Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: Scent of Silence (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
"I… wasn't really thinking straight." Bowsette said. "I've been this human/Koopa hybrid for years now and I come back for like… a week and everyone was treating me so nicely ever since I came back. However… Roy wasn't so thrilled about it."
"Mmm…" Ironwood folded his arms. "Fear can do powerful things to your head, and sometimes, you don't even realize what you're doing half the time."
"Yeah…"
"And you were vocally abused by your son for so long that you couldn't take it anymore?"
"I lashed out… I wasn't really thinking straight. I couldn't really take it anymore, so I thought I'd spar with him just so he can realize I'm actually his mother… but I'm not sure if it worked."
"Because you were attacked?"
"Yeah…"
"Mmm, personally, I'd say give Roy time. He'll come around."
"You sure?"
Ironwood nodded. "Positive. Speaking from experience and all, I know what it's like raising a teenager."
Bowsette chuckled. "Teenagers… they're always a handful."
"Indeed, but it's worth it." Ironwood agreed.
"So, who's this lucky kid that you've raised?"
"Her name… is Es-" Ironwood turned his head. "Someone's coming."
Pause BGM
"Hmm?" Bowsette wondered as they peeked out of the trees to see Junior and his squad walking by.
"So how much further?" Junior asked.
"We should be close by." Kamek responded.
"So who exactly is this friend of yours?" General Guy wondered.
"I imagine it's someone pretty-" Sonia stopped herself and turned to the trees, immediately pointing her gun at the trees. "Show yourselves!"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Easy easy!" Bowsette said as she walked out, her hands raised. "Is this how you normally greet acquaintances?"
"MAMA!" Morton yelled and ran over to her, happily glomping her.
"Wah!" Bowsette yelped as she fell on her shell. "Hey you!" She giggled.
Marnie breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad to see you're okay."
"Wait a minute… who is that with you?" General Guy wondered as Ironwood revealed himself.
"It's been a while." He said.
"IRONWOOD?!" Captain Goomba yelled as the Captains, Morton, Tech, General Guy and Kamek got into defensive positions.
"So! You decided to show up again! You wanted to ambush us in this war of yours?!" General Guy yelled. "You'll have to-"
"Whoa whoa!" Bowsette got between them. "Guys! He saved me from drowning!"
"Wait wait wait, you saved her from drowning? It'll take a lot more than that!" Captain Boo said.
"This is the same guy who declared war on you guys?" Marnie tilted her head. "Huh… I hardly recognized him with the beard."
"Can we just hear him out?" Sonia suggested.
One explanation from Bowsette later…
"That's my end of the story…" Bowsette said. "From what I can tell, he sounds like a great guy who regrets some stuff."
"So basically, from what I'm understanding… this is all Roy's fault." Junior said. "Seriously! If he wasn't such a hard head, you wouldn't have been ambushed!"
"Oh come on, sweetie… Roy wouldn't have known-"
"No no, he's got a point… I think… I could be wrong." Captain Shy Guy said.
"No. Roy wouldn't have known." Marnie said. "He may be too thick headed but I doubt he would lead his own mother to a trap."
"This is the same guy who tried to pummel her into submission." Umber pointed out.
Marnie sweatdropped. "Nobody's perfect?" She shrugged.
"I… regret declaring war on you guys." Ironwood said.
Resume Scent of Silence BGM
"I was so focused on arresting Neo and Torchwick that I was going to do whatever it took to get them back no matter what. In my anger, I was so absorbed into my determination that I thought declaring war on Bowser was the best idea I could think of. I ignored General Esdeath and it caused her and Winter to talk some sense into me… but when that didn't work, they had a back up plan… which was siccing Blue Team on me and knocking me out."
"The Blues? Those morons?" Umber raised an eyebrow.
"It was either them or the Reds." Ironwood said.
"Fair enough."
"Winter suggested something to me that I needed to hear… she was worried about my state of mind, especially when I started a war over something insignificant. She said it was borderline insane… and I agreed with her. It was because of that that both Winter and General Esdeath suggested I take some time to myself… and that's what I did while also putting Winter under General Esdeath's care."
"So you took time for yourself while the war is going on." Kamek said. "I was wondering when you'd-"
"I called it off. I even told Bowser that the war was over. I assumed he told you guys."
"Wait… HUH?" Captain Goomba wondered. "He didn't tell the Koopa Troop this! …Did he?"
"As far as I was aware, no." Kamek said. "Marnie, Lady Neo tells you everything… did she-"
"No, I don't think she was aware either."
Ironwood sweatdropped. "Somehow, I'm not surprised."
"He probably didn't think it was that important… or just forgot about it immediately." Captain Boo said.
"Okay, supposing that you did call off the war… why should we believe you?" Captain Koopa asked.
"I believe him." Sonia said. "I can see it in his eyes, he's genuinely sorry that he went as far as did something so… insignificant. We all do dumb things all the time."
"Mmm… I suppose…" Junior said. "But know this, Irondork! If we were fighting with you, Papa would have decimated ya in a heartbeat. Because he's super strong!"
"Papa?!" Ironwood said in surprise. "You… you mean to tell me that Bowser is your…"
"Yup! Name's Bowser Junior, but everyone calls me Junior." He smirked. "And I'm going to be the future king!"
Ironwood put his hand over his mouth. Dear lord… I almost made this kid fatherless… He thought. What have I done… er… almost done?
End BGM
"Well! Anyway! Let's go!" Junior walked off proudly. "…Wait, where are we going again?"
