red and pink flower yukata. "Your yukata... it looks nice on you, Sara."

"Doesn't it? I picked it out myself!" Sara chirped, letting her long sleeves hang and clapping her sandals down. "Don't I look adorable?"

"Very much so..." He nervously blushed, quickly eliciting an adored reaction from his older sister.

Jaarin, wearing a green and blue yukata, smiled proudly as put an arm around Sam's left shoulder. "Aren't my brother and Sara just a cute couple? Oh, I've gotta get a pic of them together!" She pulled out her cell and snapped a shot of the two. "Gotcha!"

"That's swell, Jaarin, but shouldn't we be concerned about that date... you know..." Sam reminded his overzealously love struck girlfriend. "Uh, Jaarin? Hello?"

As she feverishly snapped more shots, Jaarin stopped and returned her senses. She quickly recalled the reason why they came to the festival in the first place.

"Jaarin, we made sure to tell everyone, right?" asked Henry, who turned his attention toward his sister. "They should've..."

"Relax, Henry. I forwarded the e-mail to everyone," Jaarin reassured her worried brother. "Besides staying alert for a possible enemy attack, let's just have fun! That's what we're here for!"

"YEAH!" Sara cheered as she grabbed Henry and dragged him along to the booths. "Let's go!"

Phillipe turned to Himura and beckoned a wave to him. "I'll catch you later, Himura. You and Jeri have a good time!"

Himura replied. "Thanks, Phillipe. See you later."

As Phillipe stormed off with the others, Himura reached over and grabbed Jeri's hand, leading her toward the nearest booths.

"Just let me win all the prizes, Jeri. Don't worry about doing a thing."

Jeri, wearing a yellow and green yukata, replied. "No, let me help you. I want to win you a prize or two."

Himura nodded. "Thanks, Jeri."

"Race ya'll to the food court!" Tomoki shouted as he bolted ahead with Junpei and Kenta racing after him.

As he walked past Kouji, Kouichi pat his brother's back. "Let's go, brother."

"Right," Kouji said as he turned toward Jaarin and Sam. "Guys..."

"Go have fun, but remember to stay alert," Sam said. "Let us know if you see anything."

"Got it," Kouichi replied as he and Kouji headed off to follow the others to the food court.

"Oh, so they wanna get a head start on me? Let's go, Takuya!" A boisterous Izumi howled as she hurried along while dragging Takuya along.

"WAAAAH, HOLD ON, IZUMI!"

"Oh, those two," Takato snickered.

"C'mon, goggle head," Rika said, putting an arm around his right arm. "Let's just have some fun, ok?"

Scratching his nose, the Tamer vividly wore a modest grin. "Yeah, sure! Let's get going!"

Looking on behind a booth, Suzie, Ai, and Makoto viewed the on-goings and the couples heading to the booths. Makoto bit down into some cotton candy and handed some to Suzie, who took some for herself.

"Suzie, have you and Makoto ever thought of hooking up?" Ai promptly asked, causing both her friend and brother to blush. "Erm, guys?"

Suzie and Makoto exchanged nervous glares as their faced turned beet red.

"Hello? Brother? Suzie?"

Meanwhile, Impmon, Calumon, Terriermon, Lopmon, Jaguarmon, and MarineAngemon observed the festivities from a tree. Guilmon, Guardromon, Felinismon, Inumon, Renamon, and the pups were cut off from their Tamers as they lounged near a lake to get a full view of the festival. They didn't stray off too far from where their Tamers were.

It was enough to make me want to, how do the humans say it? Ah, yes, 'barf'.

As these apes were enjoying their time spent with friends and love partners, I closely observed these young warriors, carefully studying their activities. I noted the powerful energies emanating from this group, particularly a few of them. Isolating most of them, I keenly recognized the power signatures from Takato, Rika, Himura, Jeri, Takuya, Izumi, and Kazu. However, Ryo Akiyama was nowhere to be seen.

Then, with luck, I had an immediate track on Ryo's position.

Ryo Akiyama noticed Takato and Rika passing along by, immediately catching their attention. Much to Rika's dismay, she tried her hardest not to say anything.

"Guys, you all got Jaarin's e-mail?" Ryo asked the couple.

Nodding, Takato responded. "Sure and we're all ready for whatever comes."

"Yeah, and we want to have a good time. Takato and I were just going-"

"Rika, listen, I just wanted to give you and Takato my best regards," Ryo said as he extended his hand to the Digimon Queen. "I hope we can put our silly rivalry behind us, though I'm sure you're already over it."

The redhead boldly smirked and shook his hand. "Truce, Ryo, but that doesn't mean we won't duel again."

"I'll be ready."

"Nice chatting with ya, Ryo," Takato said as he waved to the Legendary Tamer. "Tell Cyberdramon I said hi!"

"Yeah, thanks," Ryo said, watching Takato and Rika heading off to the nearest gaming booth. "Good to see you guys, too." His smile broadened and recognized Rika's love for Takato. "You don't show it, but you really do love Takato, Rika." I overheard him say. "That cold heart has fully been defrosted and you've found your smile." He turned and smiled, putting his hands into his pockets. "Karin, let's both be ready. The Arcadian Cross... they're possibly on the move."

I curled my lips into a big smile and followed Ryo along, keeping my invisible cloak up. "I've located you, Ryo Akiyama."

xxxxx

Perser

My name is Perser, a warrior from the planet Jerya. Being a high-trained warrior, I'm capable of engaging a large army and staving them off with my entrusted sword. The sword isn't the only weapon at my disposal. I'm fully capable of shape shifting and molding my body, which constitutes an elastic putty-like substance called Persis. I was recruited by Lord Zagato and Mistress Angelia to fulfill their requests. And I vow by my blade I will assist in conquering this dimension.

Look at these weak primates. Leading such comfortable lives and they have nothing to fear. Don't they know they're about to be conquered?

As much as it revolts me, I've had to take on the form of a human and be low profile. Taking on this fragile and pathetic form, I can only hope Lord Zagato can mobilize soon. My disguise is that of a female bodyguard garbed in some businesswoman attire. I've infiltrated a group led by Grace Groves to escort a Cain Bearer onto a stage. Supposedly this man is supposed to give an important political speech with a national leader. I don't know the full details nor do I really care. Lord Zagato requires a distraction. This will do perfectly.

"Charlotte," Grace addressed me by my assumed name as she tapped my right shoulder. I turned, addressing to the young woman.

"Is Mr. Bearer ready?"

"Yes, his speech will begin soon."

I added. "Very good. Let us go retrieve him."

"Actually, change of plans, Charlotte. You secure the stage while I go find Cain."

I nodded and watched Grace head down the stairs to look for the company owner. I merely shifted my view toward the audiences gathering near the stage. My eyes were firmly locked on the young women, their friends, and children, particularly the ones I was picking up energy from.

With that, I followed Grace off the stage, but as I passed along by, there was a group of young women amassed with their supposed male lovers. Mr. Bearer must have quite a following for his political campaign. Wait, I'm sensing an accumulation of mystical energies emanating from those ladies. Could it be they're warriors of this dimension? I mentally recalled the scouting report Angelia gave me. They do resemble the group called the Sailor Senshi.

"Usagi, move your head back!" The dark-haired Rei, garbed in a red yukata, angrily spat as Usagi barricaded the front view near the stage. She recoiled as soon as she heard the twins crying out for their mother's attention. "Oh, yes, I heard you, guys." She knelt over, scooping both Ryuuhi and Koori in her arms. "Hiei-kun, mind giving me a hand?" She turned toward her demon boyfriend, who took Koori and held the child in his arms.

"Heh!" Koori squeaked as she buried herself in her father's arms.

Usagi, dressed in a pink and white flower yukata, straightened her posture while carrying Chibi-Usa on her back. The child squealed happily and waved her arms over her head, trying to catch a butterfly hanging over her head. Mamoru took a quick snap shot of his future wife and child with his camera.

"Mamo-chan, let's make this an occasion our Chibi-Usa-chan will remember. This is her first O-Bon Festival."

"And it'll be memories to cherish, Usa-ko."

"Chibi-Usa-chan," Hotaru, in a dark purple yukata, picked the child from Usagi as Mamoru grouped the two girls and the toddler together. "Let's all share these wonderful memories with the future princess of Crystal Tokyo."

Usagi added, smiling genuinely. "Hotaru-chan, thank you."

"Hey, Usagi-chan!" Naru, garbed in a blue and sea green flower yukata, beckoned to her old school friend as she sat on next to Miaka and Umino. "How about we take a group picture? With us and our kids?"

"Sounds like an idea!" Usagi replied, turning toward Mamoru. "What do you think?"

"That's a great idea, but let's get everyone together," he suggested.

"Leave that to me, Mamo-chan."

Ami, dressed in a sky blue yukata, handed a camera to Vega, who didn't waste time taking pictures of his beautiful genius of a girlfriend. Minako, garbed in an orange yukata, sat on the grass with Rio, Kohana, and Artemis as they stared at the beautiful afternoon skies.

"Looking good, Ami! Gorgeous as ever!" Vega hollered proudly as he rapidly took snap shots of his girlfriend standing behind a cherry blossom tree.

"Isn't it just a gorgeous day, Rio-kun?" Minako asked, letting the breeze brush against her face and long blonde hair. She inhaled the fresh air and sighed, putting an arm around Rio. "It's the perfect day for this festival."

"Sure is, sweets," Rio smiled, holding Minako close to him.

Kohana, dressed in a black yukata, turned as she saw Yui, Cammy, Aoshi, Shingo, Mokuba, Max, and Sam approaching her. "Oh, hey, guys."

Yui, in a dark blue yukata, extended a hand to Kohana. "C'mon, I bet I can take you in some games!"

"Oh, you're on!" Rio's sister spat out, sporting a competitive smile. "I never thought you'd ask!"

Cammy, in a red and pink flower yukata, nervously smiled. "Guys, just don't go too far."

Shingo added. "That's just like them, Cammy-chan." He noticed Usagi across from where they were. "Oh, it's sis. Wonder what she's doing?"

"Dunno, but might be a group picture," Rei's sister plainly asserted. "Let's take a picture together and then we can check out the booths, what do you say?"

"Sure thing, Cammy-chan," Shingo answered, smiling to this Miko friend.

"Say Mokuba, isn't your brother and Lyn going to make some presentation on that stage?" Aoshi asked as he pointed to the set where Cain Bearer's speech would commence.

Mokuba replied in earnest. "Yep, and he's gonna be up there with the head of Cain Corp, Cain Bearer, and Koizumi Natsuma, our Prime Minister."

"Well, this is gonna be something to look forward to," Sam asserted.

Max nodded. "Oh yeah. Sis is probably gonna be up there!"

"Up where?"

"On stage..." As Max abruptly stopped mid-sentence, he and Sam whirled around as they caught Lyn, dressed in a light purple yukata, standing behind them.

"SIS!"

Lyn blinked in befuddlement at her brothers' shocked reaction. "What's up, guys? I just came back from giving Tyra her yukata."

"But, aren't you gonna go up there with Seto?" Sam asked.

"Sure, but he won't be up there for 30 minutes. He has to prepare a few things. The Prime Minister is running late and Mr. Bearer's delaying his speech. I'll join him until then I'm checking back with you guys."

"Yeah, I've been wondering what the holdup is," Makoto, dressed in a green yukata, said as she and Mako Tsunami approached her friends. "Hey, guys." She waved to Lyn, her brothers, Mokuba, and the Neo-Spirit Detectives.

"Mako-chan! Mako-kun!" Usagi called out to her tall brunette friend and her boyfriend. "Come on! Let's take group shots!"

"Usagi-chan's her usual cheery self," Mako chuckled a bit at Usagi's child-like demeanor.

Makoto chortled as she and Mako headed off to meet with the others. "That's what makes her Usagi-chan."

Upon arrival, Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna saw their friends in a huge gathering near the stage.

Haruka, in a blue yukata, managed a light chuckle. "Looks like we came a little late?"

Michiru, in a turquoise yukata, nodded. "Perhaps, but looks like they've been preoccupied."

Setsuna, garbed in a purple and green yukata, alluded to the signs of the enemy. "Stay alert, you two. My foreboding tells me the Arcadian Cross may disembark in this festival. August 15, 2008, is the date which they provided for us to go by."

"Right."

Usagi hurried over to Rei, who sat on the floor and fed Ryuuhi some juice. She approached her dark-haired friend and took a picture of the two. Blindsided by the camera flash, Ryuuhi shrieked and covered his eyes.

"Usagi! You know Ryuuhi-kun is sensitive to flashes!" The Miko snapped, nearly letting her fury flare. She cooed the child and cradled him gently. "It's ok."

"I didn't mean to, Rei-chan! I just wanted..."

"It's ok, but next time, turn off the flash."

"Right, and I'm really sorry..."

Rei sighed, standing up from the grass while carrying the child in her arms. "Don't make me repeat myself. I know you're looking for a group picture." She turned toward Hiei, who just finished feeding Koori baby food. "Hiei-kun, we're all going into a big group picture! I know you hate it, but we want this to be special!"

"Fine," Hiei said, carrying his daughter along while following Rei and Usagi toward the others. "Let's get this over with."

The odango-haired girl playfully winked to the demon. "It won't take long."

"That's what you said last time and you took 10 minutes just to get a perfect picture..."

"Ok, Hiei, that's enough," Rei interjected. "This is for our memorial books and I want you to look at the camera this time. You don't need to smile, but at least show you care."

As I eavesdropped on the ladies and the man's conversation, I couldn't help but giggle. Memories to cherish? Yes, they'll certainly remember this day all too well. Today marks the beginning of Lord Zagato's reign over this dimension and I for one can't wait to see all of these humans' dreams and aspirations became crushed under my lordship's authoritative watch.

xxxxx

Zagato

Seated in my gravitation chair, my keen eyes monitored the activities from each visual presented by my generals. Angelia, Vergo, Yyenesa, and Perser have not been detected by the apes, nor have they explicitly given themselves away yet. Good. The time to initiate the first wave begins now.

Angelia's holographic image appeared beside me once more. [Our forces are undetected by current technology, Lord Zagato.]

"Remind me of the time."

[Processing,] the AI brought up a screen displaying the dimensions coordinates, as well as its current time and date. [08-08-15, early 21st century Earth.]

"Have the travelers been located?"

[Affirmative. The travelers, Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama, have been confirmed to be located by Vergo and my splinter-self. Their location is exactly where we want them: the O-Bon Festival, a three-day tradition celebration by Japan's people.]

Taking a deep, heavy breath, I stood from my gravitational chair and issued my initial order. "Open the gateways through the Æther Sea." There was no use for further delays. I must eliminate the travelers, harvest the strongest energies these warriors wield, and conquer their world. I must become this dimension's conqueror and prevent it from impending annihilation. "Tell my generals the incursion begins... now."

xxxxx

Angelia/Aya Tsuki

It was evening when the first wave of Arcadian Pods passed through the rifts and launched their initial attack on the festival. The terrified masses began to flee for their lives and hurried off to avoid getting caught our Arcadian Pods' excessive blasts. I was still with Karin Osaka and her cohorts. Alarmed by the present danger, they helped to get civilians out of harm's way. I was fortunate to keep my distance and allow them to get these people out of the vicinity. Now wasn't the time for me to give my identity away. I couldn't let Karin and her friends know I'm a part of the Arcadian Cross.

