Chapter 156: The Black Forest
Ai woke up inside one of the tents in the camp, with Peach at her side.
"Where am I?"
"Ai!"
"Princess Peach?"
"Yes. It's me, Ai. Are you alright? The spear pierced you in the heart, but the wound closed off, and somehow..."
"Y-yes. I'm alright."
"I'm glad. We transported you back to the camp where we waited for you to wake up. The others are just outside the tent. We were all very worried."
"And I'm sure you are also waiting for me to say why I am still alive. Has Qiang told you the truth? If I am immortal, then does it mean that I really destroyed Felina?"
By then, everyone outside heard Ai and Peach's voices and looked into the tent or just listened if there was no place.
Ai sighed. "Yes. What he said is true. I am the girl who destroyed Felina all those centuries ago. And yes, I am immortal. Well, he was wrong about why I am immortal. This isn't because I used the Demon Star's power, but because I had on me a piece. But since I didn't want them to know about the piece I had, I let them believe that."
"Why not tell us?" Peach asked.
Ai started to cry. "Isn't it obvious? I was scared of how you would react. I destroyed a whole kingdom. Killed thousands of people. This is not nothing. All because I couldn't contain my anger and hate after my parents were killed. Who would want to help someone who committed genocide?”
Peach didn’t say anything while deep in thought, then resumed talking. "I do understand your point. Nevertheless, you’re mistaken."
Ai looked confused at Peach who then gently took her paws with her hands.
"Ai, your story is a tragic one indeed, and I wouldn't have thought any less of you if you'd told it. You want to make things right after all, don’t you?"
Ai looked shocked at Peach for a moment, but sure enough she nodded her head.
"I…I hurt so many… Ending this once and for all is the very least I could do to even start making up for my sins."
"Then that’s all. We can't help our past, but you still can decide your future. And who knows, maybe someday…"
Peach then lightly brushed her finger on Ai's tear-stained cheeks.
"You will learn to forgive yourself."
Ai looked into Peach for a moment more, then gave a weak smile.
"Yeah, I… would like that."
Then suddenly, she embraced Peach, and the Princess got startled at first but she was quick to return the hug.
"Thank you forever for this, Princess."
Peach chuckled softly. "Any time."
The others all smiled and agreed with what Peach said. Despite what Ai did, they will still help her. As everyone talked, however, nobody saw the doubt hidden behind Ai's smile.
Once they were done talking, the group decided that it was time to go to the Black Forest. So they left the camp, leaving behind Peach and Toadsworth, and went East.
After walking about one hour, following a path, the group reached a small village that they traversed before they reached the forest just beside it. The forest revealed to be the most gloomy place in Felina that Apple Death saw until now. It was entirely made of dead black trees, and of course, since there was no light, it would be easy to get lost in the dark. And it didn't help that it certainly was very haunted.
"So, still no idea of how we'll find the pipe in there?" Apple Death asked.
"Actually, I can help. Mew!" Ai said. "You see, since I'm the one who used the Demon Star, I'm also the one who broke it into pieces that I hid all over the kingdom. So I know the path to where the pipe is. I can lead you there."
"Oh, thank the stars," Kooper sighed in relief.
Ai giggled. "You know, it actually helps me that you found out about who I really am. I didn't know how I would have explained knowing the path, or how I would have led you through the good path without revealing that I knew it."
"This is what ya've done all this time, uh?" Apple Death asked.
"Uhuh! Mew! So, follow me!"
Ai led the group, not into the forest, but along it, seemingly looking for something.
"Will you tell me where you are leading us?" she asked.
"I told you, it's a surprise," he answered. "Just know that I found it during father's last hunting game. You will see, you will love it. Ah! Here it is!" He pointed at a tree with a hole just at the edge of the forest. "From this tree, we go... this way!" He took a random direction and walked into the forest.
She followed him wordlessly, curious.
Ai pointed at a tree with a hole at the edge of the forest. "The first landmark! From this tree, we go this way! Mew!"
