Chapter 54: The Shadows They Emit
"Location: Ylisse, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, April 1st 2143"
Most would not have been out willingly during that time of day. The sun was furiously hot and bright, and, along with the gritty sands blowing across the landscape and the dearth of clouds, the Plegian Desert made for an absolutely inhospitable environment. Validar, of course, was uncaring. The heat was merely a minor nuisance to him, having been born and raised in that same desert. No, the real issue was whether or not he could expect more of a delay for his new vessel's return.
After Future Lucina showed up in the Plegian Capital, she had told Validar and the rest of the Grimleal that she was from the future. But instead of telling them that she was working for the Nightmare King and was waiting for his arrival in the present time, she said that she was going to be Grima's new vessel, and they believed her and decided to set her up as queen. One ruler, she quickly gained power and support for half of her bloodline being of fell blood. She was also present at the battle in Breakneck Pass and was the one that led the Plegian forces, and she had fled after the battle ended without having been spotted and had let the Grimleal in the capital know that the battle was a failure and she was returning back to the city.
To fully realize her potential as "Grima's vessel", it was required of her to have a mind as sharp as a saber and strength as mighty as a dragon's, which she already had, thanks to the power the Nightmare King gave her in the future (which she, obviously, didn't reveal to them). Perhaps, Validar mused fondly, she would even come to surpass her mother and father on both terms. He smirked to himself. For all their professed devotion, many members of his flock were content to wait under the shade afforded by the maw of the gigantic skull that housed their settlement. Despite being desert born as well, it seemed they were too delicate for the heat. Save for a few of his inner circle, of course.
He ignored the stares of some of the men in favor of a dark shape that was descending from the sky. A sole wyvern rider he sent had circled high enough to be mistaken for a lone bird, should any nosy capital agents be on the lookout. The scout bowed deeply after he dismounted.
"She's not far now, my lord. No trouble to report. She has passed through all the checkpoints undetected." the wyvern rider announced.
"Excellent." Validar said in satisfaction.
"Location: Alternate Arendelle, The Bitterverse, July 4th 2067"
Alternate Jeffery finished his bowl of soup and laid on the ground. He started laughing at the amazing experience that he just had. Alternate Elsbeth was truly something else. Maybe he had finally found his place. It was away from the city where he would be jailed for killing his father, it was away from everyone, and not only that, but Alternate Elsbeth gave him the rush he always wanted. It may be a simple life in this cabin, but as long as he was entertained, he didn't care. He lifted himself up and looked towards the door.
"Well, she did say I shouldn't go far... but I could go for a little time outside. What's the worst that could happen?" Alternate Jeffery wondered.
He rolled onto his feet and headed towards the door. He opened it and walked out the door. He took a few steps away from the cabin and then looked around.
"Where did she go, anyway? She probably isn't that far." Alternate Jeffery wondered.
He stretched his arms and looked around. Something struck him as odd. He wasn't really feeling the cold. He did the last time he went out, but not now. He shrugged and continued to walk. It must be from all the time he spent in the cold recently. He placed his hands in his pockets and started walking around aimlessly. The wind made his clothes and hair go all over the place, and he had to brush his face off every once in awhile.
"Location: Ylisse, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, April 1st 2143"
Iniabi looked at the Ruins of Time off in the distance. According to Sayvra, she had an older brother named Marth who had gone back in time with her, but they had gotten separated, so since they were near the Ruins of Time at the current moment, they were going to search there. He looked up and saw Sayvra, Cynthia, and Sumia flying towards him before landing a few feet away.
"Find anything?" Iniabi asked.
"It seems clear. We didn't spot anything." Sumia replied.
"Did you find Marth?" Iniabi asked.
"No. We couldn't really see anything." Cynthia replied.
Iniabi nodded.
"We'll have to explore on foot, then." Iniabi said.
Sayvra suddenly looked over at the Ruins of Time and frowned.
"What's that?" Sayvra asked.
She pointed at the ruins, where a bright light flashed.
"I don't know. Go get Grandpa Chrom and tell him to bring some reinforcements. We might need them." Iniabi replied.
Sayvra and Sumia took off with their Pegasuses, while Iniabi climbed on Cynthia's.
"Let's go." Iniabi said.
Cynthia nodded and directed her mount towards the ruins.
"Location: The Mushroom World, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, January 7th 2151"
"Let's go!" Moon said.
He, Juliet, Pit, Dark Pit, and Danielle made their way toward the door plainly waiting at the end of the hallway. The blonde haired boy, not wasting a second to spare, yanked the door open, and they rushed to whatever was waiting at the other side. But to their surprise, what waited for them at the other side was a totally different scenery. So different that it made them wonder if they were still inside Bowser's Castle.
"Are... are we still in Bowser's Castle?" Danielle asked.
Their surroundings were so unlike the hot and deathlike interior of the Koopa King's domain. Right now, the main elements that made up their environment were green... lots of green. Grass, trees... a forest, to be exact.
"How did we end up in a forest?" Dark Pit asked.
Moon narrowed his eyes.
"Hold on. There's something about this forest that's so familiar." Moon replied.
He took a closer look at the trees and then had a shocked look.
"Yoshi's Island! But... what are we doing here? More then that, why did the door direct us here?" Moon asked.
There were no answers.
"Well, anyway, let's just get back..." Juliet started to say quickly.
Her sentence was cut short when she realized that the door that led them to the place was gone.
"Oh no. This can't be good! How do we get back?" Danielle asked.
"I don't know. But I'm pretty sure if that door led us here, then I'm sure we can find another way to get back." Pit replied.
Dark Pit huffed. The sound made it clear that he wasn't in any way assured or reassured by what his counterpart had said. But then he decided that it was better then staying and mulling over about the door's absence.
"Okay, let's do it your way, Pit. But first, let's try to get out of here." Dark Pit said.
Juliet nodded.
