The World Rings, Night 16: Fallen Princesses

Bowser's Castle

"Goombella?" Index spoke as vision returned to the Goomba's eyes.

"Uuuugh… huh?" Goombella realized she appeared to be moving, being carried in Index's arms. "Index? Oh, COME ON, did I seriously pass out again?! Geez, I really AM useless!"

"No you're not." Maria replied, still being carried in Chancellor Yorkshire's arms, the Mobian running alongside the nun. "I'm the one with the broken leg here!"

"But now that you're awake, we could use your help in fighting all these Koopas." Index replied, consecutively throwing a Light Sphere at an Ice Bro.. "Our Soul Bond should enhance your strength, too."

"Yeah, but like, how much? I'm still a vulnerable little mushroom."

"Goombella, you trained yourself for three years to be ready for New Galaxia, even if you knew you couldn't reach Nagisa and Morg's level. And we're very thankful that you trained because we needed you, and we need you now."

"Right, because I'm your weapon, aren't I?"

"Well, Nagisa is Morgiana's weapon!" Index replied in slight frustration. "It's just our way of making up for our limited strength."

"Can't you just form that golden trident?"

"Not all the time. And if worse comes to worst, I'll need to conserve my chi to stop Hoopa. So, can you bear to be my softball for a little bit longer?"

"Sigh, okay. I mean, it's not every day I get to invade Bowser's Castle, so I might as well be in good spirits!" (Play "Time's End" from A Hat in Time!)

Stage 12: Koopa Kore

Mission: Find the Ring of Fate and stop Louise!

Koopa Strikers lined up along the front gates and kicked soccer shells at the teams of operatives. Deku, Killua, Gon, Morgiana, and Amanda sent the shells hurdling back with their powerful legs, breaking the Koopas' beaks. As Koopatrols charged forth with head-spikes first, Gon blew through them with Haki-imbued punches and Raleigh ordered his Pichu to electrify the metal-wearing Koopas. Bullet Bills launched down from the gate's towers, but they were grabbed by Killua's yo-yos and Barbara Parker's Grab Vines, both tossing them back at the towers.

Nagisa and Killua tossed Tempest Kicks to try and take down the massive gate, but its material was sturdy enough to endure. Deku charged strength and began to push open one side of the gate while Morgiana did the other side, putting all their muscles to use as the gate slowly creaked open. All the operatives squeezed through, but they immediately braced their selves for the flurry of bullet-speed baseballs from Chargin' Chucks. Behind that platoon were more Chucks hurdling footballs like bombshells, and the projectiles were strong enough to make the intruders bleed. Tenya Iida ignited his leg engines and sped through the baseballs, tackling two Chucks, and Weiss Schnee shot icicles at some Chucks.

"It's a shame that no one in our sector is superhuman." Carol commented, releasing Game-and-Watches to combat a swarm of Paragoombas flying their way. "Looking at you, Tiny Ciel."

"You know something," Riddler replied, eavesdropping, "that Eri girl could use her Rewind power to restore Ciel's size."

"WHAT?!" Ciel fumed. "HEY! Superbian brute! Bring that girl over here NOW!"

"Ask politely, Ciel." Raleigh remarked, poking him into his pocket.

"Grrrr! Where the hell are you, Sebastian…"

Weiss and Mina Ashido skied along the ground using ice and slime respectively, swiftly slipping past the Chucks and heading toward a platoon of Fire Bros.. Ashido shot acid toward them as the fire was coming out, causing it to explode against the Koopas. They weren't KO'ed by the explosions, but their rage compelled them to charge at Ashido and burn her directly. "Take it easy, fellas, I have a dance recital next week!"

"Need a backup singer?" Weiss remarked, freezing the heads of the Koopas. Eijiro Kirishima then showed up to bash the Koopas with rock-hard arms.

Fire Bros. coughed fire bullets at Amanda O'Neill, who twirled her ignited broom in defense. She ran up to sweep them away with their own fire—"OW!" and she ended up burning Katsuki Bakugo, who then blasted the Koopas with hand explosions. "You're in the way of my kills!" Bakugo shouted at Amanda, bursting with rage.

"You need to watch where you're SHOOTING!" Amanda's hair lit on fire.

"Go kill some of the small fry over there!"

"I'll kill as many of your guys as I WANT!"

"You're not supposed to kill ANYBODY!" Iida shouted.

"Yeah, Amanda, come on." Jasminka worriedly tugged on her friend.

"Hey Jasminka, let's teach these turtles how to REALLY play soccer!" Taking the cue, Jasminka inflated herself, and Amanda kicked her with supreme force to bowl over a swarm of Koopas like pins.

