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Yokohama, Japan

Marisa floated down the rumbling sky on her witches broom and looked left and right. Her enemy wasn't to be seen.

"Maybe he left." She said to her companion.

The companion, Reimu, shook her head and fixed her charred gray eyes up above the city, directly into the clouds. A strike of lightning came down and zapped a nearby electric pole. "No. He must be up there, waiting. I'll go in and--"

"--It's my turn." Marisa butt in. "You stand back and watch!"

Reimu thinned her lips a little. It wasn't that she thought Marisa couldn't handle Sephiroth, but more to do with the sheer magnitude of their new foe. Even with new powers, the battle wouldn't be an easy one. Not like before. "Don't lose." She said.

"Hah! As if that would happen!" Was Marisa's confident retort.

As Marisa took off for the clouds, Reimu stopped her. "Wait. One of the five summons the King included in my update is Belldandy. With her, I can cast [Power Protection Luck]."

"Bell--who? Ah, whatever. Just hurry up already," Marisa replied.

Reimu lifted her hands into the sky and several twirling lights went round and round, floating off before dispersing into nothing. It was light, her power, and gave a warm and comforting glow. When she was done and lowered her hands, Reimu exhaled. "Alright. It only lasts thirty minutes. Make it count."

"Chih!" Marisa left Reimu with a smirk of one sure of herself.

Marisa didn't stop her advance until catching sight of Sephiroth. She paused, staring at him for a time in ominous silence. He was intimidating, with black leather for days and long flowing hair, gleaming with an angelic quality. Indeed, as his green eyes calmly looked her over, Marisa knew he was a enemy worth facing. She'd enjoy it.

"So you're Sephiroth." Marisa said.

She removed her hat and sought from it a tiny potion. With a 'pop' to the corked lid, Marisa drank the contents and smugly wiped her mouth. "Ora! I have all that I need to destroy the likes of you!"

Sephiroth was unperturbed by the new fighter. He held his blade almost lazily to his side, a sign of confidence. He finally spoke and said, "You're so sure of victory, Marisa. The King of Time prepared you well."

"Eh? So you know about him." Marisa replied. She placed both hands on her broom and swung forward, "Doesn't matter! Shows over, villain! It's time to take out the trash, and I'm the one to do it!"

With that battle cry Marisa leaned forward on her broom and jerked the [Divine Time Mini- Hakkero] from her fluffy skirt. She glanced at it for a moment with pride and thrust it forward with a great and mighty shout, "Urah! Divine Master Spark!"

At that flashy announcement Sephiroth rose his long blade, Masemune, and held it in front of him. He tilted his head a little in expectation when a large energy blast, powered by Marisa's Divine Time Mini-Hakkero confronted him. The effects were immediate; the low and rumbling gray clouds shot apart around that blast, one cascading radiant sunshine beam breaking through and highlighting only those two.

From afar Reimu watched on. She clenched her Purification Rod in her hand and almost didn't perceive the new and dark ki which appeared to swipe across her backside. She jumped away in time to avoid the fatal blow, gray eyes wide to see Fu.

He looked a little different, with his white hair combed away from his face and coming down to touch his shoulders with its new length. His red eyes glint with amusement at getting the upper hand and surprising Reimu.

"You!" Reimu shouted, getting herself away from Fu before he could use his dual swords again.

Fu dipped his head and smirked. "Long time no see!"

"Yokai--" Reimu held her Purification Rod out to get it ready, surveying not only Fu and his potential movements but the fight in the clouds. The sky rumbled just before her shoulders began being pelted by rainfall.

From her viewpoint, Marisa's attack had failed. Reimu saw Sephiroth standing there, only a few minor tears at the bottom of his jacket to show the damage. What should have killed any lower demon only seemed to invigorate that monster.

"You really shouldn't look away from me," Fu said. He made an X in the sky, setting his coordinates to Marisa, who wasn't at all ready for another enemy to show themselves.

With a sudden burst of intense blue aura, Reimu used her [Musou Tensei] Ultra Instinct. It was too fast to perceive by the naked eye, but in that moment that Fu would have sapped away Marisa's powers, Reimu intervened, knocking Fu's dark energy stealing attack away with a hard kick, fueled by her summon, Zeno.

Just in time.

Reimu paused, seeing things going in slow motion, before letting the Musou Tensei fade away. It would be best to keep it going, however, the draining of her powers would happen too soon, and she needed answers from Fu before defeating him.

"Impressive." Fu said. He pushed his glasses up and twirled his sword. "But I can see you can't keep doing that forever."

"Where did you come from, demon?" Reimu asked.

"Now I'm sure you can guess." Fu said. He glanced up to Marisa and Sephiroth, and Reimu turned as well, seeing the human witch falling from her broom. She was out of breath and hoisted herself up by a lucky grab to the brown handle.

Relieved for the moment, Reimu focused again on Fu and thought. 'The BETA for Xenoverse 3 isn't supposed to release until tomorrow. Yet here Fu is, already out of the game again. Just what happened? Did GM know we'd come and put an end to Sephiroth and somehow brought him here?'

Her questions wouldn't have a definitive answer.

Fu spread his arms and legs and with a 'whoosh' of dark purple energy, his white hair shot upwards as he transformed. "While you think on that, I'll keep you two busy."

"Busy?" Reimu repeated, blinking her eyes twice. Not only was she confused but perplexed. Her job mission was to defeat Sephiroth and protect the real world and game world from merging as they had in the future, but by Fu's new words, Reimu sensed she was missing something important somewhere.

It took a bit to dawn on her.

"...GM is seeking the Dragon Balls Shallot brought here, isn't he?" Reimu asked.

Fu giggled a time or two and nodded. He looked happy she'd guessed correctly. "Yep!"

