Last month; March 12
Sheila Frantic had just been to visit her mother's old house on Southern Island. She and her friends learned the direction of the palace and sailed westward. The great purple palace facing the larger island stood out to them. Sheila, Mason, April, and Weiss Schnee would soon dock at the palace island's port.
"Oi!" shouted a koala guarding the dock. "This is the royal dock! No one's allowed to dock here without an appointment!"
"Sheila, I told you we shouldn't have…" Mason shirked embarrassedly.
"Oi, I don't need an appointment!" Sheila yelled, overlooking them from the deck. "I'm the newly crowned Pirate King and I demand to see your queen!"
"Look, kid, I don't know where you got this ship from, but go play pretend somewhere else."
"W-Wait!" Weiss stepped up beside her. "I don't suppose you're familiar with Marine the Raccoon?"
"M-Marine? The Golden Fist? Don't tell me…"
"I'm Marine's daughter! Now, ya gonna be good servants and let me in~?" She grinned smugly.
"She's already acting like a spoiled rich kid." April commented.
The koala bit his lip anxiously. He didn't approve of this girl's demeanor, but if she was really Marine's daughter… "Inform the queen about this!" he yelled to another guard.
Not long after the message was sent were the four invited into the palace. The four were marveled by the palace's décor, with Sheila stopping to touch a few vases. The guards escorted them to the throne room, where they were awed by the giant blue flame that brimmed above the throne.
The cat queen stepped down from her seat, she and Sheila approaching the other. The other three stayed back, eager for how this interaction would play out.
When they stood before each other, Blaze looked the 14-year-old over. Sheila truly looked like a human version of Marine, aside from messy black hair atop her tanned body. Her blue eyes were the same, her raccoon ears and tail, and her thin, strong arms hung over her ragged green shirt. Her black shorts and green sandals were worn-out as well, almost like she gave no concern for her attire. She brought the scent of sea salt into her palace.
Blaze knelt down and hugged her. "It really is you, Sheila."
"Heh heh. Good ta meet ya, Queen Blaze!" Sheila hugged back.
Although it was their first meeting, it felt like a reunion. The others could feel the familiarity between them, warmed by the moment. They released as Blaze stood up. "Your mother sent her last photo of you when you were five years old. After that, she only sent letters describing your exploits. But for the longest time, she always turned down my request for a meeting." The queen sighed. "She didn't want you to become popular just for being acquainted with a queen. She hoped to introduce you once you've become a big-name pirate. She was honestly ridiculous, setting her expectations that high."
"Well, 'ave I got a surprise for you!" Sheila rose her skull crown. "I'm the King of the Pirates!"
"Ha ha! When I received that message from your father, I could hardly believe it. I still can't believe it. That little girl who tagged along with us during an important mission would end up attaining such infamy."
"Well, it's true." Mason smiled, walking closer. "Sheila's the best! You should've seen the things she's done."
"I believe you. I'm glad that we can finally meet, 'Pirate King' Sheila. And… might this one be Mason?"
"Yup!" She jumped back and caught him in a chokehold. "This is me first mate, Mason! I never leave home without him~"
"Heh heh! It's hard to keep her in check."
"I sympathize with your duty. Now, I don't believe I've heard of these two…"
"I'm April! I'm traveling with her on vacation." replied the artist in a cloudy sky jacket.
"Um, and I'm Weiss." said the girl in a silver dress and ponytailed, snow-white hair. She looked a little bit nervous. "This is a very nice palace! You look very nice yourself. Uh, I like cats! And purple. Purple cats!"
"A bit nervous, are we?" Blaze chuckled. "You look a bit royal yourself."
"Uh, I'm from a rich family, no one special. Don't let me interrupt you two!"
"Yeh, Blaze, I wanna explore the palace!" Sheila fist-pumped.
"Mind your manners!" the guard stated.
"At ease." Blaze told him. "Allow me to serve as your tour guide then~"
…
Sheila walked along the rail of the palace balcony, absorbing the view of the Castle Town and Sol Sea. "Truthfully, I bore witness to your performance in Field Day." Blaze said. "You and a few others were the ones I focused on the most. Sadly, after that incident occurred, I didn't feel it was the appropriate time to schedule a meeting."
