The golden glow of a desk lamp shyly illuminated the sleek, wooden table. An open book sat on the brown wood with a finger trailing along the lines. Behind the desk was a young male wearing a black and purple robe that fell to his kneecaps. The white hair indicated that this wasn't any tactician; it was Robin.
The mage followed along the lines of the book in the quiet, dim library. He made certain that he had as little light as possible as to not disturb the others in their slumber. With all the candles and lights off, the room was only lit by the subtle glow of the lamp and the beam of the full moon that jutted through the full window behind him. Honestly, it was calming for the male.
Robin always visited the library when his insomnia kicked in. It always put his nerves at ease. Usually, he would talk to his husband to find serenity, but he didn't want to wake the sleeping Chrom. Plus, Robin didn't want to worry the young prince, who always felt the need to comfort him in times like these. This is also why he came to the library in secret; not to worry Chrom. Meanwhile, he read a book that was suggested to him by a fellow friend.
The text was simple, made up of a story about an astronaut that befriended little plant creatures. The book was just about over, and the tactician finally felt fatigue sliding in. As his finger slid to the final line of the book, a slimmer of a smile came upon his face. Robin was at peace.
The peace was short-lived, however, as Robin jumped at the sound of the massive entry door opening. The room was too dark to make out who it was, but Robin could take an educated guess.
The faint whisper came from the doorway as the hidden figure slowly made their way into the hallway, "Robin? Robin! Are you in here? Robin!"
The mage's cold sweat was replaced with a feeling of submissive defeat. Chrom had found him. Begrudgingly, Robin stood from the desk. Hesitantly, Chrom decided to take the chance of waking a few people up in order to find his tactician. So, he flipped the light switch. Almost immediately, his eyes met Robin's.
"What the heck are you doing in here!?" he yelled in a whisper. "It's, like, two in the morning!"
Robin didn't know what to say. He had no excuse. "I was just... reading."
Chrom just stared at his husband with confusion plastered on his face. "...Huh!? Why!? Aren't you tired?"
Robin quietly nodded in response. "...It was a good book."
Chrom's eyes almost rolled right out of their sockets. "C'mon... Get to bed."
The tactician nodded again, closing the book on his desk. As Robin made his way to a bookshelf to replace the book, something caught his eye. It was... that rustic book that was discovered. It's been over a year since the incident, and the group has come a long way.
Robin and Chrom grew closer and eventually married. Chrom's daughter was no stranger to marriage either; she was the bride to a rather odd and perhaps mistaken groom: Captain Falcon. Along with the daughter and son-in-law, Chrom and Robin recently adopted a new son: Pastry. New members of the group have joined the band, just like Pastry.
As for the other newcomers? After the new world was created once the seal was broken, many more people began appearing. Some notable ones to mention are an innocent cat named Jibanyan, a sweet-toothed thief named Gaius, a fallen angel named Kilonia, a young witch named Ashley, and that's just scratching the surface!
Over the months, everyone has grown together. Nothing "bad" has happened, per se, save for a few drunk mishaps and the occasional arguments that were taken too far. Breaking the seal was one of the best things that ever happened for a lot of the members of this ragtag family. Robin couldn't help but let a smile slip on his face as he recalled how far everyone has come.
But, an uneasiness in his stomach brought him back into reality. As Robin stared at the ancient book, he never noticed Chrom approaching him.
"Robin... What's wrong?" Chrom's words made Robin jump again.
"H-Huh? Oh, it's nothing...!" Robin glimpsed at Chrom's unwavering concern, and he finally submitted. "It's just... I'm getting this bad feeling... I don't know what it is."
"Think it has something to do with Grima, maybe?" Chrom inquired, trying to help his lover.
"Maybe... Or Falcon's up to something again," Robin muttered with a playful smile.
"Heh, when is he not?" Chrom returned the smile. "Whatever's going on, let's just sleep on it. Maybe it'll be better tomorrow."
Robin quietly nodded again. As the two exited the library, the tactician took a final look at the book. His stomach sank, but he quickly shook it off. Chrom was probably right... It'll be better in the morning...
—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—
The next morning started off hectic as always. Chaos ensued in the dining hall. Three tables were already broken over the span of fifteen minutes; a new record, actually.
"YOU SNATCHED THE FINAL WAFFLE, DEATH TO THEE—" as the blue-haired archer yelled his threats, he raised a plate full of eggs. Who was it targeted at? None other than the famed magician Trucy Wright, who honestly couldn't care less.
