Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Kikio's rage aura suddenly disperses as she collapses to her knees, huffing deeply.

Mewtwo remains on guard.

"The..."

"... what?"

They are understandably confused and worried by this casual mention.

"And when did you encounter Envy?"

As soon as a Meen disperses into the ether, a new one appears where he was standing. Empty is Meen, after all.

The original Meen pulls the    WIN    block out of his coat and directs his duplicates to reform Flag is    WIN   .

And then one of the Meens touches the flag.

I.M. Meen is the winner!

"IMPUDENT BOOKWORM! YOUR EFFORTS TO SCHOOL ME WERE FOR NOTHING!" Meen's cackles ring out as he and all his copies ascend beyond Rouxls' perception, returning to the Arena and leaving Rouxls in the void.

The Fell Dragon answers REX's charge with a giant mouth-beam of death.

"My name is Roy, and I am an ally of the Shepherds."

REX's hit and thrown back, but even then he land on his feet and roar, frustrated at not reaching the Fell Dragon. His helmet start to... widen, somehow, as purple energy appear over his body, like tron lines that, after reaching a certain point, fade back into his maw.

OOOUUUUUUARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!! REX fires off his own enormous laser of doom, madly twitching his head around as he uses Expiration in the form of a wide blast of purple flames. They threaten to engulf a significant part of the Fell Dragon's body and because of REX's uncontrollable twitching, also set on fire a significant part of the property in front of him.

The flames howl and scream, in a manner unlike regular flames, their shapes more akin to howling human shapes than anything.

...

Oh, the Shepherd's the name of our group! They, like, watch over people like how a farmer watch over his sheeps!... Huh, that reminds me I've never seen sheeps before.

Sheeps are taken care of by the farmer, and are properly fed so to as grow fat. They are then killed and eaten for their meat.

Beruka look down, with her eyes closed, and Corrin goes a bit pale.

Well, they do not eat people though... Or sheeps.

But we will need to kill some of them later. They are Hoshidans.

Corrin blinks. Y-yeah, that's the bit of true. But they do like me!

Those at the fort like you. Those we know have tried to kill you.

Yeah, it's a bit of a problem to interact with the friendly ones. I mean, I'm pretty sure Takumi doesn't like me.

He's tried to kill you twice.

Yeah, well, I hope he won't try it a third time, because there's a saying when you try something a third time... So it'd be bad for me.

Kill him first.

Edited by Bolded1 on Nov 7th 2020 at 10:45:36 AM

Gorochu shakes its head a little, trying to snap out of the daze. Once it does, it resumes glaring at its opponents. Something happens with its eyes though. It's hard to see in this darkness. Very hard to see... but for a moment it looked like his eyes showed glitchy static...

"Wait!", a young-sounding voice suddenly rings out throughout the chamber, so sudden that Team Rocket jumps back a little, looking around.

Gorochu itself actually appears surprised and starts looking around as well, meaning that it was not the source of that voice. Its eyes turn back to normal once it starts to look around.

"... oh boy I never said anything about that, did I...?", Lucas asks.

"I'll sum it up. A few years ago, not counting my second life... I was constantly nervous and on edge, the wounds of everything Porky and the Masked Man did, causing the demise of my home world, were still fresh in my heart and mind. I was pretty much afraid of almost anything, feeling like I couldn't trust anyone or anything but Claus for a good while. Then I ran into Alderoth, Wanda's boyfriend, and he suggested a procedure called Mind Fragmentation."

He taps his own head.

"Basically, you get sent into your own mind and have to confront other sides of yourself, manifesting as different, fragmented versions of you, and you have to defeat them to re-unify your mind. It's supposed to strengthen your mind, but... in my case, it kinda made me more fragile. And then, when Envy tricked me by telling me horrible things while disguised as my then deceased mother, an idea Greyface gave him..."

His voice turns softer, more quiet.

"Well, I became so mentally distraught that I was easy pickings for Mara's manipulation. That's when that whole 'king' stuff happened that Claus told you about, where I had to be stopped because I started brainwashing villains, then reincarnated after my death and... you know the rest."

Beat

"... waiteth... whateth the actual... HEY! WHAT KINDETH OF PUZZLETH IS THIS!?", he calls out angrily as I.M. Meen escapes the void.

