Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A soft breeze ruffled the Sage's hair as he touched down softly. The air was clean here, and he always enjoyed that. It was a beautiful difference from some of the places he'd travelled to, like New Lumos.

The sky was a beautiful, almost crystalline blue, and the grass beneath his feet was a lovely shade of green. It made him happy to see.

He sat down, setting his staff beside him, and ran his fingers through the blades of grass. It felt nice, so he leaned back until he was laying down. He watched the clouds overhead with a soft smile, and dared to close his eyes for a little.

The day is young, he thought, and so am I. I may as well enjoy this serenity while it lasts.

He lost track of time, laying still in the fields of Greenhorne. The silence, the sunshine, the breeze... he adored moments like this. He adored knowing that he could happily rest here.

A shadow soon fell over him. He opened his eyes to see the Mayor of Greenhorne Town, Ronnie, nervously fidgeting above him.

"Ron? What's up?" He asked, smiling a little in hopes to ease the man's worries. "You never come to seek me out."

"Oh, Springtrap, it's terrible..!" Ronnie whimpered, uttering the Sage's alias in fear. "T-there's this terrifying creature c-calling himself the D-Dark Lord running about!"

Something in the back of the Sage's mind nagged at him to investigate.

"Dark Lord... well, where has he been sighted? I'll do my best to stop him." He asked, getting up and brushing himself off. A threat to Miitopia? That wouldn't do at all.

After obtaining his objective, the Great Sage picked up his staff and headed off. He noticed that some creatures about had the faces of innocent people almost crudely plastered on random parts of their bodies, so he quickly set those faces free. It... unsettled him to see this.

But what he found unsettled him more.

The large, purple creature with wild hair and floating hands didn't notice him at first. It was laughing in a distorted, almost familiar voice, facing away from him.

"Ah, yes... Miitopia shall fall soon enough, and nobody can stop me!" It spoke, sending chills down the Sage's spine.

Shaking off the unease, he called out. "I beg to differ, Dark Curse!"

The creature turned. His blood ran cold.

Red eyes stared back at him, red eyes with a black streak through the iris. No pupils in sight, and a tooth gap as well... The Sage suddenly knew who the host was.

"Darkrai.." He breathed in shock, his eyes wide. He stepped back.

"How lovely of you to join us!" The creature cackled. "I was wondering when you'd show up, Little Brother!"

No. No, no, no, the Sage though. The Dark Curse chose him?! Why him?! Why Darkrai?! How???

The Dark Lord spoke more, but the Great Sage couldn't hear it through his own panicked thoughts and heavy breathing. Another step back, and he suddenly became aware of a stinging on his face. His eyes darted to his robe, which had blood on it. The same crimson that now stained his clothes also stained the long, claw-like fingers of the Dark Lord.

"Listen to me when I talk." The Dark Lord growled. The Sage didn't do that.

Panicked, gripping his staff, he turned tail and ran. He couldn't fight the Dark Lord, not alone. Not him. Never.

Maybe, if he got lucky, he'd find someone strong enough. But luck tended to hate him. He knew that.

I can't do this... Gods Above, please, lend me your blessing just once, please..!

Somewhere, a portal opened... and a redheaded woman popped out.

Somewhere, somehow...

The Great Sage's prayer was heard.

Chapter Text

"Whew! The air's a lot cleaner here, I think." 

The redhead woman spoke with a sigh, taking a deep breath. Her emerald-colored eyes shimmered in the sunlight, as her family climbed out behind her.

The tall, broad-shouldered man adjusted his hat and grunted as he stood upright. He helped the smaller, more scrawny man to stand as well. The other redhead girl and her green-haired companion were the last two through, and the portal closed soon after.

"So, what's the plan?" The smaller redhead asked. "All I really heard was that we were gonna settle here."

"Easy, Ace. Let Papa scope our area." The older girl laughed a bit. "So? where are we?"

The tall, broad man looked around. Grass everywhere, the occasional tree or large rock... A name nudged the back of his mind.

"I think we're in the fields of Greenhorne, a country in the world of Miitopia." He spoke, his voice slightly gruff, but generally soothing to the girls. "What do you say, little buddy?" 

The albino man beside him hummed. His own eyes scanned their surroundings, albeit a little faster than the taller man did. Every instinct in his little body was on alert, poised to attack any threat to his family's safety.

"Um... Max?" The only non-family member poked at the man. "Max, are you okay? You're spacing out."

"Oh- yeah, I'm fine, Lumpy." He answered, snapping out of it.

"Dad, stop calling them that." 

