Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: Luma (Super Mario Galaxy)
"It started around when Luigi first moved out." Mario began. "I'm not sure how it happened, but I started to feel… alone. I was starting to become not myself. Luigi was busy unpacking and had Marnie and Neo and, here I was, unsure on what to do with myself."
"You weren't technically alone. You have your Pokemon with you." Jaune pointed out.
"That may be true… but unfortunately, I can't understand them despite being great companions." Mario let out a chuckle. "Anyway, I had thought about joining you and helping you out, but a part of me thought you didn't need me helping you out."
"Aw, bro… I would've appreciated it!" Luigi told it. "The more the merrier, ya know?" He chuckled.
"And then, these thoughts entered my head and I couldn't get them out, no matter how hard I tried. The thought of me feeling abandoned by everybody and the thought of no one wanting to be around me or leaving me… I tried to give myself several confidence boosts to perk myself back up but it didn't work out."
"Oh… sweetie…" Peach looked at him sadly.
"And then… as Peach was checking up on me, I find out that Weiss got kidnapped by the Wario Bros and her team, Futaba, Nyx and MAJC were heading to Atlas. I was actually raring to go but Peach stopped me and said you already had enough people and stealth isn't really my strongest suit… that's when those intrusive thoughts came back… thinking I wasn't wanted."
"Aw dude, we would've loved to have ya there!" Yang rubbed her head. "I'm not the stealthiest gal either yet Anthony made it work. We were the distractions making the loud noise while everyone else snuck in. Futaba was just mission control. If you were there, we could've had the extra firepower!"
"Yeah… and then we find out Weiss extracted herself." Blake said, hearing a proud chuckle from Weiss.
"It was nothing to it."
"So that's why you turned in early…" Peach whispered. "You weren't feeling like yourself."
Mario nodded. "Right."
"Oooooh!" Peach clenched her fists in frustration. "Why didn't I just listen to my gut! I could've easily gone to your house and I would have cheered you up. I only said what I said because we just needed time to recuperate after we got back from the Beanbean Kingdom. I didn't want you to overexert yourself!" She let out a sigh. "Had I known you were feeling this way, I would always come visit you to cheer you up… bake you a cake or something to get your mind off things! I remember being so frustrated that I couldn't sleep that night…"
"It didn't help that I also couldn't sleep that night either." Mario continued. "You'd think I'd be used to dead silence without Luigi snoring yet… somehow, it kept me awake. Some nights were better than others. Some days were worse… Luigi sometimes came over and would relay what he did with Marnie and Neo. I felt happy for him but at the same time… I just felt that everyone else was having fun without me…"
"Whoa, time out, bro!" Luigi spoke up. "Why didn't you tell any of us this?"
"Because I felt no one would understand that this was coming from a paisano like me." Mario explained. "It doesn't help that everyone painted a picture of me being this strong guy with a carefree attitude, so I always put up this tough guy act, making sure no one sees me depressed or sad. I've boosted a lot of people's confidence up, knowing that I will do anything in my power to save Peach from Bowser and I didn't want to jeopardize that. I didn't want anyone to know, so I bottled it up… I didn't even want Luigi to know how I felt."
Pyrrha closed her eyes. "That'll do it. Being a celebrity can be weary… because I know what you're going through." She opened her eyes again, giving Mario a solemn yet understanding look. "I was on the top of my class in Argus, this strong amazonian warrior that defeated countless students in spars so much that I became the talk of the town, and I crushed everyone when I decided to go to Beacon instead of some place else. The moment I met my friends, Jaune was the first person to see me as an actual person and not some sort of celebrity to idolize… and then Ren, Nora and RWBY soon followed Jaune's footsteps. While yes, I'm strong… I do have my moments when I feel weak. Remember Eggman's broadcast? I felt so lost… I was in full panic mode because I realized we were fighting a losing battle. I was… despairing. I didn't know what to do… and that's when Jaune picked me back up along with Ruby's speech."
"Aww, it was nothing…!" Ruby rubbed her head, blushing like crazy.
"So, I know what you're going through, Mario. Because I've been down this road too. Everyone sees you as a celebrity and not for who you truly are… until you meet your friends." Pyrrha said.
"Yeah, and hey, while I might have fanboyed when we first met in Skyworld, I saw you as, well… a person. Yeah, you're a superhero, but you're also just one guy. Not a one man army… most of the time." Pit chuckled.
"Bro, you're like my best friend. We always confide to each other no matter what. Yeah, I may hang out with the girls, especially this dynamite gal right here." Luigi pointed his thumb to Daisy, causing her to giggle. "But you're still my bro. I'll always be there for ya, just like how you were always there for me! Besides, I always come visit."
"I know, but I'm afraid that one day, you might-"
"Nope! I'm-a stopping ya right there." Luigi said. "I will always come visit you. Even in the distant future where we're probably too busy with life, I'll drop everything to visit you."
