Galactic Shift Extend: Side Stories

by Seanzilla1988

A series of side stories featuring the many characters and series within Galactic Shift Extend's universe.

31. Music of the Soul

SZ: Who's ready to rock?!

Z0; Well I mean I spend half my time here as a demonic hellspawn while constantly challenging the forces of reality and unleashing untold chaos, destruction and insult to the powers that be. So…yes…yes I'm a fan of rock…

GT: *dressed up as a member of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* Fair warning, folks? Thing about to go all…trippy.

SZ: Very….trippy…*trippy music begins to play as the screen began to warp*...does anyone taste purple?

Z0: Uh no…*both co writers jump to see an angelic Redeemer in my place* What…something on my face?

SZ: Um….we don't own anything aside from original content, so…start I guess? I…woah~ MY hands have multiple fingers~

Redeemer Z0: He's talking nonsense again, I'll get the spear, Gt get the medicine. We're gonna have to strap him down again. Unless you are also now chaotically affected?

GT: *British accent* No, I feel just fine. *drops the curtain without touching it* It's all in the mind.

---

"Seriously…to think one gem did all that damage," Tsubaki whispered as she and her group were back at the Autobot base, looking at the Gem of Form contained within a glass case.

"The energy output it's giving off is certainly unique," Rhinox noted as he and Wheeljack looked on a nearby monitor showing readings.

"The fact it changes matter into anything its holder thinks of is both amazing…yet terrifying to think about," Wheeljack added, "You were lucky to have Cheetor bolt it here with the gem, Bumblebee."

"It felt safer than letting a crazy dinosaur bird girl have it…" Bumblebee sighed.

"Also we managed to snatch Freakshow's sidekick, so that's a bonus," Airrazor added, showing a monitor with Lydia locked in one of their cells in a circle of salt, "Now we just need to find the guy…"

"If he's anything like a normal human supervillain, he'll show up on his own accord and cause trouble." Optimus sighed, "Still this is by far our first…supernatural guest in the holding cell. I will put a call through to the Plumber's supernatural research and detainment center."

"We have that?" many of the Plumber Heroes asked before Tsubaki nodded, "Oh! We have that!"

"Yes, it's just the Fentons." Tsubaki sighed, "It's thanks to their tech we've been able to deal with villains with supernatural abilities."

"Definitely using another thermos on Starscream if he ever shows up again," Sari added.

"I'm still amazed he's still functioning," Bulkhead noted, "Wonder what he's trying to plan now…?"

---

"Haha! Yes! I'm free!" Starscream cackled as he flew away from the cat, "Foolish Earth feline, you cannot hold the mighty Star…!" he began before a crow ate him...before immediately spat him back out as the cat leapt up and ate him, "FRAG IT!"

---

"...eh. Probably nothing important," Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Sari shrugged.

"...OH! Idea!" Wheeljack exclaimed as he shot over to another computer, rapidly typing in something, "If we can point in on the gem's energy signature, it might be able to give us a proper reading on the other gems' location!"

"Finding reason in the unknown, I see no other method, do whatever you can Wheeljack, ah…" Optimus held a hand up, "Without tearing apart and rebuilding our satellite communication array…again…"

"Oh…it was just the four times Boss Bot, and now we get all these Earth entertainment channels…for free!" he declared triumphantly.

"Yes…and my conference with the Autobot officials on our colony planets was cut off. I was left as a frozen image for the remainder of the conference. Many of them began to panic thinking I was upset with them…" Optimus groaned, "So please…leave the satellite array alone…"

"Yes Sir," he gave in as he continued typing, "I can work with this…oh yes this is no problem at all!"

"...we should be worried, shouldn't we?" Max sighed.

"Yes..but admittedly since Rhinox joined, there have been less incidents in the lab," Jazz replied, "Big man's got muscles, but he's pretty smart too…pretty scary combination in a bot there."

"While he does that, and hopefully it takes him some time, you should get some rest." Optimus turned towards the young heroes and Cybertronians of the away team, "You will undoubtedly depart for another grand and dangerous adventure by the time he's finished. If the first gem was already causing such trouble, I fear the problems which shall arise from the other two."

---

"...that's…weird," Kaede muttered, looking around her locker before she began to search the area, "Where is it…?"

"Is…everything alright?" Shuichi asked, blinking a bit as he watched her bolt around the area.

"My backpack's missing!" Kaede exclaimed as she shot a look at him, her ahoge frazzled as she had a panicked look on her face, "I had something special for Chiaki-chan, but now it's suddenly vanished!"

"V-vanished?" Shuichi repeated, "...maybe you left it in your lab? You could've left it there after music practice."

"..." Kaede slowly blinked before she grabbed Shuichi's hands and ran off with him.

"Ahh!"

"Sorry! I want to make sure I have it before next session starts!" Kaede shouted as she turned a corner, nearly avoiding crashing into Rantaro and Kurumi as they were carrying a few things, "Sorry!"

"...hm. Wonder what that was?" the pale blonde muttered to the ultimate maid.

"I am unsure…perhaps she has misplaced something," Kurumi guessed.

"Probably got too excited for a date with Shuichi again."

"Most l-"

"AHHH!" Kaede and Shuchi's voices screamed, making the two nearly jump as a door slam followed suit.

"The hell was that?!" Juzo exclaimed as he shot out of a nearby room, "Tojo, Amami, explain!"

"Akamatsu-san and Saihara-san were in a rush for the former's personal lab," Kurumi explained, "Then we heard them scream, followed by a door slam."

"Oh god what kind of nonsense did those two get into now…?" Juzo groaned before he rushed off, "You two, get back to what you were doing!"

"...okay…" Rantaro muttered before he and Kurumi resumed walking off.

"I swear Wakeman you and your friends have better…!" Juzo began as he turned a corner, stopping for a second when he saw both Kaede and Shuchi holding their backs to the door, panting heavily as they had a wide-eyed look on their faces, "...the fuck?"

"Sh….Shuichi-kun, was that….?"

"Hai…"

"..and did it just…."

"Hai…trying to register that in my head right now…"

"Hey, what the hell happened? You look like you saw a ghost or something…again!" Juzo complained.

"...P…pi….pia…piano…" the two whispered as they looked back at him.

"Piano?" Juzo raised a brow, "...the fuck you scared of a piano for?!"

"Because it jumped up and barked at us!"

"...did someone drug the two of you?" he asked with a deadpan stare, "This isn't Beauty and The Beast, stuff doesn't come to life."

"But we saw it jump up and bark at us!" Kaede argued.

"I'm still trying to register what happened in my head!" Shuichi added, "We were going in to check for her backpack, and all of a sudden the piano just jumped up and barked at us!"

"Okay…supernatural nonsense, fine! Demons…okay I can deal with it, we got aliens so why not?! But Disney movie bullshit is a no go for me! I'm gonna kick the Piano leg and you'll see you're freaking out from stress or something."

"Ah! Wait…!" the two tried to warn him as he stomped past them, pulling the door open as he walked into a fairly large music room with a fairly large piano near the window.

"Okay…look with your freakin' eyes," Juzo stated before he kicked the piano leg, "See?! I kicked it, and nothing ha-" he was interrupted when the piano suddenly jumped up…and bit down on most of his upper body in an attempt to swallow him whole, "...MMMMMMMMMMM!"

"We tried to warn you…" Kaede winced as Juzo was running around, pushing back the two halves of the piano as barking sounds came from it.

"It's become a Yokai!"

"BARK BARK!-!"

"Know what fuck it! You want to go fido?! Let's fucking go!" Juzo shouted as he tossed the piano off him..before tearing his suit and shirt off and pouncing at it, "RAAAGH!"

"...m-maybe call Jenny and the others…" Shuichi whispered to Kaeda as they watched Juzo literally fighting with the barking piano.

"Good idea…"

---

"Hmm?" Jenny blinked, her eyes blinking for a moment as a ringing sound went off, "Getting a message from Kaeda."

"Was wondering where she and Shuichi were at," Hina guessed as she, Naegi and Kyoko sat on one table while Kuon, Kibo, Miu, Akane, and Mikan sat nearby.

"Guess something happened," Naegi guessed as Jenny tapped the side of her head, letting a small monitor pop out from her chest.

"'Can you guys come and hurry? Juzo-san is being attacked by my piano in my personal lab…'" Jenny read before blinking, "...wait what?"

"What was that about a piano attacking Juzo-san?" Akane asked.

"I'm….not sure," Kibo muttered as Jenny tapped her head again, causing the screen to go back into her chest before a speaker came out.

"Kaede, what do you mean your piano is attacking Mr. Juzo?"

=It's true! I was looking for my backpack with Shuichi-kun, and suddenly my piano jumped up and barked at us! Juzo-san didn't believe us at first…but…well…= Kaede began.

=OW! Oh you motherfucker…!= Juzo growled in the background.

=BARK BARK!=

"...what the fuck was that?" Miu blurted out with a confused look.

=The…piano…=

"Is there a gas leak in your lab?" Miu asked.

=I don't think a drug trip can make teeth marks on a person's skin…= Shuichi muttered.

"I mean…" Miu began.

"You shut your freaky ass mouth up before I make you…" Kuon stopped her from talking, "You two, we'll be there as soon as we can, but magical nonsense isn't exactly in any of our repertoire…doesn't this place have like the Ultimate Exorcist? Ultimate supernatural detective? Ultimate Onmyouji?"

"We technically had Korekiyo, but…well…" Kibo muttered as some of the girls growled a bit, recalling that day.

"Yeah Kuon literally broke his face…" Jenny pointed out, "Like…he might need major reconstructive surgery…levels…"

"I'm not going to feel bad," Kuon replied, "But come on you mean we only have 1 Supernatural nerd available now!?"

"Guess so," Hina muttered…before an idea popped into her head, "...but Jen-chan knows someone."

"Hmm?" Jenny blinked at that, "..oh!"

"Y-you think they're still awake?" Mikan asked.

"Only one way to find out," Jenny replied before tapping her head again, "Sorry Kaede. We'll get back to you after I make a call to someone."

=Please hurry. I thi…a-are the other instruments joining?!= Shuichi exclaimed.

=What the fuck is that musi-OH FUCKING COME ON!=

"...yeah I'm gonna contact Tsubaki," Jenny whispered as she tapped the side of her head, "Hopefully she's still awake…"

---

"Hmm?" Tsubaki blinked, about to walk into one of the provided rooms for her and her team before she pulled her badge out, "Tsubaki here."

=Oh thank god I caught you in time=

"Jenny?" Tsubaki blinked, "Is everything alright?"

=I wish it was…apparently Mr. Juzo's being attacked by the instruments in Kaede's lab=

"...excuse me?" Tsubaki asked, taken back by a sudden response.

=That's what Kaede told me! The piano barked at her and Shuichi, and then it began to attack Mr. Juzo like a dog!=

"Okay. I just began to relax before the next mission. What?" Jin deadpanned as he poked his head out of a nearby room.

"I think we have a lead. Wake up the others, we're going back to school."

"...Can I…?"

"You're going."

"...damn it…" Jin groaned before going back into his room, "I swear to god and the Celestialsapiens if Mioda glomps me again…!"

Tsubaki nodded, "We'll be there in the hour. Also, we'll be bringing Autobots and Maximals."

=Maximals? As in plural?=

"That's right."

=Glad to hear Silverbolt has more that wanted an organic alt mode. …I'll make sure Gundham and our two tech head pals don't touch=

Tsubaki nodded, "We'll see you then, Jenny. Tsubaki out," she turned her badge off as she gave a mental sigh, 'Another gem…I can only wonder what kind of damage this one has caused.'

---

"...oh my god you weren't kidding," Kuon muttered as he and the others looked on in the music room.

"Okay. They should be…" Jenny trailed off as she finally caught up..and saw Juzo literally having an all out brawl with the music instruments in Kaede's lab, some of which she swore she saw had a face on them, "...what the…"

"Get him, Do-rei~! He kicked Beethoven!"

"And they talk?!" they all gawked.

"What the fuck kind of…" Miu began before looking around, "...RB's not here is he?"

"No. I think he went to get a check up by Moshimo," Jenny replied.

"Okay good. What the fuck kind of Disney shit is this?!"

"Are they yokai?" Hina asked with wide eyes.

"Anyone got a sacred katana?" Kuon asked.

"I think Peko's got one hiding in her room," Akane replied.

"Somoene fucking help me here!" Juzo snapped before a trumpet blew straight into his ear, "GAH! YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

"If they are Yokai…You are very bad at taking care of your instruments, Kaede-chan," Akane bluntly stated.

"Ehh?!" she cried out at that.

"Uh…am I supposed to…not break anything? These things are expensive…All I do is break things!" Kuon complained as he lifted the piano up over his head, "Must…resist the urge…to break over my knee…like a kit-kat bar…" the piano whimpered at that, "Oh come on…that makes it worse…now I feel like the monster!"

"...Maybe talk to one?" Jenny suggested, catching a clarinet with a black eye.

"Men don't talk about their feelings…Even less so for Japanese men!" Kuon complained.

"..." Most of the present males shrugged in agreement.

"I meant Kaede," Jenny sighed, offering it to her, "They are your instruments, after all."

"Ugh…mein head…" the clarinet groaned in a German accent.

"...may as well try," Kaede whispered to Shuichi before looking at the clarinet, "Um…hey there?"

"Hmm?" it blinked before looking up at her.

