I don't mention this during the chapter, but Dido equips the girls with charms to protect them from the Underworld's natural drainage. Dido is also Sarstar98's character and she first appears in our one-shot, "Toxic Encounter." You don't need to read it for this story; there's already a ton of pre-reading for this fic. XD
Shadow obeyed the directions on the strange invitation. He wasn't expecting anything special. Probably just a mysterious client wanting to hire him. He flew to these coordinates on Coruscant and landed atop a gloomy, near-abandoned parking garage. He traveled downward until he met one of his new acquaintances. "What's up, Shady Hair?!" Deadpool danced. "I spoke with the bros (and sisses), and despite the unexpected problems, your initiation test was great! You ready to join the team for realsies?"
"This is your hideout? Not exactly an elaborate lair."
"Buddy, we're assassins. We can't just be all, 'Hey, look at our badass secret lair, feel free to break on in!'"
"Point taken. So… when do we get started?"
Miyuki Crystal and MaKayla stood a safe distance from the parking garage. "The memory feels stronger now." Miyuki confirmed. "I'm positive this is it. This is their hideout."
"Let's go get everyone prepared." With that, MaKayla focused her timebending and Reloaded their Save State, seemingly "warping" them away.
…
A portal festering with demonic energy replaced one of the doors in CP0's hideout. Leading straight to the Underworld, it cast an unsettling, chilling air through the hideout. The men merely waited, partaking in a pizza lunch to ease the tension. And besides, the three of them were partially exhausted fighting the KND, while neither Akame nor Mandy engaged in much combat and had strength to spare. It wasn't just the direct door to Hell that had them on edge… it was the idea that the KND could bust in on them at any moment. And that these seven dangerous gods sat trapped on their shelf, the Black Boxes shaking from their struggle. On the bright side, Mandy had procured the six other Chaos Emeralds Nya was lent, the six gems resting in Francis's backpack. Shadow would make use of them in a pinch… but he would rather save them for a much bigger threat. Not to mention, after "Super Shadow" wore off, the emeralds would scatter to who-knows-where.
"I wonder…" Sephiroth began. "When you first started this quest, how far did you expect to get?"
"I was never too sure myself." Shadow answered. "I think we at least wanted to get far enough to make a difference. Yet… I was always doubtful we could target the higher gods. Even if those two succeed in killing the Underworld Prisoners… how much farther can we go?"
"We'll go as far as the crow flies!" Hattori flapped, gobbling some worm pizza. "You fellas should be proud of all you accomplished, so rip off those sorry frowns and twist them upside-down, coo-kachoo!"
"Let me out! I have to tell them!" Verglora squirmed in their box. "His name! I have to tell them his name!"
"What are ya shoutin' about over there, ya idjit?!" Skaios' muffled voice demanded.
"We know at least those ones need to die." Chase glared. "Or who knows what they'll do?"
"That one said it remembered the name of their leader." Shadow mentioned. "Does that mean… there's another Newborn besides the one we're missing?"
"Perhaps we should ask it to just tell us." Seph suggested.
"Don't. It's probably just a desperate attempt to bargain. We can't let them out. Ugh…" Shadow glared at the three-fourth trident. If only they had the last piece… if only they had a clue where it was. Just where… How…
Realm of Shadows
"Sigh…no sign of Midna." Fie said as she casually choked a Twili guard in her legs, KOing him. "I wonder…" Her head was woozy as she asked herself, "Do I… really want to…"
Whether she wanted to kill the Firstborn or not, infiltrating the Palace of Twilight was a decent exercise. It wound up being pretty rewarding. Fie found her way into a huge treasure vault, full of money and gems Midna's worshippers gifted her. "You'd think people would save money for hospital bills or things that mattered." Fie thought aloud as she stuffed treasure into a sack. "Instead, they throw it away to gods who don't use it. Well, it's gonna get use now. Oh?"
Among those treasures was the hilt of a sword, a green gem inside it. She pulled the hilt out and… it really was just the hilt. "I guess they just give her trash, too. This still feels nice, though. You could prob'ly make a decent blade out of it." So, she put it away, too.
