"So, how do we start finding this Ian?" Constance asked in her normal personality.
"Since I'm the one tracking him, we're probably gonna have to search around a lotta memoryscapes to find him." Hitomi said. "Not many of 'em though. A Badger's nose is as good as any cat's."
"What would be the best place to start though?" Hapi asked. "What about that place RiRi mentioned?"
"Knowing Ian, he'd go to places he's more familiar with." Hope said.
"Meaning anywhere we've been. Hmm…he'd likely start small. I know a place where he'd might be." Sunset said as she opened a door as they stood in the school halls.
"CHS?" Hope asked.
"Ian would have to start where none of us would find him. Recruiting students would likely be the best start." Sunset said.
"Oh hey, I remember this." Natsu said as he saw himself glaring at Sunset as he punched in some lockers.
"Yeah…your intimidation left a mark on me that probably won't fade for a long time." Sunset said.
"Is this the first time they met you, Sunshine?" Hapi asked.
"Yeah, this is when the group first came to the Equestria universe, on the human world side. When Princess Twilight first had to come here to take her crown back, right?" Flamberge asked Princess Twilight.
"Yeah. I was even accepted as a member. All of us from the pony side were…until we were pushed out by someone." Princess Twilight said looking to Hope.
"Okay, so I was an overeager rookie back then." Hope said.
"Overeager? You made moves without even asking us. A lot of them being recruitments or as you called them, 'replacements'. Thank goodness that phase passed." Yumi said.
"And yet you guys still hold that over me…" Hope sighed.
"When you do something on a first impression…it's kinda hard to forget it." Dan said.
"Don't let it get to you, Hope. You did get better as you grew in experience." Sakura said.
"You might not have been the best person when you first arrived to help us, but you improved overtime with every adventure you had." Princess Twilight said. "Somewhat…"
"Anyway…let's see if Ian's here." Hope said. "Hitomi, you got a lock?"
HItomi sniffed around in Therian form. "Yeah, I think I've got him. This way."
The group navigated the hallways as they followed Hitomi and her nose.
"He's…right there." Hitomi said seeing Ian with a clipboard talking to some students.
"And if you join today, we can assure you the full minion package which includes an incredible retirement plan." he said as a few students signed on the paper.
"Of course he'd go for the impressionable ones. Not gonna lie, he's good at what he does." David said.
"Should we jump 'em right now and get 'em to talk?" Makoto asked.
"Nah. Let's get him alone. The students don't need to know what we're talking about." David said. "We can fix the student problem later. I've got an idea. We'll make a PA call to get him to come somewhere alone. Are there any empty rooms here at this time?"
"I'm sure there's a classroom or empty office available. But knowing this is CHS, the PA system is in Principal Celestia's office." Hope said.
"Not a problem." Tails said as he was hacking into the system for them.
"Could the man walking around recruiting some students come to the nearest classroom?" a simulated voice asked as Ian looked at the nearest classroom and entered as the others rushed in.
"Oh…it's you guys…" Ian said.
"Take it easy, Ian. We just want to talk." David said.
"Yes, like telling us where your boss is." Yuri said.
"I see…but first…hold this." Ian said as he took out a crown and handed it to them.
"Wait…that…that's my crown!" Princess Twilight said.
"Oh no, I think I know what Ian's doing…" Hope said.
"That's right…there was someone else who was after the crown." Sunset realized as a shadow moved on the wall as a Gengar jumped out and grabbed onto the crown.
"Give me the stone!" he said as Ian made a door appear with a strange device before walking through.
"Oh no you don't!" Hitomi said, going for the door and caught it just in time before it vanished. "Hurry up and get in!"
"We're coming! Just gonna do a little ghost busting!" Glimmer said.
"Oh real original." Gengar said as he fired a Shadow Ball at them.
"Why's Gengar even interested in your crown anyway?" Law asked.
"He was after the Mega Stone hidden inside. So he could usurp the Ghost Kingdom of Spectra." Princess Twilight said.
"Gengarite hidden inside the Element of Magic… who knew?" Mermista said.
"Questions for later." Hapi said.
"Hmm… This certainly does bring back memories, doesn't it?" Cia asked as she sent out her own Gengar.
"Whoa… They're practically the same!" Trish said.
"Ha…like I'll fall victim to some foolish…" K Gengar said before the other Gengar went and knocked him out with a single Shadow Ball.
"Nice one, Cia. I had a feeling you had Gengar as a Perfect Link for a reason." David said.
Frosta looked at the Gengarite inside Twilight's crown. "Hey Cia, interested in this Gengarite here?"
