A/N: I return with another chapter. Right before Christmas. A Christmas miracle.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Anyway, on to the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Nintendo, I don't own anything Sega, and I don't own anything Death Battle. There. That should cover my bases, lol.

"Yo, Sage! You up?"

Bowser Jr. wouldn't kid himself. Yesterday had been a…rocky start. But today was a new day! He'd get Sage, get some breakfast, and then they'd get started on her new race kart! It was time to cheer her up!

The door slowly opened.

"Hey Sage, you ready to-? OH CRUD, YOU'RE DEPRESSED!"

Once again, the wrong thing to say. Sage had looked like she had cried herself to sleep. If she could even sleep. Now she just looked depressed and subdued. And blue. Both figuratively and literally. Her form had gone from red and black to white and blue. Honestly, Junior would say she looked beautiful if she didn't look so depressed.

Speaking of which, she had briefly gone from depressed to annoyed and irritated at his exclamation. Glitching red and black briefly.

"I mean, um…so, how about we get some breakfast?"

"…"

"Sage?"

"…" Sage's previous depressed blue and white state returned. "I do not require sustenance."

"Huh. Well, I can just grab something to go, and we can get started on your race kart!"

"…I suppose."

Sage sluggishly hovered away.

"Um, the mess hall is the other way."

…

She sluggishly hovered back to him.

"You lead," she mumbled.

"Um, right. This way."

He moved in the other direction, Sage following after him.

"…Hey, um, do you wanna talk about-?"

"No."

Ugh.

He couldn't help but mentally groan. This was certainly not how he hoped the day would start. Whatever had been said to her yesterday, it really got to Sage. Did she still hate him? Or was she now too depressed to hate him?

…

Oh well. He'd deal. He just needed to remember his father's advice.

"Remember, son! If you ever have to cheer up a depressed girl you like, just kidnap her and put her in a cage!"

Junior facefaulted. "THAT'LL MAKE IT WORSE!"

"What are you doing?" Sage asked in a depressed mumble.

"Nothing. Just suddenly questioning my dad's advice. Let's go."

Orbot and Cubot were serving out breakfast to the troops in the mess hall. Some dents and bandages adorning their bodies.

Yesterday had been…not great. The two robots had not been able to dodge a single frying pan at them. And worse, they had to not only pick up said frying pans, but wash each one as well! That had been over a thousand!

Still, it was arguably better than working for Dr. Eggman. The Chef Bros had pat them on the back afterwards, talked it out, and then laughed about it later. Then said they'd keep doing that until they learned to dodge.

…Once again, arguably better.

They noticed a smaller version of their new master step up in line. Bowser Jr, they had heard. The son of Bowser.

"Hello, Bowser Jr!" Orbot exclaimed. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Could be better," the Koopa Prince admitted. "Also, you can just call me Junior."

"Ah, very well. Junior, it is!"

Junior grumbled. "Oh sure, you two take my suggestion."

Somehow, all three felt an aura of depression, irritation and annoyance behind Junior.

"N-Not that there's anything wrong with my full name!" Junior exclaimed behind him.

Orbot and Cubot looked behind Bowser Jr. and saw their younger sister, Sage. Though before the former could say hello-.

"OH BOTS, YOU'RE DEPRESSED!"

Cubot just goes and makes that stupid exclamation that worsened Sage's already low mood.

Junior facepalmed, and Orbot quickly smacked his brother upside the head.

"Brother!"

"I-I mean, um…hey, sis! Want a muffin?"

Said muffin was held out to Sage, who stared at it depressingly.

"…I do not require sustenance," she mumbled.

"True," Cubot admitted. "But you can still try to eat it! It'll cheer you up!"

She clearly didn't believe that, but she took the muffin anyway.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

There wasn't much energy in that response.

Junior looked at Sage, then back to Orbot and Cubot.

"Wait, you two are her brothers?"

Orbot nodded. "We were created by Dr. Eggman like Sage was, so yes."

…

"Hey, Sage? Think you can wait outside the mess hall for a bit?"

"…I suppose. Please do not be long."

Sage sluggishly hovered away with the muffin. Not dropping it, but not really trying to eat it. When she disappeared, Junior quickly turned to the two robots.