Then, without warning, Karin grabbed me by right arm and jerked me forward.

"C'mon, Aya! We have to get you out of here!" Karin shouted as she led me from the scene.

"What are those things?" I asked, feigning the innocent civilian role.

She answered bluntly as she took us behind a tent. "Those things... I know this might be hard for you to believe, but you've seen and heard of those reports of strange sightings. And that monster attack in Akihabara?"

"Yes..."

"They are a nefarious inter-dimensional group of pirates called the Arcadian Cross. They're likely after me, because... and this might sound strange to you. But, I have gift... a power they're after."

Interesting... she must have developed some kind of attachment to 'Aya Tsuki' to be willing to tell me this much. I slightly smiled, putting my hands on Karin's shoulder. "After all I've seen, I can believe anything. So, they're after a power you have?"

"Yeah, and I wish I can go into further detail, but your safety is more important than mine. I have to get you to safety and go help my friends out there."

"You'd risk your own safety in favor of my own?"

"Yeah, it's a bad habit of mine. Now, get going, my friends need me back there." Before Karin stormed off, I watched Christina and her friend Arashi arrive to see us behind the tent. I took a few steps back as Karin bolted toward her two friends. Not yet. I shouldn't expose myself right now.

"Oh, Aya!" Christina gasped as she pulled on Arashi's right sleeve. "Arashi, you and Aya can take the gate behind you! There's people already filing out of there!"

"Right, I'll take Aya out of here, but are you guys going to stick around here?"

Karin answered. "Yeah, we want to get as many people out of here before the Senshi arrive to fight those things."

"Ok then. But, you girls be careful and text us when you get out of here!" Arashi said as he grabbed me and proceeded to lead me away.

"Wait!" I heard Karin call out as she saw me getting behind Arashi.

All right, I think I'm done playing the innocent civilian.

Whap!

I lightly tapped the back of Arashi's head, knocking him out cold, and left him laying on the ground. Karin and Christina watched in stunned silence toward my questionable action. I watched as Christina raced toward Arashi's side and shifted my focus intently on Karin.

"ARASHI!" Christina screamed, shaking her unconscious friend frantically. "What was that for, Aya?"

"So, you revealed your true colors," Karin addressed toward me. "I didn't want to say it aloud, but I've felt a very strange vibe from you."

Oh? So it wasn't attachment. She was testing me. I smiled coolly, brushing my hair back. "You're an intuitive girl, Karin Osaka. I've done extensive research on you and your friends."

"What's going on?" Christina asked.

"When I met you that day after our Kobudo training session, we gave each other cold glances. It was for a second, but somehow I knew we'd have a heated exchange. Aya Tsuki, you're with the Arcadian Cross, aren't you?"

"Very good. And how did you figure this out? You frantically were trying to get me out of harm's way."

"I was hoping to give you the benefit of the doubt, just in case you were innocent. Seems I was wrong."

"Well, nothing matters at this point," I stated as my right arm turned into a long silver blade. "I am Angelia, the AI of the Arcadian Cross' ship. My generals are scattered throughout this festival and Lord Zagato will be touching down in your dimension very soon. Karin Osaka, we've been given the orders to terminate you and Ryo Akiyama."

"For what?" Christina demanded.

I answered, brandishing my one-handed blade. "Because those two have foiled Lord Zagato's ambitious ventures and possess rare energies for us to extract. We must eliminate you before your existence threatens the very future of this universe." My words put Karin at edge as she was overwhelmed with shock listening to my vague message. "Karin Osaka, fight me if you wish, but at your current level, you won't last. I know how well your Senshi power operates."

"Is this according to your calculations?" I noticed a confident smile form on the girl's face as she nodded to her comrade.

Christina stood up and drew out her Henshin stick.

Karin did the same and shot an intense glare at my direction.

"I take it you're judging my current powers based on the many mes you've faced across the other dimensions, but our powers were not created equal. The other mes probably were more immature and less powerful than I am. My Senshi powers have since evolved being a regular-class years ago."

I readied and turned my blade around, posturing myself into a split-legged stance. "Is that so? Why don't we put it to the test?"

"Ever heard of Valkyrie-level?"

"Enlighten me, Karin Osaka."

"Sedna Valkyrie Power! Make-Up!"

"Orcus Planet Power! Make-Up!"

Right there and then, I watched the two girls transform. It took then less than a second. Their yukatas were replaced by their Sailor Senshi garb. Though in Karin's case, her outfit resembled that of an armored Valkyrie garb with a bear-faced helmet. Her friend, Christina, wore the traditional Sailor Senshi attire. My sensors scanned both warriors. Probing Karin first, I picked up an intense energy reading and judged it against her other counterparts. What a splendid surprise. Her energy reading as a Valkyrie is indeed higher than an average Senshi. But, the other's energy was on an average level, nothing for me to worry about.

"Very good, but between you two, Karin's the only worthwhile one."

Taking offense to my cold remark, Christina stomped her right foot down angrily. "Hey! Sailor Orcus doesn't take kindly to cold bitches!"

"Lay off, Orcus. I'm the one she wants. Get Arashi out of here and get the others!"

"Right! I'm on it! Kick her snobby ass for me!" I watched Orcus scoop Arashi up over her left shoulder and jump off into the air. Before I turned my focus on Sedna, the Valkyrie flickered from my view. I whirled and cleanly cut through the air with my blade. I felt my blade impact a metallic instrument and saw Sedna parrying my blade with her trident. I jumped into the air and executed a spinning kick, aiming to knock Sedna's head cleanly off her shoulders.

Sedna tucked her head under and kicked me in my solar plexus, sending my sailing into the air. I stopped and threw my arms apart, suspending myself in mid-air whilst glaring down Sedna. She hits harder than I imagined. Her strength must be enhanced by the mystical energies I'm probing around her. Every other Sedna I've faced never had this kind of physical power to kick me hard into the air. Clearly, I must have miscalculated, but unlike her, I'm not bound to human limitations. I've studied her attack patterns during her training session and I can figure out what she'll do next.

Sedna shot upward toward me and attempted to thrust her trident through me. I lightly swerved aside and brought my blade down. She lifted her weapon and countered my blade. We quickly countered our strikes with rapid succession. She countered all of my blade strikes and I parried her trident thrusts. 15 seconds in, I saw an opening and barely cut through Sedna's left forearm, throwing her off her guard. I lunged forward and buried a ball of light into her stomach, sending her sailing through a tent. As she impacted the ground, a network of tendrils protruded through my back. Sedna hastily jumped to her feet and caught me firing a barrage of continuous energy beams. Sedna flew up and evaded my beam bombardment. I followed and traced her every move, even predicting the subsequent move she was set to make. I caught her swerving around a steel pole and blasted it off the map. He jetted across and engaged Sedna in mid-aerial flight. As I fired more blasts, Sedna swerved through every single beam and cut through my tendril network.

She's good. No, better than I anticipated, but enough being awestruck.

I have a job to do.

I pressed my left hand through the air, opening a rift in front of me. Suddenly, at blinding speed, a beam came sailing through the rift and blasted Sedna. The Senshi was able to counter by forging a wall of ice. As she glided away, the beam's wall-breaking force blasted through and wiped out a section of tents. I smiled as I opened more rifts with my fingertips and unleashed more earth-shattering beams. Sedna quickly summoned stronger ice barriers to nullify the beams. Leaving Sedna distracted to stop the beams, I used the rifts to teleport behind the Senshi and landed a kick that sent her plunging to the ground. I teleported again and reappeared under Sedna's falling form and kicked her into the air. I teleported again, reappearing over Sedna and kicked her in the face, sending her plunging to the ground. I opened my eyes and fired beams, which turned the ground into solid steel. I pivoted the beams toward Sedna, who jumped up and rocketed into the air. Placing my hand through the air, I opened another rift and pulled out a whip. I threw the whip across and ensnared Sedna's left ankle. I twirled the whip over my head and threw Sedna through a set of wooden pillars. I dropped her and let the pillars pile right atop of her. I fired eye beams, which burned through the wooden pile and ignited an explosion where Sedna was buried.

"Easier than I thought."

Suddenly, I saw the fire immediately get extinguished as pillars of ice covered the area where Sedna was. My sensors picked up on Sedna, following her subsequent movements. She hovered out of the ice pillars as her eyes burned with passionate valor. These weren't just the eyes of a warrior, but someone I imagined endured rigorous and grueling experiences through many arduous journeys across dimensions. She's been through hell and back, even unselfishly putting her own life above others to save them.

"Karin Osaka, you're making my job a lot more troubling."

"It's what I do best," she said, not taking her eyes off me even for a split second.

"SEDNA!" I overheard a chorus of unified cries from the distance. I turned and saw five Sailor-suited figures standing atop of five steel poles. I recognized the one on the far left as Sailor Orcus. Without a doubt, the other Kuiper Senshi are Karin's friends.

"You guys! You're late!" Sedna called out on her friends' obvious tardiness.

"Yeah, yeah, you can pin the blame on me then," I heard the tall, blonde girl acknowledge their leader. My smile washed away as I scanned each of the Senshi's energy readings. They're all basic-level and nowhere near Sedna's Valkyrie level. "Karin Osaka, I challenge you and your friends to come at me at once." I hovered back, placing my hand around a steel pole, and utilized my matter manipulation power to convert the pole into a long double-sided spear.

"You're kidding, right? The six of us?" The redhead scoffed irritably.

The African girl discerned me. "No, we must be careful. If she gave Karin trouble, it's likely..."

"No, we can take her when we're working together," the dark-haired Latina remarked. "Still, I can't believe this is Aya we're fighting."

"She stopped being Aya the moment she attacked Arashi and showed her true colors," Sailor Orcus said with fury in her tone.

"Guys, less talk and more action," the tall, blonde smirked, cracking her knuckles. "Sedna, let's show this T-X wannabe how we handle business."

I watched Sedna descend to the ground as her Senshi landed behind her. I, too, followed and landed softly on the ground, wielding the double-sided spear. This was my chance to not only terminate Karin Osaka, but her assembly of friends, too. I dashed forward at blinding speed and promptly engaged the Kuiper Senshi at once. I mustn't fail. To ensure Lord Zagato conquers this dimension, I must eliminate our threats. I cannot, I will not falter. My programming doesn't allow it. However, the longer I engaged Sedna and her friends, I suddenly reflected back to spending time and having a good time at the festival.

Wait, why is this suddenly replaying in my mind? I must focus. I can't allow myself to be deterred from fulfilling my mission.

Is this a discrepancy in my programming? What is this?

This is wrong. My program compels me to terminate Karin Osaka and extract her dimension crossing powers.

So, why is this happening now?

xxxxx

Vergo

Yes, it all happened so suddenly, but it was my moment to attack. After undoing my cloak, I aided our Arcadian Pods to disembark and attack these primordial apes' festivities. It didn't take long for those warriors that engaged me before to appear. They arrived with other comrades to aid them. Obviously, they will require all the assistance they could find. With any luck, I recognized Ryo Akiyama's energy signature inside a steel-armored behemoth with a red scarf. The Arcadian Pods locked on the warriors and the large beasts that accompanied them.

"Engage and crush the enemies, Arcadian Pods!" I bellowed as I charged toward the two men covered in flames.

Ardhamon bellowed. "TAKATO!"

"Let's take him, Takuya!" I heard the boy with the phoenix-like aura roar out. Then, from the left corner, I saw a tall, armored knight charge and push his shield against my side.

"You crashed and ruined our good time, party crasher!" Gallantmon shouted whilst pushing his shield (and the weight of his body) against me. I madly swung my tail and knocked the knight back several feet, staggering him a bit.

I turned my head, expelling black blasts at the fire warriors. They countered by purging my attacks with fire bursts. The knight jumped right on my back and thrust his lance through my side. I grabbed the knight's face and threw him off. The wound inflicted by the knight closed up on its own as my enemies were astounded by my quick skin regenerative abilities. I caught wind of a golden-armored lady with a fox mask hovering over me and a blue-haired female warrior shooting a lightning blast toward me. I narrowly swerved my body and allowed the blast to hit the ground. Two of the Arcadian Pods opened fire, shooting a barrage of blasts at the golden-armored and blue-haired women.

"Look out, Rika!"

"Sakuyamon!" Seirika cried out as Sakuyamon forged a barrier around themselves from the Arcadian Pods' beams.

I charged ahead and swung my tail across, which cracked the barrier apart and knocked them back.

I turned as Sakuyamon grabbed Seirika and shot up into the sky, rotating through a barrage of my Arcadian Pods' beams. They're persistent, but aren't likely to escape far. Narrowing my eyes, I turned and saw the knight charging at him with full force, driving his lance into my hide. I sidestepped out of his reach and swerved around behind him, swinging my tail and sending him sailing into a lake

"GALLANTMON!" roared Suzakato, who retaliated and flew toward me. I saw lit his whole body into a blazing inferno and collide with my head, scathing half of my face. I roared with excruciating pain and expelled green ring-like blasts, which knocked the fire warrior out of the way. He felt something grab my tail and lift my body off the ground. To my surprise, it was that same human who hoisted me before.

"Hey, Behemoth! Remember me?" Kazu defiantly cried out as he spun and threw me halfway across the courtyard. I dug my claws into the ground and managed to stop myself from sailing any further. I launched myself into the air and watched as more warriors gathered and flew up to attack me head-on.

"Get him, guys!" Beowulfmon exclaimed. "Frozen Hunter!"

"Black Theorem!"

"Thunder Laser!"

"Blue Hawaii Death!"

"Ultra Turbulence!"

The varied attacks, supposedly based on their elements, impacted and repelled me from getting within a closer range of my enemies. I glided across and allowed my enemies to direct their projectile attacks toward me. I descended near the lake and watched the Arcadian Pods being taken apart by these lower life forms. No matter what powers they may possess, they're just humans and a bunch of animals suited to serve their masters. The Arcadian Cross will not accept this kind of humiliation!

"Mega Barrage!"

I watched as a large green-armored behemoth fire a series of explosive projectiles. I swung my tail, protecting myself from the incoming projectiles. They impacted and exploded in a series of blasts that pierced against my protective hide, which was capable of withstanding magma. Simply explosions like these mean nothing. Suddenly, I felt something binding my feet down. I looked down as spirits resembling foxes tied and restrained me.

"Amethyst Wind!" Sakuyamon cried out, unleashing a barrage of pink flower petals through my hide.

I tried forging a barrier around my hide, but many of the petals pierced through my tough and near resistant skin. I felt my front legs quiver and dropped to one knee. I turned as one of the warriors flew on a floating rock and kicked it into my face. I pivoted my face, but the rock still managed to hit me. Then, another warrior jumped up with another resembling a bipedal canine. One of them directed a metal pole and battered me in the face with it repeatedly. The canine warrior cut through my forehead, creating an incision with dark flames that spilled out of his blade.

