Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: Waddle Dee Town (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
"Hey Chiaki!" Jade walked over to her.
"Hmm? What is it?" Chiaki asked.
"You're the expert gamer around here… like, more expert than my girlfriend-"
"Hey! For the record, I was the expert gamer around here… until Chiaki stole my thunder by leaving the Underworld…" Futaba said. "Friggin' Ultimate Gamer status… wish I was born in Danganronpa…" She mumbled the last part to herself. Then again, I'd be the Ultimate Hacker…
Chiaki sweatdropped. "Uh… sorry?"
"No no, it's fine." Futaba snickered. "Look, we fished something up and the Ayami twins and I have these… things. I looked it up and apparently they're Tera Orbs."
"Oh! I've heard about these… you use these to Terastalize your Pokemon."
"Oh, is that how Terastalizing works? I guess that makes sense…" Futaba said.
"Yeah, I've also seeing that you can change the Typing of your Pokemon."
"Really? How does that even work?" Jade raised an eyebrow.
"Heck if I know. I just barely started playing Violet. I just turned it on just so I get the National Dex upgraded in my gamer powers." Chiaki shrugged. "I'll figure out the mechanics later." She hopped on the Warp Star with Kirby, BB-8 and Elfilin. "Have fun Terastalizing!" She waved as they took off.
"Wait, how do we activate this?! Chiaki, wait!" Futaba called out to her before sighing. "Great." She looked at Spooks and aimed the Tera Orb at him. "So… what… do I aim it at him or…"
Suddenly, the Tera Orb shined brightly as massive energy swirled around the Tera Orb. "Ack!" She yelped as the energy knocked Futaba's glasses off of her. "What the heck do I do now?!"
"Uh… throw it? I don't know!" Jade said as Futaba threw the Tera Orb at Spooks, which immediately caused Spooks to Terastalize.
"Woooooof!" Spooks barked happily as Futaba picked her glasses back up.
"Wow… that's pretty shiny." Jade said.
"Eh… it's not Mega Evolution, but it's some-" She spotted the Tera jewel on the Greavard's head. "-...thing…? Is that a mountain on his head?"
"He doesn't seem to mind though…" Jade observed.
Futaba sweatdropped. "I don't get it…"
"Hmm, this could be a temporary transformation like Dynamaxing and Mega Evolution." Jade guessed.
"Yeah, probably."
Nearby, Nyx sat next to the Ayami Twins. "It's rather cute for a Poison type." Nyx said as the Wooper played with Quagsire.
"Yeah, it is." Yagami nodded. "It also helps that I'm not feeling sick whenever I hold him."
"Same with me." Xena chuckled, leaning on her sister's shoulder.
"Hmm…" Nyx folded her arms. "You know what we should do?"
"What?"
"Get your minds off of things for a while. Yeah, we're still looking for Umber and considering what happened last time… yeah, if it happened to either my boyfriend or girlfriend, I'd be a mess myself."
"What are you… saying?" Xena asked.
"I think it'll do the both of ya some good if we all go out and hung around with Chiaki and Kirby for a while."
"All of us?" Yagami asked.
"Yeah." Nyx smiled, taking both of their hands. "Come on, we all love you two. So… why don't we just go out and explore as a team? Maybe we can find your guy and knock him out of his possession. Better to just walk around and mope, right?"
"Yeah… you're right." Xena nodded as she got up. "Come on, sis… let's go."
"Right." Yagami agreed as they both put their Pokemon in their Pokeballs as Yagami them merged back inside of her.
"Alright… let's get Iris and Jade's attention." Xena said, closing her eyes. "Iris, Jade, you want-"
The same thing happened to her just like what happened when they tried to communicate with Umber.
"AAAAGH!" Xena cried, clutching her head and closing her eyes. "Nnngh!" She whimpered.
"Xena?!" Nyx put her hands on her shoulder. "Xena, speak to me!"
"Aaagh… uuungh… hah…" Xena panted, looking at Nyx as her eyes stopped glowing red. "We only tried to telepathically talk to our teammates…"
Nyx's eyes widened. "Oh Oum, it's got to the point where you can't telepathically talk to anyone…" She said. "I'll get the girls." She whipped out her scroll and started texting them.
"Hey, texting you here instead of Xena telepathically communicating to you."
"What's wrong?" - Iris
"Apparently, it's got to the point where she can't use her telepathy PERIOD."
"Oh shit…"
"Yeah, and I thought the best course of action was we accompany Chiaki, Kirby and Elfilin for a while to get their mind off things."
"You forgot BB-8." - Jade
"Yeah, but he's an extension of Chiaki, so I'm technically including him when I mention her."
"Fair enough!"
"Alright, we'll meet you over there. After I finish this delicious grilled cheese and Maxim Tomato sandwich."
Nyx sweatdropped. "...Xena?"
"On it." Xena aimed her hand at the cafe and telekinetically pulled Iris to them.