Marisa recovered from being nearly thrown from her broom and used her [Divine Time Mini - Hakkero] again. She ran forward on her broom directly to Sephiroth and shouted, "Divine Flow!"

As Reimu saw it in real time, Marisa had used that Divine Flow and attacked Sephiroth mercilessly. First with Divine Magic Missile, which would temporarily paralyze her opponent, and following that with Divine Blazing Star.

Sephiroth fell down into a building right before their eyes.

A confident Marisa turned to see Reimu and Fu there, and her golden eyes grew wide in shock. "You! Fu guy!"

"It's me all right." Fu said. He giggled. "You're a little slow on the uptake."

"Shuddup," Marisa retorted. She zipped down on her broom to Reimu's side. "Where the heck did he come from?"

"GM sent him here..." Reimu stated. Her eyes never strayed from the dusty building where Sephiroth had fallen. "More importantly, GM is trying to find the Dragon Balls."

"No way!"

Fu nodded. "Yes~ And you know what he'll wish for with them?"

Both waited.

With a dramatic wave of his hand Fu said, "A new Chisato!"

Reimu and Marisa gave each other a look of dread. It was as they had feared; GM had the upper hand despite their future powers.

"We can't let him get them," Reimu said. "Wait. The King told us Shallot had found one. But.."

She didn't recall seeing any sort of Dragon Ball at the King's Tower. Either Shallot had hidden it well on his person, or...

Marisa swore. "Damn! That idiot left behind his ball and Radar!"

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Future - Xenoverse

After greeting Reimu and Marisa, Shallot left with Tie through a portal.

He wasn't expecting the entire damn Time Nest to be in ruins. It was obvious that a lot of fighting had taken place. He stepped through the portal and crushed a Hoi poi capsule underfoot.

"This place got wrecked!" He said, looking around.

Tie paused. "One by one, GM changed my father's friends and allies, turning them against him and mother. They fought bravely here. Chronoa was locked away in crack of time...and this is what became of the Nest."

"All of this because Chisato exists?" Shallot asked.

"You know the answer to that. Mother must have made some impression on GM, enough for him to obsess over her like this."

"Tch...what a creepy bastard he must be."

Tie led Shallot to the Vault or what remained, mostly a few straggling half walls and steps. He over up those carefully and looked around; evidence lay on the floor of ripped Time Scrolls. "Trunks went through hell, didn't he?" Shallot asked, walking on into the room.

"Father had to fight everyone he ever cared for." Tie motioned to the square hole in the floor, where Shallot could spy the makings of steps. "She's in there."

"She? You mean...!"

Shallot ran down the steps and halted.

In the middle of that cold dark room was a bed of crystal, and through it he saw a sleeping Rhuda. He stepped towards her as if she'd awaken any second. "Holy...! No! Tie, what the hell happened?"

"Mother tried to flee with Father to the real world, but GM found her there. She came back with Zamasu, and used all of her Angel energy to seal herself away.As long as her life remains here, Father's able to live, thanks to Grand Priests decision to make her an Angel to prevent her game death."

"I...don't understand." Shallot fell to his knees, "She was an Angel? And just where the hell was I at?"

"You were fighting in the real world. Buying Father the time he needed to save the Time Scrolls into his system and create a barrier. I was just a few months old then." Tie sighed and touched the crystal. "She can hear us, even if she can't leave."

"She--she can?!" Shallot rose and looked at her through it. "Chisato!"

Nothing. No response.

He smacked the glass, "I'm gonna protect you! You don't need to worry!"

"She said that was good, but you don't need to yell. She's not deaf," Tie said.

Shallot swiveled to Tie. "Huh? Wha? How can you hear her?"

Tie nodded. "When I was a baby my teeth came in early. As a result...I became linked to her. I can hear her thoughts and see her dreams. We're the only ones left in Xenoverse, so I often come and keep her company."

'What a horrible life...'

Trapped in eternity all alone in a damn game.

Shallot looked at his wife from another time. His eyes watered. "So...you just sit and chill all day? That sounds boring as fuck," he said. With a swipe to his nose which began to run he added, "You stupid girl...why does it have to be you? Huh?"

"I'm going to wake her up when it's safe." Tie said. He motioned off to the side, where a pile of books rest. "We read together to pass time."

"Reading books..." Shallot backed up and shook his head. "Should show her some videos or games or something. You can do that, can't you?"

Tie nodded. "If I watch it myself. That would require me to sit through it. I don't really like those things."

"Well she might!" Shallot shouted. "Show her anime! Lots of anime!"

"Fine."

They fell quiet. 

"Hey, you said I was out there fighting too. How strong am I?" Shallot asked.

"You're the strongest God of Destruction that has ever existed."

"I am? Well, at least that's something." Shallot smirked. "Still..." his eyes fell to his wedding band. He twirled it. "I got to marry her. We spent a whole year together in the real world. We've even got a baby on the way, you know that, Chisato?"

"She's happy for you. And wants to know what the name is." Tie said.

"We still don't know if she's a girl or boy. But I'm betting girl." Shallot traced his hand down the glass. "She's going to be half human. Don't worry, I'll watch over her."

"Mother says she hopes the baby is a girl, too." Tie turned away and looked to the steps. "We'll need to return soon."

Shallot saw Rhuda's face, her closed lids, and wanted to poke her cheek like he normally would do to wake her up. Instead of that he nodded. "Got it." He placed a kiss on the glass, "When we save my time I'll make sure you get outta there, too."

"The one waking her up will be me. It's what I've been waiting on for my whole life." Tie said. He began to climb the steps, "She says...she'll be waiting. And that you'd better take good care of her other self."

"Roger." With a last glance to the sleeping form of his wife, Shallot followed Tie up and out.