Anxiety cut through the air between everyone as they stood upon the Comet Observatory’s landing platform. The thrum of blue magic in front of them was noticeably winding down as the observatory slowed down, the stars of space becoming clearer with each passing second. Nervous frowns split many faces and various members shifted uncomfortably time and again. The chikos floating through the air around them, while more relaxed overall, still had a noticeable air of uncertainty about them.
Twilight stood at the front of the group along with the rest of the Element Bearers by her side. Out of everyone, they stood the straightest and radiated the most confidence. The pep talk they’d all had earlier did wonders for solidifying their resolve. All except for Ryuk, who was clutching his Element while glancing between everyone, some agitation actually managing to show in his eyes.
“Ryuk, I understand if you’re nervous about helping,” Twilight whispered, though she was sure everyone else could hear with how close they were. “I won’t criticize your morals regarding taking sides or anything, but this is just as much your fight as it is everyone else’s. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t help out.”
“Eh, I’ll still pass,” Ryuk replied. His gaze landed on Deadpool and his eyes illuminated with relief. “Ah, perfect,” he said, floating over to the mercenary.
Deadpool met his gaze as Ryuk removed his Element from his neck and handed it down to him. “Wanna help save the day instead?” he asked.
Deadpool scratched his chin. “That’s the Element of Laughter, right? Sure, why not?” He accepted the necklace but didn’t put it on. “Making people laugh is my favorite pastime next to killing dudes.”
“You need to put it on, Deadpool,” Twilight said.
Deadpool waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, I’m just waiting for a big, climactic moment to do so. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
Twilight decided it would be smarter not to reply.
The Doctor stepped to the front of the crowd along with the red chiko named Maria, coming up next to Twilight.
“We’re nearing the location of the energy signature,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Rosetta is bringing the observatory to a spot about fifty feet away from its edge. Once the comet’s magic fades away, we should have a clear visual on whatever it is.”
“I must ask;” Celestia said from her spot behind Twilight, “are we prepared in case whatever this thing is decides to attack us first?”
“Not to worry,” Maria said. “Mama has defense systems in place that’ll protect us from anything bad. We’ll all be safe.”
“That’s good to hear,” Ash said.
“Pika-pi,” Pikachu said with a nod.
“If these things are as powerful as you say they are, Twilight,” Samus said, touching the Element of Honesty, “then our defense doubles as a great offense.”
“Indeed,” James agreed, touching his own Element.
“Not to mention, the abilities we all bring to the table combine together into a very potent force,” Charlotte said while holding up her spellbook. “That’s in addition to everything the Bearers can do on their own.”
“Especially if we make great use of teamwork,” Hermione put in.
Garp cracked his knuckles. “Sounds like whatever’s waiting for us is as good as dead.”
“What can I do to help?” Thomas asked from the very back of the group.
Everyone turned to look at him with unsure expressions. The tank engine was smiling so broadly and hopefully that Twilight was heavily tempted to humor him, but decided straightforward honesty would save everyone a lot of grief in the long run.
“I know I speak for everyone when I say we’d love to have you aid us,” she said delicately. “But there’s not much you can do without rails, is there? Sooo…”
Thomas’ face fell. “Yes, I suppose that’s right,” he said dourly.
“Cheer up, Thomas,” Palutena said from his side, laying a hand on his buffers. “Even if you can’t help us by fighting, you can always cheer us on from the sidelines. Encouragement is just as useful as battle prowess.”
Thomas’ frown didn’t go away. He looked to Master Hand hovering above them. “Can you help me like you did the other day?” he asked hopefully.
”You would still need rails, though,” Master Hand pointed out. ”I suppose I could conjure some up for you, but being locked to them would still limit your usefulness against a mobile foe.”
“I suppose so,” Thomas said gloomily.
“Cheer up, blue train with the freakish face,” Ed said, patting Thomas’ buffers. “This’ll be a better show than Monster Island Z: Crossover Mash - A thousand day tourney!”
No one said a word.
The stars beyond the comet’s veil of magic started appearing, drawing the group’s full attention. The veil disappeared after a few seconds while the observatory itself slowed to a crawl before gently coming to a full stop. The vast expanse of space was stretched out for them all to clearly see.
Everyone swiveled their heads back and forth, scoping the area in front of the observatory in search of something out of place. Without knowing the true form of the space anomaly, or indeed if it even had a tangible form, it was harder to know when they might actually be looking at it.
Twilight didn’t see anything before them, even after squinting her eyes. She ran through her known list of spells in search of anything that could help, but nothing came up.
“I’m not seeing anything out there,” she announced to the crowd.
“Me neither,” Yugi said.
“Same here,” James said.
“Are you absolutely sure we’re at the exact spot where the energy signature was emanating from?” Celestia asked the Doctor.
“Have faith that the technology on Rosetta’s observatory is fully functional and accurate,” he replied. “We’re at the right spot, make no mistake about that.”
“Than why isn’t there anything out there?” Garp asked, pointing to the empty expanse in front of them.
“Maybe we need to look through a different set of eyes?” Palutena suggested. “Like the way a spider’s eyesight is different from a creature with only two eyes.”
“Leave that to me,” Samus announced. She stepped to the front of the crowd, facing the space before them.
Seconds went by with nothing seemingly happening. Samus stood still with only a few murmurs from her helmet indicating she was doing something. After a few seconds, she shook her head and turned to face the crowd. “Nothing,” she said.
“What did you do?” Pit asked.
Samus tapped the side of her helmet. “My suit has upgrades that let me see through different light spectrums. To that end, you’d think I would’ve been able to see anything that was there but invisible to the naked eye. Unless whatever we’re looking for is microscopic, then there’s really nothing there.”
“Well that would suck if that’s true,” Frank said, putting his arms behind his head. “Anyone got any ideas?”
Looks of contemplation crossed everyone’s faces. A few moments passed, but no one was coming up with anything.
“... We need to move the observatory forward,” Twilight said, breaking the silence.
“Have you thought of something, Twilight?” Celestia asked.
Twilight lifted a hoof to her forehead, wondering if she was suffering from spontaneous delusion. The idea had just come to her suddenly and for seemingly no reason. Her train of thought hadn’t naturally led to such a conclusion, but she’d voiced it because it made perfect sense in her head despite the fact she had no solid evidence to back it up.
“I… I really don’t know for sure,” she replied, deciding not to tell the whole truth. “But it’s better than sitting still doing nothing, right?”
