Issue 9: House of Mirrors

Temple of Vishanti

"Fend him off, sorcerers! His false magic cannot stop us!" ordered the Ancient One from his room spiritually, helping his students fight the stranger whose face was obscured in blue smoke.

"Fools! You treat me like a fake, when Mysterio has the power to crush you all?" Mysterio mocked the sorcerers, opening a palm and blasting a beam at his opponents. In his other hand was a Cosmic Emerald, used to give him the sudden power boost.

Sorcerer Loki appeared behind him, staff in hand, "Hm. A little trickery I see. 'Tis a shame you found yourself cornered by the master of it." he joked, using his staff to stab Mysterio in the back. But alas, his form faded, revealing that this Mysterio was an illusion, "What?"

Mysterio appeared in a puff of green smoke in front of Loki, conjuring a fire spell to blindside the reformed villain, "You may be the Master of Trickery, but I am the Master of Illusion!" boasted Mysterio, standing over Loki's stunned form.

"Hnn, perhaps… but it would be quite easy to get one over you," Loki joked, raising his staff and summoning Spider-Man's team.

Peter looked around, "Huh? Where are we?" he turned his head and saw Mysterio, "Wow Misty, gotta say your new look is somehow a downgrade."

"Pardon this, Summoner. But we're in a bit of a hurry," Loki said.

Sonic glared at the sorcerer Loki, muttering, "I don't like this already…"

"Forging alliances already?" Mysterio mocked the Trickster Sorcerer.

"Got a problem with that?" Pyra asked, pointing her blade at Beck.

Mysterio tilted his head, "Hm, strange. I do not recall you when the Champions painfully lost."

Pyra snarked, "We're new here. But I know what you are," she used Blazing Edge, but Beck used his emerald to keep the sword at bay and tossed it back at her, "What?!"

Mario used his cape to deflect the sword, ceasing its rotation and allowing Pyra to take hold of it once more, "Thanks, Mario." she said.

"Really, Mysterio? This is the best you got?" Miles taunted the Master of Illusion.

Mysterio folded his arms, "No. You are all about to bear witness to my true machinations!" he held up his Cosmic Emerald and shouted, "Cosmic Control!"

In an instant, the heroes vanished to parts unknown. Loki sighed, "Well that is a shame," he admitted, "Very well, I suppose I will take you head on myself."

"Do try, Trickster!" Mysterio taunted him, lunging after Loki for another fight.

Mushroom Kingdom Underground

Mario reappeared in a bright light, joined by Ruby, Knuckles and Miles, "Mama mia! Are you-a all okay?"

Ruby shook her head, disoriented, "We're fine Mario… Oh I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"Don't… do any of that here," Miles commented, "So uh… where are we?" he wondered, noticing they were in a dark cavern with brick blocks surrounding them as walls.

The plumber tapped his chin, "It-a looks like we're in the underground areas of the-a Mushroom Kingdom…"

"So back on your home turf huh? Well you know these better than us so you can lead the way," Knuckles told him.

"Wait, Knuckles is that you?" called out Spider-Man, his voice echoing in the caves.

"Spider-Man? Where are you?!" Ruby asked.

On the other side of the wall, Peter replied, "Uh… in a cave. Pyra, Lucina, Snake and Yoshi are here with me," he revealed.

"Yoshi!" Yoshi shouted.

"We're-a okay, Yoshi!" Mario assured his friend.

Snake grunted, "Who the hell does that clown think he is? Givin' me a bigger headache than Psycho Mantis."

"This is what Mysterio does, Snake," Peter explained, "Normally he'd just lure us in here but I guess that Cosmic Emerald made him more aggressive."

"Those emeralds are still as much of a pain as ever," Lucina commented.

"Okay so we weren't just hearing voices. Good," Sonic quipped, stuck behind another wall.

Sonic tapped his foot, looking around the area they were trapped in, "Yo Mario, you said this was from your world? It looks familiar."

"It is," Mario replied.

"Who's with you, Sonic?" Peter asked the hedgehog.

"I got the kid, Blake and Banjo. We're good," Sonic told the team, looking over at Young Link, Blake and Banjo and Kazooie.

"I guess that's all of us accounted for," Peter replied, "So uh… now what?"

