"There! I see an exit!" Kimiko grinned. "We're almost- Whoa!"
"Miko!" Eva grabbed on to her hoodie just in time. They were hundreds of feet in the air. They wouldn't survive a direct fall. She looked around and found the same hovering platform the LBX children were using. "Come on, we're small so we'll both fit."
"This is the only time I'll ever be fine with anyone calling me small."
"Miko, hurry!" The panel on the rails glowed and they began their decent. "We'll get Jin and the others down first."
~~~~~
Fran's outfit changed from white to black, her dark aura stronger than before. The skies turned blood red as she floated down. "It's not over yet!"
"Fran-"
Tenma was cut off by San, who suddenly appeared before him. "Nee-san, wait!"
"San..."
"Nee-san, let's just end this."
Asta went to his side. "Perhaps we were wrong to completely eradicate fighting. Is that all you want?!" His tone got softer. "We've always thought so, but this isn't a battle of hatred-"
"No!" Her glare pierced through them. "Betrayal... I won't allow it!" Asta's team disappeared and a large flower was summoned, Fran at it's center. "Unforgivable!"
"Fran-" But the brunette didn't have a chance.
Vines lunged at them, flinging them to walls at opposite ends of the field.
"Tenma!"
"It's coming!" Shindou's warning was the only thing stopping Tsurugi and Kinako from checking up on their captain.
The large flower seem to expand as it crushed Taiyou, Hakuryuu, Fei, and Nishiki beneath it. "This will be an endless battle." The flower began to spin, knocking out anyone too close to it, namely the rest of the soccer team still standing. "The will to battle comes from the darkness in our hearts."
"That's wrong!" Ban and Hiro exclaimed. Their platforms descended under Eva's command. When they were near enough to the ground, they hopped off and headed to their new friends' aid.
"Hurry, stop Fran!" Ban ordered.
"Right!"
She glared at them. "Don't get in my way!" A crystal appeared in her palm before breaking. What came out surprised them.
"That's...!"
"An LBX?!"
"Go, Heliorosa! Defeat those players who are addicted to battle!"
"Fran!"
"Everyone, let's go!" At Ban's command, they all took out their CCMs.
However, the group of seven was unable to get close. Heliorosa created a wind slash, pushing them all into the tunnels.
"What amazing power..."
"Why don't you understand? Battle will cause you to lose everything!" Her LBX began to clash with Achilles D9 and Odin Mk2. Meanwhile, no one else could get their LBXs to start working.
"Hey, Eva-"
"I can't help them." She cut off bitterly. "I left Twilight and my maintenance kit back in the Duck Shuttle."
Kimiko pursed her lips. "And I'm no good at a proper game either..." She clicked her tongue. "You know what? Screw it. This isn't a proper game anymore anyway. I have to help them!"
"Wh- Kimiko!" But it was too late. She had already jumped over the short wall and headed into the field. She turned to the five who were out of the battle. I can't help all of them... But maybe I don't have to.
Heliorosa flew up to dive bomb on the two, but they were able to dodge.
"Hissatsu Function!"
"Attack Function, Double Ray Wing."
Odin Mk2 transformed into its jet form while Achilles D9 took a ride. Their synchronized energy combined to form a golden phoenix and clashed with her head on. But she took no damage.
"You don't know how it feels to suffer loss! You know nothing about it!"
"We know!" Ban argued. "That's why having friends around is such a wonderful thing!"
Heliorosa and Odin Mk2 clashed, countered, and parried off of each other. Eventually, she managed to knock his shield away before taking out Achilles D9's blades.
"Hiro, next..."
"Huh?"
"Next, we'll take up all of her grief!"
"... Yes!"
Achilles D9 dodged Heliorosa's lunge and managed to grab on to its midsection. With the extra weight, it had trouble flying as fast as it used to, making it easier for Odin Mk2 to clump together with the two.
"You think you're smart...!" Heliorosa continued to struggle.
"Ban! Hiro!" Ran came to their side. "Eve helped me out. Minerva Kai!" She hopped onto a higher wall, taking in the scene before her. "What should I do...?"
"Ran, attack along with our LBXs."
"What? Seriously?!" Minerva Kai hesitantly pointed its blasters up. "Are you sure?"
"This is our chance to take it down! Fire now, Ran!"
