The World Rings, Night 5: Wedding Crashers

Close to Avalar

"Today is another adventuuuure," Maria sang, swinging Alluka around, "of actiooooon and splendoooorrr." She was still wearing her Link colors. "I hope our journey never eeeeends! And then we can aaall be frieeeeends! We'll flyyyy right throuuugh the stars." She flew her like a rocketship. "And take us veeeery far! We'll sing with the birds… they'll hum our every word!"

"I should totally come up with my own theme song." Goombella said. "One that's totally inspiring to my fellow Goomba.

Sector SA was now entering the atmosphere of the fairytale planet. "There." Hoopa pointed. "I can feel the ring inside that building." They were flying toward a huge, church-like structure within a forest. It had three towers of small, medium, and tall sizes, and there were two more towers in the distance, a green light shining from the top of the tallest one.

They landed near the entrance to the building and saw three witches atop the stairs. The witches stopped their conversation and grabbed their wands in defense at spotting the group. "Whoa, w-wait a second!" Nagisa spoke, the lot jumping back with a start. "We didn't mean to drop in like this. We're Kids Next Door operatives."

"Lower your wands, ladies." ordered the short green-haired witch in a red cloak. "Forgive us if we're a little on edge. Just yesterday, a band of pirates kidnapped one of our students. By any chance, is that why you've come here?"

"Um, no… actually." Index answered regretfully. "We're looking for something called an Aqua Ring, and we think it might be in this building."

"We don't know of any such thing." said a blue-haired witch. "In any case, we can't let just anybody in. This is Luna Nova Academy, the most prestigious magic school in the country."

"I'm not just anybody!" Maria skipped up and raised her Gold Mushroom Card. "I am Maria Mario, the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Princess Maria?" the green-haired witch said in surprise. "What an honor to have you here! I'm Miranda Holbrooke, the Headmistress."

"How do they know you?" Killua asked. "You're from a totally different planet."

"Mushroom and Avalar are both magic planets, and they're trading partners! Besides, Avalar is REALLY high on princesses. So, can my friends and I wander around your school in search of a magic treasure?" she asked with adorable eyes.

"Well, if you must." Miranda complied. "Just don't disturb the students too much. They're still upset, the professors, too."

"Don't worry, we won't. Hopefully, we won't be long." Index replied.

As they walked through the academy's hallways, they passed by several teachers and staff. They gave curious glances to the visitors, but there were worried and depressed auras all throughout. "So, according to my Tattle," Goombella began, "Luna Nova was founded by a group known as the Nine Witches. It is the highest ranked school in Avalon Country, and it accepts aspiring witches from all over the planet."

"Only witches, no wizards?" Killua replied, hands folded behind his head. "Man, where's the gender diversity?"

"Hey, I can feel the World Ring nearby." Hoopa said, peeping out of Maria's hat.

The princess grabbed and aimed him forward. "Point the way, Ring Detector!"

"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep." Hoopa mimicked the sound as they walked past some dorms. "Beep beep beep beep beep!" He picked up the pace when they were beside a particular door.

Index knocked and called, "Is anyone in there?" When no one answered, she peeked inside, then opened the door fully when she confirmed it was empty. This room had a bunk bed, a normal bed, and a desk with some tech parts.

Hoopa flew down and felt around the floor. "I can kinda feel it underneath us."

"Isn't it kind of weird that a magic school would have stuff like-" Nagisa casually went to turn a wrench on the desk.

"WHOOOOOAAAAA!" The floor became a trapdoor as everyone but Hoopa fell in. The Firstborn looked around before following them.

They landed in a dark room and were examined by a camera with a red lens. In another room, a girl saw the image, and was especially interested in the energy readings from Hoopa. "Heeeey!" A claw grabbed the Firstborn and pulled him away.

"Hoopa!" Index called. Red lights came on as laser turrets began to shoot at them. Nagisa swung Tempest Kicks, Killua threw his yo-yos at them, and Morgiana flew around and stomped them.

