Three Cheers for Salt

by GintaxAlvissForever

Smash was known for bringing odd people together. No one would think that a beautiful witch, a naïve dragon and a brooding human would be able to get along. Surprisingly, the trio had many things in common that allows them to stick with each other thick and thin through the good times and bad. [OT3]

Three Cheers for Salt

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters. I also don't own Queen's Blade as that belongs to Hobby Japan.

Summary: Smash was known for bringing odd people together. No one would think that a beautiful witch, a naïve dragon and a brooding human would be able to get along. Surprisingly, the trio had many things in common that allows them to stick with each other thick and thin through the good times and bad.

Pairing: Cloud/Corrin/Bayonetta, Volga/Corrin, Corrin/Snow White, Cloud/Sharla and Cory/Azura

Rated: T (for Teen) with some M (for Mature) sections

Genre: General, Family, Romance, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Angst and Drama

Warning: Swearing, character death, dark themes (implied non-con, incest) and unintentional OOC

I had a choice between Cloud/Bayonetta or the Salt Trio OT3 to write. I chose the Salt Trio mainly because I have more scenarios with these three than those two at the moment, and because of the quick updates and dedication to Crown of Ruin. These scenarios take place in my main Smash universe (so it doesn't spoil the AU obviously). Enjoy!

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Forged

The Smash Brothers Realm was a place where people of all sorts were drawn together for a tournament. Master Hand did not think Smash would get so big, but they were at the fourth season now. He went from twelve fighters in the first tournament to over fifty unique fighters. By the fourth season, he was allowing Gods and Goddesses to attend the tournament and went over the top with getting fighters from other tournaments enter. Sonic was one of the first to be a guest fighter before Master Hand wanted to make it permanent. The same could not be said for Solid Snake. No one knew where that man went…

Master Hand had finalized the list originally but decided that he would leave the list open for at least seven more fighters. This way, he could get Mewtwo, Lucas and Roy to come back when they were ready to return. Roy brought Ryu along for the ride and that was when Master Hand started to think about the potential future fighters for the last three slots. The right hand ended up hearing about an audition of a powerful fighter and went over to that realm to purchase him. That man was Cloud Strife and due to some manipulation behind the scene, Cloud was stuck in the Smash Brothers Realm. He wasn't really pleased by that.

Shortly afterward, the Corrin twins and Bayonetta would arrive under dire circumstances. The dragon twins were on the run from the villain from their universe. Said villain got a notorious slave trader in on it. He told the goblin known as Dogura that anyone who retrieves his children gets a hefty reward. Dogura ended up tricking Bayonetta as a result of this. The Umbra Witch had no idea that Dogura was a slave trader and due to working with demons in the past, she didn't question the logic of the mission. Once Pit was involved and explained the situation, she was quick to switch sides and save the dragon twins (along with the tactician twins).

Corrin didn't trust anyone originally because of his near capture experience. With time, Cloud and Bayonetta would open the silver haired prince up before he started to hang out with them. From then on out, they would be inseparable from each other much to Cory's displeasure.

Pain

They didn't look like it, but the trio did share similar pain of losing someone important to them in their past.

Corrin was kidnapped at a young age and taken to Nohr where he was mentally abused by Garon and Macbeth for most of his life to the point it really did hurt his growth, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He was never alone thanks to the Nohr siblings, but he was always isolated and had a feeling of helplessness whenever he was reminded that he was a prisoner in the Kingdom of Nohr. He was never allowed to leave unless there was someone to escort him and even then, those moments were scarce. He was raised to be a candidate for marriage, but Garon gave him a chance out of that horrible lifestyle if he could train with the sword. By becoming the second strongest swordsmen in Nohr, Corrin was finally granted permission to leave. This was intentional as Garon wanted him murdered. Due to these close calls, Corrin would lose his mother Mikoto before the war between Hoshido and Nohr started. This loss forced him to not pick a side as he fled with Cory, Azura and his maid Felicia. He had to deal with being called a traitor by both sides until he was finally able to win the hearts of people from both sides and get them to work together to defeat Anankos. Unfortunately for him, he and Cory had to leave due to the plan that Anankos had for Corrin that the dragon prince didn't even want to think about. It hurt his resolve to the point that he didn't feel confident in fighting Anankos should he be alone with the madman.

Cloud was an arrogant child growing up. He believed he was better than the rest of the kids and deserved greatness. However, he was hit with reality later when he learned that he wasn't anything special. His dream of being a first class SOLDIER was thrown out the window when he was just a lowly grunt at the beginning. Things never went right for him. He would watch his hometown be burned to the ground by his idol Sephiroth. He was forced to watch Tifa get hurt because of him. He saw his mother's corpse on the ground because of said idol. Even if he thought he stopped Sephiroth, he still ended up losing at least four years of his life in a comatose state due to being experimented on. Zack would save him and drag his comatose body back to Midgar. By the time he recovered, Zack had his last stand and destroyed the Shinra army before he lost his life to a few stray soldiers. This would leave a heavy scar in Cloud's mind that ruined his state of mind. Sephiroth had no problem exploiting Cloud as a result and made his life miserable. Because Cloud was weak, he lost Aerith. Because he was weak, Cloud nearly allowed Sephiroth to win. Because he was weak, he failed to maintain Zack's legacy. Cloud had managed to pick up the pieces once Sephiroth was finally dealt with and meteor was destroyed, but he still felt guilty for forgetting so much and still being a weak human in comparison to others who don't let the past plague them.

Bayonetta was a child brought up by a Lumen Sage and an Umbra Witch. They violated the laws of their clan and those laws tore her family apart. Baldr was banished from his clan and Rosa was imprisoned for life. Bayonetta had to be raised by the Umbra Witches, but she was denied the service of so many things she needed in life. Everything Bayonetta did when growing up was self-taught. She had to do everything she could to survive the harsh realities of her clan. She was isolated from everyone because she was different. She only had Jeanne as her friend who did not care about the blood she possessed in her veins and gave Bayonetta a chance. Unfortunately, Aesir wanted the Eyes of the World back and had no problem getting Baldr to go along with his plans to start the witch hunts that ended the reign of the Lumen Sages and Umbra Witches. Bayonetta was nothing but a victim of this tragedy. She was made to believe her father had something to do with this and saw the corpse of her dead mother before her. Originally, she had given up on living if she could not even protect the people she loved dearly. Jeanne had to put her to sleep and seal her away for 500 years. By fixing the timeline, Bayonetta was able to have the resolve to fight with Jeanne and survive until the present time. Bayonetta loved to act like she feared nothing. However, with her memories, she still had a lot of insecurities. If someone were to add to the memories she already had, she feared she would breakdown. She had a fear of losing the people close to her hence why she didn't attach herself to many people. She thought she had lost Jeanne to Inferno, but she was lucky that she made it in time. There was a fear she would not be lucky a second time around with anyone else she learned to care for.

Even if they haven't told each other of their past yet, the similar pain they shared drew them together whether they realized it or not. After all, they all handled their tragic pasts differently to end up who they are today.

Pose

The victory screen was so important for the Salt Trio. Whoever had the most stocks usually got center stage, but if everyone had the same stock, it was the person with the most kills. Bayonetta needed to be in the center even though she wasn't considered the leader of the three. Cloud rolled his eyes how Bayonetta always had to show off her butt in front of everyone whenever she won. Then again…Corrin really wasn't any better.

"I WIN!"

Cloud made a mental note to keep the dragon prince away from the older woman. Corrin enjoyed having a back pose like Bayonetta. If his cape wasn't in the way, he probably would be revealing his butt for everyone to see too…and that was not okay when it came to the innocent dragon prince.

Hot and Cold

When the trio needed to be in a doubles match, they needed to decide amongst them who would sit out. Nine times out of ten, Cloud was going to be forced to fight with either Corrin or Bayonetta to assist him. Cloud liked working with Corrin. They had the better synergy in battle that allowed them to swap positions mid-battle. In contrast, Cloud could not handle Bayonetta as a partner. She always had to be the center of attention and needed to be stylish as well. Cloud just wanted to win. Corrin just wanted things to go smoothly and Bayonetta wanted to win in style.

