After walking for what felt like hours, Erdrick finally spoke up.

"Eight are you sure we're following the right directions?"

"Well, I kinda only had the one to go off of. It was mostly guessing from there." They heard a demonic roar." Onward! That way!"

The Heroes ran forward with haste. Eventually, they made it out of the forest and into an open field. Here they saw Bowser fly off in a contraption similar to the one constantly used by Bowser Jr.

Looking around, they saw a town made up of simple houses shaped like mushrooms, with tan walls and red roofs with white spots on them. In the distance, there was a castle with white walls, red roofing, and very ornate crystal windows. They gave off a sense of peace and tranquility. "Or at least that's what's supposed to be here" - thought Eleven, disheartened.

The truth was that everything that made up that place was in ruins. The mushroom houses had parts of them missing, had burn marks in them, or were still burning. The castle, clearly once magnificent, had chunks of the wall in the right wing missing, the main window was completely shattered. The left wing was in similar condition, and the tallest tower was broken off.

"Whatever happened here definitely must not have been good…" Erdrick said with a little sadness in his voice

"The princess would be devasted to see her kingdom like this. I just hope all the people made it out safely."

After recovering from the initial shock of the view, Eleven began to think.

"I wonder who did this." - pondered Eleven - "This would seem like the work of Bowser, but there are a few things that don't line up."

"First, he never strikes the homes of the Toads if he can avoid it. He wants this kingdom for himself, after all. No point in destroying what could potentially be yours."

"Second, we would've known. Bowser is the kind of narcissistic guy that wants everyone to learn about his deeds, and he would've boasted, or at least made a passing mention about it when he ran into us"

"Lastly, the residents. From what I've learned by talking to Mario, Bowser generally leaves the Toads alone, and yet they're nowhere to be seen. Why is that?"

"This makes me think that it was somebody else, and the destruction was made to appear to be Bowser's handiwork, as to cover their tracks. Question is, who was it?"

"Well obviously someone as ruthless as Bowser; maybe like Ganon or Donkey Kong, or even Galeem himself."

The four would hear what sounded like lots of cats meowing.

"Aw! How adorable!" Nevertheless, Eight moved Munchie to a special emergency pocket inside of his bag. Didn't want to accidentally let him get eaten after all.

"Tch. Whatever. They're just cats."

Unsheathing his blade, Erdrick started to get battle-ready. "Guys… I don't think these things want to play"

"'Just cats?' That's gotta mean there's still hope of finding other survivors. Huh?"

On the horizon, the four could see uncountable things that looked like cats from a distance, and they were all meowing, yet the meowing sounded… evil. Twisted.

"I've seen plenty a Sabrecat, but these are something else entirely."

"Whatever they are, I doubt they are friendly. I say we should be prepared for a fight!" - suggested Eleven, looking at Erdrick, waiting for a decision on his part.

The cat-like creatures were extremely fast, one of them pounced on Erdrick and was quickly impaled by his sword.

"Right." Eight somewhat reluctantly unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of him.

A group of cats approached Solo, who prepared a Thwack. Once they got close, Solo landed the attack, sending them all flying, killing most of them on impact.

Eleven charged and released a Zapple, which cleared a whole line of the small cat creatures."We should make a joint attack to strike as many of them as we can, before we get overwhelmed!"

Erdrick readied his sword again as 3 of the creatures tried to attack him at once. He sidestepped one and swiftly cut sliced through its back, the second approached him head-on and he easily stabbed through its chest, he was unable to withdraw his sword from it as the creature grabbed tightly on to the blade, as he struggled to pry it out he turned his head to see himself being surrounded by 2 more of the catlike monsters. He tightened around his sword and closed his eyes, a bolt of lightning came crashing down obliterating all the creatures around them. He breathed a sigh of relief, part of him felt horribly wrong for killing these creatures though. It seemed like they were… more than just mindless monsters.

"Alright" Erdrick yelled as he met up with the others

The seemingly forever meowing evil cat army closed in further on the swordsmen, although now that they were close enough, they really didn't look like cats… more like tiny people in cat suits…

Before long they were surrounded by the cat army

"Alright guys, on the count of 3 we all use Kazap, that should be enough to wipe them all out"

"Right!" they yelled in unison as they raised their swords to point towards the air

"Three…. Tw-..."