Underworld Prison
Fat Dinglebert and his best buddy, Tongdong were heading to clock in for their shift. The Fatblin and Tallblin had always walked to work together, and would always been seen having good conversations and having a good time.
"On time as usual, you two." Magellan smiled. The prison warden was a huge bat demon with the face of a mandrill. "Well, just step through the Thief's Downfall and you can go on and get started."
"Ah, like we'd be hidin' anything, boss!" Dinglebert said.
"I know, but it's protocol. We can't take many chances."
A light waterfall protected the entrance to the lobby where Magellan's desk was set. It was an enchanted waterfall designed to revert supernatural disguises, installed after a recent break-in. Tongdong and Dinglebert walked through toge—Magellan became alert… for some reason. "Uh…" He blanked out for a second, wondering why.
"You okay, boss?" Tongdong asked.
"Uh…I'm fine. Alright, to your posts, then."
The two headed for the stairs and traveled down to the first floor, smirking. The Fatblin was Dido and the Tallblin was Mandy, both disguised by the former's illusory art. Akame, meanwhile, was a spider on Mandy's back. In that brief instance, the Thief's Downfall did expose their true forms, but at the same time the assassins used the Forgetful Glance, Dido restored the disguises. It had barely worked in time.
"So, you can change us into anything?" Akame wondered.
"You're not transforming, they're just convincing illusions." Dido answered. "You couldn't use any unique abilities that come with these forms. Now, those two demons are supposed to be working on Level 2… however, your targets are on Level 6, and mine are on 3."
"So, what? They ain't gonna care about us walkin' down there?" Mandy asked.
"Well, they wouldn't bat an eye if you were dragging a runaway prisoner back to their cell."
"Where we gonna find one like that?"
"To answer that question, Akame should read this script." Dido held some paper up.
A passing Moblin guard on Level 2 looked as Dinglebert and Tongdong came stumbling down the stairs, wrestling with Lucky the Leprechaun. "'ey, pumme down, frilly ninnies! I got a hot date with Flimflam Jim, gonna be hoin' those hang-ditties with the wickety nits!"
"Is that the leprechaun from Level 4?" the Moblin asked.
"Caught him just before he could make a break for it!" Dinglebert replied. "Mind if we haul him back down? We could use a little more creds!"
"Sure, Dingy, you have fun with that."
"Hey, Muscy Mobs, let's make a diddly-oh, what-what?" 'Lucky' tried to reason as the two dragged him to the elevator. The Darknut guards stepped aside to let them in. "You hog me outta this fa-jizzle, I'll spring you a honkin' horny piece o' dough."
The inside of the elevator had a camera, the demons in the monitor room watching as the three boarded. "Lucky tried to escape again?" one said. "Ugh, we really gotta fix those blind spots."
Dido and Mandy stood in a position where the camera couldn't see Lucky. "Lucky" then shrank into a spider and swiftly Shaved and Moon Walked her way up to the camera lens. She formed a super thick spider-web over it. "The problem is those dumb Walltulas keep webbing them up!" the other cameraman complained.
Once the camera was webbed beyond quality, Dido updated their disguises: she turned Mandy into Magellan and hid inside her thick black coat, while Arachne-kame returned to Mandellan's head. They clicked the button to Level 6 and rode the elevator patiently. They could feel the malice radiating from the lowest floor of the dungeon, home to the most dangerous villains of the universe.
Memorizing the blueprints, the trio traveled to where the targets' cell was located: a secluded corridor with a large, safe-like gate at the end. "Huh…those two weren't here before." Dido observed.
Two twin Nimbi, with white and black wings respectively, stood guard before the cell with armor and weapons. They had brown hair with Greek sandals and white and black togas. "Mr. Magellan, sir!" Pit Icarus saluted. "No signs of any intruders so far, sir!"
"Let up, you're a prison guard, not an army fanboy." Tip groaned.
"I need to see the goddesses." Mandellan demanded. "Move aside."
"Sorry, sir, but we can't open this door for anyone! The assassins could be lurking anywhere!"