"Me mum told me about you." Sheila said without taking her eyes off the sea. "She asked if I wanted to come meet you a few times. But I didn't feel right just casually having dinner with royals! Wouldn't do well on me pirate record!"
"So, you turned me down as well, did you?"
"I mean, I think Mum had the right idea. If we spent more time together, I might not've gotten to know me mates so well! But after a while, I sort of didn't remember this place at all. Didn't think to come here until at least yesterday."
"You've found your own friends and grown accustomed to them. I can understand that."
"Yeah, but… I'm glad I came over!" Sheila jumped around, staying balanced on the rail. "I reckon Mum would've brought me here after the war."
"I'm truly sorry for what happened to her."
"'ey, don't get all sad on me. But listen, since I'm gonna be exploring the Sol Kingdom in a bit, you feel like joining? Since you were one of Mum's first mates, you can tell me all about her first adventures!"
"I suppose I am duty bound to accompany my captain's daughter. But first, would you have time for a small test, Sheila?"
"What kinda test?"
"Would you happen to have a waterbike handy?"
…
Sheila got the Sunny Racer out of the ship and parked it next to the dock, her foot padding the gas pedal. "Show me how fast you can go around Soleanna Island. Your mother was once the fastest waveracer around, so I would like to see if you can hold up to that title."
"In that case, I'll see you in a bit! WOOHOOOOOOO!" Sheila began to speed around the side of the island on that cue.
"Ha ha!" Mason laughed. "Almost feels like you've been hoping for this day forever."
"Better late than never." Blaze acknowledged. "Actually, I'm expecting a certain 'guest' in about a month, during which time I plan to hold a race. I would like it if Sheila could attend it."
"Really? What kind of guest?"
"It'll take a while to explain…"
"Well, hopefully her schedule's open. You never know when a crisis will come up."
"In that sense, I wouldn't want her to feel pressured."
Weiss and April watched as Sheila rode beyond sight, the latter painting an image. Blaze's daughter, Cinder decided to walk out and greet the strange visitors… though as she studied Weiss from behind, she raised a brow in curiosity. "Hm?" Weiss felt the presence behind her and turned. "O-oh, hi. Who're you?"
"WEISS SCHNEE?!"
She flinched at the outburst. "Huh?" Blaze turned. "Did you say… 'Schnee'?"
"Heheh, we're getting off topic here." April laughed. "Back to the race, eh?"
Currently
Romeo and Sheila drove their waterbikes to a designated area in the Wave Coast, notable for its crisp beaches, rock pillars, and looping rock formations. The Rainbow Mage removed his vest to keep it from catching wind, as well as his boots to better feel the gas pedal. "So, you're the Firstborn Guardian, eh?" Sheila asked. "Hehe, good for you, mate!"
"Hah, it wouldn't seem special to you, would it?"
"Chosen ones are a dime a dozen nowadays. Bein' a Guardian ain't gonna help ya surpass me~"
"We may be common, but it's still an honor to be chosen out of a million operatives. Honestly, Chris is way stronger than me, I'm surprised he didn't get-"
"AHP." Sheila clamped her fingers. "We don't talk about him, anymore."
"Uh…right." Romeo heard about what happened between them. He could tell by her drop in expression that Sheila was still upset. "Um, so has anyone been getting that Aincrad game, Sheila?"
"Yeah, Dillon and a few others got it. I ain't playin' myself though. Why have virtual adventures when I can have real adventures?"
"I hear that!"
Moments ago, in the port town, Phil and Cinder were lined up in their kart and motorcycle. The Philmobile was dark-yellow and resembled a classic automobile, while the Cinder Cycle was red with silver edges. "I can't believe the city was willing to clear on such short notice."
"Our people enjoy a good race." Cinder smiled. "That's quite a retro vehicle you have."
"Yeah, my town's pretty old school." Phil chuckled.
"Well, this bike is state-of-the-art. Good luck keeping up with me~"
"I'll try…" Phil tapped the gas pedal- "Whoa!" a jut of smoke burst out. Cinder shook her head in disbelief.
"Alright, it would seem everyone is in position." Gardon announced. "At the starting signal, the two of you will follow the arrows as designated and meet with your respective teammate at the canyon."
"Good luck, Phil!" Oliver cheered.
