Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story.

They belong to their representative owners, except for most of the OCs in the story.

BGM: Keelhaul Key (Kingdom Hearts: The Thousand Year Door)

Our heroes walked deep into the jungle of Bara Mag…na…

Okay, that does not look right.

Deadpool!

"On it!"

BGM: Keelhaul Key (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Fixed it!"

Ah, much better!

"You're welcome!"

Now, where was I? Oh right.

Our heroes walked deep in the jungle of Bara Magna, specifically in an area called the Black Spike Mountains… and by heroes, I mean the ones who went to Roxtus to save the kids (plus one robot), but also the Blood Gulch Crew, Flame, Latias, Latios, Natsu, Youmu and Kratos tagged along as well.

"Should we tell them why the others stayed behind?"

No, not yet.

"Aww…"

Anyway… let's see what they're up to.

"These god dammed mosquitoes! You'd think they wouldn't bother us in this armor!" Tucker complained with a growl, swatting mosquitoes constantly.

"They must like Blue blood. Heheheh, they're most definitely on the side of Red!" Sarge chuckled.

"That…doesn't make any sense." Emerald said.

"Of course it does!"

Natsu simply just ignited his whole body, which caused the mosquitoes to fly away. "They're not drinking my blood!" He grinned.

"Aw yeah!" Happy exclaimed.

"These mosquitoes are DRIVING ME NUTS!" Weiss complained.

"Yeah, well… they're driving everyone nuts too." Aria said as they kept walking with Mata Nui in front while Sabrina seemed to be deep in thought, not because of her newfound Spawn form… but she was mostly bothered by the fact that the Evil Kamen Riders would go as far as to clone herself… and it made her wonder if they decided to clone everyone else too.

"Something on your mind?" Latias asked.

"Yeah… I just… wonder if we'll all see our clone selves." Sabrina said. "I mean, my clone is a horseman of Apocalypse, I don't know who else we'll bump into."

"That has me a bit worried." Asuna admitted. "First Mephiles and now a clone? This has me a bit worried."

"Well, we shouldn't let it bother us." Kirito said. "That's what the Malevolent Seven would want… and besides, we'll just end up destroying them all anyway." I hope.

"He's right." Suguha nodded as they kept walking, looking around, swatting mosquitoes, all of that fun stuff until Mata Nui stopped walking.

"This is it." Mata Nui said as they looked down, looking at the coin in his hand and then at the place in front of them. "The Valley of the Maze, or by its other name, The Valley of Fear."

"If anything, the valley should fear me." Natsu smirked.

"Your fearlessness always manages to surprise me…" Youmu said quietly as they went down.

End BGM

Meanwhile, at the Bara Magna Desert

BGM: Rowdy Rumble (Kingdom Hearts II)

"OUT OF MY WAY, FOOLS!" A Desert Bandit by the name of Sahmad yelled.

"Not likely, Sahmad!" Ackar exclaimed, firing a stream of fire in front of Sahmad, creating a wall of fire. "Not unless you've become fireproof!"

Sahmad turned to Ackar. "I don't know where you got those powers, Ackar, but they won't help you OR the Agori… and those outsiders too!"

"Oh shut up, you loser!" Kiina exclaimed and aimed her spear at him. "Here, have a drink on me!" She said, hitting him with a stream of water.

"Ack…!" He exclaimed… and then he noticed something high in the air as he looked up and saw Qrow with his scythe out and slashed through him, knocking him down for the count as he placed his foot on him soon after… and he looked annoyed.

End BGM

"Hmph… is that the best you got?" Qrow asked and then Ackar picked up Sahmad.

"Now listen carefully, Slaver. You're out of business, as of today. If you so much as look at one of our Agori or our other worldly friends in the wrong way, you'll regret it." Ackar threatened.

"Or maybe you'd like to be the first person ever to drown in a desert, Sahmad?" Kiina asked.

"Or how about a game of Whack-a-Mole… with Sahmad being the mole~?" Nora grinned devilishly which made Sahmad pale up and he quickly ran away, terrified of the crazy girl. "Aww, but I wanted to play Whack-A-Mole with you!"