"I guess we aren't the only ones to use our friends like weapons!" Index remarked, throwing Goombella like a baseball to dent the helmets of Hammer Bros., calling her back each time with the Goomba Mitt.

"Not so long as we're good sports about it!" Nagisa followed as Morgiana spun around and used him to bat away spiked Goombas.

As they were nearing the wide, mountainous stairs, Koopatrols and Clubbas came charging down, but Shoto Todoroki used his icebending to freeze the stairs, causing all the Koopas to come stumbling down. Weiss easily skied up and sliced any unarmored Koopas still standing. Despite Shoto's attempts to freeze many of the soldiers, the rage-filled Koopas broke out and attacked him. Shoto fought back with firebending, but was pelted in the back by Bullet Bros.. The black-armored Koopas were grabbed by Tokoyami's Dark Shadow and thrown elsewhere.

Suddenly, a shadow seemed to fall over the Koopas, and they faced up mouths agape as a cloud of baseballs and footballs loomed over the field. A confident smirk on her face, Ochaco Uraraka had grabbed all of the Chucks' baseballs and footballs and used her Zero Gravity to levitate them. Ochaco clapped her hands and willed all the balls to rain down like hail, and her Soul Bond increased her strength to knock the Koopas unconscious.

Shoto had to unfreeze the stairs so all the others could race up. Unfortunately, hatches opened on the stairs, releasing giant iron balls with the intent to flatten the kids. They couldn't be stopped by icebending or by brute strength, so the operatives took care to avoid the balls. Finally at the top of the stairs, the KND were nearing the 2nd gate, guarded by obese Hammer Bros. called Sledge Bros.. Using earthbending, the Sledge Bros. sent earthquakes in the kids' direction, so the air savvy operatives took flight. The Sector LN girls cast Blast Spells at the Koopas while Morgiana kicked off Nagisa for a boost and stomped them in the stomachs.

"This gate looks a bit stronger than the last one." Goombella observed.

"Diana, let's see if we can shoot it down together!" Akko declared, readying her Shiny Arc.

"Good idea!" Diana grabbed the arc as well, both channeling their magic.

"Let me add a little extra!" Gon replied, channeling energy into his fists. "First comes Rock! Rock… Paper… PAPER!" He punched forth as an energy fist flew toward the gate.

"Shiny ARC!" Akko and Diana loosed a massive magical arrow, and combined with the force of Gon's fist, they blew the gate clean open.

Akko and Gon panted, the former's Shiny Arc changing back to normal and the latter's Haki Fury dying. "Ha ha! That was AWESOME!" Gon and Akko exclaimed. The two faced each other in surprise. "Whoa, sorry about that! Oh- we did it again! You know, our voices are kinda similar. Yeah, I noticed that! Wow, this is so weird!" They blushed. "Just so you know, I'm gay. Well, I hope he/she's rich." They smirked. "OH GOD, HE/SHE IS!" Killua and Diana looked at them in disbelief.

"Baka." Killua whispered.

"Dolt." Diana huffed.

"Hey, drink this, you two!" Sucy flew overhead and tossed blue potions down to them. Minoru Mineta was riding her broom with her. "It'll restore your chi."

Both operatives drank the potion, immediately feeling energy course through their veins. "Mmm, delicious!" Gon beamed.

"Sucy's Ethers are the best!" Akko cheered.

Koopas were trying to pursue the operatives up the stairs, but their feet were stuck to the ground via purple grapes. "Hehe, they're falling into my traps!" Mineta laughed. "But I'm starting to bleed. Any chance you can toss me a potion?"

"Here." Sucy handed him an Ether. Mineta drank it up.

"Thanks. Hehe, so tell me something Sucy, does your school have a swimming pool? If so, what do the suits look like?"

"If I see you at Luna Nova, I will turn you into a grape and squash you."

However, the threat only caused Mineta's nose to bleed further. Master Vweeb, we are visiting Luna Nova after this.

Beyond the 2nd gate were hordes of Boos. Lotte began to sing a lovely song, easing the hearts of the Boos and drawing them into her wand. This didn't stop the Dry Bones from tossing speeding bones to cut the flesh of the invaders, but Killua and Nagisa could behead and break the skeletons to pieces without fear of killing them. "All restless spirits, please return to thine slumber!" Index spoke in prayer, her body shining as she willed tiny balls of light to flow into the Dry Bones. This caused energy to leave their bodies and for the bones to stay dead. "The Dry Bones are Inferi; corpses animated by magic. Since it's dark magic, I can pray for it to go away."

