X, Y, and Z: The Final Battle
Red lights similar to the ones that blinked on the cinema screen when Z found out they were coming, each shaping like a jellyfish, started to come online, one by one; there were five of them. Two doors opened, and the creatures shaped like insects swarmed into the room, each flaming purple flames on their metallic body. The legion marching towards the group.
After killing some of them, which dismantled and fell onto the ground when they died, leaving only the metallic parts of their corpses behind, the group waited as there were no more "spiders" in front of them. But they felt the ground shaking as round 2 came out from behind the doors. Lanz: "Sparks' sake, there's no end to 'em!"
Eunie: "Well we are in the wringer here..."
Taion: "I had accounted for this, but these numbers..." The spiders did not stop marching while they were chatting and waiting.
Noah: "I know. But it's the only way!"
Mio: "Right. The core shouldn't be too far now!"
Sena: "C'mon, hang in there!"
While they were waiting for the clash, suddenly, something blasted in from outside that hits the first line of the spiders. "HUH!!!" Noah was shocked at such interception. As the dust cleared out, there was a giant engine-like structure that blocked between the group and the spiders. The door on the group's side opened like a slide, and Monica walked down:
"Oh good, looks like we managed not to hit you."
"Monica!"
"We've been trying to aim for the highest energy signatures. Score one for us."
"Good call!" And then, with the ground shaking, they watched the ship, with its door docked back, pulled back out with Monica still on the ground. She turned to nod at the ship, surely they were looking at her from the control room inside. Gilgamesh therefore transformed and flew away. "You're not going back?"
"Hm? Well, y'know... I got curious, and wanted to see the face of our real enemy with my own eyes, so... Here I am."
As she finished her words, there was the sound of some ship floating in from the cavity carved out by Gilgamesh. Surprised, she turned around and watched who's here. The giant Lost Numbers Levnis dropped as Ghondor came out of it, "I thought I'd drop by, since the attacks wouldn't let up... And what do I see but you dags having a picnic."
Sena: "Ghondor!!!"
"The Queen?"
Noah: "We got her out safely. It's just us, and Z... Our real enemy, finally."
"Right on. Then, you won't mind a little company."
Sena: "What are you coming for?"
"'What for'? Well, y'know... The head honcho's biggin' it up in there, ain't he? I got curious. Gotta see the big bad with my own eyes, right?"
The group looked at her, then at Monica, then at her, then snuffed their laughters... "Huh? You wanna clue me in on the joke?" Monica just shook her head.
Noah, still trying to control his laughter, "Sorry! Déjà vu... Or something like that."
"Huuuuh?" She was blank.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, now I can say definitively, there are things in this world..." He held out his fist, and continued, "we must protect." Monica and Ghondor held out their fist too, though not touching, just air punches.
As the group continued traversing, X teleported near them. "Huh... Look at all you ravages, scurrying out of the woodwork. You've got some guts, Ouroboros!" She was not wearing her helmet.
Eunie: "X..." and the group got defensive.
Then, she transformed into her Moebius form, like an insect with a Batman-like 'wing' on her back, some chains that tie around her legs and her chest, and a ring floating on top of her head. "You want Z, right? Well you can't have him."
"You still think you're calling the shots here? I'll prove you wrong. Once and for all."
Standing before the final entrance was Y, in his Moebius form. There was a moment of pause between Mio and Y when Mio called, "Y..." She initiated the dash while the group followed behind, got near him.
"Warm welcomes to you, Ouroboros! Long, have I waited."
"Mimi..." Mio nodded back to her, say,
"We'll end it here."
"Well then. Let us verify the truth of this."
Approaching the final entrance between them and the cinema room, the group stopped as Noah told the group, "Z's waiting for us beyond here. "
Lanz: "Finally, we can wallop some sense into him." The group felt excited.
He warned, "There's no turning back once we proceed past this point.1 Are we all ready?"
Mio urged, "Come on. Let's go."
The door to the room creaked open. The group was waiting for any imminent danger exiting. Nothing happened. Noah and Mio looked at each other, nodded to each other, and took the initiative to lead them into the room.
