Hey ya'll, guess who's updating a day early because I'm 100% not going to remember tomorrow?! (Fuck you Dominic, hope you're enjoying that stupid wedding.) (Also, context for anyone who doesn't know, Archive is being closed on the 1st for maintenance and I can almost guaran-fucking-tee that I'll forget by the time they're done so... early chapter for the folks on Archive and for you guys on !)
...Yeah, sorry. This might be a little unrefined again.
I did edit this chapter, but that was a few weeks ago and I am ~consistently unconfident~!
Hopefully it doesn't need it, but if it does, I'll update the chapter with a go-through edit later this month (Okay, it's NEXT month but this is July's update so shhh.)
Anyway! This uh...
This is actually the last chapter of Arc 1!
And since these are pre-written, I won't be taking a break between arcs! (Though I AM considering skipping October's update to focus on school, haven't decided yet.)
Welcome to 'somewhere besides Mobius for the first time in like 9 chapters'!
Enjoy the chaos ya'll!
Oh, and thanks for over 500 views! Ya'll are fantastic and I love you all!
"…This meeting will begin with the addition of yet another new universe!" Princess Zelda of Hyrule told, gesturing to the newcomers, "This universe is called… is… er…"
She paused, before glancing at the universe's heroes with a nervous chuckle.
"I apologize, I don't seem to remember your universe's name." She apologized, but the man with the spear shook his head.
He mumbled with his allies for a moment, ignoring the mumblings from the other leaders.
Everyone had eyes for the new universe, a few people whispering about the odd villain.
A lot of villains tend to be monstrous, but that one?
That cyclops made a lot of people shudder, and a few shorter villains looked uneasy.
But Grim instead had an oddly thoughtful look, eyes narrowed at the odd spear-wielding man.
Now, where has he seen that sort of armor before…?
"Our universe doesn't have, nor does it need a name." Arkantos brushed the nervous princess off, stepping forward, "Our 'joining' of this council is for the matter of preventing an oncoming-"
{-}
"OH, COME ON! WHY DO I GOTTA BRING A VILLAIN AND KEVIN GETS TO LEAVE HIS AT HOME TWO MEETINGS IN A ROW!? I DON'T EVEN HAVE AN OFFICIAL VILLAIN!"
Many faces turned to the source of the yell, a few people quietly sighing to themselves.
There always had to be someone yelling from the Belt…
Mandy's eye twitched, seeing the little pink-hated twerp talk to her like that.
Timmy's fairies stood to the side, keeping a smoof-chained Norm the Genie from possibly trying to escape.
Jimmy and Danny, although initially horrified at the younger's complains, gained similarly irritated looks.
"Timmy's right you know!" Danny frowned, gesturing to Vlad, "I had to bring this jerk because you insisted on us bringing villains!"
Jimmy scowled looking a little more than annoyed now, "I spent nearly four hours trying to find somebody who wouldn't anger the other villains with their stupidity!"
"And failed, clearly." Vlad huffed, crossing his arms, "Considering I already sent that old man into an early grave."
"Who asked you?" Danny mumbled, sending Vlad a glare.
"Dude, you chose Calamitous?" Timmy scrunched his nose at Jimmy, who groaned.
"All of my other villains were busy!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air, "I had to bring someone!"
"Why do you think I chose Norm!?" Timmy huffed in slight sympathy, gesturing to the genie, "There's no way I'd bring Crocker or Vicky here, and all of my other magic-based villains are busy!"
"Yeah, while I really appreciate being here and all- believe me, I'm honored to be part of this multiversal mess," Norm mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "But can I head back to my lamp now? I'd rather be trapped in there than stuck in… whatever this is."
{-}
"Wait…" Ash Ketchum blinked, looking over the Peach Creek hero with a confused look, "Where are your villains? You know they gotta actually be here this time, right?"
Kevin looked nervous for a second, sweat almost pouring off of him as he chuckled, "T-The dorks? They're just sick. Yeah! Dork, Dork, and Dorky are all sick!"
"Sick? Seriously?" Buttercup scoffed, gesturing a stump-hand in Kevin's face, "You couldn't think of anything better than that?! You're as transparent as the dome on Mojo Jojo's head!"
The aforementioned monkey blinked at the comment, letting out a 'Hey!' as he realized it had been an insult.
"Wh- Hey! They are! Th-That's why they couldn't be here!" Kevin snapped, making the green powerpuff girl scowl.
"Excuse me!"
Quite a few leaders looked over to Zelda, who was frowning at the Belt.
