Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Two Days After the Ashen Wolves Became Peach's Royal Guard
BGM: Peach's Castle (Fortune Street)
"Oh… oh my goodness…" Peach said.
"Yeeeeeah…" Hapi rubbed the back of her head. "Kind of a downer, isn't it?"
"I was wondering why she was a completely different person under the sun. She was all chipper when we were in that Grimm world…"
"Pretty much." Hapi nodded. "The war had changed her into a completely different person. After House Nuvelle fell, she developed a dual personality disorder. It triggers under direct sunlight. When she's inside or it's a dreary day, she's happy as can be."
"Goodness…" Peach mused. "You know, this reminds me of someone else I know."
"Hmm?"
"You recall Xena, right?"
"Xena… Xena… the girl with the different colored eyes and can call out another woman?"
"That's her." Peach nodded. "During her childhood, a tyrant by the name of King Bob-omb started a civil war. She and her family were caught in the middle of it, but they were in support of those who were against the King's tyranny and helped out those in need. It wasn't until King Bob-omb launched an attack at her home in Bob-omb village was where her friends and family were killed in the explosion. She was the only survivor."
Hapi grimaced. "That'll do it… how'd she turn out?"
"She… was no longer chipper. She became more sadistic and cruel, developing a more darker personality where she could no longer dictate friend from foe."
"Ooof, blinded by rage…"
"Indeed. Eventually, she was stopped after King Bob-omb blasted her all the way to Toad Town, and she was put under therapy. However, Ozpin released her earlier than expected and well, Xena was alright for the most part. However, whenever an explosion was heard, it triggers her sadistic side. We called this side… Dark Xena."
"Damn, war really does change people…"
"Indeed. Eventually, it got to the point where Xena was afraid of her own body. No amount of therapy would work, and Mewtwo unwittingly made it worse. Soon, Xena confronted her dark side who, apparently, had a more softer side. They became whole once more, and they can both change to a different personality at will."
"...Just like that?"
"Yup. If you want a more tactical defensive side, Xena's your girl. If you want destruction, raw power and want to cut loose, Dark Xena is the way to go. Although, she's no longer called Dark Xena."
"Dark then?"
"She went by Dark, but then during the Phazon War, her team talked with her and they all agreed to call her Yagami. Even she was all for it." Peach explained. "She became her own person as a result."
"Wow, a separate personality became their own person…" Hapi mused. "So basically, Yagami is Xena's crazier personality, yet a whole different person entirely?"
"Yup!"
"Two people are living in one body!"
"Mhm!"
Hapi rubbed the back of her head. "Goodness, and that Alola boy is dating the two of them? I'd hate to see what it's like when those guys are having sex… I can just hear the jealousy…"
"She has psychic capabilities and is powerful enough to call out her other side. They practically call each other sister. It's cute!" Peach giggled. "However, both of them can only be out for fifteen minutes. Once that is up, they exhaust all of their psychic abilities and have to recharge."
"Oh, so basically Alola can have a threesome for fifteen minutes. That lucky bastard." She teased, causing Peach to snicker.
"When you put it like that, then yes, I guess so." Peach giggled.
"However, I think Coco's case is far different than Psychic and Crazy."
"Yeah… sounds like she needs a hug."
"Oooh, she needs all of it." Hapi said.
"So, what about you?"
"Oh, me? Well, I've been experimented on by Cornelia. Every time I sigh, a monster pops up somewhere. I've worked on trying not to sigh for so long… but it slips out every now and again." She said. "...Although Yuri-Bird did say something about me taming those creatures."
"So that explains why that giant wolf came out of nowhere at Garreg Mach…" Peach mused.
"Mhm." She nodded.
"So, mind showing me Constance's… quirk? I'm sure her depression isn't that bad."
"Welp… don't say I didn't warn you, Toadstool." Hapi said. "C'mon, I'll show you."
Meanwhile, with Balthus…
"Master Balthus, what are you doing?!" Toadsworth demanded.
"Benchpressing."
"You're benchpressing a Chain Chomp!"
"Aw, but he doesn't mind it one bit! Don't you boy?"
"Woof woof!" The Chain Chomp barked happily, causing Toadsworth to sweatdrop.
