Super Smash Bros Battle of the Universe

by Brightglow

Since the beginning of creation, the universe is teeming with life and many worlds have born as a result but these worlds are separated from one another with the inhabitants of each worlds living their everyday life blissfully unaware of the existence of worlds other than their own... Until now.

104. Thy Other Self Awaken !

Japan - Shibuya

With one of the Chaos Emeralds located in Japan, the heroes decided to go here to retrieve the Emerald before the enemy does. Taking part in this mission is Ryu, Donbe, Hikari, Jade, Peepers and Duck.

To blend in, Donbe, Hikari, and Jade wore 21st Century clothing, Donbe is wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans, Hikari is wearing a pink short sleeved shirt and red skirt, Jade is wearing a white short sleeved t shirt and blue shorts. Ryu wore a jacket he once bought with Chun Li with a black shirt underneath it, and white long pants.

"Here we are Japan, this country is located in the far easternmost of the world." Explained Ryu.

"Wow, look at this place, it's much different than when we set foot in this country to fight the Oni." Donbe is awed by how different Japan is compared to his and Hikari adventure time in past Japan.

"I know, things have changed so much since our adventure, I've heard of how far Japan has advanced, but seeing it in person now...hearing it through words isn't enough compared to seeing it yourself." Hikari shared the sentiment.

"Right, you two came from the past where Japan is ravaged by Oni." Said Ryu.

"Yeah, although looking at these scenery it doesn't look like a place where yokai likely to dwell." Remarked Donbe.

"Looking at Japan now, the previous Otohimes couldn't believe the direction our country headed to." Said Hikari.

"Previous Otohimes ? I thought you were the only one with the name Otohime since long time ago ?" Ryu looked confused.

"I'm not that old you know !" Fumed Hikari. "I'm the current Otohime, the previous ones were my mother and grandmother ! They're the ones who lived when Japan, or should I say Nippon in ancient times, where Yokai still roamed the country." Hikari cllarifying Ryu.

"Right, Japan is what foreigner refer to this country, as much as I'd like to hear history lesson, we need to get a move on, a Chaos Emerald is located somewhere around here." Ryu remind everyone if their mission.

"Can't believe how crowded this place is, not even Heliodor is this bustling." Jade looked at the huge number of people walking around the city, as the heroes take a walk around Shibuya with Jade oblivious at the number of men looking at her.

"So where are we suppose to go ?" Asked Donbe.

"Over there." Ryu pointed at the large building.

"Wow that's a large building, what's that place suppose to be ?" Asked Jade.

"Namco Theatre, it's where artists perform, last time a companions of mine were performing here." Said Ryu.

"I see, so it's like an opera hall." Remarked Jade. "This is the kind of place Sylvando would like."

"Well they do more than just singing, acting, orchestra, every kind of performing arts are on display here." Continued Ryu.

"I'd sure like to visit sometimes, maybe it could give me new ideas of entertainment in the Dragon Palace." Said Hikari.

"Our objective is actually inside the theater, of course we won't be watching any performance sadly, at least we're allowed to go inside, we will make our plans there." Suggested Ryu

Before they went inside Donbe noticed the statues outside the theater. "That's a weird looking statue."

"That's the mascot for Namco Theater." Explained Ryu.

"Hmm...hold on." Jade went closer to take a better look at the statue. "Is it just me or this statue looked familiar...hey this statue looks a lot like Pac-Man !"

"You know what Jade, you're right ! It does looks a lot like Pac-Man." Commented Ryu.

"What a strange coincidence that the statue resemble one of our friends, Pac-Man would freak if he saw this." Donbe took a picture of the statue with his golden plate.

"We should at least take a picture while we're here as well." Ryu grabbed his phone, but seeing how unused he is to tech he struggled a bit on how to use the camera app, after a few difficulties he finally took a picture of Jade, Donbe, Hikari, Peepers, and Duck standing in front of the Pac-Man lookalike statue." Well that's finally done, this makes nice studying on how to use this thing." Ryu put his phone back in his jacket pocket.

The others wanted to look at the picture, but...

"It's still makes sense, but the picture kinda blurry." Jade commented the picture Ryu took.

"Yeah, the picture i take is more clearer than this, and you're the one living in this century." Donbe compared his picture with Ryu's.

"I get that i still have a lot to learn on using this device, i'll ask Ken after we return from this mission." after that the heroes went inside the building.

Namco Theater - Green Room

"Oh man, I'm so nervous." Said Tsubasa before her performance.

"Really Tsubasa ? This is no different from the previous concerts you appeared in." Itsuki tried to calm Tsubasa down.

"Yes it does ! I mean this is not just a normal concert, I'm going to sing with...Ayaha, what if I screwed up, this would ruin her chance of a comeback !" Tsubasa starting to panic and having negative thoughts in her head.

"Tsubasa, you'll be just fine, you and Ayaha have been looking forward to this day, and now the day has come, you're starting to have doubts ?" Asked Itsuki.

"Sorry, but you know what I mean." Replied Tsubasa.

"I do, look, just don't think too hard about it, the country wants to see the Oribe sisters sing on stage, the fans have been looking forward to this day, just have fun like you usually do." Suggested Itsuki.

"Yeah, you're right, sorry for making a fuss about it, so...uh on an unrelated note, Itsuki the fact that you chose this place means...you don't believe those rumors ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"About rhe strange sounds coming from the basement floors ? No I don't, besides Namco Theater is one of the most sought out place to perform." Replied Itsuki. "Every artists will do anything to perform in this building, so i can't just changed venue over a rumor."

"Still, that's not a ghost is it ? Or a Mirage ?" Asked Tsubasa worried.

"I doubt it, and besides if it were a Mirage, they all went back to their worlds, there's no way they came back here." Answered Itsuki.

Suddenly the door opened and Ayaha entered the room.

"There you are Ayaha, okay ladies it's almost time, are you two ready ?" Asked Itsuki.

"A little nervous, but I'm ready." Answered Ayaha.

"So am I, but we will make this show a success !" Tsubasa now perked up.

"That's the spirit, now get out there, the fans are waiting for you two." And so both Tsubasa and Ayaha left the room and head to the stage while Itsuki watched from behind the curtains.

Namco Theater - Stage

After the Mirage incident Itsuki has become the CEO of Fortuna, being a teenage CEO have its shares of difficulty. Such as balancing school and job, how he's treated just a kid by the adults he have to interact with, but through determination and support from his friends Itsuki managed to prevail and started to made a name for himself, becoming a respected figure in the entertainment industry.

Tsubasa and Ayaha sing their opening song 'Feel' the same song Tsubasa sing for her debut, this time the song is modified a bit to include Ayaha's part in it. The crowd goes wild as they love the performance of the Oribe sisters.

Itsuki stand behind the stage, smiling happily that Tsubasa and Ayaha able to sing together, and their separation is nothing but a distant memory.

However, while everyone is enjoying themselves, there is something on the basement, that doesn't seem to like what's happening above.

Namco Theater - Basement

In the basement, there's a locked room at the corner of the corridor, inside the locked room there's a purple gem on the floor, and a creature seemed to stand near the purple gem.

The creature seemed to be covered in hair, it has a pink and blue coloration and on the top it resemble a witch hat, the creature is called Hattrene, a pokemon that can be found on Galar region, being able to sense intense emotion, and despise loud noises, the concert above enrages the pokemon and it attempted to stop the performance no matter what. It forced the door open using Psychic and head upwards.

Namco Theater - Stage

And so the song is finished, the audience cheered loudly, and Ayaha felt great joy now that she's finally back on stage. Itsuki felt the same way as his hard work has paid off.

Ayaha and Tsubasa hugged each other as singing with her sister feels like a dream come true.

"Ayaha, you were so amazing !" Tsubasa praised her sister.

"Thanks Tsubasa, but if im being honest, it was you who shine the most on stage, if anything I'm the one needed to catch up." Replied Ayaha as she's amazed how Tsubasa come so far.

"Really ? But..."

"No buts, you earn it, but of course I will keep on working until I reached my former glory and surpass you little sister." Ayaha gave her declaration.

"I won't back down either, so let's keep pushing each other to new heights and aiming for the top." Replied Tsubasa.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Ayaha accept Tsubasa's challenge.

As the sisters congratulate each other for their performance Hattrene interrupt by teleporting and float in front of the sisters.

Ayaha, Tsubasa, Itsuki, and the crowd looked surprised by the creature sudden appearance.

"W-what is this thing ?" Tsubasa looked scared.

Hattrene used it's psychic power to hit Ayaha, knocking her down.

"Ayaha !" Screamed security staff quickly rushed to the stage to fend off Hattrene, however the pokemon used it's psychic powers to blast them all away, knocking them unconscious.

Hattrene then swing the tentacle on its hat and about to smacked Tsubasa with it, but Itsuki run to the stage and pushed Tsubasa out of the way. Luckily Itsuki also managed to avoid the attack.

"Is that a Mirage ?" Questioned Itsuki.

"Itsuki, what should we do ? Caeda and the others are not with us anymore." Said Tsubasa.

Hattrene let out a cry and used it's power to tear the stage apart, but it deliberately avoid Itsuki, Ayaha, and Tsubasa, the audience panicked and rushed towards rhe exit.

Namco Theatre - Lobby

"Okay so according to the golden plate, the emerald should be right over..." Before Ryu can continue the door leading to the stage burst open and saw people running away.

