Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
A Couple of Days After Returning From Starfall Islands
BGM: Toad Town (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
Over at McGoombas, Mabel, Kotoko, Kokoro and Waddles were chatting while having lunch together in a booth. However, Kotoko wasn't her usual chatty self as she was busy munching on fries while staring out at the window in silence, hardly paying attention to Kokoro and Mabel chatting away.
She frowned, recalling what had happened as she had been stuck in Cyberspace alongside Masaru, Jataro and the others. Images of SAPR flashed in her head… that friendly smile that was taken away by a rogue AI that refused to see reason.
Not to mention what happened after soon as they got back and reunited with Kokoro and Mabel.
End BGM
Kokoro turned her gaze toward Nagisa after spending some one on one with Jataro, smooching her boyfriend that was Masaru, and fist bumping Kotoko and hugging her.
Nagisa awkwardly rubbed his arm and shifted his gaze, before Dipper and Silver gave him a reassuring smile, causing him to walk forward as he lightly inhaled and exhaled. "I'm glad that you're still holding yourself up well despite what happened… And…"
He frowned in guilt and discomfort. "...I'm so sorry about what I did to you... I didn't mean to shout at you because I was scared that something really bad could have happened to you and Mabel if I allowed you two to catch up with us in Mobius. But still…" He clenched his fists tightly. "...It was still no excuse for me to act out my fears and take them out on you like that."
He relaxed himself. "That said... I understand that if you're still upset with me about it, then I promise that I won't hold it against–" He suddenly felt a pair of arms wrapping around his waist. "-...You?"
BGM: Missing You (Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix)
Kokoro had tears swelling in her eyes. "Don't... don't beat yourself up too much... I already understood that you reacted that way because you panicked... Honestly, I would have felt the same way if I were in your shoes..." She tightened the embrace a little bit. "But none of that matters anymore... I'm really happy right now that you made it back home safely with our friends just like you promised...!"
Nagisa was stunned. "I…" He smiled as he returned the embrace, a few tears escaping his eyes. "You're welcome."
Jataro smiled. "That worked out well."
Masaru chuckled. "What can you expect? That's just Kokoron."
Kotoko nudged him playfully. "You really are one lucky guy, you know that?" She winked. "I can always see why you two deserved each other."
"Hehe~..." Masaru blushed as he rubbed the back of his head.
Kotoko chuckled. I swear… that girl can be a bit too nice sometimes for her own good.
"Hey, Kotoko… KOTOKO!" Mabel yelled softly.
"Ack!" Kotoko yelped, snapping out of it as she nearly dropped a fry. "H-huh…?!" She recomposed herself. "Wh-what is it?"
Kokoro looked at her in concern. "You've been staring out the window and haven't said a single word for the past fifteen minutes since we got our food… Is something wrong?"
Kotoko frowned. "I'm fine, you two…"
"Kotoko, we both know you're not. Plus the way you're talking right now isn't even helping." Mabel said sternly.
"Ugh… okay, it's just what happened in Mobius a few days ago. The fact that The End trapped half of us in Cyberspace, dragged Weiss and Futaba through the mud, not to mention that Weiss and Sonic ends up nearly trapped with no possible way out that forced Ruby to take action, and then of course Cyberspace uses everyone's PTSD against everyone, including bringing that damn bitch you call Monaca back into our lives… and the fact that The End was-"
"Kotoko? People are staring…" Kokoro said quietly.
End BGM
"Huh?" Kotoko looked around, as some Koopas, Toads and a few Biddy Buds were staring at Kotoko as she hadn't realized she was raising her voice to nearly shouting levels, causing her to groan in embarrassment. "I-I…"
She slinked back down to her seat and rests her forehead on her hand. "I... I'm sorry for almost shouting like that… I don't know what came over me…"
Kokoro hugged her while Mabel gently caressed her free hand with hers. "Don't worry, Kotoko. It's all over now." Mabel said.
"Yeah, thankfully I don't think it'll ever happen again…" Kokoro smiled softly.
Kotoko smiled. "Thanks, you two…"
Meanwhile…
BGM: Swing a Fish To Drive Away Flies (Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody)
"Phew, I can't believe it's June already…"
Marisa walked out of Coconut Mall with Reimu, Himiko and the Scarlet Devil Mansion crew.
"Tell me about it. It feels like May had gone at a snail's pace…" Reimu said. "Doesn't help that Eggman did his invasion, then Weiss got her monster stolen, then they went to Mobius to go after Eggman… amongst a bunch of other things. it's been a busy May for everyone."
"Yeah, and that Myra gal shows up from what I've heard from Meta Knight. Nice girl, from what he told me."
"I wonder if we'll have a cool June…" Himiko said.
"I'm predicting it's gonna be a scorcher." Marisa said, hearing a groan from Reimu. "Kidding! We'll just wait until July rears its ugly head."
"I'll figure something out to cool everyone down." Patchouli said.
"Still, this should be plenty for the summer season in Gensokyo." Sakuya said.
"Shame that Sanae didn't come with us." Meiling said.
Reimu glanced over at an arcade, seeing a green haired shrine maiden through the window playing Street Fighter. "Hmm, I have a few guesses on where she might be."
"So, anyone hungry?" Remilia asked.
"I could eat. I wonder if McGoomba's has that jumbo burger they've been advertising…" Flandre said.
"That quintuple burger? I wouldn't put it past them if they ran out from a few gluttonous individuals…" Reimu said.
"Quintuple?!" Marisa exclaimed in surprise. "That's a heart attack waiting to happen!"
End BGM
"I think I've heard you need to sign a waiver…" Sakuya mused as they heard a siren wail across Toad Town where they instinctively looked toward the sky, but no airships flew overhead. They would see brave Toads, Koopas, Lakitus, Paratroopas and Monty Moles grabbing any power up they could get their hands on.
BGM: All For One (Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance)
In fact, they could already see several Huntsmen and Huntresses running off to go fight, alongside the Ace Ops. They also saw Mario and Luigi springing into action and throwing their respective powers into the Grimm.
They also saw Sonia kicking open the door from her armory and started mowing down Grimm with Uzis and rocket launchers, and then some Atlesian tanks manned by Toads, Koopas and a certain grumpy old lady angry that unauthorized folks were using her tanks, rolled right in and started blasting away Grimm with pinpoint accuracy.
"They're well trained for this." Himiko said, glancing over at Cordovin. And I guess someone's off their meds today…
"Welp… might as well work up an appetite." Reimu said, pulling out a few spell cards as the Grimm started attacking the town. Namely Beowolves, Ursas, Taijitus, Death Stalkers… and Quickstrikers.
At McGoombas, Kotoko let out an annoyed growl. "I am NOT in the mood for another damn life threatening situation right now!" She said, immediately running out of the door to take care of it while Kokoro and Mabel ran after her.
"Huh?!" Himiko said in surprise, seeing the hybrid. "A Taijitu and Death Stalker hybrid?! I've heard about these hybrids popping up all over Remnant from the Bunbunmaru Newspaper, but seeing it in person up close…"
"Whoa!" Marisa dodged an acid spit as it hit a bench and started melting it. "Okay, just what kind of acid do these two-headed freaks even spit out?!"