"Okay, you guys gotta help me. Your sister is seriously not okay."

"I'll say," Orbot worried. "What happened?"

"I don't even know! She just kinda hated me at first. Not that I blame her, my dad killed her dad and all. I figured I made some progress last night, but then she saw someone in the infirmary and came back even angrier than ever! And I guess sleep didn't help, if she even can. Does she sleep?"

"Well, it's not technically called sleep," Orbot admitted. "But it looks like she's sleeping. More like she just shuts down. Or goes on standby."

"Huh…does she dream?"

"Not sure. Never came up."

"Huh. Anyway, I knock on her door to get her. And I find that she's just depressed. I don't know who she met in the infirmary or what that person said, but it really got to her."

Cubot scratched his cube head. "Did you try asking her?"

"Yeah! Last night and on the way here. She didn't wanna talk about it. Maybe she might open up to you two? You're family, after all."

"Well-."

"HEY! BACK TO WORK, YOU TWO!"

Frying pans were thrown and smacked into Orbot and Cubot's heads.

"Ow!" Cubot exclaimed.

"I question why we were built with pain receptors," Orbot groaned. "We might not be able to talk to her right now."

Junior winced. He had messed with the Chef Bros once. They threw so many frying pans at him. And when he tried to tell his dad about it, his dad simply said:

"That's what you get for messing with them. They have frying pans for days."

"Frying pans for days?"

"Frying pans for days."

Granted, his dad still bonked the Chef Bros on their heads. But he told Junior to not mess with them again. So yeah, Orbot and Cubot couldn't help at the moment.

"Right. I get it. Maybe she'll cheer up when we get started."

"On what, if I may ask?" Orbot inquired.

"Oh. We're gonna build a race kart for her."

…

"A what?" Orbot blinked.

"A race kart. See, there's this Grand Prix coming up. And I figured that I could convince her to race in it."

"A race?" Cubot grinned. "And race karts? That sounds awesome! Can we have race karts?"

Junior shrugged. "I don't see why not. Kinda focusing on your sister's first, though."

"Oh yeah, sure, her first, absolutely!"

"Does she even want to race?" Orbot asked.

"She said no," Junior admitted. "But I can convince her to race. Once I get her to cheer up, that is. I got her dad's ride back for her, so fixing it might help. And we're gonna model her race kart after it."

"The Doctor's Eggmobile?" Orbot cupped his chin. "I suppose he would've wanted her to have it."

"Probably. Anyway, I'll just take something to go. Don't wanna keep your sister waiting."

"That would be best, yes." Orbot nodded. "What would you like?"

"Um, just give me a bunch of muffins. That'll do."

Orbot nodded, and Cubot went and gathered a bunch of muffins that shouldn't have fit into the container given, yet somehow did. He handed it to Junior.

"Thanks!" Junior said. "By the way, on the off chance she somehow doesn't cheer up, what exactly does she like to do?"

Orbot shrugged. "Besides creating machines like her father did, she tends to run millions of simulations on various scenarios."

"You mean spacing out?"

"She doesn't space out."

Cubot cupped his chin. "I mean, it kinda looks like she spaces out."

"She doesn't."

Junior shrugged. "To me, she does."

"Maybe don't tell her that."

"Already did. She wasn't amused I called her out on it."

Orbot facepalmed. More like she wasn't amused he thought she was spacing out.

"Oh, wait!" Cubot raised a finger. "She also likes to read and learn about new things! And not just from a computer! She picked up reading books from Eggman. That always gets her focused."

"I see," Junior hummed. "Okay, I've got a few ideas now. Thanks, you two."

"No problem!" Cubot gave a thumbs up.

"If there's anything else you need," Orbot said. "Feel free to ask."

"Well, random question, not totally important, but whatdoesshelikeinaguy?"

Both bots blinked. "What?"

"N-Nothing, never mind. Catch you guys, later!"

Junior quickly scampered off before they could inquire what he was referring to before.

"…Odd." Orbot shrugged. "Oh well. Nothing more we can do now. We'll have to try to talk to Sage later."

Cubot nodded. "Yeah, total-."