The group entered the forest. A few minutes later, various ghosts began to attack them. Boos, Dark Boos (purple Boos that were stronger than normal Boos), Embers, Broozers (ghosts with feet and boxing gloves), Peepas, and Greapers (Shy Guy ghosts with a scythe). Despite this, Ai made sure to never lose the direction she was walking in.
Eventually, they arrived at a rock.
"Second landmark. This way."
Ai moved to the left of the rock and continued until they reached a giant tree. From it, she took right.
"Are we there yet?" she asked.
"Almost. Oh! I think that I'm seeing it!"
Not long after he said that, they reached a clearing. Her eyes immediately sparkled upon seeing all the flowers that were everywhere.
"Woaaah... Oh my gosh! It's beautiful!" she shouted before she ran among the flowers and sniffed them. "They smell sooo good! And there are so many colors! Thank you! You were right! I LOVE this place! It's the most beautiful place of Felina!" She then began to chase a butterfly, laughing, while he observed with a large smile.
The group arrived at a clearing, as empty of life as the rest of the kingdom. Not a blade of grass. Not a flower. Not a butterfly.
Upon seeing the place, Ai sighed, then shook her head before she began toward a rock near the center of the clearing on which a hole could be seen.
Only to stop upon seeing two figure beside the rock. The smallest one, flying on a broom, used her scepter to light the area. This allowed the group to see that the two figures were Bowser and Kammy. Kammy had a crystal ball floating before her, and she was moving her hand not holding her scepter over it.
"Bowser? What is he doing here?" Goombella wondered.
"Uh. Who's this old Magikoopa beside him?" Apple Death asked.
"That's Kammy," Mario answered. "I hadn't seen her in a while."
"Who are they?" Ai asked.
"Bad guys who do their best to ruin everyone's day," Apple Death answered.
"They always kidnap Princess Peach, and sometimes try to conquer something. Generally the Mushroom Kingdom, or some other place, or even the whole world," Goombella answered.
"Oh, I see." Ai glared at Bowser and Kammy. "And now, they seem to be after the star pieces. How did they learn about them?"
"Probably spied on me with a crystal ball," Mario said.
The group approached Bowser and Kammy, the two not spotting them asKammy was busy looking at her ball while Bowser looked at her. As the group got close, they began to hear them.
"-can confirm it, it's under us," Kammy said.
"Alright, but then, how do we reach it? Seems like we need to put something in that hole," Bowser said.
"Yes. Maybe Mario knows what. Should I spy on him?"
"Either that or we dig, and I would rather not."
So Kammy looked into her crystal ball as she continued to move her hand over it. "Then let's see what Mario is doing................... Mmh? Apparently, he is... beside us?"
There was a moment of silence, then the two looked at the group.
"Since when are they here?" Bowser asked. "Bah! No matter! MARIO! Here you are! BWAHAHAHA! That's unexpected, but I guess that it means that I will get to tear you apart sooner, you and your friends!"
Apple Death turned into a ghost. "Ya don't stand a chance against us, Bowser!"
"Wait, before we start, how many star pieces have you gathered?" Kammy asked.
"Four," Ai answered.
Kammy gulped, but Bowser laughed. "BWAHAHAHAHA! That's nothing worrying! We will still totally curb stomp you! And then I will take the star pieces from you!"
Kammy put away her crystal ball and readied her scepter only to be blasted out of her broom by Apple Death, sending her crashing into a tree all the way at the edge of the clearing.
This took Bowser by surprise, but he immediately went on the offensive by breathing fire at everyone. Kooper entered his shell while Mario and Goombella jumped away. Apple Death simply flew around. As for Ai, she materialized black wings and used them to fly around too to avoid the flames.
Ai used multiple shadow spikes to attack Bowser, stopping his fire breath. This allowed Mario to attack Bowser with his hammer while Goombella headbutted him and Kooper rammed him with his shell. Apple Death also sent bones at Bowser.
Despite all the attacks, Bowser raised a foot and then stomped right on Kooper's shell, immobilising him. He then punched Goombella away and tried to also punch Mario who jumped to dodge. In return, a big black fist from Ai punched Bowser in the face.