"I believe our newcomers were trying to speak?" She stated, getting some glares from the two feuding leaders, "Please save your arguments for now, World Belt."
Buttercup flew back to her sisters, letting out a huff.
Timmy, Jimmy, and Danny shared a silent groan, ignoring how Vlad just rolled his eyes and walked back to Amity Park's door.
Kevin crossed his arms, ignoring that weird feeling in his chest.
"I'm so sorry, the Belt is… well, regardless…" Zelda shook her head with a sigh, turning her attention to the newcomers, "You were saying?"
{-}
Arkantos cleared his throat, beginning to speak again.
"We are not here for alliances or communications outside of our world, but for the issue of a potential multi-universe apocalypse." Arkantos told, a few people gasping or sharing worried looks.
But most others looked unworried, or even a bit bored.
As if the matter of an apocalypse was… normal to them!
Norm scoffed, even as he had a set of wands pointed at his face.
Timmy had jolted too, Danny and Jimmy stepping between their youngest friend and the genie.
"Do you know where you are, weirdo?" Norm rolled his eyes, sending the newcomers a half-glare, "If the rest of these guys are anything like Turner, the multiverse has probably gotten through more apocalypses than there are people in whatever backwater world you came from."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST-!" Ajax snapped, but was quickly quieted by his allies.
Timmy let out a hiss, while Jimmy quickly cleared his own throat.
{-}
"I'm sorry about that, Timmy's enemies have a terrible habit of never knowing when to shut up." Jimmy told, his last two words emphasized with Jimmy's eyes twitching back to glare at the unbothered Norm, "It's the reason why me and my friends refuse to officiate a villain."
This time, the focus was directed towards Mandy, whose eyes turned to ice at the statement.
Arkantos sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"But if this is about the matter of your presumed multiverse apocalypse, we, my friends and I in particular, are already aware thanks to that… er, goddess of yours." Jimmy hesitated for a moment, still unused to the idea of actual gods, "She already made us aware of this… prophecy from your villain-"
Jimmy had finally glanced over at the new universe's villain, promptly going pale and stumbling back a few inches in utter terror.
"WH-WHAT IN THE NAME OF ISSAC NEUTON IS THAT!?" Jimmy practically screamed, making his friends tense up as they moved to calm their friend.
"Jimmy, dude, it's okay-!" "Hey-! You gotta breath, Jimmy-!"
Spongebob winced, seeing his old friend freaking out.
Big, bad magic villains have always freaked Jimmy out, and this new one…
The sponge gulped, seeing Jimmy hyperventilating into a bag one of his friends had.
Oh, this is gonna be worse than when Jimmy met Aku…
{-}
Mandy sent the trio of heroes a glare, which was left unnoticed, before stepping forward.
She pulled her hands back, looking dignified as she spoke calmly to the new universe.
"What makes you think that one of us have something to do with your friend's prediction?" Mandy questioned, "Because I think it's awfully suspicious that we have two unrelated newcomers, with both of them talking of apocalypses."
"Hey! Sonic didn't mention anything about apocalypses last meeting!" Mega Man snapped in defense of his friend, "Just that he just avoided a catastrophe, and that's why his introduction got delayed!"
"An apocalypse." Mandy repeated, before glancing to the rest of the Council, "Fellow Council Leaders, doesn't anyone find it odd that two new worlds appeared not too long after the alleged 'attack' on Ash Ketchum's world?"
"Alleged-!?" Ash hissed, Pikachu growling on his shoulder.
"And the so-called 'battle' of Doragon?" Mandy continued, unbothered, making a few people scowl in frustration.
"So-called-!? Our entire world was destroyed for a few hours!" Vegeta yelled, barely stopping himself from attacking the child tyrant.
{-}
"Mandy, that's enough." Zelda frowned again, "There's no correlation between Mobius and the new-"
"Similar, I suppose, to how Peach Creek and the KND's universe arrived just before the massacre?"
There was an audible shattering of glass, her group letting out horrified gasps.
Mandy whipped her head back, sending them sharp glares.
She dared them to disagree with her, especially when she's so close-
But…
"Ⱳɦ-Ⱳⱨảƫ ƫɦᶒ ⱨẻ ƙ ỉᶊ Щɼǫήᶃ Щỉƫɦ ƴǫư, Ɱảᶇɗƴ!?" Ếᶁɗƴ ᶒx̂ ꞎᶏỉᶆẻᶁ, ɦᶖś ḟᶉỉᶒήᶁś ꞎǫơᶄỉᶇɠ ẻɋưᶏꞎᶅƴ ảᶊ ⱨơᶉɼᶖḟᶖẻᶁ, "Ⱳẻ ɗᶖɗᶇ'ƫ ⱨảᶌẻ ảᶇƴƫɦᶖήᶃ ƫơ ɗǫ Щỉƫɦ-"
Nobody from her group spoke.
