Super Mario Sisters

We're gonna kick off this story with Sector W7, introducing a certain island from One Piece! This chapter also takes place on February 17. We also get an Atbash cryptogram from a certain skeleton!

Planet Mobius; Zunesha Triangle

The Big Grin Pirates, a.k.a. Sector W7, had escaped some Kremling ships by sailing into a dense fog. "Nyee hee hee! I told ya they'd be too scared to follow us, matey-chans!" ("Nyaaaa!" 'Gonbe' said.)

"I don't really feel comfortable sailing here either, Chimney." Aeincha said worriedly. "What if this is a nest for sea monsters?"

"You might be right about that." Aisa replied in alert. "I'm sensing something nearby. Something massive."

"You ain't scarin' me this time, Aisa. I don't see anything-"

"ARRRROOOOOOOOO…"

"AAAAAAHHH!" Chimney's confidence disappeared. "Don't eat me, sea demon! Mocha has more meat!" ("My fluids are poisonous, eat them first!" 'Gonbe' cried.)

"Maybe it's a Kraken." April said tonelessly, already painting the tentacled demon devouring their ship. "Given that we have an angel, a mermaid, a Titan, and a priestess, we've got enough to become a myth."

"Chimney, turn the ship around!" Mocha shouted. "We can still get away!"

"EEEAAAAAAAAHH! IT'S TOO LATE!" Aisa screamed, shooting her finger straight to the sky.

The girls were enveloped in a gigantic shadow, belonging to a mountainous mass. Chimney forced the ship starboard with all her fury, speeding as far away from the behemoth as possible. The beast stirred the waves with its titanic legs and it felt like they weren't making any progress at all. "Dear God…" Apis gasped. "It's… an elephant."

It was the biggest elephant they've ever seen. Its skin was as gray as a mountain and extremely withered, and its eyes were empty black sockets. "Arrrrrrrroooooooooo…"

"'Begone… pirates.' Huh?" Apis translated its cries. "It sounds upset. EXCUSE ME, Mr. Elephant! Is something the matter?!"

"ARRRROOOOOOO…"

"'I will not allow any more Kremling fiends onto my back.' …The Kremlings?! Mister, we aren't with the Kremlings, we're Kids Next Door!"

"ROOOOOO?"

"'Kids Next Door? Were you called here by Sector ZOU?' Um, actually, we were really just running away from the Kremlings ourselves. But we would be happy to help you out! Would you allow us to climb onto your back?"

"Roooooo. (I sense no evil will within your hearts. My name is Zunesha, the Guardian of Zou. I grant you passage to the kingdom on my back.)" The elephant stopped walking and submerged its gargantuan trunk into the sea. The trunk brushed the sea on its way toward the tiny ship, stopping just as it was next to them.

"He ain't going to suck us in, is he?!" Chimney exclaimed.

"No, he says he'll let us on!" Apis beamed. "Let's go, you guys! The KND sector here could really help us out!"

"Hey, something's coming down." Aisa sensed. It appeared hostile animals were traveling down the trunk, no doubt Kremling pirates.

"Hold onto my hair, girls." Mocha picked her friends up (sans Aisa) and set them on her bushel of black hair. "I'll help us climb up."

"I'll lead the way!" Aisa smirked, drawing her bow. "We'll save you, Mr. Zunesha!" (Play "Island Swing" from Donkey Kong Returns!)

Stage 1: Zou

Mission: Chase out the Kremlings on Zunesha's back!

A swarm of Armies (armadillos) came rolling down the trunk, Aisa sniping them with her arrows as they unraveled and fell off the side. At the same time, Klingers were swinging ropes that hung from the trunk, waiting until they were below Aisa before they swung up to kick her. Aisa easily sensed this ambush and swiftly dodged them, but the Klingers would only grab the ropes on the opposite side and keep trying. Aisa kicked the Klingers with good timing and sent them to the depths. Further up the trunk, four Red Gnawtys (beavers) were running in yellow stone wheels, which magically rotated around the trunk with the intent to push off intruders. "What is this and why?!" Chimney asked.

Mocha threw a punch at a wheel, but- "YOW!" learned the hard way about their strength. "What are these made of?!"

"There's a path down here!" Aisa said, climbing off the side. Mocha followed, setting foot on a platform path hanging from ropes, leading partway up the trunk. Aisa bounced on a Necky vulture to reach the next platform, but encountered a trio of Blue Kritters. The Kremlings leapt nimbly around the platform while throwing knives, Aisa dodging as she shot them down with arrows, though she took a few cuts in doing so. Mocha made the giant leap to the platform, and from there, they had to climb to a net on the underside of the trunk to reach the next platform.