Knuckles' namesakes could be heard cracking as he said, "Let me break you guys out!" he tried punching the bricks, only to be met with an electric shock that made him recoil and hit the opposite wall painfully, "...Nevermind…" he muttered, trying to recover.

"Always as smart as ever huh, Knucklehead?" Sonic joked.

"Shut up!" Knuckles yelled.

"Any other bright ideas?" Blake asked.

"...See what's ahead?" Miles suggested.

"Wow, good thinking genius," Kazooie snarked.

"Come on Kazooie…" Banjo sighed.

"And I thought Weiss was cold with her responses," Peter joked.

"I see the so-called Champions are accounted for," Mysterio called out, his voice booming over everyone.

"Where are you, Mysterio?!" Ruby shouted, aiming Crescent Rose everywhere, hoping to catch him nearby.

"I am not here, as you can imagine I am quite busy to deal with you lot myself at the moment, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that will surely surprise you," Mysterio revealed to the heroes.

Mario looked up, "Wherever you-a are, we will-a find you! And the Cabal!"

Mysterio laughed, "Empty threats, Mario. You and your allies keep trying, but you fail each and every time."

"Aw I'm hurt, Misty, you forgot all the times I stopped you. Did losing the fishbowl suddenly make your ego even bigger than normal?" Peter quipped, hoping to get under Mysterio's skin.

Mysterio sighed, then grunted, clearly in a struggle, "The Sinister Six, symbiotes, the Tablet of Order and Chaos, all that was nothing compared to what I have in store for you with the Cabal, Spider-Man. If you survive these trials, I'll be sure to end you myself."

Snake said, "Does he ever shut up?"

"Nope," replied Miles from the other end.

"Figures…" the soldier grunted.

Spider-Man used his lenses to get a glimpse of what was ahead, "I guess we have no choice but to go forward. Hopefully we can meet up by the end of whatever this is…"

"Alrighty. We will-a get out of-a here somehow," Mario said.

"Maybe retirement was the better option," quipped Snake, following Peter as they explored the caves for a way out.

Yo-Yoshi Yoshi," said Yoshi.

Peter shrugged, "I'm sorry, Yoshi, I'm not exactly used to talking to you… Wait I think Mario helped me with something… Ah the translator, I knew Tony added this." he activated something on his lenses, "Okay say it again, Yoshi." he suggested to the dinosaur.

"Yo-Yoshi Yoshi!" Yoshi repeated.

"Yeah now that you mention it, I feel a slight tingle on the back of my neck," Peter admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "Hey Spidey, you feel that too?"

"I do," Miles added from the other side.

"Hm. So that means something is waiting for us ahead," Snake realized.

Lucina nodded, "Or someone."

"Need me to take a turn, Pyra?" asked Mythra.

"No need, I can handle it for now." Pyra replied.

Peter noticed her silence and asked, "Mythra talking in your head or something?"

"Y-Yeah. Don't worry, she likes you," Pyra revealed.

"I do have a way with the ladies… apparently. It's what Tony says anyway," quipped Spider-Man.

"Mmhmm," Pyra responded, "I must ask. Are obstacles like these common with all of you?"

Peter sighed, "...You have no idea. I mean, then again, you were a Spirit last time… You missed the gods of light and darkness being at war with each other and two other gods using us for some intergalactic tournament. It was nuts."

"And that is not going into everything he deals with beyond this," Lucina commented.

"Believe me, it's tiring. But someone's gotta keep the world safe," Spider-Man said.

Snake nodded, "I can sense that hesitation in you. You'd like a normal life but the responsibility you have is too great to drop, I know your pain. I'd like nothing more than to retire but with how dangerous my world is, I can't stop, not until I know for sure the war is over."

Spider-Man replied, "I feel that, Snake. You know you didn't have to come back."

"Hm. Thought about it for a minute honestly, then decided what we're dealing with is too big to ignore. This isn't a war for my country or hidden political ideals, this is about every world, if the Champions need me I'll help, retirement or not," Snake revealed.

Lucina smiled, "Well we appreciate that, Snake. You always have a spot among us."

"No kidding," Peter replied, "You're basically our Captain America."

"Yoshi!" Yoshi cheered.

"Well he's certainly more jolly than Kaine," Mythra quipped.

Yoshi pointed ahead, seeing a figure in the shadow standing there, "Yoshi Yoshi!" he shouted.