"What's going on ?" Jade surprised by the huge number of people running from the stage.

"There's got to be something in there ! Let's go !" The heroes decided to enter the stage first, after all the audience have left.

Namco Theater - Stage

Hattrene slowly approached Itsuki and Tsubasa, but Ayaha got up, grab a mic stand and swing it at Hattrene, Hattrene use it's hair to grab the mic stand, it then move the tentacle behind it, attempting to attack Ayaha, however Tsubasa and Itsuki grabbed Hattrene's tentacle and pull it away.

Hattrene used its psychic power to push Itsuki and Tsubasa away, releasing the tentacle from Itsuki and Tsubasa's grip as it set it sights on the two teenagers.

Ryu and the others entered the stage and saw what happened. "What is that ? This is my first time seeing that creature."

"So am I, could it be a new monster from Nadiria...or something else ?" Pondered Jade.

"That thing unknown to us too, but we still have to defeat it somehow." Exclaimed Hikari.

"I'm on it !" Jade quickly rushed over to the stage as Ryu tried to stop her.

Jade stepped on the seats and jumped, delivering a dive kick on Hattrene, however the pokemon sensed her presence and used telekinesis to stop Jade midair. It then threw Jade across the room using it's telekinesis.

"Jade !" Yelled Ryu as he saw Jade slammed to a wall. "That thing stops her in mid air, could it be telekinesis ?"

"If it is, fighting it directly would be unwise." Commented Hikari.

"I could use Hadoken from here, but there's a risk I'm going to hit those kids in stage as well." Ryu saw Itsuki, Tsubasa, and Ayaha still standing near the stage.

Jade's attack has alerted Hattrene that there's more enemies for it to fight as it set it's sight on the heroes.

Hattrene teleport closer to the heroes to face them.

"Incoming !" Shouted Donbe as Hattrene begin it's attack, seeing there are multiple enemies Hattrene used Dazzling Gleam, as it emit a bright light that attack the heroes.

The heroes fell down and forced to close their eyes thanks to Dazzling Gleam bright light.

"I can't see, we're going to have to take defensive measure for now !" Hikari construct a barrier shielding the heroes from Hattrene, as they all closing their eyes for now Hikari can't tell what Hattrene is going to do next so she create a barrier rather than attacking blindly.

Hattrene used its telekinesis to pull the seats off the ground and threw it at the heroes, thankfully Hikari's barrier shield them from the incoming barrage.

"Excuse me miss, are you okay ?" Ayaha approached Jade and ask her condition.

"Yeah, I'm fine, this isn't my first time beaten up, what is that thing ?" Asked Jade.

"I...don't know, I never seen that thing before, i dint know why it attacked us either." Answered Ayaha.

"Look It's not safe here, we need to leave this place." Itsuki grabbed Ayaha's shoulder. "You should come with us too miss."

"Thank you for the offer. but i can't leave my friends at that thing's mercy." Replied Jade. "I have to save them."

"You saw what that thing can do, it's not human, it's not something we can handle." Tsubasa surrpised by Jade's answer.

"I've faced many adversaries like this one before, you three go ahead and leave, I can take care of this thing, now that I know what this thing can do, I won't make the same mistake twice." Replied Jade confidently.

"We...really should, Tsubasa there's nothing else we can do." Itsuki grabbed Tsubasa's arm and walked towards the stage.

"We can leave through the backstage." Ayaha point at the backstage.

"Well the stage floor look unstable, but then again with that creature close to the exit we can't go that way either." Said Itsuki. "Okay but watch your step, that creature did a number on this stage, it looks like it could collapse .at any moment."

As Itsuki, Tsubasa, and Ayaha about to leave, it become safe for Jade to fight back, she fired a Sexy Beam at Hattrene, as the heart shaped projectile hit the pokemon.

However what Jade did distract the trio, and barely did anything to Hattrene.

"Did she just shoot a projectile from her fingers ?" Tsubasa look surprised.

"Martial artists can do that Tsubasa, and we can talk about that later ! That thing is coming back !" Exclaimed Itsuki.

As Jade is ready for another round she used her Re-Vamp technique, her skin turned pale grey and her outfit transformed into a playboy bunny outfit. Jade charged towards Hattrene and punched the Pokémon.

Angered, Hattrene telekinetically lift the seats and throw them at Jade, however she's able to dodge them, but punched the last one as the seat return to Hattrene and hit it in the face.

Jade fire another Sexy Beam at Hattrene, but the pokemon teleport away and reappeared in a different seat row.

As Ayaha take another step, the floor she stepped on collapse and trapped her leg.

"Ayaha !" Shouted Tsubasa.

Tsubasa's scream gain Hattrene attention and it teleport back to the stage.

Jade shoot another Sexy Beam, but Hattrene lift two loudspeakers using telekinesis, one to be used as a shield, protecting it from Jade's Sexy Beam, and the other one..Hattrene attempt to use it to crush Ayaha with it as Hattrene throw the loudspeaker at Ayaha.

"Ayaha !" Tsubasa screamed as she tried to reach out to her sister, and then her body begin to glow and she transformed into her carnage form and inadvertedly destroy the loudspeaker with Agidyne. "W-what the ?"

"Tsubasa ! You're in your carnage form !" Exclaimed Itsuki.

"I-i did ? Could that mean ? Caeda ! Caeda !" Tsubasa shouted Caeda's name but there's no voice responding to her. "Is Caeda not here ?"

Hattrene used this moment of surprise to strangle Tsubasa with it's hair, Jade charged into the stage, but Hattrene telekinetically lift the seats and used it as obstacle to prevent Jade from getting close.

"Tsubasa !" Without thinking any further Itsuki leaped in to save Tsubasa, and just like Tsubasa his body begin to glow as he also transformed into his carnage form, Itsuki then used his word to cut Hattrene's hair, releasing Tsubasa and caused the pokemon to cried in pain.

Hattrene's pain caused it to lose concentration and it dropped the seats and Jade finally able to get to the stage.

And now that the others can see again Hikari teleported the rest of the heroes near the stage. With Hattrene now cornered, it teleported away to escape, but not before Donbe took a picture of it.

Ayaha pulled her leg slowly from the hole.

"Ayaha ! Are you okay ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"Yes I'm fine, no injuries or anything." Smiled Ayaha.

"That thing's a tough one, its powers are just versatile." Commented Donbe. "I'll send this picture to our friends, maybe one of them know what was that we're dealing with." Donbe send the picture using his golden plate, it should be received by everyone now.

Jade, Itsuki and Tsubasa revert back to their original form. "I can't believe what just happened, we transformed, but we're not in Idolasphere, nor our mirages even here."

"You can't hear Chrom too Itsuki ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"No, I can't, why do you think that is ?" Pondered Itsuki.

As Itsuki and Tsubasa pondered on what has happened, the theater staff entered the stage and told all of them to leave the area.

Namco Theater - Outside

Once everyone reached outside several police cars and ambulance are parked outside, several of the paramedics seen carrying the unconscious security staff to the ambulance.

Luckily none of the audience seemed hurt, but many of them are terrified by what just happened, and then a young man with brown hair approached the heroes, he also wears a brown coat and black gloves.

"Excuse me, you people are the last one coming out from the theater, may I ask a few questions ?" Asked the young man. "My name is Goro Akechi and despite my appearance I'm actually a seasoned detective."

Seeing Akechi getting close Peepers begin barking with hostility, even wanting to bite him, but Jade stopped Peepers and Duck from doing anything.

"Calm down you two, sorry they're not usually like this." Jade apologized to Akechi.

"It's okay, not really my first time having animals dislike me." Akechi just smiled away at the predicament.

As the young man introduce himself Tsubasa immediately recognize the young man. "Goro Akechi ! I know who you are ! I've seen you on TV several times before ! You're the genius detective said to be the second coming of the first detective prince Naoto Shirogane !"

"Right, the genius detective, I've seen you on TV as well !" Itsuki also seemed to know of Akechi.

"Oh, could you be the rising star Tsubasa Oribe ? It sure is an honor to be recognized by Japan's rising star, well I've also heard of your work, unfortunately thanks to my busy schedule I haven't got the time to listen to your music, your debut song 'Feel', I really enjoy hearing it." Akechi complimenting Tsubasa.

"Oh thank you ! Please if you have time take a listen to my songs, I hope you like it !" Exclaimed Tsubasa.

"So you're a detective ? Considering the child prodigies I've met, I can't be surprised, I see that this means you have solved many cases before ?" Asked Ryu.

"Hmm..? You don't seem to have heard of me ? Not to brag but like Ms. Oribe said I make several appearances in TV." Said Akechi.

"Sorry, I don't watch TV often, so what do you want to ask us ?" Asked Ryu.

"Well from witness testimony gathered so far, everyone say they saw a pink creature appeared on stage and attacked the performers, the Oribe sisters themselves, does that mean you were under attack ?" Asked Akechi.

"Well that's...it's true." Answered Tsubasa hesitantly.

"It was terrifying, and we don't know what even is that attacked us." Added Ayaha.

"The way everyone seemed to describe it it's like the attacker is not even human." Remarked Akechi.

"Umm...well that's.." As Itsuki, Tsubasa, and Ayaha struggle to answer, Ryu stepped in.

"Sorry but as you can see they just went through harrowing experience, they need a moment before they can answer clearly." Said Ryu.

