Skyfall

I stand there, daring my mortal enemy to move even a hair, readying by weapon all the while.

How...and I mean how in the absolute hell did he get here so quickly?!

He's not low ranking, but I'd have to assume he learned something new to be able to do so...

But he's here, and even mocking me by my temporary codename...he knows I haven't disclosed the sufficient information to this world yet, my true name included.

As much as I hate him...the people of this world are due the truth at some point.

The threat has made itself clear already and hiding the truth will only delay the inevitable.

My family's taught me that much...

Side note: I legitimately did not know he could teleport his weapon back to him. I've seen it before with other Demons, but not him specifically. I should've purged any presence from it...

We still remain here, the tension in the air rising, and making it so thick you could cut it with a knife. My raccoon friend continues to subtly evacuate the area.

My Fallen Angel foe seems to notice this.

"Seems you finally managed to get out of that little shell you made, at least somewhat. Making friends again, I see?"

"No thanks to you. It's called having a social life. You'd know if your friends weren't so diabolical."

"Diabolically invincible, if I'd say so myself."

"You say you are, but you aren't."

"What about yours? Call this counterproductive, but please, make more of these friends. It'll only make it more satisfying when I drive this blade into your hearts."

"I remember our history...and I am not condemned to repeat it..."

"Oh we'll see about that..."

He looks at his blade once more and holds it out in front of him towards me as this world (as I notice some people have their phones up, probably livestreaming) looks on, his presence intensifying.

"Have at thee."

In a flash after he slices his sword through the air once more, and his legs create craters in the ground as he launches himself towards me.

I, too, join him in the charge, me also creating indentations from the take-off site as we approach each other.

In the few seconds that feel like an eternity, he gets close enough to try and slash at me twice. I sidestep the first and limbo dodge the second, he throws two more swings in an upward fashion, but I deflect them using my sword. I parry the second slice, but he uses his right pauldron like a makeshift shield to redirect it and kicks me back a few feet.

When we're jumping distance from each other, I leap into the air, thrusting my sword at him, to which he deflects. I follow up with a strike from my other blade, but he redirects it downwards. I try to stab at him, but he mimics my deflection.

He strikes at my core but after I deflect that one as well, we wind up going into a brief flurry of clashes with our blades. The sequence appearing with me spinning my 2 ended blade almost as fast as he's doing upward swings towards me.

Eventually he knocks my sword off balance and hits me in the leg, causing me to stumble slightly.

He speeds to the side, me trying as hard as I can to make sure to keep him in front of me, or at least within my senses, (which is always good) as he uses the stun to slice his sword at me.

I only succeed in deflecting about one or 2 strikes before the third and fourth land, throwing me front and back before I have to resort to using my power to push him away.

Fortunately, it only hit my armor, (primary reason why I prefer to have some on me), but my guard was still down, and I'm pretty sure I'm a little rusty.

Come on, learn from your mistakes.

"Here I thought I was expecting more resistance."

"Was just warming up."

This time, I'm the one who charges, but instead, before he attempts to join again.

I thrust out my hand, and in a miniature pulse reminiscent of a flashbang, my opponent is disoriented. He leaps into the air as a precautionary defense, and I follow him. Despite him using his other senses to try and find me, he only succeeds in blocking my initial attack, but fails to see me grabbing him and flinging him to the building on the opposite side of the street. He recovers fairly quickly after so, and after him launching off the building and me the street, we meet mid-air.

We slam our blades together.

CLANG!!!

The resulting white and black shockwave that follows shatters all the immediate windows, disrupting electrical boxes nearby, and kicking up dust as well.

When everything clears up, everyone can see me and my mortal enemy holding each other back on the street.

A Clash, as we call it.

"Give it up."

"And miss all the fun?"

Surprisingly, we both pulse our power at the same time, creating a kinetic stalemate that violently forces us back.

I impale my sword into the ground as he does the same.

He looks at his blade embedded in the ground, seemingly getting an idea.

He recovers first and reapproaches me, he stabs at me and I sidestep it, him driving his sword into the concrete. He rips off a chunk of it when he pulls it out and slams it into me, shattering it and flinging me to the side. I just about recover as he tries to decapitate me, ducking under the blade, I strike, he blocks, but I deflect his parry. He winds up kicking me in the face, leaping up into the air and going for a spinning downwards strike.

I hold up my sword in instinct, blocking it as I force against the full weight of him, within half a second using his momentum to force him away.