Peter narrowed his lenses, "Yeah you're right, Yoshi. There IS someone there…"

"We don't-a see you!" Mario revealed.

"Yeah same here, Spidey!" Sonic added.

Drawing her blade, Lucina said, "Then take caution…"

"Oh I'm already doing that. Spider-Sense is going nuts," Peter whispered to his ally, moving closer to the figure. He saw that the figure was Kaine and raised an eyebrow under his mask, "...Bro? How the heck did you get here?"

'Kaine' slowly turned his head and revealed his stingers, immediately slashing at Spider-Man, whose reflexes let him dodge with ease, "Holy crap! I know you hated my jokes but I didn't think you'd go this far!" Peter shouted, leaning back and grabbing 'Scarlet Spider's' arm.

Snake put up his fists, "I don't think that's your brother…"

"Obviously," Pyra quipped, seeing more people step in. These being Luigi and Chrom.

"I see you ran into my little experiment! Cosmic-enhanced LMDS! Ngh…" Mysterio grunted, seemingly deflecting an attack, "Able to recreate your power sets! These shall bring about your doom!"

"I doubt that," quipped Spider-Man. He kicked the Scarlet Spider LMD, causing it to slide back on the dirt.

Temple of Vishanti

Sorcerer Loki yawned, blocking Mysterio's ethereal blade with his staff, "Do try and make this entertaining at least."

"Do not mock me, false Trickster!" Mysterio snarled, his blue smoke puffing up in rage.

"You accuse me of claiming a false title?" Loki asked, feigning offense, "The only false idol here is you…" he retorted, witnessing Mysterio divide himself into duplicates. Using a spell, Loki created an energy wave that caused the clones to vanish, revealing the real Beck, "Oh so called Master of Illusion."

Using his Cosmic Emerald, Mysterio shot a Cosmic Spear at Loki, the trickster getting shocked by it. He fell to his knees and panted. Mysterio spoke, "The Master of Illusion triumphs once more!"

"...No." Loki replied, vanishing, revealed to be an illusion.

"What?!" Mysterio gasped.

Loki fell from above the Master of Illusion, only for his attack to get deflected with a Cosmic Barrier. Mysterio huffed, "Predictable. At this rate the so-called Champions will have been annihilated."

Loki landed on his feet, saying, "I doubt that. Those heroes can be as crafty as me."

Right as Mysterio was about to attack, he was pelted with Hex spells from his back. He turned around, catching the Scarlet Witch, ready to fend the domain. Loki smirked, "'Tis about time you helped, Maximoff."

Wanda huffed, "Must I always save your skin?"

"Someone has to," Loki quipped, eager to continue the bout against Beck.

Mushroom Kingdom Underground (Spider-Man's Team)

"I hate everything about this!" Spider-Man yelled, elbowing 'Kaine's' face and dodging a fireball from Luigi.

'Chrom' clashed swords with Lucina, the latter speaking, "...You are not my Father…" she matched the LMD strike for strike, each slash causing blades to collide.

Pyra transformed into Mythra and slashed 'Luigi', the LMD getting scratched. 'Luigi' countered by using his Green Missile technique, causing Mythra to hit the brick wall and plummet to her knees, "How are they this strong…?"

Lucina slashed 'Chrom' and said, "It must be the Cosmic Emerald!"

"Damn robots…" Snake sighed, throwing a grenade at the Scarlet Spider LMD. The robot hopped away right as it went off, damaging its metal exterior, "That did somethin'." the soldier noticed.

Mythra used Lightning Edge, raising her blade to gain energy. She spun around, and attacked 'Luigi', causing the LMD to short out and collapse on its stomach, "That was easy," she admitted, holding the robot up.

Yoshi used his Egg Shield to deflect 'Chrom's' attacks, countering with a strong Flutter Kick and Ground Pound once he got an opening, "HA!" the dinosaur grunted. 'Chrom' staggered back, trying to attack but Lucina sliced right through the LMD, finishing the fight.

Snake knelt down and planted a mine on the ground as a trap. Spider-Man webbed up 'Scarlet Spider's' body, performing a web swing kick onto the LMD's body, knocking it down on the ground. As fast as he could, Snake detonated the mine, destroying Kaine's LMD for good with one powerful explosion.

Spider-Man panted, looking over the LMDs, "Uh, good work team… I think. I'm not really sure what that accomplished for Beck, but that was definitely a thing."