“That sounds downright stupid,” Ash remarked.
“Well, it’s either do something or nothing and unless someone else can think of something to do I’m willing to take Twilight up on her suggestion,” the Doctor said.
A few members of the group voiced their agreement. No one else made any opposing suggestions.
“Sounds like we have an agreement,” the Doctor said and turned to Maria. “Please tell Rosetta to push forward a little bit.”
“Sure thing!” she replied and floated up to the high deck.
The observatory started moving again a short while later, the veil of magic a little more transparent than it was before. Everyone instinctively drew closer as anticipation firmly took root in their minds. Any number of things could happen at any second.
And something did, but it happened so fast and so quietly that their brains needed a few extra seconds to catch up to the change that happened to the environment.
The starry expanse of space had blipped out of existence leaving nothing but a black void all around them. No distinguishable object could be seen in any direction. The observatory’s magic dissipated, likely due to Rosetta’s surprise at the change, leaving the observatory suspended in place once again.
“What the heck just happened?” Sandy asked.
“Dunno,” SpongeBob said. “But it looks exactly like how things were back when this whole mess started.”
“You’re right,” Celestia said as she swiveled her head to look around. “Perhaps there’s more significance to this state of reality than we were initially led to believe?”
Rosetta floated down to join the group along with Maria and a couple of other chikos. Her lips were pursed and her eyes held a glimmer of concern.
“I fear we may have stumbled into a spot of trouble,” she said.
The Doctor smiled. “Now you’re starting to sound more like me.”
“Now’s really not the time for jokes, Doc,” Garp said, his grizzled features displaying an atypical level of worry for him. “We could be in serious trouble right now.”
“Believe me, buddy, if something was going to happen it would’ve happened within two seconds of coming here,” Deadpool said. “No point in dragging out a scene if it was just leading up to one giant action sequence unless the characters were acting completely stupid and ignorant for whatever reason.”
“The sad thing is he’s right,” Frank said.
Twilight, meanwhile, tuned out the following conversation and stepped to the edge of the platform. They couldn’t see anything directly in front of them, but the observatory was suspended in mid-air, so something could easily be lurking below them out of sight.
A single glance below showed that, sure enough, a single figure was standing on an invisible surface directly below the observatory. She couldn’t make out any specific details from this distance aside from a purple color scheme. But whatever, or whoever it was, it was obvious they were what the group had journeyed through space in order to reach.
“We need to get off the observatory,” she said. She gestured for everyone to gather around her and pointed down to the figure.
“Alright,” Garp said, cracking his knuckles, “let’s give this bastard a rude awakening.”
Rosetta enveloped the entire group in her bubble shield and delicately lifted them off the platform and over the edge.
"Wait, you can move me yourself?" Thomas said to Rosetta.
She nodded.
"Why did you let me get shrunk down earlier?" Thomas asked, nearly wailing.
Rosetta giggled. "The Doctor beat me to it."
Thomas huffed but didn't say anything. The exchange helped lighten the mood among the group.
As they descended, details about the distant figure filled themselves in: reptilian scales; rounded, almost alligator-like snout; webbed hands— a closer look revealed small blunt teeth sticking out from the creature’s mouth. Its eyes were closed until the point where the group touched down on the invisible surface it stood upon about twenty feet away, revealing crimson red orbs devoid of any clear signs of life.
“What the hell is that thing supposed to be?” Ash asked no one in particular.
“It looks a little like Gillman,” Florina observed. “But its eyes are a little scary.”
At that moment, a fang-toothed grin stretched across the creature’s face. It opened its mouth and spoke, but what alerted the group was how the voice didn’t come from the creature itself, but instead from everywhere at once similar to Aza. Unlike Aza, the voice itself was entirely masculine.
”What you see before you is an avatar, not a real living creature. I could go into detail about why it looks the way it does, but that’s not really important now, is it?” A soft laugh echoed through the surrounding void. ”As for looking like Gillman, that’s purely a coincidence, nothing more.”
Hearing the omniscient voice put everyone off at first, but they remained composed. Twilight stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Who are you?” she asked.
”The name of myself or my avatar?” the voice said cheekily.
It took a few moments for the words to fully register. A few gasps of surprised realization rose from the crowd.
“So you’re actually someone from the progenitor universe?” Hermione asked.
“Most likely the one who’s making all of this happen,” the Doctor said, narrowing his eyes at the creature.
The creature gave a bow. ”That’s me alright. The name of my avatar is Razalon The Lizardman. As for my real name, too bad, I’m not telling you.”
Twilight took notice of how the creature’s mannerisms were strikingly similar to Aza.
“So then—” Garp stepped forward, rolling his shoulders, “—you’re the one who can send us all home?”
”Yep.”
“Then do it. Or else.”
Razalon tapped a finger to his chin. ”Hmmm… nah. Not yet, at least.”
“Wrong answer, bud.”
Garp shot forward at breakneck speed, his legs pounding against the invisible surface. The crowd didn’t even have enough time to react in the split second it took for Garp to reach Razalon. He raised his fist, reeled it back, and socked Razalon right in the forehead, blasting the reptilian creature backward a great distance. Razalon bounced a couple times before landing in a tangled heap. The omniscient voice didn’t react to the attack in any way.
“What the hell, Garp?” Frank shouted.
“That didn’t hurt nearly as much as the puppet,” Garp said before replying with, “Not bending over backward is what I’m doing! He’ll send us home if he knows what’s good for him.”
A soft chuckle sounded everywhere. Razalon hoisted himself to his feet and shot a condescending smirk at the crowd. His head showed no signs of damage in spite of Garp’s megaton blow. ”Clearly you forgot everything Rosetta and the Doctor told you. Or maybe you can’t draw the right conclusion based on what I’ve told you? Actually, no, of course you can’t—” His smirk grew wider, ”—I’m not letting you because it’s not particularly in your character to be able to. At least from what I understand of it— I’ll be honest, juggling so many characters, some of whom I’m not entirely familiar with, is a daunting task indeed.
“The body you see before you is, as I said, merely my avatar. Knock it around all you want, it won’t do a damn thing. My real self is safe and sound in front of my computer screen, typing away and listening to music— right now I paused for a moment because most of this stuff I’m thinking up on the fly. Simply put, you’re stuck here until I allow you to go home, and there’s literally nothing you can do to change that.”