"So will I!" Daisy smiled before frowning. "…I have a feeling Dimentio capitalized on this, didn't he?" She asked as he nodded. "Rrrgh, I figured. Probably rubbed it in and made you feel worse. Wouldn't put it past him!"
"Mario, there's nothing wrong with having some insecurities, especially since they tend to pop up out of nowhere and get ya when you least expect it. It's what makes us all human-" Ruby glanced over at Pit, Yoshi and Blake. "-Human-ish. So for you not to have an insecurity would be more worrying if you did have one."
"Yeah, like, look at Marnie!" Nora spoke up. "Girl declared her loyalty to Bowser and was worried that we'd take it out on her, but instead we cheered her up! We cheered her up again after that whole bit with Dark Samus corrupting her brother bit. She may be on the villain side, but we still appreciate and love her!" She wrapped her arms around him. "We appreciate and love the heck out of ya too, Mario… if you ever feel sad, just don't bottle it up… talk with us, okay? We don't want to lose ya over something like this."
"She's right. Even the great ol' Super Mario needs a shoulder to lean on too!" Yang winked as one by one, they all hugged him, which was enough to have Mario get a bit misty eyed and returned the hug for everyone.
"Thank you… I-a needed that…" He said as they parted, leaving Nora to release him last, where she would gently poke his nose.
"Boop~!" Nora giggled as she pulled away, causing Mario to blush a little.
"I know this may sound… wrong." Peach spoke up. "But maybe have a chat with Byleth after this? She might help you out too."
Mario let out a chuckle. "That honestly sounds like a good idea."
End BGM
Meanwhile, with STRQ…
"Mmm…" Summer looked at the 1-Up in her hands.
"Well, if you think about it. You could have a second chance in life." Qrow said.
"That's the thing." Summer responded. "If I eat this, I'll have a second chance in life… but the problem is, everyone's moving on. Tai's dating a girl that I still don't know who it is-" She heard a chuckle from Tai. "On the one hand… I get to be with my family a lot more. On the other… would I just be intruding? I kinda get where Raven's coming from after she left. Hell, I'm not sure if she's sticking around after this!"
"Mmm, I've been giving it some thought, and I'm saying "To hell with it." Raven explained. "After this adventure, I'm going back to my tribe and pass the torch to Vernal. Because I'm planning on staying. I've a lot of catching up to do with Yang, some mother-daughter bonding wouldn't hurt."
"That's a lot of catch up bonding to do." Qrow teased.
Raven shrugged. "It is what it is."
"…I wonder… does it work on ghosts without a body…" Summer wondered aloud.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tai asked.
"I never told you guys how I actually died." Summer closed her eyes. "I kept petrifying Salem to the point where I exhausted myself to the point where Salem took advantage of this. She wore me down and she was going to finish me off… but then she turned to the Grimm pools. She had this idea that she could turn me into this silver-eyed Grimm. I saw those pools… and I knew what she was going to do. I had to act fast… because there was no way I wanted to turn into one of those things and be this mindless beast killing everyone against my will, that included my family. So the only thing I could do was…" She closed her eyes, not wanting to finish her sentence.
"Protect your family." Raven spoke up. "You didn't want to go out like that, so you had to take matters into your own hands, even if it meant taking your own life. Honestly, if I was in your shoes, I would've done the same thing."
Summer looked at her in surprise. "Wait… what? I was expecting more of shock if anything."
"Honestly, Summer… I've seen so many people take their own lives than rather being held hostage, so this doesn't faze me too hard." Raven said. "…That said, it's still gut wrenching to hear your own teammate and best friend take their own life… even if it was a noble reason."
Qrow closed his eyes. "Tell me… did she still throw you in the pool?"
"No, the last thing I remember was that she was so frustrated, she threw my body toward some Grimm to dispose of my corpse. As far as I know, they ate the bones too." Summer mumbled.
"That's all I needed to hear." Qrow said as Summer turned to Tai.
"Tai… I'm so-"
"Don't." Tai stopped her. "You didn't want to turn into a mindless beast and attack your family against your will, so you did what you had to do. Do I like it? Absolutely not… however, considering what you were up against, I don't blame you."
"You're… all taking this rather well." Summer sighed. "I was hesitant to tell you how I actually died and yet…" She rubbed her head. "Aaaagh, I wasn't prepared for something like this."
"Well, if it was any other circumstance, we would've yelled at you for not talking to us about it." Qrow said. "Going out like that? I'd rather go the same way instead of turning into some hideous beast."
"I… guess. Just… do me a favor and don't tell Ruby about this. It's gonna crush her… and I have this feeling she'll try to do the same thing if Salem gets that opportunity with her."
Raven nodded. "Our lips are sealed."
"So…" Summer looked back at the 1-Up. "Can this actually work on a ghost without the body… hmm…" She put it away. "I'll think about it later."
BGM: Starship Mario C (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
With Chiaki…
"Heeey Chiaki!" Haru cheerfully walked over to her.
"Oh, hey Haru…"
"Hmm? You feeling alright?"