"Wah!" Iris yelped, proceeding to quickly eat the sandwich and downed it with Pep Brew. "I've heard of lunch rushes, but this is ridiculous." She chuckled.
Jade kissed Futaba on the cheek. "See you around."
"I'll come see ya in one of those areas." Futaba winked, kissing her cheek in return as they hopped on a Warp Star and flew off. "...I really gotta work up the courage to have my first kiss with her."
"I thought you already had." Magolor said as he walked by.
"It only counts when it's on the lips. The cheeks and foreheads don't count!"
"Suuuuuuure."
End BGM
With the quad…
"Brrr!" Elfilin shivered as they landed.
"Definitely a colder area." Chiaki said.
"Po-Po-Poyo…" Kirby shivered.
"Hmm… let me see here…" Chiaki looked through her screens. "Anything warm and toasty in here… ah!" She summoned a few Ice Climber parkas.
Only problem was, they weren't her size.
"I don't think that'll cover your abdomen…" Elfilin said.
"You're right… buuuut…" Chiaki summoned a Super Mushroom and put it into the parka, making it larger as she put it on. "Aaah, there we go~" She giggled, summoning a mini mushroom next and shrinking another parka as she put it on Elfilin. "Oh, you look absolutely cute~!"
"Oh, and it's so warm like a fuzzy little blanket!" Elfilin giggled, putting the hoodie on while Kirby sucked up a parka to become Ice Climber Kirby.
"Poyo!"
Chiaki looked at the last one in her arms, and then looked at BB-8. "Hmm… I didn't mean to summon this many, buuuut…" Chaotic energy coursed through her hand as she cut through the parka as BB-8 tilted his head… and then Chiaki put a little beanie on top of BB-8.
"I know it's technically spring now, but… 'tis the season~!" Chiaki smiled, summoning a mirror and showing BB-8, who let out a few happy chirps.
They would hear a Warp Star coming in as they would see JINXY coming in for a land. "Just you guys?" Chiaki asked.
"Thought we could get these two out and about to get their minds off things by hanging out with you guys for a while." Nyx said.
Chiaki smiled. "Oh, that's perfectly fine! I was actually hoping they'd get cheered up."
"Yeah… let's go." Xena said as they went into a frozen over city of some kind.
"Yup, definitely feels like Shiver Star now." Chiaki said as they wandered around, finding some stairs as they walked up, and walked past the gates… where they would hear the sound of a Warp Star coming in.
World 4-1: Northeast Frost Street - Ann, Ryuji, Pyro, Byakuren, Adaleine Ribbon, Flamberge
BGM: Northeast Frost Street (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
"Freakin' BRR, dude! It's effin' cold out here!" Ryuji complained.
"Definitely going to get a hot chocolate later." Ann said and then spotted JINXY. "Oh?"
"Getting their minds off things." Iris responded, referring to the twins.
"Oh good, because I was getting worried for those two." She said.
"Goodness, it's so magical out here!" Adaleine said.
"I know… it's breathtaking!" Ribbon said.
"Eh, I can melt everything if I wanted to." Flamberge said.
"Mmmph!" Pyro agreed as they walked through the area.
"So, Byakuren, how are you feeling?" Chiaki asked.
"I'm feeling a lot better. Felt like stretching my legs." Byakuren smiled.
"Sounds about right." Nyx chuckled as they walked ahead where Ribbon fired a few shards at a Bernard, while a Corori slid down a small snow hill.
"Is that a Corori? I haven't seen them since Dreamland 3!" Chiaki said.
"...There's how many Dreamlands?" Elfilin asked. "...Wait, best to not ask." He chuckled as Flamberge noticed a snow sculpture with the number one on it. She immediately melted it, to which Ryuji gave her a weird look.
"What? It was kinda ugly."
Ryuji sweatdropped. "Ooookay." He said as Chiaki teleported the Corori away.
"Perhaps Gundham might want a few penguins." Chiaki giggled as they walked ahead, where Byakuren noticed a side alley as she curiously walked over, to find a Waddle Dee napping on a bench, cuddled up next to an Awoofy.
"Aww…" Byakuren smiled, gently picking the two up and walked back to the others.
Chiaki looked to Xena. "You want to teleport them?"
"Sure…" Xena nodded, teleporting the Waddle Dee and Awoofy away, then they walked up ahead and went up some stairs, although Kirby hit a bomb block and hopped up some stairs to find himself a gachapon.
"Poyo!" Kirby smiled… before handing it to Xena. "Poyo!"
"Oh, a little pick me up?" She asked as she opened it up, revealing to be Clawroline. She stared at the figurine before gently smiling, putting it away and patting Kirby on the head, while Chiaki teleported a Corori away.
"Wonder how Gundham's feeling…" Chiaki said.
