Chereads / Nextgen Kids: Legend of the Nine Newborn / Chapter 143 - The Worst Hour

Chapter 143 - The Worst Hour

This story may very well be the finale of the Newborn Saga, and by extension the Nextgen Series. Don't think it'll be simple: this story is bound to be as long Seven Lights' Main Story… but whether it'll stretch to the length of the full Seven Lights package remains to be seen. Naturally, this story continues right off of God Killing, which itself is built on the events of prior Newborn Era stories. To those bare minimum that survived… I wholly appreciate your devotion.

It all started with a Big Bang. Billions and billions of stars graced the cosmos with their light. Those stars would develop planets, and those planets would all develop life. Creatures big and small, speaking many languages and forming unique and diverse cultures on more planets than one could ever hope to visit.

But, at the same time this universe was born… so did nine eggs. Eight of them hatched simultaneously… but one hatched before the others. A white egg with thick black lines. From it, an infant baring similar features crawled out, approaching the budding universe with innocent curiosity. As energies spiraled before him, composed of inspirations from within and outside, he reached out and touched it. The maelstrom dampened his hand, so he sucked the energy off. He took two sips… three, four, several more… and what filled him was knowledge. The history of all that happened… and what will happen again. A cosmos being reborn, the heroes responsible, and the gods who oversaw it. But that wasn't all… He saw beyond this storm. He saw waterfalls, pouring from high in the heavens, originating from other worlds. He saw streams branching from this world to form other pools. They were endless… various… and they made the youth even more curious.

He rose from the ground, a gold crown becoming his head, and a purple cape growing from his shoulders. He then turned… as his brothers and sisters awakened. "I'll make us a nice place we can watch the storm from!"

The beginning of our universe was the beginning of Kael and his pantheon of gods. Infantile in appearance, they held incredible power. Kael's dream was to become the best god of all worlds and have fun with his subjects every day. With his pantheon, Kael held the means to travel those worlds… but he could do nothing without a Chosen Mortal to channel his power. So, Kael planned a game: he would choose three Candidates to amass many followers and duel each other to become the Supreme King. The winner would be Kael's Chosen One. Unfortunately, Kael's pantheon caught a terrible curse and turned against their king. He was forced to banish them from his palace… until the day they could meet their own Guardians, to rid them of their curse.

At last, those Guardians were met, and Kael could finally greet the universe. He chose the three Candidates, the three armies, that would battle for the universe: Bowser Koopa, ruler of the Koopas and many allied warlords; Mickey Mouse, King of Disney Land and many allied kingdoms and corporations. And… the Kids Next Door: heroes of the universe with allies on many worlds, who put an end to many crises. The very same KND who were entrusted as the pantheon's Guardians. On this day, May 18, 2036… the Throne Wars began.

Twilight was glum that evening in Cleveland, Virginia. The army of 3,000 strong spanned from the beach across the valley toward town. King Bowser's army, consisting of Koopas, Goombas, Whomps, and other rogue Mushroomians; including the Kremnants of the Kremling Krew. Dr. Eggman's robots, ranging from his common Egg Pawns, Egg Hammers, Gamma copies, as well as everyone's favorite, the Penguinator. Even Gruntilda's own crafted Nightmare monsters and some Team Rocket grunts were among the fray. The troops progressed calmly, with no need to expend energy on causing mayhem. Not when their top targets were already lining up to battle. (Play "Lava Lake Keep" from Mario 3D World!)

"Leave it to Bowser to go for the direct approach." Cheren Uno said, the Supreme Leader of the KND. Although he's endured many trials and mood swings over the years, he continues to wear the Hero of Time's Sacred Treasures proudly.

"Ya say that, but Ay don't really see him anywhere." Panini Drilovsky remarked, the firebending Irish lass loyally standing by her leader's side.

"There aren't really any Team Gnaa or noteworthy officers here." Francis observed. Though he rarely involved himself in serious crises, he was devoted to trying to help out more. "Just a cluster of minions."

"He doesn't wanna go all-out right off the bat." Maddy Murphy said. One of the KND's strongest, she was a growing Haki Master. "But I'd say this is the ample amount for a warmup."

"Then we better not disappoint them, eh?!" Sheila Frantic fist-palmed.

