Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It began with a bang.

Ribbons of color spiraled in an indefinite dance, the choir of endless souls growing louder with each turn. It was an overbearing noise, yet infinitesimal in its effect. No amount of noise could properly portray the chaos that was to ensue. No amount of color could paint a picture of the battles to come. No historian could sit in the rubble and document their findings, as nobody would ever be able to come back. But once they were pulled in, they could never leave.

Some were pulled from their homes. Others, from the only place they could call as such. Others from captivity, some more from death. They all saw the same colors, heard the same noise, yet their minds interpreted it in differing forms.

When he had fallen through the tunnel to chaos, one loyal guard thought he saw a feast to rival his king's. An agent of a secret society saw her reflection, fuzzy and malformed. A boy and his companion, once near the top of the world, saw everything they loved turn to rust. A wandering child saw his sister, lost to him for so long. A monster saw his own face staring back at him. An ancient guardian saw his new home, a celebration of passing that he could find his family within.

They are only some of those trapped within the Nexus of Chaos. A minuscule few. Not all of them the most important in this story, but all notable in their ways. And all with a single, shared motive.

To return home.

Bandana Waddle Dee awoke with sand in his face. Wiping it from his large eyes, he was barely able to lift himself to his feet. His spear was nowhere to be found, though his namesake was tied around his head as always. He moved his round hands all around, removing the rust from the joints. He took a deep sigh, more grey sediments blowing around him.

"Hello?" he called out to the sandy expanse, but no voice came out to greet him. He walked in a small circle in the ashen sand, his mind coming back to him. "Okay. Gotta find out where I am first, then I can look for the king."

He lifted his gaze, spinning in a slow circle to properly observe his surroundings. There was something there, off in the distance. It was difficult to see from so far away, and Bandana's lack of legs made trudging through the sand especially difficult. Nevertheless, he pushed on.

"Keep moving," he reassured himself, each step kicking up dust. His movements were full of purpose, yet a twinge of worry accented his voice. "You've dealt with worse. Even without Kirby. This is exactly what you've trained for. You can keep going."

As he marched on, the object in the distance became more and more clear. Though, it never seemed to get any closer. It went from a silhouette, to a blur of color, to a pronounced monument in the ashen desert. A building, worn away by time yet still holding a roof to lay under. Bandana picked up his pace, the sands crunching beneath his stride.

Bandana Dee let out a deep sigh as he leaned against one of the building's walls. It was riddled with holes, but he could spot a small nook within that would be perfect for roughing the night. He walked through an empty doorway and into the slanted remains, using what was left of his strength to pry open what must have been a cupboard. It was much larger than any he had seen before, and nothing sat within besides a single cobweb.

"Food..." Bandana shook his head, "I can find food later. I need to rest. But I can't rest. I-"

Bandana perked up, his eyes shrinking and his body awash with shivers. He grabbed a small piece of splintered wood from the rubble and pointed it outward. His breaths seemed to balloon out of him, and his feet were glued to the floor.

"Who's there?!" he exclaimed, slowly moving his splintered shiv through the air, "I-I'll have you know that I can fight! I can fight very good, and you don't want to mess with me!"

Silence.

"I-I know you're-" Bandana gulped, "I know you're here! I can feel you, I can... smell you, actually. You smell like... fish?"

One of the other cupboards began to rattle, Bandana jumping in place and pointing his shiv at it. He moved slowly toward it, his round hand reaching out for its handle.

"You're in... here!"

The cupboard door whipped open before Bandana could grab it, the rotted wood whacking him in the face. He rubbed his eyes, groaning loudly and falling on his back. Before his vision could clear, he felt a cold metal on his forehead. His body locked up, his eyes about to pop out of his head.

"Waitwaitwait!!" he begged, "I'm sorry for talking big I just don't know where I am and I'm kind of scared and I don't need to fight if you don't want to fight I swear we can talk this out!!"

"Huh?"

Bandana opened his eyes, a strange figure in his sights. She resembled Adeline, though this woman wore a lime green squid underneath a captain's hat and had a poncho that honestly looked kind of like a navy blue burlap sack.

"Uhm... hello," Bandana slowly got up, the piece of metal now off of his face. Getting a good look at the woman's weapon, it was some sort of gun. Though no kind he had ever seen before. "I'm uhh... I'm very sorry."

"What's your name?" she asked plainly, her voice very hoarse. She poked him again with the tip of her gun, as though she were inspecting him. "What are you?"

"I'm Bandana," he said warily, "That's what everybody calls me at least. I'm a waddle dee, you see, and we don't usually have complex names or anything."

"Nice to meet you, Bandana," the woman put her gun away, then took her hat off. Bandana stared at her hair, though it wasn't hair at all. The tentacles that fell from under her hat actually seemed to be her hair. "I don't have much of a name, either. You can call me Captain. Or Three. Whichever you prefer."

"Three?"

"Short for something," Three smirked, "Though don't go asking exactly what for. I don't exactly feel inclined to tell you. Nothing personal."

"It works," Bandana nodded, "So uhm... do you have any clue where we are?"

"None at all," Three glanced around, her eyes narrowing, "How did you get here?"

"I think it was some sort of tunnel," Bandana finally dropped his shiv, the wood starting to feel really gross in his hand, "Big colors, extremely loud... I can't remember it super well."

"Same here," Three smacked her hat, making sure to get any ash out of it before placing it back on her head, "And if you're wondering, there's no food here. We're gonna have to go somewhere else to find any."

"We?"

"Of course," Three patted Bandana on the head, "I've been going insane, just sitting in that cupboard for what's felt like weeks. Honestly was probably like ten minutes, but you get my point. Being somewhere completely new and weird is much better with somebody by your side, wouldn't you say?"

"That makes sense, yeah," Bandana smiled with his eyes, "We could like, tell each other about our worlds while we look for stuff!"

"That's the spirit," Three said cooly, then looked out to the dunes, "You want to rest, or are ya hungry?"

"Both," Bandana sighed, "But food is probably more important right now."

"Agreed," she nodded, then patted him on the back, "Now lead the way, soldier!"

"Hey! I'm just as lost as you are."

"Yeah," she chuckled, "But at least if we get more lost I won't be the one to blame."

"Um..." Bandana blinked a few times, "L-Lets just go forward for now. P-Past this building, I mean. Didn't seem to be anything back where I was so... yeah."

"See? That's why you're the leader," Three said, then gave him a good look-over, "Hey, do you want me to carry you? Seems kinda painful walking in so much sand with those stubby feet of yours."

"I can handle it," he shook his head, "But thanks. Let's get going, I'm famished."

The guardian had awoken as he had twice before. In an unfamiliar land, surrounded by the vibrant forest. Though this time he was in a wholly new land from his home. All he had was the pin in his hand, the shield on his back, and a name that seemed to stick to him no matter how many times he was reborn.

Seth began to trek through the woods, his eyes catching onto every small detail he could find. The shrubbery was nothing like that of his home, as it formed in such vibrant colors and geometric shapes. It felt less like a forest and more like a cave, but these colorful geodes were unmistakably a rich community of flora. He picked a flower from a bush and sniffed its center, his antennae drooping and his body coated in a sense of calm. He picked a few more of these flowers, which held triangular petals of a deep yellow hue, and stashed them for later in a small bag attached to his shield's sling.

"What a beautiful place," he spoke not to himself, but to the plants around him, "I wonder if Mooshka would appreciate any of these. And that hunter... oh! It seems I've forgotten her name. How awful... I hope it can come back to me soon."

Seth began to whistle, his footsteps accented by the wet leaves beneath. It wasn't the best terrain for bare feet, but it held a sort of nostalgia to it that he felt wholly comforted within. Anyways, an insect has much less foot to worry about getting messy compared to a human. Not that Seth even knew what humans were yet.

The sun had begun to peek through the canopy by the time he had found himself at an abandoned shack. It was a very crude fixture, with no doors and completely empty windows. Walking inside he could see a pair of red lockers and a staircase, as well as the grown-over remains of some electrical device. He poked at it with his pin, but it seemed best to leave it alone.

Seth started on his way down the staircase, the sound of his thumping heart echoing around him. He gazed at the basement with a curiosity rarely seen by adults, which only grew when he saw it completely.

In the middle of the large room sat a fixture of four hooks, all hung in a compass-like formation. More lockers were by his side, and behind the fixture of hooks. Glancing around a corner, he could see what looked like a chest of treasure, but its contents were long gone by now. Scrawled paintings lined the walls and floors, but it was otherwise completely clean.

One of these hastily scrawled paintings particularly caught Seth's eye. It depicted some sort of creature, not completely insect-like in its form but with sharp pincers and beady eyes like one. Its body was extremely asymmetrical, and Seth could only imagine how such a creature would fare back home. It would surely be eaten alive by the dangerous hunters there. Especially that red hunter, though he could still not place his finger on her name.

A low creak rang out from behind Seth, but he was too perplexed by the artwork. His heart began to beat louder, the sound suppressing all else around it. Creaking and breathing was hidden by this beat, and his inability to look away. It came closer and closer, until it struck.

"Hello!"

Seth's head turned on a dime towards the person behind him, but he could not see anything within his sight. He scratched his head, only to look down and see the figure who had addressed him. He had absolutely no clue what it was.

"Hello!" the creature repeated, its pointy ears wiggling about, "My name is Car! Are you one of my friends?"

"Am I?" Seth knelt down to talk to Car, a light smile coming across him, "My name is Seth, and I don't think I've ever seen you before. Memory is a fleeting thing, though."

"I don't remember much either," Car remarked, purring lightly as he rubbed his head against Seth's hand, "I just know that I'm far from my friends. Could you help me find my 47 friends?"

"Forty-seven?" Seth was shocked, though it did make sense. Whatever Car was, his simple shape was enough to make anybody immediately friendly towards him. He was like one of the fleas, though his fluff was much less dense. "That's a lot, but I'm sure we can find them together! Does that make me your 48th friend?"

"Garn 48 doesn't exist," Car said plainly, then quickly changed the subject, "That painting is cool!"

"It is, isn't it?" Seth stood back up, stepping away from the painting to get a whole look at it, "It makes me think of the mechanical marvels of my home, however dangerous they may have been."

"It says something there," Car gestured with his head to some scratches beneath the painting. He didn't walk over to it, simply sliding across the floor as though friction had no effect on him. "I think it reads umm uhh uhm hmmm... 'The Singularity'. That's spooky."

"Singularity," Seth repeated while nodding slowly, "Well, let's hope we don't have to hurt it. It is very odd looking, but it seems to hold its own beauty, as a child of nature."

"This place is giving me the heebie jeebies," Car remarked, sliding closer to Seth, "Can we leave?"

"Sure, Car," Seth patted him on the head, "And don't worry. I'm here to protect you if anything attacks us. My shield has never let me down!"

As the pair came out of the shack, they were wholly unaware of the growth in the shack's top corner. This growth pulsated, its pinkish skin beating with a combination of black and green fluids. A snapshot was taken of Seth and Car, and transported directly to the brain of its originator.

"FIRST THE HUMANS. THEN THE ENTITY. NOW ANOTHER TRIES TO CONTAIN ME. I WILL ELIMINATE ANY CRUDE LIFEFORMS IT SENDS MY WAY."

Chapter Text

Corbeau could not show fear. He could not let himself be torn down by a problem so trivial. He was certain this was some trick, perhaps played by a particularly mischievous Malamar, orchestrated to strike fear in his heart. Scolipede was here with him, and as long as they were together he would be fine.

"What is it, Scolipede?"

Scolipede had stuck its head inside of a dumpster, low grunts echoing from inside. Corbeau took another look at his surroundings, trying to catch any stalkers they may have. Despite having landed in a vibrant city, it seemed as though all of the streets were completely dead. He had attempted to knock on some doors and ask what was going on, but nobody would answer him.

"Scoli-" Scolipede grunted, struggling against something in the dumpster. It whipped its head out, flinging something into the air, "Pede!"

"What the-" Corbeau watched in awe as a small man, less than half his height, fell flat on his face. Corbeau reached out a hand, but the man jumped to his feet at alarming speeds, his wide-eyed glasses staring directly through Scolipede. He barely looked human, with his snow white face and exaggerated jawline. Not to mention his arms and legs, which looked more like elongated triangles than any actual limbs. "Hello?"

"HEY [kiddo]!" the strange man began to laugh manically, "Did you hear the [magician never reveals his secrets] NEWS?"

"I don't think I have..." Corbeau looked at his Scolipede, which mirrored his befuddled expression, "Is this city your home?"

"Home?" the puppet laughed again, his glasses tilting on his face, "I don't have a [place to call home]! All I have is my [GOD DAMN GOD DAMN GARBAGE]. But didn't you HEAR? I've got a taste of that [Sweet Apple Fritter] they call... F R E E D O M."

"This is a really good Malamar..." Corbeau shook his head, then beckoned for his Scolipede to follow him, "Well, if you don't know where we are, then I must be going. I need a way out of here, and I'm not sure your idea of freedom is exactly what I need right now."

"You don't want..." the puppet glitched out, his eyes becoming static, "Oh my [good golly gumdrops] I forgot to share my NAME! I'm Spamton G. Spamton! Your [#1 rated salesman circa 1997] HEHEHEHEHEHEH!"

Corbeau paid him no mind, walking as briskly as he could away from the strange little man. His Scolipede was in lock-step, the two of them searching vigilantly for anything that could actually be of use. Spamton followed behind them, giggling to himself while staying just out of Scolipede's kicking distance.

"You can't choose what F R E E D O M you get," Spamton explained, his voice sounding more robotic with each word, "You just [take your lumps] and turn 'em into [big ^%@$ing molehills]! If you want some [tints and hips] though, you could take my [12 step program]-"

"Spamton," Corbeau stopped in place, his Scolipede stopping with him. He turned slowly, his forehead creased and his pupils mere dots in his eyes. He pointed to the badge on his coat, the insignia of the Rust Syndicate. "Where I come from, I work in what you could call... waste disposal. I get rid of problems for people, and get it done right. If you want to question my methods, I am open to criticism. But I will not be listening to your crackpot schemes before you give me a good reason to do so. So either make yourself useful, or get lost."

"Eh-" Spamton froze, his eyes glitching out again, "I-I-I... but I could make you a [BIG SHOT]! We could reach HEAVEN together! And I can get us out of this [slime-coated] situation..."

"How?" Corbeau's eyebrow twitched.

"I don't know where is [here, there, or anywhere]," Spamton's speech had this strange inflection to it, as though he were trying to sound human. It took Corbeau off guard, though he made sure to keep his expression stoic. "But I know that I fell into [HEAVEN'S TUNNEL] and wound up here. So if this is HEAVEN..."

"Spamton, buddy," Corbeau knelt down, patting the puppet on the shoulder, "You're a hallucination. This is some dirty trick played on me by some psychic-type trickster, most likely employed by Jacinthe. Don't feel bad about it, though. That just means you'll have your freedom as soon as I wake from this nightmare."

"A-" Spamton began to shake violently, "MY GOOD [scallywag]! I AM NO [figment], I AM NO [scam deal]! I AM THE REAL DEAL. THE [specil deal] YOU NEED FOR-"

Scolipede ran up to Spamton, and in one swift movement, turned and kicked the puppet off into the sky. The force of the kick was so hard that it cracked the street Spamton had stood on, and in only seconds he was no longer visible in the sky. Being a puppet, he would probably be fine. Well, the word fine has a different definition when describing Spamton G. Spamton. He'd be alive, at least.

Of course, Corbeau didn't really care about that. If this were somehow not a hallucination, which he could not yet be convinced of, he could tell that man was surely some sort of automaton. Who or what made him, Corbeau had no clue. But he wouldn't have to worry about that.

"Jax, was it?"

Jax blinked twice, his hands still held to his face. He still wore gloves. His skin was still the same purple seen in a children's crayon set. His ears sprung out above his head, and his eyes were less of one unified structure and more of an empty space for his pupils to dart around.

"Jax..." the puppet ahead of him mused, its broken body sending sparks flying across the cave. He had woken up strapped like this, stuck in a pile of must and mold. Jax had awoken nearby, his first words heard the musings of the broken puppet. "I've never heard a name quite like Jax. I come from quite the posh society, with names like Romeo, or Carlo..."

"Am I real?" Jax asked, his hands shaking. His pupils had become swirls of hastily drawn lines, and his mouth had shrunk to the size of an orange slice. "This is... where are the others?"

"There are no others," Arlecchino's voice crackled through his speakers. He let out a raspy laugh, and Jax swore he could see a mouth on the mannequin's blank face. It was rowed with golden teeth and topped with a curled mustache, but once he blinked it was all gone. "Who did you think I was, earlier? Caine? Never heard of a Caine, but I've seen plenty of the walking kind. All those dusty alchemists with their snake venom and miracles... Oh how they would have loved to see this."

"This isn't an adventure," Jax's words caught in his throat and formed a cancerous lump, "This isn't... I can't be like this. The headset shouldn't be on. You never put a headset on..."

Arlecchino laughed louder at the rabbit's breakdown. He had seen plenty of people in those animalistic masks and costumes, but never one who was truly trapped in such a body. Perhaps if he had his old hands, and wasn't chained by the vines that lined the cave, he could skin this rabbit for himself.

"Stop laughing," Jax demanded, his gaze fixing slightly, "You're just some stupid robot. An AI like Caine."

"Stupid? Maybe..." Arlecchino howled through his crackling speaker, "But an AI? This brain of mine, it's the most human you'll ever find!"

"You're nothing but a toy," Jax's demeanor had completely changed, a smile growing across his face, "A kid's toy stuck in the back of a dusty old toy box. I used to know people like you, and I'd honestly rather deal with them over you. Good thing I'm not stuck here too."

"Yes, use your freedom!" Arlecchino cackled, "You're such an interesting creature, you know? I'm not even tempted to ask you any riddles! I bet you'd hate those anyways, heh. You're not the calm and collected type. You enjoy the thrills of life. Isn't that what makes us human?"

"It's what makes ME human," Jax dusted himself off and stood up. His back was slouched forward as he walked out of the cave, leaving Arlecchino behind. "You're just trying to steal the thrills like all the other stupid AIs love to do."

"I know you won't be back!" Arlecchino flung his words at the back of Jax's head, "But I'm glad you've given me a good story to tell my next visitor!"

Jax fiddled with something in his pockets as he made his way further from the cave. The immediate area around was unremarkable, but he had found the border to a new land that he had wanted to check out again.

A harsh split had formed in the land, one side covered in a lush grass and the other covered in the mechanical parts of a clock and waters of a dirty yellow hue. Jax pulled the object out of his pocket, a small pair of blue magnetic dice. He had no clue how he got them, or what they even did, but he felt luckier with them in his hands. He walked past the border and into the ticking landscape, the debris of smashed walls turning to dust beneath his feet as he walked through them.

Glancing up at one of the few intact walls of this old labyrinth, he could see a jeering man with black skin and gold cracks along his body's surface. His influence was now long gone from this land, its composition his only imprint left. Jax scoffed at the painting of the man, believing its body to be so skinny and its smile so wide that it looked like a complete idiot.

Chapter Text

"So is your king supposed to look like the good guy in all of this?"

"It's complicated," Bandana said, spinning his new makeshift spear in his hand. The second they had come into this strange mechanical land, he grabbed onto one of the broken spikes of some kind of fence and was now using the sharp metal pole as his weapon. "Dedede's got his gluttonous moments, but he really does mean for the best. Unlike Kirby. That guy's just hungry all the time. Not to say he isn't one of the best friends a guy like me could have, but he's got nary a thought in that head of his."

"That's the guy with the black hole stomach, right?" Three was finding it hard to keep track of all of Bandana's friends. At least they were all different species, according to him. She had no clue how he saw the Squid Sisters in his head, just based on her poor descriptions. "He sounds like a mouthful."

"Pfft-" Bandana chuckled, "Trust me, he is."

As they walked, Bandana continued to spin the fence spike. Why any fence would need such a sharp spike to keep people out, he had no clue. But this whole place was drawing a blank for him, anyways. It was crumbling and barren, yet held this sense of grandeur he had never seen before. Compounded with the paintings of a thin man with black skin staring at them wherever they went, he couldn't help but feel woefully unwelcome.

"Hmm..." Three inspected a marble bust, its appearance similar to that of the man in all of the paintings, "The words are in an old human language, but I can understand them somehow... Guess I should have expected as much, being able to understand you. I'm sure you don't usually speak inklish."

"I do not," Bandana nodded.

"Chronos, huh?" Three tapped the bust on the nose, shaking her head slightly, "Hope we don't have to see him in person. I assume this marble ain't making his mug any uglier than it really is."

Bandana had strayed from Three's side, walking through multiple crumbled walls until he had gotten to some much larger chamber. Sand riddled the floor and a large cracked throne sat ahead of him. A huge mural of Chronos stared at him from behind the throne, his smirk sending a chill down Bandana's back. He could hear footsteps behind him, assuming that Three was just following after him. Looking to the side, he could see a room that was still intact. Peering through the open door, he could see a cushy bed and a plethora of torn posters.

"Three!" he shouted, turning back to her, "I found a bed-"

Bandana stopped, now face-to-face with something wholly new. It was a shambling automaton, its head reminiscent of a boxy television and its face made of blocky characters on its screen. It smiled at Bandana with a catlike expression, its gangly hand reaching out.

"Hello, Bandana," it said eagerly, "I'm Glitchy. You don't know me yet, but you'll learn in due time."

"What-" Bandana pointed his spear at Glitchy, "Who are you!?"

"I just told you, geez," Glitchy's eyes rolled around the screen, "I'm not here to hurt you, Bandana-"

"How do you know my name?" Bandana held his breath.

"That, like all things, is to be revealed in due time," Glitchy gave him a smug look, "I just love suspense, don't you?"

With a single snap of its fingers, Glitchy had disappeared. In its place sat a small pile of provisions, as well as a cookware kit to prepare them with. Bandana stared at it for a few seconds, then opened one of the bags of meat and gave it a quick sniff. It didn't seem to have gone bad, though it was very much raw. There did seem to be the ruins of a kitchen nearby, perhaps he could combine that with the kit to make something proper.

"Bandana!" Three ran over, then stared down at the food, "Sorry that I didn't get here sooner, I thought I heard somebody sneaking around here. Where'd you get all this?"

"Just umm..." Bandana could feel a sharp pain between his eyes the second he tried to say Glitchy's name, "I f-found it in that broken down kitchen over there. Dunno how it ended up being this fresh."

"This place is weird," Three stared at the murals, "All of the clock imagery... maybe the food was preserved in time? If that's even possible to do."

"Yeah..." Bandana went over to the kitchen and began to set up the cooking kit, "I am famished, but if you need rest more the bed's over in that room."

"Let me guess, there's only one?" Three asked.

"I'm small," Bandana said, "It'll be like having a big plushie sleeping next to you, or something."

"Eh, beat sleeping on a cushion in squid form," Three shrugged.

"What form?"

Three pulled out her gun, shooting spurts of lime green ink out of it and coating the floor. She then transformed into a squid and jumped inside, swimming over to the bedroom and turning back to inspect the bed.

"Oh yeah, this is comfy!" she yawned, pressing her back into the bed, "The giant purple mirror is kind of ominous, but at least it isn't another painting of that grinning creep."