Dark Lakitus hovered over the field and used cannons to shoot down Sky-Blue Spinies. Dressed like an Arabian dancer, Hannah England moved gracefully and wrapped the Spinies around the ribbons of her pink attire, tossing them back up to the Lakitus to knock them off their clouds. Afterwards, Pacifica Northwest caught the Lakitus in her chains and tightened them until they fainted. "Cool outfit!" Pacifica praised.

"Yours, too! I bet the homeless shelter will love them."

"Uh… excuse me?"

"Wiggler Platoon, trample them!" The Koopas opened cages and unleashed swarms of giant Wigglers, using their natural Rage Fury as they charged at the operatives. However, Koji Koda used his Anivoice Quirk to speak with the giant caterpillars, ordering them to about-face as several operatives boarded the Wigglers. The Wigglers raced over the field, pummeling several Koopas into the ground.

"One of our operatives can speak to animals," Tenya Iida said to Diana, "and one of yours can speak to spirits. It's funny how much we have in common."

"Indeed." Diana smiled. "It seems your Bakugo friend could use some extra discipline, though. Compared to him, Amanda seems like an honor student."

"Hey!" Amanda shouted. "Just 'cause you were partners in Field Day, don't go dissing your own teammates!"

"MMMMM!" Koji ordered the Wigglers to halt when they arrived at a cliff. The road seemed to continue over a chasm, and it was 30 feet high. "How about we try my new program!" Carol declared as she materialized a 2-D Game-and-Watch staircase, stretching all the way up to the cliff. The non-flying operatives raced up the stairs single file, feeling concern over whether this could support them.

A gigantic King Bill blasted up from beneath the chasm, so Morgiana and Killua combined their strength as they dropped down and kicked the Bill. The King Bill refused to back down, but the others had made it up the stairs in time to where they could let the King Bill pass. Kill and Morg rejoined their friends as they headed into a field of tanks. Gon reignited his Haki Fury as he and Deku ran to destroy two tanks with powerful punches. Weiss and Shoto used icebending to make icicles erect from beneath the tanks, shoving them over the edge, but their ice was soon dissolved by gigantic Fire Snakes.

"You know, I forgot just how many creatures Lord Bowser has at his disposal." Goombella remarked.

"Aguamenti Engorgio!" Diana cast giant streams of water from her wand and doused the snakes. The kids were nearing the next cliff, but a giant Chain Chomp emerged from below, munching along the ground like a cookie. "SPIRIT BOMB!" Lotte fired her accumulated Boos at the Chomp and blasted it straight into the chasm. Weiss and Shoto used ice to replace the ground that was eaten.

"Bronzor, take them up with psychic!" Prince Raleigh ordered, his Pokémon levitating the non-flying operatives up to the next path. "Heh, who said Bowser was dangerous?!" he declared, unaware of the Koopa spying on him from behind. "Invading his castle is the easiest thing—AAAAHH!" The Ninjakoopa zipped up and KICKED Raleigh into the abyss.

"RALEIGH! CIEL!" Carol cried.

"SOMEONE SAVE US!" Ciel screamed.

"You called, My Lord?" A shadow swooped by and snatched Raleigh, and before he knew it, the prince was set on safe ground.

"Huh…?" Raleigh glanced up at a familiar pair of red eyes.

Ciel's single eye cried, his heart warming up at the sight of him. "My goodness, Ciel, you've lost weight!" said Sebastian Michaelis, his smile charming on his pale face.

"S-S-S…Sebastian…" Ciel formed a grateful smile. "You came back…"

"Indeed I have. And rest assured I have enjoyed my vacation away from you." Behind Sebastian, the Ninjakoopa lay with a cracked neck.

"I was wondering when he would show up again." Carol said as Bronzor finished placing them on the path.

Sebastian lifted Raleigh and performed a great jump up to where they were. "Horned girl, look sharp!" Sebastian grabbed his tiny master and tossed him to Eri.

"Ah-!" Eri was quick to catch the earl, and with her Quirk still active, Ciel burst back to normal size.

"Sorry, Scheherazade, but my service is ending early!" Ciel smirked, stretching his limbs. "I need some exercise! That gate looks like fun practice."

A squad of Shoota Koopas lined up before the third gate, cocking guns and aiming at the operatives, Ciel and Sebastian at the front. Rounds of Bitesize Bills came flying, but the two demons moved their hands with whipping speed, completely protecting all their teammates as they caught the bullets. Ciel and Sebastian put the bullets in their mouths, positioned their hands over them, and spat the bullets back, puncturing the Koopas' faces.