A magical beam suddenly came and hit Apple Death. Kammy entered the battle on a new broom and fired a second beam at Ai who dodged. Ai then formed another black fist, bigger, and used it to uppercut Kammy, sending her flying far in the sky. However, Bowser used the occasion to grab Ai before he slammed her on the ground. However, since he had to move to reach her, he freed Kooper from under his foot, allowing him to resume his ramming attack.
Growling, Ai used strength boosted by the demonic power of the star pieces to free herself before she repeatedly fired black beams right in Bowser's face, making him step back. Apple Death then blasted him from behind, sending him on the ground on his belly. Before he could get up, Mario grabbed him by the tail and spun.
Apple Death got an idea, and she quickly used her powers to levitate a tree. Seeing this, Mario undertood what she wanted to do and threw Bowser at her. The filly then used the tree as a baseball bat and swung as hard as she could, hitting Bowser and sending him flying far away, ending the fight.
"We haven't heard the last of him," Apple Death said.
Ai groaned. "As if we haven't enough with the Felinois."
"Just a new obstacle, and he won't really be much of a problem," Kooper said.
Ai sighed. "Let's just get the next piece."
At this, she put the medallion in the hole in the rock, and the pipe appeared. After taking some mushrooms to heal the few damage they took, the heroes jumped into the pipe.
They entered the cavern, which revealed to have the particularity to have less glowing stones, making it darker. Despite this, it wasn't difficult for the heroes to spot the star piece floating in the air at the end of the cavern.
"It's floating?" Goombella questioned.
"Be careful. The guardian is obviously invisible."
Apple Death glared at the floating piece. "Yeah. Ah can feel it. There's something."
When the group approached, a chain attached to the piece appeared. Then, a skeletal left hand holding the chain appeared. Little by little, the rest of the entity revealed itself, a giant reaper-like ghost, holding a scythe in its right hand.
"Oh... It's floating high above the ground. I won't be able to attack it the usual way," Kooper warned.
The reaper raised its scythe and attacked, only to get blocked by a scythe of purple energy materialized by Apple Death. Mario then jumped and hit the reaper on the head with his hammer while Ai attacked with black fireballs. The reaper retaliated by levitating stones and throwing them at the group. It also breathed black fire, forcing everyone to move away.
Apple Death zapped it with her purple electricity, hurting it a lot and making it stop its attacks. Ai then used a giant black fist to punch it and send it crashing into the wall of the cavern. But the reaper recovered and levitated Ai in a black aura and moved her before its face. The reaper then inhaled, and something blurry, transparent, without distinct shape began to come out of Ai and went toward the reaper's skeletal mouth.
"It's sucking her vital energy!" Goombella exclaimed.
The reaper was slashed by a purple scythe of energy from Apple Death, stopping it for a moment. Mario attacked it with his hammer. Goombella then had the idea of jumping at the star piece to grab it with her mouth, dangling from it. This gained the reaper's attention who then tried to get her off, releasing Ai. The reaper was slashed again by Apple Death, and Ai attacked with black beams.
Mario jumped and grabbed Goombella's feet, and Kooper was able to grab Mario's feet without jumping. He then pulled, trying to make the reaper let go of the star piece. The reaper attacked them with its scythe only to be blocked by Apple Death again. The reaper threw rocks instead, but the heroes resisted.
Apple Death slashed the reaper, and finally, it let go of the chain, making Mario, Kooper, and Goombella fall on the ground. Ai then quickly grabbed the star piece from Goombella's mouth and used it right away along with the others to fire a giant black beam on the reaper, sending it crashing on the wall of the cavern while dealing a huge amount of damage.
The reaper then disappeared, giving up the fight.
Ai teared the piece off the chain, finally adding it to her collection.
"With this, only one piece remains," Ai said.
"Bao Leo's."
"Don't worry. Now that we have all the other pieces, we are totally ready to fight him. Mew! And also Bowser if he appears again!"