TNT barrel Kremlings called Klasps were climbing toward them, but Aeincha was on the case, using the little space above the net to run across the rope! The Lilliputian stabbed the fingers of the Klasps with scissors, watching them take the fall before they could explode. "Oi! Excuse me! A little help here?!" To their left, they saw a Mobian bird trapped in a cage. Aeincha made her way over, climbed down to the keyhole, and picked it open. "Thanks, guys! It was scary up there." The bird took off.

At the end of the net, they had to drop into a floating Barrel Cannon—surprisingly, all six girls and rabbit were able to squeeze into the cannon. "Nyah. Mocha, you're squishing me." Chimney grunted. The cannon shifted left and right quickly, but the girls waited until it was aimed at the next cannon before firing. This cannon began to quickly rotate around the trunk in a diagonal fashion, making aiming a tad more dizzying, but they reached the 3rd cannon all the same. This cannon remained stationary, but a line of Zingers flew around the path to the next in a disorganized manner, the girls launching with perfect timing.

The last cannon would shoot them onto the trunk (provided they could get past the Zingers)—but they noticed the last 'Zinger' was actually a Flutter (dragonfly). The Flutter would bounce them onto a platform with a treasure chest. Aisa fired alone, successfully bouncing off the Flutter and seizing the chest. "Sweet! I found treasure!"

"I get more share!" Chimney stated. The rest of them landed on the trunk, nearing the elephant's face. A Kloak was floating above the base, laughing "'AH 'AH 'AH!" as it threw TNT barrels down. It dodged Aisa's arrows, so they could only jump over the barrels as they progressed upward. Once they neared the Kloak, Mocha threw Chimney like a football and took the Kremling down with sheer force! The girls made it to the base of the trunk, but April saw another chest in the right eye socket. Chimney climbed over and opened the chest, sucking all the gold into their Infi-Cube.

From there, the girls climbed to the top of Zunesha's head. The morning sun shone over the jungle civilization built upon the behemoth's back. There were towering stone buildings, a town in the center, and a giant tree designed like a whale. "Well, April, here's your next art piece!" Apis grinned.

"That looks like a KND treehouse if I ever saw one." Aeincha indicated the Whale Tree. "Let's go say 'hello.'"

The girls leapt off Mocha and jumped to the surface of Zou. This part of the forest was laid to ruin, the land scorched and trees disintegrated. There was an explosion as a Klump wearing sunglasses marched through the smoke, accompanied by a squad of Kasplats. Mocha charged toward the Klump and slammed both fists down, but the Kremling combined Haki with his bulk and endured. He then dropped Orange Grenades at Mocha's feet and exploded, the giant falling over in pain.

Chimney threw rapid punches at the first Kasplat, dodging his grab and leaping to kick the back of his head. April painted a tiny blue dot on Aeincha, filling her with strength as she zipped on the head of the 2nd Kasplat and stabbed his eyes with scissors. April painted a yellow symbol on the 3rd Kasplat, causing it to burst into laughter. In its moment of weakness, Apis burned him with a S.P.I.C.E.R.. Aisa used an Impact Dial to absorb the shockwave attacks from the 4th Kasplat, then she smashed the dial into the ground to finish him with a greater shockwave. Mocha, after recovering from the explosion, began to kick the Klump around like a kickball, finishing her combo with a Ground Pound that knocked him out.

The crew ventured into the less-decimated part of the jungle, with a village of houses built on or hanging from trees, where a tribe of Mobians were battling Kremlings. Slippas (snakes) were slithering toward the crew, but April held them back by painting red spots on the ground and forcing the snakes to attack them. Apis saw that Kremlings were loading a caged monkey Mobian onto a ship, so she used telepathy to order some snakes to go over and free the monkey. April ran and painted pink marks on some of the Kremlings, weakening their will so the Mobians could finish them.

The team made their way to the Whale Tree, having to bounce up some giant mushrooms to reach the first platform of the tree. Five Koindozers charged and tried to shove them off with their bouncy shields; the others leapt over them, but Mocha was shoved off, luckily landing on the bouncy mushroom. The Koindozers picked a target and chased the girls. April painted a red mark on her pursuer's shield, forcing the others to abandon their targets and gang up on him. With their backs facing the girls, Aisa shot them with her arrows.

