Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Thirty Minutes After Chiaki Woke Up (And Bowser Being Put In…)
Nyx walked out of the hospital with Xena. "So let me get this straight. The three of you went to Splatsville and got Umber a Heartbinder and he gets this guy who's practically… invisibly punching Bowser?"
"He says he can see somebody with Jotaro, but we dunno who that is." Xena explained. "Of course, maybe if we use our powers to see what the hell he's talking about…"
"Mmm…" Nyx folded her arms. "On the one hand, this is pretty much deserved for what he did with Peach's Castle, even if he wasn't himself with that belt. On the other hand, I feel bad for the guy."
"Yeah, and now he's being taken care of by Mikan." Xena snickered. "Man, I can imagine the big guy being embarrassed by this."
Nyx giggled. "Yeah… and hey, he's got Kyoko in there so at least he has someone playfully teasing him."
"Yup." Xena snickered as Nyx's scroll vibrated in her pocket as she pulled it out of curiosity.
"Hey, you wanna head to some sort of beach to hang out for a while? - Anthony."
Nyx smiled and texted back. "Sure, I'll round up the girls."
"What's up?" Xena asked.
"Anthony asked us if we wanted to go to some sort of beach and hang out for a while."
Xena raised an eyebrow. "Some sort?" She chuckled. "That narrows it down to… a lot."
Nyx laughed. "Yeah. I'm sure they'll get it figured out."
She then texted the other girls.
"MAJC wants to hang out in some kind of beach. Wanna go?"
"Oh sure, I'm free. We just got back to the house and Rantaro's taking a nap." - Iris
"I'll come. Futaba wants to stick around by Chiaki's side a bit longer." - Jade
"Okay, everyone's coming. Well, minus Futaba and Rantaro." Nyx turned to Xena. "You two wanna-"
"Umber's in the middle of talking to Jotaro along with Strange and we believe he's gonna stick around and apologize to Bowser for beating him up like that."
"Hey, he didn't know." Nyx said.
"Yeah, but he feels pretty bad about it."
"Fair." Nyx nodded as an idea came to her head and proceeded to text Anthony.
"How about Sparkling Waters? Seems like a much better area than say… Plack Beach."
"I have no idea what the hell Sparkling Waters is, but sure. You gonna lead the way?"
"Yeah, I've been there a few times."
"Excellent."
"Figured a place out?" Xena asked.
"Sparkling Waters."
"Ooooh, we've been there once. It was a whole lot nicer than Cheep Cheep Lagoon."
"Not a fan of the area?"
"Well, it's a lot… smaller."
"Yeah, fair." Nyx nodded. "Alright, let me grab Yoshi and we'll head on out."
"Alright!" Xena nodded as Nyx walked off, then she telepathically called to Jade and Iris. "How's Sparkling Waters sound?"
"Ooooh! I'm down! I heard there's a shipwreck infested with Boos over there and I've always wanted to take a peek!" Jade said excitedly, causing Xena to snicker.
"I've always wanted to see what that place was like. Sure." Iris said.
Xena smiled. "That's that then."
"Why am I not surprised that Jade wants to check out a ghost infected shipwreck?" Yagami asked in amusement.
Xena giggled. "You gotta love that dork."
Later…
"There you guys are." Anthony said as they met up.
"Hey." Nyx greeted and then noticed some other individuals. "Um, who's the plus three?"
"This is our mother, Cordelia." Chloe said.
"A pleasure to meet you." Cordelia smiled.
"And these two are from Splatsville, Ikura and Ribbon Tail." Camrin added.
"Hey…"
"Sup!" Ribbon smiled, where Cari burst out of Ribbon's backpack. "Oh! And this here's my bro, Cari Bean!"
"It's a long story." Cordelia said. "So. You must be Team JINXY. Though I only see four of you. Is the fifth one-"
Yagami came out of Xena. "Sup?"
Cordelia blinked, making sure she wasn't seeing things while Ribbon rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't going crazy while Ikura pinched herself.
"Ow! Okay, not dreaming…"
"Huh… okay, now I'm really intrigued." Cordelia mused.