"Well, we could get back to the village, which isn't that far, but I doubt we'll be seeing any Yoshis since, well..." Juliet started to say.
She trailed off. All the Yoshis of the Island were back outside the castle, battling the multitude of Bowser's army alongside Birdo and her friends. They had chosen to hold them back, to buy time for the five of them. And they weren't going to waste the time they had bought for them. Nor would they want to even think about whether Birdo, her friends, and all the Yoshis made it or not.
"Come on, guys. Let's try to make our way out of this mess..." Moon started to say.
He suddenly sucked in a sharp breath and turned his head quickly to the side. The others were surprised at the sudden change of his expression.
"Moon? What's wrong?" Pit asked.
"I thought I just saw something. Something moved, like there was something here that wasn't here before." Moon replied, narrowing his eyes at the direction where he had sworn he saw something make a sudden movement.
"The soil-monster with the key-eyes?" Danielle asked.
Moon shook his head.
"No, we defeated it for good. The riddle we got that led us to World Seven proved that. And we only get riddles when we defeat the main objective of the riddle." Moon replied.
No one argued with that. Moon was right. And not only that, they all could feel the same thing he had moments until then. There really was something on the Island that hadn't been there before. The place was the same, the scenery was the same, but... there was something that had changed.
Suddenly, they all felt like they weren't alone in the forest of Yoshi's Island. Was there something, or someone, else there at the forest with them?
Moon sighed. It was very much like Bowser to not give them a hint for solving the riddle of the labyrinth without yielding to them an equally puzzling riddle in return. The whole fact that the door had led them to Yoshi's Island, where they had fought the first of the baddies Bowser had hurled at them, was a riddle in itself. He, Juliet, Pit, Dark Pit, and Danielle made their way towards the village, but as soon as they got there, they could tell something had changed. Although the village looked exactly as they had left it, and nothing had changed physically, they could tell something was very, very wrong.
"Hey, everyone!" Danielle called out, just to test out and, hopefully, prove that there was nothing wrong with what greeted her and the others when they went to the village.
Nothing replied or acknowledged her words, save Moon, Juliet, Pit, and Dark Pit, who had been looking around with a worried and tense look on their faces.
"It's like a freaking ghost town here. Everything's practically deserted." Dark Pit said after moments of silence.
"Where is every..." Danielle started to ask.
She stopped, having answered her own question in the same instant. Everyone had gone with Birdo to fight Bowser's army. They had all paved way for her, Moon, Juliet, Pit, and Dark Pit to face Bowser themselves. She sighed and stormed off to the nearest house she saw.
"What do you think your doing, Danielle?" Juliet asked.
Danielle was at loss for words.
"I... I don't know, Aunt Juliet. I... I just want to see if everyone is gone." Danielle replied.
"You witnessed it yourself back at the castle, Daniele. They all came. Let's leave and go back there. We shouldn't dawdle around here." Pit said.
"I... I... I... I don't know. I just..." Danielle started to say.
"Come on, Danielle." Moon said.
"W-Wait, just let me..." Danielle started to say.
She opened the door of the house and stepped inside, with Moon, Juliet, Pit, and Dark Pit following behind her. But once they were inside, they gasped.
"Clouds?" Dark Pit asked.
"Location: Enchancia, The World Of Disney, November 24th 2109"
5 year old Sabrina Marie O'Malley pushed her honey blonde hair from her light green eyes as she stared at the village far away from her. She knew that her older sister was the newest princess of Enchancia now, as word spread fast around village to village.
Of course, at first, she had a bit of jealousy, knowing that it could've been them both, but somethings that she didn't want to happen did, forcing things to be as they would.
"Hey, Honeycomb! Stop staring at them flames! And if you think that your sister's there, forget it! She and those other royals fled. Except for the king and queen." a male voice called out, stopping her thoughts.
"I thought I told you to stop calling me Honeycomb, Jacob! Besides, I bet that Nell and the others were just scared, is all." Sabrina snapped, sticking out her tongue.
"Just keep telling yourself that, Honeycomb. For a kid, your a bit of a dimple, aren't you?" Jacob asked, running his hands through her hair.
"Dimple? Just because I have my mommy's hair and my daddy's eyes, doesn't mean I'm a dimple, mister!" Sabrina yelled.
She suddenly felt a chill go down her spine, and she looked up to see something unusual in the village.
"Jacob, what are those floating things? Are they fairies?" Sabrina asked.
"Not fairies, kid! Their ghosts! Now get down!" Jacob replied.
"Why?" Sabrina asked.
Jacob didn't answer, telling her to duck down as her pigtails flew in the wind. Sabrina knew fear well. It was her enemy, and had been since she and Nell got separated a year before because the teenager had said it was for her safety.
If it wasn't for her finding Jacob a week after their separation, fear would've been her main emotion.
And now fear had it's way with her as one question was on her mind. A question of her sister and her safety.
Meanwhile, Sofia, Amber, James, Violet, Elena, Nettle, Bad Sofia, Ivy, Morgana, Tilly, Cordelia, and Calistia were heading through a path called the Longroad. It was a path that went through Enchancia and was well hidden and mostly unknown about. It was so well hidden and so unknown towards people that not many people besides the Royal Family knew about it. The group was using it so they could avoid Dan and Pete's ghostly forces as they tried to get back to the castle. However, as the name suspected, it was extremely long to traverse on foot, with hills and uneven ground along the way, making it very difficult to use. And while it was difficult to use, it was used by the Royal Family in case of political tension, since they could escape the country easily by using the road, should it have to come to that point.
"Okay, how many steps are there, exactly?" Nettle asked as she and the others walked, worn-out by the distance they had covered.
"I don't know for sure. However, using the Longroad is the quickest way to our destination. It's our best chance of avoiding conflict with the invading forces." Sofia replied.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud explosion in the distance.
"What was that?" Elena asked.