"Wait…is that even possible? To just take something from a memory?" Jexi asked.
"Flux did it with a bunch of people." Hapi said.
"I mean…leaving this universe with it. Would that be possible?" Jexi said.
"I'm sure there will be other Gengarites lying around somewhere. She can have mine if she wants." Jude said.
"Do you even have a Gengar on your team, Jude?" Leia asked.
"Not normally…but I did spend my time in Kalos collecting the Mega Stones of several Pokemon for study." Jude said.
"Thanks, Jude." Cia said.
"Alright, into the door." Ajna said.
"You guys are so lucky I grabbed it before it vanished." Hitomi said.
They ran through before appearing in another school.
"Wait…this…this is UA!" Eijiro said.
"Why would Ian wanna come here? This school trains heroes, nobody would wanna abandon their curriculum to serve as minions to Flux." Flamberge said.
"Wasn't there mentions of a traitor here?" Jalter asked.
"That's just a rumor. And it's not proven true yet." Hagakure said.
"Hey! There he is!" Ochako said seeing Ian talking to some students.
"Sign up now and you get prime spots in the justice squadron, the world's best private protection force, saving lots of people." Ian said as the students signed.
"I see, he's trying to pitch the promise of a respected Hero agency to get students on his side." Shoji said.
"And it looks like it's working." Natalie said.
Ian waved the students off before seeing the heroes before activating the device again as he walked through the door as they chased him.
"He's going to a lot of schools and public areas." Starlight said.
"He's pretty bold to do this in public, I'll give him that." Leopardmon said.
They continued to chase him through a number of schools such as Kadic and Ginhana High. Even going to outstanding places. On the next one, they soon stood in a busy city as Ian stood there.
"Huh…don't…recognize this place." Zephyr said.
"Ah…cause it's one of my memories. Welcome to Spain…my homeland." Ian said.
"Judging from the cityscape, we're definitely somewhere like Barcelona." Hope said.
"No need to figure out where we are. In fact, I just picked a wonderful childhood memory of one of my favorite traditions." Ian said as the ground shook.
"Uh…." Glimmer asked. "Guys…?"
"Welcome…" Ian said as he grabbed a pole and climbed as bulls ran down the street. "To the running of the bulls!"
Natyal held her hand out as the bulls kept going. "What's going…"
"Uh oh…I think…they're drugged." Chopper said.
"Correct. In my hometown…we drug the bulls and whip them into a wild frenzy to make the experience more…exciting." Ian said.
"You did what?" Natyal asked as she looked at him with a glare that made a chill run down his spine.
"Natyal, as much as I think you'd wanna hit him right now, we kinda have to run here!" Zephyr said.
"You guys are going. This guy is not going to get away again!" Hitomi said.
"Are you insane? You can't face a whole stampede of bulls!" Lea said.
"No…they'll be my stepping stone." Hitomi said as she jumped and landed on one as she leapt from one to another.
"I'll be…" Ian said as he let go and dropped onto one of the bulls as he rode it.
"Oh, no! You're not getting away from me!" Hitomi said as she leapt from bull to bull as she chased down Ian.
"Oh…I'm not running. As it so happens…my family are one of the most respected professions in all of Spain." Ian said as he grabbed a blade from a passerby. "Matadors!"
"Heh. And here I thought you were just some second rate lackey. Bring it on." Hitomi said drawing her claws as she combated Ian, claws to cutlass.
"There's a lot of things even the boss knows not of me. I follow him cause of his endless ambition and charisma. And all I must do is anything he asks. I do not mind playing the second fiddle to him in the least." Ian said countering her attacks.
"Man, all these years, we totally had the wrong impression of Ian." Vashyron said as the group ran from the stampede.
"These bulls get very agitated when they see red. Which…for the record, some of us wear, by the way." Kentaurosmon said.
"We just need to keep running to wherever this path goes!" Ross said. "The bulls have to stop at some point."
"We'd better hope it's soon. I hear people get seriously injured doing this!" Kendo said.
"Why do humans participate in stuff like this?" 9S asked.
"Some of us are adrenaline junkies 9S, it's hard to resist a thrill." Kaibara said.
Hitomi and Ian continued to duel as she avoided his cutlass, herself scratching him a bit.
"You're way more of a fighter than me or anybody expected. I dunno why you don't show off for your boss more if you've got talent like this." Hitomi said.
"I don't like showing him up. Even when we met in that cell after he was arrested." Ian said. "He's the one who will rule all these worlds." he said, dealing a strike to Hitomi.
