Mario looked at the city, it was in complete ruins. Explosion rallies up the DOUBLE.
"We've lost contact!"
"Our signal is being jammed!"
"I need a medic!"
"Requesting back-"
Static. All AST members have fallen.
The AST were powerless, Mario was powerless... All Mario could think of was...
"Fraxinus, what the-a HELL is this?!"
A few hours earlier...
"Well, Shido?" Kotori asked. "Do you like it?" Nobody could've seen this coming. It looked normal to any normal human, but somehow, GOD knows how, in the span of a few HOURS since saving Yoshino, there was a mansion beside the Itsuka residence.
"How did you build this so quickly?" Shido asked.
"It's-a-uh..." Mario looked up. "Very big." No duh. "Is this so-"
"So you give Shido a darn head peace." Kotori mumbled. "There's room for all of you and many more Spirits."
"Nani?" Mario could only think. "Uuuh, we appreciate it, Kotori. But doesn't this-a stand out a bit much?"
"What? Who's gonna know? We built this without anyone looking."
"That-a must've taken a RIDICULOUS amount of-a luck..." Mario muttered. "Are you an-a Ultimate Lucky Student? Your ahoge says so..." He pointed at a strand of hair on Kotori's hair sticking up.
"...What." Kotori's short temper got the better of her.
Tohka added on. "Yeah! Welcome our new resident, too!" She waved at an incoming person; a young girl with blue hair, cute clothes, and a hat, and a bunny puppet on her hand. Yoshino, the Spirit that Shido just successfully sealed.
"Hey, don't forget-a my crew!" Mario shouted. In came Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, the two Mushroom Residents that Mario reunited with recently. "Anyway, Shido, you said you had-a plans for today, is that-a not so?"
Shido realised. "Ah, yeah, in order to celebrate Yoshino's sealing, we decided to all go to the hot springs today."
Tohka added. "Because we all forced him to! With the power of-"
"No." Shido halted Tohka.
Kotori makes a valid point. "Well, we do want to support the Spirits and their ideals, don't want them upset and causing disaster over this, so I guess I'll allow it." She folded her arms. "Where are you lot going, anyway?"
"The Tenguu Gokuhaku Hot Springs."
Kannazuki, the Vice Commander of Fraxinus, chipped in Kotori's earpiece. "Oh, hot springs! Why don't you go along with them and leave me in charge, Commander?"
"If only it were that simple." Kotori huffed.
"What are you saying?! We'll be doomed if the Commander is not available and no-one else is in charge! So take a break and make SURE that you go with them!" Kannazuki pleaded.
"...what's your real goal?" Kotori asked, angrily looking at no-one as she was still on ground level with Shido.
"Surely you will not think that I, Kannazuki, plan to barrage a bunch of hidden cameras in the hot springs so I can examine and carefully inspect every inch of your still young, still growing under-developed body? Nah! Ridiculous!" Kannazuki might as well have wrote a death wish. It did NOT take long for him to be pinned by 2 muscular 'bodyguards'.
"HAVE MERCY, COMMANDER! Anything but the work caaaamp!"
"Listen up. You'll be digging a hole for a whole day in the place you are designated to. When you're done with that, fill the hole and repeat the task. Do that for a WEEK." She ended the communication with Kannazuki and looked at Shido while muttering to herself. "Hot springs with big brother?" She couldn't help but silently blush, with everyone awkwardly looking at her.
Meanwhile, in "Tenguu Garrison"...
"We got word from the GHQ. It has come to my attention that DEM Inc. will provide us with additional personnel." A man said, fiddling with some clips. "They're VERY talented at what they do, unlike you." The man spoke directly to the AST commander, Ryouko Kusakabe. "I know you won't get shown up by a bunch of civilians. Buuuut... you might pick up a thing or two, right?"
Ryouko saluted. "Understood, sir!"
She screamed as she flipped a ton of papers. She wheezed as she looked at advertisements of the hot springs.