Calistia ran ahead and made her way up a small hill. She immediately recoiled and turned back towards the others.
"Come look!" Calistia replied.
The others ran up alongside her to stare down at the view below. It was a very small place, much more a village then a town, full of tiny houses that were made from yellow stone. They were all of various crumbling shapes and dotted about on either side of the narrow winding streets. Most of them had smoke rising from them, and not just out of the chimneys. Their terrified inhabitants were hurrying away from them, screaming and crying, but were pounced upon by ghosts of various shapes and sizes before they could go far. A group of such ghosts were gathered around the church that was stationed in the middle of the town, in the middle of destroying and plundering it.
"Sofia, what should we do?" James asked.
"Let's head down there and help defend the village." Sofia replied.
"I think that's a good idea." Ivy said.
"Location: Ylisse, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, April 1st 2143"
"Ooohh, my head." Marth muttered.
He forced himself up on his hands and knees. It felt like someone was beating him over the head with a club. His eyes adjusted to his surroundings and he found himself in some old ruins.
"Where am I?" Marth wondered.
He stood up and nearly stumbled over from lightheadedness.
"Whoa, easy, Marth." Marth wondered.
"Grrr..." a voice growled.
Iniabi tensed up.
"Uh oh. I know that growl." Iniabi thought.
He slowly turned around and found a group of Risen behind him. They spotted him and began to charge towards him.
"Oh, come on!" Marth thought angrily.
He ran down the hall and found a flight of stairs. He headed towards the surface and was blinded by the sun.
"Ah, bright sun, ow!" Marth muttered.
His eyes adjusted to the light and he noticed that there were Risen all over the place.
"This just isn't my day, is it?" Marth asked.
The Risen began to surround him, and he took out a sword and prepared to fight.
"Oh, Sayvra, where are you?" Marth asked.
"Arcthunder!" a voice shouted.
A bolt of lightning struck the ground, killing a couple of the Risen.
"Huh?" Marth asked.
He looked up and saw a blue haired man and white haired woman on a Pegasus above him.
"Is that... no way." Marth thought.
The woman lowered her Pegasus close enough for the man to leap off and land in front of Marth. He looked over his shoulder at the younger male.
"Look sharp, boy!" the man ordered.
Marth nodded, turned around, and pointed his sword at the Risen.
"Hey?" the man asked.
Marth looked back at the man.
"Yes?" Marth asked.
"Nice coat." the man replied.
"Um, thank you." Marth said.
The two began to fight off the Risen, while the Pegasus Knight provided air support. However, the three found that they couldn't hold off all the Risen by themselves.
"Are... are we going to die here?" Marth asked.
"Don't worry. I have some friends coming." the man replied.
As if in response to his words, a group of soldiers led to another blue haired man leading them.
"See? What did I tell you?" the man asked.
Marth smiled and soon found himself surrounded by his new allies.
"Well, that was a good save. I just hope Sayva is safe." Marth thought.
Suddenly, a javelin flew down and killed a Risen behind him. Marth looked up and saw a familiar white-haired girl flying above them.
"Sayvra!" Marth shouted.
Sayvra looked down.
"Marth? What are you... behind you!" Sayvra shouted.
Marth turned around and saw a Risen about to bring down it's axe. Suddenly, the Pegasus Knight from before landed on top of it, crushing it. Marth gasped.
"Whoa." Marth muttered.
He looked around and noticed that most of the Risen had been killed, with only a few stragglers running around. Sayvra landed on the ground and got off her Pegasus.
"Hey, Sayvra, great timing! I was just... ow, ow, ow, ear!" Marth said.
He grabbed at the ear Sayvra was pulling on.
"Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was? I've been spending the last two years looking for you!" Sayvra asked angrily.
"Two years? But I just got here!" Marth replied.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sayvra asked.
"Can I explain after you let go of my ear?" Marth asked.
Sayvra glared at him, but let his ear go. Marth winced and rubbed his sore ear.
"Geez, you got a tight grip." Marth said.
"Um, excuse me?" a voice asked.
Marth turned around and saw the Pegasus Knight and the man who helped him earlier.
"Your Marth?" the Pegasus Knight asked.
Marth walked up to the couple.
"Y-Yes. Is it you... Mother?" Marth asked.
Cynthia smiled.
"Yes. It's very nice to meet you." Cynthia replied. She looked her son over and said "I see you inherited your father's fashion sense.".
"Hey, why do you make that sound like a bad thing?" Iniabi asked.
Marth looked between both his parents.
"You both look younger." Marth said.
"That's kind of the thing with time travel. Past versions of people tend to be younger." Iniabi said.
Marth chuckled, and then walked up to Cynthia and hugged her.
"I missed you both so much." Marth said.
"Oh, Marth." Cynthia said softly.
She wrapped her arms around her son. Iniabi walked up to them and joined the hug.
"We're glad your safe, Marth. We were worried when Sayvra told us we had another child out there somewhere. I'm glad we found you before something bad happened." Iniabi said.
He looked up and saw Sayvra standing a few feet away, just looking at them.
"Hey, come here. Your family too." Iniabi said.
Sayvra smiled and joined the group hug.
"Are we sure this isn't a dream? I've had ones like this. We meet Mother and Father, only for them to just be figments of my imagination. Do you promise your real?" Marth asked.
"We promise, Marth. We're real and we're not going to leave you ever again." Cynthia replied.
"Location: The Mushroom World, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, January 7th 2151"
"What just happened to Yoshi's Island?" Pit asked.
"I... I have no idea. We should see where..." Moon started to reply.
He turned around for the door, only to see that it was now gone.
"The... the door! It's gone!" Moon said.
"What?" Juliet asked.
"But that's impossible! I mean, we had just gone through a door, and it led us here, and now we look behind and it's gone!" Moon replied.
Dark Pit shook his head, confused with what was going on and exasperated with all the confusion everything was giving him.
