Heavenly Flavor

Play "Wedding Hall" from Mario Odyssey.

Act 2: Wedding Hall

Akko and Diana transformed into little mice and crept up the stairs. The grounds around the cathedral were empty and peaceful, the wedding bells creating a pleasant ambience. They could faintly hear the organ inside. The witches snuck around to the back of the building, figuring the front door would be well-guarded inside. They saw platforms leading up the massive building, so the witches became frogs and hopped their way up. Once atop the roof, they crawled over to the steeple and hopped up that as well. They were now under the bells… though Akko decided to climb the steeple's roof, finding a treasure chest at the very tip.

The frogs dropped into a hole under the bells, landing in the rafters. They bounced their way down cautiously, knowing the enemies would not be far beneath. They stopped on a board above the entrance area. They became mice again and crawled into a hole, leading to the gargantuan wedding hall. With their smallness and all the attention on the wedding, there was little chance of anyone discovering them. The witches crept along the walkway above the hall, fully surveying the situation. The tremendous cake, fortunately uneaten, stood at Sherry's back. Fittingly, the Goal Flag was beside it.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…" The queen had already begun the sermon while Terry and Kayla were slowly approaching the altar, "to announce the union of young love. To know that such pure, wholesome love could exist in youth just shows how wonderful our kingdom is. And this young couple will enjoy their union for all their years to come."

"This is so creepy." Akko whispered. "How many people are actually going with this?"

"Based on that giant girl's expression, not everyone is in agreement." Diana replied, holding up the mouse leg with her wristwatch. "This is Diana. We're above the wedding hall. The cake is directly behind Sherbet against the back wall. Terry and Kayla are currently walking up the aisle. Aside from the queen, I see the four Broodals guarding the entrance, Madame Broode in the stands, along with the giant swordswoman Sasha, General Hisoka at the organ…"

"Yo, maybe Sasha could help us." Lola said. "Pea said she was against the Titans, and we kinda got along with her."

"Perhaps you're right. She's as displeased with this wedding as we are. This will be a complicated plan to pull off, so extra help is appreciated…"

Diana explained the plan while Sherry continued her sermon. Terry and MaKayla stalled for as long as possible, but inevitably reached the altar. A small podium with a chalice of red liquid was rested. "This chalice contains the highest concentration of our Linlin blood. Don't worry, it tastes like extra sugary punch! With a drink of this… you will both be wedded for eternity. MaKayla will devote herself to the Linlin Family… and Terry will devote himself to his wife. Now… drink from the chalice… and you will-"

"Don't be ridiculous."

Kayla's voice shocked the wedding hall into silence. Her glowing pink eyes showed a dullness, and Queen Sherry frowned in disgust. Hisoka cocked a brow, but continued to play his organ. "You call this love? You call this happiness? I ask you… What happiness has this man brought to me?! Flowers? Candy? Luxury? You call that happiness?!"

"MaKayla, why the hell are you talking like that?" Terry whispered. Indeed, his friend acted as if she were an actor in a drama.

"A cathedral made for giants… A cake to fill us for eternity. That is not happiness!" Kayla ripped the bottom of her gown. "I want a man who shares my feelings! A man who shares my soul! A man who can confide with me in anything, who feels the utmost trust around me!" She pulled off her glass heels and threw them at the heartbroken queen. "Your infinite wealth and power mean nothing if I cannot have that! I CURSE the Linlin Family name!"

"I-Impossible! You love Terry… You've been kissing him for these past months! You couldn't keep your hands off!" The queen whimpered.

"Those were empty gestures. There is only one person my heart yearns for. And that person is-"

"I OBJEEEEEECT!" The titanic doors were blown open by a force matching their size: Sheila Frantic's fist! The doors smashed the Broodals aside upon opening, striking further silence as she charged up the carpet.

"Sunny… Fist?!" Sherry gasped.

"SHEILAAAAA!" MaKayla ran for the Faunus, happy to relieve her feet from the tightness of the heels. To Sheila's total confusion, MaKayla squeezed her in a hug. "Sheila is the one I choose!! She is my true love!"

"Wot." was Sheila's only response.

"EEEEEEEEHHHHHH?!?" the attendees screamed.

"So, she was a lesbian all along." Hisoka said, focused on the organ. "Perhaps there's still hope for Terry, too."

