"How's Yuga holding up?" Jesmon asked.
"His spirit is completely shattered." Garcat said.
"It's clear Ranma's move is still weighing heavily on his mind." Gardog said.
"Can't say I blame him. I mean, an Impact that can take out 10 life points at once? How is anyone supposed to stand up to that?" David asked.
"Plus there's Lost World entirely. It's a completely overpowered world. No one can stand up against it." Flamberge said.
"And let's not forget Garga. Last night at dinner, he didn't even bat an eye at Paruko's crab cakes!" Garcat said.
"Ignore Garcat, clearly he's exaggerating." Gardog advised.
"I'm worried about him. If this keeps up, he might even quit Buddyfighting." Garcat said.
"We can't let that happen. There's got to be something we can do to get his spirits back up." Francisca said.
"She's right. It's what friends do." Mahiru said.
"Well, how about we do some stuff with him?" Hope asked.
"Hmm...that's not a bad idea. We can take him across the ship's zones for a fun time." Jexi said.
"And maybe while that's going on, Garcat, Gardog and Garbird can handle uploading videos to the RanGa channel." Hope said.
"Wait, them?" Rainbow asked.
"Without Ranma around to post the videos, someone's gotta handel the channels content. I think these three can handle posting videos, right Garcat?" Hope asked.
"Meow, just leave it to us." Garcat said.
"Why do I get the feeling this is gonna be a huge mistake?" Futaba asked.
"Cause whatever my idiot brother suggests is normally bad." a voice echoed in the ship.
"Huh? Where was that?" Sanji asked.
"Check your radio transmitter, genius!" the same voice said.
"Jack?" Hope asked.
"Yes its me. Who else would I be?" Jack said. "How many thieves named Jack and are related to you do you know?"
"Jack, where have you been? We haven't heard from you in weeks." Akira asked.
"Sorry about that. The ship I took crashed and I was spending the time gathering parts." Jack said.
"So where are you right now? You better not be anywhere dangerous." Ann said.
"We have been worried about the possibility of you being stranded in a dangerous part of Beelzebub's territory in the Demon Universe." Yusuke added.
"Uh...yeah. Uh...its funny you mention that…" Jack said.
"You're at that orphanage, aren't you?" Hope asked.
"No...just outside of it. And it's no orphanage, it's a farm. Yeah. I know." Jack said.
"Well then what the hell are you still doing there?!" Ryuji asked.
"Look, originally I was gonna grab the parts and go. But...I can't leave these kids to die. So we're all gonna escape together." Jack said.
"We're fully confident you can get out of there with all those kids, but were also worried. If you fail, your brain's gonna be food for devils!" Morgana said.
"Can someone please smack him for me?" Jack asked.
"I've got it." Makoto said smacking Morgana upside the head.
"Thanks. And we're not gonna fail. We've been planning this escape for 2 months. It's actually gonna happen once I end this conversation. I just wanted to contact you guys before I attempted it." Jack said.
"Sounds like a hell of a gamble you're making here." David said.
"More like a suicide mission." Leopardmon said.
"Don't worry. This plan isn't even mine. The kids I've met with, they came up with the whole thing. How to get away, how to cross over the walls, even how to avoid the demons." Jack said.
"Whoa…. Those are some clever kids." Hope said.
"You don't know the half of it. If all works out right, I'll meet you at the rendezvous in 3 days." Jack said.
"Roger that. Good luck, Jack." Akira said.
"Yeah. Oh and Hope...you better not do something stupid before I get there. Jack out." Jack said as the signal cut.
"Something stupid? Who does he think I am?" Hope asked.
"He knows you better than most of us. You're brothers." Gemini said.
"Yeah. Even though I'm not really close to him like Ace, Spade, and Simon are, he's still family." Hope said. "Okay, lets let Jack do his thing and we'll concentrate on cheering Yuga up."
A little later…
"Okay...so why am I here?" Yuga asked.
"We're giving you a fun little fun day. And what better fun than some sports games in the lower levels?" Eijiro said.
Attempt 1: Baseball!
"Okay, Yuga! We're gonna send this one right over the plate!" Dan said.
"Why the heck are we doing this?" Yuga asked.
"I have no idea." Garga said.
"Here it comes!" Dan said tossing the ball towards Yuga who hit it with the bat and sent it flying. "Now that is out of sight! But let's cool you off with a little swimming."
Attempt 2: Swimming.
"Come on, keep up, Yuga!" Akane said as Yuga followed while Garga floated on an inner tube.
Attempt 3: Tennis!
"Okay, folks. They're tied at one set each. Next one wins the match." Lemon said.
"I must admit, you're really skilled at this. Almost as much as David is. I guess that means I should pick up the pace." Ryoma said as the two continued to exchange hits.
"Come on, look alive!" Happy said on the other court.
"Why the heck am I playing?" Garga said.
"Game set match! Ryoma wins 2 sets to 1." Lemon said. "Next sport!"
Attempt 4: Kendo
"We have a kendo dojo?" Aya asked.