"What could it mean? Could Yoshi's Island have been... gone?" Dark Pit asked.
Moon considered that.
"Gone or not, that just won't explain why or even how could the island have disappeared like it did. Add to that the truth that we're here in what looks a lot like World Seven." Moon replied.
"You got me there, Moon." Juliet said.
"But... since when did a door of just any random house serve as a portal all the way to World Seven?" Pit asked.
"I'm not exacty sure. When I've been on Yoshi's Island in the past, I'm certain that there weren't any warp zones or portals in the village. And there couldn't have been a 'warp zone' or portal completely hidden in a house like that without anyone from the island knowing. And everyone didn't tell us a thing about it when they caught up with us back there at Bowser's Castle... so that means the portal wasn't anyone's doing. And not only that... but there was something very, very wrong back there on the island." Juliet replied.
Moon just kept quiet. He couldn't disagree to something he had brought up himself back where they had gone from.
"While it's true all the Yoshis are likely back there fending off Bowser's goons, the way the island was deserted like it was just didn't feel right. And not only that..." Juliet started to explain.
Juliet suddenly sucked in a shocked breath.
"It's that feeling again, right?" Moon asked.
"Some kind of shadow. At first, I might have been able to convince myself what I saw was all a delusion back at Yoshi's Island. But now, there's no mistaking it. I really did see something shadow-like flash past us from the corner of my eye." Juliet replied.
Everyone looked around back and forth to see who it was. They were about a hundred percent sure now that they weren't the only ones there.
"Could it have been another one of Bowser's hallucinations?" Pit asked.
"That's a possibility. After all, we have one through a lot of those, right? How I fell into a dream world right here. How we saw those depressing images back at Luigi's Mansion..." Moon started to reply.
"What's to say this isn't hallucination in itself?" Danielle asked.
"Yeah, I don't think this is a hallucination. I'm starting to feel like we really are at World Seven. Let's just head back to Bowser's Castle. Strange as it is, that 'portal' leading us here was a slight convenience to travel time." Moon replied.
The rest of the group agreed and started heading off. As Pit walked with the others, he accidentally lost his balance and fell off a cloud.
"Pit!" Juliet screeched.
Dark Pit turned to Danielle.
"Danielle, activate the Power of Flight!" Dark Pit ordered.
Danielle shook her head.
"I can't! Something's interfering with my powers!" Danielle said.
Without wasting a second to spare, Moon ran and lunged after Pit, the others following behind him after a few moments. It was a strange scene before them. The usual fair blue skies of World Seven only got dimmer as every second of their fall passed. It gradually became pitch-black, and as such, it also became less and less like World Seven. As they weren't sure where they were now, they suddenly found themselves landing on a soft cushion.
"What?" Moon wondered.
He opened his eyes, thoroughly confused, though a small part of him was grateful they hadn't landed on hard ground like what was expected.
"Is this... a sofa?" Dark Pit asked, looking around.
He and the others hopped off to realize that they had, indeed, landed on a sofa. After realizing that, they took a look at their surroundings. Grand but dim walls surrounded them, and as they made their way out through the door, a narrow hallway full of old paintings and head busts greeted them, just as dimly-lit as the room where they had come from.
"Where is this?" Danielle asked.
The place looked strangely familiar.
"This is Luigi's Mansion." Moon replied matter-of-factly.
Juliet spun around in shock.
"What? That can't be true..." Juliet started to say.
But as she said the words, Moon's statement had sunk in with sense, as much as she hated to admit it. The place was exactly as the five had remembered it, with all it's creepy, grandeur glory, even if the fact that they had just technically fallen from the sky and had landed on a sofa within a mansion was entirely illogical.
"And I don't have my Poltergust." Pit said.
"Actually, none of us do. We gave them back to Professor E. Gadd." Moon said.
Dark Pit looked around, back and forth with narrowed eyes.
"Hmm. That's strange." Dark Pit said.
"What is?" Danielle asked.
"I don't see a single ghost, nor do I even hear something that can give proof to me that there is a ghost. It's silent... too silent. Just like how it was back on Yoshi's Island and World Seven." Dark Pit replied.
"There's something wrong about it that you can't just put a finger on. But, didn't defeating King Boo put an end to those ghosts?" Juliet asked.
"Even so, there should always be something paranormal going on, and there would still be even a few of the ghosts lingering around." Moon replied. He was silent for awhile, but then said "I know, let's try to see if the professor is still there at the lab.".
"Of course! He might be able to explain what all this means. And he wasn't there at Bowser's Castle, so there's a high chance he's still here, and we can approach him." Pit said.
And with that, the five ran outside the mansion (without encountering even a single ghost, which, in it's eeriness, they tried to ignore) and easily found E. Gadd's lab. They rushed past the door and stormed off toward the huge monitor, where the professor inevitably was.
"Professor!" Danielle called out, glad that she saw E. Gadd's distinct figure sitting on the chair.
She, Moon, Juliet, Pit, and Dark Pit started pouring out all the details of how the door from solving the labyrinth of Bowser's Castle led them to Yoshi's Island, then how a random house in the village served as a portal to World Seven, and finally how they had fallen from the sky and landed inside Luigi's Mansion, on a sofa, no less.
"And that's that." Pit concluded, exhaling from the rush of his words and hoping the professor understood them despite how fast and how rushed they trilled their statements.
Oddly, they got no response of any sort from the professor. His figure remained silent and unmoving on the chair, as if he had never heard them at all or noticed the fact that they had gotten in his lab.
"Uh, professor? Hey, uh, did you even hear at least a word of what we had just said?" Danielle asked, the silence and lack of acknowledgement for their presence really getting to her.
Nothing followed. The same silence ensued.
"I don't suppose we talked too fast that he didn't understand a thing?" Pit asked.
"Maybe." Juliet replied, unsure of herself.
