Chapter 7 – The Encounter of One's Dreams

Himawari's POV

Mio and I sat in a room in the back of the Guild with Silvia. Explaining to her what happened to Mio during the 2 months she was supposedly gone. We mentioned the dark castle, this evil woman that kidnapped Mio, and how a mysterious girl helped her escape. Leading to her being warped to my world with the sapphire and how she's been staying with me for the past few days.

And then…Mio told Silvia her biggest secret. The one that she's still trying to accept. Mainly because of how insane it truly is.

"W-Woah…y-you're kidding…"

"No…that is the truth." Mio said. With an added sigh of sadness at the end.

"I see…Well, that is an interesting story, you two. Granted, there are a few parts I don't understand…mainly this evil woman. Who exactly is she?"

"I do not know. That time period in which I was trapped in that castle was the first time I have ever met her. Though, for some reason…she did know me."

"I see…Well, if this threat really is true, then we'll have to alert the Guilds of the other kingdoms. And then eventually, the Royal Families of each kingdom."

"Royal Families, huh?" Mio then grew sadder at the thought of that. Knowing her family and what they did to her…well…more or less, what they KEPT from her…it's really starting to get to her.

"S-Sorry…" Silvia said.

"No, it's okay. Like I told Himawari, I wanted to come back. To confront Mother and Father about keeping this hiding from me. And if that woman tries again to kidnap me…then I won't hesitate to fight back this time."

"Fight back, huh?" Silvia went silent for a bit before turning to me. "And what about you? You do plan on finding a way back home, right?"

"Yeah, I do. Not right now, though. Right now, I want to help Mio overcome this. She's my best friend and I want to help her in any way I can." Then I went silent for a bit. "And I think this sapphire knows. Since it brought us here without so much as a warning."

"Right…the sapphire…"

"You said you knew what it was, right? What is this thing?"

"Well…" And right when Silvia was about to finally explain this mysterious gem…

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Oh, that must be the others. When I told them that you had been found, Mio, they were overflowed with joy. They wanted to come see you right away. But I told them to hold off for a few minutes while you told me what happened. And I guess they lost their patience by now."

"I see." Mio said. "Well, I'm glad that they missed me so much. I can't wait to see them again."

"Hey, so…what exactly are your friends like? They're not mean or snooty or anything like that, are they?" I asked.

"No, they're really friendly. In fact…some of them are really special. In a way."

"Uh…special?"

"You'll see." Silvia said as she opened the door. And then in came a group of people that, for some of them, looked REALLY special.

As in…I think I've seen them before.

"Mio!"

"Hello, everyone! Nice to see you again!"

"Mio~!" Cheered a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes and pointy ears. Wearing a white t-shirt with small pink dashes that exposed the right side of her pink undershirt. Alongside some light-grey jean shorts and a pair of pink & white boots.

She actually looks pretty good…

"I never thought I would see you again! You straight-up disappeared and when we learned that you were kidnapped…"

"Hey, calm down. We all missed her." Said a girl wearing a peach-colored shirt, black shorts, and some peach & white sneakers that…honestly look a bit worn-out. Her blonde hair was made into a single ponytail and she also had blue eyes.

"I know, but…*sniff* I just missed her so much!"

"H-Hey, Zelda! Y-Your grip is kinda tight!" Mio whined.

D-Did she just call her…Zelda?

"Aw, geez. Get a grip, will you?" Said a staff-wielding girl with really light hair made into two very unique ponytails. Wearing a black & red t-shirt partially underneath a red short-sleeved jacket, some black shorts with a leaf print on the left side, and a pair of green & white flip-flops.

Totally not how this person would normally dress…

"I don't think you're one to talk, Viridi." Said a girl with short black hair with a red beanie-like hat on it. "After all…there were nights were you would silently cry to yourself wishing for Mio's return."

"H-How do you know that?!"

"Aipom told me."

"Aipom." Said the creature as it popped its head from the girl's bag.

Holy crap! So, they ARE real…

"Grr…you nosey little…"

"Anyway…we're all glad you're back safe and sound, Mio." Said a girl with a maple leaf in her black hair. She wore a red & white sleeveless kimono top, black tights, and red &white boots. And I could see from behind her that she had a freaking katana strapped to her back.

That's pretty extreme…

"Yes, I agree. It has been a grueling time without you, Mio." Added a girl with short black hair and ruby-red eyes. Around the side of her face was a mask that looked really familiar.

Is that…a Phanto mask?

"*giggle* Thank you, everyone. I am truly glad to be back home." Mio said with a smile.

She sure looks happy…I mean, I would be too if I went missing for two months and haven't seen my friends for that long.

…

I just hope that doesn't happen to me…

"So, you're the one who found Mio, right?" The blonde pointy-eared girl (whose name I'm pretty sure I know) asked me. "Thanks so much. What's your name?"

