F-10. The Darkness Within

Hivebent

"Aaauuugh…" Blackbeard awoke in a daze. He was locked in a green glass cell with many eyes viewing him like a caged animal. He recognized one. "Ze ha ha ha… Silvers Rayleigh. What a surprise to see you here."

"I could say the same thing, Teach… but you're actually the least-surprising thing I've seen lately."

"So, this cell…" Wendy studied the chamber. "It can really disable any power?"

"Any supernatural power, yes." Kisuke nodded. "But that's only if you're inside it. We'll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't escape."

Teach tried to breach the glass with his Tremor Fist, but touching it made him weary. "Zeeee… why go to this much trouble when you can kill me?"

"HE HAS A POINT." Karkat stated. "Even if the Protection Seal on the Keyblade is erased, Blackbeard still has a fragment of Lord English inside him."

"Thanos brought Davy Jones to life," Aurora reminded, "which means he could bring other Darknesses to life. We should keep Blackbeard alive and in here."

"Besides, the IDA wishes to keep these Darknesses alive." Kakashi mentioned. "They hope that, once this is all over, the worlds will be restored and everyone can go back to their natural lives."

"I get it." Wendy replied. "Some of the Darknesses were from our world, while others are from Original Worlds. They were just kind of dragged into this, weren't they?"

"I think ALL of us were dragged into this." Karkat inferred. "Let's leave Teach to his misery and discuss our next plan."

They had released their Catch Cards and, without providing much explanation of these events, told the new guests to make their selves as comfortable as they could, and to try and make friends. Luffy and Usopp were glad to see each other, Gajeel and Amethyst were arguing—there was so much conversation that it was getting on Karkat's nerves. "LOUD MOUTH MULTI-DIMENSIONAL NITWITS!"

"It's not like they have anything else to do." Haruka said.

"I can't believe Davy Jones is back AGAIN!" Melody clasped her hair. "I'm sick of being the Ocean Princess!"

"Yeah, whaddo we do about that Thanos jerk?" Anthony questioned. "We'll never get anywhere if he brings them back to life."

"wwhat wwe must do first is keep Emera from explodin." Eridan explained. "unfortunately, Thanos is the only one keeping it in control, but his rash demeanor wwill not last long. And if Thanos is destroyed, Emera wwill explode nonetheless. It is a crisis…"

"I'm sure Karkitty knows a solution!" :33 Nepeta huggled her leader.

Karkat pushed her off. "We already contacted the Keyblade girl to fly to Emera. She can use her Keyblade to seal Emera's heart and block Thanos' access to the Ether. But to completely stabilize the Ether, we need two Firstborn: Diancie and Crest."

"'kay, but how do we get rid of Thanos?" Anthony asked. "You know, the most powerful Darkness with an over a million Power Level?"

"S1L3NC3, SM3LLY D1RT P3RSON!" Terezi bonked his head with her walking stick. "1 SM3LL 4NSW3RS 4RR1V1NG! BUT F1RST, YOU MUST GO B4CK TO OR3. G3T FOUR CUB3S OF P3RM4N1T3."

"And what about Crest, should we call Sector RZ?" Chris followed.

"There lies the problem." Karkat said. "Crest has fallen into enemy hands."

Quahog, Rhode Island?

"Nnnnhh…" Dillon woke up on a sunny sidewalk in a familiar neighborhood. In the distance, he saw the treehouse that belonged to Sector Q. "I'm in… Quahog…" He looked forward and saw his house. "I… How did I get here? Everything went black for a minute and…"

"DILLON, you made it!" Leanne Grayson jumped him from behind with a hug.

"Carol!" Dillon gasped. "I-I mean, Leanne! W-What…"

"Ha ha ha! I knew you would get our voices confused!"

"You're unusually peppy for someone who was… killed."

"Killed? Come on, silly, none of our friends ever die. Let's go inside, we're late for the party."

"Party?" Dillon was pulled into his own house by Leanne.

"SURPRIIIISE!" Sector V, the Murphys, and Dillon's parents jumped out. Streamers descended, there was Batman cake, and the banner read, as Chris pointed out-

"To the Best Operative on the Planet!"

He blinked in shock. "B-Best operative?! Who?"

"You, dummy." Leanne flicked his head. "You lead a counterstrike against the biggest attack the Brotherhood's ever pulled and you just forget?"

"His ego's bigger than Dad's." Chris said wryly. "Poor man just can't help that Mr. York's son turned up more famous than we did."

"Not that we're ashamed or anything." Aurora smiled. "It honestly feels like a break."

"I thought Mr. Uno was…" Dillon was about to say. "Wait a second… what about the Thirteen Darknesses? What about Lord Eng-"

"What's he talking about?" Haruka cocked a brow.

"Poor baby." Danika ruffled her son's hair. "He slept for 12 hours after that battle. You must've had a heck of a dream."

"I remember when Darkrai made me think Dillon and Corey died." Nolan said. "I oughta tell him to lighten up on us."

"But it wasn't a dream!" Dillon insisted. "There was CP10, a-and the Apocalypse—we spent three years on a…"

"Sheesh, lighten up." Carol stated. "It was all just a bad dream, Dillon. Can't you just forget it?"

"…I…" Dillon rubbed his forehead. "I don't even remember most of it… Maybe it was just a dream."

"SWEET, internal dilemma solved, let's have some cake." Vanellope announced.

"He he he! Not a bad idea!" Dillon walked up to the table- "Huh?"

The Batman cake had turned into… Midna. She was rolled up and sleeping. "First cut is yours, Bud!" Mason encouraged.

"What? This isn't cake, this is Midna!"

"Did Midna eat the cake? Siiiigh…" Danika shook her head in disbelief. "Wake her up and get her off the table."

"NO, Dillon, don't wake up Midna, she's asleep!" Vanellope pulled him back.

"She has a bedroom, just carry her to that. She'll mess up all the food." Nolan argued.

"Nuh-uh! I really think we should let her sleep." Vanel restated. "Don't you think, Dillon?"

"You want cake, don't you, Dillon?" Leanne asked.

"I-I…I dunno!"

Reality

Dillon was actually on a world with a bright orange horizon. The sides of their bodies opposite the sun were pitch-black. "Wake up the Firstborn…" Madara softly ordered, using Mangekyō Sharingan. His strange eye seemed to be depicted up in the sky. "Find her Chamber… Awaken her…"

"Dillon, listen to the little voice inside your earpiece!" Vanellope's voice squeaked from the tiny piece. "Don't listen to that loser! I don't care if you act like a zombie, as long as you DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! DON'T wake up MIDNA!"

