The group only watched in shock as the clouds formed as a figure in a black cloak appeared.
"What is this?" the widow demanded.
"You who hold the Staff of Resurrection...I am a spirit created to guide the souls of the departed back to the land of the living. This staff was recently brought back to life so 3 souls it can bring back. Now...state the name of the one you wish to bring back along with a photo." the figure said.
"What?" the widow asked.
"All to make sure I get it right the first time. Not wanting to make mistakes." they said.
"Very well. Cyrus Wails." she said showing a photo of a successful looking man.
"Hmm...yes...now...the toll. How old was he? I need to know so I can take that much of your lifespan." he said.
"What?" the widow asked.
"This is resurrection that bypasses the normal rules. In order to compensate, lifespan equal to the departed's age must be paid." the spirit said. "How...I can see you are a spirit. Your life has already ended...so paying with lifespan is impossible for you."
"Wait… Did I just hear that right?" Agursu asked.
"It depends on what you are referring to." the spirit said.
"She's already a spirit. So trying to pay her lifespan is pointless. Her crusade was a lost cause from the start." Cheetah said.
"That's a little harsh but...yes. It is impossible to pay life without having one yourself." the spirit said.
"But why would she go through with it anyways? It… It just doesn't make any sense." Mayumi said.
"Shut up!" the widow barked. "Wait...what if someone else made the deal for me?"
"Hmm...I do not see a problem with that." the spirit said, looking to the group. "You seem to have an abundance of life."
"Oh god… I know where this is going…" David muttered.
"Hmm...I'll go with someone who seems...ah...you." the widow said, looking to Jaune.
"What?" Jaune said as he was cut free by the werewolf.
"Make the deal for me and I promise your friends will walk away unharmed." the widow said.
"Jaune, don't do it!" Ruby pleaded.
"Think about this for a moment!" Lie Ren said. "Think about Pyrrha! Would she have wanted you to do this?"
"Pyrrha….she…" Jaune said. "Okay...I'll make the deal."
"Good." the widow said.
"Just to be clear...will they come back as how they were before they died?" Jaune asked.
"Of course." the spirit said.
"In that case…" Jaune said as he whispered to the spirit.
"Hmm...I see. And that is truly what you desire?" the spirit asked.
"Yeah...it is." Jaune said.
"Very well." the spirit said as it grasped its hand into his chest before pulling out what seemed like a long thread. "This represents your life...or rather, the amount of life you have left to live." he said before raising his other arm as he severed a small part of it. "The deal is done." he said as the thread that was cut off vanished.
"Wait...I just realized...I never told you how old my husband was. So how could…" the widow said.
"Wait a minute… If not her lover, then he must really be bringing back…" Cheetah started.
"Hehehe...I did make a deal to bring back someone...but it's not your husband." Jaune said as the white clouds swirled as a figure fell from them with sword and shield in hand as they cut through the webs. The figure was revealed to be a woman with long red hair dressed in gladiator gear.
"Is this...some sort of dream? Is that really…" Lie Ren started.
"P-Pyrrha!" Ruby said.
"No! You! Deceiver!" the widow cried.
"What...is this?" Pyrrha pondered. "Have I gone into the underworld or something?"
"Nah...not quite." Jaune said.
"Jaune...you look...older." Pyrrha said.
"Come on, it's only been two years at most." Jaune said. "Maybe longer. Still not sure how this time difference thing works."
"We'll explain everything later, Pyrrha." David said. "For now, I think you and Jaune have a bit of a problem in front of you."
"You...fine...you wanted your lover back...then you can die beside her. Arachne, Werewolf! Kill them!" the widow ordered as the two monsters moved.
"Lover? Uh...wait…" Pyrrha said as she dodged a slash from the werewolf.
"Okay...maybe I didn't think this through. Whoa!" Jaune said as the Arachne jumped him.
"Yeah, you didn't. Your girlfriend doesn't even have her weapons on her." Seiya said.
"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha said, showing her weapons.
"What? But…" Seiya said.
"She had them when she descended, remember?" David asked. "Still, now that we're finally out of those webs, it's time to blow this place sky high."
"Wait...you gotta get this outta here!" Jaune said, kicking the staff over to them.
"The staff! Forget those two! Do not let them leave with that staff!" the widow demanded.
"Sorry, but you have already lost your little game." David said.
"Not quite. You all have life. Give me your lives so my husband can have his back!" the widow begged. "Please...I...I can't go on without him."
"Man, now it's getting pathetic." Valfor said as he clashed with the other werewolf.
"You're not the only one that's mourning someone. There are those that some of us have never stopped thinking about every single day." Mayumi said.
"But you have that staff. You can bring them back. That boy got his loved one back...why can't I?" the widow said.
"Because you only cared about your own happiness." David said. "Take it from the lot of us, he would've wanted you to move on."
"Move on...you're just like the rest of them…" the widow said. "I…"
"You're...Caroline aren't you?" Pyrrha asked.
"How...how do you know my name?" she asked.
"I met a lot of people in the afterlife. Your husband was one of them." Pyrrha said.
"You're trying to deceive me." the widow said.
