X-Squad: Wonderful 101 Chapter 4: Ain't my Mama's broken tower, a x-overs fanfic

AN: Ladies, Gents and Nonbinary Pals, welcome to the third part of this shindig, as you saw last chapter, Coco grew feelings for Hibiki and Kanade found a crush in Laura, and now the gang is heading for Blossom Tower, where they're gonna find an assassin, some demons, a Rabbid, a ruler, some seraphs, 2 magical girls, a necromancer, a pirate, Wonder Pink, and a phantom thief and face off against Megafin, Sketchy, Kronos, Calamity, Ink Blotch, Shuma-Gorath, Nicole, Wickblaze, Sharkbit, Cheng, Yuika, Blackbeard, Ito, Vic and Krubis but also Enmu, Lamu, Zora Salazar, Kurohonema, Brandon's brother, Philip Han, Marcus Marionette, Lord Hater and his Watchdog Army (not associated with Deadlight or GEATHJERK), and another of the Ravenous Phantoms, this time, a ice climber-themed dragon monster. Hold on to your ass. Fair warning: depression and suicidal ideation. In happier news, the songs you're going to want to know for this one are "Devil Inside" by Civil Soldier and "Mark It Up" by Repo the Genetic Opera.

Coco and Laura watched everyone run up to them, panting and out of breath. "S-Sorry, we didn't know how far you were!" She apologized.

"That's fine, I just wanted to talk to you. No need to rush, ya know?" Coco joked, sitting down.

"Eeeh?!" Hibiki pouted. "Then you should've said so in the first place, Co!"

"LOLOLOLOLOL, sorry 'bout that!" The reaper laughed. Suddenly, her face turned serious. "Me and Laura wanted to just talk to you."

"It must be serious then." Kanade guessed. "What do you want to talk about?"

Coco took a deep breath and pointed to herself. "I know you have a crush on me."

"Wait, what?!?! You only now notice?!" Hibiki realized.

Laura then pointed to Kanade. "Kanade has fallen for me." Then, she took a deep breath and pointed to her eyepatch. "And this eye, my Odin's Eye, is actually not mine."

"Wait, did you steal it from somebody else? Laura, please tell me the person was at least dead beforehand!" Rémy gasped.

Laura could not remain serious after hearing that. "No, no, I didn't steal it from a human! Or an animal, for that matter!"

"Oh. Whoops." Hibiki flatly stated.

Laura chuckled a bit before continuing. "You know how I'm a test tube baby?" She asked.

"You also said that you yourself didn't actually know much about a normal life, right?"

"Yes, but this is why I have an eye patch." Laura began. "With Infinite Stratos thrown into the equation, the project faced a heavy obstacle, since their subjects, mostly me, were tuned for conventional warfare and the factor of IS was never calculated. They decide to re-tune me by replacing the left eye with an artificial one, a miniature and heavily downgraded version of the Hyper-sensor package. Either way, I had to live with the obstacle of being handicapped."

"So, your 'Odin's Eye' is artificial?" Roman summarized.

[oh shit]

[the kid's crippled]

[oh shit]

[god why u do dis]

[fuck why can't we throw money at her therapy fund]

[probably cause we'd become simps and there's already a therapy fund being used for essence, beer and nog]

"Say what you will, chat, no one had an eye stolen that day!" Laura joked, getting a giggle out of her crush. "But there was something like a side effect from all that. As expected from such a bizarre, unprecedented surgery, I've suffered a very strange phenomena."

"What is it?" Zap asked.

"Do...Do you know why I hide my left eye?" Laura tensed, bracing herself, before opening her right eye to show the others. Everyone was surprised, seeing the golden eye flicker to life. "When I open this eye...it heightens the nerve processing to the brain at an explosive speed. It allows reaction quickly in high-speed combat. And I can't exactly switch it off."

Much to her surprise, instead of being disgusted by her story, Kanade was looking at her with sparkles in her eyes. "Even if you can't turn it off, your eye is really cool!" She exclaimed.

[we shipping?]

[hell yeah we're shipping]

[right on dudes]

[all aboard the ship train!]

"Huh? You...aren't weirded out or anything?" Laura asked in disbelief.

"Nope! And, uh..." Hibiki reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out an envelope while Kanade got a letter out of her jacket. "I was also kinda late because I wanted to give you this."

[she's on the prowl]

[and here we see the wild otonokoji twins. these specimens have located suitable mates and have closed in, determined to court with them]

[when the fuck did this become the crocodile hunter but for the X-Squad]

[shhhh keep going mr irwin]

The two handed the envelopes to Coco and Laura, who took it without a word. Opening it up and unfolding the letter within, they read over the contents with curiosity. Their eyes widened as they realized what they were: confession letters.

"U-Um, so...?" Hibiki trailed off, nervousness evident in her voice.

"H-Hibiki, this..." Coco put down the letter with a smile, picking the vocalist up and spinning her around in the air. "Yes, of course I will, ya n00b!"

"Hehe, YES!" Hibiki cheered. She quickly got herself out of the reaper's grasp and on the ground, hugging the girl's torso. "I love you, Co!"

"I heart you too, Biki." Coco purred, hugging her back. She then gingerly leaned in to press her lips lightly to Hibiki's. Hibiki responded hungrily, wrapping both arms around Coco's chest as she leaned hard into the kiss; and soon they were at each other in equal measure, tongues and lips seeking the best position to savor each other. As Coco's left hand curled up around Hibiki's back to find a home in her fluffy red-lavender hair, her right hand moved lower; Hibiki signaled her approval with a brief "Mmh!"

"When you're done, Exzom's waiting in the hall, and it would be nice if you could spare two seconds to actually pay attention to the rest of us." Kanade snarked.

Startled, Hibiki and Coco broke away from each other to turn and face Kanade, who was leaning away from Laura, disconnecting their mouths and letting the soldier catch her breath. Laura melted into the wall behind her, exhausted from their makeout session. As it turned out, Kanade was a REALLY good kisser.

"Fufu, are you alright? You seem tired." Kanade asked,.

"J-Ja, a little of both." Laura replied. "But you stopped kinda suddenly."

"Pfft, were you wanting it to go on longer?" The guitarist joked. "Well, I'd like that too."

[LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[achievement get: got a girlfriend]

[WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[ship has sailed. I repeat, ship has sailed! this is not a drill!]

[cocobiki and kanaura everyone!]

[HELL YEAH, BROTHER!]

[all aboard the hype train!]

[there ain't no brakes!]

[we don't need brakes bro]

[FULL STEAM AHEAD]

[KanaPog]

[wait, when was that a thing?]

[uh, yesterday]

[oh]

"Well, there you go. We're real bounty hunters now." Exzom explained. "Didn't expect to get our footing so quick."

"Team. Our next mission is to defend Blossom Tower, which in reality is our central communication hub." Nelson said.

"So without it, we won't be able to talk with you on the Virgin Victory or any other locations, right?" Roman asked.

"Correct. Recently, we found out that the 5th Officer of GEATHJERK, Krubis, has latched a parasitic intelligence extractor onto it, and is trying to extract information about the Super Reactors." Nelson said. "We must destroy it."

"We'll get right on it, commander." Zap said, giving a salute.

"Good. A new member will meet you halfway to the tower. Now, begin the mission!"

"Right. Team...fall in!" Red said as the Wonderful Ones saluted.

[pack your bags bois]

[you're going to the tower!]

[this calls for celebratory conga]

[dancing sounds nice]

[hell yeah!]

[muhfuggen chaos time]

[Blossom Tower PogChamp]

[PogChamp]

Meanwhile, with Megafin, Birch, Kronos, Calamity, Ink Blotch, Circe, Monster Carrot, Shuma-Gorath, Cheng, Wickblaze, Sharkbit, Nicole, Krubis, Yuika, Blackbeard, Ito, Vic, Hook, Basco, Los Dark, Caine, Badley, Rem and Agdaros, they were trying to make a plan to kill the X-Squad when suddenly they heard a masculine, though soft chuckle.

"Oh shoot, the Dreamer is here!" Vic realized.

"Um, who?" Birch asked.

"Oh right, you're new to the crew, but let's just say, you're bout to meet one of the more twisted members." Blackbeard explained.

A short, slight figure hopped off the roof of a train running through the void and jogged over toward the villains. It was a most bizarre man, whose raven hair faded to pink and teal at the ends. He wore a black suit, a long jacket slitted to show off his pinstriped pants. His face was marked with several yellow dots, and the backs of his hands were split by toothy human mouths, one for each hand. If one looked closely enough into his luminous baby-blue and pink eyes, they would see kanji inscribed there, marking him as "lower." Then a llama with a disturbingly human face, a long haired brunette girl dressed like a cowboy and a dark blue suit of armor.

Enmu - Lower Moon one, loves to give people nightmares

Lamu - Genetic Freakshow llama with a penchant for murder

Zora Salazar - Time is her game, Destroying Epithets is another good game

Nightmare - Hate incarnate.

"What do you want?" Yuika asked, trying to hide a smile.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to introduce me?" Birch barked.

"Oh! How rude of me!" Kronos laughed. "Enmu, Lamu, Zora, Nightmare, this is Birch Small, Killian Jones, Lady Caine, Basco ta Jalokia, the Bakut Pirates and Los Dark, they're new here."

"I was about to express my surprise that someone so innocent could join the cruelest group on the block." Enmu chuckled.

"A pleasure to meet you." Birch shook his hand.

Ink Blotch then turned to the newbies. "For you seven folk, these are friends of ours. Enmu is a demon, though one of his own making, Lamu is a genetic experiment, Zora hates Epithets despite having one that lets her manipulate time due to her thinking there's no challenge if you have luck on your side instead of skill, and Nightmare is the Soul Edge's incarnation and is very much hate incarnate." She then gave Enmu a once-over. "Something's different about you, though."

"Good God, you still look like if Sailor Moon had a sex change." Megafin snarked.

"I think he looks like Aziz Ansari if he was a white woman." Zora joked.

Another sipped from his glass. "Perhaps "boy" is the wrong term for that red head in the bowler hat. He, that ice cream kid, and those two faunus certainly have grown since the last time I saw them." He narrowed his glowing red eyes, bony face frozen, as always, in a rictus grin. "Maybe enough to be worth my time…"

He downed the last of his drink, slammed his glass on the counter, and calmly rose to his feet, leaving a few ancient coins next to the glass. "For your troubles, barkeep."

Kurohonema - Also known as Deathbringer, threat to society, loves a good drink, has that dawg in him.

The barkeep could not accept the coins, on account of being dead, along with everyone else in the bar. Everyone except, of course, for the being that had brutally slaughtered them, ripped out their skeletons from their still-living flesh, painted the walls with their blood and left their dismembered body parts scattered around the floor like so much refuse.

He walked out of the bar, bones rattling against each other and his armored plates, and into a world on fire, the flames he had set before continuing to burn brightly as they consumed the ramshackle buildings of this poor, forgotten village in the middle of nowhere. It would be weeks before anyone noticed what had happened here, or perhaps longer. The monster wondered if, perhaps, the atrocity he had committed would never be discovered. In this modern age, wiping an entire town off the face of the map usually got noticed pretty quickly, but it amused him to think that someday, centuries from now, archaeologists would stumble upon this place and wonder what had happened.

Assuming there were any humans left in a few hundred years, of course, and if he had anything to say about it, there certainly wouldn't be.

His steed, Akabuto Honema, glanced up as his master approached, blood smearing his skull as he continued to masticate on the limb he'd torn off from the corpse at his hooves. The cause of the massacre that had killed every man, woman, and child in this small town casually walked over the mutilated corpses littering the streets and patted his horse companion on the neck. "Take that for the road, gang, we're heading out."

"Kurohonema, please do try to keep from murdering civilians." Zora said.

"No promises." Kurohonema declared.

Then the X-Squad leapt out of the portal and onto the city center.

"Gorgeous, huh?" Kenny asked.

"Yep, kinda pretty." Hibiki realized.

In the city center, the entire place was crawling with aliens. "Let's go to work." Drakus smiled as they began fighting off the aliens.

Just then, a ugly creature along with a barracuda dressed like a punk rushed into Demongo's gut, making him drop the skull back into him.

"Howdy! I'm Quentin the Grentin! Welcome to Blossom City!" The Grentin, now named Quentin, said.

"PLEASE GET ME AWAY FROM THIS FREAK!" The barracuda said. "ALSO MY NAME IS BEETHOVEN."

Beethoven - doesn't know how to tone down his voice, loves a good rock song.

"Oh Jesus in heaven, it's an alien version of Scrappy and a barracuda with ear rape powers." Momoko joked.

"Oh, shit! A Grentin! Okay, now Deadlight knows we're here." Kenny said.

"Whoa! Rude! Never mind!" Quentin said, before teleporting out of there, Beethoven flew into Drakus' bracelet.

[excuse me what the fuck?]

Crescendo: [WOW! WHAT IS THIS PLACE?]

[owie ouch my ears]

[doot]

[he needs some milk]

[from Kanade's mommy milkers]

DrakBot: [y'all serious rn? Beethoven just got here, ease in the perversion]

GatorGirl: [Oh god, Beethoven, don't ask about mommy milkers.]

IceCream Maiden: [It's a dead meme]

Crescendo: [DON'T WORRY, I WON'T DO THAT]

[ok robo dragon overlord]

[crystal]

[no horny]

[this is a christian stream, keep it in your pants]

"Um, I practice Buddhism." Hajime said.

[same difference]

[we all believe in the big homies in the sky]

"That bridge! Drakus, see if you can use the new sonic powers to knock it down!" Kenny realized.

"Ok then." Drakus said. "Let's test this out, Sonic Boom!" Drakus shouted, before blasting a wave of sound at the bridge knocking it down.

"Holy mother of candy sticks." Drakus said, in awe of his abilities. "Sho, see if you can hit that ship."

"On it." Sho said. "Factorial!" Sho fired three blasts which split into eight blasts and hit the ship, exploding it, out from the explosion was flung an android with silvery skin, dressed in a billowing purple coat, crimson high-heeled boots, and a wide-brimmed kasa. Several weapons were also flung out – an array of shortswords and a flute that Demongo realized was important.

" – could SWEAR he didn't even have the thing! He was swordless! Sans sword! Manufactured in a sword-free bakery! Betcha that thing's a fake; it doesn't even look…"

The famed and feared android assassin, Scaramouche the Merciless, stopped talking to Aku the minute he realized he wasn't actually talking to Aku anymore. Instead, he seemed to be sitting on some snow with an assortment of strangers looking at him.

"Whoa." He raised a hand to press against his metal skull. "That was some trip. What happened? One minute me and the boss-man are double-teamin' Mr. Big Hero on the Block, next it turns out he's got the sword, then I – "

Oh, that was right. He attempted to explain himself and was immediately destroyed.

"That no-good son of a doggie dame!" He swung a fist. "I go on an entire road trip with nobody and no BODY in order to give him the good news, and this is how he repays me?"

"Um, is the AI supposed to be that… chatty?" Roman said with a twitch of the eye.

"He just HAD to be a motormouth," Hibiki grumbled.

"With all due respect, babe," Scaramouche told her, "my mouth runs on motors. Comes with the territory. So which one of you performed the Second Coming of Scaramouche?"

Scaramouche - Merciless assassin, does scat to attack people.

"That would be me," Sho stated. "I guess with subtracting that radian, I added you to the equation."

"Much obliged, babe," Scaramouche replied.

"Don't ask us how." Coco strode over to the robot, circling him like a vulture. "Cause none of us know the deetz on this either." She reached out, running a hand from Scaramouche's face down to his chest. "And you're very cute."