"Right this way." Kamek said as he guided them to their destination with everyone following, Ironwood included.
BGM: Grasslands, All the Way (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)
"So, what did you do when you took time to yourself?" Sonia asked.
"Took a vacation. Decided to spend it at this place called Isle Delfino. It was surprisingly more laid back than I thought it'd be… given what I've heard about it."
"Ah yes… Delfino was an interesting time…" Kamek sweatdropped.
"Heh! At least I proved to my father I can keep up with the Mario Bros and RWBY!" Junior grinned.
"So you decided to take a vacation and you're back to normal just like that?" Marnie raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "That makes too much sense."
"I am calculating a 100% guarantee that anyone would go back to normal after a vacation." Tech said.
"Even if said island has a possible active volcano? I'd be stressed out!" Captain Koopa exclaimed.
"I didn't pay much attention to it… I hardly even acknowledged it, to be exact." Ironwood explained.
"…How does one barely pay attention to a volcano?" Captain Goomba asked.
"Dude, we live in an active volcanic environment and volcanoes erupt every single day." Captain Shy Guy said. "If a volcano didn't erupt every day, then it'd be noticeable."
"Good point."
"Here we are!" Kamek said. "Welcome to Madame Broque's!"
"Madame whosit?" Junior raised an eyebrow as they walked inside.
"Ah! 'Allo Monsieur Kamek. It ees been a while, non?" Broque Madame greeted him warmly.
"It has been a while, Madame." Kamek nodded.
"What have vouz been up to?"
"Oh, you know… same ol', same ol'. Working with His Burliness, King Bowser and all that jazz."
"Ah, I see… I see! What can I do for vouz?"
"Hey, lady… can you speed it up?" Junior asked impatiently. "We're on the clock here!"
"Mon dieu, how rude of theez naughty boy!"
"Yes, my… friend can be a bit… impatient but he is right. Time is of the essence."
"Oui. What do vouz need?"
"Make a sample of Skeletone Formula D. Can you make that?" Junior asked. "We got a Giga Carrot, we got an omega onion and now we got Ever Ice."
"Onh! Of course, monsieur… I would be delighted to."
"Yes!"
"However… I cannot concentrate for a specific reason…"
"Ooooh boy…" Kamek sweatdropped.
"Vouz see, I have zee aches and pains and zhey refuse to go away. I require a masseuse, otherwise I cannot concentrate."
"A masseuse, eh?" Captain Shy Guy grinned from behind his mask. "Why, you're looking at the greatest back massage of all the Koopa Kingdom!" He said, patting Marnie on the leg.
"Wha?!" Marnie said in surprise. "Why me?!"
"You do give great shoulder massages!"
"Might I add she's really killer on the back? Oooh, especially when she digs in with that elbow of hers." General Guy added.
"She gives good head rubs for those who get flattened by the Mario Bros." Captain Goomba said. "…Not speaking from experience or anything…"
Captain Koopa let out a cough. "Liar." He let out another cough.
"I have seen her do it on Neo and Roman…" Kamek mused.
"Oh, mon cheri, is zhis true?"
"Well… yeah…" Marnie blushed and then cracked her knuckles. "Alright, here goes nothin'."
"Just a quick tip. If you stop suddenly, I cannot get zhe satisfaction. Be hard, yet gentle!"
"Okay…" Marnie nodded as she climbed on the bed as Madame got into position. "Uh…" She stared at the blocky figure. "Where exactly…?" She wondered as she tried to massage the shoulders.
"Ooooh! Zhat feels good!" She said, but as for Marnie, it was like trying to dig through concrete. She did try to beat her back with her hands, but that only made her hands hurt after a few seconds.
Good Arceus… it's like trying to massage a brick wall! She thought.
"Having trouble?" Umber asked.
"Ugh… yes! Massaging a block is way harder than it looks."
"Oh mon cheri… zhere might be another way. Perhaps do an attack or somezhing zhat would relieve zhe pain…"
"Wouldn't you get hurt?" Marnie asked with concern.
"Nonsense, mon cheri… I am a block. We do not feel pain."
"If you say so…" Marnie would then call out her Pokemon.
"Mor!"
"Lie!"
"Croak!"
"Scraft!"
"Snarl!"
"Alright, you guys… help me out! Use everything you got on that block lady to give her a nice massage!" She ordered, causing the Pokemon to look at Madame before looking back at Marnie like she lost her mind. "I know, I know… it's ridiculous as it sounds, but help a girl out!"
The five of them nodded and went right to work with Morpeko hitting her with Aura Wheel, Liepard smacking her with its paws, Toxicroak jabbing her back with Poison Jab, Scrafty going in with a Thunder Punch and Ice Punch and Grimmsnarl unleashing a Play Rough attack.
"We oughta help her too!" Captain Goomba said. "CHAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" He yelled as he jumped in with a head bonk, Captain Shy Guy would throw turnips at her, Captain Boo would slap her back and Captain Koopa would smack into her with his shell.
"…This is the most unorthodox way to give a massage…" Sonia said. "Make some room!" She grinned as she pulled out an AR-15 and started shooting her in the back.
"Oooooooh… zhaaaaaaat feeeeeeels goooooooood~!" Madame moaned pleasurely, and then once Sonia was done shooting her, Umber would come in and whack her repeatedly with the Mirror Staff, then jumped away so Bowsette would throw fireballs at her and Ironwood would repeatedly punch her in the back, then Tech would strike her back with a few arrows. "Mmm! Accupuncture…"
Tech sweatdropped. "I am concluded that this woman is insane."
