Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Two Days After Seryu Woke Up From Recovery
"You missed."
"Oh, I wasn't really aiming for you."
"What…? WEISS!"
"I'm more interested in the band right there, especially the faunus, and I don't mean the deer!"
"Wh-what do you want with me?"
"Well, you're siding with humans and the Crimson Fang doesn't take kindly to Faunus siding with humans. I will admit, you're great on the dance floor, but you gotta go."
"Hmm…" Seryu hummed as she was lying on the couch, her head resting on Sheele's chest as they were watching TV, the latter gently rubbing her dog ears while Koro rested in front of the couch.
"Hmm? What's up?" Sheele looked down.
"Oh, just… thinking."
Sheele gently smiled. "Come on, you can tell me."
"Well, I'm sure you've heard about a few people I've traumatized, right?"
"Hmm… I know about Weiss. Who was the other?"
"Kokoro. Ya know, the one in Sea5ons?"
"Ooooh! Okay… wait, you tried to kill her?"
"I legitimately thought she was great, but Adam… all he saw was "traitor to Faunus kind", so he told me to go take care of her."
Sheele grimaced. "Oh… that'll do it…" She said.
"Yeah, and honestly… I almost got her and everyone else hadn't Whitley talked me out of it." Seryu mumbled.
"Hmm… you want to go talk to them about it?"
"Honestly, I want to… yet considering half the planet is against me, I'm not sure."
Sheele nodded. "That's understandable. Even after when evidence was shown that Jacques had denied you treatment, especially that "Brain damage is made up" bombshell, the world's still divided over you… though I've heard from our fellow Winter Ops that they've been hearing more positive than bad."
"That's just one sector of Atlas."
"Fair." Sheele nodded.
"Mmm…" Seryu put her metal arm over her eyes. "Part of me wants to go apologize and the other part of me is just wanting to stay here…" She sighed. "It's been what, a week since I've had my treatment?"
"It's entirely up to you, Seryu… I'm not going to force you." Sheele softly said, still rubbing her ear.
"You're the sweetest." Seryu chuckled, but her mind still thought about those two incidents. She was still not used to thinking clearly without voices in her head screaming into her constantly. "…Oh… what the hell, let's rip the bandaid off. Let's go."
Sheele nodded. "Right." She turned off the TV as they got up. "I know a faster way to get to the Mushroom Kingdom."
"The Warp Pipe? We can just fly down to it… or teleport in my case."
"True, but I've heard of a more… fun way to get down to Mantle. Rumor has it General Esdeath herself tends to use this if she's bored of flying down with her semblance." Sheele smiled.
"Uuuh… okay?" Seryu tilted her head.
Later…
"Wait, this is still active?" Seryu asked.
"Snowshoe Shipping? Yes! Despite the SDC having exploded, shipments still come here. It just takes a bit longer to get items but it's still workable for the most part."
"I see. So what's this shortcut?" Seryu asked as Sheele motioned her head to the tubes. "…Sheele, you're insane!" Seryu said in horror.
"People do it all the time. Heck, I've heard some of the Ace Ops tend to go this route!"
Seryu sweatdropped. "…I see." She said as she hesitantly sat on the tube. "Okay, now what?"
"Let's see, it's super simple. You lie on your back and… uh… was it this button?" She wondered, pressing it.
Seryu was sucked up.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Sheele turned her head. "Oh…"
SPLASH!
A soaking wet Seryu returned a few seconds later, with a snapping turtle biting her ankle. "Why do they even have that button?" She asked, shaking off the snapping turtle and it slowly crawled away. She then shook her head to get the water out. "Alright, let's try that again."
"Yeah, I think I got it figured out." Sheele nodded.
One trip down the tubes later…
Sheele crawled out of the tube with Koro hopping out happily. "Whew, what a rush! That was honestly fun!"
"Yeah… if you don't mind the vertigo…" Seryu groaned, holding on to a machine. "And the… whiplash…"
Sheele patted her on the back. "You okay?"
"Yeah… I'll be fine… I just need to get off of this carnival ride."
Once Seryu snapped out of it, the three of them walked outside and wandered around Mantle until they found the Warp Pipe. "Here we are." Sheele said.
Seryu hesitantly got in. "What's wrong?" Sheele asked
"Well… considering I just went through a tube from hell, I'm hesitant to go into another tube."