"Hey, what are you guys doing in our hideout?" a girl's voice asked via intercom.

"We're Kids Next Door, we fell in by accident!" Nagisa answered.

The lasers ceased as an orange-haired girl with green eyes, a school uniform, and grayish-brown sports shoes walked in. "Wait a minute… I recognize you two. You were 'assassinating' everyone when we visited Earth!"

"Yep, that's us!" Nagisa grinned and blushed. "So, I guess this is a KND base?"

"Sigh, come on in." The girl rolled her eyes and exited the room.

Sector SA followed her to a laboratory with four other girls. "Darn, I was hoping we could finally kill someone with that trap." said a gloomy witch with pink hair, her bangs covering one of her red eyes. Her uniform completely covered her legs and looked ghostly.

"We're with the Earth Kids Next Door." Nagisa said. "Well, except Killua."

"Well, we're Sector LN. The name's Amanda." said the orange-haired witch. "This is Constanze." A navy-haired witch turned to glare at them with teal, pupil-less eyes. She was sitting at a desk with tech and a mouse in a cage. "This is Jasminka." A chubby witch with pink hair in pigtails was eating donuts, smiling with closed eyes. "She's Sucy." She noted the gloomy-looking witch. "And that's Lotte." A blonde witch with round glasses was reading a book.

"I'm here TOO, y'know!" the mouse in the cage shouted. "Squeak, squeak."

"And that little troublemaker is Akko." Amanda said with a smirk.

"Nngh! Scheherazade! Heeeelp!" Hoopa was struggling in a metal claw above them.

"What are you doing with him?!" Index asked.

A small robot rolled out and replied, "Master Constanze believes he will be a great power source."

"Well, the answer's 'no,' let him go!"

Constanze sighed and pressed a remote, releasing Hoopa. He gasped and pointed at Lotte. "Scheherazade, the ring! It's inside that girl!" Lotte looked up at him in shock.

"Wait, what's inside Lotte?" Amanda asked.

"Something called the Aqua Ring." Index replied. "Do you remember picking up anything like that?"

"Well… yes." Lotte stared at her right hand. "A strange ring crashed through our window. I picked it up, and it flashed before absorbing into my body. After that…" Her eyes sparkled as she hugged the book to her chest, "I suddenly had the urge to read the ENTIRE Nightfall series in one day! I have AMAZING ideas for fanfiction and I really wanna post them online!!"

"My friend, you have discovered the power of the Ring of Pleasure." Index said with a wry smile. "It calls upon a person's favorite pleasures and hobbies and gives them inspiration."

"She was reading so much that the teachers called her out on it." Sucy snickered. "'Course, that was before the pirates came."

"We heard one of your classmates was kidnapped." Morgiana mentioned.

"Not just any classmate." Lotte said, frowning. "They took Diana."

Yesterday

After the Broodals read the scroll, the girl in question was about to walk over. A brown-haired witch grabbed her arm and whispered, "Diana, what are you doing?!"

"If they're asking for me, I have no choice but to comply. They're going to hurt people if I don't."

"But we don't know anything about them!"

"You don't, maybe, but I know my history. 5,000 years ago, Sherbet Linlin and her band of pirates arrived on Avalar and robbed innocent villages of sweets and men of multiple races. The Linlin Pirates have become the most prolonging crew in history, and it's clear they're continuing their old traditions. Relax, Akko, I can handle this myself." She pulled her arm free and marched up to the Broodals.

"Ahh, there's the dame!" the lead Broodal, Topper said. "You ready to start writin' your wedding vows?"

"What does this Jaune Pringle want with me?"

"It ain't what he wants, it's what the Big Bitch wants. And she wants you to get on the ship and join the family!"

"Sigh… Only if you promise to spare this school, its students, and staff."