"How come you haven't put her in an asylum yet is beyond me…" Jessie muttered.

"I think she escaped one…" James said.

"Wooooobuffett!" Wobbuffett seemed to agree.

Later…

BGM: Gritzy Desert (Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time)

"Hopefully, we've seen the last of Sahmad." I'm pretty sure we DID see the last of him when Nora said something. "We've done well since the villages united." Ackar said as they were climbing up a mountain after meeting up with Gresh.

"Just had to get the message out. Anyone who messes with the Agori is in for a pounding." Kiina said.

"Let's face it… anyone who messes with us is in for a brutal beatdown." Alex said.

"I agree." Donald agreed.

"I doubt Nora would scare the Skrall." Gresh said.

"One way to find out~!" Nora giggled.

"The Skrall? They're scattered all over the desert like sand fleas after a storm. If the Bone Hunters don't get them, the Vorox will. My worry is Mata Nui." Kiina said.

"You still think we should have stayed with him? Well, so do I… but when Berix got hurt…"

"I know, after we ran into those Skrall stragglers in the mountains and Berix got Thornaxed, Mata Nui thought it was better if he went on alone… and yet, some of those humans decided to go with him while the rest of us stay here." Kiina said.

"Um, I don't think Kratos could be considered human." Gresh said. "Heck, now that I think about it… I don't think Youmu is human either, or those CPUs."

"Well, besides wondering who's human and who's not, are you sure you didn't want to go with him just to make sure he didn't go back on his word and leave the planet without you?" Ackar asked.

"Well… maybe a little. But he's a friend too, and I worry about him. They should be back by now." Kiina replied.

"Don't worry, they'll return. Mata Nui has a good reason." Ackar told her as they got to the top of the mountain, looking at an outcropping overlooking the robot scraps that's comprising the city.

"Maybe a better reason than we know." Gresh said.

End BGM

Back with Mata Nui's group…

BGM: Haunted House (Super Mario 64/DS)

"Interesting. I wonder what was so important the Great Beings needed this maze to protect it?" Mata Nui wondered. "And who they were protecting it from?"

"Well, one way to find out." Isaac said as they wandered through the maze until they saw a pool of water in front of them.

"This is most likely a trap." Kairi said.

"Happ!"

"Togipriii!"

"You know, you could put them in Pokeballs…" Sora said.

"Are you kidding? Why would I put two babies inside two Pokeballs?! Besides, they'd miss their mother." Kairi said, as the two of them affectionately rubbed their heads on her chest.

"…Oh brother." Minene sighed.

"I'd probably do the same." Blanc said.

"Well, we need to cross it one way or another." Mata Nui said while Click was 'clicking' in fear, so anyone who could fly or transform into HDD (Or dragon in Flare's case) would easily go through it with ease, while a few of them had to be carried.

That just left Mata Nui, Kratos, RWBY and the Blood Gulch Crew.

"Hey guys, do you need a hand?" Hoopa Heart asked, opening up a portal.

"Nah, we'll just get through. How bad can it be?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, and besides… portals are for pussies!" Tucker said.

"We'll just go on through with ease!" Sarge said.

"I've faced many traps in my travels. This should be nothing." Kratos said as they went on through… and as soon their feet made contact, they immediately shivered, and a certain ice queen was complaining the whole way.

"Oh relax, we'll get through." Yang said.

"Yeah right! I'm gonna die of hypothermia before we can get to the other side!"

"You worry too much." Ruby said… and then they suddenly stopped moving as they looked down… and to their surprise, the pool of water turned into ice.

"ICE?!" Mata Nui yelled, as Ruby, Yang, Blake and the RvB group turned to Weiss.

"Don't look at me! I had nothing to do with it!"

"Stand back. I'll break us free." Kratos said and he, along with Mata Nui slashed down on the ice… only for it burst into flames later.

"This is madness!" Mata Nui exclaimed.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW OOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Weiss yelled as everyone sweatdropped.

"Sooo… about that portal I offered…" Hoopa Heart said.

"OH, BITE ME!" Tucker yelled…and they eventually broke free as Natsu immediately warmed them up.

"F-F-F-F-FREEDOOOOOOM!" Ruby yelled while warming up, and then sneezed.