At Waddle Dee Town…
"Penguins?" Gundham asked, seeing a few Cororis that Chiaki had sent him before smirking. "Hahahahaha! Yes! No one will ever expect a penguin army! Mwahahahahaha! Join me, my penguin brethren and we will crush Fecto with your adorable beaks of terror!"
"...Sonia, your boyfriend's acting weird again!" Taranza exclaimed.
"Hmm?" Sonia turned her head as she was training with LAFF and Logue. "Ah, that's just him being normal."
Back with the others…
"He's probably hamming it up." Flamberge said.
Chiaki snickered. "Wouldn't put it past him." She giggled as they got onto a higher platform and then spotted a vending machine. Kirby immediately walked forward, swinging down his small hammer on some Poppy Bros and sucked up the Vending Machine, becoming Vending Mouth and proceeded to destroy the metal boxes nearby and waddled around, hitting everything with ice cold sodas, destroying any enemy nearby, although Chiaki saved a Bernard by teleporting him to Waddle Dee Town.
BB-8 let out a snarky boop.
"Yeah yeah, I know I've knocked them out before… mostly due to self defense. I did wonder what it'd be like if Gundham had a few of them."
"Well, I'm sure he'll be happy." Ann smiled.
"He kinda creeps me out a little…" Ribbon said.
"Thank you!" Elfilin said as Kirby destroyed a few metal gates, one of them was a gachapon that Ann took before deciding to hand it over to Xena while the other had a Waddle Dee where Chiaki teleported it away.
Xena opened up the Gachapon, which was a Bouncy. "Aww…" She smiled, putting it away.
"She's definitely appreciating it." Iris said.
"...Remind me why Makoto hates it?" Nyx asked. "I've been seeing her try to dismantle the gachapon machines but-"
Earlier…
"Waaaah!" Makoto yelped, as a rope trap grabbed her by the ankle and held her up at the arch.
Sniper sipped some coffee. "Enjoying the view up there, mate?"
"Oh shut it!"
In the present…
"Those Waddle Dees know how to make excellent traps. I didn't even teach 'em!" Nyx said.
"That was them? I was convinced that was you." Jade said.
Ann sighed. "Honestly, I don't know… I think I have a pretty good idea why, but I'm definitely going to ask her later."
"Probably the predatory aspect of that and the microtransactions that come with it." Chiaki guessed. Looking at you, EA…
"Yeah, probably."
"It's best to look the other way if this "gacha" is indeed troublesome. I would probably welcome it with open arms at the Myouren Temple." Byakuren said.
"And if it proves troublesome?" Chiaki asked.
"I did say probably." Byakuren winked as they headed over to a Warp Star where they would see an animal snow sculpture with the number two on it, with Pyro gleefully burning it down.
"I shudder to think what goes on inside that mask…" Adaleine said.
Inside Pyrovision…
"Mmmph mmph~!" Pyro handed a plate of cookies to the Awoofy.
Outside Pyroland…
"Probably something horrific!" Ryuji grimaced as they hopped on the Warp Star and flew off.
They landed on a platform and saw several tilting platforms on frozen water. "Oh, that looks fun…" Nyx said sarcastically.
"Oh, I'm sure it's not that slick." Chiaki said as she walked over, and saw snow and ice on top of the first one. "...On second thought, we're gonna need to do some defrosting juuuust in case."
"Mmph mmph~!" Pyro said and proceeded to melt the snow and ice as Ann and Chiaki helped Pyro out, Xena teleporting the Cororis away for Chiaki as they got onto a stable platform, where Iris spotted some crumbling blocks as she hurried over and saw a target switch. She quickly aimed her Gunblade at it and fired a fireball to break the target, which opened up a door.
"Hmm?" Adaleine wondered as she and Ribbon wandered in as they would find themselves in a room and would see a switch on a wall. Ribbon immediately picked up Adaleine and handed her her crystal as Adaleine fired at the switch, opening up a gate as she aimed and fired crystals at the moving target, hitting the target which opened up a door for a caged Waddle Dee.
"Woo! First try!" Adaleine smiled.
"I wouldn't count "missing five shots" as first try." Ribbon teased.
"Aww…" Adaleine pouted before giggling as they walked up the steps and freed the Waddle Dee, then made their way back and caught up with the others where Ryuji kicked a bomb block to free up a Waddle Dee inside of a wall, where behind them, the third snow sculpture melted away from Pyro's antics.
"There ya go, little guy!" Ryuji said as Chiaki teleported him away, and then turned to see Adaleine and Ribbon coming over with another Waddle Dee, where she teleported the other one back to Waddle Dee town.
They climbed up the ladder and proceeded to go through a door where they found themselves near some stairs and some Cororis throwing snowballs down. Xena picked the stairs up and brought it over to them before Kirby could suck it up. "Poyo…"
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Kirby. Those snowballs look like they could hurt." Elfilin said as they climbed up while Chiaki teleported the Cororis away as they found more stairs and moved it to have them climb up while Ann kicked away a Gabon and Pyro melted the last sculpture, which freed up a Waddle Dee as Chiaki teleported it away.