"Right, apologies, but anyway for the time being the theater is closed, so no one is allowed entry for a while including police officers themselves because i'm going to conduct a solo investigation." Explained Akechi. "If any of you happen to drop any belongings inside, apologies, but I need to ask you to wait before we let anyone inside the building again."

"Alright, luckily we didn't lose anything inside, let's find a place to sit." Suggested Jade as the heroes leave Akechi to exchange information.

"This should be a good spot, so let's exchange information then, oh right, my name is Ryu, this is Jade, Donbe, Hikari, Peepers and Duck." Ryu introduce himself and the others to Itsuki.

"My name is Itsuki, this is Tsubasa and her sister Ayaha, I'm a president at Fortuna Entertainment." Itsuki introduced himself. "Wait Ryu ? Could you be the Ryu that won the World Martial Arts Championship ?"

"I am, you've heard of me ?" Ryu looked surprised.

"Well my friend Touma did love action scenes and martial arts shows, he's a fan of you, he make me watch martial arts videos and so on." Answered Itsuki.

"I see, so then about what we saw before, did you and Tsubasa able to transform ?" Asked Ryu.

"Well about that...it's a long story." Itsuki having doubts whether to tell Ryu and co. about their adventures, but then they hear Peepers still growling at Akechi.

"Was he always that hostile ?'" Asked Tsubasa.

"No, not really...then again I don't know Peepers that well." Said Jade. "He's not really our dog."

"We brought him here because he keeps fighting with the cat we have at the mans...I mean our home." Donbe almost slip up.

"I doubt Peepers would growl for no reason, I hope I'm just imagining this, but maybe that Akechi guy is not what he seems." Pondered Ryu.

"Really !? But he's a famous detective, if he did have a dark secret ot would severely ruin his image ! I know an idol who actually went through that." Tsubasa looked down. "She was very talented, but turns out she has ties with the yakuza and her career ruined in an instant."

Ryu knowing who Tsubasa meant tried to comfort her. "I know where you talking about, and I also the man who raised her, he's a good man and the idol you talk about get involved in situation beyond her control, I assure you they're both a good person at the very least."

"Yeah, she was very nice the first time I met her, but I guess it's impossible for her to be back at the spotlight huh ?"

"Sorry Tsubasa, even if she have no involvement in yakuza business, the fact that she has a ties with them is enough to end her career for good, and for Akechi...everyone has their secrets, he could really be not what he seems."

Just then Donbe's golden plate is beeping. He picked it up and answered. "Hello, Donbe here, so is it about the picture I sent ?"

"Yes, we found out what you're looking for." Said the Isabelle hologram. "Red and Blue can answer that for you." Isabelle move out of the way and Red and Blue hologram entered.

"Hey Donbe, the picture you sent is a pokemon called Hattrene, they're usually found in Galar region, Hattrene is a solitary pokemon, and really hates noises or intense emotions." Answered Red.

"Is that why it attacked the concert ?" Asked Ryu.

"A Hattrene at a concert !? That would be a disaster ! Is anyone hurt ?" Blue panicked when he hears a Hattrene at a concert.

"No, luckily everyone managed to leave the building, so there are no casualties, well except a few security guards, but it doesnt seem fatal at least." Answered Jade.

"So the creature is a pokemon then, and the fact that it appeared in Japan of all places..." Pondered Hikari.

"It's got to be the work of chaos emerald, there's one inside the building, that's got to be what brings Hattrene to this world." Said Ryu.

"But the entrance is now sealed off, civilians not allowed to enter." Jade point at the building.

"We can't leave this to the police, if there's a Chaos Emerald in there, they're dealing with powerful otherworldly objects that they know nothing about." Remarked Ryu.

"Thanks for the info Red and Blue." Donbe thanked the two trainers.

"Hold on before you ended the conversation, here I'll give you these." Red teleported pokeballs using his golden plate on Donbe's hand. "Use this to catch Hattrene, oh and one more thing, Hattrene is a fairy type pokemon, their kind is weak to steel and poison."

"Understood, thanks Red." Donbe then ended the conversation.

Tsubasa whispered to Itsuki. "What did we just witness ?"

"I don't know, but it looks like these people involved in something big." Replied Itsuki.

"Sorry, but we would like to return inside the theater, I guess this is where we part ways." Said Ryu.

"No wait, let us come with you, that creature have ruined our show, you can't say it's got nothing to do with us." Insisted Itsuki.

"You don't need to get involved in this, the pokemon got sent from another world, you couldn't have foreseen this coming." Added Jade.

"I do actually, I've heard rumors of a weird noises on the basement, I didn't believe it so I went ahead on booking this place, so you see, I'm also responsible for this." Replied Itsuki.

"Alright, but you are high profile figure, what were doing is interfering with police work, you and your company can get into trouble, are you really willing to take the risk ?" Asked Ryu.

"Sorry Ayaha, but can you came back to the company ? You don't have a carnage form like we do, if we encounter that creature again..." Itsuki ask Ayaha to return early.

"I know, and don't worry, I can go back by myself, I'll let everyone know what happened here." Said Ayaha.

"Okay, *sigh* we may have to refund the audience money after this." Sighed Itsuki.

"Cheer up Itsuki, we already have strings of successes, this one setback won't cost us too much right." Tsubasa tried to cheer Itsuki.

"Yeah, you're right, I believe in all of you, and the result shows." Smiled Itsuki

"By the way we'll be stealthy right ? Or are we going to openly disobey a police order ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"Yeah, so then our destination is the basement, let's go everyone." Ryu used his golden plate to teleport everyone inside the theater.

Cafe Leblanc

Still staying in Tokyo Ren is currently hanging out at Cafe LeBlanc, a place where he used to live during his probation period. Sitting across the table is the cafe owner's adopted daughter Futaba Sakura.

"And I'm done !" Futaba said as she finished her homework.

"That was fast, I didn't have to do much to help." Remarked Joker.

"That's just goes to show how my intellect is above almost everyone." Bragged Futaba.

Morgana then jumped to the table from Ren's bag. "Ryuji can learn a lot from you, with his grades is a miracle he's able to advance to third year."

"Okay everyone here you go." An old man serves coffee to the teenagers.

"Thanks Sojiro, mmm...this coffee tastes as good as always." Both Ren and Futaba compliment the coffee."I was thinking of givjng some refreshment, although you seem to finish your homework already." Said Sojiro.

"Yep, too easy for me to handle." Again, bragged Futaba.

"You really did inherit Wakaba's brain." Chuckled Sojiro.

Soon the TV shifted to breaking news. yt shows news report about an incident at Namco Theater.

"Hmm...? An incident at the theater ? Now that's you don't see everyday." Remarked Sojiro.

"That's Namco Theater, hey wasn't that place have another problem before ? Where one of the performers unable to make it ?" Asked Ren.

"Oh yeah, the Battle Musical starring Felicia and Wonder Momo. I wish I could go to watch it, but you know me, that time I would rather be cooped up in my room." Lamented Futaba.

"Now that you mentioned it, do you remember what happened after the musical ?" Asked Ren.

"I...don't actually, I watched it from a DVD, but you know, there's no behind the scenes footage or anything like that." Futaba looked confused.

"Well I'm sure it's nothing important, Hmm..." Ren watched rhe news again and saw a familiar figure, he saw Goro Akechi in the news. "Akechi !"

"What !" Morgana, Sojiro, and Futaba looked at the TV and they also see Akechi there, talking to a police officer.

"Wow it really is him ! Did he really come back to life ?" Asked Futaba. "Is this an after effect of Maruki's persona ?"

"I doubt it, what Maruki able to do was creating illusion, but we managed to stop him before that illusion become a reality." Remind Morgana.

"I'm going to find out, is if that really Akechi we saw." Ren got up from his seat.

"Not alone your not, I'm coming with, i'm also very curious about this." Morgana jumped back to Ren's bag.

"I'm going too ! No way i'm sitting this one out !" Futaba also raring to go.

"Hold on, are you all going to the theater ?" Asked Sojiro.

"Yes, we need to know if it's really Akechi or not." Said Ren.

"Okay, just be careful, he may can't harm you publicly, but a devious man can always figure out a way." Warned Sojiro.

"Yeah, we know, thanks for the advice." Ren and the others left the Cafe.

Yongen Jaya

As they left the Cafe Ren is caught in a trance.

Velvet Room

"Where is...am I in the Velvet Room ?" Ren assess his surrounding, he wore his signature prison garb, however he's not locked behind bars this time.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Ren is greeted by an old man with long nose and dressed sharply, next to him is a little girl with white hair and blue dress.

"Hello again, it's a pleasure to see you again." Said the girl.

"Igor ? Lavenza ? The fact that you called me must've mean.." Ren is having a bad feeling.

"Unfortunately a new trial has appeared before you, and this time I'm afraid things will be much more than your previous trials." Explained Lavenza.

"That so ? Is this have to do with Akechi ?" Asked Ren.

"Akechi is just a small part of the trial you face, but I'm afraid I can't say anymore than that, in time you will find out the truth and where it will take you, well I shouldn't kept you here, it's time for you to go back to your world." Igor ended the conversation and snapped Ren back to reality.

Yongen Jaya

"Ren, are you okay ?" Asked Futaba. "We called out to you, but you didn't respond, it's like you're in a trance, could it be Lavenza calling you again ?"

"Huh ? Well yes, I'll tell you everything along the way, now let's just grab a taxi from here." As Ren and Co. Have left the alley, a car stopped in front of them.