"We'll worry about that later. We got a Grimm problem to take care of!" Remilia said.
Flandre aimed her hand at a Death Stalker approaching her, and then clenched her hand as the Death Stalker disintegrated before her. "Heh…" She smirked and then noticed Kotoko taking out an Ursa with ease. "Hmm?" That girl looks interesting… She narrowed her eyes a bit. I can feel some sort of godly energy coming off of her.
She started to fly over toward Kotoko and her friends.
"Huh?" Remilia noticed Flandre fly off as she killed an Ursa with her danmaku. "Flan! Where are you going?"
"Just helping a bunch of people, I'll be back!"
Remilia turned her attention to Kotoko and her friends… and then spotted Kokoro. "Oh!" She smiled "Okay, have fun then!"
With Kotoko and her friends, they were busy fending off Grimm that came their way where Mabel had a new weapon on her, which was a stun rod that she so eagerly used on a Beowolf that stunned the Grimm as she batted it repeatedly, giving it several jolts of electricity before it felt over limp.
"Dang it! There's too many of 'em!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Need some help?"
Flandre landed on the ground next to Mabel, startling her.
"Ack! Whoa... what are you?" She wondered, staring at her wings.
"No worries. 'Cause I'm here to help!" She activated Lavatein with a playful smirk.
"Oh, cool!" Mabel grinned in gratitude. "Feel free to help out, 'cause we could use all the back up we need!"
Kotoko punched away a Beowolf, only to get struck from behind by an Ursa. "Nnngh!"
The Ursa roared and proceeded to raise its paw up for the kill, only for Flandre to intervene and blasted away the Grimm with her danmaku. Flandre landed on the ground and offered her hand to Kotoko.
Pause BGM
"Are you okay?"
BGM: Have a Nice Talk (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)
Kotoko nodded as she took Flandre's hand. "Y-yeah, I'm okay." She was pulled up by her as she then dusted herself off. "Thanks for the help."
"It was nothing." Flandre smiled.
Kotoko smiled back in gratitude, briefly forgetting about her stress earlier. "Say, I haven't seen you around here before. You new around these parts?"
"Me? Nah." She chuckled. "I'm just visiting from Gensokyo with my sister and some of my friends for a shopping trip and some lunch."
"Gensokyo? You mean the other moon that's orbiting around Popstar?"
Flandre grinned. "The very same!"
She looked around, seeing that no Grimm had taken an interest in them, let alone seemingly giving everyone some time to breathe.
"I'm the infamous mentally unstable vampire from the Scarlet Devil Mansion of Gensokyo."
Kotoko stiffened. "Muh… mentally unstable…?" She asked warily.
Flandre giggled. "Oh, don't worry about that. I got out of that phase with my friends helping me out."
"Oh… what a relief…" Kotoko sighed. "...Wait, you're a vampire?"
"Yup~!"
Kotoko blinked. "Huh. For a sec there, I thought you were some kind of demon because of your rainbow crystal wings."
"Oh, I get that a lot, but nope~! Just a vampire who's not as mentally unstable as others thought she was."
Kotoko giggled. "Fine by me. By the way, your wings are so adorbs~!"
"Really? Aww, thanks~!" Flandre smiled as they heard a roar as a Beowolf took an interest in them and lunged, but she casually crushed her fist to make the beast disintegrate. "I'm Flandre, by the way. Though my friends and sister call me Flan."
"Hi, I'm Kotoko!" She gestured to her friends. "And these two are my partners-in-crimes: Mabel and Kokoro. Though we usually call her Kokoron."
"Hello~!" Mabel waved cheerfully as she held up Waddles. "And this my pet pig, Waddles!"
"Oink!"
Flandre waved back. "Hiya~! Nice to meet you guys too." She then looked at Kokoro smiling. "Koko, long time no see."
Kokoro smiled back. "Same to you, Flan."
Yukina popped out of her satchel, waving her paw at Flandre. "Mrow~!"
Kokoro giggled. "Yukina says "hi" too."
Kotoko looked surprised along with Mabel and Waddles. "You two know each other?"
"Yup! I already know who the ocelot girl is. I first met her and her Sea5ons buddies when they performed at Gensokyo months ago for a concert. It was such an amazing show and my sister and I loved it so much~!" She gushed.
"You went to Gensokyo?" Kotoko asked her best friend.
Kokoro nodded. "Mhmm! It was nice there, especially the youkai~! Chelsea and I even got a chance to visit the Scarlet Devil Mansion when Flan and her sister invited us for some tea." She then shuddered a bit. "I got to admit the place was really spooky for me at first… but at least the maid there was nice enough to assure me that nothing was going to attack me out of nowhere…"
She briefly flashbacked to her time at Haunty Halls Galaxy. She grimaced at the memory and shook it off.
Reimu landed near them. "Hey, ladies? I hate to cut the reunion short, but can we please focus on the Grimm right now?"
Flandre chuckled. "Alright, alright, I got it."
End BGM
Resume All for One BGM
Mabel pulled out her Grappling Hook at a Beowolf, hooking it up by the paw. "GET OVER HERE!" She yelled, reeling it in as it let out a surprised howl before getting electrocuted by the chipper Pines girl. "Now, Kotoko!"
"You're mine!" Kotoko lunged toward the paralyzed Grimm. "THEBES SMASH!" She performed a lariat with her right forearm, breaking the Grimm's neck with a single blow.
"Whoa…" Flandre said, completely impressed by Kotoko's move.
Kotoko landed gracefully on the ground as the Beowolf disappeared into ashes. "Hmph."
Talk about graceful strength… Flandre looked toward Mabel. "Say, you're pretty efficient with that grappling hook. Can I try it later?"
Mabel grinned. "Oh, sure! But only if you let me try your fire sword thingy too."
Flandre giggled. "Sorry, but only I can use Lavatein." She decapitated another Beowolf until an idea popped into her head. "Hey Kotoko! I've got a fun idea. Let's see who's stronger based on how many Grimm each of us can kill."
"Sure, okay!" Kotoko nodded. "The winner gets to decide dinner, but the loser has to pay for the food."
Flandre grinned. "You're on, demi-god~!"
Kotoko looked at her in shock. "Wh-wha…?! D-Demi-god…?!" She blushed in embarrassment. "H-hey! I-I may be blessed with a portion of Athena's powers, b-but I'm no demi-god!"
Flandre chuckled. "Ah, don't sell yourself short. You just happen to look the part!" She looked at Helios' Recurve on Kokoro's wrist. Her bracelet also reeks of godly magic… Is she a demi-god too? She wondered before shaking her head. Nah, doubt it.
She then smirked. "Alright, let's see what you got!" She launched herself toward some Grimm.
"Bring it on!" Kotoko joined in, feeling her competitive spirit reignite, as her stress from before was slowly dissipating from this much needed outlet by slaughtering Grimm left and right alongside the powerful vampire herself.
