Chapter 3: The Trinity Trials Part 3
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
Dr. Eggman Nega (Sonic The Hedgehog): The Scientist
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Third-Person POV
The training grounds were silent as the Blue Lions watched their new classmate practice various spells.
"Blizzard!" Junko shouts as a cold breeze blows through the area right before shards of ice form on the ground and hit a training dummy.
"Wow, great job!" Annette complimented her on the sidelines.
"Yes indeed, a chillingly remarkable performance! Not surprising for an idol." Ruby clapped for her as she embarrassingly bowed to thank them.
"Strong start, now maybe try Nosferatu." Byleth suggested and Junko obliged.
"Nosferatu!" Junko calls out for the Faith magic spell and glowing light appears on her right hand as a large burst of light energy hits the dummy before flowing back into Junko.
"A good effort, close to perfection as well. Try to keep your eyes focused on your main target and you will soon be ready for the next spell tomes." Byleth instructs Junko and she nods along with the advice.
"Thank you, Professor. Your guidance is much appreciated." Junko told him with a polite smile on her face.
"Mhm." He grunts and nods back as he turns back to the rest of the class, "Is there anyone else looking to get some extra instruction today?"
The rest of the class shake their heads to answer. On cue the bell rings to signal the end of the instruction.
"Very well. Class is dismissed, have a good rest of your day, everyone." Byleth stated calmly.
"Thank you, Professor!" The whole class aside from Felix and Dedue said as a group before packing up their things and departing.
As Junko was about to exit however, Byleth caught her attention once more, "Once again, well done. I'll be sure to instruct you on Sagittae next class, farewell."
"U-Understood!" Junko replied as she and Ruby made their way to the dining hall.
As the two of them sat down with their food, Junko had begun breathing into her hands and rubbing them together.
"My hands feel so chilly after using that Blizzard spell so much…"
"Huh, I didn't think you would still feel the cold as a zombie." Ruby whispers that last word so that he doesn't draw attention to them.
Junko picks the tomatoes out of her vegetable stir-fry before coming up with a response.
"Yes, I can still feel some things like regular people can, but it's just so… odd. For example, I don't have to eat anything, yet I still enjoy consuming the foods I like for satisfaction. Agh!"
She took a sip of the spicy fish and turnip stew and her mouth was burning, her face beginning to turn red. Ruby quickly hands her a cup of water and Junko gulps it down quickly.
"Hm… so you can feel intense heat as well. It really is fascinating… though I'm not a fan of spicy foods myself." A familiar voice approached the two from behind.
Linhardt had a Garreg Mach meat pie alongside some fish and bean soup on his plate as he sat down at their table.
"Nice of you to join us. It's been longer than a spell, pun not intended." Ruby told the crest scholar in a bit of a dismissive tone.
"Might as well, I need time away from my class harping on me since I came back. I've had no time for the afternoon naps as I had before this, an absolute damper on my day." He yawns as he slowly picks up his utensils.
Junko, having recovered from the spicy stew, decides to try starting some small talk.
"So Linhardt, I've been learning Reason and Faith magic recently."
"Mhm." He grunts as he is chewing on his food.
"She's actually starting out quite well, learned Blizzard and… Nosferatu, I believe?" Ruby explained.
Junko smiled as she continued on the topic, "Actually, I chose to learn magic mostly because of you. Seeing you use those spells made me feel like I could try it too, adding it onto my Pokémon training will make me more useful when put into conflicts!"
Linhardt's eyebrows were raised, "That's a little flattering I guess. Though a bit impractical for your singing and dancing business once this is all over."
Ruby speaks up to give a suggestion, "It is quite useful for self defense against criminals or fans who are getting WAY too close for comfort however. Though it could cause a big problem with ruckus with poor Junko getting bombarded with questions."
Junko sighed, "And I already have to deal with hiding that I'm a zombie as well."
"Well, it's too far off until we can think about those kinds of problems. I don't have the energy right now to think of such things when I'm barely getting enough rest as is…"
Linhardt put his right hand on his head as Junko gets serious for a moment.
"Um, hey Linhardt? Something's been on my mind recently, and I wanted to ask you a question."
