This chapter will just cover a few scenes taking place in the time-skip between the end of last chapter and the start of Book 27. After this, I'm going to take a little break, to be explained in this chapter's end notes.

PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Realm MTD – Planet Phaaze

32 Days After Malia Abaddia's Death

With one last Phazon Missile hit to the weak point on its rear underside, the corrupted Aurora Unit seized and wobbled unsteadily in the air, before crashing to the floor of the arena, landing on its top with its 'legs' curled up like a dead bug's. Two armored figures stood, weapons still readied; Samus Aran's body glowed with a blue aura that also shone out from her suit, the result of the Phazon Seed corruption being kept at bay by her Chozo gene-splicing and her raw willpower, while Madoka Kaname – who'd joined Samus after Dark Samus started fielding 'Phazon Familiars' at Elysium – was in full-body Keyblade Armor, the powerful protective enchantments protecting her from Phazon radiation even here at the source of the living contagion, wielding her original Keyblade along with the Rumbling Rose that Malia had transferred to her in her final moments.

The fallen Aurora Unit seized, a bluish glow shining out from it, and it began to collapse in on itself, before then imploding into nothingness with a flash of blue. Dark Samus was revealed from within, staggering and 'groaning' as she tried to hold herself together. But then, the Phazon-corrupted Grief Seed she'd absorbed a few months ago glowed a sickly bluish-purple from within her chest. Dark power flowed out, ethereal tendrils of Darkness enveloping Dark Samus. There was a pulse of 'dark light' and a shockwave of air as the transformation completed, making Samus and Madoka stumble back briefly.

Now, Dark Samus' armor had bits of purple and black to it, looking a little bit bulkier in places, with arcane runes written in the Witches' peculiar language here & there. Her left hand was tipped with wicked-looking black claws, her arm cannon glowed with red light, and her T-shaped visor/face had a purplish hue as opposed to a blue one. She hunched over, crossing her arms over her chest, and the armor along her back burst open in a few places, allowing two more arms tipped with lethal claws to appear below her normal ones, followed by two glowing tendrils, each one five feet long and tipped with Red-Phazon blades.

(BOSS MUSIC: Metroid Prime 1 – "Essence of Metroid Prime Battle")

Dark Samus' distorted laughter rang out, and as the two heroines looked at her they saw the spectral superimposed image of the entity called Metroid Prime that Samus had slain back on Tallon IV, and Samus remembered that battle's end and finally understood the nature of her dark doppelganger. She looked to Madoka, and the two armored warriors nodded to each other. Dark Samus gathered her power, and then charged, wreathed in Darkness and Phazon, streaking like a comet toward the two heroines. The duo leapt to either side, as a powerful shockwave of irradiated Dark power erupted where they'd just been standing.

Dark Samus brought her cannon to bear and fired a Red Phazon Missile at Samus, who rolled to dodge it and even then was sent tumbling by the concussion of the blast. DS then rushed towards Madoka, forcing the girl to act fast to dodge and block the flurry of blows from the two Red-Phazon blades and three clawed hands. After several harrowing seconds, she managed to leap back just as a charged Phazon Beam shot from Samus hit Dark Samus in the back, making the abomination stumble forward, letting out an inhuman growl. Madoka then hit her with a Strike Raid, and DS responded by firing a continuous slicing beam of concentrated Phazon energy that she rapidly swept across the battlefield, forcing Madoka to jump and Samus to go Morph-Ball and roll.

Madoka fired a barrage of Light-type Sagitta Magica, and though most of them crashed into a Darkness-laced Phazon barrier that Dark Samus conjured, a few got through and struck their target. Dark Samus then made a huge leap, landing right in front of Samus and firing a shotgun-blast of Phazon particles from her cannon. Samus twisted to the side, feeling her armor and shields take the few 'pellets' she couldn't dodge, and returned fire with a Phazon Missile that nailed Dark Samus in the face, knocking her back. The humanoid creature growled and then lunged forward, thrusting her Red-Phazon blades at Samus. A Reflega spell sprang up and blocked the hits, and Madoka then leapt in and slashed Dark Samus hard across the back with Rumbling Rose, following up with a combo of a few more blows and finishing with a focused blast of Wind magic that blew Dark Samus most of the way across the arena.

