Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

Moments After Weiss and Co Went After Adam and Azure

"I feel bad…" Kirumi said. "I wish there was something we can do too."

"Indeed. Her friends have her back, and so does her twin sister, but…" Willow had her arms folded. "I wonder if it's enough."

Winter leaned against the couch, her arms folded and her eyes closed. She tapped her elbows deep in thought. Surely there was something that she could do, provide back up just in case.

Deep down, she knew that this could possibly be a trap. Even with a large team, there was a high chance Adam was prepared for it.

"I'm going to go after them."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Willow asked.

"Yes. Weiss needs all the love she needs… and I'm not going to sit here and wait for news that could potentially bring despair into our home." Winter explained as she stood up. "I'll be back. You're more than welcome to join me."

She walked out of the door and immediately pulled out her scroll, quickly texting someone.

Meet me at Mushroom Hills ASAP

She wandered over to Mushroom Hills with a spring in her step, determination in her eyes.

As soon as she made it to Mushroom Hills, she heard the sound of a phoenix as she looked up to see Esdeath landing from her ice phoenix.

"What's up? You feeling okay?" Esdeath asked.

"I'm feeling fine, but my sister isn't."

"Does she need a hug from me?"

"Honestly, she needs a hug from everyone. Her Rathalos had been Wyvern-napped in broad daylight."

"What?! Who in the right mind would do something-"

"Adam."

"...Adam? Oh gosh." Esdeath whispered. "Do you need me to go after them?"

"As much as I'd want to see Adam as an ice sculpture, no. I'm requesting your help."

"What do you need?"

"I want to catch a monster."

"Monsters… you mean creatures such as Rathalos, Legiacrus, Magnamalo, Fatalis and other beasts?"

"The very same." Winter nodded.

"I'm aware of hunting Monsters, as well as hatching them and having them imprint on you, but wrangling up a Monster itself? Sounds like we're in for a ride."

"Indeed, though perhaps by the power of music, we could increase our odds by not accidentally killing those beasts."

"Good thinking." Esdeath nodded. "And as a matter of fact… I happen to know of a woman."

"You do?"

"I believe she resides in Nohr."

Later, in Nohr…

Esdeath knocked on the doors of the Nohrian Castle, and on cue, Xander opened up the door. "Yes, who is-... Esdeath! This is a surprise. And you too, Winter."

"Mind if we come in?" Esdeath asked.

"Yes, right this way." He said, inviting the ladies in. "To what do I owe this surprise visit?"

"We're here looking for that songbird."

"Ah, she's not here. She is currently in Hoshido attending a music festival. She should be back-"

"I'm home."

"-...Right about now." Xander rubbed his head as the ladies turned to see Azura walking through with bags in her hands. Elise was right next to her.

"Oh! We got visitors?" Elise asked in surprise. "Niiiice!"

"Oh, hello Winter. Esdeath." Azura curtsied. "What brings you here to Nohr?"

"We're looking for Monsters." Winter responded. "Something that could turn the tide of battle."

"What monsters are you referring to?" Xander wondered.

"Wyverns, Leviathans, Elder Dragons… the usual." Esdeath said casually.

"Aaaah, understood. But what do you need Azura for? I know music can calm any beast, but-"

"My sister's Rathalos was taken by Adam."

"Adam? I've heard of the Crimson Fang being a nuisance but I never thought one would be so bold as to take a Rathalos of all things." Xander said. "Hmm… must be trying to lure her out so he can kill her…"

"Ugh, can't those Crimson Fang jerks just leave everyone alone? Heck, a few of them tried to ruin the music festival and tried to kill Sakura!" Elise shook her head. "They didn't make it that far though. Camilla sensed their ill intent and nipped it in the bud."

"They're making a mess in your world too?" Esdeath frowned.

"Unfortunately, they seem to be eager to take out humans in other worlds as well." Xander said. "Though I've heard they didn't get that far in Hyrule."

