Resume playing "Advent: One-Winged Angel" from Smash!
Sephiroth vanished from the enclosing assassins, zipping above them via a Shave and slashing his katana down. The others evaded with Paper Art while the sword bounced against Lucci's Iron Body, and he swiftly tried to clap it in his hands, but Sephiroth zipped behind and swung another cut, to which Lucci evaded. "Chaos Control!" Shadow used a Chaos Emerald to Stop time, then tried to stab Finger Pistols into Sephiroth's back, but could barely penetrate the skin. Shadow curled into a pinball and drilled against him with the Spin Dash, so by the time Sephiroth unfroze, he was forced away by the combined damage. Sephiroth recovered instantly and whipped his sword behind him to block Slade's attack—Slade channeled an electric current up the swords to briefly shock Sephiroth, followed by—they forgot what happened next, but it seemed that Chase struck him with a Tempest Kick.
Sephiroth then felt a bite in the neck as pain coursed through his body, immediately slapping the black widow off. The spider re-expanded back to Akame, who clashed her black katana, Murasame, against Sephiroth's Masamune. "I see you're resistant to my widow's poison. But that which is in my blade is far more lethal!" She violently lashed her blade—Sephiroth seemed to black out as his sword was in a new position, but Akame thrusted from under it, only for Sephiroth's Paper Art to avoid. Deadpool swung his swords from either side, high and low, but Sephiroth dodged sideways, then used Shave to get behind Deadpool and slice him in half.
"That technique is the Forgetful Glance." Sephiroth noticed. "That's quite difficult."
"So, you know that as well." Lucci acknowledged.
Forgetful Glance: By quickly turning their head and focusing chi to the brain and eyes, the user can wipe the next second or less from the memories of anyone nearby. It is the trickiest Rokushiki move to pull off. While the user does not lose memory, their allies will.
Deadpool's lower half leapt to the air with Moon Walks and lashed Tempest Kicks, while his upper half was using the Humming Bird technique to deceive Sephiroth's senses, displaying illusions of multiple Deadpools. In actuality, Sephiroth had used the Forgetful Glance, followed by the Humming Bird, tricking Deadpool, who then found his head being lopped off. Lucci then engaged him in his lion form, slashing his Haki-imbued claws at Sephiroth's sword. He eventually bit the sword in his teeth to hold it in place, but Sephiroth used Iron Body. Lucci channeled Gold Haki to two claws and pierced through said defense, stabbing Sephiroth's stomach before he leapt away. "Gold Haki? Is that a requirement, too?"
"I only started practicing it last year, after hearing one of the Pirate Emperors mastered such a technique."
"So, you can only muster a small portion. After all, utilizing all these techniques requires strenuous muscle memory, so it makes sense." Sephiroth zipped around Lucci with multiple Shaves before slashing multiple times, to which Lucci used Paper Art. "Expelliarmus!" Chase cast a spell from his finger and knocked Sephiroth's sword away, Akame running to claim it herself. Chase cast Glacius, but Sephiroth Shaved behind him to deal Finger Pistol. Chase Disapparated to behind him, but Sephiroth's counterattack only cut through an afterimage. As multiple afterimages surrounded him, Sephiroth felt the area grow silent. A circle of Shadows were walking slowly as the hedgehog was performing the Rhythm Echo. The endless afterimages hypnotized Sephiroth into slumber—but he awoke in time to dodge Chase's Tempest Kick.
Sephiroth used the Humming Bird technique and conjured multiple illusions of himself. They flew around with their wings and attacked each agent, the six evading and attacking the convincing clones. Akame suspected the real one would go for her and attempt to take his sword back, but she unhesitantly slashed at him. Slade had fired a beam to the sky, exploding as it rained bullets of light-red energy. His comrades avoided the Electro Rain while the Sephiroth clones were all struck, fading away. However, it seemed none of them were real.
BAM! Akame was startled by the gunshot against her ear—the real Sephiroth seized his sword back and swung at her hip, Akame barely dodging as her left side was cut. She used Life Return to heal her wound as the six observed their foe cautiously.
"Man, I don't think we can take this guy, Lucci." Deadpool said. "His theme music is way too kickass!"
"Indeed… his grasp on Rokushiki is rather excellent." Lucci glared. "So… you want to join us, do you?"
