Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: Roxas - Re:Coded Version (Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix)
Nick sighed, looking over at Magnolia who wandered off by herself to keep to herself. "That's the kind of girl my sister is ever since that day… No matter how many times she gets hurt, she worries more about her friends more than herself. She'd rather hide her pain from us because she doesn't want to make us feel worried sick about her or drag anyone else down…"
"That's… kinda how I felt." Xena said. "Back when I didn't understand my dark half yet, I… felt like she was my problem to burden. I didn't want to worry anyone else, even though I was getting worse over time."
"And then I got involved, which… I had no idea my help was making it worse." Mewtwo admitted.
"You were trying to help, I'll give you that…" Yagami mumbled. "I don't hold it against you."
"I know." Mewtwo nodded.
"I bet you smiled after you two made up… because Maggs rarely cracked a smile at school and even at home for the rest of the school year in the first grade." Nick mumbled as tears swelled in his eyes. "If only we never ended up in this stupid world by accident… then none of this would have happened to her…!"
"Unfortunately, I think he would have snagged her regardless." Esdeath said. "I was unaware of what was going on and even I got snagged all the way from Remnant."
"She's right…" Laura nodded.
Nick looked down while shutting his eyes as a few tears escaped. "But the only reason why she and us chose to stick around here was because she wanted to lend her strength and help you defeat this Fecto monster…"
That and there's no way back home anyway… Albedo thought.
"Why would she even choose to do something like that…?!" Nick softly cried, where he felt a gentle hug coming from Sonia.
"It's because she cares a lot about you and your friends."
"It's true. I noticed she was trying to fight off her possession and was holding back on us." Albedo said.
"That's the thing!" Nick said to Sonia, ignoring what Albedo said. "I know she means well, but she's still a little kid just like the rest of us! Plus, I'm her big brother! I'm supposed to look after her and protect her and know what's best for her! B-But… I…" He had to choke back a sob.
"Nick…" Logue frowned sadly.
"Shhhh…" Sonia whispered, rubbing his back as he softly cried into her chest.
Xena and Yagami looked at each other and with a nod, the two of them walked over to where Magnolia was at while Kirby waddled over to Nick and attempted to sandwich him in a hug, with everyone else still deep in thought over what happened with Magnolia.
"Hey…" Xena spoke up.
"Hmm? …Hey." Magnolia mumbled. "Let me guess, you two came over to talk with me about a "We know what you're going through" type of deal?"
"Well… depends on your point of view." Xena said as both of them sat between her. "Honestly though, we didn't have any of those hags when we were growing up, or more like… when I was growing up."
"What'd you have?"
"I lived in a village where every resident was a Bob-omb. We moved there when I was about three and, of course, mom didn't want anything to do with them because she was afraid they might explode near me. Heh, I can see her reasoning since they're walking sentient bombs with short fuses. And yet… they were the nicest Bob-ombs you've ever met."
"Okay…?"
"One day, there was a Bob-omb who thought his fellow Bob-ombs had gone soft and thought it would be best if they had an uprising where they were meant to be feared. He was known as King Bob-omb. Many followed in his leadership, but others thought he was a maniac. That, in turn, caused a civil war that lasted for years. To make matters worse, Bowser was in favor of this war and helped aid him by sending him supplies. One day… King Bob-omb fired a large projectile into our village, destroying it within seconds… I was the only survivor."
"Oh my…"
"I was devastated… and that day changed me. Something inside of me snapped and I wanted to end this war myself. That was the day when my personality changed into something more… sinister. Something darker. That was the day Yagami was born, however she went by a different name. Dark Xena."
"Long story short… we tried to fight him off, but he pulled a fast one on us and sent us to Toad Town. We won't go into detail over what happened after that, but we almost merged as one again but due to circumstances, that never happened. Just when we thought we were back to normal… we hear about King Bob-omb again and we about lost it. We came this close to killing him, but our friends stopped us from doing something we'd regret. So… we did the next best thing. Shaved off his mustache." Yagami snickered. "We killed his ego, so that was something."
"So what happened after that?"
"Eh… complications with explosions caused me to develop PTSD and made us both go crazy. It made me afraid of myself until I decided to do something about it. I fought my dark self… and well, I lost, but it turns out that even she was hurting because I kept pushing her away. We made up and we became whole again. Of course, that also meant we can change personalities on a whim. She got a new name, Yagami, and we got to the point where we can split up and wreck things at our leisure. It used to be fifteen minutes but after we went into that void for the first time, it got bumped up to three hours. Two if we're ever far apart."
"Yeah, but we're inseparable. I don't think I'd ever part with this doofus even if I wanted to."
"Hey!" Xena said, lightly punching her shoulder, causing Yagami to snicker.
"I guess some circumstances are similar… you lashed out at this King Bob-omb guy and I… lashed out at those bullies. But, yeah… I… I don't want to burden myself with them with my semblance. I don't want to hurt them. I know they tried to get me to snap out of it, but… I potentially burned them."
"We were the same way. We didn't want to hurt anyone because it was getting worse and we were afraid we'd never come back from this. So honestly, yeah… it sucks." Xena said.
"You were trying really hard not to say those words, huh…" Magnolia said.
"A little bit."
Magnolia looked at Xena. "Well… I wouldn't blame you if you said "you know what I'm going through"." She chuckled. "Honestly though… circumstances aside, I wonder if it will get better for me. My deadbeat father walked out of our lives, which really messed me up… you don't even have a family which messed you up."
"Honestly… we look at Jade, Iris and Nyx as sisters. They're the only family we have, admittedly." Yagami said. "We also have each other, where… yes, we're two different personalities, we've grown to become sisters. Twins even."
"Cute…" Magnolia smiled. "I have my mom and bro." She said. "And… technically, Laura and the others." She said before sighing. "Do you think I'll ever get better?"
"That depends on how you view it. You either wallow in despair or… grow and move on from it. Wait…" Xena grimaced. "That came out wrong… what I meant-"
"No no, I understand what you meant. You didn't mean it like that, but I appreciate what you're saying. It's true though… I will move on from this. But… I'm not sure if I can do it."
"You don't have to do it alone. You got Nick and the others." Yagami smiled.
"Yeah, but right now… I… I kinda don't want to be around Nick for right now. Sometimes he gets a bit overbearing. He wants to know what's best for me? Come on. I might be eight years old but even I know that can be a bit much." Magnolia sighed. "I don't wanna forget either that he can be a big troublemaker too whenever we're at school..."
"A troublemaker?" Yagami asked.
"Long story short, my brother and Albedo would often play a lot of pranks with the students and teachers there because they want to "liven things up"." Magnolia replied before grumbling in annoyance. "...And then I would always have to be there to bail them out of trouble and give them a harsh scolding."
"Oh my..." Xena whispered.
"Ah, don't worry." The cape fox Faunus chuckled. "The pranks they usually do are mostly harmless at best; drawing graffiti on the school buildings with washable chalk spray paint, the classic water bucket over the door, and putting a fake vomit puddle on one of our desks Last time my brother tried a prank like the "thumbtack on chair" prank on our social studies teacher, Mr. Henderson, this earned him a day's worth of detention and a punishment of cleaning the school rabbit pen all by himself. Of course, ever since the "thumbtack on chair" prank incident, my bro swore to himself to never do harmful pranks like that ever again."
"Sounds about right…" Yagami chuckled.
"Yeah." Magnolia snickered before she leaned her head on Xena's shoulder. "I'm glad you two understand…"
"We're here if you need us, kiddo." Xena said.
"...Soooo, how exactly is it that you guys are two in one body yet you have different voices?"
The twins sweatdropped. "It's complicated." They both said.
Magnolia snickered. "Fair enough."
Back with Nick…
Mercury sighed with annoyance, his arms folded. "Ya know what? If you ask me, I think those bullies should've ended up in juvie. They got off way too easy with an expulsion."
"Mhm." Vergil nodded. "I couldn't agree less with that one. What those insufferable brats did to your sister is unforgivable in my eyes."
Chiaki sweatdropped. "That's a bit much… I mean, kinda understandable, but…"
Nick sighed. "A lot of people think my sister got off easy compared to those jerks… but I don't think that's the case. Well… I'd say that her suspension was something more like giving her a break from school so she could have time for herself to recover at home."
Akechi nodded in understanding. "I see… I also recall from your story that other than Magnolia, the rest of you kids also had to do some talking with a guidance counselor along with a few more friends who were witnesses. Is that true?"
"Yeah…" Laura nodded with a sad frown. "Like we said before, other than Maggie, everyone else who was involved or was a witness during that day had to receive therapy."
"Let's see… me, Laura, Nick, Becky, Damian, Ewan, Emile… a lot of other first and second graders and I think a few kindergartners were also present, but we all had to go through it with a guidance counselor. That day was a bit of a blur, honestly." Albedo admitted. "Of course, Maggie got it too… but I heard that she had to do it with a different therapist under Principal Chouri's orders."
