Chapter 32: A Wizard's Legacy.

Weiss had to give Pokey even the slightest bit of credit, despite his rather disgusting appearance as a rotting child with pale bluish green skin, and gray hair, the skinny makeup used to disguise him almost gave her the impression of an actual businessman she'd seen in various business meetings Jacques used to hold in the manor.

Granted, that was the only credit she could really be giving him as she and Erick sat in Jacques' private office with the…thing…peering over them at the desk Jacques used. There was a strange, eerily cold feeling in the room as Pokey looked between them.

Or so she thought…she couldn't really see the boy's eyes as they were covered by his gray hair. But you could just make out the faintness of wrinkles below.

"I'll admit, I'm a bit surprised." Pokey said, after a moment, kicking back Jacques' chair and planting his feet on the floor as he began walking around the office. Leaving the two of them to just quietly watch him carefully as he observed the office. After a moment, he simply paused in front of Erick.

"Even though we created you and your friends to be these…unstoppable weapons of mass destruction. We never expected your darkside to seek out a lover of their own. Given that you didn't inherit Master Giygas' powers from the soul transfer, there was never a reason."

"Don't sugarcoat us please." Erick replied grumpily. "She already knows about your intentions with her if your plan actually works."

Weiss watched as Pokey just snickered. "I figured as much, lying hasn't exactly ever worked out for you all…has it? Even in spite of all those setbacks that ruined Mrs. Schnee's life here, just know that Salem couldn't be more proud of you."

Chancing a glance at her husband, she was surprised to see Erick looked rather unamused. Given how the last time she'd been face to face with him, he was a lot more of an aggressive irritator, she guessed Pokey had very little that would be threatening to them.

"Why would Salem be proud to have me roped into your little cult here." Weiss asked, giving Pokey a similarly irritated tone. "If you need money, influence, and most assuredly dust, you most certainly won't be getting it. Once Jacques finds out that Erick can't give him a true Schnee heir, we'll both be disowned. Which means the cycle will either go back to Winter, or, if I know him well enough, to some side kid he has with another woman. Affairs aren't usually tolerated, but I'm sure he'll figure it out."

Pokey's snickering turned more into a sinister chuckle, before he started hacking like he was having an asthma attack.

"S-Sorry…just what you said was too funny for me." He choked. "Salem couldn't care less about the fact you're a Schnee, your family has basically been in her pocket for centuries."

Weiss felt herself recoil a bit at that, which Pokey very clearly wanted given his sinister smile. Showing off more rotted teeth that gave her the idea of a spoiled brat who ate nothing but candy.

"Elaborate and speak the truth." Erick said, his tone sounded rather gritty, Weiss was reminded of his darkside just a tad. "Do you really want to start planting seeds of doubt…it'll only hurt my dark side in the long run."

Pokey gave an irritated sigh. "Obviously, when I say your family's been in Salem's pocket, I don't mean you've been directly working for her. I'm sure that, just based on me, you've gotten the impression she can't exactly wander around Remnant and make herself known."

That response didn't honestly make the idea any better.

"Salem's intentions for Remnant go back far beyond before your pathetic family started their dust monopoly, and enslaved the Faunus." Pokey continued. "If anything, from the moment the first Schnee started this company, they've been in Salem's pocket despite never knowing it. Your family almost single-handedly created a divide between Humans and Faunus. Not to mention, your monopoly was allowed to grow so big, that, hypothetically speaking, if Atlas were to be destroyed…the dust needed for survival here on Remnant could collapse society as a whole. And if it weren't for that pesky general's meddling, Salem would be on her way here now."

"So then, why exactly is Salem so proud of me to have roped Weiss into your little scheme."

"Ha." Pokey snorted. "I'm surprised that you and your genius self couldn't guess. Beacon was only the beginning of a plan that has spanned millennials of planning here on Remnant. And while Salem has been quietly planning and accumulating what she needs, others have caught on to her, and while they hide it from the public, they've also been planning."