"You do realize we can just make more, right?" Ashley retorted in a monotonous tone; she was tired of the seemingly daily routine.
With a sigh, Trucy calmly responded, "There's more batter in the—"
"DEATH, I SAY!"
"Why do I even try...?" The magician shook her head in annoyance.
A British girl sat at a nearby table, sipping some apple juice out of a mug, for whatever reason. She sat the mug down and asked, "Can someone go get Frederick already?"
Immediately, Virion slowly brought the hostile breakfast plate down. "...I-I don't think that's necessary."
"Mhm, that's what I thought." Hunts closed her eyes and sipped the tangy apple juice. Soon, a young male exited the kitchen and took a seat right next to her, holding an identical mug of his own.
"What's it this time? It looks egg-citing, heh-heh." Of course, the male could be no other than Pastry, the pun practicer. Upon his sitting, Hunts' face immediately became sour, and it wasn't because of the bitter wordplay. She sniffed and almost gagged in disgust. It wasn't the pun that she was cringing at; it was what Pastry brought with him.
"Is... Is that... tea...!?" Hunts' twisted expression stayed locked onto Pastry's mug of tea.
Pastry's eyebrow peaked, clearly unaware of Hunts' notorious hatred of tea. Then, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Is something wrong...? You look tea-rrified~."
Hunts rolled her eyes with an unamused expression as she stood up to throw her breakfast away. She flinched, as well as everyone else, when the doors to the cafeteria swung open with utmost hostility.
"I'M TELLING YOU, IT'S A SANDWICH!" Falcon yelled at the blue-haired maiden that entered beside him.
"A HOT DOG IS NOT A FREAKING SANDWICH...!" Lucina retorted, clearly upset at her husband's ignorance.
"UMMM? TWO PIECES OF BREAD WITH MEAT IN THE MIDDLE? SOUNDS LIKE A SANDWICH TO ME, LUCINA." The angry couple stormed through the cafeteria and into the kitchen, not acknowledging any of their friends that watched them in silence.
Even when they entered the kitchen, everyone could faintly listen to Lucina's infuriated words, "IT'S ONE PIECE OF BREAD, FALCON. IF IT WAS A SANDWICH, THEN IT'D BE CALLED A SANDWICH."
"SUBWAY SANDWICHES ONLY HAVE ONE PIECE OF BREAD!" The faint sound of kitchen appliances being tossed around could be heard in the cafeteria.
A redheaded girl sat at one of the tables, counting through the mass amount of dollar bills in her hand. "As stupid as he is, I guess he has a point."
A short girl with charcoal-black hair swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking, "Still not gonna acknowledge it as a sandwich, though." Ashley looked at the tray of crumbs in front of her, contemplating something. What better time to practice magic than in a chaotic lunchroom?
Soon enough, the couple came out of the kitchen. Neither said a word to each other, or to anyone, really. The awkward silence spread throughout the cafeteria, and nobody dared to say a word. Everyone watched the drama with eager eyes, save for those that couldn't care less.
Again, the doors to the cafeteria opened, except it wasn't as hostile as the previous occurrence. This time, Ike, Jibanyan, and Cloud entered. Immediately, Cloud noticed the awkward ambience, and his eyes wandered over to the table that Lucina and Falcon sat at. He recognized the familiar situation, due to its frequency.
"What's Falcon wrong about this time?" he asked without a filter.
Anna still counted her money as she answered, "Dingus said that a hot dog is a sandwich."
Pastry chuckled to himself, "Let's just say that he wasn't the wiener of that argument."
Ike sighed to himself, trying not to offend anybody. "It's okay, some of us think differently..."
Ashley wittingly spoke back as she continued to wave her wand around at the tray in front of her, "And some of us don't think at all." Amused by her witchcraft, Jibanyan waddled over to the girl.
"What're you doing, nya?" the cat asked. His eyes grew big as he surveyed the bottles of potion that were spread out on Ashley's table.
She spoke absent-mindedly, paying attention to her articulate art, "A teleportation potion... I don't feel like putting my tray up, so I wanna cast this potion on it to put itself up..."
"Nya~! That's cool!" the charming cat smiled in delight.
Meanwhile, Hunts sat back down beside Pastry and instinctively grabbed the mug in front of her. "I could use that potion, honestly..." She took a sip and her worst nightmare was upon her: she grabbed the wrong mug.
She instantly spewed it right back out, and Pastry was in the wrong place at the wrong time, earning a chuckle out of Trucy and Anna. Even in a time like this, though, nothing could stop Pastry. "G-Gah—! Geez... This is... This is tea-rrible..."