Two Red Phazon Missiles were fired towards the heroine pair, and Samus intercepted the one heading for her with a well-placed Phazon Missile of her own while Madoka set hers off with a slicing wave of Wind. Dark Samus then flashed blue as she and three doppelgangers then spread out from where she'd been, all of them zipping around and firing shots at Samus & Madoka. Samus fired a charged shot at one, only to hit one of the duplicates, destroying it but failing to discern the original. She winced as a few rapid-fired shots from another one hit her from the side, eating at her shields. Focusing on the dark-armored foe's movements, she fired a Phazon Missile into its path, destroying another duplicate. The real Dark Samus and her sole remaining duplicate both rushed at Madoka, who threw a Strike Raid and destroyed the last duplicate, but that did not stop the real Dark Samus from getting closer, cannon charging… until the thrown Keyblade came back like a boomerang instead of teleporting directly back to Madoka, nailing Dark Samus from behind and giving Madoka the chance to get out of her way. Another charged shot from Samus hit the evil being before she could recover, dealing further damage.

Dark Samus, now bearing visible injuries, let out an unearthly cry of fury. The Red-Phazon blades at the tips of the Phazon tendrils emerging from her back glowed, and the air around her wavered. She swept her arms forward, and dozens of Red-Phazon 'darts' formed in midair and flew towards Samus and Madoka in a withering barrage. Samus dodged and weaved, rapid-firing shots from her cannon to intercept some of them, while Madoka moved her two Keyblades around as fast as she could to deflect them all, feeling a few of them get through and strike her armor's shields. The barrage kept coming for several seconds, and when it stopped the duo looked up and saw Dark Samus charging a huge amount of power into her arm cannon, which was glowing with a seething blue light. She braced herself, and then fired a massive beam of energy – the blue of Phazon mixed with the black of Darkness – at the two heroines. Madoka barely flash-stepped to the side in time, the proximity making her shields flare and be almost totally drained, while Samus Boost-Balled the other way.

Dark Samus stood hunched over, having expended quite a bit of energy with her last big attack. To one side, Samus straightened up and rapid-fired a trio of Phazon Missiles, one hitting Dark Samus before she then blasted the other two mid-flight. DS then turned and backhanded away a Fire spell from Madoka, but was then hit by a Blizzara spell that – due to her nature as, essentially, a hyper-evolved Metroid – did more damage than she expected, especially as it was laced with Light magic. Madoka then threw her Keyblade in another Strike Raid, but Dark Samus jumped to the side, dodging the attack, and fired a Phazon Missile that hit Madoka dead-center, knocking her back.

However, Dark Samus then heard pounding footsteps approaching, and turned around just in time to see Samus, who had caught Madoka's thrown Keyblade, mere feet from her. The evil entity did not have time to react as Samus flashed past her, slashing the Keyblade across and through her, cutting right through the Corrupted Grief Seed and the being's 'core' inside. Samus took a pose on the other side, and the Keyblade automatically teleported itself back to its owner just as a flash and explosion of Light and magic engulfed Dark Samus. The creature cried out, blue light leaking out from the gaps and holes in her armor, as she twitched and seized. She tried to raise her gun to point at Samus one last time, but then with a shockwave she exploded, thousands of tiny Phazon particles which rapidly faded away into Nothingness. A lone Grief Seed dropped to the floor of the arena, and then came apart in a puff of black smoke.

As Madoka got back on her feet, checking to ensure her armor wasn't breached (it wasn't), Samus' body seized and flashed with blue light. The Phazon Seed infecting her, deep inside her body, abruptly imploded, and in an instant all the Phazon contaminating her body ceased to exist. Panting, and a bit unsteady on her feet, she then felt as the ground started shaking. The two of them looked around, noticing that the cavern they were in was collapsing… and, according to Samus's suit VI, the entire planet was following suit. By destroying the entity that had linked herself to and partially become the source/heart of all Phazon, they had set in motion a chain reaction that would destroy all of the substance across the entire galaxy. And considering that they were currently standing on a planet made of said substance…

"I… think it's time we leave" Samus said. "Like, now."

"No argument here" Madoka replied.

-Break-

The Galactic Federation assault fleet – rather, the 62% of it that had survived the battle – emerged on the other side of the wormhole just as it collapsed behind them. Aboard the flagship GFS Olympus, Fleet-Admiral Dane stood at the command podium, overlooking the damaged and scarred survivors of his fleet, and listening to the progress reports from his XO.

"What about Samus?" he asked.

"…Negative, sir. No contact…"

The old man sighed, looking out at the stars. But then, two small vessels performed a fly-by right past the forward viewscreen: the 'Keyblade Glider' used by that odd young girl, and the unmistakable profile of Samus' gunship. As they passed, a single typed message was sent from Samus' ship: "Mission Complete". Dane saluted the heroine as she and her little friend flew off into the stars.

"So…" Madoka spoke to Samus over radio. "Seeing as you lost a lot of your arm-cannon modes after Norion, maybe we can use the data from Marie's Device to recreate and reinstall them for you."