"'ey, Grandma!" Sheila stomped forward, fist-palming. "Just you and me. We got a score to settle."

Sherry clenched her teeth and drew her Soul Quartz. "Not now, Sunny Fist. We still haven't had our cake. I need to cut the first SLICE!"

"REDUCIO!" Diana poofed to normal after dropping to the floor and quickly cast a spell to shrink the cake to a "normal" size. Sherry's sword could only cut the air, her nostrils flaring and eyes throbbing at the sight of Diana.

Akko grabbed the top of the flagpole, swapping Grandma's logo with that of the Raccoon Pirates. Swirling around and down the pole, Akko let go and fell toward the queen. "TAKE THIS!" Her voice directed Sherry's attention upward, seeing Akko just as she brought her Shiny Ax down between the queen's eyes. Sadly, the ax couldn't puncture the Titan's flesh at all, and the Soul Akko kicked her original owner off. "Get off my best friend!"

Sasha had been too stunned by these sudden developments to act, so this allowed Lola to fly up to her face from the entrance. "Yo, Sasha!"

"WAH! L-Lola! Where you been?!"

"This is the moment of truth, Sasha. If Grandma eats that cake, she'll make all the Titans she wants and no one can stop her. You with us or not?"

Sasha bit her lip in anxiety and looked to the altar. Diana carried the cake by its plate and ran for the back, the queen slamming the floor in attempt to grab her. She swiped her arm and nearly caught Diana, had Terry not dragged the witch into a Veil. Sherry saw the shadow slithering around and raised her sword, but Sasha jumped her grandma from behind. "AAAAAGH!" The furious queen grabbed Sasha's face with a force that slightly crushed it, slamming the teen down. "How DARE you attack me, Sasha! Your life is through!"

"Only thing I'm through with is serving you!" Sasha flipped up and slashed her Haki sword, but it was shattered with one cut of Sherry's as the queen then stabbed Sasha in the stomach. One immense SLAP finished the deed on Sasha as she crashed into the stands. Returning to the cake, Terry lifted Diana up to the sill of the stain glass window. The witch blew a hole in the window, jumping out first—Hisoka stretched his arm to grab Terry and pull him back just as he jumped out.

"Just where are you going, my little boy~?" Hisoka wrapped his arm around his back before holding Terry in front of him. "This was meant to be YOUR wedding, but it looks like you need a new bride~"

"Get the fuck off me, you creep!"

"I'll help ya, Bro!" Lola shot Spank Hands at Hisoka and slashed her sharpened wings at his back. Terry's Shade Fist grew spiked knuckles and punched Hisoka's arm to break his grip, slipping free.

Outside, Diana's shrink spell quickly wore off as the cake exploded to normal size. "Bender, now! Bend it now!" she yelled to her communicator.

Bender's stretched arms had been tightly wrapped around the enormous tree's trunk. "Okay, Tree! Prepare to know the supreme might that is BEN…der…!" If the robot had muscles, he would certainly feel them straining from the immense force he was applying. "Hurrrr…this tree… is stronger than… my pre-collected data… allowed me to theorize…" Were it a normal KND treehouse, Bender could bend it no problem, as he's done with some of his pranks. However, the First Tree was merely trembling under his force. It was on the very verge of bending, so acknowledging this, Rawberry began to run to the intended location.

Diana gasped when Sherry smashed through the window. "GIVE BACK MY CAAAAKE!"

Akko flew out afterward as a bird, but poofed back to normal to shoot a spell at Diana. "DIANA, START RUNNING!" In a flash, her leader transformed into an ostrich, and with the same speed that Akko leapt on her back, she used, "SHINY HOOK!" to turn her Shiny Rod into a grappling hook that grasped the cake's plate, pulling it along as Diana dashed. They began to circle the church, running from the raging queen.

"STOP THEM, you fools!" Pilaf ordered, his team and the Broodals charging outside. The other operatives rushed to intercept them: Spewart barfed a stream of purple poison, but Mason had drunk five cans of Purple Flurp before barfing his own stream. The two poisonbenders pushed back each other's streams, their throats growing sore by the minute, but Spewart's poison was pushed back into his throat along with Mason's soda, blocking him up. Harriet tossed bombs at Mason, but George Stopped those bombs and punched them to store their momentum. He released the Stop so they launched at Harriet, exploding on her with great force.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Carol declared, downloading a team of Game-and-Watches to attack Team Pilaf.