End BGM
"Mmm… you know what we should do? I say we ought to cool off for a while." Esdeath said as she walked outside.
"What are you…?" Laura wondered as she followed her as Esdeath clapped her hands and shot several ice beams into the sky, forming a cloud formation as it started to gently snow.
"I'd say we get our mind off things with this." Esdeath said.
"By making it snow?"
"Well, I know how kids tend to play in the snow~" She winked, causing Laura to grin.
Later…
BGM: Waddle Dee Town (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
"Wahoooooo!" Logue cheered as she went sledding down a small hill with some Waddle Dees as some others proceeded to throw snowballs, make snowmen, the Atlas sisters made robotic snow angels… even Magnolia was out and making a snowman with the Ayami twins.
"You really do know how to throw a party." Meta Knight said, having wrapped himself in a cloak.
"Well, I do this all the time with the orphans back in Atlas. They see me as an awesome big sister." Esdeath smiled.
"So, is it true, then? There was a hidden lab deep within the Atlas Academy?" Chiaki asked.
Esdeath sighed. "Yeah… none of us knew about it. When I saw that with my own eyes, I… took it really hard. It took me a long time to calm down… it got to the point where Klein had to intervene and get me to calm myself down. It took a while, but I feel… almost like my old self. I'm still very angry over this…" She sighed. "But as of now, I feel like I'm worrying the Winter Ops way too much."
"You hold a soft spot for the orphans since you're one yourself." Hajime said. "If I were in your shoes, I'd have taken it pretty hard too."
"Mmm… yeah."
"Hot chocolate? The cafe made a ton of it.' Elfilin offered.
"Thanks." Chiaki smiled, taking it and taking a sip.
"Oh! Hoth! Hoth!" Elfilin yelped as he blew into the mug.
"I should probably let everyone know I'm okay… they're probably wondering where I am." Esdeath said, pulling out her scroll.
"Not a good idea. Apparently since we're in a new world, it's not letting us communicate to Remnant." Chiaki said. "I should know, I tried contacting Ibuki but I got this message." She showed her.
"...Well, that's convenient." Esdeath sarcastically said as she put her scroll away.
"We can still text each other if they're in the same world as us." Chiaki said. "...Which is odd, considering one time I was able to chat with Hajime through text when I was visiting Hyrule one day and he was back in Toad Town."
"Probably something is blocking communication. I've a sneaking suspicion it's Fecto… or maybe it's interference with rift portals opening up, I'm not sure." Hajime said.
"Sooo… um… do you only have Fire and Plasma at your disposal?" Chiaki asked.
"Hmm… actually, I have a few more. I just never got around to them since you and that baseball fanatic knocked me out of it." Esdeath said as she pulled out another essence. "I've got Water."
"Oh?" Laura looked at her curiously.
"Okay…" Chiaki sipped some of her hot chocolate.
"Aaaand I got this thing." Esdeath said, pulling out Poison.
Chiaki did a spit take. "P-P-POISON?!" She yelled, immediately imagining how the fight would've gone if Esdeath went with Poison.
"This is poison? I thought it was some kind of grape jelly powerup and I'd trap you in grape jello." Esdeath said as she saw Chiaki pale as a ghost.. "...Are you okay?"
"Whoa, Chiaki. You okay? You look like you've been spooked by a few ghosts!" Elfilin said.
"I… I think I need to lie down…" She groaned where Hajime rubbed her back.
"Easy babe… deep breaths…" He said, gently pulling her into him as she rested her head on his chest.
"Hmm… hey Esdeath?" Laura spoke up. "I know you have your ice semblance, but have you thought about… making it all slushy and watery?"
"Hmm? No, it never occurred to me that I could make water." Esdeath said. "Which is ironic since I'm the descendant of both Gray and Juvia." She looked at the Water ability.
"I should point this out but for a time, Xena had the ESP ability for a time. Over time, she gained a natural ability to use psychic powers to the point where she no longer needed the ESP copy ability." Meta Knight explained. "As you can tell, Xena and Yagami are powerful psychics now."
Those two are orphans… how the hell have I not bonded with those two yet? Esdeath wondered. Come to think of it, isn't the leader of JINXY an orphan too? …No no, focus… the twins are going through a lot right now. She thought. "...So, you're suggesting that if I use the Water ability-"
"You could potentially be hydrokinetic." Meta Knight nodded. "You could even enhance your semblance where you could use both water and ice."
"Water and ice…" Esdeath closed her eyes. "I've made Gray proud for so long… I think it's time I made Juvia proud too." She said and walked off. "If you'll excuse me." She walked off to where Laxus was at, as he was eating a doughnut while chatting with Dante and Akira.
"Excuse me, gentleman… but I need to borrow this big lug for a moment." Esdeath took Laxus' arm and pulled him away.
"Wah!" He yelped, as Dante and Akira looked at each other before shrugging.
"What do you need him for?" Laura wondered as she walked after her.
"Considering he's Fairy Tail, I figured he could help me out."
"Help you out with what?"
"Water manipulation. I wanna try to see if I can master it the same way as I did with my semblance."
"And you thought the best way was to kidnap me?" Laxus asked.
"You'd do the same if you wanted to try something different."
Laxus sweatdropped. "Who told you that? Was it James? Was it Merc? It was probably Mavis, wasn't it!"
"Hmm…" Francisca rubbed her chin, overheard the conversation.
Chiaki soon got up, finishing her hot chocolate. "Alright, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things."
"You sure?" Hajime asked.
"Yeah, positive!" Chiaki smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "Alright, come on, Kirby!"
"Poyo!" Kirby smiled as he walked, where Chiaki whistled to get BB-8's attention, where he burst out of a BB-8 snowman that Marx and Magolor trapped him in as he moved over toward Chiaki.
"Told you he'd get out of it." Magolor said.
"Obviously! We needed to bury him in more snow!"
Nyx spotted Chiaki and the others moving. "Oh, we're heading out." She texted the girls. "Let's go!"
Jade got up from underneath a tree with Futaba. "See ya later!"
"I'll be here." Futaba smiled as Jade walked out, and then realization soon hit her. "Mistletoe! I totally should've found some and put it above us so we can have our first kiss in this gentle snowfall… dammit!"
Makoto walked by. "I doubt it's in season though."
Futaba sulked. "You're right…"
"By the way!" Meta Knight approached Chiaki. "I forgot to give you these earlier, but I found a few of these in some rift portals in the Winter Horns." He tossed her three Rare Stones. "I figured you could use these for upgrades."
"Oh! Thanks Meta Knight." She said, putting them into a dimensional pocket.
"Just to warn you… there are rift portals everywhere in the Winter Horns that have been cleaned out. I've also seen a woman stepping out of one."
"A woman?" Chiaki asked in curiosity.
"She seemed like a warrior, but I never bothered to ask for her name."
"Interesting… we'll keep an eye out." Chiaki nodded as JINXY approached them. "You two feeling better?"
"Yeah. Hanging with Magnolia warmed us all up." Xena said as Yagami went back into Xena, then they hopped on the Warp Star and flew off.
End BGM
"Hmhmhmhm~" Makoto hummed… when suddenly Ann pulled her to the side. "Whoa!"
"Okay, I need to know something." Ann said. "You mind telling me what your deal is with these gachapon these days? It's bad enough that your sister had to carry you out of the stores in Toad Town… I just want to know, because… this isn't very Phantom Thief-like of you."
Makoto sighed. "I was wondering when one of you'd would ask…"
Ann put her hands on her shoulders. "It's concerning. Just tell me, girlfriend. What's got you all agitated?"
"Well… ever since I was a little girl, I always loved seeing gachapon machines. I'd always go up to them and get a prize. Of course, they were all shitty ones but I was a kid. I didn't care if I got a tire iron or a shoddily painted snowflake… it was a prize for my collection."
"Who puts a tire iron in a gachapon?" Ann sweatdropped.
"When I got older, I took one look at my collection and realized how shitty it was. Every other kid I knew had awesome ones like Mario Kart, the Triforce, Dragon Quest Slimes… and I was stuck with the scraps. I had shit luck so I… threw them all away."
"So this hatred all started because of crap luck? Come on, everyone gets crappy gachapons. Even I had a few!"
"Oh yeah? What exactly did you have in yours? Were there any bad ones?"
"Let's see…" Ann counted on her fingers. "I got a rainbow colored L Piece Tetris block that was apparently a collector's item, I got Dr Mario pills, I got one of the heroes in Dragon Quest III… I think that was Erdrick, I got… uh…" Ann grimaced. "Crap, did I get any bad ones? I do remember getting a Luigi's Mansion gachapon where King Boo's crown was colored pink… althoooough, apparently misprints are popular so I guess I got luck-... ooooh…"
Makoto gave her a deadpan look. "Yeah. Not fun."