"I don't think I should… wake Midna up, yet."

"You must wake Midna." Madara ordered again. "Midna must join us…"

"Besides, Dillon, Crest wants to see her again!" Diwata told him in the dreamscape. "He wants to spend time with her! But he can't do it unless she wakes up.

"Dillon, wake Midna up." a brainwashed Diwata told him in the real world. "The party's not the same without Midna."

"Buzz off, Moon Girl! That's it, time to call in special assistance!" Vanellope glitched into Dillon's communicator.

Paradox Space

Sector JP and Team Sandman traced Dillon to a region bathed in sunset. The light sparkled on the Galactic Sea and bounced off the planets. "Yow… Nolan, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Yuki asked.

"That this is the kind of place Midna would be." he replied. "That must be why Aizen brought Dillon here."

"Incoming transmission from Vanellope!" Carol announced.

"Wattup, fellas! Vanellope speaking! Do ya still hear well?"

"Hold on, let me get my hearing aid." Nolan answered.

"Save the jokes for later, Dad, Dillon's in danger! That Madara guy put him under some sort of mind-control. He's trying to force Dillon to find Midna's Egg Chamber."

"Madara, huh? Then he must be using the Mangekyō Sharingan." Carol figured.

"Mangekyō Sharingan?!" Nolan exclaimed. "I… have NO idea what that is."

"I researched as much about these Darknesses as I could and saved notes on my computer." Carol brought the article up. "Madara was a legendary ninja who underwent a resurrection almost 23 years ago. His eyes become something called a Sharingan that can put people in a trance called Genjutsu. He could merge his eyes with the moon and throw everybody in the world into a dream world befitting their preferences."

"So, when I saw that weird eye thingy up in the sky, that was the moon?" Vanel asked.

"It sounds like Madara's controlling Dillon through his dreams." Nolan deduced. "And if he's using the moon, we'll be trapped in a dream if we get under it."

"You're thinking of using it, aren't you?" Yuki inquired.

"If Madara fights with dreams, then we can only fight back with dreams." Nolan drew the glowing green gem. "If I can find Dillon in the Dream World, maybe I can break Madara's control."

"You sure it'll be that easy?" Carol asked. "Have you done this before?"

"Not this particular situation… but first, I'm gonna need some help."

"HEADS UP!" Yuki yelped—a fleet of Heartless ships spawned out of hyperspace and began shooting.

"Time to go!" Nolan announced. "We need to find Jessie if we're gonna pull this off."

"We'll hold them off, you go on ahead!" Karin shouted, blasting Ecto Rays at Heartless.

"Be back soon, please!" Ururu shrunk to fly-size and pierced through enemy ships like a blazing bullet.

"We'll bring more backup when we get back!" Carol assured as the Sandmobile flew away.

King Dutchman

Ganondorf walked out of a dark portal in Bill's office. "Got your butt kicked by the Hero of Time already?" Bill cocked a brow.

"It seems that a third party wanted to interfere." Ganon said. "A strange being in white clothing."

"Lord English foresaw his arrival. You shouldn't be surprised, Ganon; I'm sure you know who it was."

Ganon said nothing and stared off into nothing. He heard the door open behind him as Giovanni walked in with Sephiroth. "So, Giovanni, how was the Egg Chamber? I know it's not a thriving paradise, but I'm sure it had some to offer." Bill smirked.

"The eggs were tightly secured. Yet, I didn't want to exert too much power at the risk of damaging them. It's true that they are Firstborn eggs, and based on the data I collected, they have the potential to be as powerful as the Firstborn who currently exist. But some Kids Next Door operatives discovered us, so I couldn't conduct a more thorough investigation."

"It's obvious the trolls secured the eggs to keep them out of our grasp during this war. Of course, like the Egg Chambers, we don't believe they were created for the sake of combatting us."

"But the Firstborn are proving to be a nuisance." Ganon stated. "Why should we worry about harnessing their power when we can just destroy those eggs AND the 2nd Age Firstborn?"

"Because the Firstborn possess Arceus' chi. Heck, if it wasn't for them, Arceus would be WAY more powerful than he currently is. So, if any of the Firstborn were killed, that chi would go straight back to Arceus, and Lord English doesn't want that. Unfortunately, this works the other way around, too. If Arceus were destroyed in his physical form, his chi would go straight to not only the Firstborn, but the Avatar and Negatar. That's why Lord English isn't giving his all against Arceus. Do you see?"

"But if all this is true, it seems like our enemies have the advantage!" Giovanni argued.

"This is exactly why we need to seize the Firstborn and take their power for ourselves. You don't need to worry, my loyal ones." Bill smirked. "Even with Teach and Topaz out of commission, we still bear the advantage. Thanos will continue to revive our fallen comrades, and once Xehanort accomplishes what I tasked him, we can safely destroy Arceus without consequence!"

Hivebent

Sheila was lain on a pile of plushies in Terezi's room, eyes half-open still. "Don't you have a more comfortable bed?" Mason asked.

"NO! NOW SHUT UP 4ND L3T H3R SL33P!"

"Mason's got a point." Haruka replied. "If she's going to be in a coma, we gotta keep her in a more stable position. Otherwise, she'll start walking all funny."

"I just want her to start walking again in general. If we can beat Jones again, will her heart come back?"

"Y3S, 1T SHOULD. BUT 1 SM3LL OLD M4N COLOGN3 ON TH3 NO4H."

The vessel in question was parked outside the base. Nebula and Karkat were on the deck, along with Wendy, Sugar, and Jessie. "We're going to have to move the hideout again." Karkat said. "This ship is a big F**KING giveaway."

"We'll go soon." Nebula replied. "But we received a transmission from Mr. York, and he should be arriving soon…"

A small ship splorped out of space and came in for landing on the deck. Sector V hurried outside, realizing it was the Sandmobile. "Carol!" Mason exclaimed.

"MASEEEEEYYY!" The rich girl immediately dashed up and tackled him. "Weirdness Space is so BORING without you, but NO distance will keep us apart!"

"We kind of have a mission, Carol?" Nolan reminded.

"Where's Dillon?" asked Chris.

"That's the problem."

Team Sandman briefed them on the issue regarding Madara and his Genjutsu over Dillon. "And Diwata was there, too." Vanellope mentioned. "It looks like Madara's controlling her, too."

"NO NO NO, don't you see?" Karkat shouted. "There are no moons over Planet Twi, Madara's using CREST to cast his Genjutsu. We were already looking into this before you found them."