Pokey then directed his head to Weiss. "Do you remember what Professor Ozpin said when you and your team were initiated. Only days before these freaks arrived in your world? About what he thinks about why Beacon has teams of hunters in training."

Weiss went through her memory, seeing back to that second day at Beacon, Ruby had just been made the leader of her Team with Blake and Yang, the four of them being grouped together for getting the same initiation trial item. Just like the rest of the first years.

"Though I can see that some of you may be disappointed with who your teammates are. I believe that all of you were chosen to be together for a reason. The good teams of heroes you know from fairytales were never a group of previous friends. But strangers who happened to receive a gift from a very special someone. Brought together by fate to protect Remnant very long ago. That is why we honor the tradition of having the teams be formed by chances out of your control not by human choice."

As she finished that, she noted Pokey's eerie smile, the rotting immortal psycho stood up from the comfort chair and made his way to the door.

"I doubt you ever played the video game that my story with your husband comes from." Pokey continued, "From what I've come to know about your family, it's very likely, but there's a reason why the ones of my world are called 'The Chosen 4.' and the ones we helped create were called 'The Fallen 4.' both were chosen, but only one succeeded."

"I don't quite understand how that applies to Ozpin's generic speech to all first year Huntsmen." Weiss replied.

Pokey once again gave his irritating snicker as he opened the door. "You may not, but I'm sure Erick can get what I'm saying from this. Be careful with who you choose to trust in this war Mrs. Schnee, you wouldn't want to end up like your foolish friends on that Team we killed."

Once the door closed, Weiss turned to Erick, "Does…does he mean that you and your friends do not trust Ozpin and the others?"

Erick rubbed the back of his messy black hair. "Can you really blame us with the way Ironwood and your sister have reacted?" he asked. "You heard Pokey, Salem's been planning…whatever, since before you were born. Someone has to have known she existed, especially when we keep seemingly catching problems."

He had a point…much to her dismay. It would be incredibly hypocritical of her to get angry at them for being suspicious about Ozpin when she doubted the existence of Salem mere hours ago.

"Speaking of getting suspicious…" Erick replied. "Since Pokey just revealed to us that he knows we're here…Moon might want us out of the manor and away from Atlas as soon as possible when I talk to him tonight…"

She bit down on her lip. She had completely forgotten all about the whole reason Erick even went with her, so the three of them would be separated in case Pokey and Rhea showed back up. Unfortunately, thanks to the triple kingdom pact to not allow trade, they couldn't exactly leave Atlas, and Mantle was FAR too dangerous for both of them.

"I…I'll try and see if I can pull some strings to get us to the Argus colony." Weiss replied. "I think Winter is currently stationed there…we won't be able to go to Mistral where your team is. But we can probably hang in Argus until your teammates arrive."

The clock in the office dinged, making both teens jump as they looked up at the 10 chimes.

"Been 10 hours since I officially became a Schnee…" Erick said, his face blushing a little. "I still feel bad that we didn't get to have anything…you know…fun…our wedding might as well have been a political alliance."

"Eh…don't worry about it." Weiss replied, feeling her own face blush. "Any wedding I'd have would've been just like that." She then stepped up closer to him.

"Besides, you've got the rest of your life to make it up to me."

The genius' face was now glowing like a red sun. "I…I suppose you're right…so, what did you have in mind to…celebrate? We can dance, do a movie, stargaze-"

Weiss just pressed a finger to his lips, "Just kiss me you dolt, we can do all you suggested later."

Moon simply sighed in frustration as he sat in a provided house in the city of Mistral. Since he, Sarah, Sapphire, Ruby, and Qrow had arrived.

They had already met with the Mistral headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart, who Moon could not say he blamed the Mistral council for questioning his position. Though he was, like most of Ozpin's inner circle, trained in having his mind blocked from telepathy.

That being said, the man's telepathy blocking technique wasn't nearly as strong. But even the weakest telepathy resistance was dangerous to keep prying into as he'd learned. He could try, but damaging Lionheart too much would make it obvious to Qrow.