"Alright, I get it… ever since you two met after he failed in the Realm of Exploration, you've been following him ever since." Hitomi said. "You don't stop believing he'll win someday, just like he won't give up. You two are definitely a good pair." Hitomi said as she removed the cutlass from her shoulder as she pushed against it and gripped it in her hand. "But guess what, dumbass? We're always gonna be there to stop you no matter what hair brained schemes you got. And we won't give up either!"
She then bit right into Ian's shoulder as he let out a scream of pain before kneeing him in the gut, making him lose his balance and almost made him fall in front of the bulls to get gored before Hitomi grabbed him by the collar.
"Now unless you wanna get gored, tell us where Fluxtopia is in this maze of memories." Hitomi said.
"I can do you one better." Ian said as the group and bulls rounded a corner to a massive door blocking the path as it opened. "He predicted you might go after me instead of him…so we've set up this little trap for all of you."
The door showed a massive lit up city with multiple attractions and the most surprising was a number of soldiers including those being memories of the heroes that have been drastically altered.
"Welcome to Fluxtopia, Hero Alliance." Flux smiled as he sat in a massive mech as the army before him prepped themselves.
"Oh Sugar Honey Ice Tea." Lei said.
"We fell for a trap…" Jexi said.
"And walked right into it." Al said.
"Look at the people he has in his army. Every single one of them comes from our memories, that he changed." Aqua said.
"I think I even see some of us in there!" Flamberge said.
"And I see some of his top commanders…" Zan said seeing them as darker versions of the leaders of the hero teams.
"I must say this is quite the conundrum." Xenos said from inside Ace's mind.
"Ian was a decoy while Flux finished the recruitment." Aelita said.
"Yes…and now…my Universal Villains….attack!" Flux called out as the soldiers and commanders went on the attack.
"It's one thing infiltrating our memories, but now this…" Ace said.
"Well… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting something like this to happen." David said. "Besides… I find myself quite intrigued at fighting a version of myself. And since their defeats won't affect our real selves, that means we can go all-out without any reservations."
"Then let's get to it." Hope said.
"Oh…don't think that was the only obstacle here." Flux smiled as the group saw two Natsu's fighting. However, the darker Natsu landed a hit to the actual one and knocked him down with one punch. "Memory is not a perfect thing. Some remember themselves weaker…but others…they remember themselves being stronger than they actually were. And this world…reflects how you remember things like that."
"Are you done?" Ace asked.
"What I'm saying is...do you all remember yourselves as weak…or almost invincible?" Flux asked.
"Guess we're about to find out." David said. "Still, it's gonna be quite a challenge fighting someone that knows my every move."
"Back at ya." the darker David said as he entered Sapphire God Mode: Burst and mixed with the power of his Kyogre.
"So, going all out from the start, huh?" David asked.
"Oh…I'm not done yet." he said as he drew Vholran's sword.
"Wait… That's…Vholran's blade. How did you get that?" David asked.
"I took it after I defeated him and stole all his power." the darker David said.
"I see, so this version of me played events differently." David said. "Alright then. Game on, mirror match."
As both Davids fought, the other leaders ended up fighting themselves. Hope fought his dark self as they traded blows with each other.
"Stop lying to yourself and face reality! No one wants you around, so why not go wild and attack!" he said, landing a blow to Hope's stomach and knocking him to the ground.
"I see… Flux convinced you that I'd be better off on my own." Hope said.
"Far from it…" the darker Hope said as he entered Azure God Mode burst and added some golden energy to it. "Like it…I got this…when I took down the Golden God." he said.
"So you surpassed your Jexi." Hope said ascending to face him. "Was it worth it?"
"It so was! You're so much stronger than you think! Why are you playing second fiddle to a guy like him?! You have chances to prove you're so much better than anyone!" he said. "You know…let's not go into this." he said, knocking Hope to the ground again.
The group was being taken down one by one as Flux watched.
"Pitting them against their own copies was the best tactic. I analyzed their memories and suggested the perfect paths to increase their powers to surpass their counterparts. I have no doubt they will lose." Flux said to himself. "However, worst comes to worst…I have a backup plan in mind."
Ace slowly stood up as he looked at his dark self.
"Stay down…he'll do a lot worse to your siblings if you get up." the darker Ace said.
"When will it be time when he's had enough?" Ace said.
"He'll never stop. Not until everything is his." darker Ace said.
"And then what? When there's no one left to stand in his way, what's next for him?" Ace asked.
"It's…hard to say." the darker Ace said looking to the defeated heroes. "He's gotten very powerful by gathering all of us."