"Then YOU must know how to help." Nolan figured.

"Just know that you shouldn't underestimate him. Madara is using a Firstborn, so the best way to counter him is with another Firstborn."

"Like Meloetta?" Sugar wondered.

"No. The only Firstborn that'll work in this case is Midna. Because Midna's left eye is blocked by her helmet, she'll be partially immune to the Genjutsu."

"Then we need to break his control on Dillon first!" Yuki knew.

"That's why we came, we need Jessie's help." Nolan turned to the Indian boy. "Yours and Madotsuki's…"

"Dream missions are my specialty, I suppose." Jessie shrugged. "So, shall we go inside the ship, get under some covers and fall asleep? Do you notice the implications in that sentence?"

"Yyyyes, but… no. I'll meet you in the Dream World in my own way. But first, Yuki, Vanellope, can I speak to you for a minute?"

He led the two away from the others and whispered something. Jessie exchanged a glance with Karkat and raised a brow. "Do you got it?" Nolan asked afterward.

"Of course!" Vanel jumped.

"You can count on us." Yuki nodded.

"Good. I'll see you later, then." Nolan raised the Gem of Dreams, which flashed and morphed him into sand. The sand swirled and flew into Jessie's mind.

". . . . Well, that was ***ked up."

"Just go to sleep, dude!" Vanel told him.

"Oh, yeah! Sector JP was fighting off some enemies when we left." Carol remembered. "They might need back-up."

"Wendy, you wanna go?" Sugar asked.

"Yes, let's help them!"

"In that case, we're setting sail." Nebula decided. "Anything else you need to say, Karkat?"

"Just make sure you get Crest back. We need him to stabilize Emera. And… good luck, I guess."

"Hokay… Time for bed." Jessie said, still feeling weird in the head. "I'm gonna need some f**king bread after this."

Dream World; Sponge Dream

Nolan materialized in a dimension with floating statues of Spongebob characters. Next to him was the bed where Jessie's dreamself lay. Madotsuki appeared in midair, and seconds later Jessie awoke. "All right, let's find your son's dreamscape in the Hall of Doors."

"OH NO, IT'S BILL!" The three whipped up at the sky: the triangle demon appeared as a black pyramid with three divided, rotating segments. "Right? Was somebody gonna say that? No? GET THEM, GUYS!"

A swarm of Nightmares flew out of Bill's form, so Madotsuki flew up, opened her window, and countered with her own deadly swarm. "Go on ahead, you two!"

"Hurry!" Jessie gestured Nolan over to the Exit Portal. From there, they accessed the Hall of Doors. "So, where's Dillon's dream world?"

"I dunno, I never had to navigate this place before!"

"Ugh, for God's sake." Jessie grabbed his Keyblade and stuck it in Nolan's mind. ("Ow!") A light was cast from the blade like a shooting star. The two navigated the Dream River and followed the light to Nolan's dreamscape.

A line on the river connected the dreamscape to Dillon's, and it was labeled Awesome City. Nolan gasped, seeing the darkness emitting around the portal, and the fact it was taking the shape of the Sharingan. "Well, that doesn't look very awesome." Jessie said. "You know, if I seal the portal to his dreamscape, that might break Madara's control on its own. Closing his mind, you know."

"Aww, a closed mind ain't a good thing to have. But if that can work, just close the door to my dream. I want Dillon's to stay open for now."

"Very well." Jessie cast a beam to seal Nolan's dream portal. "After you." Nolan rolled into Awesome City, then Jessie jumped in. (Play "Chilly Cool Frozen Mountain" from Freeze Me!)

Stage F-7: Awesome City

Mission: Find Dillon and free him from Madara's control!

Awesome City was a bustling metropolis composed of black buildings with yellow windows under a dark-blue moonlit sky. There were spotlights shining up from the surface and billboards that depicted Dillon dressed as Nightwing. Everything in the city was also drawn like a comic book style. "That's mah boy." Nolan chortled. "I'm not seeing any floor down below. Better stick to the rooftops."

Using their wheelchair glider and bubble glider respectively, the two flew off the roof and maneuvered around some buildings before landing on the walkway of another. There were windows opening and closing above the path, with sharp-toothed monsters called Screwheads peeping out of them. They had to pass the windows when the Screwheads weren't looking. The walkway ended at a ladder, which Sandman could climb using extendo claws on his chair. Searchlights skimmed left and right along the ladder, and when Jessie slipped on a step, a light spotted him and turned red, blasting Bullet Bills that Jessie bounced away with a bubble shield.

At the top of the roof, Screwheads were patrolling around a maze of boxes. "I can easily Bubble these monsters." Jessie whispered.

"I've seen these things in some comics, they're pretty scary. Dillon probably wants us to stealth, anyway." The first Screwhead patrolled forward, leaving the two to sneak up and hide in an open crate. They waited for the creature to turn and come back, so they could pass. The next route had a Screwhead manning a turret, but it conked out after every few seconds, giving them time to move between barriers. Once past the Screwhead, Jessie grabbed onto Nolan's chair as it grappled to a higher roof—Screwheads ran over to bite them, so Nolan grappled up the next building, and from there they launched up with the glider and whisked between spotlights.

They landed on a more open roof where a Mad Jester ambushed them; a large, pink jester flailing its hands and had a large tongue sticking out. Sandman dodged as the jester whipped its tongue, then grabbed the slobbery organ with Armament Haki. Jessie leapt to slash the tongue, forcing the monster to cry and be helpless to their combined attacks. The jester recovered and leapt away, beginning to juggle colorful bombs that it would chuck at the duo. Jessie defended Sandman from them while the latter located a gas barrel, chucking it at the Nightmare's tongue. In its poisoned state, Jessie dealt the finishing blows before Bubbling it.

The Nightmare dropped a Catch Card that Sandman caught. "How did the cards end up in the Dream World?"

"I dunno, man." said the person in the card, a purple jester called NiGHTS. "I just want my next game."

Sandman grappled them up to a billboard, launching off and gliding toward a highway. The wheelchair landed and balanced on a streetlight. The cars were nothing more than speeding, blurry lights, and would spell death should they fall. Helicopters flew overhead every few seconds, and Nolan could swing the grappling hook off the copters to following streetlights. If he missed his chance, they would be road kill. From the final lamppost, they glided down to an empty street.