"They haven't shown any signs of breaching the facility. However, I want to separate and relocate the goddesses. Move aside, or you'll be smelling my breakfast up close."
"Euh, gross!!" Pit cringed.
"Alright." Tip shrugged. "You're the boss."
Both Nimbi stepped apart as Mandellan approached the giant handle. Of course, the giant illusion wasn't able to turn the handle, so Dido had to float up and within Mandellan's arm, reaching to turn it herself. As they listened for the clicks, Akame grew fearful at Pit's and Tip's suspicious glares. "Mandy, look at those two." the spider whispered. "I'm starting to think this is a trap."
It was too late for second thoughts as the cell door opened. Once the rim of the door was fully past them, a cannon fired! It blew through Mandellan's head, the illusion dispersing. "AN IMPOSTOR!" Tip yelled, drawing a rifle. Mandy quickly became her snake form while Dido assumed the illusion of Sephiroth. Both fled from the Nimbi, dodging their bullets and arrows and bolting back down the passage. (Play "Dark Clouds" from Naruto.)
"Well, I kind of expected that would happen." Dido said. "They already moved the goddesses after I left."
"So, did ya have a backup plan?!"
"I didn't really expect to get far with those disguises. But I figured a little hack-and-slash exercise would be fun for you gals."
"I still have the blueprints." Akame said. "You guys distract them and I'll find a place to hide."
"Why do YOU get the easy job?!" Mandy whined as the spider Moon Walked away. "And you! Can ya turn into anyone else besides that one-winged jackass?!"
"I find this body rather sexy~" Dido teased.
"Whatever! Just split!"
Naturally, they couldn't be chased around Level 6 without the Lynel and Phantom Guards finding out. The Lynel galloped up to Dido, who raised her umbrella (disguised as Sephiroth's sword) as a shield, though her body vibrated from the Lynel Sword's impact. Dido danced to evade the Lynel's consecutive swings and later hopped on its back, the beast kicking like a mad horse in a desperate move to shake her off. However, his kicks unintentionally knocked back the Phantoms running to assist him. Tip leapt to kick the Daemonis off, but she seemed to recede into a smaller form and retreat into a narrow crevice. "Grrr!" Tip couldn't fit in the gap, so he shot his rifle through in the hopes of hitting.
Mandy used Fang Pistols to tear off the heads of Silver Bokoblin swarms. "Whoa!" A horde of Staldras ambushed her, serpents with three necks and skull heads. They would only die when all heads were severed at once, so Mandy switched to her hybrid form to slice them more precisely with Tempest Kicks. One Staldra gnashed at her, so Mandy reflexively stretched her mouth wider and CHOMPED its head off. "?!" As the head traveled through her gullet, she looked to the headless spot on her end.
"HIYAAAAH!" Pit split his bow into twin swords and went for the kill, but—"YOOOOW!" something bit him in the leg: the Staldra's head had grown to replace Mandy's original head. "What the heck?! You made that thing's head part of your body?!"
"I didn't know I could do that! Only weirdoes eat snakes!" Mandy flipped herself right-side-up, properly using her legs to run while still slicing other Staldras with her heels. "Whoa, I can even see from its eyes, too! Ugh, but I can't change its head back to mine. I wonder…" Mandy decided to rip that head off herself. She became a full snake and got beside the last Staldra, chomping all three of its heads at once. They all traveled through her body and grew out the other side. "NICE!" The triple heads bit an onslaught of Fang Pistols at Pit, the Nimbi evading nimbly. Pit shot arrows in return, but Mandy's other head focused the Paper Art technique to evade him.
Akame crawled atop a hanging cell and morphed to human form. Now that her accessories returned from the Zoan Pocket Dimension, she studied the prison blueprints. "There are other 'safe' cells on Floors 5 and 3. Also… Pandora and Thanatos are supposed to be on this floor. Pandora was absorbed into Zach, but Thanatos…" He was supposed to be in a hanging cell across the chamber. She became a spider and Moon Walked over. The cell had a tight, roundish, black container, but it was open and empty. "Did they move him, too? No… if they did, they would've kept him in the container." She hid atop the cell and grabbed her communicator. "Mandy, it's me. There are two more similar cells on Floors 5 and 3. Since Floor 5 is the frozen floor, I theorize the Light Goddess is imprisoned on it, and Medusa is on the scorching Floor 3. Those floors contrast their elements, so it'd be the ideal places to hold them."