"Well, I just got done playing a game that I thought was some cute little dating game was actually… anything but that. I'm trying to find a game that'll get my mind off things."
"Aww, I'm sure it wasn't that ba-"
"Doki Doki Literature Clu-" Haru put her hands on Chiaki's shoulders, giving her a soul piercing glare.
"Did Monika hurt you? Tell me where she hurt you and I'll find a way to go into the DDLC universe and give it to Monika ten fold." She said darkly, causing Chiaki to sweatdrop and looked a bit nervous.
"Um… well… Ibuki, Hiyoko and Mikan told me the whole plot of the game after I witnessed Sayori's death and… yeah, I noped out of there before I continued after that horrifying experience."
Haru pulled away from Chiaki, her happy go lucky smile returning. "Oh good! I don't have to hack and slash her into teeny tiny bits then~!"
Who are you, Yuno Gasai? Chiaki shuddered.
"Sooooo, I was wondering if you could do something for me."
"Hmm?"
"I have this grenade launcher but I was thinking I could upgrade. Think you got anything for me?"
"Oh!" Chiaki went into her gaming powers. "Let's see… ah! Here we are." She would looking through while humming. "Heavy, Medic… ah, Demoman!" She summoned the Grenade Launcher. "You can have Demoman's very own trusty grenade launcher. Ooooor-" She summoned the Loch N' Load. "If you want sure fire accuracy, this is the way to go. Or maybe-" She summoned the Loose Cannon. "If you want some double donking fire power, this is the way to go. But-" She summoned the Iron Bomber. "If you want some point blank action with shorter fuse times, this is the way to go."
"Uh-huh… anything else?"
"If you wanna lay down some traps, the ordinary Stickybomb Launcher is the way to go. The Scottish Resistance lets you lay down more sticky grenades, the Sticky Jumper lets you practice sticky jumping. Perfect if you want to get the jump on someone, and then you have the Quickiebomb Launcher that can lay down sticky bombs faster than-"
"I'll take 'em all~!" Haru smiled.
"Huh?!" Chiaki exclaimed as Haru took them all and stored them away.
"Thanks, you're the best~!" Haru would hug her tightly.
"Mmmph! Haru, you're… crushing… me…!" She said as Haru pulled away.
"By the way, I recommend Hades. It's a great game to get your mind off things~!" Haru said with a wink before happily skipping away.
"Why do I feel like I just created a monster?" Chiaki sweatdropped. "There's just something not right with that girl." She shuddered as she rubbed her chin in thought. "Hades, hmm? I've been wondering about that game."
"Hup too, hup too, hup too-" Some Pikmin carried the game to her.
"I wonder what that's about. I'm thinking maybe you play the game as Hades and you go to conquer Olympus… hmm, interesting premise!" Chiaki said as the game was delivered to her as she picked it up, seeing a certain someone on the cover. "Oh… oh my, I wasn't expecting Hades to look so hot…" She said before her eyes widened, letting out a gasp. "Wait a second!"
"Name's Zagreus… and I haven't seen you around here before. Or maybe I have but I didn't pay much mind."
"I've seen you around a few times… I tend to wander around, staying away from the monsters, get some shut eye… nice to meet you."
"You have a name?"
"Chiaki Nanami."
"Zaggy…" She whispered as it soon dawned on her. "Oh my gosh, I revived in a video game world." She said as her eyes sparkled and let out a fangirl squeal. "OH, THAT IS AWESOME!" She fangirled as she immediately put it into the Switch. "Game on, Zaggy. Let's rock like old times!"
Meanwhile…
"Achoo!" Zagreus sneezed. "Mmph… odd, I don't normally sneeze down here." He mused.
Back at the Observatory, with Doom Guy…
Doom Guy had his arms folded, sitting in his fortress as he was looking at Yatsuhashi, Fox and Velvet's weapons of choice. He tapped his forearms, deep in thought. He recalled doing a small sparring session with Yatsuhashi and found out that his hand to hand combat needed some work. He pounded his fist into his palm, getting an idea as he went right to work on the weapons.
Once he was done, he tested the weapons out himself and with a satisfied nod, he walked off and found CFVY chatting things up. Velvet turned her head to see Doom Guy approaching them. "Oh! Slayer!" She waved to him. "What's up?"
"Hmm? It seems he has something for us." Yatsuhashi said as Doom Guy put the weapons down and handed back Fulcrum, which looked more cybernetic. Yatsuhashi looked at it before throwing in a few practice swings, as energy waves came flying out. "Interesting." He mused as the Slayer also gave him some cybernetic gloves. He put them on as he decided to throw a few punches, as fireballs, lightning bolts or plasma blasts came out. "Okay… I can work with this."
Next, Doom Guy gave Sharp Retribution back to Fox, looking cybernetic as well and when he got in his stance, pure energy came out of the blades, turning into energy blades. "I can feel the energy coming out of these. Nice." Fox smirked as Doom Guy would also point out a button for Sharp Retribution for each wrist, and when they were pressed, cybernetic red meat hooks came out.