As he does, he barrel-rolls and strikes at me using the exceedingly long sword, of which I barely manage to redirect upwards.

The next moment consists of he and I engaging in a rapid sequence of strikes, dodges, and parries. The whole instance reminiscent of a more aggressively graceful dodge combo.

A Dance of Swords, if you would.

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoy the adrenaline rush of a good fight...and I know it's not been too long of our dueling...

We're evenly matched, we're not making any progress right now unless one of us pulls something else out of...

Well...I guess you could say our arsenals.

If we keep going any longer...

I fear he may start going for civilians...

Michiru

I've...

I've never seen anyone fight like this outside of...like...a movie!

Don't even get me started on when they collided mid-air...I had to grip the sidewalk just to keep myself from being blasted away.

I succeeded in evacuating the area, but I stayed behind to make sure of that, but also in case Skyfall would need help.

I don't even know what kind of help I could provide against this...'Fallen Angel'...

I keep watching as they keep dueling, still equal in their capabilities.

This seems more of a battle of endurance, if they truly are.

But the being itself...

It looks...

It looks exactly like how it did in-

"Michiru!" I hear a very familiar voice come from behind me, pulling me out of my head.

"Nazuna? What're you doing here?" I ask her.

"I was concerned, I saw what was going on through Facelook. I came here soon as I did. What is that thing?" She asks me, pointing to the being our alien friend is dueling.

More than likely someone was streaming it somewhere...

"Skyfall called it 'Fallen Angel'." I say to her.

She just stares at it, giving a wide-eyed look that just screams déjà vu.

"I saw it..."

"What?" I ask, confused at her random uttering.

"I saw it...the Fallen Angel...in my dream last night..." She utters, her red eyes still staring.

Wait...no...

"You saw it too?!" I exclaim, snapping my head to her.

"You...?!" She replies, shocked at the fact that...

We had the same dream...?

Impossible.

This is too coincidental...

The one that went after me?

Before we can have our minds blown about this anymore, a shockwave erupts from the street, catching our attention again.

Skyfall and the Angel have disarmed each other at this point, the former's sword being embedded in the wall while the latter's is in the ground.

They're holding each other back in a grappling hold, face to face, and still equally matched.

"We have to help." I say, cracking my knuckles.

"He saved us against Boris...it's time we return the favor." Nazuna agrees, clenching her fist.

We take a deep breath before sprinting out of the alleyway, a shadow following us as we do.

We approach the Angel, Nazuna going for its legs as I go for a jump kick towards its head.

As it tries to realize what's going on, I bravely slug it in the masked face and Nazuna kicks it in the gut.

The mask has a texture like ballistic polymer...

We suddenly get the instinct to step back, and sure enough, we discover that the shadow flies towards the Fallen Angel, who turns its head only to be met with a drop-kick to the face, flinging it back.

Skyfall turns his head from the knocked-back Angel to be met with us, and Shirou, who kicked away our enemy, staring our friend in the eye. He seems to be taken aback at our help.

"You don't need to."

"I know." Shirou looks at him, but gives a smirk.

"But we want to." I give a smile.

"Besides, you'd do the same for us." Nazuna references, also smiling.

He shakes his head slightly, before chuckling.

"I guess...they were right..."

He nods in acceptance of our help, walking in front of us closer to our enemy, approaching his sword in the building, pulling it out at the same time the Angel's sword reappears in its hand.

"Four on one, huh? Now's where the real fun begins..."

Skyfall holds his sword towards the Angel in the same manner as earlier, spinning it as well before holding it in a ready position in line with his waist this time.

The Angel charges at us.

Shirou meets him before any of us, he throws a punch at the Angel's face, which he dodges, as well as the follow up kick. It parries the wolfman by hitting him in the gut with the bottom of the sword, which causes our friend to throw a wild haymaker that forces it back. I just barely miss being stabbed by the Angel, already almost giving me PTSD episodes, what with last night...and I slide under the follow up slash, going for the head again, but I wind up getting kicked in my own head, being forced away as well. Nazuna comes up close as well, sidestepping the next three slashes almost in a dance like fashion and tries to kick it, but it grabs her foot and throws her towards me who, at this point, managed to recover and catch my friend.

Her weight knocks me down, but I'm caught by Skyfall.

"You okay?"

I'm currently holding my head to try to soothe the pain and using the other to help my friend off me.