"We'll tell ya on the way. Let's head out to Sparkling Waters!" Nyx smiled.
Later, at Sparkling Waters…
BGM: Sparkling Waters Overworld (New Super Mario Bros U)
"I mean, it's not like we can't swim… we just don't have the buoyancy in us and we just sink to the bottom." Ikura said. "Kelp, even floaties won't do us any good."
"Sooo, why do you guys have a resort?" Xena asked. "...Better yet, why even fight in the pool at all?"
"I see it as for the thrill of it." Ribbon said. "Hanging on the edge of the pool while splatting people left and right? Sounds like my idea of a good time."
"Same can be said with Salmon Run… sigh…" Ikura sighed.
"Alright, we're here!" Nyx said. "This looks like the perfect spot."
"Aw sweet! All that bubbling water!" Mona immediately stripped down and showed off her bikini she was in as she immediately took a running start and dove into the water. "Cannonbaaaaaall~!" She called out.
"Oh Mona…" Jen chuckled as MAJC went into their own bikinis/bathing suits while Xena simply snapped her fingers as JINXY's clothing was switched for bikinis.
"Cheater." Anthony teased.
"What? Not our fault you don't have a psychic in your team." Nyx teased back, causing Anthony to laugh.
"Fair enough." He said with amusement.
Zoey, meanwhile, pulled out a portable barbecue grill and smiled. "Might as well get things cooking."
Jade immediately swam through the ocean, searching for the sunken ship, eagerly looking around as some Cheep Cheeps swam by while some Urchins curiously looked at her. She went up for air and then went back down, only she came into contact with a Dragoneel. Oh geez! She thought in surprise as the Dragoneel curiously looked at her along with some Bloopers.
The Dragoneel then swam down, only to come back up and made Jade latch onto his back and took her back to the shore. Aw come on! I swear I was close! Jade thought as Nyx noticed this while throwing a frisbee to her Yoshi.
"I see you've met a playful Dragoneel."
Jade pouted. "I swear I was close to it…"
"I doubt you were close at all." Nyx teased, catching the frisbee that had Yoshi drool on it. "Atta boy!" She smiled and threw it back.
Cordelia swam in the water with Camrin and Mona, all three of them curiously looking at some Urchins floating about, along with a school of Cheep Cheeps swimming by. Goodness, these fish are quite… round for their size. Not to mention very expressive. Cordelia thought with a chuckle.
Mona swam further, only to be met with a water geyser that pushed her out of the water. "Waaaaah!" She yelped. "What the hell is this?!"
Camrin and Cordelia swam back up and saw what was going on, causing the two to laugh. "Okay, that's pretty funny." Cordelia said.
"How's the view up there!" Camrin called up.
"Disorienting!"
Nearby, Iris watched what was going on and chuckled, shaking her head as she walked around and noticed Xena playing catch with a Huckit Crab. "What the…?"
"Alright, go long!" Xena threw the rock as the Huckit Crab scurried along the beach to try and grab the rock, missing it by just a few inches. "Oooh, so close."
"I never thought I'd see someone play catch with a crab."
"Eh, thought it'd be fun!" Xena said nonchalantly.
On the water, Ribbon and Ikura both had inflatable tubes out and were enjoying themselves as Cari swam about. "It's not fair that he gets to swim and we can't." Ikura mumbled.
"Oh, it's in his blood." Ribbon giggled as a Blooper breached out and landed into Ikura's lap.
"O-oh!" Ikura yelped as she looked at the Blooper in curiosity. "Are you a special kind of Inkling or Octoling? How did you get out of the water? Tell me your secrets, I have to know!"
The Blooper sweatdropped before deciding to spray ink on her face.
"Ack!" Ikura yelped as the Blooper jumped back in. "...Definitely an Inkling with black ink."
"And a white body? Definitely a special kind of squid kid." Ribbon said as Ikura reached into the water and splashed her face to wipe the ink off, while nearby, Anthony rubbed Jen's back while Chloe spent her time catching a tan.