"Perhaps it was merely a distraction." Lucina commented.

"Yoshi Yoshi!" Yoshi agreed.

Peter nodded, "Maybe. We have to meet up with everyone quickly."

Mushroom Kingdom Underground (Mario's Team)

"Is this… like a normal place for you, Mario?" Miles questioned, wondering how this underground system worked.

"Mmhmm," Mario nodded, "In my world there are-a pipes that connect to-a here. They work great as a shortcut."

Knuckles said, "Eh, if you had me around, you wouldn't need pipes." he smashed his namesakes together, noting his talent of burrowing underground.

Ruby scratched her head, "This place goes deeper than I thought. Why didn't anyone tell us about this?"

"We don't exactly come here for vacation, Ruby," Knuckles pointed out, "At least it keeps things interesting."

Miles replied, "Look I'm still new to this Champion stuff so I know less than all of you. Kinda wish I was invited last time so I could've helped."

Shaking his head, Mario said, "We thought we-a had it covered, Spider-Man."

"We didn't think Galeem would actually WIN," Ruby commented, a bit ashamed they lost that fight.

Knuckles added, "And from what Spidey said, you're already shaken up from Thanos. Two disasters in a row like that can't be easy on a rookie like you, no offense of course."

"Ah, I-a recall being told about that." Mario admitted, stroking his mustache.

"We're fine, right now we should see- Huh?" Ruby blinked, spotting an LMD of Hulk.

"...Mama mia." Mario gulped.

The "Hulk" robot threw his fist down at the heroes, Miles leaping high enough and placing his palm on the fake goliath's arm. The young Spider spun his body so that he could kick the "Hulk". Before the LMD could react, Ruby blitzed forward and swung her scythe on the robot.

"I think you just made him angry…" Miles quipped as he ducked under a right hook.

"Well that is his thing," Ruby replied, shooting the LMD, revealing a few gaping holes in the robot's body.

Knuckles uppercutted the "Hulk" as he said, "I do it better though!" he joked, spinning and digging underground and leaving the Hulk LMD confused. The echidna jumped up and drove his namesakes onto the robot's chin, damaging it more.

Mario threw a fireball, burning the bot. The "Hulk" was ready to slam down his fists, but the plumber swung his cape, causing the green goliath to change direction and slam the ground instead of his target. "Yahoo!" Mario cheered as he jumped and stomped on the "Hulk's" back, revealing more of the robot's circuitry.

"Hulk" slammed the ground, causing a small quake that shook up the heroes. Ruby held her scythe down and pulled the trigger, blasting forwards. She swung Crescent Rose in front of her, hitting the LMD and opening it up for a powerful jab from Knuckles, who drove his spiky fists directly through the robot's chest.

The "Hulk" roared and jumped, clinging to the wall and hopping off, preparing an elbow drop to harm the heroes. Mario scowled and hopped off the walls, flipping in midair so that he could grab the robot's feet and spin him around, throwing him onto the nearest wall, the pressure of his throw triggering Mysterio's defense mechanism and shocking the LMD.

The younger Spider-Man reeled his hand back, charging a Venom Punch, "This is gonna suck…"

"For the robot right?" Ruby asked.

"...Yeah," Miles replied. The "Hulk" charged after the wall-crawler, prompting Miles to dash forward and reach his fist out, using his Venom Strike to short out the LMD and cause it to almost short out in one punch.

Spidey knelt down, his hand fuming from exerting that much power. "Are you-a alright, Spider-Man?" Mario asked, kneeling down to check on his friend.

"Y-Yeah, I am."

The Hulk LMD continued its assault and grabbed Knuckles' head, slamming his back onto the brick wall. The echidna grunted and drove his fists onto the green goliath's arm, denting it. Knuckles yelled in pain as he forcibly removed himself from the "Hulk's" grasp, "Get… off!" he yelled, bouncing on the wall and punching the robot.

Ruby slashed Crescent Rose on the LMD's back, yanking the "Hulk" towards her. "...Why did I do that?" she gulped, realizing she was still fighting a Hulk. Nonetheless she dashed forwards and reared her scythe back, slashing and shooting the doppelganger of the Hulk. The "Hulk" was unable to keep up with her speed, the Huntress able to outpace the LMD with ease.