"Go easy on yourself, Sheila." Her best friend, Mason smiled. "You may not've used Skaios for long, but you were still tired after that ginormous Sun Fist."

"Oi won't need me full strength for this!"

"This reminds me of when we fought off the Big Mom invasion four years ago." Nagisa said. "'Course, they were weaklings compared to the 'main' crew."

"Yeah, we were pretty lucky back then." Mocha smirked, the giant Amazon standing out amongst her peers. "But we're a lot stronger now! We'll show them what we can do!"

"Yeah." The Supreme Leader drew his Master Sword and Mirror Shield. "Kids Next Door… ATTACK!"

The Kids Next Door dwelled on many planets, each branch known as the respective heroes to each, but the armies of Team Gnaa had specially trained to battle the infamous operative present today. Sector V was the strongest sector on Earth and therefore the most dangerous. Aurora Uno was assaulted by Fire and Ice Bros., working in tandem to match and counter the same two elements she possessed. While she was the technical "leader" of Sector V, they all knew Sheila Frantic was the true center of the group, the Pirate King who was crowned after the previous war. Even in this twilight, the giant fists conjured from her lightbending were deadly to behold; Eggman's E-2000R's were needed to deflect them as best as possible. However, the twilight was very beneficial to Dillon York, the sun's position enhancing the size of his shadow, Mario, as he directed it to slap hordes of minions down; even if the Koopas came prepared with their own shadowbenders.

Mocha, the giant of Sector W7, usually had no problem trampling over small soldiers, so the Egg Hammers and Gray Krushas thundered up to match her strength with their own. Aisa, the Shandian hunter of W7, was swift on her feet as she kicked Kremlings down and sniped some with arrows, but her Mantra reacted to dodge the arrows cast by Gruntilda's Grublin Hoods. The Team Rocket agents summoned Blastoise and other strong Water-types to bombard Anthony McKenzie, the strong-willed earthbender who led Sector W. Sector L's waterbenders, Melody and Yuta, couldn't provide backup for him as Team Rocket ordered Electric-types to hurt the benders of the opposite element. Airships secured the skies and threatened to rain ammo onto their enemies, but W7's Chimney rammed them down with her R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. and V's Haylee Gilligan aboard a Lego-made ship.

The Magikoopas countered the mages of Sector MG; said Koopas also commanded Inferi in the form of Dry Bones, Bone Beetles, or Chincho. Bowser's Boos and Grunty's Tee-hees battled Sector JP; Karin Kurosaki could legally fight them in her ghost form. Prince Raleigh of Sector $ was eager to engage the Rocket Agents, his wealthy teammates assisting him. Sector SA was another major sector of concern, between Nagisa's swift Rokushiki arts, Morgiana's powerhouse kicking, Shino's paintball sniping from beyond the battlefield, or especially Index: though her lightbending was average at best, they feared if she would bust out her true power.

Still, between the operatives the minions had researched, some were absent. Anthony and Fybi were the only W ops; Sally had died, and their two others quit as a result. Sector V was missing Chris Uno, their firebending powerhouse. Sector RZ were absent, as were many other sectors whom were barely on Team Gnaa's radar. Even the ones present were making sure to protect their weakest links, such as W7's Aeincha or SA's Goombella.

Nevertheless, the army of enemies expected nothing short of these operatives, nor did they expect to win. The cries and bangs of battle carried toward the town, keeping everyone awake and afraid. Like many other battles before it, this one ended with twilight's fade. The valley was ravaged and smoke clouded the air. Robots lay broken and "organic" minions half-dead. The KND could drop their guards peacefully. (End song.)

"Hmmm…" Haruka Dimalanta, Sector V's nurse, studied some of the Koopas' bodies. "Artificial flesh… much like that found on the Kremlings in the Pirate War. Bowser is applying K. Rool's Kloning technology."

"That's only if K. Rool came up with it." Raleigh mentioned. "I heard Team Rocket has their own, for their Pokémon."

"So, there's no shortage of enemies, that's just great." Nagisa sighed.

"But if they are Klones," Dillon replied, "would it be wrong if we… put them down?"

"Don't say that!" Carol Masterson, Sector $'s computer expert shouted. "Misaka has a bunch of clones and she considers them her sisters!"

"Yeah, but they're not our enemies."