"Hey, Ollie, where's Victini, anyway?" Maria asked.
"Huh? I… assumed he was with Romeo or something."
"Oh, great."
"Ready… GO!" Gardon fired the starting gun.
"Ready… GO!" Gardon fired the starting gun. (Play "Wave Ocean" from Sonic 2006!)
Game 1: Soleanna Marathon!
Both vehicles kicked off with great speed, to which Cinder was surprised that Phil's craft could keep up. They drove on the road along the shore, then had to make a small turn left into the town. Phil saw a left turn coming, so he began the drift and managed to get ahead of Cinder, speeding past and smogging her in fumes. The road turned a diagonal right as Phil jumped up a few ramps for a boost, followed by another right turn. Phil maneuvered around some crate stacks set up to block them, later to make a left turn as the road sloped up between a trench in the cliff. Cinder drove out of the fumes and used firebending to boost ahead of Phil. They were driving on a highway going over the sea. As Cinder drove directly in front of Phil, he tried to judge a good time to get in front of her. The highway curved right, but when Phil saw a left curve coming, he stomped the gas and sped to cut the corner. He got just in front of Cinder as smoke smothered her face, having to cease her bending to keep it from combusting.
"AAH!" Her bike scratched against the side of the wall, causing her to falter behind Phil. "I consider that cheating!" Cinder boosted, but Phil kept the pace to stay ahead of her, a cocky grin on his face. The road sloped up, so as Phil boosted, he flung off the top. "WHOOOA!" The road would've turned left, then looped right and down, but Phil completely flew over that turn and landed on the lower road with a forceful thud. "CRAP, this highway sucks! I mean, this is just bad for commerce!" There were several crate walls coming up, so they had to use the ramps to launch over them. The road would lead into the canyon, but Phil would slow down before a checkpoint flag.
There was an opening in the cliff to the right, where Wendy and Blaze were waiting. "Looks like Phil made it first!" Wendy exclaimed. "Don't wait up!" And she sped up the path.
A few seconds later, Cinder caught up. "Sorry for my lateness!"
"A headstart won't save her!" Blaze's heels ignited like engines as she dashed after Wendy. They curved right and down a cliff trail, leading down to a train track bridge. Blaze caught up with Wendy by the time they were crossing the bridge. Surprised by the queen's speed, Wendy poured more chi to dash faster, the two practically neck-and-neck. The arrows directed rightward, so Wendy turned off the bridge and ran along a more narrow path along the cliff. She gasped as the path ended, so she switched to running along said cliff. She sidestepped to avoid bumps in the cliff, but Blaze was flying over the chasm with Rocket Boost.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Wendy yelled.
"It's called a footrace! It's not exclusive to running!"
Wendy saw her about to landed on a wide, boarded platform with minecart tracks. As Wendy's cliff curved left, she found a track leading to it, so she grinded the rails to reach the platform. Blaze began to jump up some scaffolds, with Wendy following carefully. The queen would disappear over a cliff, so Wendy hastened to catch up. Once atop the cliff, she saw Blaze dashing down a valley like a sapphire comet. Wendy focused all her willpower into running, barely letting herself think of anything but the path forward. She had to make a curve right and fly up a ramp to another ledge. Two trains were crossing parallel tracks, but Wendy could jump over the first one's empty cart. She had to jump between two crates on the second train, and would afterwards run off a ledge.
A train was crossing a track along another cliff, in which Wendy saw Blaze running along its roof. Wendy used airbending to break her fall, then dashed across the train herself. She stayed mindful of the gaps, the train going into a tunnel, then making a light left curve. The train would enter a tunnel too narrow to run under, but Blaze planted her feet against the wall and dashed upward. Wendy saw Silver and Kiki waiting at the top. The mage mimicked her movement and dashed up the wall herself. The queen tagged her husband a few seconds before Wendy made it up to tag Kiki.
"I'm sorry for falling behind!"
"Save it after we win!" Kiki yelled, taking flight across the canyon! The young witch was crouched down as she intently focused her chi through the broom, the wind pounding against her face. Using his psychicbending to fly, Silver was as fast as one would expect for a hedgehog. It seemed that holographic rings were floating in the air, indicating the route to follow. Kiki would have to dive down into the canyon and fly through a tunnel, dodging the stalactites on the way. The tunnel exited as the rings led down lower. They flew just over a river, with rings sticking halfway up from the surface. Kiki was able to catch up with Silver, and when the rings directed them through a rather narrow passage, Silver slowed down to readjust himself, but Kiki zipped over and past him.
