Demon Archives: Queen Jaydes. She rules the Underworld region known as the Underwhere, the place where Mushroomian souls go to be judged after death. If they don't pass up to Spirit World, she turns them into Shaydes. She is a benevolent Lord overall. About 1,500 years ago, she developed a romance for a Nimbi named Grambi during a Demon War. They became a couple after Grambi's death. Grambi hopes to introduce her to his daughter, Luvbi someday.

Part 3: The Five Pillars

Stage 2: The Owlands

Mission: Blow off steam and beat up demons.

(Play "Alpine Incline Ground" from Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze!)

Christina flew out the other end of the hole and landed on a red grass surface. She expected another surreal or horrific Underworld landscape to splay before her… but it was much prettier than that. Floating islands amidst a dawning sky, the heads of owls carved into the cliffsides. "WHOA!" Her awe of the view was interrupted by the chain through her back.

"Come back through the Gap right now!" Lyserg demanded.

"YOU again?!" Christina grabbed the chain and ripped it out. She felt for a wound, but there was nothing.

"Oh, you can see me now. Listen, my superiors asked me to protect you, and it sure would be nice if you didn't jump into every Gap you saw. Did you forget the demons are trying to capture you?"

"Did you follow me in the bathroom?!"

"Don't change the subject! Just come back through the Gap before something bad happens."

"Hey, I need the exercise! And I'm thinkin' if I burn some demons, that'll help me bust out Malladus's chi. THEN we'll really be cookin'!"

"You're an actual moron, aren't you?"

"Look, smartass, if you wanna watch me bash some demons, be my guest, I'm awesome, I know. But try to get in my way, and I'll do you what I'm about to do to this owl." There was a cannon on the cliff, Christina setting it off with a spark as it blasted a giant owl face in a corresponding island. "HOOT, HOOT, HOOT!" The owl gave a forced, exaggerated hoot and stretched its neck to their island. "Hey, look what worked out!" She proceeded to run up the neck.

The Uno was swarmed by Kagarowls (Kagaroks that looked like owls), but they learned the hard way that pecking Christina would lead to charred feathers. At the end of the neck, Christina used Rocket Boosts to jump high platforms to make it atop the island. She landed at the edge of a pine tree forest and ventured inside. Fire Bees buzzed out of hives and swarmed her. Her own firebending seemed ineffective against them, while their stings were nonetheless deadly. She maneuvered away and decided to seize their own fire in her direct grasp, and by bending it off them, the bees dropped dead. Christina jumped platforms leading up the pine trees and would have to avoid swinging black pinecones. She landed at the bottom of a long slope where pinecones bounced down in random trajectories, and she couldn't make it up without a few cuts. Once up the slope, Christina was able to pick up a staff with an owl head, and after a moment of confusion, she realized she could bounce it like a pogostick.

First, Chris used it to bounce atop the bouncing cones and reach a hidden cage with a trapped soul. Afterwards, she bounced the stick up a stairway of spiked platforms, followed by carefully jumping more of the swinging pines. She was allowed to rest on a safe platform on a cliff overlooking the next island, but had no clear way to reach it. The owl head was hooting and seemed to be looking at a nest above. Christina bounced up as the owl ate a monstrous-looking worm. It spread its wings and began to carry Christina like a broomstick. Griffins flew at her, Christina steering the broomstick in evasion. A flock of owls flocked above her, dropping egg bombs, but Chris could simply shoot fire upwards and explode them.

Meanwhile, Silica was beginning to cross the owl neck, but her stamina was quickly waning. "Ugh, the air here's really thin… How high up is this place?"

"It ain't the altitude that's the problem. It's just how the Underworld is." Silica pushed up and turned to find Dr. Facilier.

"Who are you?"

"Ah'm Ralph's Uncle Raymond! Don't ya recognize me?"

"Um…not really."

"Ah, that's right, you always too busy with them vidya games to care about my magic shows. I'm here to help Christina, too; put this on." Raymond handed her a gold ring with blue stones embedded. "It's a Seastone Ring. The Underworld drains the stamina of mortals, but these will protect you. Christina shouldn't need one since she has the blood of Malladus."

"This sure is weird for the Underworld. It's all… pretty and sunrisey."