"I SAID BACK TO WORK!"

The two bots were buried in frying pans.

"AND CLEAN THOSE PANS UP!"

Sage waited outside the mess hall, idly watching troops of Bowser's army walk in and out of there. She still had the muffin given to her by her brother in hand, but she hadn't tried eating it.

She knew Cubot meant well, but she did not require sustenance. And while she had never tried to test whether she could actually "eat" anything, she wasn't exactly in the mood to try. She didn't have the appetite for it. Figuratively, and quite likely literally.

Trying to take her mind off it, she observed the troops entering and leaving the mess hall. Koopas, Goombas, Shy Guys, Ba-Bombs, Spinies, and so much more. Many happily chatting with each other about various things.

"So, then I said: Now that's a katana!"

"Katana, or no katana. That is the question."

"Dude, I keep telling you to stop going to those plays!"

"If you accidentally eat the prize that comes inside your cereal, does that make you a specially marked box?"

"You say the dumbest things, I swear."

"You looking forward to the Grand Prix, dude?"

Sage ended up focusing on that last conversation. Being had by a green shell Koopa Troopa, a Goomba, and oddly enough, a Pawn Series Badnik Robot. Specifically, an Egg Pawn. Though for some reason, it had a sign nailed to its chest with the word "Jeff" on it. All three were leaving the mess hall.

"Yeah!" the Goomba exclaimed. "It's gonna be awesome! Wonder if the boss is gonna race, though?"

"I don't know," the Koopa shrugged. "After the invasion and all, he might have to sit it out to look after things here more."

"Probably. Ugh, that invasion couldn't have come at a worse time."

The Goomba turned to the Egg Pawn.

"No offense, Jeff."

"Jeff" simply shrugged. Seemingly not offended.

Sage blinked. Not only because the Egg Pawn had seemingly been given a name, but that it seemed like it was…fitting in? She didn't want to assume, but it was almost like it had made…friends?

She briefly scanned the Egg Pawn before calling out.

"Egg Pawn 642-9."

The Egg Pawn paused, but didn't turn to face Sage. The two that were with him noticed Sage.

"Er," the Koopa began. "We just call him Jeff. See, we nailed a sign on him and everything."

"I see that," Sage said. "Why?"

"Oh, so we can tell him apart from the others. They got their own names too, and-."

"No, I mean why did you name him? And why Jeff of all names?"

The Goomba shrugged (somehow). "We couldn't really keep calling him Egg Pawn 64-whatever. Giving him a name is easier. As for why Jeff? Well, he looks like a Jeff. Can't ya tell?"

No. She couldn't.

"And you are…friends?" she asked.

"Yep!" the Koopa answered.

"But…it was an enemy combatant. It more than likely took down many of your comrades. How can you be friends with an enemy?"

The Eggpawn's hand clenched to a fist, still not facing Sage. The Koopa and Goomba looked at each other before looking back to the A.I. girl.

"I mean," the Goomba started. "Not like Jeff really had a choice. He was following that Egg guy's orders. He was under his control and stuff. Now that the Doc's dead, Jeff didn't really have much reason to keep fighting us."

The Koopa continued from there. "The robots kinda got assigned to various troops, and we got Jeff here and renamed him. He hasn't given any sign that he dislikes the name, so it's all good."

Sage blinked. Then looked back to the Egg Pawn.

"Is this true, Egg Pawn 642-9?"

The Egg Pawn didn't turn to face her.

"Egg Pawn 642-9, answer me."

Still not turning.

"…Jeff?" she finally tried.

"Jeff" finally turned to face her, though…if Sage didn't know any better, she'd have thought this Egg Pawn was giving her a cold look. It continued this supposed look for several seconds before turning and walking away. Not addressing her.

"Huh." The Koopa blinked. "Weird. Yo Jeff, wait up!"

The Koops ran off to catch up with the Egg Pawn. The Goomba turned to Sage.

"Uh, sorry about that. Not sure what got into Jeff. Should probably catch up with them. Bye!"

The Goomba ran off after his friends.

Sage just stood there, a look of confusion on her face.

"…What was-?"

"There you are, Sage!"

She blinked and turned to see the Koopa Prince run up to her. A container full of muffins in his hands.