"Whoa, be careful, that's dangerous!"
"Heh, dangerous?!" Kiki retorted, expertly making the tricky maneuvers around the obstacles. The canyon would lead out into the coast as Kiki followed the rings up around the stone pillars. "I faced Queen Mandy at her fullest power! Up and personal!"
"What?! You mean Emperor Mandy?!"
"That's right!" The very memory sparked a proud smile on the witch. "If that didn't make me a master of evasion, I doubt these stagnant rocks will!" Kiki flew toward a looped rock formation and had to follow the rings up and around the loop. The rings would appear along the water again, the sea spraying her as she glided the surface. A large wave was about to wash over Kiki, with a ring leading her through it. Kiki bypassed the ring and the wave before it could drown her, dolphins jumping out to congratulate her. Silver strained his mind in trying to pursue her, but as they curved around more pillars, Romeo and Sheila's bikes were in sight.
Romeo smirked seeing his friend in the lead. "Looks like I'm starting first, Sheila!"
"Grrrr! Oi, hurry up, Silver!"
Unbeknown to them, an invisible Victini was floating behind Sheila, sniffing her. Wow, what a fresh chi! This girl has so much fortune! Can Romeo really beat her?
Kiki was seconds from tagging Romeo. Dolphins were surfing the waves—"WHOOOA!" and one of them flipped Kiki off her broom.
"Ouch." Silver cringed. "Well, sorry." He bypassed the witch and tagged Sheila.
"HAH! Wish me luck!" Sheila taunted as her bike sped off.
"No! Kiki!" Romeo cried.
"Romeo!" The witch struggled to swim, taking heavy breaths as her dress and puffy pants weighed her back. The sea bobbed up and pushed back for a moment, but Kiki kept fighting until she could tag her friend. "Huff, there, huff!"
"I'll bring her to land!" Silver said as he levitated Kiki.
"Okay!" Romeo pressed the gas pedal and zoomed after Sheila.
"Huff, huff… No rest for the weary, huh?"
"Blaze's orders were not to hold back." Silver said, retrieving Kiki's floating broom. "It's no use. He won't be able to catch up now. You guys may have to restart the race."
"Oh, man…"
Romeo and Sheila had to follow holo-rings as well, involving a lot of tight left and right turns. Romeo had to perform a constant right turn around a buoy three times, nearly overturning his bike in the process, but he flipped himself upright when the route continued. He saw Sheila drive up a ramp over a stone needle, so Romeo followed, but dolphins began to swim at him upon landing. He hastily dodged the dolphins, nearly falling over. Riding a waterbike felt a bit more unstable than a mountain bike; the vehicle felt lighter than his own body and felt very sensitive and sudden in its maneuvers.
Worse was that Sheila was still far ahead. They were leaving the Wave Coast and about to pass the port town, from which Oliver and Maria watched from the dock. "Man, Sheila's still ahead of him!" Ollie yelled.
"Come oooooon, Romeo!" Maria yelled.
Victini was clutching the back of Sheila's bike, glaring back at Romeo. The spirit growled in frustration as he faced up Sheila's back. Romeo, she's killing you! See, this is what you get for not relying on me! Ghh…maybe I'll just take some of this luck off. Victini puckered his lips and slurped. A golden-orange aura softly lit around Sheila, but was discretely sucked into Victini. Mmm, that's delicious! Maybe just a bit more…
Sheila would drive up another ramp and between the sails of two boats—her bike bumped against a nail that was partly sticking up from the ramp, causing her to tumble and splash in the sea. "HA HA!" Romeo laughed and leapt over her.
"Ti hi hi!" Victini giggled and sneakily flew back to the harbor.
"Blimey!" Sheila angrily tried to push her bike back upright.
"MISS, WATCH OUT!" one of the sailors yelled.
"Huh—AAAAH!" A killer whale swam up and crushed Sheila's bike in its teeth. She punched a large Light Sphere to force it back. The whale dove down to try and bite her from beneath, but Sheila swam in evasion and grasped its top fin.