"Shu, catapult!" Pilaf ordered.

"Okay, Boss!" Shu used his staff to fling the goblin over the Programs.

"Regression, six years!" Pilaf trapped Carol in his Time Bubble.

"WAAAH!" Carol shrank into an 8-year-old body, and was clothed in a green dress, bigger puffy hair, high-heels, and finger rings. "Waaaah! I ditched this look ages ago! Whoooaa!" Her computer too heavy now, Carol easily lost balance on her heels and fell.

"Serves you right, sucker!" Pilaf quickly ran ahead.

The Broodal, Rango tossed bladed hats at the child Carol, but Mason was quick to grab and carry her away. "Maseyfairy, you saved me!" She hugged the taller teenager.

"You can make it up to me when you're older!"

"CAAAAAAKE!" Pilaf gaped in panic when Diana-ostrich came running, the massive cake and Grandma behind them. The goblin jumped aside by the beat of a heart, and all the others screamed and scrambled to move aside. The queen performed a monstrous leap, but- "Speed up!" George sped the girls and caused Sherry to miss the cake.

"Hurry, Bender! We're almost at the spot!" Diana called.

"Hurrrrrr…!" Passion coursed through Bender's code as he applied greater power. "And Arceus said to all the gods… 'Bender… is… GREEEEAAAAAT'!"

The colossal tree bent at a 35-degree angle. Akko hauled the cake to slide off in that direction. "NAAAAAAAHHH!" Sherry pounced after it, but Sheila leapt immediately after. She punched down and used the weight of her own giant fist to crash onto the queen's back, then ran to the head to further punch the cake away from her grasp.

Seeing the colossal cake falling, Rawberry ran with the speed of a predator, mouth wide open as she had every intention of catching it perfectly.

But four metal claws stretched down, caught the plate, and carried the holy pastry away. "Prepare for trouble, the bakery's closed!" Team Rocket's ship quickly sailed away.

"Make it double, and stick it up your nose." James followed.

"To protect the world from sugary queens!"

"To unite all of the sweet things~"

"To denounce the evils of-"

"Come back here, you thieves!" Team Rocket looked back with a gasp, seeing Team Pilaf flying on hang-gliders. The three children landed on Rocket's deck. "So, you Cake Inspectors were cake thieves all along!" Pilaf accused.

"Get off, you little twerps!" Jessie yelled. "Go, Arbok!" She released her cobra Pokémon.

"Weezing!" James released his Poison-type. ("We're scared!" moaned Weezing's double-heads.)

"Regression!" Pilaf expanded a bubble, which Arbok evaded, but Weezing reverted back into Koffing.

"WAAAH! How dare you Devolve my Weezing like some…some Digimon!" James flared in anger. "Smoke him, Koffing!"

"Koffee!" The purple puffball spewed dark-green smog, choking Pilaf. Arbok slithered around Mai, who tried to shoot it with pistols, but the serpent slipped behind and struck with Poison Sting. Shu the ninja dog drew his sword and clashed with Meowth's claws. The cat Pokémon performed a spin-attack to knock the blade away, riddling the dog with cuts.

While most of the other party-goers had fallen off the treetop, Hisoka, Sasha, and the Storks remained inside the turned-over church, falling against the wall. "What the heck is going on?!" Bartie exclaimed.

"The Kids Next Door are invading us, obviously." Lala remarked. "But you needn't be awake for this." She touched hands to his and Ginny's foreheads, stirring their minds with her power to put them to sleep.

"So, whose side are you on, anyway?" Lola asked her.

"At the moment, I'm torn. I'm loyal to the Big Mom Pirates and my family, but I can't forgive Grandma for making these Titans. I don't think I want to do anything…"

"Good. That'll make spanking you all the easier." Lola smirked. "This won't be a perfect victory unless we defeat ALL the pirates."

"Hm hm hm. If that's what you wish… I'll give it my all."

"And while she's playing with her niece," Hisoka said before returning attention to Terry and Kayla, "'guess I'll break up the unmarried couple."

"Kayla, go treat Sasha." Terry requested. "I can deal with this creep alone."

"You sure about that?"

"Totally." Her 'betrothed' smirked. "I've been bottling up a LOOOOOT of rage after this whole thing started. You know how Tael gets when he decides to let it all out."