"We ain't promisin' noth- Ow!" Topper was smacked by Harriet, the female Broodal.

"He means 'yes.'"

Diana kept walking. "Dianaaaa!" Akko bolted after her, but the blonde witch whipped around and cast a spell, turning her friend into a mouse.

Idiot! If they know you and I are friends, they'll want to take you hostage! "Ignore that girl, she's a troublemaker." Diana said as she joined the Broodals.

Lotte and Sucy hurried over as the former picked Akko up. "Diana, please come back!! Squeak, squeak!"

They all watched helplessly as Diana climbed the ladder onto the Bridal Barge, the wedding vessel sailing away with the fleet.

Today

"We were gonna change her back, but she kept trying to escape to try and find them." Sucy mentioned.

"Don't you understand what's happening?!" Akko shouted, tugging on the cage's bars with her paws. "Diana's family provides funding for Luna Nova, they wanna use her to take over the school!"

"Of course we know that, Genius." Amanda retorted. "What were we supposed to do? All the Kids Next Door are busy trying to find these golden page thingies."

"Amanda, weren't you saying that you could beat up all those pirates?" Jasminka asked.

"Hey, don't turn this on me!"

"I wish there was something we could do." Maria said.

"We can't!" Index stated. "We need to focus on finding the World Rings and restoring the Universe Book! Getting in a fight with the Big Mom Pirates will only make things more complicated. 'Course, who'm I to argue?" She closed her eyes and sighed. "Nagisa's the leader, whatever he says goes." With that, all eyes were on Nagisa.

The boy looked down, heavily debating what to do. He remembers being there with Sandman when that overgrown witch was resurrected. Rescuing Diana may not be as easy as helping Gon, and even that had an unexpected hitch. "Index is right, we already have CP0 and the Kremling Krew on our tail, we don't have time to deal with the Big Mom Pirates." He spoke in a quick fashion, almost like he regretted saying this. "After all, we'll definitely have to fight them at some point, when we have all the other operatives on our side. For now, we need to focus on the mission at hand.

Hearing this made both sectors bow their heads. "So, do you need the ring?" Lotte asked.

"We need you to come with us." Index said. "We'll bring you back after we reunite the Seven Rings."

"Okay." Lotte closed her book and stood. "I suppose all we can do is trust Diana."

"We HAVE to do something, we gotta!" Akko squeaked. "Diana may be great, but sooner or later, her ego will get the best of her!"

The mouse jumped back in fright when Goombella leapt onto the desk. The Goomba glared at the little mouse, who felt intimidated by the larger creature. Goombella sported a cocky smirk. "The lab rat look really suits you… Emily Garley."

Their mouths fell agape and their eyes locked on the rodent. A tiny sweatdrop trickled down her fur. "Uhhhh… w-what're you-"

Constanze reached in and firmly gripped the mouse. She dropped her on the floor, and there was an instant puff of smoke as the gold-haired scientist burst into being, dressed like a witch. She blinked up at Sector SA, her nearsighted eyes regaining their normal senses. "OH, PLEASE don't tell the other scientists I've been associating with witches!" She started bowing. "They'll never let me live it down!" The witches rolled their eyes.

"But if you're here, then where's Akko?!" Amanda asked.

"Presumably with Diana."

Yesterday

As Diana walked up to the Broodals, Akko tried to follow, but Emily held her back and whispered, "If you try to follow her, she'll turn you into a mouse. I have good Observation Haki."

"Great, then do you wanna take my place?"

"Huh?"

"Just play along, trust me."

Diana approached the Broodals. "Dianaaaa!" Akko bolted up to her, but Diana whipped around and cast the spell.

"Watch out everyone, more pirates!" Emily pointed upwards, everyone whipping up.

In that split moment, Akko whispered, "Switcheroo!" zapping the spell back and hitting Emily. She and Emily switched position, causing the latter to be turned into a mouse, while Akko herself immediately became a mouse. Lotte and Sucy began restraining Emily while she talked and acted like Akko, leaving the real one to scamper up and leap into the back pocket of Spewart, the blue-clothed Broodal.