Speaking of Qrow, since they'd arrived and gotten about zero help from Lionheart on information about how Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury slipped past him, Qrow had spent as long as possible keeping away from them. Rather annoying since he'd told them nothing about the events that transpired against Tyrian and Seiros. Each night he seemingly came home drunk…which wasn't very shocking, but it was if he knew that they wouldn't take advantage of his drunken state.

Not that they would be able to, as he had observed, Qrow was seemingly more competent when drunk than when not. Which would certainly explain just why Ozpin seemed to have so much confidence in a man like that.

However, it would seem as though he was not the only one who's patience had been tested as he felt the glowing communicator orb the council had given to him buzz.

Upon pulling it out, the orb flickered as the Smash council's video feed appeared in front of him. Before even a single one of them opened their mouths, he simply shook his head. Which was enough to set some of them off.

"I've had it with this drunken bastard." Mythra slammed one of her hands against the table. "He's gone out of his way to avoid the topic of conversation for an ungodly amount of time."

"It'd be a lot easier if we just…you know…tried to keep pestering him while he was drunk." Snake crossed his arms as he puffed smoke out of his cigar once again. When some of the Smash Brothers looked at him, the man gave them an irritable look.

"Oh don't give me that 'we're noble and better than that.' shit." He grunted. "Half of us are either mercenaries, bounty hunters, gods, or evil kings. When have we EVER cared about that."

"Snake makes a fair point." Samus replied, glancing over in the location Moon knew Palutena was situated. "Especially when it comes to an ally of Giygas, is this really something we want to be letting people very clearly trying to avoid confrontation about?"

"Given what's been written about Qrow, I have to agree with Moon that he's just as competent drunk than we'd first expect." Mewtwo tilted his head to the side. "Given that, even when basically one drink away from pass-out drunk, he was still able to fend off telepathy. I'd have to wonder if Alcohol affects his semblance that brings misfortune."

"Well, what should we do about it?" Fox asked. "We can't sit here wiggling our fingers while our only source of information keeps beckoning away from us."

"I say we handle things the war way." Bowser punched his fist together. "They need a show of strength again, to remind them who exactly they are messing with."

"Yes, an absolutely splendid idea, Bowser." Peach replied, narrowing her eyes. "Let's send you, Ridley, and Ganondorf into Remnant just to force some information out of someone who's already suspicious of us."

Ness just sighed, which Moon caught notice of. "Look, Moon," the boy said. "We've hit a roadblock, and we know based on everything that Qrow has to know about Salem, enough is enough, corner him and make him talk, just keep the recording conversation on with us."

Moon grumbled as the holographic screen closed. "What a shithole this has been."

"I honestly expected nothing less." Sapphire replied. "There's more going on here that Qrow doesn't want us knowing…he's stalling for something."

Sarah bounced Astro up on her lap a little. "So…are you going to go through with what they've asked?" She asked him, he could see a bit of nervousness in her eyes. "After all, JNPR couldn't have gotten those seeds of doubt planted in them by anyone…but if we keep being hostile to Qrow, we could risk a similar fate for other huntsmen teams."

Before Moon could answer, the three of them were interrupted by a knock, which they looked over as Ruby entered, giving them each an awkward look in her silver eyes.

"Hey!" She said, directing her eyesight at Moon. "Um…my uncle just got back, he said he wants to talk to us…just me…and you."

Moon just shrugged his shoulders as he stood up from the bed. Looking over at both Sarah, and Sapphire. "Sure, but it's a waste of your uncle's time personally. He should know anything important I'll be relaying straight back to my teammates here."

He followed the young leader to the center living area of the mistral home they were staying in. There, they found not just Qrow, but another young boy.

Moon reasoned that the boy was no older than 14, His skin was tanned and he had a faint, perpetual blush and freckles on his cheeks. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were hazel, with the main iris being forest green, and accents of burnt orange and yellow around the pupil.