"Deku, Morgiana, let's say we open this one!" Nagisa declared. The two nodded determinedly and charged for both sides of the gate, all the while the assassin mustered his chi. "Six… King… GUUUUN-!"

"I wanna go in there!" Alluka yelled. Her wish was granted as the gate flew open, Deku and Morg stumbling on their feet.

"Uh… that works!" Nagisa figured, the group proceeding. Magikoopas cast magic spells that the LN operatives countered, and Pacifica grabbed the mages by the necks via her chains before tossing them into others. The operatives approached downward stairs, overlooking an arena before the castle that had watchtowers around it. Here is where Lord Bowser was being beaten mercilessly by Louise Mario, the enraged Koopas cheering for their enemy.

"I know Louise needs to be stopped," Goombella said, "but, well, this might actually be a good chance to get rid of Bowser."

"We can't take the chance." Index replied. "At this rate, either of them could die, but we could end up losing the Red Ring."

"Besides, any moment now, Mom and Dad will get here." Maria assured. "Then maybe we can finally end this…" (End song.)

Minutes after the invasion began, as Koopas lay defeated along the grounds to the castle, Supreme Leader Cheren Uno had arrived to examine the mess. "Sigh… an adventure's never complete without a castle invasion."

"Hm hm hm! Your operatives make it look so easy." a woman giggled. Cheren turned around in curiosity.

"Gyuh-!" The leader was taken by surprise.

"Hello, Cheren." Queen Peach greeted kindly. "Thank you for looking after my daughter."

"Oh!" Mario nodded in agreement.

"Uh… i-it was nothing." Cheren blushed.

"We thought we could count on you. After all, your father and Mario were partners during the Firstborn Quest. Do you mind if we accompany you to see her?"

"Heheh… of course! I was heading this way to meet someone else, anyway."

"GROOOAAARRR!" Louise was now twisting her knife into Bowser's eyeball.

"You feel that, Bowser?!" Louise smirked with malice. "You feel that irritating itch?! That's the SAME eye Shaunie Fulbright stabbed in the version of Firstborn Mum never read me!"

From the windows of the castle, a black Shy Guy with a grinning, diagonal mask viewed the bloodshed. "Dekukukukuku!" laughed Shy Mask. "This is certainly a dire situation! If Bowser dies, there goes my candidate in this Game. But I don't think I need to worry." The Shy Guy turned away. "I felt Zedekiah's presence here… Hopefully, he'll be able to resolve this issue before then."

The Seven Ring Hunters and their friends charged into the arena. "Scheherazade, look up there!" Riddler exclaimed, his staff aimed at the sky above Bowser.

Index gasped, seeing the small gold light against the distorted sky. "The Ring of Fate! Oh, of COURSE it would be in such an inconvenient spot!"

"I could fly you up there." Morgiana said. "But with all those monsters guarding it…"

Cheadle dodged Koopas on her way to Louise, but a powerful wind brushed the chancellor and her royal passenger away, having come from the lungs of cloud monsters called Ty-foos. "LOUIIIIISE!" Maria screamed. "SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"QUIET, Maria!" Louise kept her sights trained on Bowser, struggling to carve out the Koopa's eye. "After today… every villain will regret the day they followed the path of evil. They will spend the rest of their lives dreading the day I come for them."

"Please stop, Louise." (Play "Get Lost" from A Hat in Time!)

The familiar voice snapped Louise back to reality. It was a voice she hadn't heard in years, yet just the sound of it sparked her memory. Louise turned… and there stood the golden-haired queen in the peach-pink dress she knew all too well, as well as the red-capped Mustachio that was her husband. "Mo…Mo…" For just a little bit, the throbbing pain in Louise's mind decreased. "Mom? Dad?"

"MOM! DAD!" The couple looked over at their younger daughter, Maria, safe in the arms of Chancellor Yorkshire. "You actually made it! I was worried you wouldn't…" Tears dripped down her beaming face.

"Maria!" Mario perked up.

"I'm glad that you're safe, Maria." Peach smiled. "Thank you for protecting her, Cheadle."

"Oh, it…it was my pleasure." Cheadle blushed.

"Hm hm! …" With a more stern expression, Peach faced the eldest daughter. "Louise, I'm sorry all this had to happen to you. I tried desperately to find you when I heard what happened. I can't imagine what they must have done to you. But you have to stop this." Queen Peach slowly approached her daughter with welcoming arms. "Your duty is finished… and you're free now. We can all be a happy family again. We can all go back to the castle… and I'll make all your friends an amazing cake."

