Existence was ending. When they pulled everyone away from the claws of Chaos, herded their souls to safety for another chance to succeed, they had managed to resurrect them: this one last time. The physical strain of doing it wouldn't be plausible anymore. Repeating and rewinding the timeline would now be impossible. If they didn't get it right with this timeline…

They were all doomed.

…

The rain sort of stopped the next day, but the skies were still full of clashing and crashing of angry clouds that loomed ominously where planes flew so freely and carelessly away from here. He'd been helping Katara; it was midday and Giorno hadn't waken up yet. He wasn't dead. He'd sometimes flinch or intake a sharp breath, which Katara would soothe with healing water. She was like a doctor, knowing how to treat sudden lurches of pain.

Truthfully, she was kind of like a mom. She reminded him of his own mom—a nurse with boundless compassion and empathy. He wanted to see his mom again. He missed his family so much. He had to get back to them. Back to what would surely be the past by now. He'd do it by whatever means possible.

There were footsteps in the hall that echoed to the door. Rei's voice intoned, "Is he going to be okay? He hasn't woken up yet?"

Katara, focusing on healing, said, "He'll be alright. I'm sensing that a lot of energy has been drained from whatever contract he made."

Her hands glowed with the vibrance of the energy of the healing water that encased her open palms. It was an amazing ability—to heal people with something so commonplace and vital. Vitals solved through vitals. He internally laughed at his own joke.

Kaiba and the others who came with him had gone home. It had at least up enough for them to do that. But all that left was worry: worry that Giorno wouldn't wake up, worry that the demon would make them all suffer, worry that the monsters would become larger in number, worry that he'd never get home, and worry that he wouldn't be able to save his…

No. That one would never be true. He was Spiderman. He could do this.

"Alright, come on you two," Makoto spoke up, walking into the room. She, Rei, Ami, and Usagi walked with her. Miles barely had time to look up before Mako was tugging on his arm, pulling him along.

"We can't just leave," Katara began to protest.

"Not to worry," Josuke said, pulling the blonde boy who had passed out in the study room and Sokka with him. "We're competent."

"—Enough," Sokka added in quickly.

"We don't even know who this guy is," Miles pointed out, gesturing to the blonde. "No offense."

"None taken," the boy said in stereotypical, almost insultingly so, Brooklyn accent. "Name's Joey. Joey Wheeler."

"You gotta trust us," Josuke said, slinging an arm around Joey's shoulder. "This guy is totally cool. We'll watch Giorno for now, after all, we might be related."

"Are you related to the DIO guy?" Miles asked.

"Nah. I'm related to Jonathan Joestar, before DIO stole his body. Or so says Mr. Avdol," Josuke said, pausing thoughtfully. He shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if Giorno and I are related somehow. I didn't know my dad until a few months ago."

"C'mon," Usagi spoke cheerfully. "Mako, Ami, Luz, Zuko, Hunter, Arven, and I were going to head to the arcade. You should come with us."

"Wait," Katara said, almost disbelievingly. "Zuko wanted to go out?"

Zuko strolled into the room followed shortly by Hunter and Luz. Arven trailed a little bit behind all of them. "The others could be out there. Especially Toph or Aang. This arcade sounds like something they might like. There's games and gambling."

"For cheap prizes," Ami cut in.

"Hmm, maybe Toph wouldn't like it then."

Katara looked from Sokka, to Josuke, to Joey, and back at Giorno. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"What's so hard about watching someone sleep?" Sokka asked with a shrug. He paused, seeming to notice the social faux pas. "That came out wrong."

Miles was conflicted. He didn't know whether he should be going to an arcade right now. Didn't seem like something Spiderman would do. He couldn't just abandon Giorno, right?

"He'll be fine, Miles," Luz spoke up. "Josuke is a healer, Sokka is smart, and Joey seems nice. You need a break!"

"…alright," Miles agreed hesitantly. He turned to the trio of boys. "You guys will call if you need anything, right?"

"Yes, Mom," Josuke said, rolling his eyes. "Go have fun! The arcade is awesome!"

…

As the group walked to the arcade, Makoto decided to hang back with Miles, who trailed behind the others. "So…you ever been to an arcade before? Or are those relevant in the future?"

Miles chuckled. "Yeah. I've been to an arcade. They're pretty fun. Never went with a group this size before."

"You haven't lived until you see how bad Usagi is at the Sailor V game," Mako said with a grin.

"HEY!"

"Prove me wrong!"

"Oh-hoh! Just you wait until we get to Game Center Crown!"

Usagi, while throwing her tantrum, had wondered onto the street. Miles sensed the danger before he heard the brakes of the motorcycle. He pulled the two people closest to the street, Makoto and Usagi, far away from the road. Perhaps it was a bit too hard because Usagi toppled onto him, which caused him to fall into Makoto, and all three of them ended up on the sidewalk in a jumbled mess.

"Are you three okay?" a muffled voice underneath a racer's helmet asked.

The cyclist removed said helmet to reveal a tall person with short blonde hair, tan jacket, black shirt, cross necklace, and jeans. Their dark blue eyes pierced through his very being. Her stare was even more intense than Giorno or Zuko's. It was possibly even akin to Kaiba.

"Oh hello, Haruka," Usagi chirruped.

Makoto looked starstruck. Her face was flushed, and she was blushing.

"Are you two okay?" the blonde asked worriedly. "I'm so sorry. I was trying my best to swerve out of the way. It's a good thing your friend acted so quickly!"

"It's nothing," Miles said.

"I doubt that. You might even be able to beat me in a race with reflexes like those," the person laughed. "I'm Haruka. Who are your cute friends, kittens?"

"Kitten?" Luz repeated with a grimace.

"More of a wolf guy, myself," Hunter murmured.