The operatives had to climb vines leading up the trunk of the tree. Kannons were shooting cannonballs down, the girls dodging left or right, though Mocha suffered the most hits. Chimney and Aisa climbed the fastest and reached the foothold, forcefully kicking the Kannons off. A series of smaller bouncy mushrooms served as a stairway up the tree, and they were much trickier to land on. Zingers were covering some mushrooms, but Apis could command them to move away. A Red Zinger was buzzing back-and-forth over a mushroom, but Apis couldn't tell it to stop, so they were forced to bounce on the shroom with good timing. "I guess the red ones have stronger willpower." Apis figured.

The team arrived at a large platform near the top of the tree, where they saw a Kremling flagpole, and a Mobian on one knee. She was a blonde-haired white rabbit in an orange dress, short green cape, and brown boots. She looked to be 16 years old and a few inches taller than April. She panted as she glared at her opponent, a black Krusha who flexed his muscles. "Oi, you gotta deal with us now." Chimney said. The rabbit girl looked back at them with surprise. "Mocha, smash him!"

As the giant stepped up, smirking down at the small opponent, the Krusha flexed his muscles again and entered Full-Body Haki. Mocha slammed both Haki Fists down, but the Kremling endured and grabbed her fists, hauling her overhead and smashing her to the trunk. Mocha recovered and ran to one end of the field, then charged at the Krusha for a powerful kick. The croc was flung across the field, but he recovered and ran to throw punches at the giant. Mocha countered with her superior fists, but though the Krusha took some damage, their strength was near equal. Mocha ran away again and charged, dealing an uppercut that barely lifted the Krusha off the ground, but she followed up by swinging her locked fists into him, then leaping to stamp him into the trunk.

When she stepped off, his Haki had worn off, and he was knocked out. With their victory secured, Chimney climbed a vine to get level with the top of the Kremling flagpole. She swung off and grabbed the flag, swapping it out with a Gold Flag of her grinning skull! The Big Grin Pirates sported a proud grin. (End song.)

"Phew." The rabbit sighed. "Thanks for the save, human girls! But just so you know, I could've taken him down in a few more hits."

"Yeesh, someone's arrogant." Chimney remarked.

"And we're not all humans, technically." Aisa replied. "We're Sector W7 from Earth."

"Earth? Now that I think about it, I sorta recognize you from Field Day!" she beamed. "My name's Carrot, leader of Sector ZOU."

"Wow, Gonbe, looks like you just found a rival!" Aeincha joked.

"EEAAAIIII!" Carrot's eyes sparkled at the sight of her. "Is that a talking dolly?! It's so cuuuuute!" She was quick to snatch Aeincha up and nuzzle her with her bunny nose.

"Quit it, I'm not a doll! Someone help me!"

"'ey, Carrot-chan, why you all live on a giant elephant?" was the first question on Chimney's mind.

"This has been our homeland for 1,000 years. For a long time, the Mink Tribe's been rather primitive, but that was before the KND found us 8 years ago and introduced us to their technology. Then my friends and I became our own sector! Thanks to them, I have all kinds of sweet new clothes and shoes! I never thought I would love the modern world so much! It was such an incredible adventure, I-"

"Ya ya ya, we're on an adventure, too." The bigmouth quickly interrupted. "I guess you know what's been happening?"

"Yeah…" Her face turned solemn. "Many of our sectors were dumbified by the Kremlings' cannon thingy. Luckily, our island is always moving, so they have a hard time tracking us. Are you girls here to help us stop them?"

"Kind of, but we're actually here to rescue some captured operatives of ours." Apis replied. "Would your sector be willing to help us? Then we could all work together to beat the Kremlings once and for all."

"I would be happy to… but we couldn't just leave Zou unguarded. But maybe you can use our island as a base. We'll give food and supplies and everything."

"Sounds good to me." April said. "We've been here for a couple weeks and we've been able to pinpoint where Sector W is being held. A place to rest would sure be nice."

"Let me call Tristan to treat your injuries. Haha, I can't wait to have a sleepover with you all!" She rubbed Aeincha against her cheek, much to the latter's displeasure. "Your little bunny friend is cute, too! Is he available?"

"Well, if ya shoot me 20 bucks, I can show you what enlightenment feels like." 'Gonbe' remarked. "I mean, nyan-cat."

By rescuing captives, they can be added to your crew and help with repairs, healing, provisions, or even combat! Unfortunately, they can be captured again if they fall in battle.

Collecting treasure will allow you to purchase upgrades for your ships!