Now

"But how were you able to stay transformed for this long?" Lotte asked.

"Because Master Constanze kept her inside a magic cage that prolongs transformations until they are removed." the robot said.

"I can't believe Akko was able to pull it off without anyone seeing it!"

"I know, she's such a screw-up most of the time." Sucy said. "Now she's probably dead."

"Mmmmm…" Lotte puffed her cheeks, locked in a mental battle.

"Do you wanna go save her?" Goombella asked.

"Of course I do! But I have to go with you, don't I?"

"You know what, CHANGE of plans!" Nagisa shouted. "I don't know what we're going to do about Diana, but we can at least save Akko! LET'S GO, TEAM!"

"YEAH!" Killua cheered. "Let's wreck some pirates!"

"What's the point of finding the collectibles right away if we're just going on the side quest, anyway?" Index said depressedly.

"Hey, Scheherazade!" Hoopa exclaimed. "I can feel the Ring of Rage entering the planet's atmosphere!"

Maria gasped, "LOUISE!"

The Bridal Barge

"Awwww! Absolutely gorgeous!" exclaimed Harriet, staring beautifully at Diana after she was clothed in a lovely white wedding gown. "I've made dresses for a lot of hostage brides before, but you are the prettiest one, yet!"

"If I'm going to be forced into this, don't I at least get to meet my groom-to-be?"

"He's on his way here right now." They turned toward a giant rabbit woman in a sleek red gown, red hat, and turquoise hair. She was as large as Charlotte Linlin and had a big mouth to go with it. "You should count yourself lucky to be marrying such a handsome man. Why, Grandma planned for ME to marry King Bowser of the Koopa Clan! Until she realized that he was allied with King K. Rool!"

Moon Rabbit Linlin descendant, Head Wedding Planner

MADAME BERRY BROODE

"Aaaaaagh!" Harriet panicked. "There he is now! He can't see you in your dress, yet!" She threw her hat over Diana as it swallowed her inside, spinning as it rose back up, revealing Diana in her school uniform.A pirate ship that was shaped like a Pringle and flying with barbeque grill thrusters was flying toward the Barge. The figurehead was nothing more than the Pringles logo and the Big Mom Jolly Roger had an orange mustache. The Sweet Salt parked beside the Bridal Barge as a man in a yellow and orange jumpsuit marched across a plank. He had orange hair and a mustache that reeked of the chip he was named for.

Unbeknownst to anyone, an orange mouse was hiding on the topsail, watching the events cautiously. "So, you must be Jaune Pringle." Diana said with clear disinterest and masked disgust.

"Diana, what a pleasure to finally meet you! You're-a much more beautiful than Mama described!"

"Exactly how old are you again?"

"No worries, I am 17. I come-a from Mushroom Kingdom's Mustachio Tribe, you see. Oh, and speaking of Mama, I was supposed to call her after I arrived. Ahem, oh boys?"

The men on his boat switched on a hologram projector as the Great Grandma's gigantic form displayed over the deck. The little mouse cowered at the sight. "MA MA ma ma ma! You two already look adorable together!"

"Hey, did ya figure out why the planets are all broken, Big Bit—I mean, Grandma?" Topper asked.

"Unfortunately not. But whatever supernatural force is at work, I hope it doesn't interfere with my party next month. Oh, just look at this place!" The queen looked around her holographic scenery with adoration. "Avalar is as beautiful as I remember it! I absolutely ADORE wizards and magic! I read all kinds of stories, and I watched so many movies during my time in the Spirit World! And my favorite films of all time were the works of Walt Disney. I watched every Disney film ever made and every television show. And in these recent years, I noticed how much of an empire Disney had become. They bought Marvel, Star Wars, Fox News, bloody DreamWorks, and now Mickey Mouse rivals Taneleer Tivan in terms of his wealth! That's why I need to expand my power as well, starting with you, my sweet!"