…For a moment.
{-}
"Mandy… why… why would you ever say- ¿Qué te pasa-? (What's wrong with you-?) What is wrong with you?!" A new but old voice exclaimed, making the members of the Slime Belt gasp.
Quickly running into the meeting was a Latina pre-teen with a living purple backpack.
Dora Márquez looked upset, her deep brown eyes narrowed as she approached.
Spongebob felt tears in his eyes, having not expected to ever see the former leader again.
Danny's eyes widened, Jimmy letting out a stammered gasp.
"Dora?" Timmy whispered, seeing the girl stop before Mandy with a deep frown.
Mandy had quickly repressed her surprise at the sudden reappearance of the Jungle's leader, letting out a hum as she greeted the older girl.
"Dora Márquez." Mandy raised a brow, "I thought you left after what happened with Ruby and the Bunnytown Massacre?"
Many people winced or cringed at the name, hearing Mandy speak so… carelessly of the tragedy.
"I took a temporary leave." Dora told, her kind voice unusually sharp, "I thought you were the leader of Endsville, Mandy Marshall-Baker?"
Mandy's eye twitched, scowl beginning to reform on her face, "I am."
"Then why are you acting like you're the queen of the World Belt? Because-" Dora asked with a slight seethe, before glancing back to her backpack, "Ah, Backpack, ¿puedes traerme mi cuaderno azul? (can you get me my blue notebook)?"
After a moment, a blue notebook shot out of Dora's backpack, the Latina girl catching it and opening it up.
The notebook was full of chicken-scratch writing from a few years ago, and Dora hummed after a moment of looking it over.
"Oh, that's right!" She laughed cheerfully, her smile falling again as she slammed the notebook shut and gestured as she nearly growled, "You're not."
{-}
Various members of the World Belt gasped or hissed at the utter disrespect of the Endsville leader.
Jimmy and his friends exchanged looks, before they grinned.
"Go Dora, go!" Timmy exclaimed under his breath, ready to cheer their old friend on.
"How dare you-!" Mandy started, before getting cut off by a scoff.
The two arguing leaders turned to Vegeta, who looked more than a little annoyed.
"Can we get on with this? I have better things to do than sit here and listen to two little girls fight!" Vegeta snapped, making Mandy growl under her breath.
"Actually, Vegeta, I'm almost 13 now!" Dora corrected, before blinking at Goku, "Huh? When did Goku come back?"
"I let myself get revived after fighting Buu!" Goku laughed to himself as he scratched the back of his head, "Turns out dying to protect earth from dangerous enemies doesn't work as well as I thought!"
Dora blinked twice at the comment, opening her mouth to question the explanation before shaking her head.
Asking questions probably isn't a good idea.
Especially when it's Goku.
{-}
"Everyone please!" Zelda loudly sighed, "Can we focus!?"
"ZELDA! LINK!" A voice echoed from the forest, two figures bursting out of the trees.
Zelda had sighed again, initially questioning what was interrupting the meeting now…
But gasped, seeing the Hylian mirror looking so distressed.
Even more so, seeing the reclusive Old Worlder by his side.
"Ben? Jeff!? What's wrong?!" Zelda exclaimed, taking a step towards her dear friend.
Link was already at Ben and Jeff's sides, looking the two over for injuries.
"K-Kidnapping!" Jeff exclaimed, hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath, "S-Someone got kidnapped! A-At o-one of the doors! Y-Yesterday! I-In the Center!"
Gasps rang out, far louder than before.
Ben nodded in agreement, holding out a small machine to Link, "Th-There was a power surge back home a while back, a-and I guess it shorted out my alarms! W-We didn't know it had happened until I checked last night's footage!"
Link took the machine, silently gasping as he glanced around for a solid surface to project the image and/or video onto.
Goku rushed forward, more than willing to help the mute hero.
"A kidnapping?!" Someone exclaimed, looking a bit terrified.
"Right here!? In the Center!?"
