Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.


The sound of rain hit the ground, cars drove around without a care in the world in a busy city. Kyoko opened her eyes as rain continued to fall. Her arms were spread out as she lay on her back, watching the rain.

The last thing she remembered was Eggman tricking her and blowing her up.

"Is this…?" She wondered as she slowly stood up, looking around. To her, she thought the afterlife was more… cloudy and people playing on harps, chilling in hammocks and drinking heavenly fruit cocktails with a perpetual rainbow over them with the warm sun beating down on them.

Instead, she was in a metropolis. Cold and rainy.

She started to walk, unsure of where she would go until she found a restaurant that had an outside lounge. There was only one person there drinking a cup of coffee as she slowly approached him.

"Well, you've found yourself in a sticky situation."

Kyoko's eyes widened. She knew the sound of that voice anywhere.

"Grandfather…?"

"Hello, granddaughter." Fuhito said with a soft warm smile as Kyoko sat down in front of him. He then frowned as he put his newspaper down. "I will admit, I'm a bit disappointed in you."

"How so?"

Kyoko noticed a cup of coffee in front of her that she sworn wasn't there before. She hesitantly picked it up and took a sip.

"Detective work comes before anything else."

"Oh… right… of course."

"You should've known better. Falling for a stunt like that? Any detective worth their salt would've sniffed out that trap long before they could even touch it."

"I'm well aware-"

"Then why did you fall for it? As I said, granddaughter, detective work comes before anything else, as per tradition. But it seems as if you have forgotten."

"Forgotten?" Kyoko furrowed her brows.

"You'd rather spend time with friends rather than do detective work. You would rather spend time hanging out with a tyrannical dragon turtle than do detective work. You would rather spend time with your non-impressive boyfriend than do detective work-"

Kyoko stiffened, trying to compose herself after he mentioned her boyfriend was "un-impressive".

"Need I remind you that you're more emotional than you used to be. Need I remind you of when you were about to cry when the Koopa King was not himself at the start of the Phazon War? You get upset whenever your boyfriend's life is on the line, hence why you got a bit flustered when that vampire mentioned him or when that Morpho Knight person threatened to take your boyfriend's life because he "cheated death"."

"Where are you getting at?"

"Your emotions are clouding your abilities. You would have been able to see that this Eggman person had planted a trap, but by allowing yourself to put personal feelings first that you have allowed yourself to grow soft, and thus your detective skills have waned."

Kyoko closed her eyes in doubt. She could not deny that there were truth in those words. How long had it been since she truly put her feelings aside in her duty as a detective? She should have learned that lesson a long time ago since the case that caused her hands to be in their state today. Since someone close to her by the name of Yui Samidare had lost her…

But then Kyoko recalled the friendships she formed in recent years, the adventures she participated in, Makoto Naegi…

Kyoko shook those memories aside, glaring harshly at her grandfather.

"That may be, grandfather… but I would rather spend my life not having my friends think I'm some emotionless robot. Someone who'd push everyone away and not take anyone's feelings into account, lying to their own granddaughter on who truly kept her from seeing her mother for the last time, just so I can do detective work is not something I'd personally enjoy. While I do enjoy this line of work, I'd rather spend my time balancing out detective work and my own free time. Have I gotten soft…"

She stood up, planting her hands on the table. "Soretomo, watashitachi no kazoku wa tantei no shigoto ni jibun-tachi no seikatsu o kontorōru sa seru koto ni amaku natte shimatta nodeshou ka?"

(Or has our family gone soft letting their detective skills control them?)

Fuhito stared at her with a soft hint of surprise in his eyes before giving her a soft genuine smile. A look in his eyes meant "I'm proud of you"."

"You are aware of my deception as well. It would seem that I have not given you enough credit for your skills. But that begs the question… why did you remain with me and not with your father despite knowing my lies?"

"You were the one who raised me after my mother died. Everything I've learned is courtesy of you, grandfather. Even if you're the reason my only last memory of my mother was a white face floating above a hospital bed. As for my father…"

She paused for a moment, closing her eyes as a single tear escaped her right eye, freely flowing through her cheek.

She opened her eyes again. "I truly wish he could've done more to be in my life after what he had happen. Even in his obsession for talent, in the times he interacted with me, he viewed me more than just an Ultimate, but rather… a person. If only he shared that same sentiment with everyone else at Hope's Peak, things could've turned out differently."