"Bayonetta, if you actually hold off on styling, I'll pay for dinner tonight." Cloud hissed.

"You going to take Corrin and me to the restaurant I want?"

"…Yes…even if it's across the galaxy…I'll pay for it. Just…work with me."

The blond knew he was going to regret this. However, this would only happen if they win. Bayonetta would do anything to win that tournament money for today.

MVP

Corrin was needed for a three on three battle to function correctly. The dragon prince knew how hard it was for Cloud and Bayonetta to work together in Smash. Their battle styles clashed so much that it actually hurt their performance. It was amazing how they could do so well in a doubles' tournament while having zero synergy. In a triple battle, Corrin's presence made a huge difference. He had the authority in the group and was very good at analyzing everything around him. The Nohrian prince was also able to get Bayonetta and Cloud to do what they want without making things worse for the team as a whole (but that always fell apart when they were guaranteed the win and they would start attacking each other like it was a free for all match). Corrin allowed Bayonetta to go crazy with her combos while he or Cloud held down the other opponents who would try to help their comrade. Corrin would protect Cloud if he needed to charge limit and would order Bayonetta to help Cloud if he was being edge guarded by someone. The dragon prince had a lot of range, and he simply attacked when he saw an opening. His dragon lunge wasn't as useful, but if he needed to use it, he expected the blond and the Umbra Witch to clear a path for him and to protect him if everyone shielded his attacks.

Because Corrin excelled in his leadership skills in triple battle, he was always granted the MVP status when Master Hand issued a special kind of three on three match where protecting the leader was crucial to winning over getting the most kills. This game focused on teamwork on all else and this allowed people to see how dangerous the Salt Trio was. After all, Cloud and Bayonetta were already overprotective of Corrin. Messing with him would help tap their true potential in combat.

CPR

No matter what career you're in, you should always learn how to give someone CPR. Knowing how to give someone CPR was the difference between life and death. Of course, in some universes in the world, there were some species that can breathe underwater. You have water Pokémon who could swim forever and not worry about those types of things (yet you have Greninja drowning in Smash) and then you have people like Corrin and Bayonetta who could breathe underwater with ease. Corrin was a water dragon, so he didn't need to worry about taking a deep breath. Bayonetta was a witch who apparently had the magic to breathe. While she was a rather slow swimmer, she didn't need to worry about that when she could turn into a snake and swim through the water with relative ease.

…And then you got Cloud…the person who knew CPR from his training as a soldier, but the only person who couldn't breathe underwater. In the past, Cloud had almost drowned on multiple occasions, but he had managed to survive. In the situation he got in, the enemy had knocked him into the water in an attempt to drown him and he almost succeeded in doing so. Corrin and Bayonetta were able to kill the demon and take him back to the surface…but Cloud had already lost consciousness at this point.

"Cere, we got to do something!" Corrin shouted. "CPR! You got to do it!"

"…Do you think I know how to do that?!" Bayonetta asked while trying to keep her voice down in order to hide the panic. "Why don't you perform this CPR on him?"

"I never needed to do it so I don't know how to do it!"

"You are a healer and you don't know how to save someone from drowning…"

"That's not my job…hey! You're over 500 years old and you haven't learned that either?!"

"You just shake them awake like this!"

Cloud clearly had the best friends in the world if the Umbra Witch grabbed his shoulder and shook him until he was forced to wake up. He would have to throw up the water he swallowed later. This was not how to perform CPR on someone and Corrin and Bayonetta should feel ashamed of themselves for not learning how to do it.

Third Wheel

The problem with a three person friendship is that the minute two people in the group started dating, you became the third wheel. It was difficult to determine who that third wheel was in this odd group. Corrin, Bayonetta and Cloud were close to each other enough that each would do their best to not let the third person be left out even if one of them dated another. For example, if Cloud managed to confess his feelings to Corrin first (or vice versa), Bayonetta would do all she could to make sure their relationship worked (while making passive aggressive comments about wanting to join them in a threesome). In contrast, Corrin would feel the most betrayed if Bayonetta and Cloud started to date due to his fear of abandonment. He would need to be reassured that they wouldn't leave him alone even if the two started dating. The irony (or maybe not) was that Cloud had the highest rate of being the third wheel simply because he pretended to not care that he was dragged along by Bayonetta or Corrin. Granted, he would be moody to find out if the two were together, but like the Umbra Witch, he would do his best to support them. Given how the Umbra Witch and the dragon prince were at handling relationships (not well), they were going to need all the help they could get.

It's kind of why polygamy would probably work better for them seeing as they balanced each other out.

Sick

Cloud was terrible when it came to dealing with moving vehicles. While his motion sickness was getting better over time, he was still prone to getting nauseous. He didn't like fighting on stages like Lylat and Halberd as a result due to the stage always moving. This was also why he hated taking the Mii bus to Smashopolis as well.

When Bayonetta found out about this, she thought of the perfect way for him to get better. She had suggested to Corrin to transform into a dragon and allow Cloud onto his back. The blond was far from pleased being forced into this idea. Corrin wasn't a vehicle, but the dragon prince was asked to speed up.

"Please slow down Corrin! I can't take this!"

"BUT WE JUST STARTED." Corrin roared as he flew around Smashopolis. "YOU'LL GET THE HANG OF IT."

"No…I won't…why does Bayonetta get to fly like that?"

Bayonetta simply grew wings and flew close to Corrin. If Cloud tried to fall off Corrin, she would simply catch him and put him back on. She wasn't going to allow him to leave until he was "fixed". In the back of Cloud's mind, he assumed she was doing this to mess him up before the next tournament, and he wasn't completely wrong seeing as how Bayonetta would proceed to win that tournament due to him getting sick the next day.

Bed

There was a reason Master Hand had room arrangements for every Smasher. Master Hand was a prude. He did not want Smashers to be participating in sexual activity during the tournament season. He didn't want a case like Robin who was pregnant with Morgan. This was something that could not be avoided by any other Smasher did not have the same excuse. If you're going to have sex, don't get caught.

Cloud wasn't impressed with how Bayonetta viewed this rule. The Umbra Witch acted like she could do whatever she wanted without consequence. She was right…for the most part. Master Hand wouldn't be able to do much to her, but Cloud did not want to be punished in her place. He had tried to keep her out of the room he and Corrin shared in the mansion when night fell. He did not want to wake up and find her under his covers performing sexual acts. The last time she tried that, he almost woke Corrin up.

Bayonetta succeeded in sneaking into their room again, but she wasn't looking for pleasure. Earlier that day, she had noticed that Corrin did not sleep a wink. He was worried about something. Cloud wanted to comfort him, but he didn't know what he should tell the young prince besides sleep early. The Umbra Witch saw it as Corrin needed a companion to cuddle with.

"Why are you here again, Bayonetta?" Cloud hissed. "I'm telling you if you try to get in my pants again, I'm going to-"

"I'm not here for you. I'm here for Corrin. The poor thing is having trouble sleeping."

Cloud's expression softened. "…Oh…"

"If you know that, I'm going to be sleeping with him. You're free to join us."

"W-What?! Why would I…hey! Come on!"

The blond didn't know what to think. Bayonetta had an easy time slipping into Corrin's bed. She went on Corrin's left side as she slowly started to cuddle with him. The dragon prince did not wake up, but he shifted in his sleep slightly. The gray eyed witch looked over to Cloud expecting him to join them. After some grumbling, the blond complied with her demand and rested on Corrin's right side. He didn't stay as close to Corrin as Bayonetta. However, that would end up changing later in the evening when he would eventually find himself draping his hand over his sleeping companions out of habit. Cloud would just be lucky the door was locked. He didn't want Cory walking in and seeing the trio sleeping on her brother's bed. She would think they did something together that night instead of helping the silver haired prince sleep.