The car window is moving down, revealing a middle aged man with long hair and wearing glasses. "Oh it's you kids."

"Zenkichi !" Exclaimed Joker.

"Gramps !" Exclaimed Futaba.

"Please stop with the gramps, I'm not that old you know." Said an annoyed Zenkichi.

"What are you doing here ?" Asked Morgana.

"I'm on my way to Namco Theater, are you kids headed somewhere ?" Asked Zenkichi.

"We also wanted to go to the theater." Answered Ren.

"I see...you know what hop in I give you a ride there." Offered Zenkichi as Ren and the others went inside the car.

"Are you sure it's okay to bring a civilian to a crime scene ?" Asked Futaba.

"The thing is, maybe this case could use your expertise." Answered Zenkichi.

"Hmm...? What's that supposed to mean ? Could it be Shadows or Palaces involved in it ?" Asked Ren.

"I'm not completely sure, but from the testimony they say the staff hear strange noises from the basement, and they all too afraid to investigate." Answered Zenkichi. "And it seems that there's a monster ruining the performance held today."

"That doesn't really mean a Shadow is involved, we don't know if we can even enter a cognitive world anymore." Said Morgana. "And a monster ? Not sure if this incident is right up our alley."

"Either way, if this is true, this isnt something a police can handle, and an unrelated note you know, I once tried to summon a persona in the real world before, shortly after that toad trip, and yet nothing happened." Said Zenkichi.

"I wouldn't say it's impossible, but summoning a persona in real world is extremely difficult." Replied Morgana.

"Well Ren, I texted the others about what we saw, they all going to head to the theater right now." Said Futaba.

"I guess everyone is curious, makes sense considering what happened to Akechi." Said Morgana.

"Hmm ? What about Akechi ? Oh right I haven't asked why you want to go to the theater yet do I ?" Realized Zenkichi.

"I think we should tell him." Morgana nudged Ren.

Ren then told Zenkichi about Akechi, but he omit several details.

"I didn't expect for Akechi to be a persona user as well, but he died inside Shido's palace and now you wonder how he's back ?" Asked Zenkichi.

"Yeah, when we saw him again we were very surprised, that's why we wanted to know the truth." Answered Ren.

"Hey gramps, you and Akechi are in the police department right ? How's he like there ?" Asked Futaba.

"Enough with the gramps, please, but I haven't really talk to him, I've heard his achievement and reputation, but can't say I ever talk to him personally." Answered Zenkichi.

"Well we're almost there." Zenkichi said as he parked his car.

Namco Theater - Outside

All of them get out from Zenkichi's car and walked towards the theater.

"I don't see Akechi anywhere." Ren looked around.

"Could he be inside the theater ? Then again it's rather crowded here." Said Futaba as there's still many people haven't go home yet.

"Hey Ren !" A voice called out to Ren, Ren looked at the direction where the voice comes from, and it turns out to be Ryuji, with the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

"Everyone, you're already here." Said Joker.

"We all just got here, almost at the same time." Said Yusuke.

"My modeling work is close from here and I'm just done with it so...here I am." Said Ann.

"I watched the news, that guy really does look exactly like Akechi I doubt it's someone else." Said Makoto.

"I was shocked when I watch it as well, could he really be back ?" Asked Haru.

"That's why we're here to find out, didn't expect all of you to make it though." Stated Ren.

"It's still summer vacation, so we're not that busy, guess the Phantom Thieves are back in action then ?" Smirked Ryuji.

"Too bad Sumire isn't here though." Ann looked unhappy.

"Can't be helped, she did say she's going to America to compete." Said Ren.

"But wasn't dinosaurs rampaging across America ? Is she alright ?" Ryuji worried about Sumire.

"She said she's fine, the location of her competition is spared from the dinosaurs rampage, although she won't be back to Japan anytime soon." Answered Ren.

"As long as she's fine, so what's our mission then ?" Asked Makoto.

"First we look for Akechi, if he's not outside, he could be inside the theater." Said Ren.

"On it, let's split up, walking in large group like this could arouse suspicion, we'll rendezvous at that statue on the right." Makoto point at the Pac-Man lookalike statue.

But before they split up, Zenkichi approached the Phantom Thieves. "Oh everyone's here already."

"Zenkichi-San ?" Makoto surprised to see Zenkichi here.

"You're here too old man !" Exclaimed Ryuji.

"*sigh* yes yes the old man's here, so if you're looking for Akechi he's already inside the building." Answered Zenkichi. "Also Akechi seemed to ask the other police officers not to enter the building as well, he said he want to conduct a solo investigation."

"How do you know we're looking for him ?" Asked Yusuke.

"Yeah, Ren and I got here with Zenkichi, he offered us a ride with his car." Said Futaba.

"Quite the coincidence I may add." Added Morgana.

"Well we need to get inside as well, but I doubt the police will let civilians in." Said Makoto.

"I don't wish to bear a bad news on you, but it seems the government is trying to get involved in this." Said Zenkichi.

"The government ? Is this case turns out to be more important than it seems ?" Asked Makoto.

"I don't know, but one of their agent spoke to me, his name is Genya Arikado, and he just entered the theater not too long ago." Continued Zenkichi. "He's the man with long black hair and wearing a black suit as well."

"Understood, we'll try not to get caught, but the problem is how do we got in ?" Ren looked at the door.

"Leave that to me." Said Morgana as he jumped out of Ren's bag and head to the theater.

"I'm staying here to see what I can find out, you kids good luck in there." Said Zenkichi.

The Phantom Thieves nodded and made their way to the theater door.

At the door Morgana begin meowing to distract the guard, he looked at Morgana but decided to ignore him.

"Guess I have no choice but to do this, sorry about this sir." Morgana then hiss at the guard as he leaped and scratched the guard's face.

The guard screamed and tried to get Morgana off his face, looking at this, the Phantom Thieves quickly bypass the police tapes and entered the building, once everyone entered Morgana get away from the guard and also entered the building.

Namco Theater - Hallway

"Thanks for the distraction Morgana, although we didn't expect you would directly attack that guard." Stated Ren.

"Don't really have much of a choice, time is not on our side." Said Morgana. "The more we think the further away we are frkm the answer."

"So where do you think Akechi is ?" Asked Haru.

"He could be at the crime scene, or the basement, it is where the rumor came from." Replied Futaba.

"Maybe we need to split to two groups, Me, Ryuji, Makoto, and Futaba, second team is Morgana, Yusuke, Haru, and Ann. First team head to the basement, second team look for Akechi around the theater." Ren give his command. "Zenkichi said that there's a government agent here, make sure to avoid him at all cost."

"Understood." Morgana led the 2nd team and begin to scour the premises.

"So uh ? How do we got to the basement from here ?" Asked Ryuji. "This is a huge place."

"Heheheh...lucky for you I already have the interior map of this place, follow me and we'll head straight to the basement." Futaba then lead the 1st team to their destination.

Namco Theater - Basement.

Ryu and the others have arrived at the basement, unlike the above floors. This place is dark and the lights are off, although everything is still visible.

"This is one dreary place, I suppose it's better than exploring Mordegon's lair." Remarked Jade.

"The basement seems huge as well, we could be walking forever." Remarked Donbe.

"I know, look how far Japan has come, back in our days the only buildings this large are just the castles." Replied Hikari.

"Stay close to me Tsubasa." Said Itsuki as Tsubasa cling to his arm.

"This...won't cause a scandal right ?" Asked Tsubasa looking around worried.

"Don't worry, it doesn't seem like anyone's here, nor are there any security camera in place." Itsuki assured Tsubasa.

"No one here huh ? Well then." Jade used her golden plate and conjure a spear. "This time we come prepared, Red said Hattrene weak to steel right ? Then a spear would be right for the job."

"The golden plate can take us to our destination quickly, we won't have to explore the entire basement...that said Hikari, I still want to hear the history lesson while we're at it." Said Ryu.

"You do ? Okay now where do I start...what about the age of myth ?"

"Long time ago Nippon, or what outsider call this country Japan, was once a beautiful land, nature's are abundant, humans still living in villages togetehr with nature, unfortunately, alongside humans Yokai also inhabits Nippon, and most Yokai are hostile to humans, but the worst of them all is Orochi, he once terrorized the Celestial Plains before being cast out to Earth, and decided to wreak havoc here, the humans prayed to the heavens for salvation, and so the Goddess Amaterasu descend to the mortal plane, using a wolf as her vessel and slay Orochi. That is the story according to the historical records, Well let's stop for now."

"I see, I've heard the legend of Yamata no Orochi, could it be the same creature ?" Asked Ryu.

"No, he's a descendant to Orochi, also several nameless Yokai even took the name of Orochi, because it's the name that brought fear to the hearts of men and even gods as well." Explained Hikari.

"I've been meaning to ask, but who are you really ? The way you speak is nothing like a normal little girl." Itsuki grown curious of Hikari.

"Fine, since you're involved in this, my real name is Otohime, the ruler of Dragon Palace." Answered Hikari.

"Otohime ? The one from Urashima Taro legend !?" Itsuki and Tsubasa shocked at the reveal.

"The same, and before you complain, I give Urashima Taro that box because everyone he knew is long gone, I'm thinking of giving him a peaceful death of old age." Hikari tried to justify her action.

"And I'm Donbe, apparently my adventures is adapted to Momotaro legend, well its true that we team up with monkey, dog, and pheasant to defeat the Oni at Onigashima Island."