Mandy whipped her head over to the creepypasta Dwellers, ready to accuse them of the kidnapping-
"Ą ᶇẻᶏɼ-ƙᶖɗᶇảᶈƥᶖήᶃ? Ḟᶉơᶆ ƫɦᶒ Ɓẻᶅť? Ƴơᶙ'ᶌẻ ꞎǫśƫ ᶖť, Ɗⱳᶒꞎᶅẻᶉ."
"Alarms?" Dora quietly questioned instead, just barely loud enough for everyone to hear.
{-}
Eyes were moved to Ben, who nodded vigorously.
"We set them up after the massacre!" Ben exclaimed, "After he took your friend and… and did all that! H-He failed ya know! We heard that Ruby and Max got away from him!"
The two sides of the belt felt a jolt of shock rush through them, even the frustrated Mandy's eyes widening.
"What?!" Wanda gasped, dropping her wand in utter shock, "Ruby might still be alive?!"
Dora was pale, her eyes wide and gaping like a fish.
There was the sound of mechanical parts moving, the projector showing the image on a nearby bolder that clearly wasn't there before-
And Kevin's pupils shrunk, taking a step back in utter horror.
There was a crash, a flaring of fire, horrified gasps…
"Oh." Mandy breathed, seeing the image of the Eds and a woman having odd guns pointed at them by figures just barely off the screen.
"…They're sick, eh?" Buttercup practically snarled at Kevin, who was transfixed on the image before them, "What a load of bull."
Her sisters either looked sick or ready to cry, Mojo Jojo looking a bit ill himself.
Sector V was now slightly clinging to each other, eyes wide and terrified of the possibilities of the image.
Link was stock-still, minus his trembling hands.
"Fuck." Sonic hissed under his breath, having just arrived to the meeting, "The Cobalt Traffickers."
"The… what?" Mandy slowly turned her head to the hedgehog, who had his hands over his mouth.
{-}
All eyes moved to Sonic, who took a few steps back before sighing.
"The Cobalt Traffickers are…" He started, flicking his wrist before reluctantly continuing, "T-They're Creature Traffickers. They take anyone and anything, Mobian, Overlander, Human… a-and they…"
A few of the more sensitive let out cries as they realized the implications of Sonic's words.
Mandy went slightly pale, her eye twitching as she tried not to show any ounce of unease.
Grim looked more than a little frustrated, glaring at the image on the rock.
Ganondorf and Zelda whipped their heads to each other, both owners of the tri-force looking sick.
"…You're lying."
Kevin was pale, his face slightly green, but looked so very angry.
Kevin pointed a finger to Sonic, and then to Ben, "YOU'RE BOTH LYING! THE EDS WEREN'T KIDNAPPED!"
"I got a video that says otherwise." Ben huffed, moving to switch the image to the video.
"And I know those guns." Sonic sighed, shaking his head, "Those are very… specific guns. You don't see them outside of Und- outside of the army that owns them, or the Cobalt Traffickers."
Kevin's arm shook, feeling beads of sweat on his head.
His breathing quickened, trying to think of something to stop this jerk from his stupid not-real lies-!
{-}
"Alright, listen here you four." A voice started, stepping into view and revealing that she was a mobian owl, "You're gonna empty your pockets and hammerspaces, and then you're gonna follow us to our world, got it?"
The three teens and single woman were silent for a moment, before Double D spoke.
"S-Shouldn't it be in the opposite direction?" Double D stammered, "A-After all, if we remove everything from our pockets, w-we could easily leave some evidence behind!"
"Double D!" Eddy hissed, the woman beside them sending Double D a horrified look.
There was another moment of silence, the owl glancing back at her team with an irritated look.
One could see Double D ripping some paper out of his pocket, writing something on a small piece of paper as the gang considered the 'request'.
"Oh, I'm so tempted to just shoot you." She mumbled, before sighing as three lionesses circled around to behind the four, "Fine then. Start moving."
Eddy shot Double D a sharp glare, before they started moving forward.
Double D discreetly dropped the piece of paper from his hands, the Mobians behind him just stepping over it as they moved off-screen.
Voices still rung out, even as they slowly faded from the camera's microphones.
"Oh, this is gonna be so good! I bet people are gonna pay big for a bunch of outverse-"
The voices faded away completely, and the image suddenly sped up for a moment.
And then it slowed back down, Kevin stepping into the Center with Mandy and Grim in tow.
{-}
Kevin fell to his knees, knowing what was coming next.
He should've just read the stupid note-!
Mandy's eyes widened again, letting out a hiss as she looked to Ben, "We've seen enough, Dweller!"
"Huh?" Blossom blinked, something not lining up, "What's going on?"