Suitors

Ever wonder what would happen if the Salt Trio didn't stick together? Well, they usually did, but there was usually someone or something that could very well tear the group dynamic apart. It all depended on Corrin.

For Cloud, there really wasn't much that would change. If he were to meet Shulk's friend Sharla very early on in the timeline, he could potentially start a relationship with her. If he met her later, not all was lost for him unless he messed it up with Bayonetta. Cloud wasn't in a rush for a relationship like most of the Smashers, so he wouldn't hurt the dynamic between his friends.

Bayonetta wasn't looking for a relationship either. She was fine with the single life. However, she didn't mind the idea with Cloud, Corrin or even Cory but the dragon princess was already in a relationship with Azura and thus would make things more difficult.

Corrin was the problem. Since he was already the person that held the trio together, if something were to happen to him, things could very well fall apart. The dragon prince was always thinking of his world and what he needed to do to help others. He was aware that once Anankos was slain, the Kingdom of Valla would have no one ruling over them. Corrin would have to work to get the kingdom back on its feet and that meant becoming Valla's new king. It also meant marrying someone and producing an heir immediately. It's why the talk on marriage tended to pop up every now and then.

A few timelines stood out when Corrin does not romance Bayonetta or Cloud. In one timeline, there was the Princess of the Apple Kingdom Snow White who had caused huge problems for the Smashers. Instead of capturing and punishing her for her wrongdoings, Corrin made an attempt to befriend her. What ended up happening was the dragon prince fell in love with the cold hearted princess. While Snow White warmed up to him and eventually returned the feelings, the backlash was unavoidable. While Corrin was happy with Snow White when he finally proposed and married her, he failed to notice how distraught Bayonetta was about the whole thing. Most of the Smashers noticed how upset she was with Corrin's decision and her pride prevented her from saying anything. As a result, the team wasn't the same after that.

In some other timelines, Corrin would meet the Dragon Knight Volga. He was brought back to life by the aliens of the Galactic Federation only to escape and travel to the Smash Brothers Realm to search for Link who he wanted to fight again. However, the Link in Smash was not the Link he knew and he would waste his time. Depending on the timeline determined how badly the duel went. Regardless, he would encounter Corrin who would defeat him either through underhanded methods or would lose and Cory would take over for him. Volga would then be forced to stay in the mansion to pay for the damage he caused. Volga resisted originally before he fell into the role as an honest knight that would teach Corrin how to be a better dragon. Compared to the chaos caused by falling for Snow White, Corrin and Volga's love for each other came naturally. This time around though, it was Cloud who was not too thrilled with the idea and when Corrin and Volga sealed the deal, he had to suck it up.

What did this say about the two older Smashers that cared for Corrin so much? Well, they simply needed to swallow their pride and tell Corrin something before he went off and had a child with someone else.

Vacation

Ever noticed how in some timelines where there was a powerful enemy attacking the mansion and most of the Smashers tended to be caught in the chaos that the Salt Trio was nowhere to be found? There was a very good reason out of universe of course, but in universe, let's just say that the trio and Cory are on vacation.

There weren't that many locations for the four to be. Corrin and Cory could not return to their world yet. Cloud was forbidden to return to Midgar due to the contract that was forced on by Master Hand. This left Bayonetta who could jump from world to world with relative ease. Her world was recovering after the instability it suffered not too long ago. Now, she could take others with her on vacation.

Because the date was different in Bayonetta's world, it was easy to relax and forget about the horrors that were happening in Smashopolis. The one particular timeline the group got locked out of the loop was when the Swamp Witch took control over Rob and nearly ruined the Smash Realm. And what was Bayonetta's group doing? They were celebrating the New Year in her world. The dragon twins were lucky that they were old enough to drink. The celebration was being held in the apartment that Bayonetta and Jeanne were staying in. Jeanne made sure to get everything this time again during the countdown.

"I feel like something terrible is going on in Smashopolis…" Corrin mumbled as he felt something was off when the number was going down.

"You worry too much, dear." Bayonetta hummed as she poured him another glass of wine. "Just enjoy yourself."

Corrin was right though. When they came back, the mansion was rather somber and didn't bother to update them on the tragedy that occurred not too long ago.

Heart

There was that one person in the group that held everyone together. For the Salt Trio, it was Corrin. He was the youngest member and as a result, he did need more protection than the other two. He was a dragon, so one would think that he didn't need to be protected, but Corrin was a naïve prince who got taken advantage of rather easily. Without him, Cloud and Bayonetta would probably shut themselves away from everyone.

It had happened in a few timelines where Corrin and Cory would finally leave to fight Anankos. They left without telling anyone and wouldn't be heard from for months which scared the Smashers to the point that they persuaded Master Hand to allow a search party outside of Smash. The Smashers were aware that the one place the twins could have run off to was their world. The problem was that there was nothing that Master Hand could use to pinpoint them. He needed the combined effort of multiple Gods and Goddesses to locate this one location. Even then, the Smashers would be devastated with what they would find.

Anankos was slain and Corrin's world would return to normal. However, the person that was on the throne was Cory. Her expression was somber especially when Bayonetta and Cloud found her.

"Where's your twin?" Bayonetta asked her. Her heart was feeling heavy and for a good reason. "He disappeared with you."

Cory didn't want to talk about it, but would be forced to do so seeing as how Master Hand wanted the dragon twins back.

"I have to resign…" Cory mumbled. "I can't do it anymore."

"Why not?!" Cloud asked. He was starting to lose his temper with how dodgy the dragon princess was. "Just tell us where Corrin is at least…"

"He's dead."

Cloud could not believe his ears. "…What."

"…Anankos is dead…the curse is lifted and we're all free to speak of Valla…but…Corrin had to make sure Anankos wouldn't come back and hurt everyone he cared for so he…"

Cory tried her best not to cry, but even someone as strong as the dragon princess had emotions like despair. If anyone else was around, they would pity the dragon princess for mourning for her twin brother. Her tears were enough for Cloud and Bayonetta to realize that they failed to save Corrin from his fate that he feared so much when he spoke about returning to his world…

Ending

In every timeline, we know how it is. The Great Evil returns, wipes out everyone in the galaxy with only a selective few left to challenge him. By their sacrifice, Dark Pit will manage to kill the Great Evil thanks to the powers bestowed to him by Eve. This will cost him his body though and he would become the Dark Abyss below space. The only Smashers to survive are Rob and Robin who take it upon themselves to use what is left of the Golden Land powers to create a small realm to raise children who managed to survive the end of the universe as well as to hide from any threats outside of it.

There were so many Smashers that it would be hard to believe that Corrin, Bayonetta and Cloud would be killed. As strong as they were, they were doomed to failure because of Anankos. He teamed up with the Great Evil in hopes of taking his son back. Corrin's little group tried their best to get Corrin as far away from Anankos as possible, but it's futile to run away. Corrin would lose all of his friends one by one including his sister who tried to act as a diversion. Once Sharla, Snow White, Cory and Volga died by the hands of the Great Evil, it would leave Axel, Corrin, Cloud and Bayonetta left. However, the Great Evil wanted Axel alive and unlike Anankos, he would be successful in abducting the demon. There was no way for the trio to save him because Anankos had the intention of ending their lives here if Corrin refused to come along with him.

"Foolish child! We really cannot see the same things!" Anankos hissed. "Fine, if you really want, I'll let you die with your pathetic friends…what's left of them."

Anankos was an evil son of a bitch. Once he killed someone, he would revive them under his control. While he refused to do that to Cory as much as he had no use for his daughter, he had no problem reviving Sharla, Snow White, Volga and other allies the trio had. Cloud snarled at how the bastard brought Tifa back to life. Bayonetta should count herself lucky that Jeanne wasn't "dead" yet.

"…I guess he has no problem killing you after all." Bayonetta snarked despite the situation they were in.

"No…even if I die…he'll just bring me back under his command. I will forever be a slave to him like my sister probably is…unless I kill him now."