"It's a magic spell. The sky is an artificial window letting in sunlight from somewhere else. I reckon the owner of this domain likes it pretty. Kinda works in our favor since we're shadowbenders."

"The owner of this domain?"

"We better catch up to Christina. She won't be able to handle this fight alone."

Once Chris made it to the next island, the owl head flew off the staff, causing her to plummet onto the shore of a boiling lake. She had to sit in a wooden boat, but with no paddles to use, she steered it like a motorboat by ejecting some fire. She rammed whatever careless Octoroks sprung up in her way and sailed to a large owl statue. There was a fire pit in the owl's chest, so Chris ignited it. Its eyes brimmed and its wings flapped, carrying that portion of the lake several meters up. They were level with a windy river leading to another owl. Christina had to steer it carefully before reaching the owl, igniting it as she was raised to the next river. This river was divided into segments, with whirlwinds available to help Chris jump them. She gave her boat a constant boost to cross the segments with momentum.

She flew over the mountain composing the second half of the island, landing on a river flowing down it. She kept building speed as the river would launch off on a ramp, flying to the next island. She landed on the belly of a sleeping Hinox as the boat bounced off it. "Oh, this should be fun!" The Hinox awoke and tried to bellyflop atop her. Though Chris was crushed, the cyclops felt a fire growing underneath him, hurriedly pushing himself up. His red stomach was blackened, but Chris showed no mercy and burned the ground at his feet, forcing him to do the dance of pain. Now that he was unstable, she boosted straight up at his head and punched him with enough force to send him flying off the island.

Christina passed through a narrow, entrenched road before reaching a forested path. Large, dark-blue owls lurked in the branches, and the first one, upon seeing Chris, fired Heat Vision at her. Chris merely pushed the beams back with her own power, burning them right back into the owl's sockets. The other owls tried to blast her at once, Chris struggling to hold back all their beams. She redirected the heat into the base of the trees, causing them to topple and forcing the owls to fly. While they were distracted, Chris returned the last of the accumulated fire and blasted them out of the sky. At the end of the road, Chris found another owl face in the ground. By dealing a Ground Pound, "HOOOOOT!" the owl would grow up and fling Chris level with another owl within a cliff. She punched the owl, "HOOOOT!" and was flung a short distance over the sky. She Ground Pounded a diagonal owl and was flung up onto an even larger owl head, gazing across the sky.

"Hoooot…" Chris pounded it once, but it only inched out a little bit. "Hooooot…" A second pound still wasn't enough. Christina channeled a small ounce of Haki into her knuckles and dealt a more powerful punch. "HOOOOOOOOT!" The owl began to stretch across the heavens, Chris rooting her feet firmly on its feathers. There were several more Heat Vision owls floating along the way, intending to burn their irises along the expanding path. Chris dodged to certain positions on her owl that would evade them, but it became difficult to predict them as her owl made several curves and angles. "Can't you go in a straight line?!" Chris shouted after narrowly blocking some beams.

"HOOT! It's not like humans walk straight either. They're always tripping on things, HOOT-HOOT!"

"CHRIS, there you are! How far are you planning on going?!"

The Uno turned, seeing both Lyserg and Silica. "Hey, Sill! Boy, you caught up quickly."

"Only 'cause I had to carry her." Lyserg replied. "And she sure was heavy."

"Can it, pretty boy. Chris, tell this owl mutant and turn around and take us back. If you get lost in here or something, Laruta's gonna chew my butt over it!"

"Likewise, Lady Jeanne is going to have my head if anything bad happens. We have to turn back now."

"What's the problem?" Christina rolled her eyes as the owl finally stopped at an island. It seemed to be an arena surrounded by ruins, the Uno leisurely walking into it with no qualms. "This place is totally chill. Nothin' but a few cheap birds and a slightly less cheap cyclops. Hey!"

"You're coming back this minute!" Lyserg stated, his chain piercing her back.

"HEY, you just stabbed her!"

"My Morphine can't wound mortals, but in this world, I can drag them out of danger!"

"Unless I do this!" Chris grabbed the chain and burned it off. "It sure breaks easily!"