"Mom…" Louise calmly approached her mother, her expression static.

"Maria?" Cheadle gasped when the princess shook free of her arms and set foot on the ground. "Princess, your leg!" Maria ignored her, limping toward her mother and sister regardless of pain or the gravel scratching her feet.

Peach looked over as her other daughter trudged her way to her. The queen offered a hand to Maria, and the other to Louise. Her friends watched with warm smiles, eager to see the family finally be reunited. Bowser simply remained lying, curious how this interaction would go… then would seize the chance to nab them all once Louise's power died down.

Now that Maria was in arm's length, she would reach to take her mother's hand. After nearly 7 years, her daughters would finally come back with her. As soon as Maria's hand met with her mother's… the princess swung her right foot into Peach's legs and knocked her over!

"HUH?!?" Everyone's jaws hit the ground, from operatives to enemies. The same could be said of everyone watching the news.

"Ow! Maria…"

"YOU THINK A DAMN CAKE IS GOING TO MAKE US FEEL BETTER?!"

"Maria?" Louise was taken aback by this sudden shift in tone.

"It isn't Bowser's fault that Louise is like this, it isn't my fault she was kidnapped. It was YOUR fault! It's always been your fault!" A red aura began to shape around her body. "You sent us away when we were only three years old! We didn't ask to protect that stupid genie! What were you THINKING giving us a job like that, putting us in danger?! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! AND I HATE YOU!" Maria stomped her mother's face repeatedly, making it bruised and bloody. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

"Mama Mia!" Mario panicked.

"Princess, please stop!" Cheadle yelled.

"Don't." Riddler held her back with his staff. "Maria needs this. And her mother knows it."

"You made Louise hate me! You made her almost kill Cheren! I can't believe I wanted to meet you again! Uncle Luigi was our only REAL parent! She had every right to be mad at you!"

"Look at that aura!" Lotte pointed. "Is Louise infecting her with the Ring of Rage?!"

"No…" Index observed. "She's sharing the rage. I think Maria is trying to understand her sister's anger."

"You're right…" Goombella replied. "Maria's Power Level… it's rising while Louise's is shrinking. But how did she even know this would work?"

"Maybe she didn't." Nagisa guessed. "Maybe she just genuinely feels this way." Riddler nodded at this.

"So, you can KEEP your cake!" Maria kicked her mother a few feet across the ground. "You can keep your money!" She did it again. "And you can take this Gold Mushroom Card and SHOVE IT UP YOUR BUTT!" And she ripped her prized credit card in two.

At that instant, Maria's aura ignited like fire, her rage having reached its peak. "Maria…" Her golden eyes leaking tears, Louise approached her with pure gratitude. "You…You really do understand how I feel, don't you-"

Maria PUNCHED Louise so hard that she blasted across the field like a bullet, smashing into a tower as it then collapsed. Louise fought her way out of the rubble, shocked when Maria zipped over, completely forgetting the pain in her leg. Her fist drenched in blood, Maria said, "I'm still real mad at you too, Louise. I'm sick of chasing you around. And I'm not going to, anymore. I'm going to take all my negative feelings and dump them all over you! BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SISTERS DO!" (Play "You Are All Bad Guys" from A Hat in Time!)

Boss fight: Louise Mario

Maria ran to punch Louise in the jaw, but the sister grabbed her fist and threw her across the field. Louise took to the sky and shot down like a meteor, Maria jumping to dodge, spinning, and then performing a Homing Ground Pound. Louise's face smashed into the ground, but she was quick to jump back up, flinging Maria off. Louise zipped over and threw quick punches at her sister, Maria matching her speed before swinging her right foot at Louise. The eldest easily pushed her leg back before grabbing her Paint Staff and stroking electric goop on the ground. She tried to surround Maria's area with goop, but the youngest charged strength in her right leg and performed a terrific jump to escape from the radius.

Maria landed on her feet, ignoring the aching pain in her left leg. "You're pretty fast, Louise, but you're pretty blind if you don't notice when I've stolen your Power-Up!" Maria revealed the Ice Flower in her pocket, proceeding to eat it. "This oughta cool you down!" Maria shot bouncing ice balls that froze the goop, and with her rage fixated on her sister, the ice balls were bouncing in Louise's direction. Louise devoured a Boomerang Flower and threw endless boomerangs to counter the ice, sending a swarm around to hit Maria from multiple directions.