A few minutes later…
"Hmhmhmhm~" Zoey hummed as she flipped a few patties on the grill while everyone else was close by and either sunbathing or sitting near the water and letting the gentle waves hit them, while Jen tried to coax Anthony into the sun as he was in the shade.
"Aaaah…" Nyx leaned back on her chair, her eyes closed with her Yoshi curled up next to her. "Perfect day to just relax…"
"You said it." Xena agreed, then noticed Jade was working on a tan. "Hey look, egghead's working on a tan."
Nyx chuckled. "Looks like she took our advice."
"It's about time, honestly. She had some color return to her but… hell, I'm glad she's finally giving a damn about her skin." Iris chuckled.
Jade chuckled. "Oh ha ha. You know I get out of the lab and enjoy the sun for ten minutes every now and then."
"Aaaand you're back into the grind inventing things." Xena teased, causing Jade to giggle.
"What can I say? I'm a scientist. It's in my blood."
"Hey, are the burgers done, Zoey? I'm famished…" Chloe said, as she was sitting by the grill.
"Oh, just about." Zoey responded. "Only natural a big group requires a longer time to get everyone's food ready. What if you all decided to fight over the first burger?"
"...Good point. That'd do more harm than good."
Nearby, Jen tried to pull Anthony out into the shade. "Come… on… you stubborn… doofus! Hnnngh!"
"You're not getting me out of this shade."
"I know you like to stay cool but enjoy the sun every once in a… while…! Gah!" Jen panted. "Alright, you give me no choice." She proceeded to activate her Four Seasons powers and tried to blow him out of the shade. She instead blew away a few unfortunate Huckit Crabs that were nearby while Anthony fanned himself.
"Ah, nice breeze you're creating. I'd like more of that."
Jen slumped. "Babe, you're killin' me here!"
"I don't blame you." Nyx said, ignoring what was going on between Anthony and Jen. "From what RWBY told me, her team and JNPR wrecked the whole cafeteria in that food fight they did. Although it sounded more like a food war."
Cordelia blinked, immediately picturing what that was like. "Goodness me…"
"Wow, the food fights in this world must be epic!" Ribbon grinned.
Ikura sweatdropped. "I'd rather not be in the crossfire of that…"
"I'm more worried about you wrecking each other, Miss Nyx." Zoey informed. "And me having to break it up."
"That… is a good point."
"Yeah, honestly… we'd probably just hold everyone up in place telekinetically and we'd get the first burger." Xena said.
"Wouldn't be that hard either~!"
"Not to mention Miss Iris is right there- aaaaaand she's breathing down my neck, isn't she?"
"Iris. Down girl." Nyx said.
Iris blushed, backing away from her and whistled innocently. "Breathing down what neck?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Nice try."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Food's ready!" Zoey called out.
"Alriiiight! Time to dig in!" Nyx smiled happily as she got up and went to the table as everyone went to eat.
"See? I told you you'd come out of the shade eventually. Isn't this-" Jen noticed a blinking outline of both a chair and Anthony as she turned to see Anthony sitting in the shade on the chair while eating a burger. He casually waved while he was at it. "OH COME ON!"
"Oh, just let him enjoy it. He's fine." Nyx said, causing Jen to sulk.
"Mmm, delicious~!" Jade giggled.
"Yup!" Nyx nodded, when at that moment, she stopped eating and moved her eyes suspiciously.
"What's up?" Xena asked.
"Something just entered into my semblance's radius. Someone I don't even know. …And no, it's not any of the wildlife."
Cari let out a Smallfry cry as Ribbon looked up and saw a man approach them. "Oh, heads up."
"Hey ladies! I was walking around the beach when I saw your group and-"
"Sorry, we're taken." Xena said.
"I'm dating a cute computer nerd." Jade said.
"I'm… not interested." Iris mumbled.
"Sorry, dude. I'm taken." Mona smiled with a "Touch me, and Camrin won't be the one who'll break you" look on her face.
Anthony noticed Jen reaching for her holster. "Easy girl…"
"I'm already married." Cordelia said.
"Not interested." Ikura said.