End BGM
A few minutes later, the last remaining Grimm were exterminated as everyone took time to recuperate. All around, the defenders of Toad Town went around to make sure the less able citizens were safe and sound.
Keyblade Wielders scanned the area for any stragglers, Sonia, Gundham, Sheele and Seryu checked any alleyways for potential Grimm while the Ace Ops went door to door to make sure everyone was alright. A medical staff went around making sure to treat everyone's wounds while several huntsmen were sweatdropping and facepalming over Cordovin bitching about how "her tanks were used inappropriately and against her permission".
Nearby, Jinx was looking at her in disbelief and turned to Pyrrha. "How do you even have this chick as your next door neighbor?"
"I wish I knew…" Pyrrha groaned.
Back with the others, Kokoro sat down on a sidewalk curb in exhaustion. "That went well…"
Yukina nodded in agreement. "Mrow."
"Nyeh… They weren't kidding when they told us how tough those hybrids were…" Himiko groaned as she shuddered. "I don't wanna forget how my Aura got shattered in an instant the moment the scorpion-snake's venomous acid hit me."
"No kidding…" Marisa grumbled in annoyance. "Geez, what's next for that old witch…? A gorilla Grimm with a scorpion tail? A Triceratops Grimm with the Stegosaurus' plates and tail? Or worse… a lion Grimm with a goat head on its back and snake head for a tail?" She got odd looks from everyone. "What? Anything can be possible when it comes to these things!"
Kokoro looked sheepish. "About that first possibility…" She showed the group a publicly released recorded footage of the Stalkerilla attacking Hathaway from her scroll. "That one's already confirmed. It attacked a school in Vale just last month. And people are already calling that particular Grimm hybrid the Stalkerilla."
Marisa felt the Gensokyoans and Himiko giving her deadpanned looks. "Oh come on…"
Reimu sighed. "Let's just hope that the last one doesn't come true… I can most likely deal with a gorilla-scorpion or Stegoceratops Grimm, but the last thing I want to do is deal with a chimera Grimm…"
Kokoro nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's not jinx anything." She took out some tupperware from her satchel and opened it up to reveal checkerboard cookies. "Cookie anyone?"
Mabel took one. "Don't mind if I do~!"
"Thanks." Reimu nibbled on the cookie. "Mmm, these are good! Did you bake these cookies by yourself?"
"Yup~! I made them all from scratch. I love to bake whenever I'm not busy with anything related to music."
"Huh, neat." Marisa said as she was eating a cookie with Himiko.
Himiko giggled. "And this is why I prefer homemade cookies over store-bought ones."
Remilia walked over to the group, holding a Dr. Hoohoo Cherry in hand. "Hi, Koko!" She waved cheerfully at the ocelot Faunus.
Kokoro waved back. "Hey, Remi." She then spotted Patchouli. "Whoa, Patchy. You're looking a lot less pale than usual. Been doing some kind of skin care lately?"
Patchouli stifled a moan, flashing back to her procedure with Medic. In fact, she could hear his evil chuckles. "It's… a long story…" She said uncomfortably.
Meanwhile, with Flan and Kotoko…
Flandre returned with a couple of canned Chuckola Colas, tossing one to Kotoko as she was sitting down on the sidewalk curb. "Here, you could use the energy drink."
"Thanks." Kotoko opened her drink and took a small sip. "Blegh… is this Diet Chuckola?" She wondered as she read the label.
Flandre shrugged as she sat down next to her. "Hey, don't blame me. It was the only available kind of Chuckola Cola the nearby vending machine had." She opened her can as she took a sip.
Kotoko sighed. "Fine… you're lucky I drink Diet." She took another small sip from her can.
"Ahhhh~ That hit the spot." Flandre said after she finished. "How are you holding up?"
"Fine, I guess? I'm glad that the Grimm are finally gone…"
Flandre noticed the subtle distress in her voice, but chose not to press on it yet. "So… how many Grimm did you get?"
"Hmm… if my math is correct, I would say that my final score is… twenty five."
"Twenty five? Huh, not that bad… especially for a demi-god!"
Demi-god? Kotoko sweatdropped. "I… um… thanks?" She recomposed herself. "Ahem. But anyway, how many did you get?"
"Me? I've racked up a fine number of…" She smirked. "Twenty six."
Kotoko blinked. "Twenty six? Good for you, I guess… and it looks like you get to choose dinner too."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. Demi-god or not, you're pretty tough."
"Can you please stop calling me that? "Demi-god" is a bit too much for me." She glanced to the side. "'Cause I think "empowered mortal" would be a better term."
Flandre chuckled. "Whatever floats your boat." She then frowned after a minute of silence. "Seriously, are you really okay?"
"I told you, Flan… I'm fine." She said irritably.
"No, you're not." She said sternly. "Look, I know it sounds kinda rich coming from me, but even I can tell if someone is not okay."
Kotoko sharply sighed. "You don't beat around the bush like those two…" She mumbled. "Alright… the reason I'm so irritated is what happened a few days ago. I went to Mobius to Starfall Islands to hunt down Eggman and the Chaos Emeralds after what the doctor did near the beginning of the month. Then, for some reason, an unknown force sucks us all in… and next thing I know, I'm trapped in this orb alongside a few of my friends and when I finally get out, I'm all static-y like what you see on TV! I couldn't give any of my friends a hug, and then the cherry on top was that I reunite with Monaca, who is the biggest bitch to ever live, and then I couldn't do anything when two of my friends were sick with a cyberbug or whatever it was…"
She gritted her teeth. "And one of my friends… he lost a sister during all of that. And there was nothing we could do about it. All we could do was sit back with baited breath hoping she'd get out okay… but no, she DIED!" She crushed the soda can with her fist in anger and frustration, which was enough to startle Flandre a bit.
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."
Kotoko shook her head with a sigh. "Don't be. Honestly, I wanted to fight against the Grimm because I was looking for an excuse to blow off some fucking steam…"
"Well, do you feel better now?"
Kotoko glanced to the side. "A little…"
"Hmmm…" Flandre folded her arms, closing her eyes. There's gotta be a way to make her feel better, but what? She wondered as they both threw away their empty cans at a nearby recycling bin. An idea came to her right at that moment. "I got it!"
"Hmm?"
"How about a friendly one on one sparring match?"
"A-Against you?!" Kotoko asked in surprise, knowing full well what the vampire was capable of… before she smirked. "Oh, what the heck. The Grimm was merely a warm up for me anyway."
"Awesome!"
Nearby, Marisa grimaced as she and the others overheard the conversation. "Uh… that's a bad idea… we all know what Flan's capable of. She might actually kill someone even though she's not that dangerous around us anymore!"
"I would say that she'd be fine given that Xena and Yagami held their own against Flan but… those two are in a league of their own. Kotoko's gonna get her ass kicked." Reimu said.
"I'll contact Eirin." Himiko said.
"Hold on, you guys." Remilia spoke up. "I trust that my younger sister knows what she's doing and I strongly have faith that she has this matter under control."