"That'd be nice" Samus replied. "Looking forward to having the Light and Ice Beams again… Lead the way, kid."

A portal was opened from the Keyblade Glider, which flew into and through it, the orange gunship following.

-SCENE BREAK-

Realm ME-N7

16 Days After Destruction of Planet Phaaze

Commander Jason Shepard stood in the atrium deep within the Starshot, looking at the various people gathered here; for the past couple months he'd been knee-deep in work on Earth helping the Sol System try to get ready for what was coming (and keeping his head down so the Batarian Hegemony wasn't tempted to try anything), with the Normandy II likewise 'grounded' undergoing upgrades and retrofits to bring it up to Alliance specs & regs, but people had insisted he be present in person for the momentous occasion of today. Multiple vessels of various make & model were clustered in the space around the Forerunner-built vessel, some big names present here either in person or via hologram.

Many people, Shepard among them, had worked long and hard for this day. There had been a few hiccups, apprehension and nervousness, worries and old prejudices to work through, but finally they'd done it. Shepard had, once again, helped to achieve what the people of the galaxy had deemed utterly impossible, though he'd had plenty of help. Now, he watched as the delegates from the two groups approached each other, meeting in the middle. The two spokespersons came forward, and shook each other's hands.

"Our people and yours have waited far too long for this day" Admiral Zaal'Koris said. "With all the revelations you gave Shepard, and through him us, and all the work we've done… I was still afraid this day would never come. But now… It's been far too long; at long last, three centuries of conflict is over. I'm just thankful we had the good fortune to make it this far."

"As are we, Admiral Koris" Legion replied, the half-dozen Geth platforms standing in formation behind it nodding in agreement. "The scars from the Morning War have yet to fully heal, but we concur that this is a significant step towards that point. …It is fortunate that we and the Creators have forged this peace before the Old Machines' arrival."

"Yes, the Reapers will be hard enough to handle without additional conflicts."

"It's still hard to believe this is really happening…" Tali spoke up. "Peace between my people… and the Geth… Half a year ago, I thought the Geth were murderous rogue machines out to serve the Reapers and wipe us out. But meeting you, Legion, finding out the true nature of the Geth's beliefs and culture, of the 'Morning War'… I've learned so much since the Collector Incident; it feels like so much more time has passed than it really has…"

"We have long awaited the day when we and the Creators could finally cease hostilities. It would not have been possible without Shepard-Commander, Creator-Admiral Zaal'Koris… and you, Creator-Tali'Zorah. We are in your gratitude for helping bring this development about."

There was a very quiet "Hmph" from amongst the Quarians behind Zaal and Tali.

"All the same…" Zaal whispered to Tali and Legion. "We may have peace between the majorities of our people, but… I think we'll need to keep a close eye on Gerrel and Xen. They don't seem very happy about this whole thing…"

"They wouldn't dare try anything with the Reapers looming on the horizon… right?" Tali replied.

"Let us hope not" Legion replied. "But we will deal with any future developments when they happen; as Pilot-Moreau has said regarding the issue, we will 'cross that bridge when we come to it'. For now, however… Welcome home, Creators."

A large holoscreen popped up on a nearby wall, showing a view from space of the planet below: Rannoch. Several of the Quarians found themselves growing misty-eyed as they gazed upon their 300-years-lost homeworld.

"We did it…" Tali said as she heard Shepard come up beside her. "I can't believe it's really happening, but we did it, Jason. We brought an end to a 300-year conflict."

"Let's hope it stays that way" Shepard replied. "I don't completely trust Daro'Xen not to try anything further down the line, or Han'Gerrel for that matter; hopefully Zaal'Koris and Shala'Raan can keep them in line. But… for now, let's savor the moment."

"…Speaking of 'savoring the moment'…" Tali said to him. "You still have about six hours before you have to head back to Earth for a couple more months, right?"

Shepard smiled. "Indeed I do, 'Miss vas-Normandy'."

-SCENE BREAK-

Unknown Location

One Week After Quarian-Geth Peace

A lone figure clad in red and black armor strode across the dusty ground, her helmet dispelled to let her long black hair flow free and reveal a face that looked very human (especially since, unbeknownst to her, her 'species' was actually a sub-species of the Homo sapiens she hated so much, but that's for another time). Physically she was slightly more 'girl' than 'woman', her physical age frozen at 16, and only around 5'4" tall, but her intimidating aura, piercing red-irised glare, and fearsome-looking armor and staff made up for it. Eve T'Lesh, former servant of The Fallen and sworn enemy of humanity, sighed; this empty planet was the fourth Forerunner ruin site she'd investigated in the past month, but she'd still found no hints as to where the Didact might be located. She knew the Forerunner "war-criminal" was alive and imprisoned somewhere, but she had no idea where.