"Makes me wonder if we shouldn't clone ourselves." Nagisa said.

"That's totally unethical!" Index stomped. "And there's a million ways that could backfire!"

"Aye! There's only one Sheila!" the pirate fist-pumped. "They only make clones 'cause they aren't proud of their selves! Doesn't mean we shouldn't be!"

"Heh heh…she's right." Cheren sported a smile. "You did well today, Kids Next Door. Be proud of yourselves!"

The operatives all tried to share smiles of agreement, some more assured than others. Within moments, GUN trucks and helicopters arrived to sweep up the minions, saluting the KND in gratitude. "Heeeeeelp!" Among the soldiers, a brown-haired man in a green jacket came running in a frenzy.

"Holy frick, it's the Exposition Guy." Mason remarked. "Glad he's still around."

"There's an intergalactic news broadcast on TV! It says the KND are evil! You guys have to stop them!"

"Uh…excuse me?" Cheren cocked a brow. "Who says we're evil?"

"The mouse man! You guys are the police, right?"

"We're the KND, dumbass."

"…Oh. HEEEEEEEEELLLLLP!" And he ran off crying.

"That's not a good sign." George King said. "We better see what this is about…"

Intergalactic News

"The purpose of what we call the 'Coruscant Aurora' that happened just two days ago remains a mystery." Big Bird, president of the studio, began as the visual replayed. "However, it's clear that it has something to do with the curious figures you see here…" The camera zoomed in on the horde of KND and the "seven" Newborn. "We recognize them as the Kids Next Door from Earth; among the GKND's aliens. But who are these curious sprites? Well, allow me to recap." The camera closed on the genie Newborn, Hoopa. "This creature was stated to be the reborn form… of a monstrous god that brought our universe to ruin: Lord English. And said creature would be responsible for a similar, yet shorter-lived incident." He played the clip of the spatial distortion that occurred in January.

"That delicious-looking one," he focused on Gourmerry the Foodborn, "was seen during the Cooking Festival crisis. It was wielded by that girl," the camera showed Yuzu, "as well as the wanted teenage pirate, Augustus Fizzuras, to destroy the monster that terrorized the island, saving many lives. And that one," it cut to the sky-bodied pirate, "is none other than Skaios the Pirate Emperor, who abducted many towns into his flying kingdom and killed many. I cannot speak for these other spirits, and while the food one seemed to have good intentions… can we not consider these beings as dangerous as the other two? I have with me some special guests that can weigh in further: introducing King of Disney Land and Head of the Corporate Presidents, Mickey Mouse!"

"Good evening, everybody!" the cartoonish, humanoid mouse perked up. "Uh, or whichever time of day it is in the universe-hoho. I'm, uh, not sure how to begin…" The king looked sheepish and ashamed. "I've always admired the KND, you know? I followed all of their exploits. They stopped the dreaded Four Emperors, saved the Cooking Festival, and well, let's not forget last year-hoho. But lately, they've done things that I… can't wholly overlook. Ahem, let's see… for starters, they seem to have recruited Skaios into their ranks instead of allowing him to face justice… They even let Emperor Mandy off the hook despite her crimes. Some think the reason is that she's related to a few major operatives-ho. I also want to shed light on a few select operatives, whom you can see among the party there."

As the camera highlighted Miko Kubota, distinct for her violet hair, and Sector SA, screenshots from a certain game were shown, particularly Miko in her neon pixel dress. "These screenshots were taken from the virtual reality game, Aincrad. Those who were there recognize her well: this girl was the MCP who ruled Aincrad. The one designed by Former President Kayaba to trap all those poor people inside that dangerous game. It would seem she's also a physical being… and the KND's ally. Furthermore, in my team's attempts to stop the rogue MCP, we were thwarted by this group," he showed Sector SA, "whom we believe are allied with the girl who commands the genie."

"I see… that is quite concerning. Is there anything else?"

"Well, uh, I brought another guest with me, for this occasion. Queen Peach?"

"Hello." The camera panned to the blonde, pink-dressed queen of Mushroom Kingdom.

"Queen Peach herself?! You're a popular man, King Mickey! Nay, you're a BIG MoUUUUUSE!"

"Aw, shucks, Big Bird! The queen and I became friends just recently. After… you know."