"Ohhh!" Hisoka's heart skipped at that statement. "Yes! This is what I've been waiting for! Show me ALL of your rage, Terry!"

"Eh…on second thought, maybe I'm not so sure."

MaKayla giggled. "For now, I'll leave it to you. If I know anything about my 'fiancé,' it's your strength." She passed Terry a cheek-kiss before running to Sasha's aid.

"Don't disappoint me, boy." Hisoka readied a stance. "I'm expecting far greater things from you than from that butler." (Play "Hisoka Theme 2" from Hunter Hunter!)

Boss fight: Minister of Gum, HISOKA MOROW

Terry countered Hisoka's stretched punches with Tael's spiked Shade Fists. The Carnian felt his knuckles be slightly punctured by the invisible force (Tael was punching Hisoka's shadow). Hisoka began to expand his hands for hammer attacks, Terry dodging as they came seconds after each other. Terry dodged closer to the Carnian for direct punches to the gut. Hisoka whipped his stretched leg, Terry Veiling and sliding underneath. He Shade Kicked Hisoka's shadow's crotch, resulting in the reaction Terry expected, but he was quick to dodge a stomp from the taller man and deal a punch to Hisoka's chin. His head bent back, then Hisoka stretched it down to Terry upon tilting it forward. Terry dodged his bite, but was grabbed in Hisoka's left hand.

Hisoka slammed Terry back-and-forth against the ground. A flame seemed to ignite on Tael's head, clawing the shadow's hand until Hisoka released. The gum man stamped his left leg to the floor and stretched his right, spinning endlessly as that leg swept the width of the floor. Terry ducked or jumped depending on its height, but Tael would hold his spikes at the right angle to cut the leg whenever it swooped by. Eventually, the base leg winded as tight as it could go, so it began to unwind as Hisoka spun twice as fast. Terry could barely land attacks, so only Veiled to survive. At the finale of Hisoka's unwinding, that leg flipped overhead and crashed down on Terry's shadow, knocking him aboveground.

Hisoka stretched his legs to fly 30 feet above Terry, his fists black with Haki as he unloaded rapid-punches. The wall crumbled under the storm, Terry nimbly evading. Finally, the combo stopped, and Hisoka fell with a flip and double giant hand-slam to the wall. Terry dodged forward and dealt a spiked punch to either arm, Hisoka reactively retracting them. He leapt away and started throwing Haki-imbued cards, thinly cutting Terry like shurikens. Hisoka would only move away from Terry, but as Terry chased, Tael would grab the cards' shadows and throw them back. Hisoka's flexibility dodged the cards, but some were able to cut him.

Hisoka blew air into his thumbs and it transferred to his legs, puffing them to elephant size. "No more holding back! Let's pop those thighs, Tael!" At Terry's command, his shadow extended its spiked knuckles. Terry backed away from the bouncing Carnian while punching. Hisoka's leg muscles felt like very thick blubber, so Terry's spikes were unable to penetrate. Regardless, Terry was relentless in his attack, punching until his knuckles were able to puncture. Once a single hole was made, Terry punched that spot to make it increase, eventually causing Hisoka's legs to deflate.

"I can poke too, you know. Come at me, boy~" Hisoka glued his fingers together and started thrusting long-nailed jabs at the boy. Terry decreased his spikes for conservation's sake and countered his jabs. Hisoka's nails easily slipped over Terry's spikes to cut his knuckles, quickly pulling away before damage could be done to his palms. Terry instead decided to punch at the legs, Hisoka bending them in evasion, but a few good cuts prompted him to cease his attack. "Don't reject me! Give me the full brunt of your rage!" Hisoka charged the boy, throwing open palms, which Terry met with his spikes and pushed back with full force.

Hisoka stomped at Terry's face, so Terry kicked his shadow's foot, spikes on its soles as it punctured the pelvis. The shadowy flame on Tael's head grew to give himself more strength, blocking Hisoka's advances with sheer determination. He thrusted a kick up at the chin, the inner-elbow, and once more at the pelvis… and each blow sent Hisoka into euphoria. He was smiling as though he had whiffed a sweet drug, slowing his perception of time to savor each blow. Yes… this is the passion of youth. It is manhood at its prime. Keep fighting, Terry… Keep showing me your anger!