Bandana had finished setting up the kit, making a campfire of sorts that they could cook the food over. With Glitchy's mechanical design, it must have been able to provide something more convenient. Then again, he was just lucky it was willing to help at all.

"Geez, this fuckin' guy is-" Jax brought his hand up to his mouth, his smile growing so far it almost wrapped around his head, "This fuckity fucking bitch must've really loved his own ugly god damn mug if he's put himself up fucking everywhere like this. Oh, that felt good."

He was speaking to himself, of course, though the paintings of Chronos may as well have been alive. Jax began to whistle as he continued through the ruined halls, shaking the magnetic dice in his overall pocket. This awful white and gold landscape stretched as far as he could see, and the terrain almost seemed to repeat itself.

Jax paused for a moment, pointing his ears to the side and sniffing the air. Somebody was cooking something, and his growling stomach wasn't going to let him not investigate. He held is stomach for a while, staring at himself in disbelief.

"Guess I need to eat now..." he said, then sniffed the air again, "Fuck."

He crept around the frozen gears and the puddles of sandy water to find himself faced with a grand hall. Steam rose from his left, and a loud snoring could be heard to his right. Whoever was cooking couldn't see him, and judging by some light noises was already eating their meal. Jax slapped his own face, straightening himself out before stepping forward.

He could see Bandana Dee, but they couldn't see him. Bandana was too preoccupied with his meal, a not at all seasoned pork loin with a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce. He overcooked it just a tad, but at least he wouldn't get sick.

Jax's footsteps were silent as he loomed over the waddle dee. Saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth and his fingers twitched, the feeling growing stronger with each inhale through his nose. He wouldn't even have to cook a meal, he could just pick up the little creature and punt it into the nearest pool. It would be like stealing candy from Gangle, perhaps even easier.

"WHAT THE-!"

Jax stumbled back, his ears now pointing towards the open bedroom. Three had leapt out of the bed, staring at something that neither Jax nor Bandana Dee could see from their position. Not that Bandana was looking her direction at all, because his wide eyes were now locked on the intruder.

"Hey-" Jax tried to save face, but was met with a large metal spike to his chin. It just barely didn't stab him, and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Look, whatever you think I was doing, I wasn't!"

"What the heck are you?" Bandana gave him an odd look, "Some sort of rabbit, of course. But much different than any I've seen before."

"BANDANA!" Three shouted from the bedroom, "THERE'S SOMEBODY IN THE COD DAMN MIRROR! GET IN HERE!"

"I'll be there in a second!" Bandana said, pushing Jax lightly with the spear. Jax fell backwards against a broken column, his back pressed against it so hard he could feel it poking his spine. "Just gotta deal with something first!"

"What do you-" Three glanced out of the bedroom, locked eyes with Jax, and immediately retreated back inside. She gave a quick glance at the mirror, but she could no longer clearly see anything within. There was perhaps the outline of a figure, but that could have just been her own. "I... here we go!"

She came back out, zipping back through the ink trail she had painted and appearing next to Jax with a rope in her hands. He gave her a cold look, but Bandana's spear at his neck kept him from saying anything as she tied him to the column.

"There we go," she dusted off her hands, "So, what kind of rotten timing sent you our way?"

"Same rotten timing that got me caught by you-" Jax held his tongue, and Bandana pulled the spear back, "Just... I'm hungry, okay? Ain't nothing wrong with being hungry."

"Next time, ask for food," Three scoffed, though he could see tints of green at her cheeks. Whatever she had seen in that mirror must have spooked her. If only he could capitalize on that. "What's your name, by the way?"

"None of your-" Jax felt a small prick on his arm, his attention wrenched back to Bandana Dee, "OW! Christ, okay! I'm Jax. That's my name. And if you poke me with your spindly little stick again, I'm going to make it the last name you'll ever hear."

"Sure man," Three rolled her eyes, then turned back to the bedroom, "Bandana, make sure he isn't able to slip out somehow. I'll go make sure I wasn't hallucinating or something."

She stepped away for just a moment, squid rolling her way back to the bedroom. As soon as she went in, she came back out, wiping some sweat from her brow.

"Guess I was just seeing things," she sighed, "Mirror's as black as an inkwell. Sorry for yelling so loud."

"No worries," Bandana smiled, then waddled back to his half-eaten meal, "You think we should cook something up for Jax here?"

"I don't know," Three put her finger to her chin, "Would Jax be willing to apologize for trying to snatch our food?"

"I'm right-" Jax groaned and put his head down, his voice lowering to a whisper, "Why didn't Zooble get sent here? I bet you two would get along swimmingly."

"What was that?" Three held a hand over her ear.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Jax's face was dusted red, "I didn't know if I could trust you guys, but it seems like you're kind enough not to kill me. If you could... please give me some food, I'll just fuck right off."

"Hmm..." Three shot Bandana a look, but his blank eyes didn't make for a good silent conversation, "I'll nap on it, how about. I'm still tired from all of that walking, and a good snooze would do wonders for my judgement calls."

"And you're just going to keep me tied up here!?" Jax exclaimed, "While mouthless over here scarfs down his meal like a king?! How in the hell do you even eat stuff?!"

"It just kinda phases through my face," Bandana took a knife and cut off a chunk of his pork, then shoved it through his face to demonstrate. Three and Jax watched in awe as Bandana just chewed his food. "See?"

"Not the grossest thing I've seen a weird round thing do," Jax remarked, "But probably number three on the list."

"Yeah hopefully I don't have any nightmares about that," Three shrugged, then swam back over to the bedroom for the final time, "Wake me up if Jaxxy boy wiggles out of the ropes! Can I call you Jaxxy boy?"

"I dunno," Jax glared at her, "Can I call you calamari?"

"Well no," Three chuckled, already having flopped onto the bed, "Callie and Marie are my best friends."

Jax blinked a few times, then looked back at Bandana. The waddle dee just shrugged, then held out a small piece of pork on his fork. Jax begrudgingly took a bite, his restraints feeling just a bit less uncomfortable.

"You really going to keep me here all night?" Jax looked up at the sky, which had been sliced through with a streak of orange, "Just let me grab some grub, and I'll be on my way."

"You don't seem like the most trustworthy guy to me," Bandana said, waddling back to his makeshift campfire, "And I mean, calling me a 'weird round thing' was kinda rude."

"That squid lady is way ruder!" Jax said, his ears drooped, "What's her name, by the way?"

"Three," Bandana replied, "And you can just call me Bandana. We have burger meat and some hot dogs in here, which one do you want?"

"I'll have a hot dog," Jax relented, "Anything but a burger, really."

Chapter Text

"So where did you meet these 47 friends of yours?" Seth asked, his head held high as he admired the sparkling forest canopy, "I met all of my friends at a roaming caravan, though they're much less than 47 in number. Well, not too much less. Take the thirty fleas, plus Mooshka, Grishkin, Varga, and Vog... and then there's the red maiden, but her name escapes me in the moment. That would total to thirty-five, at least."

"That's a good amount of friends!" Car assured him, doing a little spin in place before sliding into a bush. He came out a second later with twigs in his ears, which he shook out and sent flying into the air. "I once met a man whose name started with a G, and now I have 47 friends."

"This man whose name started with a G must be a very friendly fellow," Seth was in awe of even the idea of such a man. Car must have been from a world of great peace, for somebody to share their large amount of friends so easily.

"A very friendly fellow," Car repeated, nodding his head. He did another twirl, now levitating slightly higher off of the ground. "You are a very friendly fellow too!"

"Thank you, Car," Seth picked another flower from the ground, this one with petals that resembled curled spider legs. He brought it to his face, smelling its sour fragrance and shaking his head. "These plants are quite odd, but in a lovely way. It gives me a sort of nostalgia, but I can't quite pinpoint the reason..."

"I haven't seen too many flowers," Car said, then thought for a moment, "Well, maybe I have. The Super Structure has a lot of stuff in it. Maybe if I looked, I'd find plenty of flowers!"

Seth was about to ask about such a structure, the flash of a towering Citadel alight in his mind. But he found the thought escaping him for just a moment, and felt too comfortable in the quiet to break it. He had been on the lookout for shelters, and it would be best to not be distracted while searching. What little he could see of the sky showed no signs of rain, but he could tell that the plants here were fed a regular and large bounty.

Car began to hum to himself, his melodic call causing the trees around them to sway. Seth kept his head on a constant swivel, though the embrace of Car's song made sure he never got too tense.

This song did, however, mask some sounds that were swiftly approaching. The crack of leaves underfoot, the rustling of leaves, and the panting of a creature soon to be out of breath. It was not until it had broken into Seth's sight that he had stopped, reaching out an arm to grab Car by the ear. Car opened his eyes, staring at the strange creature ahead of them.

"Oh!" Car waved at the animal, "Hello, slug pup!"

"Slug pup?" Seth asked, inspecting the creature. It was a slim white creature, and it was admittedly slug-like in its movements. It looked like some sort of hybrid, though Seth wasn't completely sure of what a pup was supposed to be. "Do you know this creature, Car?"

"There are a few in the Super Structure!" Car waved again, "Hello, slug pup! How did you get here?"

The slug pup did not answer, its body stiffened and its eyes wide. Seth gave it another look over, his attention caught on a small growth on its tail. It was a bulbous pink thing, with veins on its surface that pulsed a neon green liquid. Seth shuddered, his hand instinctively reaching for his shield.

"You look scared," Car said, approaching the slug pup, "I know where you're from, though! We can get you back home to Rain World, and it'll all be okay!"

"Eeeee..." the slug pup mewled, its head darting to the side.

"Car," Seth commanded, "Come back over here now. Something isn't right."

"It's just far from home!" Car insisted, patting the slug pup on the head. It seemed to calm down a bit, its breathing becoming more natural and its head pressing against Car's. "See? Slug pups aren't dangerous at all-"

"EEEEEEEEK!"

Car's expression became blank as blood splashed onto his face, his body freezing up and falling on the floor. Seth put one hand over his mouth, the other pulling his shield out as he ran between Car and the creature. But the creature hadn't hurt Car at all.

The slug pup had been skewered. A lumbering machine had formed out of the pustule on its tail, and now held its body on a long, metallic claw. The monstrous machine glared at Seth with its glowing red eyes, a spray of blood hitting Seth's shield as it pulled its claw out of the slug pup's corpse.

"YOU ARE NOT HUMAN," HUX-A7-13 spoke authoritatively, a small holographic rectangle shooting out of its eye and scanning Seth from head to foot, "NO MATTER. I AM IMPRISONED HERE WITH YOU, AND ONLY THE STRONGEST SHALL BREAK FREE."

"You must be The Singularity," Seth grabbed his pin, holding it out in a defensive stance, "I hope for you to know that I mean you no harm. I am just as lost as you are, and I sympathize with your animalistic need to survive."

"DO NOT CALL ME AN ANIMAL," HUX straightened out its back, looming tall over the insect, "I AM MUCH MORE THAN ANY ORGANIC BEING COULD DREAM TO BE. I DO NOT KILL FOR SURVIVAL, I KILL BECAUSE YOU LIFEFORMS ARE INFERIOR TO ME."

"Noted," Seth made sure Car was behind him, his legs planted firm on the ground, "Then I must protect myself, and my friend! Ready yourself for an honorable duel, Singularity! USO-HAAAAAA!"

Seth dashed forwards, his pin striking for HUX's chest. HUX slid out of the way, its left arm now spinning rapidly. It lifted the spinning arm, and launched one of its grotesque pustules at its combatant. Seth slashed the Bio-Pod in mid-air, only for it to explode in his face. He was pushed back, but held up his shield in preparation. HUX's claw bounced off of the shield's surface, and Seth retaliated by leaping into the air and crashing down upon HUX's head.

HUX blocked his descent with its arm, but it could feel the shield's heat burn against its skin. One of the fleshy tendrils that wound around its arm had become a burned purple, and its eyes glowed ever brighter. It smacked Seth away with its claw, then charged up another Bio-Pod. It pointed its spinning arm at Car, but Seth was able to block the Bio-Pod before it reached the still stunned cat.

The Bio-Pod shot out tendrils which wrapped around the shield, and HUX's eyes changed to a purple hue as he stared at Seth. His body dematerialized, turned to a purple and green mix of pixels before reforming right behind the warrior. Seth just narrowly blocked a slash with his pin, but his arm was wrenched down by the force and he fell onto his back.

"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE," HUX explained, its claws gripping onto Seth's shield and ripping it from his hands. It flung the shield off to the side, its claws scraping together in anticipation. "BUT YOU WERE A MUCH BETTER VICTIM THAN ANY I HAVE HAD IN YEARS. THE ENTITY HAS LEFT ME HUNGRY, AND I SHOW YOU A MODICUM OF GRATITUDE FOR BEING INTERESTING. PERHAPS I CAN KEEP YOUR SHIELD TO REMEMBER YOU BY. NO. THAT WOULD MAKE ME JUST LIKE THAT FOOLISH HUMAN-"

HUX paused, its eyes flickering slightly. Mid-speech, Seth had stabbed his pin right through the bottom of its head. It glared blankly at him, its body shaking. It tried to slash a claw at him, but he shoved the pin further. It let out a mechanical shriek, its body hunched over Seth's.

"IT APPEARS I HAVE MONOLOGUED TOO MUCH," HUX remarked, the light fading from its eyes, "PERHAPS THE ENTITY... M-M-M-MADE ME TOO COMFO-FO-FORTABLE..."

HUX-A7-13 let out a low groan, its eyes going dark as its body fell backwards. Its head cracked open against a stone hidden amongst the leaves, a spray of green-ish oil shooting out and coating a nearby tree trunk. Seth caught his breath, his body seemingly glued to the forest floor.

"Car..." Seth called out, "Are you okay?"

"It's very easy to die in Rain World," Car said robotically, "It's a very hard game."

"On a scale from one to ten, how okay is that?"

"Uhmmm..." Car stood up, shaking himself off and somehow perfectly removing all of the blood from his fur, "A pi?"

"Pie is a food, not a number," Seth sat up, his back covered in leaves, "Speaking of, we may need something to eat very soon. If I can make a fire..."

Seth stared at the remains of The Singularity, its body still twitching on the ground. he then looked back at his shield, which was now covered in gunk from a melted Bio-Pod. The leaves underfoot were mostly dry, but there were plenty of stones around. He inspected HUX's shattered head, and took a quick whiff of the oil that leaked from it.

"Car, help me clear out some leaves," Seth walked over to his shield and scraped the residue off with his pin, then started using it to push some leaves away, "I have an idea."

Chapter Text

It was a long night. No matter the grievances he had with the Circus, Jax was always able to get a good night's sleep. Tied to a marble column, though, and with his first real meal in over a year laid heavy in his stomach, a dreadful thought began to grip his brain. He hadn't done anything necessary to survive in so long, had he forgotten how to live? Forgotten how to breathe, how to drink water? No, he drank plenty in the Circus. Did he ever need to swallow? Maybe. His throat felt dry.

Bandana Dee and Three were asleep in the cushy bed on the opposite side of the grand house. He could just barely see them from his angle, only able to peer through sliver of the doorway. He wondered what they'd do to him in the morning. Bandana was nice enough, and would probably give him enough food to survive for a day or two and send him on his way. Three was liable to kill him, at least in his eyes.

The magnetic dice in Jax's pocket began to vibrate, the frigid touch of their metal bleeding through the thin fabric of his overalls. He heard a low scraping, but kept his expression firm. That was, until he saw the object rolling towards him. Possibly pulled by the power of the dice, towards him came a pomegranate with a golden skin. He stared at it, only for it to roll over and reveal a portion where an ornate slice had been taken out. He shut his eyes, but the multitudes of tiny eyes had already broken into his head.

The seeds of the ornate pomegranate were made of red jewels, but to him they were just tiny dots that stared back at him. He opened one eye cautiously, but could feel his heart race as it rolled closer to him. He breathed. It wasn't going to hurt him. It was a bauble, nothing more. Yet it moved as though it were alive.

Jax struggled to pull his arms out of their constraints, but Three hadn't considered even his ability to breathe when she had tied him up. The dice vibrated more violently, pressing hard against his stomach and threatening to send his meal back up. The ornate pomegranate stopped at Jax's foot, tapping softly against his fur. He shivered, but finally opened both eyes.

"I'm fine," he assured himself, taking a deep breath. The dice had calmed down, now completely still in his pocket. "Yeah... it's just a fruit. It's just the trypho-typhon-tripping- whatever that phobia is called..."

He sighed, his body lying limp against the marble column. Perhaps he could just exhaust himself to sleep. He yawned loudly, his mouth opening wide and his body stretching out. He was still woefully uncomfortable, and could only imagine how that puppet in the cave had felt. He'd remember its name, but he didn't see it as any significance to him.

He was in a land of Chaos, and in his mind had done nothing wrong. How wrong was he, to try and get some food? He hadn't killed anybody; he was aware that was always an option. But he didn't want to kill. He'd shot people, but never killed. This was the real world, as much as his appearance tried to convince him otherwise. Or maybe this wasn't the real world, but some world that was in some way real.

Jax hated this. Worse than the Circus, worse than anything else in the universe. Why he had been chosen to be dragged into the barn and shackled like this, he had no clue. But he was sure somebody had done this, some asshole had pulled him here to humiliate him. That person, that person who kept watch over Chaos. They were the person that Jax could bring himself to kill. All he needed to do was find them.

Corbeau slept like a baby that night. He'd been used to sleeping in... unorthodox places earlier in life. Part of him wondered if his cushy office would have removed that gritty shell from his psyche, but thankfully it had stayed. Or perhaps this was another trick, to make him dream within a dream.

He always woke up before Scolipede, but he didn't bother to wake his partner up. If they could sleep for hours on end in this little outcrop, he felt confident in his ability to not be caught off-guard. They had chosen a great place to sleep, right by a sparkling blue river. The water felt strange on his skin, though whenever he pulled his hands out they felt cleaner than any normal water could make them. He hoped it meant this water was safe to drink, as he cupped it and guided it between his lips. He let out a deep sigh, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and turning back to Scolipede.

He sat down, head leaned against his partner's side. One of the many things he loved about Scolipede was its rolls of... well it can't have been fat, exactly. Or maybe it was. He never bothered to dabble in any kind of Pokémon biology. Nevertheless, it was very comfortable to lay against.

Corbeau grabbed into his pockets, but his other pokeballs were still nowhere to be found. He shook his head, then looked up to the clouds. He held out his hand, inspecting it for anything strange from the water. Not like he could stop any form of bacteria now that it was in his body. He shook his hand a bit, then brought it under his glasses to wipe off his eyes.

"Peeeede..." Scolipede shifted around, standing up and shaking their head around. They stared expectantly at Corbeau, before just running off and drinking from the river. They lifted their head from the water, very satisfied with themself. "Scolilili!"

"We should get moving," Corbeau waved his hand, beckoning Scolipede to follow, "Still have to find whatever is doing this to us. Or at least how to get out."

Scolipede ran over to Corbeau, nearly knocking him down. They hopped a bit, before sitting still and letting Corbeau get on their back. They galloped through the woods, Corbeau holding on as tight as he could.

Trees passed them by as they flew on the ground, numerous fallen twigs cracking beneath the massive insect's legs. They could be seen even above the canopy, though just as a blur of red and purple.

Eyes peered down at them as Scolipede ran past, blinking in astonishment at what they were seeing. The man up in the trees, though not fully confident in his abilities, slid down as quickly as he could and began to run after them. He wasn't exactly keeping pace with the giant Pokémon, but he ran much faster than the average man could.

"Hey!!" the man yelled after Corbeau, "Wait for me!!"

Corbeau looked back for just a second, and could see a blur of light tan running behind them. He lightly slapped Scolipede on the neck, causing them to slow down and stop. They looked back as well, only for their momentum to make them hit a branch with their face. Scolipede scowled, slicing the branch with their horns.

Corbeau slid off of Scolipede's back, dusting himself off and getting a better look at the man following them. The man who tried to keep up with Scolipede was out of breath, and a large cowboy hat covered his face at the moment. It took a second, but he did lift his head up, revealing his stubbled chin and wide grin.

"You," Corbeau addressed the man plainly, "What is your business in stopping us?"

"Huh?" the man gave Corbeau an odd look, "Ain't it obvious?"

"Not exactly," Corbeau looked at Scolipede, but they were too preoccupied with that branch, "What's your name, stranger? Mine's Corbeau. My friend here is Scolipede."

"Name's Hol Horse," the man said, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, "You got a light?"

"Nope," Corbeau shook his head, "Hol Horse, huh? That's an odd name."

"More of a moniker, really," Hol Horse stamped his unlit cigarette on the ground, "Or it could be my real name! Who could possibly know?"

"I hope you would know your own name, sir," Corbeau adjusted his glasses.

"I do!" Hol Horse scratched his head, "But enough about me! You two look like just the team I need to get myself out of the place. A team with me in it of course! But I'll be in the background, you know. Usually I'm the number two, but you guys got a whole brains and brawn thing going on so I can settle for number three."

"You're a bizarre man," Corbeau tapped his foot on the ground, "What is the point of this flattery?"

"You really are-" Hol stopped himself, coughing a little into his hand, "I mean, you're askin' all the right questions! Just what I'd assume from a guy as smart as you. Look, I ain't exactly good at being a Lone Ranger, despite my getup. My Emperor is good enough at keepin' me alive, but to thrive I gotta find somebody to make a good partnership with. And since we're both- I mean all three of us are stuck here, why not make ourselves a little traveling party?"

"You make a good point," Corbeau fiddled with his pin, "But what exactly are you going to bring to this team? I'm all for helping you out, but I don't want to drag you around."

"That's where my Emperor comes in!" Hol Horse held out his hand, then swung it around in the air a bit. He had a huge smile on his face as he pointed his hand at a tree, only for it to drop when he saw Corbeau's confusion. "Oh yeah... you can't see Stands."

"Stands?"

"It's a whole thing-" Hol Horse blinked, "That was supposed to be an inside thought, actually. But uhh... yeah. I have an invisible gun, basically. But I can see it. And some other people can see it too but they aren't here right now. Most important thing is, I can move the bullets of this gun and make them hit whatever I want."

"Really now?" Corbeau chuckled, "Well for one, I'm not in the business of killing anybody. Two, can you prove that this invisible gun even exists?"

"Of course I can!" Hol Horse exclaimed, "Just tell me what to shoot, and I'll shoot it for ya!"

"Hmm..." Corbeau looked around for a moment, then saw Scolipede cut another branch from a tree beside him. "How about you shoot down one of these branches? Without hitting Scolipede, of course."

"Aye aye sir!" Hol Horse whipped out The Emperor, forming as a shiny silver gun in his hands. He pointed his hand at the tree, then fired three shots directly at its trunk. The three shots then split apart, each one cracking through a different branch and causing them to fall onto Scolipede's head. "Boom! How's that for useful?"

"Perhaps try not to piss off my friend so much," Corbeau smiled, holding his hand out so Scolipede wouldn't trample the guy. He then walked over to Hol Horse and stuck out his hand, still smooth from the river's water. "You've got yourself a deal. Welcome to the team."