"Look, I didn't come aboard to get married, Your Highness." Diana said with folded arms. "You do realize that, not only does my family have connections with the Magic Council, but I myself am a Kids Next Door operative? Your pitiful pirates can do nothing before our combined forces."

"Diana, please." Jaune tried to console her. "Perhaps you are just hungry. Would you like one of my special Pringles?" He ripped off the right half of his mustache.

"Your mustache is made of chips?!"

"My whole body, actually. I ate something called a Chip-Chip Fruit, and I can produce chips from my body. And since I am a firebender, they come out barbeque-flavored! Won't you try a piece?"

"I don't eat junk food, so I'll have to decline."

"Please, my dear. I INSIST!" Jaune SHOVED the Pringle into Diana's mouth.

The mouse gasped as Diana chewed the chip with a sickened expression. Her once blue eyes began to glow pink as she stared awestruck at Jaune. "It's…It's so delicious…" She reached for the other mustache, but restrained herself, touching her head. "No! What's… happening to me?!"

"MA MA MA ma ma! My dear, you've just gotten a taste of my family's Sweet Gene!" Queen Sherry proclaimed. "Tiny fragments of my Candy Virus exist in my descendants in the form of this gene. When others consume our DNA, they become attracted to the person whom it belongs to. With enough bites, you won't be able to resist Jaune Pringle. You will marry him of your own will!"

"Don't resist the Pringle, Diana." Jaune tauntingly waved the chip by her nose. "Give in to the power of the Pringle—OOOH!" An orange elephant with winged ears SQUASHED Jaune under its behind.

Akko?! Diana thought in shock.

"AAAIIIIEEEEE!" Sherry screeched. "What IS that adorable creature?!" she asked with folded hands. "BERRY! Capture that thing immediately!"

"NUUEEEH!" Madame Broode lifted the elephant in her arms, but it poofed and became a purple rabbit, its ear inflating like a balloon and floating up. The creature became an elephant again and squashed Madame Broode in the face, the rabbit falling over as Akko changed back to her human form. "Diana is NOT marrying him!"

"You idiot! What are you doing here?!" Diana asked angrily.

"Hey, it's that girl from yesterday!" Harriet pointed.

"You mean it's NOT a rare and exotic creature?" Sherry asked in disappointment. "Ho well. Just kill her."

"SPEEEAAAAAHH!" Spewart spewed a gush of purple liquid, covering Akko's body.

"AKKO!" Diana screamed. The red-eyed witch tried to stay on her feet, but the poison overcame her and she fell.

"Spewart wart wart wart!" laughed the Broodal. "I'm a poisonbender that can ingest toxins, baby, and I swallowed a load of water from Silver River Forest before we came to your school! And if you ain't treated in six hours, you can kiss your sorry life good—BOOOOOO!" Akko KICKED the Broodal right in the crotch!

The witch got to her feet, only slightly wobbling. "My friend poisons me every morning! I've developed an immunity!"

Rango tossed two hats in the form of buzzsaws, Akko narrowly dodging by the beat of her heart. "I bet you ain't immune to no saws, a-hyuh hyuh."

"My back's-a broken!" said a weak Jaune Pringle. "I need medical attention!"

They all jumped back when a blue laser blasted the deck of the Barge. "What was that?!" Madame Broode asked, everyone looking skyward.

"So, YOU'RE the infamous Great Grandma. You're even uglier than I thought you'd be." A fleet of hat-shaped ships, floating with balloons with yellow mustache symbols, were descending from the sky. "But we're here to LIBERATE this land of your oppressive regime!" declared Louise Mario, the ships blasting more lasers and destroying the hologram projector, causing the queen to vanish.