Hisoka leapt away, inflated his fist to mammoth size, and smashed down, Terry countering with enlarged shade knuckles. Hisoka brought up his foot, inflated, and stomped, Terry stopping with his boot. Hisoka stretched his neck at the boy to bite, Terry evading, and Hisoka repeated, grinning each time his teeth clenched. Tael wrapped his arm around the stretched neck's shadow, keeping it stretched and squeezing it. Hisoka's head literally swelled with glee, catching Terry on its stickiness. The Carnian was able to bite Terry's waist, so Tael willed spikes to grow on its arm to scratch Hisoka's neck. Tael squeezed the neck tighter and left the lightest punctures, and by some miracle, the man finally grew short of breath and deflated his body parts. Terry was still stuck to his face, but a double-spiked-punch forced him off.

Hisoka planted his hands against the floor, stretched far back, and thrusted pelvis-first, back-and-forth like a slingshot. Tael kept his spikes stretched to blast him back as much as possible. However, at one point, Hisoka stretched his tongue from his mouth, catching Terry's tux and yanking him over. Hisoka continued his in-and-out maneuver while bashing Terry around the floor. He then pulled Terry against his rear, so when Hisoka thrusted that direction, he puffed his rear with enough force to shoot him into the wall. Terry angrily tore off his tux to get Hisoka's tongue off. He slithered up as a shadow, emerged between Hisoka's planted hands, and stabbed spiked knuckles into the hands.

Hisoka released mid-thrust and flung that direction, but Tael stretched an enlarged hand to bind him, using his other hand to pummel Hisoka's head with spiked knuckles. Hisoka inflated his body to spread the fist apart, but Terry extended the knuckles of the previous fist to pop his balloon. Terry ran up for furious punches to the head, along with kicks to the knees to bring Hisoka down. Terry trapped Hisoka in a Shadow Strangle, squeezing the gummy man so tight that he hoped he would pop. Tael was tightly woven around Hisoka's arms, legs, body, and head, twisting each area.

"If any good came out of this bullshit marriage, it was finally having the chance to pop your creepy ass once and for all-"

"NO. IT CANNOT END HERE." (Play "Spirit, Praise, and Beauty" from Danganronpa.)

A haunting voice boomed from Hisoka's throat. Terry reactively released his grip, feeling a frigid chill from his opponent. Hisoka's pink hair retracted into his head, and longer, purple hair flowed out like Play-Doh. His pupils grew and became milky, and his muscles shrank into a smoother, slender form, while his breasts grew. "Oh, sweet Hisoka… you're sweating at the seams. You need to control your excitement.

"I can't help myself. There is just so much untapped rage in this cute little boy.

"Yes, he is a hot one, isn't he? I can feel our sweat pores gasping. Maybe we should let all our muscles have a chance."

Terry stood there with… some new, unheard of form of discomfort. Hisoka slowly began to pull off his shirt, pants, boots, and wristbands. Only a bra and underpants adorned his slender, sticky body. "Ah…such a fiery temper is rare in this age. I do not think I can hold out much longer. Please make it last, dear Terry… Do not let me forget this feeling."

Terry watched as each of Hisoka's individual muscles stretched into a separate limb. "Sigh…I've had it with this guy." Terry welcomed Tael into his form and entered Madshadow Fury, his head on fire, eyes glowing, and blackness partially covering his shirtless form. Terry willed multiple shadow spikes to grow from his arms, furiously dicing all the muscles that flew at him. From any and all directions, Terry was determined to keep Hisoka off him at all costs. Hisoka's eerie head launched and tried to bite, Terry dodging and grabbing the neck in both hands. He twisted with all his might, but when Hisoka's body flung up and slammed down, Terry had to let go to evade.

Terry's anger rose to its peak, thrusting giant Shade Fists to counter Hisoka's fists of equal size. Each impact rattled the church like an earthquake, but Terry was able to sneak in a kick to the chest. Hisoka retracted his fists and blew giant gum bubbles. Terry Veiled and slithered around the bubbles in search for him, but the sneaky Hisoka was able to ambush, force his fingers into the ground, and yank Terry out, stretching his arms to the ceiling in a twisting fashion, and rapidly unraveling before smashing Terry down. Terry broke free and punched Hisoka's knees, the man rolling away. He compressed his legs and sprung to the "ceiling," and from there bounced all around the turned-over church with bullet speed.