Romeo heard her initial scream and stopped to look back. "SHEILA!" Concerned for her, he turned back around.
The orca violently tried to shake her off, but Sheila pounded its head rampantly. Romeo rode up and cast pink flames over the orca, softening its defenses. Sheila continued to wrestle with its fin until the orca ceased struggling.
"Sheila, you're not hurt, are you?"
"Old bugger nearly got a nip of me, but I think Ah'm still whole." Sheila checked her toes to be sure. "'ey, you owe me a ride, ya big drongo! GET OVER THERE!" Sheila forced the fin rightward, prompting the whale to surf that way.
"WHOA!" A wave washed over Romeo. With a gasp, he stomped the gas to catch up.
"(SHE'S RIDING THE WHALE?!)" Victini screamed. "(Impossible! She couldn't have THAT much luck to spare!)"
"Is she even allowed to do that?!" Oliver questioned.
"Who cares, it's awesome!" Maria cheered.
Sheila directed the whale around to the south end of the island and to the palace in sight. Romeo leaned forward in attempt to boost his bike just a bit more, but could barely catch up to the whale. The Finish Line at the palace port was 30 yards away, 20 yards, and now 10, but Romeo had only just got level with Sheila after she passed the line first. "YAAAAAH!" Sheila leapt off the whale and flew onto the port.
"THE WINNER IS TEAM BLAZE!"
"Noooooo!" Wendy cried.
"We lost…" Oliver sighed.
"Victini." The spirit spawned behind them.
"WHOA, where did you come from?" Maria asked.
"Tini. Victini-tini, ritini-ti." He seemed to be ranting at them.
"Ugh, go ritini yourself!"
"Come on, let's head back to the palace!" Oliver ushered.
Victini whistled innocently as he flew after them. (End song.)
Sometime later, all the racers regrouped at the castle. As Queen Blaze led them inside, Oliver cast a spell over Kiki to quick-dry her, but she and Wendy were bowing their heads in shame. Blaze led them back to her throne room, and they stood patiently as she climbed up to the Sacred Flame. The queen scooped a piece of the flame out and returned to the group.
"Romeo Conbolt… for your valiant performance in the race, I grant to you this Sacred Flame of Solaris."
The operatives lit up in surprise. "What?" asked Romeo. "But we lost."
"(It's because she cheated!)" Victini taunted. "(You can't use whales in a bike race!)" Romeo translated for him.
"Officially speaking, Sheila won her portion of the race." Blaze smiled. "Against an unexpected and awful situation, she pulled herself together with her talent at animal taming. But even so, Romeo chose to assist her instead of seizing victory for himself. Even Silver wasn't so considerate."
"Y-You said not to hold back!"
"And we must be thankful that our friends didn't employ that philosophy."
"B-But, I…"
"For your selflessness, Romeo, you've earned the flame."
"Are…are you sure?" he asked modestly. "We don't need to hold another race?"
"I insist. It's gonna be bad for commerce if we keep the roads closed too long."
"(Just take it, Romeo!)" Victini insisted.
"Hmmm…" Romeo raised a brow down at him. "I don't suppose you influenced her decision, Victini?"
"(W-What? No! I didn't use my power on you at all, just like you asked!)"
"He kind of disappeared on us during the race." Oliver mentioned.
"(I was looking for food!)"
"We just ate before the race!" Maria argued.
"I mean, either way, I didn't exactly feel anything happen to me." Romeo said. "So, maybe he didn't…"
"(I-I didn't do anything, okay? So, just accept the victory.)"
"Hah, okay, okay. Thank you, Your Majesty." Romeo held his hands open. Blaze gently placed the flame in his hands. They were in awe as the ember seemed to travel into his chest, his body brimming blue for a moment. The candle over his chest evolved into a slightly larger, sapphire flame. "Oh…did it work?"
"No," Maria replied in sarcasm, "other chosen ones suck the flame in through their nose, not their nipple."
"I've had a light go in through me breast before, so I know 'ow it feels." Sheila grinned, patting his back.
"Haha! Then I guess we're good to go!"
"Hehe! But thanks for helpin' me back there, mate."
"No problem! Though, given your record, you probably would've had him tamed eventually."