"Raaaah! Harriet, lock those two up!" Broode ordered. The pigtailed Broodal wrapped Akko and Diana up with her hair and dragged them into the cabin. "All ships, blow these wretched fools out of the sky! Fire the Flame Chomps!"

As combat between the two fleets began, the Triple-S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was closing in alongside Sector LN on their broomsticks. "What are all those flying hats?!" Amanda asked. "They don't look like anything we have on Avalar."

"But those mustaches!" Maria noticed. "Could they be Louise's ships? She never told me she had her own fleet of hats!"

"I can feel some Book Pages in those candy ships, too." Hoopa said.

"Index, set the ship for autopilot." Nagisa ordered. "We'll fight our way through the fleet and collect some pages while we search for Akko. Sector LN, you can search them, too; and we can use the chaos to our advantage."

"Roger that." Amanda said. "But why can't we have Lotte with us?"

"Because we can't risk losing the Aqua Ring Bearer to these pirates." Index stated. "Okay, autopilot's been activated. Get ready to jump!"

Stage 3: The Wedding Fleet

Mission: Rescue Akko and possibly Diana (depending on how she feels on the matter)!

The team of seven leapt off the 4x4 craft and landed on the deck of the first ship. The Moon Rabbits (all in black tuxes and top-hats) whipped out spears and hopped around the intruders. Nagisa hardened himself while Morgiana used him as a weapon, Killua threw his yo-yos about, and Goombella Headbonked the rabbits. One of the animals was swiftly leaping around the edges of the ship, but Maria could catch up to him by possessing a hatless rabbit. Once she seized the rodent, she could take its Lost Page.

"Pow pow!" The cannons suddenly grew eyes and turned to face the group. "Hey, they knocked POW our operators! Let's POW them into oblivion!"

"Th-Those cannons are alive!" Maria exclaimed.

"Apparently, they call themselves Blastos." Goombella said. "They were brought to life thanks to Queen Sherry's Psychic Chi."

"They're more than that." Lotte said. "These cannons are possessed by spirits. Listen, don't attack us! We're only here to help our friends!"

"Oh, well okay… Wait, why are POW saying that?!"

"Hey, you. Harpoon." Lotte pointed at the spear cannon. "Can you shoot that ship so we can climb up?"

"Yeah, sure!" The harpoon faced up and pierced a higher ship.

"Why are they listening to you?" Morgiana asked.

"Because I'm a Ghost Whisperer!" Lotte replied, her face beaming. "I can see ghosts and communicate with them to manipulate the environment."

"She's not lying." Goombella analyzed. "Even though she can only command weaker spirits. What's with everyone in this group having awesome powers?"

The team climbed the harpoon rope up to the next ship, entering the hull. Three sentient fans blew powerful currents to keep the kids at bay, and Lotte couldn't get her voice through to tell them otherwise. Killua tossed his yo-yo around thin pegs in the floor to pull himself up further, and afterwards threw the heavy toys into the Spinnies' blades. The only way up was via a shaft behind the Spinnies, so Lotte told them to float horizontally at the base of the shaft. The team used their wind to blow upwards, having to maneuver left and right to avoid Eye-Cones (floating spikeballs with single eyes and ice cream cone spikes).

They were taken to the top of the back of the ship. Large bees called Bzzap tried to sting them, the group dodging as Index shot them with Light Spheres. They dropped down to the deck, where Bzzaps were flinging Buzz Bombs (large beehives filled with smaller bees) over to the hat ships. The KND knocked the Bzzaps out and began to wonder which catapult could help them progress. One of them would fling them toward a Lost Page over the abyss, beside a Bzzap. Maria took the liberty of flying over and quickly possessing the bee, bringing the page over to her friends.

Afterwards, they used a catapult to fly over to a longer white ship, breaking through a window. They landed in a wedding hall where matrimony was taking place between a sentient wedding cake and a bouquet. "I don't care if you're bad for my health." the bouquet said. "You're more warm than sunlight could ever be."