"ONE!" Solo yelled cutting him off.

"GODDAMNIT SOLO"

Thunder crackled in the air and lightning came crashing down, making a huge circle around them, wiping out all the monsters in that radius until not a single one was left

Eight clapped slowly to break the silence along with a faint "Go, Heroes. We did it. Yaaaay..."

Now that the battle was over, Eleven went to check on the bodies, curious about what was that had attacked them. Turning one of them around, he studied its face.

"I know I've seen a creature like this somewhere, but I can't remember where." he contemplated.

He flashed back to the days at the Mansion. He remembered those little servants that followed Peach everywhere, happily serving her every need.

Then the realization hit him like a charging skullrider, sickening him. "Oh, no..."

Turning to his companions, he relayed his discovery.

"Calm down. Calm down. I'm sure they only fainted, like Lumas. You know, the little stars that follow Rosalina around?"

Eleven shook his head grimly. "While I don't know much about Toads, I'm afraid I highly doubt that's the case."

After a short pause, he continued. "I say that we find whatever we might need and make our way out of here, before any more of them show up. What do you think, Erdrick?"

"... Yeah, lets get out of here guys" He said trying to hide the fight that he might have murdered the inhabitants of this fallen kingdom.

"Right," Eight sighed clinging to his previous claim. "Eleven, look out!" He pushed his comrade out of the way of a flying sword headed towards him. Before they had time to realize what was going on, a figure with red hair ambushed Solo and Erdrick.

"What on-" exclaimed Eleven, before seeing a figure rush at Erdrick, who managed to put up his shield right before another blade cut into him, blocking it.

"Roy!?"

"What are you doing here? Did you see Bowser on your way here? Did you... Why do you look so strange?" Solo asked, noticing Roy's red eyes and angry-looking demeanor.

Roy said nothing in response. All he did was raise his sword again and send a burst of flame at the heroes. They knew instantly that he was not going to be friendly, so they did the only thing they could.

"Rush him!" Solo yelled.

"Charge!" shouted Eleven and Erdrick as they followed the command.

Eight took his time however to use Flame Slash. "Alright Roy, let's see how you like it!"

Before the hit landed, however, Roy managed to dodge it by rolling backward. In the meantime, the others were sent staggering backward with great force as their blades were met by another one before they could reach Roy. Another figure sporting short red hair had appeared on the scene, once again catching the heroes by surprise.

"Gah! What now!" Erdrick said in frustration. The figure standing before them donned red armor and carried a large menacing-looking sword.

She was Pyra-a living Blade from Alrest. Fire surrounded her as she made her next move to kill the source of that voice.

Eleven, seeing this coming, tackled Erdrick out of the way of the incoming attack while holding up his shield to take the brunt of it. However, it was stronger than he anticipated, and he heard a loud CRUNCH as he was sent reeling backward while feeling a wave of heat wash over him.

Once he regained his senses, his eyes landed immediately on his shield, and gasped. It had a horizontal gash that nearly reached halfway through it and it had a small flame that was threatening to grow larger. Quickly putting out the flame, he realized just what kind of strength he and his friends were dealing with.

"Eleven!" Eight rushed over to the Luminary's aid once more. "I heard a loud," he mimicked the noise of the crunch, "You alright? If that broke any of your bones, don't hesitate to leave the rest to us. Please!"

Erdrick jumped back to give himself some distance from his Psycho attacker

Our swords are definitely not resistant to fire, which means blocking with this shield is out of the question

She turned back to Erdrick and flung her sword horizontally at him once again. The fiery blade came at him once this time at a much faster pace, he was barely able to sidestep it as the blade barely brushed against his hair, charring some of it.

"Crap that was close," Erdrick said, stunned by the speed at which the sword came. Pyra's blade returned to her and she immediately charged at the hero

"CLANG"

The two clashed blades, sparks flew out of the 2 swords as they were locked together trying to overpower one another. Pyra began to light up her sword with flames in an attempt to quickly end the battle

"You're not the only one that can do that!" Erdrick stated with gritted teeth

"FLAME SLASH!" He yelled as his blade began to fire up and it was completely coated in flames, he also gained a brief boost in strength as he pushed Pyra's blade off of his, knocking her off balance. Erdrick raised his blazing weapon attempting to bring it down on her head, but she jumped away at the last second watching as he slammed his sword on the ground where she once was charring it.

