Planet Gaia is one of those fantasy worlds that's just absolutely fantastic and diverse and I want the KND to explore it, if I could just stop being lazy and catch up with Final Fantasy! But we'll get there. Play "Chaos Theme" from Sonic Adventure!
Chapter 6: Kill the Dreams and Nightmares
The Armored Agent Shaved away from Karin and assaulted her with Tempest Kicks. Karin dodged most of them and kicked her soccerball at their helmet, dizzying them for a brief enough moment to jump and kick their head. The agent spun and returned their own kick, Karin rolling back to her feet. The agent thrusted aerial Finger Pistols, Karin running circles in evasion, but the agent Shaved in front and jabbed at her stomach. Karin bent her stomach inward and pushed down against the agent's hand, doing a flip and stamping both shoes in the head. As the agent stumbled back, a firework crashed and glued them down with sticky cheese. The agent twisted and saw Jinta and Megumi dashing up, with Kodama further behind. Jinta leapt and SLAMMED the stranger with his Haki-hardened bat!
He not only forced them out of the cheese, but shattered their armor into pieces. The kids stood cautiously over their grounded form, anxious to learn who they were. "…BLAH!" They were a water monster! Humanoid with only two large, pointed toes on each foot and similar hands, but with thumbs. They had narrowed, alien green eyes, a brain inside their pointed head, and two spikes curved down behind the head. The glow and texture of their water was ethereal.
The beast seized their moment of awe to stretch an arm and PUNCH Jinta, sending him flying. Megumi bounced her iron paddleball, but it phased through its body without harm, leaving her vulnerable to the next punch. Karin charged it, but the creature Shaved behind and pierced her back with Finger Pistol. Jinta immediately ran to whack it with his hardened bat, but it merely splashed through as the beast kicked him. Karin got away as Megumi tried to patch her back wound. "Even Haki doesn't work on this thing?!" Jinta asked, countering the beast's claw swipes. "What kind of assassin are you?!"
"A special one~" it replied in an echoey voice, which sounded like Cree Summer. The agent stretched a leg and spun quickly, sending Tempest Kicks in every direction whilst the group ducked. Kodama launched Iceworks at them, freezing their water solid. Jinta shattered it, but the beast became a puddle on the ground, flowing under Jinta and reforming as it tried to bend and break his limbs. Megumi gasped, seeing the brain in its head. She bashed her Iron Paddle against the brain, the beast yelping as it splashed into pieces and freed Jinta. "Ya gotta hit the brain, partners!"
"Damn." The beast reformed further away. Jinta smirked and ran swinging his bat at the brain, but it used Paper Art to evade him. The water of its right arm turned a wavy, Haki black, and punched Jinta away. Kodama launched more Iceworks, but the beast took care to dodge. Karin's soccerball struck the brain and disassembled it, maneuvering away as the puddle tried to pick one to follow. Its arms suddenly shot out and Pistoled Megumi and Karin in the stomachs. "That's enough playtime, kiddies!" The beast Shaved away after fully reforming. "You couldn't stop me from killing the Firstborn, so you've already lost! See yaaaa~"
They retreated into the girls' bathroom, Karin dashing in after. With a flushing sound, she was too late as the being was already gone down the toilet. "…Hmmm…" She figured it would be too hard to chase them, but… may as well send a little gift their way. (End song.)
A few minutes later, Karin was out of the bathroom. "Was this really the best time to go?!" Jinta shouted.
"Look, it doesn't matter. Let's check in with Ururu and Sugar."
Sector JP traveled to the backstage and met with Sugar and Rise in the changing room. "So… you were in here the whole time?" Rise asked.
"Mm-hm!" A pair of red eyes peeped open in a wide, white bear plushy in a red shirt (resembling Teddie from Persona). "I'm sorry we didn't cue you in on the plan, but we had to make the illusion convincing."
"No, it's fine. I just wish the concert didn't have to turn out like this though…"
"Maybe we should've had it cancelled after all." Ururu spoke sadly, sitting on Sugar's shoulder.
"I know, but this was our best chance at catching an agent." Sugar smiled, patting the Tiny Devil. "I just wish you didn't have to be there when the fake exploded."
"Your kindness makes it worth it, Sugar-chan~"
"Looks like you guys are okay." Karin said.
"Did you catch them?"
"Nah, it got away." Jinta huffed.
"'It'?"