"GOD... DAMNIT!"

He grumbles under his breath as he, not wanting to remain stuck in this void, starts pushing words around in hopes of finding a solution.

It takes him a bit, the possibilities confusing him, but he eventually comes to an attempt he believes may work.

ROUXLS IS    PSYCO   

IS

   WIN   

"Ah, then that means we're all allies here.", Laslow says to Roy. "The three of us are retainers of the Nohrian nobles."

"Hoshidans? ... right, I think I may remember the Hoshidan crown prince being here.", Selena says. "Wait, Prince Takumi is here too?"

"Well, I hope that doesn't mean he's going to try and kill us when we get to the fort."

   "Huh?"   

Red recalls Mewtwo.

"..." Roxas's eyes narrow.

"... I... see. That's... really tough, Lucas."

"So Envy is evil."

"Roxas, wait-!"

The Nobody vanishes in a stream of light.

Rouxls ascends in a glorious light that is just so him, then vanishes, back to the Hub Centralis, as the void collapses behind him.

Meen is long gone, no doubt parading his victory through the streets or something.

The Fell Dragon takes the Expiration right to the face and reels back from the blow, though he seems... oddly entertained by it.

   "AT LAST, PROOF OF YOUR POWER!"    He splays out his wings and calls down lightning on his counterpart.

"..."

Roy covers his face with embarrassment and slowly steps away.

He won't-

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Garon fucking run in with his axe over his head and Corrin's so spooked by the noise alone that he climb up a nearby tree until he's holding unto a branch, holding unto it for dear life, like a scaredy cat. The Nohrian prince, meanwhile, laugh and stop his dash once he's close enough.

Hello Nohrian friends! It's me, Garon! I don't recognize you! Are you from the future too? Haha, don't be scared, I'm nice! It was just a prank. He asks, tilting his head to the side with a curious smirk. Beruka look up, and at least Selena will notice that she seems a bit upset about Corrin being frightened, holding her arm out to him.

It's just an idiot. Come down here, Corrin. She calls out. Garon's head just snap to her location, his eyes growing dangerous for a second before he goes back to looking dopey. He scratch his crown and turn back to Roy and the trio.

Which one of you is the idiot that scared him up? He asks them, confused. Corrin, meanwhile, nods to Beruka but doesn't come down. He instead look around the tree, up until he sees a certain one-eyed wandering pirate hunter, who's just chilling up the tree as well. His nap was interrupted, it seems.

This is my tree. Go away. Says Zoro. Seeing this, Corrin decide to just leap down, unbothered by the landing. He even make it look graceful.

...

REX is shocked by the lightning but cut to the chase and just run up to the Fell Dragon. If he reach it on time, he attempts to punch it, and the strength that he emanate is enough that if the mighty dragon is hit, he'll be thrown back, like something of equal size hit him.

The lightning does briefly cause his speed to decrease though, so it may dodge or find a way to defend itself.

A young Picnicker girl now runs onto the battlefield, standing with her back turned to Gorochu, facing everyone else.

"Stop hurting him!", she exclaims, arms stretched out wide to protect Gorochu, who's looking up at her, seeming confused at first, but then apparently realizing something that nobody else here would understand.

"What?"

"What's this little girl doing here?"

Team Rocket walks onto the battlefield as well, with Mimikyu hissing at the girl, though not attacking her.

"Yeah, it-"

He then turns to Roxas.

"Wait, he-"

And Roxas is gone.

"... w-we already have things settled with the Homunculi...", he mutters, mainly to himself, though Xion won't have any trouble hearing what he says too. Lucas sighs, then turns to her again.

"During my... well, evil period, the Homunculi had to risk their lives to fight me... because I had brainwashed Pride. According to Claus, after I died he made sure to talk to them about this, and later they were told that it was Greyface's fault. I wouldn't be surprised if they were looking for him to get him back for the trouble he's caused them."

Beat

"Roxas isn't going to do anything rash because of me, is he?", he then asks, looking worried.

After reappearing, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thanketh the gods..."

Upon noticing that I.M. Meen is gone already, he decides he'll get back at him for this later. Right now... he could really use a nap.

So he leaves the area for now.