Meanwhile, outside, Colony 4. Someone was watching the war from his/her iris. It was Bolearis. The Agnians and Kevesis of other colonies had joined the fight long ago while they were still here. He turned around and shouted, "Come on now, you lot! It's time for Colony 4 to SHOW off its fangs! So what're you loafin' around for?! GET your arses in gear!"
Up there, one of the Kevesi with wing was checking the engine or something, some green-glowing mechanics, turned around and stutteredly apologized, "S-s-sorry boss! It's just, th-he engine's conked out and won't start!"
"Oi, then KICK the mudder till it DOES! YOU GOTTA BE FIRM! REAAAALLLY GiVE IT some elbow grease here!"
"Sir, that's insane! T-this is a delicate instrument!"
"Delicate, MY ARSE!!!" And he got to the engine below where the guy was complaining2, showed how to do the job by kicking it hard himself, "WHACK IT! SMACK IT! SHOW IT WHO'S SPARKING BOSS!" The others just watched him doing the job.
The guy calmly explained, "I'm telling you, you can't just kick it and..." Then, the engine cranked and brrrrr and he was startled.
Borealis was satisfied, "Well lookee here, guess I'm the boss!"
"...Is this a joke?"
"Alllll right! Now we can come out swingin'! WHO'S WITH ME?!"
In unison, "YEAH!!"
At the top of the Ferronis, Borealis gave a speech: "We owe our lives to 'em. Now's the time to show 'em how we shine! C'mon, full throttle! Can't let the other colonies steal our THUNDER now!" And the Levnises opened the rights of way in front, the Ferronis rolled behind, proceeding to their vantage point.
The group walked into the room. The various voices reverberated inside the room, but they were oblivious to it. Above them is the projector, the light that cast from its openings visible to us. Noah asked, "Where... are we?"
Inside the theatre, the cinema were playing the various scenes of their past. Seated at the front row was the shadow of "Z..."
Mio: "Hrrr..."
Sena: "We found him... at last."
"How many times is it now... that I... and you... have confronted each other here like this...?" As he finished, he turned around to look at the group. "Yes, you're welcome to come on up. How many incarnations? How many ascents into the spotlight?" And he opened up his arms, the cinema still showed the various histories of every generation of Ouroboros. The group allowed themselves to approach him, Noah taking the lead.
Z waited until Noah had got near him and stopped at a comfortable distance, "And once again, I shall endeavor to ask this of you... Tell me... why not resign yourself to the flow?"
"It's unfortunate... Sounds like my memory isn't all that."
"You have come to stop the flow, have you not? This march of time, stilled, for eternity. You intend, to stop it by removing me."
Lanz questioned, "So is it flowing, or is it stopped? You're not making any sense, mate."
Eunie concluded, "Basically, if we can take you down, the world kicks up again. At least, that's what I'm picking up from all that."
"Human desires can be... much likened, to a river, flowing. All. Humanity years for it, the endless now. That is why I'm here, you'll find. My existence alone... It is proof and evidence."
Taion: "Cut the crap. Who in the world would possibly wish for this? I refuse to be controlled by you!"
Lanz: "Although, thanks to the stunts you pulled, we managed to twig on to a whole lotta stuff. We learned how best to use the time we have. And for that, you get a real good thanking."
Noah agreed, "You said it. Though ten years is a mere glimpse, we now know the importance... of true choice. We'll build it for ourselves. A world with the FREEDOM to choose!"
Mio: "Not a hollow world of fiction like this one! Everyone wants a reality that they can believe in!3"
"Freedom- 'is' nothing more than fiction... A deception. Those with power, those who can choose think nothing of it. What then of those who cannot choose? What about the meek and frail? Not everyone is granted as many options, as you all have! Will you share? Give them some of yours? Will you call that charity? Or compassion? Will you show it? Imagining them who are granted it to be thus satisfied? Imagining not a piece of wretchedness to remain?"
The screen now displayed Joran and Shania, attracting Sena, Monica, and Ghondor's attention, as Z continued, "Making the best possible choices under duress. Living, the best, life. There are no losers in the world, I offer. With the turn of the clock, anyone can be a winner, given the time."
Sena: "The only thing we ever do is take lives! There is no winning! You can't just invent some rule!"