"Some kind of water alien. I've never seen anyone like that."
"The important thing is that Meloetta's okay." Sugar said. "If CP0 assumes she's dead, we just need to keep her hidden until we stop them."
"Some of the other Guardians were attacked, too." Karin replied. "Only Mew was killed, so far. I'm just worried if… they'll come for Yuzu and Gourmerry."
Tree of Beginning
The great tree that served as the home of the Minish stood protected in a great mountain range. Slade, Chase Young, and Akame crossed the mostly barren valley before the mountain, a bleak starry night to light their way. Like Groudon, they knew the Earth God could feel their steps for miles. They were thankful, however, that he chose to honor the earthbender tradition of facing them head-on like a rock.
A huge mass came launching out of the distant tree, quaking the earth before them. "C-P-Ze-ro…" Regigigas sounded out, his lights blinking separately with each syllable. He had a wide, white body, with golden cuffs and shoulders, plus a center with seven lights. Parallel columns of three gems each were set on either side of the "head." His feet were covered in moss, same for his upper shoulders, and he had thick black lines.
"How brave of you to face us, Your Lordship." Slade said.
"Had you come to the tree, our battle would have endangered the Minish. I shall eliminate you here and now."
"Regi, wouldn't we cause less property damage if you just accept your fate? Why do you gods resist the inevitable? Are you that afraid that your era has come to an end?"
"We have long expected such a fate. But we plan to die with honor. And if you mortals are arrogant and greedy enough to desire our destruction, we shall not grant your wish freely. You must prove your worth as our executioners."
Five smaller robots collided around him. Colored and resembling their respective elements, they announced their names in robotic voices. "Regirock." "Regice!" "Registeel." "Regieleki!" This one was a head and arms of plasma generating from metal bases. "Regidrago." This one was a red, round head with arms resembling the upper and lower half of a dragon's head.
"You couldn't fight without your Regis, of course." Chase said. "I used to think there were only three of them…"
"Regieleki and Regidrago were recent creations. You shall face their wrath along with mine." (Play "Gohdan" from Zelda: Wind Waker.)
Regigigas folded his limbs, a barrier forming over him. Chase assumed his lizard form and charged Regidrago, who clapped its fang-arms. Chase Shaved behind and scratched its back, then Drago used its Twister attack, spinning rapidly in attempt to saw the mage. Chase Moon Walked above and drilled down headfirst, biting Drago with a Fang Pistol. Slade endured most of Regieleki's electricity, matching the mech's speed and striking at its metal parts connectors. Enough hits caused the plasma-mech to disable and fall apart. Akame endured Regice's Icy Wind and pierced her sword through its eyes. She had experience with a powerful icebender, so she was able to short-circuit the Regi without feeling the chill. Chase attacked Regirock with Glacius, freezing the orange mech and KOing it with a Tempest Kick. Slade combatted Registeel's Metal Claws with basic hand-to-hand, thrusting Finger Pistols into its eyes to take it out.
Regigigas rose from his barrier and stomped the ground, thrusting the assassins away with rock-jabs. Regigigas sank the vast area of ground between them, requiring them to Moon Walk their way across. The god thrusted stone needles up from below, and amidst their evasion, Slade chopped off the top of a needle and threw it tip-first at Regi. Regi punched it, but Chase chopped and threw another one immediately after, with Akame riding in her spider form. As Regi punched it, Akame morphed to normal, ran across the arm, and stabbed Regi's upper-left light. She flipped herself up atop the head, ducking Regi's arm swat, and she swung a cut at the moss on his shoulder. Poison seeped into the moss, disabling the arm. She quickly jumped off when Regi summoned over a huge boulder to smash against his own head.
The others caught up, using Tempest Kicks to blast through the stone walls Regi erected. Regi began to jump and cause powerful shockwaves, but Akame Shaved toward his feet upon a landing and slashed them, poisoning the moss to halt his legs. Regigigas thrusted his free arm up and rose atop a stone pillar. Slade threw up Akame, Chase threw up him, and he threw Akame again. Once at Regi's level, she donned a One-Punch Gauntlet and met it with the god's fist. Both went flying, Regigigas rumbling the earth while Akame saved herself with Moon Walk. On their way to catch up with Regi, the god turned the earth into sand, conjuring a dusty storm. The assassins had experience with such a harsh environment, using Moon Walk to stay airborne over the obvious quicksand. Regi stirred the sand in a way to redirect and keep them going in circles, but Chase's Ventus spell would blow gaps through the sand and open their way.