"Hey, Ben? What's-?" Ash started to question, but only got a gesture to be quiet.
Kevin stepped on the paper, it making an odd crumpling sound which caught his attention.
"…Huh? What's this paper doing here?" Kevin blinked at the crumpled paper on the ground, picking it up with a raised brow.
Mandy took the paper from Kevin's hands, sending the older boy a sharp glare.
"Focus on finding your stupid villains first." She commanded, handing the paper over to Grim, "Then you can worry about some useless litter."
Grim shot Mandy a glare, but only grumbled after a moment, shoving the paper into his pocket and continuing forward.
Quite a few people let out gasps again, seeing the Eds' desperate attempt ruined by Mandy's carelessness.
Dora took a step back, before glancing at the three Slime Belt leaders and nodding.
For a moment, they didn't know what the girl wanted, but then Timmy gasped and nodded back.
{-}
"But- but what if it's some kind of paperwork somebody dropped!?" Kevin protested, looking not worried but instead frustrated at the girl's careless action, "It could be-"
"Trash." Mandy cut off with a bored look, "I seriously doubt it has any sort of significance, at least for us."
Kevin letting out stammering protests, before letting out a sigh as he left it alone.
"Why's it so important that we find the dorks anyway?" Kevin scoffed, stopping just before the edges of the camera, "They hadn't been to any Council meetings in months, so what gives?"
"We have another arrival tomorrow." Mandy hadn't hesitated to state, making Kevin recoil in horror.
"Another arrival, who claims that they're joining to keep an eye out for a multiverse apocalypse. And you know the rules. The main or secondary leaders need to show if a new world joins, unless told or allowed otherwise." Mandy frowned, "And we don't have the time or evidence to get an exception like last week."
"…What happens if we can't find the dorks in time?" Kevin gulped after a moment, making Mandy go silent.
She was silent for a lot longer than usual, an odd look on her face.
And then she sent Kevin a glare that made the boy take a step back in fear.
"We will find them," She stated firmly, "Even if takes you the entire night. Now keep moving."
The two slowly moved off-screen, while Grim huffed.
He slashed his scythe at the sky, creating a portal to somewhere with visible flames and throwing the paper inside.
"I am not an errand boy." He grumbled, before following after Mandy.
Ben cut off the video with a scowl, he and Jeff sending daggers to Mandy.
"And you call us murderers?" He huffed, "If it wasn't for my cameras, we'd have no idea that those four were kidnapped at all!"
{-}
Mandy's hands were clenched, feeling an odd booming in her chest as her ears rung.
Backpack tossed a rope out, Dora catching it and holding an end out to Jimmy.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Ash roared, his villains the only thing keeping Ash and his Pikachu from attacking Mandy.
Jessie and James were having a hard time holding Ash back, while Meowth was struggling to contain Pikachu as he sparked and screamed.
"Mandy…" Numbah 1 mumbled, taking off his sunglasses to stare at the child tyrant with wide eyes, "What have you done?"
Numbah 2 whimpered, having fallen to his knees and Numbah 5 trying her best to comfort him.
"I-I never… th-they didn't… h-he…" Numbah 2 blubbered, feeling so much guilt despite having nothing to do with the situation, "I-It's not… w-we can't… I-I…"
Numbah 3 was holding onto Numbah 4 so tight, the blonde could barely breathe.
Bubbles was holding her sisters close, openly sobbing.
Even Grim looked slightly sickened now, having always held a dislike for human traffickers for the amount of early deaths that they cause.
A hefty list of souls for the week looks good, sure, but when it's almost entirely full of early souls…
Not to mention how their negligence has led to… this.
Kevin's hands gripped at the ground, barely hearing the voices of those around him as they screamed, mumbled, whispered…
{-}
'Tomorrow'
That meant that the message had been found and… and ignored hours before now.
Possibly over half a day ago!
Would…
Would it even still be possible to save the Eds?
Were they even still alive?
Did… Did they just lose three villains- No, three child villains all because of Mandy's carelessness?
Sonic looked sick to his stomach, especially as Mega Man looked to him in desperate hope.
"I-If they got taken last night, th-there's a good chance they're already…" Sonic mumbled, just loud enough for everyone to hear him, "I-I'm sorry. I… If… If I'd known the Cobalt Traffickers were… M-Maybe I could have…"
"We could have helped them." Danny told, narrowed eyes moving to Mandy, "If she hadn't thrown away our only way of finding out what happened."
"Danny's right." Timmy frowned, his fairies floating beside him with sharp glares, "So's that mirror too. If the creepypastas didn't have that camera, we woulda never known what happened to them."