"Why do you recoil from taking lives? The world itself has set this rule -- why... resist?" The screen changed to show taking of lives, and he continued, "It is through consumption of life that this world persists. Denying it is self-delusion. The only outcome, self-destruction. It is unequivocal fact! The imperative that is intrinsic to all living things!... The source of our power, and of all living things, lies therein. Young, spirited people, trading lives, aiming for new, even-loftier heights with each new day... That explosive motive power is something we lack." And he held his hands as if he grabbed something from thin air, "The essence of life. And we are here... to express ourselves as an EMBODIMENT of life!" And he held his arms wide as if to embrace.
Suddenly, Moebius filled the room, everyone teleported in, all seated on their seats, clapping.{{footnote These perhaps are unnamed Moebius, meaning they're not giving the alphabetical letters.}} The show is about the begin. The group and Z was already on stage. The group was defensive as they sensed they were surrounded by Moebius, whom their core lit the room purple dark.
Noah asked Z, "So that's it... That's what you're getting at... And just for that... you gave those two an impossible choice?!" The two roads where N can walk, with M waiting on one side. "IS THAT WHY YOU MADE JORAN AND CRYS INTO MOEBIUS?!!!"
"Of course. As for the why..." And he made a smile, "It's because it amuses me."
"Ohhh..." Taion can felt a pang in his heart. The claps hadn't stopped all the while they were conversing.
Z continued, "The action-packed drama of your lives... We-are-its-foremost audience! Now then, play it out for me. What will the next act entail? Bereavement? Or revenge? A revolution, perchance... This world is never boring... Not while your lives, continue to make it so effervescent!" And the claps rang louder in the room.
Lanz, in a suppressed anger voice, "I'll end him...!"
Mio looked at him and listened, closed her eyes, said calmly, "I just got it."
Noah: "Huh?" Got what?
"Fighting in order to live... The words Miyabi left me with... Now... This is exactly when they were for."
Eunie: "Yeah... Mio's got it right. At first it was all fun and games. When we got Ouroboros powers, we were just like, happy to get to live a little longer. That was it."
Lanz: "But now, things are different."
Sena: "We learned that for many, there aren't any choices on the table at all. Because they were taken from them, by a bunch of crusty old mudders."
Taion: "The strength you talk about, is just all smoke and mirrors. Real strength is different!"
Noah: "That's right. Knowing when to be close, and when to let go... Walking together, eventually choosing who you really are..." The group stand closer to Noah and Mio, more tightly packed. "That is strength. And THAT'S the real battle here... To find that answer!" He and Mio drew their blades therefore. The rest followed as he continued, "The WILL to choose our actions, MOMENT to moment. AND IF YOU DARE DENOUNCE THAT COMMON RIGHT, WE WILL DEFY YOU!!! TO LIVE IN A FUTURE... OVER WHICH YOU LAY NO CLAIM!!!"
And Z closed his eyes as he finished, jet himself up into the air, floating. The cinema screen stopped showing past memories, instead displayed a white screen (like "no signal" but without the wordings) which flickers.
"Stealing away your powers is trivial to me." And he enchained them, unable to use their Ouroboros powers, "Now then, the curtain rises."
"Let the stage of battle freeze your marrow!" With a flick of the finger, the group's agility was greatly slowed down.
"Let the stage of battle scorch your flesh." Another flick of the finger, and flames burn the stage. They were suffering damage every second.
"I will face you as many times as you want... The struggle is all that you are permitted." And he summoned an invincible shield in front of him; every attacks healed him than damaging him.
"I've always known just how gutless you creatures are..." With the flick of the finger, the projector screen started showing past memories to kill their motivation,
"Watch out!" And Joran pushed Lanz out of the place, put himself dead.
"Urg..."
"That's the day, I've decided to have myself killed too!" She showed her Flame Clock in her eyes to the group.
Sena: "I just... I didn't want to believe that we were the same..."
Lanz: "I'll live for him! For Joran! Live, AND KEEP MY FRIENDS ALIVE! THIS. I. SWEAR!!!" And he broke the shackles that prevented him from transforming to Ouroboros.
Sena: "I'm not going to imitate others ways of living anymore. I'm staying true to who I am. And that's the way it's going to be." And she too broke the shackles.