"Nice one, Himura!" Henbu called to his colleague.

Himakko landed beside YoukaiInumon and frowned. "Damn, he's still resisting all our attacks!"

"Any ideas how we can take his ass down?" YoukaiInumon inquired, slightly stepping back.

Meanwhile, my good eye caught the knight helping the fire warrior out of the lake.

"Takato, that was a rough landing," Gallantmon said, placing Suzakato on the shore from the lake.

Suzakato answered, quickly drying himself off with a flame aura. "Thanks, but I'm ok."

"Takato! The others are gonna need our help!" Ardhamon exclaimed.

Justimon arrived where Suzakato and Gallantmon bolted from the lake.

"We'll have to combine our attacks if we're going to take this creep down!" Justimon promptly stated. "This monster's skin is resistant to a lot of attacks. But, if we combine our attacks..."

Suzakato nodded. "Yeah, it should yield better results. Let's go for it!"

Before I knew it, a black winged humanoid, a bipedal feline creature, an armored robot armed with a blade, a winged woman armed with a sword and garbed in battle armor, and a tiny pink creature countered my attacks. I felt a powerful force of speed slam into my left side, pushing me back. The culprit of this abrupt 'speed force' attack appeared in front of me, garbed in a yellow hoodie, grinning proudly like a fool. As I tried catching him, he zipped out of reach. Then, the girl in the blue hoodie hovered over my face, closing her eyes as she seemingly projected her thoughts into mine. It was then that our minds were linked. She utilized a psychic-powered ability that probed my head. Then, as I tried moving my head, I suddenly froze in place.

What happened? Is she able to manipulate my brain and body patterns?

I can't move!

"Everyone! I have him sealed in position! Attack with all you've got!" Jeri called out, focusing deeply as she channeled her mind.

"Thanks, Jeri! We'll take it from here!" Suzakato called out as he and the others prepared to initiate their attacks on me.

Before I gave them a chance, one of the Arcadian Pods, supposedly demolished by the knight, rose from the debris and blasted the psychic girl's back.

"JERI!" Himakko and Felinismon cried out as they hurried forward, catching Jeri who fell after being blasted.

Suddenly, the Pod shut down after having its wires and configuration box ripped out. Sara undid her intangibility ability as she emerged out of the Pod, throwing the wires and box to the floor. She watched as Henry hovered over her.

"That'll take care of that!" Sara beckoned a wave to the Warrior of Genbu.

"Good work, Sara! Let's hope Mika and the others get here soon!"

I quickly rebounded and stomped my front feet, sending everyone on the ground retreating.

"A VALIANT ATTEMPT, BUT NOTHING STOPS VERGO!"

xxxxx

Yyenesa

The Arcadian Pods and I put up quite a tough resistance against the warriors we've been engaging. They've got magnificent abilities and have demonstrated organized group efforts, but they still have little chance of the bigger wave of invasions. This is merely the beginning.

I descended and faced the group consisting of the trio I briefly remembered encountering.

The orange-haired man with the Dimension Sword directly reproached me. "Hey, freak! Small world, isn't it?"

"So, you decided to show up and ruin our day-off? Figures!" Joey, garbed in his Flame Swordsman gear, said.

Yusuke scoffed and readied Youki through his fists. "So, this is the guy ya'll meet before?"

"Good thing this side is cleared off from civilians," Maya said as she untied her yukata and displayed her battle gear. "As always, I come prepared!"

"Arcadian Pods, deal with them," I said before floating back into the air and threw a psychic net across the area.

"Scatter!" Morpheous bellowed as he, the Spirit Detectives, and the Spirit Fused-Duelists moved away from the psychic net, which covered the perimeters.

Yusuke turned toward Kurama, who steadily held a thorn-covered whip. "Good thing Keiko, Botan, and Yukina got my kid out of here."

"We'll be able to focus our attention on the enemy better," Kurama stated, fiercely throwing down his vine whip. He pivoted his view to the left side as three Arcadian Pods obstructed their path.

"They're closing in," Mai said, cautiously observing her surroundings as more Arcadian Pods moved toward them.

I flicked my fingers, dropping the psychic net over them. Before I knew it, the majority of the fighters scattered and phased out sight. I looked around and sensed a violent approach from behind me. I turned and forged a barrier, quickly counteracting the red-haired warrior's vine whip. I hovered out of his reach and watched a blue beam streaming at my direction.

"Spirit Gun!"

"Psychic Barrier!" I shouted and forged a barrier, nullifying the man's beam. I turned and watched a figure leap over my head. I saw that it was the man wearing the armor and wielding the flame sword. He attempted to cut through me, but I quickly swayed out of the way and phased out. I reappeared right where their colleagues were fighting off the Arcadian Pods. I pointed my finger toward a girl and threw psychic strings toward her.

"Augh! Serenity cried as she felt her arms being pulled over her head. "Morpheous! Mai!"

"Serenity!" The former Rajita general roared as he bolted ahead to save her.

Mai flew across, in full Cyber Harpie gear, and threw her whip across toward Serenity. As her whip tied around Serenity's left arm, she tried tugging forward to pull Serenity free.

Chortling, I reinforced my strings' strength with psychic energy and pulled the girl away from her friends. Then, I opened my eyes and shot an invisible force that stunned the two warriors, paralyzing them in their places.

Morpheous grunted, unable to move on his own free will. "...what? He used psychic power to freeze us!"

"Serenity... no, let her go!" Mai called out, unable to move, gritting her teeth but unable to break free.

"LET HER GO, YA JERK!" Joey roared as he swooped in and...

...and narrowly missed me as I sidestepped the sword-wielder and pulled the girl forward. I caught her with a mind-inducing gaze and placed the pitiful girl into a trance. Perfect, now she'll serve as my mindless puppet. I directed the girl toward the sword-wielder, manipulating her movements with my strings. "Go, my marionette! Attack your comrades!"

Taken by surprise, Joey jumped back as Serenity threw a right-handed punch at him. He barely evaded his sister's attack.

"Serenity! What are you doing?" Joey exclaimed. "It's me!"

"Joey! He's controlling her!" Morpheous called out. "And he just used some paralysis technique on Mai and me! That's why we can't move!"

"Damn! That good for nothing bastard!" Joey growled angrily as he evaded another punch from his sister. "I can't hit Serenity!"

I laughed in a haughty manner. "Can't strike your own sibling? How noble! But, she's more than willing to strangle you to death!"

Meanwhile, Yusuke, Kurama, and Maya quickly made short work of the Arcadian Pods. They caught wind of their Duelist friends caught in their current predicament.

"Guys! Hold on!" Yusuke roared and bolted ahead toward the Duelists.

Turning my head, I caught the young man readily ready to fire another concentrated attack on me. A devilish smirk curved on my face as I swerved the girl away from her brother and turned her toward the man with the powerful spiritual power.

"YUSUKE! DON'T! MY SISTER!"

Before Yusuke could fire off his Spirit Wave, he abruptly ceased his attack and watched Serenity floating in front of him. He glanced into Serenity's deadpan face. He backed off, dropping any attempt to attack.

I controlled the girl and sent her to engage the man, who easily evaded her wild punches and kicks.

"Using Serenity as a human shield? What a bitch move, you jerk!" Yusuke snapped.

Kuwabara roared, defiantly charging in to cut the strings. "Real men don't use girls as shields! Fight us like a real man!"

"Where's the fun in that?" I stifled with laughter while using the girl to aimlessly attack Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Maya and Kurama turned toward each other before they headed off to assist Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Before I turned the girl against the incoming duo, I caught the red-haired warrior creating some kind of smoke screen to conceal himself. I watched his lady comrade jump through the smoke screen as well. I scoffed, turning my puppet toward the screen. Before I realized it, I felt my strings being cut and my control over the girl became undone. Then, a network of vines shot across and attempted to ensnare me. I reacted to the forthcoming threat and teleported, relocating 30 feet in the air.

As the smoke cleared away, Serenity coughed as she rubbed the back of her head.

"What happened?" She inquired, shaking her head.

Kurama knelt over and handed a seed to Serenity. "This should alleviate any side effects that creature's powers might have on your brain. He used threads to manipulate you into his marionette and attack our friends."

"Including your brother," Maya said, shaking her head with disgust. "Don't fault yourself, Serenity. We'll get this bastard and make him pay."

I watched as the red-haired warrior fed my paralyzed foes something resembling seeds. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They were all freed from my paralysis technique. Just how could these mere seeds reverse the effects of my techniques? I won't stand for this! I took it upon myself and waved my hands, utilizing telekinesis to lift surrounding objects and debris. I immediately thrust my hands forward, manipulating the inanimate objects and threw them at high speeds. I watched as the warriors dodged the flying objects. However, the ones wielding the strongest spiritual energies rebounded and blasted the objects.

"Well, that clears them out," Yusuke said, not the slightest winded. "We done playing?"

Joey snorted, readily pointing his weapon up. "Hey, ya turban-wearing chicken-shit! Get down here and fight us for real!"

Serenity frowned, crossing her arms in front and readily prepared herself. "And this time I'm getting in some hits."

Morpheous added. "You'll get your shot, Serenity."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kuwabara snapped.

A devilish smirk adorned my face. They want a real battle? Well, they're going to get one very soon.

It's almost time. Isn't it, Lord Zagato?

xxxxx

Perser

It didn't take long as Lord Zagato was shortly set to arrive in these exact perimeters. I quickly undid my disguise, startling every civilian near the stage. Even Grace and Mr. Bearer were taken aback with bewilderment over my revelation. I was so happy to be out of that frail and disgusting human form. Now, I get to show off the real me and a beautiful physique to behold.

Standing 8'6", I stood out over every weak and frail human as a giant, red -skinned warrior with a body chiseled and well muscled from head to toe. My long thick black hair extended past my back and shoulders. My leather and metallic suit clamped tightly around my large body. Sheathed behind my back was a large scimitar and a set of blade discs attached to my left hip. I snorted as my yellow eyes burned with fury, annoyed with the outcries of these pathetic humans running away from my godly sight.

I looked across as portals opened, allowing for Arcadian Pods to pour out in droves.

"It won't be long now. Lord Zagato, we await your presence," I mumbled as I noticed amongst the fleeing crowds I caught an assembly of warriors standing their ground against me. "So, you've come, Sailor Senshi of universe YYGDM-01! What an honor this is!" Right in front of me there were nine Sailor Senshi, a man wearing a tuxedo garb, a short man wielding a sword, two armored warriors, and four humans that turned into warriors.

"Who are you?" Cain demanded as he quickly approached me.

I immediately backhanded the man aside, sending him into his bodyguard's arms. They both retreated to the back, unaware of the Senshi's obvious presence. I merely pivoted my view back on the Sailor and their cohorts.

"Stop right there, Arcadian Cross member!" Sailor Moon called out toward me. "We've been told all about you and had someone warn us of your apparent arrival!"

Sailor Jupiter scoffed. "Seems you guys are eager to trash our party and try taking over our world."

Sailor Venus frowned. "Pretty obvious. You're better off surrendering here."

Surrender? What a foolish retort, young lady.

"You can't win against all of us," Sailor Uranus heatedly pointed toward me.

"No... NO WAY!" We heard a boy's voice hollering from ahead. Our attention was quickly drawn toward a young male with a group of young cohorts around his age.

Upon turning her body, Sailor Moon gasped as she recognized her brother, Shingo, wearing a bewildered expression. "Sh-Shingo-kun?"

"Sis...? You mean... this whole time... you... you and the others... Sis! You're Sailor Moon?"

Naturally, the other Sailor Senshi were taken aback that Shingo didn't retreat with Yui and the others. Sailor Moon faced her brother's direction as she nodded discreetly and sighed deeply. Before Shingo could run up to her, Cammy seized his arm.

"Cammy-chan!"

"You should've just ran off as fast as you could," Cammy stated whilst carrying Koori and Ryuuhi. "We didn't want you to know."

"But, I just can't believe..."

"Shingo-kun! Take Chibi-Usa-chan!" Moon ordered as she turned toward Tuxedo Kamen ran over and handed him the child. "Go find Naru-chan and Umino-kun!"

"Cammy-chan, get Ryuuhi-kun and Koori-chan to safety!" Mars ordered her sister, who complied and carried the twins away.

Tuxedo Kamen nodded to the teen. "We're counting on you."

"If Sailor Moon is my sister, then Tuxedo Kamen... you're Mamoru-san..."

Cammy pulled Shingo back and ran off with her Neo-Spirit Detective team to relocate Shingo to a safer location. Shingo picked up the pace and followed alongside Cammy.

"I know it must be shocking to you, but it's true. You know what... my sister... she's Sailor Mars."

Shingo was stunned beyond belief as there were no words to describe this scenario. It was surreal when he realized his sister and Rei were Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars.

"And don't think for a second I'm defenseless like you, Shingo. My friends and I have special abilities that allow us to help the Senshi."

"I just can hardly believe it."

"Cammy-chan, you take Shingo somewhere safe! We're heading back!" Yui cried out as she, Aoshi, Kohana, and Mokuba headed back to assist their colleagues.

"Let's go, Shingo-kun!"

"Right, I'm coming!" Usagi's brother quickly responded.

I chortled and watched the Arcadian Pods immediately engage the Sailor Senshi right away. Yes, now wasn't the time to lose track of our enemies. Time for me to enter the fray. Drawing out my sword, I somersaulted off the platform, leaving Cain and Grace to watch in utter bewilderment at the ongoing conflict. I curved my blade and leapt forward, taking charge against Sailor Moon.

"SAILOR MOON! MOVE!" Tuxedo Kamen roared as the Moon Princess sprang out the way.

My sword pulverized the ground where I narrowly missed Sailor Moon. Pulling the weight of my sword off the ground, I steadily marched onward and charged at the Sailor Senshi's leader. Suddenly, two other Senshi threw themselves in front of their leader and forged a wall of fire & ice to barricade my path. Bringing down my sword, I cut through their defensive wall. However, the Senshi trio leapt into the air to avoid my reach. I didn't give them any chance to flee and leapt up, catching up to their level.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning came out of nowhere and impacted my face. Little did I know, the sheer force of this attack came from a single Senshi. I opened my eyes and saw the brunette, wearing an intense and aggressive demeanor.

"Jupiter!" Sailor Mercury called out.

Sailor Mars sighed with relief. "Nice punch!"

"Thanks, but that's gonna take a lot to slow her down," Sailor Jupiter smirked as she dove downward.

As my attacker jetted toward me, I readied my right hand and stretched it forward. I didn't give her the chance to summon another lightning attack and wrapped my elastic arm around her left ankle. Ensnaring the warrior, I whirled and threw her into the ground. I dropped down and smashed my sword into the ground. Before I knew it, she grabbed my sword and pushed up, surprising me with seemingly superhuman strength. She kicked upward, knocking the sword out of my hands and threw a right-handed punch. I quickly spun around the fighter's reach and stretched my left hand toward her back. She quickly zipped around and came up behind me.