Planet Mushroom; Fountain Island

A small fleet of Big Mom Pirates set their sights on Fountain Island, known for its nutritious fish. The island was famous for its tremendous gush of water that sprouted out of the center like a volcano. A town was built around the volcano, but its most remarkable architecture was the fancy restaurant built to float on top of the geyser.

However, a band of Sky God Pirates were quick to intercept them, led by the Hope Pirates on the Light of Hope. The ship had carried their home island of Towa City, and by using a secret portal in the city, Louise and Maria Mario were able to arrive in the midst of a battle. Ships from both sides sent cannonballs to one-another, but some of the pirates had taken the fight onto the island. Maria and Louise landed on the island's harbor. "Maria, I doubt we can help this entire island evacuate."

"Just because you don't care about this kingdom anymore, doesn't mean I don't. Whether you like it or not, Mushroom is about to witness the debut of the Super Mario Sisters!!"

"You just made a lot of gamers unhappy."

"Not as unhappy as these pirates are about to be!" (Play the "Mafia Town Remix" from A Hat in Time!)

Stage 2: Fountain Island

Mission: Rescue the terrified islanders!

Monokumas in construction helmets were abducting people off the harbor and about to switch on parachutes to lift them back to the flagship. Maria and Louise split up to jump on the Monokumas and make them release the citizens. Afterwards, the bears drew claws and attacked the girls. Maria dodged their swipes and bounced across three Monokumas for a combo, the force of her jumps eventually smashing their heads in. Louise, knowing their weakness, outran them and shot them in the red eye with her revolver, as one shot to that eye would kill one instantly. "Follow the arrows, they'll take you to Moonbase." Louise instructed, quickly painting Paint Portals to drop the citizens in before they could question it.

They long-jumped over some boats to reach the base of the pier, and from there could step onto the shore. The harbor was on fire as Destroy Monokumas (with jetpacks and flamethrowers) tried to burn Big Mom Floro Sapiens. Maria went to hit a ? Block, hoping for a Power-Up, and fortunately found an Ice Flower. She ran around and froze the Monokumas' gas tanks, prompting them to discard their equipment and attack with their claws. Louise took the liberty of destroying them after the fact. With her Ice Flower still in affect, Maria cooled the fires blocking the path through town. "Oi, Maria, look over here!" Louise pointed to a small cave with a fire. When Maria put it out, they discovered a treasure chest!

They followed a snaky path between some brick walls before entering a larger area, passing through a fence gate that quickly closed. "NYEH HEH! You shall advance no farther, Traitor Louise!" The girls looked up to a platform, seeing a tall smirking skeleton: he was Papyrus of the Serket Pirates. Above him was 'SKAIOS' written in graffiti. "In order to stop you in your tracks, I have devised this ingenious puzzle!" On the ground was a keyboard-like design. "You must paint over the correct order of letters which spell the password, but you'll NEVER figure out what it is! MWAH HA HA HA!"

The sisters exchanged confused glances at such an obvious puzzle. Louise painted over the S, K, A, I, O, then another S. With that, a ladder appeared to Papyrus' platform. "WHAT THE-?! IMPOSSIBLE! How did you… SANS! I told you to erase that graffiti!"

"oh. you meant that graffiti. i thought you meant the one on this card."

"YOU IDIOT, THAT'S MY CREDIT CARD! Grrrr, RETREAT!" Papyrus fled. Sans stayed.

"Uh… what?" Maria asked.

"For some reason, Papyrus hates the Zelda games." Louise whispered. "Thinks the puzzles are too easy. So, he makes dumb easy puzzles as a way of satire."

"Oh. That's kinda stupid."

"Yes, they're very pointless crewmembers."

The girls climbed the ladder to a narrow walkway overlooking part of the town, ignoring Sans as they crossed it. The path ended, but an indented part of the wall it was built on looked great for Wall Jumping. The walls were too far apart, but by working in unison, the sisters could jump between the walls and each other. A metal bar was set in the middle of the wall, dividing the sisters, and it blocked Maria's path upward. Louise was able to jump to a platform where a White Seal (from the Saint Rosalina) was guarding a switch. "What is the puwpose of this device?" Louise knocked the seal out, flipped the switch, and opened the way for Maria.

They Wall Jumped the rest of the way up and reached a bridge leading to a higher part of town. Hot air balloons hovered over the bridge as Bomber Monokumas threw Bob-ombs down. Citizens ducked for cover from the bombs, so Louise ran around to quickly suck them into Paint Portals. "Aren't these robots here to 'liberate' these people, why are they attacking?" Maria asked.