"I'm Miles Morales," Miles said. "It's nice to meet you, Haruka."

"I'm Luz, Luz Noceda," Luz said, shooting the blonde two finger-guns.

Hunter shook his head. "My name is Hunter. I'm Luz's brother."

"I'm Arven," Arven said, seemingly disinterested in the conversation.

"I'm Katara," Katara said with a smile. "It's nice to meet more of Usagi and Mako's friends. Everyone they know has been super nice to us."

"Yeah," Zuko agreed. He eyed the blonde suspiciously. "I'm Firelord Zuko."

"Oh, breaking out the title," Luz commented.

"I wonder why he would do that," Katara said, almost in warning. It was as though they had their own code between each other that no one else was privy to.

Zuko shook his head. "I'm trying to be proper."

Haruka snorted, "It's not every day one gets to meet pretty boy royalty…I assume."

"You assume correctly," Zuko said coldly, not taking the passive-aggressive compliment/insult well.

Makoto let out a small hiss as she glanced to her hand. Her hand was scraped pretty bad from the impact on landing on her palm. Miles flinched. He should've been more careful. Miles reached for his pocket Band-Aids, but Haruka beat him to it.

"I'm so sorry," the blonde apologized. She took a handkerchief from her jacket pocket and tied it around Makoto's hand.

"Oh no! This is way too nice for something like this," Makoto protested.

"It's fine!" Haruka assured her. "You can give it back when we hang out again."

"S-sure!"

Haruka grinned. Her watch alarm started to go off; she frowned and sighed. "I'm afraid I have to get going. I'll see you around!"

As she sped off, Luz said, "She's one smooth customer, I'll give her that."

"She sure is," Makoto agreed.

"Mako, do you have a crush on Haruka?" Usagi asked incredulously.

"U-uh—n-no! Of course not!"

"It's not that big a deal," Luz said. "Though, she's got nothing on Amity."

"Seriously Mako," Miles said. "If you want to, go for it."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Zuko interjected. "There was something—off about her."

"Relax," Katara said. "She was just really flirty."

Zuko still didn't seem convinced. Miles laughed but stopped cold when he heard a familiar voice. Someone he definitely didn't want to hear. Not here. Not now. He used his invisibility as soon as he sensed her.

"I'm sure I detected an anomaly here," Jessica Drew said to the man with purple-slime like hair, cape, and strange outfit beside her.

The man shook his head and groaned. "You've wasted a perfectly good day of relaxation, Jess. I just wanted to go to that tea shop everyone brags about."

"Tea shop?" Zuko questioned.

"Darius!" Hunter shouted, his attention firmly on the strangers."

"Well look who it is," the man, Darius, mused. He smiled and pulled Hunter into a hug. "It's good to know you're safe."

To Miles' horror, Zuko ran up over to Jess. "I'm sorry, but did you say something about a tea shop? With really good tea?"

Darius scoffed. "Obviously. Why would we be talking about it otherwise?"

Jessica Drew flinched. She knew there was one of them around. She had to know it was him. He was so busted.

"Who runs the tea shop?" Zuko asked. "Where is the tea shop?"

"I'll answer your question," Jessica cut in. "If you answer mine."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. For once, Miles was glad the firebender was as paranoid as he was.

"Go on."

"Where were you kids heading?" Jessica asked smoothly.

"The Game Center Crown," Usagi chirruped in the background. She stared at Jess and then her stomach. "Congratulations! Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?"

"Nah. My husband and I are waiting for the delivery to find out the sex. Plus, my baby can make their own decision on that when they get older. For now, we've got a lot of yellow baby clothes—standard gender-neutral fare."

"We're getting off topic," Zuko said.

"That's true," Jess said. She cocked her head to the side, studying Zuko. "Is this all of you? Are you sure you didn't lose anybody along the way?"

Usagi was about to speak up when Katara cut her off. "Well, my brother had to stay behind with one of our other friends. He's very sick."

"Ah. And who is your friend?" Jess pressed.

She knew. She knew and she was going to ruin everything. At this point, he might not even be able to trust Hunter anymore if the man who, seemingly, cared about him were on Jess's side.

"They're talking about Giorno," Arven spoke up. "He's not been doing well lately."

Jess shrank back, not expecting or satisfied with the response. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew through the area.

"Oh no! My excuse to see Haruka again!"

The handkerchief that had been tied to Makoto's wrist flew into the air, far above any of them. If Jess weren't here, he might have used his webbing to catch it.

Makoto ran ahead of the others, giving Miles the chance to do the same. He'd rather follow her than stick around where anyone from the Spider-Society was. She ran until reaching a car lot. Miles, not sensing any other spider around, turned visible again.

"Ah—Miles!" Makoto said, as she spun, to unexpectedly see him. "You scared me."

"Sorry, Mako."

She sighed and looked at him for a few seconds. "Is she one of the people trying to stop you from saving your dad?"

Miles glanced to the ground. There was a rather interesting oil stain that had probably been sitting there for a while.

"I'm going to take that as a 'yes.' It's okay, Miles. I'm not gonna rat you out. I don't think the others will, either. I mean, even Arven covered for you."

Miles laughed. "That's true…thank you, Mako."

"Hey, no sweat! Now, can you help me look for Haruka's handkerchief?"

"Ah. Yeah, can't have you losing your girlfriend's stuff. Makes for a bad start in any relationship."

Makoto playfully punched his arm, "Hey!"

Miles stooped to the ground and glanced under a Toyota. Nope. Not this one. The next was a yellow Honda. There was something there. And it crawled up his hand. He immediately shrieked in surprise and fell backwards. Seconds later, a small, yellow and blue spider crawled out and stared up at him. Recounting his exposure to the radioactive spider was not a memory he wished to relive. However, this spider was a little cute? It had four blue eyes that just stared at him inquisitively. It took another small step towards him, a bit of visible electric static pulsed in its small, fuzzy body.