The assassins charged Regi, but he was encased in a barrier again. A single gauntlet couldn't penetrate the barrier, and it'd be too risky to use both. Regidrago blasted a strong purple beam at Chase, the assassin evading en route to the mech. When he got too close, Drago slashed its dragon-arms. Chase breathed Glacius to hinder its movements and slashed Tempest Claws at its weak center. Regieleki leapt above Slade and trapped him in a Thunder Cage. It charged energy before exerting a powerful surge of lightning. Slade's fingers were up as he struggled to catch and channel the lightning. After Regieleki stopped, Slade discharged it straight back, short-circuiting the bot's connectors as it fell apart. Slade was then struck by Registeel's Flash Cannon, but Akame got behind it in her hybrid form and bound Steel in sticky web. She spun around and swung it against Regirock multiple times until both were taken down. Chase, meanwhile, countered Regice's Ice Beam with Incendio, eventually burning through to the ice-bot.
Regigigas was healed of the poison, forming stone braces around his moss. He burrowed underground and willed segments of earth to "clap" the assassins, but they encountered by thrusting palms at either side and using the Clap Stun. The real Regi's hands clapped up to squeeze Akame, who used Iron Body to withstand it. Slade kicked over with the other gauntlet and punched one of the arms, causing Regi to lung through the ground while Akame freed herself. Regi emerged, his five other gems flashing as the surrounding mountaintops opened. The god summoned a fleet of ships, controlled with metalbending and shooting bullets. Chase conjured only a partial Protego above them, carrying it as they hurried to Regi. Slade threw Akame headfirst at him, hardening herself to penetrate his defense walls. Once at him, she used quick Shave work to zip to his gems and pierce them. When all lights were out, the ships stopped firing. Regi instead crashed them down at the assassins, who kicked them away.
Akame used her gauntlet to punch at Regi's back, but bent a metal plate over to push her away. Regi called down a mountaintop and used the Boulder-n-Chain technique to whirl it around at the trio. Slade used electricity to magnetically attach the metal scrap from the ships around himself, becoming a misshapen ball. Chase kicked him with enough force to knock Regigigas over. He forced off the scrap as he and Akame both slammed him with their gauntlets. It wouldn't work unless both were used by one person, but the force dented a gaping crater in the earth, with Regigigas sparking in weakness. For a second, they questioned if now was the chance to go for the kill, until the five Regis flew above and blasted them with their elements.
Regigigas pushed himself up as his faithful robots levitated around him. "Initiating max power input. Come together… my six Regis."
"Six?!" Akame gasped. "But where…?"
In the distant mountain, there was a man. An ordinary human man in a business suit and a smooth, black haircut. He flew to the battlefield with rocket shoes, twisting with his back to the god as he landed. "It can't be!" Slade gasped. "You're the former Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aimé!"
"I had Reggie infiltrate Nintendo to oversee our representation in the Pokémon games. His service has been invaluable. Now, you will see our combined might. Initiating awesome mech transformation sequence."
Regigigas jumped high into the air as Registeel's armored sides covered him. Regirock transformed to cover the right arm, and Regice the left. The arms were supported with Regidrago's dragon jaws, and Regieleki's plasma jutted out of the feet. The super robot landed and opened its "head," revealing a cockpit. "I never expected a 6th one." Chase glared. "What's his element?"
Reggie leapt into the cockpit. He stood on a Wii Fit board and declared, "My body is ready, Gigas!" (Play the "My Body Is Ready" Song by Reggie!)
The cockpit sealed as the titan broke into dance. Strobe lights appeared in the air, Gigas' motions fluent as jolts of lightning struck them through the ground. Chase and Akame used Moon Walk to evade them, but the swift swings of Regi's arms sent boulders and snowballs at them. "It's Music!" Chase determined. "We should've brought Deadpool. His secret technique would've been great for this."
"We don't need him!" Slade yelled. "Just get in the rhythm and fight back!" Slade danced to match Regi's motion, channeling the lightning up from the ground and zapping it at Regi's center. Chase landed, dancing away from the electric. He spat fire with each twirl to melt the snowballs, freeing the Music Notes inside and dancing to redirect them at Regi. Akame danced in the air with Moon Walk, and when Regi used brief Flash Cannons, she used Paper Art. Regi changed position after each shot, but Akame steadily got closer with each evasion and was able to punch him with a gauntlet. He crossed the dragon arms in defense, but was still pushed away from the force. Regi got in a sit position and jigged backwards. The assassins lined up and mimicked the same dance, following Regi's trail. The front-most assassins would leap to the back, repeating this pattern to draw closer.