"Therefore, by the information and evidence we've seen…" Jimmy started, holding his end of the rope as Dora slowly crept around to Mandy, "It's Mandy's fault Peach Creek just lost four residents. Not just three villains. Four. Semi-innocent. Residents."
Mandy slowly glanced around to Dora, seeing the rope in the other girl's hands.
Dora slowly gained a smile, eyes locking with Mandy's.
"What are you-" She started, narrowing her eyes-
And then Dora and Jimmy charged forward, Danny and Timmy jumping into the dust cloud of a fight.
{-}
Vegeta stood to the side, watching Goku practically hyperventilate while Krillin desperately tried to calm his friend down.
"…You think they're really dead?" Piccolo questioned after a moment, making Vegeta scoff.
"Of course not. Those brats are stronger than that, I'm sure." Vegeta told, before his expression became a bit somber, "…I never thought that girl would ever return."
"After what happened?" Piccolo sighed, watching as Dora hopped out of the fight and grinned to the Slime Trio, "I'm surprised she's so upbeat. Even if it has been two years."
Vegeta only hummed, watching Jimmy and Timmy high-five each other as they laughed.
Mandy was tied up tight on the ground, struggling to release herself from her binds.
"…How did she know there was a meeting today?" Vegeta questioned after a minute, making Piccolo pause, "Didn't the mustached man change the day after some other incident around that point?"
"You mean the Coalition's 'Taboo' Crisis?" Piccolo asked, getting only a scoff in return, "Yeah. The next meeting was delayed for three days, and from there the timing- wait."
Piccolo started to realize what Vegeta was getting at, his eyes going wide.
"How did she…?" He mumbled, before Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the Latina girl.
"She's hiding something powerful too." Vegeta mumbled, a bit quieter to not arouse the suspicion those with sharper hearing, "I can sense it on her."
Piccolo's eyes widened, before looking a bit unsure.
"I'd rather not interrogate her after… all this." He admitted, making Vegeta quietly groan.
"Do I have to do everything around here?!" He grumbled, prepared to stomp over to Dora before being stopped by Piccolo grabbing the back of his shirt.
"I meant we can't interrogate now." Piccolo hissed, "We'll ask her later, but we have to wait until she's truly alone. And you know that may take a meeting or two."
Vegeta looked enraged for a moment, before remembering what Piccolo was referring to.
After all, Ruby always talked about those after-meeting talks with Jimmy fondly.
"Fuck… fine." Vegeta scowled, pushing Piccolo's hand off his collar and crossing his arms.
Piccolo huffed before turning his attention back to the Council.
{-}
"Listen, everyone!" Sonic spoke up, making everyone turn to him, "I… I-I'm not positive that the Eds aren't… b-but that doesn't mean I can't try and find them!"
Sonic took out a communicator from his quills, waving it for everyone to see, "I-I know a friend who can call up a search party for them! He's already been keeping an eye out for the Cobalt Traffickers, but I bet this'll kick that search into high gear!"
"I… I promise, we'll find something that'll tell us what happened to them!" Sonic told the crowd, who looked hopeful yet hopeless, "I'll do whatever it takes! I can swear to you all that!"
People exchanged looks, and the members of the World Belt looked to Jimmy.
Jimmy blinked at all of the eyes staring at him, before Timmy gasped.
"Dude! If Mandy's down, that means you're…!" He mumbled into Jimmy's ear, making the teen quietly gasp.
Then he shook his head, glaring up at Sonic.
"Y-You better find them, Hedgehog!" He scowled, gesturing with as much confidence as the sudden leader could, "Because if you don't, their blood won't just be on Mandy's hands!"
Sonic gulped, before nodding, "I-I understand that, believe me!"
"Do you?!" Numbah 1 snapped, his team glaring at Sonic now, "Because if you knew, you would have had something set up to avoid something like this! You better make this right, teen!"
"I… I will!" Sonic repeated, looking slightly unstable as he gripped his other forearm like a stress ball, "I-I'll make this right, I swear it! I'll set everything right!"
{-}
"Oh, will you now?"
{-}
A whisper made Amanra gasp, glancing around to find the source of the voice.
Arkantos and Ajax, who had been tuning out the meaningless arguments of the multiverse out, looked to her with confused looks.
"I heard something! A voice!" Amanra whispered, hearing a quiet scoff that made her skin crawl.
"It was likely those… 'irritations' mumbling amongst themselves." Gargarensis told, receiving multiple scowls in response.