"Y-yeah...this thing is an insanely hard hitter..." I utter.

Shirou reengages the Angel, and the rest of us soon run to rejoin him as well, I guarantee you this thing's excitement radiating like Chernobyl. It slices down at him, but Skyfall intercepts the attack with his sword. This does little to Seraph as the wolfman tries to claw it. It only moves its head to the side, soon dissipating the sword somehow, though I'm positive it'll bring it out later.

It uses its now-free arm to grab its opponent at the shoulder, punching him in the face before using the previously utilized crowd control tactic by throwing him at the others. We catch him, soon letting him stand up as Skyfall engages the Angel once again.

I follow close by, Nazuna staying behind briefly to check up on Shirou.

Skyfall stabs his sword into the ground and slices upwards, flinging concrete chunks and dust straight into the Angel's face, who tries to block it for the most part, but I use this opportunity ready my arm.

I focus into it, bringing out my signature ability its distinct rumble.

When the Angel comes to, it's met with a giant arm straight to the face, similar to how Nazuna told me she did with Boris the first time she unlocked her own Gorilla arms.

Okay, I try to tell myself the Angel is an 'it', but the voice was more reminiscent of a 30 year old man, so I'm just gonna call it a 'him'.

However, unlike the snake man, this one quickly resummons his weapon, slices at me twice, drawing blood from me, and stabs his sword into the ground, stopping himself fairly quickly and dissipates it again.

Dammit, why is he so fast?!

I try to follow up with a normal punch, for some reason...and I guarantee you he disarmed himself because he's wanting to flex.

It ends up with both of us slamming our fists into each other's faces, him succeeding more in disorienting me due to him literally feeling like it's like an iron fist.

Nazuna tries to avenge me by slamming down at the Angel's position, he somersault-dodges where the crater is created and counters with a brief flurry of relentless punching towards her head and body. She attempts to counter with another punch, albeit with much difficulty because she hasn't had much experience using her gorilla arms, but they're all too big a tell for the Angel to continuously dodge and parry.

As he backhands her to the ground, summoning his sword, slicing her and drawing blood from her, he then attempts to stomp on her head, Skyfall kicks his leg away and knees him in the face.

Oh, thank god Skyfall was there, damn bastard actually tried to STOMP HER HEAD!!

With me now in a small rage and helping Nazuna up, we finally land a powerful, almost elegant, downwards backhand that embeds the Fallen Angel into the ground, causing a small impact wave from both the strike and the man-shaped indentation in the brick.

Shirou takes this moment to charge once again at the Angel, the latter managing to retreat slightly and holds out his hand. Suddenly, out of nowhere, after dissipating his sword yet again, that same black and white light emerges from him in...

A sphere?!

It flies towards us like a meteor, only to be met with Skyfall's blade slicing it in half, the two pieces exploding on opposite ends of us.

Is this the kind of power that people like, or around Skyfall, have access to?

He turns to us.

"We have to end this now. I'll make the openings, you strike. Got it?"

We nod at his plan.

He takes point again, charging at the Angel, who summons his sword, as we follow close by once more. He jumps up slightly and thrusts his sword at him like he did earlier, following up with a bold upwards strike that is immediately backed by Shirou tackling his legs. They roll briefly before he kicks him towards us, he tries to recover-slice at them, but is parried by Skyfall. We use this opening to gorilla-punch the Angel again, who slides to a stop, slicing at Shirou behind him and managing to draw blood yet again, only to be retaliated with by Shirou angrily slamming his head into the ground.

As he does, I see a faint glowing from Shirou's neck.

"AWOOOOOO!!!"

In a howl fitting for a lone wolf, the wolfman releases visible sound waves reminiscent of energy beams from his mouth. The force of which pins the Angel to the ground, seemingly beginning to burn him as well.

It's Shirou's Sonic Howl, capable of burning straight through metal.

Since when was he able to do it without becoming Ginrou?

But the disturbing part is that it seems to be giving the Angel more of a sunburn...as compared to being scorched alive...

I know it's holding him back...but the fact that he's surviving it is only making me more unsettled...

Suddenly, in what I can only describe as a grunt of rage, the Angel's body slightly glows, and lifts his arm just enough to wildly slice at him, forcefully ceasing his Sonic Howl as he has to go on the evasive.