"U-um, commander?" A member of the AST walked in at the wrong time.
"WHAT?!"
"I-it's about the trip scheduled this weekend?"
"You mean the 13 Secret Springs Tour?! With the all-you-can-eat feast we've all been looking forward to so much, right?!"
"Yeeeah, about that..."
"Yes? Yes?!"
"Because of the reemergance of Spirits, our alert level has been raised by one..." She might as well set off a bomb.
"What. Did. You. Say?!" Ryouko snapped.
"AND THE TRIP WAS CANCELED!"
Ryouko managed to throw the paper at the window so hard, that it actually broke! "CURSE YOU, SPIRITS!"
"T-there's more!"
"What?!"
"Although the place is nowhere near the quality of 13 Secret Springs, we decided to thank you for all your hard work you put in, we're going to the hot springs located at the edge of town: The Tenguu Gokuhaku Hot Springs! What a refreshing event! Please be so kind to come with us!"
Hearts came into Ryouko's eyes, and she sparkled up. She jumped over the table and gave the soldier a big hug. "Great! GREAT job! I'll give you a special double promotion!"
"T-that's a death flag, I think."
All Ryouko could think of is her wonderful time she'll be having in the hot springs. Little did she know is that Shido & co. are already heading there with Mario.
The soda has been dispensed from the vending machine. Origami picked it up, still in AST uniform from the battle against Yoshino.
"Girls! The captain approved it!" The soldier from before dashed in.
All the AST raised hands. "Hot springs for everyone! Wooo!" They all cheered in the background, except for ONE. Origami.
"I'm against it." They all turned to Origami. "If you have time for foolishness, then you have time to train too."
"B-but..."
Just then, Origami's phone rang. She collected her phone and saw the picture and name. Shido Itsuka. Without hesitation, she answered. "Hello?"
"Ah, it's me. Remember that book I borrowed? Is it okay if I don't return it today?"
"I don't mind. But... why?"
"My schedule got a bit-" Just then a BARRAGE of interruptions came from Shido's end.
"Shido!" Tohka shouted. "Let's go to the hot springs right now!" Origami noticed the voice. The PRINCESS. She gripped her soda can. More voices came.
"That would be-a fine, Tohka, if you let go of-a him!" Mario...
"But Mario!" Tohka complained, sending the listening Origami into a bit of a mildly annoyed state. "I love Shido! I can't simply let go!"
Shido simply sighed. "Eh-heh, alright, Tohka! But not so loud, Origami might-"
"What about-a me, EEEEH?" Mario shouted.
"You're good too, Mario!" Shido quickly responded.
"U-um... yeah... he's... nice..." Yoshino was in on it too, which teetered Origami over the edge.
Shido finally decided to end it. "U-uh, yeah, see ya, Origami!" Beep, beep, beep... The grip from Origami was too much for the poor soda can, and it gave way, bursting. Everyone cowered in fear before her.
In the car ride to the hot springs, Yoshino was amazed at all the scenery.
And so was Tohka. "Woah, this is awesome!"
Shido laughed. "This is your first time in a car, you two. I think." He patted Yoshino's head. "There, there. Just don't get carsick, okay?"
Tohka noticed the head-pat treatment from Yoshino. "Shido! Shido! Me too..." Tohka was all the way at the front of the car, and Shido was all the way at the back, therefore...
"I can't reach that far!" The accursed seatbelt with it's darn safety functions stopped Shido from reaching Tohka to head pat her.
"Why can Yoshino have that but not meeee?"
"You WANTED to sit at the front!"
Tohka grumbled while Yoshinon spoke. "Shido! Shido! Pet me too!"
"Ah. Looks like I have no choice." Shido petted Yoshinon. "Who's a good rabbit?"
Tohka grumbled, but quickly called out something.
"Where's Mario? I thought he was coming too!"
"He is, look in the mirror."