Helicopters flew over the street and used searchlights. Nolan and Jessie hid under a fallen highway sign as a light passed over them. They continued on, having to go around broken parts of road and evading searchlights beside them—one helicopter spotted them, triggering a Screwhead-driven truck to zoom by—Nolan grabbed Jessie and rolled into a gap to avoid the truck, then grappled back to safety on the gap's ledge. A searchlight was patrolling over a street sign with a Catch Card, leaving a second open before it shone on the card again—Sandman was quick to grapple up, grab it, and escape.

The person in the card was someone Nolan recognized. "Commander Gunkan?"

"Who are you?!" the commander shouted. "Do you have something to do with all this?!"

"Huh? Commander, it's me!"

"Hey, Smarty, I don't think it's the commander you know." Jessie inferred.

"Oh, right, parallel universes. Um, forget what I said, Brett. Wait in here for a bit."

"My name isn't Brett, it's-!" He couldn't finish before Sandman stowed him away.

The highway ended at an open, steep drawbridge where a searchlight skimmed it in an 'S' fashion. Nolan shot his grappler to the top of the drawbridge and had to pull himself up without letting the helicopter spot him. From the top of the bridge, Sandman glided them to a building balcony. They were swarmed by Hover Cops (flying cop cars), but Haki punches and Keyblade strikes were enough to ground them. The balcony led around to a thin bridge going into a building with a giant blue "D". "Dillon must be inside there. Hopefully, the others are in position."

As they were crossing the bridge, a Toll Troll climbed up from below – it was a large bridge troll wearing bullies' clothes and holding a hand out for some money. "My ass." Jessie hit the hand with the Keyblade and flipped over the beast. The troll about-faced, only to be jumped by Sandman, who pulled it down backwards and socked it in the face, leaving Jessie to Bubble the beast and let it fly skyward. "My mom used to say, 'All bullies need is a good night's sleep to calm down.' Then I realized they only wake up more refreshed to kick my ass even more."

The two entered the building, whose interior was composed of three floors with mazelike halls. Standing across from them was a little yellow smiling creature with horns. "Awe, I remember when Dillon used to like these." Nolan smiled.

"NYAAARR!" The creature morphed into a Screwhead and charged at them with razor teeth. "I guess that's why he doesn't, anymore!!" yelped Jessie. The two bolted down an alternate passage, going up stairs, then Nolan grappled them up to a duct. The Screwhead looked around before shrinking back to normal.

Nolan used Detective Vision to see the auras of seven Screwbits (his vision worked in this world thanks to the Gem of Dreams). "If I know my Batman, we probably have to get rid of all these guards." Nolan assumed.

"I can Bubble them if they're in their small form."

"Then I'll make sure you don't get ambushed." They dropped down and snuck up on the Screwbit they just escaped from. Jessie quietly pulled a bubble from his mind, catching the creature inside it. Nolan's Detective Vision sensed the others going active and rushing to where they were. "Uh-oh, time to hide." They entered a nearby office and got behind the desk. The Screwbits were confused at their Bubbled comrade on the ceiling, but when they found no visible culprits, they shrunk down and split up.

Nolan and Jessie snuck around and Bubbled the monsters one by one. In one of the offices, Nolan spotted a Catch Card sticking out of a vent in the ceiling corner. He shot his grappling hook and ripped the vent off, taking the card out. "OOO, it's Batman!" he beamed. "Oh, it's Lego Batman…" he realized.

"Oh yeah?! And what are you, Clay Mantis Man?"

"I'm Sandman."

"AND I'M BATMAN!!"

After the final Screwbit was Bubbled, they heard a gate open. They made their way to the third floor and found an elevator, but it was still locked by a terminal. "Alright, seems pretty basic." Nolan proceeded to hack the device, decrypting the code 'Next Hero.' "Okay, it should be… open?"

Jessie was already in the elevator. "I unlocked it with my Keyblade."

"…Well, I got more EXP from that." Nolan entered after him, riding the shaft all the way to the roof. There was a big Nightwing symbol over a bed where his son rested. Unfortunately, there was also a strange eye looming over him. (End song.)

"This must be the Sharingan eye Vanellope talked about."

"So, are you going to save your son or what?" Jessie inquired.

"Not yet."

"What the hell are you waiting for?!"

"I'll give it five minutes, at least. After I do, you can lock Dillon's mind like you did mine."

"Why couldn't I bloody do that from the start?!"

"I didn't wanna do it too early! Just wait, Jessie, you'll see."

Planet Twi

Without Vanellope's voice to deter Dillon's conscience, the mind-controlled child followed Madara's command and led him to the Egg Chamber. It was the same black and white egg in the same location Dillon left her in. "There it is. Now…" Madara drew a Dark Pokéball. "Open it."

"Yeah, Dillon!" Diwata pointed. "Wake Midna up!" Crest brimmed in his Sharingan form upon hearing the order.

Meanwhile, way up in the stratosphere, the Sandmobile tracked Dillon to this vicinity. "I hope this is the right place. Do you see anything, Kayla?" Yuki asked.

The sniper was perched on the craft's roof, aiming down at the planet with her rifle. "No, I can't. Why do I need Vanellope to see my target again?"

"Because if you look at the Sharingan, you might fall in a trance, too. Look, do one of you see it?"

"The gun's picking up some human targets." Vanel said from the rifle. "Zoom in a little closer… THERE THEY ARE!"

"Okay, so what am I aiming for?"

"Go up a little—TOO HIGH! Okay good, a liiiittle right… There! Target locked! Now, take the shot!"

"Got it. Here goes!" Kayla pulled the trigger, and the bullet shot down at near lightspeed.

Dillon was seconds from touching the Egg Chamber when suddenly, a tiny pink bullet zipped down from the orange sky and hit Diwata. The Lunarian collapsed, much to Madara's shock, and Crest reverted to normal without his Guardian to order him. "Huh?!" Dillon gasped, waking up on his knees. He saw Madara and stumbled backwards in fear.

A swirl of sand emerged out of Dillon's mind and materialized into Nolan, who was already in position for a leaping punch. Wearing a glove of iron will, he PUNCHED Madara in the eye. The ninja bounced and rolled for a few feet. "DAD!" exclaimed Dillon. "What's going on?!"

Moments ago

Rewinding back to the scene on the Noah, "But first, Yuki, Vanellope, can I speak to you for a minute?"

Nolan led the two away from the others and whispered something. "Vanellope, if you saw the Sharingan too, why didn't you get brainwashed?"

"I dunno. Maybe 'cause I'm digital."