"I really hate to say this, but he's probably right." Ajax grunted, "Maybe we should just head home. I'm starting to think these 'multi-universes' won't be any help."
Arkantos glanced back at the meeting, before sighing.
"Perhaps not."
"Huh? Did… Did she… actually hear me?"
Amanra whipped her head around, having heard another whisper, before rushing towards it.
Arkantos and Ajax let out startled sounds, before following after her.
Gargarensis grunted as he was forced along with them, the chains keeping him prisoner connected to the 'heroes'.
Reginleif remained behind, transfixed in horror by the scene in front of her.
Not a single thing she was hearing was right.
And she didn't like it.
{-}
Amanra came to a stop not too far away, barely close enough to still see the meeting.
In front of her was a golden door with odd carvings, and…
An odder pink creature, who was staring back at her.
She opened her mouth, ready to question the strange creature-
"Ɦᶒꞎᶅơ ťⱨẻᶉẻ... Щɦǫ... ⱳⱨơ ơᶉ Щɦᶏť ảᶉẻ ƴǫư?"
"Amanra!" Arkantos hissed as he stepped into sight, making the pink creature bristle.
And then she relaxed, her eyes going wide.
The pink thing giggled, leaning on the door with a grin.
"Looks like I found a Winter Festival gift." Amy told herself, much to the confusion of the three heroes.
Gargarensis scowled, not liking the small creature before him.
"Oh, Eggman!" Amy quietly called, "I found something interesting!~"
A man stepped out from a nearby bush, brushing small leaves out of his jacket as he walked over.
"What do you want, Amy-" He started, before seeing the four before the hedgehog…
And sighing.
"Can't any of you idiots keep out of trouble for ten minutes?" He grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Thaeif will rip me to shreds if-"
"Eggman, Thaeif is probably going to kill us for just going into the multiverse before the Winter Festival." Amy huffed, before gesturing to the four with a grin, "So… what do you think? The fur-headed one for Knux, the feather for Rouge?"
"You always make it sound as if you're kidnapping someone." Eggman sighed, making Amy giggle.
"That's because it scares the shit out of Sally's terrible advisors or Shadow's co-workers!" Amy laughed, before turning serious again, "Seriously though, I have a feeling they'd be great projects for them!"
"…Projects?" Amanra blinked, making Amy giggle again.
"Yeah!" She grinned, "You four have great potential, and I know me and my friends are gonna want to help you utilize it!"
"…Pardon?" Arkantos blinked at the girl, before shaking his head, "Child, we're here to search for the potential means of a multiverse apocalypse not-"
Eggman let out a snort, making Arkantos glance to him with a raised brow.
"Is something funny?" He questioned, making Eggman sigh.
"Just the matter of how easy it would be for us to find the 'means'." Eggman chuckled, before reaching a hand out to the four, "Doctor Ivo. But most call me 'Eggman'."
{-}
The three heroes stared at the hand, while Gargarensis looked…
Interested.
There was something… odd about this one.
And he wanted to know what it was.
Gargarensis awkwardly shook Eggman's hand with a still-chained one, making the ovular man hum.
And then he blinked, releasing the cyclops' hand.
Eggman stared at his own hand for a minute, before glancing at Amy.
"I call the cyclops." He stated firmly, making Amy hum.
"Don't you already have a project? The god-making one?"
"Amy, you don't understand." Eggman smirked, gesturing to Gargarensis with a slight laugh, "He's perfect for the project! He might be our first step into what we truly need to do! To create a god that won't turn into another damn Void Beast!"
To create a god.
Gargarensis blinked twice, feeling so very confused.
That was certainly a first in a very long time…
…The confusion, not the matter of making a god.
{-}
Amy rolled her eyes, before taking Amanra's hand and pulling the woman forward.
"Come on! You three gotta meet my family!" Amy grinned, "I bet they'll have some answers for your apocalypse too!"
The three heroes exchanged looks, Arkantos looking particularly worried about Eggman's sudden interest in the cyclops.
"Oh, don't worry about Eggman." Amy waved off with a sigh, "Just let him do whatever he's gonna do. No point stopping him now…"
Eggman suddenly grabbed Gargarensis' wrist and the two vanished, leaving behind the severed chain that once bound the cyclops to them.
Arkantos gulped.
"…Okay, how about he'll keep the cyclops in check and we're usually keeping an eye on him?" Amy tried again, this time getting a sigh.
"I will travel to your world and speak with your family." Arkantos stated, stepping towards the hedgehog.