"I'm not!" Pyrrha said. "He's been waiting for you...for a long time. He's moved on to the afterlife and he wants you to do the same. All he wants is to be with you up there."
"You know, I heard that spirits tend to linger in the living world when they claim to have unfinished business." David said. "And your desperation to see your lover again, your inability to accept his death, that is what has shackled you to this place."
"He's...been waiting for so long. I thought he was keeping me waiting but...I ended up keeping him waiting." she said as she started to cry. "I went through all this...when he wanted the same thing as me." she said as her form started to fade.
"It seems she's starting to accept things how they are. She's beginning to pass on." Ivy said.
"I've caused trouble for so many of the people here. When you return to them...could you apologize in my stead for keeping them from their homes?" the widow asked.
"You have our word." Pyrrha said.
"Thank you...and farewell." the widow said as she faded completely.
"Aw...we get a happy ending." Pinkie said as the crypt started to shake. "Uh...what is…"
"The widow's desires were what chained this crypt to this world. But now that she's passed, the place is starting to come down." Ristarte said.
"W-why didn't you say that sooner?! This place is going to take us with it!" Usopp said.
"Hurry, let's get out!" Cheetah said. "Valfor, we have to go!"
Valfor glanced at the other werewolf before lending an arm out. "You can crumble along with this place if you want. You're just a bonus as far as we are concerned."
The werewolf and the arachne looked at one another before they quickly followed the others.
The heroes managed to escape before the dungeon was completely destroyed.
"Whew… that was a close one." Gemini said.
"Yeah...we almost became new residents of the grave." Subaru said.
"But...we managed to get an actual treasure out!" Meowth said holding the staff.
"You held onto that?" Usopp said.
"We risked our lives in that place. No way I was gonna leave it behind." Meowth said.
"Yeah, too bad we can't get any money from it." Eddy said. "It's too dangerous to sell, it might end up in the wrong hands, right?"
"That's correct." Asgore said. "It still has the potential to bring back those with evil intent."
"Then it's just like with Lucien. The best thing to do is to destroy it." David said.
"Unfortunately, that cannot be done." the spirit said emerging from it. "The staff cannot be destroyed."
"Well what if I have Mastemon keep it safe in Devaloka?" Ace asked.
"Wait, Big G… You remember what we did with that mirror back in your own world, right?" David asked.
"David, are you saying we should do to this staff the same thing we did to the Mirror?" Ethox asked. "I get it's dangerous, but tossing it in the water is a little extreme."
"Besides...are you sure you wish to part with the staff? There are two uses left." the spirit said. "Either way...I don't mind what you do. I am only speaking my mind."
"We'll have to keep a very close eye on it. That power is very dangerous in the wrong hands, after all." Leopardmon said. "If there really are those that would use it for evil purposes, we can't afford to risk it being out in the open."
"The toll is pretty steep, after all. I mean, our lifespans, depending on the age of the person being resurrected? Can we really think of anyone that would want to pay such a hefty price?" David asked.
"Yeah...and I only paid the price just to get us out of there." Jaune said.
"To be fair, you only paid 17 years. You still have plenty of life left in you.' the spirit said.
"And it was for a good purpose. You brought Pyrrha back." Hope said.
"Speaking of which, we should probably give them some time to catch up." Captain Cold said.
"Yeah, good call. She's been gone a long time." Ichiro said.
"Thanks guys. It's great you're supporting me through this. I guess… I just didn't want her to be gone forever." Jaune said.
The group left as Jaune and Pyrrha were left alone.
"So, what do we do with these two?" Catra asked, pointing to the Arachne and Werewolf.
"If they want, they can join us. They're not really all that evil, despite following that Widow's orders. All the widow wanted was to be with her Husband again." Hope said.
"Are you nuts? We only followed you cause we didn't wanna be buried alive." the werewolf said.
"That doesn't change the fact that you basically have nowhere else to go, right?" Rhatla asked.
"You all are nuts. I'm outta here." the werewolf said as he ran off.
"Hmm...it's tempting." the Arachne said, looking at them. "Maybe I will take your offer."
"Ah, one out of two is not that bad." Rhatla said.
"My name is Rosalie...I hope you make good use of me." she said.
"I don't think you need to worry about that." Cheetah said.
"Yeah, I mean, arachne have some pretty good stuff to use in a pinch." Aoesia said.
"Apparently so." Lei said.
"So...about Pyrrha…" Nora asked.
"Of course we're taking her with us. Jaune did spend some of his life just to bring her here." Jexi said.
"Team JNPR is back together again." Sachiko said.
"You're darn right it is!" Nora cheered.
"Thank you, Jexi." Lie Ren bowed. "Because of this adventure, we have our friend and teammate back."
"No thanks necessary." Jexi said. "Still...where do we strike to next after this?"
"Hmm… There are a few universes that we haven't been to yet. Maybe we should try one of those." David said.
"Hmm...well… What about the Flame Universe?" Moltar suggested. "We haven't been there yet."
"Hmm...yeah, that could work." Jexi said.
"Heck yeah...a place where fire is the best. We'll hit that next." Natsu said.