"H-hey, little guy. You friendly?" Miles asked.

The yellow spider jumped up, making a cute squeak.

"Looks like that Joltik likes you," a boyish voice commented.

Miles turned around to see a boy, probably no older than ten, standing at the entrance of the lot. He had on a black t-shirt, blue jean vest, jeans, shaggy black hair, and a cap. A Pikachu ran up beside him, announcing himself with a quick, "Pika-pi!" Hunter and Arven stood next to him.

"Hey Hunter," Miles said hesitantly. "Where's Darius and the others?"

"Don't worry about that," Hunter said. "He's distracting Mrs. Drew. I talked to him about it. Don't worry. You can trust him. He's not on her side. He's our guy on the inside."

"You told him?" Miles asked, exasperated.

"You can trust Darius," Hunter swore. "He's going to help you. I promise."

"Geez, I thought more people would recognize the world champion," the ten-year-old murmured.

"Sorry, we don't have time for that," Miles shot back. "We've got real problems going on."

"There are no problems," Hunter argued. "Arven can back me up, he was in on the conversation!"

Miles looked to Arven expectantly. Arven nodded. "He's telling you the truth. Darius doesn't seem like a bad guy. He kind of reminds me of Larry."

The small spider stepped in front of Miles and squeaked angrily at Hunter and Arven.

Arven shuddered. "I've never been good with bug-type Pokémon."

Miles outstretched his palm to Joltik, who gladly climbed onto his arm and rested on his shoulder.

"Gotcha!"

A purple glow and Makoto's shout turned their attention to the brunette girl who scrambled to get away from the daimon forming under the car. Hunter, Arven, and the kid with them stumbled back into a signpost. Miles saw Hunter's hand brush up against the post of the sign before it also became enshrouded in that signature purple glow. Shoot!

Hunter was closest to the daimon near him. He acted on his gut and pulled Hunter away first, which turned out to be a good decision because the monster lunged a steel-beam post arm at the spot he was standing. Miles, almost on reflex, drew Makoto closer to him, too. Arven and the kid gave each other a nod. Arven sent out his Scovillain, and the boy directed his Pikachu as the cloth monster that shot out a line of red fabric at Makoto.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

"PIKA!"

The rope was cut as a loud metal slash hit cotton. Makoto was released from her from its grip. The monster turned its attention to the small electric mouse. It stared up at the sky, looking for something. Finally, it called out, "Lady Kaolinite, help me."

A red burst of energy caused five of them to crumble to the ground. Miles grit his teeth from the pressure and pain that drilled its way through his spine to his toes. It was like a cursed electricity he couldn't control or redirect. Even Pikachu and Mabostiff were put out of commission.

"You can probably save one of them," a familiar voice, the voice of the witch Kaolinite, stated. "But not both."

His mind flashed back to the intervention with Miguel.

"I'm Spiderman! I can always do both!"

"Not always," Miguel had said in that condescending voice. He had been so sure of knowing what Miles could and couldn't do, how he was destined to destroy the multiverse, and how he was a mistake. No. Miguel was wrong.

Miles stood up. The little spider beside him—it's eyes widened in a strange understanding. It shot a bolt of blue electricity into Miles' hands. Miles held it for a second before muttering. "Spiderman always does both."

He shifted the power of the bolt to both of his hands and shot both monsters out of the lot.

The witch's mouth hung agape. "Damn you! We'll be back!"

She disappeared in a flurry of rose petals. Miles collapsed to his knees. The small Joltik skittered to him, pawing at his face. He chuckled. "I'm okay, little guy."

"I knew it."

Miles craned his head up to see Jessica Drew standing at the entrance. She tried to enter something in on her watch—coordinates to her location most likely. Miles knew he was screwed, but he wasn't going to allow those monsters to hurt Mako and Hunter.

However, a purple blob monster appeared behind her and knocked the device out of her hand.

"Contacting Miguel, Jess? Why?" Darius asked, casually striding over to her.

"Darius, stay out of this," Jessica warned. "You have no idea how dangerous that kid is."

"Don't call me that," Miles spat.

"What else do you want me to call a reckless brat in way over their head?" Jessica asked.

"That reckless brat saved my reckless brat, so if you and Miguel really want to get into this, as a former coven head, I'd be more than happy to step up to the challenge. And believe me when I tell you this Jessica Drew, you don't know power until you've faced the likes of Darius Deamonne!"

Five more slime monsters appeared out of nowhere, each bigger than the last. Miles slowly saw Hunter sit up, "Told you we could trust him."

Jessica looked from Darius, to Miles, to Hunter. "It's a wash today. Don't bother coming back, Darius."

Darius shrugged. "I never cared for your little club, anyways."

She turned away from the group, hopped on her motorbike.

He sauntered over to the group, helping everyone sit up. "Easy now. Don't get up too fast."

"Sorry for not trusting you, Hunter," Miles said. "Do you know where the others are?"

"We got separated after one of those rogue senshi split us up for some reason," Hunter explained.

"I think I'm figuring it out."

Zuko stood with the others at the entrance. "They want to track those heart crystal things, too. I'm not sure why, but we should consider them just as dangerous as the witch and her monsters."

"That's probably for the best," Katara agreed.

"If Katara thinks it's bad, it probably is," Miles said with a nod.

Arven cracked a small smile. "So did it mean anything when Zuko said it?"

"Yeah," Zuko said, raising an eyebrow. "I'd like to know that, too."

"Wait a minute," Ami said, gesturing to the boy. "Who's this?"

"I didn't think anyone was going to ask," the boy said with a laugh. "I'm World Pokémon champ, Ash Ketchum!"