With each thrust of his hands, Regi shot the dragon jaws at them, but with each backward leap, the assassins kicked them back. The formula repeated until Slade was the last one, socking Regigigas with a gauntlet. Regigigas began to breakdance, spinning on the back of Registeel's armor. He was so fast that the grounded grinded into sand and became a tornado. The assassins got swept up in the sandstorm with Paper Art, but as Music Notes threatened to knock them down, they did the "worm" to swerve around them. To match Regi's speed, they combined Shave with Paper Art to float faster, closing in on the center. Once above Regi, Akame used Iron Body to drop down gauntlet-first. Regi unleashed a Dragon Beam to push her right back up, but Chase contributed his own iron weight onto Akame and crushed the god.
Regigigas stopped the tornado and surfed away on a rock wave. With the powers of his Regis, and erected a normal mountain, a snow mountain, a factory, an electric plant, a stone dragon, and a singing tiki head. Regi spun the six masses around and cast the normal mountain first. Slade took the other gauntlet, placed both on, and PUNCHED the mountain with force enough to crumble it to dust. Regi quickly directed the fragment at Slade, but he quickly flung the gauntlets forward. Chase Shaved and donned them, punching up at the falling factory to send it to the sky. He Shaved out of the gauntlets to let Akame take them. The snow mountain came, but was suddenly split in half, trying to clap her from either side, but a palm thrust to either side sent them away.
Slade leapt and swiftly took one gauntlet, stretching it to block the incoming electric plant. Akame and Chase combined Tempest Kicks to force the plant directly into the dragon. The three assassins linked arms and performed the Tempest Cartwheel. Spinning through the air, and using a bit of Paper Art, they gracefully dodged the tiki head's notes. They sawed the tiki in half with their cartwheel and dropped to Regi. Akame took the gauntlets and donned them to land swift finish—Regi crushed boulders over her. But when he opened, the gauntlets fell out, but her body was gone: Akame had shrunk out of them in entering her spider form, safe atop a boulder. With that, Slade dropped down, seized the gauntlets, and crushed Regigigas beneath the fists with a titanic impact. (End song.)
Light seeped out of cracks on the Earth God's body, shaking and whirring. "Error… Damage input too strong… Self-destruct inevitable. Good-bye… my Regis."
"It was a fun ride, big guy." Reggie sighed. "Let's do it."
Slade jumped off. Chase grabbed his allies and Disapparated. An explosion swallowed the Earth God, lighting the night. "LORD REGIGIGAS!" The Minish's tiny screams were high-pitched wails of despair to any roaming the valley.
"Hah…that was almost a close one." Slade panted.
"A job well done." Akame smiled.
"It was indeed." Chase returned. "…" The air dimmed around them. The moon had faded to a dull color.
McKenzie House
Earthquakes rattled the peaceful Ashland neighborhood. Plants and fine china fell off the shelves and dread filled everyone. Anthony's first instinct was to head to his sister's bedroom. "Hey, Michelle. You feel that? I think something else's happened…"
"…" Diancie remained dark with soot, moaning on her bed. "Big Brother… I don't…I don't… feel so good."
"W-What's wrong? You want some juice?"
"Y-Yes, please. More juice." She was still a child at heart and loved a good drink of apple juice.
"Yeah! Be right back!" Anthony stumbled down in a hurry, delighted that his sister had enough spirit to ask that.
Gaia's moon; 2,000 years ago
The Lunar Nimbi warriors lay fallen on the white, sandy surface, the feathers of their dark wings torn. Above them, Goddess Cresselia glowed with a clean white radiance. She was a swan with magenta, crescent wings, with an extra on her back. Her back with blue while her underside, up to her head with a soft yellow. Her head was made of three crescents, marked with a magenta stone that matched her eyes. At 4'11", she was fairly short.
God Rayquaza snaked the battleground above them. "The Negatar has bent all these Nimbi to her will?"
"It seems she intended to conquer this world. These heathens attempted to fell me in the midst of my own ritual."
