Just to clarify: in the previous episode, Peach was not saying the only time Onett got attacked was when the Cult of Pessimism invaded. She was saying the last time it happened. If you are talking about all the times Onett was attacked, it also happened in Darkling. So no, I did forget about the Darkling invasion.

Also, please refrain from posting reviews that do not talk about the story but instead something else. If you want to tell or ask me something, please use the PM feature. At least comment on the story first before saying something off-topic in your reviews. From now on, I will not answer questions found in reviews that do not comment on the story unless it also contains a proper review.

Thank you for your cooperation and please enjoy the story!

Chapter 3
The End is Nigh

After the incident at Onett had been dealt with for the most part, all the Smashers had returned and were currently gathered at the front yard of Smash Mansion. Master Hand, Crazy Hand, and Wario were there as well. Bahamut, Chrom, Lucina, and some soldiers were also there.

Ridley was also there, because when the three Smashers he was hanging out at the bar with heard that their town was under attack and decided to rush back, he tagged along.

Standing in front of the audiences that were the Smashers, Bahamut said with doubt, "I'm starting to think that telling this to outsiders probably isn't a good idea after all, at least not without consulting the fleet marshal first…"

"You're the one who said you have the permission to tell them…" Chrom, who was standing next to him, told him.

"Knowing them, they'll likely be able to find out by themselves one way or the other," said Lucina.

"Chrom, you tell them," Bahamut said to Chrom. "That way, I am free from blame about telling outsiders about this if I ever got asked."

"And I'll tell the field marshal that you were the one who told me to tell them this in the first place!" Chrom said to him, sounding annoyed.

"At least you won't be the only one to get into trouble," Bahamut told him.

"Why you…?!" said Chrom in frustration.

"You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to say it…" Master Hand said to them. "I understand that military secrets are very important things that cannot be told to the public so carelessly."

"Maybe you can at least share us info without saying too much," Fox said to the military folks.

"Never mind… Might as well say it now that we've come here… Plus, we can use a bit of help regarding this situation," said Bahamut.

Hearing this, Chrom said to him, "You're referring to that location, aren't you?"

Bahamut nodded as if understanding what he was saying, and then he said to the Smashers, "You probably know by now that those people who attacked Onett are the Smash Pros." They all nodded in response.

"I didn't expect them to be so strong…" said Captain Falcon. "I heard they are skilled fighters, but this is another level…"

"You may have a hard time believing this, but their leader I Am is more or less on the same league as the Great Powers of Tooneria," Bahamut told the Smashers. "He can go toe to toe against any of them and make it out unscratched for the most part."

The Smashers were shocked to hear this. "He's that powerful?!" gasped Ness.

"Mamamia! How are we ever going to defeat someone that powerful?!" gasped Luigi.

"I don't care how powerful those bastards are! I'm going to get back at them for making a fool out of me!" said Wario angrily while clenching his fist and shaking it.

"What do they actually mean when they said they want to save the world?" asked Zelda.

"Whatever they mean, it definitely involves the destruction of this world," replied Bahamut. "This is in fact something very possible if the Endpoints are involved."

The Smashers were curious when they heard this. "Endpoint?" said Pikachu.

Chrom and Lucina had nervous looks on their faces when Bahamut said that. The dragon continued, "They are what the military scientists call four super volcanoes found in this world. These volcanoes are believed by the public to be dormant volcanoes with no chance of ever erupting. That is true, unless you force them to erupt."

"How do you make a volcano erupt?" asked Popo.

"I'll get to that later," said Bahamut. "Military scientists have found out that if all four of these volcanoes erupt within a span of one week, it will cause a chain reaction in which every single volcano to exist in this world, including underwater ones, will erupt, and with more power than they should be capable of."

The Smashers were shocked when they heard this. Jigglypuff looked confused, however. "Is it bad?"

"Imagine every single volcano or anything related to one going off all over the world all at once… Can you imagine the amount of ash it will release into the air? The amount of destruction caused and the lives lost? So many underwater volcanoes erupting at once is going to heat up the ocean to the point all life in it will be killed off…" explained Bahamut in a single tone. "All life on Tooneria as you know it will most definitely go extinct!"

"Mamamia! That's scary!" said Mario.

"I have to admit that I've never heard of this before…" said Master Hand.

"If this shocking discovery is made known to the world, then there is fear that evildoers will take advantage of this," said Bahamut. "I do not know how the Smash Pros learned about this. They've managed to set off one already…"

"What?!" asked Luigi in shock.