The stands and decorations shattered under his impacts, but Terry's spikes would stab him in the face whenever Hisoka launched his direction. Hisoka continued bouncing until Terry stabbed him four times. Hisoka landed, ceased, and inflated his hands to slam them over the boy, but Terry forced them back with spiked knuckles. Hisoka sat and stretched his legs, so Terry's spiked soles impaled Hisoka's. Terry stretched spikes from his shadow to counter all of Hisoka's extended muscles. Both men wrestled the other, Hisoka gasping loudly. Terry's rage was unrivaled, giving every last ounce of his will and anger to tear this creep to bits. To be on the receiving end of his force was…was…

"Ohhhhhhhhh…" Hisoka exhaled an enormous, heart-shaped bubblegum from his lungs. His muscles completely retracted to give more depth to this gum. Slowly, Hisoka was lifted off the "floor." The gum bobbed against the ceiling… and slowly shrank to fill Hisoka back up. He plopped on the floor gently and lay like a limp balloon. "Hah…that felt good… You, Terry… you are exactly my type. Perhaps I'll let you grow a little more… and fight you again. For now… you can finish me-"

Already on the same page, Terry unloaded rapid Shade Fists upon the deflated balloon, riddling him with holes, while Hisoka did little more than flap up with each hit, fully accepting his defeat. After Terry was certain he was unconscious, his Fury died off, gasping for breath. "Uhh…I guess you won." MaKayla said.

"Damn right I did." Terry panted. "What a creep… Is Sasha okay?"

"Yeah, she'll wake up in a minute. Afterwards, we can help the others."

"Well-p, I finished beating up my aunt!" Lola beamed, standing over Lala, whose body was riddled with hand-prints. "You think Mom and Dad'll be mad?"

"We'll make it up to them by saving their asses." Terry stated. (End song.)

The tallest Broodal, Rango tossed his bladed hats at Mason and 8-year-old Carol. The boy jumped across the hats while carrying the child, and once closed, tossed Carol up onto Rango's head. "WHEEEEE! I get a new big bunny pet!" Carol gleefully tugged Rango's ears, the Broodal frantically shaking, but unable to swing her off. His own ears kept bringing Carol back, and each time, she would stamp her heels into his eyes. Rango would sadly trip on his own saw-hat and fall.

Kokichi encountered Topper, who willed a tower of green top-hats to grow on his head. He hid inside one and scattered the hundred hats, spinning along the ground. "Wah ha ha! You'll never guess which hat has me!"

"You wanna bet?" Kokichi bore a crescent grin, guns drawn. "Super Fist of Infinite Deception: the number one Hat Fan has an army of the undead."

"Please! What crazy hat fanatic would have something like-"

"ZOMBIE KITTIES, GOOOO!" Maria's hat-throne was carried by a horde of cat zombies, rivaling the number of hats and clawing them to shreds.

"WAAAH! NOT YOU AGAAAAIIIIN…" Topper was lost among the dead.

Prince Raleigh approached Madame Broode on his own, calling his Pichu against her Chompikins. The boy and his mouse looked remarkably tiny to the giant rabbit and her metallic pet. "Breh heheheh! My Chompikins will make table scraps out of your puny pet!"

"We'll see about that." Raleigh smirked, fixing a band on his wrist. "Time to test out my new weapon! Entering DYNAMAX!" Raleigh pressed the digital screen on the band, shining a star-shaped ray of light onto Pichu. Within seconds, the little mouse grew twice the size of Madame Broode. The Broodal mother and Chompikins gaped in terror.

"Piiii…CHUUUUUUUU!" Broode and Chompikins were enveloped in a wave of thunder. Pichu shrank back to normal after this single attack, able to watch in full view as a charred Broode collapsed on her back.

On Team Rocket's ship, Arbok had squeezed Mai to unconsciousness, Meowth was standing victoriously on Shu, and Pilaf was gasping for breath after Koffing pummeled him with too much smoke. "Ha ha ha! You little amateurs were never a match for Team Rocket!" Jessie boasted.

"And when we bring this cake back to the boss, we'll eat it in celebration!" James cheered.

"CAAAAAAKE!" A thundering voice rattled the air.

"BAAAH!" Meowth screamed. "It ain't over yet, the fat lady's singing!"

Queen Sherry was flying on Zeus, surging chi in her blade. They screamed each time a psychic beam flew from the blade, the ship shifting either side in evasion. "NO, GRANDMA! We're on here, too!" Pilaf screamed.