"I see, so you're the inspiration for Momotaro legend." Itsuki at a loss for words. "I thought those stories are just fairy tales."

"W-wow, the things we thought were fairy tales turned out to be real after all." Tsubasa had the same reaction.

"It looks like we're here." Ryu and co. stand in front of a room. "Just to be clear we're getting the emerald's, no guarantee the pokemon will be here."

"What happened to the door ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"It looks like someone forced the door open." Itsuki inspect the damages on the door hinges.

"Over there !" Jade pointed at the purple gem.

Donbe run and grab the emerald. "Got it ! Our first objective complete !"

Unfortunately Donbe's excitement gained Hattrene's attention as the pokemon strangled Donbe with its hair.

"There it is !" Hikari fire magic bolts at the Pokémon, but Hattrene possessing high Special Defense means it barely hurt it."

"Donbe grabbed his sword and slashed Hattrene's hair, causing the pokemon to screamed in pain.

"Tsubasa !" Itsuki signals Tsubasa and they both transformed to their carnage form.

Tsubasa summoned her Pegasus and rammed into Hattrene, but the pokemon teleported before hitting the wall.

After reappearing again Ryu blast the pokemon with a Hadoken, and Jade follow up by using Multifist, repeatedly punching the Pokémon.

Hattrene seeing it's outnumbered decided to use Dazzling Gleam again, as it eyes begin to glow.

"It's using that blinding flash technique again !" Alerted Ryu.

"Not this time !" Itsuki cast Naga's Protection. Protecting everyone with invulnerable magical shield.

Hattrene used Dazzling Gleam, but it had no effect on the heroes, Jade grabbed her spear and slashed Hattrene, with Itsuki, Tsubasa, Donbe, follow suit, repeated attacks from weapons made of metal has severely harmed Hattrene.

Hattrene about to accept defeat, knowing it would be pointless to heal itself, and in an injured state it can't teleport too far, however it noticed the gem on Donbe's hand, it used it's tentacle to steal it.

Hattrene then begin to harness the emerald power, healing it's injuries and boosting it's power. Hattrene used Psychic, blasting the heroes outside the room

Hearing the racket below, both Akechi, Genya, and Team 1 both rushed to the basement. Akechi was the first to encounter the heroes as they all lay down in the floor

"What the ! This place is off limits for civilians !" Shouted Akechi.

Hattrene then teleported and confront Akechi, the pokemon strangled him with her hair.

"Aaagh...so...you're...the monster." Akechi struggled to speak.

Itsuki seeing Hattrene strangling Akechi, he used his magic to free him, he cast Ziodyne at Hattrene, but the attack barely harmed Hattrene, the pokemon look behind and ignored Itsuki.

But then Genya soon arrived, he summoned a sword and slashed Hattrenes hair, releasing Akechi. Hattrene retaliate by using Dazzling Gleam, empowered by Chaos emerald it light up the entire basement.

The Phantom Thieves noticed the light coming from the stairs below.

"What's that light !" Exclaimed Ryuji.

"Maybe, that's where we must go, careful everyone, we don't know who or what is down there." Ren walked slowly as the others follow suit.

Akechi and Genya's eyes are still in pain from Hattrene's Dazzling Gleam, with Genya dropping his sword, but as he is an honest government agent he prioritize the civilians safety first. "Everyone leave this place ! There's a monster here !" Genya yelled with his eyes still closed.

The heroes know better than to obey, as they're the ones who know what actually going on, Jade grabbed her spear and used Lightning Thrust, inflicting critical hit at Hattrene, Angered, the pokemon swing it's tentacle at Jade, but she ducked to avoid the attack.

Hattrene used its telekinesis instead to threw Jade to a wall, Tsubasa summoned her Pegasus again to catch Jade, Tsubasa then cast Mediarahan to heal her companions.

Hikari trapped Hattrene in a barrier, but the pokemon easily destroyed it. Donbe charged in to attack with his sword, but Hattrene teleported and strangled Donbe, Hattrene then threw Donbe to a wall. Only for Hikari to teleport Donbe back to her side.

Ryu fired a Hadoken, but while it hits, it barely scratched Hattrene.

Jade transformed to her Revamped form again and charged at Hattrene, Itsuki support her by casting Tarukaja, further increasing Jade's attack, Ryu rallied the others to fight on tandem.

Jade unleash a barrage of punches and kicks, but Hattrene used its hair to restrain Jade's arm and leg, Donbe and Peepers do a pincer attack as he swing his sword and Peepers threw exploding cans while Duck attack from above, Hatrene teleported and Donbe and Duck the one got caught in the attack.

Hattrene teleport near Ryu, the martial artist swing his fist, but Hattrene teleported again and reappeared somewhere else, Itsuki and Tsubasa attack in tandem with their sword and spear, but Hattrene teleported away and then used Psychic, lifting Itsuki and Tsubasa and threw them at Ryu.

Meanwhile the Phantom Thieves finally arrived saw what happened, they can only froze in shock.

"Wha-what did we just saw !" Ryuji not aware of his footing, he slipped up and fell down, the noise alerted Hattrene.

"More people ? Hey get out of here ! There's a monster in here !" Shouted Ryu.

As Hattrene made its way to the Phantom Thieves, Ryuji panicked, which incensed Hatrene even more, it strangled Ryuji with it's hair.

"Ryuji !" Shouted Ren.

Hattrene then used it's hair to try to strangle Ren, but Makoto move on instinct and pushed Ren away, now she's the one strangled by Hattrene.

"Makoto ! Let go you monster !" Ren and Futaba tried to pull Ryuji and Makoto away, however Hattrene grip is too strong.

"This isn't good, Hattrene is too strong now that it used the emerald." Remarked Jade.

"We have no choice, we must use the emerald ourselves to stand on even ground." Suggested Ryu.

"Ren, leave...us, take Futaba and...run." Pleaded Ryuji.

"No ! I won't leave you to die ! We've been through so much this past year, we will survive this year too !" Ren refused to leave his friends despite the odds. Now he wished he has his persona powers back, and as he think about that, Ren transformed into his Phantom thief attire."

"Ren ! You transformed !" Shouted Futaba.

"What ! But we're not in Metaverse ! Never mind we'll figure this out later ! Arsene !" As Ren shouted that name a winged humanoid entity manifest behind him. This startled Hattrene as it accidentally released Ryuji and Makoto.

Of course the heroes also shocked by what they see.

"Ryu ? Does every teenager in this world possess special powers ?" Asked Jade.

"This...is news to me too." Ryu can't believe what he see.

"Ryuji, Makoto are you two okay ?" Ren rushed to his friends.

"Yeah we're fine...Ren you transformed !" Ryuji expressed his surprise. "Is this the Metaverse ? Or are in some kind of other cognitive world ?"

"Now is not the time for that, Ryuji, Makoto, Futaba ! If you can transform as well now is the time to do it ! All I did was just wishing for my persona power !" Explained Ren.

Ryuji, Makoto, and Futaba did what Ren said and wished for their persona power, and then just like Ren they transformed into their Phantom thieves attire.

"W-we transformed !" Exclaimed Ryuji. "And in the real world !"

"I can't believe this !" Makoto also surprised.

"T-this is unexpected...but never mind that, I'll perform analysis on this thing, Persona !" A flying saucer appear above Futaba and pull her in.

At the same time Akechi and Genya's sight is now back to normal. Notably he's surprised to see a flying saucer. "What...is this ?"

("What are they doing here ?") Akechi look puzzled. ("And ..they transformed too")

"I can't believe this ! This thing's power is off the charts !" Exclaimed Futaba.

"We still have to try !" Ren, Ryuji, and Makoto attacked that the same time, casting Eigaon, Ziodyne, and Freidyne, unfortunately Hattrene boosted special defense means such attacks barely harming it.

"No good, the attacks didn't work, hold on I'll back you up." Futaba cast Moral Support, boosting the Phantom Thieves stats.

Makoto summoned Johanna and drove to Hattrene, but it teleport away.

"Where it'd go !?" Exclaimed Ryuji.

"I can't find it, it's just disappear." Futaba searched the basement for any signs of Hattrene.

Hattrene reappeared and lift the Phantom Thieves using telekinesis and throw them down to the floor.

"This isn't good, not even those kids stand a chance." Said Jade.

"Hang on, I'm calling Isabelle." Ryu tapping his golden plate.

"Ryu I can see you're in a pickle." Said Isabelle.

"Isabelle, we may need to use a Chaos Emerald, we just need one, can you spare us ?" Asked Ryu.

"Understood, be careful not to let it fall to the enemy hands." Isabelle used her golden plate to send the red Chaos emerald to Ryu.

"Hikari I want you to use this, your power is more versatile than the rest of us, I think it's what we need to combat that pokemon." Ryu offered the emerald to Hikari.

"Understood." Hikari took the emerald from Ryu and harness it's power, and now just like Hattrene, Hikari is now empowered by the emerald. "T-this feeling ! I feel like there's nothing can stand in my way."

Hattrene has defeated Ryuji, Makoto, and Ren, and now Futaba is the next target.

"You guys, get up !" Futaba look scared as Hattrene has set it's sight on her.

Futaba then contacted the others through telepathy. ("Everyone go to the basement ! Hurry !")

Namco Theater - Hallway

Team 2 is shocked by what they hear.

"Is that Futaba ?" Asked Ann.

"Did she just used telepathy ?" Morgana shared Ann's confusion.