"He can't join us!" Akame argued. "He killed one of our comrades!"
"Mandy knew the risks of this position." Chase said. "However… we have been officially hired to assassinate you, by you yourself."
"Indeed." Sephiroth smirked. "However, I never paid in advance, so I'm free to call off the hit. You guys are rough around the edges, but I am impressed. If I call off my own hit, would you let me join?"
Akame grit her teeth, sword still raised. Lucci folded his arms. "Why do you already know what our goal is?"
"Through underworld rumors. People say you plan to assassinate the gods, and that you're looking for special weapons."
"By liberating the universe of gods, there will be no chosen ones, nor will there be divine disasters. The law will be decided by mortals, for mortals."
"And the barrier between Good and Evil may be dispelled, too." Chase followed.
"And we may no longer need to fear cursed lineages." Shadow said.
"I see…" Sephiroth sheathed his blade. He pulled out a tape-recorder and turned it off. (End song.) "Then I hereby renounce our contract. You will gain nothing from assassinating me. I wish to end the gods as well, for the curse implanted on my people."
"Hmm…all right." Lucci nodded. "Then let's begin the interview… on our ship, of course."
"You aren't seriously trusting him, are you?" Akame asked.
"We'll decide whether we can trust him afterward. And if we can, I wouldn't let such potential go to waste. But first, might we have your name?"
The man brushed some hair back. "It's Sephiroth. One-Winged Angel Sephiroth."
"Sephiroth?" Deathstroke cocked a brow behind his half-orange mask. "The legendary SOLDIER from Planet Gaia?"
"You've done your homework, I see."
"So, that's why you're well-versed in Rokushiki." Lucci observed. "I remember reading that you became a renegade to your government, but beyond that, all stories seemed to stop there."
"And yet, here I am. So… shall we go?"
Sephiroth was led to an interrogation room within their ship. Akame held her katana to his neck. "So, what is this curse you spoke of?" Lucci asked.
"I'm part of the Fallen Nimbi tribe. Or at least what remains of us. Eons ago, our tribe joined with one of the Negatars as they plotted a siege against the gods. It wasn't the first Negatar, but because of our insolence, the gods cursed us. When we die, our souls would forever be bound to our bodies. Still, unmovable, frozen, until our bodies turn to dust and our minds disappear. As a symbol of our curse, each of us is born with one wing."
"Are you from the Negaverse?" Slade asked.
"No. Don't mistake me for the Black Nimbi that are common in that world."
"Your reasons seem genuine." Shadow replied. "Then I guess there's only one thing we have to do…"
Chase Young entered, holding a glass with a white and red potion. He placed it on the table and slid it to Sephiroth. "A smoothie?" the Nimbi joked.
"This drink is called the Assassin's Creed. It's a sacred potion that few know the recipe of, yet is an important tradition to our profession. By drinking this, you devote yourself to our cause: to end the lives of the gods and any we are hired to kill. You also vow not to cause us or plot any treachery in any way, shape, or form."
"So, this is some sort of contract?"
"More like a lie detector. If your heart is not committed, if you feel any nervousness or any treacherous desires, the potion will sense those feelings and kill you. That said, we will excuse the incident with Mandy."
Akame growled at this. "How could you be so passive? Regardless of the oath, Mandy was our comrade!"
"We don't have time to be distracted by such feelings. But her death should have no effect on your feelings toward the mission, so why would we turn down another ally? And considering this man's strength, I'd say it's a fair trade."
"Point made." Sephiroth smiled as he picked up the drink. "Bottoms up." Reaching it over Akame's sword, he chugged the whole drink in one gulp. "Mmp!" He seemed to cringe as the agents observed curiously. "Mmm…mmm…ahem…" His face flushed as he struggled to fully swallow it. "Keh…disgusting."
"Yeah, Chase kind of spat in it." Deadpool said. "It's how the potion senses the oath."
"Then it seems you're worthy." Lucci decided. "Welcome to CP0."
"What an honor. Should we get to know each other?"
"Well, to start off, name's Wade, people call me Deadpool~" The red and black assassin pointed thumbs at himself. "I'm from Marvel, this is my cousin Slade, he's from DC, Akame is from Square Enix… wait a second, you're from Enix, too! That ain't fair, I thought the rule was one crossover per company?"
