Chapter 3: The Trinity Trials Part 2

Guardians:

Ruby (Pokémon Adventures): The Charmer

Junko Konno (Zombie Land Saga): The Showa (Zombie) Idol

Linhardt von Hevring (Fire Emblem: Three Houses): The Healer

Bucky Barnes (Marvel Cinematic Universe): The Veteran

Blaze The Cat (Sonic The Hedgehog): The Fire

Yamcha (Dragon Ball): The Wolf

Komaru Naegi (Danganronpa): The Heart

Sapphire Birch (Pokémon Adventures): The Conqueror

Michiru Kagemori (BNA: Brand New Animal): The Beast

Masaomi Kida (Durarara!): The Casanova

Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Marvel Cinematic Universe): The Ex-Thief

Ponzu (Hunter X Hunter): The Queen Bee

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Zetsubou Members:

Monaca Towa (Danganronpa): The Brains

Ultron (Marvel Cinematic Universe): The Machine

General Tao (Dragon Ball): The Mercenary

Agatha (Pokémon Adventures): The Elder

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Third-Person POV

Insert Song: Respite and Sunlight (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

"Mmmm…"

"This is just heavenly…"

Junko and Ruby were indulging in the dining hall's current menu for the day, which was Onion Gratin Soup, a Trio of Sweet Buns, Pickled Rabbit Skewers, and Vegetable Pasta Salad.

"I'm so glad we decided to go here first, it feels like I haven't had a meal like this in an eternity…" Ruby smiles warmly as he takes another sip of his soup.

Junko nods in agreement, "It's so delicious that I can't stop eating more of it all! This is making me want to stay here a little longer."

"Maaaaan am I starving! I didn't think Edelgard would keep us there that long…" Caspar enters the Dining Hall with Linhardt in tow.

"It's your fault for choosing to go straight there instead of here, I assume you also were spending more time training instead of eating as well?" Linhardt guesses.

Caspar rubbed the back of his head in response, "Sheesh, you got me there. You really haven't changed, pal. Oh hey, who're they?"

"Oh shoot…" Linhardt noticed his otherworldly companions sitting there.

"Mm, I um…" Junko was still chewing on a sweet bun when he saw them.

Ruby acted quickly, "We're new students! I'm Ruby, and this is Junko, nice to meet you."

He shook Caspar's hand, as did the zombie idol next to him.

"Heh, I didn't think we were getting new students this week. I'm Caspar, and this is Linhardt." The light-blue-haired brawler pointed to his friend with his thumb.

The crest scholar cleared his throat, "Y-Yes… it's nice to meet you."

Junko shook his hand slowly, "Yeah… likewise.".

"Huh, you're not usually this quick to introduce yourself to other people. I guess you have changed a little bit… Still, that was kinda weird, do you know them or something?" Caspar notices.

Linhardt, not willing to risk things getting messy decides to push Caspar away from them, "No I don't, now can we please move on and go eat? You're bothering the, uh, new students."

"Fine, fine!" Caspar says in reply.

Ruby and Junko continue to finish their meals as Caspar and Linhardt grab theirs and sit at a table opposite to theirs.

"Sheesh, that Caspar eats like a wild Pokémon. He could at least chew first before swallowing…" Ruby then turns to see Junko staring at them, "Something the matter?"

"Oh! It's nothing…" Junko goes back to finishing what's left of her food.

Ruby doesn't believe it for a second as he looks at her with concern while drinking some water to end his meal. After he and Junko hand their dirty dishes over to the workers at the dining hall, a scene begins to unfold in front of them.

"How do you expect to get rid of the evil in this world if that's how you're gonna treat it?"

"What? I should be asking you that!"

Caspar and Ashe are going back and forth, while Linhardt is sitting down with his hand on his head.

"What's happening?" Junko walks over to the two boys.

"A thief got into the Monastery's pantry, and he's telling me not to take him out for it!" Caspar points at the freckled young man.

"I'm just suggesting that we only capture and hear them out. They might not have been able to afford any food for themselves or for their loved ones. " Ashe explains his viewpoint.

"He doesn't get it! Leaving things alone like this will only make it worse, better to stop people from doing evil things and uphold justice than to let things grow out of control!" Caspar fires back.

"I-Is killing someone for stealing really that just?" Junko utters.

"Oh, so you're taking his side?! This is the type of guy to steal from a Monastery, that's a special kind of terrible!" Caspar got annoyed at her response.

"She has a point, Caspar! Indiscriminate slaughter won't solve anything. You can't just execute someone on a wild assumption and call it justice!" Ashe defended her.

"Ugh, I hate that I can see where this is going…" Linhardt groaned.

"Yeah…" Ruby sighed.

"Forget it then! Let's just fight this one out, and whoever wins can make the plan!" Caspar grips his fists with intensity.

This made Junko a bit upset, "How will that even solve anything?!".

"Just butt out, New Girl! This is how we solve things around here!" Caspar shuts her down.

Ashe holds his arms out and stands in front of her, "That's how you solve things, and this is not how you make a good impression with new students!"

"What is going on here?"