"The Hope Pirates are sadists, that's why." After Louise saved the last citizen, the duo rushed across the bridge, but the last segment collapsed and fell. It landed on what remained of the support, so it didn't fall all the way. Maria could throw her hat at a floating ? Block and retrieve a Mini Mushroom. They noticed some small unstable platforms, likely remains of the bridge, leading up to the town. Louise painted a portal, then she ate the mushroom to shrink and jump up the platforms. Her lighter weight made jumping rather easy, but she had no way of growing back after reaching the top. The sight of the Mega Monokuma didn't put her at ease. Louise ventured toward the left and saw three Monokumas guarding a mushroom. Walking under their vision, Louise ate the mushroom and grew back to normal.

She quickly jumped and Ground Pounded the first Monokuma, shot the next in the red eye, then she dodged and jumped on the 3rd until it was down. She painted a portal for Maria to warp up to her. The Megakuma began chasing them, spitting Bullet Bills. Maria threw her hat onto and possessed one of the Bills, steering it into Megakuma's red eye. The beast fell on its back, struggling to stand up. The Mario Sisters back-flipped onto the robot's belly, then leapt high above to perform what Maria called a, "Twin Butt Pound!" They smashed the Kuma's bellybutton and destroyed the beast.

The gate to town opened, but the tools of war had already destroyed various houses. Ball Monokumas and jawbreaker Chain Chomps (Jaw Chomps) were ramming each other, and the girls saw a trio of seals hopping along with treasures in their flippers. "With my shawe, I'm going to buy a hummew."

The girls explored the town in search of citizens to rescue and managed to find seven. There was a hole in a house's wall, but it was barricaded by furniture. Maria could possess a hatless Ballkuma and charge up speed before breaching the barricade. The mother and her two kids screamed, but Louise quickly assured them it was okay before painting a portal for them. There was also a treasure chest on the 2nd floor! "I'll hold onto these life savings for them."

In order to advance, Maria had to roll her possessed Ballkuma up a ramp and hit a vertical red scaffolding over a pit. The scaffolding fell diagonal, creating a path for the sisters. Maria ditched her captive as they ventured up the scaffolding, dodging the self-named projectiles of Rocky Wrenches. The scaffold path ended over a pit, and they saw another standing scaffold far across. Maria could possess a nearby Rocky Wrench and throw wrenches to break the supports holding the scaffold up. The beam fell toward them and became a bridge.

They were led to another small field with a Ballkuma, some bowling pins that looked like Sans, and Papyrus behind a fence gate. "You may have beaten me last time, Mario Sisters, but this new puzzle may test your wit! You must knock down these Sans bowling pins in one roll! Good luck making that Monokuma listen to you."

Luckily, Maria could possess the Ballkuma. She got perfectly lined up, charged a Spin Dash, and took the pins down. The gate opened. "DRAT! Sans, you were supposed to stick a hat on it!"

"i lost it. don't know where." Sans said, wearing a party hat.

"Nyaaaaaa! Retreat!" Papyrus ran. Sans stayed. Maria and Louise bypassed the lazy skeleton.

They reached a ledge with a great view of the lower town, and a fleet of hot air balloons floated before them. Fly Guys approached them and blew fire, but the girls jumped off two of them and were propelled into the air. Spinning and slowly descending, the two maneuvered over to a large FREEDOM banner held up by two balloons. They had to bounce across a series of small balloons to cross the chasm, but because they would pop instantly, Maria lifted Louise on her shoulders so they could jump the balloons together. They landed on top of a large hot air balloon, but were caught between a battle of Bomberkumas and Bomb Guys on floating pods. As they exchanged explosives, the hot air balloon began to take damage. Maria threw her hat to knock the Bob-ombs back at the pirates and destroy their craft.

A fleet of balloons floated overhead, dangling ropes down for the girls to swing across. Though the balloons followed the same path, there were many for the duo to swing around and dodge cannonballs from the ship up ahead. The ship in question was Hope Pirate property, and upon landing, a Junk Monokuma burst out of the cabin, the girls screaming at its hideous design! Its right eye was bulging out, its lower half was torn off, and it desperately crawled on its front legs with a ravenous expression.

"SIS! HELP ME!" Maria cried as the beast set its sights on her first. Louise painted electro goop on the deck and told Maria to lure it over. Maria jumped the goop puddle and caused the Junkuma to get electrified. During its weakened state, Louise shot the weak spot and destroyed it. A silver pipe rose out of the top part of the deck. Seeing nowhere else to go, the girls could only enter the pipe. (Play "Bonetrousle" from Undertale!)