"Hope I wasn't long. How about we go get started on your race kart?"

"…Right."

She tossed the muffin she had been given into the container.

"You can have it. I do not have the appetite."

"You sure?"

Sage nodded numbly.

The Koopa Prince frowned but seemed to decide not to push the issue.

"Alright. Let's build you a race kart!"

The Koopa Prince marched off, Sage numbly following after him.

She just needed to distract herself from everything. Hopefully building this race kart would help.

"I can still walk, you stupid lizard turtle."

"Then maybe you should've gotten up like I asked. I even asked nicely."

"Ordering me to get out of bed in that booming voice of yours while breathing out fire isn't what most would consider nice."

"Well, most people are weird, then."

Infinite deadpanned. Sure, it's everyone else that's weird.

The jackal was currently being dragged by his tail, arms crossed over his chest. The one dragging him? Bowser. For what purpose, the jackal didn't know. It would probably be a waste of his time.

"Alright, here we are!"

The Koopa King opened the door to a room, swung Infinite around by his tail, and tossed him inside. The jackal crashed into what appeared to be several training dummies.

"Ack! Why?!"

"Consider that karma."

"For what?!"

"Being a prick."

Ah. Sage. Figures.

"Who says I was being a prick? She needed a reality check."

"There's reality checks, and then there's being a prick. You were being a prick."

"Tch." Infinite crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever you say. Why'd you even drag me here? What is this place?"

"Training room."

Infinite blinked and looked around. Training dummies, obstacles, a mat, etc. Yep, it was a training room.

"Why am I here?"

Bowser walked up and cross his arms. "So you said yesterday that you're nothing without that gem of yours?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Prove it."

"Prove it how-?"

"DODGE!"

Bowser straight up punched Infinite in the gut, sending him into more training dummies. He groaned from the impact as Bowser deadpanned at him.

"You weren't ready."

"OF COURSE I WASN'T READY! WHO THE HELL JUST PUNCHES SOMEONE OUT OF NOWHERE?!"

"I do."

"HOW ARE YOU A KING?!"

"Took a lot of punching. And destiny. Mostly the latter. But the punching helped."

Infinite scoffed and dug himself out from the dummy pile, dusting himself off.

"Well if you think that's going to work again, then you've got-."

"DODGE!"

Infinite got punched in the gut again, sending him into a wall. Then falling to the ground with a groan.

"Hm, maybe you're right. You're nothing without that stone."

"Ack. P-Phantom Ruby."

"Whatever."

Infinite growled. If Bowser wanted to play like that, fine. He'd play along.

The jackal leaped to his feet and sprinted towards the Koopa King. Bowser let out three fireballs from his mouth, but Infinite easily sped about them.

The jackal leaped high into the air to the point that he reached the ceiling. He then leaped off the ceiling towards the right side of the room. Then leaped off across to the left side. Then the back wall of the room. Then the front.

He continuously leaped across the walls, ceiling and floor. Picking up speed. Almost becoming a blur. Almost. He was no Sonic, Shadow, or Metal Sonic. Even so, going this fast on his own brought him back to the time before he learned of the Phantom Ruby. Before his spirit had been crushed by Shadow the Hedgehog. Back to his mercenary days. When he was known as the Ultimate Mercenary.

Bowser glanced about slowly, keeping track of the speeding bullet that was Infinite. Said jackal finally ended the speed leaping by giving a final leap off the left wall. Leg outstretched for a flying kick.

"TAKE THIS!"

The kick landed, powerful enough to move Bowser's head. The shockwave cracking the ground.

"…Pretty good." Bowser grinned. "My turn."

"Wait, wha-?!"

Bowser grabbed Infinite's leg and started slamming the jackal about the ground multiple times. Like a hulking being did to a puny god in another franchise.

With a final slam, Infinite was indented into the ground.

"…" Infinite let out a long wheeze.

Bowser laughed. "Ha, ha, ha! I'll admit, that was a pretty good kick. Not enough to knock me on my keister, but still good."

The Koopa King pulled out a green mushroom and stuffed it into Infinite's mouth, making him swallow it. Infinite found himself rejuvenated and hopped back to his feet, inspecting his healed body.

