[ Creators ]

Chapter 29

"You...don't remember me?"

Straus barely has enough time to process all of this before Koto charges at him and strikes, he blocks and pushes her back. "All I know is that I fight in Jupiter's name...", she speaks in a monotoned voice, "...for her, I would do anything." Koto attacks again while Jupiter watches like a giddy child. Straus feels an overwhelming sadness, "That's not how I remember you at all...it isn't..." But Koto, at this moment, doesn't care for such sappy feelings. The two duke it out for quite a while, with Straus refusing to do any significant damage. While all of this is happening, the others manage to get their own Worlds back to normal. This manages to slow Koto down, but Jupiter's increasing anger and frustration definitely takes a toll on her. "Koto. You have to remember me. Please!", calls Straus, taking a moment to regain some stamina. "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!!", Jupiter yells. Koto holds her head from the noise and cries out, "I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER YOU, I DON'T WANT TO S̸-͟S҉-͟Ś͞-́͝S͟͡-̶͘S̸̕͘-̸̶́S̨͡҉S̷̛͡-̶̵̢̧-̵̢̛͟-͢҉̕͡-̵̴̡̨͠T̛͟͝͝͠-̵̸̛̕͝Ţ̶̀͠͞-̶̸̧̡̀͏-҉̀͡͏͡͡R͢҉͘҉̀̀-͝͏̢̕͞͝-̴̴̷́͜͠R̸̡̧͟͜͜-́̕͘͜͢͏À̴̴̢̀́-̵̛͜͏̨A̴҉̸͠҉-̴̢̡̀́A̵̴͟͝͠-̛͠͠͞A҉̛́͜A̷̧̛͢A̶͟͟Ą͘͠Ą̶̛-̶̸̀-͘͠-҉͠Ų̕U͝͞-͟-̷S̶!!" She stumbles angrily, her mind spinning with conflicting thoughts. She almost falls over but Straus, seeing his chance, puts his gauntlets away and catches her into a hug.

"Come back to me, please."

"...Let go...Let go!! LET G- G͟-͠-̴G͟-̶E̸-̀E̕-̧-̶T̡-͟҉T̷̨-́͝T̸̡T̢̛ ͞͠-͟͞-̸̵-̵͝H͢͡-̕͡-̡̡̛E̢͏͏-̵͘͠E̵̛͜R̛̕҉-̶͟͠R̀͞͏-̡̨͞R̷̢͜-̶̕͜-̴͏̸-̧́͢͝O̶͝͞͏-̛́͘͡U͏̛҉͝-̀̕̕͢-̨́͝͠Ţ̀͡͞-̷̢̛͟-̵̧̢͡T̴͝͏҉-̸̴̛̕-̛͜͢͢͞G̶̵̢͟͡-̢̨̡͞͡E̕͏̧͏̡-̶͢͜͟͡Ȩ̵̢́҉-̸̴̨̧͡-̵̧̡͜͟T͜͏͟͝͠-̶̢̨͘͝T̢̢҉͘̕-̶̧̧̛͟-̀̕̕̕҉Ǫ̧҉̛͡-̸̢̛̛͞-̶̵́͢͝-̡̢͝͡͝O̢̕͝͏͡-̷̶̴̀͝U̸̵̢͘͞-̸̢̢̧͟U̶̴̶͜͢-̴̨̛́T̴̛͟͞T̸̷̷̕-̴҉̷͟-̵͜͡͡-̶̧͠͏-̵̶̛͢G̸̸͠͝É͘͞͝T̡҉̀͏ ̶̢͞͏-͠͞͝-̷̨̢-̵̸́-͡҉͏Ḩ̵͠-̶̡͝H̷̡̛É̶͞R̶̕͘-̨͏́-̷̕͟Ó̴-̨̛U̵͏-͘͢T̢̕-̢͞-̶͡-͘͏Ǫ͘F̴͜-̢͢-̷M̛Y̵ ̧H͟E͜A͜D҉!́!̴

Straus looks beyond Koto's view to see Jupiter making a fist and grinning ear to ear, she's determined to keep Koto under her control. But Straus won't give up on Koto, he holds her closer to him and glares at Jupiter.

"Let. Go. Of. Her."

"NEVER!!!", Jupiter screams.

"FOR GOODNESS SAKES, MOTHER! JUST LET HER GO!", cries out Gaia while she and Red fend off Synthis. Synthis stands his ground, "She serves us now!" Red charges at him, "she is-", and punches him, "NOT YOUR PROPERTY!" Koto can't even fight anymore, she stands there, completely powered down and given up, in Straus' arms; the noise, the fear, the stress, the tension, she can't take anymore as she glitches more intensely than ever before. Koto screams out in pained anguish loud enough for everyone to hear. Gaia looks upon her with pity and finally calls out, "MOM!! PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS!"

Hearing this, Jupiter releases her grip for just a moment as if the shock brought back a memory long buried.

Straus holds Koto tightly, "Just come back- ...please...I love you..."

Koto lets out one more scream as if she were forcing the corruption out of herself. And it works, as the corruption fades her voice finally sounds clear again. She dizzily collapses, still being held up by Straus. Everyone watches as the last of that sickening, pale green magic leaves Koto's body.

For a moment, it's silent. The whole Multiverse may as well have held their breath, waiting to see what happens next.

"...Straus...", Koto looks up at Straus with tears in her eyes, "...I remember, Straus!!"

"...You're back-!" Straus also begins to cry as he keeps her close to him. The two practically fall over from the relief but Straus uses his tails to keep them balanced.

Synthis is dumbfounded, "...how?" Gaia responds, "I will tell you, Synthis. Those two really are special...I've never seen a pair of Creators with a bond as strong as theirs..." "STOP HESITATING SYNTHIS!!!", yells Jupiter, throwing a tantrum. Synthis readies his spear, "If their bond is what makes them strong...THEN I'LL DESTROY IT!" He charges at Straus and Koto but doesn't get far before Red socks his face into the sand and knocks him out.

"NO...", she stomps down on his back, "no more moving."

Jupiter kicks and screams, "GET UP NOW!!", but she can no longer sense her connection to Synthis, "AARGH!! DAMN THOSE KIDS!!"

The siblings calm themselves down and look over at the defeated Synthis. Straus sees the fear in Koto's eyes, then walks over to Synthis, charging an attack. Red grabs his shoulder and stops him, "Don't. We've done enough, Straus." Straus ponders to himself for a moment before deactivating Divine Paranormatrix.

"What...now?", asks Koto.

Red lightly kicks Synthis into the water and smiles, "go home?"

"Yes, please.", says Straus.

As they all start to head home, a pair of cloaked individuals watch from a high vantage point. One wears an orange cloak and is very tall, the other is much shorter and wears a red and white cloak.

"Seems like that's him..."

"It is..."