Mandy squeezed Pit in a snake snare, biting his neck, but the Nimbi was able to pull his arms out and stab her, compelling Mandy to release and for Pit to escape. "Listen, Medusa is mine." Mandy said, Slither-Shaving her way to the elevator. "You go for the other one."
"But Mandy, you'll need the arrow!"
"Keep it! I got a plan in the works!"
"Okay, but they put a barrier around the elevator door. We'll have to take the long way up."
After quickly treating his wounds with some special floor ice cream, Pit ran in search of, "Pittoo! Pittoo, where are you?!"
"Up here! And stop calling me that!"
"WAH?!" Pit saw his opposite suspended in a faded yellow net. "You've been fish-netted! Did that winged guy do this?!"
"Pit, it's behind y-!"
Another net shot out and trapped Pit. "What the-?!" As he squirmed in its tight grasp, he turned to find a strange, green and yellow bug, which grew another pair of net-like wings.
"The wings of the Children's stick insect have many uses." Dido said, having taken the form of this bug. "Gliding, scaring predators, but it can also shoot its wings out to trap foes if necessary."
"Whoa, what a neat bug!!" Pit beamed.
"Quit gawking and get your sword!" Tip shouted.
Dido glid across the air and landed on Mandy's snake back, hanging on as they traveled up the stairs. Beamos were set up to shoot rapid lasers, but Paper Art worked well with her serpent body. "So, what's that ugly-lookin' shape?" Mandy asked. "You eat a Bug Fruit or somethin'?"
"Sure. I ate the Bug-Bug Fruit, Model: Tropidoderus childrenii." This was actually a form Dido could naturally take on her own, but why not play along with the theme.
"A Tropodinosaurus? Hah! Bet ya THAT went extinct!"
The ladies were quickly overtaken by the Freezing Hell of Level 5, particularly Mandy's coldblooded form. "THERE YOU ARE!" To her horror, a huge serpent of purple venom flew at Mandy, but Akame, in her normal form, jumped in the way and dove headfirst into the mouth. She swam up the body and up to Magellan's body, the warden too distracted by her reckless maneuver as she slashed him clear in the mandrill face. Magellan punched her away and conjured more serpents, but waned under the effects of her blade. "This…this poison… it feels like that of God Hexxus!"
"Murasame absorbs the properties of whatever poisonous entity it slays."
"Then it was you… YOU'RE the one who killed him! But even Hexxus's poison isn't enough to finish me…" Magellan coated his whole body in purple toxin. "We of the Apebat Clan worship Hexxus! His toxins aren't a curse to us!" His Hydra heads gnashed at rapid speed, Akame dodging and slashing them. Magellan looked to Mandy, who assumed her normal form for better warmth as she ran for the stairs. Magellan stretched a Hydra head to the air with its mouth open. "Venom Road!" The warden slid right up through the neck like a waterslide. Akame gasped, but since she had just done this as well, she leapt in and swam up after him. The Hydra's mouth spat Magellan across the floor like a cannon, Mandy screaming as he crashed his fist down. She dodged and kicked him with Tempest, Magellan molding a toxic shield in defense. After Akame launched out after him, she slashed at the head, but Magellan whipped some poison to knock her away.
Mandy continued to Shave from the warden, and when a pack of White Wolfos jumped her from the snow, she was relentless in killing the wolves. While Akame was distracting Magellan, Mandy and Dido found the exit to the next floor, blocked by frozen poison. "Crud! What if he's got the whole stairs soaked with poison?!"
"I can clear a way." Dido said, becoming Chase's form. "I'll get a little sick, but I know a guy who can give me medicine." The two combined strength to shatter the frozen poison.