Together, they transformed into Ouroboros. But no use, the shield that changed damage into heal still was active. But with that Ouroboros attacked,
"Urggghhh hrrrrr" It managed to break Z's shield once. He bent down a bit as he suffered the damage, but quickly get back up composed. "Hmph. Very good. The first step in your so-called 'revolution'." He flew quickly between them before Lanz and Sena could react, and appeared behind them on air. The Moebius that were clapping below were no longer seen, perhaps because of the lights, or perhaps Z called them off. There on the air, he sucked the power from the endless now, the muted chatters of those who wished for the endless now drew into him. And for a moment later, the 'endless now' shield regenerated. Then, he flew back to where he was before, waiting for their next attack. "I shall observe carefully what you would term your strength."
With the flick of his finger, he started showing another piece of history on the cinema.
Eunie's past live, facing Moebius D. He played with her fear before killing her in her eyes.
"I need you to live, Taion. You must! Flee for the colony!" And Nimue turned back to cut the enemy while Taion flowed with the secret river down.
"MAAM!!! NIMUE!!!"
Eunie: "Who cares about the past? We aren't going to give up!" And she broke her shackles.
Taion: "I know what I have to do. I work to better myself. So I won't make the same mistake."
Together, they transformed into Ouroboros that does more healing for Z than attacks, attacking his shield. But it again overstressed the shield, broke the shield the second time. "Urrrgggh haaaa..." Again, he quickly regained composure. "Hah I see... You will grow strong enough to withstand adversity." Again, he swiftly flew between them into the air above the seats, absorbed more endless now power to regenerate yet another shield, then returned to his place. "Fleeting. Beings. What will you show me next? Come now. Entertain me."
With the flick of yet another finger, he showed another piece of history.
M's final words before she died during the day of the Eclipse. "It's been fun, Noah."
"Mio..." And she disappeared before his eyes.
And Miyabi sending her and Sena into the escape pod, leaving back herself. "Miyabi... MIYABIIIII!!!"
Noah: "We've come this far harboring everyone's hopes and dreams... and so... we would never stop now. Not when we've come so far." And her shackles shattered.
Mio: "We won't lose to you. We'll fight, for all the people alive. Their desires must build the bridge to the future!" And she broker hers.
In their Ouroboros form, their attack does some damage and a smaller healing value to Z. Looks like he cannot withstand so much anymore!
"Urgnh nghhh!!!" Once more, his shield was broken, regained his composure. "I can hardly believe that you're strength has grown thus... You would usurp me, grasp the future. I cannot ascent. The curtain, closes."
"This, is all a sham!" Noah dashed towards Z with his Lucky Seven, stuck it at the stage, and broke the stage floor. Spider webs cracked the floor as Moebius power escaped from it. Z did nothing to prevent him. The spider web spreaded and grew to cover the whole cinema. The invisible Moebius that showed themselves still sitting down there disappears as they lost their source of power. Even Z cannot retain his human form anymore. He transformed into a cloud and start sucking all the escaping Moebius power towards him, forming an ominous enormous black-purple cloud where he previously stood. "Is this... Z's true form? Or... Origin's?!"
The cloud bear for a while before Z's head appeared out of the cloud, his hair stretches to the ground, acted like his legs. He only had a head, no lower body, entirely made of the cloud components, Moebius particles. At the back of his head is a ball of energy, the Moebius cloud. He asked, "Why do this...?"
"Huh...?"
"If you restart Origin, time in perpetuity will flow once more... The opposing worlds will overlap. What lies beyond, is oblivion... You ought to be aware of this... Yet even knowing it, you advance toward the future... Why?!!"
"Why...? Hah. Let me turn it around for you. How can you be so sure?" He pointed his sword, the sheath now back covering Lucky Seven, at Z. "There should be a future where it doesn't happen!"
"No such thing exists. The present is all... The present is all we need... That, is our UNWIELDING WISH!!!" And the group went on to battle Z's true form.
Outside, we see Origin starting to disintegrate its upper half. The shards were floating around as it got ejected, until a red core floated from the bottom part of Origin, attracted it back, and formed a bird-shaped structure attached to the bottom part, like a chick with its bottom stuck to the other half of the egg, half-hatched. Upon forming shapes, it grew some energy-made tentacles dangling from its wings. Guns powered by rockets (we'll call 'anchor rockets' because they shaped like an anchor) were ejected from under the wings. After a short startup, the guns pointed at all direction and began firing beam shots, wiping out lands, soldiers, Levnises, and Ferronises; even the waterfall got strike through, and the City shook as it took impact, the ceiling, in the form of boulders, came crashing down. Some people, maybe Lost Numbers, took initiative to redirect the crowds toward the only safe haven: the memorial hall.