The boy wore a dirty and scuffed white shirt that had laces across the chest. The sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pocket on the left tricep. Orange suspenders held up his olive pants, which were tucked into worn, brown boots. The pants were patched over the knee, and a quilted cloth hung loosely out of his left pocket. Wearing orange gloves, with green straps overlapping across the back of the hand in an X shape, and around the wrist.

However, the thing that immediately cued him in was the exact same weight age of Aura and cane he had seen as a part of Professor Ozpin's attire from the day they first arrived in Remnant. Just to ensure, he quickly just tried to faintly poke into the boy's brain, and was immediately met with static fuzz.

"Hello," the boy said, giving the two of them a rather nervous chuckle. "My name is Oscar Pine…or…as you probably better know me as-"

"Ozpin…" Moon finished. Making the boy recoil just slightly.

"But…how is that possible?" Ruby asked, giving her uncle a confused look. "We know you died at the fall of Beacon."

Moon noted Oscar seemed to blank out just slightly, as if talking to a voice that did not exist. After a moment, the boy's eyes flashed golden and his more nervous body language laxed up a little.

"Well, Miss Rose," The tone mimicked Oscar but had more of Ozpin's mannerisms as the boy now spoke. "Unlike others here on Remnant, I have a bit of a pseudo reincarnation attached to my life. I've been wandering Remnant for many, many years."

Moon's eyes narrowed. "How does your…reincarnation work?" he asked. "It looks like you share a body with your next host…much like my darkside?"

"In a sense, you can argue it's like that." Ozpin replied to him. "Unlike you and your dark side, however, I eventually merge with the soul I reincarnate into. For the time being, I simply share this body with Oscar here until the time comes when we merge. When that happens, Oscar will gain my memories, skills, and other mental attributes I have acquired from my centuries of wandering Remnant. And it was during my travels that I came across a problem."

"You see," Qrow said, looking at his niece, "That scorpion psycho who wanted to kidnap you for his mistress, he works for another person like Oz here."

"And…who is this mistress?" Moon asked.

"She goes by Salem." Ozpin replied. "To explain her mildly to you, she's the witch from the fairy tales that you were read as children."

Ruby seemed taken aback, though, that wasn't much of a surprise to Moon, he imagined this was the same reaction Weiss had when Erick tried to explain this, without the knowledge of Ozpin of course.

"Why would you not tell me about that?" Moon replied, crossing his arms. "I do recall asking you multiple times if there was someone Pokey and Seiros might be interested in teaming up with."

Qrow looked over at Oscar, who simply gave the man a firm nod.

"Salem has access to magic, you see." Qrow continued. "According to those Fairy Tales, the four seasonal powers gifted to the four young women that became the maidens were powerful enough to stop the flow of Grimm and free the places corrupted by Salem's magical influence, and up until very recently, we had assumed she was no more."

"Due to my ability to reincarnate." Ozpin continued, "I am the only one who remembers when Salem roamed the land, when the maidens defeated her, and what became of Remnant after. After a few centuries, when the memories of the maidens, Salem, and Remnant's old days had faded, I published those Fairy Tales, so, if Salem did ever return, I, and many others, could be prepared. It gave the people hope that there was still protectors out there from the Grimm."

Moon and Ruby both looked at one another.

"So…if the maidens defeated Salem once before…then we should go look for them, right?" Ruby asked.

"Well…it's not that simple." Qrow continued. "That weirdo Cinder who attacked Beacon, she stole the powers of the previous Fall Maiden from its previous host, a woman named Amber. Much like Oz here, when each maiden dies, their powers are transferred to the first young woman that crosses their minds, if the maiden remains isolated, then the transfer becomes random."

"Based on that information, we know that Salem is hunting down each of the maiden powers. Presumably she intends to create some type of 'Super Maiden' with all the seasonal powers in one that was gifted to them by the wizard of the stories." Ozpin finished for Qrow.

"So…what's so problematic about that?" Moon asked. "Four types of elemental powers aren't exactly new to me and the Smash Brothers. And, I hate to be doing this, but Pokey and Seiros wouldn't exactly seek solace and take orders from Salem if her goal was that simple. Backstabbing isn't exactly their forte."