Before the Hulk LMD could react, Spidey jumped down and used a Venom Sting on the "Hulk", his camouflage able to keep the robot unaware of his presence, "Woo. I can't get tired of that," Miles quipped, steam fuming out of his hand as the Hulk LMD began to short out.

Mario and Knuckles gave each other a mutual nod, uppercutting the "Hulk" hard enough to knock the robot's head off, defeating the doppelganger once and for all. "Mama mia… that was-a not fun…" Mario panted.

"At least… it means I can beat the Hulk… good enough for me," Knuckles replied.

Ruby put her weapon down, "We should keep going… Hopefully there's an exit nearby."

Mushroom Kingdom Underground (Sonic's Team)

Sonic whistled, "Been a while since I've seen this place," he admitted.

"You've been here before?" Banjo asked.

"Eh, kinda. The first Smash Tournament I was part of had a few fights down here, there were also a few sports competitions between our worlds before the Convergence." Sonic explained, elaborating a bit for Blake.

Blake rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I forget you were a magnet for dimensional chaos before meeting us."

Sonic smirked, "Hey, it makes for a good story." Young Link silently chuckled at that.

As they continued, a barrage of spiked projectiles came towards them. The heroes evaded the assault, noticing a big penguin holding a hammer nearby. "Ahehehehe," he laughed, holding his stomach.

"Dedede, huh? Well this is a surprise," Sonic quipped.

The penguin king reared his hammer back, "Did ya really think we'd let ya get by?" he swung at the hedgehog, who jumped over Dedede's mallet and gave him a kick.

"Darn hedgehog! I'd oughta clobbah you!" Dedede groaned, rubbing his sore beak.

"This guy is really grating," Kazooie said, stretching her neck and letting Banjo grab her. The bear held her like a gun, making her shoot eggs out of her mouth at him. Dedede used his hammer to deflect the eggs away from him, laughing all the while.

Blake appeared in front of Dedede, who tried opening his beak, only to find out he attacked a shadow. With her Semblance leaving the penguin open, the Faunus swung Gambol Shroud at Dedede, pulling the trigger and blasting him onto the wall, causing enough force to activate the electric defenses and shocking him.

Dedede fell to his knees, then stood up angrily. Sonic hit him with a Homing Attack, only to be met with a hammer strike. The hedgehog bounced off the walls and hit the back of his head, quipping, "You really should've thought that through, kingy!" he laughed, uncurling and landing on a knee smugly.

Banjo slammed Kazooie down on Dedede's head, earning a loud sqwak-like sound from her. "...Oops." Banjo muttered, getting smacked by the penguin's stomach in response. He and his partner hit the wall and collapsed for a moment, getting their bearings.

Young Link slashed his sword at Dedede, who blocked his barrage, "Come on, kid. Do ya really think yer small body can keep up?" the penguin cackled. Young Link narrowed his eyes and swiftly put his bunny mask on, now moving at twice his normal speed.

Getting up, Banjo noticed Dedede was distracted and got Kazooie to lay an egg grenade. The bear threw it at the king, causing a small explosion that dazed him. Blake took the opportunity to smack Dedede around with her weapon, the penguin poorly trying to match her precise movements as she hopped around and attacked.

Sonic started running in place to get a quick boost and dashed off with Banjo and Kazooie performing their Wonderwing dash, colliding with Dedede so hard he was launched to the ceiling and crashed through it, landing back in the Temple of Vishanti where Mysterio and the sorcerers were.

"What?!" Mysterio gasped in shock as Sonic, Banjo, Kazooie, Blake and Young Link made their way up. Dedede fell to the floot unconscious.

Loki smirked, "Hmph. About time. Now Wanda!" he shouted, earning a nod. The Scarlet Sorceress used her magic to bind Mysterio down temporarily, allowing the group of heroes to swiftly nab the Cosmic Emerald.

Sonic chuckled, "Might as well give this a shot… Come on… Chaos Control!"

With those words said, the rest of the Champions returned to the surface, upsetting Mysterio. Sonic looked at the emerald saying, "...Huh, that actually worked."

Spider-Man quickly looked around and glared at Loki, "You know you could've helped."

"And spoil the fun? Please." Loki joked.

"...Yep, you're Loki alright." Blake muttered.

"No… I… cannot fail!" Mysterio shouted, breaking free from Wanda's magic. He threw an orb, trapping Sonic in a net and taking the Cosmic Emerald from his possession, "YES! The true power of Mysterio shall claim you all for good!"