"We didn't…need…your portals…!" Weiss said, and then they were healed by a few Curaga spells and they kept on walking.

"Is it hours or days that we've been making our way through this maze?" Mata Nui wondered. "I can no longer tell."

"I think it's been a few hours." Deadpool said as they kept walking… until they reached a dead-end.

"Aww… it's a dead end…" Rose sighed.

"Well, we'll just have to find a different path then." Riku said… and then suddenly, the walls started to rumble and the walls started to move in close to them.

"Oh come on!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Well, this is definitely a 'dead' end for all of us." Yang joked, which earned a couple of loud groans from everyone.

"GOD DAMMIT, BARB!" Simmons yelled, shaking his fist angrily.

"Now's not the time for jokes!" Mata Nui said as he broke through the walls with Kratos and they quickly made their way forward while dodging Thornax Launchers, until they were destroyed when Deadpool destroyed them with a rocket launcher.

"And boom goes the dynamite! WOO!" Deadpool yelled and they eventually made it towards the heart of the maze.

"We've made it… the heart of the maze." Mata Nui said. "Locked inside that fortress are the answers I seek, I know it. I just wish I knew how to get in there and find them…"

"We'll just knock it down." Natsu grinned.

"Aye!"

"I don't think it'd be that simple… even though I want to blast it down for that horrid trap we went through!" Sarge said, aiming his shotgun at the fortress.

"The Great Beings never seem to make it easy… and we don't have time to waste. For who knows what Makuta is up to…" Mata Nui mused.

End BGM

Speaking of Teridax…

BGM: The Thirteenth Discretion (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)

"Mata Nui lives." Teridax said as they were at the base of the Malevolent Seven.

"Are you sure? You expelled him from your body a long time ago." Vilgax told him.

"I did… but I never thought he'd live. He awaits for me on Bara Magna… and that's where those heroes are located."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Black Doom asked. "Those heroes are quite the tricky ones."

"I've dissolved many rebellions against me. Those heroes are no match for me, even if they have Mata Nui with them, I will watch them squirm and suffer from me."

"Would you like us to teleport you there?" Unicron asked.

"No. I will fly there myself." Teridax insisted. "I will destroy them all, while being on the lookout for a certain traitor." He said. "Farewell."

And with that, Teridax flew off to Bara Magna and he chuckled darkly. "Beware, Mata Nui and Heroes of Light, Makuta comes for you… and he comes bringing death!"

End BGM

Back with Mata Nui's group…

BGM: Thwomp Volcano (Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time)

"Is there an entrance up top?" Simmons asked as Purple Heart was taking a look.

"Nope…" Purple Heart replied as she flew back down.

"Stand back…" Blanc transformed into White Heart. "I'M GONNA MAKE US AN ENTRANCE!" She yelled, flying over and slamming her hammer in the tower… but when her hammer made contact, it just bounced her back and knocked her down. "Uuugh… did I make an entrance…?"

"Not even a dent." Ram said.

"OH COME ON!"

"I could blow up an entrance for us." Minene said.

"I was thinking the same thing." Natsu smirked.

"There's got to be something else besides making an entrance or blowing something up." Youmu rubbed her chin in thought. "But what…"

Mata Nui growled in annoyance. "I've had enough of this." He said. "There has GOT to be a way in!"

"What do you think we're doing?!" White Heart asked as Yang and Uzume were punching the pillar repeatedly until they were worn out.

"Oh come on… can't you do anything…?!" She exclaimed.

"We need Gildarts…" Natsu said. "Hell… better yet…" He looked at Kratos, who was studying the outside of the tower. "How about we let him make an entrance? If he can kill Gods, I'm pretty sure a building will be a piece of cake!"

"What do you seek?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing… well, stopped most of them from thinking and a few of them from trying to make a hole in the wall, and they looked at the building, which Mata Nui quickly got up to it.

"Entrance." Mata Nui replied.

There was a long silence… until…

"…What do you seek?"

"I wish to enter… but I see no way to do so."

"I say just make an entrance!" White Heart exclaimed.

"Ever heard of patience…?" Sabrina asked, sitting on a rock with Rose and Maria Jr, who looked bored out of their minds.