"Hehe, Oi know!"
"Humble as always." Kiki remarked.
Victini thought to himself, I guess it's lucky she wasn't eaten. But I can't believe she still won like that! She shouldn't have been lucky enough to actually tame that thing! Am I missing something?
"It was an honor to have you here." Blaze said. "Will you be needing anything else? You're welcome to rest here for the night if you'd like."
"(YES!)" Victini jumped. "(Romeo, let's live like kings tonight!)"
"I'd rather not impose…" Wendy shook sheepishly.
"(Boo to you, you can sleep outside!)"
"I don't really wanna stay either." Phil replied. "Given my… allergies."
"But you haven't even sneezed around us." Cinder said.
"Ugh, he's just afraid of cats." Kiki huffed.
"Kiki!!"
"Hah, is that it?" the princess smirked. "You're scared of us?"
"Ohhh, he's probably wetting his pants now!" Kiki teased. "Even around normal cats, he gets as scared as a mouse!"
"Shut up!!"
"Te he he!" Cinder giggled. "I look forward to racing you later~"
"Eh heh…" Romeo smiled awkwardly. "Wendy's right, we shouldn't stay. It'll be easier to plan our next journey if we rest at GKND."
"Tiiiiii!" Victini shook in despair.
"Tell Miss Yorkshire how we did, Blaze!" Maria jumped.
"Haha, of course! I wish you all luck on your journey."
"Ti!" Victini winked.
"You fellas mind givin' me a lift back to me ship?" Sheila asked. "I need to ask Artie to build me a new Sunny Racer."
"We apologize for calling so suddenly, Sheila." Blaze said.
"Ah, it's no biggie! Everyone's all fixed on that game, anyway."
"Ah, yes. I must admit I have my curiosities about that…"
Koopa Kore
Majora entered the throne of King Bowser, patiently marching up to the Koopa King. The witch Gruntilda, restored to her fleshy green form, waited on the step before his throne. "So, you've delivered the cursed mask!" Grunty deduced. "All for your chosen one to complete her task?"
"I want no one else to care for MMy child." Majora replied. "And I certainly wouldn't allow you all to destroy them. Besides… you don't really want to destroy them. Do you, Lord Bowser?"
"…" The giant Koopa closed his eyes in thought. He still remembered that dream… that night when he met him.
"So, if I can take over the whole universe, then… you'll give me your Throne?!" Bowser exclaimed.
"Well, it doesn't have to be the whole universe." replied the imp with a white body, thick black lines, and a gold crown head. "You just have to beat the other Candidates! Make a super big kingdom and squish the other kingdoms." He took a grape from his bowl and tossed it in his mouth.
"Gwah hah, I'm great at squashin'! And my only competition are King Mickey and… who's the other one?"
"Uhhh…haven't decided, yet."
"Whaddya mean you haven't decided?!"
"I'm stuck between two people. They're both really good." The king rubbed his crown.
"Just tell me who they are and I'll smash them now!"
"Nah."
"Annoying brat. Well, when is this whole thing supposed to begin, anyway? When do we have to start fighting?"
"The battle starts when I'm able to return to the universe."
"And when is that gonna happen? Is your bus late or something?"
"Well, don't ya remember how Arceus came back?" The king smiled childishly. "So, we gotta do the same thing!"
So, if Bowser thought correctly, that being would appear when all the Newborn have been collected. And if Bowser could win his game… then the multiverse could be his to conquer. But Bowser wasn't sure if he could be trusted. And if the KND were these Newborn's Guardians, it wouldn't benefit him either way. "I still ain't really sure. All I know is we're gonna need a lot more firepower if we're gonna beat them and their Guardians! And it doesn't help that we lost control over Mobius!"
"At least we've MManaged to secure a tighter hold on Superbia." Majora said. "That Shigaraki fellow possesses powerful darkness. The Brotherhood of Evil will have no trouble conquering Superbia with his power. And I believe Eggman is about to begin an operation with that new game."
"Why don't you make yourself useful, Majora? Go out and conquer a planet or something!"
"I've secured plenty of followers in my homeworld. The question remains which side they will follow in the end…"
"They better be following MY side, buddy!"