"Then it's time to test that. Yuki, ask Nebula to warp you back to Earth and get Kayla. She has a new telescope gun that can lock on targets beyond the stratosphere. I'm sure it can work the other way around, too. Fly above the area on the planet where Dillon's at. I'm sure Madara, Crest, and Diwata will be near him. When she's in position, tell her to shoot Diwata."

"WHOA, why Diwata?!" Vanel yelled.

"If Diwata is Crest's Guardian, Madara could be controlling her to control Crest to control Dillon. If she's knocked out, Crest might stop listening to her. Then I'll take the chance to jump Madara from Dillon's mind."

"And we're just gonna KILL Diwata?!"

"NO, tell Kayla to use the Antikill bullets. I know Madara would be the best target, but I'm afraid a real bullet wouldn't do him in. By the way, Vanellope, you'll need to help Kayla find the target, because if she looks at the eye, she might get brainwashed, too. That's also why I think a stratosphere shot is the best way to approach this, so you're not too close. Leave the rest to me and Jessie. Do you got it?"

"Of course!" Vanel jumped.

"You can count on us." Yuki nodded.

Present

"It's a funny thing, looking at the world through the scope of a rifle." Kayla said, stretching her arms after taking the shot.

Vanellope glitched out. "Is that from a book or something?"

"Kind of. So, you need me for anything else, or is that it?"

"You can help us take out these ships." Yuki said, blasting missiles at a Heartless.

"In that case, these little things won't do." She took out the pack of pink bullets and switched it for M.A.R.B.L.E.s. She spotted three Heartless ships flying together, locked on the engine of the middle one, and fired an explosive shot that would take them all out.

Twi's surface

Nolan shot his grappler and yanked the Darkball out of Madara's hand, crushing it in his palm. "Not bad for an old man, eh son?"

"You killed one of your own comrades just for an ambush?!" Madara inquired.

"She's not dead, it's Antikill. Speed of a bullet, strength of a bullet, but minus the injury or death."

"Oh yah, that stuff you and Nagisa made!" Dillon helped himself to his feet.

"Impressive, I admit. But do you really think disabling Crest will save you from ME?" Madara flashed his Sharingan, but there was no effect on Nolan or Dillon. "Why isn't it working?!"

"That kid is good for something." Nolan rubbed his head. "So, where was I? Oh yeah." He whipped out a gun and shot Antikill bullets, which Madara blocked with his sword before flying up to punch him away.

"Dad!"

"Dillon, wake Midna up, NOW!"

The boy gasped and jumped around, realizing the Egg Chamber was here. He slapped his hand over the hatch, and a great orange light erupted from it, engulfing the shaded land.

When the light faded, a pair of feet stepped in the grass; one was white, the other black. A dark robe with light-blue writing was worn down her back and around her chest. The piece of her helmet that covered her left eye depicted a dark moon, and she had two ponytails. "Darkness is the embodiment of evil." She opened her right eye, which brimmed like a small sun. "Light is the essence of good. Shadow is the wall that binds them. Balances them. It ensures that people have equal light and equal darkness. The bridge of twilight, where light crosses into darkness, is calm and bliss with this balance."

The eye dimmed, and she turned to Dillon with a smile. "Don't tell me you forgot that?"

"Ha ha! No, Midna, of course not!"

"So, what've you been up to?"

"Nothing much. But you're just in time for some excitement." He turned his attention to Madara, and Midna followed his gaze. She noticed Diwata and Crest unconscious on the grass, and Nolan climbing back onto his chair.

"You just can't find any other means of father-son bonding." Midna shook her head. "All right. Time for Big Sister to bail you out of trouble again." She waved her arms and reaffirmed her flow of chi.

"A real bad guy bashing really bonds a family together." Dillon pulled up his hood to conceal his eyes in shadow, ready to battle. (Play "With the Shinobi World at Stake" from Ultimate Ninja Storm 3!)

Boss fight: Madara Uchiha

Dillon stretched 10 shadows across the air in an attempt to catch Madara, but the ninja countered with the black flames of Amaterasu. "Eek!" Dillon saw the flames burn along the shadow, so he snapped the shadows before they could reach. Madara zipped up for quick slashes that Dillon evaded, then the boy used Veil to slide far away and send Mario to gnash his enemy. Madara sliced the shadow in two, but a swarm of Marios flew in for the attack. Madara burned them all with Amaterasu, but one more Mario managed to bite his ankles from underneath.

Nolan seized the brief moment of distraction to launch his grappling hook to Madara and haul himself over, taking the ninja down with an Armament Body Slam. Nolan threw punches at his face, but Madara countered by repelling him off with, "Magnet Release!" The ninja got to his feet, and any attempts for Dillon or Nolan to get close were rejected by a magnetic barrier. Madara expanded the field, blew a crater into the ground, and repelled the heroes miles apart.

Madara quickly caught up to Dillon, raising his Keyblade above the fallen boy. "Once I unlock your mind, nothing will protect you from my Tsukuyomi."

"POI!" Dillon spat up in his eyes, blinding them with a black glob. "Condensed Shadow Fog, baby!" Dillon Veiled, stretched both shadowy arms above the surface, and expanded them to giant size to pummel Madara against the ground. Dillon reemerged and grabbed Madara's arms in giant shadow hands, trying to crush them, but Madara used Amaterasu to burn the black splotch blinding him, then tried to burn Dillon before he released him.

The titanic samurai Susanoo rose from Madara's Sharingan, holding swords in both hands and the sheathes in the flaming wings. Dillon panicked and narrowly evaded its giant slashes before Veiling and slipping behind the demon. "You aren't the only one who can go super size, buddy!" Dillon absorbed the shadows around the field and grew to Susanoo's size. He caught the samurai in a Shadow Possession, but Susanoo easily broke free and slashed the shadow giant in half. "AAAAGH!" The real Dillon went falling out, but he was snatched in Midna's Hair Hand and pulled to safety.

"Be careful, Dillon. You might've gotten stronger since the last time I saw you, but this guy's power is still pretty serious."

"So, how about a little Firstborn magic?!"

"Dillon, Madara is using some advanced form of energybending; that giant samurai and even the black flames are made of some kind of spiritual energy. I'll take the place of your shadow and try to swallow that energy in a Shadow Possession."

"Okay, Midna. Ready when you are!"

Midna jumped into Dillon's shadow, the boy evading Susanoo's blades, which cut flaming streaks across the dark landscape. Dillon cast his shadow to Susanoo's, and multiple Midna's Hair Hands sprouted up around the colossus. The chakra was sucked into the hands, traveling along the veins until Susanoo was no more. The Hair Hands retracted and Midna reemerged. "Uck!" she choked. "I might need some time to digest this."