"WHOA!" Scaramouche swatted her hand aside, leaping to his feet and striking a defensive pose. "Back off, babe. I don't do the ladies, especially not that young."

"Wait." Drakus realized. "You're Scaramouche the Merciless! Aku's most powerful and feared robot assassin. And one of his many victims and the scum on his boots."

"He doesn't wear boots, darling," Scaramouche corrected. "Got some kinda floaty mass of roots down there for feet. Real creepy. Good talking point at parties, though."

Drakus flinched. "I am giving you…as much patience as I can spare right now. The POINT is, you're a killer by trade and a magitech fusion unlike anything we've ever seen. Not to mention that while you do have an emotional center that could be seen as a 'heart,' it is jet black," Drakus went on. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but after your last job went south…you don't exactly harbor much loyalty to Aku anymore, do you?"

"Loyalty?" Scaramouche flinched dramatically. "LOYALTY? The loyalty card just got put through the paper shredder along with the last scrap of Aku's integrity! Let's see how Aku likes me going from his number one assassin to the number one assassin OF HIM!"

"Perfect." Drakus nodded. "And just so we're understood…if we help you bring him and Deadlight down, you owe us."

"How about you gimme the terms and I'll see if I' like 'em?" Scaramouche asked.

"I lead the team known as the X-Squad," Drakus explained.

"What, is that some kinda acronym?" Scaramouche asked.

"No, that literally is the team name." Drakus cleared up. "We're basically heroes with no moral compass, trying to save the Omniverse in our own way."

"Well, that does sound like the bees' knees, Drak-a-rang!" Scaramouche replied. "Of course, tell me who's on the die list, and I might just pull a mass-murder-and-run. Deal?"

After a pause, Drakus told him, "Don't ever call me 'Drak-a-rang' again and you have a deal. Also, if you absolutely HAVE to use a nickname, 'Drak' is the standard procedure."

"Righty-o, Drak," Scaramouche said. "So, what's the plan?"

Just then, the wind picked up, and on it came a distinctly female voice, telling them, "GO AWAY."

"Nice try," Kanade sniffed. "Look, we came all this way, some of us walked in HEELS, just to get here."

"Why?" spat the voice on the wind. "There's nothing you want here. I've already had to put up with too many uninvited guests when that behemoth of a Nightmare arrived with the spectral train. If they hadn't decided to leave of their own will, I might've had to resort to violence. Which would you prefer?"

Momoko kept moving forward. "You would be Symonne from Tales of Zestiria, would you not?"

Silence.

Amanojaku bristled. "Now, that is quite uncalled for."

"You realize what is uncalled for is you intruding upon my domain," the voice replied. "As a seraph, I am entitled to a domain, and this is the meager scrap I have chosen. You could have gone anywhere else on this rock of a world and you came here."

"For a bounty in particular, I will remind," Momoko countered.

"Sounds like you're not too happy with this place, the way you talk about it," Roman observed, following Snatcher along the path of the road.

"Should I be?" the voice sneered. "All it's ever brought me is pain. But it's the same everywhere. I WAS taking matters into my own hands to arrange a curtain call, but alas, a supporting player insisted upon an eternal epilogue."

"Ah, yes," Snatcher recalled. "Your lord wished not to rule the world but to end it. Rather bleak outlook if you ask me. Can't exert much power over a world that doesn't exist."

"I wouldn't WANT to exert power over a world that is WORTHLESS," the voice spat. "And you? What claim do you have to follow in the steps of the Lord of Calamity?"

"Quite the opposite," Roman assured. "Though 'calamity' is a specialty of ours. We're seeking to save this galaxy. Details can be hammered out after the fact."

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO GO AWAY?" the voice screamed. "I've already resigned to my fate, and it's the one I should've recognized from the beginning! I was never meant for happiness. The fight is skewed against me so all I'll ever feel is pain! For years and years I slaved toward a goal, and what do I have to show for it? YOU STAND UPON IT!"

Scaramouche froze momentarily. Then cleared his throat. "Those are, er…some rather familiar words, Symmy. If we could just have a talk…you see, I was once a lot like you. Well, except for the hermitage. Perhaps you can learn from a tale such as mine. I once thought of myself – "

"I'm not listening to a story from a DAMN HUMAN!" the voice barked. "Why do you think you can tell me, an immortal being, what morals I'm supposed to learn from your maudlin production? Or is it that you seek applause for your own deeds? I suppose it doesn't matter in the end. I gave you enough chances. You stayed your course, so all that's left is for me to turn you away by FORCE."

The heroes drew their weapons, aiming them straight forward. "Try us, bitch," Hibiki seethed. "I'm warning you: we don't go down quietly or easy."

A soft chuckle. "Impressive weapons. Maybe I want to play a little game instead. If you think you're so wonderful, so much more powerful than seraphim, then perhaps you should prove your worth. The stage awaits and the set is in place. Find me, catch me off guard, and defeat me in a show of true theatricality, and I'll relent that you were superior. But don't stop until I'm done in, or I'll use your blood to repaint the backdrop. Only one side or the other will exeunt with their life intact!"

"…Not where I wanted this to go," Roman muttered, "but okay, I can work with that."

"As can I," Zap grumbled.

"Then give me a performance I'll remember to my grave." The wind suddenly dispelled, our heroes heading into a cave, the tormentor showing herself.

Smaller than the team had expected. Long-lived, yes, but she had the appearance of a twelve-year-old girl. Her plum-colored hair was done up in pigtails; her pale skin was offset by an ensemble of black leather. She clutched in one hand a crystal-tipped staff.

For a moment, Kanade was struck by how young she really was. But she resolved not to let that bother her. So she aimed and fired.

She sidestepped by a half-inch, gaping. "How…how can you see me?" she gasped. "Seraphim shouldn't be visible to an ordinary human! But you're not RESONANT!"

"You're not exactly hidden well," she told the Seraph. "And we saw lots of magic."

But before anyone could respond to that, Grim noticed the detail they had missed. The tint of color in her cheeks, where the rest of her was pale. The subtle swelling around her eyes. And the drip that ran down her face before him.

"Are you weeping?" Grim asked incredulously.

That was when Roman noticed it too. "…Shit."

[oh lord]

[is she older than 18?]

[seraph cute]

"Chat, please do dial back on the horniness until we let her join our team." Laura said.

The girl stamped her foot in anger. "My tears are none of your concern!" she barked. "The game is still in play. I'm just going to have to make it more difficult now! If you fancy yourselves the leads of this show, then find me and END ME, or I'll end you to no applause!"

There was a bright flash of light, obscuring her. The sound of footsteps. She'd used her staff to effectively create a flash bomb so she could run, hiding in the cave.

"Shit, shit, SHIT," Roman repeated. "I didn't expect her to be like THAT. Look, it's not – it's not the fact that she's a kid. It's the fact that she's a kid with an attitude and a power over illusions, and here we are finding her all the way out in this dump, and – she's just like Neo, Archie. She's SO much like Neo. Right down to the killer instinct." He sighed. "Too bad we have to put her out of her misery."

He stepped forth, but Grim put a hard hand on his chest. "Haven't you figured it out?" Grim asked hoarsely. "Took me a bit, admittedly. Her tears were what cinched it. All that talk of being on track to destroy this world, of it only causing her pain, of wishing to be left alone. She asks us to partake in a fight to the death and then gives us several distinct advantages. I fear that she – "

"She just wants us to kill her," Drakus finally realized, a weight settling into his chest. He shook his head; "No. No, I'm not letting that happen. Look, any other kid might get off with a mercy kill, but not…not that one."

"Agreed," Grim told everyone. "I've still got to have some words with her, after all. Specifically in the matter of submitting to another's will simply when the deck is stacked against oneself."

"This Heldalf jerk. Fucked her up pretty bad, didn't he? Just behind Salem." Roman realized.

"Certainly. I say that we seek her out and grant her a different sort of mercy."

"Good call."

"I can't hear you. I'm heading into a tunnel. No, I'm just kidding. Just some, uh, cell phone humor, just to lighten the mood. You know?" Kenny explained. "Oh, it's like a furgle den. Oh, man. Eleanor, you, you, you know, humans actually have a lot in common with these guys, you know, aside from all the hair, you know, you're both being killed, with the furgles being sold as drugs to, for aliens to get high off of, you know? You guys are, uh, it's, it's like, you're almost related in a way, you know, if you think about it."

They set out to head through the cave, peering into every crevice. At no point were they ever ambushed; Symonne obviously wanted to lose this fight.

Sudden footsteps. Roman caught a glimpse of black and purple rounding a corner. "There!" He pointed.

Grim forced his hand into Roman's so he could utilize Roman's Semblance of being basically a will-o-wisp to find her. Once he spotted the retreating shadow, he set off alongside Roman.

"I'll give you this much," the girl, Symonne, called out. Her voice then seemed to come from a different place in the cave entirely: "You're both tenacious and clever. If you will not destroy me, then any further defiance against me and the dying orders of Lord Heldalf will not be tolerated much longer. You are correct in that I was willing to spare you, but for the wrong reasons. My illusions are tied to an oath. If I take a life with my own hands, I lose all of that power, and you see how it is more useful to me than the ability to kill. After all, death is not the worst fate that can befall one. But if you refuse to destroy me, and since I cannot destroy you, the game has changed. I am casting you out by any means necessary, and shall not relent until you LEAVE."

A column of flame erupted mere inches away from Grim. The team flinched, but suspected it to be an illusion. "Now, now, Miss Symonne," Grim urged. "I think we all know better than that. If you're truly immortal, then you can stop acting like a CHILD."

"I'M NOT A CHILD!" Symonne blurted. "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would waste a day frolicking in naïveté? To sing and dance as though the lies of happiness were the truth?"

"Now, I DO resent the sentiment that song and dance are childish matters," skekSil huffed. "Why, I've made somewhat of a career out of doing so professionally. I've got a several-octave range, you know, baritone to soprano."

"Baritone to soprano?" Symonne scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. I can tell that's a lie."

skekSil's response was to let out a high trill of a note that caught the wind of the cave, soaring through like an eerie harbinger.

Silence followed. Then, from directly above: "So I was wrong about your range. That was SOMEWHAT impressive."

The squad turned to see her sitting on the edge of a roof above them, lazily kicking her legs back and forth as she looked down on her pursuers.

A toothy grin broke out on Grim's face. "Symonne?" he said, "You are Symonne? Could you come down here so we could speak?"

Symonne retracted her legs, standing up so she could make another getaway.

BGM: Devil Inside (Citizen Soldier)

"In the middle of the night!" Hibiki called after her, her tone becoming melodic. "It's haunting me."

Roman nudged him with a shoulder, nodding his head. The purple-and-black silhouette was darting through another back street.

"Whispers in the dark, won't let me sleep." Hibiki went on as she and the squad strolled lazily after Symonne. "In the middle of the night, it wants my soul, fighting for my life but it won't let go."

A sudden shift behind them, and her voice came directly: "State your business."

The X-Squad turned to see her glaring at them from inside the cave. "Business?" Hibiki replied tauntingly.

"What do you want?" Symonne asked icily.

"I see an angel, you see the devil. Same old story that's been told." Hibiki warbled. "You think you don't deserve grace, you fought for forgiveness. But unlike you, I already sold my soul." She was approaching, Coco clinging to her.

Symonne shook her head. "I will always be a slave, to the voice inside my head." And then she'd darted off again.

"All these monsters deep inside, will not rest until you're dead!" Hibiki sang after her.

She received her reply: "In the middle of the night, it's haunting me. Whispers in the dark won't let me sleep."

Hibiki nodded, contemplating the wall at the entry. "In the middle of the night, it wants your soul, fighting for your life, but it won't let go."

"So throw me in the fire, fire, fire! Leave me here to burn, burn, burn!" Symonne snapped.

As Hibiki and Coco resumed pursuit, Hibiki corrected: "We won't throw you to the fire, fire, fire, no need to burn, burn the devil out of you!"

Then, as she was inspired, her voice leapt to a high note, encouraging Symonne to "Rattle my cage, I bury my rage so no one else will ever see!"

Symonne kept running, shaking her own head. She couldn't fall for this.

"High on the pain!" echoed behind her. "You thought you'd always be a slave to the darkest part of you!"

She rounded the corner and there they were again. Somehow they'd headed her off at the square. Her brow furrowed; "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Hibiki asked innocently.

"See me," Symonne growled. "I'm a seraph."

Hibiki gestured to Coco; "My special friend can help me see."

Symonne nodded, smirking. "So she's the more useful one, and you sing."

"Yep!" Coco blurted, almost laughing.

Hibiki just rolled her eyes.

"But who are you?" Symonne asked angrily. "I know this world; you're not from here. Beyond the stars and constellations? Or did you spring up with the seasons?"

Drakus didn't answer. Instead, he extended a hand to Symonne; "I propose we work together."

She stamped a foot; "I can't do that!"

"Never?"

"EVER!" She snapped. "If Heldalf found out that I'd gone out, or that you'd been let in – "

She realized she was using a dead man as her excuse. Because even after his death, she still feared him, and wanted to play by his rules.

Hibiki saw it right away: the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. The anxiety at invoking his name. "So you think you're running out of time." she urged. "To get out while we still can."

Symonne shook her head. "And the moon is getting high!"

Hibiki stepped toward her, pulling the others along; "The beast is back again!"

Symonne leaned forth to argue, "In the middle of the night, it's haunting me."

"Whispers in the dark won't let you sleep."

"In the middle of the night, it wants my soul."

"Fighting for your life, but it won't let go."

"So throw me in the fire, fire, fire."

"I won't let you stay to burn, burn, burn!"

"Throw me in the fire, fire, fire!"

"I won't/just leave you/me here to burn, burn the devil out of you/me!" Hibiki and Symonne harmonized.

Symonne clamped a hand over her mouth as Hibiki launched into the bridge; "Oh, you swear to Hedalf, you tried, disappointment in his eyes."

The morning. Symonne turned to glare up at the red sky. It had been crimson ever since Shepherd Michael had cursed this land and cursed Heldalf. What must a morning be like, outside of here? She'd known, once. She'd traveled this whole world and yet had trouble recalling anything but this cursed sky.

"I don't deserve to be set free!" Kanade and Laura were coming closer while Symonne ranted. "So, please just end my misery!"

What was she doing? Letting them get so close! She tried to leap, hoping to spring herself atop the nearest cliff. But, Symonne became lost in the song, grabbing Momoko's hand, Momoko proceeding to blush, to twirl around the cave like a ballroom; "In the middle of the night, it's haunting me. Whispers in the dark, won't let me sleep. In the middle of the night, it wants my soul. Fighting for my life, but it won't let me go. So throw me in the fire, fire, fire. Leave me here to burn, burn, burn, throw me in the fire, fire, fire, leave me here to burn, burn, burn!"

And as it hit her that they were seeing her without assistance, she blurted a yelp that she transformed into a high note: "So throw me in the fire, fire, fire! Leave me here to burn, burn, burn! Throw me in the fire, fire, fire! Leave me here to burn, burn the devil out of me!"

END BGM

Then, after a silence, Drakus ventured, "Did that reframe things?"

"Did we just sing a song by Citizen Soldier that should've been about addiction and twisted it to help a seraph that tried to destroy the world not kill herself?" Hajime asked.

"I think we did." Momoko said.

"It was entertaining," Symonne scoffed. "That's about all I can say about that. But remind me. What did you come here to do?"

"You were right to guess we're from beyond the stars," Hibiki told her. "Rather weird way of putting it. It'd be a real shame if this couldn't work out, you know. Hard to find vocalists on my level. We're a band of misfits dedicated to saving the omniverse." She paused. "Are you doing something so I see you now? Why can I see you?"