"Oh, relax. Warp Pipes are safe!" Sheele said, playfully pushing her in.
"Whoooooooa!" She yelped as she and Koro jumped in after her.
BGM: Toad Town (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)
"Waaaaaaah!" Seryu yelped, landing in the snow covered hill. "Mmmph!"
Sheele popped out with Koro. "You mean to tell me you've never used a Warp Pipe before?"
"No… because I thought those were drainage pipes leading to some toxic underground sewer." Seryu said.
"Fair." Sheele nodded as Seryu shook it off.
"Alright, Kokoro and Weiss ought to be here somewhere." She said, rolling her shoulder as they walked into town.
As they walked into town, they would see a live performance going on nearby. They would look to see Chelsea, Ling, Kokoro, Mine and Weiss performing a song as the crowd was eating it up. "Oh, I guess they're doing a collab." Sheele said.
"Huh… neat." Seryu said as the trio walked over to the crowd and watched the five sing and dance their hearts out. Seryu was more focused on Kokoro, a genuine smile crept up on Seryu's face.
Once the song ended, the crowd clapped and cheered for them. "Thank you! You were a lovely audience!" Chelsea praised.
"Phew… that was wonderful." Kokoro smiled, looking to see Weiss and Mine high fiving each other before they both high fived Ling and then looked into the audience and spotted Seryu. The latter realized she was spotted and made a friendly small wave to her. Kokoro stiffened before hiding behind Chelsea.
End BGM
"Hmm? What is it, Kokoron?" Chelsea asked as she looked into the crowd and spotted the three. "Oh hey, it's Sheele and…" She gasped. "Oh! Seryu!" She waved her over.
"Oh, look at that. She's looking a lot better." Mine smiled.
"Glad to see she's made a full recovery." Ling smiled as well.
"Yeeeeeah… that's wonderful." Weiss said, awkwardly rubbing her arm.
Seryu frowned. She knew exactly why Weiss was looking uncomfortable and Kokoro hiding behind Chelsea. While it did upset her a little, she didn't exactly blame the two considering what had happened.
"I… don't really blame you for this. Even though it was my mental instability that controlled me, I… I'm not too surprised that you're uncomfortable. I almost killed the both of you… so I don't blame you for being too uncomfortable around me. Yeah, I'm all fixed up but it's still haunting in a way…"
"I mean… it's not that I blame you…" Weiss said. "Yeah, the whole head injury thing was traumatic for you and Jacques doing all of that… it would drive me insane. So I can understand that… but why didn't you ask for help if you were hurting?"
Seryu sighed. "Honestly… I thought Adam was all the help I needed. I clung on to him because I thought he could help, but… in the end, as I'm thinking more clearly, I can see he was just using me. I started to wake up when Whitley called me out on it… and of course, I wondered what I was doing, even when Dimentio started an alliance with us. Then… I was sent to kill Umber when he talked some sense into me. I was so… lost ever since."
Weiss frowned. "You've… had it rough for a long time."
"Yeah… after that, I threw my scroll away because Adam was the first to call me. For a few days, I was so lost and… I kept calling out to Sheele, hoping she'd find me. I'm then invited into a home to get my energy up and that's when I learned about Jacques in Mushroom City… the rest is history after that."
Seryu closed her eyes. "Honestly, Schnee-… no, Weiss… I wouldn't blame you if you didn't forgive me for all that I've done to yo-"
She felt arms being wrapped arounnd her as she opened her eyes to see Weiss hugging her. "W-Weiss…?"
"Don't worry about all that… that stuff was in the past." Weiss said. "While you and Adam almost had killed me, I'm not going to hold that against you. Okay, maybe I will against Adam, but considering what you've done and actually went out of your way to apologize… well, I'm not one to hold grudges."
Seryu said nothing but wrapped her arms around Weiss in return. "Thank you… oh… and thanks for the flowers. They were pretty."
Weiss pulled away. "Thanks." She said. "Sorry about my Rathalos tearing your arm off."
"No no, it's fine. I'm glad he stopped me anyway… even if it was extremely painful." Seryu shuddered.
"…Sooo uh… what happened to your other arm?"
Seryu grimaced. "Let's just say I was running with scissors and leave it at that."