She gritted her teeth and aimed, but instead of shooting, its boosters charged up. "Like I thought, I can't!"
"You bastards...!"
Minerva Kai joined the ball of tangled machine limbs and the three of then brought Heliorosa down.
Break over.
Eva sighed in relief. Thank goodness... Ran really was the best choice. She thanked the Jin in her timeline for telling her all about the chaos they went through in the Infinity Net.
~~~~~
"I'll make you taste the bitterness of defeat!" The flower disappeared as she flew up, allowing them vision of the battered soccer players. Kimiko was helping them to their feet, her eyes glowing, but also twitching.
"You really think we'll lose?" Shindou taunted.
The aura turned into ribbons, entering the ball she had. "All of you..." Another burst of energy pierced through the diorama above them and brought the pieces down into the ball, creating a dark energy field. "Disappear!" She kicked the ball back down to the field.
~~~~~
"She's going to erase everything!" Otacross panicked.
"This isn't just chaos in space-time, the entire world will vanish!" Professor Yamano stated.
"Is there anything we can do?" Takuya muttered, frustration clear in his voice.
~~~~~
"Here it comes!" Nishiki warned.
"Damn it..." Shinsuke struggled to get up, but saw the number 8 in front of him. "Tenma!"
"We'll bear your feelings!" He proclaimed. Kimiko stood behind him, her eyes still glowing.
Fran had enough. She sent the ball straight to the goal.
"God Hand W!" Two large hands appeared, just barely stopping the ball. Tenma was pushed far back, his feet stopping right before the goal line. "Damn it..." Then he felt a palm on his side. "Shinsuke..." And two more on his shoulders. "Shindou-senpai... Tsurugi..." Behind them were the rest on the field. "Asta... Everyone..." With everyone's combined strength, the two large hands were able to hold it back a little more.
"Asta! What's wrong with you?!" Fran came down to face him. "Fights have taken everything away from us! And yet, why are you siding with them?!" Her anger made the dark energy grow, pushing them back.
"Fran! You should understand most of all! After hatred, there's something more!"
Light shined from the tips of the God Hand W's fingers. On top of each finger was an LBX, Digitonias II with them.
"San, even you..."
"I don't want you to suffer even more losses!"
The light from the God Hand W and LBXs united and grew. Eva stood by Kimiko, both with glowing eyes.
"This is the result of when courage strikes your heart and soul! The power of bonds!"
The golden light got brighter and brighter until it was white, completely overtaking the darkness.
"We won't give up! We'll bear it all!"
The dark orb began to shrink.
"Amazing, Fran! Soccer must be very happy!"
"You like flowers, right Fran?"
This is also a fight... It all disappeared, and her clothes returned to normal. When she reached the ground, her legs buckled beneath her and she fell to her knees. Her two friends approached her. "Asta, San. This is a friendship that came from fighting, right?" They were all smiling at her.
Tenma gave a nod. "Yes."
"True courage won't yield to a battle triggered by hatred." Tsurugi stated.
"Bring out your own courage and you can see something new." Shindou added.
Ban nodded. "That's what we've been through."
"Courage..."
"Courage and friendship!" Hiro piped in. "With them, you can change the future!"
"Future..." She turned to her friends before looking down again. "I'm sorry... You've made me understand finally..."
Asta frowned. "But that's wrong."
San smiled wryly. "Yeah, that's wrong. It wasn't us who made you come to realize it. You did it of your own will."
"Huh?"
She got up in the middle of the room after the explosion happened.
"Asta... San..."
When neither replied, she panicked.
"Asta! San!"
That was it. They're gone. She was the only one left.
"You guys are..."
The two got up, smiling...
"With this, it seems that..."
"We're not needed anymore."
... and they began to fade.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"We're simply shadows you called upon in order to maintain your own shadow."
"Is that so...? I don't remember..." Tears welled up in her eyes. "No, it's not that I've forgotten. I just don't want to admit it. I absolutely don't want to admit that I'm alone." She wiped them away. "I'll admit it now. The truth that I'm alone."
"Since the day we separated from you, we've been waiting for this day to come."
"Thanks to all of them, Fran has returned to her own self again."
"San... Asta..." The last of her tears fell as they disappeared into the light.