"I didn't change anything," Symonne told him. "Ask your 'special friend.'"

Coco shrugged. "Reaper powers are weird AF. If I had to guess, I just rubbed my powers off on all of you. Hopefully that means you're able to make illusions and see the dead."

"I shall implore you one final time," Grim said. "Symonne. Come with us. Join the X-Squad, and be entitled to all you were ever denied in your years up to now. This is your chance to take whatever it is you want! Whatever you want, the loss or lack of which caused you all this pain you keep going on about!"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Symonne seethed in rage, dropping to the ground before them. "I REFUSE to go with you. Heldalf would never have permitted me to do anything so frivolous!"

"If you don't mind my asking," Roman said, "why the FUCK did you sign up for that guy in the first place if he still has you that scared?"

"I WAS HONORED TO SERVE HIM!" Symonne insisted. "TO TAKE HIS BLOWS, DEFEND HIM WITH MY OWN EXISTENCE, TO HURT FOR HIM WAS A GIFT! HE WAS GOING TO TAKE THIS WORLD AWAY FROM ME – AND FINALLY, FINALLY I'D KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO REST PEACEFULLY! NO MORE FIGHTING! NO MORE TRAGEDY! AND NO – MORE – HURTING!"

Then her voice cracked. "I…I just wanted it to end," she squeaked. "The last act. I've been through so much, and there's still so much ahead…you see how young I am, even after decades…which means there's that much more to go before I grow, before I can die…all I want is for it to be over! Now that Heldalf's gone, I should have just taken it into my own hands and ended my existence! But something keeps stopping me! I'm never able to carry it out? WHY CAN'T I DO IT? WHY CAN'T I JUST DIE?"

She collapsed to her knees before the X-Squad, finally exhausted. She buried her face in her hands. And then, realizing her dignity was all she had left to lose, she cast it aside, bawling loudly.

"Oh, Oum, no – sweetie – " Roman was instantly on his knees beside her. She really was too much like Neo – maybe not in some of the small ways, but her illusions, the chase, almost everything about her reminded him of his friend. He remembered when she'd been that small, when Roman'd run into her, Pecos and Roald again on the streets of Mistral, when she'd broken down crying and he'd been all they had.

Which was on his mind, and the reason why he immediately, without really thinking it through, grabbed onto Symonne, enveloping her in both arms and pulling her close to him. The way he used to do for Neo.

She didn't stop him. She simply cried all the harder. Not remembering the last time she'd had anyone to lean on like this.

Louise ran a hand through her hair. "You don't have to do this," she told the Seraph softly. "Life sucks. And it hurts. And it's tough. But you don't HAVE to pack it in. You just…probably need a second chance at it. Somebody to drag you out of the Underworld and make you get your shit together."

"I won't fit in," Symonne wailed. "Never! I'm not like them anymore – not like seraphs, not like humans! I may not have fallen to being a hellion, but all I do is bring misery and pain! There's NOWHERE out there for a person like me! Heldalf was all there was – him and Maltran and Lunarre, but now they're all dead! And I always thought Maltran and Lunarre were LUCKY! Because they wanted the same thing I did, and now they have it! I just want – I want to be with them again!"

Drakus considered the death bombs he bought from that thrift store before meeting the others. After all, that was something on his to-do list. "You're going about this so wrong, Sym." He said.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Symonne wailed.

"Well, now that's DEFINITELY your nickname," Roman told her. "Look, why does it have to be either fit in with the rest of them or die? Those are literally the worst two options! Look." He held her out at arm's length, a hand on each of her shoulders. "Neo, Pecos, Roald, they were like you. And they didn't give up. You wanna know why? Because I kicked their asses into gear. You want someone to give you a reason to live now that the Calamity Lord's gone? Fine. It's us now and I'm telling you to shut the fuck up."

"What other option is there?" Symonne asked softly.

"Well…" Hibiki nodded toward Coco. "I could tell you. But she knows it better."

Coco approached somewhat awkwardly. Then, sensing what was expected of her, got down to her own knees. "You, like so, so many of us, have been rekt by life," she told the Seraph. "That's what the X-Squad's for. A place for misfits to call home. To reach out and grab hold of whatever we want!"

"And you have to want something," Hibiki told her. "Something that's not death or the end of the world. Something broke you badly. What would make up for that? Taking something away by force? Killing the fuck out of whatever made you so sad? Seriously, Sym, the sky's the limit here, and even then, it's not. Other worlds and all. You haven't even heard about those yet and you're already giving up. Look at you! You're a cute little girl! Do you have any idea how much shit you could pull off with all those years you have left? Huh? So what is it? What's the key to happiness here?"

She sniffled. "I don't…I don't know. For so long, I've just wanted peace."

"Well, what went wrong?"

"I lost everyone I cared about," Symonne sniffled. "Maltran and Lunarre were the last ones left. I tried not to care, of course. I never meant to get attached to them. But before then…they were corrupted by malevolence, one by one. We, well, we were different from other seraphs. We were like what you're talking about, taking what we wanted, encouraging humanity to sacrifice for our benefit. We…we demanded they sacrifice their own lives for our glory and use. But this attracted the malevolence. They became dragons. I had to watch them be slain by other seraphs. I pleaded with them to stop, but they wouldn't…they said that the evil and malevolent had to die, and there was no other way. But they wouldn't kill me because I hadn't been corrupted…somehow. I still don't know how I don't bear malevolence, because I never wanted the alternative they proffered, of being one of them…I…I missed the way we were!"

Roman nodded. "Huh. So if I got your old family back – "

"No," Symonne said flatly. "I don't want them. I wasn't tough enough for them when they were alive. They knew I lacked the same capacity for malevolence, and they scolded me for it. I understood that I deserved their insults, and I loved them regardless, because they were only being honest with me. But after they were gone, it wasn't just that I missed them. It was the realization that I didn't know what hurt more: their deaths or their ridicule!"

"Huh," Satsuki replied. "So…let me tally this up. Shit family. They got you into a Sunny Family-style cult, and you liked it, but they thought you were the weak link. Then they turned into dragons? I guess? Is that normal?"

"Seraphs tainted by malevolence – by Darkness – become dragons."

"Okay, so it's normal. They turned into monsters, and then they all died, and then the people who killed them told you that they died because they were evil, but you wanted to be evil, so that was no good. Do I have my ducks in a row here?"

Symonne slowly nodded.

"You…certainly haven't had it easy," Snatcher said softly. "The outcasts never do."

"There's nothing you can do to make it right," Symonne whispered. "Nothing."

"Well, maybe we can't fix that whole shitshow," Roman told her, "but we can offer you a distraction."

"Not a mere distraction!" Snatcher corrected. "A new chapter. Beyond those families you've lost."

"Also, just checking," Kanade said. "Lunarre and Maltran. Did they pick on you too, or…?"

She smiled. "Only in a way I could take."

"Good," Momoko replied. "No reason, of course. Just curious."

(They still wanted to make headway with her, first, before putting anyone else in the equation.)

"Then how about this?" Snatcher asked, suddenly beaming. "You leave this horrid waste behind, come with us on our mission, and experience firsthand what it means to be part of the X-Squad. Should you like what we've to offer, then you can continue on that career path. Otherwise I suppose you can do as you please."

"But you know the principle applies, right?" Roman urged. "If we can get you away from this Calamity Lord and all this death talk, then something else can get you away from us."

Symonne took on a haughty look. "Are you sure YOU'RE malevolent? The lot of you seem soft to me. All this time you've spent on me and my petty crises."

Roman and Snatcher exchanged a wary look.

"I mean, it's okay if she's a little shit too," Roman said. "So? How about it? Wanna come with us on a trip of fun and debauchery?"

"I suppose I can see what you have to offer me," Symonne mused. "After all – " She looked to Snatcher. "I always did appreciate the theater, and I can tell you're the same way after all that singing."

Symonne - Seraph Showgirl, possibly should dress more decently.

Roman ruffled her hair, nearly dislodging one of her pigtails. "Good girl. Okay! Let's get this show on the road!"

"You can't be serious!" Symonne huffed. "You came in here calling my name over and over and I still don't know yours?"

"Right," Roman realized. He reached up to tip the brim of his hat; "Roman Torchwick. The others are Neo Politan, Pecos Prickles and Roald D. Flipper."

"Name's Drakus Hydrax, Prince of Drakonia."

"I'm Julie Hinikawa, former keyboard player of Puffy AmiYumi." Julie said.

"Zap, member of the Skylanders and a big prankster." Zap said.

"I do not think we have been introduced. I am Celestia Ludenberg." Celestia added.

"My name's Harry, the yellow one's Danny and the bird's Robin" Harry added.

Muty got out a whiteboard and drew her name.

"So, you're named Muty." Symonne said.

Muty nodded.

"Just call me Asami Uehara." Asami added.

"Name's Zinnia Ramirez, Drakus's cousin." Zinnia said.

"I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc De La Vallière." Louise said.

"Designation: Metal Gear Rex." MG Rex said.

"Laura Bodewig, Student of IS Academy." Laura said.

"I'm Hibiki Otonokoji, Ultimate Vocalist! And she's Kanade! My twin sister and Ultimate Guitarist and Murderous Fiend." Hibiki said.

"H-Hello. Please don't press into why I'm known as the Ultimate Murderous Fiend, let's just say, you don't wanna know." Kanade said.

"I'm a proud and mighty member of ASIC's front-line infantry, Linda. Don't forget it!" Linda said.

"So, a mere Underling then?" Symonne asked.

"What!? Where the hell do you get off calling me an underling, huh!? Only the X-Squad's allowed to do that!" Linda said, cheeks reddening.

"Brandon Tran, honor to meet you." Brandon said.

"I'm Mine." Mine said.

"Lark Cyclonis, that's all you need to know." Cyclonis said.

"Name's Sapphire Ink." Sapphire said.

"Montgomery Gator, at your service." Monty said.

"Aria Grundel, nice to meet you." Aria said.

"My name's Jasmine Queenston, and this is my inner demon, Malcho." Jasmine said, pointing towards Malcho.

"Well, her ancestor, Aladdin, was my previous foe, but since I was cursed to be their guardian spirit, I became her demon." Malcho explained.

"I am Megabeast Hunter Bangray, that's all you need to know." Bangray said.

"I am Jeeves Weevil, a proud gentleman." Jeeves said.

"I'm Mimi, this is Sheshe. We're the Black Beauty Sisters." Mimi said.

"Greetings to you." Sheshe said.

"Name's Lila Rossi." Lila said.

"I'm Namue, son of King Shark." Namue said.

"Eleanor Sterne, at your service." Eleanor said.

"Name's Satsuki Miayanoshita, the others are Haijime Aoyama, Amanojaku, Momoko Koigakubo, Keiichiro, my brother, and Leo Kakinoki." Satsuki said.

"Rémington Smisse," Rémington introduced. He put out his right hand upon instinct. "The cat's my brother, Grany."

"The name's Sho," Sho said with a toothy smirk, hands in his jacket pockets. "Sho Minamimoto. Would-be Composer."

"And I'm Coco!" Coco called out. "Coco Atarashi! Also would-be Composer."

"Dr. Albert Krueger, certified dream therapist, also a serial killer." Albert said.

"My name's Taylor Lee." Taylor added.

"With all the energy of a pair of Final Girls." Momoko remarked. "And yet, they're non-binary."

"My name's Kenny, I'm helping them end Deadlight." Kenny said.

"Death. And I don't mean it metaphorically or rhetorically or poetically or theoretically or any other fancy way. I AM Death. Straight up! But this group just calls me 'Grim'." Grim said.

"I am Chamberlain skekSil." skekSil said.

"Name's Mera Salamin." Mera said.

"My name is Indus Tarbella!" Indus said.

"Name's Scaramouche the Merciless. A former top assassin for Aku, babe." Scaramouche said.

"Minami Shinotenshi, medical examiner and serial killer." Minami said.

"I'm Will Wedgewood, the special combat agent, CENTINELS Planetary Secret Service, Blossom City Field Office. AKA...Wonder Red!" Red heroically announced. "The other two are Elliot Hooker, Wonderful One from the Los Angeles field office, better known as...Wonder Blue! And Jean-Sebastien Reanu, Wonderful One from the Paris field office, also known as...Wonder Green!" Red said.

She looked from one to the other. "Odd names. But then again, you are an odd bunch of characters. I suppose I'll see where this takes me and if the show is worth admission."

Roman stood, offering a hand to help Grim get back up to his feet as well. Then the two of them put out hands for Symonne; she ignored them and stood up anyway, which really only made her more endearing. "Where are we going, anyway?" she asked.

"Well, we're trying to figure out if there's anything in this world we should know about thanks to a hot tip," Roman told her. "Even if it is a giant trap."

"Walking into a trap?" Symonne scoffed. "How foolish."

"Well, how else are we supposed to know what sort of trap can be set for us?" Grim asked.

Symonne rolled her eyes. "If nothing else, this will be humorous." Which, really, was part of what was encouraging her to tag along. She'd never seen anyone as simultaneously chaotic, malevolent and ridiculous as these.

"Anyway," Roman told her, "we thought this place might be a lead, but we've been all over and unless you're the bait, there's nothing here."

"Let me guess," Symonne replied. "You don't care if I am the bait, because you would still need to trigger the trap regardless."

"Bingo," Roman told her. "Though if you turn out to be a giant fake, I'm gonna be real pissed."

Symonne nodded. "Duly noted."

Coco reached down to put a hand on Symonne's shoulder. She then put her other elbow out; "Biki, will you do the honors?"

Hibiki looped her elbow through Coco's. "Let's go, then!"

And just like that, Symonne was whisked away from her exile of hopelessness into a magical (and probably war crime and dumbness filled) adventure. Then, the X-Squad got out of the tunnel.

"Whew! GEEZ didn't want to embarrass them back there but that tunnel reeks of shit." Kenny said.

"It was the only stage there was." Symonne said, pinching her nose.

Then, right beside the tram was a drop ship followed by smaller ships.

"D'you guys think they're here to stop us?" Roman asked as one of the smaller ships launched a missile.

"Definitely." Kanade said.

"So what do you want us to do, destroy them like we're the heroes of the tale?" Symonne asked, sarcastically, waving her baton and blowing them up.

"Wow, they're like proximity mines!" Red said.

"Some of those ships have pilots, right?" Pecos said.

"Now's our chance to take it to the dropship! Unite Hand!" Red shouted. The Wonderful Ones formed a large hand that punched away the drop ship next to them.

"Yeah!" Hibiki said.

Drakus then felt a presence. "Hey, does anyone else feel that?" he asked. "And it appears to be…. right behind us?" Drakus said before someone dressed like a witch with an eye patch bumped into him.

"Hey, if you'd like some company, why not join us?" Symonne said. "Just tell us your name, please."

The girl blinked as she rubbed at her eye. "Edda, Edda Blackbosom, and that's very kind of you but I..."

"Miss Blackbosom, It's very clear that you cared a great deal about someone you lost, and while I don't think you would be so rash, I also don't believe one who is grieving should be alone to work through that. We wish to listen, if you are willing, or if not then allow us to be a shoulder to lean on." Kanade offers as she holds out a hand for her to take.

Edda blinks at him, and Kanade can see the questions in her eyes, namely why? Why offer such kindness? Why offer to listen when he doesn't even know her?

She bit her lip but hesitantly took Kanade's hand. "Very well. I...I could use a friend."

Kanade smiled as he led her to the X-Squad as Edda looked up at them. "Might I ask your name?"