"Indeed. Your father was headstrong, yet failed to recognize that Ultimates are more than just those who are good at one specific thing. They are not robots, they're all human and tend to do more than just one specific thing related to their talent. If only he could have seen that…"

"Yeah…"

Kyoko sighed, sitting down as she picked her coffee up again, taking a sip. "So… I guess death finally caught up with me."

"What makes you so certain?"

"Well… I suppose that since I'm talking to you, I'm… pretty sure I'm dead. Although I pictured the afterlife would have been more… beautiful and not so drab."

"Ah, you have not realized yet."

"Hmm? Not realized what?"

"Listen, my pupil. Do you hear them?"

"The footsteps of the god of Death? …No, I don't hear them at all."

"You have become friends with many types of Death, have you not? Why would they want to get rid of your soul? You've been a bright passionate young lady, and they recognize that. You think they'd want to reap your soul and not have more pleasant conversations? Heh, I thought you were better than that. A simple explosion does you in? Feel your chest."

Kyoko gently placed her hand on her chest, her eyes widening. She felt something hard in her hand as well as she looked at it, seeing the fake Blue Chaos Emerald in her hand.

"That may be a fake, but it had more than enough energy to save your life. How do you feel?"

"...I feel like… something's pounding my chest. Odd, I've never noticed before."

"Indeed. I was waiting for you to notice." Fuhito said. "Take this second chance-... er… third, fourth, however many times you cheated death, and do not squander it. Show this Eggman that you are not one to die easily. Give your friends that compassionate detective that they so love. They need all the help they can get. Show them hope!"

Kyoko smiled, standing up as she held the Chaos Emerald in her hand. "I won't let you down. My friends need me. The last thing I need for them is to fall into despair."

"That's my girl."

Kyoko closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and then smirked, opening her eyes with determination. "Let's run that back, Eggman." She said as she started glowing.

"So long, granddaughter."


Kyoko gasped for air, opening her eyes as she found herself on the ground.

12:45 AM

She stared at the broken moon at the night sky with the Death Egg staring down at her.

"Oh thank Arceus! I had just about given up."

Kyoko sat up, rubbing her head as she looked to see who it was. "...Zinnia?"

Zinnia grinned. "Yo."

"How did you-"

"Ray Ray wanted to know what the hell was going on in the stratosphere, but decided to recruit me. The moment we left the atmosphere together, we see an explosion and you holding on to that glowing rock in your chest. We grabbed you and took you back here. I've been trying to resuscitate you for… who knows how long!"

Kyoko looked up, seeing Rayquaza looking down at her. "Thanks, big guy."

Rayquaza let out a soft growl with a smirk on his face.

Kyoko slowly rose, shaking it off as she looked at the fake Emerald in her hand. "Apparently, this fake saved my life…"

"That's a fake? Huh…"

Kyoko put the fake Emerald in her pocket, taking a deep breath and slapped her cheeks. "Alright, let's get to work. Zinnia, I'd like you and Rayquaza to tag along."

"Ha. You didn't even have to say anything. We were plannin' on taggin' along anyway!"

Kyoko nodded as she looked off into the distance. …Wait, isn't grandfather still alive? Mmm, let's not worry about that now.

"So, where we headed? Going to give Baldy McNoseButt a proper asskicking?"

"Actually, we need to make a pit stop."

"Oh?"

"We're going to need muscle. Lots and lots of muscle."


Meanwhile, several days ago…

"Okay, I don't get it." Anna said.

"What don't you get?" Elsa asked.

"Every one of us, meaning Princesses of Heart has a weapon aside from me. You got your ice powers, Kairi's got that fancy Keyblade of hers, Vanellope can somehow phase in and out of existence, Moana can control water, Rapunzel has a flippin' frying pan and a horse with attitude, and then Tiana has a crocodile for a pet! Meanwhile, I got… nothing! This doesn't seem fair. And those other non-princesses of Heart? Mabel's got a grappling hook, America's got some fancy star portal thing, Kate's got a bow and arrow, Yelena's a super spy and Mulan's... Mulan!"

"Well, maybe you can find a weapon of your own? That could help. I mean, I'm sure you can try out those flowers that can produce fire." Elsa looked off toward Mushroom Hills. "I still wonder how they get those in those weird ? blocks, but I'm sure we can-"

Elsa turned around, seeing a blinking white outline of Anna. "-...Get… you… a weapon… huh, how long was she gone?"

Anna walked around Toad Town. "Surely, there's got to be something I can do to defend myself. Sure, there's hand to hand, but I wanna do more than that… but what do I-"

She turned her head, seeing a building that caught her eye.