Selena, Laslow and Odin are all equally taken aback, with Odin outright jumping in Selena's arms. Once Garon starts laughing and the situation begins to sink in, Laslow looks like he doesn't really know what to say while Selena starts looking annoyed... then drops Odin on the ground immediately.

"Ow!"

Luckily Selena isn't annoyed enough to start getting snippy with Garon, seeing as he is still their future king.

"We're from the future, as well as an alternate world... your majesty.", Selena says.

Odin is about to say something as well, but then the second-long snap and glare happens, and he chooses to shut up.

"I, uh, believe your surprise prank was a little too effective on him, your majesty.", Laslow says to Garon as Selena walks over to Beruka and Corrin. She had indeed noticed Beruka being upset, so she tries to help Corrin out of the tree for her, though looks surprised when he just jumps out.

Meanwhile, above Zoro, a small shadow forms, and if he looks up he'll find Seraphim◊ looking back at him, half awake and grumpy-looking.

"First of all, this was my tree first. Second of all, stop yelling.", he grumbles.

Red pulls his cap down.

• He's dangerous.
• You've got a lot of nerve...
• (Attack)

   "Y-yeah! He made me think of my past!"   

"Oh, I see. I'll go get him." Xion vanishes.

A few moments later, she comes back with Roxas in tow, the latter looking mighty embarrassed about his mistake.

The Fell Dragon soars upwards and over REX's attack, coming down on top of the barrier over Julius's castle. He drapes his wings over it like he's resting, but with a sly, mocking draconic grin plastered on his face.

"Whoa!" Roy panics and draws the Sword of Seals as he jumps back. When the situation settles down on its own, however, he calms down.

"O-oh... have any of you met the other Corrin, perhaps?"

Edited by KiriK on Nov 7th 2020 at 4:45:31 AM

Thank you. Says Beruka to Selena, albeit she stays impersonal. Corrin dust himself off.

That wasn't really funny. He chides Garon, who ignores him, hurriedly raising his hand;

Don't call me majesty, please. I hate being called by my titles. You can call me Garon or other names though. He notes. Could you do that? It's been a while since people have treated me as I am, not just a prince of Nohr. He says, sounding surprisingly serious.

The other... me? She's nice! And she's taught me some tricks with my dragon form.

I trust that you haven't brought Lady Camilla? Asks Beruka to Selena, not minding the other interactions.

Zoro is back to napping. Seraphim is fully ignored.

...

AAARRRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

REX darts like a missile and attempts to impact into the Fell Dragon. Whatever he grab unto, he hold unto it and try to also repeatedly punch it. He doesn't care about strategizing.

"He's not dangerous if you don't antagonize him. Watch.", the girl says, turning around and kneeling down to be at Gorochu's eye level, patting it on its head.

"Hey there... I've been looking everywhere for you. I hope you're not too hurt."

Despite the probably expectations of everyone else present, Gorochu actually seems to calm down from this.

"Can ya believe it? She tamed the beast.", Meowth says.

"To be fair, it's pretty obvious from what she's saying that they already met once before.", James says. "I'm guessing she must have earned its trust at some point."

"Well, if she can keep it from fighting us again... Mimikyu, Wobbuffet, return.", Jessie says as she recalls them both.

Lucas shows Roxas a sheepish smile as he rubs the back of his head again.

"Sorry... I should've probably immediately mentioned that the Homunculi aren't really our enemies anymore. That's partly on me."

He then starts to look bothered.

"Ah... I wanna rest up but my mind's being all weird again... I really just wanna keep fighting."

The Pigmasks still in the room immediately run out of it, squeeling all the way. Lucas blinks.

"... I think I'm gonna need to apologize to them several more times."

Selena nods to Beruka, knowing her well enough to be able to tell that she means it. She, as well as Laslow and Odin, then turn to Roy.

"Do you mean a Corrin in particular, or any Corrin? Because we did serve one back in our world."

Selena, Laslow and Odin are then surprised to hear what Garon asks of them.

"... Well, it will be a bit strange, but if that is what you desire, then we will oblige.", Laslow says.

"I hope you won't get angry if we forget the first few times. We have served you for years in our world, so it'll be something to get used to.", Odin says, looking pretty serious about it as well.

Selena just nods to Garon as well, not really knowing what to say. She then turns back to Beruka.