"And what might that be? It's not something that could prevent me from eating for too long, is it?" Lin just took a few sips of his soup as he replied.
Junko fidgeted for a bit as she tried to figure out how to ask the question in the best way she could.
"You see… it's probably difficult for you to readjust to life here at the monastery with us around, with the way you're avoiding us and your class continuing to ask questions to you…"
Linhardt slowly nodded to signify that he was listening, at least a bit. Ruby was still eating, yet he was wondering what Junko was about to ask.
"Eventually we're gonna get more of those Monokumas and other things that Team Zetsubou sent here, which will make things even more difficult for everyone here. So basically what I'm getting at is… would you prefer if we'd leave once the problem is sorted out?"
Insert Song: Broken Routine (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"..." Linhardt's mouth was partly open after hearing that, as the meat pie chunk on his fork fell back onto his plate.
Ruby places a hand on her shoulder, "Junko, what are you saying?".
"Ever since this journey began, we ended up forcing him to go with us when he didn't feel like coming. He doesn't enjoy fighting, and plus he seemed annoyed at having to deal with this whole otherworldly catastrophe. I don't want to drag him along and not consider how he feels about it." She explains to the Pokédex Holder in a serious tone as she turns back to Linhardt, "You're already back in Fódlan, so how would you benefit from coming along with us? Do you… even like having us around?"
Linhardt was not expecting a question like this and he's left puzzled as his food was beginning to cool down.
"That's…" His expression was a bit conflicted, as he bit his lip trying to come up with some way to answer.
Unfortunately he wasn't able to give an answer at all, and his silence left Junko with her hands shaking and a hurt expression on her face. Without another word she ended up leaving the two boys in the dining hall. Ruby sighed as he put his hand on his head.
"I was wondering about that as well, but I didn't think… ugh! I'll go looking for her, feel like helping?"
Linhardt just stared at his plate as he contemplated what had just occurred, prompting Ruby to just shake his head and go running off to find Junko.
"Hm… what is it like for me to have those two around? This is a question that I unfortunately cannot sleep on." He muttered to himself as he began to poke his food.
Looking to sing her emotions out, Junko wandered around the monastery to see if she could find a guitar lying around that she could borrow. Fortunately Claude happened to have one lying around that he didn't really use, well except for one time where he tried to annoy someone into talking for an interrogation. (Shout out to Pringus McDingus for making that one animation of that.)
However she was trying to find some place to play it, she spotted Ashe looking around for something by the stables.
"Ah! Junko, good evening. I'm sorry if this is a bit troubling, but I swear I saw an animal taking some food from the kitchen."
"An animal? What kind of animal?" She asked as she tilted her head in curiosity.
"Well, I'm not sure to be honest. It looked like a cat or a puppy, yet it was on its hind legs. It… probably sounds a bit ridiculous, doesn't it?" He describes it as he rubbed the back of his head.
Her eyes widened as she might have realized what he just saw, "It's not ridiculous at all, I'll help you out with the search!".
Ashe is surprised, but genuinely smiles at her response, "Really? Oh thank you so much! Let's see, I saw it enter the stables, so we have to be very careful not to bother the horses."
Junko nods as they enter to where the strange animal was supposed to be. They looked high and low until they found something munching on an apple in the corner.
"Purr! Espurr!" The little creature uttered as it swallowed its meal.
"It's adorable…" Junko whispered to Ashe.
"Agreed, now let's try not to startle it as we approach." Ashe told her as he began to slowly kneel down near it.
"Hello there, little one. How did you end up here at the monastery? Do you have an owner that we could— GAH!"
Insert Song: Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon X & Pokémon Y
Ashe was suddenly launched into a pile of hay by a blast of psychic energy.
"A-Ashe! Are you alright?" Junko went over to his side and he groaned while sitting up, covered in hay.
"What was that…? Some… sort of magic?"
Junko then stood up and whipped out one of her Pokéballs, "I'll take care of this, just… Please keep this a secret."
"What do you mean?" Ashe asks as she lets out Fuwafuwa, her Cottonee, to his utter shock.
"Mega Drain!" Junko commanded and Fuwafuwa began draining the health from the Espurr.