"Sonia Nevermind's Weapon Shop"

"...Helloooo, what do we have here~?" Anna walked into the shop with a hum, the door hitting a bell above her.

"Welcome!" A voice said as Sonia emerged from the back room. "What can I do for-" Sonia gasped. "Princess Anna?! Oh my, this is such an honor!"

"Hey." Anna greeted. "So uh… I'm looking for a weapon. You got anything that might strike my fancy?"

"Oh, I think I got just the thing for you. I've actually finished making a special type of weapon that would make anyone go crazy for it."

Sonia walked off, then came back with a magnum pistol, but it had orange, white and teal colors to it, as it also had a scope attached to it.

"Uh… cool, a weapon with a summer setting…"

"It's more than that!" Sonia smiled. "You see this knob on it? With it, you can go into any setting you want to. Super Mushroom, Mega Mushroom, Mini Mushroom, Green Shell, Red Shell, Lightning Bolt, Fire Flower, you name it! Each one has a different type of effect that transfers into the laser bullet."

"Whoa… okay, you got a training ground?"

"Right this way~" Sonia walked into the training grounds as Anna saw the targets before her.

"Alright, just gotta aim this at them, right?"

"You might wanna use ear protection."

"Why? It's not like I'm gonna shoot my ear-"

PEW PEW!

Riiiiiiiiiing!

"ACK!" Anna flinched with a yelp.

"Yeah, lasers are loud, especially since I went with a Droideka sound effect from Star Wars-"

"WHAT?"

The ringing in Anna's ears stopped shortly after.

"Phew, okay, you weren't kidding about ear protection."

"You get used to it."

Anna sweatdropped. "Used to that noise? Oh boy…"

"Yeah… so do you like it?"

Anna smiled. "Get me some ear protection. I wanna experiment with this."

BGM: The Shackled Wolves (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)


Back in the present…

12:47 AM

Several Beowolves charged at Anna, breaking through the first line of defense. Anna swiftly pulled out her gun, turned the knob to Fire Flower as she aimed through her scope and pulled the trigger, unleashing fiery lasers at them that burnt the Grimm alive before she switched to Super Mushroom, and then pulled the trigger again, which caused said laser bullets to turn into Bullet Bills and struck the Grimm, destroying them in seconds.

"Ha ha! Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"

"You're getting pretty good at that." Elsa said, casually freezing an Ursa without even blinking.

"Aw, thanks!" Anna smiled as she turned around and blew up a Creep that tried to get past them.

Nearby, a few Toads ran away from a few Crimson Fang members as they chased after them, shooting at them… only for them to scream and run away when the Toads came back at them with Fire Flowers and Mega Mushrooms.

"Tremble before me!" Constance exclaimed, unleashing dark magic at the Crimson Fang along with a few Anjanath that was at the receiving end of Constance's fury.

Hapi found herself surrounded by Grimm, Monsters and Crimson Fang. She smiled before letting out a sigh, which in turn, summoned a gigantic monster from underneath them. A giant snake hissed at them before snapping at them before unleashing a potent acid that melted the armor off of some Slimes.

"That's right, I'm in control here." She then casually threw a dark spell at a Crimson Fang member that were terrorizing some faunus.

Some Crimson Fang shot at a wall with nothing but a rocket launcher, blowing part of it up.

"Come out with your hands up and we promise that your death will be painless as possible!"

"Alright, but I'm not gonna guarantee your safety!"

"What exactly do you-"

A Chain Chomp was thrown over the wall, as the Crimson Fang yelped in surprise as the Chain Chomp barked wildly and chased after them as they ran away screaming.

Balthus emerged from the wall and chuckled. "That'll keep 'em busy." He said, picking up some bricks as he grabbed some wet cement, making it into a brick sledgehammer and threw it at a Crimson Fang that was terrorizing a few locals, knocking him in the head that KO'd him.

"Strrriiiike!"

A female Crimson Fang member shot at Yuri, who swiftly blocked with his sword. "You wouldn't hit a lady, would you?"

"On normal circumstances, no-"

The female Faunus smirked.

"-But if they happen to be shooting at me, well, I suppose gender equality is in full effect." Yuri got in a stance and slashed through her, cutting through the female Faunus as her eyes widened in pain. She slowly turned to Yuri before collapsing.

"So sorry about that, but you were attacking this town and I was just defending it, I don't care who it is." Yuri said as he ran off, quickly cutting down a few more Crimson Fang members as he was greeted by a Crimson Fanged-influenced Magnamalo.