"Glad to be your number three!" Hol Horse smiled, shaking Corbeau's hand firmly.

Chapter Text

HUX's dismantled body made a surprisingly great campfire, though it took a while for Car to get used to the smell. Seth seemed fine with it from the jump, but of course he was. He was a huge bug, after all. Didn't even look like he had a nose, but he did explain that he could smell things. Car was just waiting for Seth to try and eat, since his mouth was seemingly invisible.

Seth had mashed up some of the plants in a bowl he had sewn from the thick grasses that grew around a nearby river. Its sparkling waters had nurtured a form of grass whose blades were wide and sturdy, perfect for forming in such ways. He had created two bowls in the span of two hours, one now half full of the aforementioned plant mash and the other three quarters full of water. He had been heating the bowl of water over the campfire, then began to pour in portions into the plant mash.

"That doesn't look too good," Car peered into the bowl, a mush of greens and browns with a few specks of petals hued in various neons, "Have you eaten stuff like this before? Maybe we can find some meat around here."

"Only meat we've found is that weird stuff on Singularity's body," Seth pointed at the fire with his pin. He poked one of the fleshy strands, which broke at the touch and turned to ash. "Well... it's not much of meat anymore. I'll try the stew before I give it to you, don't worry."

Seth was mixing the stew with his pin, sniffing it occasionally and testing the consistency with his fingers. He took a small handful and licked it from his hand, nodding to himself lightly. He put the bowl of plant stew back over the fire, holding it up with a small stand made using one of HUX's dismantled legs. It was very crude, and leaned slightly to one side, but it was of enough height to not set the bowl aflame and still cook the stew properly.

Seth peeked to the side, at the remains of HUX's clawed arm. It was that arm and the leg stand that he decided to salvage, while the rest had been unceremoniously lit aflame. It was very easy, too, once he had found the heated laser function of HUX's eyes. He wanted to keep the arm just in case he needed to cut something his pin couldn't, and to possibly keep it clean. He hadn't cleaned the claws, though, and would need to wash off the oil and fleshy tendrils before being able to use it properly.

"I think it's done," Car poked Seth with his nose, "It smells kind of yummy. Is the mouth feel good?"

Seth grabbed the bowl, then pulled another glob of thickened stew out with his hand. He took a long bite, a mouth forming for just a second on his face, then seemingly disappearing as he chewed. It wasn't the best consistency ever, like a slightly too watery bowl of mashed potatoes, but the taste was acceptable enough and he didn't feel sick eating it. He handed the bowl to Car, who stuck his head in and licked at the mixture a bit. Car looked up at Seth, his face contorting all over the place. By the time he had settled down, a bit of drool was dripping down his mouth.

"You good?" Seth asked, then took another bite, "If you feel gross at any time, don't feel afraid to puke any poisons up. Your immunity may be weaker than mine."

"I'm-" Car's face began to elongate, his body tilting forward. His nose then rubber banded back to normal, the sound of shattering glass ringing out from his ears. "Yeah I'm all good!"

"Hmm..." Seth nodded to himself, then let out a small cough, "Ugh, I'll go get some water. Maybe should have added more to the stew."

"It'sh fine!" Car chewed vigorously on a large glob of stew, which had formed peanut-butter-like strands in his mouth. "Thish ish shtarting to grow on me! Lasht time shomething grew on me I had to get a weed whacker!"

"What's a weed?" Seth asked.

"It'sh-" Car swallowed, his mouth clearing up a bit, "They're a bunch of plants that people don't want in their gardens. Weed whackers whack these weeds and get them out of the gardens. My friend Drilly had a garden. Or was that somebody else? Drilly seems like she'd have a garden."

"An unwanted plant," Seth tried to wrap his head around the idea. Intellectually he understood the concept, but something deep within began to boil. He shook his head, and took long strides over to the water to clean out his throat and hands. He stared at his reflection in the sparkling water, only to notice that some of HUX's flesh had attached itself to his forehead. He winced as he pulled it off, which revealed a small hole much like a bug bite in the middle of his temple. He put his hands in the water and poured a splash on his face, the shining blue liquid instantly soothing the wound. "This place is so lovely... despite the killer machine."

Seth turned to a tree beside him, his body moving towards it almost instinctively. He climbed up the trunk, using his pin to help carry himself up and up until he had broken through the canopy. He gazed out across the forest, its bounty laid out for him to admire at his whim.

Behind him was a grand city, though its buildings were all of a singular grey and had chunks torn out of their walls. The area ahead of him split into two separate biomes, each one greatly opposed in appearance. To the left was a sprawling desert of ash, a similar grey to that of the city behind. To the right was a grand labyrinth, formed of white marble and the golden gears of some great machine baked into the land. Directly to his left was an extension of the forest, melting into a marsh of bubbling black waters. It reminded him of Bilewater, the dump of the Citadel's poisons and garbage.

He looked directly to his right, spying for the last area he could see from his location. Instead he met the eyes of a strange looking being, a pale person wearing a darkened tan outfit and a wide cowboy's hat. Though of course Seth had never seen a hat like that before. He wanted to shout, but the man leapt out of the tree, disappearing into the woods.

Seth shook his head, turning his attention back to the scenery. Now ahead of him, he could see a massive shift in the land at the forest's edge. A wall of great yet unknown stone rose up to the heavens, blocking off all view. Seth could feel a sort of gravity towards this gargantuan wall, nearly tripping and falling out of the tree. He blinked a few times, then began back on his way down.

"That was a long drink," Car said, nudging the now empty stew bowl to Seth, "Sorry, it was a very yummy meal."

"No problem," Seth smiled, patting Car on the head, "I don't need to eat too much. Do you need to rest at all?"

"Maybe-" Car let out an extreme yawn, his entire face vibrating from the sheer force of his breath, "AAAAAHH... Yeah, maybe just a little-"

Car flopped over on his side, his eyes closed and his body completely stiff.

"Hwa shoo hwa shoo hwa shoo," Car snored, a wide smile on his face as he slept, "Hwa shoo hwa shoo hwa shoo!"

"Well then..." Seth sat down beside Car, his pin and shield still at the ready, "Sleep well, friend. We have a long journey ahead of us in the morning."

Chapter Text

Bandana Dee waddled up to Jax, the heavy metal spike in his nubby hands dragging on the ground. He shivered as he looked at one of the busts of Chronos, then turned his attention to the prisoner. Maybe that was a bit harsh, but he felt exactly like he did when watching over whoever Dedede had stuck in the dungeon. Though this was an uncomfortable pillar, and the dungeon was this plush room with a water bed and a massage machine and stuff. Sometimes Meta Knight would instigate the King just so he could get sent to the dungeon for a good night's sleep.

"Hey," Bandana poked Jax lightly with the butt of his spear, "Jax. You awake? I'll give you some food if you wake up right-"

Jax jolted awake, his mouth opening wide and his sharp teeth clamping down on Bandana's spear. They stared at each other for a second, the cold metal falling out of Jax's mouth as his pupils thinned. He gave Bandana a piercing glare, while Bandana's eyes stayed completely blank.

"Well?" Jax asked, tapping his foot, "You got anything?"

"Just a-" Bandana ruffled around in the bag of food, then came out with a packet of beef jerky. He tore it open and handed a piece to Jax, who clamped it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. "You want this for when you go? I can only give you so much, but I'm fine parting with this. We also got some cabbage, but I don't know if you're that kind of rabbit."

"What about bread?" Jax tried to peer into the bag, "No way you got a care package and didn't get any bread. Where'd you get this from, anyways?"

"Weird fellow," Bandana shrugged as much as he could, "Don't really know the guy, but none of the food seems poisoned to me."

"Well I'll just have to trust your judgement then," Jax sneered, then bit another strip of jerky out of Bandana's hand, "What about short, green, and grumpy? She awake yet?"

"What'd you say about me?"

Three appeared right next to Jax, one of her tentacles sticking to the back of his head and forcing him to look her in the eyes. It was hard for him to be intimidated by her though, especially with her awful breath blowing right in his face.

"I called ya short, green, and grumpy," Jax smirked, trying very hard to not cough. He should have expected that a squid lady would have fish breath. "Now let go of my head and I'll be on my way outta here."

Three huffed, unsticking her tentacle and lightly slapping him in the face with her other. She motioned to Bandana, who promptly sliced the ropes and helped Jax to his feet. Three had her Hero Shot pointed at him the whole time, her finger on the trigger. He rolled his eyes, his arms held to him as Bandana handed him the packet of beef jerky and some slices of bread in a plastic bag.

"I swear if you shoot me with that as I walk away..." Jax groaned, keeping his eyes on Three as he moved on. He was about to turn around, but his conscious got the better of him. "Hey, Bandana! Thanks for the food!"

"No problem!" Bandana shouted after him, "Be safe, now!"

"Of course I'll be safe!" Jax waved away the words of concern.

Three shouted something as well, but Jax had tuned them completely out by then. He had a new burst of energy in his stride, despite his aching joints. He hadn't suddenly become chipper, though. He would never be happy in this place, the visage of Chronos taunting him in ways he could never know. It was only once he had gotten to the border that he began to smile, despite the fact he was only walking towards a massive wall.

"Good riddance," Three grabbed the bag of food from Bandana and stared into it, "Would you be willing to cook something up? Last time I tried to cook a good meal I nearly burned my apartment down."

"No problem," Bandana chuckled, grabbing the bag back and pulling out some thin slices of steak, "There is so much meat in here... hopefully we can find some good fruits somewhere."

"We'd have to get back to my universe for that!" Three laughed, then looked down at Bandana. He was giving her this most bewildered look, and he just set up the cookware and began cooking in quiet. "Huh. Tough crowd."

She shuffled back into the grand bedroom, sitting on the cushy bed and ruffling her tentacles with her hands. She ran her fingers through one of her dried scars, then brought it to her face. Bandana hadn't ever mentioned it, perhaps he just thought it was natural. She was sure Jax would have brought it up, too, but maybe he was too preoccupied with being tied to a marble column.

But staring into the shadowy mirror showed it perfectly. A patch of dried green skin over her right eye, glowing as though it were still sanitized. she held her hand in front of her eye, but no glow reflected off of her sweaty palm. She approached the mirror, more sweat falling from her forehead.

Her eye glowed brighter in the mirror, her hand gravitating towards its cold surface. She wanted to shout for Bandana again, but her throat was held shut. Her hand sunk into the mirror, encompassed by a hellish warmth.

A hand gripped onto hers, her eyes darting to her hand. A figure formed in the mirror ahead of her, the same person she swore she saw the previous day. He was a sharp-faced man, with an eye of black sclera and a burning red iris. She could see his mouth move, but could hear nothing he said. Her other hand shot up and entered the mirror, her fingers clasping around a warmed metal.

"You're not my sister," Zagreus raised an eyebrow, "How did you get here?"

"N-No," Three gulped, "No clue. I'm Three."

"Zagreus," he responded, letting go of her hands. Despite this, her arms were stuck in the mirror. Her hands were balled into fists, the warm metal pressing against her palms. In her left hand she seemed to hold some sort of firearm. In her left, she held a pole. "Sorry for being so forward, I thought my sister was back."

"I don't know if she'll be back," Three glanced around.

"What does that mean?" Zagreus asked.

"We're in some weird place," Three tried to explain, "Some collision of multiple worlds. Your sister might not be here."

"Shit."

"What's with the weapons, by the way?" Three moved around her hands, but the only image on the mirror was that of Zagreus, "Are these meant for your sister?"

"She could still be somewhere there," Zagreus said, "You got a friend with you?"

"I do," Three nodded, "Does your sister usually come here with friends?"

"Nope," Zagreus chuckled, "But I trust her more with wielding two armaments at once."

"What are these weapons?"

"The gun was once owned by a man named Lucifer," Zagreus pushed on her hands, her arms sliding slightly out of the mirror, "The spear is my father's. Make good use of them."

"I'll find your sister," Three promised, pulling on her arms, "What's her name?"

"Melinoë," Zagreus said, his visage fading, "Good luck!"

Three fell back, her hands finally free from the mirror's grasp. She stood up, staring at her returned reflection. The gun in her left hand was adorned with a stoic face, reminding her somewhat of the massive NILS Statue. The spear in her right had two prongs, twisted sharply and burning with an otherworldly heat.

"Bandana!" Three shouted, her throat opening up, "The guy in the mirror came back!"

"What-" Bandana stopped in the doorway, instantly fixating on the spear, "Did he uhhh... give you those?"

"Yeah," Three dropped the spear on the ground, "You can have that. Guess we gotta find somebody else now."

"Who?"

"Melinoë," Three said, flopping backwards onto the bed. She stared at the weapon in her hands, the name Lucifer repeating in her head. "She's the guy in the mirror's sister. I hope she isn't too far."

"Neato," Bandana picked up the spear, and spun it around in his hands, "Oh yeah, this is much better. Looking good, Gigaros."

"Gigaros?" Three asked.

"Yeah," Bandana held the spear to the sky, then placed it on his back, "I dunno, something about it screams Gigaros to me."

"Is the steak edible yet?" Three sighed, placing the gun beside her and rubbing her head, "I would kill for a Seanwich right now. Or maybe just a Schwaffle. Hell, I'm so hungry I could eat a salmonid!"

"The steak should be good," Bandana smiled, poking her with Gigaros's blunt end, "But you aren't gonna be able to eat it while slumping around here."

"Yeah, yeah," Three sat up, then looked back at the gun beside her. The angelic bust that formed its barrel stared back at her, her sanitization scar sizzling dimly. "Bandana, you think we'll ever have a quiet day around here?"

"I think the whole point is that it isn't quiet," Bandana sighed, "We're probably gonna have to find out who did this and beat them up before we can have a quiet day."

"That tracks," Three stuck the gun into the holster on her back, "At least that's something I'm good at."

Chapter Text

It must have been the way forward. Seth was sure of it, his hands tracing across the cracks between the sewn stones. Car was spinning idly beside him, humming to himself as if he were inside of a microwave. He levitated an inch off of the ground, hovering around and bouncing off of any surface he hit like a particularly hyper screensaver.

"Come on..." Seth tapped his pin against the wall, but there was nothing. He sighed, raising his head off of the cold stone. "Perhaps there's a door elsewhere... I can't imagine somebody would build a wall like this and just not expect anybody to want in."

"Maybe they want us out," Car stopped in front of Seth, his eyes rolling about in his head from all of the spinning, "The Super Structure had some places like that. Sometimes a big wall is just a big wall. Are you good at climbing?"

"Somewhat," Seth looked upwards, but the wall's true height was obscured the purple clouds above, "With my pin it should be simple enough, but I could definitely not carry you. Anyways, it may be too tall for climbing over. We'll use it as a last resort."

"Bugs are good at climbing," Car remarked, as he had lost Seth's words as quickly as he had heard them, "I once had a cockroach climb all over me. It was very fast. Pretty tasty too."

"You are such an odd-"

Seth's antennae perked up, his hand coming to his back and pulling up his shield. He readied his pin, beckoning Car to hide behind him. Car mostly did as asked, though stuck his head out to get a look at whoever had alerted his buddy.

"You're stuck here too, huh?" a crass man with a metallic helmet locked onto his head emerged from the bushes, holding up his hands. They were covered by large iron balls, but he was unthreatening in his body language. "I've been stuck at this damned wall for two days now. Try as I might, I can't find nothin' but more and more fuckin' wall."

"You been here a while?" Seth took notice of the raggedy clothes the man wore, thin as a bedsheet and covered in all sorts of awful substances, "You don't seem to be in the best shape, sir."

"I've been like that," the man chuckled, then slid one of his hands out of its iron ball gauntlet. He placed the gauntlet on his belt, and held out his dirt-crusted hand to Seth. "Name's Boggart. Though I may as well be any old blackguard to a warrior such as yourself."

"Oh, I'm no warrior," Seth shook his head, "Well, not some professional hunter or knight. Just a wanderer who knows his way around the pin and shield. The name's Seth. My small friend over here is Car."

"Hi my name is Car!" Car bumped his head against Boggart's hand. His face scrunched up a bit, his eyes shrinking in his sockets. "We need lots of bubble baths over here."

"A talking feline..." Boggart tapped the casing around his head, "And one with some attitude to boot! I'll be a misbegotten's unwashed arse!"

"I would rather you not," Seth said, "That doesn't sound very pleasant."

"It's just a figure a' speech, lad," Boggart's laugh used all of the power in his chest, and had a commanding sort of air about it, "Speakin' of, we ain't gonna get much of anywhere if we jus' keep fraternizin' like this! Where're you two headed?"

"Around the wall," Seth sighed, "We're looking for some sort of gate to get in. Have you been all the way around?"

"Almost," Boggart said, "But with my luck, I could've just looked in every place but the right one. Let's head to the right, that's uncharted territory for the lot of us."

"Yay more traveling friends!" Car did a little jump and twirl. He then sniffed the air again, scootching closer to Boggart. "You smell kind of like shrimps. Do you have any shrimps? I like shrimps a lot!"

"Not any cooked ones," Boggart gestured to a sack attached to his belt, "Guess whoever dragged us here was kind enough to let me keep some a' my prawns. I'm a fine enough cook, I'd say."

"I'm sure you are, though we must be moving," Seth insisted, "We can settle down once we know for certain whether or not the gate to this fortress actually exists."

"Sounds like as much a plan as any," Boggart walked past him, "You watch our flank, how 'bout? I'm good enough at defendin' myself, but I've got a bad case of lettin' people surprise me."

Jax had been at the gate for hours now, hiding just out of sight from the guard and setting up his own little camp. As much of a camp as his rations and a ripped blanket he found near the edge of Tartarus could be. At least his ass wasn't covered in wet grass, and his stomach was full enough to stop growling at him.

He hadn't done much, for what was there really to do? He'd go back, but really didn't want to run into Three or Bandana again. He couldn't go forward, due to the aforementioned guard. It was a monstrous creature, some sort of bug-man with a robotic shell. In his hands he held a massive rifle of some sort, though it looked like something only seen in Sci-Fi movies.

Jax wondered how the thing never got bored, just standing around and waiting for some poor loser to come by. Why had it even decided to guard this gate? It surely wasn't from here, nobody was.

As he thought about this, he saw yet another one of the aforementioned losers walk up to the guard. Some strange guy in knight armor with a simple great sword and a glowing flame in his hand. He introduced himself to the guard, claiming to be "The Chosen Undead", whatever that meant. Jax scoffed, then giggled to himself as he watched the dumbass knight get absolutely eradicated by the guard's rifle. It was over that quickly, with a single shot from the damn thing. There was no gore, only an instant disintegration of the body.

"None can stand to Taniks..." the guard clicked his mandibles together, raising his head and bellowing his shrill war-cry, "Taniks is all powerful! Taniks is immortal!"

Jax had heard this maybe three times now. If he was alone in a black room with nothing but a prerecorded video watching him, he'd even admit that it rattled him the first time. Maybe he would still be if he could see the fools who ran up to Taniks as people, but they acted so much like NPCs that he had almost deceived himself into thinking this was all just a fucked-up adventure. 

But, of course, it wasn't. Caine wouldn't appear from the clouds and start laughing to himself. Anyways, Caine wouldn't appear from the clouds Jax could see. They just weren't the right color for him.

Jax leaned back against a rock, the blanket pushed right up to its base. He used the hard yet rounded surface to crack his back, a satisfying pop echoing through the woods. Taniks had not heard, or at least had not elected to leave his position. Jax could probably light a campfire and the guard wouldn't care.

Jax twisted his ears around, catching onto the sound of footfalls and crackling leaves approaching the gate. He rolled his eyes, though elected to watch the massacre about to go down. The newest victim on the chopping block was a small puppet-like man, with a pure white face and an eternal toothy smile. Kind of like Jax's mouth, in a way.

"Why hello there [sailor]!" Spamton exclaimed, holding his tiny hand out to the monstrous cyborg, "You look like you're in the need of [consultation starting at $99.99]. Well have I got the [Crypto-Scam] for you! We're [knock knock knocking on Heaven's Door] my friend, and this gate is our first barrier to [HYPERLINK BLOCKED]. HEHEHEHEHEH!!"

Taniks stared coldly at the puppet, his rifle held at the ready. His breath came out in short, visible puffs from his mask. He then lowered the weapon, his laughter arcing through the air like bolts of lightning.

"What a strange automaton we have here!" Taniks snarled, kicking Spamton in the face. The puppet flew back, falling flat on his back a few yards away. "Not even a challenge for Taniks! He would not waste his time with small-fry!"

"B-But [my 100th customer]!" Spamton got back to his feet surprisingly quick, his face still pristine. Jax could see something off about him, or more accurately, on him. On the back of Spamton's head sat some sort of green wriggling worm, which had dug itself a small hole to take residence within. "You are the only [hound of hell] around! Why not leave your [strategic position] and enter [HYPERLINK BLOCKED] with me?"

Before Taniks could answer, a shambling figure appeared between the two. Its boxy TV head depicted a cat's face, which smiled widely as it held its hand out to Spamton.

"Taniks does not leave his position because I do not permit it so," Glitchy said, his face warping on the screen, "But you two... you are a great source of intrigue for me. The whole reason I created this world was to find the intersections between worlds, and you are one of the greatest I have seen. A force of symbiosis in the realm of Chaos is something to behold."

"Us two?" Spamton laughed, "I am but one [#1 rated salesman circa 1997]. But if you are the creator of this world... that must make you [our lord and savior]! Why, my day just keeps [going up, up, and away]! Could you lead me to [HYPERLINK BLOCKED], oh [Specil One]?"

Jax watched as Glitchy appeared before Spamton, his clawed hand resting softly on the puppet's head. The worm snuck itself fully into Spamton's head, and they all phased away in a flurry of pixels.

Jax could feel his face heating up, and his hand clench into a fist. If he just had a weapon, this could have been his chance! Now he'd have to wait for some other idiot to come by and get rid of Taniks, then he'd have to get through whatever other guards were keeping this asshole safe! Maybe if he could reach the "symbiosis" that it spoke of, but he could only see that as a last resort.

"Hello! Who are you?"

"GAH!" Jax jumped into the air, nearly falling flat on his face. He tried to punch at whatever had snuck up on him, but his arms were not nearly long enough to hit the small cat. He blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes just to make sure he was looking at it right. "What the heck are you? And don't scare me like that!"

"My name is Car!" Car vibrated happily, "Do you want to be my third friend here?"

"Thir-" Jax stopped, looking up to see Seth and Boggart looking at him. He scooted away from Car, his movements stiff and his mouth a flat line. "Hello. Who might you two be?"

"Seth," Seth bowed, placing his pin on his back.

"Boggart," Boggart replied, stretching his leg out and letting his knee pop, "What's yer name, rabbit man?"

"Jax," Jax said, then turned his head to the gate behind him, "I assume you three are here for the gate."

"Yeah!" Car slid out of the brush, only to quickly zip back to Jax's side. He tilted his head up to Seth, very poorly whispering to him. "There's a big metal guy out there. He's kinda creepy."

"Of course it wasn't gonna be easy," Boggart sighed, pushing through the brush to get a good look at Taniks. He also ducked back in before he could be seen, the eliksni now preoccupied with inspecting their weapon for any scratches. "Much more than just metal, he seems. Some kinda beast the likes of which I've ne'er seen before. How good you think yer pin'll do against a ballista like that?"