While the Erdrick was busy with Pyra, Solo ran for Roy, and swung his sword at the Young Lion. The pair traded several blows before Solo missed a swing and Roy sent him flying back.

"Ouch! Why you little... C'mere, hothead! You and me are gonna go 'round and 'round!" Solo yelled.

The teal haired hero summoned a Hatchet Man attack as Roy ran at him. Once Roy was close, Solo unleashed the attack and sent Roy flying back even further than he had sent Solo.

"Yeah! How'd you like that, little man?!" Solo taunted.

But Roy was quickly back on his feet and ready to resume fighting. Solo, just as eager to keep this up, ran at his opponent. He then activated Zoom, launching himself into the air and pointing his sword downward in an attempt to stab Roy. The red haired young man dodged, letting Solo's sword bury itself in the ground. After pulling his sword out, Solo turned to face his enemy, ready to continue the fiight.

Eight joined Solo in the fight against Roy since he probably would be facing him alone otherwise. Taking care to not run in the direction facing his fellow Heroes in case Roy dodged, the Hero charged at him with a Kacrackle Slash.

As Roy was beginning to get overwhelmed, Pyra ran up to him and, slamming her blade into the ground, summoned a pillar of flame, while her companion jumped back. At the same time, his assailants were forced to dodge it as well.

In the meantime, Eleven had recovered and was observing the battle that was going on, trying to form a plan of attack. "Whenever one of them gets in danger, the other swoops in to help them. This means that I can't just take into consideration the weakness of each separately, but consider them as one unit."

"HEY! YOU CAN'T JUST RUN OFF IN BETWEEN OUR FIGHT!". Erdrick yelled.

Roy and Pyra were now in a two on two fight with eight and solo, while eight had just recovered from Pyra's previous attack.

"Yo Eleven, we're gonna need to all team up in order to take these two down, i'm thinking we all stick together instead of trying to separate them, that way all 4 of us can easily combine our strength"

The Luminary nodded and called the other two heroes over to him-a strategy that baffled Eight.

"You want us to get them closer together? What if they...(team up and pull off some sort of super move. Wait a minute, so do we.)" Eight backflipped to Eleven and Erdrick's location, holding a defensive stance waiting for Solo. "Alright, what's the plan? Buff? Heal? Debuff? All-out attack?"

Eleven was wracking his brain trying to come up with a solution. The longer he took, the more hurt his companions got. Problem was, every time one was in danger, the other immediately went to their rescue, overwhelming the attackers in the progress. They were too well coordinated. It's almost as if-

Eleven's eyes widened. "That's it! Now to find a way to use it in our favor..."

"They're being controlled by the same being, which means that, while they're perfectly coordinated, they're also predictable. They're more likely to stick to one strategy! Think about how they've acted until now and use that against them!"

"Eleven, hurry up. I don't think I can take much more of this." Eight panicked, too busy defending himself to think.

"We've got to fight them in a way that makes their attacks clash with each other! Send their attacks against each other!" Eleven exclaimed hurriedly. He prayed that his comrades understood what he meant.

"Right." said Eight. He prepared a Kazap to use on Mythra, but Roy jumped in between them shielding the blow. Pyra jumped in the air attempting to slash Eight from above, but Erdrick kicked Roy into Pyra, hurting them both.

"As so."

"Thanks for the save Erdrick."

"You can praise me later."

"Okay. On my mark." The two charged at the angered Roy, appearing to be sitting ducks for a full-on Flare Blade. Pyra chased after them.

"On the plan, Erdrick, now!" Erdrick cast Kaswoosh to both get out of the way and obscure Roy and Pyra's vision, while Eight used Accelerate to evade the attacks, causing Roy and Pyra to hit each other.

"That...was close."

"Wow… your plan actually Kinda worked"

Pyra and Roy where both dazed, leaving them wide open for attacks.

Solo joined Erdrick to deliver a maximum Magic Burst to finish the battle.