"Just what in the world is… (gasps) look out!" Ashe warns her as the Espurr begins to glow as it did before attacking him.
"Ack!" Junko and Fuwafuwa jump out of the way of its Confusion attack, "Let's try… Stun Spore!"
A burst of yellow spores were let out by Fuwafuwa as they sprinkled onto the Espurr, causing paralysis.
Junko gripped a Heal Ball this time around, "Okay, I've got this… ha!"
Right as she threw the ball though, Espurr managed to temporarily break through the paralysis for one last attack.
"Junko, duck!" Ashe tells her and she listens as the ball hits its target and captures the Pokémon.
"Hoo… that was a little exhausting. GWACK!" A bucket of water then landed on Junko's head, courtesy of the blast that she ducked under, which caused it to fall.
Ashe immediately ran to her aid, "Are you alright? Let me get this off of you!".
"No, Ashe, wait!" Junko tried to stop him from lifting the bucket, but to no avail.
Ashe began to stutter as he saw Junko's rotting patchwork face underneath the wooden bucket, "G-G-G-G—MMPH!".
Junko put her hands over his mouth right before he could yell and other people would hear.
"SHHH! It's okay, um… do you mind keeping another secret? Ah ha ha…"
"Junko? Junko? She probably hasn't left the monastery, at least I hope she hasn't."
Ruby was thinking aloud to himself as he continued looking for the floofy zombie idol. After checking the dorms and not finding her, he decided to see if she was at the training grounds. Lo and behold, what he found wasn't Junko, but another classmate of theirs as well as the redhead from the Golden Deer practicing archery..
"What do you want? I assume you're not here for a sparring session, so leave." Felix bluntly told him.
Ruby just scowled, "Well, what a good idea. I was just looking for my friend, but now I see that she wouldn't have gone here if you were around."
"Hmph, just letting you know that I still don't trust you, or that girl. You two showing up when we lose other classmates reeks of suspicion." The blue haired swordsman glared back at The Charmer.
Ruby clenched his fists before taking a deep breath and turning away from him, "I'm not looking for any trouble, only for Junko. Go back to slicing and dicing and mind your own business."
"Get out of my sight then. And just so you know, unlike the others, I won't hesitate to cut you down if you make one wrong move." Felix scoffed and went back to attacking the training dummy as Ruby exited.
Having witnessed that exchange and staying silent throughout, the redhead decided to follow Ruby out the door.
"Hey you! You're one of the new students, right?"
Ruby remembered her from the Golden Deer class as she walked up to him.
"Uh, yes. Just joined the Blue Lions today, although I kind of haven't been getting a warm welcome as you could tell…" Ruby sighed in frustration.
"Yeah, that Felix… he's a tough nut to crack, not really nice to anyone either. Well everyone except for Annette, but I feel like that's not my business. Anyways, I'm Leonie Pinelli."
She holds out her hand and Ruby shakes it, "Ruby, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I really am starting to feel exhausted now though, so I'm off to the bathhouse before turning in for the night."
"Yeah, I'd feel tired after having an argument like that too. Try not to let what Felix said bother you too much, I'm sure he just needs to lighten up and start thinking about how others feel before he speaks.
"Definitely. Well, I hope to see you again tomorrow. It really was nice to meet you, farewell!" Ruby waved and she reciprocated it as he walked towards the bathhouse.
When he was out of sight, Leonie spent some time to contemplate some of what Felix said to herself.
"It is suspicious that we have new students coming in now, especially with Linhardt returning. Hm… I should maybe keep an eye on them just to be sure."
Insert Song: The Night of the Ball (Fire Emblem Three Houses)
"Well then… I'm glad I'm sitting down, after hearing all of that I certainly would need to ha…" Ashe softly chuckles to himself as he and Junko sit on the floor of the Goddess Tower.
Junko began twiddling her fingers anxiously, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. You looked absolutely terrified earlier, I could see it on your face."