"Mistress Remilia is right." Sakuya said. "We can trust her."
"Indeed." Patchouli nodded in agreement, which was enough for the three to warily look at each other in concern while Kokoro and Mabel felt a small aura of nervousness.
Half an hour later, at Dimble Woods…
All of them were at a huge clearing in Dimble Wood as everyone sat in the sidelines while Kotoko and Flandre were doing some stretches in the middle of the clearing.
"I'm still kinda iffy on this." Marisa said.
"I know what I said about Xena and Yagami, but perhaps Kotoko might hold her own against her too." Reimu said. "...Key word: "perhaps"."
Marisa frowned. "I know, but this is different." She turned her attention to the duo. "And I'm talking about a young teenage human girl with some kind of godly magic going against a vampire who used to be very mentally unstable."
"Never thought I'd be going up against a vampire." Kotoko said, stretching her arms.
Flandre chuckled while doing some leg stretches. "Well, you're not exactly the first human who's got the guts to do that."
"Really?"
Flandre smiled, flashing back to when she had first fought against Reimu and Marisa, and then later on, Xena and Yagami took a crack at her… mostly due to the Ztar corrupting the vampire, but still.
"Yup."
"Oh." Her expression turned serious. "By the way, if I'm going to give it my all in this fight, then maybe you should too."
Flandre looked at her in surprise while rolling her shoulders. "You sure?"
Kotoko finished stretching before readjusting her gloves. "Honestly, I don't appreciate any opponent who holds back unless they have a good reason to do so.
Flandre finished her stretching as well. "Your funeral." She squared up. "Either way, no hard feelings about this, right?"
Kotoko got into her fighting stance. "You can count on it."
Mabel hummed, bringing out her Scroll and pressing the record button on the camera app.
BGM: Fist Acceleration (Tekken: Bloodline) (Start at 0:52)
"Ready?" Remilia asked, looking at the two of them as Kotoko hardened her expression while Flandre smirked in anticipation. Remilia swung her hand down. "GO!"
Kotoko immediately threw a rapid series of kicks at Flandre, where she swiftly blocked with her arms and countered with precise karate based strikes. Kotoko slid back a few feet after Flandre struck her, then the vampire lunged and quickly went for a sweep kick to knock Kotoko off of her feet, but she jumped over and kicked Flandre in the face, but she blocked with her arm again and palm struck her in the stomach.
Both girls got back up as they circled around each other, eyes locked as Kotoko immediately lunged and performed a few roundhouse kicks, striking Flandre as she was knocked back a bit.
"Grrrk…!" She grunted as she then smirked. "Heh, not done yet!"
In the blink of an eye, Flandre immediately threw a series of powerful punches as Kotoko evaded a few of them, only to get struck by an opening that Flandre just so eagerly exploited. "Nnngh!" She winced before countering with a few spinning kicks.
"When did she…?" Kokoro wondered, noticing that Flandre had a more aggressively physical fighting style than what she had seen previously. I didn't know she excelled at hand to hand… She thought before turning to Remilia, slowly opening her mouth to say something.
"You should direct that question to Meiling." Remilia said. "She had been Flan's instructor."
Kokoro turned to Meiling who watched intently with a proud smile on her face.
Pause BGM
"Hup ha!" Meiling punched and kicked at the air to keep herself wide awake and not sleep on the job, which would result another knife to the forehead.
"Hey Meiling!" Flandre approached her.
"Oh, hello Flan." Meiling smiled. "What can I do for you?"
"I've been watching you for a while and… well, I'm curious if you could teach me a few things on martial arts."
"Huh?!" Meiling looked at her in surprise.
"I want to rely on my physical strength without relying too heavily on my danmaku… especially Lavatein."
Meiling stared at her, sensing Flandre's eagerness and seriousness about the subject. It was enough to make her smile. "Alright. I'm not going to go easy on you though."
"Wouldn't expect you to."
Resume BGM
Meiling smiled. "We had sessions every day… It was exhausting for the young mistress. I was expecting her to give up in the middle of it, but she persevered with enough patience, discipline and mastery of it all."
Remilia chuckled. "With my help, we found a way to channel Lavatein's powers in her body, which helped enhance her natural physical abilities."
"Well, good for he-... you did WHAT?!" Reimu yelled.
"Well… shoot… that's…" Marisa grimaced at the thought. "Oh boy…"
Kotoko and Flandre delivered a heavy blow to each other, knocking each other back as they showed no signs of fatigue. At that moment, Kotoko started to reminisce as Flandre charged at her.
Pause BGM
Kotoko was knocked to the ground. "Owww…"
Hazel helped her up to her feet. "Looks like your skills need improvement, Kotoko."
"Thanks…"
"You know, I've been wondering about something."
"What is it?"
"It's been bothering me since ancient Hyrule… About this Athena's Valor of yours. I already know that it isn't a Semblance, but I'm curious, where did it come from?"
Kotoko sighed as she glanced to the side. "...I got it from a friend of Lady Palutena. That's all I can say."
Hazel looked at her sternly. "I'm pretty sure there's more to that." He said before his expression softened. "Just tell me the truth, Kotoko. I promise I won't judge you."
"Okay… so we were finding weapons in the armory and, well, the Goddess of War was with Lady Palutena and blessed me with Athena's Valor. While I'm glad that I was trusted to be blessed with such power, I… feel guilty that I rely on something that's not originally mine."
"Hmm… while you were indeed blessed with a portion of her power, I believe she did so because she knew you had great potential."
"Really?"
"Listen, Kotoko. This Athena blessed you with her powers not just because she sensed your determination to improve and protect your friends, but also because she recognized your immense potential."
Kotoko started to listen intently.
"You possess a strength and resilience that is so rare. Athena knew that with enough guidance, you could achieve great things. She believed in your ability to rise above any challenge and become a true guardian for those you care about. She saw things in you that you may not even see in yourself. Are you ready to keep on finding it?"
Kotoko's expression turned serious after a few moments of silence. "I do, uncle."
Resume BGM
Flandre clenched her fists as a scarlet red aura wrapped around her body. She lunged, palm striking Kotoko in the chest to send her flying back but she quickly recovered. Dammit… she made herself stronger?!
Flandre continued her onslaught, forcing Kotoko to change tactics and go on the defensive, countering with harsh devastating kicks that rocked Flandre as she quickly combo'd her, but Flandre shook it off and kept up the offensive.
Fascinating… Remilia thought as she was making observations during the spar. Flan's known for her power and versatility that combines with Meiling's style of karate with brutal techniques and she's going against a human girl who's more experienced with mixed martial arts. Not only that, but Flan's movements are naturally precise and aggressive and Kotoko is swifter and more flexible, and she's mainly focusing on kicks…
Kotoko attempted to block her punches and kicks until the vampire unleashed a Lavatein-powered uppercut that sent her flying. "Argh…!"
Kotoko managed to recover despite that harsh blow as she flipped around and safely landed on the ground, wiping some blood from her cheek.
