Story arc is over! Feels like the end of an era.
-x-
I hadn't looked at the courtyard too closely until now… but upon seeing it, there wasn't much to say. No, really, it was just an unspectacular courtyard. The ground wasn't even tiled or covered in brick; it was just leveled and covered in grass – kind of like a park. It was, uh, quaint.
The flagpole that stood in the center was kind of an eyesore up close, but I wasn't here for that. A young maid with bunny ears handed me a bokken as Sesshomaru sat and waited on the other side. His eyes were closed as he breathed softly. I thanked her and nodded slightly, to which she bowed and walked back the way she came.
I coughed, "So, uh, Inuyasha and Ginkyo aren't here…"
"Should they be?"
A shrug, "Probably? Maybe not? I mean, if you're doing this as a favor to them, then wouldn't they be here?"
"Would they contribute something to your problem? Would they be immediately helpful? Our spar requires no audience except its attendants." He stood, swinging his own bokken down as he got into a stance. "This one would not have them sit and watch us fight – such would serve no purpose."
"So I guess that makes you a practical guy, huh?" I asked, giving my own bokken a few practice swings. I frowned and looked at it closer, swinging once more as I did. "…Um…"
"Is something wrong?"
"Nah, it's just… I'm not used to using one sword. It's just been a long time…" I hadn't been stuck with only one weapon since I channeled the power of the Rider through the sheath of Yoruichi's Zanpakuto. That had been… years ago. "I'm just being nostalgic, that's all."
One foot shifted in front of me, the other shifted behind. It was a standard kendo position, though my back foot faced the wrong angle for that. I'd learned how to use a sword from a lot of places and people by now, so there was no way I'd keep this stance by the end of the spar.
"We will fight to the first strike," Sesshomaru said. "And please, show restraint."
My eyebrow raised, "What, as some kind of test or something?"
"No. These are ordinary bokken and are unlikely survive our full strength."
"Oh." I tested my grip on the wood with either hand.
"Shall we start?"
I nodded, and apparently that was all he needed to rush me. Even without all his strength behind the swinging practice sword, he was still incredibly fast. Quickly, I blocked the strike and moved to swing at him – he stepped away and swung down.
To anyone else, an overhand strike like that would just leave them open. But Sesshomaru made it work as, when I shifted my stance to that of a fencer's and made to stab him, he drew back his sword and turned the attack into a deflection that left my front open.
I turned with the counter, swinging back in a flip and pushing off the grass with my palm before landing on my two feet. I grinned, "Would you believe that's the first time I've done a flip like that?" It didn't suit me. I was too heavy to play around with those kinds of acrobatic moves, and I felt dizzy from trying it.
Sesshomaru nodded as he stood. His stance was casual, but his bokken was still as he watched me carefully. I stood and twirled my wood blade by the handle. "It shows," he said, "As does your disrespect."
"Eh?"
"Though they are practice swords, they are still swords and deserve to be treated as such." He frowned, "You are an annoying man, Arse."
The smile I'd been wearing practically flew off my face as I scowled, "Quit calling me that."
"Stop playing the part." He smirked at me.
I charged him, swinging my blade out to hit him. With ease that spoke of contempt, he swayed slightly. The angle of his bokken turned mine away from his body and let him step towards me. I could only choke as his elbow embedded itself in my abdomen, tilting his arm up for maximum effect.
He turned around me, and I felt the wooden blade impact my back. I stepped forward from the strike – not hard enough to break the sword, but hard enough to break my stance. I craned my head to look at him. "You're better than Inuyasha…"
"And you seem to have a talent in stating the obvious," he replied. "This Sesshomaru has lived and fought for hundreds of years – Inuyasha is very young, by comparison."
I brushed myself off as I turned to face him. "So, another round?"
"No," he shook his head, "This one knows your problem – you don't have one."
"…What?"
"You take advantage of raw strength and surprising bursts of speed and dexterity to quickly overwhelm your opponents – then, presumably by using two swords instead of one, you continuously press the offensive. You don't let up, you don't back down, and you have the ability to dodge if you are jeopardized."
"But… I barely did any of that when we just fought," I frowned. "Hell, we barely fought for a minute and you won."