"What do you seek? What is your burden? What brings you life, and death?"

"…What kind of questions are those?" Noire asked.

"Those aren't questions. Those are riddles." Professor Jacob said.

Of course! Mata Nui thought. This fortress, and the maze that surrounds it, were designed to keep out anyone who might use the power of the Great Beings for selfish reasons. So… if I don't give the right answers here… He started thinking hard about it.

What does he seek? That's a very good question there. Let's see, when he first came to Bara Magna, all he ever thought was escaping and save his people from Teridax, but then he thought about this "Citadel" that the others were thinking.

What was the Citadel all about? Was it all that cracked up to be? Then again, the CPUs seemed to be excited about it… in fact, Qrow, Saki, Satoru, and Kratos seemed interested about it too.

But still, this tower right here… could it be possible that this place has ties to his origins? And what if there were no answers to what he was looking for?

Well, there was only one way to find out… and it was going to take him a while as he sat down, deep in thought.

"I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while." Satoru said.

"Yep." Saki nodded.

End BGM

Back with the others…

"Where are they?" Kiina asked as she was pacing around a little. "They should've been back by now."

"Perhaps." Ackar spoke up. "But, we've got no idea how far they had to travel, or what they might have found."

"Or what might have found them." Gresh spoke. "We should've stayed with him, no matter what he said. I mean, some of the heroes went with him, why couldn't we?!"

"Some of us have to protect the village, you know." Mavis said.

"I'm well aware of that! I'm just saying that they should've had extra help!"

"Well, he was very adamant about it, now that I think about it." Pyrrha said.

"It's been like what… a few weeks?" Jaune asked.

"It felt like a couple of days to me." Nora said.

"We have to believe Mata Nui and the others know what they're doing." Ackar said. "Besides, they have each other to look out for." Still, I would've liked to go.

It was then a few minutes of silence that Ackar had enough. He worried about them too and there's no way he's going to sit by any longer! "Alright, that's it. Start gathering supplies, Kiina… we're going to go help them."

"We'll protect the Mega-Village." Mavis said.

"Thank you." Ackar said and he looked at Kiina and Gresh after they returned with supplies. "Let's move!"

"You don't think they're…"

"Relax, Kiina… if anyone can come back in one piece, it's definitely them." Ackar said. "Unless, of course… that shadowy hedgehog came back and…" He looked at Kiina with fear in her eyes. "I'm only kidding. Let's go."

"Right." She nodded and they took off.

Back with the others…

BGM: Thwomp Volcano

"Where does Deadpool find all of this stuff?" Saki wondered, eating a sandwhich with her husband… in fact, all of them besides Mata Nui were eating that Deadpool made for them.

"It'd be better if you didn't ask." Isaac said, as some of them were finding ways to entertain themselves… like Plutia had a random doll and was busy playing with it, Flare was busy making out with Flame, Neptune and Nepgear were training, Rose was looking around her Pokedex, and Sabrina and Aria had their phones out.

"So, caught anything?" Sabrina asked.

"Nothing but Zubat and Pidgey… oh, and a Rattata."

"I got a Primeape."

"There was a Primeape here?! I could've caught that one!"

"If only I can find Pikachu…" Sabrina muttered.

While everyone was keeping themselves busy, Mata Nui was still deep in thought. What is my burden? He wondered as that was pretty easy. He wound up on Bara Magna after allowing evil to usurp rule over his home after his carelessness. Now he's trying to figure things out by this maddening riddle. His duty was trying to save his people and all he's doing is...

Wait!

That's it!

Duty… Mata Nui thought. It's duty that drives me on, the responsibility I feel for the people of my universe. Duty is my burden!

Now it all made sense. The Great Beings did teach him the Three Virtues after all… and those virtues just so happened to be Unity, Duty, and Destiny.

If that were the case… then maybe…

He quickly got back up. "I seek… unity!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking at Mata Nui right when Happy placed down a card in front of Natsu, Youmu, and Noire.

"What is your burden?"

"Duty."

"What brings you life, and death?"

"Destiny."