"Meat hooks?" Coco tilted her head as Fox let one shoot out, grabbing a throw pillow from a couch and retracted it back to Fox. "Oh! Pull it back in for a combo!"
"Works for me." Fox chuckled.
As for Velvet, Doom Guy handed her Anesidora, her camera looking more high tech and fancier. "Try it out." The Slayer requested, taking out his weapons as Velvet snapped a few pictures.
"Weapons captured. Would you like to use one of these weapons?"
"Huh?" Velvet wondered, looking at her camera as she looked through the photos before selecting the Crucible as an exact replica came out, only it wasn't made by hard light dust. She let out a gasp. "Oh my gosh! Considering how much hard light dust I use… this is perfect!" She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she swung the Crucible replica around before she dismissed it.
"Crucible stored. Would you like to use another weapon?"
"Whoa…" Velvet said in awe as Doom Guy presented another item for Velvet, which looked like ordinary high tech boots. The moment she put them on, she would see a faint glow underneath the heels and then she found herself floating up. Rocket Boots.
"Daaaaaaamn. We got ourselves a flying bun bun!" Coco grinned as Velvet had a huge grin on her face as she flew around with them until she came to a gentle stop.
"Recharging."
"Rechargable… whoa, that's even better." Coco said as Velvet hugged Doom Guy.
"Thank you!" Velvet smiled, as Doom Guy would pat her on the head with a nod and then he gave one final item to Coco. A pair of stylish high tech glasses.
"Ooooh!" Coco eagerly put them on, as not only were they shades, she would also see a HUD pop up in front of her eyes, complete with her teammates and their aura levels. "Oh damn!" She said as she continued to scan through, as the lenses changed colors. Infared lenses, night time vision and much more. "Okay, dude… you are my hero." She grinned.
Doom Guy gave her a thumbs up and then walked off.
"You went all out, big guy." Ibuki said, sitting on a couch while playing her guitar. "Ibuki likes it!"
Doom Guy let out a chuckle, nodding at Ibuki as he walked off.
"Okay…" Coco looked at them. "What do you think we should call these bad boys? Aside from Gianduja Omega, I might call these shades… oh, what to call these… ah, Reticle!"
"Fulcrum Delta." Yatsuhashi said. "As for these gloves… Daichi Punch? I'll come up with something better."
"I'll go with Sharp Retribution Echo." Fox said. "No, wait… maybe Plasmic Retribution…? Nah, first one's better. For the meat hooks, i'm thinking... Vixen's Snare."
"Anesidora Gamma!" Velvet smiled. "As for these boots… hmm… Harrier!"
"Well, that's better than what I was coming up with." Coco chuckled.
"What was it?"
"Rocket Hare."
Velvet snickered. "Yeah, that sounds a little bad." She said, as both her and Coco snickered together.
End BGM
With Rosalina…
"Two thousand Star Bits?" Rosalina asked.
"Yes, please!" The Hungry Luma smiled.
Rosalina let out a chuckle. "Here you go, eat up~!" She said as she launched Star Bits at him as he happily gobbled them all up until he was all full.
"Ooooh, I'm so full… I think I'm gonna TRANSFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORM!" The Hungry Luma flew out and then transformed into a new galaxy.
"Alright, so… who's heading out to Flip Out Galaxy?" Rosalina asked.
Luigi looked to Mario. "What do you say, bro? You wanna head out for some action?"
Mario nodded. "Yeah!"
"We'll go with ya!" Ruby smiled and with a nod, they all launched away.
Flip Out Galaxy Power Star #1 - Wicked Wall Jumps - Mario Bros, RWBY
BGM: Flip Swap Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
The group landed on the planet. "Seems simple enough." Blake said.
"Eh, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop." Weiss shrugged as they walked up the steps as they saw a wall in the way.
"Hmm…" Ruby rubbed her chin. "We could go around it."
"Unless…" Mario did a spin attack as the red wall went in and the blue walls came out.
"Oooor we can do that." Ruby nodded as they hopped into the Warp Pipe and headed off to the Flip Wall Planet.
They would immediately head up the blue steps until Luigi would spot something in the corner of his eye as he would see a shadow comet approaching. "Guys…?"
"Yahahaha!"
"Aaand there it is." Weiss said as cosmic clones appeared. "You guys go on ahead, I'll buy you some time."
"You sure?" Blake asked.
"Positive." Weiss smirked, going into her Fierce Diety form. "Come! I'll slice you to shreds!"
The others took off while Weiss proceeded to slash at the Cosmic clones, seeing a few of her own cosmic clones going Fierce Deity. "Good, a challenge. I was hoping you wouldn't make it easy for me!"
The rest of the group either wall jumped over the walls, Yang going in her Shin form and flying up or Ruby Triangle Jumping across the walls. As they did, some other Cosmic Clones snuck their way past Weiss and chased them down.