Earlier, in Hyrule…

"Yaaaaaaaaaaah!" A few Crimson Fang members ran away in terror as a Silver Lynel chased after them.

Back with them…

"I'm willing to bet that Lady Urbosa put them in their place." Xander said.

"Naaaah, I'm thinking it was a Lynel that did them in!" Elise grinned. "Those guys are cool!"

"Or their own stupidity with explosive barrels…" Azura added.

"Regardless, we were hoping we could borrow Azura for a bit so we can get some Monsters in our world." Winter said.

"It's not just your world that those particular monsters are prominent." A voice said as they saw Leo approaching them.

"What do you mean?" Esdeath asked.

"I've been studying these monsters and it's not just the Mushroom Kingdom/Remnant that have these monsters. In fact, they've branched out to other worlds as well. A few wandering around Fodlan, there were a Bazelgeuse and a Magnamalo near the border between us and Hoshido, a few Lagombi were spotted by the Ice Climbers in their world, there have been increased numbers of territorial disputes between Lynels and Zinogres, a Fatalis had been spotted in Corneria, and yes, there have been some Monsters mistaken for Pokemon in the Pokemon world."

"Wow… they've branched out." Winter said. "Any other sightings?"

"There were a few cases reported near Onett, a pack of Jaggi were ran over during an F-Zero race, they've been joining forces with other monsters in Erdrea, some rather docile Monsters were seen in Radiant Garden… and as far as I know, there have been rumors of Monsters being seen at Mt. Fuji in the Phantom Thieves' Japan. And those are ones that have been recently reported."

"Wow…" Esdeath breathed. "And I thought it had been contained only in our world."

"It would seem that is not the case anymore." Leo said. "So, if you feel so inclined, you could go out to other worlds and see what you can gather."

"You need a healer. I'll go with you!" Elise smiled.

Winter smiled. "Okay."

"By the way, speaking of your borders… what ever happened to the Bazelgeuse and Magnamalo?" Esdeath asked.

"They've been recently slain."

"Really? Who killed them?"

Earlier…

Ryoma stood on top of both of their corpses, raising his sword up high. "Our borders are no longer terrorized by these vicious beasts!"

Back in the present…

"I have a very plausible theory…" Leo deadpanned.

"Let's go looking, Winter. We've got plenty of options." Esdeath said as she walked out the door.

"Plenty would be an understatement…" Winter sweatdropped as she followed, with Azura and Elise following them.

"Okay, so where to?" Elise asked as they walked out of the castle.

"Hmmm, I know a good place to start." Azura said. "It's actually in our world."

"Oh? Where are we going?" Elise wondered.

"You might want to bundle up."

"What do you… oh…"

Later…

"Welcome to the Ice Tribe Village." Azura said, wearing a heavy coat yet was still barefoot.

"Brrr! How can you bear to walk in the ice cold snow with no shoes?" Elise asked.

"I've told you, I'm just used to it."

"One of these days, frostbite is going to go after those toes of yours!" Elise pointed out as Esdeath and Winter wandered around. "Of course, being an Atlesian means you're built different too…" She mumbled.

Winter looked into the mountains and walked toward them, her rapier at the ready as the others were right behind her. They scanned the land as they continued to approach… when suddenly, a blizzard popped in out of nowhere to blind them.

They heard a roar before a monster landed on the snow in front of them, slowly approaching them with a snarl.

A Barioth.

BGM: The Subzero White Knight (Monster Hunter Tri)

Winter pulled out a Beast Ball and threw it in the air, calling out her Pheromosa. The Barioth snarled as Pheromosa got in a stance.

With a growl, the Barioth lunged as Pheromosa did the same as she unleashed a High Jump Kick to knock the Barioth back as it unleashed an ice tornado right as Winter and Esdeath both attacked the beast from both sides as Azura ran through and thrusted her spear while Elise focused on throwing out magic.