Twilight felt a knot form in her stomach which only grew bigger and tighter with each word from Razalon. He was it— the one dictating everyone’s actions, including right at this very moment. Her throat threatened to seize up when she realized even her own thoughts were possibly not her own, but she managed to keep from squealing like a cornered mouse and maintain a brave facade. Razalon had control, so it was just a matter of waiting until he gave them an ultimatum or something, and maybe then he’d be happy to set them free.
“So you’re the puppetmaster, are you?” Ash said, his voice low but challenging. “Mind giving us some proof of that?”
”Well I can make happen pretty much anything I want to, technically, but within the confines of this story I’m limited to just pulling things from other universes. If I overstepped that boundary I’d be breaking the integrity of this story, and that’s something I would never do.”
There were a few moments of silence before Razalon snapped his webbed fingers, which baffled Twilight as the action seemed anatomically impossible. ”Again, I took a break for a while while I came up with this, but this should convince you.” He focused his gaze on Twilight, making her anxiety shoot up. ”Twilight, remember that conversation you and Aza had the other day about leadership where you guys traded some chess analogies?”
Twilight took a deep, calming breath. “I don’t remember all the specifics, but yes, I know what you’re talking about.”
”That whole conversation was a spur of the moment thing from me that ultimately never amounted to anything. I suppose in the back of my mind I thought there would come a point where you started becoming the leader of the group and abusing your authority. I’m sure you know that doesn’t sound like you even when you’re at your worst, hence why I ultimately dropped the idea.”
Twilight gulped. She had a question on the tip of her tongue but was struggling to force it out. She already believed Razalon at his word, and it was exactly that which was making her dread asking her question.
“Twilight?” she heard Celestia say behind her.
Twilight shook her head free of mounting hesitation and wiped clear a few tears that had been forming in her eyes. She needed to be brave and resolute. She could deal with the ramifications of every revelation that had happened later.
“Did you put the idea into my head to move the observatory forward?” she asked softly.
”Yep. I’ll admit to having cheated a bit, but I did it specifically for the purpose of having you ask the question right now.”
“That’s enough,” Shulk said, stepping forward and fixing Razalon with a hard glare. “Tell us what we have to do to get home.”
Everyone stepped forward as well, adopting similar expressions to varying degrees of intensity.
”Well, I need to fill out this chapter with enough content to satisfy my readers, so guess what we’re all going to do before I send you all home?” Razalon clapped his hands together, leaning forward with a playful expression that seemed to be at odds with his face’s scary visage. ”We’re all going to just chat.”
Silence befell the black void for what felt like an eternity. The confusion was like an invisible fog that swept through the crowd, enveloping everyone and hushing them all.
”I’ll admit, I’ve fallen into the trap of lumping you all together into one collective mindset. It’s all too easy when you’ve got about two dozen characters to work with.”
“You want to chat?” Palutena said, baffled.
”Yep.”
Another round of silence.
“Um, why?” Florina asked.
”Well, think about it like this: Have you ever read a story and grown attached to its characters to the point where you wish to meet them face to face? Many people in my world are like that, but it’s especially true with me.”
“But how does that make sense if you’re controlling everything that happens?” Yugi asked.
“Yeah,” Deadpool said, putting his hands behind his head. “You’re pretty much talking to yourself right now.”
”Yes, but keep in mind I’m limited by what I can make you all say.”
“Makes you sound like a pathetic guy,” Garp said with disdain. “Not that I’m believing this shit, anyway.”
Razalon snorted a laugh. ”Yeah, you would say that. At least I think.” His grin turned sly.
Celestia stepped forward and cleared her throat. “So be it,” she said, smiling sincerely. “If you wish to chat, then let us do so, but you must let us go afterward.” A bit of edge crept into her voice as she finished talking.
”Yeah, sure,” Razalon replied in a particularly non-committal manner.
“Well, here’s a conversation topic,” James said. “What was the point of Aza?”
”Ah, that’s a question with a very complex answer.” Razalon beckoned the group closer with a scaly finger. ”Come closer and let me tell you the tale of a ‘pathetic guy’.” It was clearly meant as a joke, but nobody laughed. Razalon seemingly didn’t let it bother him and continued. ”Everything you’ve experienced originated from an idea I had about five years ago. That idea, which itself had roots in a similar idea I had nearly a decade ago, went as such: throw characters from a bunch of different franchises together and go where my creativity takes me. Aza was merely a representation of the dark, sadistic side of me that took pleasure in being omnipotent.
“But over those five years, I changed a lot as a person. I told you some people in my world wish they could talk with the characters they’ve come to admire in fiction, and that wish typically results from a degree of dissatisfaction with the world we live in. In my case, however, I’ve come to legitimately loathe my world and long for the ones you all live in, though, some more than others. I can’t actually visit them, but what we’re doing now is the next best thing in my mind. Although, know that I’m a special case; most people would think I’m weird for doing this.”
“You can say that again,” Deadpool said, shaking his head.
A feeling of deja vu washed over Twilight. The way Razalon was describing himself felt oddly familiar to her in a way she couldn’t immediately place.
Then it hit her like a sack of bricks; the idea of humans being dissatisfied with the world they lived in was a concept she had explored fairly extensively in her HUMAN trilogy. But there was something about the way Razalon was describing it that felt more personal, strangely. An uneasy feeling overtook her as she continued listening.
”But like I said, I’m an amateur. There’s a number of things you all have memories of that were actually the results of me making changes to the story.” Razalon focused his gaze on Rosetta. ”For example, your children are called chikos, but originally you called them lumas.”
Rosetta’s expression turned confused. “Why would that be?” she asked.
”Because different cultures means things like names get changed during localization. I had completely forgotten they were called chikos in their country of origin and didn’t realize this until after I had already made that chapter publicly available. Afterward, I went back and changed all of that while writing the current one, but some things I’m not gonna bother to go back and fix. For example—” He looked to Pikachu and then to Thomas, drawing curious gazes from them. ”I completely forgot to show what the two of you got up to back on the Comet Observatory, so consider yourselves fortunate that whatever you did was entirely your choice.”
Thomas opened his mouth to respond.
“If you say anything about it then it won’t be under your own free will anymore.”
Thomas shut his mouth.
“Okay, this is getting super weird,” Pit said, holding a hand to his forehead. “You’re using all these weird words and I’m feeling really uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, think you could say stuff that actually makes sense?” Frank said.