Maria took several cuts as she tried to run toward Louise, and once close, she did a spin and shot out waves of ice balls. Regardless of the direction, all the balls would home on Louise and eventually freeze the elder. Maria rushed over, leapt above, and flattened her sister with a Ground Pound. Louise pushed her off, grabbed Maria by the cape, and whirled around before hurdling her all the way to a turret tower. Sadly, both of their Power-Ups wore off at this time, but when Maria recovered in the rubble of this tower, she discovered a Spring Shroom.

Louise cocked a brow at the sight of her sister bouncing out like a silly bedspring. "Didn't Uncle Luigi say this was one of the worst Power-Ups?"

"Not with a strong imagination!" Maria shot high into the air, aimed herself at Louise, and then bounced off the very air with the force of a bullet. Louise quickly raised her hands in defense, but still ended up being blasted across the field. Louise grabbed a carrot and devoured it whole, becoming Rabbit Louise. When Maria sprung to her again, Louise dodged left and hopped 20 feet high before stomping down on her sister's head. She then kicked the spring girl elsewhere, but Maria was quick to bounce back to recovery.

Both sisters bounced aloft and kicked off the air to ram each other headfirst. They were at a stalemate for a brief moment, but Maria was retracting her bottom spring. With built-up force, Maria suddenly STRETCHED to full length, blasting Louise into the ground as she bounced all the way across the field. Maria bounced rapidly after her sister, but Louise decided to ditch the rabbit form and swallow a Rock Mushroom. When Maria tried to spring-blast at Louise, the elder sister curled up into a boulder and rolled in place, Maria bumping her head against the rotating rock.

Maria lost her Spring Shroom, and Louise seized the chance to run her over the second she landed. Louise was quick to about-face and roll against her again, and she repeated the attack three more times. "Maria, up here!" Lotte flew overhead, raising a Ghost Shroom. "I swiped this from one of the Boos!"

"Don't interrupt!" Maria yelled. "This is a fight between sisters-!" She was run over again. "Eh… your help is kindly appreciated." With that, Lotte tossed the shroom down for Maria to eat. The princess turned into a red Boo, turning intangible to avoid Louise's onslaught. Louise kept desperately trying to ram the ghost, but the effort was fruitless as her Rock Shroom wore off. Maria then flew over and returned the pain with a flurry of Ghost Smacks, but Louise switched to Light Goop in her Paint Staff and stroked the ghost to make the power wear off. She then proceeded to kick Maria in the stomach, sending her sister flying back.

"I'm sorry that Maria did this to you." Cheadle said as she cleaned the blood off Queen Peach's face.

"Maria had every right and reason to attack me." Peach replied with a sweet smile. "I hate to see them fighting like this… but at the same time, I don't think I can interfere."

"I just hope they put a stop to this soon. This certainly isn't healthy for Maria's leg."

Maria recovered close to a Hammer Bro., so she decided to knock it senseless and swipe his Hammer Suit. She hurdled giant hammers at Louise, but the eldest devoured a Dash Pepper, evading the projectiles and leaving a blazing path in her wake. Fast as lightning, Louise sped around Maria, aiming to punch her in the spine with a flaming fist, but Maria was quick to whirl a hammer behind her and fling Louise across the field. Louise bounced back to her feet and boosted forward, running circles around Maria to set the ground aflame. She then threw oil from her Paint Staff to make the area explode, revealing Maria to be covered in soot as her Hammer Suit disappeared.

Louise then zipped up and kicked Maria in the face, sending her back once again. The elder's Dash Pepper wore off, Louise gasping for breath afterwards. As Maria lay exhausted on the ground, a blue and pink Inkling approached her from behind and aimed their goop guns. "Captain Louise is the strongest of all our temporary captains!" the boy Inkling stated.

"Come on, Bro, let's drown this royal once and for all!"

However, both Inklings were shot in the arms by Louise, the arms snapping off as ink leaked. "AAAH! What gives, Captain?!"

"Nobody told you to interrupt us! This is a family issue!" Louise marched toward them, keeping her gun trained. "Speaking of which." She faced up at Lotte and shot her broom, breaking it in half as the witch hit the ground.

The Inklings fearfully backed away as Louise pinned her foot on Maria's chest. "You're not throwing in the towel THAT easy, are ya?" Maria opened her eyes as Louise held up two Power Stars. "You just became a fallen princess. You'll need to be a lot stronger if you wanna survive this harsh, unforgiving world."

Maria smirked, punching Louise in the knee, then jumping up to kick her away. Louise dropped a star, so Maria grabbed it, both sisters facing each other as they held their stars. "We always wondered what would happen if two Power Stars clashed with each other." Maria said.