Suddenly, at that instant, the stone blocks in the center of the fortress seemed to soften and melt together. A square gap about eight feet high appeared at the base of the building. Then the stone became stone again, with a doorway now in place.

It was at that moment when the "Puzzle solved" music from Legend of Zelda played… and it came from Deadpool's 3DS.

"Well, you couldn't time that again even if you tried!" Deadpool laughed as they got back up.

"Let's go." Mata Nui said, as Click tried to protest… but Mata Nui didn't want to hear it and they proceeded to enter the tower, and eventually, they got to the bottom, full of heat, a pool of lava in the center of the room…

And dangling above it… was a lone Agori named Tarduk.

"Help… me…" Tarduk groaned.

"Hang on, we're gonna get you out of there!" Isaac exclaimed. "So… how are we going to do that?"

"Cut the chain and catch him before he falls into the lava?" Natsu asked.

"I can easily do that." Youmu said.

"That depends on how hard you cut the chain. Chains aren't so easy to break." Sora said.

Tristina sighed as she transformed into Primal Heart and then summoned her original Keyblade, and then activated the Lightsaber. "Unless you have a Lightsaber Keyblade."

"I'm still a bit jealous…" Sabrina muttered.

"Hmm…" Weiss walked forward and getting close to the lava, and took out Myrtenaster. "I wonder…" She mused as she stabbed the ground, and attempted to freeze up the lava… but the ice only melted.

"News flash! Lava melts ice!" Ruby called.

"Well, excuse me! I was just wondering if it were possible to freeze lava! Anything can happen!"

"She's not wrong." Blake pointed out. "I mean, remember that time in the Citadel when the kitchen was on fire?"

Flashback!

"MY CAAAAKE!" Peach screamed.

"What? I decided to raise the temperature a little." Bowser said.

"BUT YOU MADE THE OVEN EXPLODE!"

"My bad…"

"Poyo poyo~!" Kirby came by with the Ice Copy Ability and happily walked in.

"What's he doing?" Daisy asked. "And better yet… WHERE'S NATSU?!"

"SOMEONE WAKE THAT IDIOT UP!" Gray yelled.

"Guys, look at that!" Rose pointed as they saw Kirby happily blowing ice and dousing the fire with his ice breath until it was all out… and it became a winter wonderland in there.

"Poyo~!"

"…I can't believe it…" Yang said.

"That puffball continues to amaze me." Washington said.

End flashback…

"I still can't believe you were asleep too." Weiss looked at Ruby.

"Well excuse me! I didn't know what was going on!" Ruby exclaimed.

During all of their arguments, Kratos simply walked over to Tardux and studied him before using his Blades of Exile to cut the chain, but then he used Wings of Icarus to grab him to safely bring him down. "There." He said.

"Oh." Ruby.

"My." Yang.

"God." Weiss.

"Impressive." Blake simply smiled while Mata Nui walked forward.

"Are you okay, Tarduk?" He asked.

"Yeah… I didn't think humans can grow wings… if he is human that is." Tarduk said, looking at Kratos who just chuckled.

"So, what is this place?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you… but you can believe this… we need to get out of here. NOW!"

"You go. I came here to find answe-" A violent rumble interrupted Mata Nui as the ceiling started to cave in.

End BGM

BGM: No Time to Think! (Kingdom Hearts)

"The only answer you'll find here is what happens after death!" Tarduk exclaimed, forcing them to get the hell out of there, although Mata Nui stood there for a moment… he was so close to the answers and yet… everything was coming down on top of him.

A portal opened up and he was then pulled in, coming out of the other side as Hoopa Heart had a hold of him and she closed the portal.

"Geez, were you trying to get killed?!" Hoopa Heart scolded, but then to their amazement, the tower melted as if it were ice and then the next thing they saw was molten lava…and then… the ground rose up and started forming a mountain, as a complete volcano.

End BGM

"Well…I can add 'watching a volcano form in my eyes' off of my bucket list." Aria said as Sabrina looked at her in surprise.

"You have a bucket list?"

"Not really." Aria smiled innocently as Sabrina sweatdropped.

"Don't scare me like that…"

"Incredible." Tarduk said.

"Incredible isn't the word I'm looking for. It's impossible." Mata Nui said.