"Okay okay, maybe you had a collector's item. I'm sure they weren't that bad."
"Ann, I had a Galaga Gachapon where it was in pieces. You think someone would want that?"
"...In today's world, probably. I dunno."
"Regardless, I started to hate them… is it petty? Yes, but everyone kept getting good ones and I was left with the scraps. How do you think I felt?" Makoto grumbled. "And what happens later? They sneak their way into video games with lootboxes and gacha mechanics! Ugh… fucking EA!"
"Okay, I think we can blame Blizzard with how Overwatch popularized it-"
"Yeah, but EA abused the hell out of it in Battlefront II."
"You got me there."
"I understandably got pissed, but… I didn't think it'd be that bad. And then I hear horror stories of kids actually stealing their parent's credit cards and putting them in massive debt all because of these lootbox mechanics. I soon realized that these are predatory maneuvers… and then Nintendo decides to jump on that bandwagon themselves! Dr. Mario World, Pokemon Go with those eggs, Pokemon Masters, Mario Kart Tour… fucking Fire Emblem HEROES… I think Animal Crossing got into that shit at a later time…"
"I've heard they got rid of that stuff in Mario Kart Tour… aaaaaand Dr. Mario World no longer exists."
"But even so!"
Ann sighed. "So that's why you want to destroy them… you feel like it's a noble cause to destroy it just so no kid could go into a gambling addiction."
"Yes… that's why I want to destroy them when I caught wind they were here in this world. I fear the Waddle Dees might fall into this pattern themselves. Hell, like… I even started a petition last month to get rid of gachapon in general! …It only received one signature. I think that was Chiaki doing it out of pity… or maybe it was Haru, I dunno."
Makoto sighed. "What's the point, though… no one ever listens to online petitions."
"Makoto… I'm just gonna say this. I love that you're doing this for a noble reason, but you're starting to get consumed by it. This ain't healthy, girlfriend."
"I know… I just… aaaagh! What the hell am I supposed to do, just watch people get a gambling addiction to… a stupid statue? A png render of a character? Absolute dog shit in lootboxes? It's not going to stop!"
"I… don't have an answer to that. But what I do know is that maybe you ought to breathe and don't let it get to you. A lot of people online are frustrated by this too, but there's nothing that can be done."
Ann had an idea. "You know what we should do? Soak in those hot springs." She grabbed Makoto and pulled her away. "Let's go!"
"You sure this is a good idea?"
"Soaking in and melting all your troubles away? Oh absolutely~! Gachapon is here to stay, but there's no need to consume yourself in it! Just let go and have some fun~!"
Meanwhile…
BGM: Northeast Frost Street (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
The group landed on the ground. "Gah! Where'd the wind come from?!" Xena wondered.
"Brrr! It's a bone chilling wind too!" Chiaki shivered, and then they heard a Warp Star landing behind them.
World 4-3: Windy, Freezing Seas - Akira, Morgana, Zan Partizanne, Susie, Penny
"Bwah! It's so windy!" Morgana yelped.
"I'm picking up on some strong winds here!" Penny said.
Chiaki immediately looked at Morgana in concern. "You feeling okay?"
"I'm feeling a lot better!" Morgana gave her the thumbs up. "Like a little possession is gonna knock me down!"
"I'm keeping an eye on him just in case." Akira said as Chiaki nodded.
"Better to have someone keep an eye on you just so-" Zan nearly got blown away when she hit a cross wind. "Gah!" She stabbed the ground. "Jam blast it, this wind's strong!"
"Hang on to the railings, this is gonna get interesting!" Nyx said as Elfilin went into Chiaki's hoodie as they clung to the railings as the wind battered them, trying to blow them away while a Needlous fought the wind only to be blown away.
As they walked through the roofs, they would find pockets where there was no wind, but it would be short lived as they went back into the heavy winds. "Goodness, this wind is making my circuitry go crazy!"
"By the way, where's SAPR?" Iris asked.
"She said she had to do something. I'm not sure what, but she seemed serious…" Penny said.
Interesting… Jade and Nyx thought as they soon made it to a large pipe after dodging some Gigatzo fireballs.
"Who puts Gigatzos at an angle?" Susie wondered.
"Probably that Fecto guy." Zan shrugged as Kirby swallowed up the large pipe and started rolling through some strong wind as he accidentally ran over a Buffahorn as he jumped over a gap and slammed into a wall, breaking it where he struck a more solid wall and fell flat, but he instantly recovered while Chiaki and Xena teleported the others toward Kirby.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Morgana asked.
"Poyo poyo."
"...What do you mean the pipe cushions the blow? You were flat five seconds ago!" Morgana said.
"Best not to think about it." Chiaki giggled as Nyx climbed up a wall and found a Waddle Dee.
"Hey little guy!" Nyx grinned, freeing him as Xena teleported him away.
At Waddle Dee Town…
"...I got teleported from a cold place to more snow…" The Waddle Dee sweatdropped and shivered.
"We got plenty of hot chocolate to go around!" The cafe owner called out.
"Ooooh, hot chocolate!" He ran toward the cafe.
Back with them…
"Hmm? Hey, over here!" Susie called them over as they would see a secret passageway as they walked across to find a cave that was safe from the wind, where they would see a few Awoofies cuddled up and a Waddle Dee warming up in a campfire.
The Waddle Dee spotted them and waved as Chiaki teleported him and the Awoofies back to town, then once they warmed themselves up, they went back out into the freezing winds and moved along, where another Buffahorn charged at them but Xena teleported it away as they moved toward a doorway.
Once they got inside, the wind calmed down immediately. "There's no wind here. That's a lot better, honestly." Zan said as Penny pounded her head.
"There we go, good as new~!" Penny grinned as they walked forward, taking out a few Scarfies as Chiaki teleported a Balloon-Meister away.
"You think Gundham has enough?" Morgana asked.
"Honestly? I don't think he'll be satisfied unless he has the whole Beast Pack by his side." Chiaki snickered.
Morgana laughed. "Good point!"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Iris rolled her eyes with a chuckle as Kirby hopped down and swallowed up a Ring to become Ring Mouth and then hopped on a boat, where they all got on it as Kirby sailed away.
Penny looked over and saw a plate of turkey floating on the water as she picked it up. "Anyone want turkey?"
Iris drooled. "I'll take that!"
"I dunno about that… that's probably really cold." Chiaki said as Iris took a bite.
"...It's nice and hot."
Chiaki blinked. "You're kidding me."
Akira took a piece. "Nope, she's not." She said as everyone shrugged and helped themselves while saving a piece for Kirby as they found a plate of flan next where they took a bite and saved the rest for the puffball as they reached a dead end, but Chiaki flew up and threw a blast of wind at the fan to make the spike wall lower as Chiaki teleported back as they went to collect the Waddle Dee while also taking out a Scarfy that held a plate of ham on it. Once they got the Waddle Dee and docked at a platform, Kirby spat out the ring and sucked up his portions with a happy grin, and also spat out the plates that had numbers on them.
"Numbers on the plates?" Zan wondered as the plates glowed and opened up a rift portal as a Waddle Dee was spat out. "Oh."
"Hey, it works." Chiaki chuckled, teleporting the Waddle Dee away and then they'd find a secret passage where they would see a wall of ice. Chiaki conjured up fire and melted it as they'd find a shivering Waddle Dee, where Xena teleported it away.
Back at Waddle Dee Town…
"You're right… I've been obsessed with it for too long…" Makoto said. "I can just feel it melt away…"
"Told ya~!" Ann smiled.
Splash!
The Phantom Thieves looked to see the Waddle Dee emerging from the water,his back turned to them. "That's better…" The Waddle Dee turned around and saw the ladies. "...Oh!" He blushed. "My apologies, I'll-"
"No no, it's okay!" Ann waved it off. "This is a mixed bath. …I think."
"That one's the next one over." Makoto pointed out.
"Oooooh… eh, it'll be fine."
Back with them…
They climbed up a ladder as Kirby sucked up a Hot Head and they hopped onto a Warp Star and took off, only to come into contact with more wind… that was pushing them forward.
"Great, more wind!" Morgana complained.
"At least it's not against us." Akira said.
"Ugh, what is it with this wind messing with my circuitry… come on!" Penny complained as they were pushed forward as Penny occasionally glitched out and spazzed out.
"Hold on a moment." Susie pulled out a wrench and pounded Penny's head.
"Ow! …Thanks, I guess." Penny rubbed her head as Iris was pushed into a crater.
"Wah!" Iris yelped as she landed, but found a Waddle Dee. "Oh hey." She freed it up and then she and the Waddle Dee climbed out while Kirby thawed out a Scissor Lift and used it to get across while Xena used a barrier to block a Gigatzo's fire as they went up a treasure chest and pulled out a blueprint.
"Let's see what we got here…" Nyx opened it up. "...Dragon Fire?"