"Hang on a moment…" Byakuren moved over to a cracked wall. "I feel like there's a secret here." She pulled back her fist and punched it, shattering it instantly as she casually walked in.
"What the hell?!" Jade said in surprise.
"I get that people in Gensokyo are strong and all, but what the EFF?!" Ryuji yelled. "And another thing, don't they depower if they leave Gensokyo?"
"I'm guessing that's not bothering her too much." Chiaki said. "...Come to think of it, I don't think that slowed down Kasen either." She smiled. "I mean, just because you've been nerfed a little bit doesn't mean you're completely weaker. You're still strong, just… you're holding back, if that makes sense."
"She's not wrong." Ann said as Byakuren came back with a Waddle Dee as Xena teleported him away, then they climbed up a platform as Nyx shot up three green switches to activate them, making some platforms rise up as they moved around the enemies and made it to the golden cage.
"Hang on!" Iris cut through the cage to free the Waddle Dees up, while nearby, Chiaki spotted a clock tower as she levitated toward it and found a Waddle Dee near the edge.
"I got ya." Chiaki smiled, picking him up and flying back where everyone else went on the Warp Star and flew off.
"Alright, next stop… somewhere in this frozen tundra!" Nyx said as they hopped on the Warp Star and flew off.
End BGM
However, as they flew off, they would see a rift portal opening up. "What the hell is that?" Iris asked.
"You wanna know where we get those Rare Stones?" Chiaki asked as they flew into it.
BGM: Dazzling Treasures (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
Chain Bomb Treasure - Cast a Line! Chain Bomb Trial
Everyone hopped out. "Whoa! This is… kinda trippy!" Xena said.
"You get used to it."
"Poyo!" Kirby said, snagging the Chain Bomb essence and proceeded to throw his chain bomb around, smacking enemies around in the water.
"Soooo… I'm guessing this is like a test of some kind?" Iris asked.
"Pretty much. Sometimes even I participate!" Elfilin said as Kirby happily went to town as they went to the next platform.
"I think Kirb's got it covered though." Chiaki chuckled.
"Sooooo… while we wait… you got any stories, Chiaki?" Elfilin asked. "I'm curious about these video games."
"Oh, sure… what do you wanna know?"
"I'm positive that these video games make you happy, but were there anything that made you cry?"
"Ooooh… there were a few. One that comes to mind was about a month ago was when I got around to playing Spider-Man for the PS4… or as fans call it, Spider-Man 2018."
…That's a lot of Spider-Men. Elfilin thought.
"So, I play through the game, having a lot of fun with it… and at the end, after I defeated Doc Ock, I reach the end and… to my utter heartbreak, I watch Aunt May die in Peter's arms. I was crying for about five minutes."
"Ooof, must've been a beloved character." Elfilin said.
"Yeah… and so, before I started playing the DLC, I thought I'd get my mind off things by finally watching Spider-Man: No Way Home. I thought for sure it'd be a good movie for me to get my mind off of Aunt May dying…"
Pause BGM
"I just have to… catch my breath…"
"I'm right here, I'm right… I'm right here… we're okay. Just me and you. …May?"
Chiaki sniffled, tears running down her cheeks. "OH COME ON!" She sobbed. "Kick me while I'm down…"
Resume BGM
Elfilin sweatdropped. "Ouch…"
"Yeah, that was not a good day for me. Although, my sadness turned into pure fangirling like… five minutes later."
Talk about a 180… Nyx thought.
"That's good… I guess?" Elfilin rubbed the back of his head. "Soooo, any other sad moments?"
"Nothing that comes to mind. Now, if we're talking about happy moments, I've got plenty of them. So much that-"
"Poyo!" Kirby waved them off, seeing he was at the Rare Stone already.
"Huh? That flashback only lasted five seconds, what the heck?" Chiaki sweatdropped.
BB-8 chirped.
"Yeah… never underestimate the puffball." Chiaki giggled as they walked over to reunite with Kirby as they hopped into a rift portal and found themselves in front of a metro.
"A train station?" Iris asked.
"Most likely abandoned." Chiaki said as they heard a Warp Star coming in.
World 4-2: Metro on Ice - Scout, Soldier, Shadow, Sonia, LAFF, Logue, Futaba
BGM: Metro On Ice (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
"Hey girl!" Jade smiled as the duo embraced.
"Hey! …Whoa, you brought the kids here?" Chiaki asked.
"I thought it would be a good idea for them to see what combat is like up close and personal, and to see how I fare in combat." Sonia winked. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they won't get hurt too badly."
"Mmm… what are their semblances, exactly?" Nyx asked as they walked into the metro.