"How can that be impossible? We're looking right at it!" Aria exclaimed.

"I wonder what caused it?" Tarduk wondered.

"The same that caused all of this… The Great Beings. That's no natural volcano." Mata Nui said.

"How do you know?" Tarduk asked.

Mata Nui smiled. "Let's just say I know something about volcanoes that aren't really volcanoes, and leave it at that. You stay here, we're going in."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Emerald yelled.

"Dag nabbit, I was hoping we would go out a different way." Sarge muttered.

Mata Nui chuckled. "Never fear, this won't take long." He said and he climbed up the mountain.

"…He has a death wish." Sabrina said and then noticed Kratos doing the same. "And so does he."

"Oh, who cares? Let's just see what he's up to!" Natsu said as Happy picked him up and flew up as the others proceeded to climb up as they noticed that Mata Nui was attempting to dig something up… something metal as Kratos was helping him.

"This should be simple." Terra said, calling out his Ground Type Pokemon.

"Drill!"

"Hippo!"

"Gligar!"

"Swine!"

Rhyhorn just roared as they began to dig it up… but they heard an even louder roar as a humongous red hand started digging too, being careful not to hit anyone as they saw Primal Groudon digging too, while Primal Heart giggled and did the peace sign.

They eventually realized that this was no ordinary volcano. Oh no, this volcano was made out of pipes, conduits and wires. "Ah, typical of the Great Beings." Mata Nui chuckled.

"A volcano made out of pipes and wires… just when I thought I saw it all." Noire muttered as they proceeded to go up until they found a small, open area.

The first thing they noticed were plans on a wall for a giant robot… the same plans they found at Tajun. Mata Nui smiled, yes… this was it! Answers that could be found here! There was a connection between here and the construction of the original body.

"Hello, what's this?" Neptune wondered, looking at a blank screen as he brushed it off and it suddenly flared to life. "Whoa!"

This caught their attention as they saw a series of images flashing at basically Super Sonic speeds as everyone had to look away just so they wouldn't get a migraine just trying to digest it all… but Mata Nui, on the other hand, he did his best as this was his origin story.

He was getting excited just thinking about, oh, how he dreamed of this. How he needed to find a way to get back into his body and give Teridax the boot and then he'd save his-

Two robots?

He had to look at it again, and there was not just one… but TWO robots.

He couldn't believe his eyes!

There was supposed to be… a second one?! He thought. Another Mata Nui?! But they never did… because… this planet's end came too fast… or maybe they were killed.

Mata Nui sunk to the floor, putting his hands over his head in sorrow, and Sabrina recognized this anywhere. "Hey, what's wrong?" Sabrina asked.

"I can't do my mission alone…" He muttered and then explained what he gathered as their eyes widened, including Tarduk who snuck in.

"Well, that puts a damper on things." Noire said as Rose and Maria Jr. quickly hugged Mata Nui and Sabrina knelt down and put her hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"I don't know what you can do about your…um…body." Tarduk said. "But from what you said, you already have a second one. It's lying in the Bara Magna desert, isn't it?"

Mata Nui nodded. "Yes, but it's been dead for well over 100,000 years. It has no power, and even if it was active, it was unstable."

Tarduk frowned at this. "Not sure about stability, but as for power… what does this remind you of?"

Mata Nui looked around and then it hit him. He was so focused on learning about his past and the odds about completing his mission that he never realized… that this volcano was nothing more than a power plant!

He then stood up. "The plans… That's what was created here… The power source for my body! And if they planned on building a second robot…"

"Then there might be a second power source. It's worth searching for, right?"

"Indeed!" Mata Nui nodded. "Come on, let's head back to the Mega Village. When we reunite with our comrades, I'll have to ask Raanu!" He said.

"Perfect!" Natsu exclaimed. "Let's go ask the guy!"

"Right!" Mata Nui nodded.

Why do I have this feeling asking Raanu won't be easy? Sabrina thought as they all proceeded to take off back to the Mega-Village.

Asking Raanu won't be easy, that's for sure.

And apparently, today marks the anniversary of Satoru Iwata's death.

To be honest, I thought he died on the 14th. T-T