"Kanade Otonokoji, these are my compatriots, the X-Squad. It's lovely to meet you." Kanade replied easily. She then is quiet as Edda composed herself and her story.

"Avere...was my fiance..." She started, and the squad could already tell this was going to be bad. The team sat with her and when Edda started to cry, Neo pulled her into her arms as she sobbed her way through her story. Edda's hat had fallen from her head, revealing long brown hair that she ran her fingers through as the hyur cried her heart out over the death of her fiance.

Edda Blackbosom - formerly Edda Pureheart, necromancer aficionado, probably has depression

Neo held her tightly as Edda rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't apologize, pal. You're sad over someone you loved. You're allowed to cry. And you also shouldn't be alone. I have no doubt you're gifted, you very well deserve better." Roman said.

"I don't know about that..." Edda started but Neo kissed the top of her head and kept her wrapped up in her arms.

[oh fuck, her fiance's dead]

[bro i'm crying again]

[me too bro]

[hugs for the necromancer]

Paladin Head: [Are you always like this?]

[pretty much]

[yeah]

[mhm]

Paladin Head: [Dear Halone, give me strength]

"Wait, is that Avere?!" Edda said, looking at the Chat.

"Yep, it seems the afterlife has good wi-fi, and Twitch, somehow." Satsuki said.

[mah hart]

[mah soul]

Paladin Head: [Oh, that's adorable… Also, sorry we can't get married, Edda]

GatorGirl: [Brings tears to your eyes, don't it?]

[bro why am i crying so hard in the club rn?]

[it's okay bro i'm crying too]

"That's fine, Avere, I'm just glad you're here." Edda said.

"Welp, let's go whoop some ass." Kanade said.

"SHIP!" Hibiki cried.

"I know, right?" Roman said. "So do I! They're adorable! I'm thinking of calling them 'Hypothermia', or 'Grape Ice Cream'."

[hypothermia is their ship name]

[EYES]

[hypothermia PogChamp]

[PogChamp]

Paladin Head: [Neo better treat Edda right, but I'll approve]

Edda and Neo both blushed, hard.

"No, Romy, not that kind of ship!" Hibiki shouted. "We're being followed by ships!"

The X-Squad and Edda all swiveled their heads around to look where Hibiki pointed.

The 1st ship's cockpit opened and dozens of troops spilled out. The leader made a gesture and suddenly, a large purple hand appeared. Red barely had enough time to form his own and counter the attack, jumping onto the ship.

"What the? Who are these guys?" Drakus said. "That isn't a GEATHJERK ship and definitely not one of Kiko's goons."

"Not only that, but I believe they just… Unite Morphed!" Green added.

"Bring 'em on. Me and my Valiantium Blade and aliens make three. Cut 'em and you get four. Do it again and you get like...six." Blue bragged.

Behind the 1st one, the oddest space craft any of them had ever seen was heading for them. It was shaped, in general, like a glimmering silver skull, if not one entirely human, its cockpit windows forged of two eye sockets of ruby-red glass.

"BLAST IT!" Drakus barked.

The X-Squad started shooting at it, while Edda fired blasts of dark magic at it from her scythe.

It was of no use. The silver ship caught up immediately, its teeth splitting open to reveal a walkway upsettingly carved to look like a massive tongue that lolled down onto the ground.

"KICK INTO HIGH GEAR!" Drakus cried, jamming the maglev into its max speed, the X-Squad and Wonderful Ones holding on, Neo holding Edda's hand.

"Okay, what do we do?" Roman asked.

"What's happening?!" Edda asked.

"We're having to fight a psychopath syndicate led by a deranged goth girl with ice magic, and we added the literal Shapeshifter of evil to it." Drakus explained.

"Why?!" Edda asked.

"To keep them from enslaving this galaxy." He explained, as best as he could.

From the throat of the skull came marching a battalion of a hundred or more creatures, each three feet tall at most, whose bodies were mostly humanoid (if much shorter) save for the fact that in place of a head with a face, each simply had one great round eye with a blood-red iris. They were clothed in a distinct uniform: a black, tight-fitting suit with a red lightning-bolt emblem on the chest, outfitted by the red gloves that clutched their blasters and the red boots that stomped rhythmically down onto the deck. Atop each eye was a black metal helmet topped with a crest shaped like a small, upside-down lightning bolt in bright yellow. The fact that they had no mouths did not stop them from being able to verbalize, as it turned out, for as they filled up the field in an orderly fashion, they chanted in time: "HATE'S GREAT! BEST VILLAIN! HATE'S GREAT! BEST VILLAIN!"

Stunned, Symonne managed to utter, "Okay, what addition to the stage is this?"

"You managed to fend off my first attack. Most impressive." The leader of the 1st ship said.

"Okay, just who are you?" Mera asked.

"Oh! At last, I finally lay my eyes on the famous Drakus Hydrax and his new cohorts." the leader said.

"So you've heard of me?" Drakus asked.

"Yes. I am quite familiar with your past. Challenging random worlds heroes and villains to battle before this team of yours was made. Quite remarkable." The leader said.

"And what about you? You got a name?" Roman asked.

"Of course, lowly human of the planet Dearth. I am from a faraway quadrant of the galaxy. The heir to the throne of the roaming Comet, Rhullo. Now, I lead this band of intergalactic space pirates, Guyzoch. To my people, I am known as Vorkken Oghee, but since your planet has royal names, you can just call me… Prince Vorkken." he said.

Vorkken - Hot mess of a prince, doesn't know what he's doing half the time, can and will slap a bitch.

The one-eyed creatures ("Watchdogs," though the X-Squad had no way of knowing that) surrounded the heroes and Vorkken's group, pointing their multitude of blasters threateningly, and the only reason Drakus or Vorkken did not call for immediate retaliation (and the same reason no one else took the initiative themselves) was because they had to see exactly where this was going.

"YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" a tiny, high-pitched voice sounded out sonorously, and the attention of the heroes was once more drawn up to the mouth of the skull, where a small silhouette had appeared against the backlighting of the Skullship's interior. "PREPARE TO SURRENDER, FOR YOUR SHIP HAS JUST BEEN BOARDED BY THE ONE! THE ONLY! THE INDOMITABLE! THE INVINCIBLE! THE GREATEST IN THE GALAXY…LOOOOOOORD HATER!"

The small silhouette was joined by a much larger one, and the pair made their way down the tongue onto the deck. The announcer, it appeared, was one of the cyclopean creatures that had just swarmed the field, though the lightning-shaped crest of his helmet was much taller than the rest and the heels of his boots raised higher – perhaps to disguise the fact that he was slightly shorter. The "Lord Hater" he had just introduced was more of human height, but not human at all – a skeleton, thick-jawed and broad-framed, clothed in a red-and-black robe that left his white, bony arms bare and the lightning-shaped horns on his head protrude through the hood. Emerald green eyes blazed from his sockets.

Lord Hater - Greatest in the galaxy, flair for the dramatic, probably psychotic

"YOU!" Hater yelled in a gravelly tone as he pointed directly at Edda.

Edda started clinging to Neo.

"Okay, what's going on?" Taylor asked.

"THAT GIRL HAS MY MAP!" Hater accused in the way a kindergartener might yell at a classmate who had "borrowed" their favorite eraser.

"Why do you sound like Laambo?" Red realized.

"No," Vorkken said calmly; the sheer absurdity of this scene had rendered him unable to properly process this shit. "I don't see a map on her."

"I WENT ALL THIS WAY TO GET THE MAP FROM TREASURE PLANET," Hater continued, "AND THAT BRAT TOOK IT! SHE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE IT! I HAD DIBS! THAT MAP IS MINE!"

"First of all, inside voice," Pecos chided.

This was met "I DON'T HAVE TO USE MY INSIDE VOICE IF WE'RE NOT INSIDE!" Hater's diminutive announcer adopted a look in his eye that suggested that despite a modicum of loyalty, he wanted everyone to really get a good look at what type of shit he had to put up with.

"Second," Edda told Hater, "you may have had 'dibs,' but I got the map before you did, and I believe the rules are 'finders keepers.' You know the drill. At least, I assume you do. See, you haven't told me yet if you're a fellow hero trying to stop me from accidentally summoning a great evil like Octomus or if you're a villain trying to take over my world, but based on this aesthetic, you really don't have to."

"How DARE you even INSINUATE that Lord Hater could be even the slightest bit…HEROIC!" the tiny right-hand man to Hater spat.

"PEEPERS!" Hater yelled at the small Watchdog. "I'M TRYING TO BE THREATENING AND IN CHARGE! DON'T PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH!"

"Well, I'M just trying to HELP!" Commander Peepers retaliated, hands on his hips and eyeball twitching somewhat with every word. "But if you think you have this under control, then by all means, go ahead!"

Commander Peepers - Looking for a way out of this, caffeine keeps him going, hates his life

Hater swiveled back to stare down Edda. "HOW DARE YOU INSINUATE THAT I, LORD HATER, COULD EVEN BE THE SLIGHTEST BIT HEROIC?"

Kanade rolled her eyes. "You know, out of all the strange things that have happened on this journey, I think the strangest of all is that I found someone who managed to surpass Hibiki at both immaturity AND stupidity."

Hibiki was going to tell her off but quickly caught herself, remembering she was trying to be a better sister and Kanade wasn't wrong about her being immature or stupid.

"RRRRGGHHHH!" Hater growled through gritted teeth, pointing at Edda. "JUST GIMME MY MAP!"

"Why do you even want it?" Edda asked. "Because I seriously doubt your ambitions for it could be even close to what I'm trying to do with it."

"Are we seriously wasting time just to find new reasons to taunt this idiot?" Hibiki sighed.

"Ye, Biki. O_O Besides, it's fun trolling him." Coco said.

"I NEED THAT MAP, OKAY?" Hater growled. "I need it so I can do…this cool sciencey thing that will make me better at conquering worlds!"

Peepers sighed before filling in, "Our aim is to hook the map up to the engine of the Skullship and use its teleportation capabilities to activate an ultra-hyperdrive that would allow us to cover infinite space in no time, thereby giving us a speed advantage and allowing us greater territory for conquest!"

Cyclonis' eyes flicked back and forth between Hater and Peepers. "WHICH one of you is supposed to be the head honcho here?"

"ME!" Hater roared.

And Peepers, who, despite his exasperation, would not be shaken in his loyalty, simultaneously pointed at Hater and yelled, "HIM!"

"I almost feel bad for the little one," Roald chimed in.

"EXCUSE me?" Peepers snapped at him. "WHICH of us is working for the Greatest in the Galaxy, and WHICH of us is wasting time on this nobody?"

"NOBODY?!?!" Drakus repeated before Midnite could speak. "I'll have you know that you are speaking to Drakus Hydrax, leader of the X-Squad, prince of Drakonia, and what you'd call forklift certified!"

"X-Squad?" Peepers repeated. "What kind of name is THAT?"

"Something Anubis made up." Roman explained. "It's a STUPID name," Hater accused, "and YOU'RE A STUPID VILLAIN!"

"I'M A HERO, AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA JUST HOW CRUEL I CAN GET OR THE POWER I HOLD IN MY HAND!" Drakus shot back.

"Don't you have planets to focus on in your own galaxy?" Symonne asked. "Your stooge keeps mentioning how great you are over there, after all."

"I'M NOT A STOOGE!" Peepers shrieked, leaping into the air to punctuate this statement.

"Yeah, well…" Hater looked to the side sheepishly. "There was kind of this…other villain…and she dried up all the planets in that galaxy except for one, so I had to save all the survivors so she would leave, and then I thought it was gonna be cool because we were starting the whole galaxy over and I could conquer it right from the beginning, but it kinda turns out that a society that's still being rebuilt is really, really boring to conquer because there's nothing actually in it, and I didn't wanna wait for them to finish, so I started looking for other worlds instead." He turned back to stare down the X-Squad with his usual ferocity; "And that's better anyway, because now I don't have to deal with my STUPID ARCHNEMESIS! AUGH! HE SENT ME A FRUIT BASKET TO SAY GOODBYE WHEN I LEFT! HOW STUPID IS THAT?"

"Your archnemesis…sent you a fruit basket to send you off," Cyclonis repeated. "And they say I had an unhealthy relationship with Piper…"

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY AND GIMME THE MAP!" Hater roared.

"You're a villain," Edda told him stonily, staring him down with the iciest of glares. "You know how this works. If you want Flint's map…you're going to have to work for it."

Hater stared blankly. "You, uhhhh, you want me to do your chores or – "

"SHE MEANS FIGHT HER!" Peepers cried.

"I KNEW THAT!" Hater yelled at Peepers.

"And if it's a fight she wants," Peepers declared, drawing a blaster that was far too large to have fit anywhere in his uniform and raising it to aim, "then it's a fight she's gonna get!"

"Chewgi, tell the skeleton to go away, we can handle these…. Blunderful ones." Vorkken said.

"Prince Vorkken, why are you here?" Red asked.

"I'm here for a righteous battle. But you should not need to know of it yet." Vorkken said.

"Let me guess, It's us you want." Drakus said.

"Sorry. Not quite." Vorkken said. "I'm here to take out the ones beside you. We will do battle, Blunder-Red!"

"Guess we're fighting this guy after all!" Jake said.

"Let's go! Unite...Hand!" Red shouted.

"Anything you can do, I can match it! Unify Hand!" Vorkken said as his troops formed a similar hand. The two punched at each other, only to cancel out.

"I'm not limited to just copies of your morphs, Unify Dakharts!" Vorkken said, his troops forming into a scorpion creature.

"Okay, that's a new one on me." Zap said.

Lord Hater's entire body was suddenly crackling alive with lime-green lightning that surged through every bone and the threads on his robe.

"All right," Drakus sighed. "Let's just get this over with. I mean, he's an idiot and his army is tiny, so – "

Hater threw out both arms, surging a white-hot pain directly into Edda's chest in the form of a steady stream of lightning. A golden, intricately designed sphere went flying up out of her grip, sailing through midair. Neo leapt to catch it, pirouetting as she did so before landing across the deck.

"THAT'S IT!" Edda roared. "I HAVE HAD IT!" With that, she sent a black fireball right back toward Hater. Hater retaliated with still more electricity, and the two forces collided at the midpoint.

"WATCHDOGS!" Peepers ordered. "OPEN FIRE!"

Hundreds of blasters went off at once, and the brawl began.

Neo knocked every single blast aside with her umbrella, rolling the map off her hand so Monty could catch it. Monty hustled it up to the helm; once he'd been pursued by a fragment of the Watchdog army, he pitched it, drawing his claws to begin slashing and slicing. He had intended for Malcho to catch the map, but instead, the map just bounced off Malcho's head as he slapped a legion of Watchdogs aside at once with his wings, and Malcho noticed and was surprised. Asami snapped the map up before it could land in the arms of any waiting Watchdog, blasting and blocking the returning fire with her wrench. Amanojaku conjured a red carpet up beneath the Watchdogs that surrounded him, grabbing the end with his teeth and flicking the rug so that all who stood on it were violently thrown off balance to land on their seats. The map flew behind him to wind up with Hibiki, who was calling the Watchdogs various eye-related insults as she returned their fire rapidly.

"Sir!" a Watchdog cried as she slid in next to Peepers. "We should have the map in hand shortly! I am ready and awaiting your order to transport it safely aboard!"

Peepers turned to look at the Watchdog before giving her a nod of approval. "I'm proud of you for taking the initiative. I only have one tiny little problem with that plan."

He then turned his blaster and fired; the Watchdog shot into the air, performing a backflip before landing safely out of range.