Queen Melia teleported back to the Castle. Tapping her staff once on the floor, it casted a giant turquoise ring that enlarged to include the Castle and its vicinity, disabling the Flame Clock of those soldiers that're still under control. Without waiting for them to realize what'd happened, she addressed to both the soldiers in the room, and via video call, to the rest of the soldiers not in the room, "Hear me, my loyal subjects. Starting imminently, we shall commence, a full attack on Origin. The battle is not a fabrication. It is a fight, to seize control of our lives! I need you now. Entrust your lives... to your rightful Queen, Melia Antiqua!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" And they raised their fist to cheer for the fight. Then, they started running out of the room to prepare for battle. Melia raised the throne chair, with herself standing on it, pluck her staff into the hole that accepts it, turning it into a key that control the Castle. After the controls emerged, she raised the Castle from its original location and transformed it. The bottom "fat" part of the castle was floated to its back, and the folded arms, legs, and head hidden like the wheels of an aircraft were revealed. Then, six blades extended around the ring at the back, and she flew the Castle to the battlefield, leaving Gardin defense base behind where it was.
A similar green ring extended from Agnus Castle, expanding outside its perimeter encroaching Erythia Sea, deactivating currently active Flame Clocks. Then, the invisible stage the fake Queen floated down from during the Eclipse revealed itself, slowly docking down. Melia stuck her blade, a sword, into the respecting hole. Electric sparkles behind her on that shield-like ring, and she gained control of the Castle, transforming it into a Machina. Addressing via video call to her soldiers, "Right now, inside Origin, there are people fighting against all odds, to create a future for us all. Those brave ones, they want to teach us the true meaning of life. For the future they dare to forge... Let us join the path that they showed us! Let us join the fight!" And Agnian Castle started floating towards Origin, leaving ripples over Erythia Sea.
Lines of Ferronises and Levnises continued firing at Origin. Origin destroyed a lot of them, but more replaced those fallen. Even the two Castles had already arrived at the frontline, attacking. Colony 4 also arrived at its rendezvous point. Borealis, watching the ongoing fight, exclaimed, "Look at all those Colonies, fighting as one... Now- that- is- a- sight... If we can just come out on top today... Commander... We'll do it. We'll build it for you. A new world for every one of us!" With that complete, it fired the electrical power that once used to target the Ouroboros at Origin, and destroyed one of Origin's anchor cannon.
As Origin deployed more anchor cannons to replaced those lost, the Agnian Castle sent a barrage of missiles that hit its hull. With that to distract, it charged the annihilation cannon, annihilating one of Origin's joint. On the other side, the Kevesi Castle launched two beams from its shoulder, flaming the other side of Origin. The tentacles now lies dormant, and its hull heavily in flames.
Inside her room, Melia was having a video chat, "It has been a while, Nia,... Queen of Agnus. I am in your debt, across the centuries."
"Nonsense. Don't mention it. I simply did what needed doing, and entrusted the rest to the right people."
"I see that you're still... affecting that elocution."
"Oh my, it befits me not?"
"Do not hide your stripes."
"Hm!" Here. Comes. Nia!!! "All right... Then let's thrash those goons, Melia!"
"Gladly! Together!"
The eyes of the Origin, consisted of a hundred eyes on the 180° visor, concentrated itself to look to its right. Locking on Kevesi Castle, it extended its tentacles that stuck itself into it. After suffering the shock, Melia said, "The will of young people, weaving a future... That is... the indispensable force that drives worlds forward." Outside, cannons had been concentrated and fired at the Castle, which it blocked with a frequency shield raised; the tentacles previously sticking to it were already gone.
Meanwhile, on Nia's side, she summoned a diamond glowing atop the top of the Castle. As she continued to prepare the annihilation cannon, she did not forget to raise the auras, "I know just how scary taking the first step can be. And yet, it was young folks like that that set whole worlds in motion, overcoming their own fears." Origin, perhaps sensed the incoming annihilation, focused to it, targeting cannons to stop the annihilation from launching. Before it could launch, Gilgamesh flew in and destroyed those cannons. "In the hope, that the future will birth more such people..." and the cannon fired.