"Not my type." Ribbon added.
"Personally, I'm way out of your league." Zoey said.
"Relax." The man chuckled. "I've already laid eyes on a gorgeously cute babe."
"And that would be?" Nyx raised an eyebrow.
"I'm talking about you, cutie."
…Oh boy. Iris thought.
Nyx blinked, tilting her head. "I'm… sorry?" She asked in confusion.
"What's going on over there?" Chloe wondered, as she had joined Anthony.
"Nothing to worry about, Mistress Chloe." Zoey said.
"I think I know what's going on here." Anthony said, rolling his eye.
"This is a private gathering. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." Nyx said.
"Aw, can't you enjoy my company, cutie pie?"
BRO! Xena thought.
"If he keeps this up, so help me…"
Nyx glared. "I don't know why you're insisting that I'm cute, but I think we made our point clear."
The man frowned. "Geez, you're a hard to get bitch, ain't ya?" He then smirked. "That even makes you even cuter."
Okay, that's it. Xena thought as she telepathically talked to Jade. "You and Futaba both share Spooks, right?"
"Of course! He listens to the both of us, why? …Oooooh!"
"Let 'er rip~"
Jade pulled out a Dusk Ball and threw it up in the air, calling out Spooks. "Sic 'im."
Spooks snarled at the man, causing him to flinch. "What kind of dog is…?!"
"Houndstoooooooooooooooone!"
The man quickly took off running screaming as Spooks chased after him.
CHOMP!
"YAAAAAAAAGH!"
Spooks came back prancing with a piece of pant cloth in his mouth, proceeding to sit next to Jade. "Good boy." Jade smiled, stroking his back.
Nyx sighed. "Good riddance… sorry guys, I have no idea what was up with that bozo."
"Uuuuh… what just happened?" Camrin wondered.
"I'm… trying to wrap my head around that." Ikura said.
"I think I have an idea." Anthony approached them.
Oh, so NOW you get out of the shade! Jen thought in annoyance.
"You do?" Nyx wondered.
"I know exactly what he wanted out of you. A date."
Nyx's eyes widened. "What?! Why didn't he just say so? I mean, I would have said no but…" There was complete confusion on her face, clearly indicating that she's clueless about romance.
…Oh boy. Iris thought.
Anthony nodded. "Yup. Just as I thought…"
"Thought what?"
"You never gave time to a love life growing up, I presume."
Nyx rubbed the back of her head. "Not really, no… I mean, I've spent years focused on getting revenge on the Wario Bros that… I never figured myself out."
"It makes sense." Jade chimed in. "It was about a few months ago that after I had a chat with her, she said she'd be open to anyone. As far as I know, nothing else happened aside from the fact she came out as Bi."
"Would we really call that "coming out" if she just figured that out, though?" Xena wondered.
"Uh… maybe…?" Iris shrugged.
"She figured out she's bi?" Ribbon whispered to Ikura.
"Humans are built differently, I guess." Ikura shrugged.
"I'm not really the type of guy to go for dating advice. I think you've already got all you need right here is your teammates, right?"
Nyx looked around at her teammates and smiled. "Yeah, I do. Thanks Anthony."
"Happy to do it." Anthony turned around and walked off. "Jen, by the way, just because a random girl starts talking to me that's not team JINXY doesn't mean you can just point your guns at 'em."
Jen sweatdropped. "One time…" She mumbled.
End BGM
Earlier, at that "one time"...
"Eeeeeek!" A girl screamed as she ran away with bullets flying and purposely missing.
"That's what you get for flirting with my man, bitch!"
"Uuuuh, she was just asking for directions." Anthony pointed out.
"I know her type. She had that "flirty look"."
"She wasn't flirty!"
Mona whispered to Camrin. "Paranoid~!"
"More like itchy trigger finger… para…noia…? No no, you're right."
Back in the present…
"She was asking for it." Jen mumbled, causing Anthony to sigh with an amused chuckle.
BGM: Have a Nice Talk (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)
"Soooo… uh… a little help here?" Nyx requested.
"Alright! What ya need?" Xena asked.