"HEY!" yelled one of the Moon Rabbits in the audience. "Those kids is interruptin' this beautiful moment! Get yer guns, guys!" They all began unloading at the group, who ducked behind a fallen table. Index lit up her whole body and dashed up the aisle, hitting a switch behind the couple-to-be and opening a giant trapdoor. "AAAAAHHH!" All the rabbits went plummeting to the surface.

"It seems this wedding hall was designed for false weddings and executions." Goombella said. "Yeah, I'm definitely not hiring the Broodals for my wedding."

Index closed the trapdoor and said to the cake and bouquet, "By the powers vested in me, I pronounce you fattening sweet and scented flowers!" With that, they exited through the back doors and found a room of giant white roses. The sentient roses lashed thorns at the kids, and Killua used Tempest Shaves to slice their stems. In the midst of this, the wall was blown down by one of the hat ships, but that ship was shot away by another bridal ship. Lotte commanded the remaining Nosey Rose to stretch a vine over to that ship, and to retract its thorns.

This ship seemed to have a giant cooking pot in its hull, and a giant pink bird in a chef's hat was dropping turnips into it. The pot linked to cannons and fired heated ingredients at the enemy ships. The Cookatiel squawked as it spotted the intruders, spewing hot pink vomit at them. Morgiana did a Rocket Jump and attempted to kick down at it, but the bird dodged. Killua tossed yo-yos to bind the bird's talons, allowing Morgiana to stamp and bring Cookatiel down. The bird lost its chef hat, and since it was low enough, Maria could possess the beast. Just like before, she allowed her friends onto her back and flew across the fleet.

"Cookatiel is carrying the intruders!" a rabbit shouted. "Shoot them down!" Maria dodged the jawbreaker cannonballs and made her way to the Bridal Barge. Two smaller ships got in their way, but Sucy flew overhead and dropped colorful bombs that caused mushrooms to grow on the ships.

"Hehe, good luck getting THAT smell out of your floorboards." Sucy snickered. "Good luck, Lotte."

Sector SA bypassed the infected ships as Maria used Cookatiel's vomit to melt a hole in the flagship's hull. The avian beast began to fight back for control, so the kids disembarked and hopped into the Barge. They were inside a dining room with colored slices of cakes on the tables. They were attacked by man-size doves, which Goombella confirmed to be Rito from Planet Hyrule. The Rito imbued their feathers with Haki, and Killua fought back using Tempest Fingers to lightly injure their wings.

This allowed the others to take them out easier, and Lotte could help by commanding a Fire Spirit from one of the lit candles to fly around and set fire to the Rito. Once the birds were done with, they had to figure out how to unlock a Riddler Cage containing a Lost Page. Their first idea was to have the Fire Spirit light the unlit candles of the colored cakes, but they would go out as Riddler's voice made a snazzy remark: "Instead of listening to your hearts, you should listen to your BRAINS! Mu hu hu hu!"

"We'll see about that." Lotte said, deciding to ask the cakes themselves. They provided hints like, "The red cake should be lit 2nd, the purple cake should be lit 5th," and so on. Once Lotte determined the proper order, she lit the candles and solved the riddle, taking the page for herself. "Sweet! Now, let's find them."

Meanwhile, inside the ship's brig, Akko and Diana's guard growled as he glanced to the door. "I'm going to check outside. Don't try anything, ladies."

Once he left, Akko quickly took off her shoes and socks and tied them into a rope. "Nnh! Nnh!" She lashed them at their wands on the nearby table.

"Akko, I went with these pirates specifically to keep you guys out of harm's way. Your reckless actions could put everyone in danger!"

"So, you were just gonna be satisfied with marrying that guy?!"

"Of course not! But I thought I could use the chance to get close to Queen Sherbet and look for any weaknesses in her build."

"Diana, even I think that's dangerous. You said it yourself, we're Kids Next Door, we could've rounded up all our operatives and protected our school together."