“Clearly you guys don’t read enough books if you’re disturbed by words like ‘chapter’,” Charlotte said, rolling her eyes.
“I can’t read!” Pit cried.
“It does feel really weird,” Florina said, looking disturbed.
Razalon’s expression turned to pity upon seeing Florina’s downtrodden look. ”Well, you’re all in luck,” he said. ”I decided to have a bit where your words are left unwritten, so you can ask me questions that are all your own and not dictated by me whatsoever!”
“Really?” Yugi asked.
”Yep. Starting… right… now!”
…
”Heck no I’m not.”
…
”Maybe.”
…
”Not over my dead body.”
“Why are you giving such basic answers now?” Hermione asked. “You certainly loved going into detail before.”
”Because that would defeat the whole purpose of making your questions your own,” Razalon explained. ”If I went into more detail, the questions you asked wouldn’t be too hard to decipher, possibly even which of you asked them. By the way, that free bit is over now.” Ed raised his hand. ”Oh yes, finally I can give your characterization a little more depth beyond fictional movie references!”
“What’s under my friend Double D’s hat?” Ed asked.
Razalon paused for a moment. ”You know, I don’t think even the guy who created you knows the answer to that question. Your show ended many years ago, and the question of what’s under Double D’s hat was never answered. Yes, it’s stupid, but that’s the truth of the matter.”
Ed stomped a foot and cried out, “That’s not fair!”
“Why are all of my friends dead?” Ash asked. “I don’t care right now if I’m being manipulated or whatever, just give me the truth.” All the gruff and jadedness was gone from his voice, replaced by solemness.
”Simple: The movie you originate from is a horror movie, and what embodies horror better than losing the ones you love most without anything you can do to change it?”
“And people actually find that shit fun to watch!?” Ash asked, clenching his hand into a trembling fist.
”Watching innocent people getting possessed by demons and torn apart isn’t fun to watch, at least not in a sadistic sort of way. I’m sure you’d agree that horror is every bit as legitimate as any other genre because there’s a certain amount of fun to be had in being afraid. Not to downplay all the stuff you went through, of course.”
“Tell that to my girlfriend,” Ash growled.
”I’m sure she’s in a better place.”
Ash looked down at the ground but didn’t say anything. Frank and Garp lay comforting hands on his shoulders.
“Well, as long as we’re asking questions, I’ve got one,” Yugi said. “Can you tell me more about the pharaoh’s past?” He grasped the Millenium Puzzle.
Razalon shook his head. ”Sorry, but no. I do know about the pharaoh’s past, including his actual name, but I can’t tell you for the sake of maintaining continuity. Rest assured, though, that everything will eventually be revealed to you and your friends.”
“I got a whole load of questions, but I reckon y’all ain’t the academic type,” Sandy said. “Mostly I wanna know what the physics are like in your world compared to mine.”
”Well, there’s no such thing as bipedal, talking squirrels and sponges, for starters. Really, our two worlds are like apples and oranges in terms of physics, since your world operates on what we classify as ‘cartoon logic’. Don’t ask how that works, because honestly, cartoon logic can work however it damn well pleases.”
“Sponges in your world don’t know what they’re missing,” SpongeBob said. He then sang a high note that actually managed to stay on key.
Pikachu stepped to the front so he could clearly be seen. “Pika-pika, pi pi pika, pikachuuu?”
Razalon sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. ”Honestly, I don’t know how long it might take before he realizes his dream of being a Pokemon Master. The people in charge of your show seem hellbent on never letting him actually grow up and win a Pokemon League. But believe me when I say there are a plethora of people who wish this wasn’t the case and actually want him to realize his dream.”
Pikachu crossed his stubby arms and frowned, muttering under his breath.
“All this talk about our creators has piqued my interest—” Palutena said, her eyes alighting with curiosity, “—What kind of people are they like? I imagine their creativity is exceptional if they’re able to create entire worlds filled with amazing and diverse peoples.”
Razalon laughed heartily. ”Really, all that’s about as much as I could tell you. I don’t know any of your creators personally. I’ve seen them through secondhand means like television and stuff, but I’ve never interacted with any of them face-to-face. I can give you guys a basic description of each of them, however:” He then proceeded to tick points off on his fingers, addressing the respective group member or members for each creator.
”Yugi, the creator of your world has a love of tabletop and card games, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering all the adventures you get into revolving around Duel Monsters; Thomas, your creator’s love for trains was second only to his love for his son, and the lives you and your friends live were told to him as bedtime stories and eventually made into books; Hermione, the magical world you and your friends inhabit was born from the imagination of a woman living a life of hardship but who cherished her family and friends above all else; Samus, Pit, Palutena, Kirby, Florina, Pikachu, Master Hand, Shulk, and Rosetta were made from the collective ideas of several people working under one company, while Charlotte and Frank have the same origin but come from different companies; James’ creator was a retired intelligence officer in World War 2 with a penchant for spy thriller stories, drinking, and smoking; Garp’s creator is a manga artist who has a similar penchant for super wacky characters and humor; Ash’s creator was a down on his luck film director who managed to strike it big with help from some close friends and pure, raw creative talent; Sandy and SpongeBob’s creator was a former marine biology professor who became an animator; Ed’s creator is also an animator who based his work on his own childhood and all the weird ideas you tend to have at such a young age; Gillman is an old movie monster from the nineteen-fifties but there isn’t anything really interesting to say about his creators; the ‘brand’ that Twilight and Celestia are a part of has been around for a while and helmed by different people, but they themselves were born from the conscience of an animator who wanted to give the franchise a creative shot in the arm based on her own fanfiction she’d wrote when she was a child.”
It was like Twilight’s brain had been given a kick in the rump and was peddling her mental hamster ball with fiery fervor. The way Razalon had described her and Celestia’s inception perfectly matched the overall story of the third book of her HUMAN trilogy, the one detailing the humans creating her world through fiction.
Twilight’s stomach did multiple flips as realization fully dawned on her. She turned to Celestia, but the princess didn’t seem to be on the same page as her judging from her expression. Everyone else seemed caught between various states of awe, interest, and resentment. She decided not to say anything and keep her attention on the conversation, but not without feeling ready to throw up.
“What about me, then?” the Doctor asked.
“Literally I forgot to include you in that list just now — again, I’m in a little over my head — and that was the third one of you I forgot, so I decided to add on a little bit more instead of going back because meh.” He shrugged his shoulders. ”You’re the main character of the biggest, longest running television show in the history of British media. The reason why you regenerate is to provide an explanation why your appearance changes every time they need to hire a new lead actor.”