"Iris, you're a part of this too. I know you and Rantaro are secretly dating." Jade said.
"What?! No! We're just really good friends who like to hang out together!"
So far… Xena thought.
"So… um…" Nyx awkwardly rubbed her arm. "Am I… really that gorgeous?"
"Are you kidding?"
Yagami came out of Xena. "Girl, have you looked into a mirror lately because… you're straight up gorgeous!"
"And cute!" Xena added.
"I concur." Jade nodded.
"If you weren't cute, that guy probably wouldn't have even bothered." Iris said.
"I… I never noticed." Nyx looked down at her bikini. "...Am I seriously that attractive though?"
"You got the curves. Of course you are." Xena said.
"I never considered it at all." Nyx groaned. "I'm a mess, aren't I?"
"You never had time for yourself… which honestly, I'm surprised you didn't look into it after that whole thing with the Wario Bros." Iris said.
"I mean… we had a lot of things happen after that. The whole X-Parasite thing with Blake, Eggman's broadcast, the Phazon War, the whole thing with the Director and thanks to Jade, I finally figured out I'm bisexual, then there was the whole Dark Ruby thing, and then the Devil trying to steal Ruby's soul… and then the New World with Fecto and him taking the twins away from us, and me getting Ruby out of her depression funk-"
"And then Dimentio kicking Chiaki's ass… I'm glad she's doing okay now, but… yikes." Xena grimaced.
"Exactly! I've never had time for myself… I was more focused on being there for others. And even if I did have time for myself, where would I start?"
"I mean… you read bedtime stories to your Yoshi, so that counts for something, right?" Yagami pointed out.
"...Maybe…? I dunno…"
"Perhaps maybe read a few romantic novels to get an idea of what romance is like." Iris suggested.
"Are you kidding? Those things are cheesy as hell. And don't get me started on Thirty Shades of Pink." Nyx shuddered.
Iris grimaced. "Yeeeah, fair enough. Oh, but maybe some romantic TV shows-"
"Those are cheesier than the books. And those soap operas? Forget about it!" Jade said.
Iris sweatdropped. "...Romantic advice columns?"
"I've heard those don't work out well at all." Yagami said.
Nyx sighed. "I'm doomed."
"No, you're not doomed. We'll figure all this stuff out in no time. We'll make sure you'll have plenty of "me" time." Xena said.
"Yeah! We'll help ya figure yourself out! I mean, hey, a few months ago was a good start, now we just gotta push you along." Jade said. "...At a comfortable pace, that is."
"What they said." Iris nodded.
Nyx smiled. "Thanks girls. You're like the best siblings I never had."
"Hey, it's what we do!" Yagami grinned as they all hugged her.
Back with MAJC…
"So, what's up?" Camrin asked.
"Oh, y'know, Nyx doesn't know what romance is, but her past vengeance quest made her not really consider it. It was low on the priority list." Anthony informed.
"Like, basement level?" Chloe asked.
"Eeyup."
At that moment, something dawned for Chloe. Oh… come to think of it, I haven't had much experience with romance either… I'm been preoccupied on making sure these guys are well taken care of. She thought to herself. "Hey mom? Zoey? Can I speak with you two for a moment… privately?"
"Oh, sure honey." Cordelia said as Chloe walked off with Cordelia and Zoey behind her.
"Something wrong, Mistress Chloe?"
"Weeeell, um… do you guys have any advice on… finding a boyfriend?" She asked with an embarrassed blush.
"Where did this come from?" Cordelia asked, sounding the more surprised out of the two.
"Well... I... realized that I'm kinda in the same boat as Nyx. I prioritized making sure my team is safe and well taken care of. I... never had time for myself and figured out romance for myself, ya know?"
"Ahhhhh… yes, that is the Chloe I know and raised," The inventor mused. "I'm not really sure what to tell you myself. Your father and I met by chance and we've been together ever since. And your brother met Mona by chance and became inseparable. In our cases, our romantic relationships happened naturally. We didn't really have to do much of anything to 'score', as kids would say."