"Of course. We wouldn't have it any other way~"
Drury
Miyuki determined the answer to Pea's riddle to be "camel." The deactivation of the barrier signified that she was right. They ran in the direction that Pea and Henrietta fled, but when they made it to the edge of town, they could see the woman and white sphinx racing up and over a distant hill. "Looks like we don't have a choice, Suki. We might have to fight them at this rate."
"Or we could ask them more nicely!" Suki grinned.
"It won't work." Verglora stated. "That child already senses a bad omen from me. The only way she'll cooperate is through force!"
"You need to go back to Manners School!"
"Let's just get after them." Miyuki ushered. "They'll get away on their ship soon!"
"I have another idea!"
"Sigh, what now?" She rolled her eyes at the mask.
"Let's turn these townspeople into Faceless and decimate this place! Tell them if they don't surrender, then the same fate will befall every town in our wake!"
"That's a terrible idea!" Suki argued.
"Hmmm…it's not a bad idea." Miyuki thought aloud.
"HUH?!"
"It'll just be a little fib to see if it works. Just follow my lead, Suki. Please?"
"Mmmmm…what do you need me to do?" she asked with clear hesitation.
Pea and Henrietta boarded the former's ship, designed like a large soup bowl. It was one of the ships in her fleet as opposed to her Ivory Castle, for that would've drawn more attention. "Ve'll fly to Sector E's treehouse." Henrietta said as they lifted off. "I know vhere-"
"AUNT HEINIE!"
To their horror, a whirlwind of snow suddenly swallowed Drury, burying the village in white. The townspeople who were outside appeared to become frosted statues. Henrietta viewed through a telescope: Miyuki was conjuring various festive masks from Verglora's Dark Chi and placing them over the statues, changing them into monsters with a mix of ice and darkness. "What have they done?!" Pea shouted in horror.
The dark-masked girl faced up at their ship and aimed her scythe. She then moved that scythe around the back of one of the monsters. "So, zat is your game." Henrietta glared. "You plan to threaten ze citizens unless ve surrender."
"B-b-but, they're KND operatives. I've seen them. Th-they have to be bluffing!"
"Huff…this isn't bad, but I can't hold these creations for long at my current power." Verglora said.
"Suki's going to get exhausted, too." Miyuki replied. "We'll have to pressure them." She pulled the scythe back and SLASHED the hip of the monster.
"AH!" Pea screamed.
"Zat is IT!" Henrietta threw on a pack. "Pea, you vill have to escape on your own!"
"Aunt Heinie!" Pea watched as the woman leapt off the ship, pulling out her parachute to make for a soft landing.
"Looks like we'll have to threaten her, too." Miyuki charged in Henrietta's direction.
"Sissy, wait!"
Henrietta lunged at Miyuki with a Haki-imbued sword, allowing the candy to withstand the bulk of the scythe. Miyuki jumped back and leapt to do a cartwheel slash, but Heinie dodged aside and stabbed at Miyuki's hip. This only allowed Miyuki to slice her hip when she leapt away. Miyuki did another cartwheel slash, so Heinie avoided—the real Miyuki punctured Heinie's stomach. "AAAAHH!"
As Miyuki pulled the blade out, Henrietta felt herself shrink and her body swell up. "Ah! Vhat happened to me?!" she yelled in a boyish voice. "I-I have become Heinrich?!"
Miyuki danced behind her, but 'Heinrich' blocked with her sword. She directed the scythe away and swung a hardened fist at Miyuki's jaw, afterwards kicking her in the knee, but Miyuki landed another slash as she fell. 'Heinrich' thought she felt blood drip from her shoulder, but instead it oozed with chocolate, which slowly covered her rotund body. "My Memory Meister messes with your memories to throw you off, but I applied a bit of Age-Regression to it. You've transformed back into Heinrich!"
"Vhat a sick power you have! But big mistake restoring my chocolate powers!" She tried to shoot a glob of chocolate, but it scattered into mist upon hitting Miyuki.
"Well, it can't exactly restore old powers."
"But ze chocolate feels real! I-I can barely move in zis cold…" Her oozing body began to solidify, and Suki stirred snow around the chocolate monster to keep her frozen.
"That's how strongly you remember it."
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
The sisters turned to Pea herself, standing more than ankle deep in the snow. She had a firm stance and was resisting the urge to shiver. "You wanna change me into a mask, right?"