Laura smiled. "Mine is Ecto-Vision. Practically, it's Aura Sense. I can perceive and read auras, allowing me to see their emotions, health status, power level and even moral alignment. My irises glow while my scelera turn black on both eyes whenever I use it. It freaked me out a couple of times and it sure freaked out my friends, but I got used to it!"
"Yeeeeah… I don't think that would've helped us in the Phazon War." Nyx chuckled.
Laura grimaced. "Yeah… probably."
"My semblance? Nullification." Albedo spoke up. "It allows me to temporarily cancel out an opponent's semblance or even powers at a single gaze whenever they're in my line of sight. I think it also weaken's the person's aura too."
"...Now when you say "powers"..." Elfilin said as he looked at Chiaki. "Oh dear."
"I can handle myself just fine. I know how to throw hands." Chiaki giggled.
"It's true!" Sonia nodded.
"Mine's Heatwave." Magnolia explained. "Basically, I can manipulate the heat temperature on the area around me in such a small, yet significant area. I basically have the ability to make things catch on fire or heat things up when I physically touch it."
"It's also controlled by her emotions." Nick added. "The angrier she gets, the hotter it gets. Why do you think Albedo's here?"
"That's not entirely true…" Albedo mumbled.
"As for me, my semblance is Geobond. An earth-based semblance where I can control mud, soil, clay or even rocks into whatever solid construct I desire!" Nick grinned.
"Um…" Logue poked her fingers together. "I… don't have a semblance. Yet…"
"Don't sweat it! I'm sure it'll come to you at some point." Nyx winked. "It all just depends on the circumstances. Everyone's different."
"Just don't get in our way." Shadow said.
"Oh, don't be such a sour puss. They mean well." Futaba said as they walked inside.
"Is it just me or is it a little warmer in here than it is outside?" Scout wondered.
"No no, it's warm in here!" Soldier said, noticing several icicles on the ceiling and frozen water everywhere on the railways and ice platforms. "The elements just didn't get the memo yet!"
"Or maybe the heater's busted… which begs the question on how the heck Alivel Mall's radios were still working." Chiaki said.
"This world's a mystery." Sonia said as they defeated a few enemies as Nick conjured up a rock golem as it proceeded to lay waste on the enemies ahead.
"What's up here?" Futaba wondered as she tapped some screens in mid air to conjure up some cybernetic stairs as she walked up.
"Whoa…" Chiaki said as Futaba looked around.
"Nothin' too fancy, I thought there'd be a Waddle Dee." She said as a light suddenly shot out of the roof of the train as it shot off toward the distance.
"Wonder what that's about?" Xena wondered as she flew off after it as the others followed, but as they did, they were ambushed by Waifs and a Balloon Meister, where Chiaki teleported them away… and then Beowolves appeared.
"We got Grimm!" Laura exclaimed as Sonia pulled out her rapier and quickly stabbed the Beowolves in quick succession and kicked them into the frozen water, freezing them instantly.
"Not anymore." She smirked as a few Ice Plant Heartless showed up immediately after, where Magnolia walked up to the Ice Plants, activating her semblance as they spat out ice chunks at her, but with her semblance activated, it melted the ice before it could even touch her as she touched the Heartless and burned them alive until they shriveled up into nothing.
"I guess Meta Knight was right. Fecto's getting desperate." Chiaki said.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Jade said as Xena landed on the other train nearby, which caused another light to shoot up and met up with the other light, which caused a Waddle Dee to appear.
"Aha!" Xena grinned, teleporting the Waddle Dee away as Kirby used his Ice Climber hammer to hammer in some pins to cause a platform to open up to reveal a Waddle Dee trapped inside.
"That poor thing…" Chiaki said, teleporting it away as they walked away.
"So this… chaos magic. Is it part of your gaming powers?" Laura asked. "I've been meaning to ask."
"Actually, no. I stole it from Dimentio who pretty much asked for it, even I go so sick of him that I decided to mess with him. In turn, I got his chaos magic, which I trained very hard so I wouldn't become completely unstable with my magic. After I finished, I got a new makeover as a result, courtesy of my chaotic transformation."
"Now she's chaotically good unlike that has been." Futaba snickered.
"Or Merasmus…" Soldier added as Kirby hammered away at some walls, which at one point opened up a passageway as Kirby walked over with the others, where they would find several Star fragments, one of them inside of a dome that Chiaki opened up safely and used as a shield to protect herself from a large icicle.
Once all were found, a Waddle Dee was saved as they walked out as they were greeted by some Ice Keese that were quickly shot down by Scout as they went into another secret passageway where they found a locker. Kirby sucked it up and pulled it down to reveal a Waddle Dee, where Chiaki and Xena teleported him away as they walked through the hallway and found another Waddle Dee in the process before walking down some escalators.
"...Is it just me or did it get colder?" Elfilin asked.
"No, it got colder alright." Chiaki nodded.
"...This coldness. I've felt it before." Laura said.
"What are you saying?" Shadow asked.
"I feel like we're near something big."