Chloe slumped. "Oh… okay. How about you, Zoey?"
"Well… let's just say I've had plenty of men try and hook up with me," Zoey responded. "If you're wondering how that went..."
End BGM
BGM: Argue For and Against (Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody)
Zoey was at the firing range, shooting at a few targets as a man approached her. "Hey good looking, how about you and I go out and have a few drinks? Then we can head over to the hotel and-"
Zoey turned to look at the man, and with a smile, she aimed her gun at the target without even looking and pulled the trigger, nailing said target between the legs.
The man sweatdropped. "Noted…" He power walked away while nervously sweating.
Zoey threw several punches into a heavy bag, keeping up her rhythm without slowing down.
At that moment, a woman came by and brushed against her. "Hey, you want to get out of here together? Just the two of us?"
"Would you hold this bag for me?"
"Oh, sure." The woman nodded as she held the bag… and then Zoey proceeded to go just a wee bit harder on said bag. "Ooof! Oomph! Agh! YAAAGH!" She was knocked on her butt shortly after.
"You have to still be standing when you hold the bag, otherwise you already know my answer."
"Hmmhmhmhmm~" Zoey hummed as she was cleaning.
"Hey. How's about you clean my pockets while you're at it?" A man asked.
"I don't date those who are way too forward."
"Oh… okay." The man walked downstairs… when suddenly a flower pot filled with chrysanthemums landed on his head. "OOOF!"
End BGM
"And those were just the ones that I remember vividly." Zoey smiled nonchalantly.
Chloe sweatdropped. "I… see…"
Cordelia, meanwhile, laughed. "And that's why I hired you."
"Indeed." Zoey nodded.
"Soooo, uh... just be myself and wait for the right person or...?"
"It'll happen naturally, Chloe," Cordelia responded. "If your brother and I were able to find our soulmates while out and about living the adventurer's life, you'll be able to do the same too. You've got a lot of great things guys would be falling over themselves for. Count on it."
Chloe smiled. "Thanks, mom." She gave her a hug right after.
"Anytime, Chloe." Cordelia rubbed her daughter's head with a smile.
Meanwhile, with the Squid Girls…
"Sooo, um… do you, by chance, have anyone?" Ikura asked.
"Well, it's hard to be friends with anyone given my personality. It doesn't help that I say "Hi, I used to work for Octavio!" and they're like "Oh squid no, I can't hang around someone like that!" and they leave immediately after. Either that or I introduce them to my little bro and they have a panic attack over a Salmonid."
"Rude…"
"Tell me about it! I don't even have that many friends because of that. Well, at least there's the Squidbeak Splatoon."
"Yeah… and I'll be honest, your quirky personality is what I like about you."
"Oh, thanks, Ikur-" Ribbon paused, blushing. "W-wait a moment…! Are you-"
"I mean, I'm open to the idea."
Ribbon's face turned even redder. "O-oh… uh… Oh my… um… v-veemo…" She stammered.
Ikura giggled. "I used to be married to my job, but thanks to Grizz… I'm… not sure what I truly belong with. But you… you've always comforted me when we met and after we… ya know, had that spat? Thank you, Ribbon… it means a lot to me."
"You're… welcome." Oh cod, is it getting way hotter here or is it just me?!
Back with Nyx…
"Mmm…" Nyx mumbled.
"What is it?" Iris asked.
"I can't help but wonder if something stupid is happening with Ruby right now."
"Oh, don't worry about it. We'll find that out later. Besides, it's Ruby and she's got tons of friends with her at the moment." Xena said. "She'll be fine. I'm sure it's not anything that dumb."
"Good point." Nyx nodded as she proceeded to lay on her beach chair and worked on her tan.
I know what you're probably thinking, and I get it. But I promised Cody and Flash (This was a collab between those two, by the way) that this would be the next Gaiden while I was working on that Ruby Having a Keyblade What If. But don't worry! The Gaiden involving Samus and Rosie will be the next one!
Ibuki: Good on Nyx-chan to have time for herself!
Deadpool: "I'm sure it's not anything that dumb", riiiiiiiiiiiight...