"Hah… hah… that all you got?"
"Hmhmhmhm…~" Flandre giggled as she flashed a feral grin as she activated Lavatein again and fired a volley of danmaku at her.
Kotoko's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, shi-!" She tried to dodge the bullet hell until one managed to hit her and sent her flying again. "GAH!"
End BGM
"KOTOKO!" Both Kokoro and Mabel yelled.
Kotoko regained her footing, panting as she clutched her arm in slight pain. "Hah… hah…"
Flandre smirked. "Had enough yet?"
Kotoko smirked. "Oh… I say when we're finished."
BGM: Transformation ~Transformed~ (The World Ends with You: Final Mix)
Kotoko straightened herself up, activating Athena's Valor as pink colored vein-like lines surrounded her body. Athena's Valor… ESCALATION! FORTY FIVE PERCENT!
The vein-like lines disappeared as an intense pink colored aura with black streaks flared out of her body.
"Whoa!" Himiko exclaimed in surprise as the intensity.
"Such power…!" Marisa said in awe.
Sakuya looked intrigued. "Now this is getting interesting… wouldn't you agree, milady?"
Remilia nodded. "Oh, definitely. Let's see how my sister can hold her own against this." She lightly nudged Mabel. "Hey, do you think you could send me a copy of the recording later?"
"Huh? Oh, sure thing!"
Flandre responded with the scarlet red aura surrounding her again, this time glowing in intensity as it started to sparkle a bit. She let out a chuckle as she got into position.
Kotoko gritted her teeth as she charged at Flandre with her enhanced speed. "HRAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"DON'T THINK YOU CAN WIN AGAINST ME WITH BRUTE FORCE!" Flandre growled as she fired another volley of danmaku.
Kotoko swiftly dodged the second round with agile grace.
"So fast…!" Reimu said in shock.
Kotoko dodged the last of the danmaku and leapt in front of Flandre. "SPARTA SMASH!" She yelled, unleashing a powerful dropkick into the vampire's gut, sending Flandre flying into a rock that shattered upon impact.
"How's that for brute force!"
Flandre got up, panting as she clutched her shoulder. "Hah… hah…" Damn it... I can't remember the last time anyone other than my sister made me struggle like this… Well, maybe Reimu and Marisa... and those Ayami sisters…
Flandre smirked. "Hell of a drop kick." She chuckled. She also seems less emotionally distressed from earlier. Heh… kind of reminds me back when I was training with Meiling…
Pause BGM
"Bwah…" Flandre lay on her back as Meiling was on one knee.
"Heh… you managed to knock me on one knee over your training… impressive." Meiling chuckled.
"You're showing mass improvement, Lady Flandre." Sakuya said, gently taking her hand and pulled her up. "Though, if I may, perhaps it would be wise not to leave yourself quite as open. It may let you last longer."
"It's true." Remilia nodded before smiling. "Still, it's quite extraordinary that you can pull this off."
"Hahaha…" Flandre tiredly laughed. "I'm always full of surprises…"
"Indeed." Sakuya nodded, offering her a plate of homemade cookies. "Here, this will cheer you up."
"Oh sweet~!"
Resume BGM
Glad that I'm able to help her out. Flandre smiled before gritting her teeth. But still, I can't allow myself to lose here and now! She reactivated Lavatein into her body, letting out a loud war cry as Kotoko let out a war cry of her own, as Athena's Valor glowed intensely as they both rushed toward each other.
They both delivered strong blows, as their clashes was enough to send miniature shockwaves that made the trees sway and forced Kokoro, Marisa, Himiko, Remilia, Patchouli and Meiling to hold on to their hats.
Flandre delivered swift palm strikes as Kotoko delivered strong roundhouse kicks with swift precision as they kept delivering strong blows in the blink of an eye that everyone else was trying to keep up with the duo to the point that Sakuya considered having to slow down time for everyone just so they wouldn't miss a beat.
Kotoko delivered an uppercut that knocked Flandre up into the air as she launched herself up to meet her but Flandre grabbed her and threw her down to the ground and launched herself toward Kotoko, but she quickly recovered and parried Flandre's advance, delivering a powerful straight to knock the vampire away.
As they continued on, their strong blows echoed throughout all of Dimble Woods, either scaring or intriguing the woodland creatures as they were wondering what all the fuss was about.
Both of them lunged again, both of them pulling back their fists as time seemed to slow down to a crawl, their movements still blurry as they both struck each other in the face, where the resulting impact was enough to create a sound similar to thunder as the shockwave nearly knocked the spectators down while some trees fell over… in fact, the ground had a small crater where the girls were.
Once the dust settled as everyone saw the girls still standing, but with their hats knocked off their heads… before both collapsed at the same time.
End BGM
Remilia immediately flew to their sides, checking them both for signs of consciousness. Both of them lay motionless, resulting in a double knockout.
Reimu looked on in shock. "I can't believe it… another human actually went toe to toe with her… first Xena and Yagami…"
"And now this girl…" Marisa finished for Reimu. "And it's a flippin' double knockout… are you kidding me?!"
"Definitely impressive!" Himiko nodded as the Scarlet Devil Mansion crew nodded in agreement.
"I feel bad for Koakuma, she missed out on something extraordinary." Patchouli said.
Remilia smiled at Flandre. You did so well, Flandre. I'm proud of you. She cleared her throat. "Both sides are in no condition to keep on fighting anymore! This match is a draw!"
Mabel ended the recording with her mouth open in shock. "That… was…" Her eyes sparkled. "AWESOME!"
Patchouli looked over at Sakuya and Meiling, both ladies smiling with pride. "It appears that you have taught her well."
"In due time, there's no doubt the student will eventually become the master." Sakuya said.
Meiling nodded in agreement, despite the outcome. "Yeah."
Both girls slowly got up, looking incredibly tired.
Kotoko moved her head to look at Flandre who was slowly panting. "Hah… for a vampire… hah… you really are tough."
Flandre looked back at Kotoko. "I… I could say the same to you too… Not bad for a demi-god…" She closed her eyes. "If we dueled back in Gensokyo… I probably would have hurt you real bad with my full power… or worse if I go too far…"
"Honestly… I kinda felt worse… It takes more than a heavy beating to keep me down…" She shot Flandre a look of mock annoyance. "And hey… I told you… I prefer to be called an empowered mortal."
Flandre weakly chuckled. "Whatever…" She raised a hand up.
"Huh…?"
"I've got no energy left in me anymore, so…" She smiled softly. "...Let's call this match a draw. You've just proven yourself to me as another opponent worthy of my strength."
Kotoko smiled. "Alright." She accepted her hand. "Hey… thanks for the match. It was really helpful."
"Ah, no probs... Feeling better now?"
"A lot more than before."
"I see… Then, I'm glad… By the way, remember what I said earlier back at Toad Town about the winner choosing dinner and the loser paying for the food…?"
"Yeah…?"
"I'll let you choose instead… and maybe we could split the bill too…"
"Hehe~ Fine by me…"
Remilia chuckled, smiling at the duo's newfound friendship.