"Hmm…" Peach bowed her head in sorrow. "As some of you may know, Mario and Luigi… can no longer serve as Mushroom's heroes. They were injured fighting Bowser… I guess their age had to reach them eventually."

"And you said they were trying to protect somebody… who wasn't yourself-hoho."

"Yes. It was my daughter's friend, in the KND. I think that's him there." She pointed at Romeo Conbolt on the screen. "He wanted Bowser's flame so he could become Victini's Guardian… That creature there." She indicated Victini.

"So, the Mario Brothers sacrificed their health for that, did they? What happened then?"

"Well, he succeeded… and, um, I don't know what it would've led to."

"Yes, well and good," Jacques Schnee suddenly enforced himself in the shot, "I've got a few things to say myself!"

"P-President Schnee!" Big Bird chirped. "I didn't know you were-"

"I was there the whole time, you dolt! First off, that raccoon Faunus, the one everyone's calling the Pirate King, had the gall to punch me during our meeting with Earth KND's leader! Not that he demonstrated any skill in restraining her. Then there was that scythe-wielding girl, who impersonated my daughter, attacked me in my mansion, and turned my children into masks! And if you think that's all, then I've got a stinking suspicion that Chancellor-"

"Hoho, hokay, Mr. Schnee," Mickey ushered him away, "t-tone it down a bit, I think we got enough-hoho!"

"Ah, King Mickey, that reminds me." Big Bird said. "You said you were going to throw some kind of special 'event' for the KND. Is that still on the table?"

"Oh my, of course! We already spent all that money-hoho. I sent the message to the Supreme Leader's email yesterday; tomorrow, we will be hosting our very own KND Field Day at Butterfly Groundlands, Mewni, Avalar. Anyone is welcome! Hoho, and we have special seats reserved for any VIPs. Perhaps seeing our heroes engage in good, sporty fun will set our minds at ease!"

Moonbase

All KND attended to watch the broadcast, expressions wrought with concern. "Wow…" Aurora was dumbfounded. "He couldn't make it any more obvious how he feels about us."

"Yeah, he's… totally trying to make us look bad." Miko replied, shirking down in guilt.

"Mmm…" Romeo bowed. His girlfriend, Wendy held his hand in comfort.

"WHAT IS MOM DOING?!" They were startled by Maria Mario's outburst. "How could she just take Mickey's side?! Against US?! I'm GLAD I threw away the throne!"

"And you're telling me we have to beat that guy in some sort of… popularity contest?!" Lee Andrew, vice-leader of Sector RZ shouted. "For the fate of the universe?!"

"Essentially… yeah." Cheren replied, unsure himself. "From the way Kael phrased it, we need to gather as many followers as possible by the end of June. But, it shouldn't be that hard. We saved the universe countless times! No matter what Mickey says, the people can't forget what we did!"

"I don't think it'll be that simple." Mikoto Misaka, Sector AC's leader said. "Even if those people are grateful to us, it doesn't necessarily mean they're loyal. If they're swayed by Mickey's words, they won't take our side."

"The average person is very bendable." MaKayla King, Sector IC's martial artist timebender agreed. "Especially when negative feelings are put into play. That's clearly Mickey's strategy in this war. Businessmen specialize in persuasion, after all, and a joyful face like Mickey's was designed just for that."

"Disney's entire brand focuses on diversity, emotion, and all that jazz, and they got the quality animation and songwriting to pull it off." Karin said, her face a usual scowl. "And with people so gaga over them, they can manipulate anybody."

"Yeah, at least Bowser's straightforward!" Jinta, JP's baseballer, rose from his seat and stomped. "He's all like, 'Grar, I'm gonna conquer you, gimme your princesses, bwaaaahhh!' Everyone knows he's a villain! That's why no one's gonna work for him!"

"Uh, yes they will." Karin corrected. "Did you forget all the people working for Bowser? First, there's the freaking Negatar himself, Eggman and his bazillion robots, the effing Brotherhood of Evil, which already scouts out every single supervillain and two-bit criminal in the universe… and even normal civilians will just surrender to Bowser out of fear."

"The whole reason King K. Rool wanted to win the Pirate War was for Bowser…" Maddy recalled what the Kremling shared with her when they first battled. "It's why he enslaved Mobius."