"Sooooo, Charizard Kirby." Chiaki said.
"I guess!"
"Chaw-zawd!" Kirby giggled.
BB-8 let out a few boops.
"I agree, that was adorable!" Penny grinned as Chiaki patted him on the head as they hopped down where they would come across a cavern where they hopped inside and would find a fuse embedded into a wall with a Gordo.
"Something tells me that the Gordo will extinguish the fire." Jade said.
"Not to worry, I know how to kill 'em!" Chiaki said, looking through her menus.
"You do?" Akira asked.
"Yeah, all you gotta do is squish 'em!" Chiaki smiled, summoning a Thwomp above the Gordo.
"OOOOMPH!"
"Piece of cake." Chiaki said as the Thwomp rose… and the Gordo turned out to be perfectly fine, although it did look dizzy. "HUH?!"
BB-8 let out a few questionable beeps.
"No, I did not dream it up! I crushed a few in those Rift dimensions!"
"It's true, I saw it happen!" Elfilin said as Chiaki had the Thwomp crush the Gordo again, but to no avail.
"Maybe this one's special." Jade said.
"Oh come on… don't tell me this stupid thing has plot armor!" Chiaki groaned.
"Hmm…" Penny looked up. "Hang on a moment." She flew up and opened up a treasure chest, freeing up two Waddle Dees. "Found them~!" She smiled and hopped down with the Waddle Dees, where Chiaki teleported them away as they walked away while Nyx rubbed Chiaki's back.
Once they reached the end, they would see a Scissor Lift nearby. "Hmm… actually, instead of using this…" Nyx pulled out a Pokeball. "I know just the thing for it!" She said and opened up the Pokeball, calling out her Moltres.
"You have a Galarian Moltres?!" Chiaki said in surprise.
"Yup!"
"...Okay, who has Zapdos and Articuno?"
"Yang's got the Zapdos, Neo has Articuno."
"Yang has that Galarian Chocobo? What does she need Bumblebee for then?" Chiaki snickered.
"That's what Cloud and Tifa keep asking her." Nyx laughed.
"Okay, but Neo has Articuno? I can see that… although, oddly enough, I was thinking Umber would have had that one." Chiaki admitted. "Guess Neo beat him to the punch."
"Yeah, probably." She chuckled. "Alright, hop on!" She smiled as they hopped on the Moltres as it flew them across the large gap until they landed near the three Waddle Dees where they freed them up while Nyx recalled Moltres.
A Warp Star appeared shortly after, where everyone else hopped on the Warp Star and flew off while the others went off to the next area.
End BGM
Meanwhile…
"Aw, Gooey… you can't ice fish like that!" Adaleine said, as Ribbon flew off and came back with warm water to free his tongue up that was stuck to the ice.
"Guess he's never ice fished before." Galacta Knight said, ice fishing himself.
SAPR slowly approached him from behind, her arm turning into an arm cannon and slowly charged up.
"I know you're behind me. I can hear your footsteps crunching behind the snow."
"Let me ask you something. Why is my big sister afraid of you? What did you do to her?" She glared, aiming her arm cannon at him.
Galacta Knight sighed. "I guess even robots are afraid." He said. "Listen, I did not mean to harm your sister. I was under the influence of a Jamba Heart."
"Jamba Heart…? I don't know what that is, but if you think-"
"He is telling the truth." Meta Knight approached them calmly. "Hyness only called him up to stall for time so he could use Void Termina. He was under the influence of the Jamba Heart. I should know… I was also under its influence. You become loyal to Void Termina and serve under him… however, if you are knocked out of it, you are free from his grasp. Kirby made sure of that."
"During our battle, I impaled Penny in the gut and nearly killed her. Ever since I was snapped out of it, I have felt guilty over it." Galacta Knight explained. "I have done my best to try to apologize to her, but every time she sees me, I notice she panics and flies away. I don't blame her… I am the strongest star warrior of the galaxy. I was feared by all… so it makes sense that even a robot would be afraid of me."
"I don't understand… Penny is the nicest friend anyone could have. So whatever you did to my sister that made her afraid of you… that's unforgivable!"
"I do not blame you for wanting to kill me… after all, I never wanted to come back in the first place after Meta Knight defeated me, but this universe is cruel and keeps calling me back, no matter how much I want that sweet release of death. It keeps trapping me in that crystal, no matter how often I scream that I want that taste of death that I long for. If it makes you feel better to kill me for what I did to Penny, go ahead."
"Rrrrgh…" SAPR lowered her arm cannon. "With a speech like that… you're not worth it. I do not know how you did it, but you made my sister afraid of you. If you approach my sister again… I won't hesitate."
She walked away, her arm cannon turning back to normal.
"You think I will ever get her forgiveness?" Galacta Knight wondered.
"Give her time. I'm sure she will come around." Meta Knight would notice the others coming back. "Hmm…"
Back with the others…
"Nope, this one's closed." Xena said.
BB-8 booped.
"That one too?" Jade wondered.
"Goodness, someone must have grabbed the Rare Stones." Chiaki said.
"Speaking of Rare Stones… aren't we forgetting something?" Iris asked.
"...Oh shoot, I forgot about that! You having the Galarian Moltres made me forget about it." Chiaki sheepishly admitted.
"Oh, don't worry. I get that a lot." Nyx snickered as Chiaki teleported everyone to the shop, where Nyx handed over the blueprint.
"Ooooh, Dragon Fire! This will only be a moment!" He said as he went right to work, and then came back with it, Kirby sucking it up.
"Pooooyoooo!"
"That's… not Charizard." Chiaki blinked. "Huh, I was not expecting something different…" She said as Kirby breathed fire.
"Ooooh, purple flames. Niiiice!" Elfilin said as Kirby jumped up and engulfed himself in purple flames and flew across the room with an impressive wingspan.
"Man, look at that wingspan!" Jade said in awe.
"Whoa… that's awesome!" Chiaki grinned as Kirby landed.
"Poyo~!" Kirby smiled as Chiaki teleported them away, where they found themselves at a bridge, where they would hear a few Warp Stars coming in.
"...Multiple Warp Stars?" Elfilin wondered.
World 4-4: The Battle of Blizzard Bridge - Meta Knight, Reimu, Kasen, Flamberge, Daroach, Dark Meta Knight, Magolor, Marx, Hyness, Thunder Legion (minus Laxus) Yusuke, Haru, Akechi, Sonia, Demoman, Sniper, Spy
"Geez… what's with the whole army?" Nyx asked.
"I remember seeing this bridge here a long time ago. I had a feeling there would be a big battle so I thought I'd bring in some reinforcements." Meta Knight explained.
"Laxus didn't want to come?" Xena asked.
"Esdeath has him wrapped around her finger." Zapple shrugged. "Something about helping her out with something."
"Wait… one of the most powerful guys in Fairy Tail and Esdeath just straight up kidnaps him?" Chiaki asked.
"Crazy, isn't it?" Mercury chuckled.
Chiaki sweatdropped. "I can imagine the old Thunder Legion won't let him live that down…" She shook her head.
"Alright, so… I guess we're fighting heavy battles on this bridge?" Reimu wondered.
"We'll split up. There are two alternate paths to this bridge." Meta Knight explained. "It's going to get tricky, but we'll pull this off."
"Right." Chiaki nodded. "Let's rock."
Team A: Kirby, Chiaki, BB-8, Elfilin, JINXY, Reimu, Marx, Haru, Sonia, Flamberge, Zapple, Mercury, Demoman, Spy
Team Meta Knight: Meta Knight, Dark Meta Knight, Magolor, Hyness, Hazel, Yusuke, Akechi, Kasen, Daroach, Sniper
"You called yourself Team Meta Knight out of your own ego, didn't you?" Marx deadpanned.
"What? Of course not!" Meta Knight said.
"No, he called his team that because there's two of them." Chiaki teased.
Meta Knight sweatdropped. "That's not it either! I thought it would boost morale."
"Sooooo, your own ego." Reimu smirked.
"It's not because of my ego!"
"You're not helping your case here." Dark Meta Knight said.
Meta Knight groaned. "Let's just go."
His team walked away by going through the secret passage.
"It's because of his ego, isn't it?" Xena asked.
"Wouldn't put it past him." Chiaki giggled as they turned around.
"Poyo!" Kirby walked off as did the others.
BGM: Planet Towara (Kirby Star Allies)
Team A walked through the bridge as several Heartless, Grimm and Moblins appeared, where the group proceeded to knock them down while Kirby melted a few Grimm with his Dragon Fire. As they kept going, they were immediately ambushed by a Wild Edge with a few Defender Heartless accompanying him alongside some Koopatrols and Wizzrobes.
"He wasn't kidding…" Chiaki said.