"Oh, you're a fighter." He said as he whistled, as the Espinas landed next to him as he pulled out a Fire Flower and absorbed it, his hair turning blue as his outfit turned white where his sword turned orange. "Let's make this interesting, shall we?"

Nearby, Mario hammered away a Crimson Fang before another one came at him with a sledgehammer and swung it down, but Mario shifted his eyes the moment he heard his footsteps as he rolled out of the way as his hammer caught ablaze and shoved it into his gut, causing the Faunus to cough out in surprise before he flip kicked him, then Mario jumped up as his hand turned to ice and Blizzaga Punched him straight to the ground.

Mario landed gracefully as he looked back at the castle before turning back and leaping away, throwing down a fire punch at a buffer Crimson Fang.

Panther swiftly leaned back before she quickly flipped and then wrapped her legs around the Faunus's face, before leaning back and throwing the faunus face fist into the dirt, while Panther got back up and kicked him away before hitting him with a Maragion for good measure.

She then found herself surrounded by Sabrecats and Garudas, only for the latter to get frozen over by Oracle as the Maiden aura had turned her visor ice when it was active. "Thanks, girl!" Panther turned around as she threw fire at the Sabrecats while Oracle turned around to face some Crimson Fanged Skullriders.

She pulled out her raygun and fired, but the Skullriders blocked the laser attacks. However, snow wrapped around her as she unleashed some powdery snow right as the Skullriders attacked her.

Once the powdered snow disappeared, she was gone as they scratched their heads, unaware of Oracle casually floating above them as she grinned before throwing down a torrent of water to wash them away.

"Heheh, suckers~!"

She then turned around as she aimed her hand to give Jataro and Sohiro a boost of defense while giving a boost of offense to both Gray and Juvia.

"Here's an early Christmas present for ya!" Oracle said, conjuring up an ice bomb as she threw it down, freezing some Crimson Fang on the spot who were tormenting some Toads. "Hehehe~"

End BGM


Meanwhile…

Peach watched all of this unfold from her balcony, her arms behind her back. She looked up at the gentle snowfall that was covering the land. She didn't know why it was snowing in early May, but it seemed to calm her.

She heard footsteps behind her, and they weren't the light footed footsteps from any Toad.

"Finally found you."

Peach calmly turned around, seeing Adam in front of her. "I do not hold any ill will toward you, Adam."

"No ill will? Who was the one who made the Faunus sign that peace treaty between humans and faunus? While I commend your bravery, there are still those who would rather watch humans be submissive to Faunus."

"I have no power over changing one's mind… however, what you are doing is bravely foolish. What good will it do if you killed someone in power?"

"Making a statement. Plus, your retainers are busy protecting the town that they neglected to protect their princess."

"We can settle this peacefully. Just stand down, Adam."

"Peacefully?" Adam laughed. "Peace went out the window a long time ago. I know you have nothing to do with what happened with the White Fang, but you were the one who made that treaty, because there will always be those who will defy anything that comes their way."

"Why defy the treaty? You wanted peace, did you not?"

"Yes, but the peace should be forced upon those who wronged us. Your kind is just like that. Simple peace talks won't do it anymore. You humans should serve the Faunus, maybe then you will see us eye to eye."

Adam reached for something. "It's such a shame that you're the prettiest princess of the Mushroom Kingdom-"

Shiiiiiiiiiiink

BGM: The 13th Dilemma - Saix Version (Kingdom Hearts III ReMind)

"Wonder how everyone will think when I cut off that pretty head of yours."

"I see you got your sword back."

"I found the broken pieces and repaired them. You want to know something else? Wilt and Blush hungers."

Peach said nothing, reaching for her dress and tearing it off, revealing her Strikers armor as she pulled out her golf club.

"I'll make sure that sword of yours starves."

Adam smirked. "You're welcome to try."

Hungry For Blood - Adam Taurus

Adam lunged, slashing at Peach who quickly blocked with the golf club and parried him as she then kicked him away, only for him to jump away before getting kicked, disappearing from Peach's room.

Peach narrowed her eyes as she vaulted over the balcony instead, landing on the bridge and running through the doors.

Adam waited for the perfect opportunity to strike Peach, waiting for her to come out of the room and cut her head off from behind the wall. He peeked behind the wall, wondering what was taking so long, only to see nobody there.

He lightly gasped, quickly turning around as a golf club struck the wall, leaving a golf clubbed sized dent in it as Peach pulled it out as the two swung their weapons, clashing against each other as they continued to parry one another.