…

Gwen Stacy had been trying to get to the universe Miles accidentally trapped himself in when she got sucked into this world. Apparently, Jess and Miguel were here, too. It was good news that they didn't have the entirety of the Spider Society behind them. Miles was here. She could sense it. She had to get to him before they did.

She wouldn't allow them to hurt him again. Originally, she'd planned to look for Miles today, but Kaiba had asked (told) her to help Connie, Penny and Wyll with the kids while Gale, Karlach, Robin, Ty Lee, and Marcy looked for their friends. She was kind of surprised and disheartened he didn't keep Karlach around. She was strong as hell, and Gwen was learning a lot about heavy weaponry from her. And Ty Lee had promised to show her how to block someone's chi.

Getting stronger and bettering herself was one of her top priorities while they were trapped in this amalgamation of universes. She would never let anyone get hurt, used, or lied to again. She kept picturing Miles' face as he leapt from the moon monorail; the hurt and betrayal in his eyes was painful to remember.

"Gwen, you okay?" Connie asked.

Connie Maheswaran had her own pink sword. It looked like it was made of pure crystal. She was deadly with both a sword and brains. They got along pretty well.

"I'm fine," Gwen said with a gentle smile. "We should probably go check on the kids. It's not fair to leave Penny and Wyll to watch them for too long."

"You're right," Connie said with a laugh. "C'mon!"

The two took the elevator up to a level Kaiba had converted into a temporary loft level. It was the smallest level, but still very roomy. No surprise with someone as rich as Kaiba.

Suddenly, a deep and overwhelming pressure came over her; she was no longer in the elevator. Instead, the hallway was dimly lit, science experiments cluttered desks, and electricity hung in the air, tickling her skin.

"You swore you'd protect them," Kaiba's voice hissed.

"You can't do this!" another girl's voice urged.

"Miles! No!" A boy's voice shouted.

Miles. Her Miles? Where was this place? How—?

And just as it had happened, the scene was replaced by the main loft floor. Everything was as it should be. A few beds, Pokémon playing in the corner of the room, and Wyll in the center of the room surrounded by an audience of kids listening to his story.

"And that's when our brave friend, Tav, fought off the goblins torturing the bear," Wyll explained. "As it turned out, it was the druid, Halsin, whom we had been looking for all along. Much like you, young man."

"Like me?" the green boy in the center's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Must not be too many shifters where he was from. "Do you know where he is?"

Wyll shook his head. "That's why Karlach and Gale have gone out today. They're looking for our friends."

"I should go looking for my friends, but I don't want to leave you to handle things on your own, Mr. Ravengard." Penny said.

"It's quite alright," Wyll assured her. "And, please, it's just Wyll. I need no pomp or circumstance around my name."

"You two nerds are in luck," Gwen said. "We've come to help your babysitting adventure."

"In case you haven't noticed, toots, we don't need a babysitter," a girl with black hair in a big bun stated. She glanced towards Gwen, but not at her. "Wyll was just telling us about some of his adventures."

"Toots?" Gwen repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't know people still used that phrase."

"What I say is unique," the girl pointed to herself.

"Oh please, every girl with a Tumblr account has said that at some point—I've said that at some point," Gwen said with a small laugh.

"I don't know what Tumblr is, but I do know a dork when I hear one."

"You shouldn't be so down on yourself like that," Gwen countered.

The girl paused for a moment and grinned. "Alright. I walked into that one."

"What's your name short and spunky?"

"Spunky? And you made fun of me for saying toots? My name is Toph."

Gwen looked to the others, "And who are your other friends, guys?"

Bede scoffed. "Hardly."

Then why were they here? She wasn't going to dig that far, though. She didn't want to be intrusive.

"I'm Hop. This sod just hates me because we beat him last time we were here," the boy with the dark indigo hair and jean jacket commented.

"Keep pushing your luck."

"My name is Shauna," the girl in the frilly pink shirt said with a huge smile.

"Alola, m'name's Hau," the boy with green hair said.

"W-Wally," the paler, green-haired kid spoke up. "It's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Augustus, but most people call me Gus," the shortest kid with pointy ears like an elf said. "Just don't call me Goops!"

Toph grinned. "You shouldn't've said that…Goops."

"No!" the boy cried, falling dramatically to his knees. "It's come back again!"

"Who called you Goops first?" Hop asked, a little bemused.

"…Eda."

"Figures."

Gwen's senses perked up as she could hear commotion outside. She was probably the only one who could hear due to her heightened hearing, but she could always signal to Connie and Wyll to signal help…somehow.

"Hey, I think I left a pair of sneakers I bought outside the other day. I meant to bring them inside, but I bought too many snacks, and I had to choose between one or the other…"

They all looked at her, confusion evident on their faces. She sighed. "Look, Penny, can you watch the kids? I need Connie and Wyll to help me look for my shoes."

"Why them?" Toph asked, crossing her arms.

"Because…they're great trackers."

"That was pathetic," Silver said. "If you're going to lie, put some effort into it."

"You guys just stay here," Gwen said. She turned to Wyll and Connie. "C'mon, let's go."

Gwen, taking the quickest route, exited the window. The window cleaners could get any handprints, right? The transition to the ground was almost too easy. When she got there, she saw Kaiba glaring at a monster with the color scheme of a Nintendo game controller. Gwen put on her mask and shot the creature with her webbing into one of the glass walls of the building.

Kaiba's frown didn't change, "Someone has to clean that."

"Wow. A thanks would've been nice," Gwen said, knowing full-well it wasn't going to happen.

"Sato!" A voice from above called out. It was that red-haired witch that popped up every now and then. "Collect Mr. Kaiba and get out. I have elsewhere to be—other targets to pursue. Do not fail me."