Sure, he likely couldn't understand it, but it didn't explain why he was so stiff and silent. Pit began deliberately taking steps towards the professor so he could understand why he wasn't moving or making a single sound at all. For his sake, he had hoped the professor was just sleeping silently, despite the fact he was known to snore.
"Hey, Professor?" Pit asked.
He jumped at what greeted him. It wasn't the professor... just a shadow-like creature that assumed his shape and figure. It gave the light angel a sharp glance with red eyes of an eerie glow, and, as far as shadows went, rushed past Pit and moved along the walls as a two-dimensional figure should. Danielle gasped.
"What is happening here?" Danielle asked.
Snarky laughter was suddenly heard echoing within the lab.
"Who in the..." Juliet started to ask.
She, Moon, Pit, Dark Pit, and Danielle then looked around. The lab seemed to be fading! The five made their way towards the door that led out of the lab, but the exit was gone! Knowing they were in one way or another trapped inside, they tensed and braced themselves for whatever was to come.
"Huh, had fun? I was just toying with you, and you all were too slow to figure out that it was me." a malicious yet familiar voice said as the lab continued to fade into nonexistence.
The lab shifted all of a sudden to the familiar walls that was the interior of Bowser's Castle. The five looked around, taken aghast by the fact they were back to their original purpose since starting the quest.
"I must congratulate you for beating your adversaries and making it this far, but as King Bowser himself is concerned, this is as far as you can go." the voice said.
The figure who had just spoken, as well as laughed at them emerged from the dark corner of the room, and eventually they found out who it was.
"Kamek!" Juliet spat.
"Out to trick us, were you?" Moon asked angrily.
The Koopa that was Bowser's right-hand man gave a sheepish grin in return, as if he were utterly oblivious to the hostility they were giving him.
"Oh, no more tricks. I've already had my fun with you five. It was great to see your confused faces when I 'warped' you all from place to place." Kamek replied.
No one said anything. They instead kept their glare towards Kamek.
"King Bowser gave me strict orders to do whatever I please with you, which means that I can choose to annihilate you five completely, which is exactly as I'll do." Kamek explained. He then snickered and said "Now, let's dance!".
And with the wave of his rod, the shadow-like figure that had assumed E. Gadd's form earlier emerged, split into three, and began to assume forms of their own. One shadow looked exactly like the soil-like creature back on Yoshi's Island, the second assumed a shadowy form of Lakithunder, whom they had fought back at World Seven, and the third shifted to what could be passed off as King Boo's shadow doppelganger. The magic then shifted their surroundings to an open battlefield. Kamek smirked as he got onto his broom and hovered above the ground.
"Now let's go all-out." Kamek said.
"Location: Enchancia, The World Of Disney, November 24th 2109"
All she could hear were screams. Not screams of joy, but screams of terror. Sabrina knew that screaming would give her away, so she stayed quiet as the screams of people and the laughter of what Jacob told her to be ghosts seemed to crease, before she spotted a shade of brown hair that reminded her of chestnut. She know the shade of brown to belong to a girl named Sofia from Nell's letters that the teenager managed to draw pictures for the honey blonde, knowing that Sabrina could only read a little bit of words like most children her age.
"Their gone, finally." Sofia said. She then noticed Sabrina, gasped, and ran over to her and said "Nell's sister!".
Like most children her age, Sabrina was shy around strangers, but a small gentle push from Jacob convinced her to speak.
"My name is Sabrina Marie O'Malley. I'm five and Nell's younger sister." she introduced with what manners she knew.
Amber, James, Violet, Elena, Nettle, Bad Sofia, Ivy, Morgana, Tilly, Cordelia, and Calistia then introduced themselves. Once they were done, Sabrina struggled to contain her excitement.
"Is Nell here? I missed her so much! Please tell me she's here!" Sabrina cried, tugging on Sofia's dress.
Sofia knelt down towards the little girl and frowned.
"Sabrina, I'm afraid that Nell isn't here. I heard from one of the ghosts that she was his prize before we got to you. I'm so sorry to the bottom of my heart." Sofia said.
Sabrina's bottom lip began to quiver as tears filled her eyes before she started sobbing.
"Now look what you've done, princess! You made her cry!" Jacob shouted. He then cleared his throat and shouted "Get the heck out of here, you royal snobs and used to be commoner!"
Sofia gasped, holding back her own tears.
"When Nell said that Sabrina talked of you in her letters, she didn't say that you were cruel! I used to be jealous of Sofia and I admit that I've been selfish, but I would never insult my sister in the slightest." Amber snapped.
Sabrina sat down, still crying. She reached into her dress pocket and took out a pacifier. She sucked on it before spitting it out, knowing that she wasn't supposed to act that way.
"Honeycomb?" Jacob asked. He turned to the rest of the group and said "I apologize for my actions. I've just never thought that Enchancia would get involved by the dead."
"Neither did we. I just hope we can find Nell." James said with a shrug.
"I want Nell!" Sabrina sobbed as she began to cry like a toddler.
"Which is why we'll have you come with us. I know how much you miss her." Sofia sad.
"Are you sure we should bring her with us?" Amber asked.
Sofia nodded and took Sabrina's hand.
"Wait! I know the way! Let me help!" Jacob shouted, stopping them.
"Lead us," Sabrina said.
"You got it, Honeycomb!" Jacob said.
Sofia couldn't help but let out a giggle at the name as Sabrina lifted up the hem of her dress, pretending to be Princess Anna of Arendelle before she had put her skirt down so nobody could see her underwear.
In her mind, she hoped that Nell was alright, for if she wasn't, some ghosts would pay.
"Location: Ylisse, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, April 1st 2143"
Triumph outlined every crease on Validar's face as he observed Future Lucina step up to the dragon's maw. His flock grew restless behind him, several going so far as to prostrate themselves on the sand and mutter prayers when the blue haired girl approached them. His arms spread gracefully in welcome and his crisp words carried out clearly over the breeze.