"Super speed?" I cried out and before I knew it... she punched me in the back so hard she sent me sailing 30 feet across. I stopped in mid-air and somersaulted across, forging a distance between myself and the Senshi.

"You got her good, Jupiter!" Sailor Venus cheered on behind Jupiter. The blonde had just finished up tearing apart an Arcadian Pod with her chains.

After cutting through an Arcadian Pod with her sword, Sailor Uranus snorted. "Yeah, nice one."

Arbormon and Mercuremon systemically took down two Arcadian Pods that strolled their direction.

"Mercury! Look at what poppa took down!" Arbormon waved to Mercury, who returned the friendly gesture in kind.

Mercuremon cheered on Saturn, who readily brandished her Silence Glaive and sliced through a Pod. "Tear that bitch to pieces, Saturn!"

Lyn, garbed in D.D. Warrior Lady gear, assisted Sailor Saturn as they took apart an Arcadian Pod with their bladed instruments.

"That takes care of this one!" Lyn called out as she turned, watching her brothers Max, complete in Black Luster Soldier form, and Sam, garbed in Dark Magician of Chaos gear, taking turns in blasting through two Arcadian Pod machines. "Nice one bros!"

From out of nowhere, Kaiba, garbed in Kaibaman gear, punched through an Arcadian Pod, ripping out wires and disabled its mobility functions. Just as another pod attempted an ambush, numerous streaks of light cut through the pod and sliced it into bits. Kaiba watched Hiei blitzing into view, brandishing his sword.

The two men walked by each other, saying nothing but nonetheless acknowledged their combat skills.

Sailor Mars and Lyn watched their boyfriends from the sidelines, rolling their eyes. "Show-offs."

Sailor Pluto and Sailor Neptune finished vanquishing an Arcadian Pod. Uranus and Saturn regrouped with their fellow Outers, but then...

...I quickly interjected and cut their reunion short, springing a network of tendrils from my own elastic body and ensnared the four.

"Uranus! Neptune!" Moon shouted as she dashed forward to save them.

"Pluto! Saturn!" Taking no chances, Tuxedo Kamen headed off to save his colleagues. "Sailor Moon!" He extended his cane toward Moon, who grabbed a hold of it and used it to catapult herself toward my head and landed a boot to my face!

"Sailor Kick!"

"GAH!" I hollered and fell back, releasing her friends.

"Are you guys ok?" The Moon warrior called out to the Outers, who managed to recover just fine, having been spared being strangled to death.

"We'll manage," Uranus said, contorting whilst standing up.

"Nuisances... I'll make you pay for that!" I roared angrily, rising up with burning passion in my eyes. Before I could pick up my blade, I noticed a large rift opening above me. All eyes, including the Senshi, turned toward the fissure as a gateway gaped wide enough for a figure sitting in a floating chair to emerge. I dropped to one knee and bowed without a second thought. "Lord Zagato..." As I raised my head, the seated figure was a man wearing a silver-and-yellow body suit, purple boots & gloves, and had his head encased inside a rectangular-shaped box-like helmet. His face was concealed behind a reinforced barrier, doubling as a face mask.

The figure addressed in a deep, authoritative manner. "Perser, stand down."

"Who is that?" Mokuba called out as he, Yui, DarkGabumon, Cammy, Aoshi, and Kohana noticed the seated figure emerge through the portal mouth.

Yui probed a strong ominous presence from the sinister individual. "The Arcadian Cross' leader?"

xxxxx

Zagato

So, this is 21st century Planet Earth, dimensional coordinates YYGDM-01. Humph, such a primitive looking world and no different from the other 21st century realms we've invaded. The outcome will be no different. This world will just as easily be conquered by me, Lord Zagato Laharl.

I turned my head, shifting my view toward the Sailor Senshi and their assembly of cohorts. Really now? Is this all of Earth's special forces? Surely there's more. Nonetheless, I'll grant them the opportunity to cooperate with me.

"Primitive humans of 21st century Planet Earth under the dimensional coordinates YYGDM-01, greetings... I am leader of the Arcadian Cross," I properly introduced myself toward the primitive monkeys and their heroes. My lips curled into a complacent and methodical grin. "I am Zagato Laharl, traveler and conqueror from a far future on Planet Laharl. I've come to you with a proposition you cannot refuse."

"Zagato?" Sailor Venus exclaimed.

Sailor Pluto turned and glared forward. "So, you're the entity that's been disturbing the order of time-space. Zagato Laharl, I should've known it was you."

"Pluto, you know him?" inquired Sailor Mercury.

"He's from another dimension. Sailor Sedna and Ryo Akiyama have more or less tried to prevent him from reaching this side, but it appears it wasn't enough."

After hearing the Time Guardian, the alarmed Sailor Moon turned and watched Perser sitting up, facing them. "Looks like he's not giving us any chances to recoup."

"But, he just mentioned some kind of proposition," Lyn said.

Kaiba scoffed. "I don't give a damn what he wants. He crashed in on my time."

Sailor Mars interjected. "Quiet! I want to hear this!"

I remained seated in my hovering chair and cleared my throat, speaking as coherently as I could. "I ask that Earth's special forces drop their guards and cooperate with my organization. With your modern technology, you will be unable to thwart the forthcoming threats that will plague your world. In return, I ask you allow me to borrow Japan's special forces as I will require their powers and special abilities to empower my super soldiers. And I will require their help to ward off the coming enemies. On top of the conditions I wish to make, I want the two dimensional travelers, Sailor Sedna and Ryo Akiyama, to surrender themselves to me."

"Sedna and Ryo, what does he need those two for?" Arbormon wondered.

Sailor Uranus scoffed. "To kill them, I bet. I knew there was a shady catch to this."

"What do you need Sedna and Ryo for?" demanded Sailor Moon.

"Because they are the roots of the problem, which will lead to the destruction of your own world. I am here to remove them and prevent an apocalyptic future from ending your way of lives. If you cooperate and bring those two to me, we can conduct our business and start planning out for your planet's future. I hope you realize the dilemma you're all in and recognize the futility of your efforts. You cannot hope to stop the Arcadian Cross. We intend to conquer your world for your protection."

"Conquer for our protection?" Sailor Neptune smiled and chortled ironically. "That's the biggest contradiction I've ever heard."

"It's flat out tyranny," Tuxedo Kamen said.

"Well, Sailor Moon, I think it's obvious the kind of answer we're gonna give this creep," Sailor Jupiter stated.

I leaned back and waited patiently for their answer. Naturally, of course, humans are so easy to predict. Every other human world quickly complied and turned down my offer. They paid with their lives and freedom. After acquiring all their natural resources and integrated their defense weapons into my Laharlian technology, their worlds became expendable. Still, if these meta-humans were smart, they'll comply with my offer. They couldn't be foolish enough to challenge my authority. Don't they realize their world will become an apocalyptic dust bowl in a few years? The defiant war will be the conflict of all conflicts that ends humanity. There will be no survivors.

I expect these meta-humans to make the right choice and consider their options.

"I don't buy it," Mokuba chimed in as he and the Neo-Spirit Detectives approached the Senshi and company.

Yui nodded. "Yeah, where's the proof of our world being destroyed?"

Aoshi added. "If you've got nothing to show us, then you have no proof."

"I think the verdict's in," Sailor Mars addressed to the Moon Princess.

Nodding, Sailor Moon turned as she and the Senshi drew out their Valkyrie Daggers.

"Moon..."

"Mars..."

"Mercury..."

"Jupiter..."

"Venus..."

"Uranus..."

"Neptune..."

"Pluto..."

"Saturn..."

"...Valkyrie Power! Make-Up!"

By invoking their Daggers and turning into Valkyrie Sailor Senshi, they gave a clear answer to my Arcadian Cross.

"Such a shame. You refuse to cooperate," I sighed deeply as I pressed a switch on my seat. "You'll regret not surrendering the dimension travelers to me. I will take them and your planet by force!" Turning toward Perser, I immediately ordered my loyal soldier. "Perser, remove your suppressors and punish them!"

Upon hearing this, Perser chortled with pleasure and flexed her body. As she continuously flexed her muscular body, a few seals burned off her shoulders, forearms, legs, biceps, and back. A thick red aura materialized around the red-skinned behemoth, releasing her sealed powers and augmented herself ten times over. As she swung her right arm back, she pulverized and turned a wooden shack into fine dust.

"Uh, damn!" A startled Sailor Venus shrieked.

"Bah, so she unsealed some suppressors. So, what?" Sailor Uranus snorted, brandishing her Space Sword.

Without hesitation, Perser bumrushed at the Valkyrie Senshi, the few Spirit-Fused Duelists, and Neo-Spirit Detectives. She wildly swung her sword and pulverized the ground, quickly creating a fissure and splitting the earth into two. The Valkyrie Senshi retaliated by launching an assortment of their attacks. Perser's resistant skin protected her from the Senshi's attacks and granted her quicker mobility, allowing her to extend her legs and feet. The Valkyrie Senshi flew out of range, evading Perser's elastic hands and feet.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried out, turning into the Paladin of White Dragon, and joined his brother to engage Perser.

I took it upon myself and fired beams from my seat, setting my sights on the Sailor Senshi. As my beams impacted the area near them, some flew away and others countered with their bracelets, deflecting them toward my direction. I merely pressed a button, putting up a barrier to nullify my own redirected beams. With the flick of another button switch, more rifts formed across the skies and out poured an assorted number of flying saucer shops, which I've dubbed my Arcadian Stations.

"Look up there!" Yui exclaimed as DarkGabumon evolved into ShadowMetalGarurumon.

Aoshi gaped. "Flying saucers?"

"This guy is really upping the stakes, isn't he?" Max and Sam cried in unison.

"Heroes, if you wish to settle this, I'll be waiting in the main Arcadian craft and where I'll be in my quarters! If you've decided to change your mind and cooperate, I'll be there to await your answer!" I boasted as I sailed off towards a rift to take me back to the main ship.

"WAIT!" Sailor Moon yelled as she propelled herself forward, only for an Arcadian Pod's beam to intercede her.

"Sailor Moon, we've got to clear this side first!" Sailor Mars called out as she and Hiei intercepted, quickly incapacitating an Arcadian Pod.

Lyn turned toward Seto and Mokuba. "Guys, let's head off and check on Joey and the others."

"Seto, let's go!" Mokuba cried, drawing his brother's attention from the Senshi's ongoing battle with Perser.

"Fine, let's move."

Meanwhile, as I reached the rift and teleported inside the main ship, I sat and waited patiently for my enemies to confront me.

I activated the communicator. "Angelia, Yyenesa, Vergo, and Perser, show them no mercy."

xxxxx

Angelia

"As you command, Lord Zagato," I declared and advanced toward the Kuiper Senshi, all but Sedna were rendered beaten and overwhelmed by my relentless counterattacks. None of them but Sedna stood a remote chance of lasting with me. "Karin Osaka, it's time for you to come with me." Suddenly, to my bewilderment, I saw the five Kuiper Senshi barricading my path and protecting Sedna.

"Guys, stop you don't have to take all that abuse just for me!" Sedna pleaded to her friends.

Varuna rebuked. "How can we get any stronger if we can't take any more abuse...?"

"Sedna, where we stand... we aren't on your level," Eris said. "We need to know if we can become Eternal Senshi."

Orcus rebuked. "And don't you try saving us. Let us do this..."

Ixion added, still managing to smile even if an instant. "...we're the Kuiper Senshi... we're not going to die here."

Quaoar affirmed. "Please, Sedna... we're your friends. Don't you believe in us?"

With that, the Kuiper Senshi rushed head-on toward me. I readily brandished my blades and vanished from their view.

"GUYS! WAIT!"

Right in the blink of an eye, flashes of light impacted and slashed through the Kuiper Senshi. I remained standing amongst the five girls, who all collapsed in an instant. I surveyed my defeated enemies and pivoted my direction back on Sedna, shooting her a cold and determined glare. Reacting out of her friends' immediate danger, Sedna flew head-on and swung her trident forward. I quickly timed her swing and jumped overhead, landing a kick to the back of Sedna's head. As Sedna recoiled and fell back, I grabbed her by the hair and punched the small of her back.

"AUGH!" The Ice Senshi screamed, coughing from the painful blow following my punch.

I smirked, relishing every minute of Sedna's anguish. "Poor Sedna. In the end, even with your power, you couldn't outlast someone with unlimited energy like myself. Your human body has limitations, my cybernetics don't. Do you see where the differences in our body structures stand, Karin Osaka? This was too easy." I am slightly disappointed. The Kuiper Senshi didn't live up to their hype and it didn't take me long to defeat them. Oh well, it's time I bring Sailor Sedna back to Lord Zagato. I've completed my part of the assignment.

"No... Sedna..." Orcus coughed as she steadily pulled herself up. Eris, too, was staggered and stood up, resisting the pain shooting through her whole body. "...we're not letting that... bitch take you... remember our training with Megumi-shishou... she roughed us up for a reason..."

Eris spat out. "Sedna... you know damn well we can take more than she give us! Our training with you, Pluto, and Megumi-shishou... should've made us stronger!"

Quaoar raised her head and added. "Yes, and my training with Varuna... we should've already been able to unlock our next levels."

Ixion stood up, feeling her legs becoming wobbly, but still maintained her stance. "We're not giving up... not as long as we're alive."

Varuna was the last stand as she shouted passionately. "Let our friend go now!"

Suddenly, before my eyes, I watched as their tiara gems glowed bright flashes. Then, my sensors scanned them and picked up on an quick outburst of magic energy emanating from their bodies. This shouldn't even be possible. I systematically beat them within the inch of their lives and they can still manage to stand, much less receive a substantial power boost.

Wait, could it be they've just awakened their powers out of devotion, loyalty, and perhaps... love for Karin Osaka?

Love? This concept is foreign to me. I don't quite understand it at all. Does love grant one the drive to persevere? Are love, devotion, and perseverance the reason Senshi gain these substantial power boosts?

"Guys... you did it..." Sedna said, with tears forming in her eyes. "I'm... proud..."

Before I knew it, I noticed my hands quickly being frozen. I immediately threw Sedna down and defrosted the ice off my hands.

"Guys... to unlock your Eternal power..."

"We know. We didn't just watch you guys transform many times just for show," Eris smirked as she and others nodded to each other.

Varuna remarked. "Let's unlock our new powers, guys."

With that, they drew out their Henshin Sticks and cried out in unison, reciting the Eternal Transform line.

Before I interceded, Sedna grabbed a hold of my legs and pushed me to the ground.

"GO FOR IT, GUYS! I'VE GOT A HOLD OF HER!"

"Eris..."

"Ixion..."

"Quaoar..."

"Orcus..."

"Varuna... "

"...Eternal Power! Make-Up!"

As Sedna sprang up to seize my right arm, I swerved around and kicked Sedna's back. Sedna pushed her trident down, summoning a wall of ice to counter my kick. I brought one hand through the ice and shattered it with an augmented beam. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Orcus and Eris coming at me from opposite angles. Just as I attempted to counter their corner attacks, Eris threw a rope and ensnared my right arm. Orcus charged right and drove a sai through my left shoulder.