"Hey hey hey! Don't leave me out of the fun!" Junior said, getting into his shell and then shooting his way toward Madame and struck her in the back… and then finally, Morton jumped in (Literally) and crushed her back.
"OOOOOH! Just what I needed!" Broque Madame moaned. "Zhank vouz… but now I feel zhe need to cool off."
"Cool off? We have a few Ice Bros on standby!" Kamek said, calling them up as the Ice Bros hopped in and started throwing ice balls at her.
"Ooooh~! Oui~! Zhat feels heavenly! Oui! Zhank vouz! Now, give me ze items please and I will do my business." She said as Junior gave her the items. "Now, stand back… zhis is going to get pretty!"
"Uh oh… go go go go!" Kamek said, pushing everyone out… and right as he did…
BOOM!
"Whoa!" Junior exclaimed as they watched her go crazy in her home as fire and smoke shot out of the door.
"Oui oui oui, just a little bit of zhees and a little bit of zhat…"
"Goodness me! I never thought cooking was this intense!" Junior said.
"Indeed." Kamek agreed.
"You've never seen Distortion World's Kitchen." Marnie said. "Believe me, there's a chef in Galar that goes by the name of Morgan Ramacles that gets quite… vocal if you mess up in his kitchen."
"Now zhis goes in here… ah, mon ami! Zhis is great!"
"…Wait a second, is she speaking another language?" Junior asked.
"Oui, monsieur." Kamek responded.
"Oh, don't be such a smart aleck!" Junior glared.
"Sounds to me that she's speaking in a French accent." Sonia said.
"So… how long do you think this will last?" Junior wondered.
"I'm betting… a while." Kamek said.
"Well… since we'll be here a while, we might as well get to know the general a little more." Sonia smiled.
"Well… what do you want to tal-" Suddenly Sonia grabbed him by the throat and placed him over her shoulder. "Wah! Hey! What are you doing?!"
"And by we, I mean "me" because I wanna know what caused him to go crazy at that particular moment. I won't be long~!" She said and walked off.
"I can walk on my own, you know!"
"Nah, this is way better." Sonia smiled.
Mmmph… if Esdeath could see me now, she'd probably take a picture of it and never let me hear the end of it. He thought while trying to pry himself off of her, but to no avail.
"…I feel like one of us should have taken a picture." Captain Shy Guy said.
End BGM
In the trees, Sonia would put him down. "There we go!"
"Was that really necessary?"
"You were about my height, so… yes, it was." Sonia smiled, causing Ironwood to sweatdrop.
"I see…" This girl's a bit crazy…
"So, shall we have a pleasant conversation? Soldier to soldier?"
BGM: Just Wondering (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
"…I would ask how you are a soldier, but I just saw you giving a back massage with an AR, so I imagine you have some expertise."
"Of course! I also have a pistol, a rocket launcher, a shotgun, an AK-47-"
"…You have it all."
"Pretty much! So, tell me… what caused you to go insane at that particular moment? You seem like a level headed guy, so how'd it happen? Got hit with a dose of despair? This Bowser guy made you lose your marbles?"
"No, not any of that."
"Than what is it?"
"…It's my semblance."
"Your what now?"
"Are you from this world?"
"No, I came here by portal. Well, all of my classmates to be exact… hell, the whole island came with us."
"I see. A semblance is the manifestation of one's innate and personal power as an ability unique to each individual, with the effects varying greatly from user to user. It's basically a part of us, like our aura. It manifests from our soul… so it is a part of our very being."
"Hmm… I don't really follow, but that does sound interesting." She mused. "I wonder what my semblance would be if I was born in this world?" She wondered and then let out a giggle. "Probably something to do with the occult… oh, probably summon a horror character." Her eyes sparkled at the thought. "Oh, I could probably summon someone like Freddy Kruger or Jason or… even a Xenomorph!" She let out a gasp. "I could probably summon Michael or Ghostface! The possibilities are endless!" Her eyes sparkled.
"…Riiiiight…"
"I would definitely wrestle with a Xenomorph or a Predator first if I was able to summon 'em… considering the last alien invasion we had were just a bunch of lousy purple mushrooms… I'm still a bit salty over that." She grumbled.
"Focus."
"Sorry, I'm a bit of a fangirl if you can't tell. Continue~!" Sonia giggled.
"Anyway, my semblance is Mettle, which basically allows me to hyper focus well with a demanding situation in a spirited or resilient way."
"Oh, cool! …So what's wrong with it?"
"It's a double edged sword. On one hand, it makes me more focused and determined to do anything, no matter the cost. The problem is-"
"Oh, no matter the cost?"
"Yes. Whether it be losing friends or family or… putting Atlas under martial law and lose your humanity in the process. If anything, this semblance is a curse… out of everything of what my semblance could be, why did it have to be this? It could've been anything else like invisibility or fire punching or… technomancy…" Ironwood shook his head, punching a tree in frustration. "It's like someone upstairs has a sick sense of humor and thought it'd be funny if this would be my semblance."
"Well… I don't really get the whole "semblance" thing but… maybe I can give some advice? Perhaps… maybe you shouldn't let it control you. You said it yourself, right? The semblance and aura are a part of you, your soul. That's just it… it's like one percent of you. Ninety-nine percent is the rest of you. I wouldn't listen to that tiny part of you… don't let it control you."
