The HoloChronicles

Chapter 18

"Ready?" Ina asked.
Irys took a deep breath before responding, "Ready."
Myth, Irys, holoX, and Noel and Flare were prepared to meet The Council in a final battle, it was now or never.
The group walked through the ravaged streets of the city, heading for the hill Koyori had spotted The Council on earlier that day.
"So... just to be clear, if The Council summons this Firstborn Goddess, we're pretty much screwed, right?" Calli asked.
"Exactly why we have to defeat them as quickly as possible, right Irys?" Ina asked, turning to the Nephalim.
"Right." Irys nodded.
"We have them outnumbered at least." Amelia commented.
"True, but the fact is they'll most likely be faster and stronger, don't let your guard down for any reason." Lui advised the group.

As they reached the hill overlooking the city they noticed the five Council members waiting for them, their weapons at the ready as the sun began to set.
"Well, what do we have here?" Baelz sneered.
"Back for more punishment? Ah, and with more friends too!"
She added with a mocking laugh.
"We're a lot stronger than last time, Baelz!" Calli said defiantly.
"And better prepared for whatever you throw at us." Ina added.
Baelz laughed, "You think so, huh?"
She moved forward toward them slowly.
"Kronii, Mumei, Fauna, Sana, you know what to do." Baelz instructed as she approached Calli and Irys.
And just like that, the battle began.

Lui and Laplus rushed to the reaper and Nephalim's side, ready to face the Goddess of Chaos.
"Four against one? That simply won't do, let's even things up a bit, shall we?" Baelz cackled as she launched her Chaos Dice at Lui and Laplus, blasting them away in an instant.
They both landed several feet away, groaning in pain.
Irys and Calli had no time to assist them, they had to take advantage of the opening.
Calli slashed with her scythe and managed to graze the front of Baelz, ripping her clothes in the process.
Baelz smiled evilly.
"You'll have to try harder than that to stop me!" she said, charging toward Calli, but she was intercepted by a flash of white energy from Irys.
"Don't underestimate me," she warned.
Baelz smiled again, "I would never."

Meanwhile, Amelia and Gura squared up against Kronii while Koyori attempted to deal with Sana, though she seemed to be struggling to hit her.
"This time, you won't escape with your life, time traveler!" Kronii shouted angrily.
Amelia raised her pistol while Gura readied her trident.
"This time, I'm prepared!" Amelia yelled back.
Kronii lunged forward but Amelia was quick to dodge, firing several bullets towards The Warden of Time.
Kronii dodged every bullet and ran straight towards Amelia, aiming to disarm her with her swords, if not just remove her hands entirely.
Before Kronii could make contact however, Gura caught her blade in between the prongs of her trident.
"No you don't!" She grunted, pushing back against Kronii.
"Ngh, you annoying little pest!" Kronii snarled, swatting her away with her second sword.
The distraction was all Amelia needed, however, as she fired a round from her pistol into Kronii's shoulder.
"Gah!" Kronii cried out in pain and stumbled back a couple paces.
"Nice shot, Watson!" Gura praised.
"Don't let up yet!" Amelia responded
Kronii glared daggers at Amelia as she held her shoulder in agony.
"That's the last thing you'll ever do!!!" Kronii screamed as she charged toward her again.
As Kronii charged, Amelia tried to land another shot, but it was impossible, unless Kronii was distracted she could just use her time abilities to dodge them.
Amelia's gun clicked as it ran out of ammo.
"Fuck!" she cursed under her breath as she held the gun up at the last second in an attempt to block Kronii's sword.
The impact sent her flying, rolling across the ground before stopping short against a nearby tree.
Gura gasped and rushed over to her.
"Watson!"
"Ugh..." Amelia groaned.
It didn't appear she was bleeding, but her pistol had shattered along with a few of her ribs when Kronii struck her.
Gura felt anger rising within her as she turned back towards Kronii.
"Nobody... hurts... AMELIA!" she roared, the blue highlights in her hair and her eyes turning a fiery red.
"Aww, upset that I hurt your friend again, little sharky?" Kronii taunted, despite the bloody wound in her shoulder.
Gura grit her teeth together, clenching her trident tightly, "I'M NOT LITTLE!!" she screeched before rushing at Kronii and attempting to attack again.
Gura thrust her trident forward, but Kronii easily blocked it with her own sword, before she could counterattack however, Gura leapt up, her trident glowing blue.
"DROWN!!" Gura screamed, a huge tsunami-like wave bursting forth from the three points of her weapon.
Kronii raised her swords defensively as the wave crashed into her, clenching her jaw as she felt the saltwater sting her wound.
The Warden of Time stumbled but managed to remain standing after the attack had ended.