Despite Shirou's instinctive dodges at the rampage, he winds up getting hit in the gut with the hilt of the sword, stunning him long enough for him to be caught in a wild tornado of elegant upwards slashes, getting lacerated in his arms, legs, body, and even a few cuts on his face.

He's already bleeding!

He kicks him down, the cuts seemingly inducing pain in him.

Me and Nazuna try to bravely run in to help, alongside Skyfall, but he gets forcefully pushed back by the Angel, who takes his attention to us now.

He slices at us once, ceasing our path as we're forced to dodge, and slides at me, taking me out by my legs and kicking me in the air. He gives me the same painful treatment of slashes he gave to Shirou as I'm midair.

He's swinging so wildly Nazuna can't even get close enough...

It hurts...

No...stinging...burning...even.

Almost like that piranha fluid you'd see online but it was laced on the Angel's evil sword!

Gah! It's already getting worse!

After he stops having his fun with me, he moves on to Nazuna, grabbing me by my leg and using me as a projectile to throw at her.

She attempts to catch me, and does, but winds up getting kicked in the face by the Angel, dropping me to the ground after being stunned.

He, too, gives her the same fate as he did Shirou and I.

She attempts to elegantly dodge, but a slice across the face and leg is all it takes for her to stumble.

Cuts on the legs, then the vainly defending arms, then the exposed body, and even one more to the face are all what follow.

I just got you back, Nazuna...

I'M NOT LOSING YOU AGAIN!!!!

Shirou and I manage to recover just enough for us to tackle him away from our fox friend, sparing her from any more pain.

In a rage I haven't seen since our battle with Alan, Shirou's neck glows once more.

"AWOOOOOO!!!"

In a slightly stronger Sonic Howl, he keeps the Angel at bay as I tend to Nazuna...

We're almost hemorrhaging...

It's staining our clothing already...

I haven't even been in this much pain since Shirou bit me...

My friend and I look at each other, concerned about our current situation.

Are we even going to get out of this alive?

No, we've survived worse...

As we're somewhat beginning to doubt our chances of survival, me, and also Nazuna, notice someone leaping over us, holding his sword above his head.

Shirou looks up, ceases his Sonic Howl and instantly backs off.

Following a grunt of effort coming from Skyfall's mask, he brings it down at the recovering Angel, who looks up.

The Fallen Angel is immediately met with a broadsword blade straight through his shoulder armor, and right into the flesh of his right shoulder.

The Angel drops his blade in pain, which I muster the strength and courage to take the opportunity to seize, not sure if he'll just resummon it again, but just as a precautionary measure.

I back off, holding the blade he used to nearly eviserate us.

As of right now, he just stands there, holding Skyfall's blade, attempting to hold it back in vain.

"How's that feel? Familiar?"

"Could never forget..."

We catch our breath as we get closer to our, I'd have to say, defeated opponent, on his knees.

We take this time to observe the being from our nightmares closer now, confirming, down to the last detail, this IS the one from back then.

And what a nightmare-come-true it was...

"You're really a Demon..." I utter in pain.

"Surprised...?"

"Never would've believed it if I haven't seen it..." Nazuna adds, limping over to us, still taking this moment to blown away.

"Much less having fought you..." Shirou finishes, holding his wounds on his torso,, staring down our enemy.

"Seeing is believing. You a believer now?"

I know we want to nod, but him merely asking that rhetorical question was enough of an answer.

"Enough out of you. You draw blood, pay with blood. Go back to the pit from where you came."

When he mentions blood, I can only think about the lacerations I got from him. The red thick liquid coming from them being the exact thing that saved the Beastmen...

The thing that saved our new home...

Skyfall holds out his hand to me, snapping me out of my head, and I give him the sword.

He goes to finish the job via decapitation, but the Angel's body seems to blur...

VVVMMMMMM-

"Not yet..."

WHOOOOSH!!!!

In a similar flash of light, the Fallen Angel...

Is gone.

Further evidenced by Skyfall stumbling forward, having put his weight on his sword embedded in the Angel's shoulder.

Did...he do that teleportation thing we did earlier...?

I forgot the name already...but still...I know what it felt like, and that looked exactly how it felt.

Though Skyfall stomps in what I'd presume to be frustration, anger, even, he recomposes himself quickly.

"Smart move on his part."

"Did we...win?" I ask.

"We've won the day, and this battle."

We near instantly breathe a massive sigh of relief at this.

I know that this was a difficult fight, but I feel as if this Angel was holding back...