"Fran." Tenma, Hiro, and Ban stepped forward to confront her. "You're not alone anymore."
"...You'll forgive me?" They all nodded, smiling. She met their eyes one at a time, before getting up. "Everything has come to an end." The metallic flower radiated a light before eventually disappearing into a sea of flower petals. She was truly smiling now. "I'm glad I met you all."
Tenma returned it. "We'll convey everyone's thoughts to the future."
"Please think of us when you see your favorite flower blooming in the future!" Ban and Hiro added.
"Thank you. Goodbye..." And she, too, faded into the sky.
Eva looked up before giving a sigh of relief, her eyes returning to normal as the LBXs flew back to their owners' hands. "All's well that ends well, right, Miko?" This would normally be the time she'd reply with something snarky. When she didn't, it made her worry. "Kimiko? ...!" She quickly caught her when she fell. "H-Hey, are you okay?!" Everyone else turned to the two in surprise.
Purple eyes weakly opened. "S-Sorry... I exhausted... all of my energy to..." They slowly closed again.
"Kimiko!"
"Don't worry, she's just tired." Professor Aruno appeared by their side. "She was using her telepathy to absorb the pain everyone felt when Fran attacked them."
Tsurugi walked over, an eyebrow raised. "You can do that?"
She forced out her best laugh as she nodded. "I promised... to have your back... didn't I?"
He smiled at that. "Yeah, you did."
"I already have a ride waiting for you, Kimiko." Just as the words left the professor's mouth, a rather large portal opened and they could hear the roar of an engine.
"Oh no... Don't tell me..." Somehow, even more color drained from her face when she heard that all too familiar laugh. "Why did it... have to be you..."
"I knew you were going to say that." Zanark picked her up and threw her over his shoulder like a rag doll, ignoring the others' protests. "Time to come home, kiddo. The guys are losing their marbles."
"I hate you..."
"Say your goodbyes. We don't have all day."
She looked up at the soccer children and gave them a weak thumbs up. "Don't worry about me... I'll be fine eventually..."
"Eventually." Tsurugi quoted.
"Better than never." She smiled. "Hey Kyou... Tell Yuuichi-san I said hi."
"He probably won't even believe me if I told him all this happened.
"Then... Tenma, help him."
"Wha-?!"
"Sure thing!"
"Tenma!"
She chuckled. "Alright... Then this is goodbye."
They watched as the tanned man fired up his motorcycle and zoomed into the portal, gone like none of it happened.
Eva turned to the professor. "Okay, you sent Kimiko home, but..."
"Unfortunately, due to the timelines going back to normal, I can't simply transport you back using the black box." He stated. "However, I have asked the scientists in your timeline to-"
"Eva!" They turned to find a much smaller hole had opened. Coming out from it was-
"Kazu?!" All the LBX children cried out in shock.
The brunette had the upper half of his body through the rift, seemingly trying to keep it open. He blinked when he saw the crowd. "Huh? What are you guys doing- Oh, no, wait." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm not the Kazu from your dimension. I'm from hers."
She grinned. "It's great to see you anyway! Though, why...?"
"Otacross said that the portal is still unstable. If I don't hold it open like this, it'll probably stay closed forever." He seemed to be really struggling to keep it open. "Also because if I let Jin do this, he'll ground you the second you step foot here. A-Anyway, hurry it up! I don't want to be chopped in half by an inter-dimensional portal today!"
"Right!" She turned to the rest. "This was a really fun experience. I'll never forget you guys!"
"And we'll never forget you too." Jessica winked. "Thanks for the last minute maintenance just now! Your abilities helped a lot!"
"Be sure you don't worry your friends like that anymore." Jin said, his arms crossed.
She laughed nervously. "I'll try..."
"Hey, come on! Eva, hurry up and just be done with it! I can't keep this up for long!"
"Coming!" She bowed to them. "I hope you'll all continue to love what you do! Bye!" She ran over to the brunette and he pulled her in, gone just like the first one.
When they slowly began to fade, Ban gave a smile at the other group. "Tenma, it's time to leave."
"I hope we'll meet again." Hiro said.
"Let's play soccer when we meet again!"
"Yeah. And LBX too!"
"Let's play soccer and LBX together!"
~~~~~~~~~~
Next week is the last chapter! The Epilogue :)