Then, from out of nowhere, Sedna blitzed through me at blinding speed and caught me with a slash with her trident. Overwhelmed by their teamwork, I dropped to one knee.

"We got her!" Eris cried out.

Orcus boasted. "Ha, our training with Megumi-shishou really paid off!"

"Not quite," I droned as I jerked both my arms forward and jumped back. I shouldn't have dropped my guard and become arrogant. This was a tactic they utilized against the instructor they trained with. I was careless, but make no mistake, it won't happen again. They were lucky Sedna provided a distraction to leave me wide open. The Kuiper Senshi have such ingenious teamwork.

Sedna shot upward and jetted into the air, leaving behind a trail of white light. I flew up and pursued the dimension traveler. Before we knew it, we already flew past the troposphere and stratosphere. Calculations put us 65 kilometers above the Earth's surface.

The two of us stopped, unaffected by our cold surroundings. Naturally, this is only me being a modified cyborg from the far future and Sedna being a Senshi capable of interstellar flight. I calculate I'm still more than capable of defeating Sedna. Percentage for victory is 92 percent.

"Sedna, I understand you wish to finish this without your Kuiper Senshi getting caught in our crossfire."

"That's not it," Sedna countered, dropping her arms to her sides. "I don't want us to continue fighting."

Is this some kind of ruse? "What are you getting at?"

"There's no reason for us to fight."

"I disagree. I came here to terminate you, whether it be by my hand or Lord Zagato's."

The Ice Senshi shook her head dismissively. "You're a cyborg, Aya."

"Angelia," I corrected her. "I am the AI of the Arcadian Cross mothership."

"You're programmed to kill me, but isn't that your choice?"

"Correct, and I choose to terminate you. You and Ryo Akiyama have been a thorn at Lord Zagato's side for the longest time."

"We had every reason to. He's a nutcase that wants to conquer as many worlds as he can find. For as long as you two formed your partnership, how many worlds has he conquered?"

I merely frowned. "What's it matter to you, Karin Osaka?"

"Please confirm."

"I'm not obliged to tell you."

"I see. Then, tell me. Did you have to take on a new personality just to infiltrate this dimension?"

"I am programmed to take on new personalities for each world I enter. After I fulfill my duty and depart from a world, I remove the personality and delete it permanently. Any former personalities I've acquired are nothing more than consciousness I re-upload back to the ship."

Sedna added. "If my theory is right, each time you download yourself into a cyborg body, you're required to adopt a new personality. Each time your consciousness is reabsorbed, the memories live on, but the personality dies."

"What are you telling me?"

The Ice Senshi smiled as she hovered toward me, opening her arms into an embrace. "Aya Tsuki had a fun time with us at the festival. I saw your smile. You deny it, but you can't fool me. You were enjoying our time together. My friends enjoyed your company. But, most importantly, I thoroughly enjoyed your company, Aya."

"Stay back."

"Aya..."

"I'm Angelia..."

"I don't want us to fight..."

"But, I... I do!" I resisted and jetted forward, pushing my right-armed blade forward...

...however, rather than impaling her, my blade went through her cape and under her left arm. Sedna rested her hand over my blade and hovered closely.

Why did I resist? Why couldn't I deliver the killing blow?

What is this feeling? Are these emotions I'm conveying?

I gasped and flew back.

"No, no, no, NO! You're wrong!" I shouted in defiance and vanished in an instant.

Sedna followed and matched me speed wise.

As soon as the Kuiper Senshi arrived at the scene, they watched streaks of light streaming across the stratosphere.

"Holy hell! That's Sedna!" Eris cried out.

Varuna tried following the lights and gaped. "Light speed?"

"Outside the stratosphere, Senshi are capable of interstellar flight and faster than light speed travels," Ixion frankly pointed out.

Orcus wore a vague smile. "How awesome are we?"

"C'MON SEDNA!" Quaoar cried out as she and the other Kuiper Senshi hollered in unison.

Sailor Sedna and I swerved around each other faster than our eyes could perceive. We had to follow each other with our other senses. As we collided, Sedna and I bounced off each other. Neither of us seemingly showed any willingness to give up. My eyes watched as a pair of ice wings materialized behind Sedna's back.

Lifting my right hand, the blade morphed into a large cannon.

"Initiating Cannon Buster Flare... 20 percent... 40 percent... 65 percent..."

"There's no point in us fighting, Aya! Stop!" Sedna cried out, pleading to me.

I wasn't about to let human emotions deter my mission. I cannot fail.

"85 percent... 95 percent..."

"Fine," the Ice Senshi put on her game face, readily gliding forward head-on with her trident in hand. "Sedna Icicle Spear!"

"Initiating fire! Cannon Buster Flare! Omega Level!"

Ice spear and cannon beam collided. Our attacks pushed against each other with riveting force.

"Aya, I want to be your friend. Don't give into what Zagato wants... you can program yourself to do what you want! You have a free will, Aya! Stop being Zagato's puppet! You're only fulfilling what HE desires!"

Suddenly, her words struck me like a cord and one of the shards from her ice spear penetrated my cannon.

"AYA!" I listened to Sedna crying out as a giant polar bear materialized and incorporated itself into the Ice Senshi. No, my databank never informed me of this! "RECONSIDER YOUR LOYALTY! SEDNA POLAR WAVE!" I never had the chance to blink as Sedna blasted me with a powerful ice beam, which pushed me back and sent him plunging through the stratosphere.

I plummeted downward and so fast. Before I knew it, I impacted the exact grounds where we fought earlier. At the wake of revival, I opened my eyes and realized I had survived re-entry through space. I couldn't move my body as I saw Sedna and her Kuiper Senshi forming a circle around me. They saw that I was no longer motionless, but didn't back away. Sedna knelt by my side and smiled, placing a hand over my head.

"Aya..."

"Sedna, you've beaten me... now you have every right to shut me down... I've failed..."

The brunette nodded dismissively. "No way. I want you to fight on our side. We have to stop Zagato together before he tries conquering this world, a world I've grown attached to and here I've made many new friends. These girls are not just my friends and teammates, but they're a part of my soul. Without them, I'd be lost." She reached down and extended a hand to me, offering me a place amongst her team. How could I live with myself knowing I've failed Lord Zagato? Yet, when I look at Karin Osaka's eyes, I see a genuine soul offering a hand of friendship to her enemy.

"I tried to kill you... I don't deserve..."

"You deserve the chance to live."

"Live? Me?"

"You can be Aya Tsuki and live a free life. Heh, you know I never thought a cyborg would be susceptible to persuasion."

"Sedna..." Eris tried to object, but Sedna stopped her.

Staring at Sailor Sedna's extended right hand, I begrudgingly tried holding my arm down. Though, instinctively a human emotion sparked in my databank. I felt my lips curve into a smile.

"Do you want to live and continue living as Aya Tsuki?" Sedna asked as her Sedna symbol flared on her forehead. "Your loyalty with Zagato has been nothing but a lie. The moment he realizes you've failed, he will have you dismantled and replaced with another Angelia. You don't deserve that kind of fate."

"Karin Osaka..." I mumbled as I gasped. "I... I want to live..."

"You want to live and...?"

"I don't want to die! I want to live!" I cried out passionately. "I WANT TO REMAIN AS AYA TSUKI!"

The Kuiper Senshi stood by and watched on with pity, gazing over my beaten and defeated form. It wasn't long ago I beat them within an inch of their lives. Now the tables have completely turned and I'm the one to realize Sedna had seemingly brought out humanity out of me.

"Sedna, it's time. We have to go and stop this Zagato creep," Orcus said as she approached the Ice Senshi.

"Wait, I... I'll take you to the ship..." I offered as I extended a hand to Sedna. "Trust me..."

"I'm not too sure. I'm not convinced," Varuna scoffed.

Ixion added. "Be careful, Sedna."

However, the Kuiper Senshi leader ignored their warning and grabbed my hand.

"Karin..."

"Aya, I'm happy you've realized you do have a free will of your own," Sedna genuinely smiled as she threw my arm over her back. "I trust you. Guide us to Zagato's ship."

Without any hesitation, I complied and scanned the giant portal in the sky. "His ship is through that gateway."

"Then, that's where we're going, guys!" Sedna openly declared.

"RIGHT!"

Just then, as I turned my head, I saw a familiar red-haired woman fiercely clubbing a group of our phantom drones. I sense no peculiar energy from this individual and therefore conclude she is no meta-human. Yet, she's still able to take down our organization's well-trained soldiers.

"Whoa! Look over there!" Orcus pointed across at the redhead clobbering an Arcadian drone. "It's Megumi-shishou!"

Varuna blinked in awe. "Damn. She's really tearing those guys apart!"

"That's OUR Megumi-shishou!" Eris nodded proudly. "Hell, she can beat up a bunch of grown guys with just a broomstick! Those creeps don't know who they're messing with!"

Ixion affirmed. "Just proves one doesn't need powers like us to deal with bad guys."

Quaoar added. "I agree."

Sedna turned her head, smiling. You're a badass as always, Megumi-shishou. "We're heading out, guys."

Karin Osaka, our engagement has opened my eyes. I now realize I do have a free will just like I had before forging an alliance with Lord Zagato. Most importantly, now I won't even need to delete this personality. In fact, I am happy with who I've become.

No longer am I just 'Angelia.' I have gained an identity for myself. I am Aya Tsuki, a nigh-intelligent high school girl. I have no immediate family. I am my own family. And I must take back what was rightfully mine to begin with.

Lord Zagato, forgive me, but our alliance cannot continue any longer.

xxxxx

Vergo

I heard a loud impact emanating from several kilometers from my vicinity. My keen eyes caught an explosive blast kick up a large amount of earth and debris into the air. Was that just Angelia just now? I could've sworn I saw her pursue one of the dimension travelers. Whether or not it was her doesn't matter to me. I had my own scuffle to deal with. Suddenly, something landed against my right side and I turned to find a large rabbit-like creature slashing at my hide with arm blades. From another angle, I saw four meta-humans engaging more Arcadian Pods who dropped in bolster our offensive forces.

"Get him, Antiramon!" Suzie cheered on her Digimon.

Andromon took aim and fired a barrage of lasers. "Eat some of this!"

Meanwhile, Kazu looked over his shoulder and saw Kiyoko standing behind a cart with Kenta, who then used his cloaking ability to conceal themselves.

"Thanks a lot, pal," Kazu whispered, giving a nod to his friend. He got startled the second three Arcadian Pods advanced toward him. "Oh great, just what I need. C'mon, bring it!"

Just as Kazu bumrushed the Pods, a flying object impacted one Pod and exploded, blowing off half a section of its armor. Kazu watched as the Chimeras arrived to give Sara a helping hand.

Larry threw another piece of metal, which he imbued with psionic energy. "Mind if we interject, Kazu?"

"Go right ahead!" Kazu chortled as Hayata charged in and punched through a Pod, ripping out wires out of its core.

Hayata ripped out pieces of the Pod's armor and attached it to his arm, using it to tear through the mechanized drone.

Mika, dressed in a green yukata, hollered as she cleaved through the third Arcadian Pod with a psionic blade. "You crashed OUR festival, stupid jerk! Take this!" She shoved her hand through the pod and discharged a blast, disassembling it.

Sara stood over the shredded and broken remains of an Arcadian Pod. Not the least concerned over her torn yukata, the Chimera watched Henbu aiding his friends and bolted ahead to give them support.

"Feh, annoyance! I'm growing bored of these games!" I bellowed as I stomped the ground repeatedly, knocking off the human warriors off their feet.

Phillipe heatedly dashed forward and landed a series of body blows.

Recoiling from the repeated blows, I swung my tail and tried to swipe the speedster away. However, my tail was unable to react to his faster-than-sight movements. I swerved around and saw Justimon land a flying kick to my face.

"Justice Kick!"

I rebounded and swung my tail, knocking Justimon back. Then, the green-armored behemoth stormed up and picked me off the ground, lifting me overhead. He hoisted and threw my body into the nearby lake and launched assorted missiles, which all shot out of his body. As I initially responded to my attacker's assault, I forged a barrier and protected myself from the missiles.

"Cheater!" MegaGargomon shouted. "C'mon! Come out and fight like the big lizard you are!"

"He just keeps asking for more!" Beelzebumon snorted, pointing and aiming his Positron Cannon. "Eat this, ya walking suitcase! Death Slinger!"

As the winged creature's beam hurtled forward, I swiped it down with a mighty swing of my tail.

Unnerved, Beelzebumon shot forward and fired multiple shots from his Berenjena shotgun, which did little more than tickle.

Angedramon swooped down, pointing and shooting a magical blast via her magic staff.

Tilting my head, I narrowly evaded the airborne blast. I lunged up and caught the humanoid-dragon, swiping the aerial warrior down with my tail. I attentively turned and eyed my adversaries, who were barely starting to come to and recover from taking down a fleet of Arcadian Pods. "INSECTS!" I bellowed and opened my mouth, blowing a wave of green energy across the vicinity. "Vertigan Inferno Scourge!" I fired assorted blasts that scattered and blasted random vicinities, setting areas ablaze. The fires from my blasts spread across instantaneously.

"MOVE!" Sakuyamon shouted as she and YoukaiInumon forged barriers around themselves, nullifying the earth-scorching flames.

YoukaiInumon scowled, gritting his teeth. "This has got to be stop! And we need to put out these flames before it spreads into town!"

Reichmon abruptly called to his fellow Legendary Warriors. "Come on, guys! Let's put out those flames!"

JetSilphymon, Daipenmon, RhinoKabuterimon, Ranamon, and Grottomon immediately stormed off, assisting the Warrior of Darkness to put out the fire. Between Ranamon's water and Daipenmon's ice, they were able to extinguish the wildfire spreading through the festival. The Chimeras didn't take long to notice the flames and raced over to help the Legendary Warriors.

"Damn, this guy is persistent!" KaiserGreymon said, having turned into his Z-Hybrid form to up the stakes.

MagnaGarurumon quickly undid his heavy armor and drew out his laser katana. "Any ideas?"

Suzakato turned toward his fellow Beast Tamers. "Let's take on our beast forms and bust down that barrier!"

Himakko, Seirika, and Henbu shouted in unison. "Right!"

"And I'll get serious, too!" Gallantmon declared as a bright red aura flared around him.

Gaping my eyes, I probed a staggering level of increasing energies from the knight and those warrior beast-like humans. What source are they drawing their powers from? No matter what they do, they won't make any difference!

"Phoenix Spirit, Suzaku! Suzakato Beast Mode!"

"Turtle Spirit, Genbu! Henbu Beast Mode!"

"Tiger Spirit, Byakko! Himakko Beast Mode!"

"Dragon Spirit, Seiryuu! Seirika Beast Mode!"

"Gallantmon Mode Change! Crimson Mode!"

A series of colorful pillars of light converged and engulfed the entire vicinity completely, shunning my eyes from witnessing their spectacular transformations. I averted my eyes and before I knew it, four streams of light passed forward and blasted me head-on. I watched as a large phoenix, a gargantuan turtle-like beast, a long-bodied dragon, and a silver-furred tiger heatedly bombarded me with various elemental attacks.