"You know Jurassic World?" Bahamut asked them, and they all nodded in response.

"Been there, beaten up dinosaurs," said Bowser.

"That island has a volcano that is actually one of the Endpoints, and the Smash Pros managed to set it off earlier today," said Bahamut. "Even now, that volcano is still spewing out lava and flames, and it will continue to do so for an entire week. Now about how they set it off… They broke into a top secret military lab and stole some dangerous weapons… The Dyna Stones."

"Dyna Stones?" said some of the Smashers curiously.

"So those things do exist…" said Master Hand. "There were conspiracy theories about how the military is creating powerful weapons that may or may not surpass nuclear bombs, and Dyna Stones are one of them…"

"Indeed, Dyna Stones are very real, and they were extremely destructive," Bahamut said to him.

"What is a Dyna Rock?" asked Nana.

"They are bombs made using special components that when exposed to oxygen will explode, and even a single Dyna Rock can be powerful enough to blow up a mountain," explained Bahamut. "I Am used one to detonate the Endpoint in Jurassic World."

"That's terrible!" gasped Peach.

"Are the dinosaurs there all right?" asked Toon Link.

"They're probably all dead," replied Bahamut. "When the Endpoint erupted, the entire island was more or less burned up, and since pretty much all the dinosaurs can't swim, they either drowned or stayed on the island until they were burned to death."

"That's horrible…!" said Pikachu in disbelief.

"It would seem that nature demands they remain extinct in the end," said Mewtwo.

"Now three more Endpoints are left, and the Smash Pros will surely go after them," said Bahamut. "I do not believe they are foolish enough to come up with this plan if they do not have a way to keep themselves safe afterwards, even though I don't know how they will do it."

"We must stop them no matter what!" said Link.

"Soldiers are being dispatched to the islands containing the Endpoints even as we speak," Chrom told them.

"Except for one island," said Bahamut. "That particular island is a place where military folks like us will have a hard time gaining access to. This is actually the reason I'm telling you all this, because you should be able to get to that island without much trouble due to having no association with the military."

"You can count-a on uz to do theez!" said Mario with confidence.

"Yeah! We will surely teach those baddies a lesson!" said Pichu, full of himself.

"Why can't the military go to that island?" asked Yoshi.

"Because that island…" said Bahamut, "belongs to Edward Newgate, better known as Whitebeard, one of the 5 Abominations."

The Smashers were taken aback by what they heard with looks of surprise. "Whitebeard?!" gasped Fox.

"He owns an entire island?!" asked Bowser. "I'm so jealous!"

"The island is called Secon Island," said Bahamut. "Surely you have heard of it."

"Yeah, it's an island known for its hot spring resorts," said Snake. "Given that natural hot springs usually get their heat from volcanoes, it's not too surprising a super volcano would be located there. However, I never expected that island to be under the ownership of Whitebeard…"

"Indeed, Whitebeard has declared that island to be his territory and is keeping watch over it," explained Bahamut. "The people there actually like him, as he is keeping them safe and even providing for them with treasures he found out at sea. Even so, the government considers Whitebeard a dangerous adversary and one of the most wanted men in the world, and Whitebeard himself knows this, which is why he does not want military involvement on that island.

"He isn't always on the island, but he has some of his men positioned there at all times, and they always check the identities of people who go there in order to keep out troublemakers, such as military figures.

"If Whitebeard is considered a criminal, why don't you just arrest him or his men on that island?" asked Pikachu.

"As much as the government wants him behind bars, it's not an easy task," Bahamut told him. "He's one of the 5 Abominations, the strongest beings in the world said to be powerful enough to destroy the planet with their tremendous powers. Whitebeard is no laughing matter when it comes to fighting, so much that even the 7 Warlords and the Espers of Justice have trouble dealing with him.

"Picking a fight with him will result in a large amount of collateral damage and loss of lives, which is why the military has avoided confronting all this time. He is extremely protective of his men, so if he finds out anything about his men being harmed… I can't imagine how things will turn out for the violators…"

"I Am is digging his own grave trying to set off the Endpoint on that island," said Ganondorf. "He must be a huge moron to think he can mess up that place and get away with it!"

"Whatever the case is, the Endpoint of that place requires guarding as well, but due to who owns that island, we will find it hard trying to access that place," said Bahamut.

"So you want us to head over there and keep things safe for you?" Master Hand asked him, and the dragon nodded in response. "Consider this accepted!"