"No, it's just the three of us. We did just ask Corrin if there's a Lady Camilla living with you though.", she says, looking curious.

Seraphim, meanwhile, grumbles a bit more before crawling back up the tree so that he can resume his nap in peace.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Nov 7th 2020 at 12:14:54 PM

   "I tried to be nice, but he got angry! I had to fight, but Red is my idol, so I couldn't turn on him! Why do I have to make these choices?!"   

Ignoring Kikio's rant, Red's eyes narrow at the Picnicker.

"Maybe I should go keep 'em company for now."

"I can go a round, if you want." Xion summons her Kingdom Key.

The Fell Dragon gets a fist full of Eye Scream. That seems to have genuinely hurt him, and he flies off.

"Yeah, the girl."

"Definitely not the one from your world," he says to the retainers. "She chose a very different path than what you might think were her options."

It's fine. I messed up my first times too. Especially at killing people.

Ha, women, am I right? Haha. Corrin, who RESPECC women, look shocked at Garon's words, opening his mouth and his eyes wide open.

Oh, oh! As for Camilla! Huh! He intervenes, approaching Beruka and Selena. It's a complicated issue, but- The assassin calmly put her hands over his ears.

She's dead.

Corrin bite his lips, and Beruka look actually apologetic. I am sorry. She says, sounding a bit more upset. Such a news must be quickly communicated.

Even Garon looks a bit more frowny now, upset at what he's hearing. She was still his daughter sort of...

...

REX, while sporting signs of wear and damage, roar and beat his chest as the mighty dragon flies away. While he was likely as worse off as him, he was still proud of his victory.

Edited by Bolded1 on Nov 7th 2020 at 12:30:04 PM

"He probably didn't trust that your intentions were genuine.", the Picnicker says to Kikio. "It takes a lot to get him to trust you."

She stands back up and turns to look at them, though still talks to Kikio in particular.

"I'm not blaming you for anything, he didn't leave you much of a choice. But I had to step in, I don't want to see him get hurt..."

Gorochu now gets back up as well, shaking its head once more for good measure, then seems to stick close to the Picnicker's leg, shooting Red a nasty glare one it notices him narrowing his eyes at the Picnicker.

"You know, it may be best to continue this conversation outside of the creepy tomb, wouldn't you say?", James then suggests to everyone else.

"Ah, but going from what happened just now I don't think I'd last long against you either.", Lucas says, then sighing again.

"I don't know what it is. Maybe I just have that much trouble getting used to these memories, maybe that whole Mara stuff is still screwing me up somehow. Maybe that Mind Fragmentation thing actually went wrong, and I can't check it without Ald-"

He then pauses, seemingly getting an idea, and glances at Roxas and Xion, though looks a little uncertain about his thought.

"Wait... uh... you can open the way to people's hearts with a Keyblade, right? Do you think... maybe... it could let me connect to my mind too? Basically... letting me redo my Mind Fragmentation? I mean... maybe it'll help."

Selena looks like she's about to say something that she should really not say to Garon, though Corrin's change of subject saves the day.

She then looks genuinely shocked to hear the news, as do Odin and Laslow. But Selena definitely the most so, and she quickly switches over to looking sad.

"... oh..."

She lowers her head a little.

"... it's probably difficult to discuss it, but... how did she...", Selena softly says, a sad tone of voice that Beruka should definitely not be used to hearing her use.

Which should tell her just how much it affects Selena, even if they are all very aware that this Camilla wasn't the one from Selena's world. To be honest, that detail probably doesn't matter to Selena at all.

   "I like it here,"    pouts Kikio, though when Red swiftly turns around she complies and follows him.

They just stand there staring at him.

"Are... you... insane?"

"Even if that would work, we don't know how to unlock hearts with the Keyblade! We just use it to beat things up!"

Roy has no familial attachment to Hoshido or Nohr, but he remains silent out of respect.

Beruka look around, a bit embarrassed at what she'll do, and then briefly hug Selena. Briefly, mind you, because once done she pulls away and awkwardly resume her neutral face.

More informations will be given very soon.

But we have a plan for striking back, for sure. Says Corrin. Huh... My apologies, though.

You need not to.

Corrin grimaces. If I had been just a bit stronger...