Eight shouted excitedly about how they won but soon realized that his injuries from the battle left him a little woozy.

Eleven walked closer to Roy and Pyra. "Wait." He stared at them to make sure they were really down for the count. What he saw, however, suggested the exact opposite. Pyra's eyes were even more soulless than before as she gave her Aegis Blade to Roy, who now had a red crystal on his left elbow. Pyra then grew pale and fainted. Meanwhile, Roy's movements were janky and reckless. He growled at the four Heroes as loud as he could in a yell that screamed both fury and pain. Perhaps this was Galeem's way of saying to the Heroes that he must defeat them.

Before they could even react, Roy ran up to them and slashed all four of them away with the blade.

They struggled to stand. "I don't wanna die," stammered Eight, "not like this..."

Roy raised his sword to stab at eight once more

"CLANG"

His fiery blade clashed with Erdrick, who was desperate to fend off the swordsman, gathering the rest of his strength he pushed the swordsman just enough to generate a good distance between himself and Roy.

Barely being able to stand, he shakingly pointed his blade at Roy, hopelessly awaiting Roy's next attack.

Running forward, Roy charged like a bull. Before he could reach Erdrick, however, Eleven placed himself in front of him, blocking the redhead's attack by placing both his sword and shield before him and using every ounce of his strength to hold him back. His already damaged shield was cracking even further.

"Erdrick! Use Kazap on us! Quick!" he yelled out.

"ZAP!"

Erdrick unleashed lighting from his sword

The lightning surged forward, hitting Roy and Eleven dead on. Eleven was thrown back by the blast, mildly injured by the shock, but otherwise fine. Roy, on the other hand, was hit by the brunt of the blast. He was paralyzed by the blast of electricity, which gave Solo an opening.

"Time to end this!" Solo yelled.

The hot-headed hero ran forward with the intention of striking Roy back with a Hatchet Man attack. But Roy recovered from his paralysis just in time to see Solo coming. Using both his and Pyra's swords, Roy sent an extremely powerful wall of flame in Solo's direction. Though the attack left both him and Pyra weaker than before, he still achieved his goal of hurting Solo. The powerful burst of flame sent Solo flying back and burning the hero. The amount of pain he was in kept Solo from getting up right away, but eventually, he managed to struggle his way back on his feet.

"OUCH! Son of a...! That's it! You're toast, pretty boy! Eight, back me up here!" Solo snapped as he got back up.

Eight had no choice. "Aw, I really wanted to save this for the final battle, but I guess that's my fault for underestimating them." He reached into his bag and pulled out a cheese slice in the shape of a heart and laid it out in front of Munchie, who had come out to check on him. Munchie grabbed the slice and turned to face the Heroes, then ate it. He breathed out healing magic that restored them considerably (although Solo was still burned).

As Munchie ran back into Eight's pocket, the other Heroes stood with confidence, their swords all pointing towards Roy. Eight joined them soon after, and the four combined their strength for one massive attack.

Roy charged forward and swung Pyra's blade. However, Erdrick and Solo -now back at full strength- put their shields up, catching the attack and locking their opponent in his place. Using this opportunity, Eleven shot out a Sizzle spell, hitting Roy in his side, while urging Eight to do the same. Following that, they used it again. hurting Roy even further.

Angrier and more hurt than ever, Roy summoned an unnatural level of strength and launched his assailants back a significant distance. He screamed in rage, with flames bursting off of both of his swords angrily burning everything around them, even their user.

Fearing that he'd power up again, the Heroes charged at him, ready to finish him off once and for all.

Putting both of his swords together, Roy slammed them down to the ground.

A heatwave sent the Heroes back. He readied to do it again but soon realized that he could barely stand without holding onto the plunged swords.

"He looks absolutely worn out. You think we got 'em down, for real this time?"

The puppet used all his strength to lift the Aegis blade, yet soon found himself slumped over and in excruciating pain.

He screamed in rage and agony.

"Oh, shut up, you stupid gingers!" Solo yelled.

Solo ran forward while activating Oomph. Once he reached the still screaming Roy, the hero sent a powerful uppercut to the red haired young man, sending him flying several feet in the air before crashing down to the ground, unconscious.