Ashe's head lowers, "Well, I do have to admit that I am afraid of undead spirits, so a living corpse would definitely frighten me. I'll never be a good knight if I'm this fearful…"
"D-Don't say that! It was my fault for not being more careful about you seeing my face. Besides… Fear can lead to things like dedication, as well as bravery. The fact that you're willing to stay here with a zombie that you haven't really gotten to know too well, it just shows how brave you really are."
Junko briefly grabs his hands as she tries to encourage him, before immediately dropping them after realizing she was holding them. Ashe had a surprised look on his face before the two of them awkwardly looked away from each other.
A minute or two of silence before Ashe decides to bring something up, "You know, there are stories here about the Goddess Tower. That on the night of the ball, if a man and a woman make a wish here, the Goddess will make it come true!"
Junko turned to him with curiosity, "That sounds amazing, and quite romantic as well. Hm… what would you wish for, Ashe?"
The young man thinks for a moment before answering, "You know, I always worry about how my brother and sister are doing back at home. I would likely wish for them to live out their lives in peace. How about you?"
Junko takes her time when coming up with something she would wish for, "Well… I did mention that I was from another world. In that one I'm an idol, singing and dancing on stage with my friends to make people happy, while also trying to hide that we're… like this."
Ashe nods in understanding as she continues.
"I would also want us to continue living in peace, but I would also add that I would want to do so without having to hide anymore. To be accepted, despite how we look, and to keep making shows that our fans will enjoy. That would be my wish."
Ashe was certainly impressed, "Wow, that's a really good one!"
Junko giggled, "Not as selfless as yours is, you really do care about your siblings, don't you?"
Ashe smiles back, "And you truly care about putting smiles on people's faces, ha ha!"
The two share a quick laugh before they decide to start talking again.
"Ashe, I hope that your wish comes true one day." Junko tells him.
Ashe just looks out at the stars that are outside the tower's window, "Same for yours. Oh, you borrowed a guitar and said you can sing right? Do you… mind if I hear a song for a little while?"
Ashe handed her the guitar and Junko took it with pride on her face, "Of course."
It was safe to say that the voice that came out of the usually timid and soft-spoken Junko was not what Ashe was expecting.
Insert Song: 50 and 4 Things Left Behind (50と4つの忘れ物, 50 to 4 tsu no Wasuremono) - Zombie Land Saga Revenge
Yūyake o tōku miokutte
ashita ga mukae ni kite kureru no
toke kakeshi nareta ponītēru
akaku irodzuita koigokoro
rūrūrūrū
rūrūrūrururu
rūrūrūrū
rūrūrūrururu
ī ko de i sasete kuretanara
kirei ni soroete misetaga
issho ni miru tte yakusoku shita "eitīnbugi" wa
doko ka de sai teru omoide yo
kinō wa tokkuni tōi hi yo
ne~e koi o shita
ne~e sono senaka
ne~e dakara kimi ni wa
watashi ga mienai
asayake ga heya o some kaketara
amai nukumori de oboretai
kimi to deau mae no jibun ni
modoreru ki ga shita 29-ji
fuzoroina 50 to 4tsu no
garakuta o oshimai ni shite
kasabuta ni natte narenai itazura wa
doko ka waratteru omoide yo -
kinō wa tokkuni tōi hi yo
The sound of Ashe clapping excitedly made Junko smile brightly, almost helping her forget the earlier pain she felt that evening. The two of them soon bid farewell for the night, as Junko promised to tell him more about where she came from another time. Junko kept the bucket that fell on her head so she could hide her face until she made it back to the dorms.
She went to bed that night still thinking about that moment she shared in the Goddess Tower. And it was the happiest she's ever been since the beginning of this multiversal journey.
Meanwhile…
"I found this Sun Stone after battling a few Solrocks!" Sapphire told a curious Michiru as their crew were traveling through the multiversal gateway.
It was like being in a dark tunnel, illuminated by what looked to be stars from far away, but were actually exit rifts to other worlds. No indication is given of what universe they lead to, so it's a roll of the dice on where a person could end up if they fall in. This group was on a set path towards a rift, feeling like they were being guided by the wind.
"Oooh, so what does it do?" Michiru asked.
"Well, it helps evolve specific Pokémon! Like if someone had a grass type, it could change forms and get stronger!" Sapphire explained.