"Uh…hi. Listen..I was hoping you could…possibly tell the others to stop attacking Juzo-san and explain what's exactly going on?" Kaede asked, really hoping this would work.

The clarinet blinked a few times before gasping, "Die Herrin!?" he let out a loud note, making everyone pause, "Die Herrin eez here, you haufen falsch gespielter Instrumente!"

"Ah!" the other instruments gasped as they all stopped…Juzo kicking a nearby drum after a moment.

"Ow…hey~ He hit me…" the drum whined in a Chinese accent.

"You're supposed to be hit, idiota…" a guitar pointed out in a Spanish accent.

"Yes, with sticks or hands…not feet."

"Okay, looks like they recognize you," Shuichi noted, raising his cap up a bit to show his stunned expression.

"L...looks like…" Kaede whispered just as Juzo collapsed onto the floor, "Okay, who tripped him?"

"..." a drum set discreetly pointed a cymbal at a taiko drum, "He did it."

"Oi, oi!"

"I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today…" Juzo groaned from the floor before the piano barked at him, "PISS OFF!"

"Right…How are you all…" Kaede gestured to the instruments, "...doing all this?"

"And more importantly who or what do I have to break to fix this?" Kuon asked.

"That is not more important…" Kaede muttered.

"I beg to differ. There is a problem…and I can't hit anything…my whole thing is hitting! I get hit, I hit harder! I hit something, it fixes itself! That is my thing," Kuon complained.

"...Are you the Fonz?" Miu asked, a jukebox in the back going stark white in fright.

"Ayyy, if it ain't broke don't fix it." Kuon replied in an American accent.

"You have been watching my TV…" Jenny noted.

"But the point still stands, something needs to be hit to restore peace, order, and our normal brand of chaos," Kuon explained.

"Well, la Primera, we just awoke this morning as such," the guitar informed

"Wait…so you don't even know what…gave you life?" Shuichi asked.

"Oui!" a saxophone replied in a French accent, "But there was something we awoke to: an electric guitar being besmirched with what seemed to be a fork given the cacophony."

"Do not remind me of zat," the clarinet groaned, "It vas worse then ze right hook herr Juzo delivered…"

"Electric guitar…being played by an idiot…only one suspect…" Kuon sighed.

"Ibuki…" they all sighed.

"Alright…lets go get her." Kuon sighed, "Everyone in this room new to sentience, Stop attacking people or so help me we are selling you!" he snapped at all the instruments, "To a music class for little kids! Yeah you know the ones, the ones who never take care of stuff, so stop being crazy! You're alive now, and this is society, act like you can live in it!"

"Um…Kuon-san, several of them were from places like those," Kaede whispered, seeing a fife break into tears.

"Ah geez! See what you guys make me do and feel?!" Kuon snapped.

"But you're the one…"

"I don't do good in situations where I can't fix things by hitting them!" Kuon barked, making them all shut up, "Now get that annoying headcase so I can hit something! Before more nonsense happens like a portal outside letting out talking animals and cars!" a noise went off outside, "..."

"Oh, there's the guys," Jenny spoke, looking outside, "Oh! One's Bumblebee! Hey, 'Bee!"

"I need to hit something stupid…" Kuon walked out.

---

"...This is a school?!" Max gawked as he, Sari and Bee's team looked up at the massive building that made up Kibougamine.

"Dad didn't tell me how massive this place was…" Sari whispered with equally wide eyes.

"It's nice to see again," Tsubaki noted.

"Hi, 'Bee!" Everyone looked at an open window Jenny was waving out of.

"Hi!" he waved back only to yelp when Cheetor ran ahead and jumped in the window, making Jenny yelp and jump back, "Cheetor!"

"Hi! I'm Cheetor!" he waved with his paw at those new to him, "It's so cool to meet more humans and-Oh my Primus! Things are moving around like in that movie!" he gasped at the living instruments, "Let me see~" he climbed in fully and began chasing the instruments around.

"You…called a talking hyperactive Cheetah?" Miu asked as Cheetor rolled along the ground, playing with one of the instruments like an actual curious and playful giant cat.

"Sorry! He's technically new!" Bumblebee shouted from outside.

"Oh great…more headaches," Juzo muttered, Mikan currently tending to his blackeye with a few bandages and wrappings on him, "...not you, you're helpful," he quickly spoke just before Mikan could start tearing up, "Arigatou."

"...mmm~" Mikan smiled a bit at the praise.

"You have any clues on what might be behind this?" Tsubaki asked the others once a few of the Cyebrtronians helped the smaller members up to the window.

"We do...apparently Ibuki is behind this," Kyoko explained, motioning to the living instruments.

"Why am I not shocked?" Jin deadpanned, "What did that rock and roll sugar rush get into now?"

"We're honestly unsure," Kaede answered with a sigh, "Even the instruments don't know…but all they remember is her music and they came to life."

"We….were honestly hoping you might know something about this," Hina added sheepishly.

"It's likely she has something we're looking for," Tsubaki replied, "Any of you familiar with Marvel comics?"

"Some of us do yeah," Naegi replied with a nod.

"Then you know about the Infinity Gauntlet, right?"

"We do."

"Well…turns out…"

It was based on something that's real…and probably worse because we struggled against one gem!= Steel exclaimed.

"I swear to god if one of you makes me fight a giant purple man…" Kuon sighed.

"Bet you he'd win~" Akane smirked, having fun with this now.

"Wha…you think he can fight an alien overlord?' Miu asked.

"Enough to bet on it," Akane's smirk continued.

"A gem granting life that's part of a gauntlet…" Zaruba muttered under his breath in thought, "Aw crap. Some idiot found and is trying to reassemble the Reality Gauntlet? Better find that musician gal pronto. The more one uses one of the gems without the gauntlet, the more they'll become corrupted by the power and refuse to relinquish it."

"Anyone else da deep voice whisperin' or is it just me?" Rattap asked as he climbed onto the windowsill.

"KYAAA! RAT!" several of the girls screamed.

"You're not taking over my body again!" Jenny snapped, deploying several lasers.

"Oh no," Rattrap squeaked, jumping out to avoid the laser barrage., "GYAH!"

"Why is there a giant fucking rat with you?!" Miu exclaimed as Mikan was hiding behind Jenny.

"He's…technically new and part of the Cybertronian group that came with us," Tsubaki explained.

"Well tell him to keep away from me!" Jenny exclaimed as she shivered a bit, "I just get the heebie jeebies recalling all those rats taking my body…"

"T…take…o…oh~" Mikan whispered as she fainted on the spot.

A violin leaned over to a first aid kit and popped it open, letting Juzo catch the smelling salts that dropped out.

"I'll let the headmaster know you're here," Juzo spoke as he snapped the salts and woke Mikan up.

"Thank you," Tsubaki nodded a bit, 'Hopefully the damage Ibuki has done is minimal…'

---

"Ah…time for another rocking beat~" Ibuki whispered in glee, holding the crystal 'pick' she found earlier today as she held her Ember signed guitar, "Ibuki knew it…this makes a really good rockin beat! The ideas…" she whispered as the camera panned up, showing her eyes going red for a moment as she looked down at it, "Ibuki has never thought of any of these songs before…this is the Pick of Destiny~" she frowned at the camera, "Ya mind, Flick?"

"Sorry, Boss," the camera apologized while backing away on its tripod.

"Thank you~" She smiled before holding a hand up high in the air, "Greetings minna-san~! Are you ready to rock?!"

"YEAH~!" a variety of voices shouted from the shadows.

"Can Ibuki get a hell yeah?!"

"HELL YEAH!"

"Then let's rock with a new number I just made up! Ibuki calls it…Rising flames as the princess of rock rises!" Ibuki declared, lifting her 'pick' high in the air before she did a loud guitar riff, sending out a wave of energy as the flashed through the entire school.

"Tell me you saw that!" Kuon's voice snapped from outside.

"I did! What was…!?" Kibo began before a scream was heard.

"Was that Teruteru?!" Hina gasped.

"Hmm?" Ibuki blinekd, pausing in playing her guitar before the doors were kicked open, "OH! HEy guys!"

"Ibuki, what are…you…" Kaede slowly trailed off as she and the others looked on at the room..and noticed tons upon tons of inanimate objects looking on at them in a mix of confusion and annoyance.

"...d…does…not…" Kibo stammered before his eyes went bluescreen.

"Snap out of it!" Kuon slapped him, making Kibo yelp and fall over.

"My skin is metal…why do I feel a sting?" Kibo groaned.

"What…did you do?" Kuon pointed at Ibuki, "Anything less than the truth and I will dent your skull into a V shape!"

"...oh right! You remember that crystal we found earlier today?" Ibuki asked.

"...yeah…?" Hina cautiously replied.

"Well…after class, Ibuki wanted to get a quick tune in and next thing she knew? Some of the equipment in the storage room came to life!" Ibuki declared before the lights turned on, "It took Ibuki by surprise at first..but then Ibuki started to realize it was her new crystal pick. NO!...IT is the Pick of Destiny~!" she shouted as she held the crystal 'pick' high in the air, "With it, Ibuki has been giving more and more beats, some of which she's never thought before! Ibuki has even gotten many new friends from it!"

"You Sweet Dumb idiot…" Kuon sighed, "You have a magic pick, and don't even think to tell us when you give life and sentience to…random items! We've been living in a Disney movie for the last few hours! A man was almost eaten by a Piano!"

"...life and sentience…" Sari whispered, ruminating those words for a moment before it clicked, "...AHH! The Gem of Life!"

"The whatsit now?" Ibuki blinked.

"Ibuki…please give us that crystal," Tsubaki spoke up, "That gem you have is something incredibly dangerous that cannot fall into the wrong hands."

"And we fear what chaos you'll do with it," Jin added in a deadpanned tone before Sari nudged him, "What?"

"B-But…Pick of Destiny~" Ibuki whined.

"Look it's bad enough we need to find homes for all our new…uh…whatever they are…" Kuon muttered, "We don't need you making this place into an old Rubber Hose gaijin anime where the flowers and the trees begin singing whenever a princess walks by! And we have a princess! So that would get annoying!"

"Actually…I think Sonia-san would really enjoy that…" Kaede spoke up with a shrug.

"Yeah, but it'd drive me nuts…and I don't want to regret punching a tree!" Kuon snapped.

"But you said I could keep it before…" Ibuki complained.

"That was before we learned it was essentially an infinity stone!" Kuon declared.

"...but...you…" Ibuki trailed off as she looked at the jewel in her hand, a faint glow coming from it as her eyes turned red for a moment, "But…I want it…"

"Ibuki, you might end up getting yourself hurt!" Jenny tried to argue.

"I know…but…my…this thing…giving so many…ideas…" Ibuki whispered, focusing on the jewel in her hand as the glow of it was hypnotic for her.

"You're going all creepy guy from Lord of the Rings on us…" Kuon spoke up.

"You watched Lord of the Rings?" several asked.

"No…I read it." he explained, "And right now she's sounding a lot like Smeagol when he began turning into Gollum…"

"The fact you are well read astounded us." Kyoko muttered, "But also…you're right that doesn't sound good."

"I had a period of time where all I had available to me was books…don't ask." Kuon sighed, "Alright…you're gonna give us the magic rock, and we're gonna get you some much needed quality time with a blanket and a relaxing drink."

"...it told Ibuki you would say that…" Ibuki whispered.

"I..it?" Shuichi repeated.

"The Pick of Destiny…it told Ibuki…how you want to crush Ibuki's dreams and friends…" Ibuki whispered, grasping the crystal in her hand as her eyes began to glow teh same red color as it, "Ibuki found this...it's hers…"

"Ah damn it, it's getting to her…" Jin groaned as he walked forward, "Okay, Mioda…hand it over now or e-" he began before Ibuki shot up, doing a huge guitar riff that sent out a massive shockwave, "?!"

"I-Ibuki?!" Mikan gasped.

"What the heck?!" Hina, Akane, Miu and Kaede gawked.

"Yup, it's as I feared…its feeding thoughts into her head," Zaruba sighed to Kuon, "The Gem of Life can bestow its user to create life..but slowly it corrupts the user's mind, convincing them what they're doing is good."

"You know what these are?" Kuon raised his Madou Ring companion close to whisper to him.

"Please, these are but party favors compared to the vast demonic knowledge I hold. But they are powerful and should not be trifled with, the only thing these horrid things don't hold dominion over is the soul itself. Any with a strong enough will can power through their influence, but those who are easily swayed by the words and wills of others…mmm…not so much. Like you said, she's becoming Gollum, a dark reflection of herself, and with the power to imbue life into the lifeless…it's not gonna be pretty."

"How do we stop it?" Kuon asked.

"Take the crystal and as its new owner its previous creations will cease to exist. But that's easier said then done, and likewise losing it and letting an inanimate object grab it…well…now that's just trouble."

"That's it…take the jewel…and poof?"

"Oh…you make it sound easy my boy, hm~hm~hm~!" the Madou Ring giggled, "It's cute when the young are stupid,"

"Ugh…what's th…" Kuon began before Ibuki did another riff, causing another wave of energy to wash throughout the entire school.

"Ibuki thought you were her friends…but you just want to steal it for yourselves," Ibuki whispered, a more menacing look appearing on the object's faces as a bronze leopard statue walked in from behind her, Usagi-kun trembling nearby as he shot into her backpack, "Ibuki is the queen of rock…and she will not let you take what is hers!"

"You are a Japanese school girl going through a chunibyo phase!" Kuon snapped.