"Thanks again!" Dillon stuck his fist into the ground, stretching it as a shadow and springing it up below Madara. The ninja easily dodged the Shade Fist and all the following ones—hundreds of Shade Fists flew out of the ground to grab Madara from all directions, the Darkness rapidly slicing them, until the Sandman popped out of a shadow and landed an iron punch to Madara's jaw. Madara dropped his sword, so Nolan seized the chance to yank the weapon over with the grappling hook and bend it at three angles with his Armament hands.

"Wood Style: Looped Forest Jutsu!" Madara made hand signals and sprouted a forest of looping, twisting trees.

"Whoooa!" Dillon and Nolan were uplifted by a rising tree, falling off and landing within the forest. As they searched for their opponent, trees were trying to whack and crush them, so Dillon pulled himself and his father in Veil for safety. "Dad, do you see him anywhere?!"

"There! In that tree!" Nolan indicated Madara's form melded with a part of a tree. Dillon shot the shadow of his arm out, molded it into a spear, and pierced the tree. Madara took cover inside another tree and vanished, piercing the ground where he sensed them with chakra-imbued trees. Dillon and Nolan were forced out of the Veil, but when a tree was about to crush them, Dillon bent the shadow of the tree up to block it.

"Dillon, he's in this direction!" Midna called. Dillon pulled his father in Veil and slid after her, and upon seeing Madara, he stabbed a Shadow Spear through the tree. Nolan instantly caught the ninja with the grappling hook, yanked him into the Veil, and laid the beatdown. Dillon then chucked Madara out of the shadow, stretching his Shade Fist to nearly 50 feet high with his father at the end of it, his body turned Armament. Dillon whirled the man around before smashing down at Madara—the ninja blocked the attack with Susanoo's rib cage shield.

"You big coward!" Dillon shouted.

"Fire Style: Burning Forest Jutsu!" With another quick hand sign, Madara set his entire forest aflame. "The power of Shadow will not aid you now that you are surrounded by light."

"Dillon, watch out!" Nolan pulled his son away with the grappler before a burning branch could crush him.

"The fire makes my bending weaker, but not enough to slow me down!" Dillon stuck both arms in the shadows and came out with dozens of Shade Hands, attempting to reach into the Susanoo rib cage. Madara burned the hands with Amaterasu, but Dillon had already pulled his father in a Veil, sent him below Madara, and allowed him to get into the rib cage. Nolan grabbed him in Armament arms and furiously punched him—Madara turned into a burning branch, prompting Nolan to release.

"Crud, a Substitution?!" yelled Dillon.

"Even basic abilities have their uses." They looked to the top of another tree, where Madara was perfectly balanced. "With these flames, I was able to find where you hid these two." He was holding Diwata in one arm while Crest floated close. "In truth, I am only keeping these ones alive because Bill still wishes to harness Crest's power. But my need for Crest ended long ago. With my Sharingan, I was able to absorb and copy Crest's Moon Chi. Now, I will destroy you with the moon's power!"

A glowing blue circle appeared high in the heavens, and from it emerged a humongous moon. Madara moved the moon to block the eternal sunset, shrouding the planet in near total darkness. Madara began to bring the moon closer, setting aflame upon passing the atmosphere. Midna extended numerous Hair Hands to push the moon back. "I don't know how he did it, but this thing's brimming with Firstborn-quality Moon Chi! And I'm… having a hard time pushing it back!"

"We'll stop him!" Dillon sent Mario up to gnash Madara, but a Shadow Clone of the ninja smacked the shadow away with his gunbai.

"Dillon, you know how to use Shadow Thief, right? Well, be a good Pokémon and take Madara's shadow! You'll notice I added an extra touch to that ability."

"All right. MARIO, GO!" His shadow stretched off to connect with Madara's shadow, using every ounce of strength to pull it off. Madara's clone focused on Dillon and burned the boy into nothing with Amaterasu.

"DILLON!" Nolan screamed.

"Relax, Pop." Midna said.

"BOOM!" Dillon stabbed the Madara clone with Shadow Spear. "You ain't the only one who makes Shadow Clones!" Dillon shot Mario up to Madara again, playing Tug-o-War with his shadow, but because Madara was focusing his energy on the moon, he couldn't fight back. "Mine!" Dillon successfully accumulated the shadow into his own, feeling a surge of power.

Master, I think I know what Midna wanted us to do!

"I think so, too, Mario!" Dillon made hand signs, first encasing himself in Susanoo's rib cage, followed by the colossal winged samurai in full form.

"By taking other peoples' shadows, the bender can normally upgrade their physical strength." Midna said. "But the 2nd Age power I gave to Dillon lets him use the owner's abilities!"

"Eat some of your own FLAME, Madea!" Dillon slashed both swords up at the moon and sliced it in four pieces. He continued slashing to break the moon even further, once again exposing the twilight sun to the world.

"AAAAAHH!" Madara was engulfed by a white flame. "What is this…this fire?!"

"You seem to be missing a shadow!" Midna smirked. "Loneliness' Toll has taken you!"

"Hmm… So, this is what he meant." Madara smirked. In one more second, his body burned completely. The burning trees disappeared, leaving them in a barren shaded field. (End song.)

Dillon disabled the Susanoo. "Huuuff." He fell on his back. "Well… that takes care of another one."

"I'm proud of you, Dillon." Nolan smiled. "You fought very well."

"You fought well too, Dad." Dillon grinned.

"Thankfully, his little boy kept him on his toes." Midna snickered.

"Heh heh heh! Wellp, 'guess I better call Yuki to pick us up." Nolan tapped his wristwatch. "Yuki, it's Nolan. Come pick us up."

Atmosphere

Yuki and Kayla were shooting down Heartless ships from the roof of the Sandmobile while Vanellope controlled the craft. "Copy that, Nolan! We'll be there as soon as we clear the sky a bit more. WHOA!" The engine was suddenly frozen.

"Scratch that!" Vanel responded. "Yuki just froze the engine like an idiot!"

"It wasn't me!"

"I will not allow you to leave this sector." They were approached by a small, floating white ship, controlled by a woman in a white general's uniform, her icy blue hair matched by her cold eyes. A strange black symbol was tattooed above her cleavage.

"Since you can talk, I'm guessing you're a commander of some kind?" Yuki remarked.

"Yes. I'm General Esdeath. The Ice Devil."