Blake turned her head. "Persistent, aren't they?" She turned around, stopping on a platform in front of a spike trap. "Go on ahead! I'll keep them busy." She activated her helmet as she proceeded to shoot the Cosmic Clones, blasting them with Plasma and Wave Beams.
The sibling group would turn the corner, knocking away Spoings as they would leap across a huge gap before Luigi spin jumped to get the platforms poking out of the walls to move. The four would leap across while Yang shot down a Kihunter as they would continue to wall jump until several more Cosmic Clones showed up behind them.
"You two go on ahead. We'll be keeping these guys busy!" Ruby said as Yang squared up.
"Right." Mario nodded as they charged ahead, knocking down some Spoings and long jumped over some spike platforms with Luigi while Ruby and Yang got ready.
"You ever wanted to maul a cosmic clone?" Yang smirked.
"It's tempting." Ruby said before closing her eyes. "Oh, what the heck. Yalley Mahwop Tiren Jannath!" She chanted as she went into her Zinogre form. She licked her lips with a gleeful look in her eyes as she hunched over. "Come to mama~!"
"Save some ass kicking for me!"
The Bros would make it to the end, narrowly avoiding getting skewered by the spikes as they would wall jump, spin jumping to get the walls to move so they could wall jump accordingly before the two long jumped together, spinning again to get the walls to move as they would continue to jump through until they got to the top where a few Cosmic Clones formed up in front of them.
"Welp, looks like it's just us!" Luigi said as they took out their hammers, only for several more to show up and surrounded them. "Okay… so, a lightning storm will do!"
"I got it!" Mario said, as his hands would get frozen over as he jumped up in the air. "Blizzaga BLAST!" He punched the ground as an icy wave came out and destroyed the cosmic clones, while also freeing up the two Power Stars, and in turn, destroyed the other cosmic clones that RWBY were fighting.
End BGM
"…Whoa!" Luigi said in awe. "Did Dimentio turn you into a Red Mage?"
"I believe he did." Mario said with a chuckle. "That said, I think I'll stick with fire."
"That's a shocker." Luigi rolled his eyes with a chuckle as RWBY came back up.
"Whoa, what's with the frozen wonderland?" Yang asked.
"Dimentio turned him into a Red Mage. He's got magic under his belt now!"
"Niiiiice!"
"…Ruby, you okay?" Blake asked.
"Mmm, now I know what cosmic dust tastes like. It's a step up from Phazon, but the aftertaste is annoying me!" Ruby complained as she was back to normal, then heavenly lights surrounded them all and headed back to the Observatory.
Meanwhile, with Cinder…
BGM: Echoes of an Old Life (God Of War 2018)
Cinder leaned on the wall of the airship, deep in thought. She closed her eyes as she flashbacked to her childhood. "…What have I become."
"You have become a monster." Madame spoke up.
Cinder scowled, opening her eyes in annoyance. "Madame… get out of my head."
"Why should I? You were the one who killed my daughters. You were the one who killed me. You killed Rhodes. You killed anyone in your path for power. Despite you changing sides and getting away from Salem, the past will continue to haunt you for you will always be… a monster."
Cinder felt a lump in her throat, closing her eyes as she fought back some tears. "I know…" She said, her voice starting to break before she confidenly stared into the Madame's eyes. "But I'm your monster no longer." She said with confidence as she watched the Madame give her a sneer before she disappeared.
Good riddance… She thought as she closed her eyes.
"About time you got rid of her." A voice said as Cinder let out a gasp and looked around. The new voice sounded familiar to her. She heard footsteps behind her as she turned her head, her eyes widening.
"Rh-Rhodes…" She whispered, flashing back to the good times she had with him.
"Hey." He greeted as he approached her.
"But… you're-"
"Yeah, but at least you're giving me the chance to haunt you for a change." He said with a chuckle, proceeding to pat her on the head.
"Rhodes… I am so sorry for what I did to you."
"Don't worry. If I was in your shoes, I would've done the same thing to all three of them. I hold nothing against you Cinder. I forgive you."
Cinder teared up even further, trying to keep it together. "I'm… I'm glad."
"Cinder?" A voice caught her attention as she turned to see Bowsette approaching her. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah… I was just… reuniting with an old friend."
"The empty space?" Bowsette asked.
Oh… right. Only I can see him. Cinder thought. "So um… Bowsette, have you ever been haunted before?"
"You kiddin'? I'm haunted by my wife every day!" Bowsette snickered, when suddenly she heard genuine laughter coming from her, which was enough to surprise her. "Whoa… I didn't think I'd get that reaction out of you."
"Oh… don't worry about it."
"So uh… you want to talk about it?"
Cinder awkwardly rubbed her arm before she nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind."
End BGM
Meanwhile, with the Golden Deer...
"Just a little more..." Claude said.
"You think that's enough?" Lysithea asked.
"Aaaand... done!" He picked it up and headed over to Bernadetta who was eating some cake. "Yo, Bernie!"
"Hmm? Oh hi, Claude." Bernadetta greeted.