"That feels like it could apply to many of our classmates." Kyoko sighed.

"Fine then we'll take it by force!" Jin groaned as he summon his sword, "Anything to end this stupid adventure…"

"Hmph!" Ibuki grunted as she grabbed a tossed plug, jacking it into her guitar as an energy raced up to a few nearby speakers, "Oh you want an adventure…"

"Ibuki, No…!" Jenny began as she and the others began to rush towards her.

"Then let's make this a rocking wonderland!" Ibuki declared before she did a huge and loud guitar riff, rapidly playing on her instrument as multiple red waves engulfed more and more of the school.

---

"Hmm?" Gonta blinked, pausing from lifting up something, "...music?"

"Hah? Music?" Kazuichi repeated as he and Monda paused from working on a large motorbike.

"The heck a-" Mondo began before the wrench in his hand suddenly slugged him, "?!"

"Ahh! Wh-what the hey?!" Kazuichi panicked before all the tools in a nearby toolbox pounced on him…including the toolbox itself, "AHH!"

"Attack for the Queen of Rock!" the tools shouted.

"Ah! T-Talking tools?" Gonta gawked before feeling movement, "Hm?" he looked at the large terrarium, a Goliath Birdeater inside of it, was growling at him, "Ah! The terrarium talks?!" the terrarium spat the spider out on his face before jumping out of his hands and ran off, "...Gonta glad Gonta fed Roosevelt before putting him in new terrarium." he gently pet the giant spider, letting it clamber around to rest on top of his head, "Much better…but why everything alive?!"

"How should we know?!" Mondo snapped as the wrench kept trying to strike his face, "It's all trying to kill us!"

"HELP!" Kazuichi shouted, hanging onto the side of a doorframe as the tools were trying to drag him away, "Gah!" he cried as his coveralls began to rip, "No! No! No! Gonta, can't your buddy web them up?!"

"No. Roosevelt's species doesn't make webs," Gonta replied, "Goliath birdeaters lay in wait on the rainforest floor near marshes and swamps, hiding amongst the leaf litter, to eat insects, worms, frogs, and rodents. No get why they called birdeaters when they do not eat birds."

"Seriously?!" Mondo barked.

"DO SOMETHING!" Kazuichi cried out before a final tear went off as he fell on his face, "...Can someone get me the spare coveralls from the toolchest in the back…"

"Uh…" Gonta pondered as he turned to see the giant toolchest march up to him, "Might be…problem…" Roosevelt patted the top of his head, "Oh, yes. One moment." he gently put Roosevelt on a nearby vent, letting him crawl into it, "Safe now?" a thump went off in the vent, "Okay."

"Just what the heck is happening…?" Kazuichi groaned.

---

"LI…" Teruteru began before hushing and whispering, "Lindsey Lohan, there is a souffle in the oven." all the electrical cooking tools aside from the oven paused their engines, "You want to be fighting and chasing me down, then we are going outside for it."

"...This is sound plan, oui?" a brisque knife softly asked.

"Oui. It is a sound plan, non?" a blender questioned.

"Mmm hmm," a mezzaluna agreed.

"Good. Now out," Teruteru softly ordered before bowing to the oven, "I am so sorry for their rowdiness. Do be safe with the souffle." the oven winked at him, refraining from speaking to not ruin it. Within moments, all the cooking tools were outside with Teruteru, who gently closed the door, "...Allright. That everyone?" various agreements went off, "Good." a moment passed before he screamed and ran away, all the tools screaming war cries as they chased after him, "BARABA BUSH~!"

"Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!" the Blender shouted as they charged after Teruteru.

---

"HEEEEEEEE~!"

"...was that friend Hifumi?" Angie blinked for a moment.

"I don't know…it sounds boring~" Himiko yawned a bit

"Let's just ignore it. Who knows what nonsense he's causing," Tenko grumbled.

"Are you still prickly because friend Kuon beat you with one hit?" Angie blinked.

"That degenerate male took me by surprise!" Tenko argued, "Next time I see him, I'll show him the full might of my Neo Aikido!"

"...um…Tenko?"

"Yes?"

"Your ribbons are spinning."

"Eh?" Tenko blinked before she began to hover off the ground, her hair ribbons spinning exactly like propellers, "Ah…..what's happening?! Is Ouma behind this again!?"

"Oh! Perhaps Atua is bringing you into his loving embrace!" Angie beamed, "...or it could be his magic blessing you~"

"OH~! Magic?!" Himiko gasped with stars in her eyes.

"Someone help me!" Tenko snapped.

"Silence, degenerate female!" her ribbons exclaimed.

"EH?!"

"Sick and tired of hearing you complaining about men!"

"Long live the Queen of Rock!"

"Huh…Tenko's ribbons are anti-her…go figure…" Himiko blinked, still in awe of this clearly magical event but still couldn't help but note that bit of irony, "Maybe since they are hers, they hold a bit of her true voice…"

"Help!"

"...uhm…" the two blinked, "How?!" they called out.

"Oh…maybe one of our super skilled classmates can jump and get her down?" Angie smiled, "If Atua will allow it."

"I don't think this is your Atua; I think it's just random magic." Himiko offered.

"Oh…well, in that case, that's different. Let's find someone to save Tenko then!" Angie smiled, "Someone strong, reliable…capable…"

"Tenko! Just wait! We'll get Kuon to save you!" Himiko called out.

"NO! I DON'T WANT A DEGENERATE MALE TO SAVE ME!" Tenko snapped.

"She lies because her master was a-" one of her ribbons began.

"U-URUSEIYO!" Tenko snapped.

"We're getting Kuon…'cause chances are Sakura is already busy, and we need someone who can smack you out of the air with one strike!" Himiko replied.

"It's either that…or suffocate in the upper atmosphere!" Angie added.

"How do you know that?" Himiko asked.

"YouTube videos of people doing silly things," she smiled, "Someone made a funny video of Tenko getting slapped by Kuon on loop to silly music."

"...Can you send me a link?" Himiko asked.

"HEY!" Tenko called out.

"Right, sorry! Saving you!" Himiko ran off, "Uh…bad time to ask, but can I keep the magic ribbons when this is all over?"

"She'd be flattered!" both replied.

"SHADDAP!"

---

"...almost…almost…" Kaito whispered, a magnifying glass in hand as he was carefully trying to put a small piece on a model of a mecha robot, "Carefully…" he managed to get it into place, the Tamiya glue keeping it in place, "Phew…" he smiled as he put the magnifying glass down, "There you go, another one done." he chuckled as he looked over the model kit, "Maybe one day with all the alien influence on our world, we might have real life versions of you out there." he chuckled, 'Maybe I'll still be around if that request Mikan-senpai sent out works out…' "I bet one day if I'll get to be in a life-sized version of you or maybe piloting you using some sorta particle that moves plastic about."

"You sure that's a wise idea?" Hajime asked, sitting nearby with Chiaki as they were playing some games.

"Of course! It's a crime for the Luminary of the stars to not ride a mech at least once while in Space!"

"It's somewhat true…anime protagonists in space are often nothing without a supporting mech…Super Robot Taisen being a prime example," Chiaki added.

"I mean…I guess you have a point, but the closest thing to an anime super robot around…are the Cybertrons…" Hajime muttered.

"Cybertronians," Kaito corrected.

"Feels easier to say what I said…"

"What~? Don't be…" Kaito began as he turned around…and saw the robot he was working on was missing, "?! AHH! MY NEW GUNPLA!"

"I didn't do it," Chiaki spoke up.

"You can only move that fast in video games…" Hajime pointed out.

"Not true…I can move as fast as a normal girl…" she argued, "..." she blinked looking at her hands, "...Hajime…what did you do with my controller?"

"Eh!?" he blinked, "M-Me?! I did nothing to it!"

"Lies. You hide them whenever you think I've played too much. I've let it slide before, but I was in the zone. Relinquish the controller to me…and I promise not to give you the Hard Stare," Chiaki warned, "...Also I won't have Kuon staple you to your bed and stuff you in the supply closet."

"But…I didn't do it!"

"Lies are not good in a relationship," Chiaki leaned forward to glare at him.

"Um…Quick question?" Kaito spoke up.

"What?" Chiaki asked, still focused on Hajime's face.

"If you don't have your controller…and I don't see anything in Hajime's hands…then who's playing the game?" Kaito asked his question.

"...Hai?" Chiaki softened her eyes as she tilted her head to the TV. The two followed her as they saw Kaito's Gunpla playing the game by hitting the buttons with boxing swings. The Gunpla swiveled its head around to stare at them…before turning back to the controller and finishing up the level with a new highscore.

"...AH!" the boys screamed as they jumped away from something clearly supernatural.

"Hey~ No fair. That's my score you beat. Rematch. Right here, right now." Chiaki demanded as she moved for the controller before Hajime stopped her, "Mmm…Mmm…no fair…you have strong arms…and I weigh nothing to you…"

"What's happening…?" Kaito slowly asked.

"If I had to guess…something made the items...come to life," Haijme guessed.

"And it beat my high score…I must have my revenge," Chiaki declared.

"...Doesn't that possibly mean our other stuff got infected?" Kaito asked as realization slowly kicked in for him…and Chiaki.

"Event flags popping up," Chiaki noted with wide eyes before looking at Hajime with a pleading look.

"...Alright, alright. We'll check to make sure your consoles are all safe."

"Not just them," Chiaki noted, "My collectables from Collectors Editions and all my plushies of various characters in my favorite ones, too. I don't want my plushy Lizardon that my Kaa-san gave me for my third birthday to be hurt if it tries to fly and falls down somewhere that can damage it. I'm still not done with some of the games on the Switch La-chan gave me and it doesn't come out for several more years!"

"Um…We won't have to worry about my stuff," Kaito noted, looking out a nearby window.

"Why?" Hajime asked, looking over…and seeing a few model rockets fly by with several Gunpla riding them, "...Question retracted."

"Uhm…are their lasers…working?" Chiaki tilted her head, looking at the one starting up another game.

"..." Kaito looked outside before pulling his head back in, a small sizzling hole in his hair, "...I am so glad I make the weapons for them last or this one would probably do the same now."

"..." Hajime pulled out his phone and hit a number on speed dial, "...Wakeman-san, what is going on with inanimate objects coming to life? …Uh-huh. …Uh-huh. …Okay, arigatou. …Yes, I'm with Kaito-kouhai and Chiaki-chan. …" he looked at Chiaki, "Wakeman-san says 'hi' and for you to treat this as a stealth mission from one of your games."

"Understood," Chiaki nodded.

"I told her. …Yes, I get it. Alright," Hajime nodded before hanging up, "Mioda-san got a magic stone that makes inanimate objects come to life. The magic stone's taken over her mind and is now making everything attack everyone if they're able to." he caught Chiaki before she could get closer to the gaming Gunpla, "And I still need to go and make sure Chiaki-chan's stuff is alright and not damaging themselves."

"Lunch on the stuff all distracted with a video game," Kaito joked.

"I shall take that bet!" Chiaki spoke up as she was dragged off.

"Come on, please…" Hajime sighed.

---

"Hah!" Kuon shouted, kicking the wall open as he tossed various objects off him, "Okay…I've punched everything but the kitchen sink…so come on out, sink…you're next!"

"RAGH!" Akane roared as she tackled the large bronze panther from before, the statue snarling right at her…before letting out a small kitten-like meow when she let out a louder tiger roar at its face.

"Good heavens, she's gotten worse," Jin muttered, whipping Yukianesa out and stabbing it into the ground, causing several objects coming at him to be frozen into blocks of ice.

"Well…they are dating now, so…" Jenny noted as she caught a living bowling ball and turned her arm into a cannon and used it as ammunition to get a strike on a troop of bowling pins.

"I refuse to be a babysitter. Their children will be the death of me," Jin stated, swinging his sword and stabbing a statue coming at Tsubaki from behind, freezing it solid.

"KYA!" Hina and Mikan screamed as they ran away from a large group of various sports balls bouncing after them.

"Boyoyoing~! Get the big girls for Ibuki-sama!"

"Boyoing~! Their chest balls are too bouncy!"

"HEY~!" Hina complained.

"T…too bouncy…?" Mikan whispered with a heavy blush, covering her chest with her hands.

"Hah…" Kuon sighed as he grabbed some of the balls before swinging around and tossed them into the distance.

"AVENGE US, BROTHERS! BOYOING!" they cried as more of the balls were soon tossed into the distance, one by one.

"Gah…man that tires your arm out," Kuon groaned, shaking his arm before grabbing a basketball mid-bounce, "I need a nonlethal weapon, and I saw this in a manga." he rushed and jumped before tossing the basketball into more items and used it as a buffer for his blows as the now sentient items were hit by a basketball being used as a non-lethal cannonball against them.

"Rowr!" Cheetor rowled as he pounced and knocked over a cabinet, "Well, this isn't very ultra gear, but it's also ultra gear too because I've never done something like this and not get yelled at for doing it!" he yelped as smaller objects swarmed him, "How can so many tiny things be such a danger?!"

"Gah! This is almost like when we've fought Soundwave and he had taken over all those electronics!" Bumblebee complained.

"Get off me you little freaks!" Rattrap screamed as he was running around, trying to get the various small objects off him.

"Kill the rat!"

"Rip his head off like one of Ibuki-sama's idols with the bat!"

"Rip my what off?!" Rattrap freaked.

"She is not even close to the Prince of Darkness," Kuon tossed the basketball into the sentient items, making them go flying.