"You might've gotten away with that little stunt if you hadn't chosen to look EXACTLY LIKE KALEB, who is RIGHT OVER THERE," Peepers told the Watchdog as he pointed to where Muty dueled her own contingent.

At that very moment, Muty impaled one of the Watchdogs with her claws before hurling his corpse off.

"Aww, too bad," Peepers mocked. "Three seconds longer and you actually would've gotten away with – WAIT A MINUTE, SHE JUST KILLED ONE OF MY WATCHDOGS! Oh, now you're REALLY in for it!"

"You're a sharp one, if you can see through the costume." the Watchdog, who was, in fact, Symonne, chuckled. "So let's see if you got the brawn to back up the brain. Not sure how you even fit a brain in there with all that eye, anyhow."

Symonne rushed Peepers from the side, and Peepers dodged her, turning to fire upon her. She evaded the blast easily, leaping up to deliver a kick from above; Peepers hustled out of the way by a hair before trying to simply broadside her with his blaster's edge. Symonne ducked the blow before throwing a punch that forced Peepers to backpedal.

The map continued to trade hands, bouncing from Asami to Neo to Monty. Even Symonne joined in, once more in her normal form. At last, it ended up with Aria, who had grabbed some flashbangs and started throwing them; when a flash went off, the Watchdogs facing her all screamed out in pain – "AAAGH, I'M BLIIIIIND!" – and stumbled around, trying to shake the multicolored spots from their vision.

Aria then smiled. "Wanna try again?"

"NOOOOOO – "

Toss. Flash.

"AAAGH! I'M BLINDER!"

Aria chuckled heartily – a laugh that was cut off when an enormous storm of green lightning flashed past her.

Hater was advancing upon her, growling, "GIVE…ME…MY…MAP!"

"EXCUSE ME?" Edda yelled. "I WAS THE ONE YOU WERE FIGHTING!"

"Lord Hater, was it?" Aria teased. "Why, I think you have a little too MUCH hate in you. You're overdue for a little ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT!"

She surged forth, tapping Hater square in the forehead of the skull with her sais, a hidden needle injecting him with a potent mix of meth, opioids, weed, alcohol, MDMA, PCP, LSD, stimulants, inhalants, benzodiazepines, lots of 5-Hour Energy, coffee, barbiturates, crack, heroin, magic mushrooms, ketamine and morphine.

Hater stopped, then stared at Aria, then broke out into an unholy trip. "I SEE SOUNDS, HEAR COLORS AND SMELL PICTURES!" he cried, turning around to run at Peepers full tilt.

"SIR!" Peepers put up both hands, palms out; the X-Squad backed off in order to watch the fireworks. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING – "

"PEEPERS!" Hater picked Peepers up and started shaking him back and forth. "You're a whale?! What happened?! This place is a hell house!"

Aria flinched watching the scene. Now, this was interesting. The very fact that this was the opposite to Hater's usual behavior toward his second-in-command was very telling. Even more interesting, however, was Peepers' reaction. Peepers did not immediately try to shove Hater away or comment on his out-of-character behavior. In fact, he looked flustered, almost in disbelief. As though he had wanted this to happen for a while and never gotten it.

If Peepers hadn't been hellbent on destroying the X-Squad in order to take their accidentally-gained map, Aria thought, she would almost feel something like pity for the tiny Watchdog.

Peepers eventually squirmed out of the opposite-Hater's grasp. "S-sir!" he stammered. "Get control of yourself! We…we need to…"

Unable to continue, he pointed accusingly at Aria; "YOU did this!"

"Yep, say what you will, you should be grateful that you're getting attention from your boss." Aria replied with a cheeky smile.

"I'm gonna make you REGRET messing with my friend!" Peepers insisted. "And I mean you in particular!"

"Oh, are you, now?" Aria asked, pitching the map back to Edda. "We'll see about that."

"Aria!" Edda yelled. "Focus, now!"

Aria rushed ahead; her sai tapped Peepers' helmet.

And nothing happened.

"The joke's on YOU!" Peepers boasted. "I had ALL the Watchdogs' helmets, including my own, forged out of kevlar, heat proof materials, insulating materials, a magic-resistant alloy and aramid in case of ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!"

"You ARE a clever little one, aren't you?" Aria chuckled. "I wonder: does the REST of your uniform hold up?"

"No," Peepers replied cockily, "but I make up for that by being VERY GOOD AT TAG!"

Aria rushed after him in an attempt to make enough physical contact to get Peepers high, but Peepers evaded each time, bending his body around the sais skillfully and crying out triumphantly all the way. If Aria didn't know better, she'd think Peepers was having fun with this. Aria sure was having fun, after all, even if she wasn't landing her blow.

Then Peepers had gotten away completely, barreling back up the Skullship's tongue as he called out, "WATCHDOGS! DELTA FORMATION!"

The Watchdogs instantly became far less easy targets, alternating in and out of enemy reach as they took their shots. This was obviously a strategic configuration they had planned, and Aria knew it had certainly not been Hater who'd taught them this move. Their unpredictable movements had even managed to stymie her, getting in the way of her chasing after Peepers.

From within the Skullship's bowels, Peepers threw open a storage closet. "They thought I was just pretending to have one of these to counteract Lord Hater's ridiculous worst-case scenarios!" he cried as he looked upon a crystal twice his size. "If they did think it was real, they thought it was only for radioactive superpowers!" He got behind it to begin to roll it out, his back to its hard faceted surface. "Well, they're about to learn about the ace up my sleeve!"

Actually getting the crystal out of the ship was a little awkward, given how much bigger it was than its wielder, and then Peepers forgot completely about the incline of the tongue-ramp, the crystal suddenly giving way to roll down it and taking him on a tumble with it. On the way, he passed Hater, who was doing a Fortnite default dance (Though Peepers, Hater, or any of the Watchdogs, let alone the Guyzoch, didn't know what Fortnite was) and singing the Macarena, "Dale a tu cuerpo alegría Macarena, Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegría y cosa buena, Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Macarena, Heeeeeeeeeey Macarena, ayyyyy, Dale a tu cuerpo alegría Macarena, Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegría y cosa buena, Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Macarena, Heeeeeeeey Macarena, ayyyyy!"

The crystal and Peepers finally rolled to a stop in the middle of the field, and really, the bruises Peepers knew he was about to sustain from that fall were on the light end of what he was used to receiving on a daily basis. "ALL RIGHT, X-SQUAD!" he proclaimed. "GET READY TO SEE MY NULLIFY CRYSTAL ON HATER!"

They then saw Hater shake his head and grunt after being showered in a purple beam, before immediately plummeting to the city below, overdosed to death via a combination of the drugs, coffee and heart attack.

"Wait, oh no. What have I done?!?!" Peepers realized he accidentally killed his boss. "So, you're the leader of this operation, huh?" Commander Peepers skidded up in front of Drakus, standing straight as a tree, saluting. "Commander Peepers at your service, sir! As of now, consider me one of the X-Squad! I'll help you do anything so long as it will end in utter humiliation for our foes! I'll lend my skills as military strategist, moral support, and occasional gofer!"

"Oh, quit your yapping," Mera scoffed. "Your boss is now literally a corpse. So you're joining us cause we're something better?"

"Ma'am, if you'll just give me a chance," Peepers begged, "I'm willing to prove to you my newfound loyalty! Trust me, once you see what I can offer your team, you'll find me so invaluable that you'll have no choice but to give me the recognition that affirms I'll never leave because I'm so starved for it!"

"Well, if nothing else, he's got an ego," Kanade remarked.

"Also, if I may," Albert pointed out, "we have four new friends of our own. All of which we didn't plan on."

"I like the cut of the little man's jib," Bangray replied. "Also, Peepers, the brutal honesty is a good look on you."

"I just think this partnership, like any mutual villain partnership, is built on trust and respect," Peepers said. "And also shared hatred, which none of us have for these Deadlight people, but they did take over the galaxy I'm from and burnt it down after me and Hater left, but rather a need to stop them, and a lack of morals, which all of us have, that does in fact indicate that no one is ever truly safe. Look, I'm – preeeeetty much done with Lord Hater. But the fact of the matter is I need somewhere to stay!"

Keiichirou, in the meantime, was looking back and forth between the two of them, the look on his face suggesting that he was bewildered by some unknown connection that only he could pick up.

"Welp, welcome to the family." Satsuki said. "Make yourself comfortable, cause shit's going down the drain."

"Here!" Pecos said making light in his hands as Drakus sucked it in. "Element Change: Light!"

"Time to light it up! Lightbulb Banzai!" Drakus shouted. A powerful light then fried the Scorpion.

"An Element Change? Such a rare fighting style." Vorkken said. "Perhaps I should consider you an opponent, but for now… Unify Boomerang!" he said as his troops morphed into a large boomerang. He threw it past the light and straight to Red, knocking him off the ship before grabbing onto the Maglev.

"I must admit, it has been fun battling the likes of you, Blunder Red as well as Drakus. But, I'm afraid this is where we part for now." Vorkken said. "Chewgi… let's send them off."

"Yes master." Chewgi said. The ship, almost as if it was alive, tossed the heroes off of the maglev and right into a sign with a cactus on it. Blue acted quickly, forming his sword and slicing it apart. The groups landed right on top of a building, perfectly safe from harm.

"Sucre-vert, who were they? They could use the same moves as us." Green said.

"We'll figure it out when we meet them again. Team, Let's move!" Red said.

The group continued on their way with minimal conflict until they came across a new enemy. It was like the giant robot before, but had drills for hands and was covered in spiked armor, that slugged Aria into a support beam, and down tumbled three skulls with pink energy radiating off them that started to glow.

One was a woman. She was tall, statuesque, garbed in a blue military uniform with a jacket that bore an enormous train. Her magenta hair was bound into a spiraling ponytail, bangs drooping over one eye.

Another was a man. Pale as snow, with red markings on his cheeks. His hair was absolutely voluminous, his own ponytail seeming to take up half his body. His stance was slightly bent at the legs and waist, complementing his angular face. He wore a dark tunic and breeches, and when he smiled, one could see his pointed fangs.

And the last was a young woman, not exceptionally tall but fair of face (extreme improvements from where she had previously been) and clad in a fair amount of white and had a princess-like appearance, that was for sure. She had short, light purple hair, two large clips on either side of her head, with a cushion-like interior (Aria had the image of a candy wrapper flash in her mind), and a black tiara. Her frilled attire was offset by a cape – red on the inside, blue on the outside – that was held by a gold and blue pin at her neck. Black fluff rounded her hips that were complimented by black arm gloves as striped stockings ran up her legs.

All three of them flinched when they realized they weren't dead anymore. "Well, this is certainly interesting," said the man. His gaze alit on Aria. "Ohhhh, this is a nice surprise! Brought me back for more punishment? I bet you think it'll be you who's doing it!"

"This was an accident, okay?! I don't know you."

"An accident, you say?" The woman tossed her ponytail. "Now, what kind of accident would cause a noble to resurrect a pair of Hellions and, whatever the young girl is? I would call that treason."

"I didn't ask for you three," Aria spat.

"Uh, hi?" Drakus waved. "Over here. I'm the guy leading this misfit gang. Me."

The cape-wearing girl rose as well, her stare falling upon the landscape proper. "This… isn't Ouketsuji. This wasn't where I was when I…" She took a step back, her eyes widening as well. "I was dead… I died, but not here."

Lunarre and the woman turned to regard Drakus with sour glares. "Who the hell are YOU?" Lunarre spat.

"Drakus Hydrax, Prince of Drakonia," said Drakus. "I'm not from around here. In fact, part of why I came here was specifically for another endeavor. Now, if I got this right, you're Lunarre, and you would be Maltran."

"Hmph." The girl in the cape coughed into her hand, and when she spoke again her voice had shifted. "I want to know why I'm in this form rather than how I normally look," she ordered, now adopting a posh-sounding accent fitting for a queen.

"What makes you think we're in the business of being recruited to alliances?" Maltran spat. "You may have resurrected us, but that doesn't make us owe you a debt."

Maltran - Blue Valkyrie, needs order to function, probably a coffee addict

"Yeah, I think you're gonna want to do this once you know the stakes," Roman said. "So, to keep it brief, I'm actually only with the dragon kid because of circumstance. He's MY boss."

"My main enterprise is heroism with no need for silly rules," Drakus went on. "Arson, murder, theft, and all the fun stuff all done for the good of the whole damn Omniverse! And I happen to have a whole group of people like that waiting in the wings. You three are gonna fit right in!"

Lunarre sniffed haughtily. "If you'd known anything at all, you'd know I'm not interested in working with another team. Hardly anything made me sicker than the forced camaraderie of your flock." Lunarre seethed.

Lunarre - Scattered Bone, cannibal, assassin, probably an addict to meat

"But that's a good question," Momoko realized. "Scattered Bones was Rose's old group, right? You were her partner? And you're still wearing the uniform? That sure says something to me."

"Shut up!" Lunarre snapped.

"Say we did want to take your proposition," Maltran said. "Say, in fact, it's an improvement on our situation in the afterlife…and an improvement over trying to make a new name here, where everyone recognizes the Blue Valkyrie as a traitor to the crown."

"Speak for yourself," Lunarre grumbled. "I own my reputation as a bloodthirsty cannibal and thief, thank you very much."

"You don't have to give me the final answer right away," Roman said. "Right now, we had to save a tower from the hands of a terrorist organization."

"And fought a skeleton and his eye army." Satsuki groaned.

"This isn't some game for children," the girl in the cape spat. "There's no such thing as other worlds."

"Says the girl who turned into a magical girl from playing a phone game," Satsuki snarked.

Though she opened her mouth to argue back, Lunarre interrupted with a question of "What's a phone? Some kind of Exsphere?"

"What the Hell is an Exsphere?" Cape-girl asked incredulously.

"I asked my question first!"

"People, please, not so loud!" Drakus shushed them, earning annoyed glances. "Alright… okay, how's about this? Why not introduce yourselves? I'm sure you have plenty to talk about, really get us to know one another."

"There's something that's important to us," Roman finished, "So you're getting us up there in one shot. You can do that, right? Blue Valkyrie here did it once before."

Maltran nodded. "That I did. But who is this Shepherd you speak of? Has anyone else taken the mantle?"

Eleanor smiled. "It's me. I'm the Shepherd of this flock basically. Drakus leads the X-Squad, I'm the one that brought them together."

After a pause, Lunarre broke into raucous laughter, thowing his whole body back. "A TINY SHEPHERD! Oh, how HILARIOUS! DON'T MAKE ME – "

Malcho slapped Lunarre with his wings, and he went flying until he hit a wall.

"...You're tougher than I thought," Lunarre realized as he regained his bearings. He'd sustained a small cut from the impact and tended to it by licking his own blood away.

Maltran rolled her eyes. "Why is he here? I'm the only one you need to get to this precious thing of yours. Though I hope you realize how naïve it makes you sound. Your passion makes you easy to manipulate, and you should take it as a sign of good faith that I'm even telling you as much. How far are you willing to go for what you want?"

"Put a pin in that," Roman told her. "I need both of you because first of all, the group could benefit from both of you. Second, because you can't expect me to believe that Lunarre, a hellion who worked as an assassin for years, isn't just as good at this as you are. And third, can you take a stab at WHY we're here in the first place? What's even going on to make all this happen?"

"It's this organization called Deadlight," Kanade explained. "They're destroying Earth looking for something called the Cause de Décès and we're after their top officers, they teamed up with these GEATHJERK morons trying to destroy it for some odd reason. And Kiko's Heldalf if he was a girl with ice magic."