"Got somethin' for ya!" He tossed some armor to her. "Here, Pukei Pukei armor, but in your colors!"
"...Whoa." Bernadetta said in awe as she put it on.
"Figured you should have it after you finished that thing off." Claude said. "Plus, that's not all." He grinned as Hilda tossed Bernie's bow to her.
"He tricked it out for you, because of the skin he put on your Silver Bow, it's now a combination of Silver and, according to Ibuki, it's a Blooming Bow. So it's like... a Silver Blooming Bow... Blooming Silver? Poison Silver? One of the three." Hilda rubbed her head.
"I'll stick with... Silver Blooming Bow." Bernadetta smiled.
"Well, that works." Claude grinned.
With Ghira...
"Frankly, I think this is a bit much." Ghira said.
"True, but you were the best pick." Palutena responded as she walked out. "Alright Kali, check out your new man!" She smiled as Ghira walked out in Bazelgeuse attire, and the Switch Axe was held in his hand.
"How do I look?" Ghira asked as Kali stared at her husband, hearts appearing above her head.
"Rrrow!" Kali smirked, winking at him.
"I think we ought to get you something too." Palutena said. "Sure, you got martial arts, but it can only do so much."
Kali nodded. "Of course. You got anything for me?"
"Let's see..." Palutena summoned several Claws. "What kind of claws do you want?"
"Hmm..." Kali looked through each of them before pulling up some Stealth Claws. "Oh, these might do!"
"Stealth Claws? Well, alright then!" Palutena smiled.
"Okay, we have another galaxy showing up. It's called... Grandmaster Galaxy." Polari said.
"Oh... hell no." Hiyoko said.
"Are we at the Perfect Run already? Oh no." Mikan grimaced.
"Hey Chiaki-chan! You wanna do the Perfect Run?" Ibuki called out.
"No thanks! I choose life!" Chiaki called back. "Preferably with my sanity still intact!"
"How bad can it be?" Umber wondered. "I'm gonna give it a go."
"Are you sure?" Nyx asked. "Given how those four are reacting, this sounds like hell."
"They're probably overreacting." Umber shrugged. "But hey, at least I'll use my new staff to help me out."
"You have a new staff?" Xena asked.
"Yup! Aqua taught me how to synthesize after I gathered enough materials. Say hello to Save the Stars!" He said, pulling out his staff. It has a dark silver shaft with a Stormy blue orb(crackling with black lightning) held by a crescent moon shape at the top. The shaft is engraved with the Kanji for "Mirror" and "Lightning". There's also a dial right below the orb to change its form and function.
"Whoa…" Jade looked at it.
"Yeah, I've been gathering up materials in this galactic adventures. Sometimes I'd go to other galaxies that were visited just to see what I could find… before, ya know, the phazon comes in and covers them up? It took four Stormy Stones, a Moonstone, a Phaze Crystal, a Premium Orb, a Spring Mushroom and Cloud Floor… and a bunch of Orichalchum that I found at that theme park. Apparently there's a thing called Orichalchum plus but eh, it's all good."
Earlier…
"Check out my wares, kupo!"
"Orichalchum…? Orichalchum plus… I'll take 'em all!"
"All of them, kupo?" The Moogle sweatdropped.
"Yes!"
"Very well then, kupo!" He said as he was given the Pokedollars as Umber walked off with the Orichalchum. "Goodness, what is this currency?"
Back in the present…
"Damn! So that's what you were up to…"
"Yeah, aside from taking naps a lot." He chuckled. "Anyway… I'm ready to go." He then pulled out a Pokeball. "I could use the company. Hey Sprite, come out!" He tossed it up in the air as it opened up, revealing a Sylveon.
"Sylv~!" Sprite cried happily.
"Alright Rosie, hit us with that Launch Star!"
"Okay." Rosalina nodded, making a Launch Star as Umber and Sprite would fly off.
"How long do you think it'll take until he goes crazy?" Mikan wondered.
"I'll give him five minutes." Hiyoko responded.
Grandmaster Galaxy Power Star #1 - The Ultimate Test - Umber
Umber landed on the ground. "Alright, doesn't look so ba-" He looked up and saw the Daredevil Comet approaching. "...Oh, so soon?"
Hell Incarnate - The Perfect Run
Umber stretched his arms. "Welp, might as well make things interesting."
BGM: Vs Kahuna (Pokemon Sun/Moon)
"Let's go, Sprite!"
"Sylv!" The Sylveon nodded as they ran ahead, only to come across Flower Rings as some Choppahs flew around.
"Well, I've been meaning to use this for a while." Umber said as his handss were coated in shadows as he put his hand on the ground, green and black energy shooting out as a claw emerged and grabbed a flower ring. "Shadow Plasma Claw. Thank you, Ansem!"
"That darkness loving doofus inspired you to make that?" Hades asked. "My my, I think we have a little Ansem on our hands. Time to torment Riku!"