“Fascinating,” the Doctor muttered, rubbing his chin.
“You also forgot about me,” Ryuk pointed out.
“And me, of all people!” Deadpool cried in faux distress.
Razalon sighed and pointed to Deadpool. ”Your creator is a comic artist who doesn’t know the meaning of sensitivity—” He then pointed to Ryuk, ”And I’ll be honest, your creator is something of an enigma. Suffice it to say, though, that he likes complex and morally gray stories.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Ryuk said with a nod.
”But you know, as interesting as your creators are, your fans really take the cake in my eyes.”
“How so?” Celestia asked.
A sly smirk split Razalon’s mouth. ”That’s a rabbit hole you may regret going down, Princess,” he warned. ”Are you sure you want to know more?”
“Well, you’re the one putting words in our mouths,” Deadpool pointed out, “which, by the way, you’ve been doing a mediocre job with me.”
Razalon shrugged his shoulders. ”Fair enough, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
”Where to begin, where to begin.” Razalon tapped his chin, his eyes rolling upward in thought. His sly grin returned. ”Well, I suppose I’ll come right out the gate all guns blazing; there’s a shitload of erotic fanart of many of you.”
Many members of the group reeled back in surprise. Twilight felt blood rush to her cheeks, while a quick glance around revealed many more red faces.
Celestia cleared her throat. “Well, that’s certainly… interesting.”
Charlotte shuddered. “It’s disturbing,” she croaked.
“Not sure I’m good-looking enough for that shit,” Garp said with a laugh. “Not so young anymore.”
”My kind will draw porn of just about anyone, but especially if the character in question is particularly attractive. Among the people in this group, it’s mostly the females who get the triple X treatment, which I assure you is a coincidence. And don’t think you’re excluded just because my kind is human, Celestia and Twilight.”
Twilight’s entire face heated up. All she could say was a simple, “Oh.”
“I… suppose it’s a little flattering,” Celestia muttered.
Deadpool laughed. “Bunch of pervy virgin plebs!”
Razalon turned his gaze to Palutena. ”Personally, I find green-haired girls very attractive. Sucks that I can’t draw for beans.”
Palutena cleared her throat. “Yes, well, thank you for the compliment, but I’d rather not be involved in this highly inappropriate topic of conversation.”
“Y-Yeah,” Pit stuttered, his face redder than everyone else, “treat Lady Palutena with some respect!”
Razalon’s smirk widened. ”Lots of naked portraits of you. Also, people really like to depict you as a lesbian.”
Palutena’s expression turned disgruntled. “Please stop.”
Razalon laughed. ”Yeah, yeah, sure thing.” He winked at her. ”Still, you’re not that bad looking, babe.”
Palutena breathed a deep, relaxing sigh. “Again, thank you for the compliment.”
“Please tell me there’s more to your kind than just perverted desires,” Hermione said, rubbing her temples.
”Well, some people like to pretend they’re married to you guys. That sound better?”
“No, it isn’t,” Charlotte said with a bemused expression.
Florina clasped her hands together and frowned.
”Actually, Florina, most people prefer to acknowledge your marriage instead of making you their own fictional spouse. It might have something to do with you being below the legal age of marriage in my world, but also because people really like you two together.”
Florina’s frown lifted into a smile. “That’s good to hear; I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else besides—”
”Ah ah ah,” Razalon said, wagging his finger. ”If you say who it is than anyone who doesn’t support your marriage will be all over my case.”
“Okay,” Florina said kindly.
“Anyway,” Twilight said, “is there more to say about these ‘fans’ than thoughts of sex, romance, or anything like that?”
”Oh yeah, there’s plenty of intelligent, non-lewdish discussions to be found among my kind… in a sense.”
“Then please tell us more about that,” Twilight said. A quick look around showed people were still reeling from the idea of being lusted over, though, she took a little pleasure in the cute blush Yugi was sporting. That pleasure quickly dissipated when she realized that feeling could be implanted by Razalon.
”One last thing about ‘waifus’ and ‘husbandos’ as they call you guys—” He seemed to relish in the looks of disgust that appeared throughout the crowd before looking at Samus. ”There’s this guy who really, really likes a certain space bounty hunter with a tragic past, enough that he’d go out of his way to support the video game series she hails from. I won’t name names, but he really does want to see more of your adventures, Samus.”
Whether Samus was mulling over Razalon’s words was hidden behind her helmet. When she finally replied after a few moments, her tone had a playful edge to it.
“Well, I’m glad he finds enjoyment in watching me put my life on the line for the sake of everything I know and love.”
”Oh, and he also likes to do this.” Razalon held his hands out and two objects appeared in them. They were dolls; one shaped like Samus, the other in the form of a strange blue creature with seemingly no lower body. He moved each corresponding doll while voice acting for them.
”Oh Arlo, you’re so handsome and kind and awesome!”
”Yeah Sammy, I know it. But I’m only as handsome and kind and awesome as you’re beautiful, smart, and badass.”
”Arlo… will you be mine? Will you stay by my side forever?”
”Samus, nothing would make me any happier than to be with you forever. I love you with all my heart…”
”Oh Arlo…”
”Sammy…”
He then proceeded to bump the two dolls’ mouths against each other while making smooch sound effects.
Twilight found herself caught between awkwardness and mild amusement at the sight. She turned to Samus but couldn’t see anything through her helmet, though, her rigid posture suggested she wasn’t feeling particularly calm. Everyone else seemed to be on the same page as herself.
Razalon finally stopped playing with the dolls and they disappeared from his hands. He swept his gaze across the group before landing on Florina, who flinched at his gaze.
”Before I move on, I would like to say something to you, Florina.” He put a hand to his chest. ”I’ll be upfront in saying this: I have a strong fondness for you. You embody everything I like in a girl, and you’re the closest to my personal favorite out of everyone in this group, even though you’re actually not a prominent character in the franchise you hail from.”
Florina shuffled her feet, looking unsure how to feel about that. “Um, thanks, I think?”
”I actually had a dream with you in it a few months ago. Simply put, we were together, and I was happy, then you disappeared for some reason, and my happiness went down the drain.”
“That’s nice,” Florina whispered, the corner of her mouth lifting a tiny bit.