Tohka looked at the car mirror, and saw Mario in a freakin' MERCEDES from a certain game. The plumber waved with one hand and kept his other on the wheel.
"U-um.. Shido... what's that swirly thing?" Yoshino pointed.
"That's a barber pole!"
"And that?"
"Oh, that?"
Tohka couldn't take it anymore. She started screaming and shouting, stomping her foot on the car floor. It actually gave way and she broke through it, stomping on the road. The road caved in and collapsed, the car falling, and Mario's Mercedes came to a stop.
"I think that was-a Tohka." Mario stated the obvious.
The AST train zipped by underground.
"Are you sure we should be in our uniform for this trip?"
"Don't misunderstand." Ryouko shouted. She was carrying casual stuff with casual clothing. "We are merely confirming the normal operation of the vehicle and doing a routine inspection of a route we hardly ever use! We're NOT just messing around! Be serious! Don't slack off!"
Trains of thoughts came in the soldiers. "We're fooling around? She's not taking this seriously. She's slacking off..."
"It's just as the captain says." Origami blurted in, wearing camo uniform with recording equipment, like headphones, video cameras, etc... "We'll never reach the hot springs until we're absolutely prepared. You should be aware of that."
"Hot springs?" All 4 soldiers shared the same thought. Just then, there was a rumble that shook the entire train. The train's lights grew red, AST members collapsed everywhere. Ryouko was the first to get up.
"What's going on?"
"O-on it!" The soldier reached for the phone. "Hey, what's going on?!... Ah... okay..." She turned to the commander. "The train stopped due to the tunnel collapsing. No sign of a speedy recovery."
"Dammit..." Ryouko cursed. "We have no choice! Troops, Stand!" They did as told. "We will proceed on foot to our destination! Dismissed!"
"Roger!" The sounds of marching echo throughout the tunnel...
Mario looked at the crater, still no sign of Shido and co. "Did they go-a out another way?" Mario looked around, still no word of them. "Must have.." He folded his arms and looked at the sky. "Well, I suppose there's-a only one thing to it... Walk-a there." He groaned. Today was supposed to be SLACKING OFF DAY, and of course they had to ruin it. "Come-a on Mario," He tried to reassure himself. "A little WALK doesn't faze-a me! I've-a been to World 8 a couple of times already, should be a piece of... cake?" Just then, he checked in with Fraxinus. Alarms everywhere.
"Huh?"
"AST approaching! Use all forms of the ship to stop them!"
"Oh no."
Mario looked at the blockade of trucks.
"What?"
A collapsed bridge.
"What?!"
Construction works...
"What...?!"
A stampede of bulls!
"WHAT?!"
Mario looked at a twirling Origami in the sky, landing on an electricity pole.
"Okay, this is-a getting crazy! I just-a need to find Shido and company! Then I can-a get back on track!"
Shido walked past a baked bun shop, but stopped when the curtains flapped and revealed KOTORI. "Huh? Wait a second." He opened the curtain, revealing her. "Kotori?!" Kotori turned red. "What're you doing here?"
Tohka raised up as well. "Oh! If it isn't Kotori!"
"Did something happen?" Yoshino silently said.
"I-I'm observing! Yeah, that!" She stuttered. "I have to make sure you don't mess up, Shido!"
"You could do that from the ship. By any chance, is the real reason you're here is because you wanna come too?"
"O-Of course I don't!"
"C'mon, drop the act! Come on, we can all go together!" He offered his hand.
Kotori was entranced, "W-well, if you say so..." She was harshly interrupted by an alarm in her earpiece. Everyone blinked as Kotori turned around. "W-what the hell do you want?!" She turned to Shido again. "Sorry, Shido, go on ahead!"
"Are you sure about that?"
"Just get going already!"
They quickly left.
"What do they want NOW..." Kotori huffed.
Explosions were heard. Mario perked up. "Mama-mia! It-a begins!" Smoke trailed up from the explosion, and he saw a few members of AST. "Looks like they're-a approaching..."