The Barioth shook it off and then swiped at Winter, but she used a Gravity glyph to block it, but then the Barioth flanked her and swiped at her. Winter blocked, but was pushed back as Esdeath jumped in and slashed at the Barioth, only to get headbutted by the Wyvern.

Azura took a step back and closed her eyes, immediately starting to sing while doing a dance. The singing caught the attention of the Barioth as it roared and lunged, but Pheromosa Bounced over and landed on top of the Barioth to get it to stop as Esdeath helped it out.

The Barioth roared, shaking them off as Winter put up some glyphs to protect Azura while fireballs rained down and hit the Barioth. The Wyvern snarled as it fought through the glyphs and lunged at Azura, but Elise stepped in and used her healing staff to block it, the staff nearly breaking from its teeth.

"Down kitty! Dooooown!" Elise said with a fierce look while Azura kept singing. At that moment, the Barioth calmed down and let go of Elise as it sat down and listened to the songstress's soft melody.

End BGM

Winter approached the Barioth and gently put her hand on the head, lightly scratching its fur as the Barioth leaned into it, softly growling as if it was purring.

"Is this Barioth enough?" Azura asked after she finished.

"Not yet." Winter responded.

"I had a feeling." Esdeath chuckled. "Where to next?"

"I want to try the Mushroom Kingdom next. Heaven knows there's plenty to find there." Winter said as they walked off, then looked at her Barioth. "Think I'll call you… North."

Later, somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom…

BGM: Let's Go Down the Midas River (Super Mario RPG 2023)

"Whoooooooa!" Azura exclaimed as she was sliding down a waterfall.

"Weeeeeeeeee!" Elise laughed.

"I've heard of this place but I didn't think it actually existed!" Winter exclaimed.

Nearby, Esdeath decided to go down the Midas River by conjuring up an ice Mantine and proceeded to surf on the river.

"I don't think there's any waves down this waterfa-... Aaaaand she's gone." Azura sweatdropped.

"Wahooooo! Weeeee~! This is so fuuuuun!" Elise giggled. "I'm definitely bringing Sakura next time!"

As they continued down the waterfall, and collecting plenty of coins that came their way, not to mention Esdeath jumping over some barrels to collect some midair coins, they reached the bottom as Esdeath did a few flips before gracefully landing.

"Awwww, is it over already?" Elise pouted before smiling. "I wanna go again!"

"Later." Azure chuckled after wringing out her hair as North shook the water off of his fur.

"That was… definitely an experience." Winter said as they started to walk off… and then spotted a Mizutsune lounging around Tadpole Pond, where it was producing bubbles for the tadpoles to play with.

The Mizutsune then turned to the ladies and slithered over out of curiosity, producing some bubbles where Elise wasted no time in popping them with a playful giggle. "Such childlike joy…" Esdeath smiled, having a bubble pop on her wrist with a soft smile.

"You want this one?" Azura asked.

"Yes. I've heard how powerful Mizus can be. This one's perfect." Winter said, gently petting its head as the Mizutsune playfully growled and nuzzled her. "I don't know why, but you seem like a Sakura to me."

"Naming it after my bestie! Awesome!" Elise giggled. "...Or… wait… are you naming it after that bulky lady? …Eh, doesn't matter! Let's go get you another one!"

End BGM

Later, at Mount Lanayru…

BGM: Mount Hylia (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

The four walked through the snowy mountain during heavy snowfall, all of them looking around for a monster that Winter would be interested in.

Elise climbed up on some ice rocks and looked around. "Hmm, let's see… what kind of monster would be perfect for-... are we having an earthquake?"

"Elise, get off of that!" Azura exclaimed.

End BGM

"Huh?" Elise looked down to see the rocks moving. "Ack!" She yelped as she hopped off as an Ice Talus rose up.

BGM: Talus Battle (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

"Interesting, kinda hard to tell it was a Talus in this weather." Esdeath said as the Ice Talus threw its icy arm directly at the group where they rolled out of the way, and then again when it threw its other arm as it proceeded to dig itself in the snow to "regenerate" its arms.