"Oh boy…"
"A hundred ninety eight… a hundred ninety nine…. Two hundred!" Balthus put the Chomp down. "Thanks for exercising with me, boy!"
"Woof!" The Chomp licked him as a result, causing him to chuckle.
With Yuri…
"A little bit of this should do the trick…" Yuri said, trimming a few hedges. "There we go! Good as new."
"Excuse me, Yuri!" A voice said as Yuri turned to see Toadbert approaching.
"Ah, Toadbert. What can I do for you?"
"I was just wondering… where did you guys come from, anyway?" Toadbert asked.
"Oh that? Well, we came from the Abyss. Deep within Garreg Mach, in fact."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. Let's just say the Church of Seiros didn't know what to do with some rabblerousers like me, Balthus, Hapi and Coco, so they just put us there. It wasn't so bad, it was quite spacious. We often trained and, honestly, we made some friends during the year. Including this one good lookin' guy that I can't help but admire."
"Who's this person?"
"Ah, I believe his name is Bereto. Don't get me wrong, his sister is pretty good looking too… but alas, Byleth is not only a lesbian, but she's also engaged to that lovely Dorothea."
"I thought she was bi…" Toadbert mumbled.
"Regardless, Bereto is pretty charming if I say so myself… even if he's in his sister's shadow most of the time. Ahem, sorry, I lost track." He chuckled. "Anywho, we were down there in the Abyss when we heard something interesting one day. Apparently, there was a change of position and Sothis took control of Rhea's position. Next thing we know, Sothis comes down after her little adventure in the Beanbean Kingdom and proceeds to let us free."
"It's not fair for you guys to stay down here. Go out and explore, for crying out loud. Do what you want! You four are free!"
Yuri chuckled. "We gladly took that opportunity and decided to explore. We found a portal near Garreg Mach and found ourselves in a rabblerousing mansion. However, we decided to go into these different portals to see what kind of nonsense we could get ourselves into."
"Oh? What worlds did you go to?"
"Well, we first went to Hyrule. A nice quaint location… hell, Balthus made friends with these Lynel creatures… I think he's part of their tribe now if I recall correctly. Then we went into a world that had extreme racing… F-Zero, I think? Hapi got a bit too excited and wanted to join the race. Only problem was, she shifted gears way too early and crashed into all the other racers before the race began."
"Oh goodness! Those races are dangerous, by boogity! Did anyone die?"
"No, but I believe this lady named Jody Summer was put in the hospital for a few days, and I believe she put this Goroh guy in a full body cast for several weeks. Captain Falcon? Only walked away with a sprained ankle."
"And Hapi?"
"She lost her eyebrows in the fiery explosion. It was quite amusing…"
Toadbert sweatdropped. "That's all?"
"That's all. Now, I believe we went into Pac-Land next. Constance thought if she ate a pellet, she would boss the ghosts around. However, they only ran away from her and Pac-Man ate them up, much to her chagrin. We also went to the Pokemon World… and for whatever reason, Balthus arm wrestled with a four armed freak, wrestled with a wrestling bird, and sparred with a seemingly perpetually angry monkey… although I think after that, said monkey was calmer after that. I think he's a monkey, he had a pig nose."
"And you?"
"Constance made friends with the cuter creatures, Hapi did a singing competition with a Jigglypuff and… I sparred against a… I believe it was called a Bisharp. Next thing we know, Hapi was screaming that she got her face drawn on."
Does every Jigglypuff have a marker? Toadbert wondered.
"Let's see, where else did we explore… ah yes, Popstar. Quite a happy go lucky world if I say so myself. Unfortunately, there was this incident when a purple heart came out of nowhere and infected Constance. We had to knock her to her senses… and by we, I mean Balthus who German Suplexed her hard enough to knock her out. Didn't even give me or Hapi the chance to do anything. Next thing we know, a ship crash lands into the world and then another ship takes off to hyperspace. At that moment, we decided to go explore a different world."
"Sounds crazy."
"Indeed. As we were exploring, I believe we were in Midgar when that Phazon crisis happened. When that blue gunk came, I made it a priority to get my fellow Ashen Wolves to safety. I was caught in that blue gunk while those three took shelter. I fought off that corruption the best I could… I blacked out by the time I was cured. I woke up in Constance's arms."