Origin lined some anchor cannons together to generate a stack of diamond shields. Upon colliding with the annihilation ball, it creates an annihilation so huge it swallows the right side of Origin. Seeing its effect, and while waiting for the cannon to recuperate, she fired another barrage of beams at Origin. The shield wasn't broken by the annihilation effect (or maybe it was re-raised), continued to shield and deflected most of the barrage, while some other gone from the side and hits the body (evading the shield and turning in).
Kevesi Castle watched till the end of the barrage, didn't even make a dent on the diamond shield, before moving itself closer. It clenched its right fist and punched Origin on the other side. No use, it only attracted the eyes to target on it, followed by an array of tentacles aiming for it, damaging it. Clusters of shards fell off it.
Inside the cinema room, some of the ceiling fell on to the ground, "Urgh", as the group tried to dodge the collapsing ceiling shards. Taion was shielding Eunie with his Mondo. Lanz raised his greatsword over his head to shield him and Sena. Noah stood beside Mio.
Z: "I am afraid I cannot allow you to proceed!" And Z's face changed into Noah's face. The outside attacks never stopped while he speaks. Tentacles strangled both Castles, tightened, and leaving them in flames. "This world must remain in the endless now!"
Noah: "...Now I get it. The true source of power, from which Moebius stems... And why they so desperately seek the 'endless now'..."
Taion: "Yes, I think I see it too. What the Queen said... There is some Moebius within us as well!" As he spoke, Z's face changed into his face, wearing glasses just like he did.
Eunie: "Yeah... And it's our own selves." Now it changed to Eunie's face. "We're scared of ourselves, and... we lose track."
Sena: "We cut off our own way to the future!"
Lanz: "The possibilities!"
Mio: "In that case... There's only one thing we can do."
Noah: "To believe. In the path we've walked this far! AND IN THE FUTURE THAT LIES AHEAD!!!" And Z changed back to his own face. And so the fight commence. Round 2!
"Hmm... Must we turn up the pressure?" And he gathered more Moebius power and transformed into a more powerful form of himself.
"HAHAHAH!!! RUN, RUN TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD!!!" And he summoned some hole-like structure on the stage that dealt continual damage to the group.
"Are your bonds true...? Allow me to assay..." And he transformed into a dark version with X's face. "Behold, the curtain rises once again... I hope you'll give us Moebius a good show!" Only the Kevesi were on this side. Mio and the other Agnians were nowhere to be seen.
Outside, the tentacles were still aiming at the Castles. Some, they dodged. Others hit. Melia, whom kept an eye on the Ouroboros, exclaimed, "Oh no! Noah and the others are trapped. I must hurry to their rescue!"
At the other side, the Agnian Castle blocked a myriad of tentacles by raising a frequency shield, and Nia shouted, "Get a load of this!" And she fired more beam barrage at the Origin. Meanwhile, the Kevesi Castle landed another punch on the Origin's face.
"Now is our chance! I am sending you reinforcements!... Everyone, lend Ouroboros your power! All is for the future connected!"
Those who joined Noah's team fighting X infinity were:6
Miyabi, wielding two 'fans': "All our hopes are one! They always have been and they always will be."
Ashera7, a man-like woman Kevesi Commander wielding a dual-edged blade: "We were saving the best, for later!"
Valdi: "Tadaa! Thanks for waiting!"
Zeon8, wielding a shield and a sword: "I won't be defeated! Not here, not now."
Segiri9, inside her tiny levnis: "Beginning final mission"
Teach10, the Commander of Mio, Sena, and Taion's original colony before they became Ouroboros, wielding a short stick with glowing ends, joined the fight: "Now, to stamp out this evil at its source!"
X\(\infty\): "Why have you not given up yet...?"
On the other side, Mio and her group were fighting Z with Y's face, Y infinity:
Isurd: "I pledged myself to you, after all!"
Monica, wielding her police baton and body-sized shield: "This fight is nothing but an honor..."
Triton11, a Moebius that wielded two knuckles: "This is it, the real deal, the final punch-up! Let's make it one for the ages!"