Ironwood let out a chuckle. "Funny… Esdeath said the same thing to me at one point."
Sonia smiled. "Esdeath, hmm? She your girlfriend? Wife?"
"Adoptive daughter."
"Ah! Well, perhaps Esdeath might be on to something. I wouldn't worry about your semblance… just be yourself. Be in control. Don't let this crutch control your life. Be who you want to be, don't let this semblance control you."
Ironwood let out a soft smile. "Thanks, Sonia."
"Anytime, and besides… people get Tunnel Vision all the time. It happens to the best of us." She giggled. "Although, you have the more extreme version of it."
"That's an understatement of the year…"
Sonia giggled. "Yeah."
"So, tell me more about yourself. Because you dropping "dose of despair" just like that caught my interest."
"Oh… well… the thing is-"
"Hey, you dorks! Where are you? It's ready!" Junior called out.
"I'll tell you later."
"Very well."
End BGM
Ironwood and Sonia walked out of the woods as Madame handed the formula to Junior. "Zhere we go. Zhis should do zhe trick. Two hundred doses of zhis should be enough to destroy zhe blorbs."
"Ah, finally!" Junior happily took it. "This should get rid of this pandemic in no time flat! …Whatever a pandemic might be."
"Oui. Aur revoir, monsieur Kamek."
"Aur revoir to you too." Kamek nodded as they walked off.
"Wahoo! We got the cure~! We got the cure~!" Junior said in a sing songy voice. "Now we can-"
Suddenly, Kaley swooped in. "Yoink!"
"Can… can… hey, where'd it go?!"
"Ohohoho, you made the recipe! This is excellent!" Kaley smiled. "Thank you so much, your services are no longer required."
"Ah, well, it's the least we could- wait, what did you say?!" Junior said.
"Oh Dieter, do you have the other item?" Kaley asked as Dieter showed up.
"One Malodorious Fibbian, at your service!" He said. "This frog's toxins are a hundred times more potent than a Poison Mushroom!" He grinned. "Here you go."
"Thank you~!" Kaley smiled as she started to mix the formula together.
"You…" Bowsette let out a deep growl.
"Hmm? Oh, you're alive? I guess luck is still by your side!" Dieter said. "That is wonderful! …I wonder how your son is doing."
"YOU TWO HURT MOTHER." Morton yelled.
"Why you good for nothing… you hurt my auntie?!" Junior readied his paintbrush. "I'll make you pay!" He said as everyone got ready to fight.
"Here we are! One Malatone Formula X! Now we just need a brave volunteer." Kaley said.
"I know the perfect candidate." Dieter said, taking it and then teleporting right in front of Morton and then made him swallow it.
"MMMPH!"
"Now, this will make his brain cells fall into a deep trance and will make his brain cells follow every command… all ten of them to be exact!"
"What?!" General Guy yelled.
"NNNGH… MMMPH! MASTER… JUNIOR… EVERYONE… RUN… AWAY…! GAAAAAH!"
"Oh my gosh…" Sonia whispered before growling. "You son of a-…"
"Welp, this can't get any worse, could it?" Captain Shy Guy wondered.
"Hahahahaha! It definitely can!" A voice laughed as they saw Damian approaching him.
"Oh hooray, it's my number one fan." Marnie snarkily said while rolling her eyes and before they could do anything, he snapped his fingers as a barrier got between them and Morton.
"Let them work their magic." He said, snapping his fingers and summoning Grumpy Grublins, Calasmonauts, Dark Gryphons, Hell's Gatekeepers, Dark Sabrecats, and Malicious Hammer Bros, Crowbers, Moblins, Lizalfos, Metroids, Sniper Joes, Skuttlers, Nutskis, Ravagers, Flutterings… and, ROB Sentries.
"ROB Sentries?!" Kamek exclaimed. "Calasmos revived ROB's kind?! …Everyone, be careful with these guys. We ought to preserve them!"
"You guys fight them… I'm going to try to snap my son out of it." Bowsette said, running around the barrier to try to get to Morton.
In a flash, Damian disappeared and Marnie immediately rolled out of the way to avoid getting impaled by him, but he would immediately kick her away. "Rrrgh…" Marnie grunted and then chuckled. "You know, I oughta get a restraining order on ya. There are others that you can fight."
"You're the one who interests me the most." Damian said. "When I get rid of you, the others will fall next."
"Ah, at this point, you're just a broken record." Marnie said.
"Yeah! You should pick on someone your own size!" A voice said as Junior came running in and between the two. "I'm tired of you pushing me away like I'm nothing! I'm more than capable to knock you down a few pegs!"
"Ha! That's a laugh… I'm pushing you away, and yet you're pushing everyone else away. You call yourself a good leader? You're nothing but a lost cause."
"You're a Loss Leader, right?" Junior smirked. "Look who's talking."
"You know something!" Sonia would walk up to them along with Umber. "You and your lust for taking down Marnie is quite appalling. Why does she have to be the Obsession? You're practically tunneling her for no good reason all because what… she's the bigger threat out of us all? You do realize I'm packing a rocket launcher, right? I came out of the Fog with a few new tricks up my sleeve and I know that tunneling gets you nowhere and gives your other victims time to escape."
"Oh, what would you know? You're all talking about your heroes in that blasted world, how they're all a bunch of killers and you wanted to hang out with them. You call yourself a killer? You're nothing more than a fraud."