Sprite, meanwhile, used his ribbons to latch onto the flower ring as the two pulled ahead and flipped over, dodging the Choppahs until one got in the way, where Sprite used Shadow Ball to KO it as they got onto another platform and saw mines, Choppahs and Bill Blasters galore. "Syl Syl…"
"Yeah, a bit overkill… but it's not too bad!" Umber said as Sprite nodded as the two would proceed to flip through the rings while Sprite would throw down some Shadow Balls at the Choppahs while Umber gracefully flipped over some Bullet Bills, landing on one and leaping off until they reached the flagpole, both of them climbing up and then got into the Launch Star and flew off.
The duo landed on the Flipswitch Planet, seeing four Sentry Beams in the corners of the planet. "You take the right, I'll take the left?"
"Sylv!"
"Then let's rock!" Umber took the left while Sprite took the right. The Sentry Beam on the lower left opened fire at Sprite, but he would jump between the lasers before unleashing Moonblast on it to stun it, then he turned around and continued on the path, while Umber would use mirrors to reflect the lasers from the Sentry Beams as he met Sprite in the middle until they both ran down, activating all the flipswitches, then booked it to the Launch Star and launched away to the Electric Maze Area.
After they landed, they would spot a fan blowing wind from below. The two would look at each other before Umber turned the dial to Cloud mode and put up a cloud where the two hopped on and rode up where a windmill waited for them and blew them across the area. However, there were electric rails waiting for them to electrocute them.
"Going down!" Umber hopped off, Sprite jumped down with him as he made another cloud. The two floated across until they had to climb up where Umber made more cloud platforms, both of them jumping up as they went across a small opening and jumped down on the cloud platforms that carried them to the Launch Star and blasted them away to the Platforms Planet.
End BGM
BGM: Debate Scrum - Danganronpa V3 (FamilyJules)
Once the duo landed, they would see Flip Panels, Ring Beamers and Ota Rocks peeking out of their barrels. The two shifted their eyes to each other before smirking, then they ran off. They jumped to activate the panels as the Ring Beamers attempted to electrocute them but Sprite used Moonblast to stun them, then using Shadow Ball on the Ota Rocks. They would run on the shrinking tiles, jumped over the lasers as Sprite used Moonblast to stun another Ring Beamer as they would soon get to the Launch Star and flew off, but not before Umber flipping off the Ring Beamers.
"Worth it!" Umber said as they launched to the Pull Star Area, both of them landing as they would see electric fences going back and forth on the brick blocks.
"Syl Syl…?"
"Ah, nothing like a good game of death jump rope to invigorate folks." Umber said as Sprite smirked as the two ran across and jumped over the electric fence, then jumped over several blocks with more electric fences in between, then the Pull Stars activated and grabbed them, pulling them around while Sprite used Hyper Voice on a few Phazon-infused Paragoombas.
"Thank goodness for Pixilate." Umber said.
"Syl!" Sprite smiled, the two of them high fiving as they made their way across until they saw an electric gate in their way, so the Pull Star deactivated and made them drop, but the Pull Star on the other side reeled them in and launched them into the Launch Star, sending them straight for the Hammer Bro Planets.
"We're almost there… I can feel it!" Umber said as they ran ahead, reflecting the hammers that were thrown to KO the Hammer Bros, then they'd jump over the Flomps as they would attempt to flip them into the abyss but they were quick on their feet as Sprite used Shadow Ball on the Hammer Bros until they both got to the end of the planet where a few Zebesians awaited him.
End BGM
"We don't know how you did it… we're not sure how you managed to maul through all of this stuff, and truth be told, it's actually terrifying us! But we got you surrounded! Anything you want to say before we kill you?"
Umber closed his eyes. "You know… it's funny. This whole galactic adventure, I was just holding back…" He got in a stance.
At the Observatory…
"He's just standing there. The hell is he doing?" Zinnia wondered.
"We're gonna go help him." Xena said.
"Wait. I wouldn't." Guzma stopped them. "That stance… I haven't seen that in a long time…"
"Why? What's going on?" Sora asked.
"You know how his yellow eyes are a bit unsettling at times?" Lillie spoke up. "…He's about to unleash that. Something we haven't seen in years."
Back at Grandmaster…
"…I say it's time I started to cut loose." Umber said, forming a smile as he opened his eyes, his yellow eyes going blank. Just the mere sight of those blank yellow eyes and his blank smile… it was enough to creep out the Space Pirates. They were starting to back away in fear… until something crawled from underneath the platform.
The Phaze Chimera. However, it was holding on to his head, desperately trying to hold on to his severed head thanks to Kurt Zisa. It looked like it was about to fade… until darkness formed underneath the creature and swallowed it, until it suddenly grew bigger. It grew arms, legs, there was a gigantic heart shaped hole in its chest. Two yellow eyes were on its face as phazonic tentacles were on its head. His body was a shadowy blue figure.
Observatory…
"Did that thing just turn into Darkside?!" Sora yelled in surprise.
"He's covered in phazon… another experiment, I'm assuming." Riku said.