"Listen, Chris, all these owls can only mean one thing! This place belongs to-"

"CAAAAW!" A winged beast swooped down and grabbed Chris in its talons. They recognized the furry-winged, white-faced beast as the harpy-like creature they saw outside. "BUG OFF, BIRDBRAIN!" Christina forced herself free, but a pair of claws clapped her trapped. (Play "Obstacle in Our Path" from Xenoblade!)

"AH HA HA HA HA!" A horned, skull-headed demon with a dark-furred, canine body laughed wickedly. "Hook, line, and sinker! I didn't think catching you would be this easy!"

"It's one of the Demon Lords!" Lyserg exclaimed. "Clawthorne the Owl Keeper! I knew it!"

"That's KING Clawthorne to you, boy. And you're about to see why."

"Azmononono!" a darker voice laughed. "And he ain't the only one." It was an obese demon with spider-like legs and a huge gold belt buckle with a sharp-toothed mouth. His stomach had a slit diagonal mouth, he had four eyes on his black-spiked head and another mouth that seemed to open in four directions.

"YUCK!" Christina cringed. "Kind of glad I got caught by the doggy demon!"

"You sure you wanna be here, Azzy?" Clawthorne asked. "You know what'll happen if you get wasted, right?"

"As if I'm afraid of these infants. I am Azmodan the Sin Sucker! And you kids smell ripe with sin!"

"It's one of Diablo's officers!" Lyserg knew. "Silica, we have to go get backup!"

"As if we're gonna let you leave!" Clawthorne laughed. "EDA! BARRIER!"

The harpy beast landed at the entrance of the arena and drew a magic wand. A great force-field blocked the way back. "There ya go, Kingster. OW!" A blast of magic from a different source struck her back.

"Give an old witch-doctor time to catch up, kids!" said Raymond, panting as he jogged up the owl with a cane raised. "Twenty-seven ain't the age it used to be."

"Give up, kids!" Clawthorne taunted. "There's no way you could possibly defeat us!"

"Wanna BET?!" Christina combusted with flames, breaking free and kicking the demon several yards back. "A Demon Lord's just the kind of match I needed. Come get some!" She lunged forth and connected her fiery fist with King's, but the beast bellowed a sudden soundwave that stunned her eardrums. He grabbed Chris and slammed her into the ground.

"Ha ha ha! Demon Princess or not, I don't expect much from you."

"Save some for ME, Clawthorne!" Azmodan stomped toward them, but Lyserg's chain stretched past his head and reangled directly through his mouth.

"Silica, I'll hold them off. Grab Christina and use your bending to hide."

"It's too late for that, pal. She's set on fighting that dog, so ain't nothing I can do. So, I might as well help hold back this freak."

"This monster is too dangerous! You won't-"

"You don't think I'm some amateur shadowbender, do you? Besides, this twilight enhances my chi paths. I'll be fine as long as you pull your weight."

"PLAH!" Azmodan ripped the chain out of him. "Looks like you two want to die first! So be it!"

Boss fight: Clawthorne and Azmodan

Azmodan blasted Heat Vision at the two foes, Silica Veiling underneath and emerging behind him. Lyserg flicked his chain spear at Azmodan's head, but in the demon's attempt to smack it away, the spear suddenly dove down at a perfect angle, then pierced straight through Azmodan's stomach. Azmodan severed the chain, but found a Shadow Shockwave expanding from behind him. Thanks to the twilight sky, Silica was able to expand it fast enough to fully envelop him, allowing Inky to gnash him. Azmodan turned and belly-flopped onto Silica, who quickly Veiled while Lyserg tried to slice through his back, only to find it more armored. Silica emerged and seized Azmodan in Shadow Possession, but the effort was a struggle given his size. It gave Lyserg time to direct and pierce his chain through Azmodan at multiple angles, and when the demon shook free of Silica, Lyserg was able to deal a deadly slice upon recalling his Morphine.