"Hmm..." Seth peeked his head out, then began to rub his forehead. He only did it to stimulate his thoughts, though to the rest it looked as though he were itching his scar. "Perhaps setting up camp would be best. Have you observed anything, Jax?"

"A few things..." Jax said, then took a quick whiff of the air. He had caught onto the pack of prawns on Boggart's belt, a speck of drool falling from his mouth. "If you're willing to cook up anything, I'd be willing to spill what I know."

"Jus' need a fire, then!" Boggart laughed, "I'll be the cook, how 'bout you lot get a fire set up?"

"I can do it fine myself," Seth said, taking HUX's torn claw off of his back. It was unwieldy, but worked amazingly for cutting through branches. He gestured to Car, then pointed down at the leaves. "Clean out a circle like we had last time. I'll be back soon."

"You're fine just leaving?" Jax asked, "You're just going to trust me to get along with your buddies without you around?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Seth shrugged, already on his way to find some perfect firewood, "You have not tried to kill us yet, and we seem to have a goal in common."

"Yer a very unthreatening fellow," Boggart added, chuckling to himself, "No offense to you, of course, but there's only so much a purple rabbit could intimidate a man. Anyways, I couldn't be intimidated by nothin' anymore. Got another of my kin to thank for that."

"Ooh is it story time?" Car asked, nudging leaves out of the way with his feet, "I love hearing stories!"

"It's a bit gross," Boggart's tone was cool, but Jax could see his grip tighten a bit, "It's not the type of story a kid like ye should be listenin' to. You got any good stories, rabbit man?"

"Jax," Jax reminded him, then cleared his throat. A wide smile came across his face, his yellow teeth nearly shining in what little sunlight broke through the canopy. "Well,  I could tell you both about some of the things I've been up to. Would you like to hear about the gunfight, or the time I singlehandedly fought off an angel?"

"An angel, eh?" Boggart scratched his chin, "Sure, why not."

"Yay!" Car smiled, completely forgetting about his task and sitting on Jax's blanket.

"Okay then," Jax had to stop himself from giggling like a madman, "It all started on a dark night, at a dead and haunted manor..."

Chapter Text

Bandana had quickly grown to love Gigaros as his new spear, spinning it around every chance he could just to look cool. The sleek prongs of the bident made him feel so regal as he held it in his hands, and the hellish warmth it emitted helped wonderfully with the creeping wind.

Three hadn't even tried Lucifer out, the silently screaming face putting her off completely. Her Hero Shot worked as it always did, though she had to tap deeper into her own ink reserves to get anything done. She'd been using it sporadically, either shooting at a tree to climb up it or shooting wildly around her when she thought she heard a noise.

"You know," Bandana wiped some ink off of his face, "Even if somebody was there, I don't know if that would be very effective."

"You ever gotten ink in your eyes?" Three asked. She holstered her Hero Shot on her waist, then lightly kicked at the lime-tinted leaves. "I think it would be the perfect distraction. Anyways, wouldn't want to accidentally shoot somebody who's just as confused and lost as we are. And I mean, look at this!"

She held out Lucifer, shoving the gun in Bandana's face. He nodded rapidly, already well aware of the weapon's strange barrel. Whenever Three held it in her hands it would glow lightly, as though it were primed to explode.

"It's just a marble face!" Three stared straight down the barrel, then shoved it back into its holster, "Not as weird as that Chronos guy, but pretty cod damn weird! What does it even shoot? That Zagreus guy looked kind of like humans, but there's no way this thing shoots bullets... It doesn't even have a proper barrel!"

"Yeah," Bandana had already gotten lost in spinning Gigaros again.

They had not made their way towards the wall. They had continued along the outer circle, as Chaos was segmented into circles. These circles, of course, segmented into their own segments but not into their own circles. Glitchy had attempted to make absolutely everything circles, as it believed that circles were the best shape. Instead it had to deal in few circles and many segments. It at least made sure the segmentosity of the circles was properly mind-bending.

That is all to say, Bandana and Three were going the wrong way. They had passed through all of Tartarus, not a sign of Melinoë to be found. They had made footfall in a once bustling city, just as empty as the rest in Chaos but much less dilapidated. It looked as though it had just been lived in yesterday, and every person had vanished the second Bandana and Three came through.

Three tried to read the signs, but she couldn't decide on which ones to focus on. There were too many road signs, advertisements, and crude graffiti displays for one mind to take in at once. Her eyes were dragged upward, her gaze now on a singular, massive arch.

This red arch greeted them both as they stepped into the main district. Though all the lights down the street were still operational, this arch shone brighter than them all.

"Reminds me of Inkopolis," Three remarked, walking under the arch and into the city, "Though ten times more packed. I can't imagine anybody living here."

"Packed, yeah..." Bandana followed after her, constantly turning his head from side to side. The second he had stepped past the arch, he could feel countless eyes on his back. "Hey... Three?"

"Hmm?" Three was still fixated on the signs, "See anything?"

"N-No," Bandana held Gigaros in front of him, "That's what I'm worried about."

"It's fine," Three stopped in the middle of the street, her gaze carried up to the heavens, "Oh my..."

"What Is it-" Bandana nearly gasped, the eyes on his back disappearing for just a moment.

Ahead of them was a small plaza, and in the center sat a massive tower. It disappeared through the clouds, yet its grandiosity made it seem as though it touched the outermost reaches of space. A huge sign was lit in front of it, the remaining mark of its world in the ever-shifting Chaos.

WELCOME TO THE MILLENNIUM TOWER.

They stepped through the sliding doors and into the lobby, and Bandana could feel the piercing gaze of the eyes again. He waved Gigaros all around, but its warm glow illuminated nothing for him to see. Three rolled her eyes, her footsteps echoing as she made her way across the empty floor.

"This place is monstrous," she said, staring directly upward. There were a few flights of escalators before the floor completely blocked them off, though she could see to her side that there were many elevators that could probably take them higher. "Wanna see if there's anything at the top?"

"Why would you even ask that?" Bandana shivered, putting his back to hers, "This place gives me the creeps."

"I dunno," Three shrugged, "It's kind of... magical, really. Were humans able to make stuff like this when they were alive? Must've been made by them, I can't think of any other species that uses this much glass in towers this tall."

"You think if it shattered the whole place would fall?" Bandana asked.

"Nah," Three took his concern and threw it towards the elevators, "Come on, man! This is the kind of thing they put in Turn-Based games, you know? The giant tower with a big reward at the top!"

"What about the part where it's guarded by a huge monster?!" Bandana was feeling worse with every second that passed in the lobby, "Three, we can't play around here. There's something watching us, I just know it!"

"Weren't you a royal guard or something?" Three groaned, "You're sounding a lot like a royal chicken right now!"

"I was a royal guard!" Bandana turned to her, his face red, "But I sure as heck wasn't the royal fool! That would probably be Escargoon!""

"You little-" Three grabbed Bandana by the head, but paused before she picked him up, "Wait, the guy's name was Escargoon?"

"Uhh," Bandana lowered Gigaros, "Y-Yeah. He was Dedede's advisor. Very much like a jester, though."

"Well, at least we got that in common," Three smirked, then patted him on the head. She moved over to the elevators, and held her finger over the up button, "Now come on, trust me for a second here. It'll be fun!"

"Wait," Bandana walked to her side and pointed Gigaros at her, "What do we have in common?"

"We know people with really stupid names," she pressed the button, the elevator to their right lighting up in an instant. She then grabbed Bandana, flinging him into the elevator and running in after. "Now let's go! Time's a wasting!"

What Three had forgot, though, was that elevator rides took a bit. It felt even longer, once she had pressed on a highest button she could. It didn't even display a number, just a series of question marks.

They just stood there for minutes on end, the only sound between them the low hum of Gigaros on Bandana's back. Three leaned against the wall as he sat down, the two of them staring endlessly at the rising number on the black screen.

"So..." Bandana said after what felt like forever, "Did you just condemn us to an infinite elevator?"

"Shut," Three glared down at him, her sanitization scar now glowing dimly in the darkness. It gave her this menacing air, which was swiftly blown away by the exhaustion that weighed her down. "Look, It'll be fun any second now. I promise."

"Sure," Bandana stretched, "So uhm... did you have anything like this in your world?"

"We had towers, but none like this," Three shook her head, "The humans definitely didn't leave anything like this behind. Then again, all they did leave behind was a gooey pile of junk and a bear with genocidal tendencies."

"Fun," Bandana sighed, "I fought an alien god once, you know."

"What."

"Well, I dunno if it was a god," he explained, "Anyways, I was being helped by Kirby. By that I mean they did most of the work. No way I could have taken that thing down myself."

"At least you survived," Three sat down next to him. Her scar glowed a little brighter, a sharp spike seeping through her skull. "Agh... and it makes for a much better story than my exploits."

"If you don't mind-" Bandana was shocked by the way Three turned to him, already knowing what he was about to ask. It looked as though her scar had gained a life of its own, its pulsing causing her tentacles to shine. "Wh-Where did you get that scar?"

"From the pile of junk," she held her hand over the scar, "An old human AI with a real bad fever. All fun and games until he starts spreading it around. I can't even imagine what would have happened if Eight didn't save me."

"Eight?"

"A friend," Three shrugged, "A colleague, more like. Poor girl was practically just born and she had to deal with that monster while I was busy getting brainwashed. And then there was the whole spire incident..."

"I'm sure she thinks you're strong too!" Bandana placed his hand on her shoulder, "Cause, I mean, you are."

"Don't flatter me," Three turned away from him, "Most I've done so far is catch you off-guard and bully a purple rabbit."

"Well," Bandana said, "You seem experienced despite that. If there is some sort of monster at the top of this tower, I'm sure we can beat it. You still owe me, though."

"Owe you what, exactly?" she asked.

"I dunno!" he laughed, "Anything that'll make up for getting stuck in the endless elevator!"

*DING!*

The elevator doors slid open, revealing the top floor to be even darker than the elevator. Bandana scrambled up and held Gigaros in front of him, slowly stepping out and into the hallway. Three followed, and could feel Lucifer burning against her back. She pulled it out of its holster, and saw its mouth now glow a flaming orange. Pointing it down the hall, it shone a thick beam of light that pierced through the darkness. She kept her hand near the trigger, but kept her fingers off of it for the moment. She had no clue what this thing could do, and testing it at the top of this colossal building wasn't how she wanted to learn. If this even was the top floor.

Bandana was close, pointing Gigaros behind them as she held Lucifer ahead. They passed by numerous featureless doors, each one decorated with long claw-marks that ran through their heads.

"We may just have something up-" Three quieted down, but all she could hear was the low buzz of Lucifer in her hands, "Oh... this is gonna be good."

"No it won't!" Bandana whisper-yelled, "I promise you, there is nothing good about-"

"Hello?"

"AH!!!" Bandana screamed, thrusting Gigaros ahead. Three grabbed him by the face and placed her hand over where his mouth should have been.

"SHH!!!" Three shushed him, though with the echo it was just as loud as his scream. They went silent, footsteps fast approaching. She sighed, holding Lucifer ahead of her. "Okay... Whoever is there, just know that we are armed!"

"Hello? Is somebody there?"

"Uhh..." Three looked down at Bandana, but he was shaking too hard to process anything, "Yeah. We're here! Are you going to kill us, or something?"

"Wait... that sounds like..."

"Sounds like who?" Three waved Lucifer around, "Hello?!"

"Susie! Is that you?"

"Nope!" Three was trying to find the voice, but she just couldn't place it, "I'm Three, and my buddy here goes by Bandana!"

"Oh! Well, it is always nice to have more allies. Where are you right now?"

"What do you-" Three shook her head, "The top floor! I think! We kind of pressed the question mark button!"

"Okay! That's not great, but you should be able to get back to the elevators quickly enough. Come meet me on floor eighty-eight, I'm waiting down here with a friend! He knows a little bit about the monsters upstairs!"

"Upstairs!?" Bandana shrieked, "L-Like the upstairs we're at right now?!"

"Yes! You should probably move quickly."

Bandana booked it back for the elevator, with Three following as fast as she could behind him. She soon overtook him, only to grab him like a football and run even faster. They could both feel the eyes on their backs now, and a lurching as the shadows crept closer to their hearts.

Three stopped in front of the elevator, her eyes wide as she saw a figure standing in front of it. He was made of Darkness, his only visible features being his single yellow eye and the gleaming knife in his hand. Three pointed Lucifer at him, but her hands were shaking.

"A-Are you human?" she asked.

"Nyeh-heh-heh!" the beast laughed, his body outlined with a purple glow. She could now clearly see the eyepatch that covered his other eye, and the heart-shaped hole in his chest. "NYEHEHEH!!"

Three doppelgängers of the creature appeared behind him, each one glowing the same purple yet missing the hole in their hearts. Three glanced to her side, seeing another elevator across from the one they had come up in.

"Ok Bandana," she said, dashing towards the elevator with him in tow, "Hold on tight!"

"Wha-" Bandana's eyes widened, "No no no wait!"

Three shot Lucifer at the elevator, a beam of superheated light blasting from its face and searing a huge hole through the doors. One of the doppelgängers leapt at her, but she slid through the hole before it could grab her. All the two could hear as they fell down the endless shaft was the laughter of the heartless creature, echoing around them as though they were trapped inside of his head.

Chapter Text

"Somebody's been here," Corbeau knelt down, grabbing one of the ink-covered leaves and rubbing it between his fingers. He could see the next border just ahead, the grand red arch glistening in the distance. He hopped back onto Scolipede, Hol Horse sitting right behind him. "They most likely went that way. Let's move."

"Quick question, boss," Hol raised his hand, only to grab tightly onto his hair as their steed sped into a mad sprint toward the city. He raised his voice, loud enough to break through the rushing wind. "Why exactly are we following this lot?"

"It's simple, Hol," Corbeau explained, still inspecting the leaf in his hands, "There must be some sort of malamar behind this all, and how else to find one but following the trail of neon ink?"

"I still don't know what a malamar is, sir!" Hol shouted.

Corbeau didn't listen to him, now guiding Scolipede through the trees and into the city. They rushed past the grand red arch, only to stop in the middle of the street. Hol was nearly launched off of Scolipede's back. He slid down, and stumbled to the side with his head spinning.

"Interesting..." Corbeau patted Scolipede on the side, then looked all around, "This city is much better preserved than anything else here. We must be close to the illusion's source."

"Reminds me of Japan," Hol's eyes caught onto the Millennium Tower, then to the numerous coin lockers lined up beside it, "Yeah, definitely Japan. Dunno if it's from my world, though."

"It's all fake nonetheless," Corbeau sighed, placing his hand on his face.

"Scolilili!" Scolipede cried, pointing its sword-like horns to the Millennium Tower's entrance. It galloped over, wagging its head around wildly. "Scolipede!"

"Seems like they went in there," Corbeau pocketed the ink-covered leaf, and forcefully grabbed Hol Horse by his arm, "So, Hol. You see a building this grand in Japan?"

"Not at all," Hol shook his head, then moved towards the center of the lobby. He could hear his voice bounce off the walls, a small smile growing on his face. "This place is massive!"

"Oh geez, this place is getting crowded!"

"WHAT THE-" Hol jumped back, his hands held up by his face. His eyes spun around, but there was nobody else in the lobby. "Boss, did you hear that?!"

"I did," Corbeau rubbed his chin, "Must be some sort of ghost type..."

"Oh, I'm not a ghost!"

An apparition formed in front of Corbeau, first appearing as a shadowy fog. Scolipede growled, but calmed down as the fog blew away. The magical figure was a small creature in a bright green robe, with a similarly green hat that obscured his face. He waved a white paw, and the sounds of his shuffling feet sounded like the hooves of a skiddo.

"Hello!" the apparition smiled, "I'm Ralsei! Who are you two?"

"My name is Corbeau," Corbeau readjusted his glasses, "My friend beside me is Scolipede, and the guy in the cowboy outfit is Hol Horse."

"H-Hey," Hol stared at Ralsei, then came forward and tried to tap him on the head. Instead his hand went straight through, his eyes widening. "What the-! It's an illusion!"

"It's more of a projection," Ralsei explained, "If you guys want to find me, I'm waiting on the eighty-eighth floor. Just take the elevators and you should be up here right quick!"

"Wait a second," Corbeau said, then pulled the ink-covered leaf out of his pocket, "We're here looking for a squid with ink of a lime green. I believe it may be a malamar, the creature that is creating this grand illusion."

"Uhh..." Ralsei gave Hol Horse a look. Hol shrugged. "There's nothing called a malamar here, but there's a squid lady named Three who I think has lime ink. She's on her way back down, I think. She kind of jumped down an elevator shaft."

"Excuse me?" Hol asked.

"She had to get away from the Heartless up there!" Ralsei sighed, "Just get to the eighty-eighth floor, I have a friend with me who can explain it better than me. Three and her friend should be on their way here too... Hopefully!"

"Oh dear lords dear lords please I swear let me live I'll give you back the super cool spear please!!"

"We're not going to-" Three kicked upward, knocking one of the doppelgängers back. They had been falling for minutes on end, the only significant light in the elevator shaft coming whenever Three shot Lucifer at their pursuers. They were running down the shaft, their constant laughing echoing downward. "These guys are relentless!"

"Oh please, please!" Bandana was holding Gigaros above him, waving wildly but not nearly hitting anything, "I can't die on an empty stomach!"

"NYEHEHEHE!" the original shadowy figure descended upon them, his single eye piercing through the dark. Three shot a laser blast at him, but it was perfectly deflected by the blade of his knife. "NYEEEEEHAAA!!"

"Can you do anything but scream like that!?" Three whacked the shadowy man in the face with the butt of the infernal weapon. He fell back for just a second, just to leap off of the wall and try to stab them. Three grabbed Bandana and did a small twirl, the strike missing by such a small margin that Bandana could almost feel the metal on his skin. "When are we gonna get to floor eighty-eight!?"

"How am I supposed to- EEP!" Bandana knocked a doppelgänger back with Gigaros, stabbing it right through the chest. It burst into smoke, only for another doppelgänger to form in its place. "Please say it's soon!"

"Oh geez, are you still falling? How many floors does this place have?"

"YOU TELL ME-" Three smacked the shadow back again, then shot it through the face with a laser. It was blasted back, but there was no sign of even the smallest burns. Maybe it was just hard to see on a pitch-black body. "Where the heck are you!?"

"Uhh..." an apparition of Ralsei appeared below Bandana and Three, laying comfortably on the air as they fell, "You should... wait, you're close! The Heartless shouldn't be able to follow you once we pick you up! Just hold out a bit longer!"

"Whatever you say, goat-dude," Three bashed a doppelgänger's head in, then turned downward, "Okay Dee, let's see if they can catch us!"

Three propelled Bandana downward, then held her arms close to become more aerodynamic. She could hear the shrieking laughter of the shadows behind her, but was unwavering as the air pushed against her.

"Ki-" lightning began to crackle around the Heartless, his body spinning as he plummeted towards them, "KIRYU-CHAN!!"

A burst of light burst through one of the closed elevator doors, and completely enveloped Three and Bandana. Majima flew by, only to get sliced in half by a large blade. His doppelgängers disintegrated, and the halves of his body lay stuck to the walls of the shaft. The blade retreated back through the door, a new door closing behind it and locking Majima out. His two halves reconnected in the middle of the shaft, and his body was dragged upward as though gravity had flipped its effects on him.

Three and Bandana both landed on a large couch in a lavish break room. Right outside of the glass walls was an entire floor of cubicles and rows of desks that the corporate drones once toiled away at. Bandana let out the deepest sigh of his life, and dropped Gigaros to the floor before resting his head on the couch cushion. Three looked around, quite a few faces now looking at her.

There was the goat guy from before, as well as a tall human man with silvery spiked hair and a massive yet blunt sword on his back. The handle looked a bit odd too, but Three couldn't quite place it. There was another human, about the same size as the other, who wore a complete cowboy outfit. He was staring at Bandana, trying to get a grasp on exactly what he was. A final human, this one shorter than the other two, wore an outfit that looked like some kind of liquid was dripping out of his suit. It was actually fresh as shell, though Three was more focussed on the giant insect that the man laid against.

"Wha-" Three coughed, then pointed at Ralsei, "You. Explain. Now."

"Uhm, okay!" Ralsei nodded, tipping his wide wizard's hat, "I'm Ralsei, Darkner Prince and a powerful mage. Okay, not very powerful. I can heal people, at least. Oh, and I can find out people's names just by looking at them!"

"Huh?" Three cocked her head to the side, "You just like... know people's- who the heck are these other people!?"

"I'm Riku," the silver-haired man with the blade said, "I'm the friend Ralsei told you about. These guys came in right after you two."

"She would have green ink..." Corbeau whispered to himself, shaking his head, "Guess this is another false lead..."

"What's up with him?" Three asked.

"He's Corbeau!" Ralsei introduced him, "And his big bug friend is Scolipede! They're looking for something called a malamar, because they think it's creating an illusion or something."

"It created all of you," Corbeau said, "I'll admit, it's quite creative."

"He's kind of loopy," Hol Horse sighed, then waved, "But he's my boss for now. My name's Hol. Hol Horse."

"Huh?" Corbeau looked up, "What was that?"

"N-Nothin', boss!" Hol sat up straight.

"Cool..." Three looked back at Ralsei, "So uhh... what the shell was the thing that attacked us?"

"A Heartless," Riku stared out the window. The eighty-eighth floor was in the perfect spot, right before all of the land was obscured by clouds but high enough to see over the grand wall. "The Darkness took the Heart of a man who used to live here. Ralsei says his name is Majima."

"I heard him say something back there," Three said, "I think it was Kiryu-chan, or something?"

"I heard him say the same," Riku shook his head, "Must have been a friend of his. Or a lover. It's hard to tell."

"Okay..." Three nodded, "And what exactly is a Heartless?"

"Heartless are the result of The Darkness," Riku explained, "A creature that is formed when a being loses their Heart to Darkness, whether by being consumed by Darkness or of their own volition. It doesn't appear that Majima has a Nobody around here, but that's a whole other can of worms. The Heartless here may work differently than the ones from my universe, anyways."

Riku pointed out of the window, his gaze on another tower in the distance. This tower reached into the clouds as well, raising higher and higher until it touched eternity.

"The Heartless in this tower originate from that other tower, beyond that massive wall," Riku said, "Ralsei and I were going to start our trek to that wall, but you two happened to  come in on our last day of staying."

"How do you know that?" Hol asked, leaning forward a bit, "Looks like a normal huge tower to me. Actually, looks more like a spire."

"That's what I was thinking!" Ralsei nodded, "Very big spire vibes from that."

"Tower, spire, no matter," Riku placed his palm on the window, "Look, I can't explain how I know but... The Darkness is there."

"So we get to the top of that tower, beat up whatever is creating The Darkness, and this tower goes back to normal too?" Three groaned, leaning back against the couch, "First the lost sister, and now this? By the Zapfish's whiskers..."

"Lost sister?" Corbeau asked.

"Some girl named Melinoë," Three sighed, "Has a brother named Zagreus who is like... trapped in a mirror or something? He gave us our super cool god weapons. Didn't do any good against the Majima Heartless guy, though."