Scott Lang was in the middle of all of them as his suit began sparking.
"Ah, damn it! This is a new suit too!"
Ponzu notices and speaks up with concern, "What's going on, Lang?".
"My regulator is going haywire, must have gotten that way after my fight with Ka—AGH!"
Scott suddenly grew to large size and ends up accidentally knocking Ponzu and Sapphire off course.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The girls' yells started to fade as they fell into a separate gateway than what they were initially traveling to.
"Oh no… sorry…" Scott said as both Michiru and Masaomi give him disapproving and highly annoyed looks.
"Oof!"
"Ack!"
Sapphire and Ponzu both landed on some soft grass, thankfully not too injured aside from the bump they took from the briefly Gi-Ant-Man.
Sapphire rubs the back of her head as she sits up, "Ow ow ow ow ow! When I see him again, I'm gonna—hey!"
Ponzu tackles her down into some bushes before pointing over at something approaching from the sea.
"Wherever we are, it looks like they're just now starting to invade…"
They spot Small Pete and Petetronic arriving to Fódlan via steamboat through a multiversal portal. (Projectors were only used for quicker transport and not for entire armies, which use a bigger rift generator.)
"Do we really hafta use these creepy things? I'm getting the willies just thinking about 'em!" Petetronic told Small Pete.
"Well, what the boss wants, the boss gets. As much as I don't like this, we have to in order for us to take over the Cartoon World! Like we've always wanted…" Small Pete put his hands on his hips and sighed.
"What we've always wanted, eh? Bah!" Petetronic muttered to himself as he approached a green jug containing the Blot-O-Kumas.
Petetronic used his large hook hand as a bottle opener on the cork holding them all in. A dark bubbling puddle was forming on the ground, with pieces of Monokuma unit parts floating around in it. It was like a tar pit, except it's alive.
"Say yer prayers Garreg Mach, by the time we're done here, yer gonna be needin' a few blessings!" Small Pete gave a hearty laugh as the ink-black army formed behind them.
"Gahaha! Troops, forward march!" The Petes command.
Sapphire and Ponzu looked on with disgust at what their next foes would be. After noticing the direction they were heading, Garreg Mach up on the large hill, they nod at each other before rushing towards it. Both of them hoping that they can warn whoever's there about the coming storm.
Next Wednesday, April 26th, is the three year anniversary of Danganronpa: Fictional Nexus, the most popular fanfiction I've ever written (well on AO3 and Wattpad anyways). I decided to create a killing game with multiple characters I like and have my favorite zombie idol gal be the main protagonist. Three years later the main story of that fanfic has concluded, and two sequels (albeit one is on hiatus until this one is concluded) have risen after many many nights of endless thoughts. Happy anniversary to Danganronpa: Fictional Nexus! Chose to release it early because I didn't want to wait that long and I already finished the chapter early. I really am happy to have come this far though, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, unless something comes up. This entire chapter in particular is also a good revisit to the world of Three Houses, calling back to my first fanfiction, Three Houses Saga: White Clouds (a Zombie Land Saga and Fire Emblem Three Houses crossover). All these years of writing and it feels so nice to have improved in at least a few ways. Though after this quadrilogy I really need to go back into making the sequel to that story… Enough reminiscing for now, let's talk about this chapter. I decided to give Felix a nice little role since I felt bad for replacing him with The Boar—I mean Dimitri in Fictional Epicenter, as well as another character I briefly considered, Ashe. Speaking of, ever since Three Houses Saga I've always lowkey shipped him and Junko together. A soft boi and a soft gal with white and silver hair… it just felt so sweet. A bit of a dumb crossover crack ship, I know, so I REALLY hope it doesn't bother anyone. Also Leonie is there, and I admit that I really need to give her something to do. Anyways, I'm gonna keep on brainstorming ideas about this story, as well as Epicenter (and that mysterious fourth entry), and I thank anyone who's willing to follow me to the end. I'll always be glad if there's some comments/reviews like always, but no pressure if you don't have much to say. For now, let us keep up with our trinity (as well as the Garreg Mach students and the two allies who just arrived) and root for them! They might need it… — Renegade Braveheart