Solo then turned his attention to Pyra, who was on her hands and knees after supplying too much of her power to Roy. The still brainwashed Aegis turned to look at Solo, the last bit of Galeem's defiance still on her face. Solo paid her expression no mind. He simply reared his sword hand back, then brought it down, smacking the hilt of his sword against the side of Pyra's head, knocking the girl out instantly.

After both redheads were unconscious, Solo went over and grabbed both their weapons so they wouldn't be able to get them upon waking up. And because he was hoping to use such powerful weapons of destruction for himself at some point.

"Lookie here, boys. I got me some new toys." Solo snarked.

Eight spotted the red crystal now on Solo's hand holding the Aegis. "Um...Are you sure you should be holding that?" Solo had to admit that it did sting a little, but anything beat Roy or Pyra using it against them. "Speaking of which, I wonder what it's like for Mythra through all this?"

Little did the heroes know that Mythra was currently inside Pyra's head. She was very much conscious but unable to switch out with her unconscious sister.

'Thank the Architect that these guys finally took Pyra down. Sucks that I still can't come out myself, though. I can only hope that these guys find someone who can break Pyra out of her stupid little fantasy world. Wait, what did bandana boy say? Oh, I'll tell you what it's like for me through all this. As soon as you nitwits quit talking and find someone who can help! Get moving!' Mythra said inside Pyra's head, even though she knew the heroes wouldn't be able to hear her.

"I was wondering about that." conveyed Eleven, replying to Eight's comment. "Why didn't they switch out? It would've definitely been advantageous."

Eight opened his mouth and attempted to sound smart by explaining his hypothesis, only he soon realized that he didn't have one. "Hm?"

Eleven shook his head. "There's time to think about that later."

Solo merely scoffed.

"We can worry 'bout that later. For now, why don't we figure out what to do with the redheads here before they wake up and try to pummel us again?"

"We should start by getting these two somewhere that isn't here, preferably Somewhere that can give us clues on how to get them back to their senses, I'd rather jump in front of a moving bus than fight em again" Erdrick sighed, as he rubbed his temples

"I agree. We should see if we can find a good place to stay and rest in the ruins," noted Eleven. "Maybe there's somewhere that's intact."

"If you say so!" Eight proactively lifted Pyra up and carried her like a bride. "Like where?"

Eleven thought about it. "I'm not sure. But we should begin to check soon before it gets too late."

He then looked at the direction of the other two. "I'll go on ahead, so how about you carry Roy? Leaving him here would be reckless."

He then took off running.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get moving. I'm sick of this place." Solo said as he picked up Roy and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Sick of the Mushroom Kingdom? From what I've heard, you'd think it would be one big carnival funhouse-the kind of place you'd never want to leave...But we're here on business, so we should get going nonetheless, heh heh."

*A few minutes later...*

Eleven was walking through the town ruins.

They were even more desolate up close. As Eleven opened the door to the third mushroom-shaped house, he felt a tinge of melancholy. Each home had signs of care and attention being put into it by their former owners, and seeing them in such a state was saddening.

He couldn't help but think of Cobblestone, his home. How it almost broke him to see what happened to it back then. Whatever happened to the residents, they must've felt similarly to see this occur to them.

Entering the fourth house, he could feel tears swell up in his eyes. He took a moment to breathe and he blinked them away. I must be really tired if simply seeing this is getting to me. He sat down on a chair that had miraculously survived the destruction mostly intact, letting out a sigh that he didn't know he was holding.

As he lay there quietly, he could hear the sounds all around. The soft afternoon wind blowing, the chirp of a few brave birds, and... a low electric hum?

Surprised, Eleven stood up. He started pacing and scanning all around the room, trying to find the source of the strange noise, but it seemed to be the same everywhere. Dropping down on all fours, he put his ear to the ground. It's coming from below!

Before he continued investigating any further, Eleven decided that it was better to gather everyone else. Running outside, he went to meet them, but not before marking the floor of the house with an X with his sword. It's not like a slight bit more damage will make a difference...

Reaching Solo, Erdrick and Eight (the latter of which still had a smirk on his face as he was carrying Pyra, he noted), he told them of his discovery.