The Barioth and Mizutsune roared as everyone got into position… only they heard a loud screech as a Shrieking Legiana came swooping in from behind the Talus and grabbed the ore, picking it up and flying off with the Talus.

The Talus tried to shake off the Legiana, to which the Legiana proceeded to drop the Ice Talus, where it started falling… and landed right on top of a Stalnox to crush it, where the Ice Talus also shattered upon impact.

End BGM

Winter watched on as the Shrieking Legiana made a U-Turn. "I know exactly what I want."

"I'll see if I can lure it over." Azura said as she started to sing, which caught the Shrieking Legiana's attention as it flew over toward them. It corkscrewed into them immediately, but North jumped in and pinned the Legiana down so it wouldn't try anything funny.

The Legiana roared and knocked the Barioth off, only for Winter to step in and pointed her rapier at the Legiana. The Shrieking Legiana screeched in her face, but Winter did not budge. Her ears rang, but she did not falter as Azura continued to sing.

The Shrieking Legiana approached Winter calmly after that, seemingly impressed that she didn't budge against the screech and nuzzled her chest. Winter smiled and petted its head, causing Azura to stop singing.

Esdeath smiled and turned to Elise who had her ears plugged. "You can unplug them now."

"WHAT? …Oh!" Elise pulled them away and gently petted the Legiana as well.

"Karin… seems like it's a good name for you." Winter smiled once her ears stopped ringing.

"So, you got anything else in mind?" Azura asked.

Later, at the peak of Mt. Coronet…

BGM: Mt. Coronet (Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl)

"Alright, Azura. Let's see what kind of beast you attract!" Elise smiled.

"Right." Azura nodded as she cleared her throat.

"Sometimes it's hard to know~ Which way you're supposed to go~"

A soft blizzard filled the air.

"But deep inside, you know you're strong~ If you follow your heart~ you can't be wrong~"

"Ooooh! I heard you and Weiss sing this together a week ago! …Before Egghead showed up, of course." Elise shook her head.

The blizzard started to pick up.

"Sometimes it's hard to see~ Just what's your destiny~ But when you find the path that's true~ You'll know that's the one for you~"

They heard a roar as Winter and Esdeath had their weapons at the ready. The Monsties got ready to throw down if need be.

"Stand up~! For what is right~! Be brave~! Get ready to fight~!"

A shadowy figure emerged from the blizzard.

"Hold on~! We're friends for life~!"

The shadowy figure turned out to be a Velkhana, curiously approaching the melody as everyone but Azura looked up at the majesty of the Velkhana. Azura simply smiled as she continued to sing.

"And if we come, together as one~ Complete the quest, that we've begun~ We will win the battle~"

Azura approached the Velkhana as she was singing and gently put her hand on its snout. She turned her head and urged Winter to come over. Winter walked over and gently put her hand on the Velkhana.

End BGM

"You want to come with?" Winter gently asked as the Velkhana nudged her, seemingly answering with a "yes". "Good."

"It's so pretty…" Elise smiled.

"...Valka." Winter spoke up with a smile.

At that moment, they heard an explosion that caught their attention as they went over to investigate, where they stumbled into Steel Pillar.

As they got closer, they saw a Valstrax at the far end, letting out a roar… while at the same time, they also saw Cynthia fighting it with her Garchomp.

"I do not know how you came here, but I will not allow you to terrorize Sinnoh!" Cynthia said, immediately Mega Evolving Garchomp as they both lunged, clashing against one another until Garchomp swung its scythes down in an x shape, giving the Valstrax an X-shaped scar on its forehead.

The Valstrax growled, breathing fire at Garchomp point blank. Garchomp slid back as he used Swords Dance, followed by a Dragon Claw. The Valstrax growled before it flapped its wings and then flew away from Cynthia and her Garchomp.

"Yeah, you better run." Cynthia said as she turned around and saw her audience. "Oh! Hello there."