"You don't think the Kremlings that were imprisoned count to the total, do you?" Mason wondered.

"Hold on, mates, ain't you forgetting something?" Sheila asked. "Ah'm the Pirate King! Oi won the war!" She proudly propped her feet up on the chair before her. "That makes all those other pirates loyal to me, don't it?"

"But, you destroyed that contract and set them all free from that clause."

"And they should be darn well grateful! That means they 'AVE to be loyal to me! Besides, didn't a bunch of those pirates get all friendly with us? Oi say we got good numbers so far. Then there's the entire KND on top of that!"

"But this is stupid!" Lee shouted. "We barely survived the Pirate War, and a ton of other things in between, why do we have to fight another dumb war?!"

"I didn't wanna do this any more than the rest of you!" Cheren argued. "But it was spur of the moment and two of our biggest enemies are already signed up to be Kael's Guardian! It's going to be bad for us if either one of them gets Kael's power! We have no choice!"

"You say that, but…" Sadie of Sector BC raised her hand, "why would it be bad if Mickey wins, exactly?"

"Uh, excuse me?!" Aurora shouted. "Did you forget Mickey tried to kill my brother and the other Supreme Leaders?!"

"He… did?"

"Oh, right." Cheren recalled. "We never officially publicized that as part of Sector LN's 'deal' with him. …And looking back, I think Mickey pulled off that stunt because I turned down his offer of 'friendship' in the first place."

"That was because he insulted Akko's friend." Lee replied. "I remember that…"

"I think I'm starting to get this." Goombella replied. "Mickey wanted to be 'friends' with the KND because he saw them as a potential threat to this whole plan."

"Hi, everybody!" A blonde girl with a cyan dress and heart-shaped blush marks stood up. "Star Butterfly! Sector M, Avalaran transfer, you might know me. So, um, not to sound biased or anything, but it sounds like Mickey's Field Day thing is gonna take place in my kingdom… where I am the princess, hehe." Most of the operatives shot her questioning glares, prompting Star's teammate, Marco to pull up his hood and sink down. Other ops were mumbling, 'We have a princess?!' "Um, so, I don't know if the whole 'trying to kill Cheren' thing is true or whatever, but Mickey's a pretty great guy! My parents and I used to see him at parties and he's real sweet, and he helped us with Mewni's monster problem…"

"Um, I think what Star's trying to say is," followed Miguel Rivera, Sector M's musician, "why exactly is Mickey a bad guy? What's he gonna do if he… y'know, gets Supreme God power?"

"Probably fricking enslave everyone under his happy, 'girl power' banner." Nagisa scoffed.

"Khh, I mean," snorted Connie, BC's leader, "you would know that since your friends are all girls. Personally, I think this is a HUUUUUGE misunderstanding. I think Mickey just has the wrong impression of the KND, based on a few certain 'incidents' with those Newborn you've all been collecting, so maybe what we oughta do is talk to him and clear this whole thing up."

"Don't you get it?" Cheren sighed. "Mickey doesn't care if he's wrong or not, he WANTS us to look bad because it'll get people against us!"

"Well, that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't turned down his friendship offer!" Star yelled.

"Well, it's because I did that we got to see his true colors! We couldn't have signed over to him, least of all in this situation!"

"M-Maybe…Maybe we should!" All eyes fell to Dipper Pines, Sector GF's leader. "Maybe Mickey could use that power for good! Maybe we don't have to keep fighting! Maybe we don't have to keep losing people!"

"To be honest, it's not a bad option to explore." Hibiki Lates, KB's computer expert, agreed. "We lost Libby in the Pirate War… and Bon Clay's still in a coma from the dream incident. I wonder if-"

"We are NOT signing over to MICKEY!" argued Ruby, KB's fighter. "Sapphire, you can tell 'em! Use your Future Vision to see Mickey's evil ways!"

"I…I shouldn't say anything."

"QUIT HOLDIN' OUT AND TELL US!"

"I-I…" Sapphire tensed up under the pressure. "I see several of us… joining Mickey and…"

"And Mickey backstabs us, right?!" Anthony shouted. "Tell us! It's all a scam!"

"I… You know what?! Figure it out for yourselves!" Sapphire stood and stomped her way out of the stands. "I didn't ask for this!"