Insert Song: Beneath the Banner (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

A voice is heard as they all turn to see who it was. A man who was only slightly older than the students, with teal blue hair.

"Professor Byleth!" Ashe's eyes widen as the instructor walks in.

The Professor stays silent for a bit as he looks around, taking a second to spot some faces he's never seen before.

"I wasn't informed that there were new students joining us at the academy. Who are you two?"

"R-Ruby!"

"J-Junko, sir!"

After hearing their names he looks at where Junko was standing, and tries to put together the pieces of what event transpired.

"Caspar, are you bothering this young lady?' He asked the scrappy teenager.

"I wasn't! I mean, she was…. er… she wasn't minding her own business! Me and Ashe here were about to figure out what to do about a thief who raided the food supply!" He tried to defend himself.

"By fighting it out, I assume?" Byleth guesses and Caspar gulps.

Ashe chimed in, "I was just looking to have a peaceful negotiation after capturing the thief. While he's only looking to end their life just like that! She was only expressing her own stance on the subject, and he snapped at her."

"Is this true?" Byleth asked Junko and she nodded yes.

"Hm… no more arguing about this subject, you two. I overheard earlier that the thief was already captured."

"Aw, what?!" Caspar disappointedly let out.

"Oh thank the Goddess…." Ashe sighed in relief.

"However, that doesn't excuse how aggressive you were towards Junko here, Caspar. Now apologize and don't try to be so rude in the future." Byleth warned him.

Caspar crossed his arms and huffed, "Mm… I'm sorry for being so mean."

He then stormed out of the dining hall, clearly still angered that he couldn't take care of the thief himself.

"Hey, Caspar, wait up! Um, thank you for understanding my point more." Ashe thanked Junko.

She smiled back, "You really do have the better sense of justice after all. I admire that."

Hearing that made Ashe's cheeks go a bit red as he exited to go find Caspar.

Ruby then began muttering to himself, "Now I'm starting to see it more, but we'll need to let it steam longer."

Byleth then spoke up to the "newbies", "It was nice to meet you, perhaps you would be interested in joining the Blue Lions?"

"Huh?" The two of them let out.

"Yes, recently two of my students have ended up missing, so I am in need of others to assist with me finding them. I already asked another student to join, but someone decided to be unwelcoming to her…"

Ruby and Junko think back to when Marianne was making her way out of the Blue Lions classroom after Felix had been cold to her. They think about this for a minute before making their choice. Considering the options they had, filling in for some missing students sounds like the most optimal one.

"We would be glad to join your class. Thank you for offering, Professor." Ruby told him.

"I'll see you in class tomorrow then." Byleth bows his head towards them as he exits, though not before taking another glance at them.

Linhardt, tired after watching that go down while trying to eat, gives his dishes to the workers and starts to leave. Though not before he is approached by Junko.

"Hey, um, we'll be in the classroom next door if you need us! If any Monokumas attack, let us know and we'll help as soon as we can!"

"Mhm… just keep staying low, until then. Bye then." He tells her nonchalantly as he leaves her and Ruby standing there.

Junko then holds her hands close to her chest and looks downward.

"Junko… you can tell me if something's bothering you." Ruby put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's just… I don't know why, but it feels kinda sad that he's trying to avoid us. I mean it's understandable, we don't want to cause a problem with the Monastery, but… I thought we were starting to become friends."

Ruby was briefly taken aback by this and he's left pondering about it himself. He recalls earlier on that Linhardt didn't give him a straight answer when he asked why he decided to bring them to the Monastery instead of leaving them. And looking back at what happened in West City, Linhardt mentioned that he was only curious about the abnormalities of both them and their worlds.

What does he see them as? Acquaintances, research subjects, or strangers only brought together by the circumstances they were in? And by the time they find another gateway, will he be willing to walk with them?

Ruby shakes his head free from those lingering thoughts as he walks out of the dining hall and sees the skies have turned to their evening colors. He ushers Junko to follow him back to Linhardt's room so that their first day at Garreg Mach can begin to come to an end.

As she was about to follow him however, Junko sees something quite odd in the corner of her eye. A sweet bun hovering away from another student's plate, which made her blink twice.

"Hurry up, Junko! There's a bathhouse here, so we gotta get there fast and make sure no one else is there!" Ruby called for her.

"Coming!" Junko replied as an idea seemed to pop into her head.

"Ruby, do you have any more of those Pokéballs?"

"Okay it looks like the preparations are complete, now bring in the generals leading the assault!" Monaca Towa orders Ultron to open the doors.

Out steps both Petetronic (a Pete dressed in cybernetic armor from TRON) and Small Pete (dressed like a Dutch It's a Small World doll) from Wasteland, who both bow their heads towards one of the leaders of Team Zetsubou.

"Finally! We were waiiiiting for some action, it's our first dimensional hop! So excited to crush some puny noble brats." Small Pete cracks his large knuckles.

"And that's what you're gonna get uh… Pete 3 and Pete 4?" Monaca guesses.

This angered Petetronic, "It's Small Pete and Petetronic you little—"

She just brushes it off, "Yeah yeah, I don't care! You look the same, talk the same, and have the same name anyways!"