After bringing the others back to the house where he heard the noise, Eleven had them listen to the strange sounds coming from beneath them.

"Yeah, there's something weird going on down there." Solo declared. "The question is how we get down there. And the answer goes a little something like this."

Solo drew his sword and executed a Hatchet Man attack, aiming it at the 'X' Eleven had made in the ground.

Eight freaked out. "You think we could've been a little more...subtle? You remember how angry the last guy whose house we ruined got. Nevertheless, now that that's totally destroyed, Eleven, Erdrick; why don't one of you go down there first?"

Eleven nodded and jumped down the newly-made hole.

After a second, he landed on something hard. Most likely another wooden floor. His eyes were drawn to a faint light coming from an opening on the side from where he touched down. Walking towards it, he grasped the wall until he found what he was looking for: a handle. Carefully turning it, he took a glimpse inside.

In front of him was a well-lit room filled with strange machines. They were working well, but what they were doing was a mystery to him. He couldn't make heads or tails of it. I might need backup for this...

Carefully closing the door, he called the others. "Come down. It's safe."

Eight cautiously followed his comrade down the hole.

Solo quickly followed after. He was eager to see what his group had uncovered.

Once Erdrick had jumped down, Eleven signaled them to keep quiet with a shush while he drew his sword and opened the door again. This time, however, he walked out...

... and ran straight into something, stumbling into the ground. "What was that?" he wondered, as he scrambled to get back up. He was sure that there hadn't been anything there before...

On the ground was a diminutive man in a lab coat and thick glasses. "Goodness me, what is this? An unexpected guest?" he asked, getting back up and dusting off his clothes.

"Uhhhh hello?"

"Oh great. Another old geezer. I just hope he doesn't make us fix his floor." Solo mumbled.

"Uh... wouldn't that be his roof in this case?" asked Eleven.

Solo's only response was a glare that clearly said 'Do I look like I care?'

"Ahem!"… "anyways sir Um, who exactly are you?" Erdrick politely asked.

"Oh my, more guests!" answered the scientist, looking at the rest of the group with an upbeat smile. "My name is Professor E. Gadd, and this is my laboratory!"

"Ah, hello Professor Egadd. I'm Eight." He introduced the other Heroes, Roy, and Mythra, "I would shake hands with you, but we're kind of on a mission right now..." Solo elbowed Eight signaling him to stop talking. "Okay, okay."

E. Gadd was beaming. "A mission? How exciting! Is there any way I may assist you on your endeavor?"

"Not unless you got a way to cure brainwashing. Got a machine for that down here, professor?" Solo snarked.

The scientist's smile faltered. "Cure brainwashing? That's not something I've been asked to do before..." he replied as he scratched his chin.

Eleven opened his mouth to chime in and apologize for the inconvenience when he was interrupted.

"But a challenge is a challenge! Did you know that I designed a vacuum cleaner able to capture ghosts? If I can do that, I can cure a brainwashed individual no problem!" exclaimed E. Gadd, his smile returning to his face.

"A vacuum cleaner?" Eight said confusingly as he looked around the lab.

E. Gadd just waved him off. "No matter. So, which of you is the one who needs curing? None of you look off to me if you don't mind me saying."

"Actually, it's these two redheads here," Solo said as he gestured to the still unconscious Roy and Pyra in his friend's arms.

"Got a place we can set 'em, professor?"

The professor thought about it. Then he lit up like a candle. "Give me a moment." Walking to a large table, he pressed a button and a hatch opened up. All the materials on top of it were lowered, and the hatch closed. "Leave them here while I find a more suitable place."

After setting Pyra and Roy on the table, the heroes watched as E. Gadd grab a number of his tools before running over to a half-finished machine in the corner of his lab and begin tampering with it.

"Just a little more, and...Done!" said the professor as he showed them a device that looked like a more advanced version of the Pixelizer, complete with a monitor for him to see through. "It's a machine that can transport you directly into the minds of others so you can cure them! Now, here's a bit of a conundrum: There are four of you, and two of them. How do you plan on going about this? One at a time, or do you younguns plan on splitting up?"

Eight immediately volunteered to rescue Pyra.

"Figures you'd want to be the one that helps out with the hot chick. I may as well go with to keep you from doing something stupid with her brain." Solo remarked.