“Okay okay, I think we get the point,” Ash said. He rolled his hand. “Move along, please.”
”Yeah, okay.” Razalon took a moment to think. ”By the way, I’m just pretending to ponder right now; I already knew I was going to put this out for a while.
”One thing that practically defines fandoms — ALL of them, actually — is how very passionate fans can get over even the most trivial of details about you guys. Like, things you probably don’t even care to know yourselves. Imagine the gods atop Mt. Olympus with computers and keyboards and typing furiously, sometimes incoherently, about what color socks you prefer or your favorite breakfast items.”
“Why would they care about stuff like that?” Frank asked.
“Exactly,” James said. “If they’re borne witness to our many adventures, what interest is there to have in such mundane things?”
”I was just using metaphors,” Razalon explained. ”But honestly? I’d bet my firstborn child that those particular arguments actually have happened somewhere.” Gasps of surprise and shock erupted from the crowd. ”Oh, don’t worry, I don’t ever plan on having children, but let that go to show how confident I am it’s actually happened if I was was going to be a father. My fellow fans really will get into the pettiest of arguments about you guys. Hell, I’m just as guilty of it myself!” He laughed.
“Don’t your kind have lives to live or something?” Garp asked, sounding none too impressed.
Deadpool doubled over laughing, earning him a sharp, confused yet disapproving glare from the burly man. He straightened up after a few seconds, taking a deep, calming breath before placing a hand on Garp’s shoulder. “Thanks for the laugh, buddy.”
Garp quirked an eyebrow. “Sure, whatever, you’re welcome.”
”To answer that question: Some people have more time on their hands, simple as that.”
”And they have nothing better to do with that time?” Master Hand asked.
”Says the guy who does nothing but play with constructs.”
”I have no need of mortal trivialities like food, sleep, and family.”
”And my kind is higher than you, so there you go.”
”... Fair enough.”
“I’d like to know more about the creative process your kind employs to create our worlds,” Palutena said. “Our worlds are so different from each other that I’m curious how they’re conceived by the creators of your world.”
”Mostly it comes down to wish fulfillment and creative expression. My world has such a rich and diverse history, hundreds of cultures, and thousands of spins one can put on any single previously existing idea that it’s easy to pull together a varied group of people such as yourselves. Someone might put out a story or game or both because they want to share those ideas with other people. But others might throw something together for the sake of making a lot of money because believe it or not, creation is just as much a job as it is a passion for all of your creators.” He frowned upon seeing the furious looks throughout the crowd in response to that last point. ”No matter the reason, though, your lives matter, don’t question that.”
“That doesn’t really help,” Hermione said.
”Actually, Hermione, out of all your creators I’d say yours cares the least about money. In fact let me paraphrase a quote of hers: ‘Stories are meaningless if there’s no one to listen to them.’ She definitely cares the most about expressing ideas and seeing people enjoy them.”
“And what about the rest of us?” Yugi asked.
Razalon waggled his hand vaguely. ”Probably a mix of both. Remember that I don’t know any of them personally; I only know so much about Hermione’s creator through second-hand sources. But even if money is a motivation, it still takes creativity and passion in order to create something that people will enjoy.”
“It feels a little weird to have monetary value attached to our existence,” Charlotte remarked.
“No way I’m not worth big bucks!” Deadpool gloated.
”The funny thing is you’re right. Your comics had a movie adaptation a couple years ago that made almost a billion dollars and had a sequel that just recently released. I should also mention that the current year for me right now is 2018 A.D.”[/’i]
Deadpool placed his hands on his hips and his eyes sparkled with glee.
A brief silence descended on the group before Razalon clapped his hands together. ”Well, I think we all deserve a little break, wouldn’t you say? You all haven’t really eaten anything yet today, have you? Why don’t you take a quick lunch break before we continue?”
A long, cloth-covered table appeared between him and the group, quickly followed by a couple dozen chairs and plates and bowls filled with a wide assortment of foodstuffs and plenty of tableware and utensils. The end spot, however, had a simple plate piled high with raw fish which was clearly meant for Gillman.
“Yum!” Ed shouted.
He and Kirby rushed forward at the table with hunger-filled eyes, only for a brick wall to materialize between them and the feast, causing them to crash with their momentum.
”Don’t worry, I’ll provide for you two separately.”
A steel-barred cage appeared a short distance away from the table. Half the space inside was taken up by a ceiling-high pile of food. Ed and Kirby disappeared along with the brick wall, with the two of them quickly re-appearing within the cage. They quickly noticed the haphazardly stacked food and wasted no time in making it disappear.
The group stared at the feast, unsure what to make of the offer. Diffusion of responsibility saw to it that nobody worked up the courage to ask why he made it.
A round of belly rumbles was the signal that saw everyone make their way to the table except for Master Hand and Thomas, who both stayed back. There was an air of awkwardness surrounding them as they all took seats and began putting food on their plates. Pikachu bypassed much of the food and went straight for the bottle of ketchup situated next to a giant plate of burgers. Everyone else helped themselves to a wide assortment of foods suited to their diets, while Gillman was content with shoveling the provided fish into his mouth.
Everyone’s spirits gradually lifted as the meal went on, smiles adorning their faces as they chewed the undoubtedly delicious food crafted by the master chef that summoned it all. Razalon made a single lap around the table, admiring the happy looks on everyone’s faces before joining Master Hand, who made no acknowledgment of the greater omnipotent being.
When Razalon spoke, the range of his voice shrunk to just the space around the two of them. ”I thought this confrontation needed a little mundaneness to offset the earth-shattering revelations. That’s why I made them lunch.” He smirked. ”Not trying to upstage you or anything, rest assured.”
Master Hand said nothing.
”You know, the series you hail from is super popular among my kind. Like, ‘camp-out-for-twelve-hours-outside-the-store-for-a-copy’ popular. The latest installment was just recently announced and people are going apeshit over it.”
”Glad to hear that,” Master Hand replied neutrally.
Razalon blinked, then turned to face the group. ”Yeah, that’s all the writing material I can think up between us.”
Master Hand’s fingers visibly tensed, beginning to form a fist before he relaxed, likely realizing the futility of physical action.
Lunch passed by uneventfully. Every now and then small conversation broke out between members over small, trivial things such as the qualities of unfamiliar foods. A couple times a food fight broke out which was quickly quelled by more level-headed group members. At the same time, Ed and Kirby made quick work of their designated stash and started hungrily eyeing the main group’s food, only for Razalon to deny their request to be let out.