"You have a foul stench about you, black-haired mortal! You WREAK of sin! Allow me to draw it out of you!" The faced buckle of Azmodan's belt opened, exposing a hypnotic spiral. Though Silica stared at it in wariness, a sensation overcame the gamer: she wanted to do nothing more but sit down and immerse herself in her game. "Your Lust for a high score drives you to Sloth. Now, let's see what sin exists in YOUR heart!" Turning to Lyserg, Azmodan tried to flash the hypnosis at him, but the spirit's eyes were closed. "Damn you!" Azmodan blasted Heat Vision, but Lyserg sensed this and dodged, thrusting his Morphine. Azmodan dodged left, but Morphine redirected and stabbed his head before he smacked the chain away.

"My Morphine can trace you even with my eyes closed! Maybe striking your belt will help." Lyserg threw Morphine at the buckle, but it sealed and blocked him. Azmodan opened a gate above Lyserg and rained Redeads, the zombies clinging and trying to strangle the spirit. Lyserg sent Morphine to pierce all the zombies, its chain forming multiple complex shapes and angles, but the zombies felt no pain and kept squeezing him. It only became worse when Azmodan threw his weight on top and squashed the boy. Thinking he would stay down for a while, Azmodan pushed up and faced the still-helpless Silica.

King swiped claws at Christina, who grew large Fire Daggers from her clenched palms to counter him. She suddenly lunged at his knee via Rocket Boost and landed a heated punch, King stumbling forward before suffering a kick to the stomach and flying back. Christina launched forth for the next round, but King bellowed a powerful soundwave that blew Christina away. The sudden noise stunned her, giving King time to crouch on all fours and charge. He rammed Chris like a bull, knocking her toward the edge of the arena. Chris recovered groggily and saw King readying another charge. Chris ignited herself and launched, meeting King's dash with arms open. She mustered the strength to wrestle with the skull-headed demon, satisfied that he was hurting under her fire. Chris channeled chi to her foot and dealt a firm upward kick, bending King's head. She then leapt and shoved against his chin, flipping the furry beast and slamming him skull-first against the ground.

"?!" It was then Christina noticed Silica's lazy situation and that Azmodan was mustering a large fireball. "Silica, are you seriously that lazy?!" She flew to intercept the ball as Azmodan threw it. She used her own bending to stop it in place, but Azmodan leapt and smashed it himself, blowing Chris and Silica away with the explosion. "GROWLLLLL!" Interrupted from her gameplay, Silica's Wrath was ignited. It grew worse at seeing Christina injured, so her anger was focused on Azmodan. She quickly Veiled underneath him, expanding a Shadow Shockwave as Inky violently gnashed up his stomach. "BLAST IT!" Azmodan's power came at a risk when heightening his opponent's wrath. He knew better than to use this on Christina, too.

He was shocked to find Morphine's spear pierced through the back of his head: Lyserg had escaped the Redeads. He directed Morphine through Azmodan's stomach before dealing a Retract Slice. After one extra Shadow Shockwave, Silica felt her wrath die down, so she Veiled before Azmodan could crush her. After King lured Christina back to their own side of the field, Azmodan submerged into a pool of black that began to spread around the ground. Lyserg grabbed Silica and helped fly her above the pool. "How many powers does this guy have?!" Silica asked.

"Most of them are energybending techniques practiced by demons." Lyserg replied. "But his Sin power is his main Zanpakutō. Be careful not to look at his belt when he opens it." Azmodan was adamant on staying inside the pool, but Lyserg could throw Morphine into it and dowse for him. Morphine pierced around Azmodan at several angles before dealing a Retract Slice, forcing Azmodan to resurface—his belt was open and both kids were already staring at it before they could realize.

"I can draw specific sins out of you, too! I think I'll only focus on Sloth!" While Lyserg remained immune to this spell, Silica immediately grew heavy and limp. Even without playing her game, the lazy side of her completely took over. Lyserg decided to drop her by one of the edge walls before returning to fight Azmodan himself.

King summoned a flock of owls to swoop down and lift him to the air, dropping raining egg bombs onto Chris. She projected an umbrella of fire to explode the eggs before they could reach her, afterwards bending their released combustion together. When the owls were out of eggs, King dropped to the ground. Chris sensed energy surging within him and decided to leap backward as King erupted a sonic shockwave. Once it was gone, she flew forward and burned him with the fire she had amassed, followed by a firm kick to the skull.