"Yeah, it was Peko's idea. A place to practice safe swordplay." Hope said. "Speaking of…"
"Ha!" both Peko and Yuga said as they landed a hit each.
Attempt 5: Soccer
"Ha!" Yuga shouted kicking the ball as Rainbow caught the ball.
"Wow...nice one there. Let's move...hey, you okay?" Rainbow asked as Yuga was on the ground panting.
"He's using up so much energy. I hope we're not overworking him." David said.
"Maybe we should switch to something that doesn't require so much physical ability." Zinnia said.
"I know! Maybe Onyx can read Yuga one of her fairy tales." Hagakure said.
"Okay." Onyx said.
Attempt 6: Storytelling.
"Okay. Once Upon a...Oh come on!" Onyx said as both Yuga and Garga had already fallen asleep.
"Wow...she was only three words in before they went to sleep." Lucy said.
"Well that didn't work." Hope said.
"Wait...maybe we should check the RanGa channel. Maybe a new video is finally up." Hope said.
"I got it!" Sunset said turning her phone.
The RanGa channel then showed as it showed the gartrio doing a sort watermelon splitting challenge, although it was not the best.
"Hey, this is just a rip off of one of the earlier challenges!" Indigo said.
"What do you guys think? Pretty awesome, right?" Garkat said as he, Gardog and Garbird entered.
"Hope...you tell them how bad that was. It was your idea." Gemini said.
"Well it wasn't bad for their first go at it, but I admit it was pretty bad." Hope said.
"Don't worry. We'll just upload it and listen to the masses!" Garcat said pressing a button.
"Uh...why is the upload button so close to the delete all files button?" Sci-Twi asked.
"Huh?" Garcat said as multiple videos were being deleted.
"You idiot! You're deleting all the videos Yuga and Ranma posted!" Rainbow said.
"Oh, so that's what Jack meant by doing something stupid…." Hope sighed.
"He really does know you." Ann said.
"Wait a minute… isn't Subaru a constant viewer?" Zan asked. "What am I saying? Of course he is."
"Please, he doesn't know where we even are." Usopp said.
"Who is responsible for that atrocity on the RanGa Channel?!" Subaru said pushing the door open.
"Oh crap… L-look, we can explain." David said.
"Ugh… did I fall asleep?" Yuga asked as he stirred along with Garga.
"Hey, glad you're up. We prepared a little snack for ya." Sanji said entering with a large pizza. "Here. Eat up."
"That is a BIG pizza." Ryuji said.
"It almost looks similar in size to that burger challenge I once took on." Akira said.
"Did you really have to make it so big, Sanji?" Hope asked.
"Please, this is small compared to the meals I make for the whole ship's staff." Sanji said. "Especially his." he said pointing to Luffy.
"I gotta agree with Sanji on this one, Luffy is a human garbage disposal." Gemini said.
"So you won't quit buddyfighting right?" Flamberge asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about? I'd never quit buddyfighting." Yuga said.
"Well, you were hit pretty bad by Ranma's new persona, so that's what we were assuming." UlforceVeedramon said.
"And had I not been defeated by Destroyer, you wouldn't have lost your friend to that demonic man called Mime." Garga said.
Hope then looked to Ace as he was looking downwards. "Ace… I know you're thinking about Mime and how he's back. You thought after what happened back during the fight against Wisdom, we wouldn't have to deal with him ever again, right?"
"Yeah, after the events that occured during that time, I would've hoped that history wouldn't have to repeat itself after what he did to Toma and nearly to you." Ace said.
"I know it's a lot to think about. But there are some things in my life that won't go away easily. Like Harlequin and his Legacy." Hope said. "Ace… you don't know the family I was born into, do you?"
"No, not really." Ace said.
"Guys, we should probably give these two some space. It sounds personal." David said.
"Right." Francisca said as Hope and Ace were soon left alone.
"So Ace, you know my last name from when it was heard, Ginova, right?" Hope asked.
"Yeah." Ace said.
"Truth is...Ginova is the name of a crime family." Hope said. "My old man along with ten people he called the Genre Generals were the ones in charge of it."
"So he was a Mafia leader who commanded ten subordinates." Ace said. "Are you saying you and Jack were in the Mafia too?"
"Not really. We were just kids back then. I ran from home. Jack...he sort of...found his calling away from the mafia." Hope said. "Same with the rest of my siblings. None of us really cared much for taking the head of that family. Anyway, you know Harlequin...the guy who made Mime...he was one of the Genre Generals. He was someone who would always spend his twisted time tormenting me to try and...correct me."
"The bastard tortured you, didn't he, hoping you would become the next head, but you persevered." Ace said.
"Torture me yes. But I never exactly became the next head. Because thanks to my mother Rosa who put her life on the line…. I ran from my family and went to pursue my dream of being a hero. Eventually when the Ginova family was causing havoc, Jexi, David, and I eventually went back to face my family, and we stopped Black from usurping it. After that, the family was broken up and my father...even I don't know where he is. All I know is that, those shadows may be in the past, but the past has a funny way of catching up to the present." Hope said.
