In which Snow White meets a tiny new friend.

An ill yellow light slowly drifted throughout the solitary window of the prison cell, its method of entry small and cramped and only offering the smallest glance into the nearly mazelike oasis of greenery and shrubs. An air of quiet mist hung like a hallowed prisoner across the usually empty cells of the castle dungeons and in one such prison cell, barred to the nines and guarded from afar by a round silhouette, a girl was restrained into a permanent position of kneeling, forced there by an entanglement of chains and unfortunate timing. Her head limply dug her chin into her chest, as her pale pink hair averted eyesight away from her face, and her arms were uncomfortably affixed together at her back.

In the moments her eyes were shut, like life flashing before the eyes of the deceased, familiar silhouettes danced across her memory; yet all of them in new locations, places she had never seen in her lifetime.

A nun and her prince in a city set ablaze, fighting off a nightmarish creature.

A witch bolting on her broom through a digital frontier, rushing to the aid of her friends.

A maestro with violin in hand, playing a song so beautiful that it sent a demon recoiling back into a black abyss.

A dragon knight, holding their sword aloft to protect a princess' happily ever after.

A tiny, bloodied little girl asleep in a bed of flowers, surrounded by seven concerned onlookers.

Upon her body's first sign of movement since her display of combat in the throne room, the rattle of chains was the first thing that filled Snow White's consciousness as it returned to her. The girl's pale body jolted ever so slightly as her senses slowly began to awaken from their unwilling slumber, her throat unleashing a quiet gasp of air all the while as she took in the sight of her Magical Girl attire (or at least the lower half of it). The brush of cold across her frame from the floor and the uncomfortable air that loomed all over the formerly peaceful castle, the scent of magic thick and almost suffocating as it coiled around her, all of it was an aura Snow White was not a stranger to. As her eyelids revealed her quiet, golden gaze, she was met with the sight of a floor of cold, stone bricks that sent floods of ice up her stocking-covered knees.

Wherever she was, it possessed a chill that had previously been absent throughout the castle, and it had to have been either because of the evil fairy's coup or because this was likely somewhere far below the fairy tale-styled gardens.

...It was the coup, she was sure.

But that was just Snow White's luck at this point, wasn't it? To end up taking on a mission that led her to a castle on the same day it was the de facto location of choice for an evil witch's plans. And all with the potential of a connection the Magical Kingdom conveniently decided to leave out during their desperate request. Without even a single deviation in her expression, Snow White reached out to the magic inside of her, searching for any voices of distress from inside the palace-

And was cut off.

At the same time, like a radio's signal abruptly being shut off, a sickly green glow emanated from the snake pit of chains that bound her to the ground, and everywhere the metal touched, a searing burn screamed off the surface, searching for anyone and anything to mark down — including her skin. The girl instinctively gritted her teeth, gnawing them together as her fingers curled into her palms, her nails digging in at the feeling until it faded.

Oh, great, chains that shut off her main power. Her day couldn't have been going better if she tried.

"Hey! Dont'cha even think about tryin' to bust outta those chains, princess!" the voice of Maleficent's companion from before warned, hands on his waist, chest puffed up slightly as he spoke. "Or usin' that fancy-smancy magic of yours, cause Maleficent's magic is stronger than anythin' you might have on ya!"

Snow White offered an unimpressed blink in reply. "Oh, does she, default henchman?" she said, flatly.

Despite her unfortunate position at this moment in time, Snow White couldn't even try to pretend she held much fear of the figure in front of her. Every time she looked at him, her mind rewound back to the Magical Girl Warrior shows or even the movies she'd watch as a kid — with every dark queen, there'd always be some bumbling henchman — at least, that's how they showed it, though Snow White had never really ran into a real-life equivalent of that during her time hunting rogue Magical Girls, at least not yet.

"Of course she does!" he asserted again. "And hey, that's Pete to you!" Pete added, the offence so obvious it almost hurt. "You really ain't from around here, are ya? Then again, guess that's no surprise you'd be all high and mighty about magic, since you're one of them Magical Girls!"

"And what is it your 'boss' knows about Magical Girls, may I ask?" Snow White responded.

"Oh, she knows plenty!" Pete continued to blather on, to the point that Snow White was almost amused. Still, she'd not complain about a job being made easier than she was expecting. If the Magical Kingdom weren't available to offer her any sort of answer, then she supposed finding out directly wasn't too big a deal. "She's suspected there's been people like you out there somewhere, even if that Mage or them Sages aren't anywhere to be found 'round here anymore! And then in comes you, waltzin' in to answer all her questions!"