Fiona12, an Agnian Commander wielding a flag: "I'll fight with you!"
Ghondor: "You owe me one, OK?"
Juniper: "I'll back you up!"
Y\(\infty\): "If you think you can interfere, then you have mis-assessed me grossly. And yet, you will make not a shrrrreeeeed of difference!"
Y\(\infty\): "You dare defy my will also...?"
And Z could no longer retain separating them. He teleported all back on the central stage as Z recombined. "How long will you defy me...? Fine! If it's endless despair you wish for, I will grant it to you gladly!"
Outside, the anchor cannons, detached from the tentacles and move via rocket engines, were tracking down Gilgamesh, exchanging shots while Gilgamesh was in evasion course. Travis was in control, "This'll take it down...!" And he used the wings of Gilgamesh to destroy the cannons.
Melia urged, gathering dual from the Castle's shoulder, "Press the attack, my people!"
Nia, gathering the annihilator, "Get out of the way! This ends here!" And both of them fired at the same time on the waist of Origin. And so it whiteout; the Origin could no longer battle. "Let's go an' help 'em, then! We'll grab the future with both hands, this time round!"
And so Melia joined the fight on the ground, teleporting in, "I have long awaited this moment... I too shall join the fight!"
Nia too, "Just a bit more! Give it everything!"
"ARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!" And he could no longer retain his face form. Black fog escaped from him strongly, so strong it blew into the group's face with thick black fog.
Taion: "Ngh... What power...! Crazy... T-this is the force of people's will?"
Eunie: "You taking the mick? It's terrifying. Not knowing how tomorrow will turn out, how you will!"
Mio: "But still, you can't just hold it in place!" She took steps forward with great difficulty, like trying to walk inside a thick liquid, to find her balance from being blown away. Others too. "If you did that, you'd never change... You can't change the world like that!"
Noah: "That's why... I want to move on. We'll claim the future, and shape it ourselves!"
Z: "And when you cannot choose? What then? In that desperate moment, who will be there to soothe you?" And he blew more Noebius energy at them; they had to bent their back to defend against the 'strong current'.
"Urghhh" They were having difficult moments protecting their face from 'strong winds'.
"The self is all that exists!... As such, the only cure for despair is TOTAL OBLIVION!!! That is the face of the world! I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it! This rotten world... I. LOATHE. IT!!!" And he transformed into a ball of energy as he lose the power to retain even his true form.
Outside where Colony 4 Ferronis was, Borealis was standing and watching when suddenly, a blinding purple light illuminated its vicinity. He and others looked aside and blocked the light with their palm. As the shooting from the Origin cannon continued, there was a blinding light at its core. The soldier beside Borealis asked in fear, "L-Lieutenant! What's that light?!"
"It's coming from inside Origin..." Their eyes had got used to the slightly dimmer light and they can now look at its source. "No... The cries of Moebius? The sheer ferocity of it... Noah... Mio..."
Inside Origin, tremendous amount of Moebius energy released distorted even space and time. Z's face changed between the various Moebius, but he could no longer retain one single shape. The group watched as they were inside the center of conflict. Suddenly, Noah's and Mio's iris glowed the half Moebius symbol. "Huh!!!" Both of them put their hands to slightly cover that eye, as if in pain. In a bright light emanating from their Iris, N and M emerged from them like souls, and they floated towards Z, turning around to watch them for the final time before its time to go.
N and M looked at them with a faint smile, as if something pressing against their heart had been lifted. Noah: "N! M!"
Taion: "So he... didn't disappear back then?"
Sena: "Nuh-uh. They were inside, with us! Think about it. They're still really the same people!"
N: "We were conceived from regret. Sorry..." The group watched as motes started rising from their soul. The "black hole" of Moebius Z was sucking stronger and stronger; they couldn't hold for too long. "Unlike you, who sprung forth from hope, regret is our be-all and end-all. 'If only we'd made the right choice...' 'If only things had been different...' "
M: "Blindly, we never tried to change ourselves, wishing only that the world would instead. We clung to the egotistical dream, of being together forever..."
Mio: "But that's only natural! Anyone would wish for that! Nothing to be ashamed of!"
N looked towards M, and M: "Thank you." She looked back at N for a moment, and told Noah and Mio, "But now... our prolonged existence here, it only serves to strengthen those within this frozen moment in time, who would keep it thus."