Adam ducked while Peach weaved her body around the sword slices as they continued to swing their weapons… until Peach sweep kicked him. However, Adam anticipated this and jumped up, as his claw glowed brightly as he swung down, unleashing a wave of energy that pushed the princess away, while also cutting her cheek.

Peach brushed it off, seeing some light blood on her hand as Adam swung his arm again, but Peach backflipped to avoid it. "Heh, you can run, but the poison will soon kick in." Adam smirked, to which Peach responded by pulling out a Pecha Berry and taking a bite out of it, giving him a friendly smile.

"You were saying?"

Adam frowned as he lunged again, slashing at her but blocked with her golf club while she snapped her fingers, magic swirling around her finger tips for a brief moment. Adam kicked her away as Peach jumped back, finding themselves in the throne room as they both continued to swing their weapons at each other.

Adam jumped back as he got in a stance with a smirk, ready to slice through Peach…

…Until a Mareep fell right on top of him.

"Reeeeeep~!" The Mareep cried as Adam's eyes immediately got droopy.

"Nnngh… wha…?" Why am I so sleepy…?

Peach immediately took advantage of this as she started running toward him as the Mareep hopped off of him. "HA-CHA!" She yelled, quickly using a Peach Bomber attack to knock Adam back, and while she bounced away, she immediately summoned a Psyche Bomb as she slid on the ground, kicked the Psyche Bomb in the air before turning around and flip kicked it, sending the Psyche Bomb flying and striking Adam in the face, causing a massive explosion which, in turn, caused multiple bombs to rain down and struck him simultaneously.

When the smoke cleared, Adam brushed it off. "Pretty impressive… but that's not good enough." He said, whistling as the Glavenus came running in and roared, which scared the Mareep and quickly ran off to hide behind the throne.

"Sic 'er."

Peach snapped her fingers again as the Glavenus swung its bladed tail, but Peach rolled out of the way as the Glavenus charged at her while Adam calmly walked around it. The Glavenus bit down but Peach jumped back, feeling her back hitting a wall.

Crud… Daisy, where are you? She thought as the Glavenus bit down on his tail and igniting it, quickly swinging the tail as Peach swiftly ducked, where the hot sword tail cut through the wall as Peach got back up, jumping away as the Glavenus reached for her…

…And then a flock of Ampharos landed on top of the Glavenus.

"Ampha! Ampha! Amphaaaaaa!"

The Glavenus's eyes grew heavy as it fell asleep, slamming into the ground.

"Nice work." Peach smiled, before suddenly she felt something sharp hit her chest as everything turned red and black all around her.

End BGM

Adam had unleashed his Moonslice on her, having used the Glavenus to distract her while he waited for the perfect opportunity.

Peach fell flat on her back, blood pouring out of her chest as she coughed.

"It's amazing how no one notices the little person when something bigger and more threatening is targeting them. Predictably, you, too, fell for it."

Peach reached up to try and cast a healing spell on herself, but Adam stabbed the palm of her hand and shoved it into the ground. "Nnngh!" She grunted.

Adam turned his attention toward the Ampharos, quickly casting a Kaboomle spell to blast them away before turning his attention back to the princess. He knelt down, twisting the sword as Peach cried out in pain, wincing.

Adam smirked. "This is the price you pay for defying the White Fang, now known as the Crimson Fang. Your blood is just the first step in taking over this world. And I'm going to relish every moment of it."

He removed the sword from her hand and stepped on her chest. "How's it feel being stepped on by a Faunus? Doesn't feel so good, does it?"

"We… never… did anything to you… we never did anything… to Faunus after… our worlds merged after the Subspace Emissary…!"

"Hmm, that may be true, but…" Adam removed his mask. "Does it really look like I give a damn?" He asked with a smirk, as Peach's eyes widened as she looked at the SDC mark. She immediately recalled seeing that same brand on Seryu's abdomen.

"The SDC…"

"While you have had nothing to do with the SDC, you are friends with those Schnees… and anyone who is friends with them? Well… you've already figured that out."

He raised his sword, aiming it directly at her abdomen. "Now… let me make an example out of you."

Suddenly, a chain whip wrapped around the sword and was yanked away. Adam turned to see Sienna grabbing the sword as Ilia walked up beside her.

"Sienna. Ilia. This is quite the reunion."

"Adam Taurus, this has gone for far too long." Sienna said.

"You come out of hiding and this is what you greet me with?" Adam chuckled. "You really have gone soft."

"No, you're the one who's gone soft. Unfortunately, I was too blinded and let you have your way… now you're nothing more than a monster."