"That sounds hard." Cloud said with a sigh. "He has an army of the dead surrounding us. We can't leave and we're out of items at this point…"

Corrin had no retort to that. Bayonetta just chuckled nervously.

"I enjoy a good challenge." She told the ex-SOLDIER. "I might actually break a sweat for once."

The dragon prince knew what Cloud was implying though. It was why he had to be honest about the situation now.

"…Cloud…Cere…I'm sorry I dragged you into this." Corrin apologized. "…We're not going to survive this…"

There was a long pause after Corrin said that. The Nohrian prince was usually optimistic no matter what. That's why he had been able to keep the group together even as they were dying off one by one. Now, Corrin looked like he was on wit's end.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

"Corrin, don't you start crying now," Bayonetta began as she went over to him and patted him on the head. "You can cry when this is all over. For now, we have one goal and that's to defeat your father. If he dies, the Great Evil loses his most important ally in this fight…and that should give Dark Pit's group a chance."

"But…"

"…You know I hate crybabies."

Bayonetta was trying to encourage the silver haired prince. She was successful, but Corrin could see the worried look she was giving him. Bayonetta and Cloud refused to admit they were scared at this very moment, but they would fight until the bitter end. They made it this far and they would not let their friend's sacrifice go to waste.

Cloud let out a big sigh as he stepped in front of Corrin and Bayonetta. "Man…the price of freedom is steep."

"Cloud?"

"We might as well get this over with. There's someone we got to save after this."

"…Axel…" Corrin mumbled.

"Right, he's not going to wait forever."

Corrin chuckled. Axel was probably the worse hostage to the Great Evil with how grating he was. They needed to end Anankos' suffering before anything else.

"…You're right…I'm sorry you two. I'm not being a good leader at the moment." Corrin mumbled. He wiped the small tear that was threatening to fall from his eye. "…Yeah…I won't surrender. That's not the type of person I am."

Corrin took out Yatogami and pointed it toward his undead companions. Bayonetta got her guns out as Cloud did his buster sword.

"LET'S SURVIVE!" Corrin shouted as the three charged into the army of the undead before them.

Dance

If there's a party, you could expect Bayonetta to be on the dance floor. Again, she loved being the center of attention even though parties like this, it would be better to relax and talk with her friends. The raven haired witch wasn't exactly pleased to hear that Jeanne wasn't attending this party that was specifically for the Smashers in Smashopolis. It was open to everyone but Jeanne said she had something to attend to. This left Bayonetta rather moody as a result.

Corrin was forced to attend the party since all members of royalty were expected to go. Cloud was the only one who didn't need to go, but since he noticed Bayonetta's mood, he tagged along just to cheer her up.

"Hey, Cere…is something wrong?" Corrin asked as he returned from the food table with a drink for her and Cloud. He had no intention of drinking himself, so the least he could do was get something for his older companions. "You seem really down…"

"Not really. I just thought I would expect more from this party." Bayonetta confessed.

"…Wasn't your friend supposed to come?"

The Umbra Witch gave Cloud a rather sad look before it morphed into that of an annoyed expression.

"…There's not much I can do." Bayonetta grumbled. "Those kids and grading their history papers are more important than a party…"

"Your friend sounds responsible."

"I guess you could put it that way…"

She was still going to be upset with Jeanne's decision regardless. Cloud and Corrin exchanged worried expressions. They weren't used to see Bayonetta look so defeated.

I'm going to regret this. Cloud thought to himself as he extended his hand out to her. Both were taken by surprise by his assertiveness. "…Come dance with me. It will get your mind off whatever is bugging you." He looked at Corrin and sighed. "…You can join too. There is such a thing as a three dance."

Corrin's eyes sparkled at this before he realized he couldn't dance. "U-Umm…I might step on your foot though! I'm terrible at dancing!"

"And still couldn't afford to put shoes on for this party." Cloud snarked. "What do you say Cereza?"

Now he was doing his best to make her blush. It was working to an extent. A small smile escaped her lips. Due to the lighting in the room, it was hard to tell her cheeks were slightly pink.

"So now you're deciding to treat me like a lady." She hummed. "I guess I should accept your offer. Otherwise, you'll just take Corrin to dance with you instead. I hope you don't mind."

Cloud was rather gentle when he accepted her hand. He told Corrin to follow him to the dance floor. Corrin failed to realize how odd it looked for three people to be dancing. It would have looked like a love triangle, but that was far from the case. The trio didn't mind taking turns dancing with each other and sure as hell didn't mind dancing together as a trio. It sure brought the wrong type of attention that Bayonetta wanted though.

Age

It was a bad idea to ask Bayonetta what her official age was. From Pit's perspective, she was rather young, but to the average person, she was old regardless. Bayonetta would not have cared so much if Cloud wasn't an incentive jerk sometimes.

"It doesn't matter if you're twenty, forty or over 500 years old, you're still an old hag suffering from a midlife crisis."

Corrin let out a small squeak as he heard Cloud screaming in pain after telling her that. The other Smashers could feel the mansion shaking too as she seemed to be summoning one of her demons to beat the crap out of Cloud. It was a miracle he was capable of surviving such injuries but he probably had one HP left, so…

Bad Luck

Cloud had the worse luck out of the trio. Corrin had so much good luck that it might have balanced out Cloud's bad luck…except today. It was Cloud's fault though. Whenever he tried to do something concerning returning to Midgar without Master Hand's permission, there was always going to be trouble. He hadn't served his contract fully, and of course Master Hand owned him as property. If Cloud were to leave the Smash Realm without Master Hand's permission, then those slave traders had the right to go back and buy him. The last thing Cloud wanted though was to drag Corrin or Bayonetta into it, and this was made worse by the fact he didn't bother telling the Umbra Witch why he wanted to leave Smash Brothers Mansion in the first place. Now that she knew when they went to the Space Pirate Pub to ask for directions (seeing as how she had no idea where Midgar was in the vast universe), she was far from pleased.

"You have a lot of explaining to do…" Bayonetta hissed as she was already standing in front of Corrin with her pistols out. She was not going to let these demons grab the dragon prince in her presence.

"…I was ambushed during a delivery surface and sold at an audition." Cloud grumbled. "Master Hand bought me and forced me to participate in Smash, and I couldn't return to Midgar until the contract is complete so-"

"…And you were going to tell me this when?"

"…I had no intention."

"Fool, you should have said something! Asking a demon always has a price and the price is your head and Corrin's body!"

Cloud rolled his eyes noticing how she didn't bring up how they didn't want anything to do with her…which was far from true. Bayonetta was dangerous and many demons feared her, but her body was too delicious to ignore. They had the numbers and the advantage of not letting them leave until they killed them all. Corrin was shivering at the implication of what would happen if they got caught.

"…I want to go home…" Corrin mumbled as he stayed near the two older Smashers. "I hate it here!"

"I do too, dear." Bayonetta told him. She tried to make her voice sound soft, but she was too enraged with Cloud's action to do that. "…Let's just hurry things along. You owe me so much when we're done clearing the way."

"Hey, at least Samus' job will be easier when we're done." Cloud groaned as he got his buster sword out. He and Bayonetta needed to be careful. There was a certain goblin in the crowd and he would be waiting for one of them to make a mistake before he attempted to capture them all…

Dress

What do you do when a witch finds out that you have cross-dressed in the past to save an important person in your life? Nothing because you have no choice when she simply forces you to repeat the incident of dressing up as a woman for fun.

Cloud really hated Bayonetta when it came to stuff like this. He didn't want to relive that horrible incident. While it was…sort of hilarious to say the least when Cloud was labeled as the prettiest girl between him, Aerith and Tifa, he still didn't want to be stuck in a situation like that again. He was lucky that he was prepared for any bad situation from occurring with him and Don Corneo. If it happened again with someone who was actually smart, he might be in trouble.