"How could that be ? She can only do that with her persona." Remarked Yusuke.

"Right now we need to get to the basement !" Haru led the others to head down stairs to the basement.

Hattrene used it's tentacle to lay a beat down on Necronomicon, as Futaba is crossing her hands inside and in in fetal position.

Now empowered by chaos emerald Hikari blasted Hattrene away with a magic bolt, this time the impact is felt as Hattrene fall down, saving Futaba from Hattrene.

Hattrene got up and used Psycho Cut at Hikari, but she create a barrier and deflect the attack back at the Pokémon, Hattrene got hit again and send flying to a wall.

Hikari then used her magic to seal Hattrene's teleportation ability. "Don't even think of disappearing on a whim again !"

Tsubasa then cast Mediarahan on the Phantom Thieves, healing them.

"Are you all okay ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"Yeah, we're fine, thanks for the help." Ren thanked Tsubasa.

"Hey aren't you guys the Phantom Thieves ?" Asked Itsuki.

"We are, but now is not the time for that, that monster !" Ren pointed at Hattrene.

"Is taken care of." Interjected Jade.

Now on even ground, Hattene locked in combat with Hikari, recognizing her as the threat that needs to be eliminated first, Hikari and Hattrene give each other everything they got, if anything this cause Hattrene to only focus at Hikari, while Hikari have her teammates to help her taking down Hattrene.

Now after creating some distance, Hattrene charged at Hikari, but Hikari teleport Donbe in front of her and enchant his sword, he struck Hattrene with his sword, seriously harming Hattrene.

Duck then fly at Hattrene's face and flap it's wings at Hattrene, obstructing the pokemons vision.

And now Peepers seize the chance to bite the Chaos emerald from Hattrene, losing it's enhanced power in the process.

With its final attack Hikari fired a light beam at Hattrene, the pokemon screamed in pain as it sent flying and crashing to a wall.

Team 2 has finally arrived, they looked at their teammate and surprised to see then in their Phantom Thief attire.

"We finally did it, this thing a very tough one." Remarked Jade.

"Not over yet." Donbe grabbed a pokeball, he press the middle button and enlarge it and throw it at Hattrene, Hattrene got sucked inside the pokeball, the ball shakes, and again, and again, and then it stopped moving, showing that Hattrene is finally caught.

"We did it ! Hey maybe I can start pokemon training !" Joked Donbe.

"Honestly do they really let kids possess such powerful creatures in that world ? We have hard time fighting it, and it was before it used the emerald power." Sighed Hikari.

"What did we just saw ?" Asked Ann.

"Makoto ? How are you...? Are we inside a Metaverse ?" Asked Haru.

"I don't know, all we did was just wished for our persona power and this happened." Answered Makoto.

"Let me try." Haru did the same and she also transformed into her Phantom Thief attire.

"No way Haru just transformed ? This..shouldn't be possible in real world !" Morgana expressed his disbelief.

"Can we really do this all along ? We never have the need to use our persona powers in real world before." Pondered Yusuke. "But Haru can transform so easily."

"Trust me I'm just as baffled as you are !" Exclaimed Morgana.

"Hey ! It really is Akechi over there !" Pointed Ann.

Akechi not wasting his time, grabbed his gun, put Genya in a chokehold and took him hostage. "Nobody move, you there ! Hand over the Chaos emerald and no one gets hurt !"

"You seemed to know about the chaos emerald." Stated Jade. "I guess Peepers did have a reason to bark at you."

"I'm not here to answer questions, just give me the emeralds and I will be out of your way." Replied Akechi.

"You dare took hostage of a government agent ? do you know the consequences for this ?" Asked Genya.

Akechi remained silent.

"Akechi what are you doing !?" Exclaimed Ren.

"The emeralds, and I'm not bluffing." Akechi demanding the emerald and ignore Ren.

Unbeknownst to Akechi, Duck is walking behind him, it fly and kick Akechi from behind in full force, Akechi fell down and forced to drop his gun, but his gun isn't the only thing he dropped. A black plate also fell from his pocket.

"What's this ?" Ryu picked up the black object.

"Hey Ryu, do you think this thing quite similar to our golden plate ?" Jade pull out he rgolden plate and compare the two plates.

"Yeah, Akechi, where did you get this ? Are you with Neo Subspace Army ?" Asked Ryu.

("Neo Subspace Army ?") Genya looked perplexed.

"I have to fulfill my mission at all cost." Akechi transformed into his assassin attire, The black mask.

"Akechi you're strong, but do you really think you can take all of us out ?" Asked Makoto.

"No, but I do have a hostage right here." Akechi quickly grabbed his gun and point it at Genya.

("What should I do ? This situation has gotten more chaotic than anticipated, the Phantom Thieves, civilians that seemed to know something about that monster, should I reveal my true form here ?") Genya still hesitating.

"You there !" Hikari pointed at Genya. 'I can tell you're hesitating, but I suggest you don't worry, after all I'm not a human too like you." Hikari pretty much reveal this info to everyone present.

"What ! What is she talking about !" Yelled Akechi. "You're not human ?"

"Kid, you're making a big mistake taking me as a hostage, I can always take you down whenever I want." Genya said with full confidence, he then summoned a sword and slashed Akechi's arm forcing him to drop his gun again.

"Aaagh..." Akechi yelled in pain.

Akechi summoned his persona Loki and used Lavetainn at Genya, only for him to turns into a bat and fly away, making Akechi miss his attack.

Genya then return to his human form. ("Quite the strange power, all my life I've never even seen power like this before.")

"Akechi stop !" Shouted Ren. "Just what is going on ?"

"..." Akechi can't answer as he's remained silent.

"Everyone ! We can transform to our Phantom Thief attire, just wish for it." Ryuji said to the others.

"O-okay, we'll try." Ann and the others wished for their persona powers and they all transformed.

"Give it up Akechi, you can't take all of us down." Warned Makoto.

"Hmm...let's stack the odds against him further, come on out Hattrene !" Donbe toss the pokeball and sent out Hattrene.

"Why are you releasing that thing !" Protest Tsubasa.

"Don't worry, it's in our side now...I hope, Hattrene, let's fight together." Donbe offered his hand, and Hattrene reciprocate.

"I guess Pokémon do respect strength." Said Ryu.

"Tsubasa can you heal it ? I know Hattrene was the enemy before." Donbe asked Tsubasa to heal Hattrene, however Tsubasa is hesitating.

"Donbe, Hattrene almost kill Tsubasa sister, I don't think it's something easily forgivable, let me do it." Hikari used her magic to heal Hattrene.

"Akechi, was it ? We have this black plate you dropped, and if this thing function similarly to our golden plate then you have no means of escape, or calling back up, I suggest you give up, the odds are against you." Threatened Jade.

"You're after the emeralds right ?" Asked Hikari as she teleported the emeralds back to the mansion, why don't you come to our headquarters, we have the entire mansion ready to fight." Smirked Hikari.

"So you fail huh ? I suppose this task is too hard for one such as you." A voice spoke from put of nowhere.

"Huh ? Who ? Where's that voice comes from ?" Itsuki and the others looked around.

"Hey, Itsuki does that voice sounds familiar to you ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"Now that you mentioned it."

A man riding a skeletal dragon swoops in and save Akechi, and dropped him off to the stairs. "Go, you have something else to do."

"Why are you here ? I don't remember asking for your help !?' Akechi protest Narcian's assistance.

"I was tasked to assist you in case you fail, which you have." Narcian replied mocking Akechi. "And i have a bone to pick with the Young Lion, but since he's not here i suppose i have to follow the plan."

"You ! Narcian !" Shouted Itsuki.

"Hmm...oh it's the boy from the world that we had no idea of the many things you say, and I see that Young Lion brat isn't here." Narcian looked disappointed.

"You know this smug looking guy ?" Asked Ryu.

"Yeah, this may hard to believe, but we got sent to a world called Askr, and there we met him, Narcian is a wyvern general from Bern." Explained Itsuki. "Although is that a wyvern he's riding ?"

"Bern ? Wasn't that the name of the kingdom that declared war on Roy's home continent ?" Asked Jade.

"You know Roy too !?" Exclaimed Tsubasa.

"Ahem ! I'm still talking here !" Yelled Narcian. "Tell Roy that we will be coming to get our revenge on him, and I'll make sure he suffers a humiliating defeat." Narcian used his black plate and teleport away.

"Wait ! Where did you find that Bone Dragon !?" Genya demand answer, but Nacian already gone.

"It seems all of us who gathered here have some sort of connection to each other, but let's start with introduction first, my name is Ryu, these are my companions, Jade, Donbe, Hikari, Peepers and Duck." Ryu introduced himself and the others.

"Itsuki, I think this matter concern us as well." Said Tsubasa.

"It seems there's no other way after all...alright, my name is Itsuki Aoi, and I'm the CEO of Fortuna Entertainment, and as you can see the girl next to me is Tsubasa Oribe, the rising star of Japanese entertainment."

"Hello there...well this is an unusual situation to introduce yourself." Tsubasa introduce herself awkwardly.

"Wait ! Tsubasa Oribe ! I've seen you all over TV and magazines ! I'm a fan you can say, oh my name is...Panther !" Ann introduce herself.

"Are you all really that famous Phantom Thieves ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"Yeah, I'm..Joker, the leader of Phantom Thieves, and since Panther already introduce herself, this is Skull, Fox, Mona, Oracle, Queen, and Noir."