And with that, she disappeared. Gwen rolled her eyes and effortlessly flung the creature back when it tried to leap up again. Wyll could get rid of it with his weird powers, or Connie could stab it with her sword. Usually, Karlach could finish them off in one blow. It'd just poof back into the object it was made up of; Gwen had been studying the little eggshells that popped out of them when the monster was destroyed. It was completely dead at that point. She wasn't sure they were ever truly alive to start.

To top it all off, they were after that device Kaiba was working on that could get them all home. But they needed him to build it for them. If they wanted multiversal travel, that couldn't mean anything good.

"Do you freaks not understand?" Kaiba asked the monster. "I'll never work with you."

"You don't have a choice," the monster countered. Cables and wiring extended from its torso.

Gwen could sense someone behind her. She used her webbing to pull Kaiba away from the attempted kidnapping and shot up to a Blue Eyes White Dragon statue that was at least four stories high.

"Don't destroy my statue, either."

"You know, I could just drop you."

To Gwen's surprise, it wasn't Connie or Wyll who had come down first. Wyll had come out second, chasing after the little, blind girl who had managed to get past him.

"It's not safe!" Wyll insisted.

Toph grinned. "And?"

She shifted her feet quickly. The monster sunk underground until all but its head was buried. Toph walked calmly over to the monster and asked, "Now, why'd you attack Mr. Wright?"

"We need to find the pure hearts that contain talismans. My boss targeted him due to high suspicion. And she won't stop until she gets her way."

"Yeah?" Toph snorted. "And just what are these talismans, anyways?"

"Like I'd tell you!"

"That's fine!"

Wyll grabbed Toph. Karlach, seemingly have returned from her journey, brought her great axe down on the monster's head.

"Wow, whatever weapon that was, you just cracked the ground with it."

"How do you know that little one?" Wyll asked.

"I felt the vibrations in the earth," Toph explained. "I listen to the earth."

"Right clever trick that is," Karlach said with a laugh. "I like this one. She's like I was at her age."

Toph grinned. "Oh, she's cool."

Gwen lowered herself and Kaiba back down to the ground.

"You make quite the damsel, Seto," Karlach commented. Toph laughed even louder.

"You do enjoy having a place to stay, don't you?"

"Oh, come on," Karlach said, lightly (?) punching his arm. "I was only having you on. Not to worry, though. Wyll, Gale, and I got you covered where the monsters are concerned."

"And I'm just sitting here?" Gwen asked.

"Come off it, Gwenny. Of course, you, too."

The other kids came down and ran over to their group. Mokuba was the first to ask, "Seto, are you okay? They didn't hurt you?"

Mokuba Kaiba, unlike his brother, seemed to have a moral compass. Although younger, he was way more compassionate.

"They'd never get the chance," Karlach said. "Not while we're around."

Mokuba gave them a grateful look, "Thank you. I—we appreciate it."

Kaiba didn't say anything, but he did give them a nod. It was something.

"Well, we've gotta go," Toph said. "We're going to go look for old friends."

"Oh, yeah," Mokuba said. He turned to Seto. "Silver, Bede, and I promised Toph and the others we'd help them look for their friends."

"No," Kaiba said. "Absolutely not."

"But I promised!"

"There are monsters out there. You three aren't going anywhere."

"Now hold on now," Karlach said. "A promise is a promise."

"Oh," Kaiba said, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you suggest?"

"Well, I can go with them. Me, Wyll, and Gwenny. We can keep the pups safe."

"No," Kaiba said, a little too quickly.

Gwen decided to get involved. "So, you're just gonna keep everyone cooped up here? It's not healthy. Even you go out, Kaiba."

He was quiet for a moment. He sighed. "If there's one scratch on my brother, I will personally see to your eternal demise. Do you understand?"

"Of course," Karlach said. She paused. "Though, not much a threat to someone like me. I'll teach you better intimidation tactics when we get back!"

Gwen took off her mask and put a jacket on over her suit. "Don't worry. They'll be fine."

"As Blade of the Frontier," Wyll said. "I defend the innocent from all and any harm, and not to brag, but I'm pretty renowned for it."

"You'd best hope so."

Gwen turned to the kids. "Alright, come on. Better keep up if you don't wanna get left behind."

This earned her another glare.

…

Darius had led them to the tea shop. Zuko knew that if those 'Spider Society' people gave them any trouble, he and his uncle could handle it. He kind of understood why Miles had trust issues now. After he had chosen to save Hunter and Makoto from danger and was still deemed a threat well…it was a bit like how he had tried to save Lee from those military thugs. The town still rejected him because he was Ozai's son.

"But we were supposed to go to the arcade," Usagi whined.

"Oh shush. This is important to Zuko," Rei chastised.

Usagi grumbled slightly, but her grumbling faded to curiosity. "So, what's your uncle like, Zuko?"

"He's like a father to me," Zuko said. "He'll be able to help us. All of us."

They walked until finally reaching the tea shop. Zuko swung open the door and walked to the counter where a girl with blonde pigtails stood, giving the group a smile.

"I need to speak with the owner," Zuko said. "Now."

"Manners," Katara interjected.

"Now, please," Zuko added.

The blonde girl kept her smile. "You must be Zuko, right?"

"Oh hey, it's the flame man," Pavitr spoke up. He peaked around the corner and grinned. "How's it hanging?"

"Pav, why didn't you tell us Iroh was related to Zuko?" Miles asked.

"Well, to be honest, I got caught up in trying to find our friends," Pav explained. "I didn't give it much thought."

"Zuko?"

His uncle walked out of the kitchen, surprised to see him. That surprise quickly faded into a smile as his uncle pulled him in for a hug.

"It's good to see you, nephew." He peered over his shoulder at the others. "And it is good to see you with old friends and new."

"It's good to see you again, too!" Katara said.

"Is everyone else stuck here?" His uncle asked.

"Well, Sokka is with us," Katara explained.