Sonia's eye twitched. "Oh, I'm a bad killer, eh? If I was such a bad killer…" She walked over and kicked him in the skins, making him fall on his knees and kicked him down as she planted her foot on his neck. "Why would I be pinning you on your neck? You tried to stop Marnie by trying to crush her rib cage? That's a good chance for a counterattack…. And you know what? Going for the neck stops everything, as would a proper killer would do." She said, applying pressure to his neck.
"Hgggrk!"
"Doesn't feel so good, does it?"
"Uh, Sonia… you think this is a good idea to tell this to a bad guy?" Marnie asked.
"If he wants to be a bad guy, he should learn to be one." Sonia responded.
"…Fair, I guess."
"Heh… but… you just run around in circles! You call yourself… a killer? Don't make me laugh! You just go around all day and run around in circles like you don't know what you're doing!"
"Really! Really, is that true? Do you have any idea what the hell you're talking about?" Sonia now sounded incredulous as she furrowed her eyebrows. "There's a lot more to it than just 'running around in circles' as you say. When you're the big bad monster, you can't just blindly charge ahead and brute force your way through everything. You have to use your brain since there's a couple more nuances to being a true killer than that. Oh, and tunneling Marnie and focusing on only taking her out after losing two battles with her really says something about YOUR priorities, when any sensible killer would have left a strong link like her alone by now. You want to see how a real killer operates? You want me to show where you're fucking up as the scary monster we're supposed to be afraid of? How about I give you a demonstration and put this all to bed?"
"Show me." Damian smirked as Sonia released the pressure from her foot, then turned to Umber as she got off of him.
"Alright, Umber… show 'em what you got."
Umber let out a chuckle as he readied his Mirror Staff. "Really… the one with the mirrors?" Damian raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I'm more than just mirrors. I learned a few new tricks when I decided to return to Dreamland." He said as he surrounded several mirror clones of himself to surround Damian, and then his eyes started to crackle with plasma and then he and his mirror clones fired Plasma lasers from their eyes.
"ARGH!"
"Whoa…" Marnie whispered.
BGM: 02 Battle (Super Smash Bros Brawl/Wii U/Ultimate)
Obsessive Loss Leader - Damian
"I can do that too!" Umber smirked as Damian brushed it off.
"Very well, I will fight all four of you at once."
"Might as well give you a few pointers when we fight." Sonia smirked as Damian quickly turned around and slashed at Marnie.
"Figures he'd go for me first!" She said after blocking with her claws as she would then counter with a Fire Kick to his gut as Sonia took out her rapier and ran over, slashing him repeatedly as Umber ran over and struck his back with a few swings of his Mirror Staff, then he tossed it up in the air as he proceeded to flurry punch him before grabbing his staff as he jumped back and fired a ball of plasma at him.
Damian's sword turned to ice as he used Kacrackle Slash on Umber, unaware of Junior running in, whistling to call his Clown Car to his side and hopped in, then he pummeled him with several punches and unleashed an uppercut to knock him back as he fired a cannonball at him to knock him into Marnie where she slashed him repeatedly and kicked him back.
"Alright, big guy. Let me show you a few pointers!" Sonia said, stabbing him with her rapier. "You focusing on one person is a huge pitfall that people tend to fall into alot. You gotta spread opposition to everyone to make it fair and balanced, and don't make them too comfortable… don't even think about over committing! If you want to tunnel to gain control of the situation, any killer worth their salt would go for the weakest link first. Someone who's out of position or who seems clueless, it falls on you to identify who the weakest link and eliminate them first if possible!"
"She's really gonna do it, huh? How embarrassing… for him." Marnie smirked as she aimed her hand at Junior and wrapped him a Nayru's Love to protect him from an Inferno Slash.
"Thanks, Marn!" Junior said as he drilled Damian's legs while Umber whacked him in the head with the staff before Plasma Punching him in the chest, as Damian attempted to slash at Sonia but she gracefully dodged the attack.
"You really have the time to lecture me? In the middle of a fight?" Damian asked.
"Pffft, please, you call a one on one tunnel a fight?" Sonia smirked as she delivered a solid punch. "You call this a fight? Give me a break… now where was I? Oh right!" She then ducked a swing and then stabbed him in the chest, and would proceed to continue lecturing him while stabbing him. "Whenever someone's at your mercy and it's not a one versus one situation… you never want to be just satisfied with that. To generate as much pressure as you can, it helps to stay hungry. If you see any opportunity, you capitalize on it! If someone's nearby looking to save them, you punish them for their altruism! If you see any resources that would help them, get rid of it! Putting it bluntly, wasting time is a mistake in of itself, as you must always consider your next move."
"Will you SHUT UP!" Damian yelled, slashing her but she jumped back. "I don't know what's worse. Listening to you or listening to this constant heartbeat! Does anyone else hear this?"
"I don't hear anything." Marnie said.
"Oooooh, she's making you hear things~! You're getting paranoid~!" Junior grinned as he breathed a few fireballs as Umber delivered swift hard Plasma Punches to his chest, then Sonia came in and delivered swift stabs.
"And finally, my last pointer… which is the most important. You don't want to get complacent. Complacency leads you to being predictable and making your opponents read your every move. Do not let them do that. You have to keep them guess and you'll catch them off guard sooner or later! If you do a good enough job of pressuring the others-" Which I doubt. She thought to herself. "You can afford to face someone down longer without losing too much time… and that's all there is too it." She said with a shit eating grin.
"How dare you lecture me… you think you're tough?! You didn't even take this fight seriously!"