"That sounds more like codenames, but never mind that for now, since all of you already involved may as well reveal everything." Said Ryu.

"Wait you're Ryu ? The martial artist Ryu ? Man i watched the tournament and it was awesome !" Skull being a fanboy to Ryu.

"Oh umm..thank you, i didn't know i am this well known." Ryu clearly unaware about his fame.

"I'm Genya Arikado, a government agent." Genya introduce himself.

"Alright, now that put of the way, we can start pooling information, so where do we start ?" Asked Ryu.

"How about that pink creature over there." Genya pointed at Hattrene.

"According to our friends, Hattrene is a fairy..." Donbe hasn't finished talking, but Genya interrupt him.

"A fairy ? I've never seen a fairy of this type before, what is this type ? Kobold, Pixie, it can't be a Dullahan or Spriggan ?" Genya struggle to figure what species Hattrene is.

"I don't think it fits any kind of fairy on Earth, Hattrene is a fairy from another world, putting it on umbrella term, Hattrene is a creature called Pokémon." Explained Donbe.

"Pokémon ?" Asked Genya.

"If you want full detail you can ask our friends about it, we don't know much about them either." Stated Donbe.

"So if this Pokémon really did come from another world, how did it get here ?" Asked Itsuki.

"We believe the chaos emerald was responsible on bringing that thing here." Answered Jade.

"Chaos Emerald ? That gems we saw earlier ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"Yes, the chaos emerald is a powerful object from another world, it can bestow power or even amplified the powers you already have, and that's just one of it's functions." Answered Jade.

"Akechi demanded the emeralds, how did he even know what that is, if it came from another world ?" Asked Joker.

"Right, you seem to know Akechi, and he summoned some kind of entity like you." Said Ryu.

"Akechi is a detective, and you all are the Phantom Thieves, you technically stand on the opposite side of the law." Remarked Genya.

"It's...complicated, but one thing we know, we were sure that he's dead, to think when Joker said he saw Akechi on TV, we were surprised and wanted to confirm the truth." Explained Makoto.

"Akechi is dead !?" Genya look surprised.

"And yet, he's here, we all saw him, or is there something we're missing ?" Asked Yusuke.

"If this situation follow the pattern we encounter so far, then the Akechi you saw is the real thing, however he's under the enemy control, if Akechi really is dead, his soul is bound by necromancer and forced to do its bidding." Explained Ryu.

"Death !" Shouted Genya, until he realized what he blurt out. "Oh, sorry about that."

"So Genya, you know Death do you ?" Asked Hikari. "He did lead a raid to my palace."

"Your palace ? You can tell I'm not human, and I can tell you're not one either." Said Genya.

"My name is Otohime, and I'm the princess of Dragon Palace, Death and his army attempted to steal the Golden Seed and the box where we imprisoned the Avatar of Darkness." Explajned Hikari.

"I..I see, could he be trying to enlist yokai to his army ? Dracula reign never made it to the far east." Muttered Genya.

"So you know Dracula do you ?" Asked Ryu.

"*sighed* I do, if anything I'm his son." Genya snapped his finger and transformed into a blonde long haired man. "My real name is Alucard."

Everyone else is shocked seeing this.

"Dracula ? I mean...an actual vampire !" Shouted Ryuji.

"Fear not, despite my origins, I'm no enemy to humanity." Alucard tried to assure the others.

"We believe you, Richter Belmont only have positive things to say about you." Said Ryu.

"Richter ! But..how do you know him !? He can't be alive did he ?" Alucard is shocked to hear Richter's name.

"Apparently he's been resurrected for a mission, and that is to aid us in our mission." Explained Ryu.

"So, who I saw earlier, really was him." Alucard still can't believe that it was Richter he saw near the Kanzuki Estate.

"So, what about that smug looking man ? You two said about a world called Askr, you two got sent there as well ?" Asked Jade.

"Yeah, we got sent to another world, Askr is in state of conflict, so bad that they need to summon help from various worlds, we have knights, assassins, sorcerers, Thieves, even supernatural beings, although after a hero is summoned, they're magically bound by a contract, so we can't harm each other and the Askran royal family." Explained Itsuki.

"We've heard of Askr from our friends as well, Roy, Marth, Ike, Chrom.." Said Ryu.

"Wait ! They're with you !" Exclaimed Itsuki.

"Yeah, although Roy, Marth, And Ike time has long passed, and since this Narcian guy is from Roy's time he must be like Akechi, a fallen soul bound by necromancy, they can't disobey their master." Stated Jade.

"One of our mission is to free the souls bound by necromancy." Explained Donbe. "And by that we have to resurrect them and bring them back to life."

"We already have approval from several gods so, we're not breaking any divine laws or anything." Added Jade.

"So, this Narcian, and Akechi, they're working together?" Asked Makoto.

"We can at least tell that they're belong to the same organization, it's called Neo Subspace Army, their end goal is to unleash Galeem, a genocidal angel hellbent on wiping out life in the universe." Explained Ryu.

"And so we've been waging secret wars against the Neo Subspace Army." Explained Jade.

"I see.." Joker then walked towards the heroes. "Is there any more room for more members ?"

This questions shocked the other Phantom Thieves, and the heroes as well.

"Wait ! Did you just offer yourself to join them !?" Exclaimed Skull.

"I know we have our...issues with Akechi, but I refuse to let him being used like that." Explained Joker.

"Even if we saved him, there's no guarantee he'll be grateful." Warned Futaba. "Well he did keep his end of bargain during Maruki's palace, but..."

"Do you know why Akechi is chosen ?" Asked Ren.

"We don't, i doubt anyone on our side know who Akechi is, maybe it's his power ? Their faction, called the Warriors of Fallen Stars so far consists of our dead friends, families, even enemies, Akechi is a stranger to all of us, the only reason I can think of is must be his powers, or maybe they need someone inside the police or something." Speculate Ryu.

"Right, our power is called Persona, you can say that we manifest our other selves, or something like that." Explained Joker. "Although honestly, I can't believe I can use this power in reality and not in cognitive world."

"So, that persona power...it has limits then ?" Asked Ryu.

"Yeah, we can't use our powers in real world, but somehow now we can." Continued Joker.

"The same goes for us, in order to access our carnage form we need help from creatures known as Mirages to do so, but now, we can do so without our Mirages." Added Itsuki.

"Hmm, I may have the answer to that, Japan was once engulfed by a strange light from nowhere not long ago right ?" Asked Ryu.

"Hey yeah, a bright light came from out of nowhere, it made the news, but since no one seemed to be harmed by the light people just forget about it and live their life like normal." Remembered Ann.

The other Phantom Thieves also recall when that strange light appear.

"That light remove your limitation, allowing you to access your powers at will, you can say a friend of ours is responsible for that event." Answered Ryu. "The full story is a lot more...complicated."

"Okay, so we found the answer how we able to use our persona powers in real world, and as for Akechi, i suppose we really can't leave him to his fate, despite our history he doesn't deserve to be bound against his will ike that, so I'm coming with you Joker." Morgana stand with Ren.

"Thanks Mona." Joker smiled and nodded at him.

"By the way, i've been curious, but what are you ? a Bakeneko ?" Genya asked Morgana's species.

"Bakeneko ! i'm not a monster cat ! Protested Morgana as the other Phantom Thieves snickered.

"We don't mind you come with us, but what about school ? You are still teenagers yes ?" Asked Ryu.

"Noir and I already graduate, although while college might keep us busy, we still have time beofre we can attend." Said Makoto.

"Are you sure you wish to join us ? You will be dealing with enemies you're unfamiliar with, like Hattrene right here." Jade pointed at the Pokémon.

"Heh, we're already involved this far, so why not ?" Ryuji answered.

"We're...going to need a lot of golden plates for this one." Remarked Jade.

"We have this objects called golden plates, with this you can teleport anywhere you want, with this you don't need to skip school to help us." Ryu show his golden plates to the Phantom Thieves.

"Wow that's convenient." Said Ryuji.

"What about you Mr. Vampire ?" Asked Hikari.

"With this mystery solved i need to leave for another case, I need to head to Mt. Hikami again, I can't seem to contact Soma, nor Mr. Hojo." Answered Alucard.

"Soma ? Oh Mr. Cruz is in the mansion with us." Answered Donbe.

"He's with you !" Alucard surprised again.

"Our headquarters is located in other world, that must be why you're unable to contact him." Said Ryu.

"Of course, it's not just Soma, Slogra, Gaibon, and even Death has join forces with us for the time being." Explained Jade.

"Is-is that so." Alucard looked baffled.

"Unfortunately for Mr. Hojo, Dracula's army got him, since he possess psychic powers, Dracula's army decided to abduct him and forcibly enlist him." Said Ryu.

"It's all my fault, I dragged him into this." Alucard blame himself. "They probably going to convert Mr. Hojo into a vampire."

"We're going into conflict with Dracula's Army anyway, so we will save them as well." Declared Donbe.

"So what about you two ?" Asked Jade.

"Honestly, I'm not sure, we wanted to help, but we can't just leave our job anytime we want." Said Itsuki.

"Hey, if we have that golden plate, we can go anywhere we want right ?" Asked Tsubasa.

"Yes...look I know you have priorities here, if you want, you can just gather information for us." Suggested Ryu.

"Very well, we'll contact you if anything unusual happens." Said Itsuki.