"Unless… unless they somehow found a way to turn that thing into a Pureblood." Roxas responded. "And Darkside is that thing's Heartless."
"Sooooo… should we go help him…?" Daisy wondered.
"No. Let him do it. I wouldn't get in his way… not when he's like that."
Umber still had the blank smile. "Changing forms? Good, I love a challenge." He readied himself as did Sprite. "It's time I stopped running from you."
BGM: Megalovania (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)
The Alolan Champion - Umber
Darkside would punch the ground, creating a shockwave of phazon but Umber and Sprite would jump over it as Sprite would land on his arm as he ran up the arm and used Draining Kiss before jumping off while Umber threw down a few lightning bolts on him.
The Zebesians would look at each other and would attempt to help, but Sprite would get in the way and blast them off with a Shadow Ball. Darkside would get on his knees and shot out phazonic orbs at him but Umber would throw down reflective clouds to send them back. Darkside would punch the ground again, but this time pulling out phazonic energy and threw it down, but Sprite would use Moonblast to counter to cancel it out while Umber would attack the hands.
Darkside created pools of phazon as Phazon-infused Shadow Heartless and Neoshadows rose up from the ground, then Umber would create mirror clones as they would go and attack the Heartless, blasting them with electric attacks as a Neoshadow would destroy a mirror clone, only to get pelted by a few other Umber clones.
Umber waved his hand, unleashing a spread of plasma that acted liked a shotgun spread and struck Darkside in the head. Darkside would respond by grabbing Umber and attempted to squeeze the life out of him, but Sprite would use Moonblast on his arm to make him let go of Umber. The Alolan would grab a hold of the arm and ran up it, then his hand was enveloped in plasma and punched him in the head as a mirror clone was created and then kicked him in the head shortly after.
Umber backflipped off of Darkside, and as he did, he turned the dial on his staff to which the aquamarine orb transformed into a blade, then felt himself power up as Darkside would clap his hands and raised them up in the air as pillars of light came running down, but Umber would swiftly move out of the way in the blink of an eye, as if his speed had increased as well.
Darkside would try to grab him again, but he moved out of the way while Sprite would unleash a few Shadow Balls at him. Darkside would try to backhand Sprite right after but the Sylveon jumped away and used Moonblast right after. Umber, meanwhile, jumped up behind Darkside and climbed up his back before hopping on his shoulder and started stabbing him with the blade before he proceeded to fire electric plasma blasts at him.
Darkside shook him off as he punched the ground to try and suck him into the phazon, but Umber would jump back while Sprite would jump on his arm again. Darkside attempted to swat him off but Umber would use Shadow Plasma Claw to grab a hold of his hand while Sprite would hop on his shoulder and used another Draining Kiss attack before jumping off, then the Plasma Claw would flip Darkside over as he landed on his right shoulder and then Umber simply shot plasma blasts from his eyes in rapid fire.
"Let's end this in style." He said, his whole blody glowing with plasmic energy where he would leap forward and punched and kicked his face with plasma empowering them, then he had his mirror clones do the same thing to copy his attacks, soon turning into a thunderstorm of Umbers punching and kicking the Heartless into oblivion before he stopped as Darkside tried to get up, weakly struggling to do so as Sprite casually pranced over and finished him off with a Draining Kiss. Darkside would fall to the ground and fade away shortly after.
End BGM
"Syl!" Sprite smiled as Umber's blank yellow eyes turned back to normal.
"Game set and match." He said, dusting his hands off.
At the Observatory…
"…Holy shit." Xena said in awe.
"He was holding back all this time?! Holy shit is RIGHT."
"Geez… to think he was holding back when we were fighting Damian." Marnie quietly said.
"Interesting…" Bowser rubbed his chin before smirking. "Most… interesting."
"How are his cheeks not hurting after all of that?" Hau wondered.
"THAT'S what you're most concerned about?!" Lillie and Guzma yelled while the Wielders were speechless over what they had just witnessed.
At Grandmaster…
"That's how ya do it." Umber said, high fiving Sprite shortly after as a Launch Star soon appeared. "Eyes on the prize." He smirked as the two of them hopped into the Launch Star and flew away to a small planet where a regular Power Star and a white Power Star awaited them. He let out a chuckle while something else caught Sprite's attention.
"Syl…?" Sprite wondered and walked over to the edge of the planet.
"To the victor goes the spoils." Umber said. "Okay, Palutena. I'm rea-"
"SYL! SYL!" Sprite cried, catching his attention.
"Hmm? What is it?" Umber walked over to the edge of the planet, where his Sylveon was looking into a telescope. "Let's see, what do we have he-… what the…?!" He said in shock as he pulled away from the telescope, seeing something in the distance.
"Guys… are you seeing this?!"
Ibuki: Cliffhanger~!
Yup. The whole Grandmaster Galaxy bit with Umber was all Yoshi's idea! So props to him... and shout out to DarkRebellion for the idea for that scene with Cinder!