"Then I hope you disgraceful angels plan to repent for your sins!"
"We will not be shunned by the planet-dwellers, anymore!" a female warrior shouted. "We will seize your power and rule Gaia!"
"Your actions will not be forgiven. I won't have such corruption on my moon!" Cresselia cast crescent beams at all the Nimbi, slicing of all their left wings. "From this day, lest you ask forgiveness, you shall be bound to Gaia and your mortal flesh. Begone!" Gravity betrayed the Nimbi as they fell from their home, to the surface of the vast planet below.
Present
Sephiroth crossed the valley that once belonged to his people. He could almost smell the memories… and the darkness. "Deadpool," Shadow said, "you don't have to wear your mask like that."
"I got a secret identity to keep!" Deadpool wore his mask over his space helmet, making his head look inflated. "No one knows that I'm not really a moon alien!"
"Cresselia said your people would be bound to Gaia… but you were able to travel to other planets."
"She probably just meant to be dramatic." Sephiroth figured. "But thanks to her, no Fallen Nimbi has any hope of seeing the Dream Realm. By the way… would you happen to be familiar with Hojo?"
"Ho-who?" Wade asked.
"He was the head scientist at Shinra, who I used to work for. Last I heard, he went to work for Dr. Clown in his Bang Gas Factory. Wondered if you heard of him while ordering Devil Fruits."
"It's not like we ever asked for any."
"Well, I got one for my girlfriend." Wade replied. "The Unicorn Fruit! Mythical Zoans sell the best, you know."
A pyramid altar stood in the distance. The assassins traveled to the top of it, though Shadow stayed far away. Far beyond Gaia's horizon, a red moon was rising. "You've returned… Sephiroth." A clean white light shone, and Cresselia descended. Seeing her, Shadow began to whistle, powering the Whistling Arrow. "Destroying me will not lift the curse off your people. And if you destroy us all… then no one can, even if they ask repentance."
"We'll make the rules from now on. We'll Ascend on our own terms."
"Really… and whose terms would those be? The Negatar?"
Sephiroth raised his katana to her. "Nothing that concerns you."
A streak of blue cut the air, but it merely dissolved the illusory Cresselia into mist. Sephiroth Shaved up to catch the arrow. The true Cresselia appeared over the valley. "Have it your way, Sephiroth." (Play "vs. Cresselia" by MisC!)
He and Deadpool Moon Walked to the goddess; their jumps were greatly enhanced on the actual moon. Cresselia orbited them in a calm fashion, but grew progressively faster while remaining still. A streak of light formed in her wake, eventually closing on the duo with intent to slice them, but they dodged. Cresselia warped around the space and slashed crescent blades, the assassins countering with Tempest Kicks. When Cresselia thought she really cut Deadpool, it was only an afterimage from his Shave, and the goddess suffered a cut to the neck. It was then Shadow warped to her neck, using Spider Bite. It hurt her at first, but she remembered not to struggle. Instead, she burned Shadow off her with Lunar Flames.
Cresselia summoned up some water from the planet and used it to heal her wounds. Sephiroth was preparing the Whistling Arrow, but Cresselia heightened the moon's glow and conjured more mirages of herself. Shadow threw Chaos Spears at each of them, but had no luck finding the real one. "Seth, she's up there!" Deadpool pointed. Sephiroth zipped the arrow straight up, but Cresselia barely ducked her head back by an inch. Shadow Shaved up and kicked the goddess, Cresselia bashing her head at him in turn. She tossed Moonerangs at each of the assassins, using Paper Art to evade the swerving blades. Deadpool caught the arrow and fell back down to shoot Finger Pistols, but Cresselia warped farther away. Shadow snatched the arrow and yelled, "Chaos Control!"
When time slowed, Shadow began to whistle. The arrow was forced to move in slow motion, falling behind while Shadow speedily jumped his way to Cresselia. He swung a kick up at her beak and used Life Return to wrap his spiked hair and bind her. Despite the distance, the arrow was still active under his whistle, so it launched when ready. Cresselia bent up a boulder from the moon and veered it off course, and she used that same boulder to smack Shadow down. Sephiroth got the arrow back and stabbed down, but Cresselia dodged. She enhanced the moon's gravity and forced them down against it. While Sephiroth tried to dispel this affect, Cresselia then willed the moon to endlessly and rapidly spin. She would be gone over the horizon, come up the other one, and loop around again and again.