"I'm doing everything I can to make the world a better place."

"Is this how you make the world a better place? By killing those who did nothing wrong?" Ilia asked. "Adam, look around you! There are people who are willing to help the Faunus but you're too blind to see it!"

"You say that… yet you're dating a human. Why should I listen to you, traitor? Heh, I'm surprised Seryu's not with you, I'd be more than happy to make her an example as well."

"Leave Seryu out of this." Sienna glared.

"Why should I? That traitor left me after she killed that human filth. I ought to repay her."

"She's living a better life!" Ilia said.

"Right…" Adam scoffed. "Better life without me? How pathetic. I'll mow her down, and if that girlfriend of hers gets in my way, I'll end her just to see her despair."

Sienna closed her eyes. "I really am responsible for turning you into this…" She said softly but then reopened them. "That makes me responsible for putting you down."

"Ha. Good luck with that." Adam said, raising his hand as his sword disappeared, rematerializing in his hands.

"Huh?!" Ilia said in surprise.

"I have to hand it to that blue haired Keyblade Master. She was… quite the inspiration." Adam smirked, putting his mask back on as he stepped off of Peach. "I suppose I can toy with you before I finish her off." He said, approaching the duo.

"You know, Adam… the old me would have been disappointed in you."

"And why is that?"

"Because you didn't finish her off."

"HIYAH!"

Peach drop kicked him, knocking him back a few feet.

BGM: Dismiss (Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix)

"Nnngh! But how…?!"

"It's called having two hands, sweetheart. You ought try it sometime." Peach said as Mercedes and Annette vaulted over the destroyed wall, joining Peach.

Adam scowled. "Very well then. I'll just have to cut you down a second time!"

Sienna and Ilia got in their stances as Adam lunged at Peach, swiftly slashing at her but she quickly parried with her golf club where Annette swung her Crusher into him.

Adam parried her and then smirked, only for Ilia to cast Thoron behind him. He quickly went straight for Peach, attempting to cut down Annette and Mercedes, only for Peach to parry him with her golf club, then she reached into her bag and threw a turnip at him as he attempted to parry said turnip.

…However, the turnip ended up being a Mr. Saturn, which broke his stance and made him stumble back. In fact, it destroyed all the energy that was built up inside Wilt and Blush. "How the-"

Sienna swiftly slid under him to trip him up as she then got back up and swiftly roundhouse kicked him, then Ilia threw an Arc Fire down, followed by Mercedes using Abraxas on him.

Adam used his sword to absorb the Abraxas, transferring some of it to his claw, and then got in a stance, smirking as his hair and mask started glowing, proceeding to unleash another Moonslice.

However, Peach switched to her frying pan and used it to block said attack, turning her frying pan red hot as she quickly tossed the pan to make all the energy go into the center like an omelette, then she tossed the energy high into the air.

Peach switched to the tennis racket as she did a curtsy bow before jumping into the air, a ribbon-like aura following her as her tennis racket glowed brightly. She traced a heart in the air before unleashing a powerful serve, sending the moonslice back at Adam, striking him as he let out a pained cry, his aura shattering upon impact… then Peach brought out a Striker's Ball as angel wings appeared behind her and then kicked the ball, bouncing it off the ground where it drove hard between his legs as Peach then dive kicked him in the face to knock him down for the count.

End BGM

Peach leaned her elbow on her golf club. "You spent all that time using your forces to distract everyone so you can easily try to kill me, only you failed to realize that I'm not one to go down as easily as you might have thought. You've lost the moment you walked in here."

"She's right." Sienna nodded. "It's disappointing that you chose this route… though I am to blame for it."

"Rrrgh… you might have won this round…" Adam slowly got up. "But this is far from over!"

They heard the sound of a roar as the Glavenus woke up as it scooped up Adam where he climbed on his back. "We will meet again, and this time, I will have your head, princess."

The Glavenus took off running, tearing through the castle until he disappeared.

"He's a real piece of work, isn't he?" Annette asked.

"Unfortunately." Mercedes nodded.

"Are you okay, princess?" Ilia asked.

"I'm fine, Ilia." Peach smiled before sighing. "I'm definitely going to remember feeling that pain for a while…" She shuddered.

Sienna looked off into the distance with a small frown. Peach put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're feeling down that you instigated Adam's murderous tendencies, but have faith… he's not going to win."