"He doesn't need to know our backgrounds." Shadow stated.
"Shadow the Hedgehog, an artificially created Mobian created on Space Colony ARK, and a former military agent." Sephiroth began knowledgeably. "Rob Lucci, former CP10 agent for Earth's World Government. Chase Young, legendary Xiaolin monk corrupted by evil."
"Dang, I forgot we're pretty famous ourselves." Deadpool remarked.
"Though I can't say I'm familiar with Akame or that Mandy. So, which god are we targeting first?"
"Before we get to that, we need to find the Infinity Weapons." Lucci answered. "I first learned of them from some ancient documents in the World Government's archives, but we only know the locations of two: the One-Punch Gauntlets and the Time Demon, Era. Unfortunately, we believe Era is indisposed. Besides them, there's the Infinity Trident and the Whistling Arrow."
"Infinity Weapons? So, they grant infinite power?"
"Essentially, yes, but they come with great risk. For instance, the Era is designed to reverse your age at a rapid rate, unless you expend chi or take damage of equal or greater value. This will allow Era to continuously revert you to before the potential backlash, but you must keep expending that power or you will disappear before you realize it. Meanwhile, the other weapons share the same traits: they can destroy any entity in one hit, but the user will die from any small damage. For that reason, we are training ourselves by accepting jobs of high caliber, taking as little damage as possible."
"A 'little' damage isn't going to be enough. We can't take any, right?"
"That's why teamwork and strategy will need to be imperative." Akame answered. "And we still don't trust you."
"And I thought drinking your saliva would be enough."
Shadow felt a buzzing sound in the pocket of his suit and pulled out his phone. "Well… it seems we have a job in the Jaicro Galaxy. That's just past Florae. Perhaps you'd like to prove yourself there."
"Sounds like fun."
"Very well." Lucci agreed. "Shadow, Sephiroth, you're in charge. Don't disappoint us."
Jaicro Galaxy; Ra-sta
Shadow and Sephiroth flew to a Space Ramen Station famous for its variety of ramen shops. The Nimbi switched to a white shirt with a black tie and was hiding his wing. As instructed by their client, they visited the Full Metal Noodlist shop and requested to sit at Table 7, which had a curtain blocking it from a corresponding table.
With their backs facing the curtain, they could sense a presence behind them. "Are you the ones I called?" the client spoke in a moderate voice.
"Yes." Shadow answered. "You want us to target a high-ranking Gogol officer?"
"Not just any officer. Your target is Admiral Perry, the Gogol Empire's leader."
"Admiral Perry, huh?" Sephiroth pulled out a phone and looked said admiral up: Perry seemed to an entity with a flaming skull head and a cloak that resembled space with a sun inside, and planets orbiting his head. "What do you think? Does he look powerful enough?"
"Looks can be deceiving." Shadow said. "Still, if he is their ruler, he must be well-protected."
"There's an operation taking place tomorrow." The client said. "The Gogol fleet is planning to invade Planet Betelgeuse and test a new superweapon. Admiral Perry himself is planning to be there to witness it. Naturally, Jaicro forces will attack his fleet in attempt to stop it… but I want you to infiltrate the flagship during the confusion and end the admiral."
"And his guards?" Sephiroth asked.
"Will they cost extra?"
"To kill, yes." Shadow answered. "To knock out, no. However, destroying robots is free of charge."
"Then only kill his elite guards and destroy whatever robots you need to. How does 100 million sound?"
"Mighty generous." Shadow smirked. "We'll-"
"Make it 200 million."
Shadow glanced up at Sephiroth. The Nimbi bore a reserved smile, his fingers folded against his chin. "…Very well. 200 million."
Within minutes, a check was slipped under the curtains. "I just hope you're worth it. Here are the details…"
Above Betelgeuse; the next day
The Jaicro Galaxy was under the benevolent rule of the Jaicro Empire, but was at war with the evil Gogol Empire (from Space Dandy). The Gogol flagship resembled a gigantic version of the Statue of Liberty. As a Mobian, Shadow could breathe in space, so he flew directly toward the outside of the flagship. He then looked through one of the windows to give himself a good visual, and afterwards, he returned to his own ship and used Chaos Warp to teleport himself and Sephiroth to the flagship.