Now we were getting somewhere. Snow White pondered the words she had just been told for a moment or so, taking them in slowly and allowing them to sink into the fabric of her thoughts. She supposed a connection between the world she found herself in now and the Magical Kingdom wasn't too much of a stretch — after all, the First Mage had to have come from somewhere, and who's to say they didn't start here, or even create this place the same way they supposedly created the Magical Kingdom and their disciples? It would explain how they had a way for her to get there in such a short space of time, and how anyone, even if it was a dark, creepy witch, knew anything about what she was.

Giving a polite nod, Snow White answered, wondering how long she could keep this little back-and-forth going — "Well, that's...interesting to hear."

"I'd bet it is for someone like you! You couldn't even take on Maleficent! Then again, nobody can...'cept for those three twerps!" Pete rambled on, proudly; only to falter at the last part.

Blinking, the pink-haired Magical Girl tilted her head in half-feigned curiousity, "'Three twerps'?"

"Ugh, don't get me started on 'em! Kid Keyblader and his two sidekicks!" Pete ranted, only to stop and look at her abruptly. "Hey, hey! Don't change the subject!"

"I didn't," Snow White stated, her tone remaining the same as it had at the start. "If I remember right, you brought 'those three twerps' up, not me."

Pete replied with a sound that was akin to a thought-induced grumbling, only for his expression to match a deer caught up in the headlights at the realisation. "U-uh! Uh...huh." he grumbled, the last 'huh' ringing with a certain defeat. It took some effort from the Magical Girl in white not to offer just the smallest smug smile. This...this was ridiculously easy, especially compared to the battle in the throne room. "Fine!" the henchman threw his arms up. "You win that one, but no more than that, got it!?"

"I can accept that." the enchained Magical Girl conceded.

"Good!" Pete asserted, chest puffed up in pride again. "Even all locked up, you've still got a'lotta nerve, princess!"

"Princess?" Snow White inquired — her mind recalled the beginning of her battle with Maleficent, her words on how her heart was somehow still full of light. That was the one thing she doubted; after all those she'd failed to save out of cowardice, and those she hunted down, light was the one thing her heart lacked, even if her appearance would suggest otherwise. That's how it stood, as far as Snow White was concerned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Duh, the other Snow White! One of them Princesses of-"

"Silence, you fool!"

Maleficent's voice had cut through the dungeon halls, rendering an echoing silence that reached every corner of the dungeons. Snow White remained in her position, knelt and looking beyond the bars, even as Pete flinched instinctively as the icy voice tore right through his previous shows of bravado. At the end of the dungeon corridor, the witch manifested herself, treading across the stone floor with slow, certain steps, her staff tapping occasionally across the bottom of the floor.

Stammering like a criminal caught red-handed, Pete's mouth gaped open, his eyes bulging slightly at the sight of his 'boss'. Bowing deeply, his arms were pinned to his sides as he shakily greeted her, "B-boss! It's you!"

"Of course it is." Maleficent answered, coldly. She smiled, but it wasn't the sort of smile you'd want to see directed at you from across a street. On the contrary, it was the type you'd see in PSAs, worn by some shadowy villain seeking to do you harm that only your family or local authorities could protect you from, the type that felt like a spider crawling inside of your ears.

"Now then, I think you've said quite enough to our subject. Don't you agree?" the horned woman inquired, her voice's tone growing tighter, almost suffocating in nature. If Pete didn't look like a dead man walking from the house to the grave before, he certainly did now, pale as a sheet and as obedient as a toy soldier.

"Y-yes, boss!" Pete announced, his voice still quivering despite its increased volume.

With a single look, he scampered off down the corridor, out of her sight and most of all, out of her way. Snow White's golden eyes scrolled lightly off to the side as she watched him go, before narrowing as she was faced with her current target. Despite her silence however, a loud, violet expression buried itself deep into her gut as she considered her position as the Magical Girl Hunter, placed at what looked to be an enemy's mercy. It made her green just thinking of it, albeit glad that it wasn't her past self, her weak, pathetic old self who was here. She knew exactly how she would have reacted to this — perhaps she'd attempt to stand her ground at first, but ultimately, she'd crack. And once she'd cracked, she'd cry and hope for the awful event to come to a halt, hope that someone would aid her.