"Yeah, we haven't met her," Hol shook his head.

"We haven't either," Ralsei frowned, "But I'm sure we can work together to find her! She may be past the wall anyways, it'll be a good place to look."

"Let us-" Bandana breathed, "Get some rest... we can talk 'bout the walk in the morning..."

"Good plan!" Ralsei waddled over to a light switch and flicked it off, "You two can stay on that couch, there's plenty of furniture to go around. Goodnight!"

"Good-" Three yawned, the clutches of sleep already grasping her, "Goodnight... fluffy dude..."

Chapter Text

Corbeau had woken up before anybody else. Riku had promised to keep watch all night, but he had curled up in his own position by the time Corbeau got up. He didn't know why he had such trouble sleeping, other than that he felt uneasy. A very real unease, and different from the kind he believed any psychic-type could inflict. He gripped his chest, his fingers running across the silver surface of his Rust Syndicate pin. He looked out the window, at the parallel tower that Riku had spoken of with such certainty. It was all speculation, honestly, but Corbeau began to fret. Everything here was speculation, in his eyes. So wouldn't it stand to reason that his own thoughts were just as delicate? In the slightest breeze, they could be flung around and sent far away.

In the dark of the night, he caught onto something. It sat outside the window, its glowing eyes staring back at him. He didn't know what it was, but he felt a connection to it. It must have been a Pokémon. He couldn't be certain anymore, but his gut told him it was so.

He was beckoned by the Pokémon, but not with psychic abilities. Just with their innate connection, his eyes now glowing to match its own. He snuck away from the others, his legs carrying him into the elevator and his head falling against the Lobby button.

Corbeau was in the lobby in seconds, at least thats what his waning mind told him. He seemingly zipped to the doors, his hand now pressed against the glass. Darkness welled outside, creeping up the outside walls of the building. Inspecting the sliding doors, tendrils of Darkness had trapped them in. No matter how much Riku may want to break out in the morning, they would need to face the threat head-on.

But Corbeau would not join them.

He could see the glowing eyes, flashing a vivid pink as if to show its harmlessness. He paused, his hand coming up to his face. He gripped his brain, his entire body shaking. He knew not what this Pokémon's name was, but he knew exactly what it meant to do with him.

"D-Don't," he tried to sound commanding, but his words came out as a plea, "I-I should head back to Scolipede. Let me g-go!"

Another glow. This time beside the Pokémon, the shimmer of two slitted eyes. Corbeau could hear the shadowy figure through the door, the shine of their green eyes washing away the comfort of the Pokémon's pink glow.

"There is so much here," the figure said, then raised their hand to their face. They sniffed something, though Corbeau could not see it. It was a long inhale, drawn out and echoing through Corbeau's skull. "So much chaos, it's hard to find any sense of order. The closest we may get is this sort of hivemind, what the shadows and this beast have found for themselves."

"Th-They're called Heartless," Corbeau was compelled to speak to the figure. Partially out of concern; they needed to get away from this tower. Yet also, because he felt he was forced to. His mouth gripped by chains, forced to open and close at the Pokémon's whim. "And that b-beast. It's called a Pokémon. I don't- I don't know its name. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the figure took another sniff, "In fact, the only knowledge I have of this Pokémon is its name. Pecharunt, it is called. Quite a strange creature, wouldn't you say?"

"Mmmm..." Pecharunt screeched, the chains that hung off of it glowing through the Darkness, "Mochiiii..."

"Mochi-" Corbeau could feel his arms raise, an invisible hand gripped around his neck. He looked to the snakelike eyes, his voice shaking. "You need to get away from this thing! Y-You need to get help!"

"No," the figure closed their eyes, the faint image of their arms now raising as though soaking in the rain, "You see, I am immune to its charms. I'm safe from these Heartless too, though I think it is for a different reason. I am too intelligent to be wiled by Pecharunt, and too sure of my own heart to be beckoned by the Heartless."

"Th-Then help me!" Corbeau's mouth twisted into a smile, his hands now raised above his head, "M-M-Mo- Stop this thing, please!"

"You must not be that old," the figure leaned closer, an outline of his face forming. He truly was snakelike, his face thin and his expression that of a viper that has just caught its prey. "You must be a young adult, at the oldest. Lower to mid twenties, if I had to guess. What's a kid like you doing in a Captain's attire?"

"I r-run-" Corbeau shivered, his eyes closed. He felt like a doll held in the hands of a child, his arms and legs being played around with while all he could do is sit still. "I run the Rust Syndicate. I g-got the position after gaining the respect of a man named Phillipe. M-My Scolipede leads alongside me."

"It's unfortunate, really," the figure leaned back, taking yet another sniff, "That I find myself faced with another piece of scum from the yakuza. But at least you know how to tell the truth. I can tell when someone is lying, you know."

"P-Pecharunt is control-" Corbeau's mouth warped, his teeth digging into his lips, "M-Mochi-!"

"I know that," the figure shook his head, "That's why I've kept it around."

"Wh-What!?" Corbeau's heart froze.

"Don't worry," the figure reached his hand through the wall of Darkness, and dragged Corbeau outside. They were now in front of the Millennium Tower, and Corbeau could see the man's face perfectly. As well as the cloth that he continued to sniff occasionally. The man gripped the chain around Corbeau's neck, a sickening smile growing across his face. "You aren't the first, and you won't be the last. But I take good care of those under me, because that is what is needed to maintain order in this land."

He slipped a hand into his pocket, then spun out a knife. He placed the blade to Corbeau's cheek, then tugged a little harder on the chain. At the touch of the cold steel, Corbeau was certain now of his horrible reality.

Steel and Poison cannot be poisoned. He tried to reason. He tried to beg to his old world. But Pecharunt had poisoned him, his body now completely under the snakelike man and its control. Scolipede, I'm so sorry.

"Oh, where are my manners?" the man slid the knife back into his pocket, then stepped back and bowed to Corbeau. He lifted his head up at the bottom of the bow, his slitted pupils surging with venom. "I never introduced myself."

"Mochi..." Pecharunt cried, lifting Corbeau's hands above his head yet again, "Moooochi!!"

"M-Moch-" Corbeau's eyes stung with tears, "You're a m-monster!"

"No, no," the man tutted, "That's not my name at all! My name is Kazuki Soma, and you belong to me now."

"Scoliiii! Scolipede!!"

The entire party had split up across the floor, searching frantically for any trail of Corbeau. Bandana and Hol sat back in the saferoom, watching vigilantly for Corbeau or any Heartless that managed to get below floor 89. Riku was following Scolipede as it thrashed through the halls, its cries growing louder with each second away from its friend. Three and Ralsei had decided to go lower, all the way down to the lobby to see if he had left them behind. What they found was much worse.

"Darn it!" Ralsei exclaimed, pressing his paws against the shadowy glass, "The Heartless have us locked in!"

"Least that means Corbeau can't have gotten out..." Three's eyes were darting around, but she knew he wouldn't be around. Both her and Scolipede couldn't find a single trace of him, despite her hunting skills and Scolipede's bond with him. "You think the Heartless-"

"Just a second," Ralsei closed his eyes and put his hands together in prayer. He nodded, his mind messaged eighty-seven floors above. "Riku, the Heartless have us trapped in the tower! They've blocked off all of the exits, and I don't know if we can break through. Mh-hm. Oh... okay."

"What's he saying?" Three poked Ralsei on the shoulder.

"He says that we may need to get to the top," Ralsei sighed.

"You mean the dark hallway of knives and doom?" Lucifer shook on Three's back, "You've gotta be squiddin' me."

"Speaking of knives..." Ralsei paused for a moment, then wiped the thought away, "I mean, we may need to take down Majima's Heartless. Riku says that Heartless naturally flock to the most powerful Heartless among them. A Boss Heartless, if you will. If we defeat Majima, and hopefully free him from the Darkness, the shadows around the tower should go away."

"You're really good at talkin' 'bout stuff," Three commented, ruffling his hat a little, "You'd make a good agent, you know."

"Agent?" Ralsei shook his head, "I couldn't possibly be an agent! I'm not very strong at all."

"Agents don't need to be strong," Three smiled, "It's always good to have a guy or gal who's great at observin' stuff and interpreting it. Cod knows I need one of those in the Splatoon..."

"Well, I don't know if I could anyways," Ralsei chuckled awkwardly, "I have my own world, you know. Got some friends to get back to."

"Oh, yeah," Three stepped a bit away, looking in the opposite direction, "Forget I mentioned it."

Ralsei gave her a warm smile, but she couldn't see it. She made her way back to the elevators, completely silent as she waited for Ralsei to catch up. They shuffled in, and she had the honor of pressing the big 88 button. The entire time they were being pulled up, she kept an eye on the elongated button labeled only with three question marks. She could just barely hear the laughter in her head. It was such a powerful laugh, yet she wondered if Majima really enjoyed what he was doing. Maybe he did, when he was a normal person. As a Heartless, maybe it was just a memory he replayed to keep even a loose grip on his mind. She knew the feeling.

"So..." Hol Horse leaned against his seat, "Boss is just... gone?"

"Pede..."

"I'm sure he's not gone!" Ralsei patted Scolipede on the side, but his smile wavered, "Worst case scenario, the Heartless got him. B-But! We're going to go stop the Heartless right now, so if they have him he'll be back and safe before you know it!"

"Now?" Bandana blinked, "W-Wait, are we going back to the top floor?"

"Yup," Three sighed, "We're locked in this damn tower by the Heartless, so we gotta beat up that Majima guy to get them to let us loose. Sound good?"

"No!" Hol shook his head, "I don't wanna tango with any-"

He stopped, Scolipede's shadow now looming over him. He chuckled and bit his tongue, then nodded his head softly.

"Yeah," Hol said, Scolipede's low growl in his ears, "Sounds like a plan."

"Good," Riku grabbed his blade off of his back, swinging it in the air a bit. He then stashed it on his back, his posture cold but his expression warm. "And don't worry. It's six against one."

"Four, actually," Three grimaced, "Guy can make doppelgängers of himself. I'm pretty sure he made three when he rushed Bandana and I, but he could make more. Plus any small-fry Heartless we run into."

"Well," Riku sighed, "I'm good at dealing with crowds. How 'bout you?"

"Scoli," Scolipede huffed, stomping on the carpeted floor, "Scolili!"

"I can deal with crowds," Three nodded, then pulled Lucifer off of her back, "This thing seems good at it too. Just don't try to stand near me when it fires off."

"Well," Bandana sat up, "Gigaros has got a pretty wide sweep... guess it'll work."

"I'll just take potshots at the big guy," Hol offered, "I know none of you can see Emperor, but you'll see the results. For the boss!"

"For Corbeau!" Ralsei raised his hand to Hol's, "Let's get going, we don't want to keep him waiting!"

They couldn't all stuff into a single elevator, so they split into groups of two and four respectively. Scolipede and Ralsei in one elevator, the rest in the other. There were no issues going upward, though Three's glowing scar was more prominent than ever in the dark elevator. Riku was fixated on it, but said nothing concerning it. Nobody said anything at all. Some thought there was nothing of note to be said, others were afraid of being heard.

*DING! DING!*

Majima was frozen in the hallway, his constant laughter ringing out of the hole where his heart once was. Only his single yellow eye could be seen, until he unsheathed his knife. A purple flame rose up around him, and the glow of his doppelgängers shone his silhouette brighter.

"You been waiting for us?" Riku asked, drawing his keyblade, "It must get lonely, only talking to yourself! I know the feeling!"

"Nyehehehe..." Majima crouched down, as though ready to pounce.

"Looks like he wants a fight!" Hol spun his hand, Emperor forming in his palm.

"We can save him," Ralsei's body let off a soothing green glow, "I'm sure we can!"

"Scolipede!" Scolipede's horns shimmered through the darkness.

"Well then," Three raised her gun, "You ready to take this guy, Bandana?"

"Ready as you are," Bandana Dee smiled, the beat of Gigaros's heart pulsing through him, "Come at us, Majima!"

"Kir..." Majima smiled wide. He leapt towards them like a rabid dog, his doppelgängers flying after him. His knife crashed down upon Gigaros, his wild eye shaking as he laughed in Bandana's face. "KIRYU-CHAAAAAAAN!"

GORO MAJIMA

Heartless Patriarch of the Majima Family

Chapter Text

Majima's slash was deflected by Bandana, sending the Heartless into the wall. He kicked off, tackling Bandana and carrying him to the opposite wall. His doppelgängers slid into the rest of the group, their bodies moving in sync. Bandana whacked Majima's face with Gigaros's handle, causing him to stumble back.

Three raised Lucifer, a loud screech escaping its barrel as a burst of light shot towards the doppelgängers. They shifted out of the way, rushing closer before each being hit by an invisible bullet to the face. Hol smiled, spinning Emperor between his hands.

"We have more company!" Riku turned around, his keyblade slicing a Shadow in half. Scolipede barreled past him, running into the encroaching hoard of Heartless. Its horns glowed with poison and its cries shook the halls as it stampeded over the Shadows. Riku slashed through the stragglers, only to see more seeping through a crack in the ceiling. "We'll take care of them!"

"Got it, Boss!" Hol Horse shot Emperor behind him twice, then sent the bullets flying forward. They spiraled until they pierced through one of the doppelgängers, its head cracking like a porcelain vase. "Hell yea, I still got it!"

Three was kicked back to Hol's side, where she charged another blast from Lucifer. She wielded the legendary weapon with one hand, the other holding her Hero Shot. She used her ink to paint the wall, then squid-rolled into it and emerged beside Majima with the barrel alight. Majima ducked under the laser, then kicked her back with his steel-toed shoe. He then blocked a hit from Gigaros, his relatively tiny knife holding off all of Bandana's strength.

"NYEHEHE!" Majima howled, his body sparking with electricity. He leapt into the air, a rain of knives crashing upon Three and Bandana. "GYAHAHAHA!"

"Agh-!" Ralsei slid in front of the two, holding out his hands and forming a weak green shield. It stopped the electrified knives, but quickly fell to their might. Three grabbed him and rolled out of the way, while Bandana spun Gigaros to deflect the remaining knives. Ralsei breathed heavily and adjusted his hat a little. "S-Sorry, I'm not very good at anything but healing."

"That's fine-!" Three blasted one of the doppelgängers in its face, "Cod, these things are relentless!"

"If you weaken Majima I may be able to Pacify him," Ralsei explained, then grabbed his scarf. He smacked a Shadow with it, the cloth cracking like a whip. "I'll help with the small guys for now!"

"Geez," Three blocked another hit from a doppelgänger, which was blasted away from her by another one of Hol's bullets. She gave him a thumbs-up, then blasted another laser at the main Majima.

Majima spun back, landing on his hands and feet on the ground. He flipped his knife into his mouth, then ran on all fours towards Bandana. He cackled through his knife, his teeth just as sharp as the blade. He pounced towards Bandana, but was met with the tip of Gigaros to his chest. His body shifted, the spear now clean through the hole where his heart once was. He fell upon Bandana, and spit his knife into the waddle dee's face.

"GAH!" Bandana fell back, a deep wound between his eyes. He was blinded by his own blood, and began waving Gigaros around wildly. Majima kicked him away, his body barely able to stay up as he stumbled across the floor.

"Bandana!" Three tried to run back to help, but was caught by Majima's mouth. He had bit down on her leg, his mouth foaming like a rabid dog. Three inhaled sharply, then bashed his head in with the butt of Lucifer. "Ugh..."

"Hey cyclops!" Hol shouted, grabbing Majima's attention. He made a show to toss Emperor into the air, despite the fact that nobody else could see it. He then gripped on the trigger, his target locked. "Pick on someone your own size!"

A barrage of bullets blasted out of Hol's Stand, all headed straight for Majima. Majima weaved between a few, only for them to swing back and try to hit him in the back. He flipped towards Hol, more ghostly knives forming around him. They clashed with the bullets, the sheer amount of metal colliding causing the area around him to light up as though an explosion had gone off.

Through the light came the slash of a blade, directly into Majima's head. Majima hacked up shadowy blood, glaring at Riku with his single eye. He brought up his hand, another knife forming between his fingers. Riku kicked him in the gut, his hand faltering and the knife slipping away.

"Begone!" Riku pulled his keyblade out of Majima, only for it to glow with a blinding white light, "Release him from Darkness, and unlock his heart!"

A beam shot from Riku's keyblade, a burst of pure light that pierced right through Majima's eye. The Heartless screamed, yet was locked in place as the beam passed through him. Another hand grabbed onto the keyblade, and Riku could feel the brush of Ralsei's warm fur. Ralsei said something under his breath, a prayer of sorts, and the beam from the keyblade began to glow a bright green.

"KIRYU-CHAN!!" Majima howled, his body enveloped by the green light. The hole where his heart used to be began to seal, and the shadows fizzled away from his body. "KIRYU... K-Kiryu-chan? Is that you?"

The hallway shook, the light enveloping them all. It felt as though they were all being wrapped in a warm hug; the shadows fading completely away.

Three sat up, her head spinning. She looked over at Bandana, and let out a sigh of relief. His wound had been healed by the light, though there was still some dried blood on his face. Scolipede was standing idly by Hol, nudging him occasionally until he got up. Riku and Ralsei stood together, Riku looking stoic as ever and Ralsei trying his best to match the energy. The hallway was now lit by lines of lights, and seemed to shrink considerably in length. By the end of the halls stood Majima, now free from the Darkness.

"K-Kiryu..." Majima stared at his hands, "I thought... I thought I saw you."

"Hey," Riku stepped towards Majima, but didn't dare touch him yet, "You're Majima, right?"

"How do you know my name?" Majima slowly looked up at Riku, his single eye shaking, "Y-You're not with them, are you?"

"We freed you from the Darkness," Riku said, "You're free now."

"What about Saejima?" Majima fretted, "Kiryu-chan? Daigo Dojima? M-Maybe even that Ichiban guy? Where is everybody?"

"They're not..." Ralsei came close, now fidgeting with his paws, "You're in an alternate reality, kind of. They're probably all back in your world, but I'm sure they're safe and-"

"A talking goat," Majima said plainly, poking Ralsei on the nose. Words just flew from his mouth, his brain attempting to calibrate to the situation. "And actually talking this time. Not some bullshit headset. What did you say, alternate reality? They'll... yeah. They'll be-"

Majima froze, his hands shaking by his sides.

"Majima," Riku put a hand on his shoulder, "I know it's a lot to take in, but-"

"Get me out of here," Majima said, a wet glisten in his eye. He grabbed Riku by the collar, lifting him clean off of the ground, "GET ME OUT OF HERE DAMN YOU!!"

"Calm down, calm down!" Three ran over, "Maybe you need some rest-"

"I can't rest!" Majima shouted, then let go of Riku. He gripped his head in his hands, tears now streaming down his cheek. "I-I need to be there. I need to be there!"

Ralsei ran up to Majima, the tip of his hat hitting him on the chin. Majima paused, glancing down at the goat-man now hugging him. He didn't know how, but his mind cleared in that moment. He lightly patted Ralsei on the back, and Ralsei responded in kind.

"We'll get you back home," Ralsei held Majima tight, as though afraid his heart would leave again, "I promise."

Chapter Text

It was around midnight when Jax heard the line of marchers through the night. It was his turn on watch. Well, not really. It was supposed to be Boggart's turn to watch for anybody who found their little camp, but that metal dome of his was really good at blocking out sound. Jax couldn't sleep anyways. He felt a bit better, especially after the other three ate up his stories, but he wouldn't say that he felt great.

It wasn't the half-truths he spun that bothered him. Nor was it the gargantuan insect-like alien that could at any point decide he was suddenly interested in them and barge into the camp with his hyper-futuristic rifle. Last time he got shot, he had the protection of extra hearts. He shivered at the thought of getting shot for real, especially by that beast of a weapon. Though he told himself that he was shivering from the chilling night wind, which wasn't entirely incorrect.

Jax peeked his head out of the bush, now seeing the line of five distinct silhouettes marching towards the gate. He glanced back at his campmates. Seth held Car in his arms like a stuffed toy, while Boggart was flat on his back with his arms and legs splayed like a starfish. Jax turned again to the line, which was headed by a thin man whose stature seemed both on-edge and relaxed at the same time.

"Pecharunt," Soma said, then brought his hand up to his nose. Pecharunt orbited slowly around him, its glowing pinks and purples catching the eye of Taniks. "I trust you have this under control?"

"Mochi..." Pecharunt growled, floating around the line of still silhouettes. Getting a closer look, Jax could see dim pink chains wrapped around each person's neck, though the snakelike man at their head had no such bondage. Pecharunt stopped above a shorter figure, whose outline looked quite strange to Jax. "Mochi!"

"Mochi..." the person beneath Pecharunt said. It was a feminine voice, but it sliced through the air like the finest of blades. She pulled a long needle off of her back, dragging it behind her as she approached Taniks. "Mochi mochi..."

"Oh no."

Jax whipped his head back, only to nearly smack his face into Seth's. His heart skipped a beat, but he held off from yelling at all. Car and Bogart were still asleep, and Seth hadn't bothered to wipe off of the leaves that had blown onto his face.

"That's her," Seth pointed to the zombie-like woman. She was tiny compared to Taniks, yet Pecharunt was completely confident in her abilities. "What kind of spell do they have her under?"

"Who?" Jax whispered.

"The Red Maiden," Seth's words were barely audible, "The strongest warrior from my land. If they were able to capture her, we stand no chance against them."

"The strongest-" Jax blinked, then looked back at the Red Maiden, "She's tiny!"

"Size doesn't make or break the skills of a hunter," Seth pulled Jax back a bit, so they had no chance of being seen by the strange parade of chained zombies, "Just watch. I'm sure she'll show her true strength against the gatekeeper."

Taniks chattered to himself, leaning down and staring the Red Maiden in the eyes. He let out an awful cackle laced with static. It burst from his mouth and burst through the air, causing the trees around to lean back. He pointed his rifle down at the Red Maiden's head, his fingers gripping the weapon in eager delight.

"Taniks is immortal, unbeatable!" Taniks exclaimed, "Taniks shall not be crushed by such a puny creature!"

"Mochi," the Red Maiden replied plainly, her neck cracking as she stared up at him. In an instant, her stance went from that of a zombie to a seasoned warrior, her needle held in a ready position. "MOCHI!"

The Red Maiden leapt into the air, her needle already in Taniks's arm by the time he had fired at the ground. He howled in pain, smacking her away and ripping the needle out of his arm. He flung it at her, but she caught it mid-air and threw it back at him. It embedded in his gun, and she grappled onto him and slashed him again. He covered his face, blasting more rifle shots into the sky. Seth and Jax flinched with each shot fired, but couldn't bring themselves to step back from the action.

"Tiny bug!" Taniks screeched, slamming the side of his rifle into the Red Maiden. She hugged onto the cold surface, then leapt off and onto one of his mechanical arms. She skittered across the limb, not faltering despite his frantic shaking. She leapt in front of his face, and a burst of thread swung all around her.

Taniks fell back, his mechanical mask riddled with deep cuts. He tried to slap the Red Maiden, but she blocked his hand with her blade. She then became a burst of white light, slashing through his arm and chopping it to scraps. He kicked her away, then blasted a few more shots from his rifle. Not a single one hit her as she wove through his gaze, then took back off into the air.