"Oh Yuri, I'm so glad you're alright! You're not hurt, are you? You didn't die, right?"
"I felt like I did, but I'm very much alive…"
"Just don't do that again, okay!"
Yuri chuckled. "Soon, we decided to explore the Mushroom Kingdom and Remnant. By the time we got to Toad Town, that's when we saw dark energy shooting out of the castle and causing the Red Sky incident. We decided to investigate, and lo and behold, we came up with a plan on the fly to disrupt Medusa's attack on our fair princess."
"Wow! Sounds pretty intense."
"Indeed." Yuri nodded. "I never would have imagined we'd be the princess's royal guard… but, I am not regretting it one bit. It is truly an honor."
Meanwhile, with Constance…
Constance smiled, smelling the fragrant aroma from the Comfey's flowers in a gazebo. "Ah, wonderful." She smiled, drinking some tea.
"Hey Coco!" Hapi called out.
"Hmm? Oh hello Hapi~! Hello your majesty!" Constance smiled. "What can I do for you on this wonderful day!"
"You mind stepping out for a second? Toadstool wants to see something real quick."
"Oh certainly!" Constance walked out of the gazebo, where the sunlight hit her, as her bright chipper smile disappeared and was replaced by a frown, and a light shadow was cast over her eyes.
"Oh…!" Peach said in surprise.
"Is there something you desire…"
"Goodness…" Peach put her hand over her mouth.
"Mind if I borrow your umbrella?"
"Sure." Peach gave Hapi her umbrella as she walked over and stood side by side to Constance, where she opened it up and put it above Constance's head.
"Because you want something desirable, I'm your woman! OHOHOHOHOHO-" Hapi removed the umbrella. "Ooooh… now I'm sad for unknown reasons…"
Hapi hovered the umbrella over again. "HAPPY AS A FOX!" She removed it again. "Everything is miserable…"
Once more.
"WAHOO! Who wants to go to the beach!"
Hapi removed it again.
"My dear sweet Hapi, why must you torture me so…"
"See what I mean?"
"Goodness, her depression is reminding me of this cartoon I used to watch as a little girl."
"Oh?" Hapi wondered.
"Yes. There was this group of stuffed animals that came to life in their own world. There was this donkey who was constantly depressed and tends to speak in a tone similar to Constance over here. However, his friends always made him feel appreciated and always invited him to things."
"Was he in a war?"
"Nope."
"Just perpetual depression… ouch… glad his friends were always keeping him company."
"Yup." Peach nodded as she walked over and gave Constance a hug.
"Your hugs… they are so warm and gentle like a warm comforting bed. I deeply appreciate it, my dear sweet princess."
"You poor thing…" Peach rubbed her back as Hapi gave Peach back her umbrella once the princess parted the hug.
"Do not fret about this, princess… it is what it is, I am afraid…"
"AIYEEEEEEEE!" A voice cried out as everyone turned to see Toadette running in a panic.
"Toadette? What's wrong?" Peach asked.
"There's a huge monster in the gardens!"
"Well, don't look at me, I didn't sigh recently." Hapi said as they all took off toward the Gardens, where Yuri and Balthus were currently at.
"Stay back!" Yuri warned. "This could be trouble…"
End BGM
"What's wrong?" Peach asked.
"Apparently this monster decided to come crash in the gardens." Toadbert said, pointing toward said monster who was wandering around.
"Oh! An Espinas!" Peach exclaimed as she walked over toward it. "I've heard about these things."
"Princess, I'd be careful!" Yuri warned as the Ashen Wolves immediately went by her side, weapons and magic at the ready.
"It's said that these creatures are rather gentle and docile, unless you wake it up or you are hunting it." Peach said. "They have poisonous spikes and their fireballs can burn, paralyze or poison you."
"All the more reason to be careful." Yuri said.
"If it gets rowdy, I'm ready to wrestle it." Balthus said.
"Excuse me!" Peach said rather calmly, as the Espinas turned to her. "Are you rather tired from flying around? You're welcome to stay at the castle." She smiled as she calmly approached the Espinas.
The Espinas stared at her, but then looked at the Ashen Wolves with their weapons drawn. "Don't pay attention to them." She said gently. "Eyes on me."