King reeled back, panting. He was glad that she could put up this much of a fight, yet King could steal feel that something was missing inside her. He glanced over and noticed Silica sitting lazily. "Looks like that friend of yours already gave up the fight!"

"What?! Silica, what're you sitting over there for?!"

"She was hit by Azmodan's curse!" Lyserg shouted. "She's been reduced to Sloth!"

"Do you really hope to beat Diablo with such pitiful FRIENDS?!" King bellowed a soundwave, Chris clamping her ears in endurance.

"Hey, Silica's the best friend there is! Even IF she's lazy!" Chris curled into a spinning comet and blasted at King, who smacked her away.

"What good could a girl like her possibly be?"

"Well, she…she knows what a pain Laruta is! I get to complain about stuff to her and she doesn't argue! Er…most of the time." Silica did attempt to argue with her back in the restaurant.

"So, she's a cool for venting your rage. Some friend THAT is!" King leapt at Chris with a claw swipe, the Uno ducking and punching his stomach.

But overhearing the conversation, Silica began to grow aggravated. She forced herself to move; at first, it seemed like the gravity was intensified. Once she was fully up on her feet, her normal weight returned. Azmodan had Lyserg in a firm grasp, but Silica snuck underneath him and ripped up his stomach with a Shadow Shockwave. "NO! It shouldn't have worn off this early!" Azmodan shouted.

"If I'm so lazy, why did I follow you down here in the first place?! You're the only one that puts up with me, even IF you're annoying! So, I wasn't gonna let you get eaten by demons."

"Yeah, well I feel the same!" Chris and King exchanged direct punches before meeting in a headbutt that cracked both their skulls. "Even when you act like you don't care about my dad!"

"You just wanted to fight the demons and win! That's the whole reason you jumped down here, to get stronger!" Silica closed her eyes from Azmodan's belt, relying on Inky's vision to evade his homing meteor. Lyserg pierced the meteor and embedded his dowsing power into it: the meteor tracked back its own caster and exploded against Azmodan.

"Yeah, well if this was about gaming, you would do the same!"

"Hey, I'm here risking my life for you, so the least you could say is 'Thank you'!"

King tackled and pinned Chris beneath his hands, beginning to muster a soundwave while enduring Chris's burning struggles. "SILICA! A LITTLE HELP PLEASE!"

"UGH!" Silica quickly slithered over to pull Chris into a Veil, escaping before King's ground-shattering scream. They reemerged behind King as Chris kicked him into the opened hole. "Sigh…thanks, Sill."

"You're welcome." Silica returned to Lyserg's side as Azmodan retreated to the opposite side of the field.

"Dammit, Clawthorne! Why did you have to pick this twilit background?!"

"It livened the place up! How was I supposed to know there would be a shadowbender?!"

"You brats have humiliated me long enough! With the last of my power, I PUNISH you!" Azmodan raised his right hand skyward, mustering an even greater meteor. He would use his left hand to smack Lyserg's Morphine away and would maneuver if the kids tried to chase him. But Silica whispered to Lyserg a plan: the angel sent Morphine close to Azmodan, bending at random angles while still keeping out of his reach. Little did he know that Silica transmitted her shadowbending through the chain's shadow, bending it around Azmodan's arms. Once ready, Silica had the shadow chain contract and compress the arms, much to the demon's confusion. Lyserg quickly directed Morphine to pierce around his body and deal a Retract Slice, drawing a cry of great pain out of the demon. But it wouldn't end there: Azmodan dropped his hold on the meteor, causing it to land on top of him. The Lord of Sin vanished in a fiery finale.

"AZMODAN!" King exclaimed, defending from Chris's fireballs and attempting to bite her when she launched forth. Chris, instead, propelled herself up with a forceful rocket, then shot down into King's skull. "It can't be! You destroyed one of Diablo's Five Pillars!"

"Looks like my experience has borne fruit." Lyserg smirked. "The twilit setting helped, but your shadowbending was impressive… for someone of your nature."

"My dad always makes time for training. Which really cuts into my stream time."

"CHRIS! SILICA! OOOOIII!" The familiar cry of Jason called across the owl-strewn road. He and his teammates raced for the arena.

"Uncle Raymond, is that you?!" Ralph asked.