"You've fallen into my TRAP, Mario Sisters!" Papyrus exclaimed. "Since your intelligence far exceeds my puzzles, I've no choice but to fight you directly! Fear the devastating technique of my Crab Style!"

Sub-boss: Serket Pir8 Com8atant, PAPYRUS

Papyrus began to dance like a crab and lunged at the sisters in a sideways motion… but since this technique could only move left or right, they simply stepped away from his path. Afterwards, Maria simply waited for a good opening and jumped on his skull. "NYOW! You've mastered the art of 3-D combat! I'll have to skip my next three phases and fight more seriously."

Papyrus leapt to the other side of the room and materialized a garden of bones along the floor. "I ate the Bone-Bone Fruit! I can make bones out of chi that deal damage just from the touch! You'll never dodge all my bones!" The bones began to slide along the floor, but were short enough for the sisters to jump. Maria made her way to Papyrus to deal another hit, but he erected a bone wall to deal quick damage, using that moment to leap to the other side.

"Maria, Papyrus likes when girls flirt with him." Louise whispered. "Use that to distract him."

"Okay." The sisters continued to dodge bones as Maria called, "Why did you run, cutie? I wanted to kiss you!"

"C-Cutie?!" Papyrus blushed. The bones started to come in fewer numbers. "Y-You won't deceive me with flattery!"

"But I always wanted to kiss a skeleton." Maria moped.

"Y-You want me to be your first?" He shut his eyes and began swaying in place. "Gee, I, I dunno if I'm—YOW!" Maria stamped his skull once more. "Nyaaaa!" He leapt to the other side again. "So, that's your game, is it?! Well, I'm about to make your day BLUE!" He unleashed a wall of Blue Bones at them.

"YAAH!" Maria panicked, unable to find an opening, and suffered damage. More Blue Bones came- "YOW!" and she found herself stumbling.

"Maria, stay still!" Louise yelled, suffering no hits. "The Blue Bones only damage moving targets." Maria obeyed, surprised that the bones phased through her like nothing. Papyrus threw more White Bones into the mix, with blue ones following shortly after. After jumping the white ones, the girls quickly stopped to let the blue ones pass. To jump over the taller bones, the sisters Wall Jumped off each other.

"I'm sorry, Papyrus, that's just how I tell someone I like them! I really think you're cute, and I wanna go on a date."

"D-Date?" Papyrus blushed and his attacks slowed down. "Not even Lady Undyne wants to date me. Do you think we could play-" This time, Louise stomped him. "YOW! What, are you jealous?! Take this, you jealous traitor!" Another round of bones flew at them. They were easy to jump at first, being short bones—then they suddenly sprouted into tall bones, the girls dodging left or right, afterwards having to Wall Jump bone walls. They were dodging so quickly that they forgot to stop when Blue Bones came, taking damage at first, but then stabilizing their selves.

Papyrus threw a cluster of bones that spelled 'COOL' and another that spelled 'DUDE.' Then he unleashed a field of short bones that swallowed the entire floor! Maria threw her hat and had it float in place as the sisters continuously bounced on it. The Bone Field ended with a gigantic bone that reached the ceiling. Louise switched her staff to Sticky Goop and attached it to Maria's back, afterwards bouncing off her sister at her highest point. The goop pulled Maria up with her, the momentum flinging her over the bone, and pulling Louise with her.

Out of breath(?), Papyrus could only send one more little bone. …The girls stepped aside. They watched it slide by. "Huff…yes…I am clearly too powerful for you to comprehend. So, about that date-" Maria and Louise KICKED him simultaneously and scattered his bones! (End song.)

"All things considered, we are in a war." Maria winked, planting a foot on the skull. "We have to look the part, or else our friends will get in the way!"

"Does that mean… you really do like me?"

"Mayyyyyybe." Maria tapped his nose hole. "In fact, maybe you can let me in on a little secret: is Chancellor Yorkshire being held captive by your crew?"

"The dog woman? Yes."

"Was she captured along with Queen Peach?" she asked seriously.

"No, she was captured by Commander Uchiha during the Evermore rebellion. Then, he secretly had one of his ninjas take her place when those KND operatives escaped."

"So, that's what happened! What are they doing to her?!"

"I dunno! I assume Uchiha's trying to brainwash her like the other captured rulers. Y'know he has a real hate boner for monarchs." ;D

"That's it, I'm smashing you." Louise raised her foot.