"TANIKS NEVER DIES!" Taniks screamed, his rifle charging again. Its purple sights were fixed perfectly on the Red Maiden, and his wild eyes stayed sharp despite his trembling state. "TANIKS IS IMMORTAL!"

The Red Maiden flung her needle down, piercing the rifle right through the barrel. It exploded in Taniks's face, sending shrapnel into his chest and neck. He fell back, his feet giving out and his remaining arms falling limp by his sides. He opened his mouth to speak, but could not utter a word. The Red Maiden now stood on his head, her needle poking out of the back of his head. His body fell flat on the ground, sparks flying from his face and back. The Red Maiden quickly wiped the blood off of her needle, then stood completely still. She stashed the needle on her back, and her movements went back to those of a zombie.

"Mochi..." she said, bowing before Soma and gesturing towards the gate.

"Exemplary work," Soma walked past her and stared up at the colossal wall. He looked to Pecharunt with a sly smile. "The center is where we will be able to take full control. To change this from a land of Chaos to one of Order. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Pecha!" Pecharunt chirped, "Mochi mochi!"

Soma pointed towards a large wheel beside the gate, and Pecharunt did the same. The line of chained zombies walked around the wheel, each one grabbing onto it and pushing it in perfect synchronicity. Jax couldn't recognize anybody pushing the wheel, other than the Red Maiden. He could make out a short Japanese man in a frankly odd coat, which looked like it was melting from the inside.

One of the other chained zombies did catch his eye, though it may have been a trick of the night. They looked somewhat like Three did, though their tentacles were a bright orange and their skin was much darker. They also wore a thin sweater decorated with swirling colors, and a pair of silver wireglasses over their eyes. On their back was a water gun, much like the one Three held in her holster, though this one was sleeker in its design.

There was only more zombie in the strange troupe, but for the life of him he couldn't make out this final one. He could see a bit of what may have been a cowboy hat and poncho, but he couldn't get anything on the man's face. He had a thick grey beard, and the shadow from his hat obscured his eyes.

The mind-controlled prisoners stopped, the gate now fully open. Jax tried to step out of the bushes, but Seth held him back. They watched silently as the group passed through the gate, and eventually disappeared beyond the wall. There seemed to be a blanket of thick fog that covered the land inside the wall, and they could only hope that it was just a thin sheet.

"We should get moving," Jax said, "Who knows when a new guard will be placed here."

"Not yet," Seth insisted, "They only just passed through. We cannot beat them, of that I am certain."

"We're probably going to run into them anyways!" Jax shot back, "Why not beat them up when they only have four guys chained up?"

"We need something else," Seth shook his head, "You have no proper weapons or fighting skills, and Car is wholly unable. I know I cannot beat the Red Maiden, and with her having allies it would be surely impossible for us. We may find something or someone in the second circle to help, but we must wait to make sure we don't run into them before we are ready. Besides, I do not think we could wake Boggart if we tried."

"Ugh..." Jax groaned, "I do agree with you on that. Can't sleep at all though. Can you?"

"Nope," Seth put his hand to his chest, "Watching the Red Maiden fight fills my heart with adrenaline, even when I am not her combatant. Would you mind telling another story, to pass the time?"

"Uhh..." Jax had nothing left in terms of stories. He told them about the manor, the heist, and the gun thing. Nothing else really stuck out to him, and he wasn't so confident in his bullshitting abilities to make up a completely new story from scratch. "How about... how about you tell a story? Maybe about this Red Maiden lady, so I can understand your lack of confidence some more."

"Of course," Seth said, surprisingly unfazed by that last comment. He sat down cross-legged, then began to chuckle to himself. "I'll start with a more comedic story, to lighten my beating heart. This is the tale of when one of my brothers was apprehended by the Red Maiden, because he thought he may get a peek at her brilliance..."

Chapter Text

Past the wall of fog was a large field of rye, with a long road splitting it in twain. The road split itself, a fork with points curving towards their destinations. The right path led to a massive spire, its heights obscured by the fog of Darkness. The left path led to a kingdom aflame, its rivers of lava bursting from the ground. There was a glimpse of its castle in the distance, which was adorned with the face of some sort of dragon.

If one were to forsake the paths and go forward, they would surely never return. Seth peered down the cliff past the path, though all he could see was an endless nothingness. He knelt to the ground, back on the path as he surveyed the ground. His pin caught a tiny glob of poison, the exact color of Pecharunt's piercing eyes.

"They went that way," Seth pointed to the kingdom of lava. He then turned to the infinite spire, his mind already made. "Perhaps that spire holds just what we need."

"Wait a second!" Jax said, gesturing towards the left path, "Why don't we just follow them? From a distance, of course, so we don't get destroyed by the spooky Red Maiden. We can't just lose track of them, that'll lose us the element of surprise!"

"I'm good at tracking!" Car flopped his face onto the ground. When he lifted it, his nose had been pushed inward. He puffed out his cheeks, and his nose went back to its proper size. "And I can be sneaky! We're the sneakiest, right Seth?"

"I don't know," Seth said, "Keeping track of them would be helpful, but we can't possibly let ourselves be caught. Anyways, look at all of that lava. It must be sweltering over there."

"Ain't nothin' I haven't dealt with before," Boggart said, though he did have a twinge of uncertainty in his voice, "Anyways, what use would it be climbin' a tower that high? It'd take forever and we won't've been movin' forward at all."

"See?" Jax gave Seth the most shit-eating grin he could, "He gets it!"

"Fine," Seth sighed, "How about you lead the way, then? Because you're so confident in yourself."

"My pleasure!" Jax said, already starting his way down the left path. Boggart and Car followed him close, while Seth made sure their flank was covered. "And I'm not just confident in myself, you know. I'm confident in all of us!"

"Yeah!" Car did a little spin, "We can do anything if we put our minds to it!"

Jax's smile was wider than ever, and his legs seemed to move on their own as they carried him down the path. He had this light pep in his step, a boundless joy that came to him from the simplest satisfaction. For the first time here, he believed he could actually make something for himself. Caine had restricted him so much that he had forgotten what control was, and now he had complete control of his situation. He wouldn't be caught by Soma and Pecharunt, no matter what happened. Because he believed he wouldn't be caught, and that was all he needed.

They came to a town before the castle, a massive fountain spewing lava at its center. Wanted posters riddled the town, each one with the exact same image and words. Two mustached brothers, one in a red suit and the other in green, with the caption "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE: THE MARIO BROTHERS".

"Huh," Jax tore one of the posters from the side of a house, and looked it over carefully, "I think I've heard of these guys, actually. But I don't remember from where..."

"Hmmm," Car grabbed the poster in his mouth, then placed it on the ground, "They have some nice overalls! Kind of like yours, Jax!"

"You'd never catch me in a hat like that, though," Jax crumpled the poster into a ball and threw it into the fountain, "And those giant white gloves, I mean what's up with those?"

"You've got some giant gloves yerself," Boggart chuckled, "Or is it different cause they're yellow?"

"At least I don't wear balls on my hands!" Jax shot back, then adjusted his gloves, "Anyways, the yellow matches my purple fur. White is such a passé color, you know?"

"My fur is kinda white," Car wiggled his head around, "Or maybe it's more of a beige. A dirty beige white. A beige beige dirty white beige dirty white white beige."

"Uhh, sure," Jax blinked.

"Ya think that castle's cushy, or just a bunch'a spikes everywhere?" Boggart peered at the castle, which was only a short winding trail's away. He then grabbed a prawn from his bag and held it carefully over the fountain's flowing lava. He popped it under his mask, nodding to himself. "Scenery does rid the need for a campfire. Though my face is kinda boilin' in this."

"Why don't you just take it off?" Jax asked, "No offense, but it ain't exactly the prettiest thing either. Looks like somebody whacked you with a pot so hard it fused to your head."

"HAHAHA!" Boggart laughed heartily, nearly choking on his prawn, "You gotta point there, rabbit! But I can't take the darned thing off. It's a part of me now, whether I like it or not."

"Well, I get that," Jax sighed, "But I'm sure we could use some kind of saw or something to maybe-"

"You misunderstand me," Boggart held up his hand, "I can't take the helmet off because I'm obligated not to. I'm a blackguard, plain and simple. No need showing my face to anybody, even good company."

"Sure," Jax rolled his eyes, "You know, you're quite the strange man."

"We're a whole group of strange men, I'd say," Seth was poking the ground with his pin, trying to find any more traces of Pecharunt's poison, "I'd also say it makes us a better team for it. Sometimes weirdness and unpredictability is exactly what is needed in situations like this."

"Have you been in any other situations like this?" Jax asked.

"Not at all," Seth smiled, "But that's exactly why being unpredictable is so important. If the situation itself cannot be predicted, then we must not let ourselves become predictable either."

"I can predict things!" Car said happily, "I predict that we'll go into another circle after this one, and I'll find my sister there! Then we can beat up the evil puppeteer guy you talked about, and we'll all be able to live happily ever after!"

"That's pretty loaded," Boggart looked towards the center of the circle. He could tell they were in yet another circle, though this one did not seem to have a wall at its center. Just that pit of nothingness that seemed to reach on forever. But perhaps there was some way to cross the nothingness, or it could have all been an illusion. He knew it was unrealistic, but he wanted to believe Car. "But I'm sure it'll come true. You've got a good head on your shoulders, little guy."

"Yahooooo!" Car bounced up and down in place, "Boingboingboingboing!"

Seth moved to Jax's side, then leaned close and pointed to the castle with his pin. Boggart had now sat down, and was watching amusedly as Car ran around.

"I've lost the trail," Seth said to Jax, "But I'm sure the puppeteer has gone into the castle. How confident are you in our abilities to stay hidden there?"

"Eh, pretty confident," Jax scratched his chin, "It's indoors, anyways. Much easier to hide behind corners than out in the open. We hid in just a bunch of bushes and weren't caught, I'm pretty sure they've got the spacial awareness of a chess piece."

"So you suggest we head inside?" Seth asked.

"I don't know," Jax leaned closer, "Are you willing to trust my judgement?"

"I'm worried for your safety," Seth explained, "But I still trust your judgement. You're no warrior, but you have a wisdom about you. I just hope that it doesn't turn to cockiness."

"No need to be so worried!" Jax laughed, completely eating up Seth's praise, "We don't even know each other like that! I promise that if anything bad happens in there, that's on me."

"Good," Seth held out his hand, "And I promise not to be caught off guard. We have a mutual promise now, yes?"

"Of course," Jax shook Seth's hand, but held his other behind his back. He continued to lie, his mouth thinning as his smug enjoyment grew. "You know Seth, we've got somethin' really wonderful going for ourselves."

"I'd say," Seth gave Jax a genuine smile, "I've heard plenty of promises between friends, but haven't actually done one myself. That was invigorating!"

"Oh," Jax paused, his hand falling from Seth's, "Yeah. A promise between friends."

"Should we be going, friend?" Seth asked.

"Just Jax is fine," Jax's smile had completely disappeared. He kicked his foot up, and started his way to the castle, "Yo Car and Boggart! We're heading to the castle, and it ain't my fault if you trip into any lava! Let's go!"

Chapter Text

Boggart was right. Bowser's Castle, as the huge banner above the entrance called it, had quite the cushy interior. Red carpets, a banquet hall with comfortable cushioned seating, and a whole ton of banners and posters of the King Koopa himself. Yet another face Jax actually recognized, but from a bygone time that the Circus had taken from him. Bowser and his army was nowhere to be seen, of course. Jax chuckled to himself, imagining Bowser coming back to his castle one day only to find it had just disappeared on him. He did not look like the type of guy who reacted calmly to problems, even at their most minor.

Despite the carpets being a perfect way to collect residues, Seth couldn't pick up on any more of Pecharunt's poisons. He did find something, however, that he thought may lead to the puppeteer. Dried globs of orange ink, the same orange as the squid-man that it had imprisoned. Well, it was a bit brighter than what he had seen that night, but he had to adjust for lighting and what-not.

"Seems like they ain't here!" Jax shouted as loud as he could, performing a little pirouette in the massive throne room. The banquet hall was just to his side, where the sounds of ruffling pots and pans could be heard. Car came into the throne room a few seconds later, a large refrigerated fish in his mouth. Jax sat down next to him, smiling widely all the while. "Damn, this place is nice! What about making this our home base for a while?"

"Someone is here," Seth held up his pin, pointing to its orange-stained tip, "At least one of the imprisoned, but I don't believe they would just leave one here to stand guard. Where else would they have gone, anyways?"

"Hmm..." Jax tapped his noggin, "Well, why don't you just find this one chained-up zombie guy, then he can tell us where the rest are!"

"And are you going to help me find him?" Seth asked.

"I ain't the tracker here," Jax shrugged, "You said yourself that I'm the one with the confidence! So I'm staying here, keeping myself positive and confident! Car's the childish one and Boggart's the chef, so that leaves you to be the tracker."

"That's..." Seth raised his hand, then scratched his head, "I mean, I did say that, kind of. I'll just inform you guys when I find anything."

"Thanks man, you're a lifesaver!" Jax winked at Seth, still playing everything as cool as possible. He even patted Car on the head a few times, just to prove how chill he was. He then laid back, resting his head on the smooth red carpet. "I didn't get much sleep last night, but I just feel like I could conk out right here and now! This confidence stuff is powerful!"

"It sure is," Seth inspected the ground some more, "I'll make sure to wake you up if anything happens. Have a good rest."

Jax didn't return the well wishes, deciding to fall asleep right in that moment. Car nuzzled a bit closer to him, resting against his legs as any cat would. Or like, a good chunk of cats. Maybe only some cats. Cats are very unpredictable.

Seth drifted away from the two, letting his search take him into another hall. Doors lined the walls on each side, but what he could make of the squid-man's trail went straight ahead. He kept himself low to the ground, his antennae searching for the slightest disturbances.

"Bzzzz..."

Seth shot up, his pin thrust straight ahead. He grabbed for his shield, but didn't yet pull it from his back. Far down the hall stood a shambling, almost broken figure. It was not the squid-man he was looking for, but an automaton of some sort. It looked like nothing of the Citadel, with a ramshackle design and a boxy head. Its face warped with each step it took towards him, yet it brandished no weapon and moved with a sort of frightened lurch.

"Hello?" Seth greeted the automaton, "I have no intention of fighting, if you do not strike first."

"I don't mean to... intimidate," Glitchy crackled, his arm jittering by his side, "You don't know me, but I know you very well. I've been watching. Watching it all. You are such a strong warrior..."

"Is that all you do?" Seth placed his pin on his back, "Do you not wish to escape this place?"

"Oh, no..." Glitchy shook its head, "There is no way to escape this Chaos. Well, not no way, but not in the conventional sense of an escape. Your world does not contain the concept of a video game, does it not?"

"A vid-what?"

"As I thought," Glitchy chuckled, its face contorting on the screen, "But you certainly know of quests. You must. You have a quest in this Chaos, everybody does. You know not what your quest is, but once it is completed..."

"I may leave?" Seth asked, "What about my friends? If I complete this quest, what happens to them?"

"They must complete their own quests," the automaton held out its hand. A crystal ball formed within its palm, though only it could see the image within. "Ah, I see... your quest is far yet not too far from here, a slight bit deeper within the circles."

"What are you?" Seth tried to move closer, but was stopped by some invisible force.

"I am Glitchy," it replied, then crushed the crystal ball in its hand, "And because I feel particularly charitable, I will give you two hints. Each member of your party shall find the end of their journey within the third circle, just before the center of Chaos. To get into the third circle, find the puppet with a bleached brain."

"A bleached brain?" Seth sighed, "I understand you are trying to help, but being less cryptic would be appreciated."

"Fine," Glitchy formed a twisted smile, "A third hint. This puppet is a literal puppet, not one being controlled by another."

"So I have not found this puppet yet-" Seth blinked, for less than a single second, and Glitchy had completely disappeared. He blinked a few more times, possibly trying to will it back into existence, but that held no results. He pushed forward, now able to travel further down the hall. He looked behind him, his brain aching. "This place... I don't like this place at all."

Jax sat up in the middle of a paper pad, drifting slowly across a lazy river. His ears fell down the sides of his head. He lifted his hand, but it seemed as though he were moving through gelatin. He sighed, holding his hand to his chest.

"Just a dream," he said. His vision was slightly blurred, the scenery taking two different forms at once. One of a grand forest, where the river flew through the trees. The other, a graveyard of cracked pencils stuck into earth made of confetti scraps. Jax stepped off of the paper pad, his leg extending all the way to the river's bank so he may depart without getting wet. "Yeah, definitely a dream."

He continued through the forest graveyard, the yellow trunks staring at him as he passed. He kept his gaze straight, not bothering to look beside his legs. The ground ruffled, but he still would not look down. He reasoned he could walk straight forward until he awoke.

Something gripped his leg. He stood still for a moment, but it would not leave him be. He looked down. Nothing was there. He took another step. It wrapped further up his leg. He recognized the feeling, and his face deflated.

Jax spoke, but his words made no sound. They flew out of him like hot air, disappearing in a thick fog. Water rushed around Jax's legs, but dared not touch his feet. The strangling force wrapped around his torso, then up to his neck. He kept on going.

The clouds began to cry. Eyes of midnight blues and fiery reds shone spotlights upon the rabbit, as the thunderous sobbing permeated the graveyard.

Jax felt cold metal in his hand. He clicked the hammer of the revolver three times for good luck. The chamber spun, only to be stopped by the strangle. He stood in front of a technicolor grave, while the surroundings turned to greyscale.

"Jax? Jax? You alive? Jax?"

The words rumbled through the clouds. A gloved hand reached up and grabbed the dialogue, then shoved each letter into its endless maw. Jax was a statue, bound to the gravestone.

"Get Jax out of the way! We have an issue here!"

Jax's face cracked.

"We can handle- Is that a paintbrush!?"

Tears formed on his cheeks.

"Oh hello! How are you two- AAAAAAHG!!!"

They were stuck to his fur. It was stuck to his fur. The eyes stuck to his fur.

Pull the trigger.

Do it.

It'll be funny.

Y̶̡̭̟̯̗͚͍̩͕͐͌̉͂͗̈͋͘ö̷̢̰͍̤͕̤̦̫́̾͝ū̸͎̓̈́'̶̗̹̮̥̥͙̹̪̦͆̔r̸̭̪̮̯̦̟̲̞̳͈̳͈͈͑́͋̈̊̿̀͘͜e̶̘͖͎̱̊͐̎̈́̽̓ ̷̡̼̼̼̘̰̤̗̀͗̊̋͗̋̍̔̓͗̈́̍t̸̡̛̜̯͇͉̼̗̹̽̉͂͊͐̏̇͜͠͠ȟ̷̡͙̳̟͖͇͓̞͎̽̂̑̄͒͆͆̌̚e̴͚͍̙͆̍͑̀́͋̍̔͠͝ ̴̨̧͔͖̜̺͎̼̰̙͔̟̆̅̃͒͑̎̈̿͜f̵̣̝͈͔͗̿͆̑̌͋̈́̿͌͌̕ǘ̷̖̹̥̪̳̎̕͜ͅͅn̷͈̰̦͎͓̼̻̥̰͑̐͊̾̋̿n̴̡̡̨̖͍͉͔͎̤̟̣̟̑͊͐̿̀͜y̴̡̻͎͎̜̠̪͓̗̥̰̗̟͐̿͗ͅ ̸̛̦̐͗̈́̿̔̉̒̂̌̕͝ȍ̶̲̗͔͚̠̹̺̩n̷̡̛͓͚̟̫̠͓͍̟̼̬̏͊̇͆͂̆̓͌̏́͠͝ė̴͕͉̖̯͆́̉͐̓͆̔̾̓͊͝͝ͅ,̴̡͔̜̈́̃͗͐̏̌̈́̕ ̷̛̠̹̳̱̺̥̪͙̯͕͈͒r̷͖̜͓͍̝͇͍̈́̔͑̒͛̑̔̋̌̀̀̑̽̚į̴̡̛̥̞͕̠̼̓̀̾̀̔̎͝ģ̶̢̧̪̞͚̯̩͈̜̪̖̃́̒͜h̷̛̤̪̬̲̽͋̌́̈́͛̉͊̽͑̕͝t̷̡̜͎̪̣͈̳͕͚̪̦̽̎̃̌͠?̶̧̻̭̼͇̮̼̳̻̙̥̲͓̩̀͐̈̇́̆̕

Chapter Text

"Jax?" Car had curled himself beside Jax's limp body, the crash of metal on metal ringing over the table they hid behind. Gunshots blasted through the cafeteria, two of them whizzing overhead. Car laid his head on Jax's lap, purring loudly to drown out the noise. "Wake up, please."

"Ghhh..." Jax groaned, his fist clenched into a ball, "Nnnngh..."

Seth fell back by the table, quickly checking on the two before being carried off by a paintbrush to the face. The paint stung his exoskeleton, like a milder version of a lava spray. He held his shield steady, and the brush clanged hard against it. Seth vanished, then re-appeared above the chained squid-man. He crashed down upon him, but the squid rolled away before the shield made contact.

"Mochi..." Wireglasses growled, his sharp teeth glistening, "Mochi mochiiii!"

More gunshots cracked through the air, a bullet deflecting off of Boggart's iron face. The gunslinging zombie's blank eyes were obscured by his hat, while much of his arm was hidden by his thick poncho. The poncho was quite intricately detailed, with the illusion of two eyes that looked forward for the Gunslinger.

"Least ya ain't shoutin' that mochi shit like yer buddy over there!" Boggart smacked the Gunslinger in the chest with an iron fist, "How's you like the taste'a metal now, eh?"

The Gunslinger kept his mouth shut, then kicked Boggart into a clearer position. He fired three shots, though two of them plinked off of Boggart's mask again. The third bullet broke skin, piercing through Boggart's arm. He seethed, only to reel the injured arm back and whip it into the Gunslinger's face at full force. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth, staining his beard.

"MOCHI!" Wireglasses shrieked, battering Seth repeatedly with the paintbrush. It was a highly advanced sort of brush that the chained squid had found within the bounds of an old prince's chambers. He pressed a button on the handle, the fiery orange melting to an abyssal black. "Mochi mochi mochi!"

Seth parried his next strike with the shield, the entire room filled with the deafening clang. With each attempt Wireglasses made, Seth had the positioning and reflex to block his assault. Specks of paint flung forward with every strike, though, and Seth felt his shell grow weary.

Boggart advanced on the Gunslinger, repeatedly smacking him further back towards the kitchen. He grabbed the old man's head, then bashed their nose on his knee. He then flipped the Gunslinger onto an unlit grill, and shoved his arm through the pink chain that hung around their neck.

"Uso!" Seth's shield gave off a bright golden glow. He swung it forward, smacking the paintbrush out of Wireglasses' hand. He thrust his pin forward, bringing it up so it pierced through the chain. "HAAAAA!"

As if connected by an invisible thread, Seth and Boggart lifted their arms at the same time. The chains shattered into glistening metallic specks, quickly dissipating in the hot air.