"Your return pleases us, Fated One. To have you among us again is truly a great blessing." Validar said.
The clamor grew louder when Future Lucina removed the hood of her cloak. Validar's smile widened. He always reaped what he sowed, and the fruits of his labor were never less then perfect. Centuries of carefully selected individuals and painstakingly monitored breeding had indeed produced a second vessel worthy of Grima: dark blue hair, youthful skin, a curve of the face pleasing to the eye. Not a single mark of disease or deformity marred her perfect form. It was incorrect of him to think of her as his grandchild, for she was the vessel and therefore above him... yet, he could not help but feel proud to see how much she had grown.
"Your words please me." Future Lucina said in a confident tone.
"We have prepared a feast in your honor. It is only fitting for such a joyous occasion. Allow us to attend to the remaining details as you change into more appropriate attire." Validar said.
Future Lucina nodded and took her leave in a swirl of blue, black, and red robes. Several cult members tried to touch the hem reverently even as they parted for her.
"You are all dismissed." Validar announced coolly after a beat of silence.
Cultists began to trickle back into the skull after bowing respectfully.
"Location: Alternate Arendelle, The Bitterverse, July 4th 2067"
He must have been walking around for almost an hour before the thought even crossed Alternate Jeffery's mind.
"I... am not lost. I know where I'm going. Pshh, I don't get lost. I'm going this way... no... no... this way... no..." Alternate Jeffery muttered, looking around.
"Jeffery!" a voice called out.
He looked around with confusion, not knowing whether he actually heard someone or if he was just going crazy.
"Jeffery!" the voice called out again.
Alternate Jeffery looked around some more to find the source of the voice. It sounded familiar, but he wasn't sure who it is. It was female, no doubt about that.
"Hello?" Alternate Jeffery asked.
"Jeffery? Jeffery!" the voice yelled.
He heard tracks coming closer to him, as well as the voice getting louder. He knew who that was. It was Alternate Eva. He backed up a bit and started running. He couldn't face Alternate Eva. She was going to have to punish him for his crime, and he didn't want her to go through that. He started running away from the voice, but despite his effort, the voice continued to get closer. He trekked through the snow and realized that just left tracks. But before long, he ran into someone. He fell on his back and rubbed his head before looking up to see Alternate Elsbeth.
"Jeffery? What are you doing all the way out here?" Alternate Elsbeth asked.
"I, uh... I definitely did not get lost." Alternate Jeffery replied.
Alternate Elsbeth chuckled and offered a hand. But just as she did, Alternate Elsbeth heard the voice calling for Alternate Jeffery, and she let out a small smirk. She then pulled Alternate Jeffery up and looked into the blizzard. Alternate Eva and Alternate Sven crashed through the snow and saw Alternate Jeffery.
"Jeffery, your okay!" Alternate Elsbeth said in relief. She got off Alternate Sven, hugged Alternate Jeffery, and started to say "We were so scared. After we heard about your dad, we...".
Alternate Jeffery pushed away from Alternate Eva with a frightened stare. He looked to Alternate Elsbeth, but she was no longer there.
"You... you know about my father?" Altrnate Jeffery asked, looking back at Alternate Eva.
She was confused by his expression, having not expected fear.
"Yes, of course. I'm surprised you do." Alternate Eva replied.
Alternate Jeffery clenched his teeth. He couldn't believe she was being so... condescending. Alternate Eva saw his change in expression.
"Jeffery, what's wrong? Why are you acting this way?" Alternate Eva asked.
"You know why! How could you be so uncaring if you know? What, are you here to arrest me? Put me in the dungeon for the rest of my life?" Alternate Jeffery asked angrily.
"Jeffery, what are you talking about? Why would I arrest you?" Alternate Eva asked.
Alternate Jeffery calmed down a little bit at her words.
"You... you don't know? But you have to. There's no way you couldn't. You know he's dead." Alternate Jeffery asked.
"Jeffery... what do you think happened to your father?" Alternate Eva asked.
"What? I know what happened! I killed him! I... didn't mean to... but I did..." Alternate Jeffery started to reply.
"What? Jeffery, you didn't kill your father, it was..." Alternate Eva started to say.
"Jeffery!" a voice called out.
Alternate Jeffery turned around to see Alternate Elsbeth running away from some men. She seemed to have something wrapped around her as well, but Alternate Jeffery couldn't see it clearly due to the storm. Alternate Eva looked over at Alternate Elsbeth, and even though she couldn't see her easily, she started to have a bad feeling.
"Elsbeth!" Alternate Jeffery shouted, running towards her.
"Jeffery, wait!" Alternate Eva called out, chasing him.
Alternate Elsbeth ran from the men, but then tripped. Alternate Jeffery tried to get close, but he was too far away. The storm started to pick up, preventing his progress. He heard noises come from both Alternate Eva and Alternate Elsbeth, but he couldn't do anything. After a moment, the storm finally cleared up. He looked around and saw both Alternate Eva and Alternate Elsbeth in trouble. Bandits were about to kill them both.
"Jeffery, help!" Alternate Eva cried.
"Help me!" Alternate Elsbeth screamed.
Alternate Jeffery looked between the two, trying to figure out who to save. He didn't have enough time for both. He looked over at Alternate Elsbeth and saw a small bow, which seemed like it was made out of ice. His quiver and some arrows were in it too. He smiled and tightened his body up. He ran towards Alternate Elsbeth, and Alternate Eva saw that and almost died on the inside. She stopped running and got knocked to the ground. Alternate Jeffery ran over to Alternate Elsbeth and punched the bandit away from her. He looked at the bandit's face and saw that he was almost completely pale, as if he had no body heat whatsoever. He ignored that and reached for the nearby bow and quiver. He picked up the bow, which just fit, and even though it was ice, he just connected with it. He grabbed his quiver and threw it on his back. He then grabbed an arrow and quickly shot it at a man attacking Alternate Eva. Alternate Elsbeth saw that and pouted a little.