"Well…this is where we expect you and your council will be a tad bit concerned." Ozpin replied. "Based on the records of the items you presented to us in your article about technological sharing, we have come up with a theory about why Pokey and Rhea may be acting more unusually than your previous encounters with them."

"The relics!" Ruby nearly shouted. When Moon looked over at her, the girl simply blushed.

"Miss Rose is correct," Ozpin continued, giving Moon a serious look. "Alongside the four seasonal powers gifted to the maidens, the wizard also created four special relics. The Lamp of Knowledge, The Staff of Creation, The Sword of Destruction, and the Crown of Choice. Each of the relics can only be used by their designated maiden, Spring for Knowledge, Winter for Creation, Summer for Destruction, and Fall for Choice."

"So if Salem wants Cinder to be this…super Maiden with all four…she'll be able to use all the relics at once." Moon asked. "What happens then?"

"According to the fairy tale, using all four relics at the same time will grant those in the Maiden's vicinity, their deepest desirable wish."

Now that made a lot more sense. They were assuming that they wanted the relics to get Giygas here. However, Moon had a suspicion that the three of them had just a few things they'd rather do than immediately bring back Giygas.

"Ah…I do see how that could be a problem." Moon replied. "But I assume you know where the relics and maidens are, right?"

"Mostly." Ozpin replied. "Ironwood and Theodore have the Summer and Winter maiden, and those relics are safely tucked in their vaults. The Lamp of Knowledge is also safely guarded in the vault of Mistral…unfortunately…we don't know where the Spring Maiden is."

Moon just facepalmed. "What about the Relic of Choice…the one that Cinder can currently use?"

"Let's just say…I took a few different measures for that one." Ozpin narrowed his eyes.

"Fantastic…" Moon grumbled. "So, you want us to remain in Mistral to try and locate the Spring Maiden so we can open the vault and get the Lamp."

"That's correct." Ozpin replied. "I was hoping we could recruit a bit more help, unfortunately, it seems that almost all the licensed hunters here have vanished, and from what Qrow told me, Leo wasn't as cooperative since I wasn't around."

"Well, now that you're back, we can do just that," Moon replied, crossing his arms.

"Actually, we can't." Qrow replied, taking out his flask as he took a swig from it. "Ever since we lost track of the Spring Maiden, Lionheart's leadership has seemingly been on a downward spiral. If we end up needing to go through his council, we better have prepared a solid case, we don't want the public knowing about Salem after all."

Moon and Ruby both looked at each other.

"So…we need to find the Spring Maiden?" Ruby asked. "She could be anywhere, or, she could've already been captured, or her powers are already transferred."

"That is simply a problem we must figure out." Ozpin replied, he then directed his attention to Moon. "For now, I think it's best that you relay the information I have discussed to your council and friends. I hope they understand that I kept Salem on the hush-hush as I had assumed she was already gone for good."

"I highly doubt they will be happy to hear any of this." Moon replied. "Any threat is still a threat at the end of the day. Considering Pokey and Seiros have been illegally Multiverse hopping under Giygas for many years, there is a very real possibility that they've met with her before. And that would explain why they may have tampered with your world's connection to ours."

Seeing the glance that Ozpin shared with Qrow, Moon then continued. "Not to mention, I'll have to explain the maidens and relics to them, as, while they may not be useful outside of Remnant, there is a concern that they could. In addition, despite you not thinking it was important to tell us about Salem, you still allegedly wanted to keep track of the maidens and have the relics guarded. Given that you reincarnate, I'd assume that, if you truly believed she was gone, you'd want the relics as close to you as possible in case she came back."

Despite seeing just a hint of concern from Ozpin's new body, the man replied with a calm smile, "Well, as I said, the relics can only be used by their respective maidens, and my reincarnation soul fusion takes quite some time. I'm sure at least some members of the council will understand that it's a difficult task to ensure that my next host doesn't instantly try to seek out the four maidens and get their relics to remove me…then we'd have an issue if Salem did come back. If I recall, don't you have a little trio on this council who reincarnates."