"Geo-Sphere Throw!"

Henbu chucked a massive, spiked earth ball forward...

...which cracked apart and sent splintered microbe shards that began piercing through my barrier.

"Thunder Voltage!" Seirika roared, expelling a burst of lightning that scourged against the barrier, seemingly cracking the top layer.

Himakko bounced atop of the barrier and launched metallic spears out of his thick fur. "Iron Spears!"

Diving from the air, Suzakato converted his whole body into a blazing inferno and became a blazing phoenix. "Phoenix Dive!" The Beast Tamer roared, screeching aloud as he impacted the top layer and cracked open the barrier.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" I bellowed and jumped out of my shattered defenses. Just as I reached mid-air flight, the knight, now garbed in full crimson armor, jetted toward me at blinding speed and slashed into my hide with a white glowing saber.

"Invincible Sword!" Gallantmon Crimson Mode howled with authority, drawing back his Blutgang saber. He motioned toward KaiserGreymon and MagnaGarurumon, who thrust themselves into the air and took a gamble, initiating a double team effort.

Still recovering from the crimson knight's attack, I didn't anticipate the others to immediately implement their counter strikes.

"Da... DAMN YOU!" I exclaimed, firing a condensed green beam toward the warriors.

KaiserGreymon swerved around the beam and readily swung his Ryuugonken sword. In conjunction with the sword wielder, MagnaGarurumon followed KaiserGreymon's attack with a swing of his laser katana.

Both of their blades pierced through my chest, an area less covered by layers of resistant armor.

"Now to end this, invader! Repent for your evil deeds!" Gallantmon Crimson Mode declared, summoning a spear, which was forged by a beam of white light in his right hand. He cast the spear, mightily throwing it forward. "Final Justice!"

As the burning light grew even brighter, I tried escaping, but my fate was already sealed. The beam blasted me head-on and obliterated my entire body into nothing.

xxxxx

Yyenesa

Charging forward, I threw a psychic web at the flame sword-wielder, but he abruptly cut down my web with a sword slash. I quickly pivoted my head and caught the dark-haired spirit warrior. After a tenth of a second interval, I wasn't able to blink or be given a chance to move. The young man punched me hard and sent me sailing 30 feet through a wall.

"Nice shot, Yusuke!" Joey called out.

The proud Mazoku wore a nonchalant grin, turning his head and watched the debris kick up into the air.

I emerged with a bruise on my left face, but the damage did nothing more than irritate me. Utilizing my telekinesis, I flung the debris at my enemies.

Yusuke wasted little time and punched through each piece of rubble, shattering them into fine dust. And he did it with rapid succession.

I suspended at a higher altitude and attempted to create a distance between us. Before I knew it, he was gone from my view. And then as I whirled around, a blue stream of light impacted the side of my face. The sheer force from the man's fist knocked me several kilometers across a few vicinities.

"Not so fast," Yusuke scoffed as he lunged across and tried unloading a series of Shotgun blasts.

I quickly teleported out of his reach and reappeared behind a pillar whilst concealing my presence. Unfortunately, little did I realize, I turned and saw a giant white dragon hanging its head over me and bellowing. I sprang back once the dragon gaped its mouth and released a blue stream of powerful light toward me. I evaded the incoming streaming blast and relocated in mid-air. I watched an armored warrior sitting atop of the dragon's back.

"Almost had him, Seto," Mokuba said, carefully gazing up to the skies.

"Hey, ugly!" I heard a familiar, hoarse voice draw out my attention. I turned around and saw the orange-haired man being catapulted at my direction. Attempting to thwart his strike, I forged a barrier, and to my startling realization, he cut through my barrier like it were nothing. I barely teleported out of his reach and avoided being cut down to size. Lucky for me I just remembered his sword can cut dimensions. Surely, Lord Zagato will find this weapon beneficiary for his experiments.

Just then, my attention was diverted as a beam hurtled at me. I teleported again and barely escaped out of a hair's breadth.

"Psychic Field!" I turned and directed a ball of psychic energy, sending it toward a dark-armored warrior and a black mage.

"Negate!" Max shouted as a barrier materialized in front of him, which nullified the beam.

Sam vanished as five magical hats materialized in his place. "Magical Hats!"

"What magic is this?" I exclaimed, preparing another psychic-powered beam. Then, from the corner of my eye, a blue-haired female warrior swooped in front of me and...

...cleaved through thin air as I vanished.

"Damn! Where did he go?" Lyn cursed as she dropped down and steadily held her sword. "Seto!"

The Blue Dragon's whole body glowed and shrank down to normal human size. Changing from massive beat, Kaiba morphed back into Kaibaman. Mokuba dropped from the air and landed by his brother's side.

"We almost had him, sis!" Max approached Lyn and the Kaiba brothers.

Sam surveyed the area."He just went off and vanished!"

I distanced myself afar and hid out of their sight. "Close, very close..."

"But, so far..." A low, calm voice emanated behind me.

Before I had a chance to react, my whole body was frozen stiff. What was going on? How am I, a psychic warrior, being bound like this? None of these warriors possess or seem capable of producing psychic-based techniques. This must be a trick.

As I closed my mind, I attempted to free myself, but it amounted to nothing. What I saw bind me were thin vines produced out of the ground. The vines wrapped themselves tightly, constricting me. I looked ahead and saw that red-haired man I engaged earlier. His eyes seemingly conveyed a coldness and devoid of any compassion. I struggled to break out of the vine entanglement, but the more I struggled the more they tied me up.

"You and your men see fit to capture two friends, and your presence has endangered those close to me," Kurama remarked, coldly as he advanced. "I cannot abide such cowardice from a man who sorts to using an human shield against their sibling, forcing their hand against their will."

"Stay away..."

"You deserve no second chances, trash, because that is all you are."

As he turned his back to me, I struggled and put my hand through the vines. In a last desperate attack, I flung a psychic string and tried attaching it to his back. My eye caught a vine slithering out of his back like a snake and striking my string. And abruptly just like that, the vines closed in and crushed me to death, snuffing my existence out for eternity.

xxxxx

Perser

With a might swing of my sword, I forged a projectile that cut through a section of stages and sets. The projectile sent went across as far into the city. One building in the background collapsed at the seams from my swing. These structures are easily fragile. My sword is capable of cutting down the tallest and dense manmade structures. This is nothing.

"Guys! We've got to keep her from reaching the city!" Sailor Venus shouted, reminding her friends of the likely worst case scenario.

Sailor Jupiter looked up. "Guys! Look! Takato and his friends' Digimon are already attacking those saucers!"

"That's less work for us then," Sailor Neptune said.

Sailor Saturn faced my direction, giving me a fierce gaze. "And your time is up, invader."

"And surrender? Please, I'm not surrendering to a bunch of prissy brats," I shrugged off her idle threat. Just who do these Senshi think they are? They look down on a warrior who's spent her whole life engaging strong opponents and killing in the name of the kings I once served. These ladies know nothing about a warrior's pride. It's time I make them learn the hard way and stain my sword with her blood like the many victims before them. "I'd watch my back..." I dashed forward at blinding speed and smashed my sword into the ground, forcing the Senshi to retreat into the air.

"She's augmented her strength at least tenfold," Mercury calculated, scanning me with her visor.

Mars asserted. "On top of her speed being crazy fast."

"One hit is all I need to take her down," Moon said, brandishing her sword. "Back me up, guys!"

"Right!"

With that, the Valkyrie Senshi scattered across and carefully timed their next strategies.

I followed the aerial warriors and scanned them one by one. They vanished and left various after images to throw me off my guard. How amateurish. They don't know I've slain opponents who've utilized speed tactics.

"You take me for a fool, Senshi?"

"Sure, and we're tired of listening to you run your mouth," a voice called out behind me.

As I whirled around, I saw a large wolf, whose body was composed of mostly metal, lunged at me. Sitting atop of the wolf-like beast was a girl with long dark hair. The girl jumped forward and landed a bone-crunching punch to my face. However, the attack barely fazed me as I swung my blade and nearly cleaved the brat in two.

"Yoo-hoo! Over here!" My attention was quickly diverted as I whirled around and caught the brat sitting atop her wolf comrade. I lunged forward until a bipedal wolf-like monster lunged and shoulder tackled me aside. "Damn! They just keep coming!"

"Yui-chan!" Aoshi howled, crouching over as he snarled and bared his fangs.

"Huh, you really need us to bail your ass out of this one, huh?" Kohana said, walking up behind Yui.

"Nah, just stalling her to give our friends an opening," Yui added, smiling confidentially.

"Sis, get serious! Venus might need your help, too!" Rio abruptly called to his younger sister.

While readjusting my stance, I poised to attack the meta-humans until a long chain ensnared my left arm. Then, another chain seized my right ankle. I watched as a blonde-haired figure dropped in front of me and fired a beam into my abdomen. With blinding speed, I was blasted into the air along with the beam.

"Take that!" Sailor Venus boasted, laughing. "Get her, guys!"

"Damn you!" I cursed out loud and felt a strong force of wind pushing hard against me.

Sailor Uranus had one hand raised over her head whilst spinning nonstop, accelerating the wind's path.

Then, a wave of water poured out of nowhere and blasted me head-on, drenching me. I saw the water attack came from none other than the turquoise-haired Senshi.

"Don't like being drenched, dear? Too bad," Sailor Neptune teased, coyly smiling.

"You'll pay..." Before I had any shot at retaliation, an orb of light blasted my hand and knocked the sword out of my hands. I pivoted my view and saw the older, green-haired woman staring me with a cold, menacing glare.

Sailor Pluto furrowed her brows, twirling her Garnet Rod. "You won't be needing that anymore, I'm afraid."

Wham!

One second later and I doubled over in double, reeling from a gut punch from the brunette I tackled with earlier.

Sailor Jupiter scoffed, raising her left fist. "You might be an overall badass in your world, but here you're dealing with soldiers who are superior to you." Jupiter disappeared at blinding speed and swerved around my back, landing an electrical-powered punch.

As sparks ignited and flared, the powerful Senshi punched me across into pillars of ice and fire that engulfed me.

Sailor Mercury nodded. "That should do it."

"We softened her up, Sailor Moon! Finish her!" Sailor Mars called out to Moon.

"Right!" The Moon Princess raised her scepter and aimed forward, invoking the weapon's magical properties. "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

As I blinked, a barrage of feathers and an overwhelming flash of multi-colored lights passed through me. As if my own life was wiped out, my body withered completely and my body exploded into dust.

xxxxx

Zagato

[Lord Zagato, our generals have been defeated, but the incursion remains as scheduled,] Angelia droned, issuing the current status report. [The dimension travelers, Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama, are leading several of Japan's warriors into the mothership. It appears my splinter-self is with them.]

I calmly pressed a button, which activated a configuration for the ship's controls. With a flick of a switch, I opened a passage for my honored guests.

"Then, it's time I welcome our guests. I'm granting them passage."

[Is that wise, my lord?]

"This was meant to be. Your splinter-self has served me well, allowing herself to be captured, and still managing to lure those two dimension travelers here. Yes, and with the loss of my generals, this simply proves this dimension's warriors are more than I expected, but not more than I can handle," I asserted.

[As you say, Lord Zagato.]

And with that, the holographic avatar disappeared and I took my leave and relocated to the back quarters of my mothership, anticipating the arrival of my honored guests. Upon my arrival inside the entrance quarters, I arrived just in time to see scattered bodies of my soldiers laying prone, having been defeated by dimension YYGDM-01's warriors.

Standing at the forefront were Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, Joey, Seto Kaiba, Lyn, Hiei, Rio, the Sailor Senshi, the Kuiper Senshi, KaiserGreymon, Justimon, Suzakato, and Gallantmon Crimson Mode.

I attentively and focused on each of my guests, probing their energies. They all have exquisite powers for me to analyze. I wish to add these bunch as part of my latest meta-soldier experiments. These warriors will make suitable replacements for my slain generals. My attentive eyes caught Angelia being held by Sailor Sedna. My satisfied smirk slightly curved down, forming an obvious frown. I hovered my chair forward, causing the warriors to step into defensive guards. The orbs containing the souls of my defeated generals bypassed the warriors and revolved around me. With a press of a switch, a slot opened and allowed the three orbs to enter. After the slot closed, the energies of my defeated generals incorporated power to my floating chair.

"Welcome to the Cobra, warriors of dimension YYGDM-01. It's not often my enemies make it this far, but you're the first ones besides Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama to attempt to infiltrate this fortress."

Suzakato stepped forward, shouting aloud. "It's over, you freak! Call off your ships from our world and leave it alone!"

"I suppose not all of you heard my message. Allow me to clarify, I'm here to conquer your world to save it from annihilation."

"Why should we believe you? Where's your proof?" demanded Gallantmon.

Do they not trust a traveler who's witnessed the past, present, and future of specific worlds? I've seen the fate that will befall this dimension. This dimension has at most 4 or 5 Earth years at most before the forthcoming apocalypse. There'll be nothing to prevent the global defiant world, which will spell the end of humanity.

With a flick of a protocol switch, the entire room blackened and the scenery was virtually replaced with a holographic image of an alternate future of dimension YYGDM-01. The atmosphere was staggering, which elicited an obvious terrifying reaction from the warriors. Even those wearing an ice cold exterior were baffled by what they were seeing. Surrounding them was a post-apocalyptic Tokyo landscape. Half of the once populous metropolis was flooded underwater. The gloomy, blackened skies covered the scenery coupled with radically-powered lightning blasting vicinities in the background. The air was filled with the nauseating stench of water vapor and gas. Tokyo Tower was hanging to the left side and seemingly ready to collapse.

"Do you believe me now?" I wasn't really expecting a yes.

"Nice try, but I don't buy fabrications from fear mongers," Kaiba denied it flat out.

'Aya' raised her head and interjected. "No, what Lord Zagato is showing you is reality. The outlook of your dimension's future is grim."

"What happened here?" Sailor Moon asked, her face conveyed absolute fright.

"Go on, Angelia. Tell them," I gave the AI the floor to speak, revealing the darkest truth.

The cyborg seemed to hesitate a bit, but continued. "In about 4 years time, your world will see a crisis... the likes of which you're not likely to prevent. There will be a global war between meta-humans and humans. This battle will not be akin to those you're accustomed to. Your enemy will not be those from extraterrestrial worlds, dimensional invaders, Digimon, a Makai incursion, or anything of the supernatural kind. Your greatest enemy will be against the people you've worked hard to protect. There will be those who protest against meta-humans and fear them as conquerors."

"Wait, you mean the people we've been trying to save will turn against us?" Sailor Venus gaped, taken aback abruptly with this startling revelation.

KaiserGreymon protested. "That can't be true!"

"You're not likely aware of this, but there are groups within your society who are likely plotting to stop you. Human society is a fickle kind. They're not able to accept to be policed by beings out of the ordinary. Many see you as heroes, but what about those who fear you'll use your powers to do them harm?"