The anxiety and apprehension in the group had noticeably lifted by the time they finished eating. The tension in their faces had melted away as they relished in the normalcy of sitting down and eating, chatting, and joking with friends. One wouldn’t think they had just learned they were the creations of literal gods from another universe and were currently the playthings of one of those beings.
Everyone got out of their seats once they’d had their fill of food and re-converged before Razalon. The table, chairs, and dishes disappeared, as did the cage holding Ed and Kirby, allowing them to join the group. While smiles adorned their faces, their eyes were still filled with conviction.
Twilight stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Is there anything else you want us to do?” she asked. “Because if it’s true that you’re doing all this just to entertain people, their interest is going to run out eventually. Every story has to have an end.”
“Exactly,” Deadpool said. “I’d love to do it all day every day, but even I need a break from putting smiles on people’s faces and bullets in their skulls.”
Florina twirled a lock of her hair. “I really want to see my husband again,” she whispered.
”Well that would melt my heart if I hadn’t made it happen.” Razalon’s smile actually looked sincere for once. ”Well, it’s true that we’re nearing the end of this story, but when one story ends and is successful, sequels are sure to follow.” His smile returned to its familiar cocksure demeanor.
Twilight felt a knot form in her stomach at those words.
Razalon slapped his knee, laughing. ”Ha! The looks on your faces are priceless!”
The sinking feeling dissipated, replaced by a frustrated scowl. Twilight had to stop herself from angrily lashing out, reminding herself that staying calm and composed was the key to returning home unscathed.
“Is that your true intention?” Celestia asked, stepping up alongside Twilight and earning a supportive glance from her student. She stood to her full height, radiating splendor and majesty. “Your kind must have heart, correct? After everything that you’ve done to us, would they allow you to repeat this ‘experiment’ ad infinitum?”
”I’m only still doing this because I want to wrap up this particular story; it’s the last one of my ongoing stories that I haven’t finished yet,” Razalon explained. ”This story hasn’t been super popular, but enough so that I’m motivated to finish it.”
“Then why are you saying there’ll be more?” Yugi asked.
”When I say ‘sequels’ I don’t mean it in the traditional way, but you’ll learn more about that in due time. Right now, I’m trying to remember if there’s anything else I wanted to tell you guys—gonna have to take a break for that.”
“And how long will that take?” Ash asked.
”Clearly you haven’t fully grasped the time physics involved here; what’s one second for you guys could be days for me. Really, I work on all of this for a little bit every day before I go to bed.
“Anyway, I can’t think of anything else, so—” He clapped his hands together, ”What say we end this all off with a bang?”
Silence reigned supreme for a short while.
“Okay,” Frank said. “What do we do?”
”Well, you’ve gone through so much shit already, why not go all the way?” He snickered. ”You’re all heroes in some fashion, so why not save the universe? That’d be a great climax.”
A spark of realization hit Twilight. The Elements of Harmony!
”Well, have fun.”
Razalon waved a hand goodbye before disappearing.
The black void around the group lifted, blue skies and clouds filling in. Twilight felt sand beneath her hooves.
The group frantically searched the area, afraid something could be barreling towards them with deadly intentions. Seeing no immediate danger, the group relaxed and properly surveyed their surroundings.
They were situated on a small sandbar in the middle of the ocean. To the left, they saw the titanous form of Kyoshin towering over everything, while a faint coastline could be seen in the distance to the right that was likely Equestria. The sky overhead was clear and the sun was shining brilliantly. What surprised everyone was the sight of several floating land masses far out in the distance in every direction.
“Where the heck are we?” Pit asked.
“Stranded in the middle of the ocean, from the looks of it,” Garp said.
“Do that again!” Ed shouted gleefully, but everyone ignored him.
Twilight reached a hoof up to make sure the Element of Magic was still perched on her head before turning to address the crowd. “I think we’re going to need the Elements very soon. Everyone with an Element needs to come by my side right now. Deadpool, you need to put yours on right now.”
Deadpool scoffed. “Relax, Twilight, fire isn’t raining from the sky or whatever.” He moved to take a step forward. “Let’s just keep our— What the—?”
His leg refused to move, seemingly cemented into the sand. He pulled harder with a grunt of effort, forcing his leg out. The sand clung to his leg like a wad of chewed bubblegum, which snapped back when he freed himself.
“The fu—?”
Panic gripped the group. Everyone who wasn’t airborne tried to move but found their legs were similarly rooted. Florina pulled her feet out of her boots and stood on them.
“What’s happening?” she squeaked.
Celestia slipped out of her golden horseshoes and took to the air. She made it about three feet before she hit her head against an invisible object, making her scrunch her face in pain. She lifted a hoof up to feel the space above her.
“Is the air solidified?” she wondered out loud.
“Look at that!” Ed shouted, pointing at the water. “Cool!”
Large sections of water were rising like bubbles out of the ocean and floating around aimlessly. Farther out there were waves forming and crashing despite the lack of a shoreline.
Twilight almost jumped out of her skin when a gust of wind actually blew from beneath her. A quick brainstorm and she realized there was only one explanation for all the impossible things that were happening.
“There are multiple systems of physics colliding—” She cut herself off as a massive invisible weight settled on her horn. She fell to the ground on her belly, the force of it unbearable.
“Twilight!” she heard Celestia call before her mentor cried out in agony. A soft thud followed a second later.
”My power...” Master Hand moaned, before another, louder thud sounded.
Twilight tried to stand up, but the sticky sand clung to her coat with an iron grip, effectively immobilizing her. She tried again, harder, but to no effect. All around her she heard the group devolve into pandemonium, those who weren’t personally being affected by the physics convergence calling out to those who were, shouting to be heard over the din of the group’s cacophony.
From her vantage, Twilight could see more land masses, both earthbound and hovering, appearing all around out in the distance. Whether or not any of them were inhabited didn’t matter; the more which appeared the more chaotic the physics convergence was going to get, and the more chaotic it got the greater the danger to the group.
They needed to use the Elements of Harmony.
Twilight turned her head to survey the group. Everyone was caught in the sticky sand, with the taller members leaning over to try and reach smaller members like Pikachu and Kirby to wrench them free. Some had followed Florina’s lead and had pulled their feet free from their shoes to give themselves more leeway to do this. Master Hand and Celestia had their entire bodies stuck in the sand as a result of the physics convergence affecting their bodies just like herself. Another, stronger gust of wind blew from the ground, spraying sand everywhere. More water bubbles were rising from the ocean all around them, and high above Twilight spotted several clouds melting from the bottom like ice cream.