Magellan maneuvered away from Akame, grabbed some gum from his coat, and chewed it. He puffed up a Chloro Ball and spat it toward the exit with the force of a cannonball. Mandy and Dido had barely gotten out in time, but the gumball exploded into gas that filled the stairs, forcing the duo to make their way up quickly. Magellan switched back to Akame, who had vanished around the cells. He used Venom Road to launch himself to the ceiling, seeing the assassin follow a route down an alternate corridor. "Venom Blowfish!" Magellan inflated his body and used Gas Rocket to quickly fly in that direction, his body steadily deflating. The hallway had more prisoner cells lined up along it. Akame became her hybrid form and linked spider-webs between the cells. The webs quickly froze to bar the passage.
"Is that girl an escaped convict?!" Ibara wondered, the half-naked Historian shivering. "Get me outta here! I'll make it worth your while!"
"I don't think I've seen her around." Doflamingo Sr. smirked. "I think she's breaking in. How bold."
"Hey, lassie! Maybe we can lend a hand!" Kaptain K. Rool yelled. "Break us out and we'll distract him! YAAAR!" The hall was flooded by Magellan's poison, melting the frosted webs, but the prisoners became drowned in it, too.
"Mr. Magellan! Sir!" The warden turned to see Pit dashing up. "Have the intruders been this way?!"
"Just the one. Listen, Pit, Palutena's cell shouldn't open without my power, but her sword makes it possible. If I go in myself, I'll just risk opening it for her. It's up to you to stop her." Magellan used his bending to split a road open in the poison.
"You can count on me!" Pit dashed forth, and Magellan closed the path afterward.
Akame found an ice cavern where the complex walls and ceiling were filled with more frozen prisoners, such as Dr. Nefarious or Majin Buu. She navigated it with Shaves until she eventually found another safe-like door, frozen shut. "This ice looks pretty sturdy… even if I full-force it, it might take a while. I bet the heat of Magellan's poison can melt it… but then, maybe Murasame can-!" An arrow flew past her, Akame twisting to find Pit.
"Stay away from Palutena!" Pit split the bow and ran to engage her directly, the speed of his dual swords matching Akame. She used Forgetful Glance to confuse him, getting to his right, followed by an afterimage to fool him, but his keen Observation still evaded as he struck her in the head. "I can't believe anyone would want to kill someone as sweet as her!" Akame flew for a straight stab, but Pit blocked with his mini Mirror Shield, the rebound stunning her as Pit leapt back and shot her with a charged arrow. "How could you want to kill the gods?! Some of them may be bad, but the rest don't deserve it!" She ran at him again, but after a Forgetful Glance, she became a spider and landed on Pit's shield. She Shaved around it and onto Pit's arm, biting into it. "They've done so much for us!" Pit tried to swat her off, but this only increased the pain of her Spider Bite. "You assassins are just ungrateful! You don't think about any of the people you're hurting!"
Akame puffed back to normal and landed a clean stab to Pit's shoulder. Poison coursed through him, but the angel maneuvered away and pulled out a pink vial of Drink of the Gods. "AAH!" Alas, Akame became her hybrid form and shot Web Pistols at Pit. He dodged the first one, but Akame fired them with the velocity of a machinegun. Pit was able to drink the vial and subdue the poison, but Akame was able to land a web to Pit's hand, thrusting him back with enough force to stick him to the ice. Pit struggled to tear free of the web, but Akame would bind him with more. "NOOOO! You won't…you won't forgive yourself if you HURT PALUTENA!"
Akame dashed up and landed a few firm kicks to the face until Pit was KO'ed. "Don't worry… I won't allow you to watch." Akame faced the frozen door. She leapt to it, striking rancidly as the frost melted against the sword's heated poison. Once it was thawed enough, Akame hugged the large handle and kicked Moon Walks to both twist herself and stop herself, doing so whenever she heard it click.