And worse yet? For some reason, that past self had those who did want to aid her. And what became of them? They died for it. They died because of her. La Pucelle, Souta, had promised to be her knight, and he'd been so mangled by the 'accident' that they could hardly even identify who it was at first. Hardgore Alice acquired blood on her eternally pale hands just to save her life, yet it was Alice's blood that was forever printed onto her own hands now because she'd been unable to reach her side before it was too late.

And so, Snow White's glare remained as unmoving as a dead body in concrete, her body still and silent as she herself was, refusing to give her the sort of reaction she likely sought for. After all, if she was the typical 'mistress of all evil' (Snow White could still hardly get over how obvious a title that was, especially to pick for one's self), then she already knew what she enjoyed; people's misery and suffering, and causing it in any way she could, from causing coups to cursing children. Perhaps she couldn't confirm the latter, but if you were to tell her Maleficent had done so, she certainly wouldn't have been surprised.

Maleficent stood before her now, a perpetually tranquil smirk dancing across her lips, her posture poised akin to that of a noblewoman. 'Like the one she probably wishes she was.' Snow White couldn't help but think to herself.

"I must say, I'm impressed. Even when bound in chains and unable to use that little magical power of yours — what was it? To 'hear the thoughts of people in danger'? How noble," Maleficent sneered, the taunting tone present in her vocals impossible to ignore. Great, she'd caught onto what Snow White's ability was. Ah well, she'd just need to account for that once she got out of this.

"Yes, even when captured, you still find a way to reach for what you want. Even if it's through a gullible fool," her eyes subsequently looked off to the side again, and Snow White suspected she was probably shooting the look at Pete. She could only imagine the sort of hung-headed embarrassment present on the guy's face at this point.

"I work with what I have." Snow White remarked, giving a small shrug of her shoulders, still refusing to break eye contact.

"I see you do..." Maleficent responded. "I see also that you came here seeking a certain purpose; matters involving the Magical Kingdom, I presume?"

Upon hearing that, the golden-eyed girl simply let out a single scoff. "Funny. I could say the same to you."

The wicked fairy's brow rose, her smirk widening into the slightest grin at her reply. "And why is that, child?"

"I don't know — the stolen Mana from the Magical Kingdom might have an answer for that one though," Snow White shot back. Her voice did not rise, but the tension could be sliced down with a blade with how she spoke. It was enough that, anyone without magic or strength, or even those who lacked it next to somebody like the Magical Girl Hunter would quake and tremble at the sound of her, and would lose at least half of their will to fight just from hearing how she spoke to her targets.

Yet, despite the certainty, the resolve in the girl's voice, the witch only laughed aloud to herself, the mocking sound bouncing off the walls and almost taunting her ears in its perpetual repeat. "Oh, you think I would need Mana from your precious little kingdom?"

"I wouldn't call it precious. Not to me. And why not? You clearly like power, so why not claim more if you have the resources? Unless of course, you don't have the ability to reach out that far?"

The implication Snow White threw in so calmly wiped the smug smile off of Maleficent's face, like chalk swiftly removed from a board, in spite of her best efforts to not let it show, only given away by the removal of the smirk, the slightest tension present in her thin face.

As Maleficent's frozen gaze bore into the ivory Magical Girl, she extended her staff between a gap in the bars, the crystal ball touching the tip of Snow White's chin, forcing it up by a small amount. "Oh, believe me, Snow White. Power is indeed a beautiful thing to me — but I don't need simple mana, no. I have far enough of my own, I don't need to perform petty theft upon people so insignificant. No, my interests lie far deeper than that. And if you think I'd limit myself to such things, then I delight in imagining how you might respond to...others in these worlds~"

Gritting her teeth, Snow White's nose scrunched up slightly as she felt her chin be tilted up, doing what she could to retain a strength she had in voice if not in her present circumstances. "And what would those interests be?"

Maleficent chuckled once to herself, "I think you already have an idea, don't you? Unless you are as dull as your superiors and need to be told directly?"

"Superior's a strong word," Snow White commented.

"Perhaps it is. No, your connection to them seems far too faint. I look forward to learning just what makes you crack, dear Snow White, for now there is only one question that remains."

Still glaring her down, her eyes unbreakable as diamonds, "And what's that?" she asked, almost as if she were posing the wicked fairy a challenge.

"Will your heart still be imbued with light? Or will it tip over into the darkness it so desperately craves?"