"Cause de Décès?" Maltran repeated with a smirk. "Surely I'm not the one you would call to undermine Heldalf. I was loyal to him to the end."

"The key word here is 'was,'" Roman said. "How'd that end up working out, by the way? You get what you want?"

Maltran was silent.

"What DID you want, anyway?" Roman asked. "I mean, I've seen your file, but I wanna hear it from you, juuuuust in case I have the details wrong."

"Retribution for my pain," Maltran growled. "I served Heldalf with the goal of destroying the world that had caused me to suffer."

"Very interesting," Kanade replied. "Because last I checked, this world is still here, you died, and you sure didn't get anything back for your pain. And I'm pretty sure Heldalf didn't hurry over to bring you back from the afterlife."

"You don't understand!" Maltran snapped. "I did…I did get what I wanted! I died in service!"

"That's what you WANTED?" Hibiki retorted. "To take orders from someone your whole life? Isn't that how you ended up in misery in the first place?"

"I was stifled by Hyland," Maltran clarified. "Attacked by my own allies. Forced into a life of extreme scrutiny. I was willing to put up with just a little more."

"Wait," Roman realized, breaking out into a big grin. "Oh, I get it now. What you wanted was the dying part. You died so you could have an end to it all. Well, if you were just suicidal, what was the point of going in on the evil scheme before you went out, huh? You could've just stabbed yourself and been done with it, because if you can't take it with you when it's money, you REALLY can't take it with you when it's revenge."

Maltran glared daggers at him.

"I mean, just based on how it looks from the outside, I think you got more into the revenge thing than you realized," Roman pointed out. "I think you could've found meaning in that if you'd stuck with it. But no, you had to cap it off with dying, and that's fine, so long as being dead was actually, you know, better than this. Was it better than this?"

Maltran continued to glare. She didn't answer. She couldn't.

"Your silence speaks volumes," Roman told her.

"There is another universe beyond this one," Maltran muttered. "Whether or not it lets you rest seems to be determined by the wheel of chance. I died unfulfilled, knowing that Glenwood persisted."

"It's almost like you went about the whole thing wrong," Roman taunted. "Maybe, and this is just a guess, when you bit the dust, you realized all your mistakes. Where you went wrong EXACTLY. You have a new plan now, don't you? One that doesn't involve…" He drew his finger across his neck and made the sound of slitting a throat.

"Excuse me!" Lunarre broke in, jogging back up to a reasonable distance from Roman. "Why are you so focused on convincing HER? You brought us both back, didn't you? I'M the only one you need! If anyone resents Heldalf for all he put me through, it's ME! If I wanted to die unfulfilled…I could've just stayed a Scattered Bone."

"Real funny," Mera scoffed.

"They sent HER to bypass the artes that protected that place," Lunarre said haughtily. "Her! It was ME who should've been sent! I would have been able to retrieve the sword of Asura even faster!"

"You can brag all you want," Maltran snorted, "but I think Heldalf knew he had to send someone that wouldn't get distracted slaying and feasting on a nearby village. Knowing you, you would've stopped for lunch in Marlind, devoured the hospitalized plague victims, and taken yourself out of the game with the infection."

"Don't patronize me!" Lunarre snapped. "You think I don't know better than to eat plague victims? You think I don't have enough malevolence in me to COUNTER any plague?"

"So I may need to bring up the last thing that's at stake here," Roman said. "Just so you know – "

"Heldalf selected the correct person for the job," Maltran sniffed. "If this 'X-Squad' has half a brain, they will make the same selection."

"As though we hadn't just established how flawed Heldalf's judgment was," Lunarre snapped. "He knew I was the best operative in the scheme – he just never bothered to mark it up!"

"If anyone was the best operative to serve Heldalf," Maltran growled, "it was the woman with actual military experience and a mind honed for strategy. That is what he failed to 'mark up.'"

"The thing is – " Roman attempted.

"I ought to devour you right here and now!" Lunarre spat. "This squad doesn't NEED you! You'd be better off as a meal to keep me going. Now, what should I eat first? Your supposedly big brain, or your shriveled heart? Tell me, and I'll mark THAT up!"

"Oh Oum," Roman sighed.

BGM - Mark it Up (Repo! The Genetic Opera)

[why's there funk playing?]

[say what you will, this shit slaps]

"True, chat, true." Roman said.

Drakus, now getting invested in the music, stamped his foot twice before chanting "MARK IT UP!" Stamp, stamp. "MARK IT UP!"

Kanade joined in, thinking of nothing else she could do but getting this over with. "MARK IT UP!" Stamp, stamp. "MARK IT UP!"

Roman had also reached the end of his rope. He inserted himself between Maltran and Lunarre, pushing them to either side. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS, MORONS?" he yelled.

"I should be in charge, Roman!" Maltran barked.

Roman growled. "I don't take lip from a – "

Maltran had beaten him: "I don't take lip from a SLUT."

Before Roman could formulate a proper comeback – or even process that she'd managed to pick an insult that was fairly correct – Lunarre mumbled in tune: "Maltran should eat Roman up…"

"LUNARRE?" Maltran whirled on him. "SHUT THE HELL UP."

She took two steps back, then began to prance around the building. Her voice was definitely in song now. "I'm the smartest! And the toughest! I will find a wound and salt it! If there's not one, I will carve one! The Blue Valkyrie takes shit from no one!" She tapped her forehead. "One brain! Mark it up! Only I have brains enough! That's why he will leave this job to ME!"

"Now hold on..." Hibiki tried to interrupt.

Lunarre puffed out his chest. "Ask a seraph who they fear more! Ten out of nine will say it's Lunarre! Bloodlust munching, ribcage crunching!" He licked his lips. "I will leave your arteries dripping! Two hearts, mark it up! Lunarre eats all of the hearts!"

Maltran took one decisive step toward Lunarre. "You don't have the guts, soldier."

Lunarre rolled his eyes over to Neo; "All bark, but no lungs, I told her!"

The two glared at each other, yelling, "HE WILL LEAVE THIS PLAN TO ME!"

Roman at this point just rolled his eyes, threw up his hands, and silently backed off to let them finish.

"You wait!" Lunarre chuckled.

"Time will tell!" Maltran barked.

Lunarre gave a spin; "Lunarre's face will drip with gore when – "

"The Valkyrie's spear will RULE YOU!" Maltran produced a silvery spear, aiming it right at Lunarre.

" – I bite right through all this stuff!" Lunarre continued, ignoring her.

"I'm OUTSMARTING all this stuff," Maltran huffed.

"Take this plan and write you OUT," Lunarre hissed.

"Take my cut," Maltran seethed, "and mark it up."

They stormed toward each other, inches from one another's face: "Mark it up! MARK IT UP!"

END BGM

Then they paused, shooting each other a silent, dirty glare. After a few moments of quiet, Hibiki yelled, "ARE WE DONE?" into her microphone, sending a pink shockwave sending both of them falling rear first into the foliage.

Maltran and Lunarre's heads snapped toward her. "Make your choice," Maltran barked. "And make it the right one."

"I already have," Hibiki growled. "We're taking BOTH of you, whether or not you can actually get the fuck along, because you haven't let me say that THIS IS ABOUT SYM-SYM GETTING HER FRIENDS BACK!"

Both flinched. "Symonne?" Maltran repeated, trying to keep her cool. "What of her?"

"So a crime syndicate somehow figured out that some sort of treasure can give them the power of remaking planets." Symonne groaned. "Still figuring that plot out."

Mera shrugged. "Yeah. No clue."

"I had just talked Symonne out of going right back to the kind of abuse Hedalf put her through every day," Roman growled. "She's coming home with ME. We're gonna put her on the right track. Well, the right wrong track. Then you get how this works," Roman told them. "I have gone along with a fucking save-the-world scheme, which is the LAST thing I wanted my brand name associated with, because I need to keep my ass alive. And I know from the way she talked about you two that she thought of you as friends. Maybe even family! You sure argue like siblings! You know that? So if either of you knows for a fact she put her faith in the wrong place, let me know and I'll cut you out of this enterprise immediately. Maybe I DO only need one of you. Or maybe neither of you! I'm only taking as many of you as want to stop her from going through what you all went through last time. So, with that in mind, who's with me?"

For a moment, Maltran and Lunarre were both silent. Then Lunarre sighed; "The girl is eccentric, but very entertaining, and she always did understand the fineries of bloodshed. I would hate to give up on a partner in crime so easily." Lunarre's eyebrow twitched. "But don't think of this as friendship. It's more like…loyalty." A pause. "And it wouldn't have happened that way. How would you like it if I slandered you by saying, oh, that you'd gotten in a fistfight with the Princess Knight and battered her black and blue?"

"Speaking of which," Maltran grumbled, "it has occurred to me before that Symonne is everything Alisha failed to be. After all the time I spent on that girl…perhaps it's time to cut my losses and move on to the one I know has actually taken my teachings to heart."

"You both like her." Drakus grinned mischievously. "You think she's cute! She's like your missing little sibling!"

"Keep slandering me and I'll call it off," Maltran growled, flustered. "…But I suppose I could be persuaded to work alongside Lunarre in your syndicate if it meant…that the strategic alliance the three of us created could once again be duplicated. For the sake of logistics."

Lunarre rolled his eyes, also flustered. "Very well. For the ONE person who could actually laugh along with me when the streets ran red. But any more talk of us thinking of her as some kind of family member and you'll be the next course on the menu!"

"Are we gonna have to deal with your eating-people thing at some point?" Roman asked. He shook his head; "Never mind. Anyway, we're burning daylight, and we not only have a seraph we need to fill out the deck, but also, as I said, the galaxy's in a shitload of trouble, so I say we move it. Now."

"Come on, everyone!" Eleanor pointed to the village. "Let's go!"

As the group moved forward, Maltran huffed, "Working with a Shepherd. I didn't think I would see the day."

"A sly fox knows how to devour a sheep," Lunarre said mischievously.

"Correction," Jasmine broke in, suddenly behind them. "Eleanor isn't a sheep. She's a wolf pup. And you know what happens when you mess with a wolf pup? Papa Wolf gets mad."

"Try me," Lunarre scoffed.

"How about I try you instead?" Malcho barked. "Surely the name 'Malcho' means something to you."

Maltran and Lunarre both halted in their tracks, eyes wide. "Not the serpent Lord of Calamity…" Maltran breathed, staring at Malcho, floating behind Jasmine. "It IS you. Every inch the illustrations in the tomes of history."

Lunarre dropped to his knees. "I had no idea, my lord! If you'd spoken up sooner, I wouldn't have wasted so much time!"

"OH, COME ON!" Roman yelled.

Maltran took a knee. "Your words are my command, Lord of Calamity."

Malcho nodded. "Join us. And don't argue. Also, you don't bother with me unless explicitly summoned. Is that clear?"

"YES, LORD OF CALAMITY!" Maltran and Lunarre leapt to their feet and hurried to the group.

"So I could've just let you take the wheel and we could've avoided the whole song and dance," Roman sighed.

"No," Malcho told him. "You got them to remember who was important. That will last them longer than any of my demands. Trust me…even the Lord of Calamity will go to any lengths to save family."

"Okay, what should we call the cape kid?" Nikei asked.

With a shimmer, a golden scepter appeared in her hands, surprising her somewhat – she half expected it to fail. The top of the staff was red and golden, an eagle perched at the very tip. The girl eyed up her item before grinning and holding it triumphantly to her side.

"I am Ruler, the magical girl and queen of this town," she proclaimed haughtily. "I could have had a whole city under my boot, if I really wanted it…" She grit her teeth. "If my subjects hadn't betrayed me, that is."

Sanae Mokuou - Dresses like royalty, going for round two, sleep deprived

"Ooo, you hate to see it happen," Satsuki said. Of course, she had known that, even prior to watching the anime version of Magical Girl Raising Project. The manga was a trip and a half – this girl and one other were the only ones to have actually died from not collecting enough candies earned from doing good deeds around the city. All the others died fighting and killing one another. "Well, I can assure you, you won't have to deal with treacherous minions ever again! …I think."

"What a winning vote of confidence," Ruler huffed.

"Now, I don't really understand this "magical girl" nonsense, much," Lunarre admitted. "Am I to understand that not everyone in this world is equipped with magic at birth?"

"Not the normal human populace, that is," Momoko chirped. "There's a whole lengthy explanation I could give, but let's just say that not all worlds are as fantastical as yours."

"So what about the bug things piloting that bot in cages?" Aria said. "Wait, what?!"

[okay, now this is weird.]

[ayo what the?!]

"And that would be?" Peepers asked.

"Yes, please fill us in." Symonne requested.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?!" Ruler realized.

"The Twitch Chat, my friend. Also, fair warning, you might be made into a pog, or shipped with someone, or bear witness to outdated memes that are still funny." Drakus explained.

"And the bugs are?" Momoko asked.

"Listen, if any part of you is feeling bad about these little mytes, don't, uh, leading scientists looked into it and, uh, they, they, they have no feelings. They, you know, they're just like, I don't know. What do you have on your planet? Like fish? Does that, does that translate right?" Kenny explained.

"But where's the asshats that did this?" Kanade asked.

"Right here!" said a mysterious man as he jumped down from a cliff and landed in front of the team, wearing a brown trench coat, a hood concealing his face, and two electric prods on his back. "And you're not gonna get that!"

"Ace, ha ha!" said another mysterious voice, "G'Day, mates. Ya bushies look all stonkered. Spiffy job for leading me straight to my catch of the day. I've been fossicking for these bloody things for some time."

"Who are you!?" said Kanade.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ratbags, allow me to introduce myself. I'm one of those tall poppies, Marcus Marionette, and the hoodie boy is named Phillip Han. I am what they call a collector and seller of exotic pets." Said a man with an Australian accent, black and white hair in a mess, and wearing an outfit similar to Steve Irwin's outfit but with a formal theme.

Marcus Marionette - Pet collector, hams up the Australian, can and will commit violence.

Phillip Han - Mysterious fellow, likes to drink apple juice, violence is mandatory.

"Who's Phillip and why are you doing this to the weird fish things!?" Kanade questioned the mysterious man.

"I am what they call a professional rare species taxidermist, or stuffer if you must." Phillip replied.

"A stuffer?" Roman questioned.

"I don't think I want to know," said Hibiki.

"Stuffers like me take rare or endangered creatures from their natural habitat and stuff them to turn them into lifelike statues," said Phillip.

"You take live creatures and stuff them to turn them into statues!?" Hibiki was horrified by him.

"What you may call insane, I call it a form of art," said Phillip.

"Art!? You call this an art form!?" Kanade was also horrified with him.

"Think about it. Life is short and we can't appreciate them to the fullest when they die. But by stuffing them, I not only preserve the species, but they also can now be immortalized. Plus an added bonus, I get paid millions for doing what I am passionate about." said Phillip as he pulled out his two electric prods.

"You won't get away with this!" said Drakus, "Brandon, Lunarre, Maltran, Symonne, Ruler, I need you to hold the trenchcoat dude and knock off Steve Irwin off while I deactivate the electric trap. Then we can destroy that bot."

"Of course, you're behind all of this." said Brandon, then he turned to the X-Squad. "Marcus is an Aussie exotic pet trader known for his obsession of collecting exotic animals to keep and sell as pets. Normally, he would take whatever he thinks will be popularized by the public en masse, causing a huge decline in their population. In fact, he was responsible for the downfall of the Spix's Macaw and now he has creatures that will soon be sold to the black market unless we stop him."

"Exotic pets?" said Ruler, "You mean pets that came from the wild?"

"Yep." said Marcus, "Like I want these bloody things. I have a client who's requesting this and I'm getting moolah to retrieve one. After all, that's how I make a quid."