Kronii looked up at her adversary with narrowed eyes.
"Not bad, kid..." she muttered, "but... it's NOT ENOUGH!" she then leapt forward once again, faster than ever before, swinging the shorter of her two swords in a vertical arc aimed right at Gura's head.
Gura had no time to react, she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact, but instead heard the sound of steel on rock.
"SANA, WHAT THE FUCK!? Do you know how many timelines I just killed you in right there!?" Kronii yelled at the top of her lungs.
Gura opened her eyes and gasped quietly at the scene she was met with.
The Speaker of Space had jumped in front of Kronii at the last second and, by some miracle, Kronii managed to stop short, leaving only a small tear in Sana's top before her sword lodged into the earth.

"You won't kill her." Sana said firmly.
"What?" Kronii scoffed disbelievingly.
"If you want to hurt any of them, you'll have to go through me." she declared.
"How... dare you?!" Kronii growled.
"I knew it, you've been working with them all this time haven't you?!"
Sana shook her head, "I'm just standing up for what I believe in, Kronini... peace."
"Peace!? peace? you really think peace can solve this!?" Kronii hissed.
"The way we're going won't end well for any of us Kronii!" Sana retorted, holding her arms out in a defensive pose as she spoke.
"We can end this without any more bloodshed, please..." Sana continued.
Kronii stared at Sana in silence, completely shocked at the Speaker of Space's audacity.
"Bae promised she would lead us to a better, brighter future here, she promised to make the world a better place - you dare turn your back on all she's said?" Kronii asked, a note of rage lacing her words.
"Yes! Because what Bae is doing won't help the world in the end! She's already led us to destroy families and legacies that people have spent their entire lives building, think about it Kronini!" Sana pleaded.

Kronii tore her sword from the ground and raised it, the tip coming inches from Sana's forehead, "You fool, humanity is a plague! A plague!" The Warden of Time spat.
"The world will be better without them!"
"But think about what will happen to us Kronii, not if humanity is destroyed but if this battle continues! You can look into the timeline, do it and see I'm only trying to help those I've loved for so long!"
Kronii swallowed and blinked slowly, her expression changing and her gaze turning away from Sana as soon as her eyes had opened again.

What had been a second for anyone watching her had been days worth of time for Kronii.
She looked as far ahead as she could in every possible outcome of the current timeline she could find, all of them ended in destruction, death, and bloodshed... for The Council.
"...I..." Kronii began, "...I can't let The Council fall... there... there has to be a way..." Kronii's pupils shrank as her mind felt like it was unraveling, had she really been doing the wrong thing all this time?
Would all her friends really... die if this carried on?
Gura took the opportunity and knocked away the sword that Kronii was holding at Sana's face.
Kronii stumbled back slightly, but didn't attempt to retaliate.
Instead she held her shoulder and her breathing grew heavy, she looked at both Gura and Sana before dropping her other blade and falling to her knees.
"I... I surrender." She whispered.
Sana went to Kronii's side while Gura went back to tend to Amelia, the highlights in her hair becoming blue once again.
"Promise me Sana..." Kronii started.
"Promise you'll save her."
"Her?" Sana asked confused, then realization dawned on her.
"Mumei..."