"CAKE KNIFE BEAM!" Sherry unleashed the deciding slice that destroyed the ship. All of its riders went flying to the sky.

"Team Rocket/Pilaf is blasting off agaaaaiiiin!" ("Wobbuffet…") Twinkle.

The cake crashed onto the ground on its plate. Nebula had warped herself, Cheren, and Harvey close to it. "Nebula, warp it to Rawberry, we'll try to hold off the fatty!" Cheren yelled.

"Gimme time to focus." Nebula said.

The group BOUNCED into the air upon Sherry's landing, her mouth drooling. "No more interruptions! At last, Carl's cake is mine to taste once a…gain?"

She had just noticed the trio next to it. …Specifically, the monochrome-haired girl in pirate clothes. "…Wait…Demtia?" Adrenaline pumping her, Sherry stomped up to them. "Is it really you?! Demtia?!"

"Huh?" Nebula turned pale with confusion. "You mean… Dimentia?"

"OHHH!" Sherry snatched the leader in her hands. "At long last! Demtia! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Oh…ya don't say…" Nervousness mixed in with the confusion.

"Yes! I only left Earth in the first place to find you! I meant to give you something! Wait here!" She put Nebula down and teleported. …After a minute, she returned with an ancient and broken-down saucer. "I found this in the ocean after you disappeared. You must have left it!"

"Oh…one of those old-timey saucers. Th…Thank you… Sherry…"

"My crew has kept this for 5,000 years on my request. I'm so glad I could finally return this to you. I thought if I could find you, I could find-…" Sherry frowned and glanced down to Nebula. "Demtia… Where did Carl go?"

"C…Carl?"

"You, me, and Carl… we were all playing together. You all made me this amazing cake… but after we started eating, you were all gone. Where did you all go?"

"Mmmm…" Nebula closed her eyes. Acting in her mother's stead, she replied, "Sherry… you almost killed me."

"Hmmm? But why? You were my friend."

"Sherry… you turned into a monster after eating that cake. None of us could stop you. When I tried to stop you, you tried to eat me. You had already eaten our other friends. I thought if you continued to rampage, you would eat everyone in the world. …So, I warped you into the ocean, and then I crashed my ship—that ship, onto you so you would drown. Carl…He tried to save you, but I knocked him out. I thought you were beyond saving, so I left you to die."

"…" A shadow of gloom was cast over her giant eyes. Nebula knew she would have to move soon. "But Carl…What happened to Carl? He was still… alive, right?"

"After Carl woke up, he was really upset. I thought he would try to take one of our ships and fly back. …But he didn't. Carl just sat by himself, thinking, for a long time. And when he finally came out… he said to me…"

"Maybe you're right." Carl said quietly. "I…I thought I could give her a normal life, a happy life… but I ended up making things worse. Even if there was hope for her before… even if she hadn't drowned… I don't know if we could've saved her. I should just let her… rest in peace. It's time to move on. She…She's gone…"

…

"And that was the end of it." Dimentia told her daughter. "Or so we thought. Apparently, Sherry survived, and before we knew it, the Linlin Pirates became a massive threat. So, if Cheren wants someone else to blame for Panini's kidnapping, you can always point him to me."

"I think we've been through enough this year." Nebula replied awkwardly.

"If you were in that situation, I'm sure you'd have tried to save her, though."

"Honestly… I'm not really sure."

"But I think Carl wrote all about you in his journal." Nebula continued. "He made sure his family would remember you for generations."

"Then why, Demtia… Why did Carl never look for me in the Spirit World?"

"I dunno. Maybe… he wanted to completely move on from you. Or maybe… he was ashamed for not going back. Maybe he learned you had survived and what you'd built…"

"I wanted to show Carl my beautiful family… What do you think he would think of my family, Demtia?"

"…I think he would be proud." Nebula spoke the truth with a weak smile. "His big little sister created one of the strongest empires in the universe… heh, his look would've been priceless. He would've been too embarrassed to see you again."

"Hmmm…yes." Sherry gazed up at the sky dreamily. "Is that true… Carl? Were you just embarrassed this whole time? Silly poo… you didn't need to be. I wanted you to be part of it, too. But even if you can't be here. At least I have your—!" Sherry turned—the cake was gone, but after turning further, she saw Sheila quickly pushing the plate toward Rawberry. "CAAAAAAAAAKE!"