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so, Ai wants to make amends for her actions.
still not sure I trust her.
While this probably is a valid way to say "breathe in" it's so archaic that I'm probably the only one who would have realized what you meant.
11710061
In a fight between an ancient incarnation of evil and a modern incarnation of death, the smart money isn't on Pazuzu.
11710569
Alright. Changed.
11710706
for reference, the proper term would be, "inhaled."
side note, the DLC for Scarlet and Violet, The Teal Mask, technically takes place south of Sinnoh (EDIT: At least, that is most likely), so that debatably puts that on the table.
As well as the.... unique surviving specimen of old Hisui.
11710762
Nice to know. Thanks. I haven't seen the DLC yet.
11710771
A note to bear in mind if and when you get to researching the DLC.
Just so I have it straight, there are 2 more chapters left in the Paper Mario and The Cursed Kingdom arc, right?
11711048
Yep.
11711568
Thanks.
I can't help but think that each set of Rainbooms should get a slightly different skillset...
It would make little sense beyond Multiverse variation, but it would also avoid monotony.
But it would also complicate things........
11711682
I still don't even know what to do with Phantom Bloom and Phantom Belle, so the Rainbooms...
11711684
good point.
Although, who says they all need to fight?
11711688
It would be weird to have all the CMC be part of the action excepted these two. They would feel left out.
11711696
true, but that doesn't mean the Rainbooms need to all be combatants.
EDIT: Seriously, in which Equestria can you justify the human Fluttershy being willing to potentially take lives?
EDIT 2: And now I have the mental image of EQG Fluttershy turning into a yellow and pink owlbear.... I hate myself sometimes.
11711702
That's right, the Fluttershies would be more nurses.
11711702
11711716
here's my personal breakdown if you want it for each of the Rainbooms:
Rainbow Dash: Either couriers or scouts. (Combat Capable)
Applejack: Farming. An alliance needs food too, after all. Alternatively, engineering could work as well. (Combat Capable)
Rarity: Either Spies or Spymasters. Yes I am recommending that whole thing. (Combat Capable, if necessary.)
Fluttershy: Medical officers as you said.
Pinkie Pie: Quartermasters and chefs. Don't question it, it's Pinkie Pie. (Combat Capable, if necessary.)
Sci-Twi: Research and Development. They are going to need all the brains they can get on the Subspace portals and any future problems.
Sunset Shimmer: Really the only one I can't find a non-commanding role for that doesn't involve constant involvement in the action, aside from sticking them in R&D with the Sci-Twi trio.
(note that Combat Capable means able to fight, Author's discretion, no advice on use, while Combat Capable, if necessary means able to fight, Authors Discretion, recommend against if possible.)
(EDIT: No mention of Combat Capability means Questionable Combat Capability.)
And so, Team Bowser go flying away... (again)
media.tenor.com/5bFx-RK1iGIAAAAM/pokemongoservers.gif
11712012
Thanks.
What is the difference between a spy and a spymaster?
What is a quartermaster?
11712390
A quartermaster is basically the person who is in charge of making sure the group has what it needs.
The definition for this context according to Google is as follows:
a military officer responsible for providing quarters, rations (food and drink), clothing, and other supplies.
The difference between a Spy and a Spymaster is Spies answer TO the Spymaster, who then informs their commanding officer.
Regardless, you are welcome.
11712478
Alright. Thanks.
Calling it now, Pazull is a relative of Crakkthulx.
Which would make the eventual confrontation all the more funny if true.
11713682
As I said, it'd be hilarious if someone tried to call in Crakkthulx against the heroes only to be told that they'd already killed him.
11712490
Also I would like to note that Combat Capability for each is based off of a combination of their FiM counterparts effectiveness in combat in this story, only, and taking into account their technically younger ages and any other physical differences, such as the glasses on Sci-Twi.
In other words, Sunset, having yet to appear, is of questionable combat capability due to lack of evidence.
11712490
How's the next chapter looking by now?
11721630
Writer's block has the story on a temporary Hiatus, so cool your jets.