"You're just a means to an end for him, once he's done conquering the multiverse, he'll toss you all away when he no longer has need of you." Ace said.
"Hmm…" the darker Ace said as he lowered himself to Ace's ear. "Please stay down…until the time is right."
"What?" Ace asked.
"I am…a friend of Eikichi." he whispered.
"Did he just say…Eikichi?" The darker David asked.
"So, you knew him in your timeline, too huh?" David asked.
"That…does not matter. Not anymore." the darker David said, knocking the actual one into the ground.
"It should. Tell me… What do you consider your own justice? What does it mean to you?" David asked. "Surely, even someone like you is capable of such thought."
"Justice…that word…is dead." the darker David said as he knocked out the actual David.
"Then why are you hesitating your words?" David asked before going unconscious.
The darker David then looked to the darker Ace as he reverted. "Has he…been talking to ghosts?"
The dust soon settled as Flux looked out to the defeated heroes.
"I…I did it…I actually did it…" Flux said, finding the scene hard to believe.
"Satisfied?" Ace asked as he and the heroes were taken captive.
"A little bit. But not quite." Flux said as he pulled out a gun as he aimed at Jexi. But after a few moments…he still did not pull the trigger. "Huh…"
"Boss, what're you doing? You finally won! You have Jexi right where you want him!" Ian said. "This is your chance!"
"I know…this is everything I've ever dreamed of. But…something just feels missing from this scene." Flux said.
"You're kidding me. What could you possibly be missing?" darker Hope asked.
"Hmm…let's see…perfect army…enemies beaten…Oh…I know what's missing. I'll take over all the Universes first…and then execute them." Flux said. "But first…I wanna make an announcement." he said making some screens appear. On them were Buggy, Eggman, Techno, Negativity, Tormal and Zenos Road on the six major ones and a number of villains on the smaller ones. "Villains of the known universes. I wish to announce that I…Amadeus Cornelius Flux…have beaten the Hero Alliance!"
"Hmm…have you now?" Tormal asked.
"What's with all this, Flux? Are you trying to be flashy?" Buggy asked.
"Nope…I've decided to give all you villains a chance…to join under me!" Flux said.
"You can't be serious." Eggman said.
"After all your constant failures? Why would I extend a hand to you?" Negativity asked.
"No…you'd be surrendering your organizations to me. I control the most powerful army in existence. But should you all refuse…I plan to take them over by force as I take over the worlds!" Flux said.
At this declaration…Negativity began to laugh.
"Whats so funny?! Cant you see what ive done?!" FLux asked.
"I'm sorry, it's just…I can't believe that someone so intelligent…could be so foolish at the same time." Negativity said. "That, or in your haste to best them…you failed to study up on how things work in that place. Yes, they've been beaten by your forces, fair and square. But…you've failed to account for one thing." he said. "The nature of memory."
"Nature of…what are you talking about?" Flux asked.
"Test it. Send someone out of the Memory Universe right now. I'll even make it easy." Negativity said as a rift leading to their room appeared. "Send someone through. Right now."
"All right, fine. Evil Ninja Harumi! Go and kill him!" Flux ordered.
"Hai." the darker Harumi said, going at the rift only to suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke.
"Huh? What the hell…" Flux said.
"Hahahaha! I tried to set up Dark Memory and the same thing happened when I came here. See…things created in the Memory Universe…cannot leave the Memory Universe." Negativity said.
"No… you mean… my army will cease to exist the minute I begin my invasion?!" Flux said.
"Not cease to exist…just return to the memories you plucked them from…forever." Negativity said.
"Sorry, Flux… Looks like your little grandstanding was…all for nothing." David said.
"Shut up!" Flux said as he taped David's mouth.
"Well…this was entertaining." Zenos Road said as he and a number of villains hung up.
"Wait, no! Don't go! I'm the winner here!" Flux yelled.
"No…you are not. You never were." Negativity said in a cold tone. "Your only purpose…is to fail. Goodbye, Amadeus." he said, being the last to hang up.
"Grrrr….how dare he…" Flux growled. "I'm not going to take this sitting down. All I have to do…is invent a method so memories can become real outside this place."
"Uh…what about all of…" Dark Mark said.
"Just lock them up in a cell until I can figure things out." Flux said. "I need time to think and create."
The group was then taken off to the prisons of the created Fluxtopia. Though he had finally beat the Hero Alliance, Flux had not won the battle as watching nearby was the memory version of Eikichi.
"Alright then. Looks like he is starting to get desperate. Now, for the plan to enter its final phase. I'm gonna need your help for this one, Dave… Both of you." Eikichi said.