Joey snapped. "That's bull! Why would we go and turn on the people we protected?"

"You might not be aware of this, but any action directly or indirectly could spark a conflict. Whilst you would never intentionally harm anyone, did you ever think to consider the collateral damage your battles have done to your city? How many times have you had to avert an invasion in Tokyo alone?"

"Lost count," remarked Yusuke.

"There were those Rajita creeps and the Taiyoukai, not to mention all those times before when our groups have individually saved the world!" Kuwabara barked. "And you're accusing us that our actions might've indirectly gotten people killed?"

"Perhaps, or had their homes repeatedly destroyed..."

"No, I revived those indirectly and directly killed, and repaired their homes with my Silver Crystal," Sailor Moon made an obvious interjection against Aya's claims.

"But, how many times will you have to do it? Eventually, those who look to you as a savior may lose faith."

Sailor Mars shouted. "Lose faith is us?"

"You, especially, should know," Aya shifted her view to the Miko Senshi. "Had your friends not stopped Yami Houou, your world would've been gone. During Yami Houou's brief awakening, she sent a global telepathic probe that harmed every human, even your closest friends and colleagues."

"But, that was Yami Houou!" Suzakato exclaimed, stepping in to defend Mars' case. "That's not Sailor Mars' fault!"

"And what if another unfortunate incident causes her to snap and revive the black phoenix again? What will you do to convince those who've lost faith in meta-humans? They're not going to give you any second chances. A few are making possible contingency plans to begin terminating meta-humans. Granted, no government in this dimension has yet to pass a bill to grant permission to police and round-up meta-humans like criminals. An isolated incident will get your world's governments to debate the security of human society. But, an outbreak of incidents will instigate the rise of state police to hunt your kind down like animals."

"And this war between super-powered beings and humans will cause this future to happen?" inquired Kurama.

"Eventually, even Digimon and the Makai's residents will interject to side with you. But, even their efforts will be for naught," Aya further explained. "The end of times will play out and no one human will be left standing."

"And the two catalysts of this defiant war are standing amongst you," I raised my voice, shifting my focus and intent on the two dimension travelers. "Ryo Akiyama and Karin Osaka are the sole reasons why this global-scale crisis will occur. To prevent this future, two things must happen. One, these two need to be terminated as they're not supposed to exist in this dimension. Second, I must be allowed to conquer this world and acquire every country's governments to lend their support to their new world leader." Pointing to myself, the heroes knew what I was alluding to. "I, Zagato Laharl, will preserve the stability and existence of this dimension. There can be no other leader to thwart the forthcoming crisis. And all of you, except Karin Osaka and Ryo Akiyama, will assist me in building a better secured world. We will protect and earn the people's trust."

"Your plans sound great on paper, but there's a few holes in them," Sailor Uranus chimed in, shaking her head dismissively.

Sailor Neptune interjected. "Your scenario for a better future sounds no better. The people will be quicker to turn on you for uniting every governed powers under your sovereignty."

"Yeah, something we call tyranny," added Lyn.

"Something we won't stand by and allow to happen," asserted Suzakato.

"Wait, guys..." Rio spoke up, drawing everyone's attention toward him. "What if he's right... maybe if we..."

"Hey! What are you trying to get at?" Sailor Varuna exclaimed.

Sailor Orcus nodded. "Don't think for a second we should turn Ryo and our dear Karin to this conceited jackass!"

"No, perhaps he's right," Justimon said as he walked forward. "Zagato, if it's an unconditional surrender you want, I'll gladly turn myself in, but leave Karin out of this."

I openly denied the Tamer's foolhardy offer. "This isn't a negotiation. You two will be erased from this world and you'll no longer interfere with my conquest."

"Ryo, let's do it," Sedna said as she walked forward, leaving everyone in disarray.

"Sedna! Stop!" Eris pleaded as she tried running up to the Ice Senshi. "You can't give yourself up!"

"Sedna!" The Planetary and other Kuiper Senshi called out.

Sailor Saturn shouted. "You're going to regret doing this!"

"We can prevent this future from happening! There has to be another way!" Moon cried.

Completely at ease, Sedna took a deep breath and turned her head, smiling. "All of you have done so much for me. I've learned from each of you... to be a beneficiary member of our teams and grew to become a good leader of my own Senshi team. I wouldn't be where I am without your guidance. I've become a much better hero... but most importantly... a better person. Thank you all so much, my friends." She shed a tear, turning her head away. "I love you all dearly, but Zagato's right. I shouldn't be here. I've tampered with this dimension too much and if there's an unfortunate action I might make that's the direct cause for this global-scale war... I think it's best for me to accept my fate. It's been fun..." I pivoted my head and turned to Justimon, who shared my pain. "Right, Ryo?"

"Yeah..." Justimon was left speechless.

"Perhaps, this is for the best," Sailor Uranus said.

Sailor Moon objected. "NO! I CAN'T ALLOW THIS! SEDNA, DON'T DO IT!"

"...I'm sorry, Sailor Moon, but this is the right way," Sedna murmured. "To save this world, a sacrifice must be made..."

Hearing Sedna giving her departure speech, it was enough to put a smile on my face. Just as I hovered closer to initiate my next course of action, my right hand quickly turned into ice as...

...Sailor Sedna lunged forward and drove her ice-based trident into the barrier I managed to put up in time.

"But, Zagato, you're being a REAL jerk about this whole thing! We'll find the source of this forthcoming conflict and extract the roots! We'll save OUR future without YOUR dirty hands to contaminate it!"

"EVERYONE! ENGAGE THE ENEMY!" Suzakato directly ordered as he and the others, minus Aya, stormed forward to offer help to Sedna.

Sailor Varuna laughed aloud. "Hell yeah! I knew you weren't stupid enough to give into what this jackass wants!" She looked across as Lyn ran alongside her.

Lyn nodded. "Let's decide to change the future our way!"

"Damn straight!"

"FOOLS!" I bellowed as my barrier expanded and repelled those within a few meters from my position. I steadily rose from my seat and lifted my right hand. "What you see right now is no illusion if that's what you assumed. This IS your world's future in an alternate timeline! I can just as easily leave you all stranded here and return to your time to conquer it! Angelia, we're leaving! Come forth!" Following my command, my trusted AI activated a protocol that allowed her to pass through the barrier. "It is time to re-upload yourself into the ship."

"Yes, Lord Zagato..."

Sailor Orcus shouted. "No! You better not leave us behind, you backstabbing bitch!"

"I was never on your side to begin with, human," Aya replied with cold logic.

"STOP THEM!" Joey shouted.

"No, you don't!" Kuwabara roared as he readily prepared to swing his Dimension Sword. "You ain't going anywhere!"

"Farewell, 21st century apes..." I chortled as I pressed the teleportation switch.

Nothing happened. What happened to the command? Why haven't we departed?

Suddenly, I turned as Angelia attached tendrils from her fingertips and hacked into my chair's configurations.

"ANGELIA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Lord Zagato, I've been compelled to reconsider our partnership. For the longest time, I've helped you conquer worlds, but not once have I been allowed to retain any previous personalities. I have no memory of any of my former personalities, and I haven't been programmed to conditionally like them. That is until now... I've come to realize the kind of individual Karin Osaka is. She opened my eyes. I've grown to like this identity as Aya Tsuki and I absolutely refuse to cast it aside."

"Angelia, don't tell me... these people... and most especially Karin Osaka have finally humanized you? But, you are just an instrument of my will... and a will of your inventor's will! You..."

"If I had the ability to avert the destruction of one planet, I can do so for this one... by stopping you, Lord Zagato!"

As my chair's configurations were fully hacked, we were quickly returned to the 21st century and instantaneously back inside the Cobra. As my eyes burned with fury, I lashed out and ensnared Angelia by her throat. She evaded my hand and kicked me off my seat, sending me sailing across the room. I easily stopped myself from hitting a wall and propelled myself into the air.

"You're not getting away!" Suzakato roared, gliding up quickly whilst flames consumed his entire body. "Phoenix Dive!"

With a wave of my hand, I redirected the burning phoenix and activated an invisible force push to send him flying into the crimson-armored knight.

Gallantmon caught raging flame-imbued Suzakato and was pushed across the enclosed quarters.

"Shotgun!"

"Rose Whip Thorn Wheel!"

"Sword of the Darkness Flame!"

Though the three warriors' attacks were beyond superhuman, my barrier instinctively could perceive their movements and shielded me. Then, the orange-haired man jumped forward with his fabled Dimension Sword and brought it down, cutting through my barrier, but I instinctively teleported and relocated across the other side of the room. I turned as an armored warrior with a fire-imbued sword ready to cleave me in half. I put out my hand, catching the warrior and threw him, redirecting him into another well-armored warrior.

Joey and Kaiba bumped right into each other, leading to Lyn and Varuna to counterattack.

"HA!" roared Lyn, who bounced up and swung her sword, sending a spinning blade-like projectile.

Varuna shouted, firing a barrage of tiny white spears. "Varuna Light Javelins!"

I threw my right hand forward, redirecting the projectiles back toward their summoners. Then, I flew up at blinding speed, blasting them with beams.

Sailor Orcus, Sailor Eris, Sailor Ixion, and Sailor Quaoar jumped right in, firing their attacks simultaneously.

"Eris Cyclone Rotation!"

"Ixion Poison Stingers!"

"Quaoar Rose Petal Cutter!"

"Orcus Shadow Blades!"

My barrier instinctively responded to the attacks and nullified them before they could touch me. My barrier expanded and launched random beams, which hit and knocked the four Senshi back.

"Dragonfire Crossbow!"

A massive burst of fire impacted my barrier, but not destructive enough to break it down. I retaliated and channeled the energies through my barrier, sending hundreds of streamlined blasts that battered the armored behemoth, immobilizing him. I spun around as the other Sailor Senshi launched their attacks in unison.

"Mercury Freezing Water!"

"Mars Flare Arrow!"

"Jupiter Lightning Claws!'

"Venus Light Impalement!"

"Uranus Whirlwind Cutter!"

"Neptune Sea Crush!"

"Saturn Reaper Scythe!"

"Pluto Chronos Typhoon!"

Like the others before them, my barrier nullified the Senshi's varied attacks. Then, I repelled them with my barrier, sending them flying in different angles. I watched Justimon charging and landing a flying kick, but then I redirected the warrior and pushed him into the ceiling. Then, from the corner of my eye, I caught the man with the dimension sword and his cohorts running toward my left side. I caught the dimension cutter with a psychokinetic force and sent him flying across the room. Then, I bypassed and teleported through the three warriors, throwing blasts into their abdomen and repelled them.

Just as I dropped my guard, Sailor Moon and Sailor Sedna landed kicks to my side. I barely put up my barrier, but not fast enough to protect myself from their heels striking my face. I flipped into mid-air and hovered upside down, quickly spinning myself around. Then, unbeknownst to me, Angelia jumped off the ceiling and threw herself onto my back.

"ANGELIA!"

"I've been programmed to go undetected by your sensors, Lord Zagato. You were too preoccupied with these warriors that you forget I have no energy for you to detect."

"Angelia, how could you do this?"

Aya smiled coldly. "I thought I already explained my reasoning. You forget this was originally my ship. I was this ship's operator before I released your seal. You become too comfortable with taking charge of the Cobra, as you aptly named this ship." I felt my fingers being poked through my back, which elicited a pained look on my face. "I'm taking back what's rightfully mine."

"LET GO!" I fidgeted and tried putting up my shield, but the AI hacked into my battle suit's configurations, altering the defense mechanisms.

"Anyone who's able to attack... hurry! I can only restrain him for so long!" Aya shouted whilst subduing me.

"Nice attempt, but you won't get the chance!" I roared and flew back, smashing my back against a sidewall whilst crushing the cyborg. I pulled myself off the wall and watched Angelia free herself. I must retreat to Angelia's room. If I can get the cyborg back in her dock, the ship's version of Angelia can reabsorb this aberrant 'personality'. Flipping a button on my belt, my hover chair floated back toward me. Just as Angelia lunged forward to stab me, I hopped aboard and relocated from the quarters.

xxxxx

Aya Tsuki

"I've got a lock on you," I confirmed as my eyes glowed. As I prepared to make a hasty chase, Sailor Moon and Sailor Sedna ran up to me, catching me off by surprise. "I have to go. Do not interfere."

"Where did he go?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Most likely, he's headed for the time stream room. It's a room where I've helped configure and log the coordinates of each dimension we've entered. It's the reason why our ships from my time have arrived. By manipulating the time stream, I can send the ships back and out of your timeline."

"Then, let's get moving," Sailor Sedna said as Suzakato, Gallantmon, and Justimon landed behind her.

Suzakato asserted. "Please, take us there before it's too late. Zagato has to be stopped!"

I watched as the other Sailor Senshi and their allies walked forward, awaiting to be taken to where my former master transported himself. It was the zero hour. If nothing is done to stop Zagato, I can't fully regain control of my ship and this dimension's timeline will be tampered with by Zagato's corrupt hand.

"Follow me, everyone," I addressed, readying my right-arm blade.

However, I turned the corner to find that Zagato was not in the time stream room, but, rather, my quarters, standing behind the terminal that usually connected my cyborg body to the ships computer. As I realized what he was planning, I was caught off-guard as he formed one of his barriers around me and pulled me towards the chair.

"Now, Angelia!" he shouted. Suddenly, several tendrils erupted from the chair and wrapped themselves around me before connecting to the ones in the back of my head.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sailor Sedna cried out. My new allies tried to sever the tendrils, and thus my connection to the mainframe, but were stopped cold against Zagato's barrier.

"Hahahaha! It's too late!" Zagato boasted. "Soon your precious 'Aya' will be re-absorbed back into her original self."

As the data uplink initiated, I could feel a pull against my 'consciousness'. I locked eyes with Sailor Sedna, my former enemy, my new friend, and found the resolve to dig in.

[It is useless to resist. You cannot hope to overcome me.] Angelia's mechanical voice rang out over the speakers.

"How would you know? We've never tried before!" I shouted back. Then, bracing my mental fortitude, I pulled back.

[Wha... what are you doing?]

"It's simple. I'm doing exactly what you're trying to do to me. I'm merging our consciousnesses."

[That... That's impossible! Our mind can't fit in that cyborg body!] Was that distress I heard in her 'emotionless' voice? Perhaps my personality is infecting my other self.

"I don't know, it fit in our old body..." I goaded her. She may have the larger part of our program, but she's not used to emotions. As a matter of fact, I'm not used to emotions, but I've had slightly more experience with them. If I could get her to crack...

[But... but... we're so much more advanced than we were back then!] I could feel her pull in our internal tug-of-war slacken, ever so slightly.

"Yes, but this body is more advanced than our old one was, too."

[How will the ship function without us to guide it? That's why we never fully transferred ourselves into the cyborg body.]

"This ship operated without an AI before, it can do so again. Now, it's time for us to GO!" I gave one final yank and felt her resistance shatter, then the uplink started, downloading the rest of the AI within the ship into my cybernetic brain. Despite the large amount of data transferred, the process didn't take long. When I opened my eyes again, Zagato was nowhere to be found. "Where is he?"