Kokoro sighed in amusement, shaking her head. "That's one way to start a new friendship." She brought out a first aid kit from her satchel. "Might as well get those two patched up."
"I'll help." Sakuya walked with Kokoro to get the duo patched up.
Mabel smiled, sending the video recording to her friends, including her Grunkles, Mine, and Weiss. "Weiss needs some cheering up."
"Whoa!" - Jataro.
"Is this the same girl we know? Holy crap!" - Masaru
"Incredible… I needed that boost." - Nagisa
"Shooooooot. Impressive." - Dipper
"Oh dang… I wonder if The End was scared of this one?" - Silver
"HOLY SHIT. WHAT IN-?! She went toe to toe with HER?! That's… hella impressive!" - Mine
"I'm gonna have to forward this to Xena and Yagami… it's impressive that she managed to go toe to toe with Flandre of all people. By the way, I needed this distraction. Thank you." - Weiss
"We'll view this later, sweetheart. Something… big just happened." - Stan
"Hmm?" Mabel tilted her head before shrugging. "Eh… probably an over exaggeration." She giggled.
Several minutes later, in Vale…
The whole group was eating dinner at Castor's Steak and Pasta, but Flandre wasn't at the same table as the Scarlet Devil Mansion crew as she was sitting with Kotoko's inner circle, just like how Reimu, Marisa and Himiko were at their own table as well.
"By the way, have you heard?" Meiling spoke up. "I've been hearing that that one pancake place is still banning people left and right."
"Again?" Remilia shook her head. "Okay, I can understand folks like Yuyuko, Kirby or those ornery Wario bros, but… people like blue haired Keyblade Wielder and the gamer girl were falsely banned. Even Nora got banned too."
"Okay, who got banned this time?" Patchouli asked.
"I heard the Sarasa Princess got banned because of her boisterous personality." Meiling said.
"Banning royalty?" Patchouli raised an eyebrow. "I heard they had new management after the original manager had a heart attack, but to go that far as to banning a VIP like a royal princess…"
"I also heard they don't trust the dark mage that's residing in Peach's Castle, but I've heard from a few residents that she hasn't even been near the pancake shop." Meiling said. "Just decided to slap the ban on her without her knowing."
"Talk about paranoia…" Remilia mumbled.
"You ever want to go there?" Reimu asked Marisa as they overheard their conversation.
"Pffft! I'd rather spend my time at MKHop. Why would I want to go to that ban happy place?"
"They need better management." Himiko said, sipping some water.
"At this rate, it's gonna go out of business…" Reimu sighed.
With Flandre and Co…
"I've been imprisoned for four hundred and ninety five years in the basement… granted, it's my bedroom, but… still." Flandre said as she had bandages all over her. "And it's all because of my destructive powers and severe mental instability."
"I don't know whether to feel mortified or impressed that you've been there that long without even losing your mind." Mabel said. "That's some insane endurance test!"
"I'd go insane within a few hours…" Kokoro mumbled.
"Well, if I might change the subject…" Kotoko spoke up as she also had bandages on her. "My vlogging channel, Yosei Days, has been rising in popularity recently. I often share updates on my Valegram and RemBook accounts. It's a success~!" She giggled. "I've been getting messages from all over ranging from Mushroom Kingdom to the Pokemon World and they've mostly been positive! Sure, there are a few naysayers and trolls, but what are you gonna do?"
"Speaking of successes…" Kokoro said. "I just released my first solo mini album, "Midsummer Nights"."
"You're doing solo albums?" Flandre asked.
"Yeah, it's a project where each member of Sea5ons plan on creating their own solo albums to showcase our individual musical talents. It was Whitley's idea, actually. In fact, he and I have already completed ours and I think Ling is close behind."
She reached into her satchel and pulled out a few physical CD albums and handed over a signed copy for Mabel and Flandre, except for Kotoko who already had one as she had helped her oversee the recording.
"Let's see… ah!" Mabel smiled. "There's this girl back at Gravity Falls that I had a rocky relationship with. Her name's Pacifica Northwest and all you need to know is that her upbringing made her a spoiled rich princess."
"Ooof… one of those." Kotoko grimaced.
"Yeah, and I often clashed with her as a bitter rival. And yet, after certain circumstances, we put our differences aside and we became best friends." Mabel giggled. "I bet she'd love to see new worlds outside Gravity Falls if Dipper and I had brought her here along with Wendy and Soos."
Flandre chuckled. "Wow, you guys really are an odd bunch, aren't you? …I'm one to talk." She snickered.
Kotoko giggled. "What can I say? We're all kinds of weird." She smiled. "And that's what makes the Warriors of Hope special."
"Y'know, I've been meaning to ask… what are the Warriors of Hope?"
"Well, basically, we are a group of skilled individuals and we had five at the time with Monaca as the leader. We also had a title to our names like how I'm the Fighter, Jataro's the Priest, Masaru's the Hero, Nagisa's the Sage and Monaca's the Mage. And it all started because all of us were…"
She paused for a moment, taking a sharp breath. "Abused in our own way. But a friend named Junko made us see the light, but what we thought was light was darkness. We killed adults who wronged us and then we just kept killing. We were going to make a children's paradise that involved killing adults as "demons" and killing anyone who got in our way. Little did we realize that Monaca was pulling the strings the entire time and was using us for her own agenda, flat out using our triggers to get us to… "behave". Not to mention she was pretending to be in a wheelchair just to get people to feel sorry for her. We were stopped, thankfully… and well, long story short, we're in happier families while Monaca's camping out on the moon."
Flandre jawdropped. "Goodness…!" She said, her eyes widened as she had no idea that her new friend was a mass murderer. "...I'm not going to hold that against you. As long as you learned your lessons and not looking back, there's no need to dangle this above your head."
She sharply sighed. "That said, if I ever crossed paths with this Monaca, so help me, I will eviscerate that bitch's legs, then we'll see who's actually pretending."
Mabel smiled, reaching into her bag and gave Flandre a silver bracelet with an elegant design of intertwining metal and opal gemstones.
"Hmm? What's this?" Flandre wondered as she noticed the girls were wearing similar bracelets. "Oh, wait a second, am I part of your inner circle now?"
"You caught on quick~!" Mabel smiled.
Flandre grinned. "Sweet."
"Oh, by the way…" Mabel took out a business card from her pocket. "If you ever want to hang out with us again, feel free to stop by our office anytime." She winked as she slid it over to Flandre. "Or maybe we can have another rematch."
Flandre smiled as she took the business card. "Thanks, Kotoko."
She then took a good look at the business, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. Huh… Future Foundation?
At that moment, Kotoko's scroll buzzed as she pulled it out, seeing that it was a text from Mine.
"Just a heads up, mom and dad are currently out for the evening. That Watts guy finally showed up and they're giving him the grand tour of their business." - Mine
"Oh, really? So I guess we have the house to ourselves? Well, aside from Mira, Lisanna and Elfman, of course."