"But how are we going to defeat the Smash Pros?! They're really powerful!" Luigi reminded everyone.

"Then we just have to get stronger and fight harder!" said Captain Falcon. "We have been caught off guard the first time, but now that we know what they are capable of, we can perform better!"

"Yeah! They won't be getting away from me this time!" said Falco.

"I can't wait to get back at them!" said Wario while cracking his knuckles.

"What's with I Am anyway? He calls himself a being more powerful than a god? What's with that name even?!" said Link.

"A name like that should belong to something like an all-powerful religious figure…" said Zelda. "Does he really think himself as being superior to everything in the universe?"

"Indeed, he thinks highly of himself, which is why he gives himself a name he believes suits his status the most," said Bahamut in a tone that was becoming increasingly angry. "But if you ask me, I think he is a blasphemous person for calling himself that and considering himself to be more powerful than any deity in this world! Such an evildoer is tarnishing a sacred name like that!"

"He really does give off a rage-inducing vibe with this attitude," said Marth, sounding angry as well.

In another part of the world, four young women were on the run, each of them carrying black bags, one of which was partially open and leaking out money. All three of them wore black jumpsuits made of leather and domino masks to conceal their identities.

Three of the girls were normal-looking humans, while one of them had cat ears and a cat tail.

The four were in great panic as they ran through a dark alleyway, as if trying to escape someone. After making their way through the winding alleys, they came to a stop in a relatively large empty area located in the middle of multiple buildings.

"We… We should be safe here…" said one of the girls with long red hair.

"I didn't see him following us at all…" said another girl. This one had long blue hair.

"Yeah… He's definitely lost us…" said the third one, a dark-skinned girl with blonde hair that was short and wavy.

"That guy is a monster… He killed Lillie without a shred of remorse!" said the fourth girl, a cat girl with short brown hair. "Thinking of it makes me angry! I'm going to make him pay for killing our friend!"

"Lillie's death is sad and all, but we should be more concerned about ourselves for now," said the red-haired girl. She picked up the black bag she just placed onto the ground. "All right, let's get moving. We need to keep a low profile now that we successfully robbed a bank and escaped a homici…"

Before she could finish speaking, something dropped down behind her, and she felt something cutting her across the neck. Her friends were horrified when her head fell off the body and onto the ground. The remaining girls looked and saw that her killer was a man with dark green hair dressed in black attire resembling that of a medieval soldier, and he even had a cape. Held in his hand was a sword, which he used for decapitating that girl earlier. The headless body fell to the ground.

"Why you?!" said the cat girl angrily as claws appeared on her fingers. "YOU'LL PAY FOR KILLING ANNIE!" She cried in anger as she pounced at him.

The man simply stepped to the side and let her go past him, swinging his sword while doing so. The cat girl's right arm was sliced clean off just like that, and she fell onto the ground while screaming in pain. She was immediately silenced when the man plunged the sword through the top of her head and into the ground.

The remaining two girls were horrified beyond words, and the blue-haired one turned to run while screaming. The man turned to her and swung his sword, turning it into a segmented whip. The tip of the whip sword pierced the blue-haired girl from behind, and when the man yanked back his weapon, her spine was ripped right out of her body, and a couple of organs were attached to it. Needless to say, the girl fell dead on the ground immediately.

The dark-skinned girl was the only one left, and she was so horrified with what she saw that she fell to the ground, as her legs were trembling so much that she no longer had any strength to stand. She looked at the man with tearful eyes of fright as he approached her with a stern and intimidating look. She then bowed down in front of him over and over and said, "Please forgive me! I'm sorry for robbing the bank! Please spare me! Please!"

Not too long later, the dark-skinned girl was seen taken away into police custody, and the cleanup crew had also arrived to clean up the dead bodies.

The man who killed them was standing close to the police car and the truck belonging to the cleanup crew, watching them get the job done.

Within the alley, the workers were still cleaning up the bodies when one of them said, "Man… What a bloody mess! Did he have to kill them all?!"

"He has the authority to do so," another worker told him while putting the blue-haired girl's spine and organs into a black bag. "You know General Odin, one of the Espers of Justice, and his extreme ways of dealing with criminals?"

"Yeah," replied the previous worker. "What about it?"

"That guy… He trained under Odin and is supposedly his best and favorite student…" said the other worker.

The first worker widened his eyes in shock. "That explains things…!"

Back outside, the man was talking with the police about the things that happened when his smartphone sounded, so he walked away a bit to answer it after seeing who it was. "What is it, Byleth?" the man said to the caller.