"HURRY, SHEILA!" Rawberry yelled, diving forth mouth-open. "Keep pushing it away while I start eating!"

"NOOOOOO!" An explosive sword beam launched from Sherry's blade, striking the ground beside the cake and flinging it yards away.

Jasminka had punched a sumo pirate in the stomach and KO'ed him. "Huh?" A pleasant smell caught her nose, and she turned toward the giant flying cake. She couldn't react in time before it completely smashed her.

"JASMINKA!!" Akko and Diana screamed.

"W-WAIT!" Hannah panicked. "Is that the…"

"Cake?!" Barbara finished.

Jasminka's head poked out. A mound of cake got in her mouth, and with pure instinct, she "Gulped." The battleground fell totally silent, all faces pale. For a moment, Jasminka's expression was simple and sweet as usual. She showed no visible reaction.

…

Jasminka's mind was wiped of everything around her. There was no war… no Sweetopia… There was light. Heaven. Her soul was bliss. One after the other, globs of icing were transferred to her mouth from her hands. Her teeth bounced up and down and up again like bouncy marshmallow. She was a machine in continuous, flawless motion.

This is how it ends. Yes… I understand. This is where my life was leading to. Amanda…Constanze…Akko… My friends… I hope you find what you're looking for and achieve your dreams. For I have now achieved mine. I am no longer on earth… and have drifted to Heaven. The cream is an ocean, carrying me fluently, the waves rocking me to sleep. The dough is a mattress. A soft, warm, cushy, chewy, squishy delicious bed that will bless me with dreams. The flour is fluffy snow that makes my soul fuzzy. I can taste every single flavor. The Easter Bunny, coated in chocolate as he frolics upon my tongue. The Fourth Flavor of golden ice cream that enriches the taste. My tastebuds are dancing from a luscious bounty of fortune. Their happiness will last forever.

"Jasminka… sto-…" Diana's voice was barely audible in Heaven. "…minka… stop eating… this instant!…"

Only her nose could maintain her breath at this point, though it had only the holy scent of the cake to breathe. Her mouth was completely clogged with the pure, squishy, fluffy, creamy, delicious, heavenly cake. The rich, godly taste compelled her to cry from how beautifully flavored it was. She could not keep her mouth off. The cake flowed down her throat smoothly. Settled happily in her belly. And she was quick to welcome more in. This was truly the more delicious food that would ever exist in the universe. And she was a blessed girl to eat it all.

…

Jasminka's friends were too afraid to get close. She had grown to half Sherry's size, and the entire cake was in her round, bouncy belly. "Ooooohhh…ooooooohhh…" Nothing shone in her eyes but pure happiness. They could only imagine what wonders her tastebuds had just experienced.

"Jasminka…" Akko approached her friend cautiously. "Are you…"

"Caaaaake…" Nervously, the witches faced up at the looming queen. She was on the verge of a hunger craving. "If I cannot eat my cake… I will eat you instead…"

"Why isn't Jasminka turning into a monster like Grandma?" Rawberry asked.

"Oi dunno, but I ain't about to let her become her snack." Sheila fist-palmed. "It's time to put a stop to this."

"You'll need this!" Nebula called, warping Harvey onto Sheila's shoulders.

"Whoa!" Harvey yelped. "Warn me when you do that!"

"Here's a warning, hold on tight!" Sheila raced for the queen, Harvey flailing behind her.

"Everyone, take Jasminka away." Diana ordered, wand ready. "Akko and I… will fight her together."

"You ain't gonna win!" Soul Akko kicked the air on Sherry's shoulder. "Our friendship is stronger than yours!"

"Don't forget about us!" Zeus became an ominous thundercloud above his queen. "We'll defend Sherry until the end! Right, Prometheus?!"

"You got it!" Prometheus burned like a demonic flame. "We'll show you the power of Sherry's soul!"

"'Guess it's four against four, mates." Sheila said, arriving with Harvey.

"Make that five against four." Augustus Fizzuras marched up, sword drawn. "It wasn't enough to just ditch the crew… I need to cut ties with you once and for all."

Akko and Diana held the Shiny Rod, their blue uniforms turning white. Sheila's body caught aflame with pure light, hers and her mother's chi burning in unison. They showed no fear before the terrible queen… only the sheer resolve to end this war at last. The last pirate… The last enemy… The last Emperor was before them. It was time to achieve victory at long last.