He glanced over at Amanra and Ajax, nodding to the two heroes, "State to Athena that I am looking into…"
Amy released Amanra's hand, raising a brow at the ascended hero.
The sharp, almost glowing green eyes made Arkantos feel uneasy.
"…A potential explanation." He finished, getting nods in return.
Amy giggled to herself.
The two heroes reluctantly turned away, Amanra's gaze lingering on Amy.
And Amy could see that potential spark in the human's eyes.
Know what?
Screw the Winter Festival present.
The feather is hers.
Zalgo paced in his 'grand' foyer, his followers watching him with bated breath.
Dead Bart tapped a foot on the ground, arms crossed and clearly impatient for Zalgo's next command.
Lil Miss and L silently waited for Zalgo's word, both silently hoping for the call to finally attack the Dwellers.
Laughing Jack watched Zalgo with sharp eyes, hiding his worry of what the demon may call for.
"Leave it be." He finally sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with an irritated look, "We can't do anything without serious repercussions. Not until this 'crisis' is over and those children are returned to their rightful spots."
"What?!"
"But Zalgo-!"
"Silence!" He snapped, silencing everyone immediately, "There is nothing we can do now but wait. The leader of the Hearts will not remain, so I have heavy doubts that this newfound 'comradery' of the Belt will last long. It is just the effect of a so-called 'emergency'."
Zalgo sighed again, beginning to move away from his followers, "Those three will be found, and the tyrant girl will be reinstated by the next month's end. I have no doubts about that."
{-}
"But sir, what of that new world!? The one from last week!" Lil Miss questioned, making Zalgo pause.
And then he grunted in annoyance.
"It seems my initial impression of those 'mobians' was wrong. Treat them as you would any other, but avoid killing anyone for now. If you see anyone near us, you are to send them away. Anything truly harmful will have those useless leaders at our door, understand?"
A collection of 'Yes!', 'Yes, sir!', and a single 'So, just beat 'em up then? Got it!' rang out, and Zalgo chuckled to himself.
It was good, being on the top.
He grinned at the monitor, seeing Ben and Jeff walking back towards their Manor.
And soon, he'll be truly on the top again.
The two were greeted by Slenderman, the monitor's camera slowly fizzling out.
Zalgo slashed a clawed hand through the monitor, the broken image of Slenderman's face flashing before it was stomped.
And he laughed.
{-}
…Laughing Jack narrowed his eyes to the cackling demon, knowing that he'll need to make a call tonight.
He's planning something.
He's planning something, and they are not going to be caught unaware this time.
The Massacre won't happen again.
"To the echoes above…"
The three fates let out gasps, sensing another part of the prophecy come to be.
{-}
"…And the utter silence below."
Red mumbled aloud, much to Exe's relief and nearby Dwellers' confusion.
{-}
"The loss of weeds…"
Super breathed, Sally and Rouge listening with wide eyes.
{-}
"… finally allow the flowers to grow."
Tails opened his eyes, he and Cream sharing a grin.
{-}
{-}
Tikal let out a confused hum, feeling a strain of magic course through her.
Connecting to her…
Calling to her…
Who is the poor soul desperate enough to call her name-?
"ELDRITCH TIKAL, HELP! I FUCKED UP-!"
And then she huffed as she recognized the call, closing her eyes as she blocked out the strain.
"Whatever you've done now, I want no part in it." She mumbled, sensing the distress from her dismissal, "You can manage whatever you've done yourself, Prime. Leave me be."
Lmao get shit on Prime!
...Anyway hey! It's that prophecy that nobody's really talked about! I wonder if it'll finally be mentioned or talked about in Arc 2...
I hope ya'll enjoyed the Multiverse Council Meeting!
Though... that Council looked a bit... small, didn't it?
I wonder why there's so little universes in a Multiverse Council...
(Hey, if you got any ideas, gimme a theory in the comments! I'm curious to see if anyone can get it!)
Anyway, I'll see ya'll next month!
...Oh. And uh... about my mental health, to anyone curious.
So, it got worse again.
I've been sleeping like shit too.
Not really all that great.
Writing's still a struggle too, but I'm making SOME progress.
Not much though...
...But hey, my birthday is in a little less than two weeks and my sister/her fiance/my best friend is planning... SOMETHING.
They've all admitted it's some kind of trip and that they'll tell me on the 4th of July?
So uh... stay tuned for August's update in which I probably make the end-notes as long as the next chapter lol.
Sorry about the long chapter notes.
See you guys in August!