Another man came towards Alternate Jeffery and Alternate Elsbeth. Alternate Jeffery spun around and shot an arrow right through his eyes. He then hastily grabbed another arrow and turned back towards Alternate Eva. He got on one knee and took a moment to aim. Another man tried to bring a club down on Alternate Eva, but Alternate Jeffery stopped him with his arrow. It didn't kill him, however. He looked back and checked if Alternate Elsbeth was safe. Nobody was around her anymore, so she was good. He reached for another arrow, but his hand just grasped air. He looked back and saw a distinct lack of arrows in his quiver. He clenched his fist and looked back towards Alternate Eva. He started running towards her, placed his bow in one hand, and threw the bow at the man, making him stumble. He then pulled out the arrow he already had stuck in him and jabbed him a couple more times. He fell to the ground, along with Alternate Jeffery, who breathed heavy at the encounter he just had. He never had to kill this many people before in his entire life. Animals, yes. Humans, no. He looked around to see the two girls walking towards him. He lifted himself onto his feet and looked at the two of them. Alternate Eva and Alternate Elsbeth both extended their hand for him, and then they looked at each other and started a stare down. Alternate Elsbeth was smirking, while Alternate Eva stayed serious. Alternate Jeffery question that, but he shrugged, grabbed both of their hands, and pulled himself up.
"So, Jeffery... who is this?" Alternate Eva asked, being snarky.
Alternate Jeffery brushed some snow off of himself and looked at Alternate Eva. Alternate Elsbeth slid under Alternate Jeffery's arm and got close to him.
"This is Elsbeth. She saved me when I almost got killed." Alternate Jeffery replied.
Alternate Eva stared at Alternate Elsbeth, knowing who she really was. There was no doubt in her mind. Alternate Elsbeth gave Alternate Eva a sarcastic smile, making the dark purple haired woman cringe.
"So, you should come back to Arendelle now. I know Halvard, and Igraine, and Sv... wait, where's Sven?" Alternate Eva asked, looking around.
Alternate Jeffery looked around and thought of something. He whistled and waited for a moment. Alternate Sven rushed through the snow and met up with the three.
"Hey, buddy. Where did you run off to?" Alternate Jeffery asked.
Alternate Sven made some noises.
"Ah, don't worry about getting lost. Everyone does it. Except me, of course. I, uh, I don't get lost." Alternate Jeffery said.
Alternate Elsbeth giggled at his statement, while Alternate Eva remained straight faced. Alternate Jeffery tilted his head and gave Alternate Eva a look.
"Eva, what's wrong? Your usually a little more... hyper." Alternate Jeffery asked.
"Jeffery, I don't think you should be around this woman." Alternate Eva replied.
"What? Eva, that's not fair! Elsbeth's a really great person!" Alternate Jeffery said.
"And Jeffery is a... handy man to have around." Alternate Elsbeth said with a smirk.
"Well, good for you, but he has a life in Arendelle." Alternate Eva said.
"A life I don't think he wants anymore." Alternate Elsbeth said.
Alternate Jeffery looked back and forth between the two women.
"Jeffery, you need to know who this is. She isn't who you think she is." Alternate Eva said.
Alternate Elsbeth glanced over at Alternate Jeffery.
"Eva, what are you talking about? You don't even know Elsbeth." Alternate Jeffery asked.
"But I do, somewhat. She is the one who has been attacking Arendelle. She's the one I told you about." Alternate Eva replied.
Alternate Jeffery squinted his eyes, obviously confused. He looked over at Alternate Elsbeth to see her reaction, and he saw that she was standing calmly while staring at Alternate Eva.
"Oh, Eva, I admire how brave you are accusing me of such things." Alternate Elsbeth said.
"Take me, then! Leave Jeffery alone!" Alternate Eva said.
"I'll kill you. You know that, don't you?" Alternate Elsbeth asked quickly.
"Whoa, whoa. What are you both talking about! Nobody is killing anyone!" Alternate Jeffery asked.
Alternate Eva and Alternate Elsbeth turned their attention towards him.
"Jeffery, you have to leave us. Take Sven back to Arendelle." Alternate Eva replied.
"No way. Elsbeth, what's going on? You seem not to be as mad as Eva." Alternate Jeffery asked.
Alternate Elsbeth turned to Alternate Jeffery, pulled him close, and leaned into his ear.
"Can I trust you?" Alternate Elsbeth asked.
Alternate Jeffery nodded. Alternate Elsbeth moved her head over, and she looked at Alternate Eva and Alternate Sven. She raised her hands towards them and snow encased them. The two of them disappeared in the snow.
Alternate Eva covered her face and tried to protect herself. After awhile, she opened her eyes and looked around. Alternate Sven was beside her, and he looked around with her. They were outside the gates of Alternate Arendelle. She looked towards the mountains and sighed.
"Jeffery, no. Please see through her lies." Alternate Eva whispered.
Alternate Jeffery watched Alternate Eva and Alternate Sven disappeared, absolutely shocked at what just happened. He turned to Alternate Elsbeth with a huge amount of disbelief, but she just pulled him close to her and kissed him. Alternate Jeffery paused for a moment, but he then had a desire to kiss her cool lips back. She secretly breathed more frost into his body. He continued to kiss her until he thought of Alternate Elsbeth. He backed up from her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Elsbeth, listen. I care about you, but you need to tell me what that was. How do you know Eva?" Alternate Jeffery asked.
Alternate Elsbeth stared at him for a moment and then sighed. She waved her hand and revealed her ice dress under her coat. Alternate Jeffery backed up a bit. Half of it was fear, and half of it was surprise at how good she looked. Alternate Elsbeth rearranged her hair so it was pointed and then looked over at him.