"I know. I just wish I could have been harder on him instead of praising his efforts back then. Rrrgh, I was so blind in my hatred for you humans, it's just…"

She turned to Peach. "How is it that you're so easy to forgive over what we've done? I know you weren't a part of our history since the beginning, but-"

"It's because I'm willing to look the other way. I cannot condone your actions of the past, but you were willing to change."

"Yeah, well, you can thank Blake for that…"

Peach smiled. "Cheer up, Sienna. Let's not get all mopey from the past. We just have to stop Adam from making sure he doesn't make any big mistakes."

"You're right…" Sienna nodded.

"By the way, you want some tea?"

"...At this hour?"

"How can anyone sleep with the Death Egg peering over their heads anyway?" Peach asked with a soft giggle.

"I suppose you're right. Heck, the Smash Mansion is still awake and trying to figure out how to stop Scrambled Egg."

"Quick question, princess." Ilia spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"You have four retainers, but do you have any Royal Court Magicians?"

"Well, there's one but that's reserved. Though she never made it. She ended up disappearing."

"Who was she?" Mercedes asked.

"Myra Shadowheart. She was going to be appointed to that position, but she never came. No one replaced her out of respect."

"How long has it been?" Sienna asked.

"Oh, uh… a few centuries give or take?"

"And none of your ancestors changed it out of respect?"

"It's to hope that she makes a grand return home safe and sound, even if it means finding her remains." Peach said softly. "This would basically be her final resting spot."

"Wow… I'm sure she'll come back." Annette smiled.

"I sure hope so."


Meanwhile…

"Yeah, you better run!" Panther said, watching the Crimson Fang run away. "I was going easy on you punks anyway!"

Futaba dismissed her Persona and turned around. "Well… at least Toad Town didn't suffer a lot of damage… that I know of."

"I'm-a go take a look around." Mario said. "And then I'll-a go see how Peach is doing."

"Okay!" Futaba nodded as Mario took off running. "Phew… that was something. At least my combat skills are pretty good with these new powers… though I don't see myself doing hand to hand anytime soon…"

Unbeknownst to her, Raven slowly approached her from behind, slowly unsheathing her sword. She slowly smirked.

Ann turned her head, noticing what was going on. "FUTABA, LOOK OUT!" She yelled as she ran right to her.

"Huh?" Futaba turned her head right as Raven was about to plunge her sword into her abdomen.

…However, another sword plunged through Raven from behind.

"Hnnngh!" She grunted.

"Finally found you, you bitch."

"Huh?!" Futaba and Ann said in surprise, seeing who the assailant was.

Turns out, the one who impaled Raven… was none other than Raven.

BGM: Battle! (Future Diary)

"Thought you could finally get away from me, huh?" Raven asked, activating her Maiden Powers.

"You… you're not supposed to be here…!"

"Tough luck."

Raven quickly froze the fake in front of her before she quickly slashed through the ice to cut through her until she was nothing but a robotic pile of nothing.

"I knew it! I KNEW there was something off about her!" Ann said.

Immediately, the Raven robot slowly pieced itself back together. "NOW!" Raven yelled as suddenly, a wind shield surrounded the robot as they turned to see Maia approaching with her hand out.

However, the Raven bot broke free of the wind and glared at Raven who simply smirked, both of them lunging as they quickly clashed with their blades. "I have to give him credit, he knows how to make a really convincing robot… but there's one thing he can't duplicate. He can't duplicate maiden powers!"

Both of them continued to swing their swords at each other until Raven disarmed her robotic counterpart. "I'd burn you alive, but I wouldn't want to hog the spotlight."

"What are you-"

Suddenly, a massive Flamethrower struck the Raven bot as she yelped, as they looked up to see Cinder on her Charizard, where Cinder then hopped off and activated her Maiden powers as she proceeded to add fuel to the fire, then Raven proceeded to join in on the flaming festivities while Victor and Neo flew in with the Naganadel.

The Raven bot reached out to Raven as she was melting… only her arm melted off as she melted into nothing but a puddle. Maia currently made a wind gust to make the liquid fly up into the air where the two Maidens and the Charizard unleashed their fiery inferno to evaporate the liquid until nothing remained.

End BGM

"What… the hell just happened…?" Futaba wondered as the others approached.

"Wait, that was a robot clone this whole time?" Elsa asked. "...That would explain a few things." She said as the Naganadel flew down as Neo and Victor hopped off.

"Quick question." Cinder spoke up. "Why do I sense the presence of a new Maiden?" She asked as Futaba activated her Winter Maiden powers. "...What?!" She exclaimed in surprise. "But you're so… young and… well, okay, Edelgard's young too, but… you?"