"Howdy, kids! I was payin' a visit, but got a little sidetracked!" Raymond said, casting another spell at the harpy.

"Reinforcements…" King glared. "Ugh, what's the point? Diablo's really gonna have my hair over this." With that, the demon jumped and took off on his flock of owls. "You may have won this time, but you'll never defeat the other four Pillars! Diablo will be victoriooouuuus!"

"HEY, get back here!" Christina demanded. "We ain't done, yet!"

"Would one of you mind explaining how you all ended UP down here?!" Laruta demanded.

"SHE jumped down here and I had to follow her!" Silica answered. "And it turned out to be another demon trap."

"Are you serious?! Chris, how could you POSSIBLY be this reckless?! Do you have ANY idea what could've-"

"SHUT UP! We're still alive, ain't we?! AND we got to wreck some demons!"

"She's got a point, kid." A woman's voice said. "You kind of lucked out here."

"What?" They looked up to Raymond and the harpy. The creature in question landed on the ground. (End song.)

"Looks like our little plan worked out, Miss Eda." Raymond said.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if Diablo will still trust him after this." The harpy replied. "He's staying true to the act, though, I'll give him that."

"What are you two talking about?" Lyserg asked.

"Want me to spoil the twist? That Demon Lord, King Clawthorne, he was on your side. When Diablo began to close off his territory and usher other Lords to do the same, King tried to close his borders and get into Diablo's inner circle. He knew Diablo was up to something bad and wanted to do what he could to stop him from the inside."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Christina shook hands in confusion. "What do you mean he was on our side?! He tried to kill me!"

"He wanted to test your strength, but he wasn't trying to critically injure you. He had to put up a good farce around Azmodan, too. Remember what he said about Five Pillars? Right now, Diablo's lair is protected by a barrier, and that barrier is powered by the life forces of his brethren. His allied Demon Lords are in charge of guarding them. King managed to earn enough of Diablo's trust to be tasked with guarding Azmodan. He asked me to lure you kids to this domain to see if you'd be strong enough to destroy him. If you didn't pass this little test, King would've resorted to destroying Azmodan himself. Gotta say, not bad." Eda smiled. "He might not've been serious, but I could tell King was gettin' worried for himself."

"I might've been let in on this little ploy, too." Raymond admitted. "This fine lady is Miss Eda Clawthorne. I met her during holiday at Hogwarts. She was Professor Luz's teacher."

"Clawthorne?" Lyserg asked. "King's last name?"

"He's my kid!" Eda beamed. "Well, adopted kid, but he's still my little Wiggles."

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Chris shouted. "If you were spying on Diablo, why didn't you do anything to save Dad?!"

"'Cause even though he knew about Diablo's plan, he didn't know exactly when they'd try to capture you or what they would do. Diablo doesn't trust the Lords with everything; in fact, the one he trusts the most is HIM."

"Him, who?"

"The crab demon. HIM. Annoying name, I know. The best King could do was leak out small bits of information without drawing suspicion."

"So, the person who tipped the angels about Cleveland… The reason I was sent there was because of King?" Lyserg asked.

"Bingo. I'm sorry about your dad, kid, but King did what he could. He probably won't be able to keep up the act after this, but it sounds like he still wants to try and help."

"Hnn…" Chris still wasn't satisfied. For one, King wasn't serious about their fight… it was a cheap victory. "Where is Dad now?"

"Diablo managed to warp himself and your dad to his lair. He's the only one that can get in or out of that barrier, or let other people pass. There's a chance your dad is still fighting in there… but even if he loses, it'll take Diablo a while to absorb Malladus's soul. Before that happens, you need to destroy Diablo's other four brethren and bring down that barrier. The Divine Angels are already trying to attack the other territories."

"Then I should send this intel to them, so they know for sure." Lyserg decided.

"Looks like we have our mission." Chris fist-palmed. "Can we get to their hideouts from here?"

"You nuts, kid? Their domains are miles away, and I don't think mortals are used to traveling the Underworld."

"Yeah, well-"

"We're going home right this minute!" Laruta stated. "We might've made it this far, but I don't think the air here is healthy for us."

"I got some spare Seastone Rings." Raymond said. "Though, actually… ain't Laruta and Jason descendants of the demon, Hannibal Bean?"