"No wait!" Maria stopped her. "Papyrus, I want you to watch over Miss Yorkshire. Keep me informed on how she's doing."

"You want me to f-feed you intel? Er, that would technically be… treason on my part."

"Pleeeeaaase, Papy? For me?" Maria held him close to her cute, watery eyes.

Her face was just too cute to resist. "Well… I suppose. I'll give you my cellphone number."

"Yaaaaay! You're the best, Papyrus! Mwwwah!" She kissed him. The skull flushed.

"Ugh! Just hurry up before reinforcements come." Louise scoffed.

Another pipe appeared to return them to the ship's deck. This time, a Sky God flagpole was present. The Mario Sisters climbed to the crow's nest and did a Hat Jump to snatch the top of the pole. They swapped the flag with a gold one of a top-hat with a mustache. Maria and Louise did a high-five before escaping through a portal.

Sans stood in place as he watched them leave. He closed his eyes and said, "gsv ozarvhg rh gsv hgilmtvhg."

Hyrule; Castle Rock

Castle Rock was a medieval-style town that was usually a sight for concerts on Hyrule. Following Mandy's takeover, it had become a hotspot for demons, particularly the Boogey Pirates' favorite band, the Butt-Tones. The band consisted of an orange-furred monster in a pirate hat, playing the drums, a giant eggplant with a big mouth, and a green Bokoblin playing the bass. Lately, the band had been advertising their new member, a dark-skinned human with blonde hair, to act as the guitar player. However, it was clear by his prison garb and leg shackles that he wasn't doing so of his own volition.

"GOOD EVENING, CASTLE ROCK!" the furred drummer announced to the crowds, their stage set up in the back of a monster truck. "The Butt-Tones ft. Mitch Williams are back with a smash hit! Get ready for-"

Bombs suddenly rained out of nowhere around the audience, the demons screaming and scattering. "The only thing getting smashed is YOU, buddy boy!" Jenny Strongarm declared as she skated onto the scene, the operatives of Sector Q at her back.

"MITCH! There you are!" Miko exclaimed. She'd never thought she'd be this happy to see him… or happy to see him at all, for that matter.

Who is that girl? These aren't the operatives Gaz described. 'Mitch' thought to himself. Regardless, he tried to get in character and yelled, "Well, it's about time you got here! Hurry up and save me!"

"Who do you kids think you are hurting our fans?!" the drummer shouted.

"We're the Q-Crew, buster!" Drake declared. "Now, hand that big-nosed dope over!"

"Darn it! Fred Fredburger, start the truck! This'll have to be a mobile performance!"

A green elephant demon did as ordered and quickly sped up the road. "Jenny, we'll leave it to you!" Drake ordered.

"Hop in, gang!" Jenny held up the Infi-Cube for her team to jump in. With that, the roller-blader began to race after the band. (Play "Castle Rock" from Rayman Legends!)

Stage Q-1: Castle Rock

Mission: Rescue Mitch Williams!

The band was starting what sounded like a rendition of "Black Betty." As fans were bobbing to the song, Jenny jumped over spikes in the road. The truck drove over a narrow bridge while Jenny grabbed and slid a zipline past it. As she returned to stable road, the truck began to shoot cannonballs timed with the drums. Jenny jumped the blasts using the rhythm to time her actions. It remained consistent for about seven shots, but as the truck drove through a fiery wall, Jenny had to skate up a leaning tower, beginning to chase from along the roofs.

"Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam), Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)," as the song began, Jenny jumped holes in the roof. Miniblin were stacking up to stop her, but she toppled them with swift kicks, each action timed nicely with the lyrics. The truck blew a hole in the roof that she jumped, and then she leapt atop a scaffolding. During the drum solo, the cannons shot the scaffolding down, but Jenny's steady skating allowed her to make it across, followed by jumping three tarps and a Fatblin's head. She skated down a long, falling boardwalk before jumping to a roof. A group of towers fell ahead of her, just in time as she could briefly skate and jump each.

The guitars began to pick up as she leapt to smash through a window, skate downstairs, and exit a building back onto the road. However, she ended up ahead of the truck, its "face" baring sharp fangs. It blew fire at Jenny, who ducked almost totally flat while keeping the momentum. When it stopped, she stretched up, and the cannons fired with quick guitar strums, Jenny hastily jumping left or right. She then dodged to the left as the truck sped up and past her.