"This one was victorious because of superior skill," Sesshomaru gestured to himself. Then, with the bokken, he gestured towards me. "You lost because you could not express your abilities properly, you underestimated your opponent, you took too much pride in your own abilities, and you let this one's comments dictate your attitude…" he sighed. "Inuyasha was correct to call you immature."
"Alright, alright," I waved him off as I twirled the bokken again. "Uhh…" He glared at me, and I stopped twirling it. Catching it and holding the wooden sword firmly, I stared at him… and as though satisfied, he gave a slight nod. "Oookaay…? Anyway, so my problem isn't my fighting style, it's my attitude. Uh, big surprise. So what?"
"Recall, we came here to speak of two issues at the same time. Your problem is not just your being handicapped; you also struggle to fight against an opponent who can easily take advantage of those handicaps." He shrugged, "In truth, it is a problem this Sesshomaru has faced before… and has yet to fully overcome."
"So you really don't have advice for me? Uh, spiritual or fighting-wise?"
"Not quite."
"…Wait, so…" I pinched my brow, "Is that a "not quite" as in 'yes', or 'no'?"
"Perhaps, but perhaps not – you lost a battle with the spirit of your gauntlets. If such a battle is your only option, then perhaps the solution is to use what you know against your opponent." He walked up to me… and had to look up to meet my eyes. "You lost to this one because you could not dictate the battle. So, change the battle to your favor." He offered me the bokken, "Surely, she never said how the fighting had to be done?"
I stared at him as I quietly took the bokken in my other hand. Holding the two practice swords, I felt my eye twitch. That… that was irritating to know… for the solution to my problem to be so simple – it grated on my nerves. But, okay, I'd gone through weirder and more nonsensical things than this before.
Shutting my eye, I took a deep breath. "That's too easy, though," I said aloud. "If a Shinigami could just do that, then why wouldn't they?"
"Who says they haven't?" Sesshomaru countered, "There is a story of a man who bested Death in a game unlike any other, and in so doing won immortality for a price… Shinigami and their Zanpakuto are really no different, Poe R.R. Acti."
I thought about that. Though I only had one reference for how Shinigami could obtain their Bankai, that reference being the weird exception of Ichigo Kurosaki, it made a strange kind of sense. And playing games with death was an ancient kind of story, so the concept of doing something similar with someone that had become a piece of my being was… was…
…wait.
"You know what Zanpakuto are?" I looked at Sesshomaru with wide eyes, my voice but a whisper.
He only nodded, "Of course. This shocks you?"
"…" I nodded silently.
"Inuyasha's Tessaiga was made similarly to a Zanpakuto… this one thought, surely you realized… ah, but you are immature and not very bright… You do not understand your own nature…" he sighed, "In that case, this one more-sincerely apologizes for the animosity. You hold within you a god of fire and vengeance – as a Daiyokai, I am opposed to that." The explanation felt weak, but in the wake of his other words I couldn't protest.
Like the hamster wheel that was my brain had just exploded, I could only nod quietly as Sesshomaru smiled and made to depart. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. My mouth shut, and I kept thinking – it was going back and circling again and again… how did he know? What else did he know? I opened it to think aloud, and stopped myself once more.
Still holding the bokken with my mouth opening and closing as though I were some muted idiot, I just kept asking those questions as he left the courtyard. Finally, I felt my lips connect as I steadied myself. There was something going on here, and I'd find out about it. But I already made the decision to leave, and there would be another chance for me to ask. I gripped the practice swords, a burning sensation rushed through my arms as I did.
Clearly, I'd been going in a cycle… I had to be, otherwise things from previous worlds and time periods wouldn't be showing up here. When I thought about the bizarre shape of the River of Light, other pieces of the puzzle fell into place. So, with that in mind, I let myself fall back into the House of the Rising Sun – my mindscape, unchanged from the last time I arrived, greeted me with a gentle wind and light warmth from the sun.
Lust stood with her arms crossed behind her back and a smirk on her lips. "You're more of a glutton for punishment than Gluttony, Poe… and that's saying something."