"Link! Cut Sonic free, leave Beck to us!" Peter told the child. Young Link nodded and held out the Kokiri Sword, ready to free Sonic.

Mysterio blasted Loki and Scarlet Witch down, saying, "You bore me, I wish to face my true opponents. Face Mysterio, Champions!"

"There isn't a fishbowl to crack but I'll be happy to extinguish those flames all the same!" Peter quipped about Mysterio's new look.

Mario jumped and slammed his fist down, causing Mysterio to create a barrier, "Wha-?" he gasped before getting shot back by the Master of Illusion.

Pyra swapped with Mythra, and used Chroma Dust to keep her distance from the false sorcerer, getting a few shots at him, "Well at least that worked," she chuckled lightly, seeing his flaming face snarl.

Performing another Wonderwing, Banjo and Kazooie bumped into Mysterio, hitting his chest and blindsiding him, "A bird and bear… thinking they can match my might?!"

"It probably won't be the worst thing to happen to you!" Miles quipped, appearing behind Mysterio and using a Venom Sting to electrocute him.

"GRAAAAGH!" Mysterio shouted.

Sonic quipped from his net, "Remember when you were a threat, Misty? I might not even need to break out of this thing to see your sorry flaming butt get kicked!"

Mysterio growled, "S-Silence hedge… hedgehog!"

"...What's up with him?" Ruby asked, avoiding his emerald blasts and blasting him with Crescent Rose.

"Must've broken him." Spider-Man joked, stomping on Mysterio with Mario. They bounced off him, Mysterio trying to blast them but missing the heroes.

"Spider… Spider- SPIDER!" Mysterio snarled, his voice seemingly looping.

Miles blinked under his mask, "That's weird."

"He can't shut up can he?" Kazooie groaned.

"He never does, but this is new for him," Blake replied, shooting Mysterio with Gambol Shroud.

Peter and Miles webbed up Mysterio by swinging around, the duo ensuring he's too trapped in their binding to do anything, "...Of course! He's an LMD too!" Peter realized.

"How can you-a tell?" Mario asked.

Peter landed in his usual stance and examined the twitching Mysterio, "New look, twitchy, studdering, trust me I would've broken Mysterio's mind years ago." he revealed.

"That does explain the familiar looking duds…" Miles commented, recalling a crime lord like him in his universe.

"Another robot, huh? Should'a figured he'd be a coward," Snake grunted.

"Will this ever end?" Mythra asked.

"Just take the emerald!" Sonic yelled from his spot.

"NO!" Mysterio yelled, creating a barrier around him, "I-I refuse to-to let you win! Chaos- Control!"

In the blink of an eye, Mysterio and Dedede vanished before any of the Champions could grab the emerald, "No!" Peter yelled, slamming his fist on the ground where the Mysterio LMD once was.

"Good… work, 'Champions'," said Loki with a hint of venom in his tone.

Sonic, now free of his net, said, "You're about as helpful as our Loki, ya know," he let out a loud grunt.

Loki huffed, "Please, at least I fought the false wizard."

Peter sighed, "Grr… whatever, look, where's the Ancient One at? We're already here, might as well get his help."

"He is busy aiding your cause, he requires utmost focus to find the Cabal. He temporarily broke it to request your aid, Champions," Loki revealed, "But it seems it was pointless as you failed."

Pyra scowled, "You don't get a say in this. I've heard of you, Trickster."

"...But he may have a point." Miles muttered, "We messed up. Mysterio and Dedede got away, emerald and all."

Mario put a hand on Miles' shoulder, "We did what we-a could, Spider-Man. We will recover."

"You better." Loki mumbled in disgust.

Wanda got up, holding her arm, "Ignore his tranquil rage. We will defend the temple from here, go seek the emeralds."

Peter glared at Loki, then back at the Champions, his lenses widening to show he's calm, "Let's go, team. We'll let the others know."

"Yeah…" Ruby sighed dejectedly.

The Champions left the temple, continuing their quest to find the emeralds and the Cabal, as it seems they have the advantage over the heroes for now.

MJR Here: Hey everyone, it's been a while since I posted. Life related matters and all. Despite the delays, I'm determined to finish this story.

Next Time: The awaited rematch! Sephiroth appears!