…

"Uh…H-Himawari Furutani." I said in a nervous state.

"Wow, first AND last name. You don't see that around here often."

"That's because she's from a different world." Silvia said. "She and Mio were warped here from her world after Mio had ended up there."

"Huh?! A different world?!"

"Hmph. Just as I thought." The light-haired girl said. "I've been sensing some weird aura from this girl since the moment we walked in here."

She must be talking about the sapphire…

"Well…" The blonde ponytailed girl said as she stepped closer to me. "…Since you're from a different world, I'm just gonna go ahead and ask. You know who four of us are, do you?"

…

…

…

"Y-Yes…I-I do." I gave in. "I was so freaking nervous that I wanted to leave the moment I recognized you guys. I mean…how was I supposed to react to being in the same room as Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, Viridi the Goddess of Nature, and Moon…an ACTUAL Pokémon Trainer with an ACTUAL Pokémon?"

"Well, I gotta admit. You did a pretty good job at keeping your cool." Princess Peach said to me. "Most people would've already shouted: "OH MY FREAKING GOD! IT'S PRINCESS PEACH AND PRINCESS ZELDA!" or "HOLY CRAP! POKEMON ARE REAL! YES!" or something like that."

"I'm not really into video games. But I at least knew who you four were, so…that's probably what kept me from exploding like a fangirl."

"I see…"

"Well, okay then. Nice to meet you, Himawari." Princess Zelda said. "As you already know, I'm Zelda and that's Peach. You don't have to be formal with us. Our royal titles aren't that important anymore."

"I see…" Was all I said to that.

Not important? What does she mean by that?

"*clears throat* Glaze in awe, Other-Worldly Peasant! For I am the one and only Goddess of Nature, Viridi! Ruler of all things living! Praise me to be forever healthy! Hahahahaha!"

"She's also an immature girl who's rarely honest about her true feelings."

"Sh-Shut up, Zelda! Nobody asked you!" Viridi yelled with a light blush on her face.

"Anyway…I'm Moon. I may look like a 10-year-old, but I'm actually 14. Pokémon Trainers don't seem to age correctly."

"Yeah, so I've heard…" I said with a sweatdrop.

"And this is my partner, Aipom. He's a rambunctious one…but is a huge help when he's needed. Right, Aipom?"

"Aipom!"

"And finally…we have two people who are actual residents of this world." Zelda said as she pointed over to the two black-haired girls.

"Hello, Himawari." The shorter girl said with a bow. "I am Princess Hanako of the Mythgrove Kingdom. Though, much like Peach and Zelda, you do not have to be formal with me."

"The same goes for me, as well." The katana-wielding girl said. "I am Princess Kaede of the Volcana Kingdom. And also a ninja warrior in training. It is a pleasure to meet you, Himawari."

"Nice to meet you too, everyone." I said with a smile.

"See? I did tell you that they were special, right?" Mio said to me.

"Yeah, you were right about that."

"*clears throat* Well, then…" Silvia said. "…Now that we got introductions out of the way, let's get back to the main topic."

"Oh, right. That." Zelda said. "So, why were you in Himawari's world, Mio? Did something happen?"

"Um…well…" Mio started to drift away a little.

"H-Hey, guys…" I spoke out. "…Mio actually has something to explain to you all. Something rather…important."

"Important?" The six girls asked in confusion.

"You girls really need to hear this." Silvia said. "It explains Mio's kidnapping…and what basically caused it."

"What caused it?"

…

…

…

"Alright." Peach said after the room went silent. "If it explains that, then I'm willing to listen. For Mio's sake, obviously."

It didn't take much effort for the others to agree, but I can tell that they were all worried for their friend. I mean…she's missing for 2 months and she comes back with a dark secret she's learned about herself…who wouldn't be worried?

As for me, though…I was ready to support her as she told this secret. Basically to help her calm down if she gets too emotional about it. Though, I wouldn't blame her if she did.

And then, there's the matter of this sapphire. I still don't know what it is, why it's been giving me these powers, or why it brought me to Mio's world. So, most likely, I'm going to be learning the most secrets out of everyone here.

I just hope I can handle them all…

Author's Note: A short chapter this time…mainly to introduce the new direction this story is taking. Yes, I did say that I wouldn't be doing the crossover with the anime characters and video game characters. But since then, I've been thinking about it a lot. What I could possibly do and how ambitious this story could be. And I eventually gave in to temptation. This is why there haven't been many updates for this one in a while.

The change has already been made. With this story now having the "Game X-overs" tag. Other anime characters will appear, too. Mainly from the usual two (K-ON and Lucky Star) and maybe an extra one (not sure what, though). We'll see.

This will most likely be the last update of the year for any of my stories. So, with that said…Congratulations on surviving 2020! Here's to hope that your 2021 will be a hell of a lot better.

Thanks for reading. Later.