With that, Maleficent took a step back, her previous demeanour having swiftly returned through her final words, her steps swift as Snow White resisted the urge to lunge at her right then and there. Stepping away from the cell door, Maleficent tapped her staff against the floor; as her body then grew smaller and dispersed into a swirl of gold, black and green, which subsequently sparked into a few ashy fragments, before finally leaving nothing behind — likely to inflict her taunts upon the Queen and Daisy, Snow White suspected.

Allowing a huff of air into her lungs, she fought back the thoughts stirring inside her head, unpleasant ones and all. Her lips formed a thin line, and her eyes were only slightly widened, her breaths otherwise restrained and steady despite the uncertain tensions present in the conversation she just participated in. The words played over and over again in her head like a tape recorder's slightly blurred sound, as she dissected each one to its bare essentials and worked her way up; said essentials being that Maleficent at least seemed to be aware of the existence of the Magical Kingdom, and arguably its sudden depletion in mana, but also the other thing — apparently, she claimed to not be responsible for that. And that was what left her thinking harder, her nerves screwed in an attempt to wrap itself around what she had been told.

Now, Snow White was no fool — she wasn't going to believe anything she was told just because someone said it. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if her past self would have done something that stupid, even if she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't have with utter certainty either. And she especially wasn't going to believe someone immediately if it was someone like Maleficent. But there was the other matter — namely that Maleficent hadn't denied any crime, just that one in particular, as it was apparent she had some sick interest in the products of the Magical Kingdom, and that meant people like her, as well as Mages and anything caught in between, and she'd attacked and threatened an innocent group of people, with the latter even being what led her down here to start with, right in front of her face, so it was hardly like Maleficent was attempting to play the game of innocence.

Then again, with a self-imposed title like 'Mistress of All Evil', it would have been more surprising if she had tried to act innocent of all the crimes available.

But either way, it left one of two options — either Maleficent had stolen the mana from the Magical Kingdom, and also intended...something involving Magical Girls and Mages, or, it was only the Magical Girls and Mages she was interested in on top of what she had planned for this place. Once again, Snow White mulled it over there, knelt in her cell; there was no way to know for sure until she got out of here, but either option was bleak.

But to her, the option, for now, was obvious — go after Maleficent.

If she did go after her, it kept this place safe, it ensured the happiness of those who had shown her kindness even when she had quite literally just dropped onto their lawn, and it also gave her a more trustworthy route of information to go off of than were she to just let Maleficent run amock any longer. Even if she wasn't responsible for the issue of the theft, she'd made it clear to Snow White that she was the exact sort of villain who Magical Girls were supposed to fight off, supposed to beat back into the darkness in order to allow the sun to shine on bright and joyous! That sort of talk wasn't what Snow White indulged in these days, not like how she used to...but those values were ones she still held close, her heart still warm with the bittersweet taste of her memories with Souta, of her initial days in her Magical Girl form before the Raising Project kicked off everything down the road to hell. And moreover...just because Maleficent wasn't responsible for that specific problem, it didn't mean she wouldn't cause another. In fact, she'd outright confessed to that earlier — yes, she hadn't detailed it, but what Snow White had gathered from her chosen words gave enough of a vivid image for her to stand up against it.

Just the thought of other Magical Girls, either like La Pucelle, Hardgore Alice or Sister Nana, being targeted by her for her twisted interests...the thought of those like her mentor or Cranberry or Swim Swim serving a witch like that...

Her fists trembled, the chains rattling like a shivering body in the ice, her nails digging in so strong one would expect her flesh to break and bleed.

And remember — all of that was if she wasn't the one responsible for the mana theft. But there was one more question at the back of the pink-haired girl's mind, stressed in shadows.

If it turned out to not be Maleficent responsible for that part...then who was? Truthfully, Snow White knew too little of this world to make even the least educated of guesses, but she'd take it one step at a time. For now, the hunter would track down the witch in black, and put in the steps to put a stop to her machinations. And if there was another after her? Then she'd simply continue her hunt with them, no matter how long it took.

Observing the dungeon cell, Snow White searched for anything that could be of use to her escape. At the corner of her eye, she saw Pete strolling back and forth near some other cells — hm, it seemed he'd caught on that he blabbered more than his boss would have liked him to, so now he wasn't saying anything. Ah, well. If he stayed away from her, it gave her a few more options in what she could do or look for, since his back was turned. At first, her search's results were as barren and grey as the prison she was locked inside of, with nothing but the floor, the walls, the chains and one Magical Girl in white looking rather tired of this dreary destination, and the silent droplets of water that occasionally rung out from the other end of the hallway.