"Not a problem!" Reimu smirked as they proceeded to go all out on the group as a Wizzrobe tried to hit them with electricity, only for Spy to shoot him with his Diamondback, striking him down where Xena lifted up the Defenders and threw them off the bridge into the icy water where Mercury flanked the Wild Edge and kicked him in the back where Zapple punched him in the face right after, then jumped back where it exploded shortly after courtesy of Demoman and Haru.
"Way to go, lass!" Demoman praised, high fiving Haru as they moved on.
With Team Meta Knight, two Wild Edges were giving them trouble with some Tailbunker Heartless, only for Dark Meta Knight to skewer them as Kasen grabbed one of their tails and slammed it down on a Wild Edge.
A Wild Edge blocked with his shield, only for Sniper to shoot through the slit and hit the Wild Edge in the face, killing it instantly. "Like that shield would have done ya any good!" Sniper taunted as Hazel punched the other Wild Edge off the bridge.
Back with the other team, they ran across the bridge only to be greeted by a Fleurina, joined by Blue Rhapsodys and Creepers.
"Wait… Creepers from the Minecraft world? Oh geez…" Jade grimaced, but Nyx shot a fire arrow into one, which exploded and knocked Fleurina down while also destroying the Blue Rhapsodys as Sonia shot the other Creeper to kill it as well, destroying the Fleurina.
"Too easy!" Sonia grinned as they ran off.
With Team Meta Knight, Hyness fired dark lasers into some Zombies to kill them where Magolor cut through a few Bokoblins and Stalfos, then Yusuke slashed through Fleurina as Meta Knight Drill Rushed into her as she tried to capture them in her tornado, only to be smacked into a wall as Dark Meta Knight finished her off by summoning several swords from mirrors to skewer her.
"What's his deal with mirrors?" Sniper whispered to Hyness.
"Your guess is as good as mine."
Down below, a Bonkers arrived and was joined by a Dark Nut. Chiaki instinctively summoned the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield. "Come on, you!" She said as she and the Dark Nut lunged, both of them clashing with their blades as several Heartless popped in with several Ursa and Megoliaths joining in.
The Dark Nut swung his sword where Chiaki blocked with her shield but it was enough to make her stagger, but she instantly recovered where Elfilin cheered her on as Chiaki jumped back and threw a Skyward Strike at it. The Dark Nut blocked and countered, only for Chiaki to roll around and Back Sliced him to make him stagger as she then used Helm Splitter for extra damage.
Bonkers quickly came in to aid the Dark Nut, but Kirby swooped in and breathed fire as Iris jumped in and slashed the Bonkers away before deciding to help Chiaki out as the two looked at each other with a nod as the Dark Nut swung his sword horizontally, but Chiaki parried with the shield as Iris spin slashed him to knock him down as Chiaki jumped up and finished him off by thrusting her sword down into his gut to finish him off.
"Begone!" Xena threw telekinetic waves at the Bonkers to knock him down and then Flamberge finished Bonkers by impaling him with her sword.
"Got him!" Flamberge said as the Megoliaths were sucked into a black hole courtesy of Marx.
"Too easy!" Marx laughed.
Up above, Kasen kicked up a hammer from one Bonkers and kicked it to its twin while Hazel punched away some Snow Pokeys into some Snow Spikes and Lizalfos, where Daroach threw down a few bombs to destroy the Lizalfos for good measure, then Magolor slashed up to disarm the other Bonkers and then ran him over with the Lor Starcutter.
"Have a safe trip~!" Magolor chuckled.
"Let's go." Meta Knight said as they kept going.
Down below, Team A was greeted by Twin Frosties… but just when they were about to fight, a shadowy figure came down and slashed through them, destroying them easily.
End BGM
"What the…?" Chiaki wondered as they saw a massive Heartless approaching them.
"Oookay, that's a big Heartless!" Xena said.
BGM: Clash on the Big Bridge (Final Fantasy V)
Heartless With Many Weapons - Weapon Master
"Gilgamesh… as a Heartless…? Poor guy." Chiaki summoned the Ultima Keyblade. "Let's dance!" She said as they got ready to fight the Heartless… when suddenly someone landed behind it and slashed through the Heartless to destroy it.
*Record Scratch*
"No one makes a mockery out of me!" A voice said as a man walked through.
"G-Gilgamesh?!" Chiaki exclaimed, dangerously close to fangirling. Keep it together… fangirl later! …Oh, screw it!
"Ah, I see I have a fanclub!" He said as Chiaki let out a fangirl squeal.
"...Feel better?" Reimu sweatdropped.
"Yeah, got it out of my system." Chiaki giggled.
"Ya know! I thought I sensed an idiot here!" A voice said as a hooded figure landed on the ground, holding a scythe.
BGM: Heroes Forge Ahead (Final Fantasy XIV)
"Carmen?!" Jade said in surprise.
Carmen turned her head. "Hey guys, fancy meeting you here!" She said. "Thought I'd drop by in my reaper class."
"Ah, Carmen. We meet again!" Gilgamesh said.
"Gilgamesh, a pleasure." Carmen chuckled. "So, where's Enkidu?"
"Enkidu? He was with me, but these furry creatures decided it would be a good idea to brainwash the little guy. So I'm without him temporarily!"
"Well, at least we won't be pecked to death." Chiaki chuckled.
"However, I thought of something greater!" Gilgamesh whistled as a green Awoofy approached them.
"...A green Awoofy?" Sonia asked.
"You painted him green?" Chiaki wondered.
"Pish posh! I did not just paint him green!" Gilgamesh said as the green Awoofy suddenly stood on his hind legs and pulled out a minigun.
"Wh-WHAT THE FUDGE?!" Chiaki yelled in shock.
"I also taught him how to wield a gun, impressive no?"
Carmen sweatdropped. "Goodness gracious, Greg… you've been busy."
"What can I say? I like to keep everyone on their toes!"
"...You sure he didn't just kidnap one of Gundham's Awoofies?" Iris deadpanned.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Sonia sweatdropped.
"Now then! Enough expository banter! Now we fight like men, and ladies, and ladies who dress like men! For Gilgamesh, it's MORPHING TIME!" He yelled, pulling out four weapons… one of which was Excalipoor. "...Oh come on, why must you betray me!" He complained, the other weapons being a Half-Zatoichi, Biggoron Sword and Energy Sword.
"Wait wait wait wait wait, time out!" Chiaki said. "Why exactly are we fighting?"
"Simple. Enkidu was kidnapped. I have to vent my frustrations out on someone!"
Chiaki facepalmed. "That figures…" She said as everyone got ready to fight.
"Ready to fight like old times, Carmen?" Gilgamesh asked.
"Oh, you bet." Carmen smirked.
BGM: Battle on the Big Bridge (Final Fantasy XIV)
Seeks The Strongest of all Swords - Greg… I mean, Gilgamesh
"Poyo poyo!" Kirby said, sucking up a Bernard and aimed his guns directly at the green Awoofie.
Gilgamesh swiftly swung Half-Zatoichi down but Demoman charged ahead and blocked with his own Half-Zatoichi. "Aye! So yer the one who stole me sword! I had to steal this from an unlucky BLU Demo!"
"This was yours? It makes a nice butter knife!" He said as the two clashed as Haru got into position and shot Gilgamesh with the Loose Cannon, but Gilgamesh pushed him away and slashed through the cannonball as he then blocked the bullets from Spy.
Carmen rushed ahead and twirled her scythes around, slashing him repeatedly as Gilgamesh retaliated with Excalipoor, the two of them clashing as Iris slid underneath his legs and slashed him from behind while Chiaki flanked him and struck him with the Ultima Keyblade.
As for the Green Awoofy, it fired the machine gun at Kirby as he dodge rolled out of the way and returned fire, hitting the Awoofy as it growled and fired, forcing Kirby to take cover behind a rock. He quickly peeked his head behind the rock and returned fire, making the Awoofy let go of the minigun. "Poyo!"
The Awoofy glared, pulling out two AR-15s. Kirby went wide eyed, sweatdropping as the Awoofy returned fire.
Sonia immediately saw this as she immediately brought out her own AR-15, but loaded it up with rubber bullets as she shot at the Awoofy. It yelped, turning around and shot at Sonia where she rolled out of the way as the two exchanged fire as Kirby helped Sonia out.
Just when I thought I've seen everything… Chiaki thought as Nyx fired a few arrows from her crossbows and Jade aimed her Poltergust and fired chunks of ice at him. Gilgamesh cut through the ice with the Energy Sword and spin slashed to knock away Demoman as Haru, having went into her persona form, gracefully swung her axe down as Gilgamesh blocked with the Biggoron sword and parried her.
Carmen got into position and proceeded to use Nightmare Scythe on him to knock Gilgamesh away as Reimu fired Yin Yang orbs at him but Gilgamesh jumped into the air and slashed at Reimu, but she flew back as Yagami got out of Xena as the two fired telekinetic bolts at him to knock him back.