"Alright, look." Cheren said. "Whenever a big war like this happens, I always give you the choice. I'm giving you that choice now… on whether to fight or stay home. The only condition I'll make is not to sign over to our enemies. Because if you do… then we'll have no choice but to fight you, too."

"You're as one-sided as always, Cheren." (Play "Desire" from Persona 5.)

"?!" Everyone whipped up at the main screen. A dark-blue spider symbol appeared against a light-blue space, the image staticky and flickering in and out. The voice was feminine, yet distorted. "You claim to be everyone's friend… and yet you send us all to our deaths under the guise of friendship and righteousness. These wars that adults should've fought. This organization where only the strong and talented survive, while the weak 'extras' are put to shame. You even have a Sector Ranking system that directs all eyes to only the important people, no matter who was sacrificed on the way."

"What?! Who are you?!"

"'TIS ARANEA!" Fybi Fulbright, W's archer and Nimbi, professed in her refined tone, mixed with Irish and Shakespearean. "That logo bares her colors… and that shape mimics the spider she is named for. And masked or not, I doth recognize my cousin's voice."

"Aranea, is that really you?!" Anthony shouted. "What're you doing?! Are you somewhere in the base?!"

"It's called hacking, stupid. You can try to mute me if you want, but it's already too late. My plan has been set in motion."

"WHAT PLAN?!" Panini screeched. "Aranea… ya better choose your words carefully."

"I was listening the entire time. I know the war Cheren has signed us up for. And I realize now… the time has come. The time to really and truly give up. And I think my fellow operatives must do the same. Alas, you won't… because you are fooled with the guise that you are heroes."

"I've never heard Aranea talk like this." MaKayla said. "Not just the voice filter, but… just this 'smart' way she's talking."

"You know, some people only talk like this when they've completely surrendered to their negative feelings." Miyuki replied. "Abandoned any semblance of hope or even friendship, and accepting their hatred with a logical view."

"Hmm…" Miyuki must know from experience, Kayla thought.

"Say what you want. All people have darkness in their hearts… including you all. It's time… for you all to see it."

Everyone's iPhones—or at least the people who owned them—began buzzing, startling the group as they quickly checked them. "They're all Twitcher notifications!" Mason said. "And… it has our pictures from the KND files."

"WHAT?!" Haruka screamed. "No! H-How did Aranea find out about that?!"

"About… what?" Harry asked, skimming to Haruka's article. "…That you sprayed Minish with bug-killing gas?"

"I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE! THEY WERE TINY, SO I THOUGHT THEY WERE BUGS!"

"HUH?!" Haylee screamed.

"Haylee, it was an accident, I swear! Wait, what're you…"

"It says Haylee takes sexy photos of herself-" Dillon mumbled.

"DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!"

"How… the… fuck…" Mason gawked, disgusted and horrified as his own secret was posted online.

"What's wrong, Mason?" Sheila peeked over her best friend's shoulder. "Wot's it-"

"NO!" Mason threw his phone to the floor and stomped it. "Sheila, don't EVER get on the Internet! NEVER! And if anyone starts a sentence about me, COVER YOUR EARS!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Jinta screamed. "WHO THE FUCK POSTED THESE LIES?! WHO?!"

"Ummm…" His teammates looked on awkwardly. The article described Jinta's weird thoughts about them and other tough girls… as well as Mason's about Sheila. A certain prejudice about Nagisa came to light, the sky-haired boy wanting to shirk down out of shame. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me." Miguel mumbled, reading his phone.

"What doesn't surprise you?!" Aisa, his girlfriend, looked over his shoulder. "Wait, that's me! What's it-"

"I-It's probably a joke, right?" Miguel chuckled, stashing the phone away. "It says you like to draw pictures of everyone's feet-"

"I'M AN ARTIST LIKE APRIL, ARTISTS DRAW FEET ALL THE TIME, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?!"

"ARANEA!" Cheren screamed. "What gave you ANY right to post these lies about us?! You went TOO FAR!"

"They aren't lies. They are all truths. Truths provided to me… by a certain boy who threatened us during the Pirate War."

"Ko…Kokichi?!" Carol exclaimed.

"These are the same secrets Kokichi had." Ciel Phantomhive recognized a few examples. "But he never carried out that threat! Why would you have them?"