Shadow and Sephiroth Shaved their way throughout the base, KOing any guard along the way. Sephiroth bashed them with the back of his sword and Shadow dealt kicks to the head, and the guards were further confused when the assassins used Forgetful Glances.
"Dr. Gel!" shouted Bea, a cucumber-like alien in a white labcoat and black hair. "There's a disturbance in the left armpit! The guards are all being knocked out!"
Dr. Gel was a large, Mobian gorilla in white noble attire, a periwig, and Uncle Sam hat. The doctor growled and pushed a button. "Admiral Perry, I believe intruders are headed your direction."
"Intruders? I'll send the Negotiators to stop them. Keep charging the weapon, Gel."
The Negotiators were muscular robots wearing sailor suits and hats, their heads laser cannons. They greeted the assassins with a salute and fired their cannons. Shadow swiftly evaded and used Home Attacks to chop off their arms, and Sephiroth sliced their torsos with perfect cuts. One of the robots fired bullets from its fingers, but Shadow's Shaves were too quick to focus on him. Shadow severed the mech with a Tempest Kick and ripped out one of its fingers, taking it as his own gun.
The guards standing before the giant steel door were blue- and yellow-robed aliens with planet heads. "The elite guards?" Sephiroth inquired.
The guards in question combined their psychicbending to grab and squeeze the assassins. "As we were told." Shadow said, mustering the strength to reach for his Chaos Emerald. "Chaos BLAST!" The hedgehog exploded and ruined their concentration. Sephiroth was slightly charred as he jumped away from his teammate's explosion. "Heh! Sorry if that surprised you."
"Not at all." Sephiroth brushed the soot off. "I have a surprise of my own." The Nimbi focused on the guards and forced them to "fall" toward himself, but his blade missed as they warped away.
"Is he a psychic, too?!" the aliens wondered.
"Gravitybending?" Shadow observed.
"I didn't need to show you everything." Sephiroth slapped the floor to increase its gravity, pressing them all down. The guards conjured a ceiling of Psy-Spheres and directed them against the assassins, who used Iron Body to protect themselves. The aliens focused on their necks in attempt to choke, but Shadow flicked ranged Finger Pistols at their heads to break the holds.
"AAAGH!" The ship rumbled as meteors struck the side of it--Sephiroth Shaved up and tried to tear one's head off, but he projected a barrier to protect himself. Shadow used Chaos Warp to get within the barrier and sliced off the head with his hand. Shadow then whipped out the finger gun with a robot and shot the other guard, who teleported across the room. He conjured a barrier around both assassins and began to enclose it, but with a series of Tempest Kicks, they shattered it. A cloud of smoke followed, but the guard saw the finger gun fly in the air, followed by Shadow jumping up to grab it.
CLAP! When Sephiroth zipped up to the distracted alien, he clapped his hands with a force that startled and stunned him. This allowed Shadow to actually shoot his planetary head and kill him.
They used stolen key cards to open the metal door and entered a wide, tall chamber with windows overhead. Admiral Perry's imposing form loomed over them. "New agents of the Jaicro, I presume?"
"This is the end for you, Perry." Shadow stated, raising his fingers. "Why don't you reveal your true self?" He flicked a Finger Pistol at the skull head, fizzing the hologram.
"Ha ha ha ha." The hologram faded away as the true Perry was revealed on a throne. He was a middle-aged human with a maniacal grin, business suit, and galaxy coat. "Clever perception, but you've already fallen into my trap."
Their vision began to spiral erratically and flash an array of neon colors. "My psychicbending is top of the empire! No matter how strong you are, your brains will be scrambled by my illusions!"
Shadow and Sephiroth grasped their heads, feeling an immense ringing as their brains swirled like blenders. "He's attacking our minds directly!" Shadow yelled.
"It won't last long." Sephiroth said as he mustered a dramatic surge of gravitybending. Shadow was forcibly glued against him, and Perry applied some power to root himself to his throne. Meteors were incoming and crashing against the windows.
"These windows are 99% meteor-proof!" Perry declared, still keeping a hold on their brains. "The Jaicro Empire was foolish to think only two people could…?" A bright light shone through the window as a tremendous mass was approaching. "Is…Is that a sun?!"