Mercury and Zapple both charged at Gilgamesh and then flanked him as Mercury spin kicked him and Zapple threw lightning bolts at him. "Ho! I haven't had this much fun when I fought Team RWBY in the X-Naut Fortress!"
Huh? Chiaki immediately took interest. So he fought their paper counterparts? She wondered as Flamberge stabbed the ground to create fire tornadoes, but Gilgamesh cut through them… only for Carmen to hit him with an Infernal Slice.
Sonia shot the AR-15s off of the green Awoofy as it quickly jumped to the side to avoid Kirby shooting at it… and then it brought out two shotguns, pulling down sunglasses while it was at it. "Poyo poyo…"
"'You gotta be kidding me" is right!" Sonia said as they quickly dodged the shotgun fire.
Marx flew above Gilgamesh and dropped an ice bomb, but Gilgamesh cut through it like butter and slashed at Marx with the Half-Zatoichi, forcing him to jump back and fired a flurry of arrows as Gilgamesh proceeded to deflect them all in an instant, only for Iris and Chiaki to both slash him from behind as even Demoman charged in and slashed him.
"Out of my way, please!" Noir said, aiming the Loch N' Load and smiled, unleashing a Mapsodyne charged grenade, hitting Gilgamesh in the face.
"Aaargh!" He grunted as he suddenly fell on his knees.
Pause BGM
"Okay! All of you are too much! Please forgive me for my transgressions!"
"...Oh come on, we're not dumb. That's just you trying to fake us out." Chiaki said, causing Gilgamesh to sweat nervously.
"Come ooooon, I'm not falling for this again." Carmen said.
"Welp!" Gilgamesh sprang back up. "Can't blame a guy for trying! Raaaaaah!"
Resume BGM
The twins looked at each other. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Xena asked.
"Hell yeah!" Yagami nodded, pulling out their Pokeballs.
"Screamy, Muddy Water!"
"Swampy, Poison Jab!"
"QUAAAAG!" Screamy unleashed Muddy Water to push Gilgamesh back as Swampy swam through the water and then jumped up, unleashing Poison Jab from his tail.
"Mmmph!" Gilgamesh grunted as Carmen decided to surf on the Muddy Water with her scythe as she jumped up and used Soul Scythe to slash through him. Gilgamesh responded by slashing at Chiaki and Carmen with both Excalipoor and the Energy Sword, the two of them blocking as Zapple swooped in and punched him in the gut as Demoman slashed at him, disarming him of Half-Zatoichi as he grabbed it.
"Heheheh!" Demoman smirked, dual wielding both swords as he quickly slashed him with ferocity as Spy continued to shoot at Gilgamesh from a safe distance as Iris unleashed Burst Strike.
The Green Awoofy had his shotguns shot off, not to mention the recoil was enough to knock him on his butt. He attempted to bring out a pistol, but Sonia immediately ran over and flip kicked him, snagging his pistol and aimed it at him as Kirby aimed his guns at him as well. The Awoofy gulped, raising his paws up in defeat.
"Sorry about this, big guy!" Carmen said, summoning a shadowy figure behind her as she unleashed her Limit Break, her and the demon proceeded to slash him from both sides before she swung down to finish him off.
"AAAAARGH!" Gilgamesh cried as he fell on his butt in defeat.
End BGM
"Well… that was something." Nyx said.
"Way to go, you guys!" Xena smiled as Swampy happily jumped into Yagami's arms.
"You did great~!" She smiled, kissing him on the forehead.
"Woopa!" Swampy smiled… and then it started to glow.
"Oh!" Yagami said in surprise as Chiaki saw this and immediately summoned her Pokedex.
"Cloooodsire!"
"Nnngh! Oh… sweetie… you're so big and… heavy…! WAAAAH!"
THUD!
Her Clodsire was now smothering Yagami, happily nuzzling against her chest. "Clod~! Clod~!"
"Love you… too!" Yagami laughed.
"Sooo… not a Quagsire?" Xena tilted her head.
"Clodsire, the Spiny Fish Pokemon and the final evolved form of Wooper. When attacked, this Pokémon will retaliate by sticking thick spines out from its body. It's a risky move that puts everything on the line. It lives at the bottom of ponds and swamps. It will carry Wooper on its back and ferry them across water from one shore to the other."
"Definitely looks like the lad put on some weight…" Demoman mused, strapping the Half-Zatoichis to his back.
"No kidding. He's four hundred ninety one point six pounds now." Chiaki said.
"...How's that in kilograms?" Reimu asked.
"Two hundred and twenty three."
Reimu grimaced. "How are you not dead?! That thing's crushing you!"
Yagami chuckled, petting the Clodsire on the forehead. "Guess you were close to evolving." She said.
"Clooood~!" He nuzzled against her.
"Hm… hmhmhmhmhm… HAHAHAHAHA!" Gilgamesh laughed as he sprang back up. "That was a good fight! You've earned my respect! Now then… is there any place for me to rest for a while?"
"Waddle Dee Town." Chiaki said.
"Excellent! …That is… where, exactly?"
"Oh, I'll take you the-... oh shoot, I forgot about the Waddle Dees!"
"Those little things? Don't worry, I've already saved them!" He pointed toward an audience of eleven Waddle Dees eating popcorn.
"Oh, that makes things easier then." Chiaki giggled.
"I'll see what's over there too." Carmen said, and then Meta Knight's team landed nearby.
"I see you fought him." Meta Knight said.
"Ah! Meta Knight, we meet again!" Gilgamesh said.
"...You know him?" Xena asked.
"We met when I was searching for you guys. We had a friendly battle to boot." Meta Knight said.
"It was quite fun, if I say so myself!"
"Soooo, how was your end of things?" Reimu asked.
"Eh, a few Heartless, three Frosties with Bullet Bills everywhere… standard stuff." Magolor shrugged.
"Oh, and by the way." Gilgamesh pulled out a blueprint. "Found this earlier, wasn't sure what it was about." He said as Chiaki took it.
"Frosty Ice? Oh hey, I was wondering when we'd upgrade this!"
"Poyo~!" Kirby's eyes sparkled as Chiaki teleported everyone away, where Gilgamesh immediately started to check out the town with the Awoofy by his side.
"Frosty Ice? Oooh, nice!" The blacksmith said.
"What's the payment?" Carmen curiously asked.
"Oh, a few Rare Stones."
"Oh, you mean these?" Carmen pulled out seven of them. "I found these in those weird rift portals."
"So, you've been hunting them down? I was wondering why everything was closed." Chiaki chuckled.
"You want these? I don't know what to do with these anyway." She said, handing them over as she walked out of the shop where she accompanied Gilgamesh as the Waddle Dee went right to work as Chiaki gave him two and stored the rest.
"Here you go!" The Waddle Dee said, handing Kirby the Frosty Ice powerup.
"Poyo!" Kirby smiled.
"Oh. Oh my gosh. That's adorable!" Chiaki said, snapping a picture of it from her phone. "Now then, let's-"
"Hey Chiaki? About your coat…" Sonia said.
"What about it?"
"I think it shrunk." Sonia pointed out as Chiaki looked down.
"Awww… that's what I get for giving it a Super Mushroom."
"You gave it a what?" Sonia asked before chuckling, shaking her head. "Oh you…"
"Welp, note to self: Super Mushroom-ized clothing is not machine washable." She laughed as Sonia rolled her eyes with a giggle before walking out with the others, then Chiaki and her team teleported back to the bridge.
"Alright, where to next?" Elfilin asked as they walked past the rubble.
"I… think I have a good idea." Nyx said as she pointed up toward a castle up on a mountaintop.
"Let's go." Chiaki said as they started to walk… when suddenly they heard the sound of a vehicle as they turned to see an Armored Truck launch up from a ramp and landed in front of them, the truck facing them.
"Uh… that's new." Elfilin said.
"Um… hi there?" Chiaki waved in confusion. "Who's driving in there?" She asked but no response.
Instead, a stereo system came out of the back of the truck.
BGM: Panic in the Sky! - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (GaMetal)
"...Okay, interesting maneuver." Chiaki said as she summoned a few Warthogs.
"What, are we playing destruction derby?" Xena wondered.
"No idea, but I wonder if this driver is challenging us to… I dunno what but it's challenging us!" Chiaki said as she hopped on as Elfilin put on a helmet.
"Juuuust in case we fall on our heads again." Elfilin said as BB-8 did the same thing.
World 4-4.5: Race to the Mountaintop Castle!
Chiaki revved up. "Bring it."
The Warthogs revved up and drove off to the mountain. The armored truck turned around and chased after them where it started to push Chiaki toward a tree. Chiaki hit the brakes before she hit the tree as she then got behind the tree.
Xena teleported toward the machine gun on Chiaki's hog and opened fire at the truck. The back door opened up to reveal a cannon and fired manhole covers. "WHOA!" Chiaki swerved out of the way as one one manhole cover opened up to reveal a full pizza pie.