"She's right. I'm picking up on some crazy energy readings nearby. The closer we get to the energy readings, the colder it'll get." Futaba said, looking through a graph.
"Come to think of it, this cold air has a sense of familiarity to it." Xena said. "Like… we've met it before."
"It's probably a… no, it can't be a Heartless." Chiaki said as they walked through the moving platforms.
"Ha! This cold air can't freeze me! I'm all warmed up with my desire to pummel this Fecto to the ground!" Soldier declared as they kept walking, finding two Waddle Dees on and in a shipping container as they crossed a gap filled with frozen water and walked up the escalators.
End BGM
They walked over to the golden cage, freeing them up. However, it started to snow… that immediately turned into a white out.
"A white out so quickly?!" Sonia asked in surprise.
"I don't like this…" Chiaki said.
"Something's coming!" Futaba exclaimed as they saw a figure walking through the thickness of the white out.
"Wait… is that…?" Laura squinted her eyes. She gasped, her eyes sparkling. "Esdeath!"
"Esdeath?" Nyx wondered. "Wait… something's not right."
Esdeath emerged from the white out. She said nothing as she stared at them all. "Esdeath!" Laura smiled. "You-"
"So nice to finally meet some of you humans." Esdeath said, her voice sounding distorted as they could also hear a male voice coming out of her mouth.
Infinite? …Wait, no. "Fecto!" Chiaki exclaimed.
BGM: Tension (Super Mario Galaxy)
"Meep!" Elfilin immediately hid within Chiaki's hoodie.
"You're Fecto?! What are you doing inside of my cousin's body?!" Laura demanded.
Sonia aimed her rapier. "Release General Esdeath right this very second!"
"Now why would I do that? I thought I would take this opportunity to get to know some of you." He said as Esdeath stared at Xena. "I see one of you is already here, almost succumbing to my offer."
Xena stiffened as JIN and Futaba immediately got in front of her. "Don't even think about it, asshole." Nyx glared.
"Amusing. You think that will be enough? Hahahahaha… those two are almost within my grasp. A little more egging on will be enough to secure them."
She then turned to Chiaki. "You. Gamer Girl. You along with that puffball have been a thorn in my side."
"Yeah, well, we have a knack for that." Chiaki said.
"Poyo."
"However, this is where it ends for all of you." Esdeath smirked. "Hand me my other half and I promise your deaths will be as painless as possible."
"Hmph!" Shadow folded his arms. "So you're the so-called Ultimate Lifeform?"
"I thought I had sensed a presence that had ultimate power similar to mine." Esdeath looked toward Shadow. "Your presence here bothers me. Only one can be the Ultimate Lifeform."
"I wholeheartedly agree."
"Fret not. Our battle will be soon at hand. For now… as I said-"
"Oh drop dead, Fecto whatever you are!" Magnolia said. "You're not going to win, so why don't you get out of Esdeath's body and-"
End BGM
"Hmm? Who do you think you're supposed to be… Foxface?"
Magnolia gasped, her eyes widening.
"Uh oh…" Nick said in horror.
"F-Fox… face…?!"
"Demon fox!"
"Go rot in hell with the rest of the demons!"
"What a freak!"
"Aww… is the little vixen going to cry like a baby?"
"Hey, guys! Take a look at this ugly fox-faced trash!"
"Yeah, you're right! Maybe her new name ought to be "Foxface" instead!"
"Nnngh…" Magnolia whimpered, hyperventilating as she shook in fear while tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Magnolia?!" Sonia looked on in surprise.
"N-N-no… Sh-shut up… L-leave me alone…!" She clutched her head. "G-GET AWAY FROM ME! STOP CALLING ME FOXFACE, YOU JERKS!" She screamed, her semblance kicking into overdrive.
BGM: Tension (Persona 5)
"Maggie, no!" Laura exclaimed.
"Hmm…" Fecto hummed as he smirked through Esdeath, aiming her hand at Magnolia as her eyes turned red.
Xena gasped. "No!"
"That despair she's feeling is like an open door for me." Esdeath turned to Xena. "And yours is just about to be wide open for me. That door is only partially shut with many cracks in the door!"
Chiaki grunted. "This is bad…"
"We'll hold off Maggie, you deal with Fecto!" Laura said as her friends dogpiled on Magnolia as Sonia looked at them worriedly.
"Poyo POYO!" Kirby said angrily, ready to clobber Fecto.
"Hmhmhmhm, such bold words for such a little insignificant creature."
"Guess we have no choice but to fight Esdeath here." Iris said.
Chiaki closed her eyes, letting out a small groan. "Shitake mushrooms… we're gonna die."
"Think you can call for backup?" Futaba asked.
"I can try." Chiaki nodded and started to call for backup, only for Chiaki to immediately get a splitting headache. "AGH! Nnngh!" She put her hand on her forehead, hissing in pain.
"I will not allow any outside interference, Gamer Girl."