"Urgh! She's not letting up!" Sephiroth shouted.
"I'm about to experience a Zero-G vomit and I do NOT wanna do it in this helmet!" Wade panicked.
"Technically, it's not Zero-G!" Shadow shouted. "Deadpool! We need your secret power to fix this!"
"But the mood ain't right, man! The music's too elegant and emotional! My technique only works if we're in the right mood!"
"What a load of nonsense! Fine. You're lucky I bought another emerald!" Shadow drew the red Chaos Emerald. "I usually need a few minutes between uses, but I can use a second emerald with a smaller use. Chaos Control!" When Cresselia was coming around the orbit, Shadow slowed time and used the moon's momentum to launch him straight at the goddess. His control wore off after seconds, but that was just enough time to grab Cresselia and use Iron Body to drag her down to the moon. They conveniently landed close to the others as Cresselia was forced to stop the rotating.
"And what's your excuse, Shadow? Dialga and Palkia gifted the Mobians those emeralds. They served you time and time again, and you intend to PUNISH us?"
"We only used them to fix the mistakes they caused." Shadow was forced off by a Crescent Slash, leaving Cresselia to float up. It was then she found herself trapped in a sphere of Sephiroths. He was using a more omnidirectional version of the Rhythm Echo, another benefit of low orbit. Cresselia prepared herself to dodge his—"JUST KIDDING!" Deadpool jumped her, slitting her throat with katanas. "It's me, Deadpool!"
Then Sephiroth ran her through, anyway, his sword through her back. His gravitybending forced her and the blade into the surface. Whistling once more, the arrow glowed to life. Unfortunately, Cresselia regained control of the moon's gravity and flew out of harm's grasp. "Even though I knew this was coming… I don't want to die, you know. I'll always treasure the days on Spear Pillar, listening to Dialga and Palkia bicker." Cresselia summoned more of Gaia's water to heal herself. She took a deep breath and bellowed a Lunar Beam, the trio aiming palms forward and using reinforced Iron Body. "I'll always treasure viewing the worlds as they viewed the moons. Admiring their beauty."
"How sentimental." Sephiroth Moon Walked up and slashed the goddess, who extended the crescents of her head and clashed with him. Sephiroth shot a Gravity Beam, but she dodged and blackened the moon's light, leaving them blind. Though she thought she flew a safe distance,
"Don't forget about me!" Deadpool caught up and slashed Tempest waves from his swords, cutting her belly with one strike.
"And what's your story, Mr. Pool?"
"I just do whatever the voice in my head tells me! And killing gods is sure to land me the bills, anyhow! Hey, Shadow, I'm ripping off your Spin Dash!" Deadpool spun like a pinball, swords outreached as he homed in on Cresselia. Sadly, before he could get the chance to saw her, Cresselia sawed him first, cleaving his head off with a clean crescent cut. His spherical head looked like a silly ball haplessly rotating away.
"Uhn…" As vision returned to the moon, Cresselia felt her own light dimming. "Wait…" She had just realized the red moon was passing between Gaia and the moon. "No! It isn't… supposed to eclipse, yet…" The presence of the Blood Moon caused her to sink, and for the moon's glow to dim. Sephiroth reinforced this with a surge of gravity.
"Before this fight began, I sent concentrations of my bending to draw in that moon's orbit." Sephiroth smirked. "And I've been sending some regularly. The Blood Moon caters to Nightmares and demons… and renders you powerless." The angel calmly began to whistle.
"Not… quite!" Cresselia mustered the strength to rise. "I have… enough power… for this!" A circle of lunar light glowed around her. Cresselia performed a majestic dance, flexing her swings like a swan on the lake. As her aura grew brighter, Shadow anxiously awaited her next technique, though Sephiroth was determined to finish whistling. And with one final stretch of her wings, there was a flash: the light vanished… and Cresselia fell.
"WHEW!" That's when the Whistling Arrow pierced her in the neck. Cresselia choked out her final breath, her body dissolving into mist. "Was that it? Your final technique didn't accomplish anything!"
"My Lunar Dance… causes me to faint… but it restores strength to whoever takes my place. May he… punish you… swiftly…" (End song.)
Cresselia was gone. Darkness filled the moon. Only the crisp, bloody, eerie red of the other moon lit the surface. "The one who… takes her place? Her successor?" Shadow questioned.
"She must mean… that one." Sephiroth glared.