"It makes sense. She made a connection with the last Winter Maiden in Atlas." Raven said. "You'd know that if you weren't cooped up in Bowser's Castle making meals for everyone."

"...I also go on trips with my mothers." Cinder added.

"But not anywhere near Atlas."

"Okay… fair."

"Raven… would you mind telling us why there was a robot shaped like you?" Futaba asked, deactivating her powers.

"Ah, right… well, where do I even begin?"


Meanwhile, at Bowser's Castle…

1:15 AM

BGM: Bowser's Castle (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"AIYEEEE! RAYQUAZA!" A Hammer Bro yelled as the Koopa Troop ran around screaming as Zinnia and Kyoko landed.

Kyoko walked straight for the door when suddenly Bowser opened up the door.

"WHAT'S ALL THE RUCK-... oh, it's you." He said.

"Hey big guy." Zinnia casually waved.

"Bowser, I was hoping you would come to help us out against Egg-"

"Done and done."

Kyoko blinked. "That quick?"

"At first I was going to let everyone deal with Eggface, but apparently, everyone's being a slowpoke getting those Chaos Emeralds. And honestly, I do not want to live in a world where I manage to live through the end of the world, yet Junior doesn't."

He cracked his knuckles. "You ain't the only one who's built different, Kyoko. Heheheh."

Kyoko smiled. "Well, that was easy."

"Great, so let's go!" Zinnia grinned.

"Actually…" Kyoko spoke up. "How about we get the team back together?" She said as she looked at Bowser. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Those clowns? Heh, why not!" Bowser smirked.

"Uh… define "clowns"."

Kyoko turned to Zinnia. "Zinnia, are you aware of the Blorb Crisis?"

"I'm familiar. I accidentally got myself blorbed too. Wasn't exactly my idea of "fun"."

"Well… let's just say that Bowser had a hell of a team with him."

"Okay, who are they?"

End BGM


Back at Menagerie…

1:17 AM

"Is she going to be okay?" Ruby asked as they were walking back to the airship.

"I'm not sure…" Blake said. "This whole thing is stressing her out, and I've a feeling there's been some heavy influence."

"I think I know what this influence is…" Winter said solemnly, watching Rosalina hold Weiss, gently comforting her.

"Hope we can get her back to normal before she gets any-"

There was a rustling in the bush that caught Shez's attention.

"-Worse…?" She wondered as she walked over to the bush with a curious expression. The bush continued to rustle… until a lone Bidoof walked out as it looked up at Shez curiously.

"Doof?"

Shez stared at the Pokemon in front of her before scooping it up. "You are, by far, the cutest little thing I've ever seen. As of now, I'm keeping you!"

The Bidoof's eyes sparkled. "Bidooooof!"

"...It's a beaver."

"It's a cute one!"

"A dopey one at that!"

"But it's so cute~! Who's a little cutie? You are, you are, yes you are~!"

"Cuter than your Rockruff?"

"Oh no, nothing can outcute him, but he has competition~!"

"Oh boy…"


Meanwhile, with Samus…

"Just a little bit more…" Samus mumbled, putting her helmet back on as everyone climbed aboard the ship.

Data analysis complete

BGM: Dark Samus Appears! (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes)

Warning: Anomaly detected in this vicinity

Samus stood up, saying nothing as she summoned her armor, clenching her fist as she switched to Plasma Beam, slowly charging it up.

She slowly walked out of the ship.

"Hey Samus! Look, we got another Chaos… Emer… ald…" Ruby lightly paled.

"I don't like that look in her eyes…" Blake quietly said.

Samus scanned everyone, looking around for the specific target.

Anomaly detected!

Samus said nothing, raising her arm cannon up high and fired.


Shout out to Flash and Wyvern for that Kyoko scene at the beginning! And another for Flash for giving a Bidoof to Shez, all because Shez bit down on some wood so Bereto could heal her wounds (and not bite her tongue off by accident).

Flash: Shez is a Bidoof confirmed?!

Me: PFFFFFT.

*a few days ago*

Me: ...You know what, we're gonna give Shez a Bidoof.

Flash: My joke bore fruit!

So yeah, that's how it went down.

Ibuki: Darn cliffhangers though!

Deadpool: Good one!

Also, holy crap, Super Mario Wonder is BONKERS and I'm all for it! Bubble Flower is too OP, please nerf.

Ibuki: Interesting how we went from a Drill item in Galaxy 2 to an actual power up. Ibuki's all for it~!