"What were you doing here?" Winter asked.

"Oh, I decided to do some training with Garchomp up here and then that thing came out of nowhere. During the battle, a blizzard seemingly came out of nowhere, but that didn't deter us one bit."

"That's… good to know." Esdeath looked off into the distance. "By any chance, would you have wanted a Valstrax?"

"If I didn't come across this Velkhana, I would have considered it." Winter said. "However, I feel like a fifth Monster would round the team up."

"Let's go." Azura smiled as they walked off together.

"Gar Gar?" Garchomp wondered.

"I think that strange Pokemon won't bother us anymore… what did Esdeath call it again… a Valstrax…?" She wondered before shrugging it off.

Later, at Dreamland…

BGM: Butter Building (Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland)

The group wandered around Dreamland, all of them looking around. "I know Leo didn't say anything about monsters in Popstar, but perhaps there were a few Monsters that went unnoticed." Winter said.

"If not, we can always try Green Hill." Elise said as they wandered around until they went into the forest where some Waddle Dees wandered around, some Bronto Burts flying through the air.

They soon came across a lake, and then they spotted a Kirin drinking from said lake.

"...Oh. My Naga. That's a unicorn~!" Elise gushed.

"Fascinating." Azura mused as she looked at Winter, and with a nod from her, Azura sang a melody.

The Kirin's ears twitched as it looked up at them and calmly approached them. It looked at the Velkhana warily but it still made its way over until it stopped. Esdeath had pulled an apple from a tree and gave it to Winter as she presented it to the Kirin.

The Kirin investigated the apple before proceeding to eat it, and then nuzzled against Winter. "Well, how about that." Esdeath said as Elise petted the Kirin's mane, causing her hair to stick up.

"Ooooh, feel the static electricity of this beauty~!" Elise giggled.

"I think I'll call you… Sasuke."

Elise raised an eyebrow. "That's an odd name… I would've gone for something a bit more majestic, but what do I know?" She chuckled.

"You want any more or is that it?" Azura asked.

"I believe I'm set."

"Hmmm…" Esdeath folded her arms. "I think maybe you need some weapons. Considering that some folks use monster's hides for weapons and armor, perhaps it'd be wise to up your arsenal a bit."

"Ooooh, perhaps you can disguise yourself so no one will know it's you until you feel like revealing yourself to Weiss!" Elise pointed out.

"I would suggest modifying your voice as well so you're not revealing who you are just yet." Azura added.

"Hmm… I think I can get Snake involved with that last one." Winter said.

End BGM

With a nod, Winter smiled. "I'll go train with these five before I'm ready to aid Weiss." She said as she went off with the five.

"Looks like she's happy." Elise said.

"Indeed." Azura nodded as the three walked out of the forest together.

"Oh, there you are!" A voice said as they saw Willow approaching them.

"Oh, hello Willow. What brings you here?" Esdeath asked.

"I've done some thinking. I want you to help me find a Monster of my own. I want to go after Adam to make him pay for what he's done."

Meanwhile, with the Valstrax…

The Valstrax zoomed through the skies, letting out a few weak growls. It had underestimated the human and that dinosaur-like creature, especially when it transformed.

Once it rests, it will go back and try again with that blonde human.

It looked down, noticing a large crater in the middle of a region. Said crater was covered in thick clouds.

It looked impenetrable, yet to the Valstrax, it looked like the perfect resting place to lie down and lick its wounds.

It dove through the seemingly impenetrable cloud barrier, where it would find a curious ecosystem filled with Pokemon such as Venemoth, Girafarig, Farigaraf, Corviknight and many more.

The Velkhana landed at the bottom and noticed a cave entrance that seemed to be filled with huge diamond structures.

It proceeded to go into the cave, curious to see what it might contain.

Shout out to DarkRebellion for the names of Winter's Monsties!

Ibuki: Wait... did that Valstrax go into... uh oh...

Deadpool: Ooooh boooy! That'll be a lot of fun!