"Oh, not him! I hate that guy!" Deadpool's head was bouncing the moon like a basketball.
"Regardless, our mission here is done." Sephiroth sheathed his blade. "And it's about time he got here."
Rob Lucci landed on the moon in a larger ship. He disembarked it… along with a small band of one-winged Nimbi. Young adults, elderly, and children. Most had silver hair, though one young teen had blue. A little girl toddled up to Sephiroth. "Mistew Sefewoth… the man told us we was going home. Is this our home?"
"I don't understand… Are we allowed to be here?" an old man asked.
"Yes." Sephiroth answered. "You may be used to your lives on the surface. But now… this place belongs to you again."
"It looks kind of boring up here." said the blue-haired boy, Isa. "Oh?" He kicked a strange ball mid-step. "Huh…" He picked the Deadpool Ball up. "Hey, Jenith, catch." He hit the ball toward the child. ("Ow!")
"Heh heh heh!" The girl laughed and waddled to intercept it, smacking with both hands.
"Yow!" Isa kicked it back. "Hey, quit it!" Jenith hit back. "That was right in my neck hole!" Isa hit it. "This was not in the first draft!" Jenith hit it. "Look, Gamewizard needs me for some additional scenes in-" Isa hit, "so I don't have time for-" Jenith hit, "and he takes forever to update shit, ya know?!" Shadow and Sephiroth merely watched the game in levity. This was a nice break after a job well-done.
Earth's moon
Armed with space helmets, Sector RZ went for a relaxing stroll on the moon's surface. "Crest?" Diwata addressed the Firstborn curiously. The Sector Leader stood out from her teammates with her blue skin and shining moon eyes. The team of four followed a crescent-headed imp with a pudgy blue body, a moon on his belly. "How come you wanted to go on a moon-sploration?"
"That is the dumbest pun of the year." Lulu Whitby remarked.
"I felt like something weird was happening." Crest replied. "Like, maybe they were serving an all-you-can-eat up here. But none of the doughnuts were the right shape, and…"
"The Moonbase is that way, genius." Denny pointed.
"NO! I'm telling you, I really felt… something…!"
The moon turned an eerie, bright red. "WWWWHAAAAAT?!" Diwata panicked.
"PANINI, LOOK!" Cheren pointed from Moonbase's window.
"AIIIIEEEE!" his partner screeched. "THE MOON'S BLEEDIN'!"
…
This hadn't gone unnoticed by the denizens of Earth's eastern hemisphere. Certainly not a certain, humble home in Japan. "Whoooooaaa!" Marshadow drawled out.
"What?!" April Goldenweek gasped. She had joined Madotsuki in a slumber party, interrupted from tying each other's pigtails. "The moon's red?!"
"Marshadow, what's happening?"
"I dunno! But I totally dig it." Marshadow kicked back and put on sunglasses. "That's got a nice warmth to it! So spooky and cool!"
"So totally a disaster probably happening." April figured.
…
"I read about Blood Moons once." Diwata said. "For one, they cancel out waterbending. Two, they power up demons and Nightmares!"
"Cresselia…"
"What, Crest?"
"I can't feel Cresselia, anymore! I think she…"
"She's been killed?!" Lee gasped. "Was it somewhere on the moon?!"
"No, it was way farther away! I think we're on the wrong moon!"
"There's only so many million moons in the universe!"
"Crest, you can do something, can't you?!"
"I don't know! I…" A lush blue glow covered the Moon Firstborn. "WUH!" A bright light swallowed him, his sacred blue glow shining clearly against the blood moon. "What's happening?!"
…
Sadly, Marshadow's moonbathing met with a disappointing end. "Eh?" That blue spot on the moon grew wider until it covered the whole moon. "Oh, I guess it's okay." April said.
"HEY!" Marshadow shot up. "Who blued my moon?! I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!" The Nightmare Prince soared to the sky.
"Hey! Marshadow!"
Marshadow landed close to the source of the disturbance. "HEY!" Sector RZ were the first to catch his eyes. "Who's responsible for this once-in-a-blue-moon atrocity?!"
"Uhhh…" Diwata pointed awkwardly. "He is."
"?!" The Nightmare gaped. (Play "Olivia Transforms" from Origami King!)