"Pizza?!" Elfilin said as it splattered all over the windshield. Chiaki groaned and hit the windshield wipers while nearby, Nyx climbed over the passenger side and fired her crossbow, trying to hit them with shock arrows but to no avail.
A cannon came out from the roof of the armored truck, aiming at Iris's Warthog and fired large snowballs at it, striking the Warthog but Iris swiftly held on while Kirby sucked up the pizza sauce to help clear up Chiaki's windshield as Chiaki stepped on it, proceeding to flank it on the left and then rammed it.
The armored truck hit the brakes as the Warthogs were soon in front of it as the truck proceeded to floor it as Xena and Jade proceeded to shoot at it, but the bullets went flying off as the snowball cannon nailed Xena and Jade.
"Agh!" Jade winced.
"Mmph!" Xena grunted as the armored truck rammed them to try and steer them off the road, but Chiaki and Iris held on, only for the truck to whiz past them and made the two spin out, but the two immediately got back into the groove and chased after the armored truck, where the sky turned dark and started to snow.
The cannon from the back of the truck started to shoot out spiked tires next, forcing the two to swerve while also shooting pizzas at them. Kirby jumped up on the roof and caught one pizza in his mouth, while pulling out his hammer and caught it where he tossed it up in the air and hammer flipped the pizza to strike the armored truck, while also licking the sauce off of his hammer.
The snow soon started to turn into a blizzard as all three vehicles swerved to try and stay on the road. "Alright, here goes nothing!" Chiaki rolled up toward behind the corner of the truck and decided to push the corner to try a PIT manuever on it. However, the truck retaliated as the truck's back wheels had spikes come out and immediately blew out the front tire.
"Chiaki!" Iris said as she immediately rammed to the side to aid Chiaki, causing the truck to swerve and off the mountain.
End BGM
"Thanks!" Chiaki said as they crawled to a stop as they hopped out.
"You guys okay?" Nyx asked as they hopped out.
"Eh, better than flipping over." Chiaki shrugged as they stared at the castle in front of them, and heard a Warp Star coming in.
BGM: The Smell of a Scary Beast (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
World 4-5: An Unexpected Beast King - Mewtwo, Meta Knight, Hajime, Dante, Vergil, Heavy, Medic, Bandana Dee
"Meta Knight? You wanted another round so soon?" Chiaki asked.
"Why not?" Meta Knight chuckled.
"Let's go." Dante said as they went up the stairs to the castle. Once they walked inside and their weapons at the ready and Yagami coming out of Xena, they walked further in to see a figure ordering a Waddle Dee to be taken away.
Two Primal Awoofies spotted them and alerted the figure. The figure turned around… revealing none other than King Dedede himself. Chiaki, JINXY, and Mewtwo had to do a double take to make sure they weren't just seeing things of how different he looked.
End BGM
BGM: Boss Prelude (Kirby's Return to Dreamland)
"Dedede! You're looking a little different these days." Dante said, resting his sword on his shoulder. "How you been, bud?"
"So, y'all came."
"Ah, down with possession. Don't worry, we got a cure for that."
Immediately after, Umber landed next to Dedede, holding his Keyblade in his hand.
"Umber…" Xena quietly said as she and Yagami tried to telepathically communicate with him again.
"Don't! You'll make your situation worse." Mewtwo told them, causing the two to hold back and looked at him sadly, tears falling down their cheeks.
"This is probably the real deal." Nyx said.
"So it has come to this." Meta Knight said, looking at Dedede while seemingly ignoring Umber. "Let's knock you out, your majesty."
"You mean the both of them out." Vergil said.
Meta Knight nodded. "Yes, that is what I meant." He said, and right on cue, a grappling hook came up from the side and the Armored Truck pulled itself up through a hole and drove up behind them. It stopped and aimed its snowball cannon at the group.
"That again?" Chiaki wondered.
"Oh, this is gonna get wild… let's go!" Jade said.
"Honey… we'll bring you back to us." Xena said, her voice trembling a bit.
BGM: The Encounter (Kingdom Hearts III)
The King, the Alolan and the Truck - King Dedede, Umber & the Armored Truck
Chiaki summoned the Oathkeeper as Umber lunged at Chiaki, the latter blocking and parrying him as Dante and Vergil went to attack Dedede, the two slashing him gracefully as he blocked with his hammer as Mewtwo unleashed Shadow Balls at the King.
Heavy immediately shot at the Armored Vehicle with Natascha as it fired snowballs at him and Medic. Once the snowballs hit him, Heavy brushed it off with one hand and continued to fire while Medic wiped the snow off of his face with an unamused expression.
Meta Knight flew overhead Umber and then slashed Dedede, hitting him with a Mach Tornado but Dedede held strong and hit him with his hammer, knocking the Star Warrior back as Meta Knight used Dimensional Cape to get to Dedede and slashed him from the side while Bandana Dee swung his spear into the king.
The Primal Awoofies dogpiled on Xena and Yagami, but the two teleported them away to Waddle Dee Town as the two levitated off the ground and threw telekinetic energy blasts at Umber, knocking him back.
Umber responded with Triple Plasma at the girls, but they avoided them as Jade flanked him and hit him with fire, making him jump back as Iris slashed at him but Umber gracefully blocked her and countered with a Gravira spell, then put up mirrors to reflect Nyx's arrows.
Crap! Nyx thought as Chiaki used a Reversal on Umber to knock him back as Umber turned around and used Thunder Raid.
"Mmmph!" Chiaki grunted as Umber attempted to knock her down but she backflipped right after.
"Chiaki!" Hajime threw a Potion over to her as she grabbed it.
"Thanks babe!" She drank it down and tossed it to the side as Umber lunged at Hajime, delivering graceful swings where he quickly dodged the attacks before sweep kicking to knock Umber down as Xena teleported to Umber and kicked him away.
"Eyes on us." She said as she flew toward him and threw telekinetic waves as Umber blocked them, only for Yagami to telekinetically pick him up from behind as Xena kicked him down to the ground.
Dedede charged up his Jet Hammer and swung it at Dante and Vergil, where the two blocked but they were pushed away as Mewtwo used Psystrike at him, but Dedede jumped up and hammered Mewtwo to the ground, but the latter teleported away and used Confusion on him to send him to the Armored Truck, where it was still locked into combat with Heavy and Medic.
"I can't believe I'm charging up the Ubercharge… over a snowball shooting armored truck of all things!" Medic said.
"Stranger things have happened, doktor!"
"Good point!"
Umber charged up a Waterga, splashing water in the twins' faces as BB-8 rolled up behind him and zapped him again as Kirby jumped in and Hammer Flipped Umber in the head, where he shattered instantly. "Poyo?!"
End BGM
"Alright, that's our cue! Hit it, boys!" A voice said as the armored truck started to play another song while four figures jumped out of the truck.
BGM: TMNT Theme Song (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003)
Four figures landed on the ground, all four were none other than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themselves. Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo!
"What the-... I… wh-huh… bu… Wha…?!" Chiaki was speechless. WE FOUGHT THE 2003 ERA OF THE NINJA TURTLES?! She thought in disbelief.
"Oh my…" Hajime said in shock.
Suddenly, in an instant, a Plasma Thundaga struck the possessed king as Umber landed on top of his head, Goomba Stomping him as he gracefully flipped off of the king and landed in front of everyone.
"Sup!" He grinned.
"U-Umber…?!" Xena said in shock as Yagami was speechless.
"Hey girls!" Umber waved while the Ninja Turtles and Meta Knight pulled out scorecards, all of them being ten.
"Gnarly entrance, dude!" Michelangelo praised.
"...Can't believe we practiced this on me." Raphael grumbled.
"O-Okay! What the heck is going on? Why is Meta Knight holding a score card?!" Chiaki asked.
"I was in on it." Meta Knight said.
"WHAT?!" The Ayami twins yelled in surprise.
"...I am so lost right now." Elfilin said.
"Soooo… uh… the Ninja Turtles are…?" Hajime spoke up.
"My four in one summon." Umber said proudly.
"Shoot, that's impressive." Dante said.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
End BGM
Dedede let out a roar, readying his hammer. "I'll crush you all!"
BGM: Roar of Dedede (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
His Royal Nemesis - King Dedede
Umber readied his Keyblade while Leonardo brought out his twin katanas, Donatello brought out his bo staff, Raphael brought out his sais, and Michaelangelo brought out his nunchucks.
"Alright, cowabunga dudes. Let's knock His Highness out!" Umber declared.
Dedede charged ahead, belly flopping at them but they avoided the attack as Kirby smacked him in the face with a Hammer Flip as Dedede jumped back, aiming his hammer at them and firing missiles at them where Umber reflected them with his mirrors.