"And we'll find out right now!" Both sisters SQUEEZED the stars between their hands, smashing them as power coursed through their veins!

Flashing with rainbow colors, Maria and Louise rushed up, throwing a storm of punches. Their invincibility made them completely immune to each other, but the force was spreading to the earth around them, shaking it and creating cracks. ♪ "Today is another adventure!" ♪ Maria sang, filling with more energy and excitement. ♪ "Action and splendor awaaaaiits! I hope our journey never eeeeends! And we can all be frieeeends!" ♪

The sisters spread apart and ran nearer to the center, attempting to jump against each other, over and over as the air rippled each time their bodies made contact. They stopped and locked hands, forcing their teeth into each other's necks. Again no damage was done, so Maria grabbed Louise's knife and started stabbing her, while Louise tried shooting her with her gun. ♪ "Let's go play with the birrrrds! Or go swimming in the seeeaaa. Wake up and let's goooo… Come and adventure with meeeee!" ♪

They tossed the weapons away and jumped apart, both sisters tossing their hats like Frisbees. The top-hat and captain's hat scraped against the other before falling on the ground. Next, Maria drew her umbrella while Louise grabbed her Paint Staff, the sisters clashing the weapons like swords as the air continued to rattle, some spectators needing to shield their ears. Seeing this was going nowhere, the sisters discarded the weapons and ran 50 feet apart.

"I guess the answer is," Goombella began, "Power Stars are all equally matched. Or maybe it's just the users."

After taking a moment to rest, the sisters poured power into their feet and charged each other with full speed. They left rainbow afterimages in their wake, each one capturing every moment the girls made. Indeed, they were closing in with equal speed and power—no weapons, no fists, only the crowns of their hatless heads would make contact. And just one millisecond before the impact, the Power Stars wore off. (End song.)

When their heads connected, the ground didn't quake this time. For a few seconds, the sisters were still, eyes locked sharply on the other. …Then, blood leaked from their meeting point, and their eyes went dull. The sisters fell on their sides, opposite of each other. "MARIA!" Cheadle rushed over to examine her leg. "Sigh… Maria… you two should know better than to fight with such an injury." Cheadle wiped dirt off the leg and grabbed some spare bandages to reinforce it. "Honestly… you girls worry us so much." She smiled as a tear dripped from her eye.

The aura enveloping the Koopas disappeared, for the rage in their hearts had finally subsided. "Nnnuuu… what happened… huh…?" The Koopas ceased their murmuring when they noticed the sorry state of-

"LORD BOWSEEEEEERRRR!!!"

"Grawr… it's okay, my minions." Bowser replied casually. "My flesh will just grow back like it always does."

"Now's our chance, Morgie!"

"Right!" The Fanalis grabbed Index and took flight to the floating ring in the heavens. Her hand outreached, Index firmly grasped the golden ring.

The ring began to absorb into her body as Morgiana carried Index back to the ground. Once the light around her body died down, the Keeper of History studied her hands. "Index." The nun gasped, about-facing: there stood Cheren Uno, his eyes narrowed to show mild disappointment.

"Cheren! I, uh… didn't expect you to show up."

"This weird thread thingy came out of my heart and it drew me to you. Or should I say… it drew me to Calliope."

"Oh… Yeah, I suppose you would have a Soul Bond with Calliope."

"So, you're really her, huh?"

"Sigh, look, Hoopa isn't Lord English, he just borrowed a piece of English's chi. That's why she reincarnated as me to watch over him."

"Hmm… alright, I'll believe it." Cheren shrugged. "But I reserve the right to punch you later."

"Heh heh… Okay." Index blushed, knowing that was Cheren's only method of relieving himself years of stress.

Lotte found the severed Gold Shroom Card on the ground and picked it up. "I could probably use magic to fix this… but maybe I won't. But I think I'll hold onto it." She put the halves in her pockets. "You know, just in case."

"Ooo, I smell foreshadowing!" Amanda remarked.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Hoopa's Light Chains were beginning to crack. "The last ring has been found! I will not be locked away again! I will… be REBORN, SCHEHERAZADE!"

"Oh, no!" Index exclaimed. "If Louise is knocked out like this, we won't be able to unite the rings!"

"You could've mentioned that before they fought each other!" Morg yelled.

"LOTTE!" Riddler bellowed. "It's now or never! Use your World Ring! SUMMON THE ORIGINALS!" (Play "Help From My Friends" from A Hat in Time.)