Yet…here Cloud was dressed up as a doll by the Umbra Witch. It wouldn't be long until Peach and the other Smashers saw this and used him as a guinea pig for dresses and other feminine outfits. In the past, it apparently was Marth and Pit who had to suffer. Now, Rob was their new victim due to how easy it was for Robin to drag him into this cross-dressing hell. Cloud did not want to join the suffering since he knew how Peach would go over the top.

"Don't worry, Mr. Moody…it's our little secret."

"…I doubt it's a secret given how Pit and his Goddess seem to know everything about me even if I haven't said a word to them."

"Well, you are kind of popular outside of this realm. They know a lot about the fighters in general. Don't be surprised."

"Tch…"

Cloud really hated looking in the mirror to see how pretty he was. Bayonetta not only forced him into a pretty pink dress that looked eerily similar to Aerith's outfit, but she also slapped a blonde wig on him. This wig had two big braid extensions making him look younger than what he actually appeared. He tried his best to hide his blush not at the outfit but by how close Bayonetta was to him. She could tell he was uneasy and continued to make him feel uncomfortable by having her breasts brush off against his exposed back.

"I'm almost jealous how gorgeous you look. No wonder you got accepted as the most beautiful woman there."

"…I guess I got a little too into it…" Cloud muttered. "I only needed a dress and a wig for the disguise…"

"And yet you got everything needed to be taken." She purred. "I wouldn't mind having fun with you while you're dressed up as this."

"T-That's…"

"You get nervous way too easily. Lighten up."

"I…I would if you weren't this close to me…" He mumbled. "When can I get out of this?"

"It's just for tonight for the mission I need your help in…along with Corrin…"

"Wait…why does Corrin…"

"Cere! I finished getting dressed!"

The Nohrian prince came in with a sexy Japanese dress that Bayonetta picked out. She smiled widely at how good he looked. Cloud was far from impressed.

"Like what you see Cloud?" Bayonetta asked.

"Why…would you drag him into this?!"

"Because he asked if he could be of any use."

"Cere, does this dress make me look fat? You said that I needed to look a certain way for the job so I kind of…"

Cloud was just done with Bayonetta at this point.

"God dammit Bayonetta…"

Kiss

Corrin didn't know what he was getting himself into when he started dating Bayonetta and Cloud. Those two were already in a relationship, but they had no problem allowing him to join them. Corrin recalled reading in the books back at home that polygamy was looked down upon. It was what caused the concubines to fight amongst each other in Nohr. Love is war and history has proven that time and time again, and yet here Corrin was having no problem getting into a relationship with two people knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to have both of them once he returned to his world.

The two older Smashers did try to teach him some things about relationships despite not being the best role models of said relationship. Corrin mainly paid attention to how they kissed though since it always gave him a rush. When the three were together, things were normal, but when it was one on one interaction in bed, they treated him differently. Cloud saw him as a fragile individual and it showed with his actions. He would gently place his hands on Corrin's shoulder before slowing leaning in for the kiss. Corrin would be flustered by this action and close his eyes. He only slightly leaned into the kiss. Cloud was careful with what he did during the kiss, and as a result, they weren't that long. They were super quick and Cloud would simply stop leaving Corrin disappointed. However, Cloud was nice enough to kiss his cheek or his ear. Bayonetta would tease him in the background seeing as how the blond never did that to her. He would snarl and tell her to shut up.

Bayonetta in comparison was aggressive toward Corrin…almost animalistic in a sense. She didn't even wait for Corrin to prepare himself for her. When her target was in sight, she pounced immediately. The dragon prince was turned on by her approach. Bayonetta smirked hearing Corrin moan into her kiss. She made sure to explore every portion of his mouth and unlike Cloud, she would go above and beyond showing that she wanted everything out of this kiss. Corrin's eyes widened feeling her hands trail behind him and grope his rear end. He broke the kiss only for another pathetic moan to escape his lips.

"My, aren't you needy?" She asked him seductively. She could see Corrin's eyes were filled with desire after her particular kiss. He was pushing against her. "Cloud, you need to come over here."

Cloud rolled his eyes not knowing what to expect. He intended to leave the two alone if Bayonetta wanted the silver haired prince all for herself, but she was feeling greedy tonight. When he went over to the bed they were sharing, he wasn't expecting her to pull him down and give him a kiss as passionate as the one she gave Corrin. Corrin's face became difficult to read as he watched his two lovers make out in front of him. The ex-SOLDIER knew Bayonetta was doing this on purpose to get the young prince going. He wasn't going to let her dominate the kiss though and had no problem showing that.

"Mmmm~"

Bayonetta clearly did not mind Cloud's dominance. Corrin didn't either seeing how he was starting to tug at his own clothes in an attempt to get it off.

"Honestly, what am I going to do with you two?" Cloud asked as he broke the kiss with the Umbra Witch.

Dumb

So it was a no brainer that Corrin and Cloud weren't the sharpest tools in the shed. They both had reasons to have their dumb moments though. Corrin was raised apart from everyone and was forced to be someone he was not. However, it did not stop him from spending most of his time reading and studying. Despite this, he lacked common sense as well as not being able to count. Cory joked about this nonstop given she did not have the same problem as him. As for Cloud, the reason for his dumb moments came from a gap in his memory. He was observant as a kid, but due to his fragile mind, some things have slipped hid mind.

Bayonetta did not really have an excuse to be book dumb. In retrospect she did. She was the outcast in the Umbra Witch clan and had to learn everything herself when everyone around her failed. However, she had twenty years after waking up to catch up on the modern times. She still lacked some common sense to certain things.

Master Hand was not happy when he gave everyone a test about some protocols in Smash that everyone should know. While he expected Pit to fail simply because he could not even read what was on the paper, he had to give the dirty eye to Corrin, Bayonetta and Cloud who had similar scores to Pit.

"This is not acceptable!"

Oh was the right hand angry at them for messing up this badly.

Kids

So it was a no brainer that kids from the future existed. They would survive from a previous timeline and come to warn their parents of the Great Evil that threatened to kill them all. No matter what these kids did though, the Great Evil could not be stopped unless there was a solution to get rid of the Great Evil for good. There had been some optimal ways of dealing with him, but were not approved of by the Golden Land. Raven had made it clear that Prism would not be allowed to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Pit made a similar declaration in one timeline after Dark Pit had given himself up due to being the vessel of Eve. The kids were given multiple tasks as a result. They needed to train to get stronger and survive on their own in a timeline that did not suffer from the Great Evil but had powerful threats regardless. They also needed to look for a solution to the problem.

However, most of the kids have abandonment issues. Most of the parents either had a different lover depending on the timeline or struggled to maintain a good relationship with their parent even if they weren't meant to "cheat".

Cloud thought it wasn't a surprise to hear that Corrin and Bayonetta would have a child that would go by the name of Cana. She looked exactly like Bayonetta in her youth, with a few major differences like the fact that she was a dragon and so on. What he was surprised of was how he romanced Bayonetta in a few timelines as well as Corrin. No one told him male pregnancy was apparently a thing in the future and he didn't want any part of it. He wasn't exactly the best babysitter so finding out he technically had two (possibly three if he counted Sharla) children from the future he needed to look out for.

"…I think I should have the title for most uncreative names for children in the world…" Cloud snarked to Bayonetta who was far from pleased with the naming conventions.

"…I don't mind you naming our son after your dead friend…but did you really have to name the child with Corrin "Cana" too?"

"…She calls herself Claudia…so I guess that's okay?"

"Next time, don't let Corrin choose the names, or we're going to end up in a situation where every child he has with someone is named Cana…"

Cloud sighed in defeat at this. He really wished he could talk to his future self and ask what he was thinking when he came up with these names. (He also wanted to know too how he was able to knock up Corrin in the first place).

Cheers

It wasn't just Pit and Rosalina that had missions outside of Smash. Bayonetta would sometimes leave the Smash Brothers Realm to do missions either for Rodin or for herself (as she needed to continue killing angels on a regular basis to satisfy her demon companions). This particular mission would be more difficult than most, so she asked Corrin and Cloud to come along. Granted, Bayonetta would get yelled at by Cory who did not want her brother leaving, but as long as Cloud was there, he would be safe.