Still holding the wood swords from the outside, I threw one towards her. She caught it before it touched the ground and examined the practice sword. "We're doing this again," I said to her, "And this time we'll be using these swords." Lust blinked at my words.
Then, turning her gaze from the practice swords, she met my eyes with a baffled expression. "You really want to try again? So soon?"
"It worked with Road," I shrugged. "And the sooner I get this done, the sooner I can cut a real problem in the bud and move on to the next world."
"Oh, Poe," she brought her other palm to her forehead. "I don't know what that witch sees in you, but if you're truly certain that this is the path you wish to walk… It's not like I can deter you."
"You're damn right you can't."
"That said," she pointed the sword at me as the fingertips of her other hand extended. "What makes you think I'll play this game of yours?"
"Easy," I answered. "I'll force you to." The practice sword in her hand exploded as the small fraction of the power of the Rider I'd shoved into it overclocked the object. It couldn't withstand its own reinforced nature. Burning shrapnel flew around her as Lust drew back her hand in shock.
I was already upon her, the other bokken swinging down through the smoke to hit her shoulder. She barely flinched, so I drew the bokken back and swung down once more. Her hands flew out and sent me flying away, spinning as I did. The wood sword in my hands barely held up to the blades of wind and sound that chipped at it, and as I landed I somersaulted.
"How repetitive!" Lust mocked as she drifted gently down from the same cloud as before, having somehow reached it as I flew away. "You're really going to try the same tactics again and again?"
"Nah, Sesshomaru just brought up some good points is all…" I said as I unlatched my Zanpakuto and let them fall to the sand. I stepped on each of them, my feet placing themselves towards the center of each sheathed blade. Fire rose from my ankles and calves as they wrapped around my Zanpakuto.
Still holding the damaged bokken, I cracked my neck. Sesshomaru mentioned the Rider and called him a god, but he also mentioned the difficulty of fighting someone who could negate my abilities. Well, I had access to a power that Lust didn't. And while I had a Ride, the negative aspects of that power weren't going to go away.
Was it technically cheating? Sure it was! But if Ichigo could use his Hollow powers against Zangetsu, then I could use the Ghost Rider to win a fight with Lust. False comparisons aside, she seemed shocked at my willingness to use it. "How long's it been?" I asked her, "Since I've used only one sword? Since I've used the power of the Rider?" I cracked my neck once more, feeling my shoulders pop. "If my new tactics can't work against you, if my new powers won't work against you, I'll just use what Centrecroix can't negate…!"
Fire jetted behind me as I suddenly flew towards her. I was skiing on the air and she couldn't stop me. I turned on nothing and swung the wood blade at her, feeling it blacken and char as it too was reinforced with the power of the Rider. Splinters left behind from the other exploded blade flew towards us as I struck at her.
Lust's shining Ultimate Lance blocked my sword, but did little to block the incoming pieces of wood shrapnel that scratched a path through her side. The shards reformed in my left hand, turning back into the practice blade as I stabbed towards Lust's center.
Instead of backing away, she let herself fall through the cloud she was standing on. Reaching further than I thought possible, Lust's fingertips extended once more into long blades that caught the sand and bent… she faced me as she turned her Lance into a trampoline. With that motion, she flung her hands out and rocketed through the air towards me.
My wood swords crossed as I waited for her. Lust's gauntleted hands came up and giant fists of sound formed around them, reaching towards me to pierce through my defense. But fire rose as I just skied towards her. The sound fists impacted my flaming blades, but now she was too close to dodge or run.
Feeling my arms twist from the initial impact, I twisted back and swung them out. Fire flew from the bokken towards Lust, and though she was wrapped in ember she smiled. The emerald cross above her breasts glowed, and a blast of energy lanced towards me.
My eye was wide in shock as it pierced me, but she continued to burn as we seemed to stand on nothing but air. "…Well played," she whispered. It had been so long since I'd looked, but I could tell the shining green lance had gone straight through where my own Ouroboros tattoo was – it burned from the impact. "You thought outside the box, learned what you needed to in minutes, and managed to beat me in a straight fight…"
"I used the Rider's power," my tone was bitter. "Shouldn't I have tried beating you with my own strength?"