"Heads up!" Airrazor called, swooping by as several model rockets and Gunpla chased her, lasers firing wildly, "Where did these little robots come from!?"

"Fascinating…" Tigatron awed as he watched the now living items, "They have life, they are now living beings, not unlike us," he pinned a living backpack as it struggled to escape, "Why must we fight? You are new to life, surely you don't wish to waste it fighting battles. You are not warriors."

"We are!"

"We serve the almighty Queen of Rock!"

"Are things always this crazy here?!" Sari exclaimed, using her shield to block some rockets before tossing it to smack some Gunpla out of the sky.

"Yes!" Jin replied.

That's not normal for a school!= Steel exclaimed =...There better not be any SCPs hiding here!=

"Steel not now!" Max shouted, currently trying to fight off some workout equipment.

"We need to get you off the net…" Tsubaki sighed.

Well kind of hard to do that given I'm a walking supercomputer with galactic wifi…=

"FOCUS!" Tsubaki snapped as she used her sword to block a giant barbell's strikes

Shuichi tensed as he narrowly avoided some arrows shot by a series of bows, Kyoko dodging a few as well before rushing up to one, making it yelp before she used it to fire off some arrows to shoot down some flying toy birds that were chasing after Jenny and Kibo with the Gunpla.

"Hey! You can't do that!" the bow complained.

"And yet I can. Clearly you forget how you were made to be used," Kyoko replied.

"Ack!"

"How does one fragging Fem-humie cause this much damage?!" Rattrap exclaimed.

"Like I said, SHE'S CRAZY!" Jin exclaimed.

"Sh-"

"And don't even try and say 'she's quirky' or anything! She's insane!" Jin snapped at Hina and Mikan, making the two flinch.

"Oi Jack Frost," Kuon lifted Jin and tossed him at the next horde of sentient items, "How about using your ice magic to blockade them from us, then we can escape to find her?!"

"Why does everyone man-handle me!?" Jin complained.

"Jin, shut up and do his clever idea!" Tsubaki snapped at him.

"Ugh…Fine!" Jin snapped before jamming his sword into the ground, causing it to instantly freeze in a flashwave as the huge army of objects were frozen solid.

"Seriously you guys have magical powers and you can't have any imagination!?" Kuon snapped at Jin, making him flinch.

"M-Me?!" he gawked.

"Yes you. You can make a giant wall of ice and all you do is stab stuff!" Kuon pointed out, "What is with you? Do you even know what crowd control is!?"

"Sounds like a bad case of selective tunnel vision," Zaruba spoke out loud, making everyone blink, "Boo~" Kuon gawked, looking at the Madou Ring as he swore it somehow winked at him.

"Even your ring came to life!" Hina gawked.

"Yes, but unlike the other rabble, I'm actually loyal to the person wearing me. Even if he does have sweaty hands…and a bad habit of forgetting to remove me before going to Onsens…" Zaruba continued his outloud speech, "I say, speaking is fun, I wish this could continue to be a thing when it's all over. I have complaints about the indents shaped like me you leave on peoples' skulls…mostly yakuza grunts you shake down for money…"

"Oh…Oh, you mother…" Kuon stopped himself, "So this is a thing now?!" he barked at the ring.

"Yes~" the ring smirked.

"I guess we're lucky our weapons didn't get influenced." Tsubaki muttered.

"What makes you think your weapons aren't already sentient?" Zaruba asked, making her blink, "Oh my dear girl…you still have a lot to learn of what a soul truly is. You're young, though, so you can learn. Your lover-boy toy however? He's even more dim than this one…and I've seen him walk head first through a reinforced wall…"

"Oh you are enjoying this, aren't you?" Kuon growled at the ring.

"Which part? The being able to speak part or the fact I retain all memories of things that happen around me part?"

"W-Wait…the items that come to life…remember everything they've…'seen'?" Hina asked as she grabbed Kuon's hand to look at Zaruba.

"But of course. Memory can be found in anything. I'm a very old ring, my child. I've seen much. You could say I'm a well of knowledge you could tap into~" Zaruba chuckled, "If I recall one of my master's several centuries in the past, he found some old readings of magical jewels and what they can do, and why they should be sealed away. Humans are a very easily influenced lot, and power is the ultimate test of will power. This poor girl must not be as strong as she projects, and the power, the admiration of her new creations, it let the inner shadows of her mind take control. Just taking the jewel from her won't solve this I'm afraid. You must also save her."

"Save her?"

"Tell me, has she been…moody as of late? Rather…depressed or anything to try and hide?"

"...Not that we know of/Ibuki? Depressed?/I really don't know…" a few members of Hope Heart replied, a bit of guilt and confusion in their voices.

"...Okay…Then think on what she's spoken of today, hm?"

"Should we be listening to something brought to life by the Jewel?" Jin asked Tsubaki.

"It's…proven to be rather wise, and the fact not everything is now alive or after us must mean there are limits to the jewel at the moment…" Tsubaki sighed.

"Oi, you heroes listen up as well!" Zaruba called out as he moved Kuon's hand to wave at them, "You two should be the ones most prepared. If she masters the jewel, she could target your weapons. And one of you might be in trouble if that happens~"

"Something she said today?" Jenny pondered before rubbing her chin in thought, "..." she grabbed her right ponytail and tugged it, causing her eyes to show the 'rewind' symbol in them before the tugged again to show 'play' before Ibuki's voice came out of her mouth, =The Pick of Destiny…it told Ibuki…how you want to crush Ibuki's dreams and friends…= her eyes blinked back to normal, "Crush her dreams and friends?"

"Didn't it say it was giving her ideas, too?" Kyoko questioned.

"I'm guessing she was in a rut of sorts and nobody noticed," Bumblebee guessed after a moment to think on it.

"Uh…I call BS on that," Akane argued, "Ibuki's a freaking expert with music…even got to play with Ember Mcclain and got an autograph from her after that whole ordeal with…Korekiyo."

"Maybe so…but it's not like we're the creative types," Kuon spoke up, "It's probably not as easy as hitting people or doing something physical…" he sighed as Akane considered what he said and nodded in agreement, "I imagine making music is a lot more complicated than just playing your instrument good."

"Oh, tell me about it. I have a friend back in Detroit, Bulkhead, who's an artist on the side," Bumblebee noted, "When he's focused on the stuff, he has to factor in a lot of things like what tools he needs, what he plans on making, factors that can mess it up…which happen more often than you think…and can even be all ready…only to not have anything in his processor and that can leave him frustrated and a bit wrecking ball happy if you accidentally provoke him."

"Wait, is that why we have that abstract sculpture of Omega Supreme on the cliff?" Cheetor asked.

"Yes," Tigatron nodded.

"The big guy needs his personal time to unwind. Optimus says we should find hobbies to relax and explore Earth with," Airazor added.

"I find nature relaxing, Optimus and Rhinox often join me in partaking in the island's natural beauty and splendor," Tigatron explained, "I also find forms of poetry most relaxing. I hear this nation is well known for several styles of poetry."

"You can study after we settle all of this…" Bumblebee sighed, "Boy, I sure hope Strongarm and Drift aren't having an awkward time in the parking lot…"

"Well, we told them they'd have a hard time walking around since they are taller bots…" Airazor sighed.

"And unlike Maximals who can freely size shift…" Rattrap added.

"...concert," Mikan spoke up, her hair shadowing over her eyes as everyone looked over at her, "I…I faintly Recall Ibuki…having trouble trying out concerts…and being…depressed I think."

"...You sure it's Ibuki?" Akane raised a brow as she looked around a bit, 'Also where the hell did Miu and Naegi go…?'

"Yeah, I…honestly don't see Ibuki being depressed," Hina admitted.

"And yet they do say 'a smile often hides the most tortured souls' I suppose," Shuichi muttered.

"Oof…" Sari winced, "Yeah…starting to connect the dots here." she noticed the looks the students were developing before frowning, raising her hand up, and snapped her fingers.

*KRA-KOOM!*

Zaruba blinked a few times in surprise as everyone but Kuon jumped up high from the green lightning that went off, "Oh, so that's what I was sensing from her…"

"Okay, that negative thinking most of you were having? None of that. What's important is how you make up for not seeing her not feeling well," Sari frowned, "Ignoring a friend, a mystical item causing things to go out of control, army of objects...Oh Solus Prime, this feels like when I got Soundwave and started ignoring 'Bee and Bulkhead all over again, but I'm the observer and not the one doing it." she shook her head, "Point is, you guys know this Ibuki girl more than the rest of us. You get through to her and we can get that Gem from her and call Alf in."

"He is a very good therapist," Mikan smiled.

"He honestly is," Tsubaki nodded in agreement, "Still…if we're to rescue Ibuki, we'll need to come up with a plan…"

"Yeah, but, uh…question," Akane spoke up, "Where're Naegi and Miu?"

"Um…" everyone looked to see Naegi tangled up in a nearby tree while Miu's legs were hanging out of the school fountain, "H-Hi."

"How did that happen?" Airrazor asked.

"I slipped on a tennis ball while struggling with the jump rope I'm tied up in," Naegi explained, "I think I knocked it out when we hit the tree."

"What kinda luck is that?!" Rattrap gawked.

"Ultimate Luck," Miu replied as she crawled out of the fountain, her clothes completely wet while she moved a bit of her hair out of her face, "His Talent is Ultimate Luck like Nagito-baka's."

"Are you still sore about how he caused a chain reaction of your inventions exploding because of a coin he dropped?" Hina asked.

"Aren't you with how him tripping on a shoelace broke the school pool?" Miu countered.

"Th-That was an accident!"

"Didn't seem that way to me when you went to vent binge on donuts and ice cream with that stupid shark surfboard plush you got last week."

"You leave Sharky out of this!"

'Oh, I can only imagine things are less chaotic with Optimus right now…' Tsubaki mentally sighed.

---

It was the middle of the night outside of the Autobot/Maximal base, some nearby bushes beginning to rustle as a blur shot in-between them. A figure then rushed out as it shot towards the base, slipping into a nearby vent before the security camera could spot it. After a few minutes of traversing, the figure slipped into the research lab before hiding behind some cover, poking out to see Wheeljack heavily focused on the screen while nearby was the Gem of Form.

"Ugh….almost done reading this…" Wheeljack whispered, a tired look on his face as he focused on his current project, unaware of the figure slipping out and heading towards the glass containing the Gem of Form, "Ah….this is harder than I thought…but I won't quit until I can zero in on this gem's signature! Just have to…" he began as he quickly turned…and saw Bumblebee holding the gem, "...Bee…"

"Oh! Uh sorry…we encountered someone that knows about the gems and needs this," Bumblebee stated.

"You knew I was working on this thing f-"

"I'll volunteer for your next experiment."

"Carry on," Wheeljack replied as he turned back around to his computer, letting Bumblebee walk off as he walked off into the hallway.

"...heh," Bumblebee smirked as he slipped into a nearby storage room, his form warping a bit before Freakshow took his place, now with the Gem of Form in his Gauntlet, "That was easier than I thought," His form then changed to a rat in his colors as he slipped into another vent, going through a few turns before going downwards as he ended up in the cells, spotting the sleeping Predacons in some nearby cells while Lydia sat in the one across from him, "Greetings."

"..."

"Oh come now. Are you upset I used you as bait to get the gem we initially lost?" Freakshow questioned as he changed back to normal, walking up to her cell as he tapped the gauntlet against the barrier, causing it to change into a watery substance as he walked through, "Well I couldn't afford to have us both captured, so I needed someone on the 'inside', and thanks to this…" he pulled out a talisman with various markings based on Lydia's tattoos as it glowed faintly, "Finding both the gem and you was easy…"

"..."

"Oh don't give me that look," Freakshow frowned as he kicked away some of the salt on the circle surrounding her, "You're free now, so all we need to do is find the other gem…and once the time is right, snatch the other one from underneath those Plumbers' feet."

"..."

"Hey. I haven't been caught once yet, s-" Freakshow began before Waspinator in the cell next to them snorted awake.

"...Bzzz…Waspinator tired…" the large bee Predacon slurred as he fell back to sleep.

"...let's escape before we are caught," Freakshow whispered, earning a slight eye roll from Lydia as the two began to head towards a nearby door, "Besides as I was saying, none of those moronic automatons have caught on yet, so we're in the clear to slip out while their all in rest mode." he grunted when Lydia grabbed him and pulled him against a wall and made them both invisible as the ground began trembling.

The two looked up as Optimus made his way down the hall, but something seemed off, there was an air of intensity around the Autobot Commander. Each step seemed to make the ground tremble more than intended. Even with his mask up to hide his face…the two could just feel the look of anger he had. Honestly for reasons neither could explain…they began trembling from this feeling they got off the giant Cybertronian. Something has upset him…no…something pissed him off. At this moment he was leaving to deal with something and he was not happy about it. Freakshow's legs trembled fiercely to the point of knocking against one another, as Optimus was finally out of sight. Lydia sighed before shooting him a look as he continued to tremble.

"Sh-Shut up…this is nothing…soon I'll have ultimate power…and nothing will sc-Surprise me again!" he argued, "What was with that stupid robot anyway…what made it so angry?"

"..."

"...you're right. Best not to find out," Freakshow whispered before the two hurried out of there.