The safe slowly opened against cracking ice. Palutena sat patiently at a curtained table, enjoying some iced tea. "Hmm…sorry, Pit. It looks like I'm-"
Akame took no chances and slashed Palutena's beautiful, radiant body to pieces. Though her immortality kept her alive, the poison hindered her regeneration. Once Akame assured she was good and weakened, she began to whistle. The arrow glowed to life and levitated. "Cough…I'm thankful to this, really." Palutena's head cracked a smile. "Spending the rest of my existence down here… was getting boring. This way… I'll be free… Pit… if we meet again… I hope I…"
The arrow pierced her head and stuck into it. Life faded from Palutena's eyes, and so did the rest of her light. (End song.)
…
"YO, I'm diggin' that assin' ash hair o' yours, pretty wangs!" Lucky the Leprechaun jumped Tip, wrestling him against the bridge hanging over the cauldron. "What ya say we wing up and git some po-diddlies?"
"I don't know or give a crap what you're saying, get off me!"
While passing through Boiling Hell, Mandy decided to snap the chains of any working prisoner. "Listen, dorks, I'm throwin' a party and you're all invited if ya help me hold back the guards!" Regardless if they wanted to escape, they seized any excuse to throw a riot. Lucky was one prisoner in question.
"YEAH!" James McGarfield ripped off his uniform. "My country was BUILT on rioting! WHOA!" But Lucky kicked him straight into a boiling pot.
"Get yo' honky ass outta here, ya disgraceful stereotype! …WHOA, JAMMIN' JELLY!" This was Lucky's way of exclaiming that Magellan was coming, drowning the rioters in his ooze.
Mandy and Dido made it up to Level 3: Scorching Hot Hell, a bright desert made of the ash of fallen spirits. "This really works out in our favor." Dido said. "We were going to come here, anyway."
"Well, why don't ya get started bustin' these prisoners? I'm goin' for the goddess!" She slithered off.
"Her cell is that way." Dido pointed; as expected, Mandy didn't memorize the prints.
"I know that!" Mandy went the other way. The snake-woman felt more at home in the sandy environment and became a natural predator against the Hollow snakes lurking in the dust. She followed a tunnel full of deep sand, wherein huge sandworms called Molgera gnashed out at her. Their purple tongues wriggled out of their screeching mouths, so Mandy used Shaves to zip and rip the weak points out, causing the Molgeras to dissolve.
"You must be one of the alleged assassins, mmmmmm?" A horned, humanoid woman stood before the cell. She had a wide and wavy orange hair, a magenta dominatrix uniform with matching horns, and a pitchfork. "I am Sadi, Chief Torturer of this lovely prison! Before you slay our goddess, how about you strip on down and-"
The safe door suddenly blew open, knocking Sadi down as a mass of darkness slithered out. "Haaaaah!" The shape of its pitch-black head was that of Medusa. "Who…who slew my sister?!"
"What?! The Light Goddess is dead?!" Sadi gasped.
"HAAAH!" A huge eye popped open on Medusa's face, turning Sadi to stone. "WHO?!"
"EEEEK!" Mandy turned head and ran, dodging the beast's black mist claws.
…
Dido, meanwhile, used a ring of stolen keys to pick open a prison lock (still in her Chase disguise). "You aren't seriously planning another breakout?" Sylistys sighed. She was a monochrome woman with a black cloak and bone features. "You know how well the last escape went."
"If at first you don't succeed, etc., etc.. Just get off your butt and get outta there. You don't wanna keep your man waiting~"
"You've got to be-"
"Sylistys… my darling…" Dracula dragged himself over, dehydrated from the heat. "An angel has come… to bless our union… let us follow her guiding light… and leave this hell."
"HEATHENS!" A cloud of gas filled the desert as Magellan stormed in. "No matter what fate decrees… even if the gods must die… I won't allow you to leave here alive!" He was instinctively set on the corridor with Medusa's cell. "What?!" Until he caught sight of Sy and Dracula, along with the peculiar stranger. "Wait… you're that Daemonis again! How DARE you take advantage of this-"
"AAAAAHHHH!" Mandy frantically dashed into the main room. Magellan was dumbstruck by the dark serpent pursuing her. "Hey, anemone hair, why don't ya pick on someone your own size?!" Mandy ran right toward Magellan. The corrupt goddess shot her stone gaze at the warden, who shut his eyes in defense.