"That's right!" Verglora hissed. "If you want us to spare these fools, then surrender quietly!"
"Spare who? All the townspeople ran inside. These monsters were made from empty snowmen, weren't they? And it looks like they're already melting."
Miyuki glanced around at the Faceless, whom were already dispersing into darkness. Even some of Suki's snow was beginning to melt. "You didn't want to hurt anyone, did you?"
"…No." Miyuki answered. "Not really."
"Fine then. If you leave this town alone, I'll let you transform me."
"Ha ha, that's more like it!" Verglora cackled.
"You be quiet." Miyuki ordered. She and Suki willed all their chi to dispel from the town, though they left Henrietta frozen. "We'll release her after we finish this."
"Just make it quick." Pea stated.
"I will…" Miyuki focused Verglora's magic over the Kokiri. Pea began shuddering, feeling as if an invisible, gentle electric current was binding her. Within minutes, her body vanished, leaving only a frightened mask of the child.
Miyuki took off Verglora and picked Pea's mask up, placing it on. She closed her eyes as Pea's light-green spirit floated in the darkness. "Um…so, what's supposed to happen?" Pea asked worriedly.
"It's me that they're looking for."
Pea gasped when a slightly taller girl formed before her. She wore a grassy green dress with hair and skin of different hues. "You're… the Spring Maiden?" Miyuki asked. "The new Spring Maiden?"
"I was the one that 'Majora' attacked long ago. They stole my form and tricked Araea into forming the Four Maidens. I was set free after Link defeated them, and the Maidens asked if I wanted to become one of them for real. It was under the suggestion of the Mask Salesman that we Maidens impose our seals over the dark mask. We would seal the spirit completely and prevent it from waking up… but it seems it has awoken with a fraction of its power."
"And I doubt you'll be willing to lift that seal."
"Not even a little! Not after what it did. Still… the salesman prophesized this would happen. He said we may be called to break the seal one day. The dark spirit would fall under the care of its 'Guardian,' one who would quell the despair inside it. That person is one who once bathed in Majora's darkness, embraced it, but climbed out to the light."
"And this… was ages ago? Or did Sanula remember everything from the other universe…"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but if you're this alleged Guardian, then tell me… how do you plan to quell its darkness?"
"Honestly, I'm not even sure if it's possible. Majora's influence over this spirit is too strong. It's ingrained in them. But I don't plan to let it do what it wants. I'm going to make it appreciate the light. But they won't be able to learn anything while they're trapped in this mask. Not while they're helpless and constrained."
"For good reason. That spirit desires only to harm people, and that's why people fear it. This child here was right to run away."
"Then I'll show them that I can trust them. I'll free Verglora and give them the light they need."
"Hmph. From here, it only looks like misplaced feelings. I won't break my seal. Not, yet."
"Then I'll just have to keep you with me."
"W-Wait, what about me?" Pea asked.
"Don't worry. I'll leave this town alone, Pea. Though, if anything, you can consider this payback for holding my team hostage."
"B-But that was Buu! Buu was the one who captured you, not-!"
Miyuki pulled the mask off and stashed it in her Infi-Cube. "Suki, let's go."
"B-but what about this lady?"
"She'll revert back to her normal form soon, and I didn't leave the scythe wounds too deep. We'll call an ambulance for her while we get away."
"Mmmmm…"
Suki and Miyuki fled across the hills on the former's Snow Sleigh. The crewmen aboard Pea's ship fired cannons down at them, but Miyuki struck and Rewinded the projectiles back to damage the ship. The girls returned to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and took off, outrunning the pirate ship. "Where are we going next, Miyuki-chan?"
"We're going to search for the Winter Maiden next."
"Ha HAH, I was hoping you'd say that!" Verglora beamed. "Have your powers of deductive reasoning determined where she is?"
"It would have to be someone of the Schnee Family. But the only one I can think of is Weiss. We're going to Sector $."
"Whites? That's the girl who helped me save you. We're not gonna hurt her, are we?"
"N-no. If we explain that I'm Verglora's Guardian, then she'll have to help. I hope…"
"Miyuki-chan!"
"It'll be fine, Suki! As long as I have you with me, we'll be fine."
"I hope so…"