"Huh. That green mushroom. They gave me that in the infirmary."

"Yep," Bowser nodded. "Heals you up good. Can even bring you back from the dead."

"…Is that how you intend to bring the Doctor back?"

"It's one way. Gonna tell Sage?"

"Nope."

He still had no reason to help her.

"Hmph." Bowser crossed his arms. "So, how'd it feel fighting without that Ruby?"

Infinite stared at his hand, clenching it.

"It felt…nostalgic. Like I was the Ultimate Mercenary again." He scowled and let his hand fall. "But all the skill in the world won't help against fools like Shadow or Sonic. It certainly didn't help against you."

"Shadow and Sonic?"

"These hedgehogs that go fast. Shadow is an edgelord-."

"Pot, meet kettle."

"And Sonic is a goody two-shoes that kept getting in Eggman's way of world domination."

"So the Doc had his own Mario? Figures."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Anyway, when it comes to me, of course you didn't stand much of a chance. I'm on another level! I'm basically the hardest difficulty in a video game."

Infinite rolled his eyes. "How humble."

"Actually, yes. I'm harder than the highest difficulty mode! But anyway, the point I was trying to make was how you are clearly strong. Even without the Ruby."

"Tch." Infinite clenched his fists. "Not strong enough."

"You just need some good old-fashioned training! Which is why I brought you here. I'm gonna make sure you get some gains. Then by the end of it, you'll see how strong you can truly be. Even without that Ruby."

"…Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why train me? How do you know I won't use these 'gains' against you or your forces?"

Bowser shrugged. "I don't. Try using it against me or my army and see how that goes. As for why? Well…I often see how hard my army trains to be the best they can be for when I command them into battle. So when I see someone like you who gives up so easily, that kinda ticks me off."

Infinite scoffed. "I'm not even a part of your army."

"In your case, that doesn't really matter to me. By the time I'm done, you'll regain that confidence you once had."

…

"Let's say I agree-." Infinite crossed his arms over his chest. "What exactly do you expect in return? To join your army?"

"Tempting, but no. What I want you to do…is apologize."

Infinite blinked. "Apologize? To who?"

"Sage."

"WHAT?!"

"You know damn well you were being a prick. If you see by the end of this that you've gained something, you're apologizing to her. Simple as that."

"Screw that! That little shi-!"

"Finish that sentence, and I'm smashing you around again. And I won't stop."

Infinite grit his teeth, but kept his mouth shut.

"So that's the deal." Bowser narrowed his eyes. "Take it or leave it."

Oh, how tempting it was to just leave it and spit in the Koopa King's face. However…that feeling Infinite felt. That rush from leaping about the room at such speed. On his own. No Ruby. It had felt good.

"...Fine. But there's one more thing. I want a crack at that ghost with the crown."

He'd make sure that bastard would pay for making a fool of him.

"Score to settle, eh?" Bowser grinned. "Sure. His name is King Boo, by the way. Been getting a little too snarky. Wouldn't mind if he got humbled. I mean, I could easily do it. But it seems more humbling if you do it."

The Koopa King held out his claw to the Ultimate Mercenary.

"Deal?"

...

"Tch." Infinite grabbed Bowser's claw and shook it. "Deal."

"Good. TRAINING BEGINS NOW!"

"Wait wha-?"

Infinite found himself smashed about the ground again and thrown into more dummies. He wheezed, and Bowser shook his head in disappointment.

"You weren't ready."

"G-GO TO HE- ACK!"

It was around noon when Mario and Peach arrived at the battlefield, and they were certainly shocked.

It was a large crater, likely from the laser that had been fired from space. Not much was left because of it. Save for some damaged machines. Robotic soldiers, it seemed. They weren't show how they hadn't been completely incinerated by the blast. Almost like something had tanked the blast.

Of course, if that last part was true, they only needed one guess on what (or who) could've tanked it.

"Mamma mia," Mario said, scratching his head. "Seems like this was a real war here."

"A war that lasted mere minutes," Princess Peach added.

Mario nodded. "Still, doesn't seem like we have to worry if Bowser lost."