Weiss tilted her head. "Huh? For that to happen, you would need to have really big-" She glanced at Sheele. "…Oooooh."
"Long story…" Sheele rubbed her head with a frown.
"This guilt and my scars are my burden..."
Sheele put a hand on her shoulder. "But you won't shoulder that alone."
Seryu gave her a sad smile. "Yeah..." She turned to Kokoro. "Kokoro, remember what I said about you being great on the dance floor?"
"Y-Yeah...?"
"I actually meant it." Kokoro's ocelot ears perked up. "You're actually pretty good. You have a lot of potential."
Kokoro peeked out from behind Chelsea. "You... you mean it?"
"Yeah. Despite my instability, I was still amazed by your dance moves. I mean, you're a hell of a good dancer."
Kokoro's eyes sparkled, emerging from behind Chelsea. "Oh, thank you!" She exclaimed happily, her legs moving toward Seryu and hugged her. Seryu gave her a soft smile and ruffled her head.
"Mrow?" A cat meowed as Yukina walked over to them. Koro walked over to Yukina as both of them looked at each other in the eyes, then Yukina nuzzled against Koro. "Mrow!"
Koro licked Yukina's head affectionately, then suddenly Kokoro's Plusle hopped up on Koro's back. "Plus Plusle Plus!" He said, posing dramatically.
"Mine... Minun..." Minun facepalmed in exasperation and embarrassment.
Kokoro giggled. "Beat, do you think this dog is your loyal steed?" She teasingly asked.
"Plus!" Beat said proudly.
Kokoro snickered. "I don't think you're getting him out of this one, Lyra."
The Minun shook her head. "Minun Mine..."
"Aw come on, it's cute!" Mine snickered.
Weiss got a text on her scroll. "Hmm?" She took a look. "Oh shoot! I gotta go."
"What's up?" Ling asked.
"I lost track of time, I have a Smash match in ten minutes!" Weiss said and quickly ran off, whistling to get Azure's attention as he flew down where she hopped on and flew off.
"Oh! The Smash Mansion... I oughta take you there." Sheele said.
"Huh? What for?" Seryu asked.
"Winter sometimes competes there. The Smash Mansion is really cool. Come on!" She took her arm and headed off.
"Whoa!"
Once at the Smash Mansion...
"Whoa..." Seryu said in awe, staring at it.
"It's cooler on the inside." Sheele said as they walked ahead, the two noticing a makeshift grave nearby.
"Hmm?" Seryu wondered as she took a look out of curiosity. "...Samus Aran's personal heroes. Aww."
Seryu walked to the mansion, walking inside with Sheele, then Seryu would be absolutely floored with the amount of people wandering around. "...Holy crap."
"Isn't it amazing?" Sheele smiled, watching Toon Link and Hat Kid pull a prank on Waluigi, Banjo and Kazooie doing a puzzle, Reflet going over strategy with Kamui, Isabelle having tea with Greninja and Sheik, and a lot more.
"Yeah... it's incredible." Seryu said as they walked around, noticing Wii Fit Trainer doing yoga with Palutena and Daisy. She turned her head, seeing everyone going about their day without a care in the world...
...And accidentally bumped into Doom Guy who was having a conversation with Pyra and Dante. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see... where I was... mmmph!" She whimpered, seeing Doom Guy turn around and stare down at her.
His imposing figure, his tall stature, not to mention he had his helmet on, it was enough to intimidate the hell out of her. Don't rip me into shreds, don't rip me into shreds, don't rip me into shreds... She thought, closing her eyes in fear...
...Only to feel a hand ruffling her head. She looked up to see Doom Guy seemingly smiling at her, gently patting her on the head. "Huh?"
"You don't have to worry about this guy. He's a gentle soul if you're not a demon." Dante reassured.
"Oh, uh... thank you..." Seryu said, still feeling intimidated as she walked away. Holy crap, I thought I was a goner. She thought.
She would then feel some sour looks her way as she saw Cloud, Incineroar, Ganondorf, Duck Hunt, Dark Pit, Donkey Kong, Ike, Mythra, Mewtwo and Meta Knight all giving her judgemental looks.
She awkwardly rubbed her shoulder and looked the other way. Deep breaths, Seryu... you knew you'd be getting bad looks.