Angel slaying was easy for Bayonetta. Demon slaying was a different story entirely especially if she had to deal with multiple Resentment demons. This demon was known for picking a target and hunting it down for the rest of his or her life unless you killed it. Bayonetta did not like how this thing was capable of turning her into a child. Not wanting to risk getting eaten, she had asked her friends to assist her. They would be in danger too, but at the very least they could protect each other if one of them got turned into a child.

Fortunately for Bayonetta, things went smoothly. Cloud was free to go all out and the ex-SOLDIER simply asked for his friends to bide him some time before he summoned Leviathan to drown all the demons in the area. Thank god no one was in the area, but Bayonetta reminded Cloud that while no one would be hurt by the attack, the buildings would be hit by the tidal waves. Not like Cloud cared since if Master Hand found out, Bayonetta would have to pay for the damage.

As a result of things working out perfectly, Bayonetta had taken the two males to the Gates of Hell for a drink as a reward. The tab was on her for once. Corrin was old enough to drink and even if he wasn't, Rodin didn't care about his age as long as he was getting halos from the Umbra Witch.

Bayonetta ordered her favorite drink that was called Mysterious Destiny. Cloud wanted to be boring and got the Champagne Cocktail. Corrin didn't know what he wanted and Bayonetta decided to tease him by telling Rodin to give him that drink. Rodin raised an eyebrow before he left to give them the drinks.

"Cheers for a hard day's work." Bayonetta hummed as she got the other two Smashers to clank their drink with hers. As she took a sip, she could hear Cloud groan.

"You barely did anything in comparison to me." Cloud complained.

"Well, I didn't expect your summon to drown those demons away." The raven haired witch hummed. "I thank you anyway. You saved me from being turned into a child again."

"How is that possible? You just needed to avoid that red light…"

"It's not easy when there is more than one of them on your tail…"

"If you had enough awareness, you would have been fine without us."

"…You're ruining the moment, Cloud…"

Cloud rolled his eyes when he saw the Umbra Witch glare at him. He was just glad he didn't have to pay for anything for once. Corrin seemed content with staring at his drink after the first drink.

"Cere…"

"Yes dear?"

"What's this drink called?"

"Sex on the Beach. We'll be doing that in the near future, dear."

Corrin was drinking the wine at that moment. Once she told him that, he had to take a spit take. Unfortunately for him, he was facing Rodin's direction. Bayonetta had to hold her laughter in when the dragon prince realized what he just did.

"Uh oh…"

"…Cheers…" Cloud murmured as he too tried to contain his laughter. Rodin was going to kick Corrin's ass and they weren't going to help him.

Trust

As much as Bayonetta liked Corrin, there was still a gap between the two mainly being that despite being a half-dragon, Corrin was still a demon and a demon could turn on their companion at any moment. Bayonetta learned that the hard way when she lost control of Gomorrah. She did not want a repeat of that incident. Even if she knew Corrin was different from her demonic pet, it still didn't change how uneasy she was when she was alone with him when his dragon side was taking over.

Like Pit, Bayonetta had made many enemies. After her trip to Inferno, most demons wouldn't have a problem trying to kill her if they were given the chance. Granted, they weren't as persistent as the angels were, but they were quieter about it. If they saw an opening, they would attack. Of course they would attack her when she was alone with Corrin a little ways outside of Smashopolis. The Umbra Witch had to get Corrin into Purgatorio just so he wasn't a sitting duck against these particular demons. However, this demon was intentionally targeting Corrin. Apparently, they brought a shaman from the Netherworld to curse the dragon prince and bring out the dragon side of him out. Bayonetta did not believe that a shaman was capable of doing that and for the curse to work at an alarming rate.

She was dead wrong. The minute the spell hit, Corrin went into a frantic state. He tried to control his urges, but it was impossible. He attacked the enemies in a more aggressive manner not caring if they begged him to spare their life. His dragon side desired death and destruction. The shaman thought she could control Corrin, and might as well have in that moment.

"Kill her."

Corrin did not transform completely into a dragon. Only parts of his body were morphed at this point. He turned his attention toward Bayonetta who was ready to shoot him if he attacked. That's what everyone would assume. The Umbra Witch hesitated to pull the trigger. She should have had no problem attacking anyone who betrayed her, but this was Corrin. She cared a little too much for him. The dragon prince took advantage of that as he ended up "pinning" her down to the ground. Bayonetta let out a startled cry thinking he actually impaled her, but he deliberately missed. The shaman could not see that he missed and assumed that he was relishing in the pain his friend was suffering.

"Cere…" He hissed as he leaned close to her ear. "You…have got to trust me…please…play dead."

The Umbra Witch tried her best to breathe but found it difficult. Corrin's expression was rather cold despite him asking her to trust him. The curse was still in effect, and it was obvious he was trying to keep himself from killing her or worse…

"Corr…in…"

And this time, he did hit her when he impaled her again, but he made sure to just get the side of her waist. When Bayonetta was hit by anything, she would bleed roses. Even if the wound was minor, she still exaggerated the pain she was in. It always worried the silver haired prince if he went too far. It was Corrin that flinched at her acting. He tried to contain his annoyance with how she was handling the situation before turning his spear hand back to normal.

"Heh…heh heh…even the Umbra Witch can't kill her dragon crush. How sad."

Corrin slowly abandoned the "corpse" of his friend before turning his attention to the shaman who was still laughing. He approached slowly while still growing. He was letting more of his dragon side take over intentionally until he was close to the shaman. She thought she was prepared to deal with him, but then found herself frozen in time. Corrin took this opportunity to impale her.

"W-What?!"

"…Honestly…you think I would let a curse force me to hurt my friend? My will is too strong for that." Corrin growled as he took out his spear hand before impaling the shaman again to make sure she was dead. He should have been disturbed by the blood split, but he was too angry to care. "…Now Cere is never going to trust me now…"

Bayonetta saw Corrin in a different light when he did that. Her heart raced in that moment, but she ignored it as she stood up. She hummed as she clutched the wound on her stomach.

"You shouldn't worry me like that."

"I had to make sure you trusted me and not think I was truly taken over…" Corrin laughed bitterly to himself. "You looked…scared so…"

"Me? Scared? Who do you take me for?"

"Heh…sorry. Let me patch you up. I don't want the wound to get worse."

Bayonetta was still going to be weary of the dragon prince with how aggressive he was being. For now, she was going to trust him to take care of her. It's what Cloud would have wanted her to do since he wasn't around to see them interact like this.

Naughty

The one thing Corrin did not like when he was around Bayonetta and Cloud was when they start having adult conversations. Corrin always felt the odd man out given he didn't seem to understand what they were talking about. By "adult" conversations, it always concerned sex. Corrin was in an awkward position. On one hand, he did have sex in the past. However, due to timeline resets in his universe, he was still very much a virgin. He didn't get to romance Zero. He lost Zero to Camilla, so there was no hope for him. In the Smash Realm, he was given a chance to lose his virginity. However, he was still keeping everyone at arm's length to avoid any sexual confrontation.

And yet, here Corrin was sitting down in the hotel room (that Cloud was forced to pay for) while Cloud and Bayonetta were exchanging stories again in front of him. Corrin pretended that he wasn't interested and wanted to go to sleep, but the stories were…interesting to say the least.

"Cloud, you never told me about that Honey Bee incident." Bayonetta purred as she was slowly helping Cloud remove his clothes. "You said you would tell me if I won that battle."

"Tch…it was a horrible experience." Cloud hissed even though his cheeks were turning red. "I did it to save Tifa so…"

"You sure about that?"

"What are you insinuating?"

"I don't know…maybe you enjoyed your little experience…and want to have fun with Corrin."

"Please don't bring me into this." Corrin mumbled darkly as he grabbed the pillow from the bed and placed it in his lap. He wasn't interested in this conversation at all.