Dedede jumped to the side and jumped high into the air, creating a shockwave as he hammered the ground for good measure. Leonardo jumped over and slashed Dedede as Michaelangelo swung his nunchucks into Dededes' face to knock him away.
Dedede let out a roar, swinging his hammer down and creating powerful shockwaves but Mewtwo stopped him with Confusion as Chiaki ran in, sporting Captain Falcon's helmet. "NANAMI… PUNCH!" She yelled, slugging him in the gut and knocking Dedede away. He shook it off and pulled out a Gordo Bar as he slammed it into the ground, where the Gordo Bar shot out spikes at everyone, but they avoided the attacks as Iris and Jade flanked him as the former slashed him but he blocked with his hammer, where Jade shot him with fire.
The king swung his hammer around to try and trip up the girls, but Xena pulled the girls away while Yagami conjured up fire and unleashed a stream of fire into Dedede with Umber helping her out with Fire spells, then Vergil slashed through Dedede, knocking him down as Kirby immediately jumped over and sucked up his Hammer.
"Poyo!" He said, gaining his Toy Hammer copy ability.
"RAAAAAAAAAH!" Dedede roared as he jumped up toward a ledge and picked up a pillar.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Chiaki exclaimed as Hajime immediately transformed.
"Alright… now let's get wild." Kamakura said as Dedede jumped down and swung the pillar down, creating ice stalagmites but Medic immediately hit the Ubercharge as Heavy tanked it head on as Dedede swung the pillar down on Heavy, but he grabbed it with his hands as Meta Knight, Bandana Dee and Donatello rushed toward Dedede, the former using Drill Rush and Donatello and Bandana Dee vaulting over the pillar and smacking his Bo Staff on Dedede's head right after as Bandana Dee thrusted his spear into him.
Dedede growled, swinging at Donatello and Bandana Dee's direction but they ducked as Raphael flanked him and slashed him with the sais, also throwing in a few kicks for good measure. "Alright, traps are good to go!" Nyx said, pressing a button as a catapult launched a boulder toward Dedede, but the king swung his pillar to shatter the boulder instantly and swung down to create an icy shockwave, but Kamakura caught it with his hands as Heavy, now back to normal, slugged the king in the face as Kamakura yanked the pillar away from Dedede and swung it down on his head, which also caused the pillar to shatter and then Kirby Hammer Flipped him in the face for good measure to knock him down.
End BGM
"Poyo!" Kirby said as Dedede let out a groan, then the puffball turned around to walk toward Umber, where his girlfriends hugged him and never let go.
"Heheh… I… might have some explaining to do." Umber said with a sheepish chuckle.
"Obviously. You made your girlfriends completely worry about you." Mewtwo said with his arms folded.
"Yeah… long story…"
"Well, the good news is that you're not possessed. The weird news is how the fudge was Meta Knight in on it…" Chiaki said as Hajime walked back to them while dusting his hands off. "And… are these guys your only summon?"
"Ohohoho, when we get back, I'll have to show you my other two summons!" Umber grinned.
Dedede got back up, staring at everyone and growled as he got back up and picked up a cage as he walked over to them.
"Hmm?" Elfilin turned his head to see Dedede ready to swing the cage down right at Chiaki. "CHIAKI, LOOK OUT!" He yelled as he pushed Chiaki out of the way as Dedede swung the cage down.
"Huh?!" Chiaki yelped as they turned to see Dedede trapping Elfilin in the cage.
BGM: Tension (Persona 5)
"Heheheheh! I knew if I went for the gamer girl, you'd sacrifice yourself! Read you like an open book, ya little mouse!"
Several crows came down as Dedede hitched a ride on them, taking Elfilin away.
"Kiiiirbyyyy! Chiiiakiiiii!"
"Elfi…?" Chiaki clenched her fists, her eyes immediately turning crimson red as chaotic magic swirled around her hands. "Give. Him. BACK!" She yelled as she chased after him.
"Chiaki, wait!" Hajime exclaimed.
Dedede turned to her and smirked, pulling out a remote as Umber gasped. "He wouldn't!"
"I'll deal with you later, gamer girl!" He said, pressing a button as an explosion struck Chiaki.
"AAAAGH!" She cried as she slammed into the ground, but Hajime immediately caught her as the castle started to crumble around them.
"Dammit… Fecto's bringing this castle down on top of us!" Umber exclaimed.
"Alright, everyone into the truck! Move it, people!" Raphael exclaimed as Chiaki snapped out of her daze.
"ELFIIII!" She screamed as she tried to go after him again.
"Chiaki!" Hajime exclaimed as a large wall came down over Chiaki, her eyes widening as Mewtwo and Xena teleported Chiaki back to them.
"No… I gotta get him back, NO!" She yelled, worried tears swelling in her eyes as she was pulled into the truck.
End BGM
"Step on it!" Leonardo said as Raphael floored it, turning on the GPS back to Waddle Dee Town as they quickly made it out of the castle while Kirby looked on in the back window, also looking worried for Elfilin while Bandana Dee looked worried for Dedede.
"Poyo…" Kirby said sadly.
"Elfi…" Chiaki clenched her fists, tears falling from her eyes as Hajime rubbed her back.
Meanwhile, at Originull Wastelands…
"Hmm?" A tanuki Youkai spotted Dedede flying overhead in the Wastelands. "Well well… seems like things are about to get interesting~!"
"You think we should follow, Mamizou?"
"Nah… I say we hold back and wait for reinforcements, Miko. I've a feeling it's about to get wild."
Meanwhile, in Atlas…
Klein rang a doorbell. "Just a moment!" A voice said as the door opened up to reveal a maid.
The maid gasped. "Uncle Klein! Winter!"
"Hello Kirumi, it's been a while." Klein smiled as the two embraced. "Everyone, this is my niece, Kirumi."
"A pleasure to meet all of you." She humbly bowed.
"Kirumi, It's been… far too long. I've been meaning to tell my siblings and mother what really happened to you but… I was swamped with work." Winter admitted.
"Hmm… yes, I can imagine working for the Atlas Military would make anyone busy. Such as I working for this family."
"...Wait, you're the self proclaimed Ultimate Maid?" Emerald asked. "No offense, but you don't look like the type to have some sort of ego."
Kirumi smiled. "You are correct. The truth is, I was just an ordinary Maid working for the SDC. I was actually one of the best, helping take care of miss Weiss and Whitley when my uncle was away. Weiss and Whitley always looked up to me because I would go out of my way to make sure they were well checked on. I even made sure Miss Willow was okay too. Although, one day… Weiss was having a bad day so I did everything I could to make her smile again. I even dropped everything and played with her just so she could have a better day… and then she tells me:"
"Kirumi, you're the best maid ever! You're like my personal super hero!"
"Aww, Miss Weiss… you're so thoughtful."
"Every superhero has got to have a name!" Weiss said as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Oh! I got it! The Ultimate Maid!"
"Weiss… I'm honored…" She said, fighting her tears. Gosh, she's so adorable…
"Ever since that day, I've done everything I could to continue to be the Ultimate Maid. It meant so much to me that Weiss thought of me like that, it honestly perked me up pretty well. Even if Jacques fired me, I still kept the title as a memento."
"Oh, that's so adorable!" Sheele gushed.
"Yeah, and ever since then, I've worked for this family. They're… alright. They have their issues with Faunus, but they're willing to work with them… of course, they're also stuck up snobs, per the norm of common Atlas folk."
"How's about you work for the Schnees again?" Klein offered. "I can assure you, it's far better than this family."
"...You mean it?" Kirumi's eyes widened before smiling. "I'll do it. I absolutely hated this place anyway… the family drove me up the wall sometimes, especially their teenage boys." She shook her head. "So, where's Weiss and the others?"
"As far as I know, they're in Toad Town." Klein said. "But first, we were wondering if you could help us with a situation."
"Oh?"
"We're having issues locating Esdeath. Her scent stopped cold at one spot and it's confusing the hell out of all of us." Seryu explained.
"So we were wondering if we could use your semblance to help trace her location." Klein said.
Kirumi smiled. "You have the right woman for the job. Oh! Wait, hold on a second." She walked back into the home real quick as she wrote down a note.
"I quit! I hate this racist family - Yours truly, Kirumi.
PS: If you want a promiscuous maid, jerk off to one online, you depraved lunatics."
Kirumi walked outside after gathering her bags. "Alright, lead the way." She said as they walked off while the Ultimate Maid had a pleasant smile on her face.
Ibuki: Ha! Good for Kirumi! And yay, Umber-chan isn't possessed after all!
That was all Yoshi's idea, including the Armored Truck segment! yes, the 2003 era TMNT are his four-in-one summon!
Ibuki: Mhm!
Also, funny thing about Gilgamesh... we planned on him showing up since Galaxy 2, but unfortunately, there were no bridges for Gilgamesh to crash the party, so we had to hold off on him. Luckily, HAL pulled through and gave us a bridge for Forgotten Land!