She lit her horn, gritting her teeth to push through the resulting lance of pain, and enveloped her entire body with magic. She pulled with all her telekinetic might, using the full strength of her magic power to wrench herself free of the sand. Her body lifted a few inches in the air, but the sand’s sticky texture refused to release her hairy coat. The pain increased in intensity the harder she pulled, but she continued regardless. This was foal’s play compared to everything she’d already been through.
She felt the sand start to peel off after a few seconds; the effect wasn’t dissimilar to pulling chewing gum off one’s coat. With how painful that was, in combination with the pain in her horn, the temptation to cut off her magic was strong, but she held firm. Inch by inch, the sand peeled away. Twilight gritted her teeth harder to hold back the agonized screams which threatened to break her concentration. Finally, with one final, hard tug, the sand peeled off and Twilight’s body floated freely into the air.
Twilight gritted her teeth, holding back a final scream. She breathed a few deep, calming breaths before her eyebrows furrowed with determination. She levitated herself to where she’d be nearest the most Element Bearers: Pit, Samus, and James. Yugi and Deadpool were situated a little farther away, but the worst part for Twilight had already passed. She set herself down onto the sand, its sticky quality no longer a problem.
Fighting through the pain again, Twilight used her telekinesis to pull both Yugi and Deadpool from the sand and bring them over to the rest of the Bearers. Of all of them, Yugi was the only other one feeling the effects of the physics convergence due to the magic of the Millenium Puzzle. As bad as it was for him, Twilight thought, it must’ve been ten times worse for the pharaoh.
“We need to use the Elements,” Twilight wheezed. Even speaking coherently was proving to be a challenge for her. “They’re the only thing we have that can stop all this.”
“Are they really that strong?” Pit asked. Sweat was forming on his forehead and panic filled his eyes. “I mean, this is affecting the entire universe, isn’t it!?”
“Do it, Pit,” Palutena croaked from behind him. The goddess was on her knees, her staff and shield fallen to the ground and both hands clutching her head.
“So this is the moment everything’s been building towards?” James said, a note of dark amusement in his tone. A soft, yet cruel smile split his mouth. “Let’s do it, then.”
“Save the world, you guys!” Garp cheered.
Ash and Frank simply nodded.
“This is gonna be so cool!” Ed shouted joyfully.
“Pika-pi!” Pikachu called.
”I have the utmost faith in you all,” Master Hand said proudly.
Kirby blinked, then did a little twirl on his feet and smiled at the Bearers.
“Y’all can do it!” Sandy cheered.
“Yeah!” SpongeBob agreed.
Samus looked down at the Element of Honesty and pumped a fist, but said nothing.
Charlotte and Hermione both flashed thumbs up to the Bearers.
“Please, be strong,” Florina encouraged from her spot near the edge of the group, struggling to be seen behind everyone.
Gillman looked at her and, despite not knowing what she said, made a noise that at least sounded positive.
Ryuk scratched his chin. “Now things are getting interesting, at least a little.”
“I’m still not sure I completely know what’s going on,” Thomas said. “But it’s clear things are out of order, so I hope you six succeed.”
Yugi touched the Element of Kindness, but winced in response to a spike of pain and clutched his heart. “I hope this works.”
“Of course it’ll work,” Deadpool said. He lifted the Element of Laughter up over his head and slipped it on. It glowed a brilliant light and clicked into place. “Ha! I knew I was a ‘killer comedian’!” He slapped his knee and laughed.
Rosetta and the Doctor said nothing, but their faces held curious expressions as they watched the scene unfold, the bulk of their attention staying more so with the Elements than their Bearers.
Shulk opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and looked down at the Monado. His eyebrows raised in confusion. “What the—?”
“Twilight,” Celestia said, earning her student’s attention. “No matter the outcome of this, I want you to know that I’m proud of you. Even if this completely fails to fix everything, rest assured that I don’t think any less of you.” She flashed that same kind, motherly smile that Twilight had grown up seeing so much. “I love you, Twilight.”
The pain in Twilight’s horn seemed to vanish, replaced by an enormous surge of warmth in her heart. Her eyes turned misty, and she felt tempted to break down crying, but she resisted.
“Don’t worry, Princess,” she said softly, wiping away the tears. “We won’t fail.”
Celestia let her body relax in the sand, closing her eyes but keeping her smile.
Twilight turned to face each of the Bearers, flashing them her best brave face.
“Let’s do this,” she said with conviction. “You all know how to do this; pour as much willpower as you can into the Elements.”
The five of them each gave an understanding nod.
Twilight closed her eyes, envisioning the power of the Element of Magic. She felt the Element’s power connect with her, beckoning her to pour forth her own. She answered the call, summoning every last ounce of willpower she had and channeling it into the tiara. The power of the Element responded in kind, rippling through her body and lifting her up into the air with its immense volume. She cracked open her eyes to see the rest of the Bearers were rising along with her, their Elements glowing with a magnificent radiant splendor and bringing everyone close together while the rest of the group watched in awe.
Bands of rainbow light stretched between the Elements, centering on the tiara she wore. The coalescing power was familiar to her, its immense weight a force she’d had to bear twice before and could easily bear now, even with the added stress of the interdimensional physics convergence. She didn’t have a shred of concrete proof, but at that moment she believed with every fiber of her being that the Elements were strong enough to fix everything. All doubts she’d had in the past about the Elements were pushed into a dark closet in the back of her mind; she had faith they would save the universe.
Her vision filled with white. Her ears filled with the shimmering whistle of the Rainbow of Harmony. A few seconds later, she blacked out.
Shulk wasn’t paying attention to everything around him; his eyes were fixed on the Monado. He’d felt something from it while everyone was encouraging the Bearers. Something he couldn’t put into words, but that wasn’t too unusual where the Monado was concerned. It wasn’t like his visions where he still had all his senses; it was like a ghostly finger had touched his brain.
He didn’t have time to think about it for very long, however. As the rainbow light exploded from the Elements, the Monado activated on its own, the blue blade of light sticking through the sand. His eyes shot open with alarm. The rainbow filled his field of vision. The last thing he saw before blacking out was an unfamiliar kanji appearing in the Monado’s glass hilt.