"It only stands to reason that some of the others made it here, too." Zuko said, both knowing exactly who they were referring to.

"Why don't you sit down for some tea?" the blonde girl suggested. "My name is Mami Tomoe, by the way."

The group took a seat at one of the longer tables. His uncle excused himself to deal with some of the other customers in the building. Zuko was a bit disappointed, but he thought he hid it pretty well.

"So…your uncle is a good guy?" Hunter questioned, still seemingly unsure.

"Of course he is," Zuko almost snapped.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Not the best experience with uncles," Luz said, patting Hunter's shoulder.

"At least you'll never have to deal with him again," Darius said. "And don't worry. I won't let anyone like that hurt you again."

Hunter gave him a weak smile. His uncle returned with tea to their table after dealing with two people. One was a person with short black hair, two hair clips, and a strange white and tear-drop shaped dots. The other person with them had long purple hair, purple jacket, slacks, and shoes. Zuko noticed they were paying attention to their group but were keeping a low profile in doing so. Well, two could play at that game.

Sensing the tension, the blonde girl spoke up again, "Now that I've introduced myself, perhaps those of you I haven't met can do the same."

Introductions were made. Usagi took a sip of her tea and her eyes went wide. "This tea is the best I've ever had! Gee Zuko, you really meant it when you said your uncle was a tea master!"

"You flatter me, young lady," his uncle said. "I'm simply a man who knows how people like their tea. It's very good to see that my nephew is still making friends, even in such a strange, new place."

"Well, we all think Zuko is cool," Luz said with a grin. "Though he's terrible at Mario Kart."

"I don't understand the point of those video games," Zuko said, shaking his head.

"Then why did you want to go to the arcade with us?" Makoto asked.

Zuko felt his face heat up as he turned away from the group. He muttered. "I wanted to make sure everyone stayed safe."

"That's so sweet!" Luz said.

Usagi nodded. "Absolutely. You raised a good guy!"

"Ugh. This is getting far too saccharine for me," Darius said.

His uncle raised an eyebrow. "Have you been their guardian so far? I hope it hasn't been too much trouble."

"Thankfully no," Darius said with a small smirk. He gestured to Hunter. "This one is my responsibility. And it just so happens these kids have been helping to protect him, so I am indebted to them now. I suppose I will be watching over them from now on."

"You do not have to do this alone," his uncle said. "I will be happy to help you. Though, I think my nephew can take care of himself."

"See, that's what I thought," Darius said. "Unfortunately, those monsters out there make that rather…difficult. I'll be using my abomination magic to set up a perimeter around their shelter."

"Abomination magic?" Ami questioned.

"Those purple goopy guys you saw earlier," Luz explained. "Amity is proficient in that magic."

"As proficient as a Blight can get in abomination magic," Darius said with a slight smirk. Luz glared at him.

A tiny, yellow paw stretched out to the table, right where there were some cookies. Zuko's hand was about an inch away from them, and the yellow creature the boy with disorderly black hair tried to reign in the small mouse (?). Both of them looked pretty hungry. Zuko grabbed a couple of the cookies and handed them to the boy.

"Here, welcome to the lost club."

The boy smiled from ear to ear. "Thanks! We've been here for two days, and we have no idea where to go."

"I didn't expect the world champion to be so underprepared," Arven said. "I camp out around Paldea all the time."

"Wow, you live in Paldea? I've never been there. What's it like?" the boy asked.

Arven frowned. "It's where I grew up. A lot of people go to Naranja Academy. Miss Class President and I go there."

"I went to a Pokémon school in Alola," Ash explained. "Professor Kukui was the best."

Arven smiled slightly, "Lillie said he's really nice."

"Whoa! Lillie is with you guys? That's awesome! I can't wait to talk to her again!"

The bell to the entrance of the shop rang. Mami got up. "I'll go greet our new guests."

A familiar voice chimed in, "Well, look who it is."

It was that girl from earlier with another, elegant-looking girl with wavy blue hair like water. Zuko narrowed his eyes at them. Something about them was off. Maybe he was being paranoid, but it was better to be paranoid than careless. They invited themselves to sit at their table. He could feel the scowl forming on his face; Ty Lee would probably yell at him about stress lines.

The blond sat beside Makoto while the bluenette sat down between him and Hunter, only increasing his suspicion. Why? Why take pains to separate themselves from each other when they seemed so obviously close?

Luz, Usagi, and Ami seemed enamored with the blue-haired girl. Luz was the first to speak up. "Hey, Haruka, who is your friend?"

Haruka raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "This is my partner, Michiru."

"Oh," Mako said, a bit downtrodden. "You're together?"

"You can put it that way," Michiru said thoughtfully. What kind of response was that? Were they together or not?

"Can I get you girls some tea?" his uncle offered.

"That'd be lovely," Michiru said with a pleasant smile. "Thank you."

It was quiet for a minute before Haruka spoke up. "Michiru thought it would be a good idea to make up the motorbike incident from earlier. I thought I might take you for a drive, Mako and get a bite to eat. Does that sound fair?"

Makoto nodded fervently. "Y-yeah! Totally fair."

"Nerd," Miles whispered to her. She playfully jabbed him in the stomach.

"Is your girlfriend really okay with that?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, I mean, Amity and I would never," Luz agreed. Finally, someone on his side! Even if it were for different reasons.

"Of course," Michiru answered with a mock glare to the blonde. "It's only right that Haruka make up for any of her wrong-doings."

"I mean, I guess," Luz said.

The bluenette turned to Usagi. "Perhaps you and your friends would like to join me at the art museum today?"

"I think," Miles spoke up suddenly. He locked eyes with Zuko for a split second—a mutual understanding. Healthy paranoia. "I'll go with Mako, if that's okay."

Haruka blinked. "Sure. I don't mind."