"How can I take you seriously if you keep tunneling Marnie?" Sonia shot back. "You're nothing but a fraud."
"There's a reason why I aim for her… she reminds me of him."
"Who?" Marnie wondered.
"As if I will tell you!" Damian said, rushing to Marnie and slashing her, but she used Farore's Wind to teleport to the side as she and Junior rushed over and slashed him with claws and buzz saws. "Rrrgh!"
"Man, you really got under his skin." Umber said.
"Heh, when you play Dead by Daylight a lot, you know a few things." Sonia said as she rushed over and stabbed him while Umber fired a few Plasma shots from his hands, then Marnie rushed through and slashed through him.
"AAAARGH!" He grunted as he fell on both knees.
End BGM
"Predictable." Marnie said. "She didn't even go all out on you. You've lost your edge."
"Don't… don't lecture me about losing my edge… girl!" He snarled, aiming his hand at Sonia and Umber and trapping them in a barrier.
BGM: Shaded Truths (Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep)
"Huh?!" Umber yelled in surprise.
"What are you doing?!" Sonia yelled.
"Hey! Did you even listen to a word she said?" Junior asked, running over but he would violently kick him hard enough to knock him out of his Clown Car.
"I REFUSE to be lectured by you humans!" He yelled, slashing hard at Marnie as she quickly blocked with her claws, but he kept attacking her in furious desperation.
"Nnngh! Determined, aren't we…!" Marnie said as she tried to find an opening but he kept attacking her furiously, making her back up to a rock as he swung hard enough to completely shatter her Orichalchum Claws. What?! She thought in surprise as Damian smirked and swiftly slashed her.
End BGM
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" She screamed as blood splattered on the ground as she fell on her knees, holding on to both of her eyes as blood was spilling through her fingers.
BGM: Fifth Laboratory (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood)
"MARNIE!" Sonia and Umber yelled as Junior came around and saw what happened. The others heard her screams and turned to what happened, all of their eyes widening in horror.
"No!" Kamek exclaimed.
"Marnie…" Junior whispered.
"LADY MARNIE!" The Captains yelled.
Damian smirked, kicking her down. "Can't do much without your eyes, can you?" He asked, hearing her scream in agony. "Now, for the finishing touch." He said, raising his sword but then Junior quickly got in the way and spread his arms out. "Hmm?"
"No! I refuse to let you harm her any further!" He said.
"You would rather sacrifice your life to protect this human?"
"I would rather see her alive than watching her die by the likes of you!" Junior yelled. "I'm NOT going to let you lay another finger on her!"
"Junior…" Marnie groaned. "Run…!"
"No! You risk your life to protect us… now I'm going to do the same for you!"
"Hmm, how touching… you would risk your life for her. Very well, this is where you will suffer your death!"
"No…" Marnie whispered as Damian raised his sword as Junior closed his eyes.
"This is farewell."
"NO!" Marnie yelled, as she got up and managed to get between them without her eyesight as he slashed down. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
"Huh?!" Junior looked up as Marnie fell to the ground. "Marnie!" He exclaimed as he attempted to cradle her, then noticed something else was missing. "Oh no…"
"My… right arm… why… why can't… why can't I feel it?!" Marnie yelled, as her entire right arm, up to her shoulder… was cut clean off.
"Why… why would you do that?!" Junior yelled. "That was selfish of you!"
"I didn't do it for me…!" Marnie cried as Junior's eyes widened. "I… I did it to protect… you… all of you… because…"
"How amusing, you would rather lose your limbs to protect your friends? This is the perfect opportunity to end your miserable life!"
"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Sonia yelled, tackling him to the ground after finding a way around the barrier. "YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" She yelled, grasping him tightly on the neck. "After everything I've taught you, you would go and pull a stunt like that?!"
"I decided to assert my own dominance… like you did." He let out a chuckle. "Your friend is dying! Hahahaha!"
"AAAARGH!" Bowsette suddenly yelled as she was knocked toward them, looking rather weak. "Morton… there's… there's no stopping him…!" She grunted as they turned toward a rampaging Morton and knocking Kamek, General Guy and the Captains away fairly easily as Ironwood was knocked toward them as well.
"Shit, what do we do?!" Umber yelled.
"Fall back! Now!" Sonia yelled.
"There's like an ocean behind us! We're trapped!" Umber said.
"Shit!" Sonia growled as Damian kicked her off and then delivered a mighty punch to the ground, causing an explosive shockwave that sent everyone flying into the water.
End BGM
"It's too bad that I didn't get her skull. But no matter, she'll be long dead anyway."
"Ooookaaaaaaaaaay, I don't know what just happened but… can you be on our side?" Kaley asked.
"It was fabulous!" Dieter said as Damian turned to the two before walking away.
"I don't talk to nobodies." He said and disappeared.
"Augh! How rude!" Kaley growled.
"Don't mind him, with this Malatone Formula X… nobody can stop us. Not even that loser Fawful." Dieter said.
"Oh, it's too bad Beef wasn't here. He'd have loved to see the events unfold."
"Don't mind him, he'll be back with us momentarily. Hahaha!" Dieter said and then disappeared with Kaley.
Later, at Plack Beach…
"Oooh…" Junior groaned as he sat up and saw everyone scattered everywhere on the beach. "What happ-… oh, right…" He looked down at the beach.
"Lady Marnie! Stay with us!" Captain Goomba said as the captains were next to Marnie, who was breathing heavily and moaning in agony.