"Yeah, Link, Zelda, and Ganon." Ruby said.

"That's a bit different…" Moon replied. "That's the result of some evil god placing a curse on Link and Zelda that doomed them to an eternity of intertwined fate to face the reincarnated descendants of his hatred for the two of them at all times. Unless the same was done for you and Salem, which, by your story, sounds like it didn't, it's not the same."

"Would the council be concerned if this WAS the case?" Ozpin asked.

"Possibly," Moon replied. "It would probably depend on what your relationship with her was." he paused, yet it seemed like Ozpin had managed to gain control of Oscar's body structure. As the body reverted to that annoying neutral stance.

"Well, that should not be a problem then." Qrow replied. "You go run back to your little council and catch them all up."

"Okay…" Moon replied, before giving the new Ozpin one last look. "Are you SURE there's nothing else about Salem that could be useful to help us? The council will still find it unusual that Seiros and ESPECIALLY Pokey would ever work under someone less powerful than them and Giygas. Even if there was an opportunity to get them back. It seems more likely that they've known Salem from some point in the past. Perhaps she helped create us?"

"And what could bring you to that conclusion?" Ozpin asked, giving him a rather warm smile. "Did you not say that our world's connection with the rest of the Smash Multiverse was severed, that's why we were called, The Lost World? Seems like you're stretching to find a strawman to make the council more suspicious of whatever I tell you."

"Oh, I KNOW she had something to do with us." Moon replied. There was finally a bit of a satisfaction seeing Qrow recoil slightly. Oscar's body remained unphased. "Because that scorpion faunus referred to Sarah as "their creation." He and Seiros openly talked about their orders to ignore us and get only Ruby."

"Did you consider the possibility that Pokey and Seiros plan on using Cinder and Salem's others to simply…you know…double cross them." Qrow grumbled.

"No…Moon has a point." Ruby piped up. Making both Ozpin and Qrow look at the silver-eyed warrior. "I played their games…Pokey only ever worked under people more powerful than him, that was Giygas and Tabuu, and Seiros was always a powerful warrior who was in control of both the Kingdom of Faerghus and her Cult Church. In other timelines, she would only take orders from Byleth since he contained the power of her mother, the goddess of Fodlan."

"They would never work under Salem unless they were either acquaintances in the past, or she is more powerful than you've known her as in your reincarnated forms. Not to mention, though I told you that your world was mysteriously hidden from our records, I also did say that it's entirely possible that Pokey, Seiros, and Giygas visited here at some point in the past through less than legal methods." Moon finished. For once, he was grateful that Ruby's knowledge of game lore was coming in handy.

Ozpin seemed to bite the bottom of Oscar's lip. "If that is what you believe, then, I suppose you, and the other Smash Brothers wouldn't mind helping train Miss Rose then. If your insane theory is correct, Ruby here could prove useful to you."

Moon merely raised his eyebrow as Qrow gave Ozpin a stunned look. "Oz…what are you…"

"I'm sure you remember Miss Rose's silver eyed blast back at Beacon." Ozpin replied. "The one that saved you and Sarah from Pokey and Cinder."

As Moon nodded his head, Ozpin kicked his cane to point at Ruby. "Here in Remnant, people being born with Silver Eyes is incredibly rare. So rare, that, in my many centuries of reincarnation, I've only ever known 4."

"In ancient times, before the likes of huntsman, it is said that Silver Eyes were born onto those with the purest souls." Qrow continued. "They were the original hunters before technology progressed to where anyone could be a hunter. That was because the eyes drew power from the holder's soul, to protect them from danger."

"While the eyes are not as effective on humans. I've seen that properly trained Silver Eyed warriors can learn to control their powers in ways similar to your PSI abilities. Even if they aren't effective on Salem, or your enemies. It wouldn't hurt to have Ruby, and any other huntsman prepared to fight on similar playing fields to you."