Edited by Bolded1 on Nov 7th 2020 at 12:52:39 PM

Grymm tilts his head, looking thoughtful.

   "To be honest, you might not even know you found a Metallic dragon unless it wanted you to know it was found. They're masters of disguise, and they like to watch the world from the sidelines. The nice old man next door, a girl playing in the street, even one of the birds in the trees...they could all be a dragon and you wouldn't even know it. But Metallic dragons tend to be more understanding of those people who earn their trust, though they don't tend to enjoy having their identity exposed to the general public when they're trying to go undercover. Actually, their God is the king of this, while his sister tnelaviuqe live eht deredisnoc eb dluoc."   

He then trails off for a moment, blinking, and then takes a sip of tea, collecting himself.

   "I meant 'could be considered the evil equivalent'. Sorry, had a foggy moment."   

Lucien nods back to Ana.

"The arrangement that was made, from what I recall, was that, should Hisoka help us preserve the Arena, he would have no shortage of possible opponents to pursue, whereas, if he had refused and continued to help the Assassins in their dark goal, then the subsequent loss of most of the heroic individuals within its population would drastically minimize the pool of combatants, and he would find himself rather bored. Not the most stable justification, but I do count it among our blessings that we ended up recruiting the lesser of two evils to our side."

He then gives Ninten a nod, his eyes betraying a slight tinge of sympathetic acknowledgement of Ninten's unspoken understanding, and raises an eyebrow.

"Decent? Why, when you had the opportunity to let Ana enter the gate first, you practically pushed past her...though I suppose the distribution of sweets helped to balance that out."

Then the other eyebrow goes up, followed by a quizzical tilt.

"A Police Detective, hm...? Well, having Psionic powers would definitely give you an edge in that department...but, yes, it would not be very easy to infiltrate the upper echelons of criminal organizations if you do not know how to impress the elite..."

It is then his turn to ponder.

"Well, Mercury Dragons are greatly unpredictable. Some may even call them mad, as they are, true to their name...mercurial. But they embrace it. They, quite literally, live for new experiences, as being locked into a routine, at least where their diet is concerned, will cause them to become sluggish and unresponsive. Some consider them to be the most obnoxious of all dragons, while others find their antics amusing, if still a bit hard to acclimate to. This extends to both friends and enemies of the dragons, and that designation can quite literally change in moments, depending on the dragon's current mood, their level of boredom, or simply on a whim. If you are on their good side, however, they can be extremely loyal, as long as their trust is not betrayed. In a way, their personality both mirrors and veers opposite from Hisoka's in different places..."

He then notices Lloyd is finished, and tilts his head.

"Ah, would you care for some more?"

Team Rocket follows them both out as well, as do the Picnicker and Gorochu, with the latter sticking near her at all times, glaring at pretty much everyone who isn't her.

"Ah, much better! This fresh air's much better for my hair than that stuffy air inside that tomb.", Jessie happily says. Meowth then turns to look at the girl, showing the device in his hands.

"So, girlie. How did ya get to meet a Glitch Pokemon? And more importantly, how'd ya get it to trust you?"

The girl smiles sheepishly.

"That's... a bit of a long story, I'd say... strange, talking Meowth."

"S-sorry, i-it was just a thought!", Lucas quickly says, looking more timid afterwards.

"I... I just want my mind to clear up without having to resort to fighting all the time. I just thought... I dunno..."

He starts looking sad.

"Nevermind... sorry..."

The sight of Beruka (even if briefly) hugging Selena shocks Odin and Laslow beyond belief. Selena is surprised too, and shows a sad but appreciative smile.

"Alright... it might be better to talk about this at your fort.", she says. She then looks at Corrin.

"Don't... don't beat yourself up over it...", she says. "It sounds like whatever happened was really serious... and I think... no, I know that Lady Camilla wouldn't have accepted her surviving but you dying by trying to save her..."

She quickly wipes across her face with her sleeve. Odin puts his hand on her shoulder supportively.

"Let's... let's get going to that fort of yours, alright?", she asks.

"Really now?", Lloyd says, looking thoughtful.

"I have a feeling Lloyd is gonna be observing his classmates very carefully for a good while.", Ninten smirks.

Ana nods.