"This is a low blow for us, isn't it?" Captain Shy Guy sighed.
"It is… unfortunately. We lost all the Koopalings." Captain Boo nodded.
"Coming through, make some room!" Kamek said as he approached Marnie.
"Can she be saved?" Captain Koopa asked.
"Of course!" Kamek said. "I happen to have magic just for a moment like this." He said as Bowsette came running over with Ironwood as Bowsette would cradle Marnie in her arms. "First, we got to seal that wound up otherwise she's going to bleed out. I'm surprised she hasn't already… she's a fighter!"
"Do you have any anesthesia on you? Any numbing magic?" General Guy asked.
"…Unfortunately, I never learned that type of magic. So… she's gonna be in for a lot of pain."
"Do it…" Marnie groaned. "It… it can't be any worse than… this…" She weakly said.
A flame appeared on Bowsette's index finger. "This is gonna sting a bit…" She said as she went to cauterize her wound.
"Nnngh! Mmmph…. Aaagh…!" She gritted her teeth. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Junior stared at the operation, his heart breaking at Marnie crying in agony. "What have I done…" He quietly asked as Sonia walked over to him.
"You okay?" Sonia asked.
"No! I'm not okay!" Junior said. "My poor leadership skills pushed everyone away and nearly got all of us killed! I'm… I'm a terrible… friend…!" He closed his eyes, trembling as tears ran down his cheeks. "This is all my fault…"
"No, no it's not your fault…" Sonia knelt down and hugged him tightly. "While it's true we need to work on your leadership skills… I can tell you only wanted to do this for your father, didn't you?"
"Yes… I didn't want anyone else helping but, now that I'm here… I realize they were only trying to help and I… pushed them all away!" He sobbed.
"Not all of them, you still have us." She said, rubbing his back. "There's no need to despair… we can get them all back, we can save Marnie."
"How… how do you know what you're talking about?!"
"Because… I know what it's like to be in your… er… very large feet. I, too, know what it's like to fall into despair." She said.
"You do?" Junior sniffed a bit.
"Long ago, I was born in a kingdom where I didn't have many friends growing up. As the princess of Novoselic, I was mostly told to focus on my princess duties and not worry about making friends with commoners. Then one day, I discovered the culture of Japan and I thought "Hey, that looks pretty awesome" so I traveled there and I get accepted into Hope's Peak Academy… and that's where I met a bunch of my classmates. Ibuki, Hiyoko, Gundham, Peko, Akane, Chiaki… just to name a few."
"Okay, so you made some new friends."
"Yeah, they were pretty cool. They still are. And then… we were met with this bimbo… Junko Enoshima. She wanted the world to fall into despair because… she was on a power high and was in bed with it a lot… Hiyoko's words." She let out a soft giggle. "We didn't want to kill anyone, so we just ignored her. They were all cool, so why would we listen to that bimbo?"
"Aaaaand she decided to take matters into her own hands?"
"Unfortunately… Junko decided to kick start it by putting Chiaki into a maze designed by her. It was a maze designed to kill that precious cinnamon roll… and to make matters worse-" She started to tear up, clenching her fists into her knees. "We were forced to watch her get executed. We were helpless… we couldn't do anything! I wanted to help her but… we didn't know where she was… and then she gets killed in cold blood. I still remember her last words… her tears… everything…" She silently started to cry.
"Oh my…" Junior whispered.
"Because of that… we fell into despair and we became mindless despair slaves to that no good bitch. However, all was not lost… a boy from the Future Foundation by the name of Makoto Naegi snapped us out of that funk and took us to an island for us to rehabilitate us, putting us into a simulation to put our minds at ease. We even had Chiaki with us…"
"Oh, that doesn't sound so bad."
"…And then suddenly, an AI that just so happened to be Junko took over the simulation and put us all into a killing game."
"Aaaaand there it is." Junior groaned. "Calling her a cockroach would probably be an insult to cockroaches…"
"Yeah… but luckily, we were all able to survive thanks to Hajime, but… not without a cost. We lost Chiaki again…"
"Oh…" Junior whispered. "You've been through so much… over this one lady. I think it would break anyone."
"Which is why I'm glad she's gone for good. I know what it's like to be lonely, since I've experienced it myself… and hey, this portal took all of us to this Remnant, so it's not all bad. We're still living in Jabberwock Island, carefree as we can be. I still miss my best friend though… there isn't a day that goes by that I wish Chiaki was right there with us…"
"Aww, but she's still with ya." Junior pointed to her chest. "Right in your heart! She'll be right there!"
Sonia teared up. "Yes… I know…" She said, sniffing a bit and hugged her tightly. "Promise me… promise me that you won't push away everyone else… promise me you won't ignore them…"
"I won't… not after what happened earlier." Junior said, returning the hug.
Kamek turned to Junior and smiled. "He's finally getting it…" He chuckled as he turned back to Marnie who was slowly getting up, rubbing her head. She opened her eyes and looked at her new metal arm.
"I can't believe it." General Guy said. "You have magic specifically for cybernetic eyes WITH artificial tear ducts, a cybernetic arm AND blood transfusion?"
"I am always prepared."
"…Kamek, with all due respect, you scare me sometimes with how crazily prepared you are."