The reason they thought this was because they clearly saw what looked like a salvage crew comprised of Bowser's minions. Digging through the rubble and pulling out damaged robots that seemed salvageable and tossing them into carts and bins.

"Maybe we can ask them what happened?" Mario asked.

"Sounds like a plan."

Mario held out his hand to Peach, who smiled and took it as they both slid down the crater with their feet. Reaching the bottom, they approached two nearby green shell Koopa Troopas tossing robot parts into a cart.

"Boy, the prince is gonna really appreciate these. Maybe he can make some cool big mech outta these?"

"Yeah. And it'll totally be better than that giant mech the enemy had. They have this giant robot, but it couldn't stand up to Lord Bowser's might!"

"Yep. That'll show them-."

Mario cleared his throat. "Ahem."

The two Koopas yelped and fell on their backs. They scrambled back up, ready to lay into whoever snuck up on them. Then stopped when they noticed it was Mario and Peach.

"Yo," Mario greeted, holding up two fingers for a peace sign.

"Oh crud, its Mario and the Princess," one Koopa slumped.

"Er, look," the other began. "We're just here to salvage stuff for the young prince. We don't want any trouble."

"Relax." Mario waved it off. "Not here for a fight. The Princess and I just came to get some answers. What happened here?"

"Oh. Well, you see-."

The second Koopa smacked his friend upside the head.

"If you want answers," the second Koopa continued. "You'll need to see Lord Bowser at his castle. He was expecting someone to show up. We can have one of our crafts take you there quickly. If you want, of course."

Offering to escort instead of just demanding? Color them surprised.

"And you guys can't just tell us now because?" Mario asked.

"Boss' orders."

"That figures."

Mario sighed and turned to Princess Peach.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Peach thought for a moment. There was a chance that Bowser could decide to kidnap her while enroute. Or even there at the castle when they arrived. Still….

"Very well," Princess Peach said. "We would appreciate an escort."

Nodding, the first Koopa whistled. A craft with a bin full of scrap attached to it hovered towards them.

"Yo!" the Koopa called out. "Mario and the Princess are here! Take them to Lord Bowser! And drop that bin off in Junior's workshop while you're at it!"

"Sure thing!" the driver, another green shell Koopa, called out, extending a ladder down. "Climb aboard!"

Nodding, Mario and Peach climbed up the ladder. In that order since Peach was wearing…well, yeah. The two stood beside a second green shell Koopa as the driver waved at the two salvagers on the ground, who waved back, before driving off with his two new passengers.

As they flew, Mario and Peach decided to look back inside the bin at the damaged machines in them. There was certainly a variety of different machines. Some looked like bugs, others looked like egg-shaped machines. Some seemed to be a type of drone, others were like knights.

"Yeesh," Mario commented. "Not sure I wanna meet who built these."

Considering it was apparent that Bowser won, Peach wasn't sure if they'd ever meet said person. Her eyes roamed over the machines until one caught her eye.

It was only a head, but this one was distinct from the others. As it was the only one of its kind she could see. It was blue, a permanent glare on its face. And it seemed modeled after…well, the closest she could guess was a hedgehog. Still, the glare unnerved her. She decided to turn away and ignore it.

Had she kept looking, she would've seen the lights in the eyes glitch red before returning to its dead state.

A/N: Metal Sonic will return. It's just a flesh wound. :v

So yeah, that's it for this chapter. Sage is now depressed, Junior now really has his work cut out for him, Infinite is about to get some training, Mario and Princess Peach are on the way (no promises they run into Sage, Orbot and Cubot, or Infinite; depends how the next chapter or two goes), and Metal Sonic's head is on its way to Junior's workshop.

Will Metal be rebuilt? Can he be rebuilt? Who will rebuild him: Sage, Junior, or both? Will Bowser even allow it if he finds out? Metal may be Sage's brother, but the Koopa King first hand knows how dangerous he is. Oh, and Metal hurt his son. He'll remember that. Just have to wait and see.

Oh, and ignore that one Egg Pawn. Jeff, was it? It's not foreshadowing of anything to come. :v

If you liked this, be sure to follow and fav. Leave a review. I love reading them.

Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

See you in the next update.

Laters.