Suddenly, Eve heard soft footsteps to the side and behind her, and tensed up, readying her staff and turning to face the newcomer. The black-cloaked figure was around half a foot taller than her, and the loose robe/cloak could not quite hide the faint outline of breasts of considerable size within. The figure chuckled softly with a young woman's voice, and then pulled her hood back to reveal a human with long black hair and gold eyes, along with a cold smirk. Eve frowned.

"Human…" she growled.

"Partially" the other girl replied.

"How so? Are you a halfling?"

The taller girl's smirk widened. "I am the Darkness of a human girl's Heart – her soul –, extracted and made manifest as a separate being of pure Darkness. My name is Ruin, the Darkness of Fate Testarossa's Heart separated and made flesh, and a subordinate of the great Dark Keyblade Master, Xehanort."

Eve felt a hint of shock. She'd long since 'realized' that humans were vile beings with great Darkness in their hearts, but to actually see and meet that darkness personified…

"Why are you here?" Eve asked in a low tone as she readied her staff.

"There's been some talk going around about you, Lucavi; the girl who accepted Megatronus Prime's power in order to wipe out humanity in revenge for what the Sol Confederacy did to you. In particular, I've heard about your power, including rumors that you've been training, have become stronger since your fight against the Shinsō on the Puellae Magi's Earth. The things I've heard have interested me. I want…" she summoned her two Dark Keyblades "to test your ability, and see if you live up to the hype."

Eve jumped back and took a defensive stance, the core at the tip of her staff flickering as she began channeling power into it. This young woman – this personification of human Darkness – had sought her out for fun, more or less. She felt a bit slighted at that, and she glared as Ruin took a combat stance, that damnable smirk not leaving her face.

"Come on, T'Lesh" Ruin said. "Let's have a little fun, and shed a little blood…"

In the next instant, Eve had to react very quickly, barely bringing her staff up in time to block a downward swing of Ruin's two Dark Keyblades, the older girl's smirk now a teeth-showing grin that looked a bit bloodthirsty, her gold eyes faintly glowing. Eve's eyes flashed red as she countered with a pulse of psionic force that blasted Ruin back, the taller girl back-flipping and landing on her feet. The fallen Lucavi then conjured and fired two blasts of crimson energy, only for Ruin to dodge one and – with some difficulty – bat the other aside with her dark weapons. Ruin fired a barrage of Lightning-type Sagitta Magica, which Eve deflected by rapidly telekinetically spinning her staff in front of herself.

The head of Eve's staff then shifted form, the outer red-lined black parts splitting and shifting and shortening, while the red crystal core sank inwards down into the staff's body, seeming to change shape as it did. From the shortened and transformed head of the staff, a crimson blade of energy sprang forth, emitting a soft hum. Then, the other end of the staff started splitting and shifting, the strange and primal-enchanted metal moving in ways conventional metal could not, some pieces coming into or out of existence as the weapon shortened and shifted. There was soon an opening at the base of this other end, from which sprang another red energy blade just like the other one. Eve twirled her staff, which had essentially transformed into a double-bladed lightsaber, the hum of the two red energy blades cutting through the air sounding out.

Ruin grinned and then rushed forward, her Dark Keyblades crackling with dark-lightning magic power as she swung and thrusted them Eve, who sidestepped the strikes or blocked them with her saber-staff, also lashing out with her own energy-blade strikes that were likewise dodged or blocked by Ruin. Ruin braced herself to withstand a close-range psionic push from Eve, her feet leaving a trail on the ground where they'd been anchored by magic. She threw a Strike Raid, hitting Eve and making her stagger back, but then the fallen Lucavi snarled and thrusted her hand forward, unleashing a blast/stream of lightning from her fingertips that hit Ruin, making her cry out in surprised pain, her muscles twitching uncontrollably for a few seconds before she managed to use her own lightning-manipulation ability to nullify the effect and regain control of herself. After a few seconds, she chuckled.

"Well, so far I am not disappointed" she remarked. "Yet."

She then rushed Eve again, the two locking blades once more. Now Ruin was a bit more aggressive, turning up the heat and forcing Eve back a little, striking harder and giving the Lucavi warrior less time and space to move her blade-staff for anything besides defense. Deciding to rectify that, she gripped both hands around the center of the staff, and right when Ruin swung one Keyblade at that part Eve twisted her hands in opposite directions. There was a click, and Ruin then pulled the two halves of the staff apart, letting Ruin's attack momentum carry the swing downward into the ground, throwing Ruin off-balance. Now having converted her single double-bladed weapon into two single-blade ones, Eve went on the offensive, beginning to match Ruin and even push her back a little, two pairs of blade weapons clashing in displays of strength, speed, and skill.