The taller redhead rolled her eyes at her younger sister's comment. Like that'll make him stop, she thought, watching as Max pulled 'Lumpy' in for a noogie.

"My name is Lucy, we've talked about this-!" The tanned intern whined. Max just cackled.

The older redhead and the broad-shouldered man sighed. The family was usually like this, so they really shouldn't have been surprised. Soon enough, Max let the poor intern go and they retreated behind the large man.

"Sam, your husband's dumbassery has left me unable to remember why we're here." Lucy huffed. "Care to remind me?"

This prompted a playful groan from Sam, adjusting his hat again as he rolled his eyes. He was smiling, though, so they all knew it was fine.

The eldest redhead, however, remembered their goal, so she tuned out the conversation and lost herself in her thoughts. Questions, scenarios, she let her mind wander.

Maybe this new world really was the break they needed. Maybe their inns would be a success, and they'd live comfortably here.

The goal, after all, was to create a chain of inns run solely by the five of them for adventurers who needed a rest. These inns would be right where they were needed most, with only the best service for each traveler that entered them. Ace and her sister already had some decent training in the service industry, courtesy mostly of Lucy, so they'd be able to handle housekeeping and waiter duties quite well. Sam and Max would handle the reception desks, and it would all be free of charge.

The woman smiled at the thought. Her family was so cooperative... at least on their good days. She loved them all so much.

"Ai... Aiko!"

Sam's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He was staring at her in concern as Lucy and Ace chased Max around.

"Are you alright, sweetpea?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. What did Dad do-?"

Sam shrugged, which made Aiko snort a bit. It seemed they had also found the inn they were gonna use too, an abandoned three-story building with boarded-up windows and a whole lot of dust.

"... This is quite the fixer-upper, ain't it, Papa?" Aiko frowned. "I mean, it'll do, but it will also take a while to fix."

"We have all the time in the world, kiddo." Sam replied with a smile. "And an overexcited rabbit man who has been given more height than he's used to. We'll be done before you know it."

Aiko laughed. Yeah, she supposed he was right. And they were done within two or three weeks of work, surprisingly.

As she set her head on the pillow that she had used so many times before, but now in a bed for once, Aiko couldn't help but be excited. With a new inn and a new world at her fingertips, so many things were bound to happen. 

She couldn't wait to see where it went.

And somewhere else, not too far away, two pendants sparkled in unison with a staff's gem, as if anticipating her arrival.

Chapter Text

"Aiko, I need you to do a grocery run for me, okay?"

"What?! Why me?! Where's Ace? Or Dad?!"

"Lucy and your sister went out a few hours ago to refill the water jugs, and do you really want Max running around Greenhorne Town?"

"Touché... I'll be back."

Aiko groaned as she thought back to why she was even here. Trudging along, her legs searing with pain as she followed the path absentmindedly. Stupid Lucy, stupid Ace, stupid Dad...

She had to admit, though- the air was refreshing, and the view was beautiful. The sun felt lovely on her skin, and the breeze almost nulled the pain in her legs. She had to question why they didn't teleport the Inn closer to the town though.

She saw a few butterflies here and there, as well as some lovely flowers too. A larger butterfly caught her eye, though, and she stopped to watch it.

It was a cute shade of pink, with intricate designs on its wings that seemed to shimmer as it fluttered around. Its movements were almost hypnotizing...

.... Wait, what's that?

Aiko's gaze was taken suddenly by a pair of... eyes? Yeah, those were someone's eyes. Off of their body. She didn't know why, but the deep blue eyes flew closer to the butterfly she had just been watching.

And suddenly, they were attached to the creature. One eye on either wing, and it seemed to affect it. It became hostile, it growled- somehow- at Aiko. She didn't want to know how it would hurt her.

She turned, ignoring the pain in her legs, and ran. She didn't even scream, she just ran.

She ran as long as she could, until the town of Greenhorne was in sight. She pushed herself harder, and was greeted by two people as she finally lost her footing.

One of them, a boy with red hair, caught her. The strange marking under his right eye stood out to her, though she couldn't quite name what it was. 

"Hey!" The boy spoke, worry lining his features. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"Let me see her, dear." An older woman with orange-tipped hair took hold of her next. "Oh my, you've run quite the ways to get here, haven't you?"

"M-monster..!" Aiko tried to heave through her lack of breath. "Someone's eyes..! On a butterfly..!"

"A monster? Come on, don't be silly!" The boy laughed out slightly. "Greenhorne's way too peaceful for that!"

"Giovanni, come now, she's very clearly distressed. Here, eat up." The older woman scolded the boy, before offering Aiko a cookie from her satchel. "This will help you regain your energy."