---

"..." Headmaster Kirigiri heavily focused on some paperwork on his desk, the sounds of destruction and chaos going on outside. He paused for a moment before pulling out a tanto blade just as a skeleton display tried to smack him with a flag pole, "Don't even try it." the skeleton slowly put the flagpole down as he began to slowly step back, "..." he got up before walking over to a nearby window, seeing his daughter and her friends-along with a few others-running by, "Oi!"

"Gh?!" the students of Kibougamine tensed as they slid to a halt

"...Oh we're in big trouble now…" Kaede whispered.

"Oh we are so fucked," Miu added with a cringe.

"Eh heh…" Jenny sheepishly chuckled as she turned, "H-hey headmaster…"

"Someone mind telling me what's going on? I have some important paperwork that needs to be signed for the UnderTokyo Plumbers, and the last thing I need is advanced chaos going on."

"Ibuki-sempai got ahold of a very dangerous ancient gem and is behind all the objects in school coming to life," Kibo explained.

"Mmm hm…and the reason Yayoi-san is here with her friends and Cybertrons?"

"Don't you mean…"

"It's easier to say."

"Ahem! Well sir, the gem Ibuki has is part of a very dangerous relic that was-and this is true-the basis of the Infnity Gauntlet from Marvel Comics," Tsubaki explained.

"Oh and uh…we're here to help, uh…headmaster sir," Bumblebee quickly added.

"...try her lab. She often hides there to practice music."

"Wait, just like that?" Bumblebee blinked.

"I thought headmasters are supposed to be hard on their students," Max muttered.

"Believe me, not the first weirdest thing that's happened here," Headmaster Kirigiri explained, "...Oftentimes I just have Kuon deal with the more rambunctious students...mainly Kokichi Ouma and Hiyoko Saionji."

"Oh right…Akane…did we ever tell your siblings to let them go?" Kuon asked.

"...Uh…last I recall they were still playing some sort of survival jungle game with them…" she muttered.

"...w-will they be alright?" Mikan asked.

"...yes," Akane and Kuon responded after a moment.

"Do you even care?" Kyoko asked.

"No…" Both them and several others responded in unison.

"Well it's less work to explain they got tormented by children then the dents in their skulls Kuon may have caused." Headmaster Kirigiri sighed.

"Allegedly!" Kuon argued.

"It's my face that made the dent…" Zaruba complained, earning the Headmaster's attention, "Hello~ Ah…saying Hello, what a simple but wonderful thing. I will miss this when you take the stone and everything reverts to normal."

"...carry on if you will," was all the headmaster said as he closed the window.

"...he was surprisingly calm about this," Sari blinked.

"And I thought Magister Tennyson was the zen master of weird." Max laughed, "Given he raised a hyperactive 10 year old Ben with an Omnitrix."

"How bad would a kid with superpowers be?" Kuon muttered.

"Given the stories Jenny's shared with me in chats, this place is basically akin to UA," Sari compared.

"Oh come on. You got samurai Iceman from the X-Men on your team and we're weird?" Kuon muttered.

"...He means me, right?" Jin asked in confusion.

"Marvel's popular in Japan," Max slapped Jin's shoulder, "But come on, if a magical outbreak of Disney movie living inanimate objects doesn't phase you, this place isn't exactly normal. If anything, this place keeps the normal schools safe from…the more colorful folks."

"No, he's right. We're a prison for the weird and dangerous," Kuon agreed, "And I'm somehow the warden."

"Hey…" many of the 'prisoners' complained.

"And I only have two older classmates and Kaede as good subordinates for corralling them when I can't," he went on before huffing, "I don't get why the boys keep ending up with underwear from them, though."

"I don't even want to know…" Tsubaki and Jin deadpanned in unison.

"How do you think I feel?" Kuon sighed.

"Still, maybe we should try and check her lab," Kibo suggested.

"...she has a lab?" Max and Sari raised a brow.

"No no. Labs are special rooms made for certain students based on their Ultimate Talent," Kaede explained.

"All I get is the gym." Akane muttered.

"My talent is street fighting…I can only practice it on my own time." Kuon added.

"I feel like you are also one of these dangers you complain about." Tsubaki sighed.

"Only when I want to be." Kuon admitted.

"...boy you would be scary as a Cybertronian," Bumblebee muttered.

"..." the other Kibougamine students blinked as they looked at Akane and Kuon, imagining them both as a large Cyebrtronian Tiger and Wolf respectively, "...hoo boy/that's scary/oh dear/like fucking hell I'm repairing them without safety."

"I don't know what weird nightmares you just had, but I'm proud I made them happen." Kuon shrugged, "Anyway…to the lab…and let's try not to get eaten as we're going from Beauty and The Beast level nonsense…to some toon world hijinks…"

"Tigatron and I will go join back up with Strongarm and Drift in case anything funny comes up outside," Airazor spoke, "Bigger crowd would just make us a bigger target."

"You just don't want to deal with dat weirdness we're about to face," Rattrap deadpanned.

"Oh no. I just prefer the outdoors," Tigatron replied.

"And I already called dibs on joining him outside," Airazor replied.

"Ahh come on…"

"Get it movin'," Akane spoke as she picked him up and began to walk off.

"Wh-?! Hey! Hey! Put me down, ya crazy humie broad!"

"Half Appoplexian."

"Yer what?!"

"Speaking of, given how crazy things are, you still got that bracelet from that Kajun girl to…turn off the human side?" Kuon asked Akane.

"...oh yeah," Akane recalled as she stopped, using her tail to tap her bracelet as she dropped her human disguise, "There we go~"

"AHH! WHY DO YOU HAVE ONE?! YOU KNOW HOW CRAZY MAD THOSE GUYS GET?!" Rattrap panicked.

"Oh don't worry. Akane's chill most of the time," Hina assured as they began to walk, "...That is unless she wants something to eat or fight…"

"And right now, really feeling more of the latter along with some guilt since Ibuki's my classmate," Akane admitted as her ears drooped a bit.

"It's best we get the magical mcguffin away then smack some sense into her before giving her the hug to feel better she needs." Kuon sighed.

"Agreed," Kyoko added with her own sigh.

"So where do we find this lab of hers anyway?" Cheetor asked out of curiosity.

"Should be somewhere around the Underground labs," Naegi replied, "It sh-"

I'm sorry, underground labs?!= Steel exclaimed.

"Yes. There is over a mile or so of laboratories built based upon one's Ultimate Talent down there," Tsubaki replied, trying to recall what she could remember from her time at Kibougamine, "It was also where Ben as Reboot prevented Enoshima from enacting her plans."

"I found the entrance by accident with Maki-kouhai and Ben-san," Naegi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

=...=

"Steel, don't…"

Under. Ground. Labs…that sounds something straight out of the SCP Foundation or Resident Evil! I swear if we see one Bioweapon or one SCP down there…=

"Can someone put him on mute before I do?" Miu asked in annoyance, her backpack's robot arms coming out while holding a pair of tools, "He's sounding like a certain bum when it comes to Cryptids."

"Huh…I think Yasuhiro-san is a member of that site," Naegi muttered.

"You can rant about it later, Steel," Max sighed, "Focus on the gem that's making this whole place become a madhouse."

"..." Naegi glanced away from Max at that.

"Okay, madder house than usual," Max corrected himself.

"Fair."

...Imma still think it…=

---

Normally, the path leading to the Underground Labs was normally quiet for any students needing to focus on an experiment for a grade…but lately no one has been down here due to the rumors of monsters often lurking within, possibly the spirits of the Steering Committee…or the monsters that Garo often fights. But no it was different right now...slowly, but surely the sounds of a guitar being played echoed within the metal halls.

'Huh…Sounds like she's playing wilder than she usually does when she comes down here to her lab,' Mukuro thought as she checked on one of her traps for her sister, '...Something is off. Garo tends to patrol this hallway fifteen minutes prior to now.'

"What the hay is that music?!" Cheetor's voice exclaimed, making Mukuro tense up lightly.

"That is what we Earthlings refer to as Heavy Metal music," Kaede's voice explained.

"Whoa…Optimus has strict rules about who gets to pick music for the base…it's mostly Jazz who picks music," Cheetor explained, "Turns out, his name is a type of music! How Ultra Gear is that?!" he laughed, "Everyone else really likes it. I like the ones with the crazy drum solos, it gets my energon pumping!"

'Optimus…The one Japanese cannot pronounce without prior academics in English and tend to name him Jinrai Convoy instead,' Mukuro thought, 'Cybertronians are down here, most likely Minicons given size of the hallways or smaller Autobots given the one called Bumblebee is able to traverse Sumdac Systems. Akamatsu-san's voice with them signifies they are down here with her, yet her lab is on the upper floors of the building on the surface level. Hypothesis: they are looking for Mioda-san.'

"Ya dingus! Don't move another step!" Rattrap's voice snapped, "Ya just about stepped on a tripwire fer a C4 explosive!"

"S-Sorry, it's so cramped in here, R-Rattrap-san…" Mikan's voice whispered.

"Just…hah…just stay back towards da useless big cat who doesn't know how ta be a big cat…" he sighed, "I'll search fer traps…so youse don't hurt yerself, and if you think you're gonna fall, fall onto da pussy cat here. He's fluffy and strong fer such a skinny thing…"

"Why are there explosives?!" Jin demanded, making Mukuro tense.

'Kisaragi-san is here…?' Mukuro thought.

"I don't know…why are there DEMONS!?" Rattrap snapped, "This place is nuts! Just walk slowly, wills ya!" a sigh soon followed, "We're all gonna die down here, ain't we?"

"It's overrated," Jin replied, "Just ask Tennyson, and I'll vouch for it…"

"W-Wait…Ben's died before?" several asked.

"According to him…several times…" Tsubaki confirmed, "The fact he's so nonchalant about it…and his serious mode as it's been dubbed by others…I think it's best Ben is a slacker. I think he might actually be scary if he was serious all the time."

'Even Yayoi-san!?'

"I refuse to believe it…" Jin argued, "It can't be true…the mere idea…he held back that much…I refuse to believe it!"

"You lost the fight fair and square," Tsubaki sighed.

"Don't forget he kicked your ass during that whole Golden Fist tournament," Max recalled.

"Grr…!" Jin growled.

"Okay, okay! Shutting up, Mr. Moody…"

"Maybe try and relax once this is over…?" Hina sheepishly suggested.

"Oh I wish I could...but chances are that skeletal conman ringmaster will have gotten the last Gem before us, and the last thing I need is Tennyson coming in to save the day and rubbing it in my face as usual...unintentionally or otherwise!" Jin declared.

'Ah…Yabei, yabei, yabei…' Mukuro thought rapidly.

"GAH! YA TRIGGERED ONE!" Rattrap panicked, "...Wait…Why ain't it explodin'?"

"Oh, uh…I guess it was a dud?" Naegi's voice guessed.

"...What is with yer luck?!" Rattrap snapped as Mukuro turned a solid white in color.

'They've wrapped Naegi-kun into this all…' Mukuro thought before regaining her color and narrowed her eyes, 'Mission update: detain Mioda-san and discreetly deliver without notice. Given Naegi-kun's presence…lethal force is unauthorized.'

"Will you idiots hurry up before Ibuki ends up bringing to life things like the pipes or plumbing?" Kuon sighed.

"Well, she hasn't yet, but she brought the C4 to life," Akane noted in a tone of exasperation.

"Finally!" something shouted, "We get to do what we were made for…EXPLOSION!"

'EH?!'

"Men stand at the accompaniment! Begin the war march!" a Block of C4 with an army helmet and badges of a Military general shouted, standing before all the blocks of C4 in army gear.

"...you had to say something, didn't you?" Miu frowned as she shot Akane an annoyed stare.

"I didn't think they would be a whole army!" Akane argued.

"For the sake of the Imperial Empress of Musica Land! We shall enter glorious combustion and explosion in her name, for honor, and for our homeland!" the C4 General declared.

"Why are they just blocks with no eyes or mouth!?" Kuon complained.

"I'm still trying to register it in my h-" Kibo began before his eyes went blue screen...before Jenny quickly slapped him, "Ahh! Th-thank you, Jenny…"

"Ooh, first name with no honorifics, how bold." Hina noted, making Kibo tense as he blushed a bit.

"Now is not the time!" Miu snapped.

"Men…prime yourselves…and prepare for the sweet release…of explosion!" the general declared as all the C4 blocks inserted primers into themselves.

"S-So how bad is this?" Naegi asked.

"...Hmm…well it doesn't take much of the stuff to explodefy a human into red mist stains on a wall…" Miu explained, "That…looks like enough all in one space…to bring the entire school above us…down like a rockslide…which we won't feel since we'll likely be…like I said…red mist."

"Spaced out each block could have really messed up one person…but all together…well…" Rattrap explained.

"Uh-huh…" Kuon nodded before he shoved Jin forward, "Do the thing."

"What?" Jin blinked.

"Oi dingus, haven't you ever seen a thriller movie, you can't just cut wires to stop a bomb like cartoons, you need to freeze them so the electronics shut down and no kaboom. C4 needs an electronic trigger to detonate." Kuon explained, "How do you have ice powers and not know you can do that?"

"Of course I do!" Jin snapped.

"Then why haven't you yet!?"

"Be-ugh! One sec!" Jen snapped before stabbing Yukianesa into the lead C4 Bomb, making it gag before it and the others were all flash frozen from the inside, "There…they've been disabled."

"Jin…be honest with me. You didn't know ice could do that, did you?" Tsubaki asked.

"I did! It took me years to master this damn thing!" Jin argued as he held up his sword.