A huge pair of wings stretched out of Crest: they were dark-purple and bat-like. Yellow, thin crescents linked to the tips of the wings. His arms stretched to connect to the inner wings like a bat. His main body turned black with a skeletal look, his head crescents reshaped and widened, and his eyes an eerie red. He had gone from one foot tall to 13 feet. "WHOOOOOOAAAAA!" Sector RZ were royally enthralled.
"WHAT'S THAAAAAAAT?!" Cheren yelled from Moonbase.
"It can't be!" Marshadow gasped. "You're that…that moon fatty!"
"Huh?" Crest looked down. "Oh, it's you. Don't call me a fatty! I'm a batty!"
"YOU'RE MAKING ME BATTY! How did this happen?!"
"I don't know… but I…I feel like a whole new spirit! I am… LUNALAAAAAAAA!" All moons of the universe shone from his cry.
"That's not FAIR! I want a cool transformation, too!" Marshadow pounded the ground like a pouty child. "Waaaaaahhh!"
Arctic Base
Killua's body was frozen into the wall, leaving only his shuddering head uncovered. "N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N…Nagis-sa, brr-r-r-r-r-r-r…" A darkness loomed in his eyes. "Nagi…s-s-sa…"
"Are you sure we couldn't unfreeze him a little bit?" Shino asked Drill Sergeant Marcus. "He'd be able to answer us better."
"We can't underestimate these assassins. Unfreeze a single hair more and they'd just use their hair-stretchy technique or something."
"Couldn't he… just do that with the hair he has now?"
"Hey! Instructor Marcus!"
Lexi Kubota hurried up the passage, her hands cupped. "Lexi? You need something?"
"That boy… his name is Killua, right? Heard the others say he was captured."
"What's it to you?"
"Well… this guy." Lexi opened her hands, exposing a tiny boy in a black kimono.
"A tiny person?" Shino knelt closer out of curiosity.
"My name is Kalluto! I'm a CP0 apprentice and Killua's brother!"
"B-BROTHER?!" Why hadn't Killua mentioned having such a little brother.
"Did you say CP0?! Why did you bring him here, Lexi?!"
"Please! I have to tell you something! My brother is innocent. He's under mind control!"
"Mind control?!" Shino exclaimed.
"One of my masters has a Devil Fruit that turns people evil."
"What's a Devil Fruit?!"
"Wait, has no one told you what those are?" Marcus asked.
"NO! Urgh, but wait, you're saying Killua is being mind-controlled?!" Shino locked her shock-ridden gaze on Kalluto, her feelings rising.
"Y-yes…"
"Then that means… could Nagisa be…?!"
Negaverse; Puzzle Prism
Romeo was astonished by how many traps and mechanisms Atawid had set up in this fortress. Eventually, the three of them made it to the end. "When you stand on that switch," Atawid pointed, "you'll be burned by multiple colored flames. From then, it's a matter of survival."
"Okay…" It sounded familiar to Romeo, so he wasn't too worried. The Rainbow Mage stood on the switch. Orange, emerald, sapphire, violet, a rainbow of flames burned Romeo's well-toned body.
It was triggering for Atawid to watch this happen. She remembered quite clearly… the agony as her friend died. And yet, this boy… he didn't seem bothered one bit. Even Victini was chilling with some sunglasses, just to be a jerk about it. But never in her life did Atawid think someone would pass this trial. After all it had put her through… this was kind of satisfying.
The flames stopped. They decorated Romeo's body wonderfully, the boy shining like a noble hero. "…?!" Then, they were no longer in the prism. An ethereal blue tower with waves of orange rose to the sky. This sky itself clearly existed in a separate plane.
"When someone passes the test," Atawid remembered, "the true tower reveals itself. That's… what the old man said. I…I can't believe I'm actually seeing it."
"(And if we go up there… we'll find my blessing?)"
"I bet we will. Let's get climbin', Victini!" The mage eagerly began climbing the structure, leaving Atawid behind to watch in awe.
Outside the prism, Wendy had fallen asleep waiting for them. But Nolra, the elderly Solarian caretaker, had returned from his errand. "EEEEEHHH?!" Nolra screamed Wendy awake. "Ah!" Then, she, too, fell agape before what rose beyond the cube. They could only see a faint form of the tower… but it was something Nolra had awaited his whole life.
"At last… he's… finally come… The man who… would receive…oh…" His wish fulfilled, Nolra fell on his back.
"M-Mister!" Wendy gasped. "Are you okay?! …Uh-oh!"