"Remember how I told you my parents cast me out? Well, this is why. I was born with this power. The power of ice and snow. My younger sister... I hurt her by accident. My parents cast me out. They left me in the mountains to die for what I did." Alternate Elsbeth explained.
"But... that wasn't your fault." Alternate Jeffery said.
"Yes, I know. But the King and Queen of my former home were very unforgiving." Alternate Elsbeth said.
Alternate Jeffery paused.
"George and Tamara? But that means... your Eva's sister?" Alternate Jeffery asked.
Alternate Elsbeth nodded.
"I am." Alternate Elsbeth replied.
Alternate Jeffery took a few steps back and ran his hands through his hair. He was trying to think of something. Anything. Did Alternate Elsbeth really deserve to be called a monster for a simple accident? Did he? He killed his own father while she only hurt Alternate Eva. He was worse then she was, in that regard. But now he had to decide what was more important. Who was more important? Would he think of himself, or everyone else? Honor or fun? Duty or pleasure? Alternate Elsbeth stared at him while he thought. Alternate Jeffery looked over at her, their eyes meeting as of a result.
"Elsbeth, I know what I have to do." Alternate Jeffery said.
Alternate Elsbeth stared at him for a moment, wondering just what that was.
"Location: Space, November 24th 2109"
On the outskirts of space, Pariah Dark and his fleet were slowly making their way back to Earth. Their ships loaded with chunks of asteroids, which they planned to fling at Earth. Pariah Dark stood at the helm of his command ship, looking over at the planet.
"Soon, I will wipe the humans out of existence and take this planet for myself! After that, I will kill the that fake queen and rule the Ghost Zone once more! No one will get in my way!" Pariah Dark shouted.
"Not quite. Your Pariah Dark, I presume?" a voice asked.
Pariah Dark turned around. Standing in front of him was the Nightmare King, who had successfully left 2168 and entered the present, but hadn't entered 2143, like he had told Future Lucina, but he decided to go to that time at a later date, once he obtained forces in the present date and got rid of his enemies in the current time period. Pariah Dark chuckled, not at all intimidated by the other ghost's appearance.
"Yes, I am. And who might you be, little worm?" Pariah Dark asked.
The Nightmare King glared at Pariah Dark.
"I am no worm. I am a ghost." the Nightmare King replied.
"I see only a rat." Pariah Dark said.
Pariah Dark fired a ghost ray at the other ghost. However, the Nightmare King simply moved to the side a few feet. The fight happened to catch the attention of Executioner Ghost, Archer Ghost, and the skeleton ghosts, who stopped what they were doing and turned to watch the fight.
"I missed? No one's ever made it past that first attack before." Pariah Dark asked.
"I told you, I'm not a push-over. I am the Nightmare King, the most powerful ghost in existence. And I need something from you." the Nightmare King replied darkly, charging green energy in his hands.
"The Nightmare King? Never heard of him. You have a lot of nerve, lying to a God." Pariah Dark spat.
He fired another ghost ray, but missed again. The Nightmare King laughed dryly and held his hands out. Spikes shot up out of the ground, impaling Pariah Dark and incapacitating him in one hit.
"I came to offer you my help. You know, seeing as we have a common goal, but you clearly want to die, and I am more then happy to oblige." the Nightmare King said, sending the spikes farther into the other ghost's ribcage.
Pariah Dark gurgled as spikes went through his throat.
"How did you penetrate my armor?" Pariah Dark asked.
The Nightmare King shrugged.
"It was almost too easy. Your a terrible fighter. You've gotten rusty sleeping all those years, old man." the Nightmare King replied.
Pariah Dark spat out ectoplasm.
"I-I surrender. Please, spare me." Pariah Dark said, confident facade now gone.
The spikes disappeared, and Pariah Dark collapsed onto the ground.
"I can help you." Pariah Dark said.
The Nightmare King gave him a cold stare.
"Good. Now that we've reached an agreement, there's something I need you to do for me." the Nightmare King said.
Pariah Dark looked up at him.
"And what might that be?" Pariah Dark asked.
"Vanellope von Schweetz and Swizzle Malarkey, of Sugar Rush. I need you to kill them. They are the only ones who have the power to destroy me. I want them gone." the Nightmare King replied.
"It will be done." Pariah Dark said, wincing. Green ectoplasm poured out of his wounds, and he asked "But what will I receive in exchange?".
The Nightmare King cocked his head to the side, as if not expecting that question.
"In return? My, my, I think your the one with a lot of nerve, asking me for something after I so graciously spared your pathetic existence." the Nightmare King replied.
Pariah Dark grimaced, but didn't say anything.
"I think we need to get our relationship straight. I am your master and you are my servant, and you will address me as such." the Nightmare King said.
"Never! I will never bow down to a fellow ghost!" Pariah Dark spat.
A spike shot through the ground and into Pariah Dark's chest. The ghost coughed up more ectoplasm.
"Alright, repeat after me. I am and will remain your faithful servant." the Nightmare King ordered with a malicious smile.
"No." Pariah Dark said weakly.
More spikes came up through the ground and pierced the armor surrounding Pariah Dark's body.
"Such a shame. We could have been such good friends. But you just had to go and ruin it, didn't you?" the Nightmare King asked, grinning broadly.
He sent another spike through the other ghost's body.
"Alright, I understand. You need me to disappear, is that it? Your here to eliminate the competition. I can disappear if that is what you desire." Pariah Dark said.
The Nightmare King ignored him and prepared to deal the final blow. However, before he could, Pariah Dark mustered the last of his strength and teleported away. The Nightmare King froze in surprise and then burst out laughing.
"That coward escaped. He turned tail and ran." the Nightmare King thought.
He glanced around at the different ghosts on the fleet, who had watched the fight with awe, and, with a satisfied nod, went to take control of them and the fleet for himself.