"I didn't…" Cloud denied. "It fucking hurt. They didn't prepare me at all. I had to take it as it was…"

Bayonetta licked her lips when he said that. "Oh?"

"Don't give me that look. It's not as erotic as you think! It hurt!"

"Well, good thing this hotel has lube to fix that." The Umbra Witch hummed.

In the drawer that separated the two beds, there was lube. Corrin hated how they didn't get a room with three beds, but Cloud was being a cheapskate.

"Y-You think I'm just going to let you peg me without my consent?!"

Bayonetta laughed at Cloud's words. Corrin tilted his head in confusion.

"…What's pegging?"

The two stopped their flirting to give Corrin an odd look.

"…Did I say something wrong…"

"Boy…" Bayonetta started before shutting her mouth…or rather Cloud immediately covered her mouth so she couldn't even start to explain what "pegging" is.

"It's nothing!" Cloud shouted. "D-Don't listen to Bayonetta!"

"But…"

The Umbra Witch continued to laugh as she slapped Cloud's hand away. "Corrin, sweetie, have you ever dreamed of a woman topping you?"

Corrin let out a small gasp before he avoided eye contact with her. "N-No…not really…"

"Really?"

"W-Well…maybe a little…why?"

"Well you see, pegging is…"

Cloud really wasn't going to let Bayonetta finish that sentence. He would rather push her lightly onto the bed with him on top. Bayonetta was taken by surprise by the ex-SOLDIER's reaction.

"…There are some things he doesn't need to know now…" Cloud hissed.

Bayonetta smirked at his response. "At least you're naked. Corrin, I know you're turned on by our talk. Why don't you get the lube so we can have some fun?"

Cloud panicked realizing that Bayonetta expected Cloud to put him in this awkward position. Normally, it was Corrin on top of Bayonetta with Cloud positioning himself behind the dragon prince. Now, there was a chance Corrin would take that chance. Cloud could tell that Corrin's expression changed the longer this conversation went on. He could do nothing because of Bayonetta using her hair to hold him down.

"C-Corrin…don't listen to Bayonetta. R-Really…"

Cloud would later let out a rather pathetic scream because of what Corrin and Bayonetta did to him that night.

Trap

Corrin tried his best to keep himself composed. He was stupid for leading his group into a trap. The dragon prince really wanted to go after Anankos now before he decided to join up with Diamond and Mecha Galaxy for a huge counterattack. He was warned constantly by his group that it was a trap to lead Corrin straight to his world. Of course the red eyed prince ignored their warning and that was why Corrin got separated from the group the minute they were near his world. Rosalina flew the Comet Observatory too close and Corrin simply got grabbed by a powerful force that dragged him through a portal.

Now, he found himself back inside Valla's castle, all alone with no one to turn to. Corrin wondered where his friends and family were. He had never been this far into the castle before…but that was only because he recalled that Anankos was supposed to be near the bottom for whatever reason. His mind was too hazy to remember a detail like that unfortunately.

"H-Hello? Anyone here?" Corrin asked knowing full well no one would answer. "Hello?"

Corrin shivered when he heard footsteps and laughter. He didn't want to think about who could possibly be here besides Anankos. That monster was watching him from somewhere and wanted Corrin to make a mistake. He already fell for one trap, so he might fall for another one.

Sure enough, when Corrin took a step forward, he suddenly noticed fog was coming into the room. He snarled at how he would be walking into a wall at this rate.

Stay calm, Corrin! He's just trying to scare you! Corrin thought to himself as he tried to calm himself down. Just go for the room in front of you…

That's what Anankos wanted though. He had already placed soldiers all over Valla and while anyone who was still here would notice, things would go to hell really fast.

As Corrin opened the door, he felt something push him inside. He yelped as he fell down. In the room he was in, there were Faceless looking down on him. The dragon prince's eyes widened in horror at the situation he was in.

"Oh no…" Corrin mumbled. "N-Not these guys again…"

The Faceless always wanted to kill, but when Anthony trapped him, he mentioned something about how he was willing to let them have fun before they killed him. Corrin looked behind him to see what pushed him and was horrified it was another Faceless that reached out to grab him. The dragon prince jumped out of the way and nearly got hit by another one. He panicked and attempted to shift into his dragon form to fight, but there was another Faceless in the direction he jumped too and knocked his stone out of his hand. Corrin yelped as he suddenly found himself slammed into the pavement. He struggled to break free to no avail.

"Guhh…" Corrin groaned as he tried to move his hand. He still had Yatogami, but he couldn't activate it for shit. He was a sitting duck. "Dammit…not again…"

Corrin's eyes widened in horror when felt one of the Faceless attempt to rip off his cape. These monsters had every intention of continuing what they started.

"Corrin…"

Corrin's ears twitched hearing an ominous voice. He didn't recognize it completely, but he was certain it was the man he needed to kill.

"…I will give you one chance. Surrender now before these Faceless decide to mate with you."

The dragon prince did not want to be reminded of this. The words his sister told him about what Anankos wanted out him scared him to the point that it hurt his resolve. If Corrin's army traveled further into the depths of Valla, what sick things would they uncover? Cory told everyone Anankos had a way to make Corrin reproduce with other males since he was a "special" dragon. Corrin was cursed during the fall season during the first week leaving him vulnerable for a total of twenty-one days in three months. If Corrin could dodge that season in his world, he should be fine. He was certain that was the case even though Gunter said otherwise. Now, he started to think that Gunter was right and there really was no escape from the curse unless he slayed Anankos. Regardless, if he surrendered now, he was going to be brought to Anankos and everyone was doomed as far as he was concerned. He would be delaying the inevitable but…

"No…" Corrin answered weakly. "I won't surrender. I won't be your tool."

Anankos was not pleased by this. He retaliated by summoning some Vallites in the same room as the Faceless. These looked different from the previous ones, but they were still of the dark mage class. They smirked as they all chanted something disturbing…

"Soon…the womb will make its way back to the master. The womb that will allow us to populate the land with monsters that will bring everything to ruin. The womb resting inside you…"

The dragon prince was trembling now. He thought he was ready to handle whatever Anankos had planned for him as long as he had his friends to back him up. Corrin knew that wasn't true. He was terrified of what would happen if he messed up. If he just listened when he was told it was a trap…

"Put him in a trance and move him to that room." Anankos ordered. "I need him to be aware of what is happening to him."

"N-No…you can't…"

The undead cared not for Corrin's tears that were starting to leak from his eyes. They were only doing what they were told. One mage was not enough to contain Corrin, so three of them needed to hypnotize him successfully. Corrin struggled against the Faceless that continued to harass his rear, but there was nothing he could do.

"Cere…Cloud…help…"

Anankos' evil chuckle echoed in his ear. The Invisible Dragon thought he won after waiting patiently for his son to return to him. Unfortunately for him, he forgot something important about the people that Corrin befriend in Smash.

"…The flies insist on ruining everything…"

The reason Anankos said that was because Bayonetta managed to open a portal into the Valla castle. When the portal opened, a huge fist came out to punch the Faceless and the undead mages away from the dragon prince. Once that fist retreated, Bayonetta and Cloud slipped through the portal. The portal then vanished behind them.

"Took you long enough Bayonetta…" Cloud muttered. "We nearly lost him!"

"Better late than never." The Umbra Witch reminded him as she immediately rushed over to Corrin's side. "Corrin!"

"…C-Cere? Am I dreaming…or…"

"No…we're here. Sorry it took so long." Bayonetta reassured him. "Get up. We're getting out of here…"

Corrin didn't want that though. He wanted to fight his father even though he was clearly shaken up. Cloud stood in front of the two as he prepared to fight the undead army that was starting to be summoned into the small room.

"…Kill them." Anankos ordered. "Make sure my son is alive. Capture him and bring him to me."

Cloud glanced around and saw where the dragonstone was in the room. Corrin needed that if the trio wanted to burst through the room by force.

"Bayonetta, can you keep an eye on Corrin? I'm going to grab his stone."