"You've underestimated the extent of my gravitybending." Sephiroth said. "Indeed, I can even pull a sun to my location!"
"Impossible! Your chi doesn't feel that strong!"
"Then perhaps your brain has scrambled itself."
"AAAAAAAHHHH…"
Admiral Perry felt the sensation of being charred by the great mass of fire… but it was all an illusion made by Sephiroth's Humming Bird. Once the admiral was stunned still, Sephiroth sliced his head off. "Heh. I almost felt it." Shadow remarked.
"And with that, I guess we're done." Sephiroth sheathed the blade. "So, what do we do now? Watch and see how the war plays out?"
"That's their problem." Shadow withdrew the emerald. "We've done our part. Chaos Warp!" And with that, they vanished from the chamber.
…
Downstairs, Bea had shot Dr. Gel three times in the back, a stoic frown on the pickle man. "I guess those two paid off."
Club 0
Shadow brought Sephiroth to the hideout and reported the mission. Only Lucci and Akame seemed to be present. "Gravitybending?" Lucci smirked. "Well, there's no need to give you a Devil Fruit then."
"I wouldn't need one." Sephiroth brushed some hair back.
"At any rate… welcome to the club. The others are out on assignments at the moment, but for now, there's no work for you. I have some business of my own, so keep your schedule open for when we call you."
Lucci left the room on that note. Sephiroth then turned to a glaring Akame. "So, what do you do on your spare time?"
"Polish my blade and train my apprentice."
"We can have apprentices?"
"We've made some fame in the assassin community, so some groups ask us to train their juniors. Not that it's any of your business." Akame began to leave as well. "And by the way, I've had Mandy's body delivered to her hometown. I won't be attending the funeral, of course." And she left.
"Of course, the apprentices aren't involved in our plan, though they know of it." Shadow said. "They didn't need to take the oath. Though one of them has been rather rebellious."
"Well, what can you do with kids? Speaking of… what's our stance on the KND, anyway?"
"We decline all jobs asking us to kill the KND. Though our views aren't in line with each other's, yet, they can prove to be useful. Lucci is still hoping this Nagisa boy will join us. He's an assassin, too."
"Nagisa…" Sephiroth looked away. "That name feels… familiar somehow."
"Someone you used to know?"
"Not sure. But if the KND aren't our enemies, then I'll lay off. Anyway, I have a part-time job to get to. 200 million doesn't last forever." Sephiroth proceeded to leave as well. As the Nimbi stepped outside, he faced the sky with a smirk.
In a distant castle
The Supreme Born could see Sephiroth's eye quite clearly amongst the billions of stars of the universe within the palm of his tiny hand. "Well, I did promise he could kill me afterward." He figured. "At least he'll make sure they get the job done. Those other gods are too old." He bounced the universe in his hand playfully. "And they keep getting in the way of things. But all old things have to die, so the new things can come in!"
The crown-headed infant fell back on the cushion of his throne, letting the ball bounce on his belly, and smiled at the universal ceiling. "And then we'll get rid of all the other ones, too! 'Cause after all, a good king can unite any world. I wanna be a good king, too! Then we'll have so much fun!"
…
…
Tronta and Vweeb were hanging out at Hamburger Hacienda, a restaurant in Coruscant. "C'mon, Tron, can't you at least talk to Arianna?"
"What the heck do you expect me to say?" Tron asked as he munched a burger. "'Hey, Sis, I know Vweeb likes to flirt with other girls, but he always thought you were the hottest'?"
"I don't mean like that! I just want her to stop being mad at me."
"Well, maybe you oughta try giving her more attention, I dunno. If she's mad at you for flirting, then stop flirting."
"It's not flirting, it's…"
"Hello, kids. Everything fine over here?"
Sephiroth was standing over them, wearing his average business suit with a nametag that read Seth Ross – Manager. "Yeah, he's just trying to hit on my sister."
"Tron!"
"By the way, this Slurm tasted a little wonky." Tron said, holding his drink up. "Think I could have another one?"
"Of course." Sephiroth smiled and took the drink. "Sorry about that.
"HAM-BUH GAH! HAM-BUH-GAH!" The speakers started screaming an epic, angelic chorus of this word.
"That's pretty kickass music!" Vweeb laughed.
"Thanks. I wrote it myself." Sephiroth said as he left to get a refill.