Big time.

I honestly feel like he could've given Alan and Boris a run for their money.

Fast, human sized, inconceivably strong, more abilities that them...

Harder hitter than me when I'm on the batting plate...

I already shudder to think what he's capable of at full strength...

Unfortunately, the adrenaline is only going to go so far...

I look down at my form...

I haven't been given this sashimi treatment in...well...ever...

I try to touch my face, but I recoil at the stinging sensation.

"It burns so damn much..." Shirou growls.

"What in hell even is...him...this...EVERYTHING?!" I gesture to the absence of our enemy and his sword Skyfall's hand.

He sighs.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting him to show up so quickly."

"When WERE you expecting him to?" Shirou sarcastically asks.

"Eventually..."

"Skyfall, I know you called him 'Fallen Angel'...but...it sounds like you know each other." I tell him.

"Yes. We have history."

"What kind?" Nazuna asks.

He sighs.

"Even though you didn't need to, you put yourself on the line to help me, and even fight against someone like him. It's with this..."

We look at him in anticipation at his response.

"...that I can confide in you the truth. You're far past due it, and I will tell you everything. I can't continue my mission without giving you that grace."

The truth...

I try to move, but the stinging from the wounds stop me in my tracks.

Nazuna and Shirou do the same, only to be met with the same, honestly saddening, results.

Shirou closes his eyes, grunting.

I think...he's trying to heal.

Yeah, he is.

He did so when we fought...what was his name, Yaba!

I still vividly remember when that rhino transformed after he got Nirvasyl Syndrome, and he broke Shirou's arm. That thing was snapped and disjointed, only for it to fly right back into place when his rapid healing kicked in.

Suddenly, he gasps in concern.

"It's not working..." He says, wide-eyed.

"Wait, what?" I ask, leaning in closer.

"What do you mean?" Nazuna asks.

"I...I can't heal...I'm trying...but it's like the cuts refuse to close..." He utters, looking at his body. "This normally would be a cakewalk for me...but why's it not working...?"

This...this is bad...

REALLY BAD!

Shirou's the fastest healer I know!

Did that sword nullify his abilities?!

Or was it something the Angel can do?!

I think I have one of my own, but I doubt that it's on par with that of his...considering it's what saved me after he bit me...

Either way...

"Dammit...if we don't get first aid we're gonna bleed out!" I exclaim to my friends.

"It's okay. I got a plan for this."

I raise my eyebrow to him.

"And what kind of plan would that be?" I ask.

"Reach into your pockets."

Though my friends and I exchange unsure glances, we humor him and reach into our pants.

As I get to searching my pockets, he grips the sword tighter, and any malicious presence I felt from it is gradually disappearing, almost as if he's somehow purging it of any traces of our enemy. As he finishes, and as he flings the two swords in his hands into the air, they disappear in a similar manner to how the Angel did.

We eventually pull out the metal piece he gave us, and the white marble.

"Okay, now what?" Nazuna asks.

"Do you see that white thing I gave you? You only need that."

I instantly sort the contents of my hand and hold it in my fingers.

Me and my friends put away our metal piece, now only holding what he told us to.

"You mean this marble?" Shirou asks.

"What's so special about it?" I ask, gazing upon it.

What he says next, takes us all the way back to the stone ages at this point.

"Eat it."

We all just give him the deadpanned look of...

'Seriously?'

He responds only after our expressions make themselves known.

"When have I steered you wrong?"

He's...

Right.

He never has, even in the brief time he's been here.

I take the liberty and courage of raising the white marble to my mouth, and letting it slip in.

It almost feels like a glass ball in there...

I'm not sure if I should chew, or just swallow...

He said eat it...so I'd assume the former.

I bravely position it between my teeth, and I bite down on it...

Only to be met with an immensely crunchy sensation.

Almost like sugar candy...

No...tanghulu!

The exterior feels like a layer of hardened sugar coated on an interior that feels more reminiscent of a macadamia nut.

But the interior is so much better!

It tastes like a heavenly mixture between the pickled plum onigiri, and the strawberry ice cream mochi!

I don't think I've ever tasted anything like this!!

"Mmh!" I mumble in surprise as I keep chewing with the amazingly outlandish flavor saturating my taste buds.

Eventually, I manage to swallow it.

The sensation of it going down feels like when you have a sore throat, but you get a cough drop or a spray in there and the soreness goes away pleasantly.