Marnie looked at her metal arm, slowly moving her fingers and clenching it into a fist before releasing her grip. She found a button on her forearm and pressed it as a blade came out. "Whoa…"
"We tricked it out for you before we attached it to you. Oh, and it's easily detachable. Only you can detach it. No one else." Kamek said. "Also tricked out your cybernetic eyes too. A GPS, night vision similar to night vision goggles, heat signatures and what have you. As for your arm, you got a hidden blade attached to it, your hand can form into an arm cannon so you can shoot out your Din's Fire-"
"Arm cannon?" Marnie raised an eyebrow.
"Aheh… Samus and Mega Man might have inspired me a bit." He said. "Anyway, there are so other features on the arm. I'm not gonna tell ya all the stuff… those are surprises!" Kamek smiled.
"I will admit, I'm a bit jealous." Ironwood said with a small chuckle.
"Though uh, just a heads up… if you find yourself looking into a mirror, you probably won't recognize yourself." Kamek said, making a mirror via magic.
Marnie would see herself, looking closely. She could see the technological stuff in her eyes, she could also see a metal band on the bridge of her nose, and then another on her left eyebrow. "Cool…" She whispered. "…So uh, do I have to worry about not getting my eyes and arm wet?"
"Of course not! I made it so that it will never rust or short out with water. Or lava in case you want to go swimming in a lava pool." Kamek said.
Marnie looked at her metal arm again. "Hmm, I think I'll need to stylize this. Silver is not my color." She said as she got up and walked toward the water, staring out into the ocean.
"Lady Marnie, if I may be so bold to ask… why did you do that to save Junior?" Captain Koopa asked. "You were already blinded by that Damian freak, so why go out of your way to save Junior? I get your other senses were starting to enhance but going out of your way to protect Junior?"
"It's… it's because…" Marnie turned around, as they could see tears rolling down her cheeks.
BGM: Fairy Tail Theme - Slow (Fairy Tail)
"I care deeply about you guys." She said. "When I was conscripted into the Koopa Troop, I wanted to immediately leave, but Neo wanted me to give it a chance, and so I did… and what happens? I've grown to deeply care about all of you." She said as more tears fell as she tried to wipe them away but more tears started to shed.
"Deep down… I love all of you… and… I'm becoming loyal to you guys and you know what? I don't care! I don't care what my friends in Toad Town thinks! I want to be with you all the time… I want to help you guys out! I don't care if I slow down my other friends… or if I get beaten up, I care about all of you… and it breaks my heart to see all of you get hurt by them!"
Kamek let out a smile. "So, you're finally declaring loyalty to the Koopa Troop."
"Yes! I've kept it to myself for so long but… someone once told me that I shouldn't bottle it up." She said, unaware of Umber looking at her with a chuckle. "I don't care if I lost my eyes or my arm, I wanted to protect you guys… because that's who I am… a kind and caring individual who's loyal to you guys…"
More tears started to fall as she started sobbing loudly, falling on her knees. "I don't know if I'm crying because I've been in so much pain or the fact I finally got it out of my chest…"
Junior walked over to Marnie. "Marnie… you've been through so much since you moved in to the Koopa Kingdom, right?"
"Yes…"
"She's definitely a trooper." Kamek said. "A kind, caring individual who risked her life to protect a friend. That's loyalty right there… in fact, you already declared it when you protected Junior."
The Captains walked over to Marnie. "Lady Marnie, you've been through so much… wanting to protect all of us." Captain Goomba said. "Let us share some of that burden."
"Yeah, we're a family after all. One crazy dysfunctional family, but we're a family!" Captain Boo said. "We look out for each other no matter what!"
"Your kindness is too much, Lady Marnie… and we appreciate it." Captain Shy Guy said, hugging her.
"Your bravery… well, it's braver than me, I'll give ya that much!" General Guy said as Kamek gave Marnie a tissue.
"Thanks…" Marnie sniffed, wiping her tears with it.
End BGM
"Guys… I haven't been fair to you." Junior said. "I only did this for glory… to make my dad proud. What I did was push you guys away." He said, tearing up and wiping his eyes. "But no more! We hit rock bottom… but you know what? That's fine! We have nowhere to go but up… and I say, we start climbing, get our friends back, and give Damian and the BFFs the what fors! Because you know who we are? We're the Koopa Troop! We go down, but we always keep getting back up no matter what!"
"Damn straight!" General Guy exclaimed.
"Indeed!" Kamek nodded.
"So! I don't know about you, but I'm ready to kick some butt! Who's with me!" Junior said.
A blade came out of Marnie's metal arm. "I'm in. When do we start kicking ass?"
"Right now!" Junior said as he turned around, putting on his bandana. "Junior Squad! Move out! We got work to do!" He said and turned around. "And you, Ironwood! As of right now, I am conscripting you into my squad so you better not slow me down! Same goes with Umber and Sonia!"
"…Wait, what?!" Ironwood said in surprise.
"Funny, I thought we were already a part of it." Umber said, causing Sonia to giggle as Junior took the lead and walked off with everyone following him, leaving Ironwood and Kamek behind.
"…What… what just happened?" Ironwood asked.
"Like father like son…" Kamek said with a chuckle. "It brings a tear to my eye." He said, wiping it away. "Let's move." He said and walked off, leaving Ironwood alone.
"Did… did I just really get sucked into this just like that?" He wondered as he closed his eyes, letting out a chuckle. "I suppose this is karma for me declaring war on the Koopa Troop a long time ago." He said and started to speed walk to catch up to them.
Originally, I was gonna show off Bowser, Kyoko and Aoi waking up in the tunnels but... I figured it would be the right call if that would be in the next chapter, considering this chapter was sitting pretty at 8,200+ words by the time I finished.