She then nearly tripped over someone. "Oh!" She looked down and saw Kirby who was smiling at her. "Oh, uh... hi... puffball...?"
"Hiiiiii!" Kirby waved as Seryu knelt down and patted Kirby on the head.
"Honestly, you're kinda cute. Scratch that, you're adorable." Seryu said.
"Poyo!" Kirby hugged her and then happily walked away.
"Something about that little thing warms me up and I don't know why." Seryu said.
"Hey Seryu!" Sheele waved her over as Seryu turned around.
"Yeah?"
"Look!" Sheele pointed toward the screen as Seryu looked up to see Weiss gracefully block attacks from Link, but he used a Hero Spin to trap Weiss and sent her flying, but she recovered and swiftly lunged with Myrtenaster, but Link blocked with his shield and countered.
"My goodness, that guy's incredible." Seryu said as Weiss was knocked off the platform but she used some gravity glyphs to save herself.
...However, Link fired a Bomb Arrow on one of the gravity glyphs and the explosion knocked Weiss off, then he threw a remote bomb at her and before she could react, he detonated it and sent her flying through the Blast Zone.
Seryu shrieked. "Oh my Oum, he killed her!" She said in horror, unaware of Sheele snickering.
"Game! Link... wins!"
It was then that they heard footsteps as Weiss walked out, rubbing her head. "That could've gone better."
"She's alive?!" Seryu exclaimed in shock, hearing Sheele laugh. "What's so funny?"
"Good match, Weiss." Link said to her.
"Yeah, you were on top of your A game." Weiss said, walking off with him and chatting with him.
"No one really dies here. They just have fun!"
"I see..." Seryu chuckled sheepishly.
"Wait, time out, you heard what?" A voice asked, catching Seryu's attention.
"Hmm?" Seryu wondered as she walked off.
"That is what I've heard, yes." Alucard nodded, as he was talking with Richter, Simon, Shantae, Sora and Chiaki.
"What's going on?" Seryu asked curiously, immediately seeing Simon glaring at her and readying the Holy Water, but Richter and Shantae lowered his hands.
"It's, um, complicated..." Chiaki said.
"Yeah, apparently, there's a rumor that Jacques came back alive and he's in Castlevania, according to mmmph mmmph mmmph-" Shantae and Chiaki covered Sora's mouth while Sheele's eyes widened.
"Sora, buddy, not in front of her!" Shantae whispered.
"Jacques...?" Seryu clenched her fists. "He's alive?"
"Ohmph... cramph." Sora said muffled.
"No no, he didn't say Jacques! He said... uh.. Jack in the Box opening up in the world of Castlevania! Yeah... I think they're still a thing." Chiaki mumbled the last part.
"Jack in the Box? I've never heard of such a thing." Alucard said.
"...Show me your world. I wish to see this for myself." Seryu said in a low voice, which was enough to worry Sheele.
Shantae and Chiaki sighed. "Nice going..." They said, pulling their hands away from Sora.
"My bad..." Sora rubbed his head.
One reluctant trip to Castlevania later...
"Here we are, Castlevania." Richter said where Seryu stared at the castle in front of her.
"I have to say, it's a lot more imposing than I thought it'd be. Gives Castle That Never Was a run for its money." Sora said.
"Now think about why we're here." Chiaki said, causing Sora to rub his head.
"I thought she was past that..." Sora admitted.
"Seryu, please... it's not too late to turn back" Sheele pleaded.
"No... I need to see if I ought to put another bullet between his eyes." Seryu said before disappearing.
"SERYU!" Sheele yelled in horror.
"What the... she can teleport?!" Shantae exclaimed.
"That's not good. Follow her!" Richter said.
"It is not too late to douse her in Holy Water." Simon said.
"Simon, no." Chiaki said as they chased after her.
Meanwhile...
"Making her tea, this is beneath me." Jacques mumbled, now wearing a maid outfit. "It's bad enough she has me clean her drapes and floor... not to mention her so called bed."
He had remembered the last time he made her tea but it was not to her liking. He didn't know what was scarier. His assailant killing him or his so called "mistress" screaming at him.
Either way, he was sure this was just right. He walked off to Celeste who was admiring the moonlight.
"Here is your tea, "mistress"." Jacques grumbled as Celeste took it.