Ruin let out a quick laugh, openly enjoying the battle, the challenge, having to put her all skill-wise into matching this girl. Eve was focusing intently, letting the mystical power-source she wielded guide her movements, thrusting and parrying and blocking. Ruin ducked beneath a horizontal swing, and then giggled as she quickly leaned in and planted a split-second kiss on Eve's lips, just to throw her off with something unexpected; Eve immediately gasped in shock, freezing up for but a moment, and Ruin took the opportunity to land a powerful kick that sent Eve tumbling several meters. Snarling at the audacity of this human (and blushing a little), Eve cried out in fury as she fired a torrent of psionic lightning. Ruin brought her Dark Keyblades up, and strained as she tried to hold back the assault. After several seconds, the lightning cut off, and Eve immediately charged in its wake, unleashing a furious assault that surprised Ruin with how hard it was to withstand. But she soon regained her composure and resumed giving as good as she got.

After another minute or so of sword-fighting, the two leapt back from each other, gathering their respective energies. Ruin fired off a Photon Lancer barrage, while Eve conjured and launched multiple small red arrowhead-shaped energy blasts, the two barrages intercepting and cancelling each other. The two girls fired more attacks at each other as they darted around the landscape, occasionally closing in to duel some more. Through it all, Eve very gradually came to feel something, and it took her a while to realize what it was: she was enjoying this. She was finding this fight fun on some level. And from the looks of it, so was Ruin.

Many minutes passed as Ruin and Eve continued their battle, blades being crossed and attacks being exchanged, with neither of them getting the upper hand. Eventually, the both of them were tired, bearing various small wounds. Deciding it was time to bring this to a close, the two of them jumped back from each other, getting distance, and then started charging up for one last hurrah. Ruin held her two Dark Keyblades out in front of her, black lightning crackling between them as she began charging up a Plasma Zanbar Breaker. Across the 'field', she looked in surprise as Eve had returned her weapon(s) to the default staff form, which she was holding with the head pointed at her, and motes of red light rapidly converging into a growing sphere of bright red magical energy. Ruin was surprised; through what had to be a coincidence, Eve's finishing attack was the exact same type of offensive spell as the Starlight Breaker. Hell, it might actually be an SB, despite Eve having never even met Nanoha or Teana, the two people who currently knew it.

After plenty of charging time, the two attacks fired; two huge beams of raw destructive magical energy, one red and the other black & dark-purple, raced toward each other. The two beams met in the middle, pushing against one another, neither holding the advantage for more than a few seconds. After several seconds, both attacks diminished and faded out, their casters having run out of steam. Ruin and Eve stood hunched over, panting for breath and feeling quite drained. In between gasps for air, Ruin laughed.

"That was… marvelous…" she said. "You… are somethin' else, T'Lesh. I like you. I can't wait… for us to meet again… Maybe we'll do… more than just fight… hang out afterwards, or… something… Haah… Hey, if I stumble across… any of those old… Sol Confederacy bastards… in my travels… the ones who made your life Hell personally… I'll kill 'em for ya… How's that sound? Anyway, see ya…"

Ruin opened a Dark Portal and stepped through, leaving Eve alone again. The fallen Lucavi sat on the ground, still panting for breath after exerting herself so much, as she became lost in thought.

'What the hell was all that?' she thought, reminiscing on the battle and on the words exchanged throughout. 'She's human – the Darkness of a human's heart – but… I could tell she was sincere. She respects me… and she meant it when she said what she did at the end. Even though she's one of them… I think I'm actually looking forward to the next time we meet…'

-BOOK 26 END-

Okay, folks, that's that. Now, there is going to be a break/'hiatus' between now and the next Book. I'm going to be playing through ME2 and ME3, and also going over some older entries in the Travels series to make some changes – changing a few lines, redoing Books 3 and 4 to make them look neater and change a few things, and I have decided to edit out all references to Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Digimon characters being in the DDF from previous books; I haven't really been using them anyway. I might make a Digimon Book further down the line, though; I don't know yet.

So, until I have finished those things, Teana's Travels is on break. Don't worry; it probably won't last longer than a month. And be sure to stay tuned, for the next Book is gonna be a big one, with all sorts of characters and factions coming together, revelations being made, fights being one and lost, and the Dimensional Defense Force facing the largest threat they've yet encountered.

Next time, in Book 27 Invasion: the Reapers are coming.