Magellan's venom Hydras bit and restrained Medusa from the sides, while his third one bit and blocked her face. "So, Palutena's been destroyed." Magellan knew. "Her unbalanced darkness is going completely haywire! Fortunately…" He reached into his coat and retrieved a large, sun-like pellet, "I had some medicine for this." He sent the pill through the Hydra binding her face, allowing it to slip right into her throat.
"HAAAAAHHH…" The dark mass caught white fire and flashed into thin air. Medusa retracted to her human-sized form, her hair hissing erratically.
Magellan stared over the writhing woman with slight remorse. Her death may be inevitable at this point, but he couldn't just let her run wildly around the prison. But he wasn't about to let the assassins have their glory, yet. He focused again on Mandy-
The snake in question chomped Medusa's head whole. Mandy had already ripped off the Staldra heads. "W-what is she…" Magellan couldn't fathom the sight as Medusa's head traveled through the purple serpent. Even Dido's clique were stunned by the results: Medusa's head now served as Mandy's extra.
The assassin reverted to hybrid form and stood upright, feeling Medusa's snaky hair. "Well, whaddya know! She DOES count as a snake!"
"MANDY!" Akame dashed into the desert. Tip soared after her and thrusted his large gauntlet, Akame blocking with her sword. "Everything alright up here?! Wait, why is…"
"I'M MEDUSA NOW, KAME!" Mandy boasted. "Figure this'll gimme some extra power! Don't worry, we can kill this head if it gives me too much trouble."
"THAT'S IT!" Infuriated by this turn of events, Magellan transformed into a mass of red toxin, his head a devilish skull. "HELL'S JUDGMENT FURY!"
Sy bent the sand to surf herself and Dracula away, but the wave melted under Magellan's toxic flood. Akame and Mandy Moon Walked to avoid the toxin, and Dido glid over to them. "Mandy, try this drink of Sanzu Water." Dido withdrew a vial. "This could restore a bit of Medusa's power. Unless you don't think you can control it."
"Don't make me laugh, Bug Eyes!" Mandy snatched the vial and drank away. Power coursed through her as she ripped off Medusa's face, exposing her true eye. She blasted rays that petrified parts of Magellan's toxin, while Akame slashed airwaves to slice through his liquid armor.
CP0's Hideout
"What's that sound?!" Chase asked in alert.
At first, they thought it was the dark portal… but it was actually the Twilight Mirror. It glowed white and spun into a portal as Fie dive-rolled out. "Fie!" Shadow gasped.
"Heya, Master. Yawn, I'm beat…" She plopped on her back. "Hey, is that pizza? I'm starved." And she was quick to get up and take some of Shadow's share.
"Fie, I believe we owe you an apology." Chase said. "It seems Midna remained in Quahog all this time. She was just killed by Mandy."
"Mandy? The Yonko?"
"Mandy Beret. Remember? The one who died?"
"Ooooohh, that Mandy. Wait, she's alive?"
"Yep. So, your mission was a wild goose chase. Sorry."
"Eh, no biggie. I made a hefty profit out of it though." With that, Fie casually turned her sack over and dumped a pile of treasure out. "I mean, no reason a dead god should keep all this, right?"
Shadow and Chase passively looked over the treasure. "…?" A certain one caught Shadow's eye: a sword hilt with a green gem. He picked it up. "Could this be…" The others followed his gaze, intrigued. Shadow picked the gem out and brought it to the trident. "AH!" The gem fit perfectly into the last slot. Mouths were agape as the trident glowed an ethereal blue.
"Please! They have to know!" Verglora cried. "We can't be brought together! Or else he'll return!"
"Will you quit talkin' nonsense and just tell us who ye mean?!" Skaios yelled.
"It's…It's complete!" The light glimmered in his eyes as Shadow took the weapon. "The Infinity… Trident! Nnnh…" A great illness overtook him. "It… definitely feels like the others, but… could this really do it?"
"Let's find out." Chase grabbed Gourmerry's Spirit Ball and plopped it on the table. "Destroy it!"