"Bylet! What are you up to now?" said the caller referred to as Byleth, and the voice was that of a woman's.

"Nothing. Just finished up punishing evildoers and sending to hell, where they deserve, though one of them surrendered, so I spared her," replied the man whom the caller referred to as Bylet.

"Spared her, huh? Guess you do know how to show mercy after all," said the caller.

"Unlike my master, I believe in second chances, so long as they know when to surrender and admit their mistakes," replied Bylet. "Why did you call me anyway?"

"I'm not sure if Odin told you this already, but since he told me about it, I figured as I might as well pass on the message to you," replied Byleth. "He has a mission for you, and an important one at that."

"If it is his command, then I will obey," replied Bylet. "What is it?"

"Are you aware of the theft of the Dyna Stones and how it was used to set off an Endpoint?" Byleth said to him.

"Yes, I did hear about it," said Bylet. "The Smash Pros are the culprits of this."

"Indeed, and now the higher ups and the government are panicking. If all four Endpoints are set off within a week, it's the end of the world as we know it," Byleth said to him. "Soldiers have been dispatched to the remaining Endpoints to guard them, and you are chosen to guard the one on Piriodo."

"Is that so? Then I shall go there as soon as possible," Bylet said to her.

"Wish you luck! I'm sure with your strength, you should have no problem dealing with the Smash Pros. I heard they're really strong," said Byleth.

"It doesn't matter how strong they are. Evil has no might in the face of justice!" said Bylet in an intimidating tone.

"Well, do your best! I got a lesson to teach now, so see ya!" said Byleth, and the call ended.

Over on the other side of the phone, Byleth was revealed to be an attractive woman with long hair that was colored dark green. She wears the same attire as Bylet. In fact, she looks like a gender swapped version of him.

She walked up a wooden staircase to the top of a platform, and a group of soldiers were at the bottom in front of it. Also on the platform was a young woman with an orange ponytail dressed in prison clothing. She had a noose around her neck. In fact, they were all standing on a hanging platform. The woman had a face full of fear, sadness, and tears.

"All right, class is in session!" Byleth said to the soldiers with a cheerful face while clapping her hands a few times. "Today in execution class, I'm going to teach you about one of the most common forms of execution, hanging!"

She then told the soldiers the history of hanging used as capital punishment and how this form of execution works. "You're in luck today, because we have a criminal here who is in death row," Byleth said to them as she approached a lever next to the girl. "I will be using her as an example on how hanging is performed! Watch carefully!"

Without saying anything else, she pulled the lever. The part of the floor underneath the criminal girl opened, and she fell down. The noose tightened around her neck, and she gasp in pain for air while kicking her legs wildly in a futile attempt to free herself.

The soldiers watched her kick with looks of awe, and eventually the girl stopped kicking and became motionless while still suspended in air by her neck.

"How's that? Did you have fun watching the demonstration?" Byleth asked the soldiers with a cheerful face. "I hope you learned something today! All right, next up is the electric chair!"

TO BE CONTINUED

We have quite a bit of info drop in this chapter. Indeed, Whitebeard from One Piece will be appearing in this story as one of the 5 Abominations, and if you've seen the preview for this story in Justice of Two Worlds, you'll know that another Abomination is going to appear. Please look forward to their appearances!

As this story's plot is based on One Piece: Film Z, the locations of Secon Island Piriodo are both taken from that movie as well.

With those out of the way, can we all agree that the biggest surprise of this chapter is the appearance of Byleth? Surely you did not expect him to show up in this story so soon after his announcement in the game, did you? Initially, I did not have plans to include him and decided to at most just name drop him, but after much consideration, I figured that I can put him into the story without altering the plot too much, so long as I don't give him an important role.

Both the male and female versions are used, with the male version called Bylet and the female version called Byleth. They have different names in the Japanese version, the male being called Bereto and the female being Beresu. When Romanized, Beresu would become Byleth, while Bereto would sound more like Bylet, which is how I decided on their names.

And let's talk about the way I portrayed them… Byleth doesn't have that much of a personality in his game, at least not a noteworthy one, so I figured that I have a bit of fun with their portrayals here and give them sadistic and murderous personalities as a result of training under Odin.

I could've given them typical "good guy" personalities, but that would be overused and uncreative, so I thought "why not make them evil without actually making them evil?"

Either way, I apologize if my portrayal of Byleth isn't your cup of tea, but what's done is done, so you'll have to deal with it.

And I did say this story contains gore, didn't I?