"Just my kind of match." Yuki surfed along an ice path and shot icicles that Esdeath easily deflected, afterwards spawning an ice wall in his path. Yuki smashed through it, but was pelted by giant ice boulders that Esdeath spawned around him. Esdeath ran across ice platforms and slashed a blade, which Yuki was quick to clash with one of his own made of ice.

Twi's surface

"Sounds pretty rough up there." Nolan said. "Expect some delays."

Midna approached Diwata's unconscious body. She felt presences coming from inside her sash pockets. When Midna looked inside, she found Lee Andrew, Denny, and Lulu in Catch Cards. "Midna, is that you? Where's Madara?" Lee asked.

"He's destroyed."

"No, he's not." Midna gasped and whipped around. Dillon got back on his feet and pulled off his hood. Midna and Nolan were horrified to see the Sharingan in his eyes.

"M…Madara?!" Midna gulped.

"Just as I have with Crest… I have been copying Dillon's power from the beginning. My shadow gained consciousness, and I have possessed Dillon's body through it."

Nolan grabbed the chest of his shirt and held him threateningly. "LET DILLON GO!"

"I don't intend to harm him now. I have unlocked his mind and put it under Genjutsu. But now, Midna must listen to me!" He grabbed the Firstborn's Spirit Ball. "Go and destroy the Kids Next Door with your full power!"

"No!" Midna tried to restrain herself. Her eyes flashed and her body began to expand.

"Midna, what are you doing?!" Nolan yelled.

"How pathetic." Madara said. "The Firstborn are forced to obey their Mortal Guardians, because those Guardians would never force them to use their full godly power. But my ambitions are stronger than this boy's." He channeled chakra to his fingers and flicked Nolan off.

"Fine." Nolan panted. "If you ain't gonna come out peacefully, I'll go in there and drag you out!" He morphed into sand with the Gem of Dreams and blew into Dillon's mind.

Dillon's Subconscious

Nolan landed in a pitch-black field with a moving red sky that was really a giant Sharingan. "Dillon!" His son was standing like a mindless zombie. "Dillon, wake up! Dillon!" Nolan grabbed and shook him.

"Do not disturb him." Madara said, floating above them. Nolan grit his teeth. "Your son is dreaming of a perfect world. As of this moment, he feels no need to battle. He feels no despair. Tell me, Nolan… why do you fight an endless battle? Do you not suffer night after night? Wouldn't you choose the peaceful life if you could?"

"It's thanks to people like you that I can't. Why work for the Darknesses if you live by that philosophy?"

"This is merely a means to an end. Lord English promises me a peaceful world with no conflict, no chaos or despair. If it were up to me, I would spare all of you. I could give everyone the everlasting dream. Including you, Nolan." His Keyblade spawned. "Open your mind, and I can make your dreams reality." He aimed the blade and cast a beam at Nolan's mind.

Dream inside a dream

His head becoming foggy, Nolan fell into a sea of mist. When it cleared, he was at his dining room table with his son, Danika, and Vanellope. Nolan glanced at the wall and noticed a newspaper inside a glass casing: CRIME GONE IN QUAHOG! Villains Got Bored! the tagline read.

"Well, sweetie, now that you don't need to be Sandman anymore, you can look for a real job and I can stay at home!" Danika grinned.

"I… don't?" Nolan questioned.

"Short-term memory, much, Dad?" Vanellope remarked. "You sent all the villains packing! Tomorrow, we're all going to a party! Everyone's gonna be there! Corey, Mr. Dodds, Grandma and Grandpa, even Old Dillon!"

"Dillon and Corey? They're… coming to the party?"

"Uuuugh! Stick a lightsaber down my throat, already!" Revan Bane Sidious made a gagging gesture.

"REVAN?!" Nolan jumped to his feet.

"Dad, what's wr—wr—wr—wr…" Dillon started glitching like Vanellope. Time froze as the world was sparking like static.

"Whoops! 'Guess my presence here is f**king up your perfect world." Revan shrugged perkily. "Trying to shirk my existence into the dark corners of your mind, eh old boy? Well, I guess that Sharingan was the get-out-of-jail card I needed. Tell you what, Nolan, you sit back and take it easy and let ME teach that ninja a thing or two. Don't worry, I trained my brain to resist any and all mind-control techniques. I'll have Madara out of your son's mind in a jiffy. I mean, I can't have too many overpowered supervillains fighting over the throne with me."

"You shouldn't be here at all! You…You're dead! I killed you!"

"At least you have the gall to admit it, not like Batman. But I'm very much alive, Nolan. The cells aren't fully developed, yet, but I reckon I'll have the run of your body 'long as you're under this Genjutsu. Just sit down, eat breakfast with your family, and let Big Bro Revan take care of the rest." He softly waved by Nolan's eyes and guided him back to his seat. "Go on, big boy. You deserve to relax. After all, you banished crime from Quahog! Heheh, as if."

Revan vanished, and time in the dream returned to normal. "Dad?" Dillon spoke again.

"Er… Nothing." Nolan blushed, having quickly forgot the interaction. "Where's Midna, anyway?"

"She decided to go back to the Twilight Realm." Danika answered.

"Siiigh… Good." It really was an ideal dream world.

The previous dream

"It's just as Bill said." Madara observed the gem in Nolan's pocket. "He can use that gem to physically enter a person's mind, and he can physically battle Nightmares. Such a gem is of no use to me… so, I will destroy it."

"KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF, BUDDY!" Nolan suddenly jumped awake and blasted Madara away with psychic. One of his eyes was blue while the other was yellow.

"You've awakened?" Madara was surprised. "Wait… there's something different about you."

"I'll say there is!" Nolan flew up out of his chair, jabbing his fists up. "Just look at me! This body feels AMAZING! I mean, my legs feel stiff as shit, but it's better than having none to go with. Can you believe that you go into the afterlife still handicapped?"

"Why isn't the Tsukuyomi affecting you?!" Madara focused his eyes. "What sort of creature have you become?"

"I'm the result of controversial science, bitch! Get ready for a dose of REVOLAN!" (Play "02 Battle" from Kirby 64!)

Phase 2: Shadow Madara

"Very well, 'Revolan.'" Madara made a hand sign and transformed into a Sharingan with Susanoo's flaming wings, along with the rib cage shield. "We'll see how long your mind resists."

Revolan swiftly dodged the Amaterasu flames and shot Psycho Spheres at the barrier. The rib cage was breaking one bone at a time, but the psychic was blasted away by a magnetic pulse. Revolan teleported closer and clasped the wings in psychic, but he failed to rip them off before Madara summoned another looping forest. Revolan was cut off from the eye, having to dodge whipping trees as he maneuvered through them. He saw the Sharingan melded with a larger tree and formed a giant Psycho Sphere to destroy it.