The road began sinking as Jenny jumped the separated parts, but she decided to skate into a building, upstairs and through the window, into another, then onto the roof, and up to a telephone wire. She held on and slid down as it carried her across the town. Jenny landed on a roof as the song kicked up, jumped to another, and sped down to the road. The song slowed to an end as Jenny caught up, and with the final lyrics, Jenny leapt level with the band, flicked on her shoe rockets, and BLASTED into the truck! The drummer, bass-player, and the eggplant singer, were defeated with a swift, rocket-powered kick. The truck slowed to a halt as the Q-Crew exited the cube. (End song.)

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so glad you're okay, Mitch!" Miko said.

"Yes, well… I'm quite thankful to see you, too, newb." Since 'Mitch' still didn't know her name, he decided to address her the way Mitch would.

"Our prolonged months apart has brought us closer." Drake joked. Carmine found some keys in the drummer's pocket and unlocked Mitch's shackles. "So, what happened to the rest of your team?"

"Looks like the fish caught the bait!" They looked up with a gasp as a large, mechanical knight soared down with a solid landing.

"It was that thing!" Mitch yelled. "It ambushed us and separated me from the others! I think they were using me to lure them out."

"So, that's why the band kept advertising him!" Quill realized, whipping out his Elementors. "You could've warned us before!"

"So, you took out the Butt-Tones, whoop-de-doo. I'm the real boss of these parts, the Ash Knight! You kids gonna surrender or do we have to do this the hard way?"

"We don't stand a chance against that thing." Mitch said. "It's too awesome, even for me to handle! It made me look like a total pushover!"

"Giant… mech?" Miko gawked. "So… AWESOME!" The words INTERESTS = PEAKED appeared above her in digital letters.

"Show it how a pro gamer does things!" Eddy cheered.

"Darn right!" Miko conjured the Q-Knight from her gauntlet, a yellow knight with sci-fi armor, flowing purple hair, and a winking cat on its chest. The solid-holo knight slashed its blade, but the Ash Knight thrusted up its hand to make it fling into the air. This was followed by shoving the Q-Knight back against the truck, pushing the vehicle forward as the team fell over.

"Time to hit the road!" Quill hopped into the driver's seat, having to use a high-chair and attack heel extensions to see over the hood and stomp the gas pedal. As they sped away, Miko controlled the Q-Knight to float up and fly backward with them. The Ash Knight flew after, but even as Q-Knight swung its reformed sword, her foe was a swift evader, jabbing its sword into the digital knight's stomach. Miko grabbed the sword and tried to pull it out, but Ash Knight did an aerial spin with the blade to spin the Q-Knight around. "WHOA!" Miko yelped as her knight was flung away. "This guy's good!"

"We've made it out of town!" Quill announced. "Eddy, is the bus almost here?"

"I'm bringing it as fast as I can!" Eddy was knelt down and using his laptop to steer their bus with a first-person view.

"Quit playing chicken, you little twerps!"

"How's THIS for chicken?!" Miko declared as her knight came flying from behind. She tossed the sword into the air before throwing a punch, the Ash Knight attempting to grab the fist in its legs—Q-Knight pulled back and flew up to grab the sword and chop down—Ash Knight dodge-rolled right and landed a kick to Q-Knight's head. "You think I wouldn't know an amateur move like that? I can read your fingers like a book!"

"My fingers?" Indeed, Miko was using the fingers of her glove to control some of the knight's attacks. "Are you a gamer, too?"

"You know something?" Carmine spoke, shooting the truck's cannons at the mech. "I'm not sensing any life forms inside that thing."

"Maybe it's being remotely controlled." Eddy figured. "Maybe it works the same as Miko's where it has a limited range."

"We ain't gonna be finding the pilot like this!" Drake said.

"The bus is here! Here goes nothin'!"

Ash Knight saw the bus coming from her left, as if intending to ram her. It prepared to chop its sword down, but the bus suddenly curved right and drove past. The operatives quickly jumped into Jenny's Infi-Cube as she boosted off the truck and stylishly got into the bus. Her friends came out, and Miko was quick to summon Q-Knight again to intercept Ash Knight's attack. Quill manned the driver's seat and sped away. "Let's try to lose it through that valley!"

"You haven't seen the last of Me_K.O., Ass Knight!" Miko taunted.

'Mitch' narrowed his greenish eyes and turned away. These kids seem to know Mitch's team, but I won't be able to keep this act up. I better call Catherine when I have the chance.

A floating Boogey ship hovered in the nearby sky as Gaz controlled the Ash Knight from the deck. "Me_K.O., huh? Alright, I'll remember that…"