Mario then craned his neck up, just to see the inevitable impending incoming MISSILE.
"Is that heading for-a the town?" He asked himself.
Then as he saw it getting closer, he drooped his eyes. "It is."
KABOOM!
"D'oh! What-a happened?" Mario ran to investigate the scene. Green goop everywhere, trapping the AST. "What is-a this?!" He saw AST members also in ropes.
He looked around for more danger. He saw takoyaki being raised. "Oh no." They fired like bullets, wait, no, they were like GRENADES. Explosions up the rally. "WAAAH! MAMA-MIA! That's a lotta damage!"
He turned, seeing a panda plush fire out wires to an AST members. Both were confused, until the AST member recieved an electric shock. "Jeezus!" Mario called out.
Yakitori next, firing like missiles. They fired like grenades again, destroying the city. "At this-a point..." Mario said.
Mario looked around as he stepped out of the way of some shiny slippery liquid. "The city's gonna be-a utterly annihilated! That's-a no good! They're-a going all out! They don't-a know who they're aiming at!" Mario dodged a pile of sleeping AST members and sleeping gas. "Ooooh, boooy... Fraxinus sure is determined to get-a us to the hot springs!" Turnips homed in on EVERYONE, including Mario. "WAAAH!" He got knocked around like a dummy.
Ryouko had no problem with destroying everything in sight.
Meanwhile, with Shido CASUALLY walking to the hot springs, a leftover missile came directly to them. In the end, Yoshinon got launched away. "Y-Yoshinon..." It did NOT take long for Yoshino to cry and start freezing the city, manholes being blown away by water.
"Calm down Yoshino-!"
Reine pointed out. "No, Shin, find Yoshinon first, then calm her down."
Shido patted Yoshino's head. "Yeah, I'll find it. Stay back, all of you, I'll be right back!" That calmed her down to stop raining. He looked forward, and stepped INTO the chaos.
"Be careful, Shido!" Tohka shouted.
"At least it's-a not THAT bad now..." Mario chipped into Fraxinus.
"Use DESTROY mode! They have Territory!" was all he could hear from Kotori.
"Oh GOD."
Eggs fired at the AST.
Spaghetti fired at them.
DISCLAIMER: Don't worry, all the food was ate after. Mario helped with that.
"I'm drenched.. Covered in sweat..." Ryouko was panting. This was not how she planned to spend her day. "Where's the HOT SPRINGS? Where's that? Huh...? That's right... my superior bashes me every day... my unit's members younger than me... I wanted to enjoy ONE thing..." She finally SNAPPED. "LET ME GO TO THE HOT SPRINGS!" She pulled out a GIANT gattling gun, and fired without mercy at any and all houses, crumbling in an instant. "So you think you can just take advantage of us, HUH?! Well, it's too early for THAT, let me tell you!" She was out of ammo at this point. "Dammit! DAMMIT!" She pulled out a grenade next. "JUST CRUMBLE TO DUST!" She opened fire, with an explosion bigger than the city.
Mario was just in awe. He was REALLY close to Ryouko.
"HAAHAHAHAHAHA!" She finally lost it. "Let's GIVE THEM HELL, girls! It's FUN time! Time to take out the trash! Eradicate, obliterate, decimate, exterminate, annihilate, and DESTROY THEM COMPLETELY!" The AST completely obeyed this and started firing. Ryouko turned to the person right beside her. MARIO.
"Haa, it's you! The chubby man from before!" She pointed at Mario. "What's this?" She cackled at his face. "You wanna GO, you say?! It'll be fun! So much FUN!"
"What's happening?!" Shido, in the distance, was witnessing buildings crumble. He ran while Mario and Ryouko argue.
"You're not-a gonna win this time, commander!" Mario stated, readying his fists.