"Nnngh… you shut me out…" Chiaki grunted, wincing.
Esdeath smirked. "A question for you. Did you really think you and the puffball were the only ones who are capable of using Copy abilities?"
"We used them on our last adventure in Dreamland." Jade said.
"Hmhmhmhm… did you have anyone that used these copy abilities against you? …No? Well…" Esdeath pulled out a Fire essence. "Consider this a wake up call." She absorbed it, as a crown of fire wrapped around Esdeath's head, her hair turning orange.
"I never knew Fecto could be a hot as hell woman." Scout said.
"Scout… let me break it down for you. Women do not sound like men!" Soldier said as they got ready to fight.
End BGM
BGM: Yami O Kiru (Akame Ga Kill)
The Ice Empress - Wild Esdeath
Esdeath conjured up fire in her hands, throwing it at the group as Chiaki put up a protective forcefield. "Elfi, get to safety. My hoodie won't protect you."
"Right!" Elfilin flew off where Chiaki put up a force field around Elfilin.
"Cute. When I kill you, I'll make sure that the force field will die with you."
Chiaki's eyes glowed a crimson red. "You talk too much." She unleashed a powerful psychic crimson laser into her as Esdeath unleashed a stream of fire into her, both of them connecting.
Shadow Chaos Snapped near Esdeath, spin kicking into her head, giving Chiaki the push as the laser struck Esdeath. Esdeath snapped her fingers as pillars of fire shot up from the ground, forcing them all to dodge it.
Soldier Rocket Jumped over to Esdeath, raining rockets at her as she simply threw fireballs at the rockets, causing said rockets to explode.
"YAAAAAH!" Soldier swung his Market Gardener down into Esdeath's head, but she caught the shovel and fire punched Soldier into a wall, then weaved her head to avoid a baseball, then she unleashed fire tornadoes at Scout, where he rolled out of the way and swung Sandman into her, but she caught it.
"You don't take fights seriously, do you?"
"That depends on who I'm fightin'." Scout pulled out his Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol and fired point blank shots into her gut. Esdeath grunted and kicked him in the knee and fire punched him away.
Esdeath shifted her eyes and conjured a fire sword as she blocked an attack from Iris and parried her, then sweep kicked her but Iris caught herself and delivered swift strikes as Nyx set up a few Turrets where they opened fire.
"Opening up the defense matrix!" Futaba said, swiftly buffing up everyone's defense as Esdeath turned to Futaba and snapped her fingers.
Futaba gasped, looking down as she dove out of the way to avoid a fire pillar as she pulled out her ray gun and fired.
"Let's mix things up." Esdeath brought out a Plasma essence and replaced it, immediately crackling with electricity as she fired lightning bolts at the group.
Xena teleported. Yagami!
"Right!"
Yagami came out as the twins proceeded to throw energy waves at her, complete with throwing fireballs at her. Esdeath calmly blocked with lightning bolts and smirked at the two, where Shadow unleashed a Dark Tornado to suck Esdeath up in the air as Chiaki went inside the tornado with Sonia, the former conjuring a crimson red longsword and slashed Esdeath down while Sonia thrusted her rapier into her.
Esdeath landed on the ground, snapping her fingers as an electric field appeared right where the Ultimates landed, trapping them in electricity, then weaved her head to avoid a Shadow Ball from Jade's Mimikyu and a crossbow bolt from Nyx.
Kirby snuck up behind Esdeath, pulled out his hammer and Hammer Flipped Esdeath away, but she quickly recovered. "This is all so fun, but I'd be more worried about your friends."
Sonia turned her head. "Magnolia..." She said with worry as the others turned to them, unaware of Xena and Yagami's eyes glowing red. They both aimed their hands at them all.
Shadow shifted his eyes and quickly Chaos Snapped to their location. "Apologies in advance." He said, grabbing their heads and slamming them together.
"Nnngh!" Both girls grunted, their eyes going back to normal right as the others turned to the aftermath.
"Shadow?!" Futaba asked.
"You're welcome."
Chiaki's eyes widened. "No..." She turned to Esdeath with a glare, snapping her fingers as Esdeath was caught in an explosion, but she shattered and reappeared behind Chiaki.
"Nice try." She grabbed Chiaki by the throat and electrocuted her at the spot, making her cry in agony, and then Soldier dropped in and smacked Esdeath with the Market Gardener.
Esdeath grunted, her aura flickering as she dropped Chiaki. Futaba immediately typed into her keyboard. "Healing matrix go!"
Chiaki felt herself healed up as Kirby jumped over and spin kicked Esdeath, but she grabbed the puffball's feet and slammed him into the snow, only for Sonia to tackle her and thrusted her rapier, stabbjng Esdeath until she grabbed the rapier, forming an ice dagger and impaled her in the gut. "Nnngh!"