"Yeah, any help is... well, helpful. Enemies in this place are way beyond most things we had to face in our journey."

Ninten then looks embarrassed for a moment when Lucien points out his... well, kinda rude moment.

"N-no, it wasn't that, it..."

He sighs in defeat.

"It was the cold. I was freezing and Ana can handle it so much better than I can, so I figured it was alright."

"It doesn't really bother me to be honest.", Ana says. "But yeah, that won't fly when it comes to people of higher standing that you need to get close to."

She then smirks mischievously.

"Tell you what. I'll give you a course on etiquette sometime."

"I, eh, I dunno if that's necessary.", Ninten says, looking slightly nervous. "Your way of teaching stuff can be kind of... extreme."

"But effective!"

"Every single time you tried to teach me PK Beam I got blasted in the face at least five times."

"Five times isn't so ba-"

"Per session."

Now it's Ana's turn to laugh sheepishly. They both look at Lucien when he talks more about what Ninten had been pondering about though.

"Huh... I have a feeling I wouldn't really have the patience to deal with that, so maybe it's best to stay out of that business."

Lloyd then shakes his head.

"No thanks. It was really good, but I'm not thirsty anymore, and I can't eat too many sweets. ... not that I'd get sick from eating sweets, I just..."

"He thinks he's chubby and he's watching his figure", Ninten casually says.

"Ninten!"

"What? I know that's your reason. And I've told you more than once that you look fine, dude! Especially for someone who sits inside all day."

"Even if you were chubby, there wouldn't be anything wrong with that."

"Exactly! No worries, homeboy. You look fly!"

"Please don't call me homeboy.", Lloyd says, making Ninten laugh.

Ana now finishes her tea and sweets as well, while Ninten, once he stops laughing, finishes his tea as well, but still has a few sweets to get started on, which he switches to immediately after.

• (Point out Missingno.)

Intelligence check = 8

   "Wait, I don't get it. 'Glitch'?"   

Xion puts a hand on Lucas's shoulder.

Then a perfectly circular hole suddenly opens up in the wall, and Skippy Wildgrin steps through it! "I heard everything and I'm here to help."

He turns around and peels the hole off the wall, leaving no trace of any damage.

"... How?"

"Master's secret."

Pfffft, I was literally just close enough to pick up on the conversation with my dog-ears.

"Right." Roy starts heading towards the fort.

Beruka silently nods, and they begin to head for the fort as well. Corrin still seems upset, but Beruka settle for a slightly more upset poker face.

"A Glitch Pokemon is an abnormal Pokemon not of da normal woild. Dey tend to have some really funky things about them, which we're interested in researchin'.", Meowth says to Kikio.

The girl looks surprised when Missingno. is pointed out. Then she pauses before nodding.

"Gorochu and I... met some time ago. He was all on his own, lost and nervous, and so was I. Gorochu's leg was hurt so he couldn't just run away, and I didn't want to leave him all on his own either. Despite that, we didn't really get along at first. ... well, I mean, I tried to, but Gorochu tried to zap me whenever I got too close."

She glances back at Gorochu, petting it on its head again. Gorochu now shows a genuine smile as it lets itself get petted.

"But despite everything, I was determined to help him out. At some point he became tired enough that I could safely approach, and I may be no nurse, but I know at least a few basic things about helping a wounded Pokemon. I had some salve and some bandages in my backpack that I could use. Once I got that on him and he rested a little, he was more willing to let me come close to him. Ever since that day we pretty much stuck together. Gorochu wouldn't go near any other people. I don't know exactly how it came to be, but..."

She looks back at the group.

"Gorochu hates humans. I seem to be the only exception. If he ever became hyper aggressive against you or your friends or played some mean pranks on you... well, that's the reason."

"Aha, so my guess from our first encounter was right!", Meowth says.

"I suppose that explains why it started to attack us as well as our Pokemon.", Jessie says.

Beat

Expecting James to say something too, she turns to look at him when he doesn't, only to see him comically crying.

"James, what's the matter?"

"It's... such a nice story!"

Jessie just groans.

Lucas glances back up at Xion, though then finds himself distracted by Skippy's entrance.

"Skippy?", he asks, surprised. He then pauses and looks comically unamused.