"Oh you are not aware of the Yuki-onna within your sword, are you?" Zaruba spoke up.

"The what?!" several asked.

"H-How do you know that?" Kuon asked through grit teeth to his annoyingly clever Madou Ring.

"You never bothered to ask once I got a better look at it."

'I swear to god if you could tarnish, I'd dump you in a container of salt water for a week…' Kuon contained the desire to yell at his magic ring.

"You…have a Yuki-onna…in your sword?" Akane asked.

"It…would explain a lot." Tsubaki muttered.

"Wait, what?" Jin blinked at that.

"Well he's not the only one with a very willful blade. However yours is much more polite and considerate." Zaruba spoke up, as he looked at Excalibur, "Good likelihood your blades resisted the jewels' influence and remained at your sides, due to being so old and magical."

"...So I have a Yuki-onna to thank for that then…" Jin whispered as he looked at Yukianesa.

"Well it was supposedly made by that Nine woman, right?" Sari asked, recalling when Makoto and some of the others told her what happened at Gwen's college.

"That's right. Sh-" Tsubaki began before she held her hand up, "...the music's starting to get louder…"

The group stayed quiet as they began to approach the end of the hall, approaching one door as red and black lights shone in and out from underneath the doorframe. Tsubaki held her hand up to the others, folding all but her pointer finger up before making a hand motion to tell them to be ready. After a few nods, she began to slowly open the door, a thick mist seeping out of it as they slowly stepped in. They could barely see what was in the room outside of the rapidly changing lights and the smoke..but then the lights all focused on a stage, a red light coming from it as a oni-like figure sat down on a throne, their red eyes glaring at them. Hefting up a nearby kanebo, they got up before tossing it high in the air, the lights shining on it to reveal Ibuki's guitar, but it seemed to resemble an old-style Japanese guitar with Ember's signature glowing bright on it. As the guitar came down, the figure jumped up and grabbed it, doing a huge guitar riff as some nearby instruments began to play a heavy metal tune.

"The clock strikes 12, a cool wind blows! But I've got no fear, 'cause we're not alone~!" Ibuki's voice shouted as the lights focused on her, revealing she was wearing a dark blue, dark pink, and black gii with the sleeves torn, a huge black ribbon behind her back with a pair of spats underneath her skirt, and one of her legs wrapped up in bindings while the other wore a fishnet stocking.

"I-ibuki?!" Hina gasped as she and the others looked on with wide eyes, Mukuro lightly peeking from a nearby vent.

"I have no weakness, I am the strong! And this is how I feel the most at home~!" Ibuki declared as she began to bang her head with the rhythm, raising her head up as she stuck her tongue out while doing a hard riff, using the Gem of Life as a pick, "OWWWWWWW~!" she screamed as the other instruments joined in with her, a pair of flame pillars rising up as she played, "CRY! CRY! EVERYBODY CRY, BECAUSE THE WORLD HAS GONE AWRY! Darkness fills the sky and the reflections in your eyes~!"

"What the heck has gotten into her…" Kaede whispered with her hands over her mouth.

"The gem must be further corrupting her mind," Shuichi guessed.

"Most likely," Kyoko added as she noticed how the other instruments didn't have a face on them either, "...the more it corrupts the user…the more their creations fit their temperament…"

"...grr," Kuon frowned a bit, about to step forward with Tsubaki before Jenny stepped up.

"IBUKI!"

"?" Ibuki raised a brow as she stopped in her music, the other instruments following suit, "...you interrupted my performance, Wakemen Jenny…"

"Ibuki, listen..w-"

"CHIGAO!" Ibuki snapped, making her and a few others flinch from her tone, "You will refer to me as Metal Ibuki, Imperial Empress of Musica Land! And I…" she held up the Gem of Life high in the air, "...have been chosen by the Pick of Destiny, said to have been crafted by a piece of Satan's horn!"

"...Oh don't look at me. That's just silly," Zaruba stated from the look Kuon and the others gave him, "But yes. The Gem of Life is further corrupting the young girl's mind…it and the Gem of Fantasy were always the nastier of the four."

"Oh wonderful," Tsubaki sighed.

"Control over life is a powerful thing, one which can give rise to dangerous ideals. Likewise, we must stop her before she learns to do more with it. Just as the thing can give life to that which has none, at its most extreme it can do the reverse." Zaruba explained.

"...Wait. So….it can take life as well…?" Sari slowly repeated.

"Yes...pretty sure it'll have the same effect on you and your metallic lifeform friends, young lady."

"...Nope! Ain't dealing with that!" Rattrap shouted as he was about to walk out...before the door slammed shut in front of him, "?!"

"...Oh that ain't good…" Bumblebee whispered as both Cheetor and Rattrap quickly transformed.

"Ibuki, please!" Jenny called out, "You can't keep doing this!"

"Why not? I've been getting more and more song ideas thanks to the pick and my new friends…" Ibuki countered, tracing her thumb over the Gem of Life, "I finally have a proper audience that won't boo me...I have an audience that won't chase me off stage. I have an audience…that would support me without lying to me."

"Hah? Lying?" Miu and Akane repeated.

"Yes! You claim you're good people and my friends, but you're wrong! The Pick says you're just here to ruin my dreams!" Ibuki snapped as she pointed at them, "But no…Ibuki knows all your secrets and you're just as big of freaks as I am! Like how Hina and Akane stand outside their porches in the nude!"

"AHH!" Hina yelped as a heavy blush grew, Akane blinking a bit at how blunt she was, "I-I told you that in confidence, Ibuki-chan..."

"And you two!" Ibuki pointed at Kaede and Shuichi next, "You two pretend to be the innocent lovey dovey couple…but I caught you making out before in one of the janitor closets once!"

"?!" Kaede tensed as Shuichi quickly hid his heavily blushing face behind his cap.

"...and you call me pervy," Miu commented.

"The difference is time and place. At least up 'till now it was private!" Kuon complained as he slapped Miu upside the head.

"Oh, the rest of ya aren't innocent either!" Ibuki snapped, "Like Miu assaulting Kibo...and not in a hurting way!"

"ACK!"

"Wh-?! MIU!" Jenny snapped.

"I couldn't help it! He had so many crevices and vents that needed a deep…deep cleaning…~" Miu argued…while giving a light moan before shaking her head, "Not the time…"

"Oh and you, Jenny! I see you envious of the girls with more curvy figures, and how Kyoko secretly spends money on that hoity toity pricey Blueberry perfume!"

"...Are you just venting things you've been keeping secret!?" Kuon complained.

"SHUT UP!" Ibuki shouted, "You're just as bad…you're all just as bad as those people in the audience! Ibuki...I…" she shook a bit as tears began to leak from her eyes a bit, "I thought you were my friends...I thought you would've figured it out that I needed help for myself!"

"Ibuki, we would've been glad to help you out!" Hina called out, worry in her voice, "If only you could've told us sooner, w-"

"CHIGAO!" Ibuki growled, making Hina flinch, "None of you could help me if I asked. I….I just…I just want someone to appreciate my music fully…to be there amongst the legends of rock with my friends by my side…to hopefully see my old band be proud of me….but no…" the gem glowed in tandem with her eyes as she shot them all a death glare, "You're all just like the rest…people who hate my music just because…just because I exist…"

"...Ibuki…" Mikan whispered, trembling as she held a hand over her heart.

"Hmph…" Kuon raised his leg before bringing it down for a powerful heel kick to the ground that caused everything to tremble and make everyone lose their balance, "I won't deny you've gotten on my nerves, but it's only because I think it's for the best if people don't go causing trouble for others. But I enjoy when you play your music most of the time. When you try less, it sounds like good music; when you try too hard to be different is when it gets weird. If I had to put it into words; you're like an annoying sister who can't turn down her music. So if you want to be mad at me for not being good at social cues, I'm fine with that. Go ahead, give me all you got. I can take it. I've taken worse from the world, so you getting upset at me to feel better isn't gonna make me like you any less as my friend!"

"...Badass…" Akane whispered with a light blush.

"...Hmph! Fine then…" Ibuki frowned before holding her 'pick' hand up, "Loyal subjects, listen up! The enemy has come to invade Musica Land and has declared war on its imperial empress! Will you stand by and let them take the Pick of Destiny from me!?"

"HELL NO!" multiple voices shouted.

"Well who's gonna stop us!?" Kuon declared as he slammed the ground with his fist, sending out a shockwave that knocked most of the Living Items up into the air, "Get ready, Z-ah…you stupid ring. I'm gonna hit stuff now!"

"Oh goody. Just try not to leave an imprint of me on another human skill, will you?" Zaruba sighed out..

"I promise nothing!"

"...you haven't seen anything yet," Ibuki frowned before strumming her guitar hard, sending out a huge red energy wave that swept over the area, "Appear, my Heavenly Kings!"

"Her what?!" Bumblebee exclaimed before the wall behind them suddenly broke down, making them all turn...and see five huge robots glaring down at them, each one themed after a horse, an eagle, a snake, a knight, and a tiger, "...oh…"

"...Where were these things?!" Miu shouted.

"They were found and stuffed away after the trouble with Junko Enoshima...I repurposed them into my loyal knights!" Ibuki declared, "My Heavenly Kings…it's time for a Ballroom Blitz! Minna, let's ROOOOOOOOOOOOOCK~!"

"Oh what the fu-" Jin and Kuon began before the knight knocked them away with its shield.

"Oh you gotta be kidding m-AHH!" Bumblebee screamed as the horse robot tackled him over.

"Ah hey hey! I'm like you! I'm like you!" Cheetor yelped as the robot tiger was chasing after him with Rattrap, Akane growling as she pulled on its tail.

"OH~! I see a man in the back-as a matter of fact his eyes are as red as the sun!" Ibuki sang as the snake robot slithered around Kuon and wrapped around him, making him gag out when it squeezed him, "And the girl in the corner, let no one ignore her, 'cause she thinks she's the passionate one!"

"Wait, wh-AHH!" Miu freaked before Jenny quickly picked her up just as she and Kibo flew away from the large robotic eagle with Max flying after it.

"OH~ YEAH~! It was like light-ning!" Ibuki spun as she dodged a green bolt of lightning from Sari, "Everybody was frightening!" a wave of spooky voodoo dolls suddenly swarmed all over Sari, making her yelp as she used her shield to block some of them, "And the music was soothing, and they all started grooving~! YEAH~! YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!"

"KYA!" Kaede and Hina screamed as they jumped out of the way of a large manekineko's paw.

"KAE-AHH!" Shuichi yelped as he and Naegi were being chased by a bunch of Gunpla.

"Grrr…" Kuon growled as he struggled to get free, "For once…I'm not strong enough…wow…"

"And the man in the back said…"

"EVERYONE ATTACK!" one hammer shouted as it and a bunch of other living objects charged.

"And it turned into a ballroom blitz! And the girl in the corner said…!"

"Boy I better warn ya, it'll turn into a ballroom blitz!" a nearby statue resembling Ibuki declared to Tsubaki before it suddenly slapped her.

"Ah! Why me!?"

"Ballroom blitz! Ballroom blitz! Ballroom blitz!" Ibuki continued to sing as each strum of her guitar kept sending out energy waves.

"Mazui! Kuon, at this rate the energy will build up and escape this space. Who knows what will animate with life if she continues!" Zaruba declared, "The very balance of life itself could be thrown out of whack. You have to do…that." he whispered.

"Grrrr….But…" Kuon grunted as he pushed against the giant robot snake constructing him, "Gaahhh!" he cried out as he was squeezed tighter.

"Kuon!" Zaruba called out.

"Ghh…!" Kuon grunted before Jin jammed his sword between him and the snake, making it hiss as it slithered back from the street fighter.

"Whatever you have planned, you better do it fast," Jin stated before quickly turning, creating a bow of ice as he fired several ice arrows at some Gunpla that tried to shoot at them.

"?!"

"Plan? Wh-" Naegi began before he was suddenly pulled away.

"N-Naegi?" Shuichi blinked as he quickly looked around…before Kyoko pulled him away just before the Horse robot could stomp on him as it pushed back Bumblebee.

"Gh…" Kuon grunted as he looked down at Zaruba…before nodding as he looked around, "Look out!" he shouted, rushing and pushing Akane away before getting kicked by the Horse Robot and being sent flying through a wall.

"?! KUON!" Akane cried out before snarling at the horse robot, bringing her claws out as she pounced at it, "GRAAAAAGH!"

"What did…wait…" Jin blinked, taking a moment to look at what happened, and recognized the pattern based on what Ben once told him of his means of escaping to cover his secret identity.

"What just happened?" Tsubaki asked.

"Tsubaki, I think…we're about to get help," Jin spoke, making her blink. She then jumped at hearing the sound of metal being sliced before looking up as a hole was cut in the ceiling above, letting it fall apart as Garo landed in the room with them, "As I thought…"

"Ghhh…" Garo breathed out as he slowly drew his sword across his gauntlet letting sparks fly. He then spun around and swung his garoken, letting it slice multiple items…and sent them clattering to the floor once more inanimate.

"...Who…Who is that?" Sari slowly asked, the voodoo dolls trying to attack her stopping as everyone looked at the golden warrior

"...Garo…" Tsubaki whispered.

"...Grr…" Ibuki frowned, glaring straight at Garo as the Gem of Life continued to glow in her hand, "You…the Pick of Destiny says you're a big threat to my kingdom…"

"My armor is forged of Soul Metal," Garo explained, "I don't think it responds well to things like that colorful rock…" he held his sword up and slowly lowered it to point at her, "This false life imbued to them…it's cruel. They will never know why they were given life…nor what meaning life holds for them." he began, "Relinquish the jewel."