Riveting, right?

But then, that silence (and occasionally dripping) was broken by a gentle...whistle. It was small, oh yes, very small indeed, but it was enough that Snow White was certain she'd heard it, accompanied by equally small scuttling...the scuttling of feet! Turning her head around, a normal person's vision might have missed it at first, but she caught it quickly; or rather, him!

"Up here, miss!" the voice called.

There, at the tiny window behind her, stood a very peculiar-looking cricket, to the point she almost wondered if he was some form of mascot she had not been told about by the Magical Kingdom. He was a pale green colour, of course, but had big, friendly eyes, and stood up on two legs almost like a little human being, even wearing clothes too, including a black, velvety tailcoat, an orange-tan shirt, a pucked-up white collar and a rather charming blue top hat. It was as if he had been pulled straight from a children's film...!

Her mouth formed a slight 'o' as she watched him scuttle from the window, slowly hopping down atop the slightly jutted bricks in the wall as if they were a stairwell, before hopping off the last one and floating down the floor through the use of a teeny little umbrella. Once he had reached the ground, the cricket bowed, and tipped his hat to her.

"Good to meet you! Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket...! I say, I came here on some business for King Mickey, when I saw all those awful guards of that Maleficent stationed at every door! And then, I saw you all locked up and alone down here!" Jiminy spoke, his voice airing a certain distress after he got past the introductions.

Seeing his anxiety, Snow White offered a small smile in his direction, her usual stoicism being allowed to fade again for the time being. "It's good to meet you too. I'm Snow White," she greeted in return. "I'd give you a handshake, but I'm a little..tied up at the moment," she added.

Jiminy frowned, looking her up and down, scurrying up and down the dungeon floor along the line of chains that bound her there. "Oh dear, so I see! It musta been some awful luck to end up here today," he said, sympathetically.

"Did you say you were here for the King?" Snow White asked, recalling the name that Minnie had posed to her earlier, the one who was off to a Mark of Mastery exam — still had no clue what that actually was, mind you, but now wasn't the time to ask that question.

"That's right!" Jiminy confirmed. "I was hopin' to collect my journal, so that our friends Sora and Riku's progress in their exam could be noted down, but as you can see..."

"Maleficent's presence has put a damper on that." Snow White finished.

Jiminy sighed. "That it has..." it was then that his eyes flicked back up the chain and down again, and then out towards the hallway, Snow White's eyes flickering as an idea came to her.

"Jiminy — is it possible you could find me the key to these chains?" Snow White requested. It turned her stomach to ask someone of anything, especially so soon after meeting them, but trying to pickpocket anything in her current state was physically impossible, even with her strength, not helped by the effects of these wretched chains in particular. "I can get us both out of here and get you to your journal, as well as to Daisy and the Queen. But I need these chains off of me."

"Well, of course!" Jiminy agreed, heartily. "I oughta' say...those certainly do have a dark feelin' about them,"

Snow White nodded, confirming his belief. "I have magic that'd be enough for us to find them both, and I have a weapon as well. But I can't use much of it while these chains are limiting that."

Giving a nod, Jiminy slipped across the floor and underneath the bars; that which kept her locked up at her size was practically like a massive doorway for the cricket, it would seem, and Pete's pacing about did little to increase his observation skills, Snow White's mind giggling even as her face retained its blank slate while she watched him slowly sneak up his leg, reaching the key on his belt. The second Pete turned back around, the keys dangled, with Jiminy dragging them with a strong tug across the corridor floor.

Almost there. Almost there...

"Hey, you there!" Pete's voice piped up from down the hall, and Snow White found herself mentally cursing.

"Run, Jiminy!" Snow White called, eyes widening slightly even as the rest of her expression remained still.

Jiminy's tiny feet scurried across the floor as the keys lugged and bounced across his shoulder, Pete's heaving figure bolting with strong steps right for him. With several taps, she could see poor Jiminy's tiny frame getting closer and closer, and Snow White forced herself into action. Straining and battling against the scalding scream of the chains every time she moved, every single time she channelled even the slightest bit of magic, she dragged her body from the middle of the cell to the corner, closest to the front of the wall at her right. With one final step from Pete, Jiminy's footing was lost as he slid across the floor, the keys right along with him. Turning herself around, Snow White leaned back as far as she could until she had a good grasp of them — and felt her fingers tighten around the circular metal.