"Sonia!" Chiaki exclaimed as Esdeath kicked Sonia down and charged herself up with electricity... until Shadow threw a Chaos Spear into her side, and then Spin Dashed into her.
"You fools... you think you can take me down! Strike this human down, but I will-" Chiaki threw her Majora tentacles into her, wrapping around her. "...You think this will stop me?"
"As I said, you talk too much." She said as someone poked Esdeath on the shoulder as she turned around to see Scout filled up on Crit-A-Cola.
"Yo, what's up?" He smirked and swung his Sandman into her, sending her flying into a wall with her aura breaking. The Plasma crown slipping off as well.
End BGM
Esdeath fell to the ground as Scout caught her. "I got ya." He said.
Nearby, Nick had managed to subdue his sister with the help of a stone golem and hugged her to calm her down as Laura and Albedo held her arms in place while Logue kept throwing snow into her in hopes to calm her down.
"Easy, easy... deep breath. You're okay..." He said as the red eyes disappeared.
"Uungh... Nick...?"
"There we go..." Nick patted her on the back.
"Uuungh... my head..." Esdeath groaned as she opened her eyes to see that she was in Scout's arms.
"Hey there, gorgeous. Not sure if you know who I am, but I'm-"
"A popsicle."
"What?"
Esdeath froze him on the spot, getting up and dusting herself off. "Honestly, you're not my type."
"Oooh, a cherry flavored popsicle!" Soldier said with a grin.
"Okay, where the hell am I?" Esdeath asked.
"It's a long story." Nyx said as Chiaki healed up Sonia's wound, where the latter immediately went to check on the kids, while Xena and Yagami started to come around.
"Uuuugh... what happened?' Xena asked.
"Fecto possessed the both of you. I knocked you out." Shadow explained.
"Thanks, I guess..." Yagami mumbled.
Esdeath spotted LAFF, her eyes widening. "Laura?!"
Laura smiled. "Hey Esdeath!" She smiled as she instantly walked over and hugged her little cousin.
"Oh thank Oum you're alright... I've heard you disappeared from Remnant and-"
"You were worried about me? I was more worried about yourself! You were putting Atlas under a mini ice age because you were so angry over something."
Esdeath sighed. "Forgive me, I was... not myself."
"So, are we gonna bring up the elephant in the room?" Futaba asked as Elfilin rejoined them, where she looked over at Magnolia.
Magnolia sighed. "Right... well-"
"You mind if I explain it? You're... not in the right head right now." Nick said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"How about we head back to Waddle Dee Town first? We can hear about it there." Nyx said.
"Aaaargh!" A voice cried as they turned to see Soldier's tongue stuck to the Scout popsicle, the latter looking absolutely annoyed with him. "Neeth thome helf here!"
Everyone sweatdropped. "And... free those two up." Nyx said as Chiaki teleported everyone back to Waddle Dee Town.
Meanwhile, in Atlas...
"I don't get it. Her scent stops right here." Seryu said as she, the rest of the Winter Ops and Klein were at the spot where Fecto kidnapped Esdeath.
"That's peculiar..." Najenda mused.
"What do you mean her scent stops right here? Is your nose broken?" Emerald asked with worry.
"Hey, relax, I'd know when my nose is busted." Seryu told her.
"Oooh..." Emerald folded her arms in worry.
"Don't worry, I don't think she's gone that far." Winter said.
"Hmm..." Klein folded his arms. "I may have an idea."
"You do?" Emerald asked with hope.
"Back when Jacques was in control of the SDC, there was this one maid that was never afraid to speak her mind and would constantly chastise Jacques for his behavior. She even called him out for the graverobbing incident for she thought Jacques did that since it wasn't benefitting him."
Winter's eyes widened. "You don't mean..."
"Yes, Winter. The same one where Jacques had enough and fired her. The same one where Jacques had lied to Miss Willow, Weiss and Master Whitley that she got ran over by a semi truck on her way to the grocery store to cover his tracks... when in reality, she lives on the other side of Atlas. I've been meaning to tell those three the truth for so long, but it kept slipping my mind."
"And this person can help us?" Leone asked.
"Yes. Her attention to detail where she can focus on the minute details that no one else can see but her. If anyone can figure out what happened with Ms. Ironwood, it's her."
"And who are we going to see, Klein?" Najenda asked.
"My niece, the self proclaimed Ultimate Maid, Kirumi Tojo."
I'm not the biggest fan of Soulsborne games (I've tried out Dark Souls Remastered just to see what it was like... wasn't a huge fan of how slow you moved. Stopped playing after a few hours of sluggish gameplay. I'm more of a fast paced kind of guy.) so I'm not entirely impressed that Elden Ring won Game of the Year, but... I can't be too upset. Kirby, Arcane, Mario and Rabbids and Splatoon won an award, so... yay!
Ibuki: Kirby-chan got an award! Woo!
He deserves it. The game is a lot of fun! (Oh, and the Mario movie trailer was also a treat.)