"You can't have them!" said Kanade. "They're not for sale!"

"Oh, but it will be," said Marcus, "once I get it to the black market."

"You won't get away with this," said Kanade as she and Mera struggle to free the four from the trap.

"But I already have," said Marcus as he summoned some Paraxis, "Hooroo! Gotta shoot through to my ute to make more moolah! Make sure these blokes don't break him out, will ya?"

[oh shit]

[IT'S THE BUG PEOPLE]

[oh god]

"Okay, the question is how do we stop him?" Lunarre asked, "He seems to be a step ahead of us."

"True, he is known for his craftiness and ability to remain undetected by Area 51's radar. This will require some time to think through," said Brandon.

"Or we melt the cage, see?" Roman shot a fire dust round at the cage, melting it. The Paraxis start charging towards them, and a fight ensues.

"How're we supposed to beat this thing if it's covered in spikes?" Mera asked.

"What gives? You guys are already here?" said a new voice. Standing on top of a pole, perfectly balanced, was a girl with long pink hair. "Oh. My. God. You will not believe the day I'm having." she said.

"What the? Where did she come from?" Lunarre said.

"So nice of you to join us. This is how you say, fashionably late." Indus said.

"The key word being fashionably, I got in here late last night. But then there was this party, and then the after party, and then the after-after party. I really needed to freshen up before meeting you guys." the girl said.

"How long did that take you? The invasion is almost over!" Green shouted.

"Hey, don't get between a girl and make up!" She shouted at Green, making him shake in fear.

"She is surprisingly terrifying." Bangray said shaking as well.

"We've been waiting for you, Ms. Mariana Kretzulesco, CENTINELS Special Combat Agent from the Transylvania Field Office. Or should I say...Wonder Pink!" Red said.

"Wait, she's The Queen of Rage?!?! That Wonder Pink?!?!" Drakus asked.

"And who are you two to call me by my identity?" Pink asked.

"We're Wonder Red and the X-Squad, we're new here."

"Right. Not my type." Pink said.

"If you're here to help us, that's great, so could you come down here and do so?" Minami asked.

"A real gentleman would handle the robots themselves and not involve a young girl like myself." Pink replied before the robot spotted her.

"Look out!" They shouted. But before the robot hit the pillar, Pink leaped into the air and began to spin. "Wonder Eyes...Pink!"

As she stopped spinning, she was in her rightful uniform, her hair sparkling like glitter. She then posed as some cameras took her picture. She then landed right before the Wonderful Ones. "Unite...Whip!" she called out.

The Wonderful Ones leaped into action, forming a long and spiky pink whip. She cracked it at the robot, not only damaging it, but removing part of its armor.

"So that's how we can get rid of those things!" Grim said.

"Bad boy! Time for a little punishment!" Pink said extending her own whip.

"I'll even get in on this!" Grim said. "Infernal Slaughter!"

Grim tossed his sickles through hellfire. It then split into hundreds of sickles, all hitting the robot dead on.

"You're getting pretty good at that stuff." Kanade joked.

"Well now, shall we get going?" Pink asked the group.

"Let's. Good to have you with us, Wonder Pink." Red said.

BGM: Misery (Memphis May Fire)

First, Kanade tackles a couple of Paraxis that were charging at her with their laser spears. Then, a few winged Paraxis aimed their laser spears at Kanade, but as they fired, she was able to flip out of the way of the blasts, and was able to roundhouse kick them to the ground.

"Didn't know I could do that." Kanade said.

Meanwhile, Hibiki was fighting her way through the Paraxis. She gave a few punches and kicks to the Paraxis until she came face to face with Marcus, who had brandished a whip at her.

Brandon drew his swords out and clashed with Phillip.

Kanade attempted to disarm the cage's defense with Hibiki and Laura helping and Drakus waited until his cue.

"Why would you shock those Mytes?" Maltran wondered.

"Well, when selling a creature statue to a high-paying client, they like theirs to be more intact and uninjured. And of course, the majority of the creatures I face are also too dangerous to handle. So shocking them is the safest way for me to control the creature without injuring it. Very clever, indeed." said Phillip as he kept fighting Brandon.

"Yup, you are officially the weirdest person I've ever met." said Hibiki.

"You can do it, Ninja!" Roman cheered.

"Just a little longer, Ninja." Roald said.

"I require assistance over here!" Symonne shouted, before Tronos leapt to her aid and helped fight off some more Paraxis.

"Ninja!? Is that what you go by now!?" said Phillip. "Come on, Brandon, even Abbot would've thought that name was silly."

[Did, did the knockoff Bloodborne Hunter just say Abbot?]

[Ayo, there's something sus here]

[Oh no]

Everyone paused in shock from what they heard.

"How did Hood Boy know his name?" Zap asked Drakus quietly.

'Impossible,' Brandon thought to himself.

"Oh come on, now, Brandon! Don't tell me you forgot ME, your own BROTHER!" said Phillip, "don't you remember the times we were together in the Shaolin temple. Where we grew up in the streets together, fought and trained together in the temple, and even called ourselves 'The Dynamic Duo' after fighting off the many villains we faced?"

[WAIT]

[They're family?!]

[Reunions, amirite?]

"It's official, something strange is going on." Julie was confused and slightly worried.

Just then, Neo broke the cage, freeing the mytes.

"Nice moves! But, you still don't have what it takes to beat me!" Marcus said.

"I literally just beat up some of your goons." Hibiki snarked, before kicking Marcus and Philip down.

[that true]

[get the Steve Irwin knockoff and Bloodborne Hunter reject, Hibiki]

[make them bleed!]

Then, Marcus gets back up, and lashes his whip at Hibiki as she dodges it. Marcus then saw Lunarre, sending a lightning ball at him and Philip.

"Uh oh." Marcus said, before the lightning ball hit him, sending him and Philip flying.

"You haven't seen the last of us! Mark my words, We'll get you all, you bloody Buggas!" Marcus screamed while he and Philip flew off into the distance.

END BGM

"Alright Brandon, spill it! We know you're hiding something from us! And tell me, does Area 51 even know about this?" Kanade questioned Brandon.

"Actually, Area 51 didn't know about this because I thought I would never see him again." said Brandon.

"Philip said he's your brother, you both trained in Shaolin, and you used to call yourselves the Dynamic Duo." said Pecos.

"Not to mention he beat your ass before Lunarre blasted him off." said Hajime.

"Right, not only is he my brother, he is my half blood brother," said Brandon as the team continues to hear his story, "A long time ago, when he and I were only infants, we were abandoned by our parents. Left in the streets, we only had each other to keep ourselves company until we were adopted by the Shaolin monks and it was there we trained for the rest of our lives. We've never seen our parents since, we were the only family we had left, and we share a lot in common, including our love for creatures. Unfortunately, there was a major difference between us that forever severed us. I respect creatures in their natural habitat and would interact with them in their own environment while my brother believes that he can't enjoy them to the fullest while they live short lives and once they die, they're gone forever. So in order to immortalize every individual creature, he studied taxidermy to turn creatures into statues in order to keep them immortalized since it will stay in its living-like state for eternity. His so-called art became an obsession and during our graduation ceremony when we were supposed to be moving on to the next level of training, my brother was instead after something he always wanted since he first saw it, a Giant Panda. He abducted a Giant Panda cub from the wild and was about to stuff the poor creature. I fortunately stopped him in time and by the time Abbot arrived, he ran away, vanished, and was never seen ever since. And so, I moved onto my next level of training, alone for the first time, without my brother beside me. I traveled to different countries to train in other styles of martial arts and, along the way, studied more creatures and that's how I became who I am."

"Wow, so you two were like family." said Drakus, "But one went nuts and you had to fend for yourself. Now I feel terrible for you."

""Hey, don't feel bad." said Peepers as he patted Brandon's back. "Look at the bright side, you have a new family now! And that's us."

"Thanks guys," said Brandon. "I really appreciate it."

After hopping off the tower, the X-Squad heard a familiar voice.

"Hahaha, Quentin the Grentin again. Hello to youuuu!" Quentin said.

"Save your prattle, please. I've just apparently been woken up from death itself, and the last thing I need is some more blundering buffoonery getting in my way again!" Ruler shouted. She jabbed her scepter in Quentin's direction. "How's about this? Just shut your damn TRAP!"

Without warning, Ruler's scepter pulsed before launching a beam of lavender directly at Quentin, enveloping his form completely. He instantly clasped his hands over his mouth. Ruler watched with genuine surprise as the alien practically suffocated himself right in front of her, to the point where the cape-clad girl was unnerved at the display. When she saw Quentin's eyes roll up to the back of his head, Ruler flicked the scepter away. "A-Alright, enough! Just… stop!"

It was too late, the alien flopped to the ground, dead.

"Ohoho, seems commanding really is in your blood, Ruler," Maltran cooed, amused at the show. "How vicious."

"Wha… how… that's not how my magic is supposed to work!" Ruler cried, staring at her scepter in confusion. "It had all these absurd conditions that had to be met before anyone could obey my will! And even then, never to that degree!"

"Fav really screwed you over with your magical powers, restricting them the way he did. What a crock, I say!" Satsuki answered, strutting on over and poking at the eagle at the tip of Ruler's staff. "My guess is when you were revived, the author decided to remove those handicaps entirely. You've actually got a significantly high aptitude, and we'd hate to see it squandered by that little black-and-white booger. No enchantments, no regulations, no nothing. You are, for now until forever, basically a true Ruler, the sovereign magical girl of commandments!"

Ruler was taken aback. "I… guess that explains why I'm in this form rather than how I normally look?"

"Your magic is linked to your core being now. you can command anyone and anything you want… at least, those of weak constitution or will." Cell explained. "People like us won't fall for it, so don't even try."

"Besides, we dealt with him once, that was enough to annoy me. You did good, Ruler, you did good." Kanade said, patting Ruler on the back, proud of what the magical girl did while Ruler stared into the distance, horrified by what she did.

Then, the team continued onward and found a familiar robot riding a dropship. "This one again, huh?" Mera said.

"Guess robots really do hold a grudge." Drakus said as they saw it jump to them.

"And we need to move now!" Red shouted.

The robot smashed every building they were on as ran from it, countering it as well as it rampaged. It was eventually lost as they came within sight of Blossom Tower.

"Get ready, team, whatever's on that tower is gonna have some major back up." Red said.

Just then, they saw a pale blue dragon-like creature, his teeth were as sharp as blades. He seemed dressed like an ice climber, the clothes black, white and blue.

"Oh shit! It's the Zephyr Blood Hunter!" Kenny exclaimed.

"I'll make you freeze over so good, you'll hardly remember what happened. You'll be outta' the boss's hair faster than the cold wind blowing!" The monster said in a chilly, monstrous voice. "So says Wanice!" He shouted.

Wanice - Ice cold tea is his favorite, likes to toy with his prey, His species is the ancestor to Wani

"Not a demon. That's one of the Ravenous Phantoms." Drakus realized.

"Looking for this?" Wanice asked, holding a yarn ball with two needles in it, before crushing it. "Oops, too late."

Then Wanice ran towards the tower, the X-Squad and Wonderful Ones chasing him.

"Follow that dino!" Exzom said, leaping up to the top.

At the top, the Rabbid counterpart of Rosalina, Rabbid Rosalina, a look alike of Kronos, Cronus, and a girl dressed like a phantom thief, Gentlu, found themselves trapped in a clock- like dome.

While Rabbid Rosalina caught up with reading and Cronus tried to shoot the dome open, Gentlu tried to summon an Ubauzo or call anyone, but her container didn't function. "It's no use, phantom thief." Enmu said. "The electromagnetic waves of that force-field have blocked out the key to your powers. There's nothing more you can do but sit and wait."

Zora snickered "It'll only be a matter of time before we get the X-Squad, and then… it'll be lights out for the lot of you! The boss will be very pleased."

"You won't get away with this, you freakshows!" snarled Gentlu.

Krubis, the one with a drill on his head and one on his right hand, took extreme offense to that "You… called me… a fuckin' freak?!?!" he screamed. "The last person who called me a freak… I tore him in half and turned him into crack cocaine." He snarled. "Your punishment will be way worse, you'll be black tar heroin."

Krubis - 5th Officer, prefers violence to bureaucracy, can and will kill a man.

"Just calm down now, Krubis." said Nightmare. "We must be ready to capture those imbeciles."

"Hey!!" Someone called out.

"And I think I hear them now." Birch said.

Upon arriving, the heroes and Kenny could see Rabbid Rosalina, Cronus and Gentlu, and Kenny called out to them. "Hold on!"

Turns out, the team were actually standing on top of the Notori-Yeah. "Well, guess we found it. Let's smash it!" Blue said as the machine began moving.

"Aim for its core!" Red said.

"One shot should do it." Roman said, aiming at the core. Then, he fired a fire dust shot at the core. In one strike, the machine was obliterated.

"Okay. Mission accomplished!" Pecos cheered.

"Uh, not quite. Looks like our old friend isn't quite finished with us yet." Louise said.

Gah-Goojin rode up on its dropship and flew into the air. It then attaches itself to the dropship, making a new arm and becoming more powerful than ever.

"They combined?" Mera said.

"Looks like it." Indus said.

The only response was wicked laughter as Megafin, Birch, Kronos, Calamity, Ink Blotch, Shuma-Gorath, Kurohonema, Yuika, Blackbeard, Ito, Vic, Enmu, Lamu, Zora, Phillip, Nightmare, Krubis, Los Dark, Caine, Badley, Hook, Wanice and an army of Fanglars, Feargulls, Clurkrahnnas, Buffoons, Soldier Heartless, Dusk Nobodies, Elfwolves and Stooges, Scopers, Wildclaws, Medicinals and Squashers and Merkobras marched out. "Well, well, you finally showed." Zora said.

The dreaded Youkai certainly lived up to his reputation. While the simplest description of him would be to say he was a skeleton wearing samurai armor, that didn't come anywhere close to doing him justice. His bones, stained pitch black, were covered in demonic red sigils that faintly glowed with a sickening, unearthly hue. His armor also was either made of bones, or was styled to look like them. His cuirass resembled an inhuman rib cage, with tiny skulls crammed between every rib, so small they looked as if they'd been taken from newborn infants. His spaulders were made from overlarge skulls with horns, implying they had been fashioned from oni. His vambraces seemed to have been crafted from multiple arm bones fused together, with gauntlets made from hollowed-out hand bones overlaying his own skeletal fingers, cruel spikes jutting from the knuckles. His fauld and cuisses were big, bony plates covered in finger bones, human skulls served as kneecaps, and his greaves were made from fused femurs and leg bones, his clawed, bony feet exposed to the air in geta sandals forged from toe bones.

A belt resembling a spinal column wrapped around his waist, a pair of swords hanging on either side, one long and the other short, their scabbards looking as if they had been made from human skin with a twisted bony hand gripping the hilts of the blades where they entered their sheaths. His helmet had numerous teeth embedded into the sides and partially resembled a pair of monstrous jaws clamping over the head of its wearer, a large crest resembling a death's head taking center stage with a pair of wings made from jawbones extending to either side, a pair of tiny skeletal arms dropping down to frame and gently caress the Deathbringer's face, which was, of course, a pitch-black skull covered in more glowing red etchings, with a pair of curving horns jutting from his forehead, teeth carved into sharp points, and glowing red eyes burning in his sockets.

"You should not be here," the Deathbringer said after a moment, regarding the rest of the party. "I told Roman, Neo, Pecos and Roald to come alone."