She had them!

As swiftly as she could, she bolted her body back inside the prison cell before Pete could force the keys out of her hands, fiddling the key about until it found the lock. With one final strong turn of her hand, and one victorious click, the chains' once vicelike hold over Snow White's arms was broken like ice with a mistaken footstep, and she was able to rise off the floor. With a certain movement forward, she stepped by the door. Just as Pete had Jiminy cornered, his grin wide and arrogant, there was a crash that echoed throughout the whole dungeon, the smashing and breaking of metal in one fell swoop, jarring and almost brutal with its suddenness. Slowly, he turned around (unintentionally giving Jiminy the perfect opportunity to dart underneath his legs) — and was faced with a sight he did...not expect, even with the display he'd seen in the throne room.

Standing there, straight and strong, was Snow White, barehanded. Yet it was barehanded that she had turned what had once been the door to her cell into a mangled metallic gateway, spiked and broken like a human's spine, all the bars before her being cracked in two.

Even as Jiminy darted to the safety of her, his eyes were the size of porcelain saucers as he beheld the girl. When he had first seen her, he had assumed she was far more in need than he, someone delicate who had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. And indeed, that perception was still true in places; her appearance was still gentle, and warm and inviting, and it would seem her luck had been against her when she was led here — because there was no other way that a girl who could break steel bars over her knee like it was a weak little stick in the forest could end up in a situation like this. Was that the sort of thing even Riku and Sora could do? With the Keyblade, the answer was a resounding absolutely, but barehandedly?! That was something even Jiminy Cricket hadn't seen in all his days...!

Slackjawed, Pete gawked at the girl, looking like his eyes were about to bulge out of his skull, and if he didn't already appear fiendishly cartoonish to Snow White, then that impression was cemented now.

Climbing up her boots, off the back of the flowers that were attached to the back of her waist, and up to the nestled position of her shoulder, Jiminy turned to Snow White, as she put a hand to her other ear, strolling down the hallway and towards the end where her naginata waited for her.

'Oh, I do hope that girl's alright...and oh, Mickey, please don't fall for her trap!' Queen Minnie's voice echoed in her head.

"We're good to go." Snow White confirmed, offering a small look toward Jiminy. "Come on. We have a queen and a castle to save, Jiminy,"

"Sounds like a plan, Snow White...!"

A girl with the name of one of the Seven Princesses of Heart...

And the strength of a Keyblade Wielder...

Just who was this girl?

A/N: This one almost ended up a little late because of some work on another fanfiction I've been writing and planning for like...all week long, but I managed to pump out this little baby not long before shut-eye! Thanks once more to Tsuuji and Captain Imaginat for the reviews!

Starting with Captain Imaginat! The Grid was a pretty heavy-going arc, so it was fun writing a little piece in the border between dreams and getting to include other Magical Girls again, as well as having them interact with each other and try to piece together the puzzle as it unfolds, hehe~ Thanks once again for the compliment, I appreciate it greatly!

Now, for Tsuuji's! First thing first, there's no need to apologise for missing chapters! Stuff happens and honestly just knowing you're reading means a lot to me. I'm happy to hear your new phone's running a bit smoother though, it's always nice to get that upgrade, and I hope you have fun testing games on it! Genshin's a fun ride, one I need to get back into playing again, haha~ Anyways. The world order was a...weird thing for me, but I decided to just stick to the rule of 'as long as you don't say you're from another world, you should be fine' since the characters in-game don't typically blend in unless it's really mandatory, whether it be with how they look or their weaponry. And yeahhh, I agree that it is pretty odd how they're so insistent about it when it hardly seems to make much difference- XD I hadn't even considered the BH6 example, but you make a damn good point, why don't they question it? Now, for the second review~ I had actually not planned on bringing them back at first, as I was indeed just going to have them namely be kinda like cameos/easter eggs for the worlds they were brought to, but then I figured having them at least have some role outside of that in the story could be a lot more fun! I really do have a soft spot for the cast of Unmarked and feel really bad for how little screentime they received, and I want to try and remedy that in...a few ways, though those will make themselves more prominent later. Also, I adore the idea of giving them all Spirit companions like Nemurin has Sheppy. You very well may have just inspired something for later just now!~ I also wish you the best of luck with your crossover fic, and I'd love to read your original one!

Finally, thanks to all my readers for your continued support, and I'll see you next chapter!