Shadow banged one of the trident's prongs against the ball—it bounced away from the force and hit the floor. "Ugh, it needs to be out." Chase grabbed and impatiently tried to tear the ball open. "It… won't budge! Can only the Guardians open it?"
"Release the robotic one!" Shadow yelled hastily. "We'll test it on them!"
"His name is Kael!" Verglora yelled. "Kael!"
"K…KAEL?!" Skaios screamed.
"That name registers in my memory!" Boly screamed.
"Victiniiiiii!!!"
The boxes began to shake more wildly than ever, but Skaios was especially aggressive. "SHADOW, PUT IT DOWN!" Sephiroth screamed.
The box exploded open, a powerful gust turning the condensed office into a typhoon. Shadow dropped the trident before fatal damage could claim him, Chase conjuring a Protego over his comrades. Skaios' outrage swelled like a balloon until the entire office collapsed unto itself.
…
Intergalactic News ships often patrolled the planet in search of potential action or stories. It wasn't like much happened on Coruscant, anymore, but it was a good excuse for workers to go for a cruise. "Let's see…" Elmo thought aloud, the red furry creature examining the town. "That building looks like an 'L'! And that building looks like a 'T'! And that building… looks like a tornado! Which begins with the letter 'T'! Ah hahaha! Ah hahaha! Ah…wait."
A towering tornado enveloped the area where the garage last stood. Slowly, it died away. "Huff…huff…" He stared down at the rubble in concern. "Uh-oh…I hope I didn't hurt anyone…"
Hoopa and some other Newborn emerged from the rubble. "At least… we got out of those things. Where are the others…?"
"Tiiii!" Chibi Victini couldn't pull Boly's severed head out from a rock. "Tiiii!" Skaios flew down to help. "Tiii-"
Chase Young burst out of the rubble in lizard form, grabbing Skaios and slamming him into a rock. He gave Skaios a few more good bashes until he was dizzy enough. "Shadow! Now!"
Skaios' groggy vision could only just make out the glow of the trident. "!!!" The hedgehog skied forth with killing intent. In those few seconds, the pain came rushing back. It was the very same trident that gouged his eye. His empty socket had started itching… it was an awful sensation. He wanted to do something… but he promised not to hurt mortals. But… he didn't want to-
Jerome warped right between them and shot Starbursts at both assassins, Shadow reflexively zipping back. Chase tried to bite Jerome, but he warped. Sunni Chariton teleported directly behind Chase with Wendy Marvell. "ANTI-APPARO!" The blue-haired mage struck him with a spell to stop his teleporting. She and Sunni combined their bending to blast Chase away, while Skaios escaped his grasp.
"CAPTAAAAIIIN!" Masaru Daimon called.
"MATES!!" Skaios flew to join the Hope Pirates. "Where've you lot been?! It's been crazy, it has!"
"We were waitin' for you to come back to Evermore before we heard you got captured!"
Sephiroth used gravity to raise a pile of rubble away, Fie safe under his guard. Wendy and Sunni quickly grabbed the reduced forms of Victini and Boly, bringing them to join their horde of friends. Almost every major sector was present: SA, V, W, JP, Q, GKND… "Uuuuugh…there's so many people…" Fie moaned.
"You can never have enough friends, that's what I say!" Cheren smirked. "Sadly, you don't appear to have enough."
"Alright, Index… you ready to do this?" Nagisa asked.
"Only if you are, Nagisa."
"I'm ready for whatever happens. Let's do this!" Nagisa Shaved up with frightening speed and GRABBED Hoopa! The assassins, Fie included, tried to intercept him, but Nagisa was only a red herring as Cheren caught Hoopa in the Hookshot. Fie tossed a dagger at them, but Cheren batted Hoopa away with his shield and used Haki to tank the cut.
"HOOPA!" Index reached in the sleeve of her habit and withdrew a purplish Spirit Ball with a gold ring around the rim, and six other colored rings around the top and bottom.
"Scheherazade, wai-!" The ball struck Hoopa. His tail attached to the center as he swirled and was sucked into the ball like a lamp.