"Hey. Protecting maidens is in my job description. Besides," Eight showed Solo a ring with a bright red gem, "I'm married." Then he put it back in his bag.

"Well, I guess that settles it." Erdrick inputed, "Me and Eleven are going into Roy's."

Erdrick paused for a bit

"Wait a minute Eight…, You're married?"

"Mmhm."

"Learn something every day, I guess."

"Freeing Roy and Pyra will have to wait until tomorrow, however," said Eleven, much to the others' chagrin. "We need to be in our best condition to do so, and we've all just come from an exhausting battle and have had nothing to eat or time to rest."

He then looked at the diminutive scientist. "Professor, do you know where we could find some food? I'd be willing to pay any amount for it."

"Well, there should be some in my pantry that I'd be willing to give to such interesting people. I'll give it to you as thanks for letting me help you. Now I'll just get it..." answered E. Gadd before taking off.

After that, the four ate quickly and in silence. They grasped just how tired and hungry they were when they had the food in front of them.

Later, they each went to sleep in one of the abandoned houses. Thankfully, the weather was warm and that meant their ruinous state didn't bother any of the heroes.

The next day, the four gathered back at E. Gadd's laboratory, now in much better condition.

Once everyone arrived, they all had looks of determination on their faces. They were ready to save Pyra and Roy.

"So, how the heck does this thing work, professor?" Solo asked as he tapped the machine E. Gadd had shown them yesterday.

Eight leaned over within whispering distance of Eleven and Erdrick. "Hey, are either of you sure you don't wanna swap last minute?"

"I think we'll be fine, right Eleven?" Erdrick replied, giving Eleven a glance.

"Aw...man." Other than that slight sigh, Eight couldn't outright tell them a second time that he wanted to get Solo off his back. He realized he needed to stick to the plan no matter what it threw at them. The end goal is what's most important, and that was saving Pyra and Mythra!

The professor stood next to a giant machine that had several dials, blinking buttons, amongst other gadgets that the heroes couldn't understand. He cleared his throat. "If I may have your attention, please." The four swordsmen quieted down and looked at him intently.

He began. "I've modified an old Poltergust so that, instead of trapping ghosts, it traps minds. When I pull one of these levers" he indicated two that were in the middle of the machine "it will take the mind of one of the sleeping subjects -left for Roy and right for Pyra- as well as that of two others connected to it. It will transport all of them into a virtual world identical to the mind of the sleeping subject and place the two others in it. Got that so far?"

"Traps our minds? Isn't that what we're trying to reverse?"

The professor scratched his chin, trying to think of a reply. "Look at it this way: the brainwashing is sort of like an enemy has taken control of the land that is your friends' minds and has settled there. The way to remove said control is by removing it from that place by the root. You need to go to that same area and clear it out."

"However, this isn't like your normal enemy that you just strike with your sword and kill. This is more like... an evil influence. You need to find what's wrong and fix their minds."

Eight was reinvigorated by the response. "You need worry not Professor, we so happen to be experts at removing evil influences, or at least I am."

Eleven tried to gather what he understood from E. Gadd's explanation. "What you're saying is, once we get transported to this new land that is the mind of Roy or Pyra, we should find a flaw or something of the like that doesn't fit in and put an end to it?"

The diminutive man thought about it. "More or less. It's a complicated matter. Any knowledge you have on these two will be of great use now, since it should make it easier to spot the mistake."

Eleven looked at Erdrick, who shrugged in return. "I'll just follow your lead, since you clearly have a better handle on this than me." He wanted to tell him that he didn't get it as much as he appeared, but realized that it was better to let him believe otherwise.

"Let's just get on with it. The sooner we save these two, the sooner we can get back out there. Let's not forget there's still an oversized light bulb we need to kill for what it did to everyone. And we'll need all the help we can get if we're gonna fight that thing." Solo remarked.

With that, E. Gadd hooked Solo, Eight, and Pyra into one side of the machine, then hooked Erdrick, Eleven, and Roy to the other side.

"Good luck on your mission, my friends!" The professor exclaimed.

E. Gadd immediately threw the main switches on the machine, sending the four heroes into the minds of their respective victims.