Intermission 1:
"Evening Report"
The beaches were quiet in the evening, so were the nearby alcoves. The anime king's guards hardly checked any of those spots, especially at a time when there didn't seem to be the threat of an attack from anybody in the outside world.
But within a small cove, located outside the castle walls, a group of people sat alone around a bonfire.
One person was a light blue hedgehog with sky-colored eyes, one was a brown-haired Octoling in a German army-style uniform, and a third was a green-haired Inkling wearing a fedora, black pants, and a red shirt. The other two were a couple humans in grey-colored uniforms with one sporting a black beard while the other had a mustache with a blue tie.
Neither of them were alone. A third human sat with them, burly and muscular with a monocle and a mustache, with his appearance giving him an almost uncanny resemblance to the Russian merc known as Heavy, complimenting the two other humans' resemblance to enemy NPCs from the N64 Goldeneye game.
For some time, the group had been beached out on the island, hiding from the prying eyes of Francis, his men, and their guests. They didn't come by choice, but neither couldn't just leave.
Soon, very soon, the group would have to act.
The Inkling was Alexsey Moskovin, and his Octoling associate was Werner, the former was Russian while the other was German. Both of them were from another world, and accidentally discovered this universe. Even the hedgehog, whose name was Hero, came from another universe.
And to come without weapons was foolish. Each member of the group was armed, with swords, pistols, machine guns, and bombs all polished and ready.
Owls hooted somewhere in a forest outside the cove, followed by faint cricket chirping, a noise unfolding concurrently with the crackle of the fire. The group had been here for what felt like a days now, making sure they weren't detected, planning the right move while gathering information on the area.
While Alexsey, Werner, and Hero were from other worlds, Swag, Chris, and the Heavy-looking guy name Broot were part of a resistance group dedicated to opposing Francis' crazed anime-led rule, despite the group's somewhat limited threat to the cartel and the Anime Empire.
Moments later, the six fighters heard a sound, and turned to see a Boo with a Naruto hat approaching. This was Poofer, and he'd been undercover in the cartel for some time.
He wasn't alone. A Shy Guy, and a squat masked man accompanied him. The man removed the mask, revealing the bearded, red-eyed face of the sly and sneaky Mister Three, also known to some in the world as SMG3.
"Anything?" Alexsey asked.
"Francis watched an episode of High School of The Dead while making out with that Ayuko gal from Golden Boy." Mister Three said, "Not only that, but you won't believe this sickening information..."
"Meggy's alive, and she's one of Francis' waifus." Poofer told the group, "She's a human."
Just then, a cloaked hobo with yellow eyes appeared and exclaimed, "GASP!"
"I don't believe it." Chris remarked.
"Do not tell me Francis is making out with her when he gets the chance." Swag begged.
"Almost every week, like today..." The Shy Guy agent reported, "Francis visits her, and kisses Meggy against her will. Today, he subjected her to tentacle torture by the hands of the Octarians."
"Ugh!" Hero groaned, "That's disgusting."
"I saw the action." Poofer said, "It was just like in those special manga and anime that isn't meant to be seen by kids."
"Francis." Alexsey spat, "That monster."
"All these years..." Chris quipped, "I thought Meggy was killed after Francis..." He fell short for a time, "I didn't think they'd keep her alive so that scaly sicko could make out with her, without her consent. Do they even know how old she is at this point?"
"Voices down, guys." Werner suggested, "The guards out there might hear us. And, Poofer, you should go before you raise any suspicions."
Poofer nodded, and departed the cove, returning to his position within Francis' ranks among the other Boos who were involved with the twisted anime business. Within the cove, the group processed the information they'd learned. After the disastrous conclusion of the Battle of Anime Island, it was believed that Meggy was among those who died.
No one thought she would be subjected to a fate far worse than that.
With each day she suffered, the former Inkling must've been struggling to stay sane. At the rate things were going, how long until she snapped or, even worse, Francis decided to do away with one of his favorite toys?
In the short time between the Battle of Anime Island, and the Anime Conquests, people were aware that Axol wasn't the culprit behind the kidnappings. One was even left to wonder what had become of the former manga artist after Francis' infamous victory.