"WAIT, WE ARE?!" Jason exclaimed.

"Our parents were baptized to erase the small semblance of demon DNA in their bodies." Laruta replied. "That's what Mom told me."

"It's easy to forget that your ancestor was a demon, too." Isabelle commented.

"But seriously, Chris, we need to get home and rest. You don't seriously expect to fight the other Demon Lords all in one day, do you?"

"What, so you're onboard with it now?" Chris asked scoffingly.

"We were onboard with it from the start!" Ralph argued. "It was just too early to rush into it."

"Chris, I'm sorry if we acted like we didn't care." Laruta said, eyes curved apologetically. "Of course we want to save your dad. But you were behaving erratically, so we couldn't let you rush into battle. If you promise to be patient from now on, we'll gladly help you take on the other demons."

"You have to set up a condition to help me? That's a load of bull."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Christina!" Mali stomped her foot, bouncing the grew with a gentle earthquake. "I gots more formula," she firmly raised the baby bottle in her fingers, "so you better be good or I'll make you sleepy again!"

"Stupid little…okay, okay. I promise, whatever."

"Oi, you're a pain." Shimmy commented, Trella nodding in agreement.

"Haha, that's me mate!" Jason patted her shoulder. "But you ain't gotta worry! I had a word with Perry before we came to getcha. He's gonna ask all the sectors to help out!"

"More Underworld Gaps are starting to appear around the planet." Isabelle mentioned. "There's a chance some of them could lead to Diablo's allies. Once we pass on this info, they could try to find them."

"But their main priority is stopping any bad demons from causing a mess." Laruta said. "It won't be easy."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm startin' to get hungry, anyway. Let's hit the Hunger Burger." The cavalier girl led the return across the owl's neck, much to the disbelief of her teammates.

"We forgot to pay for our breakfast, by the way…" Silica mentioned.

Raymond and Eda watched the young heroes leave. "She's got her agenda straightened out." Eda said. "I like her."

"Makes you wonder why we leave the fate of the world in the hands of preteen misfits."

"The KND have the competency of adults while retaining the purity of children. There might seem like a lot of KND ops, but there are trillions more people in the universe. Children who never learn better and adults who stay rotten. The KND may act like rotten ingrates, but their hearts are clean. I wouldn't want anyone else saving the world, would you?"

"Not in the least! Anyways, I better head on back myself. On a holiday like this, I reckon Turas will be up to his old mischief. Let me know how things go with King."

"Same to you, Rayman. See ya." Eda took flight.

Uno Household

Cheren led his son into a dark room of the Zero Treehouse. A brown casket locked by a violet jewel rested on a pedestal. "I've kept this locked ever since you were born. The Sacred Casket only opens to the Hero of Time… the one who wears the Mark of Courage."

"Is that like a birthmark I have somewhere?"

"Well, sort of. Walk up to the casket and hold your hand by it."

Perry did so and raised his left hand beside the jewel. …A gold triangle with an open center glowed on the back of his hand. "Hey… this is the Triforce, right?"

"Yep! You and I have two halves of the Triforce of Courage. We carry on Link's will… and in a crisis like this, it feels like a good time to wield the Master Sword."

"Cool… but, Dad, there are three Triforces, aren't there? Who has the other two?"

"Your Negative should have the Triforce of Power. As for the Triforce of Wisdom… well, for a time, Star's dad was holding onto it. But 12 years ago, he said he returned it to its homeworld. He told me the Triforce wanted to be with its true family."

"You don't mean Aunt Cindy, do you?"

"It's hard to imagine her being worthy of the Triforce." Cheren blushed. "Unless I'm forgetting something. But I can say for sure you're worthy of yours. So, go on, Perry… touch the gem."

Perry stared at the jewel anxiously. He had only seen pictures of the Three Sacred Treasures, but was he really ready to see them for real? To hold them? To wield them? Was he deserving to use the great weapons held by the legendary Link? Perry lay his hand to the gem to discover the answer.

Eda and King Clawthorne come from Owl House! To provide Gameverse canon background, they hail from the Boiling Isles, a demonic region on Planet Etheria. They've made only small cameos in my Gourmet Hunt story.