Scopers, Wildclaws, Medicinals and Squashers - Rabbid abominations

The team had never seen the other three before, but already could tell they were really dangerous, and obviously more of Kiko's goons.

"You." Roman whispered, stepping away, freaked out. Neo, Pecos and Roald stepped away too.

"What have you done with those three?!" Mera demanded.

"They're fine, for now, that is." Zora replied. "But, if you want them out and safe, you will have to give up."

The heroes were losing their patience.

"Aw, but you just got here - and we're just getting to the fun part." Lamu said in a Peruvian accent.

"Like we'd surrender, you dirty rats!" snarled Drakus.

"Bad move." Enmu said, then he motioned for the minions to attack.

Los Dark chuckled. "So, you think this will be enough to save the tower? Despite your additional allies, you stand no chance against us-"

Without warning, a cannonball streaked through the air and smashed into the side of the Free Joker, blowing out an engine.

"I'm going down! I'M GOING DOWN!" Basco screamed as his ship plummeted from the skies, crashing onto the tower.

"What?!" Los Dark. "Who-"

"Winds doth blow, pal." Drakus said, holding a cannon ball.

"Wonderful 100 and company, our new mission is to defend the tower from the Bipedal Assault Weapon and Deadlight. Engage Unlimited form!" Red said. The pendants then began glowing as masks appeared on the Wonderful Ones.

"Now," Drakus declared, brandishing BlueBlaze. "Let's jam."

BGM: Cold As Ice (Blacklite District)

The robot started by throwing a large building at them. "Unite Hand!" Red shouted, smashing the rubble to bits.

Taylor threw a bunch of dirt at a Merkobra's face and then kicked it hard to the ground. Another tried to grab them, but they swerved and then grabbed it by the arm, flipping it down.

At the tower bottom, the Dragon Zord bellowed, exhaling a blast of lightning which engulfed a Woodroid, which was quickly reduced to cinders. "Come on, we have to pick up the pace and take out as many of them as we can so we can keep them from threatening the island or our charges!"

The Wolf Zord charged into a Terrible Terror, his drill legs spinning and ripping the robot to scrap. "This would be a bit easier if we could combine!"

"Regrettably, we need our pupils for that," the Dove Zord grunted as she and a Hunter Jet chased each other through the rigging of the Ghost Ship, exchanging fire. "Since unlike the elders of the Shining Isles, we lack the spiritual clarity to do so on our own."

"W-WHAT?! I have spiritual clarity!" The Leviathan Zord sputtered, thrashing his tail about and smashing in the chest of a Big Drawer. "I'll admit that I need to improve. The rest of you might need to as well."

The Panda Zord rolled her eyes as she clashed against a Shinobi Shadow, the two giant ninjas exchanging blows as they darted back and forth across the ship. "Thanks for being honest, Leviathan."

"We're in a duel right now, we'll save pleasantries for later!" Leviathan Zord shouted, curling into a buzzsaw and bowling over a bunch of Killer Tanks.

Scaramouche flipped over a few rocks as three Fanglars leapt over after him. He slashed one…

"Bip-bop-da!"

He stabbed another…

"Skip-ba-doo!"

The last one lunged straight at him…

"Dada-bam!"

He ducked down and trip-kicked the creature over, "Bada-boom!"

Roman had already knocked the rest of the Fanglars that attacked him away, but suddenly he was ensnared by Lamu using a vine.

"Let go of me!"

Lamu laughed. "Now why would I do that?"

"Roman!" cried Pecos. He and Neo charged to help him, but Zora leapt out in front of them. "Going somewhere?"

The two tried and tried to get past her, but Zora shoved them back really hard with a tree.

"We're inviting you to have lunch with a special friend of ours." Zora joked. That's when the ground rumbled, and in a huge chunk of ice, Wanice popped out, snarling and laughing wickedly "So, when's lunch?!"

The heroes felt frightened.

"The fear only makes him hungrier." Lamu teased.

From inside the dome, Cronus, Rabbid Rosalina and Gentlu, unguarded, heard everything. Rabbid Rosalina even stopped reading.

"Sounds like those people are in big trouble." Gentlu said. "We really should try and help them."

Gentlu then tried to break through the barrier by charging at it, only to get thrown back every time. "Well, you got an idea?"

Rabbid Rosalina got a good look at the generator pillars that powered the barrier. "Maybe just knock the generators over somehow, it could disarm the shield."

"So, how can we do that?" asked Cronus.

Rabbid Rosalina suddenly remembered that the shield was using electro-magnetic charges. She turned to face Gentlu. "Get me a belt."

"Huh?"

"I've got an idea."

Curious, Gentlu grabbed a belt from her pocket, "I hope this works. But what are you doing?"

Rabbid Rosalina shaped the belt as a loop snare "It might pass through."

She then tossed the strap, and sure enough, it passed through the field and grabbed round the pillar. Then she gave a huge pull, yanking the pillar, snapping it at its base. It fell to the ground shorting out, and with its destruction, the other pillars couldn't control the power-flow and shorted out, disarming the shield.

"All right!" Gentlu cheered.

Then, Rabbid Rosalina got out a Luma shaped Gatling gun, Cronus got out his cutlass and revolver, and Gentlu pulled out her container, which turned into a revolver-like blaster with two horns.

Rabbid Rosalina - Ennui sets in early, doesn't want to deal with bullshit.

Cronus - Hot mess of a pirate, flair for showbiz.

Kasai Amane - Former Bundoru Gang member, loves to drink sweet coffee, willing to commit violence if needed.

Eleanor's blush at this was recognisable.

[you marry this girl right now eleanor]

[do not let her get away]

[she's perfect for you]

"Wait, how did-" Krubis realized, before Cronus leapt and dashed from Krubis. "Hey, where ya' goin', ya' rude jagoff! I was talkin' here!"

[is that guy saying jagoff a lot?]

[you can hear him?]

[no my roommate has just said it so many times i can read it on peoples lips]

[how the fuck you see his lips?]

[goddamn he got the lip vision perk]

"Well, too bad, ya drilled up dunce, I prefer functional mateys." Cronus snarked.

"I swear to god if this fight delays our schedule, I'll kill ya' twice...cause nobody fucks with me, the 5th officer of GEATHJERK, Krubis! But honestly, I do appreciate the break. You know, it's all paperwork and scheduling, day in and day out. I'm more suited to fuckin' up some intruders like you." Krubis ranted.

"Who am I even fighting?!" A furious Los Dark demanded, deflecting a sword strike from Blue only to get a gunshot to the chest from Green that nearly knocked him off the tower.

"What the actual fuck?" Roman asked.

"We're not through yet, not by a longshot!" said Drakus. The other heroes agreed.

[holy shit]

[the sleepy girl can fight?!]

[that shit is awesome]

DrakBot: [Hmm. I wonder how much stress the body could take before it wears out.]

[has anyone tried calling the heroes yet?!]

"Wrong answer!" shouted Krubis, and he fired a flaming disc from his drill.

The heroes all jumped out of the way avoiding the blast, and the villains charged for them again…

…Only to suddenly step into ditches in the tower, making them fall.

"What's happened?" asked Kanade.

That's when 2 young girls leapt out, one about Aria's age, sporting aqua-green colored hair and red eyes. Two small, rounded yellow horns poked out of the sides of her head. A white lab coat was draped over a blue sailor uniform, and several bandages wrapped around parts of her legs. The other was pale as a ghost, with flowing white hair to match. The striking attire of black and white adorned with plant iconography on her sleeves and legs made her pop against the backdrop. Two long, whip-like vines dangled behind her back, the burgundy leaves that grew there matching those that crowned her head, coiled around her hair, and lined her sleeves. "Well, we happened…figured it would slow 'em down for you."

Lune - Chaotic sadomasochist, demon from hell, doesn't show emotion

Mystletainn - Sadist, fabulous, cookies for life, dream demon, ultra gay

"Awesome as always, Mystletainn! You did great as ever, Lune!" Drakus said as he patted their heads. "Alright, before they recover, let's bring 'em together."

The heroes agreed and combined their weapons, adding Rabbid Rosalina, Cronus, Gentlu, Lune and Mystletainn's weapons to the mix, turning it into a dragon skull added to a giant bazooka.

"Time we end this, Deathbringer." Roman said.

[ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!]

[get that bitch a cannon]

[bitches love cannons]

[THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR COMEDY YOU ASS]

"Drake Jawslammer… Ready!"

The villains looked up, "Nope!" cried Los Dark. "NOT AGAIN!" and he quickly activated the transporter, teleporting the villains out of the way.

"Get back here!" shouted Krubis.

"Hey look!" cried Wanice, as the heroes stood ready for the kill. "Time to die!" shouted Mystletainn, and she and the rangers all shouted together…

"DRAKE JAWSLAMMER, HYPER STRIKE!!"

"Look out!" Krubis cried as he tried to zip out of the way, but Gah-Goojin, Wanice and him had already gotten slammed by the attack, and even his helmet didn't protect him, hammering the robot until his face was blown out, revealing spiked armor. "Unite Whip!" Pink shouted forming the whip and slapping the robot back and forth, leaving the robot stumbling on its own two legs.

"Its armor's gone, lay into it!" Minami said as they hammered its face again until the head was knocked out of its socket and exploded in mid air. "Cryo Blitz!" Roald shouted sending large volumes of ice right down the empty socket. This caused the robot to malfunction.

"Virgin Victory off the port side!" Roman said, as it flew to them.

"Unite Whip!" Pink shouted using the whip to grab the hook dragging from the ship. The robot then recovered, flying to the ship and beginning its self-destruct sequence.

"This thing just doesn't give up!" Roman said.

"One more blow should do it. Unite Hand!" Red shouted as the large hand formed. It then began to tickle the large robot until it let go of the ship.

The three fell to the ground and were nearly ready to explode.

"W-... HOW ARE YOU TICKLING THE ROBOT?! Was it designed with tickle technology, for what sort of depraved purpose?!" Mystle asked, demanding an answer.

But Kiko saw everything on her computer screen! "Wickblaze, now, these 'X-Squad' brats are really starting to interest me." she requested.

"I'm on it…" replied Wickblaze. "Yamimech, lunch time!" He said, Yamimech rushing to the three fallen's aid.

Then, Wanice turned into a giant combined with the Gah-Goojin, with Krubis piloting! "Cold as ever!" Wanice thundered.

"Well now, this should be quite a shocker!" Krubis laughed.

Enmu was impressed too, but the heroes gawked and grunted irritably.

Drakus then contacted the base, "Launch Argana!"

The zords arrived near the Virgin Victory in almost no time, and the heroes beamed into their cockpits.

"Okay, time to put these creeps on ice!" said Drakus.

"X-Squad, I have summoned a mighty warrior to aid you in this scuffle!" Anubis explained.

Then, he lit the flame.

As the fires grew, a demonic chortle echoed throughout the chamber.

"Many thanks for rekindling the flame of my existence," a voice growled.

Standing two stories tall, the flames began to take solid form and from them stepped a large crimson humanoid monster with the mane of a lion and the wings of an eagle.

"I am Amuk Moonrah!" he declared. "And once again, I am free to rule Agrabah!"

Amuk Moonrah - Ancient demon, loves fireworks, can and will commit violence if given the chance too.

"Just a moment," Anubis said. "I am the one who released you, and I need you to serve me."

"Amuk Moonrah does NOT serve!" he shouted.

Amuk attempted to smash Anubis into the ground, but his fist only hit stone as the illusion disappeared.

"Amuk Moonrah is going to serve me," Anubis said, re-materializing nearby. "Otherwise, he's getting put right back where he came from."

Amuk scowled but ultimately relented, knowing that Anubis was the only one who could imprison him. Amuk wasn't happy about negotiating, but this deal could ensure that he did not meet the same fate as last time.

"Very well," Amuk said. "What is it you wish?"

"In exchange for me not reimprisoning you in the temple," Anubis began, "you will battle the terrorist group, Deadlight, and all who associate with them, as a way of protection, you will be granted armor."

"Amuk will fight this group!" he nodded. "And soon, the leader will fall to their knees!"

"Whatever it is you intend to do to succeed in this is of little concern to me," Anubis said. "Now go forth! The hour is urgent!"

Amuk then flew into a portal, where the Zords started combining with Amuk, turning into a dragon-like mech with armor like that of No Heart, Xehanort's simulated version in Keyblade Armor.

"Zords Combine!"

"Argana Megazord: Amuk Formation, Ready!"

Once the Argana Megazord was fully mobilized, it was time to brawl.

"URGH!! I'll ground y'all into bits of gravel!" Krubis growled as he stomped forth.

"Fitting indeed! I am fond of battles... and fireworks!" Amuk joked, having become the Argana Megazord's AI.

[GET HIM, YA FURRY MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!]

[BREAK THEIR BONES!]

GatorGirl: [Ballin, but at the cost of looking ridiculous.]

"That is true, strange spirits." Amuk said.

"Twitch Chat, mister, get it right " Taylor said.

"Very well." Amuk complied.

The big hulks collided together through their fists and claws at one another. Amuk tried to punch the monster in his gut, but ricocheted right off the frozen creature, which gave Krubis the chance to slash hard and knock the Megazord onto its back.

"Come on, guys!" The Wolf Zord hollered as they all pulled hard to stand back upright.

"Come on, ya dimwits! Don't give up yet!" said Tock.

Just as the Megazord got back on its feet, Wanice decided, "Going down…" and he burrowed.

"Where'd he go?" asked Kanade.

Drakus then spotted the rushing ice coming before them. "Swerve right!"

The Megazord then jumped aside making Wanice miss his mark, but he rushed at them again.

"Now left!" said Roman, and the Megazord dodged again.

Krubis popped up fuming angrily "That's it! Now, let's really rock this!"

Wanice then curled up and did a huge rollout smash right into the Megazord, rocking the heroes hard in the cockpit, and knocking them down again.

"Rock 'N Roll!"

The heroes groaned and grumbled as they made the Megazord stand upright again. "That's it! Time to take this up a notch." Cronus said.

With that, the Megazord drew out the Drak-Cudgel.

Wanice didn't really seem to care and did another roll out straight for them.

"Now!" shouted Amuk, and with that, he gave a huge slash, hitting Carnice hard as he came forth, making a huge shower of sparks fly and Wanice flopped onto his belly, but his claws and his teeth were totaled!

"Hey! What the?!" he shouted.

"Alright, that got him!" said Mera.

"Right, let's finish him off." added Scaramouche.

"Drak-Cudgel… Engage!"

The cane glowed brightly.

"HELLFIRE STREAM!"

The Megazord aimed the cane, generating the dragon, and shot at Wanice, striking him hard, causing his body to jolt and flare, "Many thanks for the duel!" he shouted… and he teleported, leaving Krubis and Gah-Goojin to explode. Flung into the cockpit was Krubis' drill hand.

"Oh, sure, sure, maybe not like we need it." Mystletainn mocked.

[Well, Pink my girl]

[Welcome to hell, bring your own wine.]

[Get drunk, my child]

"Amazing. God, Symonne, I love your tiny little hands, by the way. I- I had a cousin who had those tiny hands. He... died in the zombie apocalypse on Gatlas, but y'know, look. I'm sure you don't wanna hear about that. We had to live through it, mean, y'know, who wants to talk about that?" Kenny explained.

"We won't make you, but you have to tell us sometime." Lune explained. "Especially you, Roman."

WELL WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT?! I finally got this chapter done after a while!

Phillip Han and Marcus Marionette belong to ShorinRyuKarateKobudo, I don't claim to own them.

Deathbringer belongs to Ri2, I don't claim to own him.

Soon, we'll be going after Ol' Douglas and Wanna, so hold on to your ass.