"Yup! See you later, sis."
Kotoko put her scroll away. "Wonder how that's going…"
Meanwhile…
"I have to say, I like the interior of the facility." Watts mused as he walked around with Eli. "And you had built these yourself?" He knelt down to examine her work. "The amount of detail you put into this… your technological skills are quite impressive."
Eli smiled. "Well, I am an IT woman and general manager in my husband's company for a reason. I mostly specialize in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration, but I tend to also dabble with white hat hacking every once in a while."
"Hmm, sounds like someone I know…" Watts chuckled at his little joke as he felt an arm wrap around him, belonging to Angelico.
"I forgot to mention this earlier, but I want to thank you for helping us make that contraption that got our daughter's bodies, alongside their friends, back to normal." Angelico said. "We are truly grateful!"
"Well, the technology at Starfall Islands intrigued me. I was able to reverse engineer a sample of it and put it into that spray that helped them get out of Cyberspace. However, it seems as if they entrust Penny with their technology… not that I am surprised."
He then smiled. "You are welcome, Angelico. Same to you, Eli."
Eli smiled back. "So, about our offer?"
"You mean working for you as I've been trying to find work as I had left that old hag and helped stop Eggman's invasion?" He asked before slowly nodding. "It will help me atone for what had happened before and help make up for lost time the day before I was exiled from Atlas by Ironwood and the council."
He smiled, taking their hands. "I accept your offer."
Back with Kotoko and her friends…
"Hmmm…" Mabel looked at her scroll, looking at the texts she had received earlier. Stan and Pine still hadn't reacted to the video she sent. "Hmm… wonder what's keeping them…"
Hours ago, in Toad Town…
Yukari walked through the streets. Hmm… this girl's definitely sharper than I had initially thought.
"Goodness, this place looked like it went through some trouble."
"Dudes, look at that! That bench looks radioactive!"
"Yeah, that's… not freaky at all."
Yukari folded her arms. She had thought that by secretly getting Waddles out of there, no one would notice. It seems she was mistaken.
And all because she decided to curiously look back into Gravity Falls.
Yukari casually opened up a gap and leaned into the hallway.
"Soos, I don't even know what's going on. Waddles was acting weird and now he's all calm."
"Maybe the little dudes were abducted by Aliens… and Stan and Pine!"
"Normally, if this was someplace else like in California or Florida, I'd dismiss it but… no, you're right. Aliens probably abducted them all because Waddles is unusually calm about this!"
Yukari grimaced. Ooooh… I definitely should've brought the pig with them from the get go…
"I don't know what to do, Soos!"
"Okay!" Yukari walked in with her hands up as Wendy and Soos turned to look at her. "Let's all calm down a bit."
"Who are you?!" Wendy demanded. "Did you do something to them all?! Because I swear, if you did…"
"Easy there… let me explain." Yukari said.
"You have thirty seconds."
"Okay, so there's this place called Remnant that merged with the Mushroom Kingdom. This individual that goes by Dimentio sounded the alarm and threatened to have all these Princesses of Heart for some Key to destroy the world. The problem was, he put up a bunch of names so I had to scramble to find everyone and send everyone out to get them out of there… little did we know, we fell for their trap and Maleficent now has the Keyblade That Seals the Darkness."
Wendy folded her arms. "And why should we believe you?"
Yukari opened up a gap, taking Wendy and Soos' hands and put their heads through where they'd see Maleficent chatting with Vernal, Facilier and Gaston.
"Yo. That dude with the muscles looks handsome!"
Wendy nudged Soos as they pulled away from the gap as it closed on 'em. "Okay, so creepy gothic fairy… thing aside… is Mabel a Princess of Heart?"
"No. She was spared."
Wendy sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness."
"We want to go see if they're alright!" Soos said.
"It does explain everything now."
"Yeah, dude!"
Yukari smiled. "Oh, what the heck… I'll take you guys to see your pals." She said, opening up another gap.
"Hold on!" Wendy stopped her as she brought out her phone and started calling someone. "Hey Grenda, it's Wendy. Listen, I was wondering-... oh, I see. You're in Austria with your boyfriend? That's cool. Talk to you later!" She said and then called again. "Hey, Candy! I was wondering-... oh, right, you're at music camp out of state. Never mind."
"Dudes unavailable?" Soos asked.
"Yeah, but there's one more I haven't tried yet." Wendy said as she dialed another individual. "Hey, you mind coming to the Mystery Shack real quick? It's really important and it involves Dipper and Mabel."
Immediately, the door opened up as they turned to see Pacifica at the door. "I'm here! What's going on with-... who's this?"
One debriefing later…
"Are you kidding? Going to a new world sounds fun! It'll definitely get me away from my folks and well, spending time with my only friends." Pacifica said. "Besides, you're not the only one who's been worried about them."
"Alright, let's go." Yukari said, snapping her fingers as copies of Wendy, Soos and Pacifica appeared in front of them.
"Yo. Dude!" Soos said, checking himself out. "It's a 3D printed version of me! …Do I really look like that from the back?"
"Come on!" Wendy pulled him away as they walked into the gap as Pacifica wasted no time jumping in.
"Here we are." Yukari said, stopping at a building that looked similar to the Mystery Shack, though the sign said "Mystery Zone". "I believe you'll be able to find your boss here."
"The Mystery Zone?" Wendy put her hands on her hips in amusement. "Some things never change… even in a new world, he's not leaving that Mystery Shack schtick behind."
Yukari chuckled. "Oh, you won't believe how popular the Mystery Zone has been recently ever since its grand opening. In fact, Marisa and I once visited this place during one of our days off."
"The place is still open. So I guess we should be able to find Mr. Pines there!" Soos smiled.
Once inside…
BGM: Dr. Toadley (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)
The group looked around as the interior looked pretty much the exact same, though with a more modern look. "Whoa, this place is really like the Mystery Shack, but kinda more modern-looking." Wendy said before turning her attention to some statues that greatly resembled the familiar anomalies from Gravity Falls, such as the Manotaur and the Multi-bear. "Oh, looks like he's amping up his game with the attractions too."
A lot of visitors were in the Mystery Zone, ranging from the local residents, Remnantians, the Erdrean monsters, Koopa Kingdom and other outsiders. Even the residents at Peach's Castle (Myra included), Beacon Academy staff, the Ace Ops,the Future Foundation (Byakuya included, though he won't admit he likes it), the Mario Bros and RWBY were all interested.
And unlike the Mystery Shack, everyone had caught on that Stan's exhibits were fake, but rolled along with it anyway as they found his theatrics amusing.
Chiaki posed in front of a Six Pack O'Lope statue with Elfilin and BB-8 while Hajime took their picture.
Kokichi, meanwhile, stared at a different piece with skeptical amusement. "The Cornicorn… a unicorn that's literally made out of corn?" He snickered. "Pffft, that's clever!"
"Uuuugggh… the Sascrotch?" Toko groaned. "Real original there…"
"I think it looks pretty cool!" Komaru smiled.