When Moon looked in Ruby's direction, he was unsurprised to find that she looked basically childishly giddy. Not that he could really blame her, the mere thought of getting to train with the Super Smash Brothers would be enough to make anyone excited.

"I will discuss it with them." he replied. "Though they'd probably want an evaluation of Ruby and anyone else…so she'll have to meet them with me."

"That is fine." Ozpin replied. "Miss Rose, please go with Moon to discuss these arrangements."

"What about you two?"

When Ozpin glanced at Qrow, Moon noted Ruby's uncle having a rather sour look. "Qrow and I will continue to look for information on the Spring Maiden, and prepare Oscar for his merge."

Another month, another chapter, and another addition of Pokey being a little nuisance to everyone here on Remnant.

Based on several comments I had with readers discussing my story, it would seem that Pokey has proven to have captured a lot of your hearts with the way I write him, and there's a good reason why he's written the way he is in my story. While he has engaged with Moon, Sarah, and Erick quite a bit, he's never been an outright threat to them. Sure, I've made his malicious intentions very clear from the beginning to the end. But Pokey isn't a fighter, traditionally, he has others do the fighting for him.

In his appearances as a boss in both the EarthBound series and Super Smash Brothers Brawl's Subspace Emissary, Pokey is never really fought and defeated, he's only ever fought in mechs and retreats upon defeat. While he does pose a major threat in his appearances as a villain, he's also very clearly not suited for fighting, tending to regulate that to his own army or Giygas' minions.

I did receive questions from people who I assume have never played EarthBound about Pokey's design, and the comments about him being immortal. Canonically in EarthBound, Pokey has spent many years hopping between both time and space however, unlike Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo, who infused their souls into robots to go back in time and kill Giygas, Pokey went through as an organic life form, which had serious consequences.

By the time you meet him again, he tells you that he's ultimately lost track of himself. He has no reason too, apparently doing what he's done without proper safety precautions has allowed him to gain immortality at the cost of his humanity. It's why I've often had characters comment that he could pass as human with proper makeup and disguises, but he's ultimately looks like just a living child's corpse.

Obviously, I didn't have a lot really planned for Pokey, as originally Moon, Sarah, and Erick's story was supposed to end after book 2. So when it came time to expand Giygas' cult, I obviously ended up blurring a bit of what exactly Pokey looked like, settling on a hybrid of his more well-known appearance often seen in Smash Bros fan projects where he's using the Monotoli Suit with green skin and his Subspace design where he's more shriveled and corpse like.

As I've come to realize, most of my readers are new from RWBY and not as familiar with EarthBound as a Series, so I can definitely see why Pokey scratches a particular itch in this story that many of you have enjoyed.

Oh yeah, Oscar...nearly forgot more of this chapter was spent with him.

I did receive a few questions from those privately about whether Oscar would be included in this story. Ozpin's surprise reincarnation is very vital to the story of RWBY for those who aren't familiar, and unlike Salem's "Ambiguous" motivation, and backstory. Ozpin's reincarnation wasn't exactly something I could just...take out of the story.

I frankly, do not like the direction Oscar has taken in the show, which is a shame because the Oscar/Ozpin story was what initially interested me in RWBY, I remember a reader long ago asking if that was what I based the concept of Moon and Dark Moon on.

However, I couldn't exactly keep Ozpin alive post volume 3, and I didn't have another character I could sub in. I did toy with the idea of him going to Ruby like many critics have said he should have, but from what I understand, apparently Ozpin only ever canonically goes for males. And Sapphire was just purely off limits because of the story I would like to tell with Ozpin.

I have brought Oscar into the story as a result, though, unlike with how RWBY is dragging this merge subplot through the dirt refusing to answer certain questions I have about how the process works. I'll probably experiment about merging them before the Atlas arc and see if I can do something more original with this character.

Anyway, that's all for this month's chapter, if you enjoyed it, please let me know! I'll always respond to any comments!

See you all, next time!