"Maybe this time, I'll get some of your BONES! Don't think we'll stay young forever!" She pulled out ANOTHER gattling gun and pointed right at Mario's face. "This will be a fun stress relief! Hell, this will relieve more stress than the hot springs!"
Mario, however, did not budge. "Crazy, huh?"
"Just because we're girls, we're not gonna sit and do nothing!" Ryouko's line right there hit Mario right in the heart. He was taken memory to Princess Peach.
"Mario and that girl are arguing... Gotta find Yoshinon!" Shido hurried.
"WELL YOU SHOULD JUST DIE!" Ryouko shouted, revving it up. Mario had an idea. He was just about to run up and punch Ryouko square in the face, but Mario and Ryouko froze. They looked down, being covered in ice.
"Hermit!"
"Yoshino!" They were lucky to avoid any explosions, but instead, they hit the AST members.
Shido finally found Yoshinon. "THERE you are!" He looked up, and saw a giant melon. There was no escape. This would be the end. Origami was close to Shido, and gasped.
"Sh-Shido!"
The melon explodes, causing a nuclear reaction, which Shido would NOT survive, even if he had ran away.
But guess what? HE SURVIVED.
Shido could only gape. There, in front of him, was Tohka, in Spirit armor. She was projecting a forcefield that stopped Shido from dying again. "Are you okay, Shido?" She smiled.
"Tohka..."
The troops of the AST, who were outside the forcefield, saw this too. "Princess?! Captain, it's princess-!" No signal. "No orders..."
Origami stepped forward with her gun. "I'll do it."
"B-but..."
"That doesn't matter. This is a great chance." She then realised as the forcefield teleported the duo away.
Mario woke up. "Uuuh, I think I blocked that gattling-a gun... Where am I?" He looked at the sunset, and then the ground, he was reunited with Shido & co.!
"You guys-!"
"Aaah! I'm so refreshed!" Ryouko made it too, with everyone quivering in fear.
"Yeah, looks like we made it. You're a surprisingly heavy haul to carry, Mario." Shido said, chuckling awkwardly at the same time, hoping Mario didn't misinterpret his meaning.
"What's-a that supposed to mean?!" Mario grumbled. Aaaaand he misinterpreted it.
Yoshinon chattered. "Yeah, it was all because of me that yo-" The head of Yoshinon came off and into the water. Yoshino was devesated.
"All troops, charge to the water!" Ryouko shouted, with them doing so while squealing.
"Where's Shido.." Origami looked around. The sounds of ice hit her ears, and she turned, to see AST members trapped in ice due to Yoshino's heartbreak.
"So much for the hot springs..." Kotori stated while in Fraxinus.
Kannazuki hogged the monitor. "Captain, may I?"
"Kannazuki?!"
"Yes, ma'am! I was digging that hole like you commanded, aaand... I dug up a hot spring!"
Now Shido & co were in Kannazuki Hot Springs.
"How is it?" Tohka asked. "Do you feel less stressed now? Do your muscles feel relaxed?"
Yoshino added. "Are you okay?" with Yoshinon adding. "Sorry I caused you so much trouble!"
Shido asked Kotori, in ground level. "Did you go this far for me?"
"Be grateful. You have more work again soon."
Mario and company were not in the hot spring, but were gazing into the sunset. Everyone was gazing at it, with the only sounds of a leftover missile, travelling a far distance to goodness knows where.
"Yeeeah, relaxing's the best." Shido sighed.
For once, everyone got along.
An airport landed, and out stepped a blue-haired girl in armor, also gazing at the sunset.
She didn't speak a single word.
"Saaay, didn't this timeline happen before?"
"Yeah, but Bowser resetted it because he touched the crystal, me."
"Well, you know how this timeline goes. Looks like I'm next."
"Got your school disguise ready, me?"
"Yeah, I do." The girl smiled, while using her black hair to cover a peculiar golden clock eye.
"I wonder if Mario can face against me?"
"He is a hero. Be careful."
"Heroes can't face against...
Nightmares."