"Great, if I have something like that I don't need to wake up early for school anymore ! I can just teleport to school !" Exclaimed Tsubasa, and everyone put a blank stare at her.

"Who knew Japan rising star is...not a good student." Makoto sounds disappointed.

"We'll see if we can get more." Ryu contact the mansion with his golden plate. "Yeah, Isabelle, we need more golden plates, is 11 too much ? Yeah, we've met a lot of people, all of them offered to help, okay." Ryu ended the conversation.

"Was she surprised ?" Asked Hikari.

"Yeah, but we'll be getting it anyway." And then 11 golden plates appeared on Ryu's hand, he gave them to everyone, Ryu, Jade, Donbe, Hikari then taught everyone on how to use it.

"I can't always be present considering I have a company to run, but I will call if I hear anything strange." Said Itsuki.

"Don't worry, you don't need to be physically present to help us, some of our friends stayed in their own world to monitor their own world situations." Explained Ryu.

"I will have a lot of information as government agent, I can cooperate with the Phantom Thieves and Fortuna if i hear anything strange." Said Alucard as he return to his Genya disguise.

"You know, if you'd like we can take you to the mansion, I'm sure Richter would be happy to see you again." Offered Ryu.

"Thank you, but I still don't know what to say, it's all too sudden for me, I'm sorry, but maybe next time." Alucard decline Ryu's offer.

"Well, Joker and Morgana decided to come with us, what about the rest of you ?" Asked Jade.

"We don't have any pressing matters at the moment, so we'll be joining you." Said Makoto. "Besides we can alway come back anytime right."

"Alright, well i guess we're done here, Tsubasa and Itsuki, I'm going to teleport you two outside, this place is off limits to civilians in the first place." Ryu offered to teleport Itsuki and Tsubasa out.

"Hold on, then how did you get in here ?" Asked Genya.

"We teleport inside using the golden plate." Answered Ryu.

"Normally there would be punishment, but fine, this isn't something the police can handle anyway." Genya agreed to turn a blind eye.

"We'll be going ahead then." Itsuki choose to use the golden plate himself and teleport himself and Tsubasa back to Fortuna.

"I'll be leaving as well." Genya walked upstairs and left the building.

"Wait, when you're outside please find officer Zenkichi Hasegawa, he possess persona power like we do, maybe he should be involved in this as well, there's a possibility that with Akechi on enemy side, that the Tokyo police have been infiltrated." Explained Joker. "He's the man wearing a glasses and slightly long hair."

"Cone to think of it, it us odd how he's able to get the entire police force to stay put so he can conduct solo investigation, and considering he came here to search for the Chaos emerald..." Makoto begin speculating.

"Do you think it's possible the higher ups know about a Chaos Emerald ?" Asked Haru.

"It is possible, and I don't know how many corrupt officers there are, but if they get their hands on the Chaos Emeralds, it would be like Shido all over again." Answered Makoto.

"No way ! If anything it could be worse ! They have the power to bend reality to their whim !" Exclaimed Ryuji.

"Which is why we need Zenkichi, so he can gather intel from the inside, if we can summon our persona, then he should be able to as well, we need to know who in the police is involved in this other than Akechi." Said Morgana.

"So, will you cooperate with us..uhh Mr. Alucard ?" Joker asked for Genya cooperation.

"Just call me Genya while im using this disguise, and for your request...understood, i will speak to him about this event." Genya head upstairs and left the basement.

"So, we're going to your headquarters now ?" Asked Ryuji.

"Yes, it's a huge mansion." Answered Jade.

"A huge mansion from another world, you know this does sound similar don't you think Joker ?" Asked Ann.

"Yeah, I wonder what kind of people were going to meet this time." Replied Joker. "I wonder if this is what Lavenza meant ?"

"Hmm..? Lavenza ? Did you meet with her ?" Asked Yusuke.

"Yeah, she said that we're going to face a new trial, could it be this is what she meant ?" Questioned Joker.

"Well at least we won't be alone in dealing with it." Added Makoto.

"So..uhh you're not surprised at seeing Morgana ?" Asked Ryuji.

"What for ? Several of our friends aren't even human." Answered Hikari. "We even have a talking dog, talking fox, and wolf."

"Hey Mona did you hear that ! You won't be the only talking animal in where we're going next !" Ryuji make fun of Morgana. "Maybe there's a cat lady to be your girlfriend !"

"I can say the same for you, maybe there's a talking monkey there to be your girlfriend !" Morgana fires back as the two butt heads again.

"Did they bicker a lot ?" Jade sighed at the immaturity she sees.

"Unfortunately, Ryuji, Morgana enough ! You two are embarrassing us !" Makoto stopping Morgana and Ryuji.

"Well anyway, mission accomplished and now it's time to go back." Ryu used his golden plate and teleport back to the mansion alongside the Phantom Thieves.

Namco Theater - Hallway

As Genya return to the ground floor he saw police officers have entered the place, investigating the damages in the theater.

He then saw the man that fits the Phantom Thieves description. "Excuse me is your name Zenkichi ?"

"Hmm ? That's correct, my name is Zenkichi Hasegawa, you're that government agent right ? Genya Arikado." Replied Zenkichi.

"Correct, I see the police already entered the place, anyway did you see a masked figure around the theater ?" Genya asked about Akechi after he left.

"Masked figure ? I don't see anyone like that, the only one i saw leaving the building is Akechi, he said he's done with his solo investigation and allowed the police to enter the premises." Answered Zenkichi.

"How much authority he has ? Being able to give such order." Asked Genya.

"Come to think of it, it is strange, nobody seemed to question such order." Zenkichi stroking his chin..."Wait hold on, change g the subject a bit, have you seen a group of teenagers around here ?"

"Teenagers ? You mean the Phantom Thieves ?" Zenkichi is surprised hearing Genya's question.

"How did you...?"

"Let us talk in private." Genya and Zenkichi now headed to a corner of the hallway.

"There shouldn't be anyone here." Genya looked around.

"So why are you dragging me here ? I hope I'm not having a bad feeling about this." Remarked Zenkichi.

"Well I just say this first, I know you have persona power." Genya's words leave Zenkichi at loss for words.

"If you're wandering how I know, the Phantom Thieves told me about you, i suppose for a thieves to trust a cop, you must be pretty special." Continued Genya.

"Well, we did have worked together, so what are you going to do with this information ? i hope you're not planning anything unsavory to thise kids...or are you a persona user too ?" Asked Zenkichi.

"I'm not a persona user, however I do have a different set of power." Genya conjure a fireball in his hand, and then he dissipates it.

"Whoa...and I thought when I entered Jails I've seen everything." Zenkichi take a step back, trying to process his thoughts.

"Anyway the Phantom Thieves believe there might be an infiltrator within the police, the authority Akechi have seems unusual." Said Genya.

"You may have a point there, from what the other officer tells me is the higher up seems to trust Akechi too much, to the point he can order the other officers around so easily." Zenkichi looked to agree with Genya.

"Which is why I propose we worked together, apparently there's something big happening behind the scenes." Continued Genya.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do, if those kids told you to entrust this task to me, then i can trust you too." Said Zenkichi.

"I assure you I'm not your enemy, now let's us exchange contacts." Genya and Zenkichi added each other phone number.

"Also try to summon your persona, those kids able to do so, you should be able to as well." Said Genya.

"Summon my persona huh ? I tried that before, but it doesnt work." Replied Zenkichi.

"The barrier that prevent you from using your powers should have gone, now try it."

Zenkichi tried to summon his persona again, he remember the first time he did it, and now he replicate that feeling, and lo and behold his outfit changed and he managed to summon his persona as well.

"I can't believe this, I did it." Zenkichi still at disbelief.

"Now that you can access your powers you should be able to defend yourself should things go awry." Said Genya.

"Yeah, i'll make sure to fight the corruption within." And with this Zenkichi and Genya resolved to aid the heroes however they could.

---

And done, and so the Phantom Thieves finally join the Smash team.

Namco Theater is a stage in Namco x Capcom chapter 1, outside the building there's a Pac-Man statue outside.

Ryu's jacket the one he bought with Chun Li is one of the CG in Street Fighter 6 World Tour, finish Ryu story to unlock it.

The idol Tsubasa mentioned is Haruka Sawamura, Kazuma Kiryu adopted daughter from Yakuza series

So I know I made Hattrene seemed overpowered, but it's because the heroes are u familiar with pokemon, and also Ryu and Jade can be counted as 'fighting type' and Fairy is super effective against that type, Hikari can be counted as 'psychic type' and thanks to Hattrene high Special defense its highly resistant to non physical attacks.

The story Hikari told is from Okami franchise, Okami already have a character named Otohime, so in this fic I made that Otohime is Hikari predecessor. And so in my fic the events of Okami happened in Jaapan's distant past.

The Phantom Thieves using their base persona again, its said that persona power required constant usage, but yeah they still have all the skills they learned at least.

In pokemon world, high level pokemon refuse to obey inexperienced trainers, however Hattrene listened to Donbe because he and the others managed to defeat it, earning it's respect.

So I know Narcian seemed to appear out of nowhere, but Akechi has no means of escape or fight back, if he tries to use his special powers on himself, the heroes can and will gang up on him, not to mention the heroes already have two emeralds on their hands, Akechi is screwed either way, so someone has to bail him out and he's available at that time.

Character debut : Goro Akechi, Hattrene, Zenkichi Hasegawa, Narcian, Igor, Lavenza.

Boss battle : Hattrene