"You used the Rider's power when you had no other option, you dictated the terms of the fight, and you circumvented the usual problems with using its power…" she chuckled, "Centrecroix's sound manipulation abilities are yours to command."
"…Uh," I coughed slightly as the pain from her lance faded. It was still there, just stuck in my body, so we were hanging there while the Rider's power continued to blast flame out from my skis. Flying through the skies in this position, it felt weird as all hell. "So do I just instantly figure it out, or shout a technique name, or…? What?"
"Your physical body entered the House of the Rising Sun, Poe," Lust seemed to chide me. "When you open a gate to leave, you will enter a different world. But, be warned, the train is in motion."
"Okay." I nodded, "Consider me warned. Now, where can we land?" I looked around as we flew, "Because I'm pretty sure neither of us wants to hit that pyramid…"
Lust's eye twitched, "You mean to say that you came up with an alternative method of flight just to fight me… and never considered how you would land?"
"Pretty much."
"Goddamnit, Poe."
I'd have laughed, but her Ultimate Lance was starting to hurt again. I settled for a shit-eating grin.
-x-
The black door in front of me was impossible not to recognize. This was the Gate. More than that, this was the same Gate from the other version of Amestris. This was the Gate between worlds, not the Gate of the soul… this was my Gate, and there were a number of obvious reasons for it.
"So, Ars," I heard Medusa speak as she stepped up behind me. "Are you ready to step into the breach?"
"…Yeah, I am."
"If you want to stay…"
I shook my head. "I'm not reconsidering, Meds. I'm doing this. I need to do this."
She hugged me, "You're not a burden, Ars. They aren't rejecting you."
"I know that," I said. "This is my decision, and it needs to be done. I need to see what's at the end of this, Meds. I need to know. And now I have a chance to."
"How so?"
I just pointed at my head in response, "I'm a different person than I was before."
She let go of me and I turned to hug her properly. "I, uh," I was blushing, "We're not really saying goodbye. I mean, you'll still be in my head, it's just an existential sort of trip-thing is all…"
Medusa laughed, "If you're certain about this, then just go."
I let go of her, slowly, and nodded. Steeling myself, I turned and pushed open the door to walk through. The things I knew now were different from the things I knew before. But even so, even if I knew the differences in those things, I wasn't prepared for the sight on the other side.
The black door shut behind me and seemed to vanish as I walked through the twisting train car. The thing that offered me a drink every time I entered looked so different now. It almost resembled a person, but too many details were off. I didn't want to look at it too closely. So I walked, and the faces fused to the walls shifted.
Golden light outside the train car shimmered and twisted. This was the truth of the River of Light. This was its shape. Until now, I hadn't given any thought to the train that shifted between space and time that was so closely linked to my soul. But now, it made sense. In order for the train to move, it had to have train tracks.
What was the River of Light except that? Countless parallel lines and bars that twisted and wound their way in impossible directions and angles… it was a massive, cosmic set of train tracks deeply rooted to the world itself. And closely intertwined were the mushi that shifted and throbbed throughout the area around it, an area that too closely resembled the inside of the Gate between worlds… The mushi that too closely resembled the simple spirits of the spirit world…
It was all connected, but how? But why? I stood still and waited for confetti to drift by me as golden light filled the car and all the figures vanished, but the door I was walking towards still stood firm and tall. From the light, I saw a shadow approach.
That black figure stepped closer to me, "Well?" it asked, "What are you waiting for? Go on, open the door." It gestured towards the Gate, expecting me to follow its orders. I felt my eye narrow as I stepped towards the thing. My arm cocked, and my fist flew.
Its head turned when I punched it; it stepped back in shock and pain as my fist drew back. I took a single step back and pulled up my eyepatch to look at it, the Ultimate Eye doing all it could to capture the thing in front of me… but I saw nothing but ash and cinder.
"…You," my voice held nothing but venom. "I don't know what you are, I don't know where you're from… but you've been around since the beginning, haven't you?"
The black thing didn't respond. Instead, it slowly stood and turned its head to look at me. Though its features were blurred, I could imagine it was smiling somehow.