"…That's a risky move."

"I know…but you'll have my back too I assume?"

"Of course. Who do you take me for Mr. Moody?"

Cloud sighed at the nickname but proceeded to cast haste on himself with the materia on his sword before rushing in to grab it. Bayonetta covered him shooting bullets from afar. Corrin could only watch as his two friends picked up the slack for him. He was happy they came for him, but a part of him was being reminded at how weak he was in his own universe.

I need…to help them. Corrin thought to himself. I need to fight with them. I can't let them save me time and time again…I have to do this…for myself…

Decision

After the events of Mecha Galaxy, Rosalina had a talk with Pit and Shulk on what they should do with Corrin, Bayonetta and Cloud. Compared to the other Smashers, their bond was strong enough to be able to handle the horrible things that happened in all the previous timelines. The problem did not stem from their trauma as much as their complicated relationship. Sometimes, they broke each other's heart by simply falling in love with someone else. If they were to remember everything, they would need to decide what to do with their conflicting feelings as well as their kids from the future. Corrin had four Canas total and it needed to be addressed.

"Honestly, I think the best solution would be to let Corrin be with Bayonetta and Cloud." Pit told Rosalina. "That takes care of two of the four Canas…"

"But what about the other two…"

"Well…they came earlier in the timeline…for whatever reason. I mean…except Claudia…she came super early from what you witnessed…but I feel like Corrin needs to be with Bayonetta at least."

"So Bayonetta can off your back?" Shulk asked in a snarky tone.

"Hush! When she's with these two, she doesn't bug me as much and that's good for me. I mean, these three bring out the best in each other in comparison to Snow White and Volga. In the timeline Snow White one, Corrin broke Bayonetta's heart…and that timeline went horribly as a result. As for Volga…it's not bad. In fact, things are fine with him…but Volga doesn't want to share…and Bayonetta and Cloud will only share Corrin with each other…"

"I feel like this is for Corrin to decide. Not us." Rosalina answered him. "Still, I find it a miracle that they're able to have a strong bond that transcends time."

"That's why they're a trio." Shulk told her with a sigh. "Sometimes I wish Pit and I were able to get along well enough for Rob's sake."

"Yeah…not happening."

The Queen of the Cosmos shook her head in annoyance as she finally made the decision to fill Corrin, Bayonetta and Cloud in on the previous timelines.

---

Me: Done with 14194 words.

Li: Man, these three got a ficlet before me and my group.

Me: Hey, I haven't developed the bond enough to have a ficlet of you guys. Notes!

1. As pointed out in The Ripple Effect, the first three stories in the DLC arc are canon in all timelines (Fighting Tension, Ballad of the Goddess and Tango in the Moonlight). From Pas de Trois onward is exclusive to that timeline. This means that Corrin learns to trust Bayonetta and Cloud in a different manner of what happened in Pas de Trois (same for Cory and not having what happened in Won't You Come Out as a way to make up with Bayonetta).

2. In the CPR portion, I should bring up there is a CPR mini-game for Cloud that is done early on (and it takes forever to do). Bayonetta also gets a scene with Loki where it appears Loki drowned but instead of doing something like CPR, she keeps shaking him until he starts laughing at how worried he made her. I made her do the same thing to Cloud as a joke that she actually can't do CPR. As for Corrin, he's been locked up all of his life. You think he's going to learn how to do that?

3. In the Third Wheel portion, the reason Corrin gets jealous so easily is a reference to Do As I Say (Not as I Do) where Corrin assumes Bayonetta and Cloud are dating and having fun without him and how angry he gets to the point he nearly puts himself in a bad situation. Corrin has no problem with Cloud and Bayonetta being together. He just doesn't want to be ignored. It's different with how Bayonetta refuses to be the third wheel regardless of how encouraging she is to them and Cloud who simply gives up and accepts his role.

4. The Suitor portion refers to stories either not started or finished. The Snow White arc requires me to know more about Snow White because this is probably the only timeline where Bayonetta does not take to Corrin being with someone else well. Cloud is shown to have a similar reaction to Volga as seen in The Eel Problem. Yes, Corrin has a Cana with both Snow White and Volga too which I will address in a later portion.

5. The Vacation portion effectively removes the plothole that was created in ID: Control once the Salt Trio got announced. Basically, the issue I had was how Bayonetta would not have been caught and turned into a Risen. Corrin would also not be turned into a Risen due to how his heart is 99% pure…in other words…he would be put in the same position as Palutena (a slow and painful transformation). I feel like this also adds to how Bayonetta can do her own thing outside of the mansion, so I don't have to reference her in other stories where chaos happens and she's not there as she is a character who can stop the madness rather easily. I don't think this would apply to Dream Galaxy though (seeing as how the Pain portion establishes they do have a tragic past that would allow them all to fall into the lotus eater).

6. The Heart portion foreshadows some timelines that might not have been written. These scenarios would ignore the situations concerning the Salt Trio dying when the Great Evil is revived due to the fact Corrin and Cory decide to return home and kill Anankos as soon as possible. While this helps many of the Smashers survive longer due to Anankos not teaming up with the Great Evil, it results in Corrin giving his life to save everyone. The canon ending of Revelation is too happy after all.

7. The Ending portion pretty much makes it clear that the Salt Trio do not survive against their battle against the Great Evil since they spend so much time getting rid of Anankos instead (in most timelines). It's obvious from how I written it that this is a reference to Zack's Last Stand (with Cloud repeating the words that Zack said before he fought the SHINRA military). At this point, it's obvious that all three of them are at their wits end. They can be motivated with the desire to survive and save Axel (who does survive every timeline, but is kind of…broken because of spoiler reasons). My love for the Salt Trio should allow them to live, but I confirmed that only Dark Pit and the Robin twins survive at the end, but Dark Pit ends up becoming the Black Abyss thus effectively killing him…

8. The Dumb portion is based on the idea that the trio are not book smart. I read a headcanon that Bayonetta isn't exactly book smart and requires people to explain things to her without losing her temper with them. While you collect journals in both games that is heavy in detail, who is actually going to sit down and read everything about the lore in Bayonetta's universe? As for Cloud, he always came off as the punk who didn't bother to read. Seeing as how he was a grunt, it meant that he didn't have much to offer and a lot of things Cloud knew were from Zack. This leaves Corrin who while is given all the books to read…lacks common sense.

9. The Kids section is complicated. Corrin is not like the other characters that are bound by one or two characters and potentially having a child. He's bound to either Bayonetta or Cloud, but his string is looser so he's capable of romancing other people like Snow White and Volga. He ends up having four Canas and things get ugly when they all show up and all call him daddy and making him choose who will be his husband/wife. Timeline wise, its Cloud, Snow White, Volga and Bayonetta (because even if Bayonetta is with Corrin, it doesn't mean she has a child with him). Of course, I put more focus on Bayo!Cana because it's the child that looks like Cereza. This section also brings up that some timelines, Bayonetta and Cloud have a child and name it Zack who looks and acts exactly like Cloud's dead friend. The point is though that while Corrin is not cheating on his love interests due to the timeline reset, it causes complication for his children and as pointed out in the Decision section, Corrin has to decide who he wants to love post Mecha Galaxy now that he has memories of all past timelines.

10. The Trust section could very well be seen as a future scene in the sequel of Crown of Ruin (under different circumstances) or I might use it for a story like A+ Support (or something else altogether) because I felt like this scene could have been its own one-shot. I do like the idea of Corrin not being able to control his dragon urges and attacking his friends like what happened to Azura in canon when he first transformed. Without Azura, things become dangerous like what happened in A Dragon's Rue, so don't be surprised if this idea pops up again.

11. Trap section is part of Mecha Galaxy if it isn't obvious. The Salt Trio get their own separate arc and it's based on getting rid of Anankos permanently, so when Corrin and Cory do go to the Smash Brothers Realm, things won't be so dire.

That's it. Reviews are appreciated. Ja ne!