The Espinas let out a small growl as Peach gently put her hand on it. Yuri held his breath as they awaited for the Espinas to respond with aggression. But instead, the Espinas leaned into her and nuzzled against her. "That's a good boy…" She smiled, patting him on the head.
"Phew…" Yuri sighed with relief as the others looked rather relieved.
"There's no need to be afraid. This Espinas is a friendly one." Peach smiled as the Ashen Wolves, minus Yuri, dismissed their weapons.
"I… don't think this is a good idea…" Yuri said, hesitantly sheathing his sword. "But I trust your judgment, your highness."
Unaware by all, Kamek watched this from afar. "Oh dear…" He mused and teleported away.
Pause BGM
At Bowser's Castle…
"Your rashness!"
"Hmm? Kamek, what seems to be all the fuss?"
"We got terrible news. Peach seemingly has a new guard dog for her castle!"
"Another Chomp? At this rate, she's going to have more Chomps than I do! How many Chain Chomps does one need to guard the gardens?"
"You're one to talk…" Kamek mumbled. "But no, it's worse. She has an Espinas in her castle."
"An Espi what now?"
"It's a flying Wyvern. The Espinas has poisonous spikes and their fireballs are known to burn, paralyze or poison you."
"Oh, is that right? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"What's so funny?"'
"So Peach has a poison dragon at her disposal! Big whoop! Like that's going to stop me! If anything, it's just a measly little obstacle!"
"But sire-"
"It's gonna make kidnappings a lot more fun." He said, cracking his knuckles with a hyped up smirk on his face.
"Oh, who am I kidding… an Espinas will mean nothing to you."
"Exactly!"
End BGM
Later, at Peach's Castle…
Resume BGM
"Alright… here goes nothing." Hapi said, taking a deep breath and let out a sigh.
Immediately, a giant wolf appeared from a dark void and snarled at Hapi. She calmly folded her arms as the giant wolf charged at Hapi with a howl.
However, as she calmly stood there, the giant wolf screeched to a halt and stared at Hapi. "Sit." She ordered as the giant wolf sat down. "Roll over." She commanded as the wolf rolled around.
Hapi smiled and walked over, gently scratching it behind the ears. "Who's a good deadly menace to our enemies? You are! You are!"
"Wow, that was impressive." Balthus said.
"I told her if she were to be calm, then maybe it won't be so hostile." Peach explained and then giggled.
"Who's an impressive fuzzball of death~!" Hapi smiled as the giant wolf licked her face. "Blegh!" She groaned, as the wolf howled.
"Amazing… I wonder if she could do the same for those giant worms…" Constance mused.
"Hey, Constance!" Yuri walked over to her. "I went by the store earlier, and found something that might help you."
"Help me with what, Yuri?"
Yuri pulled out a sun hat. "This."
"A hat? For what reason will a hat-" Yuri put the sun hat on her. "-DO ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL THINGS! OHOHOHOHOHO!" She let out a cheerful noble laugh.
"I was thinking of doing the same thing with her." Peach giggled.
"Haaaa, tell me, do I look stylish in this or what~?" Constance grinned. "Oh! That reminds me! Since we are of the royal guard, we might as well look the part, no?"
"...I'd rather not wear anything pink." Yuri said.
"I'd probably rock it." Balthus said.
"I think one of the clothing stores in Coconut Mall has a royalty department where you can shop for royal clothing." Peach said.
"...Uh oh, I don't like that look in your eyes." Yuri said as Constance's eyes sparkled.
"Come on, Ashen Wolves! WE ARE GOING SHOPPING TO COCONUT MALL!" She cheered, grabbing Yuri's arm and taking off.
"Waaah! Wait! I don't do shopping! Constance, are you listening to me?! CONSTANCE!"
Balthus laughed. "Sure, I could go for a more regal look."
"Ah… why not." Hapi shrugged.
"COME ON, SLOWPOKES!"
"We're coming!" Hapi chuckled. "We'll be right back, Toadstool."
"Okay!" Peach smiled as the Ashen Wolves headed off for Coconut Mall.
Ibuki: Wonder what those four will look like?
Who knows, but shout out to Jacob for that Espinas idea.