After hesitating for a second, Hunts sipped the tea again and immediately spewed it at Pastry again with a snarky "...That's for the stupid pun." She then gently sat the mug down and exited the cafeteria.
Once the debacle quieted down, Ike walked to Pastry and sat down next to him, who gladly accepted the paper towel that Ike was offering. "For the record, Pastry, I thought that was a pret-tea good pun." Pastry smiled at the clever wordplay that was returned. "But, I mean, you gotta know when to actually make a pun. Some people aren't too chromfortable with it."
"It's like you're training a Jedi or something," Cloud muttered to himself, taking a seat next to the duo as he sat his breakfast tray down. "They're just puns, Ike."
The blue-haired warrior chuckled lightly. "You know, that Star Wars analogy seemed very... Forced."
Cloud looked back down at his food in annoyance, "...Remind me again why I talk to you?"
—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—
Meanwhile, another archer was lounging around on a couch, except he didn't have blue hair. On the other end of the couch, there was a pink-haired dancer, who was hypnotized by the flashing colors and images that were displayed on the television mounted on the wall in front of them.
"Hmmm..." Niles purred, "Darling, would you mind if I changed the channel to something more... intriguing?" His eyes peeled from the TV and creeped towards Olivia, who shifted uncomfortably in response.
Her hospitality was short-lived, which was evident by the sudden change in her expression. "U-Ummm..." Olivia was unsure of the proposal; she was already interested in the Sesame Street episode that was airing. Of course, she didn't have the courage to say 'No'. "S-Sure, Niles...! Ch-Change it to whatever y-you'd like!"
"Mmm~, thanks, darling~." Niles' seductive tone was complemented with a teasing smirk as he reached towards Olivia to grab the remote. On reaction, the dancer became totally stiff, slightly intimidated by the male. "Let's find something a little more captivating, shall we~?"
Before the archer could press a button on the remote, a deep voice spoke out, "We shall not."
Startled by the third voice in the room, Niles jumped. "Wh-What the—!? How long have you been in here?"
A large, armor-clad man was sitting in an orange armchair with proper posture across the room. With an unwavering face of sternness, Frederick continued, "This is my favorite episode." His eyes went back to the monitor, returning into his solemn silence.
Niles groaned quietly, wanting to change the channel from the kids show. Even though he was a flirt machine, Niles respected the others' desires, so he complied.
Soon, a childlike gasp came from the doorway. The three heads turned to the noise to find a Spinda with an expression of pure joy plastered on its face. "Spin, Spin!" Its yellow, Pikachu-themed hood flapped as Epic quickly ran to the occupied couch and scurried onto it, plopping itself right between Olivia and Niles. Once it was settled, Epic stared at the Sesame Street episode with stars in his eyes, clearly entranced by the puppets.
The innocence and happiness of the small Spinda was entertaining for Niles, causing a slight smile to tug at his lips. Maybe Sesame Street wasn't so boring after all? The four of them sat for a couple minutes, singing along to the songs in the Elmo segment specifically.
Epic spoke up with an expectant grin on its face, "Spin! ...Spin! Spin?" After all the time she spent with the Pokémon, Olivia learned to get the gist of what it meant.
With a delightful smile, the blushing beauty translated, "Y-You want our n-next adventure to b-be in the Sesame Street d-dimension...?"
Frederick thought to himself before saying, "Well... We definitely wouldn't need to worry about getting into any danger, I suppose."
"I'm afraid that portal hasn't opened up, yes?" Niles pointed out. "We only have access to the portals whose citizens have entered this world in the first place... like Pokémon and Fire Emblem."
"If any of you find Bernie or Cookie Monster roaming around this world, please report it to me immediately," Frederick stated in his signature serious tone. "I would also like to venture into the lands of Sesame Street."
Niles smiled to himself, "Don't worry your handsome little head, Freddy. If I find Oscar the Grouch sitting in my trash can, I'll make sure that you're the first person I—" The flirtatious archer was cut off by the sudden appearance of Ashley and Jibby, who fell right in the middle of the room. Olivia let out a horrified squeal.
Groaning in pain, the orange cat and the witch-in-training slowly got to their feet, with some of Frederick's aid. "N...Nya... I-I don't think that went as planned..." Jibby mumbled, attempting to survey his surroundings.
"Uh-huh... It definitely... backfired..." Ashley rubbed her aching head.
Frederick had his eyebrow raised, "Care to explain...?"
Niles smirked, "The two missed my presence so much that sheer willpower made them teleport to me~."