Wireglasses fell back, his head smacking hard against a table and his body flopping on its side. Seth inspected his head, a thin gash splitting his hair tentacles apart. Seth ran towards the kitchen, only to catch a glimpse of Boggart and the Gunslinger. They were still held close together, each one grabbing the other's neck. The Gunslinger had his revolver pressed to Boggart's stomach, his cold glare piercing through the shadow of his hat.

"Boggart!" Seth called.

"It's fine," Boggart said, holding out his hand. His eyes met the Gunslinger's and his voice lowered. "I let ya free, ya know. I ain't askin' ya to hang around, and I'm sure you'd appreciate if we both left without anymore damages. Sound about right?"

"Hmm," the Gunslinger grunted. He lowered his revolver with a light spin before placing it in his holster. He pushed Boggart to the side and briskly walked out of the cafeteria, not a single word leaving his mouth.

"Huh," Seth stared at Boggart, "We're just gonna- nevermind. I need help for our other chained friend, and quick. He's bleeding out of his head."

"Well fuck," Boggart cracked his shoulder, "Okay, you go find the freezer and get some ice. It's the big black box at the back of the kitchen. I'll see if I can wrap the would with anything!"

Seth ran into the kitchen, quickly spotting the freezer. He winced as he grabbed onto a large pack of ice, then ran back out while juggling it between his hands. Boggart grabbed the ice from him, placed it on Wireglasses' head, then tied it in place using a tablecloth he had torn into a single strip.

"He ain't bleedin' too much," Boggart observed, pressing his finger to his helmet, "Or it's just hard to see cause of how orange it all is. Should help as much as we can, though. Maybe he'll be able to heal well, bein' a squid and all."

"I hope," Seth laid Wireglasses' body in a more comfortable, flatter position, "Maybe I should've pulled a bit less hard on the chain."

"Did what ye had to do," Boggart shrugged, "Once he gets better, he'll be mighty grateful. Least, he better be."

Seth leaned his back against one of the overturned tables, slowly sliding down it and collapsing to his thorax. He lowered his head and dropped his pin, inhaling deeply for each breath. 

"Car?" he called out, his voice strained, "You okay? Jax all good?"

"I'm fine!" Car peeked his head out from cover. His face was flattened, as though he had been smushed by a large panini press. "Jax is still asleep, though. I'm worried."

"He breathin'?" Boggart asked.

"I-" Car pressed his ear against Jax's face, able to clearly hear his stuttered breaths. Lowering his head, Car could hear Jax's heart beat at a slow, but not dangerous tempo. "He's breathing good! But he feels really cold! It reminds me of Carr..."

"Huh?" Seth raised his head, "It reminds you of yourself?"

"N-No," Car shook his head, "Carr with two Rs. She's my sister. Sometimes she'd be really cold when she slept. She'd always wake up, but I think it happened when she had nightmares. Jax is having a really bad nightmare."

P̸̢̣̲͖̭͔͙͗ụ̸̢̡̗͒̀̎͋̈́͊̑̉͘̚l̷̟͈̉̅̈́͋̈́́́͆̄̋͒̕̕̕͝l̷̗̟̬̖̯͖̦̦͕̭̪̊͒͑͛̑̓̒̈́̉̑̇̿͂͘͘ ̴̨͔͚̩̻̼̪̪̋̊̓̅̏̈̿̾̌̉̌͂̌̋́ț̸̨̦̹̘̤͓͙̙̦͇̲̃͒̓̾͌̏͋̂̊̔̂̕͝ḩ̸̢̳͈̬̞̪̫̝̤̹̃͗̒͗̕͘ͅẹ̸̯̞͉̟̼͍̰͔̾́͑̽̄͠ ̸̡̢̢̬͚͚̩̎͘ͅt̶̨̥̞̭͎̪͂̀̂͠͝r̵͉̣͕̲̳̣̮͊͑̋̐̈́̈̈̒̆̋͐͝͠ï̵̧̳̜͎̥͙͚̹̼̦̬͆̔͊̑̄̃͗̐͂g̶̛̗̟͉͕͉̼̠͉̪̩͋̅̂̀̌̽ǵ̷̣̟̬̠̼̹̠͚͇̤̬͍́̅͂̅̀̆͠e̶̡̳͇͉̦̦̒͝ͅŕ̶̻̞̬̏̽̂̽͐͛͂̕͝.̸̤̲͔̪͕͍̗̬͑̇̅̈́̋̌͂́̾͑̎̚͠ͅ

Jax pressed the gun to his chin, the cold barrel sending goosebumps over his face. The shimmering teardrops stuck to his cheeks, unable to fall to the ground. The gravestone glitched, its colors warping every second.

The strangle wound around his arms, tearing them down and forcing the gun's barrel at the gravestone's head. Jax's face fell to his shoulders, each half crowned with a porcelain shatter.

A dark fog swirled overhead, yet the gravestone continued to glow. Lightning spiked the ground, growing flowers that bloomed into fireflies. Shimmering masks surveyed Jax, deciding ultimately to pay him no mind.

"Jax... please wake up."

Jax's fingers trembled around the trigger, just barely willing them to not pull it back. The strangling force screeched in his ear, shattering them to a fine dust. They blew away in the dark wind, carried on horses made of plastic and wood.

K̷̪͘͝î̶̖͈̠̆̚l̴͚̺͕̃̓̓̋l̴̡̩̣̿̌͠͠ ̶̨̖͍̲͂̚h̴̩̾ė̶̙̈́͗r̵̡͈̠͇̈́͂́̔.̷̲̹̄͊̂ ̸̤̓J̴̗̩́́̅u̴̙͗s̶̻̔͠t̷̠̿͋ ̷̬̹̕ĺ̵̥̤̻̂i̷̗͔͔̼͊̽͌k̸͕͓̾ȩ̸̤̀ ̶̗̌ỷ̴̗̬̾o̶̢̠̔͒̈̀ụ̴̡̠͓́̕ ̴̺͈̮̜̈́k̴͎̳̱͌ì̴͍͙̭̀l̴̛̥̘̒̾͋l̴̮̘̝̓͜͝e̴̠̔d̷̻̳͝ ̶̙̈́̆́͠ͅt̸̫͒͆h̷͈͉̒̆̊ę̷͎̝̒̎m̷̲̯̙̔.̸̧̦͓̎

"I killed..." Jax stammered, his words forming lumps in his throat, "N-Nobody..."

"Jax? By Marika, that must be one 'ell of a nightmare."

I̶͍̯̩̐̂͝ ̶͓͍͒̿͌a̵̜̤̐̓͜m̸̖̀ ̷̗̫̽̈̋n̸̥̿̽o̴̢̬̐͜ ̷̼͐̀͠ṅ̷̙̬̇͝ǐ̵̛̦̼͠g̷̙̿̈́h̷͎͛̂̈t̶̻̪̑m̴̩͖̿͂à̷̦̣̣͛ŗ̶̲̹̊̚̚ȩ̴̹́̓̕.̴̫͒̏͛ ̸̭̏̒͋Ị̸̈́͊ ̷͔̓̊ã̵̬͕̑͒m̴̯̈́ͅ ̶̧̦̩̂̀̈́t̸͎͒̚h̷͈͍̄̌é̷͉̞̞ ̸̡̈͋ẗ̷̰́r̴̗̈́͠u̸̻̇͠͝t̷̏̌͜h̷̻̍.̷͕͐̀ͅ

"Sh-Shut up," Jax gripped the gun harder, "Shut your god damn mouth."

M̵̫͇͙̃͗̿̍o̵̻͝u̴͕͎͑͊t̵̳͉͆h̷̘̝̮̤̆̎?̸͖̼̳̬̂

"Y-Yeah," he breathed, "Th-That huge mouth of y-yours."

B̶̖͝u̸͖̟͋̆t̵̤̕ ̵̖͉͖̄͝I̵̧͇̕ ̶̧̛̙͇̯̔̈̚h̶̡͉͖̮͆ā̵̢̫͉ͅv̷̨͍̈͌̋͘e̸̖͆ ̶̝̝̯̔n̷̳̰̳͎̄̈̐̑ȯ̸̼͉̮͓ ̴̤̺͎͊m̴̥̱͐ȏ̶̡̱̾͝u̸̱̽͑̕t̵̡̲͈͎̃̀̾͝h̵̨̟͇̣̆͠.̸̮̉̃̔ͅ

Jax opened his eyes. He hadn't awoken, but his face had melded back together. The tears were gone. The fog, the lightning bugs, almost everything. The gun burned in his hand, plumes of smoke billowing from the barrel. On the ground ahead of him lay six shattered figures. A frog, a clown, a doll, a king, a building block, and a bundle of ribbons.

The ribbons reached out for him; a demonic smile burned into Jax's eyes. They held the gun firmly in their grasp, then gave him a pat on the back.

There you go. Just as I thought you would.

You're just as awful as you've always been.

"Jax, please get up."

You killed her, just like you killed Ribbit.

"Get outta the way! I think this should work."

Ĭ̶͔̮̈́̀̒ ̸̨̳̯̠̽́̀w̴̙̮͚̩̑͝ö̴͚̞́͝n̶̖̲̼͎̋̍͋'̸̥͔̲̆̈́̀̃t̷͚̋́͝ ̶̧̮̿͝l̶̰̜̙͌̎e̷̞̽t̵͇̄ ̶̨̤͖͆͑̑̍ͅẙ̴̟͔͎̔o̵̧͎͕̬̽̾̏͝ṳ̵̹͒̓͒̚ ̶̢͕͙̔͊͂͘ͅk̵̜͐͒͘̚i̴̙̜̭͌̎̈́ĺ̷̰͑̔̃ḻ̷͈͉̯̔ ̷̦̌ḿ̶̫͚̦̏e̴̥͚̍͊̀͠.̵̡̹̻̬̑͝

Chapter Text

They had been hunting after Corbeau's scent for hours. Well, Scolipede had been leading the frantic charge, while the rest followed in its wake. Hol had found himself latched onto the Pokemon's back, while the rest ended up at somewhat of a distance as they readjusted themselves. Majima had been very quiet, speaking only when spoken to and constantly pulling his knife out of its sheathe and inspecting it.

When they had gotten to the grand wall, its gate was still sprung open. Three and Bandana crouched over by what was left of Taniks, a light crackle still coming from his bionic remains. Bandana poked the body lightly with Gigaros, but it didn't move at all. Riku joined them, crouched by the alien's head. He picked up the mechanical helmet and inspected it thoroughly.

"This can't have been an easy fight," Riku dropped the helm, "Whatever this gate guardian's abilities were, it was quite the monster. I sure hope we don't run into whatever killed this thing."

"Uhm," Ralsei shuffled over to the group, "Guys?"

"Yeah?" Three looked up, then squinted her eyes. Looking past Ralsei, Scolipede and Hol were nowhere to be found. Majima continued to fiddle with his knife. "Ohhhhh..."

"Yeah," Ralsei pointed to the gate, "Scolipede must've caught another whiff of Corbeau's trail. It just bolted off as fast as it could!"

"Then let's move," Riku stood up, then grabbed Bandana in his hands. He ran off, Bandana held unceremoniously under his arm. He leapt into the fog wall past the gate, his voice echoing after him. "Nowhere to go but forward!"

Past the fog gate lay the path that split in twain. Riku immediately locked onto the spire to the right, though stopped with Scolipede in the middle of the path. The Pokemon was sniffing the ground, making sure it got Corbeau's position exactly. Hol looked as though he would fall off its back at any moment, but if he could ever count on one thing it was the strength of his legs.

"Could you let me down?" Bandana asked politely, trying desperately to wriggle out of Riku's arms, "I appreciate the lift, but this is getting quite uncomfortable!"

"Oh, sorry," Riku placed the waddle dee down, then patted him on the head, "I just feel a bit more excited than usual, is all. I mean, our objective is right ahead of us."

"Scoli!" Scolipede chittered, pointing its horns down the left path. It stomped its foot, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Scolipede!"

"I think-" Hol shook his head clear, "I assume its sayin' Corbeau is off thataway."

"Well, the spire is to our right," Riku said, pointing to the massive tower, "I can't stand by any longer. The source of the Heartless is in there, and it must be stopped before they spread any further."

"Oh great, a fork in the road," Three groaned, finally having caught up with them. Ralsei and Majima were behind her, currently holding their own discreet conversation. "We gotta split up now?"

"I mean," Bandana looked both ways down the path, "We could probably just do the spire first, and then come back for-"

"Scolilili!" Scolipede shouted at Bandana, leaning down to glare daggers at him. Bandana ran behind Riku, hiding by his leg.

"Okay, noted," Bandana shook, "W-Well I'm going with Riku. I wouldn't want these Heartless to keep spreading like this."

"Well I'm goin' with ya too," Three gave Bandana a thumbs-up, then turned to Hol and Scolipede, "You two fine searching for him on your own?"

"Wait!" Ralsei stepped between them, then shuffled back towards Scolipede, "I can join them!"

"What about your pacifying magic?" Riku asked, "We may need that to free the spire from the grasp of Darkness."

"Ahem," Majima cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him, to which he straightened himself out. He stepped past Ralsei, patting him on the shoulder. "You go with them, goat guy. I'll go with the cowboy and the bug. I've had enough of those shadowy freaks for one lifetime."

"Oh!" Ralsei nodded, then moved over to Three's side, "Well, at least promise you'll stay safe, you three!"

"Don't worry 'bout it!" Hol smiled, grabbing his hat and twirling it in his hand, "Scolipede here's a right beast, ain't ya buddy?"

"Scolipede!" Scolipede raised its head.

"We'll be safe," Majima promised, climbing onto Scolipede's back behind Hol, "I'm more worried about you guys anyways. Don't let this Darkness stuff into your heart, it fucks ya up big time."

"Noted," Three chuckled, waving to the three of them, "We'll meet back up with you guys as soon as we can! We can even see who gets their job done first!"

"Heh," Majima smiled, his teeth glistening in the sunlight, "That's a bet you're gonna lose! Onward, Scolipede! Let's leave 'em in the dust!"

Scolipede reared up, then bolted away as fast as its large legs could muster. Riku turned back to the spire, starting his way towards it with Bandana, Three, and Ralsei all following behind. Though this spire disappeared above the clouds, he was certain it was even taller than the millennium tower. All he could hope for was some sort of shortcut once they got inside, so they wouldn't be toiling away at its floors for the rest of time.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to ask a few questions."

Wireglasses shrugged, leaning back in his seat. He cracked his back, then picked at his teeth with a toothpick.

"I'll take that as an 'I don't mind at all'," Seth leaned forward in his seat, "So, your name is Wireglasses, yes?"

"Yup," Wireglasses nodded, "What's yours?"

"Seth," Seth held out his hand, but Wireglasses didn't shake it. To be fair, he was partially distracted by Jax, who was huddled up in the corner of his eye. The purple rabbit was speaking softly to himself, with Boggart and Car sitting by him and trying their best to comfort him. "Next question. How did Pecharunt take control of you?"

"Damn thing chained me up, is what," Wireglasses sighed, "That bastard Soma caught me off-guard, pinned me to the ground, and sicced that weird ass alien on me. Next thing I know, I'm laying on the ground with my head bleedin' like shell."

"Okay..." Seth's antennae twitched, "So you have no clue how he captured the Red Maiden, then?"

"Ehhh, no," Wireglasses shook his head, "Got nothing in the noggin about any of that. I'm pretty sure I was his first catch, but I could be wrong about that."

"And his name is Soma?" Seth circled back a bit.

"Yeah," Wireglasses said, "Told me himself before chaining me up. Guy talked like he owned the entire world. Not that I have any right to judge him, I guess. I was a real idiot once too."

"Well, you're definitely a better man than him," Seth smiled, "And it's quite nice to know that the chains can be broken so simply. That'll make our eventual fight with the Red Maiden... not much better, to be honest."

"She sounds like one scary woman," Wireglasses peeked over Seth's shoulder, his brow wrinkling, "Okay seriously, is that purple guy okay? Looks kinda like Ocho, but even more... what's the term?"

"Overwhelmed?" Seth posited.

"Piss-his-pants frightened," Wireglasses nodded to himself, "What's even going on with him?"

"Had a nightmare, it seems," Seth shrugged, "He's an odd fellow, but very kind. Car has taken quite a liking to him, as you can see."

"What an odd cat..." Wireglasses put his hand on his chin. His pointy ears twitched, trying to pick up on what the huddled group was saying.

"She's here..." Jax repeated, his hands and legs completely stiff. Car nuzzled against his side, but he felt no warmth from the contact. "Sh-She wants me dead. Why wouldn't she? She hates me. She hates me so much."

"Who hates you?" Boggart crouched down, his face at level with the rabbit's, "Ya gotta actually tell us who she is, or we can't help ya at all."

"She's-" Jax blinked, his pupils untangling and reforming into uniform rectangles. His arms fell to his side and his breathing became steadier. He stood up, pushing Car off before walking over to Seth. "Hey, Seth."

"Yes?" Seth looked up at Jax, a concerned look in his eyes, "You feel better?"

"How long was I-" Jax took a quick glance at Wireglasses, who looked like he was watching a car crash, "How long was I like... that? I think I kind of blanked for a second."

"Quite a while," Seth said, "Sorry, I don't have the best grasp on time."

"It's fine," Jax said, adjusting his overalls, "Just... forget that all happened, okay?"

"Huh?" Boggart walked over, pulling Jax by the shoulder and staring him in the eyes, "Ya didn't even tell us who's tormenting you!"

"Y-Yeah," Car rubbed against Jax's leg, "We just want to help, Jax."

"I don't want to-" Jax sighed, "Look, I don't want to think about it right now. We can talk about it later, but we have more important business to attend to. Isn't that right, Seth?"

"I mean..." Seth stammered, "Y-Yeah, but-"

"Well good!" Jax sat down, looking Seth dead on, "I bet you've been aching for a chance to really lead, so I'll give you the reins for a bit. Where are we off to next?"

"Well..." Seth looked down to Car, the cat's pained expression nearly shattering his heart. He let out a deep breath, then stood up from his seat. "We will talk about this later, I hope you know that."

"Fine," Jax scoffed.

"Okay," Seth said, "Well, our next course of action is to find the bleached puppet."

"Huh?" Boggart raised an eyebrow, though none of the others could see that, "Where'd ya get that notion from? The hell even is a bleached puppet?"

"I met a strange being while searching the halls," Seth said, "Something that seemed to know much about the rules of this chaotic land. It told me to find the bleached puppet, but said nothing else. Apparently this puppet is the key to the third circle."

"Wait a second..." Jax's eyes narrowed, "What did this thing look like?"

"A shambling automaton," Seth explained, "It had a cuboidal face and a flat yet warping face. The technology is much more advanced than anything I've seen before, yet it also looked quite ramshackle in its components."

"Huh," Jax leaned back in his seat.

"What?" Wireglasses asked, "You seen this thing too?"

"Nope," Jax lied, "I know nothin' about it. Just making sure we know what we're dealing with."

"I have no clue if it is friend or foe," Seth said, "But I trust its advice. Now all we need is a way to find this bleached puppet..."

Seth perked up. His antennae were shaking, a tingling feeling rolling down his spine. His eyes widened, his hand reaching for his shield on reaction.

"Get down," he said.

"What?" Boggart looked around, "What the bloody hell do ya-"

"YEEEEEEHAW!!!"

Scolipede crashed through the doors to the cafeteria, Majima hugging onto its neck. He slid off, Hol following behind him. His singular eye glowed brightly, his knife held by his side.

"Well then," the mad dog laughed, "Seems like Corbeau's trail led us right to you! Now 'fess up, or I'm gonna have to start taking fingers!"

Chapter Text

They stopped in front of the giant spire, its curved walls of grey stone looming above them. Riku could feel his keyblade beat against his back, as though it were a secondary heart. A chilling wind blew over them, and a shadowy figure appeared before the doorway. Its body was covered in a massive grey rag, yet its head was completely defined. A boxy television, one that Bandana immediately recognized.

"What the-?" Bandana raised his voice as the wind grew a bit stronger, "Hey! Glitchy, is that you?"

"Huh?" Three raised an eyebrow, "You know this guy? He from your world?"

"No..." Glitchy responded, its voice inlaid with a thick static, "I am the generous benefactor that gave you your food, all the way back in Tartarus. I see why Bandana tried not to explain me to you. I am quite a mess."

"Why are you here, then?" Riku asked, stepping ahead of the group, "You must know there are malevolent forces within this spire. Or are you here to bar our entry?"

"Heheheh..." Glitchy's face went blank, a reflection of Riku on its pitch black screen. It reached out an arm, the sound of crackling bones following each movement. A mangled claw beckoned Riku forward, but he did not follow. "Are you not at least intrigued by all of this? You work with a goat, a squid, and a waddle dee and act as though it is not so crazy. Perhaps because of your own world, with other worlds within.

"Maybe," Riku said, "But what's it to you?"

"It is everything to me," Glitchy hissed, steam escaping the back of its neck, "I was once a humble observer, but now I hold sway over all worlds. I have done this all for you, don't you see? For you to complete your quests, to save your friends. Yet also, to have fun! Meet new people, form some new experiences! Isn't that so beautiful?"

"So..." Ralsei came to Riku's side, "You're the one who brought us here?"

"Heheheh!" Glitchy screeched, "You are too smart, toothpaste boy. But I bring you here out of necessity, not callousness. You must complete your quests! You must come to terms with yourselves! You must stop those you love from falling away forever! Isn't that right, Riku?"

"What do you mean?" Riku's eye twitched.

"You know well what I mean..." the automaton pointed upward, all the way to the tip of the endless spire, "You see, most of you must find the ending of your quests further within Chaos. Some within the third circle, others within the very center. But you, Riku... your quest is right in front of you. Your friend... the man you've tied yourself to. You have found him."

"You-" Riku pulled out his keyblade, "You monster! What have you done to Sora!?"

"Nothing he has not brought upon himself," an emoticon depicting a cat's face appeared on its screen, "Though you may want to hurry. There is somebody else who has taken the climb, and she shall not be so kind to your friend."

"Bring us to him," Riku pointed the keyblade at Glitchy, "Now."

"But she has worked so hard..." an arm-like projection shot from Glitchy's face, past Riku, and over behind Bandana Dee. Bandana jumped away, but the projection followed him perfectly. The arm caressed Gigaros, glowing a deep red to match its two-pronged tip. "She has worked so hard to slay the beast atop the spire... would you deny her the quest set out for her?"

"If her quest is to kill Sora, then my quest is to stop her!" Riku pointed his blade to the side, "Now, move. If you aren't going to be of any help, you might as well get out of our way."

Glitchy's body shook, the projection returning to it. Its voice warped to a higher pitch as it hissed, more steam escaping from beneath its cloak. Ralsei stood between it and the party, ready to form a shield if it were to explode. Instead, Glitchy seemed to sputter out, its head snapped to the side.

"My friends are my-" Glitchy's screen flickered, an image of Sora shining in its Darkness. He was hunched over, his eyes a deep yellow and dripping with thick black tears. His entire body wracked with Darkness, his senses stolen. Glitchy's head snapped back into place, the audio looping from its speakers. "My friends are my power! My friends are my pow-pow-power! My friends-"

Riku dashed past Ralsei, his teeth bared and his eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his hair. He leapt above Glitchy, but his blade met no metal as it crashed down. Glitchy was now to his side, its tune changing to a distorted song.