As soon as it hits my stomach...

My whole body goes into bliss mode.

All the pain?

It's like it was all just washed away...

As soon as I look down, my wounds are literally closing themselves, and my bruises, and abrasions, fade away.

As if invisible sutures came along to be the surgeon I could never afford.

The blood on my body, minus the stuff that got on my clothing, even seeps back into my skin, almost creeping me out with that part.

All the while I'm still in that feeling of almost-pleasure, still relishing in the oddly satisfying sensation of my pain, suffering, all being just sucked out of me.

I'm pretty sure I even bulked up slightly, maybe even grew an inch or two!

When I come to, my friends are standing in front of me, with faces that only show current flabbergasting.

Skyfall chuckles in amusement, and honestly...

I join him in the laughter, not in just joy, but also in sheer amazement at this.

"T-This is incredible!!" I shout, elated.

"Impossible..." Shirou utters, looking at his marble.

"Oh...my..." Nazuna's pupils shrink, soon staring at hers as well.

First she pops hers into her mouth, and then Shirou places his into his jaws.

The subsequent crunching of the sweet exterior and releasing of the flavor into their mouths, and seeing their reactions only brighten me that they too get to experience this.

As soon as they swallow, the rapid blinking of being blinded by the overwhelming sensation follows.

In no time at all, yet it feels like forever somehow, their wounds, their hemorrhaging, their agony, all taken away by this miracle marble.

Also, it seems that with this new health, like I did, comes new rejuvenation with both me and my friends, as we look even better than we did before.

I feel like I could keep fighting!

We soon look back to our friend who gave us this gift.

"Feeling better?"

We only nod, slowly.

"That's good to know."

"What...even was that?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"A loophole we created to cut down recovery time, and help those who need it."

"And you just give those out to people all the time?" Nazuna asks.

"Not everyone. Just those who would need it."

"Well, you certainly made the right call here..." I utter.

"Indeed."

"Thank you..." I say, staring at him.

"Yeah, thanks." Nazuna continues.

"Thank you for helping us." Shirou finishes.

"Glad I could."

As our pain is finally taken away, we're left standing here among the ruins that signify our most recent battle.

"Before anything else happens. It's time I tell you what you need to know."

"Where do you want to talk?" Michiru asks.

"Let's go to my place. We'll have relative privacy there."

"The caves?" Shirou raises his eyebrow.

"Actually no, it's a house on top of our apartment complex." I point out.

He turns his head.

"Seriously?"

I nod.

"It wasn't a coincidence."

10 minutes later

"This place looks more makeshift than anything." The recently-shifted-into-human Shirou comments.

"It was closest to you guys, so."

He leads us closer to the shipping container house.

There's a sticky note on the front door.

'Consider this a professional courtesy. Use it well.'

That's not ominous at all...

Skyfall walks up to the metal outlining the dwelling, grazes the outside with his hand before finding the wooden door in front of him. He grabs the brass knob and turns it, opening it to reveal something not expected within these walls...

Our mouths all drop at what we see.

Though the metal is noticeable on the walls, they are almost entirely overshadowed by the amenities on the right side consisting of a full kitchen set of a stove, sink, oven, mahogany cupboards and floor that contain various appliances used for cooking when I observe them. On the left is a standard living room with marble floor, a carpet in front of a mid-to-high quality couch sat in front of a high-end TV. A door further to the left leads to a bathroom.

We all move upstairs to see more.

There's a weight set on the right, a sizeable entertainment set on the center with a couple consoles, a PC setup, then the door to the left leads to the bedroom. A king-sized bed, more mahogany outlining it, as well as a personal bathroom. Finally, as if to top it all off, there's a spare bed room adjacent to the main one, essentially mirroring the whole spectacle.

We all soon find ourselves back in the living room downstairs, contemplating again on why he got the good stuff.

"Lucky..." I whisper under my breath, still jealous at him.

"If you knew who built this, you wouldn't be envious."

Huh?

He walks over to the couch, sitting down in the middle of it in a focused position.

We soon join him on opposing ends, me and Nazuna on one side, Shirou on the other.

"I brought you here for answers. I'll waste no more time. Feel free to ask questions when you want to"

We look at him in anticipation for our questions to finally be laid to rest.

"As of right now, you know me as Skyfall. But you don't know who I'm affiliated with."

"That's a given." Nazuna says.