"Skippy, I can read minds.", he dryly points out to him. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"

The three retainers follow them as well. With this atmosphere, it would probably be a long way back...

   "O-oh, um, I see."    Kikio laughs nervously.

• He's still dangerous.
• So who are you, then?
• Well, bye.

"W-well... not intentionally. I just meant to stop by and check up, but when I got close enough I started hearing you."

"... Who even are you?"

"Skippy Wildgrin, Keyblade Master!" Skippy does a 'V for Victory' pose.

Xion raises a Declarative Finger, but then remembers what Mickey is and lowers her hand. "Well, if you're a Master, you probably have a better shot at this than us."

"My name is Cara. I'm a trainer from Ecruteak City.", she says. "I have a few Pokemon of my own, though I don't really have any badges, so don't expect me to be very strong."

She smiles.

"So who are all of y-"

She shouldn't have asked that question

Before she can even finish that question, the area suddenly turns a bit darker, to both her and Gorochu's surprise. She looks worried for a moment while Gorochu starts looking angry again, but then the spotlights come on, aimed at a specific duo as they have their backs turned.

"You ask us who we are..."

"Well, we'd be happy to oblige."

"Prepare for trouble."

"And make it double."

They each reach out with an arm.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the starts above."

They then fully turn to Cara and Gorochu, who are both just staring wordlessly at this point.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

The darkness then fades, revealing that they had somehow placed actual spotlights near them for the effect. How did they get them there? How did they darken an outside area? The world may never know.

"Meowth, dat's right!", Meowth then says.

Cara and Gorochu are still staring.

"... I... see..."

"Goro..."

"Ah. Well, you're always welcome to drop on by.", Lucas says, smiling a little more. Though then he hears what Xion says and turns to Skippy expectantly.

"W-wait, can you help me out with this?", he eagerly asks.

The moment the spotlights come on, Red is already facepalming.

At the end of the chant, Kikio suddenly jumps out from the middle of the group.    "Special guest star, Kikio!"   

• I'm Red. I'd be surprised if you hadn't heard of me.
• I'm nobody special.
• (Join the collective)

"Absolutely. Just hold still a second..."

Skippy steps back, then rubs his chin.

Hmmmm... If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

He summons the χ-blade and points it at Lucas' chest.

Roxas and Xion both gasp. "That's..."

"How..."

Edited by KiriK on Nov 7th 2020 at 7:31:58 AM

One would think that Team Rocket would be annoyed by Kikio jumping out at the last second. But on the contrary, they seem to enjoy her joining in.

"Finally someone with some taste in good introductions~", Jessie says, after which she does her signature laugh.

"W... well, it's nice to meet all of you, even if I didn't really... expect an entrance like this.", Cara says. She then looks at Red in particular.

"Red... Red... Red...", she says, as if the name is something she feels like she's heard before. Then she pauses, then she looks shocked.

"No way!"

Lucas looks genuinely thrilled at the prospect of all this mental stuff finally being over. ... well, it's not guaranteed that this will fix it, but it's worth a shot!

He then calms himself a little so that he can stand still. Since he doesn't recognize the χ-blade as anything more special than normal Keyblades, he does look confused at Roxas' and Xion's reactions.

Red raises an eyebrow at Cara.

   "Yeah! This is the legendary hero Red! He's famous in my world, too!"   

Skippy grips the χ-blade with both hands and thrusts forward. At the moment where its tip would meet Lucas's flesh, it pierces the thin air instead, leaving a crack in reality, and its light washes over the boy...

"I have heard a lot about you. But I never thought I'd get to actually meet you.", Cara says. Gorochu looks Red over, suspicious of him regardless of fame.

Lucas, while nervous and anxiously impatient, stays still as the light starts to engulf him.

His blue eyes shine, briefly turning gray for just a split second before his eyes close and Lucas collapses onto the floor.

Dive to the Heart

Lucas wakes to find himself standing on a glass panel depicting himself. It's grayed out and broken in parts, with the missing parts floating around in the air, leaving the glass paintings of the people important in his life blank.

"Whoa... this is kinda more ominous looking than how Claus described it to be.", he mutters to himself as he looks around more.

"Now where am I supposed to begin..."

Edited by DevilPsyco on Nov 7th 2020 at 3:16:32 PM