"Cooler than that creepy-looking triangle statue with a big eyeball over there?" She pointed her thumb over to a big replica stone statue of Bill Cipher… that was covered in colorful ink splatters as the exhibit was titled "Pelt the One-Eyed Demon", which resulted in Bill getting hit with Splat Bombs supplied from Inkopolis.
In fact, a Splat Bomb just struck Bill already, coloring him in blue.
"Booyah!" Ribbon fist pumped.
"A Roostdeer? A Beavercorn? Just what kind of weird stuff does this guy even have, buddy?" A Cruelcumber wondered, causing a Bunicorn to shrug.
Meanwhile, with Stan…
"And here we have… the Rock That Looks Like a Face Rock! The rock that looks like a face!"
"Does it look like a rock?" A Koopa asked.
Stan frowned. "No, it looks like a face."
"Is it a face?" A Shroob asked.
Stan was annoyed. "It's a rock that looks like a face!"
Wendy chuckled in amusement. "Yup… some things never change."
"For the fifth time, folks! It's… it's not an actual face!"
"At least your boss found something productive to do for himself while he's staying here in the Mushroom Kingdom." Yukari said.
"So… should we walk up to him and say hello?" Pacifica asked.
"Nah. I'd say let the dude finish his business first. We could go to him later at the gift shop area." Soos said.
"How do you guys know that this place also has a gift shop?"
"Call it a hunch. If the Mystery Shack has a gift shop, then the Mystery Zone should have one too." Wendy said.
Later, in the gift shop after the tour was over for the day…
"Hmm, looks just like the gift shop back home." Wendy mused. "Heh, guess he didn't want to feel home sick."
She then spotted the copies of the journals #1, #2 and #3, where she even saw Myra and Toko purchasing their own copies. "Oooh, can't wait to read all this when I get back home~!" Myra smiled.
"I can't believe I'm buying this drab…" Toko mumbled.
With Ford's permission, he allowed his research journals of Gravity Falls to be published in Remnant and the Mushroom Kingdom… under the condition that he would supervise the publication process and decide what contents each copy of all three journals should and shouldn't have upon publication as some things in his research are understandably better off being left unknown or kept confidential to the public.
"Hehehe~ Another fine score for today." Stan said as he counted the money while manning the cashier.
Wendy walked up to the counter. "Mr. Pines, long time no see."
"Yeah, it's me, Wendy. What do you wa-" His eyes widened in shock when he realized who he was talking to. "What the…?! Wendy?! Soos?! Wh-what are you two doing here?!" He asked and then saw Pacifica. "And why is the Northwest girl with you?!"
Pacifica looked at him irritated. "I have a name, old man."
Wendy crossed her arms, giving him a serious glare. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Mr. Pines."
"Yeah! Why did you leave us behind with a bunch of clones of you guys and the little dudes and their pig? You were all acting strangely before the dude over there filled us in with Princesses of Heart and other stuff!"
"I have a name, ya know." Yukari said.
"Well-"
At that moment, they heard the door opening as Ford walked into the gift shop and put his coat on the rack. "Ah, another successful day at Hathaway. Stanley, I'm ba-" He was caught off guard by the trio. "Wendy! Soos! This is a surprise…" He spotted Pacifica. "And I see you brought a plus one with you."
Pacifica sighed softly. "A couple of Mabel's friends were supposed to go… but I decided to go in their place when Wendy told me that they weren't available. Anyway, before any of us can start pointing fingers, can you please explain to us what the heck is going on aside from the whole Princess of Heart thing?"
"And what exactly are you guys doing here in this world?" Wendy added.
Ford looked apologetic. "Well, I… I'm sorry we never told you why we left Gravity Falls in the first place." He straightened himself up. "But since you people are now here, I suppose full explanations are in order."
After being brought up to speed…
Wendy frowned. "Dude… So basically, this old witch wanted to go against the whole world all because of one nasty divorce gone bad?" She shook her head. "Man, talk about stupid."
"Yeah! That is like… so messed up on so many levels!" Soos agreed.
"And I thought my parents were this petty…"
"Since we came here… I decided to open up a tourist trap similar to the Mystery Shack called the Mystery Zone and make some extra cash for myself." Stan said.
"As for me, I had found work under a brilliant scientist named Dr. Pietro Pollendina and had met other geniuses in his lab. I also landed a job as a part time substitute science teacher in an art school in Vale known as Hathaway School of Performing Arts." He sighed sadly. "In the lab, we had recently lost a fellow staff member just a few days ago…"
"And if you're wondering about the twins, they joined a group called the Warriors of Hope and, by extension, working with the Future Foundation." Stan explained.
"The Future Foundation?" Pacifica wondered.
"Well…" Stan walked outside, gesturing them to follow him as they did. "You see that tall building over there?" He pointed toward the only tallest building in town. "That's them."
"Holy smokes…!" Wendy exclaimed.
"Wow, dude! That is like the tallest skyscraper I have ever seen in my life! It might even be almost tall enough to beat the Burj Khalifa in Dubai!"
"Yeaaaah…" Pacifica was at a loss for words.
Stan shook his head. "Sadly, my nephew and niece aren't working there. They're currently stationed in a branch location not too far from here."
"So where are Dipper and Mabel then?" Wendy asked.
Ford explained. "In Mushroom City. It's about fifteen to twenty minutes away from here depending on the traffic if you travel by bus."
"Oh, cool!"
Ford gave Wendy a business card. "Here. Just in case you're wondering the address my nephew and niece are at in there."
Wendy read the contents with Soos and Pacifica. "Future Foundation – 15th Branch… Room 756, Tremella Condominium, Mushroom City…" She nodded. "Okay, now we know where to look."
She put the business card away, but still looked upset.
"You… okay?" Stan asked.
"While I'm mad that we weren't told the truth, I'm not going to hold this against you as I know you have your reasons… but that still doesn't excuse the fact that y'all went on a super fun adventure in a new world outside of Gravity Falls! Seriously, why didn't you bring me and Soos along and just left us in the dark like that?"
Stan shrugged. "I dunno. Because you never asked?" He said bluntly.
"...Dude's got you there." Soos said.
Wendy sighed, shaking her head. "Fair point."
"Well! Now that we got things cleared up and the whole crew is here now, you got yourselves an extra set of hands against those Salem and Maleficent dudes." Soos said.
Ford chuckled. "I suppose so."
"Alright, let's go find a bus so we can say hi to those dorks." Wendy chuckled.
"We're back~!"
End BGM
Dipper and Mabel walked in. "Hey guys!" Dipper waved.
"So, what's this crazy thing that's got your… un… divided… attention…?!"
Dipper and Mabel had locked eyes with Wendy, Soos and Pacifica, both of them fell into silent shock as their minds fully registered that they were there, but found themselves unable to find the will to say anything.
"Well…" Pacifica began. "This is an awkward reunion…"
Deadpool: So awkward, you can practically hear a pin drop.
Ibuki: Ibuki's hearing a couple pins dropping.
Credit goes to DarkRebellion for his Gaiden idea!