"...Grrrr…." Ibuki gave a shaky growl, the giant robots all regrouping around her as they all glared at him, "So you want to destroy my dream and friends as well? You want me to go back to being hated by other people for my music?!"

"Ibuki, that's not why he's here!" Hina called out from her hiding spot with Kaede, "That gem is messing your brain up! We're only trying to help you!"

"Please! We're your friends, Ibuki!" Kaede added.

"...You're wrong…I have no friends. All I have is my music," Ibuki told them coldly before strumming her guitar hard, making her robots get into a battle ready stance, "Get them."

"Oh not again…" Rattrap groaned before the robotic tiger pounced towards him and Cheetor.

"Oh no! Not this t-" Cheetor began before a flash of steel happened between him and the robotic tiger, sliced up the ground between them as the tiger quickly jumped back, "WOAH!"

"Ah! Wh-" Naegi began from the shadows before his mouth was covered, "Mmph!?"

"Shh…quiet."

"...Mukuro-san?" Naegi asked once the hand covering his mouth was removed, keeping his voice low.

"Are you alright?" Mukuro whispered.

"Um…yes," he replied, "Why are you…?"

"Resetting the traps and checking if any had been tampered with," Mukuro replied, "Was not expecting today to occur. What is the situation?"

"Mioda-senpai is being corrupted by a gem that makes things come to life. It's playing on her worst fears and thoughts," Naegi explained, "We have to get it out of her hands to make this all stop. B-But we can't let anything it brought to life grab it when its gone from her hand."

"...and I can't get near her without risk of my own weapons being used against me," Mukuro whispered," …and Garo.."

"HA!" Garo roared as he tossed away the knight robot, quickly turning as he used his sword to block the tiger's incoming claws.

"...is currently protecting the others from Sister's Monobeasts."

"Her what?" Naegi deadpanned at that.

"It was part of a plan she had if the 87th class were sent to Jabberwock Island."

"Isn't that place supposed to be a phantom island like the Bermuda Triangle?"

"Yes…and forbidden due to hidden research stations there."

"...Were they…?"

"SIster never let me know if they were or not related to the Steering Committee."

"Ah…"

"That's not even mentioning the 'toys' she gave Monika Towa and her group."

"...Wait, what?" Naegi blinked at that before Ibuki did another huge guitar riff, making the ground shake as another part of the wall began to break apart, letting a huge robotic monstrosity of sorts with four different colored arms come crawling out on its spider-like legs, a pair of gold and white drills on its side as its face resembled an all too familiar black and white bear, "...EH?!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Miu freaked, clinging onto Jenny as the robotic eagle continued to chase down Kibo.

"Another faithful servant I have found and repurposed for my kingdom!" Ibuki declared before doing another guitar riff, "The Mage of Hope for the Kingdom of Musica Land, Mage Robot Black Suspirian! Liberated from the Warriors of Hope!"

"Oh I have just about had it with this sch-" Jin began before quickly summoning an ice wall as protection from Suspirian's twin punches, tensing as the first punch broke the wall before punching him away, "GAH!"

"This is becoming stupid," Garo spoke, blocking a punch before it could hit Tsubaki.

"Agreed...= Zaruba and Steel agreed.

"So if you can't go near her…why not shoot the Gem?" Naegi asked.

"..." Mukuro looked at her artillery on hand and pulled out a modified Arisaka Type 97 sniper rifle and rubber bullets for it, "She will need to be distracted enough to make her raise the Gem up into the air for a shot that won't hurt her if it misses."

"Hoo boy…" Naegi muttered before looking around, "Um…" he sighed, "You're gonna have to drop me by her."

"What?!" Mukuro exclaimed, thankful that a loud crash of Garo's fist meeting Suspirian's punch drowned out her suddenly loud exclamation of shock.

"I might be able to talk her down from it."

"But…"

"We need someone to keep her distracted enough for you to take the shot."

"But I don't want..." Mukuro began as she looked down, seeing Mikan standing there amongst the chaos as the others were dealing with the robots and living objects, "...she's never moved from that spot."

"Hmm?"

"Mikan Tsumiki…she's been standing there."

"...?!" Naegi tensed as he looked down, "Huh…Y-You're right. Come to think of it…aren't they all…avoiding her, too?"

"Checking," Mukuro replied as the two watched for a few moments, seeing that-yes-the living objects were indeed doing their best to not go near her with several even stacking up into a makeshift wall to catch one of the Monobeasts and let it drop down to go back on the attack, "...Confirmed. Tsumiki Mikan is being intentionally protected from injury."

Naegi rubbed his chin in thought, "...Okay, um…now this is going to be crazier than my first plan, but…maybe I can convince her to talk to Mioda-senpai?"

"Chances of it working? Highly probable," Mukuro nodded.

"...Could you drop me near her then?"

"Affirmative," Mukuro confirmed.

"Thank you."

"Ah! Gh!" Kibo yelped as he narrowly avoided the claw swipes of the eagle Monobeast before Jenny flew in and grabbed the talons,

"Hey! Hands…OFF!" she snapped as she tore them right off, making the robotic eagle cry out.

"WHOO! Yeah! Suck it, Tweety, you birdy fuck!" Miu laughed, hanging off Jenny's back as she held a hand up to her, "High five!"

"..."

"...High five?"

"I'm still mad at you for what you did to Kibo," Jenny stated, the two robots unaware of Mukuro slowly lowering Naegi to the floor.

"Meep…" Miu gulped.

"GH!" Bumblebee grunted as he struggled to push back the knight Monobeast, who kept punching at him with its free arm while pushing him back, "Could use…some help here…!"

"Same h-ACK!" Rattrap gagged as the Snake Monobeast was wrapped around him tightly.

"Ah! Hey hey!" Sari complained as the voodoo dolls were trying to take her weapons, "Oh you little…" she quickly tossed her weapons up before bringing her hammer out, "BACK OFF!" she snapped as she slammed her hammer down, resulting in a large flash of lighting that sent the burnt dolls flying and onto the horse Monobeast's back, making it neigh in surprise as it began to buck around.

"SURPRISE!" Akane roared as she grabbed its neck, digging her claws into it before she pulled its head straight off the body, resultign in sparks coming off it, "...huh. Remember this one old movie from overseas that had someone hide a horse head in some guy's bed. …Imma hide this in Saionji Hiyoko's bed later."

"Doesn't that seem too far?!" Hina exclaimed.

"What~? She and Kokichi ruined all the snacks that were being prepared for the dance!"

"E-Even still…!"

Don't know what a Kokichi and Hiyoko are…but they sound annoying= Steel commented…as Max, Jenny, and Kibo were now flying away from the rapid bullet fire of twin miniguns popping out of the Eagle Monobeast's shoulders.

With Mikan at the moment…she was heavily focused on Ibuki, the Ultimate Musician still strumming hard on her guitar as more and more energy waves came off it. She could still barely recall what she told Ember when the nurse was possessed by her at the time…and it made her concerned for the normally hyperactive rocker, so she wanted to secretly follow her…see how things were at the concerts she held outside of school. Needless to say…her claims about the audience were true at times, either walking away or even verbally yelling at her while throwing food at her. She wanted to comfort her at those times, but…she didn't want to surprise her with the sudden surprise…which made her even more guilty given what's currently happening. In fact, the last thing she remembered seeing when she peeked in on her dressing room…was Ibuki looking herself in the mirror, trying to force herself to smile with her hands while quoting that song from Queen…all with a strained voice on the break of emotionally breaking down.

"...Ibuki…" Mikan whispered as she looked down, about to say something before she felt someone put a hand on her, making her tense as she quickly turned, "?! N-Naegi-san?"

"H-Hi," Naegi greeted, "So…um…" he gestured around, "This is happening, huh?"

"Y-Yes," Mikan nodded.

"But…they seem to be avoiding you," Naegi noted.

"Eh?" Mikan pondered.

"Well…Where are all the living objects right now?" Naegi asked.

"Oh, well they're…" she trailed off as not a single one was near her and focused more of the others, "Eh?"

"I don't think even with her mind clouded by all this…that she can't even think of ever having you hurt," Naegi noted.

"...R-Really?"

"Yeah. Demo…listen, this may sound crazy, but…I may have an idea."

"Hmm?"

"What if…you approached her and try to talk her down and out of it?"

"M-M-Me?! B-But I'm…I'm not that…"

"Please, Senpai, you are our best chance to get everything settled down and Mioda-senpai back to her normal self," Naegi pleaded, "If she isn't targeting you with any of them, then it must mean that she sees you as a friend still. You can get through to her, I know you can do it."

"...B-But…" Mikan began before Tsubaki was sent skidding back, the redhead stabbing her sword in the ground to stop herself as she stopped near the two, "Ahh!"

"...We'll cover you," Tsubaki whispered to them.

"Eh?"

"I noticed what was happening…if we can get you close enough, Mikan-san, then we can hopefully save Ibuki-san and get the gem away from her, Tsubaki spoke, "You are our best chance at resolving this as peacefully as we can at this moment." she gave her an assuring smile, "Just remember that she's not attacking you for a reason that only she knows. You're important to her and even if she's attacking everyone else, you're safe because, deep down, she trusts in you being her friend. So be that friend that she needs now more than ever."

"?!" Mikan looked at her with wide eyes, looking back at Naegi for a moment as he gave her a reassuring nod, "...h…hai…" she whispered, holding her shaking hand as she gave Tsubaki a nod in response, "I…I'll try…for Ibuki…"

Tsubaki nodded, "That's all I ask of you." she charged in at the living objects once more, Excalibur in hand, "Everyone, hold them back as best you can!"

"We're trying!" Jin shouted as he and Garo clashed their blades against Supsirian's drills, "Gh…Really wish I had mana or something like it right now…"

"Why?" Garo asked.

"It's a good replacement for Seithr to let me summon a Distortion or even Astral Heat," Jin explained.

"I have no idea what those are."

"Think of them as super moves from a video game!" Bumblebee called out as he grabbed a dresser filled with cosplay outfits and threw it at a wall, "I saw them firsthand in the final battle against the Incurseans and it was amazing!"

"Hmm…" Garo responded, he then held his hand out as his armor lit up as something appeared in his palm, revealing it to be a lighter.

"Is…is that…" Jin began only for Garo to turn to him and his eyes gave a look that said: 'shut up'.

Garo flicked it open before he ran his thumb across the flint, causing it to spark and produce a large plume of blue fire. It began condensing until it turned into a crossing stream of blue electricity. He moved his sword over it as the blade sparked and was now encased in azure flames. He took a moment as he stared at his blade before growling as the flames grew brighter and brighter until the point it turned into electricity. He then grunted and suddenly held his sword up towards Jin.

"It's Madou Fire…er…Electricity now…" he explained, "I just learned to do this, so don't complain if you can't handle it like I can, Iceman."

"...You better not screw me over," Jin frowned at his sword before a faint symbol appeared behind him, "Everyone get to higher ground!"

"What's h-AHH!" Hina yelped as Akane grabbed her and Kaede, her tail reaching out to Shuichi nearby before she jumped up to a higher spot.

"...What are you planning?" Kyoko whispered to Naegi as Max flew by to grab the two.

"Hopefully…a way to help Ibuki…"

"Astral…Heat," Jin whispered before swiftly unsheathing Yukianesa as the remaining biggest threats came upon him, the eagle Monobeast riding atop Supsirian, "Eien ni itetsuke!" he stabbed his sword down into the ground…and ice instantly engulfed the remaining Monobeasts and Supsirian, "Rengoku Hyōya!" slowly, he removed Yukianesa from the ice and sheathed it, "Yowai na…muda ma…" the moment he clicked the sheath close, the ice and those entrapped within its chilling embraces shattered into snowflakes.

"Yaru na, Iceman," Garo replied simply as the Maximals, Max, Steel, Sari, and most of the Kibougamine students looked on with white wide eyes and their mouths agape.

"...That….was insane…" Naegi whispered.

"Well…this is a discovery…" Tsubaki muttered with wide eyes, "Jin, are you okay?"

"I think this is what it feels like to come down from a sugar high…" he grunted, a small spark racing across his body as his hair poofed a little.

"Ah…my….my army…" Metal Ibuki whispered, clutching her guitar as the Gem of Life glowed fiercely in her hand, "Tch…you…you ruined my Musica Land!" she stomped her foot on the frozen stage, her eyes glowing fiercely as she held the Gem of Life high up, "I will not stand for this…!"

"Oh not again…" Kibo whispered.

"It's time for a T-" Ibuki began before she suddenly felt someone hug her from behind, "?!" Who…?!"

"Ibuki…"

"?! ...M…Mi-chan?" Ibuki whispered before she felt something wet on the back of her outfit, "?"

"Please….please stop…" she quietly begged, holding onto her tightly as tears fell down her cheeks, "You…you don't have to do this…"

"...Why not? I…"

"You're not alone, Ibuki…you have friends that want to help you," Mikan stated, her hands digging into the back of Ibuki's outfit as she shook, "I…I wish I stepped in sooner…I…I saw you hurting…how mean those people were to you. You….hic…" she choked back a bit of a sob as she shook, "You don't deserve…to be treated that way."