N, looking at the 'black hole,' said, "So you see, we have but one choice here."
Noah: "STOP IT, N!!! M!!! DON'T DO IT!!! WE'LL THINK OF A WAY TO DEAL WITH MOEBIUS!!!"
M: "What you see over there... It's not Z, or Moebius. But a single, intense desire. Your thoughts, they can never affect, a desire. But we, we who embody that very same desire..."
"YOU CAN JUST STAY HERE!!! PLEASE, STAY!!! WALK THIS WORLD WITH US!!! WE CAN WALK IT TOGETHER!!!"
"Noah's right! You've done enough! You don't have to do this!" And she held out her arms towards them, "You could finally be here together!"
N: "Such kindness... Your eyes, they brim with it... I ask myself... Were our eyes the same, on that day...?" And he recalled to the various reincarnations, days before final battle, days when Mio bear him a child... Together, they held their arms, fingers between fingers, slowly floating towards the 'black hole' as more motes evaporated from them.
Noah: "N!!!"
"Noah, Mio... Though we came from different worlds, we were able to leave a life behind."
M: "It was a hope for the future. Our hearts and our dreams intertwined, and we were given the chance to weave new life. And therefore... It's all good." And they looked at each other, nodded, turned back to Noah and Mio.
N: "Believe in yourselves. All of you... will certainly reach... heights that we were unable to." And Noah and Mio held out one of their hands, trying to reach for the accelerating N and M. With bright light signifying the final stage of motification13, "You guys can surely... make it." And M rested her head on N's shoulders, to be together forever.
M: "You can take our place... in the future." And they turned into a firework-like object that aimed at the center of the 'black hole', strike it.
Moments later, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" the cry of the desire exploded and blinded the vicinity once again, this time with a total whiteout.
Footnotes:
1: Meaning, you can't even save the game halfway after you go through the door. If you fail, or if electricity to your Nintendo Switch or PC (if using emulator) was suddenly cut off, you'll have to restart from this point. And dang, this is very painful, esp. when one was young, one could only play Xenoblade 1 for half an hour a day, but the final chapter lasted for more than an hour, so one had to beg one's parents to extend the time, rationalizing it as 'cinematic' than 'gaming'.
2: the guy was at a maintenance floor at floor 1, while he at ground floor.
3: Unfortunately, that's not true. Most people isn't dedicated to reality/truth in our world, preferred to hold on to outdated maps they build during their childhood, and go into serious denial when challenged. Even psychiatry or physiotherapy have low chance of changing them unless they can abandon their existing maps, if they have the courage to do so, which most don't.
4: Learn more about Melia here.
6: Ignore some of the names that you don't know. And, these were randomly picked, so two videos you'll see different things.
7: She's the commander of Gardin Defense Base. We're not planning to translate the stories about her.
8: Originally the commander of Noah's colony. Read more about him!
9: Originally the commander of Colony 0. Learn more about Segiri!. We're only including one of two stories about him. Unfortuately, we're not planning to include the second story of him.
10: Learn more about Teach. We're including one of the two stories about him. Unfortunately, we're not planning to do the second story of him.
11: Also known as Moebius T, the Consul of Colony 15 on the Erythia Sea. Aside M, he is one of the friendly Moebius whom, despite being a Moebius, never transformed, and all day he, a captain of the sea, only roam the sea, for centuries after centuries. His knuckles weapon, class Soulhacker, is very special, for it can acquire a list of 'Master Arts' and 'Skills' from the enemies, making a flexible combination. Unfortunately, we're not translating his story. And personal emotions included, he had one of the stories one don't like the most, perhaps due to how he speaks so slow??? One don't really understand why one don't like his story.
12: She's the commander of a colony in the Erythia Sea, Agnian. Her story had a lot of crying and all that stuff, very emotional as it describes how she grew out of her weaknesses with the help of her team. However, we're not planning to translate the stories about her. In battle, she had one of the best 'cheering' support, and in 'chain attack', she's capable of 'recharging one round of action', making your chain attack last for extra 2 rounds (the math says you should -1 every time, but instead, you +1, so +1 - (-1) = + 1 + 1 = 2)
13: Turning into motes totally.