"Was Harlequin already dead around that time?" Ace asked.
"During the battle against Yamigedo and the Hundred Demons, we did face off with Harlequin. But he didn't perish by any of our hands, it was done by one of his own. This guy named Spade, not your Spade, he was someone named Marvin Flux. He and his other subordinates were all members of the Flux Families. Even Heart was part of it." Hope said.
"But then Heart decided to become a member of the Neo Dimensional Heroes." Ace said.
"Exactly. I've got one hell of a past life huh?" Hope said.
"You aren't the only one." Ace said.
"I know. We all know you're one of the Three Lost Princes of Devaloka. We all got backgrounds were not exactly fond of. David came from the Japan that was ruined by Junko's twisted games of death, and Jexi….he doesn't really talk about it much, but I can imagine it was just as bad." Hope said.
"As for me, I've spent my whole childhood not knowing my own past and not remembering Simon, and when Spade disappeared that's when I began my journey to find him which eventually lead to all three of us discovering our origins. Honestly, it's weird being the child of an Eidolon and a Nephilim." Ace said.
"I don't think it is. We've all seen some weird stuff happen to us." Hope said. "But listen Ace, I don't want you feeling down that something from my past is back to haunt me. I was fully prepared for the outcome that Mime might have survived, and I'm ready to take him down again. Even if I've gotta go through another hell and a half to do it."
"Not alone you won't." Ace said as he walked up to him. "I was forced to sit by and watch as you two fought, I'm not gonna let that happen again and have history repeat itself. Whether you accept it or not, I'm fighting with you against Mime."
"Thanks Ace, but I'm not the one in the spotlight here. The Mage Sisters are. And if it has to come down to it, I think one of them might face Mime." Hope said. "Regardless, we're all going to face Mime and whatever he throws at us. Together."
"Right. And if it comes down to it, I will send his spirit back to Devaloka, in hopes that he will reincarnate into a better person." Ace said.
"We'll see, Ace. Now let's get back to the others." Hope said.
"Okay." Ace said as he turned to see the silhouettes of his Eidolons appear briefly before disappearing as he turned forward and walked back with Hope.
After that, Yuga was better than ever. When he thought about the fight that happened with Ranma, his heart couldn't stop beating with excitement. Now that Ranma had Destroyer as his buddy, he wanted to challenge him one more time.
"Do you want any of us to help you if Mime is with him, Yuga?" Zan asked.
"That won't be an issue. Look at what Tasuku announced just a few minutes ago." Peni said holding up a tablet.
"The Ace Buddyfighter Playoffs?" Hope asked.
"It's a Buddyfight tournament to find the best buddyfighter in all of Japan." Zan said.
"The first phase is the card shop battles, Buddyfights to determine a card shop's representative." Francisca said.
"Like a Promotional Campaign or something like that?" Papelne asked.
"More like a Preliminary stage." David said.
"And since this is a tournament to find the country's best Buddyfighter...it's likely Ranma will get involved." Akira said.
"As for Mime, it's hard to say." Guy said.
"He definitely will show up. His plan hinges on Ranma, so there's no way he'll let him out of his sights." Francisca said.
"This may be our chance to cut his strings off Ranma." Roy said.
"We don't even know if he'll be fighting at Castle. Our best bet is to keep ourselves here in Castle and build up the wins we need to have one of us represent castle. Single or team." Hope said.
"Agreed." Sakura said.
"I shall be one of the ones to represent." Zan said.
"Me too! I wanna piece of that masked jerk for what he did to Emo!" Flamberge said.
"So will I. Anything to get the old Ranma back." Francisca said.
"I guess it's decided then, the Three Mage Sisters will represent Castle." Ace said. "Any objections?"
"No complaints here. I'll just find another card shop and see if I can make it there." David said.
"You're competing too?" Kaito asked.
"Yeah. I don't want to admit it, but… with my mantle passed to Franny, this...could be my last chance. So I'm coming at this with all I've got." David said.
"I'll enter as a singles competitor over at Castle. It'll be fun to try this game out." Peni said.
"Same here. This game is… interesting. I can't live fully until I try it." Noir said.
"I shall go as well." Shanoa said.
"Me too." Elize said.
"We'll have to scatter around the different card shops so that we'd all get a chance." Teepo told the Brave Adventurers.
"I doubt a lot of us would make it through, but with Mime at it again, we'll take any chance we can get." Yoko said.
"And you can count on Team Chronicle too!" Moltar declared. "Right Emo? Issei?"
"Yeah, sure. I got creamed last time, but I'll do what I can." Emo said.
"I'm all in!" Issei added. "I'll drag Ranma back to the good side kicking and screaming if I have to!"
"And it's not like we're gonna sit out of this." Jexi said.
"Look, we might not all be Buddyfighters but...we got your back." Ryuji said.
"Agreed." Mark added. "If there's anything you need, let the rest of us know. In the meantime...I'll be praying for all of you."
"Alright guys. Let's do our best. Individually or playing side by side with the Aces… we're gonna save Ranma." Hope said.
"Yeah!" they all cheered.