"Hmm..." Celeste took a sip. "It's decent. It's passable. It's not my favorite, but I will not throw it into your face or that sorry excuse you call that thing between your legs this time."
"I should consider myself grateful..." Jacques grumbled.
"That will be all, Bitch. Go polish the living room next."
Jacques let out a grumble and walked into the foyer. "Vampires..." He muttered under his breath as he pulled out the feather duster and started dusting.
There was a knock on the door. "Go away. I'm busy." He said loud enough... which, in turn, caused the door to be kicked open and then Seryu stormed in. "Mmph!" He whimpered.
BGM: Tension (Persona 5)
"Nice get up." Seryu mocked, loading up her gun.
"S-Seryu!"
"I've heard a rumor that you were alive... and lookie here, it seems my first execution wasn't enough to put you down!"
"Well, don't just stand there then. Shoot me! This hell I'm in is driving me crazy!"
Seryu smirked sadistically, aiming her gun at Jacques and chuckled darkly... before she put her gun away.
"Yeeeeah, no."
End BGM
"What?!' Jacques said.
"I'm a changed woman, Jacques. Because of you, I was mentally unstable but here I am, alive and well with no brain damage anymore. I'm completely cured."
"...Well, good for you, but brain damage isn't a thing!"
"Ha. Yeah... only people with brain damage would say something like that." Seryu shot back.
"I beg your pardon?!"
"Don't think I don't know about those files. You thought it doesn't exist because hospitals make stuff up as they go along? That's really messed up."
"I'll tell you what's messed up, having to serve tea to a bitch of a mistress!"
"Well, as I said... you got what you deserved." She turned around. "And honestly, you're not worth it."
"What do you mean I'm not worth it!"
"Killing you didn't give me the peace I desperately wanted. It only made things worse. So honestly, what good will it do if I killed you again?"
"I've got plenty of reasons. One being getting the hell out of here!"
"This place is more fitting for you anyway. Your own personal hell and I didn't have to lift a finger. Goodbye Jacques. Have a fun time serving a hopefully cruel master."
"Seryu, don't turn your back on me! I never took you to be a coward! Seryu! Don't ignore me, you bitch! KILL ME LIKE THE ANIMAL THAT YOU ARE!"
Seryu stopped walking. "Bitch, huh? Heh, it takes one to know one, wouldn't you agree?" She turned her head slightly, summoning a gun and firing a few bullets into Celeste's favorite fine China. "Missed a spot."
Jacques paled, watching Seryu close the doors. "That was her favorite china..."
"JACQUES, IF YOU BROKE MY FAVORITE CHINA, SO HELP ME, I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU UNTIL YOUR UNCLE CRIES UNCLE!"
Jacques whimpered. "Oh no..."
On the other side of the doors, Seryu heard several sighs of relief as she turned her head to see everyone. "What?"
"I thought you were going to kill him again..." Sheele said.
"Well, I was, but seeing him in that sorry state made me think: "Nah, I changed my mind. This is more amusing anyway"."
"That's a relief." Shantae said.
"No kidding." Chiaki smiled.
"Soooo, what are you gonna do now?" Sora asked.
"Head back home... I might come back and say hi later." Seryu said. "...Wait, what am I saying, we might come back later."
Sheele smiled, taking her hand. "Of course." She said as they walked off together as the others walked off behind her while Jacques screamed behind him, which was music for Seryu's ears.
One trip back to Mantle later...
"I'm proud of you, Seryu. I was worried you'd go back and-"
"Nah, why go back to that crummy ol' lifestyle?" Seryu chuckled as they walked through Mantle. "So, how are we going to get back to Atlas?"
"I have an idea."
"Teleporting?" Seryu hoped.
"No. I have a shortcut in mind."
"Oh, what kind of shortcut?" She asked as Sheele gave her a playful smile, which was enough to make Seryu nervous. "...Sheele?"
Sheele giggled. "The same route we took from Atlas to Mantle!"
Seryu let out a groan as Sheele skipped away happily. "Oooh... hell..." She groaned and walked after Sheele.
Ibuki: Not sure what she's complaining about. That sounds like fun!
Yup! Weiss and Blake might not agree though.
Ibuki: *laughs* True!
Anyway, this Gaiden was inspired by DarkRebellion!