"Even with our sudden 'Find Golden Pages' mission?"

"That's not the point. Okay, got 'em." Akko had pulled the wands across the floor and retrieved them.

"These bars are fixed with magic-proof seals, you know."

"We can still use it on ourselves!"

Once the rabbit guard had come back, "OPEN THE CELL or your friend gets it!" Diana was holding a smaller rabbit, her wand aimed at the terrified creature.

"T-Take it easy! I'll let you out!" The rabbit hurriedly opened their cell, and the small bunny kicked him across the face as Diana stunned him.

Akko changed back to normal, sharing a smirk with her friend. "I can't believe that worked." Diana said.

"They're in here!" another rabbit pointed in the room frightfully. "Please don't hurt—WAAAH!" He was stomped in the face by Morgiana.

Sector SA looked inside the room. "Akko, Diana!"

"Lotte!" Akko beamed.

"Oh yeah, I remember her." Nagisa said. "She was flying with Kiki."

Index was transfixed by the golden butterflies fluttering around Akko. So, the Rukh are attracted to her, too. Hm hm hm! She must be a pretty brave person.

Outside, Amanda was outmaneuvering the Flame Chomps, flying cannonballs with fiery tails. She flew toward a candy ship and performed a sudden turn upward to have the Chomps crash into it. On the deck of the Bridal Barge, Sucy chucked a potion into Spewart's open mouth, but the Broodal smirked wickedly as he threw it up back at her, Sucy gasping and dodging. "Geez, the glass should've at least hurt you!"

Madame Broode blew a whistle. "C'mere, Chain Chompikins!" A golden Chain Chomp bounced over as she grabbed its chain. She glared over at Jasminka, who was blissfully chewing a large jelly cookie. Broode whirled the Chomp and chucked it at the chubby witch. She expected Chompikins to maul her, but Jasminka instead grabbed the Chomp in her powerful arms and stopped it. She then grabbed the chain, spun around, and swung it back into the Madame's face.

"These brats must be Kids Next Door operatives!" Harriet said, quickly tossing bombs at Constanze's Stanbombs. "If we get beat by them, Queen Sherry might send the Breakfast Club. Those guys are more brutal than we are!"

"You wanna talk brutal?!" Louise dropped on the deck and grabbed Harriet's pigtails, wrapping them around her own neck. "How you like getting CHOKED by your own hair!"

"Hey, that ain't fair!" Rango threw his bladed hats at the girl, but a green top-hat was thrown, hitting the hats and flipping them. Maria ran out and bounced on the hats, going above Rango and Ground Pounding him.

"Sis!"

"MARIA?!" Louise brimmed with red aura, strangling Harriet even harder. "I shoulda KNOWN you'd be here!"

Nagisa Shaved up to the Mustache Girl and freed Harriet. "I see the Red Ring has really gotten to you." Index said.

"Louise, where did you get all these hats?"

"The answer is simple, Maria." Louise twirled her new captain's hat. "You're looking at the new captain of the Sky God Pirates!"

"The SKY GOD Pirates?!" Madame Broode exclaimed.

"The Sky God Pirates are ruled by another Emperor." Lotte said. "Just like the Big Mom Pirates." She was still holding the Golden Page as it started glowing. "This is just like that ancient story… the story of four empires clashing for total control, dragging many other kingdoms into the fray."

"Lotte, you're glowing!" Akko pointed.

"Oh, no…" Index stared in worry. "The Ring of Pleasure's special power is activating."

"They said that the Kremling Krew was after them, too." Lotte continued, glowing aqua. "That makes three Pirate Emperors. If the fourth group were somehow involved in this conflict… the Pirate Wars will begin once again and drag the worlds into chaos!!"

A blinding beam erupted from the golden page. "WHOOOOOOAAAAA!" Just like last time, everyone in the area, from KND to rabbits to pirates, were sucked into the page.