If you want more details, check his most recent blog post.
Of course, if you actually cared about the author, rather than just your entertainment, you already would have done so a week ago, when said blog post came out.
11721833
I DO care about the author. I just don't check blog posts unless someone directs me to them.
11721925
My apologies, then.
I'm rereading this again and i had a thought we don't really know how the G.U.I. computer that selects the destination of the portal looks like so I had my own small idea regarding that.
At the left side before the coordinates of the universe they go to there can be a small picture of something from the universe they go to.
Sweetie Void's Equestria: The tree of harmony? (Can't really think of something to set it apart from the other two Equestria's.)
The Dream Universe: A picture of Popstar.
The Pokemon universe: A pokeball.
Future Hyrule: The Triforce.
Past Hyrule: The symbol of the Hyrulian royal family.
Undertale universe: The Delta rune.
The Metroid universe: Samus's Helmet.
Techno-Equestria: The Phantom ruby.
Future Mobius: A Chaos Emerald.
Past Mobius: A different Chaos Emerald. (Good thing there are seven).
Haunted Equestria: A Poltergust.
The Mushroom Kingdom: A Mushroom.
The Star Fox universe: The Great Fox.
The F-Zero universe: The logo of the group hosting the F-Zero races.
The Earthbound universe: A Mister Saturn.
Oh and I just remembered another thing I Thought about some time ago. The illusion disrupter that K. rool used I don't think it would be too much of a stretch that there would only be one person with enough experience with the Phantom Ruby to make that thing. Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.
11741227
Well, it has been said back then that Present Eggman hasn't been seen in a while. 😏
11741397
that would imply that Eggman was complicit in K. Rool going AWOP (Aggressive With Out Permission), which would be totally in character for him, and the only way he would be discovered is if K. Rool rats on him.
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Or K. Rool could have "borrowed" the device, like he "borrowed" the ship, the Galleom Unit, and everything else. But the truth is that every officers were given the means to fight off the fillies.
11743211
1) Point taken.
2) That makes more sense than Eggman risking his neck for someone he has probably yet to properly meet.
So, remember that thing about Scarlet and Violet? You still have a few version differences to figure out, like which of Arven's parents is plot-relevant (they made one professor a man and the other a woman presumably to enable unified timelines like this anyway), but as for the basics of the shared premise:
EDIT: There's also something surprisingly subtle in The Teal Mask DLC: Ogerpon is guaranteed to have a Lonely nature due to lore. (Being primarily a physical sweeper, this is helpful but not ideal)
11745128
Something tells me it's not that simple.
11746589
I think that I will just avoid doing Scarlet/Violet. After Team Rainbow Rocket, the Pokémon World is pretty much done anyway.
11746670
gotcha.
11746670
Besides this is just my personal opinion but I don't recall there being anything in Scarlet/Violet that would bring the attention of the league to Paldea.
Team Star were not a serious enough threat.
The issue with the paradox pokemon was resolved before the league learned about them.
11748855
I would think the Terastral Phenomenon, in and of itself, would get Sweetie Void's attention, but:
1) the Author has spoken on his being done with the Pokeverse.
2) Who's to say it even EXISTS in the specific instance of the Pokeverse Sweetie Void encountered?
Waiting for the next chapter, I have to ask, previously asked if Sweetie could have problems with Sephiroth and the answer was a no, now there is another villain question... Could Sweetie Belle have more problems against Kefka if she fought against him? Sure he is not a character in Smash and there is no character (as far as I remember) from that world, but if she had to fight him, could she need to put a little more effort?
11753813
A bit, yeah. Kefka is a god of magic after all. But he remains a rather low tier First Category God.
11753865
Well, true, but Sweetie Belle also don't have too much experience as a godess, right?
11754091
Counter question:
How much experience as an actual combatant does Kefka have?
11754097
Not much experience, if I remember correctly.
11754097
I'm not sure, I vaguely remember much of FFVI but he survived until his plan was over, the team fought against him also and was in a high position so he must had been powerful and also managed to escape from prison