When the eye flew skyward, Revolan grabbed some of the trees with psychic and tossed them at Madara, who cast Amaterasu to demolish them, only for Revolan to shoot up inside a psychic diamond and puncture the eye. Madara was exposed after the attack, allowing Revolan to lay a furious beatdown with Haki punches. He briefly shocked the ninja with Force Lightning before throwing him to the shadowy ground.

Madara transformed into the Sharingan once more and encased himself in the upper body of Susanoo, complete with sword-wielding arms. Revolan conjured a Diamond Shield, but it was destroyed in two strikes of the giant swords. "You big jerk!" Revolan grabbed the right sword in a strong psychic grip. Madara was unable to tug the arm back, so he attacked with the other sword, which Revolan blocked with the previous sword. "Choke on your own blade!" Revolan forced the sword to cut off Susanoo's head, dispelling the body.

Revolan cast Force Lightning against the eye, but even the electric was burned by the Amaterasu, and as the psychic flew around for a good vantage point, Madara made balls of black flame puff around the air. "Wait a sec, if I can use Haki in this body, I bet my psychic can, too!" Revolan formed a bubble around himself, turning it black with Armament Haki and thrusting himself against the eye. The Sharingan sustained more damage and uncovered Madara, prompting Revolan to smash him to the ground under his iron bubble.

Revolan dispelled the bubble and pulled Madara up with psychic, grabbing his head and trying to twist it. "I've had enough of this!" Madara drew his Keyblade and stabbed it into Nolan's head. Madara escaped his grip and faced him directly. "If you refuse to open your mind to the Tsukuyomi, then I will lock your mind so that you cannot think at all!"

"ZAP!" Revolan sent Force Lightning from his brain along the Keyblade to push Madara off. "BRAIN STORM!" A cloud of psychic formed in the sky and struck Madara with powerful lightning. He quickly teleported up to Madara and sprayed Explosive Gel in his eyes. "Boom!" He pressed the detonator.

"AAAAAUGH!"

Revolan grabbed him from behind again, arms wrapped around the neck. "We have brains! We have brawn! We have brutality! We are Darth Ferior! Nolan and I may have had our differences, but he will always be my apprentice! We'll make our name in the New World together!"

"You need to take a nap." Both Revolan and Madara were caught inside a large bubble. (End song.)

"What the-?!" Revolan exclaimed. Madotsuki was outside the bubble. She divided it in half, sending the half with Madara up to the sky. The Sharingan sky faded back into the calm blue of Dillon's Subconscious. "Dammit, I was just about to kill him! Sleepy-eyed little… yaaaawn…"

"You're not in your right mind. Go to sleep, please." Madotsuki entered the bubble and tapped the Dream Gem. "He needs to wake up."

"Yaaawn… fine." Revan groaned as the gem brimmed. "But you haven't seen the last of me."

Planet Twi

The sand flew out of Dillon's mind and reformed into Nolan. With Dillon unconscious, Midna shrunk back to her normal form and regained control of herself. She returned to see Nolan plop himself back in his wheelchair. "Nolan, what happened in there? Did you defeat him?"

"I don't remember. I was caught in Madara's mind-control… and then…"

Midna reached her Hair Hand to pull Madara's shadow out of Dillon's. "Amazing. Madara could grant himself elemental powers and master control of them in no time at all. But it seems like whatever you did put his shadow out of commission." She divided it into shadow particles. "Anyway… you had us a ride, didn't you?"

"Hopefully." Nolan phoned the Sandmobile once again. "Yuki, are you guys okay up there?! We're ready to leave this planet whenever you are!"

Atmosphere

"Vanellope, Kayla, go down and rescue them already!" Yuki shouted. "I'll keep playing with this chick!"

"All right, Mr. Crystal! We'll be back in a jiffy!" Vanellope responded. Kayla hopped in the Sandmobile before they shot down to the surface.

"Let's wrap this up quickly." Yuki punched his leg and activated Ice Fury. A mass of ice formed around him, growing to 50 feet tall and taking the shape of the Crystal Colossus. A gigantic beam of ice began to charge in his lungs. Esdeath looked much smaller in comparison, for even she may not survive.

"Mahapadma." A blue sphere grew from the tattoo on her chest. It exploded just as Yuki cast his ice storm. Time and space had completely frozen. Esdeath looked around the space, seeing bullets floating frozen, the white gusts from Wendy's bending, the colorful notes from Sugar's vocals. Everything now had a blue tone in this frozen stasis.

Esdeath kicked up to the ice titan's rib cage where Yuki controlled it. With no extra effort, she stabbed him with her sword. The second after time reverted to normal, the Crystal Colossus screeched and collapsed. "COUGH!" Yuki clasped his punctured chest. "What did you… HUACK!" He coughed blood.

"I froze time and cut you."

"Froze… time?!"

"You lost because you weren't strong enough." Esdeath smirked. "Only the strong are allowed to survive in this world. I'll pass that message to the rest of them." She threw her hands up, seemingly turning the warm orange sky into a frosty blue one. In actuality, it was a storm of icicles that she rained down onto everyone, uncaring if they were friend or foe.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew up from below and kept the icicles aloft. "VENTUS INCENDIO!" Vaati Apparated next to his daughter and blew a flaming cyclone up through the ice shards.

"DAD!" Wendy exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Esdeath shouted. "I thought you worked for the Darknesses! Why are you helping them?!"

"I will let no harm come to my daughter! Wendy, let's go!" Vaati grabbed her arm.

"Dad, wait-!" They Apparated.

"WENDY!" Carla screamed.

"I think the reinforcements are coming!" Sugar indicated the Gem ships warping out of hyperspace.

"All operatives, back inside your ships, we're retreating!" Karin ordered.

"Where the heck do we retreat to?!" Jinta shouted.

"Anywhere there ain't enemies trying to kill us! I'll get Mr. Crystal!" The ghost girl swooped by and grabbed Yuki, turning intangible before Esdeath had a chance to retaliate.

King Dutchman

"Grrrr! Madara's been defeated, too, huh?" Bill watched as the Sharingan symbol on the prophetic banner faded. "Tsk tsk tsk. We certainly can't have that now, can we?" He grabbed one of his phones. "Thanos, bring Madara to life when you have the chance. I don't know how those Yorks were lucky enough to beat him, but I doubt they could do it a second time!"