"I, am of the Kin, as you may have heard that Fallen Angel call me."

"Kin...what is that?" I ask, remembering the exchange the two had before the battle.

"We are an organization formed from our society dedicated to stopping threats like the Demons. In their case, it's through elimination where possible, and a containment procedure like how the U.S. did after the second world war."

"So you stop their spread before they can get to it?" Nazuna guesses.

"Correct."

"I'd have to assume it's through that exchanging of secrets you mentioned before." Shirou says.

"Right again. It's like a crusade, so to say. We teach where we go and the impact that we leave there enables the citizens, or mainly those we teach, to have a chance against those threats."

"Where are you even from?" I ask.

"My homeworld, for security reasons I can't disclose its name...but..."

"But what? You an alien or something like that? You from the far reaches of space?" I interrogate him.

He chuckles at the space part.

"Beyond space...so to say..."

"And how would you say it for us to understand?" Nazuna asks.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"Dude, as far as we've seen, we've fought a Demon, and in the public's eye, alongside an Angel. I'm pretty sure anything is believable at this point." I comment, raising my eyebrow and gesturing to our still somewhat bloodied clothing. "We've had our perceptions of reality shattered at least 3 times at this point, counting our previous adventure. I think we can handle it."

"Even then...it's still going to be difficult for you to comprehend. But if you're willing to at least hear it..."

He sighs.

"The jurisdiction of the Kin is not limited to just our homeworld, which is not a planet...so to say. We are one of the few societies that have achieved many gifts. Gifts that we knew we had to share among the new people we could meet."

"And what's this gift?" Shirou asks.

Skyfall looks to us.

"Do you ever feel as if you were, or weren't, alone in this world? That there is always someone out there either watching, waiting, but you don't know for sure?"

"Yeah..." Nazuna utters.

"For sure." I reply.

"I've got the voices of my people in my head, and they collectively agree on that." Shirou comments, touching his temple.

Skyfall only gives a gesture that says, 'Okay, we're gonna talk about that later...', but dismisses it and continues.

"Well. You're right. You've always been right. But not right enough, so to say."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"There IS someone out there. But not just someone, or somebody. Somebodies. Lots, of somebodies. Too many for you to even count. Some exist that you never would've thought unless you met them yourself."

"And again, what's that mean?" Shirou asks.

What our armored friend says next, will stick with me...for as long as I'll remember.

"Universes."

The room stays silent for a few moments, allowing that one word to soak in, process, and then register in our heads.

"W...What'd you say?" I ask him.

"You heard me right. Universes. LOTS, of universes. And yours... is one of them."

"Okay...I'm trying to convince myself you're not a conspiracy theorist at this point..." Nazuna interjects, holding her fingers to her forehead. "You're saying...that the theory of the MULTIVERSE...is real?!"

"Dude, you better not be kidding me now." I comment.

"If this is bull, I'm heading straight out that door." Nazuna ends, pointing to the entrance.

"Tell us something only someone from an alternate universe would know." Shirou suggests, trying to ascertain the truth and make sense of this, my friends' gazes almost pierce through his mask like daggers.

"Well, considering you didn't react to the fact that I know about the 2nd World War, hinting that it's common knowledge here, as well as the containment procedures that happened afterwards. I know the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I know that someone named Zuckerberg founded your guys' app Facelook, which is actually FaceBOOK, where I come from, and stole the idea from 2 Harvard twins. I know that this island, without a shadow of a doubt, doesn't exist either. You guys say 'Itadakimasu' before most meals. You've got sports like baseball, basketball, football, soccer, etc. Though this place is definitely different with this whole Beast factor wedged into society...and yet after all this time you've not realized that treating this factor as mere supernatural abilities that humans so happen to have and should celebrate them is just surprising. Despite the fact you would be considered 'mutants', and people somehow only discriminate against you based on what you're capable of, not what you specifically have done. How's that? Am I in the ballpark?"

Uh...I...

I can't...even...

I'm...at a loss for words...

"That...about...summarizes it..." I manage to utter.

He literally just blew the entire Anti-Beastman debate out of the water.

"You wouldn't be able to know this if you weren't from an..." I start.

"From an alternate universe..." Nazuna finishes, dumbfounded.

"I'll...take your word for it..." Shirou utters, putting his hand on his head. "The Multiverse is real...?"

"Not the Multiverse..."

We turn to him.

"The Omniverse."