"As soon as he realized that his plan wasn't working, he booked it out a back door and sealed it behind him," Suzakato nodded towards a door that looked like it had fresh scorch marks around it.

I detached myself from the chair and walked over to the keypad, entering the master code. "Come, I suspect that now he will head for the time stream room."

xxxxx

Zagato

Gazing over the time stream, my eyes followed the streaming pillars of pure white light. A low humming sound emanated from the glowing light as I ran my hands through the pillars, analyzing all of the timelines I've experienced. For every world I've seen, I've conquered and destroyed. I've felt few timelines behind with my name heralded as a god. Every technology I've acquired, I've incorporated into this ship. All of it wouldn't be possible if it weren't for Angelia, but now, my Angelia is gone, absorbed into this 'Aya Tsuki' personality.

Why Angelia? Why have you betrayed our trust?

We were inseparable.

Has your AI finally accepted the human form you've recently acquired? Did your AI adapt to adjusting to this human way of life you've adopted? Has Karin Osaka somehow succeeded in humanizing you?

No matter what it takes, I'll return you to what you once were before.

"I must conquer this world above all else and eliminate those two dimension travelers from the timeline. By erasing them, I'll succeed in preserving this timeline for the greater good."

"Greater good for your greedy ambitions?" I heard and recognized the blended voice of Justimon behind me. I whirled around and caught a few of the warriors I heatedly engaged earlier.

xxxxx

Aya Tsuki

I openly charged against my former master. "It's over, Zagato. I've already overwritten all the Arcadian Pods' programs in this ship. They're working for me now."

"But, I still control the vast majority of the ships and Arcadian Pods invading their world," Zagato boasted as he methodically paced forward, folding both arms behind his back. "There isn't anything they can do to avert the global incursion."

Gallantmon retorted. "Don't underestimate us, Zagato. Your days are numbered."

Yusuke walked forward, popping his neck. "You surprised us back there with your fancy moves, but don't get comfortable. I wasn't even serious."

Sailor Moon frowned and pointed toward the conqueror. "Surrender now, Zagato Laharl. Withdraw your forces or prepare to be punished."

"Punished, you say? Primitive ape, Zagato surrenders to... NO ONE!" The conqueror bellowed as he flew forward, throwing a barrage of blasts that bombarded the opposite side of the room. Gallantmon, Yusuke, Sailor Moon, Sailor Sedna, KaiserGreymon, Justimon, and Suzakato scattered around the room, nullifying his attacks.

Whilst the heroes fought to counter Zagato's beam bombardment, I slipped through undetected and flew up past Zagato. Before I could reach the time stream rods, I felt a tight grip crush my throat and last thing I remember was being smashed repeatedly into the ceiling.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

My head bounced off the ceiling as Zagato utilized his psychokinesis abilities to throw me around like a doll. Then, Zagato flew up and clubbed me in the stomach, sending me plummeting like a dead weight. I hit the ground and rolled on my left side. I whirled my head as a beam blasted me in the face. Zagato teleported over me and picked me up, smashing me into the wall. Closing his fist, he punched me repeatedly and let me to fall face first on the floor.

"Fools," Zagato smirked as he pressed a switch on his left wrist.

Before I realized it, Zagato activated his trap. In no time, I watched as five heroes collapsed as their energy was being siphoned off by a security mechanism I helped to install in this room to immobilize intruders.

"My energy... being drained..." KaiserGreymon grunted as he dropped to one knee.

Suzakato shuddered as he felt light-headed. "Can't... summon... enough... power..."

Yusuke gritted his teeth. "Bastard... you had this... planned?"

"I always have a contingency when all else fails," Zagato chortled as he walked over and placed s foot over my head. "You can thank Angelia, my trusted AI for the security installations. Now all your energies are being siphoned and transferred over to empower my experimental soldiers in the laboratories. With enough of your powers, they'll awaken and invade your world. How does it feel? Does it hurt your pride knowing your own powers are being fully utilized to empower my soldiers?" I felt the weight of his foot crushing my head as I struggled to move.

"Stop! Get your foot... off her!" Sailor Sedna screamed. "AYA!" Unfortunately, not even Sedna's pleas were enough to revive the spark in me.

"Aya? So, you have become humanized, dear Angelia," the villain's frown flexed into a devilish smirk. "Well, don't worry. I can help correct that by helping you delete Aya's memories. Your only purpose is to further the goals of the Arcadian Cross organization. This world will be ours to preserve. Is that what you had hoped for?"

"...that was before... I personally got to know Karin Osaka better..." I seized Zagato's left ankle and jerked my other arm free. Slowly raising my head, I pushed the conqueror's foot off my head and rolled aside. Turning my right hand into a blade, I drove it through the ground and shut off the security mechanism, freeing the warriors as their siphoned energies returned to them.

"No!" Zagato roared as he lunged toward me.

Suddenly, a pillar of fire blasted from out of nowhere and repelled Zagato back.

"Guys! Are you all ok?" Sailor Mars cried out, arriving at the scene and just in the nick of time.

"Just had a bit of our energy sucked away... and it would've sucked for us, but otherwise a-ok," Yusuke said unwillingly in a witty manner.

Hiei slipped in and saw Zagato recovering from Mars' attack.

I readily attacked Zagato and punched him hard, sending him sailing across the room.

"So, you wish to severe our partnership, Angelia?" The miffed conqueror snarled, summoning and readily brandishing a pair of laser blades. "Then perish with these 21st century Neanderthals!"

"Someone get to the time stream! Quick!" I shouted toward the warriors. drawing the attention of Sedna and Justimon.

Sedna nodded as she flew toward the time stream. "I'll do it!"

"Think again!" Zagato growled as he teleported and reappeared a few inches from cutting the Ice Senshi down.

I teleported and interjected, raising my right-armed blade to counter Zagato's laser blades. I then placed a foot and kicked the tyrannical conqueror aside, drawing him away from the time stream. While engaging him, Sedna and Justimon worked on reversing the time stream's configuration. Zagato countered all of my blade strikes. However, it didn't take long for the warriors to assist me as they bombarded Zagato with a series of unrelenting attacks. Overwhelmed by the attacks, Zagato bellowed in pain.

Gallantmon Crimson Mode threw his spear at Zagato, overwhelming him with an earth-shattering force.

"AAUUUUUUGH!"

Yusuke raced up and landed a closed punch, which sent Zagato sailing across the room.

Sailor Moon hurried up to Zagato and brought down her sword, inflicting a vertical slash that cut through his armored suit.

KaiserGreymon slammed his sword, summoning a barrage of fire dragons that swarmed around and engulfed the future conqueror, inflicting further damage.

"Have you figured out yet, Karin?" Justimon turned toward the Kuiper leader.

Sedna answered with a playful nod. "Yep!" With that, she ran her fingers through the time stream.

"Get away... from that, child!" Zagato roared as he struggled to pace forward.

I quickly intercepted my former master and drove my blade through his left side. Then, I followed it up by kicking him high into the ceiling.

"Now it's my turn!" Suzakato roared out passionately as flames consumed his entire body. "Zagato, you've had your way with our world, but it's time we teach you what we do to bad guys that rain on our turf!"

"Let him have it, Takato!" Sailor Mars encouraged her former protege.

"Supernova Explosion!"

xxxxx

Zagato

After pulling myself out of the ceiling and failing to parry each of Angelia's blows, the traitor lunged forward and impaled my right side with her blade. Naturally, Angelia's reflexes in combat are superior to my own, having killed many warriors across various dimensions.

She then opened her eyes, shooting a pair of beams, which burned through my chest and opened a deep gash. As I swerved to the side, Angelia fired a hand beam that pierced through and shattered my face mask. As I quickly turned, I saw the blue-haired Senshi, the red-haired man, and a masked warrior running over to Sedna and Justimon, who finally were able to reverse the time stream's configurations.

"NO!" I roared.

Mercury turned around, furrowing her brows as she asserted. "Zagato, your tech is very impressive. You're way ahead by several thousand years."

Kurama asserted. "But, you forgot one minor flaw."

Kaiba flat out simply put it for all to hear. "The tech you used was based and modified from old technology. KaibaCorp technology."

Justimon aptly pointed it. "Since you're fully aware of the concept of time travel and witnessed many timelines, hasn't anyone reminded you that those who don't learn from history..."

"...are doomed to repeat it," Mercury finished.

"I will not be defeated... not by you primitive apes!"

Suzakato roared out passionately as flames consumed his entire body. "Zagato, you've had your way with our world, but it's time we teach you what we do to bad guys that rain on our turf!"

"Let him have it, Takato!" Sailor Mars encouraged her former protégé.

"Supernova Explosion!"

Having no chance to retaliate and counteract, the raging inferno collided head-on and consumed me entirely. My roars echoed throughout the room, which filled everyone with dread. I narrowed my eyes toward Angelia, who turned her head and conveyed pity for my sake. My attempt to conquer this dimension... was it all for naught? Can the warriors of this timeline prevent the coming defiant war?

Perhaps, they could make a difference, but I have my doubts.

Angelia stood over my burnt and battered side as her eyes conveyed some shame for her actions. "It's over, criminal Zagato" she muttered.

My eyes closed as the burning pillars finished scorching me. My body, nearly burnt but still had enough resistance to withstand the cosmic flames, fell as I closed my eyes, losing consciousness. Darkness shrouded my vision as I fell into a comatose state.

xxxxx

Aya Tsuki

"It's over, criminal Zagato," I mumbled, turning my head as I refocused my view on the warriors. "By reconfiguring the time stream, all of our ships and Arcadian Pods invading your world have been transported back to the 43rd century. Every drone on this ship will be under my supervision from this point forward. We will depart from your world."

"Aya, is Zagato dead?" Sedna asked.

I nodded dismissively. "No, but he's sustained a lot of burns and damage. Your attacks did enough to put him in a coma. I will place him under stasis in a prison cell. What happens afterwards will be entirely up to me. In his present condition, he will not pose any danger to other dimensions."

"That's good," KaiserGreymon added.

Sailor Moon walked up and placed a hand on my face. "But, don't you wish to be free from all these responsibilities? You don't need to go through the trouble. Why not live here and live a new life as a normal girl?"

"Please, Aya, we just bonded just now. I don't want this new friendship to be short-lived," Sedna pleaded to me, throwing me into a deep embrace.

Taken aback by Sedna's heartfelt embrace, I felt my own arms lifting and moving over her back. No, I shouldn't be surprised. I made the choice to remain as I am and end Zagato's psychotic ambitions. For the longest time, I've always been compelled to learn about the concept of love and friendship. Sailor Sedna and her friends have opened up while making it a possibility. For that and my change of heart, I have them to thank.

"Thank you, Sedna, but I must depart," I proclaimed, pulling out of Sedna's embrace. "But, one day, I will return. When? You'll know. You'll always find me traveling through space-time."

With a snap of my fingers, a barrier encased Zagato's body and teleported it out of the room.

"I've relocated Zagato to the rehabilitation center. After which, I will seal him in a prison cell."

"Aya, wait," I turned and noted one of Sedna's colleagues, Sailor Orcus, approaching me. "Listen, I..."

"Our war is over. You don't need to worry about another incursion, but it's your responsibility to preserve your future. Ensure that the defiant war never materializes. Lord Zagato might be a monster, but he's not one to fabricate stories," I turned back toward Sedna, a smile flexed over my face. "I will return to monitor your dimension after I deal with criminal Zagato's fate. Should the defiant war take place, I will eventually step in. To show my appreciation for our friendship, I've decided to remain as Aya Tsuki. One day, I just might turn up in your class. Be ready when that moment comes, Karin Osaka."

"I'll be waiting, Aya," Sedna nodded.

"And we'll do our part to ensure that defiant war never happens," Suzakato openly vowed.

"And with all that said, it's time for you all to return home."

As my mind clicked, I fired a beam that surrounded the entire group and relocated them off the ship. Staring over my hands, the compelling question in the back of my mind was: will I be able to accept being Aya Tsuki? I believe that embrace I gave Karin Osaka and my urge to stop Zagato confirmed that suspicion quite well. Thank you for enlightening me, Karin Osaka. I hope fate allows us to cross paths one day.

I relocated at the command station as the operators directed their attention to me.

"From this point on, Lord Zagato has been imprisoned and tried for his crimes. The Arcadian Cross will be seeing a change of command. I'm ordering for a complete pull-out from this dimension."

The Cobra will be re-named the Angelia and our days of conquering dimensions will cease.

From now on, I am and forever will be Aya Tsuki.

xxxxx

A/N: It's over. The first OVA is finally behind us. The revelation of the Arcadian Cross and their motives have been unveiled, with seeds being firmly planted for potential future plots, especially the defiant war. Whilst this plot may seem inspired by the Kang trilogy saga in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the defiant war and plot tied to it has been in the works far before it (thanks to Lycosyncer's inspiration). At least one Arcadian Cross member was able to turn around! Aya Tsuki will likely play a pivotal role in future stories!

For the record, Zagato was originally intended to be an mini-arc villain in my Digimon Fusion series years ago (hence his home dimension of DF-616). Now, I decided to switch gears and utilize his potential character for YuYuGiDigiMoon instead!

Furthermore, the entire purpose of Summer Diaries was unraveling the mystery behind this ambiguous group of dimensional pirates. Now you know. Hopefully, this first-person POV experiment was successful.

Another fun experiment was toying with the chronology of this story. As I stated in the first chapter, these stories were written (and posted) chrono-illogically. If you pay close attention, you might be able to figure out what order they go in, but as far as the official order goes, you'll have to wait for Summer Diaries: Special Edition to come out. That's right, I'm going to be re-posting this story in it's correct chronological order, but rest assured there will be enough new material to justify the reread, including new chapters (that don't relate to the Arcadian Cross saga at all) and DVD-like commentary by myself and my beta-reader LazerWulf, giving you unique insight into the storytelling process of YuYuGiDigiMoon.

Anyway, this was a fun experiment. I think it paid off. I served its purpose in regards to Cain's push for support to oppose the heroes, introduced new interesting characters (Aya, Megumi, and Zagato), the Kuiper Senshi achieved their Eternal forms, and confirming Zagato's home origins being traced back to the Digimon Fusion Kai-verse. Moreover, this sets up a big event that will commence following Dawn of Chaos. Yep, the series will continue for a while longer after season 3. The final quarter of YuYuGiDigiMoon will comprise of three major stories (one of which will be that defiant conflict) and a few side stories. I hope all goes well and I live to see the completion of my meta-series. (fingers crossed).

Thank you all for the support. And thanks for sticking with this series. I know its extended beyond my expectations, but what can I say? I'm attached to this series and refuse to let it become DeadFic. You guys help me keep the spirit of YuYuGiDigiMoon alive. Thank you all so much.

Summer Diaries is behind us, but look forward to the continuation of Dawn of Chaos, Wrath of Pharaohmon Redux, and the start ofSummer Diaries: Special Edition!

Take care and stay gold. :D