"The rest of us would love to join you, Michiru!" Usagi chirruped.

…

And that's how Firelord Zuko, Katara, Arven, Hunter, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Luz, Darius, and Ash ended up at an art museum. The Pokémon champion echoed his quiet sentiments: "So…these blobs look kinda cool, I guess."

The small Pikachu by his side tried to mimic the shape of the blobs on the painting. It was weirdly endearing.

Michiru chuckled. "It's an abstract painting."

"It's abstract alright," Ash agreed.

The painting was full of colorful blobs and squares. There were no white spaces. It was still somehow better than Sokka's paintings.

"I think they're kind of neat," Luz said. "Like glimpses into another world."

"You'd know about that, wouldn't you?" Hunter teased.

Darius studied the pieces and scoffed. "It's pretentious, really. I mean, the audacity to call it 'The Human Condition.' I'm sure this doesn't cover all humankind…right, human?"

"It's kind of a vague label," Luz shrugged with a sheepish grin.

Zuko looked to Usagi who looked just as bored as himself and Ash. "Michiru, are any of your pieces here?"

"You paint?" Katara asked.

"Oh yes," Michiru said. "I've got a few pieces in museums around Tokyo. I teach a class down at the rec center from time to time, if you're interested in that sort of thing. Oh, this piece over here! This is mine."

She guided them to a large painting of a ship stuck out in troubled waters. The sky was gray and bleak. The ship appeared fractured and broken. Zuko was struck with the intensity of the realism and feeling behind this portrait. It was almost ominous.

"Chilling," Rei commented.

"Abysmally so," Ami said.

"It can't all be 'Sunflowers,'" Michiru said with a chuckle. She paused when no one got the joke. "I was speaking of Van Gogh's painting."

"Ah yes," Ami said. "I remember that one."

"Is that the guy who cut his ear off," Rei asked in a hushed whisper. Ami nodded.

"Why did he do that?" Zuko asked.

"There are many stories," Michiru explained. "One being that he wanted to show a disfigured woman he would stand in solidarity with her. Van Gogh was not well during his life."

"It shows," Usagi said monotonously.

"Excuse me," a light-hearted voice cut in. It was a woman with dark brown hair, big flowery hat, a frilly blouse covered by a gray vest, gray skirt, and black high heels. She walked towards them, handing Zuko a pamphlet first. "I couldn't help but notice that you looked like this was your first time here. This is a map of all the exhibits. It'll help you see who created what."

That intense intuition gnawed at his gut again. Something was off. He looked the pamphlet up and down. There was nothing strange about it. True to her word, it even had a location of the pieces Michiru had donated to the museum.

She handed one to each of them. Katara nudged Zuko's shoulder. "Do you think we should ask Sokka to submit here?"

"Well, if the blobs got in, he's got a chance," Zuko countered. He leaned towards Katara. "Something is off here. I don't know what, but I feel like something bad is going to happen."

Maybe it was the visions he'd seen through the fire lately. Nothing good came from them. Is that all seeing into the future did? Heighten paranoia? But if there were something to be afraid of, then it wasn't really paranoia. Was it?

"And here you are…target."

The lady in the big hat shoved the last pamphlet into Hunter's hands, causing the room to glow purple. She cast some sort of barrier that shut them inside this area of the exhibit. The woman threw off the wig in disguise while the pamphlet in Hunter's hands transformed into an origami figure with sharp and jagged edges for arms and legs. It's face was marred by the names of artists, and its dress was the stormy blue found in Michiru's painting. Before they could do anything, the pamphlets they had wrapped around their arms, torso, and legs like ropes, sending a paralyzing shock through their bodies.

"Papyr!" the monster chanted.

"Papyr," the red witch said calmly. "Collect the target's pure heart."

Hunter backed away, but there wasn't anywhere to go.

"Hunter! Don't you dare hurt him!" Luz shouted.

"If you harm that child in any way, I will eliminate you slowly and painfully!" Darius warned.

"Oh, what can any of you do?" the red witch asked with a laugh. She smirked as the monster raised its hand toward Hunter, who ducked away from an oncoming blast. "You can only run for so long…Hunter."

Zuko knew he was right! And maybe that was what gave him enough energy to firebend his way out of his bindings. Part of learning firebending from the dragons was learning it could be used to protect people who needed it. He stepped in front of Hunter, causing the witch to scowl.

"Get out of the way!" she hissed.

"I won't let you hurt anyone here. These people have been nothing but kind to us, and I'll fight any monster you set after them."

The witch paused and then slowly smiled. "That can be arranged in the future. I see potential in you. But for now, Papyr! Do as I told you to do!"

Zuko took a deep breath in and hurled a fiery fist at the monster. However, something went wrong. He was consumed in a bigger, agonizing pain than the lightning before. And this was from water. Water. The element that healed. Water. The element that protected. Water. The thing Katara had used to save his life in the fight against Azula. This wasn't…right.

"ZUKO!" Katara cried out.

He fell to the ground and lifted his head up to see a girl whose face seemed a complete blur. She wore a senshi fuku, but she had been the one to hurl the attack. She was the one who had attacked the monster who had attacked Rei.

"What are you doing?" Ami yelled.

"I need to see what kind of pure heart your friend has," the girl said, remorsefully. But how could she be remorseful when she was doing this? What was the purpose?

"How kind of you to help," The red witch said sarcastically. She turned back to Hunter. "Now, hold still."

Zuko struggled to get back up, but more of the pamphlets flew to him, ensnaring his body. He couldn't move; it was hard enough to breathe!

"You want to hurl around water attacks?" Katara said, her voice as dark as when Zuko had joined them at the air temple. "That's fine. Try it again. Or better yet—."