I continue to stare at him as he continues.

"A wholly interconnected network of possibilities, scenarios, ideas, everything. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. It's all there, across the Conceivable Plane."

"Incredible..." Shirou utters.

"All the things you saw me capable of doing are things that you have not attained knowledge to accomplish yet. Our gift IS that knowledge we wish to share. And that knowledge can give you power."

He stands up as he walks in front of us, turning back to face us.

"Power, beyond anything, you can imagine."

He holds out his arms towards us, and clasps them, and seemingly enters a focused state, and after an exhale of effort...

Hs veins now slightly glow with the same white light previously, seemingly coming from his torso. In the center of the space between his palms is a small spark that permeates through the gaps.

When he opens them...

A little light that shines, like a star, in the palm of his hand.

"This power is what dwells in all living things. It may be slightly cliché, but it's the precursor even to the neurons that fire off in your brain every day. When you know how to tap into the pool of power within the vessel that holds it known as your body..."

He picks it up like a marble, observing it before covering it with his hands once again. He closes his eyes and opens his palms more, causing the light to grow into a small sphere of white like the baseballs Michiru used when she played with the Bears.

But this...is incredible...

"You can accomplish wonders far beyond your wildest dreams."

He holds out the ball of light reminiscent of the sun for me to hold, and I take it, admiring the whole structure of the phenomenon.

"Holy...it tingles...it's warm...but like rubber..." I say before handing it to Nazuna.

"Soft like silk, but still solid..." She utters as she hands it back to me.

My body shudders at the literal foreign power I hold in my hands. It sends a small, somehow soothing, static electricity down my fingers, up my arms, and soon leading to the rest of my body. The way the light is in different shades across it really does nail down the fact that it looks like a sun. I roll it in my hands like putty, it constantly forms back into a spherical shape no matter how hard I try to mold it as I give it to Shirou, who seems the most eager to feel this new power.

"Small, powerful, and feels like it can be just limitless..." He says, fondling it and then holding it in complete and utter awe.

Soon, the ball levitates from his hand, and the power slowly floats back to Skyfall as if he had telekinesis.

He makes it float around his body like electrons on an atom and turns it into a flowing state that he circles around his body.

"Limitless, is putting it lightly, my friend. When you gain further knowledge and training on how to utilize it..."

He catches it in his hand, seemingly... 'reabsorbing' it into his body.

Soon, the air around us slightly blows towards us due to the same invisible force coming from him he used earlier as well. Soon, he himself levitates off the ground, looking even more mysterious than he ever has as he hovers in the air.

"It can even grant the wonderful power of Flight."

He soon descends to the ground after giving us his incredible demonstration.

"All that...and far more is what I fully intend to teach you."

"Seriously...?" I utter, almost not believing he's so willing to share this.

"They say going into battle with someone establishes a degree of trust beyond just friendship. I have had difficulty reestablishing that. I've been fighting on my own for the most part for a while now. But the fact that you rushed in earlier without hesitation...it...hit me in a way. That, has proven to me...you are worthy. I can trust this world."

Damn...

Who knew that...we were the ones who would get...for lack of better words...

A cross-universal being, to trust us?

"And..."

We look up from our shock at our semi-unintentional accomplishment.

"If we're to continue, I'll have to establish something as well. I trust you now. Not many people beyond my own, have achieved something like that."

Skyfall looks to Shirou.

"There was a reason why I was so, intrigued, when I saw you, Shirou."

Our friend tilts his head in confusion.

"With what you, and I have been through, it seems only fair, that I have less to hide."

Our masked friend soon looks ahead, gazing upon all of us as he...

Raises his hand to his head.

Wait...

"My name...isn't...technically...Skyfall."

HE...HE ISN'T!

He touches the side of his mask...

Click!

It loosens, like segments being pulled apart and rearranged to be removed.

He is...

As he does...we look on in more anticipation to have our biggest unasked question answered, my heartbeat almost through the roof at this point...

When the mask is opened wide enough...

He grabs it with both hands...

He lifts, revealing the truth to us...

We're instantly met with 2 tundra-blue eyes, and the face...of a young man.

I can't help but notice he...he looks like...

A blonde, short-haired version of Shirou...

He breathes in, seemingly taking in this world's air for the first time.

Our unmasked alien friend speaks up...in an unmasked voice...

"My name...is Cato."

Chapter End
(Input is appreciated, thank you.)