"I got one of his former crewmates to 'give' them to me. I may not have the evidence to prove these secrets, but you'll find that most people don't need evidence. Most people will believe anything they hear. But you all know for facts that they're true. You'll have no chance convincing people otherwise. These facts were posted for anyone to view… and I know who will be the first to take advantage and spread them further. You've already lost this war… so, you have no reason to fight. Some of you might not even want to be friends, anymore."

"Aranea… why?!" Cheren demanded. "Why would you do all this to sabotage us?! Don't you realize what'll happen?!"

"I think you're the one who isn't realizing all their options."

"Is this because of Sally?!" Anthony asked. "Aranea, I'm sorry we couldn't save her in time! But Sally wouldn't do this! She wouldn't like you for doing this! Don't tell me Harvey's with you, too!"

"Shut up! You barely cared about Sally, OR me. And now it's too late for you to change. You should know… there are other Spider Cells in other KNDs. Superbia is a cesspool of them. They'll ensure that those KNDs fall apart just the same."

"S-Superbia?" Tsuyu Asui responded with a start. A metahuman with frog features, she left her friends from Superbia due to trauma and personal problems, joining Earth's Sector L under her new friend, Melody. Actually, part of why she left was because of lewd pictures people were drawing and posting about her… Tsu kind of empathized with her current operatives in that regard.

"I have no secrets for the people of 'lesser' sectors… so, I implore them to choose wisely, what they want to do from here on. Goodbye… everyone." The screen blacked out.

"Ashley… you were on Kokichi's crew." Sector TD's Tomoyo said to her 3-foot, red-dressed teammate. "Do you know who…"

"Roger." Ashley glared. "He betrayed us in the middle of the war… he's the only one I can think of."

"Where is Kokichi, anyway?!" Weiss Schnee, Sector $'s swordswoman asked. "We haven't seen him since the CP0 incident!"

"I don't know…" Carol sighed.

Clouds of doubt and shame swallowed the hearts of all operatives present. Cheren could think of only one way to move forward. "This assembly is over. Everyone is free to go back home and… decide what you want to do. I'll call when… something major comes up."

Across the universe…

On Planet Mira, the operatives of Team Rex were fending off a robot invasion in Tantal. They weren't robots from Mechonis or anywhere else on Mira, rather ones that bore the logo of Dr. Eggman. Rex, with the Xenoblade Pyra by his side, clashed fiercely with a robotic blue hedgehog, their speed matching that of the mech. But, just as Rex knocked the robot into a cliff with Spinning Cutter, its red eyes flickered red and turned green. "Aegis Data… has been copied."

"Hey, where's it going?!" Rex asked as the robot took flight.

"Mission complete… Dr. Eggman."

"Well done, my Hyper Metal Sonic." Eggman replied through the comms, stationed in a certain base. "With this… Planet Mira will join the Eggman Empire!"

On Avalar, the citizens of the Isle o' Hags were in a panic as monsters swarmed their land. "RAK KAKAKAKAK! My humble homeland, I have returned! Your favorite witch has not been burned!"

"Banjo! Banjo! Get your ass up and look!" A red bird pecked the face of a snoozing brown bear.

"Yaaaaawn…" Banjo lazily walked outside. "What is it, Kazooie…huh?" A gigantic, magical hologram of a certain obese, green, pointy-chinned witch towered above the mountain. "G…Gruntilda?! Is she… back in her old body?!"

A horde of robots and soldiers began to sweep over Mobius's Wonderbeast World, fighting the Kremnants based within. "WAIT!" pled a large cat woman. "We aren't with the Kremlings! We're just-"

Two soldiers zapped the woman and put her in cuffs. "Sorry, but President Schnee orders the capture of all animals present."

King Mickey monitored the forces deployed by Jacques Schnee and Mom, as well as Big Bird's news team. King Bowser oversaw the Brotherhood of Evil engaging the Superbian heroes in war, Eggman's attack on Mira, and Team Rocket capturing countless Pokémon on their homeworld. And Cheren Uno… sat depressedly in his office while his conflicted operatives returned home in dejection and humiliation.

And higher above them… Supreme Born Kael watched the three Candidates at work. "The Throne War has begun! This is going to be so fun! Kinginginginging!"