The two Petes grumbled at the child as she began to bring up the information on their mission.

"We've already taken three of their students for killing games and another one of them got sucked into one of the rifts we've been causing. Now it's time to just conquer the Monastery, spreading our brand new troops all over Fódlan!"

"Er… 'brand new'? What about those toon robots you were building, the uh, Mondokumquats?" Small Pete asked.

Monaca pouts, "Monokumas, and of course we're still using those! But we've been experimenting with new soldiers. Using those blotling creatures from your world, the power of the brush, and the technology at our disposal… well, you should see them for yourselves. Doctor, Doctor!"

Out steps Dr. Eggman Nega, a future relative of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik who is (somehow) even more sinister. Main genius in charge of building machines for Team Zetsubou.

"You called, and I answer Ms. Towa. I assume I'm here to present our special project?" He snickered.

"Right you are! Can you please show them what we've made?" Monaca asked with puppy-dog eyes.

Petetronic begins to sweat,"Uh oh… Blotlings mixed with technology are all kinds of ugly! I'm not gonna be working with—"

Out comes what looks to be a Spatter mixed with a Junk Monokuma (look up both of those and use your imagination), crawling towards the two girthy toons.

"AY CHIHUAHUA! WHAT IS THAT?!" Small Pete screamed as Petetronic was left quivering.

It snarls as green paint thinner drips down its face like drool, forming acid-like puddles on the floor. Its bear trap teeth and glowing red Monokuma eyes go together quite nicely with the cartoonish gloved arm coming out of its back.

"Isn't it adorable? It can just eat you up!" Monaca grinned.

Petetronic's words were shaky, "D-D-Don't y-you mean, I could just eat you u—."

Monaca interrupted him, "I know what I said."

"GYAHAHAHAHA! Soon, the entire multiverse will be crawling with these creatures, and using what we took from Pym, we can control them with only a simple thought! I pronounce them… BLOT-O-KUMAS!"

The two Petes were left watching this abomination leave a big mess, consuming a nearby metal table and leaving large bite marks.

Petetronic whispered to Small Pete, "Hey Smalls?"

"Yeah 'Tronic?" Small Pete gulped.

"I'm starting to think we chose the wrong side."

The next day at the Monastery, Ruby and Junko enter the Blue Lions classroom and introduce themselves to their new classmates.

"So glad to meet you! Where are you both from?" The orange-haired girl, Annette asked excitedly.

"Um… it's really far away! You probably never heard of it…" Junko answered nervously.

Felix, the swordsman, lowered his eyebrows, "Hmph, two brand new students in the middle of the semester from places we don't know about. And there's also the timing of their arrival, as soon as we lose both Dimitri and Sylvain…"

The blonde, Ingrid, stops him, "Felix, I know it is a bit questionable, but you shouldn't be so against this. Besides, the Professor allowed them to join and that was his choice. Just as it was for Marianne the other day."

The large Dedue decides to give his thoughts, "Despite my own worries about His Highness, it is not fair to treat fellow students this way. Be wary, but do not be unkind."

"Tch…" Felix turned away.

Junko glances at Dedue for a second before looking away, intimidated by the size and aura he gives off.

"I for one happily welcome you to our class! I would love for you to come join me for tea and specially baked treats!" The motherly Mercedes gives them a warm smile.

Ruby accepts the offer, "That sounds excellent, I would be happy to join you to try some."

Ashe stands up next, "How about we throw a small welcome party for the two of them?"

The other classmates agreed, aside from Felix, and the two otherworldly travelers strangely felt at home. Soon enough, their instructor entered the room and class was underway.

"Good morning, everyone." Byleth tapped the chalkboard for the day's lecture.

Ruby and Junko were sitting next to each other, reading through various textbooks that they borrowed from Linhardt's room.

"Physical combat and weapons training? Pokémon battling is one thing, but swords and spears? I'm not looking forward to this…" Ruby uttered quietly to his companion.

"Agreed…" Junko lowered her head as she read through herself.

The Showa Idol then found something that caught her eye: Reason and Faith magic.

"If I can't access my Pokémon, then maybe I could try it out? More options could lead to being less of a liability on the battlefield…" She thought to herself.

She walks up to Byleth in order for some magic instruction.

"Professor, I would like some help with learning how to use tomes. Could you please assist me?" She politely asks the former mercenary.

She points out the first spell she wants to attempt using, Blizzard.

He thinks for a minute before accepting her proposal, "Very well, let the lesson begin."

I introduce the new mooks for the chapter, the main baddies, and some interesting developments are crafted for our "Trinity". Man, the day after my birthday and I'm already done with another part. Hope you all liked this one! It's probably going to be another long chapter, so it's gonna take some time to figure out how to set it all up. I mean I got the framework, but I need to add in the actual events and character stuff lol. While you're waiting though, the special Fictional Nexus Bonus Chapter is out! Hope you also enjoy that after reading this one. Or if you already read it, thanks for reading, and see you next time! (Also did you notice that I'm having Junko take up skills from both of her companions? If you didn't, well… there you go!)