"Ra, Chief Security Officer…" I trailed, "What a load of bullshit. It might've fooled me, too!" I laughed, "But the Poe you've been fucking with? He's gone. He blew his brains out to get rid of you, and I took his place…" putting back my eyepatch, I glared at him. "And I'm not so easy to control, am I?"
It watched me, its head tilting as it thought. With a flicker of light, I thought I saw armor, but then I saw nothing as a void took its place and its needle-like teeth twisted into a wide grin. Eyes that were little more than circles of white narrowed, "No," it said, "I suppose you're not…"
"You drove those men insane, those years ago." I bit my lip. "The half-Hollow, half-Blanks… because looking at you, it's enough to erase memories and twist people's souls. You're a nightmare. But," I nodded to myself, "But now I know you exist. Now I know you're around… and I won't forget. I can't forget." Putting myself in a boxer's stance, I prepared for it to attack me… but it didn't.
Instead, the thing shifted as though amused. "That's interesting…" its voice was soft. "You… you're not him, but you are him… that's what you're saying? Oh, how fascinating… so, in other words, you're a real hero, aren't you?" Its voice was definitely masculine, not the in-between of Truth's tone. "Ahahaha… So this must have been what it felt like… you're new, aren't you? A new thing… wonderful."
Taking a deep breath, I pressed onwards. "You're a monster. You… I don't even know what else you've done, but I know I'll find out…" the thought terrified me. "I'll remember this, and I'll remember you. I'll poke holes in all your lies and stories, and I'll figure out the truth. And when I do, no force will stop me. I'll kill you even if you're immortal – viam inveniam aut faciam." I paused, "…Even if I fail, you're going to die. That's a promise."
"…How adorable," the black thing replied. "To think, that after all this time what I was looking for would finally appear just when it is no longer needed. You're the wrong hero for this… go away, fly," he waved me off. "But, if you insist on staying and playing your role… well…"
Instantly, he was in front of me. His hand was wrapped around my throat as he lifted me. A blade was forming in his other hand as blackness held my limbs in place and twisted and threatened to break them off. I screamed in agony as flashing, horrible images of things that had too many eyes and fingers licked the corners of my vision and cried in discordant harmony.
"I outlasted the Serpents' gambit and made it my own! I burned the Many-Angled Ones and taught them their errors as I ingested their ashes! I have saved all, and destroyed all! I am the carrier of the flame, he who knows the Basilisk…! I am the hero who determined the fate of all things…! You?! You are an anomalous thing, a pitiful excuse for a hero that arrived too late…! Fight me and stand in your kingdom of ashes, oh royal fool!
"Know my alias: Ra, Chief Security Officer – know my occupation and know that you are trapped, that there is no escaping, that no matter what you are, no matter if you are "unique", I have slain a thousand-thousand others identical to you, have carried the light of a million-billion suns several times over…!
"YOU ARE ALREADY TOO LATE.
"And if I strike at you, tear apart all that you are and rend it to oblivion, what more could be done? If I bury you like those many others, all your pointless work would only reach a newer nadir of failure! If I struck, you would not be able to stop me…!"
"If," I choked out.
"…" He went silent.
"You keep saying that," my hands went up to pry his fingers. Fire licked them as I pulled and he flinched back as I fell to my knees, "If this, if that… But if you wanted me dead, you'd have killed me. You're planning something, and maybe I'm too late to stop all of it, but you never once said I couldn't kill you."
I stood as I backed away, one hand massaging my aching neck while the other reached for the black door. "Spoken like a true hero." He turned as though to dismiss me. I stilled at that, "Shall I take your words as your promise, or as the promise of every other Poe R.R. Acti thrown into your situation…? They never learned who I was. Nor did all the others of different names and genders and creeds… Truly, this repeats what I saw before… was this what they thought when they rang the bells? Haha… Hah." He grinned as his form faded, "You're just like him. And her. And all the others… I'll enjoy breaking y–" he paused.
My other hand was giving him the finger as I reached for the door.
"Cute." The black thing growled before it vanished.
So there, alone, I waited in the sea of light as my hand pressed against the black door. There was a rushing sensation and I fell…
-x-
One Foot on the Platform
OR: One Foot on the Train
End-240