"...tch…but…people despise my music…they yell at me to stop it because I have a creative difference…" Ibuki whispered, the glow in her eyes slowly dying down a bit, "I…I can…I can never be like my legends…like Ember McClain…like Freddy Mercury, nor Led Zeppelin…or anyone…"

"...Then don't be like them."

"?"

"Be Ibuki," Mikan spoke, "Just be yourself. Be your own legend. You make amazing music when you don't try too hard…you're an amazing person who cares for her friends."

"...No…no, you're…wrong…!" Ibuki grunted a bit, holding her head as her eyes and the Gem of Life glowed brightly, "I...don't have…friends…!"

"Then why did you have your army avoid me at all cost?"

"?!"

"I was more worried for you and everyone else, but…but not a single one came to attack me. They even went out of their way to make sure I didn't get hurt by anything in the fight," Mikan pointed out.

"...I…"

"Ibuki, please…you're one of the kindest people I know. You always have that nice smile on your face…you always know how to make people laugh at times…you have so many friends that love and care about you," Mikan continued as she tightened the hug on her, "This…all of this you're doing and saying…" she shook her head, "It's not you. You would never intentionally do something like this… You would always make sure your friends are enjoying themselves. You put so much burden on yourself…just please…put the guitar down. Put the gem down and come back to us…"

"...Mi-chan…I….you…" Ibuki tried to get out, her gem arm shaking as tears began to leak from her eyes, "Ngh…no..I…I d…n…I…" she couldn't even finish her sentence, her fingers slipping as the Gem of Life began to fall, Mukuro quickly taking the shot as the gem flew away from the two and landed below the others.

"?! Whoa…where…" Cheetor began as he looked around, Mukuro slipping back into a nearby vent before she could be spotted.

"..." Garo walked over as he took the jewel and held it up. He then gripped it as the jewel began to flash and spark before it stopped, "Return the life you have given, and unbind these things from this mortal coil." he ordered, holding it up as it flashed and sent out a wave of light…before it was sucked back in as everything that had been animated before fell over as wisps of light flew from them and back to the jewel.

---

"AHH! NO! COME BACK TO ME!" Hifumi screamed from one of the rooms as Tenko fell back to the floor.

"Ow! I landed on my butt…"

"...huh. Guess Atua intervened after all," Angie blinked.

"Aww~ no more magic…" Himiko pouted.

---

"...Even before turning back to normal…they still finished the souffle…" Teruteru whispered as he poked his head into the kitchen, seeing a fairly large souffle on the counter as all the utensils were back where they should be, "Whew…That was more than enough cardio for one lifetime…"

---

"...they…they stopped moving," Kazuichi whispered as he, Mondo and Gonta were standing on top of a pile of crates, looking down at the now inanimate tools, "...i-it should be over…right?"

"I hope to god it is…" Mondo muttered.

"Aww…Gonta now has to make new home for friend…"

"...we'll help you man."

"Gonta thank Mondo and Kazuichi…"

---

"...hm. Mission accomplished," Chiaki noted, looking down to see the Gunpla now unmoving.

"Guess they stopped whatever was causing it," Hajime guessed.

"Guess so," Kaito added…before slumping, "Ahh…all my Gunpla…"

---

"..Jumpin Jiminy…" Jenny whispered as the last of the lights went back into the Gem of Life, "...and that was just one gem?"

"Yeah….crazy ain't it?" Bumblebee sighed.

"Yeah…crazy," Garo spoke as he looked at the jewel.

"...still…" Naegi paused as he looked ahead, seeing Ibuki fall to her knees as Mikan was currently comforting the now crying musician, "We were able to snap Mioda-senpai out of it…"

"And thankfully another Gem recovered before Freakshow could get his hands on," Max added.

"Uhm…He's gonna give it to you…right?" Miu asked as everyone looked at Garo who held the jewel in his hand.

"..." Garo looked at them as he flipped the jewel up and caught it, "How much is it worth to you?"

"He's blackmailing us!?" many gawked.

"A gem this powerful is extremely dangerous," Garo stated, "And this Freakshow is supposedly chasing after them, right?"

"...Y-Yes," Tsubaki nodded after regaining her composure, "So far we have the Gem of Form while he has the Gem of Power, the Power Source for the Reality Gauntlet, and the Reality Gauntlet itself…all that leaves is the Gem of Fantasy."

"Oof…That's the worst one of all," Zaruba muttered, "The wielder can change their fantasies into reality and reality into fantasy."

"Then as I see it, I should take this and chuck it into the deepest pits of the Makai realm. Let the monsters fight each other over it," Garo replied, "Humans can hardly be trusted with anything of power as I've seen. It doesn't take long before you begin killing each other for less…"

"Oof…" Jenny winced.

"...Wouldn't it be better to hand over the complete set instead?" Naegi asked.

"Hm?" everyone looked at Naegi.

"Well…There's still the other pieces out there," Naegi pointed out, "If just one caused all this trouble…wouldn't it be better to give you the whole set at once and not just one?"

"...You are aware you're trying to convince me to give you the thing, not have me get the thing and the other parts of it," Garo pointed out.

"Well, you don't seem to want to use it and just keep it away from everyone that could cause trouble with it," Naegi replied, "And, I'll admit, that humans aren't perfect, especially with power."

"I was honestly going to try to find Rachel-san and give her the whole thing to seal into a pocket dimension or use the gauntlet itself to seal itself away into five pocket dimensions that need themselves to open," Tsubaki spoke up, "The hassle with the two we've recovered so far just makes me more open to just making sure that they're all permanently separated from one another."

"...well you're not wrong there," Zaruba admitted, "The Reality Gauntlet should've never had been made to begin with…said to have been the severed arm of a Celestialsapien, or been at the beginning of creation itself…the story is often mixed, but the Reality Gauntlet and the gems by themselves are incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. So many tragic events have happened because of them…"

"...If your means of making me agree to give it to you is bank on my love of humanity. I'll tell you now, my duty is to defend you. I never said I had to like you." Garo stated, "Frankly at times…I hate you. But I also know, humanity is just as capable of hatred and cruelty…as they are capable of kindness, innovation, and care. But if I have to be your defender…that means I don't have to take the risk of you making further mistakes." he held the jewel up, "And I think it's safer if I don't let this touch human hands again."

"You don't trust us?" Tsubaki asked carefully.

"Why should I?" Garo replied, "I guard humanity from their own evils, their sins made manifest. What promise is there if I let you have this, you won't lose it? It won't be abused? People won't be hurt again?"

"..." No one said anything in response.

"I thought so," Garo responded, "I won't be there to save you again; I can't leave this area. My mission demands I stay here. So I ask again, what promise do I have if I let you take this, it won't be used to harm human lives?"

"...No," Jin spoke up as he began to approach them, "To make sure no one else would use them ever…"

"?"

"I agree…humanity is full of their own misdeeds that they can be hardly trusted with objects of power," he stated, looking down at his own sword for a moment, "But some…can often be used for a greater good, often acting as a countermeasure to any other objects used by dangerous people. But if we let that power those same objects have get to our heads…then we're no better than they are…" he looked back up at Garo, "I do agree with you…something that dangerous should belong in your realm, but what's stopping Freakshow from trying to find his way there?"

"...Explain."

"He may not look it, but...he's an incredibly dangerous individual, managing to snake his way out from underneath us each time," Jin stated, "His family dealt with the occult before…who's to say they've never delved into anything involving the realm you speak of?"

"..."

"Look. I'm not trying to say trust us, but.." he paused as he looked back at Tsubaki for a moment, "...if he does get all the gems…then it's our job to end him."

"?! Jin, no!" Tsubaki argued.

"Tsubaki...you see it as much as I do…that man is too dangerous to let live," Jin argued with her, "I know you hold justice to a high regard…but sometimes you have to overstep that line to make sure no future tragedies ever happen…"

"..." Tsubaki said nothing as she let those words sink in…recalling Camellia a bit and how she would've turned out...if she never had gotten the help she herself needed.

"So go ahead, Garo…hate us humans all you like…but Freakshow is humanity's problem and it's up to us to solve it, even if it means we'll have to take extreme measures," Jin stated before glaring at the jewel, "And, frankly, if I had the power…I would've frozen and destroyed these damn things before anyone could ever use them."

"..." Garo turned his head to Tsubaki, "You look like you have something to say, Red."

"?!" Tsubaki tensed as she was snapped out of her train of thought, "...I suppose he has a point…as much as I don't want to admit it, but...if it does come to that…" Tsubaki paused, lightly gripping Excalibur for a moment, "I…I will take all responsibility."

"?"

"It's as Jin said…Freakshow is humanity's problem. He's a result...of just how dark the world can be if we ignore those shadows for too long," she stated, "He's been my responsibility since our first encounter with him…and I need to make up for that. If he does harm anyone…I would take responsibility for that, because he escaped while I was under his manipulations with another."

"...Hmm…a side representing the light of humanity and willing to take on their sins…and one that has dealt with humanity's darkness and not hesitated once in fighting it…interesting…" Zaruba noted as he looked between Tsubaki and Jin.

"..." Garo flicked the jewel towards Tsubaki, making her scramble to catch it, "I can't cut down humans. No matter how evil," he explained, "It's my vow: no matter what, my blade can't be used to cut a human. Don't make me fix your mess, humans."

"...O-Of course, Garo-san," Tsubaki nodded, holding the gem as she bowed to him, "Thank you…"

"Hmm…" Garo replied as he flashed with light and vanished.

"?! Wh-where did he go!?" Bumblebee exclaimed as he, Rattrap and Cheetor rapidly looked around.

"We have cybernetic eyes…and we couldn't see anything!" Rattrap gawked.

"Yeah, he…kinda does that at times," Naegi muttered.

...I think I'm done with this school= Steel spoke up =It's too…weird for my liking=

"This is why I let Ben help me get out of school," Max chuckled, "Ah…modern school systems are so complicated…"

"Boy, am I glad I was homeschooled…" Sari muttered.

'One gem left…I can only imagine where it's hiding right now…' Tsubaki thought, looking at the crystal in her hand.

---

"Ahh~ Luna's bored~" Luna yawned as she laid out in the backyard of Kevin and Gwen's shared home.

"There is your homework…"

"Boring~! And why didn't Sena do it for Luna anyway?!"

"Because we have different handwriting."

"That's because you know how to write that stupid chicken scratch!"

"You mean cursive?"

"Yes! Some of those letters are annoying to Luna! Why do they all have to be connected when you write?!"

"But…that's literally how you're supposed to write cursive, Luna."

"I refuse! I want to do something fun, but Jiichan is busy with work, and Neesan is busy with school…and the less said about the walking grease stain the better…trying to take all of Neesan's attention…He doesn't need that much…"

"They're dating…"

"Meh…She can do better. At the very least someone who knows how to eat without making more of a mess on his shirt…"

"They've saved the world together."

"I thought Ben-Baka did that…" Luna muttered.

"Okay, now you're just being mean for the sake of it…"

"Not untrue…" she sighed, "But I'm so bored…why does everyone have to be so busy? Isn't this why they let Ben do everything for them? Cause he's weirdly good at solving problems?"

"Well yeah, but…he's out in space right now with his other team…"

"Ahh~!" Luna yelled as she shot up, stomping over to a nearby tree as she reeled her leg back, "Luna just wishes for something to happen!" she snapped as she kicked the tree…before yelping as she jumped on one leg, "Itai~! Sena, you idiot! Look what you made Luna do!"

"Wh-?! How's it my fault?!"

"Because y-" Luna began before something fell from the tree and bounced off her head, "Hmm?" she blinked as she looked down, seeing what looked like a small blue circular sapphire laying on the grass, "...the heck?"

"That was odd…wait. Luna, take a second to sense it. There's something magical about this gem!"

"Oh?" Luna pondered as she looked at it, "Mmm…Oh! Awesome!"

"Not awesome! Remember what Nee-san said about random magical objects! Always…"

"Gah! Shut up, Sena!" Luna fumed as she grabbed it, "Luna wishes we had separate bodies so Luna wouldn't have to always hear you!"

The gem began to glow brightly, making Luna grunt as she closed her eyes. She slowly blinked the brightness out of her eyes as she blinked, seeing someone who looked exactly like her standing infront of her. She and this lookalike blinked a few times before both slowly pointed at the other.

"SENA/LUNA!?" both of them shouted.

---

SZ: …The Gem of Fantasy…in Platinum(mainly Luna)'s hands…..hoooo boy.

GT: Well that world's doomed. Our bad, folks. …Let's all agree on one thing: it was Argit's fault!

Argit: *offscreen* I wasn't even in this chapter!

Redeemer Z0: I smell sins…and vermin…

Argit: Gh! Oh crap!

Redeemer Z0: Burn in the Fires of Heaven you heathen! *makes sword of fire in my hand and flies after Argit*

SZ:...and while he's busy, we hope you enjoyed this and stay tuned for m-*collapses on the floor, snoozing literal logs*Zzzzzz….!

Redeemer Z0: I've decided…I've read everyone's Internet history…I must burn this entire place down now. *drops spark of fire making the office light up* It must be cleansed.

GT: Er…Read and Review, folks. Meanwhile, I shall delay the inevitable with one thing. *tosses Gundam Breaker 4 at Redeemer Z0 before booking for the hills, carrying the snoring SZ*

Redeemer Z0: Hm…yes…humanity is worth saving…*steals the PS5 and flies off* But I've seen all your search histories…and you should all be ashamed! You too Readers, yes even you there…I know all.