The water around Zuko was absorbed into the air. The water turned into sharp daggers that flew through the air towards the witch, the monster, and the rogue senshi. By the time they were done, the area was covered in frost, the senshi was nowhere to be seen, neither was the witch, and the monster had been torn to shreds.

Hunter slumped down against the wall and held his head in his hands. "Th-thank you, Katara."

"Don't mention it." Katara turned her attention to Zuko, who hissed in pain when she tried to prop him up. She began to look over his wounds with waterbending. "Zuko, are you okay? Oh…I'm not sure what that water attack was, but it did quite a number. Don't get up too fast. Let me help you. There we go."

Katara ducked under one of his shoulders while Luz ducked under another.

"Thank you for helping Hunter," Luz said quietly. "Let's get you home. You need to rest that leg."

Zuko glanced down to his leg. Something had hit it and caused it to bleed. Had there been ice in that water attack? It did feel sharp and painful. He didn't have time to wonder. He just wanted to sit back down.

Usagi, Rei, Ami, and Arven helped Michiru who had been knocked so far back into another hallway and covered in the pamphlets that she'd gotten severely bruised. Ash and Darius helped Hunter get up and start walking.

One thing Zuko did know was that these witches weren't going to stop. And he groaned as he reflected back on the witch's words. He hoped she didn't mean what he thought she meant by 'potential.'

…

Miles, Haruka, and Makoto were driving all around Tokyo. Haruka, true to her word, treated them to some fancy ramen. It had eggs, meat, and all sorts of veggies. Tasty stuff. Though, Mako kept teasing him for not knowing how much to order. Okay, so he over-ordered, but he didn't know the system. And he promised to pay Haruka back. Did that count for nothing?

Now they were relaxing in the park. Miles was walking ahead with Mako, just enjoying the moment. She almost made him forget about everything that had happened to him in the past few months. She was nice, she offered him good advice, she was pretty, and oh…

Oh crap.

Not this again.

"Miles?"

He could feel the blush in his face as Makoto smiled at him. "You were deep in thought there. What's up?"

"Oh, uh, just thinking, I guess."

Mako laughed. "Yeah, I do that, too. People call me spacey. Glad to know I'm not the only one."

It was quiet before Miles spoke up in a hushed voice. "It's good to know someone else who can control electricity. I thought I was alone in that. And you've been so nice to me. It's refreshing, you know?"

"And vice-versa," Makoto said with a smile. "You know, everyone always treats me like I'm indestructible and strong enough to take on whatever, but you've just treated me…I don't know…like a realistic person?"

"I get that," Miles said. "Being Spiderman, a lot of people look up to you. You have to act like you know what you're doing, otherwise people will lose hope. It's a lot of pressure."

"At least you got that cute little Joltik now," Makoto said. "Maybe Arven, Nemona, or Lillie can help me catch a Pokémon."

"Not a bad idea," Miles said. "Maybe I can go with you, too."

"You seem to be a natural," Mako said with a laugh. He thought he could see the faintest trace of a blush. "And I wouldn't mind if you came with."

"What about Haruka?" Miles asked with a grin.

"She seems to be happy with Michiru. I wouldn't dream of breaking that happiness. I'll look up to her, but that's it," Makoto said. "Besides, it's like you said Miles, we're kindred spirits!"

Oh. Oh no…She was so nice. But…what should he do? Her hand inched closer to his on the guardrail they were leaning against. This scene was all too familiar. He'd done the same with Gwen just a couple of months ago.

"Mako…I…"

"SCAR!"

Like a banshee, the monster from earlier dropped down from a streetlamp above. Miles grabbed Makoto's hand and pulled her along. "Come on, we gotta go!"

"I'll hold it off!" Haruka shouted, pulling back her fist to punch the monster in its face.

It, instead, grabbed Haruka's fist and sent her flying into the forest beyond. It then grabbed Miles and chucked him into the water below the bridge. He quickly tried to reorient himself and saw Joltik struggling in the water. He carefully cupped it and held it above the water, before he could even pull himself up. Once he broke through, he could hear Makoto's screams.

"MAKO!"

He placed Joltik safely on the ground and leapt out of the water, landing just feet away from the monster and a barely conscious Mako. He also saw one of the sailor senshi in a dark blue and yellow fuku just standing there—watching as the monster held Mako's pure heart.

The senshi shook her head. "We both wasted our time here. That's not a talisman."

He saw the red witch appear. She sneered at the crystal. "It's not important then. Destroy it."

Miles tackled the monster without thinking any further. He grabbed the crystal out of its grip and held it tightly to his chest. The red witch glared at him. "I know you. You're friends with my target. At least we got to check this one."

"Mako, I'm so sorry," he murmured, stooping next to her. He let the heart crystal float back into her body.

She grabbed his hand and whispered, "I'm okay. Thank you, Miles."

"You're weaker than the fire-boy, but you've got a lot of guts for taking on one of my daimon on your own. I'll give you that," the red witch commented. "Unfortunately, that only adds logs to your own funeral pyre."

"You hurt them," Miles said. He stood up and glared at the witch. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of here—now!"

"So fierce," the woman said with a laugh. "Let's see how that holds up in the future."

With that, she disappeared. Makoto, got up, dusted herself off, and ran over to the mysterious senshi, obviously on the attack. However, the senshi just gut-punched her, putting her out of commission.

"What the hell?" Miles demanded. "Why did you do that?"

"If she wants to succeed in beating me, she's going to have to be a bit stronger than that." The senshi shrugged. It felt as though she were staring through Miles's soul. "I'd watch yourself. You probably have a huge target on your back now."

Miles knelt down to Mako, and did his best to help her up. "Mako, are you okay? Not too fast, now."

"I—I…dammit. I hate those two. How can they wear those uniforms and then try to steal pure hearts just like those monsters?"

Miles sighed. "I don't know, Mako. I really don't."

But he was sure they were going to find out.