Ashley ignored the playful response, "Jibby and I finally found the last ingredient to my teleportation potion... Meant to use it on something else, but, you know."
"...That sounds dangerous," Frederick said bluntly. His fatherly instincts were starting to surface.
"Yet you're not going to acknowledge that your daughter just recreated teleportation? Tsk, tsk, dear Freddy~." Niles reminded his peer of the impressive feat, but Frederick didn't seem to consider it.
"Where'd you make this? And where's your other father? He was supposed to be watching you..." Frederick's expression turned dismal, now regretting that he gave Virion a responsible task.
Ashley groaned, "He was in the cafeteria with me... He was too busy complaining about his pancakes again." She paused, "Or was it waffles?"
Frederick sighed in disappointment. "Can't even watch a single episode of Sesame Street without my daughter revolutionarily learning how to instantly transport herself across several meters into another building. Ridiculous."
—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—
"C'mon, man... Why are ya dragging me along?" an orange-haired male asked as he walked alongside a crimson-haired male of similar age. Gaius and Subaki were quietly and sneakily creeping through the aisles of the library.
Ahead of them was yet another boy, but with different hair: light blue. Shigure was in the lead with clearly detestable intentions. "Oh, stop whining..." he complained. "I heard there was some ancient book in here, and I wanna check it out."
"You and your little fantasies..." Subaki groaned to Shigure. "Why would there be anything useful in a beatdown place like this? Ugh... It's so dusty and stuffy in here..."
Shigure's face lit up as he spun around, "But isn't that the perfect place for a mystic book to be found?"
Subaki shook his head, "Trust me, I know what perfection is, and this definitely isn't it."
Shigure's expression turned more dismal as he spoke, "Just... Be quieter. I don't want anyone to catch us."
"...And why is that?" another voice rang out from the other side of the bookshelf. The three boys stopped immediately, not daring to make a move. They tried to decipher who the voice belonged to. It was feminine; stern but soothing.
The woman turned around the corner, facing the three frozen hooligans. Palutena had an eyebrow raised and a pair of folded arms. She was clearly suspicious.
"D-Dang it, Shigure...! I told you it was a bad idea!" Gaius called out, fearful of what the goddess might be planning to do. In agreement with Gaius, Farfetch'd swatted Shigure's leg with his trusty leek in hand.
"Since when was Farfy here...?" Shigure muttered, uncertain as to how the Pokémon showed up.
Farfy answered with a simple "..." in response. Well, a typical answer for one that couldn't speak.
Regardless, Palutena spoke up again, "I believe I know the rumor you're talking about. However, I'm sad to say that the rumor is false."
"Ah, do you hear that, Shigure?" Subaki asked rhetorically, "It appears we must turn back for now. I suppose this adventure is over."
Shigure turned towards him slightly with an embarrassed blush, "Sh-Shut up, Subaki..." In agreement with Shigure, Farfy put his wings on his hips and nodded with a stubborn expression.
"If it WAS true," Palutena started, "I'd gladly join you guys in your quest. I've searched this library far and wide; no such book exists."
"I-I'm gettin' outta here before I get in trouble..." Gaius mumbled, turning around and walking back. He took a left turn, maneuvering through the bookshelves.
"Gaius, that's the wrong way," Palutena called out. Sure enough, Gaius was going the opposite way of the exit.
He immediately turned around, "I-I knew that...!" The candy-lover quickly speed-walked back through the aisle and out of the door. Subaki felt like following suit.
"Now, if you excuse me, I'd like to get back to my browsing." Like a salty librarian, the goddess went back to her original aisle, leaving the two remaining boys alone.
"I guess it really was a bust, huh...?" Shigure muttered to himself. Farfy patted him on the back of his leg in an attempt to raise his spirits.
Subaki scoffed, "C'mon. I'm sure we'll find something next time... Don't worry about it." Though he was a bit upset that his time was wasted, Subaki didn't want Shigure to get down in the dumps about it.
"Y-Yeah... I guess..." he muttered. "Whatever, let's just go find Gaius..." Shigure started his way out of the library with Subaki and Farfy not too far behind.
When Palutena heard the doors close, she heaved a sigh of relief. Boy, that was a close one. They agreed to keep it a secret, and so far, it's been a success. They didn't want any of the others to worry about it; to worry that they might have to save the multiverse.
The green-haired maiden strolled down the aisles, making her way to a special bookshelf. She turned the corner, and she walked towards the placement of that rustic book. As she neared closer and closer, however, her heart sank and her eyes shot open — the book was missing.