Lotte took a moment to clear her throat. "Laaaaa la la, la, laaaaa la laaaaa…" As her body glimmered an aqua glow, her voice seemed to echo across the universe. It may have been thanks to the news team's recording, but hearts in every corner of the cosmos were touched by her song.

To everyone's surprise, books and discs began to materialize over the field: Zelda, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Fairy Tail… and as Lotte's voice reached their pages, figures began to emerge from them.

One of them, a boy with a straw hat, asked, "So, this is what their universe looks like? Looks kinda messy to me."

"Whoa! Lotte's summoning so many character spirits!" Goombella gaped.

"They're not spirits, don't you see?!" Riddler spoke with pure excitement. "Have you ever wondered why stories such as Zelda, Fairy Tail, or Kids Next Door exist when those same people exist in OUR world?! Because those aren't just stories… they're windows into the Original Worlds! And some otherworldly force compels us not to acknowledge the fact! Until now, that is. So many Originals are here… including… you two."

Behind Riddler stood none other than his favorite game heroes: "Banjo… Kazooie!…" Overcome with emotions, he broke down crying. "I…I've played your games since I was little! I know everything about your universe, inside and out! I…I BEAT CANARY MARY OVER THE HEAD, JUST FOR YOU!" He fell to his knees, bawling his eyes out.

"Banjo, who the heck is this guy?" Kazooie asked.

"I dunno, but perhaps he needs to see a doctor."

"HEY, KIDS NEXT DOOR!" Monkey D. Luffy shouted down at them. "Where's Sheila and all those guys?! We never got to thank them for beating that English creep for us!"

"Holy smokes!" yelled Sheila Frantic, watching the news from Sector V's treehouse. "It's Luffy! You think he found out I used some of his straws as toothpicks?!"

"That Naruto's lucky!" Natsu Dragneel fist-palmed. "He's actually from this dimension, isn't he?!"

"No I'm not." Naruto replied. "How do you guys know my name, anyway?"

"EEEEEK!" Big Bird screamed, aiming the camera all around. "Who are all these mysterious figures?! Focusing on all of them is going to give me a Big Dooze!"

"HEY!" yelled a spike-haired boy, searching around. "Is Kimaya anywhere out there?!" Big Bird turned to record the boy. "I wanna see how she's doing!"

The Boogey Pirates were watching the news on Earth. "Kimaya, how does that boy know you?" Creeper asked.

"It's…It's Sora…" Tears leaked from Kimaya's undead eyes in the form of blood.

"Well, if you guys see her anywhere, tell her we just defeated Xehanort!" Sora shouted. "You won't have to worry about him terrorizing your universe, anymore!"

Akko and Gon were staring wide-eyed at another Akko and Gon. "WHOA! This is so CRAZY!" both pairs chorused.

"Whoa…" Deku and another Deku were gazing at each other like mirrors. "So, you're… the Original me."

"This is pretty cool!" Original Deku smiled.

"…" When Cheren glanced to his right, he noticed Link standing out of a Wind Waker disc. With a smirk, Cheren approached the toon, drawing his sword. "Nice to see you again, Link."

"Uh…" Link was confused as to how Cheren knew him.

Hoopa had finally broken free of his chains. The genie examined the Originals with confusion. "Who…Who are these strangers? Have they come to see Hoopa's creation?! Then Hoopa will GRANT their wish! Relish in Hoopa's DIVINE POWER!" His six arms flew down toward the Originals like rockets—they were zapped by a beam of white light.

Golden butterflies were now fluttering about the realm. All the operatives, Koopas, and Originals gazed at their wondrous beauty. "These are… the Rukh." Nagisa knew.

They were coming from him, from Akko, from Gon, from Deku, from Cheren, and from all the Originals. They were all accumulating at Index's heart. "These are all the happy people of the Multiverse. They are the ones who have written their own stories… and this light radiating from them is composed of the hopes and dreams of them and all their friends. Existing for millions of years, watching them… has been a wonderful existence, Hoopa. A joy that you fail to understand because of your darkness. I don't know what force is plaguing you, Hoopa… but I will find a cure for you. One day. Until then… I pray for pleasant dreams upon you, in the warmth of this holy light!"

Scheherazade's trident appeared, but the jewel was now neon, the base became a crescent moon, the extended points shone white, and the Yellow Ring circled the base of the points. Her hair grew into the flowing golden form that once belonged to her past incarnation. "The awakened Ring of Fate allows me to become one with the Guides of Fate, known as the Rukh." A pair of golden butterfly wings grew on her back. "With this power… I will ensure that each being here has a future. I will lay you to rest, Hoopa… and vow that when you awaken, you will be rid of the darkness that blinds you!"