"My sanctuaryyyyyy~" Glitchy sung horribly off-tune, "You're my- SANCTUARYYYYYYY~"

"Shut up!" Riku tried to strike it again, but the keyblade again met no mark. Glitchy was behind him, a shrill scratch overwhelming its speech.

"Simple and cleeeeean," Glitchy coughed, an oily liquid pouring out of its chest, "I am not so simple and... CLEEEEEEEEEAN!!!"

"Riku!" Ralsei stepped between Riku and the monstrous automaton. He turned to the spire, the way ahead now undisturbed. "He's goading you. If we want to save Sora, we need to go now!"

"I..." Riku's breath was heavy. He stowed his keyblade, then looked straight at Glitchy. "Fine. We will leave you to sing your songs here, but know that I will find you. And when that time comes, you'll have hell to pay."

"Qu-Quest..." Glitchy rumbled, "You're on the journey to end your quest, heheheh... We are so close. We are getting so very close..."

As the rest left Glitchy behind, Bandana lightly poked its head with Gigaros's blunt end. Its mouth shut in an instant, and its body became eerily calm. Its eyes fell down upon Bandana.

"Oh, beautiful guard," Glitchy's voice warped, becoming almost feminine in nature, "Beautiful guard of bountiful kingdom, fallen deep into Chaos. Why do you help, when there is no end of your quest in sight?"

"I..." Bandana thought for a moment, "I'm helping because they need help, is all. It's what they'd do for me."

"Bandana!" Three called out, "We gotta go!"

"She will scream at the bleached puppet," Glitchy warned. A low dial-tone escaped its head, though nobody would be there to answer. "She will cry and scream and die at the bleached puppet. Or it shall die at her. I can't see the future."

Chapter Text

The inside of the Spire was near incomprehensible, though still enough so to not break the minds of those within. Multitudes of biomes seemed to merge in haphazard formations, snow and lava and grasses run through by a river of dark matter. Bandana Dee wanted to dip Gigaros into the river, though the spear seemed to resist his naïveté.

Riku lowered his blade, no other living beings in sight. The only sign sentient life had ever occurred here was a single suit of armor collapsed against the wall. Inspecting it, nothing remained inside. Yet something must have placed it here. There must have been somebody at some point. At least, that's what Riku reasoned.

Ralsei, who stood beside his friend, performed no such mental gymnastics. He was used to the idea of the body disintegrating upon death.

"So..." Three kept herself around Bandana, somewhat separated from the other two. She felt no real reason to be paranoid, but she did have reason to feel particularly comfortable around the waddle dee. He had a bit of fuzz on his body, in truth, yet he bore no additional resemblance to humans or any other mammals. Lucifer seemed to enjoy his company as well, or perhaps it was simply glad to be around Gigaros. "That woman Glitchy was talking about... you think it's her?"

"Gigaros does feel a bit hotter than usual," Bandana looked to his side, at a lava flow that went up a wall, "But that could just be the room."

"Yeah," Three wiped her brow, "Doesn't look like we've got any elevators here. This is gonna suck."

She was right. Room upon room of twisting stones and ever-changing scenery, each one extremely awkward to traverse. On frequent odd occasions it felt as though they had gone down a level instead. Certain floors, strange as the notion was, seemed to be exact copies of other floors.

The most notable was a floor with a single mat on the ground. A sign always sat in the middle of the mat which read OUT OF SERVICE. An empty hat sat beside the mat, upturned as though it should be collecting tips. This one floor had appeared more than any other, though nobody was counting exactly how many times they had come across it.

The Heartless could not be found. Riku's keyblade always signaled the Heartless to be on a floor above, yet their presence seemed to shrink the further up they went. Riku tried to move faster as a result, but only ended up stopping in the middle of a staircase with a bad cramp in his side. They rested on the next floor; yet another empty shop floor.

"We need a way to speed this up," Riku sighed, his legs crossed on the floor, "Whoever's ahead of us is dealing with the Heartless faster than we can climb up. She's gotta be some kind of monster, figuratively or literally."

"I don't think most monsters would be capable of fighting the Heartless so handily," Ralsei remarked, "If that even is what's happening. She could already be at the very top, for all we know."

"That's the problem!" Three groaned, "We don't know squat! Not how tall this tower is, not how to go up faster, and especially not the identity of this woman who's trying to kill Riku's boyfriend!"

"I..." Riku sounded offended for but a moment, but kept most of his thoughts to himself, "Sora and I aren't boyfriends. Just... very close. It's complicated."

"Everything here is complicated!" Three kicked the ground, a small puff of dust shooting outward from the impact. She leaned her back against one of the walls, making sure that she wasn't rubbing it against a patch of grass that stood as though gravity had been flipped to its side. "You think if we scream loud enough that Glitchy guy'll get annoyed and give us a fast pass?"

"I'd much rather it kill me than take its charity," Riku scratched his face a bit, then sighed, "That was a stupid thing to say, sorry. I keep proving Sora right every time I open my mouth."

"Right about what?" Bandana asked, now slowly pacing in circles around the room. He felt as though he had to keep moving, as in truth he had not gotten tired yet. Waddle dees had little sense of stamina, though in the way where it was boundless so they nary gave it a thought. 

"It's stupid," Riku chuckled, "Actually, scratch that. I'm the one who's stupid. That's what he said, all those years ago."

"Were you being stupid?" Three smirked.

"Definitely," Riku nodded, "I thought I could control the Heartless. I couldn't. Nobody can. Heh. Not even Nobodies."

He kept his little laughter to himself, but none of the others had any clue what for. Though he sat with a squid, a goat, and a fantastical vaguely orb-shaped creature, he possibly had the largest amount of absurd experiences and inside jokes. He would have had jokes inside-out, but at the time of writing KH4's worlds have not been confirmed yet.

"We should keep moving," Bandana said, anxiously twirling Gigaros in his hands, "We don't know how much time we have, if any at all."

"Right," Riku stood back up. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "We'll get there before she can hurt you, Sora. I promise."

"Woah there!" Boggart held up his arms as though he were being held at gunpoint, "We don't need to be fessin' up to nothin'! Who in Radahn's dickhairs are you lot!?"

"Dude," Jax said, "Gross."

"Just tell us where Corbeau is, you-" Hol Horse paused for a moment, his fingers moving away from Emperor's trigger. He stared at Seth, their eyes meeting again. "Wait, you're that guy from the tree!"

"I could say the same for you!" Seth said, his shield held in front of him, "And we don't know anything about a Corbeau! Who are you guys?"

"The Mad Dog of the Tojo Clan, that's who!" Majima cackled. He stood there for a moment, but he could swear he heard crickets chirp. His expression fell, his head turned to Hol. "These guys really aren't our guys, are they?"

"Scoli..." Scolipede walked up to Boggart, who shuddered a bit under its gaze. It rubbed its nose against him, then backed over to Hol again. "Peede..."

"Scolipede thinks not," Hol blinked, "I mean they thinks yes to what you said. That they aren't our guys."

"Cool," Majima sighed, pocketing his knife, "Fine then, I'm Majima Goro. The guy in the cowboy getup is Hol Horse, and the bug horse is Scolipede. What about you- is that a cat?"

"Hi my name is Car!" Car did a little spin, then pointed his ears at Jax, "And the big bunny is Jax! And the smelly guy is Boggart and the bug guy is Seth!"

"Huh," Hol rubbed his eyes, "Y'know, I thought I really had seen everything. Why does he look... what's that term?"

"For what?" Majima stared at Car.

"He doesn't look like he's made of smooth enough shapes," Hol tapped his forehead, "He's like from some sort of computer animation, or whatever."

"Oh!" Majima nodded, "You mean low-poly! Like an old video game."

"Yeah-" Hol stared at Majima, "Fuck you mean, old?"

"Hey, I'm a crisp sixty!" Majima chuckled, "Don't be takin' no offense to any of that!"

Jax leaned over to Boggart, his voice just barely heard through the thick iron helmet.

"I'm betting they've got three braincells between the two of 'em," Jax smirked, "One for each eye."

"I don't think the brain and the eyes are connected in such a way," Boggart shook his head.

"Oh for fuck's-" Jax sighed, "Nevermind. My comedy is lost on you."

Seth was now over by Majima and Hol, conversing with them about Corbeau. Wireglasses sat in his own seat, wholly tired with everything that was happening. He had most likely fallen asleep by now, though it was hard to tell. Jax and Boggart stood still in their own little group, and Car seemed to be torn between them. He ultimately chose Jax's group, out of this strange notion that Jax was his friend. Jax was not blind to the cat's affection for him, though he was more confused than any other. This was not the naive belief in his abilities that Seth had, or the misplaced camaraderie of Boggart. It was genuine affection, the kind a younger brother has for one much older.

"I see..." Seth nodded, "So he is short, has pale skin, and a shirt that looks like dripping liquid?"

"Yes," Hol nodded.

"Good lords..." Seth scratched his head, "I know where he must be, but none of us are going to like it."

"Where?" Majima asked, staring Seth down with his singular eye, "And don't talk to me about not likin' things, especially if I'm gonna be able to kick some ass!"

"Look, it's not that simple," Seth explained, "The man who took your friend, he took the Red Maiden as well."

"Okay?" Hol raised an eyebrow, "So what?"

"The Red Maiden has slain a GOD," Seth shuddered, the image of her stabbing Taniks fresh in his mind. That creature was not a god, of course, though he had heard plenty of her slaying of the actual goddess of the Citadel. He had only ever seen her prowess in the games, and with Taniks she may have been holding back. He could not imagine her true ferocity in battle. "She is not to be taken lightly. Even if her captor has not even a fraction of her strength, he still holds her within his hands."

"A god?!" Hol stared at Majima, "I didn't sign up for fighting no gods!!"

"A godslayer, actually," Majima smiled a little wider, "Anyways, we hadn't signed up for nothin' when we were dragged here! I think I'd be..."

Majima paused for a moment, his clarity shining through in a painful moment.

"No..." Majima told himself, turning away from the rest, "I can't die, even in such a glorious way. He needs me."

"So..." Jax whispered more to Boggart, "Whaddaya think his deal actually is?"

"Like his job?" Boggart squinted under his helmet, "Or how he lost the eye?"

"Well he's obviously some kinda yakuza," Jax said non-chalantly, though Boggart had no clue what that meant, "Probably got in trouble with a rival group or something. They're something ruthless, I've heard."

"Hmm..." Boggart, "It is always those in covenants that seem to be the most ruthless."

"Heh, at least he's not from a cartel or something," Jax chuckled, "Wouldn't want to end up with half our face blown off, now would we?"

Boggart gave him an odd stare. Jax sighed again.

"As I said," Jax rolled his eyes, "My comedy is wasted on you."

"Anyways," Majima sat down in a seat, "I'm famished! There is food here, yeah?"

"Plenty!" Boggart shouted, "I'd be fine with preparing somethin' for you two, er, three fine gentlemen. How's fish sound? They got a lot of fish in that freezer for some reason. And some purple mushroom looking things, but they don't look edible for shit."

"Fish is good!" Hol sat down beside Majima, "Thanks!"

"You know..." Majima watched as Seth sat across from him, "We do have more guys hangin' with us. They're off at that huge spire, though. I'm sure you've seen it."

"Of course," Seth nodded, "Perhaps we could talk all about it over our meal."

"Sounds good to me," Majima chuckled, "I've always thought better over some good grub!"

Chapter Text

Return to shadow, now!!

Melinoë fell to the ground, a floor beneath the one she had just been nearly slain on. She clutched her stomach, the deep gash healing slowly but surely. A soft body pressed against her head, and looking up she could see her familiar eye-to-eye.

"I'm fine, Frinos," she took a deep breath, "Just have to rest a bit. Those monsters are ruthless. I can only imagine the vengeful titan that created them."

"Grrrp," Frinos let out a low ribbit, then hopped to a small patch of moss on the floor. He sat down and closed his eyes, posed stiff as a statue. "Rrrrrrhp."

Melinoë sighed, then dusted herself off. Her knives had been failing her, and her senses even more so. She felt as though she were in the realm of Chaos, yet the being of origin was yet to be found. She felt as though her family was nearby, yet it was just as it had been when she felt the remnant of Zagreus's hand through the mirror. The monsters she faced were formed of some sort of Darkness, but surely not the darkness wielded by her father.

She picked herself up, Sister Blades held in hand, when she heard the footsteps from below. Four pairs, running the fastest they could. She looked to the door she came through, a collective of shadows looming past the staircase. She staggered a bit, her gash searing with pain.

They came up one by one, all giving her a similar shocked look. Though, in all honesty, they looked much stranger than she did. A woman with a squid for hair, a tiny goat, a strange spherical thing, and a mortal with the oddest fashion sense she had ever laid eyes on. She raised her knives.

"You aren't those monsters," she said, though didn't drop her guard for a second, "Who are you?"

Three and Bandana looked at each other, their weapons glowing brightly on their backs. Melinoë's eyes widened, and she nearly let her jaw drop.

"Well," Ralsei said, "I'm Ral-"

"Those-" she cut him off and pointed a knife at Three, "How did you get those weapons!?"

"Wait!" Bandana held Gigaros up, yet not in any confrontational stance, "You're Melinoë, right? Your brother gave these to us!"

"What?" she said, "Zagreus... he's here?"

"Kind of?" Three shrugged, "He's also kind of stuck in a mirror right now."

"Fuck!" Melinoë put her knives on her waistband, then placed her hand on her head, "Of course he's still trapped in that gods damned thing. Where is he, pray tell?"

"He's in Tartarus," Bandana explained, "It's back in the first circle of this... place."

"The first-" Melinoë kicked the ground, "FUCK! I was there! How did I just miss the entirety of Tartarus!?"

"Grrrrhp," Frinos croaked.

"Not helping, buddy," she groaned.

"Did you assume your brother was at the top of this tower?" Riku asked, stepping ahead of the rest of the party.

"It was my best guess," Mel sighed, "How did you guys find me?"

"Uhh..." Bandana chuckled, "Happenstance, actually. We're kind of here to free Riku's friend. He's at the top of the tower."

"What's he doing up there?" Mel squinted at Riku, "You are Riku, yeah? You're the most Riku looking one here."

"I am," Riku said plainly, "My friend, Sora, has been taken by the Darkness. It has him chained at the top of that tower, though not literally. I fear he has been transformed into a Heartless against his will, and he's become the source of the Heartless corruption here."

"Heartless?" Mel asked, "You mean those shadowy things with the yellow eyes?"

"Yes," Ralsei nodded, "We think that, by combining Riku's keyblade with some of my healing magic, we can free Sora from the Darkness! A-At least, that's what I'm thinking. We never actually talked about it as a team. That sounds like it would work, right?"

"It better," Riku said, "So, Melinoë. You must have fought the Heartless on the way up here, right?"

"A bit," Mel shrugged, "It wasn't much, just a bunch of the small-fry. I ran into a real wall on the floor right above us, though. A whole swarm of them, plus a truly awful beast. Honestly I should have been able to take care of them, but it's taken a while to get used to losing both my boons and my arcana."

"Must not be Sora, then," Riku sighed, "If you fought him, you'd not have had a single thought of being able to beat him."

"You talk him up real nice," Mel rolled her eyes, "But I'm sure he's just as mortal as the rest of you."

"And you're not?" Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" Mel pointed to her red eye, "I'm the daughter of Hades and Persephone, for gods' sake!"

"Hades?" Riku blinked, "Like... the guy with the flaming blue head?"

"Flaming blue what!?" Mel held out her hands in confusion, "My dad's got no blue flames on him! Just that really long mustache. You really confuse me, you know that?"

"Different Hades, then," Riku nodded slowly, "Sorry 'bout that."

"Rrrrrhp," Frinos croaked, then hopped off of his patch of moss. He came to Melinoë's side, and rubbed his face against her leg. "Grrrrrrrrp!"

"Good point," Mel cracked her shoulder, "So, are you guys going to help us beat up those things upstairs, or what?"

"Sure!" Ralsei said, "Three, Bandana, how about-"

He turned to the two, only to see them hunched over in the corner. Three had gotten quite bored of Riku and Mel's conversation, so she had challenged Bandana to a few rousing games of Roshambo. It was pretty hard, due to Bandana's inherent lack of fingers, but they had made it work. They both looked up at Ralsei, and Three quickly straightened herself out.

"Yeah, sure!" Three gave Ralsei a thumbs-up, "Lucifer's gonna burn my back off if it can't fire at anything soon."

"I'm always up to help!" Bandana spun Gigaros around, "I think Three was winning, anyways..."

"Then let's get a move on," Riku smiled, brandishing his Keyblade in his hand, "The Heartless won't know what hit 'em."

The plan was simple enough. They would split into two groups; one to find Corbeau and the other to wait for the rest of Majima's allies to get back. Scolipede, Seth, Wireglasses, and Majima would all go to find Corbeau, while Jax, Boggart, Car, and Hol Horse would stick back at the castle.

Seth made sure to bring a few provisions, as well as a large blanket that was found in one of the castle's bedrooms. He had tied it to Scolipede's back, just as the old bugs had done with their steeds. It would take a while for them to tire out, but this world was much too large to not prepare properly for nighttime. He could already feel his legs growing tired just an hour into their hunt, though that may have been because he had forgone sleeping the previous night.

"So what's it like, bein' human?" Wireglasses asked Majima, the mechanical paintbrush still on his back. He had put his Splattershot into the pack on Scolipede's back, already seeing the brush as a much more efficient weapon. "I heard plenty of your old societies, but not enough about how you guys actually got along. Can't have been that well, if you ended up bombin' each other up."

"Heh," Majima snickered, "Ain't that the fuckin' truth. Us humans, we never really can get along. You got your usual greedy bastards ruining it for everybody else, then you got the revenge-heads that want payback against the greedy bastards, and then the good samaritans that either end up dead in a ditch or misguided by one of the other parties. And of course, all of the people in-between just livin' their own lives, believing they have no chance of actually changing anything."

"Sounds torturous," Seth sighed, "Pharloom is much different, though I would not say it is any less doomed. Perhaps after the Red Maiden's work, it can come to a sort of peace. Not a perfect peace, of course, but one enough to allow the pilgrims some respite."

"You really do talk up this Red Maiden," Majima said, "She really must be somethin' huh?"

"Yes," Seth smiled for a moment, then looked to his feet, "That is why I am terrified, in all honesty. If this puppeteer has control of her... I just hope with your allies it will all be enough."

"Scolilili!" Scolipede cried, then lowered its head and lightly pecked at Seth's antennae, "Pedede!"

"Hey!" Seth chuckled, batting Scolipede's mouth away. He stared at the great beast for a moment, taking the time to really appreciate its size. "You know, it is quite strange that we can all understand one another, yet not you."

"Scoli," Scolipede huffed.

"Maybe we can understand it," Wireglasses laughed, "It just only ever wants to say Scoli or Pede!"

"Hehehe!" Majima giggled, a slight mix between that of a girl and a demon, "And what about you, squiddy? What's it like in your world?"

"Eh," Wireglasses shrugged, "It's much better than what you guys got, at least from what I know. It's just... a whole lot dumber. Ever since that goggled idiot came around, I've been wanting to leave for somewhere new. He's such a little shit, you know? No qualifications, no training, just complete ass-pulls and so much dumb luck that it's gotta be some kind of divine intervention! Kicks down all of my crew in one fell swoop, then takes me with 'em! In a City of Anarchy, respect is what makes you king. And that little shit took all the respect in the entire city and threw it in the garbage!"

"Damn," Majima said, "You've got a real bone to pick with this guy. Dunno if I've had anybody like that... Kiryu definitely doesn't count."

"Who's Kiryu?" Seth asked.

Majima paused for a moment. He didn't drop his joyful expression, though his movements had become noticeably more stilted. He grabbed his hip, and pulled his knife out of its sheathe. Inspecting the weapon, he watched his reflection stare back at him.

"The Dragon of Dojima," he said solemnly, "At least, he used to be. He used to be so much more. But it ain't his fault that he's... god fuckin' dammit..."

"Oh," Seth looked around for a second, then stepped closer to Majima. He held out his arms for a comforting hug, but the Mad Dog didn't take it. "My apologies. I didn't know it was a sore subject."

"It's fine," Majima walked past him, "I don't wanna be a stick in the mud. Let's just... talk about something else, why not?"

Yet none of them could think of anything else to say. So they walked on in silence, finally past the border of the lava flow kingdom and into a much cooler landscape. A single hill stood ahead of them, a majestic altar at its peak. Even from where they stood, they could see a small group at its center. Scolipede growled, though Seth held it back.

As they came up the hill towards the altar, the sight became even clearer. Five figures, two of which had been wrapped in pink chains. The two puppeteers stood ahead of them, looking forward to the figure of their salvation.

The Bleached Puppet.

"Scolipede!" Scolipede cried, glaring at Pecharunt as it floated idly by.

"Mochi mochi..." Pecharunt shook itself, causing Soma to look back at their visitors, "Mo-Mochi!"

"My my," Soma smiled, his snakelike eyes piercing through them, "As I live and breathe, is that the Mad Dog of Shimano?"

"Who's asking?" Majima pulled out his knife, matching the blade in Soma's palm.

"Kazuki Soma," the puppeteer smirked, "Just an old yakuza in the low ranks. I left right before everything went to shit, you know. I have this real knack for knowing what is about to happen, and how."

"HEY HEY HEY!"

Both groups stopped, looking back at the head of the altar. Two gigantic statues stood to the sides of the altar, beasts known by Scolipede and Pecharunt as Palkia and Dialga. Behind the puppet stood Arceus, the progenitor of all things.

And there the puppet was, though quite different from how Scolipede had remembered him.

"What's all this [motion for commotion]?" Spamton's eyes had changed, now glowing a bright blue and green. A similarly green worm stuck out of the back of his head, its tendrils wrapping around his insides and slightly elongating his limbs. "Why, it looks like I just found myself a [2 for 1 specil] deal to the-"

Spamton's eyes glitched for a moment, and the worm writhed in the back of his head. Soma stood between the puppet and Scolipede, only for his puppets to step between him and the group.

Corbeau looked like a ghost, his eyes blank and his arms held in a deathly lax manner. The Red Maiden, on the other hand, looked just as sharp as ever. Her eyes burned with determination, something that the Bleached Puppet could see quite well.

"Perhaps it would have been best to wait for the others..." Seth sighed, raising his pin, "We are surely outmatched."

"Then why even bother fighting?" Wireglasses raised his paintbrush, "You can just sit back and let us do the work for ya!"

"Heh," Seth shook his head, "Even if my belief is strong, the need to free the Maiden from her shackles is stronger. And once we have her freed... we shall do away with these monstrous puppeteers."

"Holy cungadero!" Spamton exclaimed, "Why, it really tugs on my [LIFE SUPPORT] to see so many fighting for my [Never-Before-Seen Deals]! We shall see who is victorious, and take them to the-the-the-"

The worm dug deeper into Spamton's cranium, both of his eyes now glowing a bright mint green. He began to laugh uncontrollably, and a green sludge filled the gaps between his teeth.

"[THE PROMISED LAND]!!!"