As Aiko ate, Giovanni sighed. "Yeah, yeah, sorry, Alya... Seriously though, what's your name, lady? I've seen you around, I think. You're one of the Innkeepers' daughters, right?"

"Yeah, I am." Aiko confirmed, swallowing the bite she'd taken. "You probably saw my sister, Acerola, actually. She's usually the one who comes by for errands..."

"Acerola, you say..." Alya hummed in thought. "That must make you Aiko, then! She's told me about you."

All Aiko could do was nod as she finished the cookie. "Oh, that... actually worked. I feel so much better, thank you!" She smiled to Alya.

"Any time, dearie! Be sure to smile more, okay? And do take a look around! The town loves Acerola." The elderly woman smiled right back. "I'm sure they'll love you all the same."

"I'll do that!" The innkeeper's daughter decided, nodding as she headed further into the town.

She met a lot of lovely people. A lovey-dovey couple named Damien and Cherry, a sarcastic man named Kira, and a mother and her son...

She soon stumbled upon a man with deep blue hair. Everything about the man screamed the features of a very worried and overworked mayor. She tapped his shoulder, and put her hands up as he jumped.

"O-oh my-!"

"Ah- hey- I'm not here to hurt you!" She laughed nervously, watching the man adjust his hat.

"No, no, silly me... I'm very jumpy, my apologies." He cleared his throat. "I am Ronnie, the mayor of this town. And you are...?"

"Aiko. Eldest daughter of Sam and Max, the Innkeepers." 

"Lovely to meet you. You'll have to pardon my nerves... You've spoken to all of our townsfolk, correct?"

Aiko felt herself sweat a little. She only spoke to who was on the street... Her nerves must've shown on her face, because Ronnie laughed.

"I'm joking, madame! I know talking to every resident of Greenhorne is nigh-impossible in one day." He assured, a large grin on his face.

"Phew... that's good." She laughed along. "Papa Sam sent me on an errand run. But, uh, why are you so jumpy-? Is there anything I can do-?"

Ronnie's smile dropped. "It's nothing a traveler such as you needs to worry yourself with, I assure you. It's just-"

"AHAHAHAHAAAA! ATTENTION, PEOPLE OF GREENHORNE!"

Aiko's eyes widened as the sky darkened. The atmosphere suddenly shifted, gloomy in tone and almost as if excess static hung in the air.

"Ronnie, what's happening?!" She demanded, turning to the mayor- only to find him now shaking in his boots.

"O-oh no... oh no, oh heavens no, it's-!!"

Ronnie merely pointed, unable to finish his warning. Aiko followed his gaze, and was greeted with a massive being dressed mostly in purple.

It had wild, unruly hair, and long claw-like fingers. It seemed to have no arms, and its red eyes had no visible pupils, merely black lines through them. Did it also have a tooth gap...? Well, deduct one intimidation point, she supposed.

"I am the Dark Lord, Darkrai!" It spoke, grinning with malicious intent. "I've come to wreak havoc and terror upon this miserable world, and I'm starting with YOU!"

Aiko gripped her satchel, narrowing her eyes at the Dark Lord. Could anyone in this town fight...? She supposed she'd have to do it.

"It's time for your first taste of true fear... SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR FACES!"

For a moment, Aiko was stunned at the threat. Their faces? How would it do that? But then she remembered- the eyes on that butterfly. So that was Darkrai's doing...?

It certainly made sense as she heard exclamations of shock. Her eyes flicked about to all the townsfolk she had met, and suddenly several of them were missing faces. She counted each one.

Alya, Giovanni, Cherry, Kira... and the little boy, too. 

Enraged, Aiko turned back to Darkrai. The being merely cackled, letting the stolen faces levitate around it. They looked frightened.

"Hmph... that'll do nicely for now." It huffed, eyes flicking over its collection. "Now listen up, you faceless freaks!"

Each faceless body turned its head to look at the Dark Lord.

"I hope you enjoy your lives of wordless terror, because that's all you've got now! And for those of you who have been spared..."

Ronnie flinched under Darkrai's gaze.

"Take a long look at your poor little friends. Consider yourselves lucky... and DESPAIR."

Laughing almost maniacally, Darkrai spared the poor town no more words and teleported away. The faces taken went with it.

Aiko exhaled heavily, watching Ronnie spiral into a panicked thought.

"Oh no... oh no, oh no, oh no..."

Try as she might to talk to him, she couldn't get him to listen. So, she rounded up the faceless bodies and set them safely together. They huddled up securely.

She crossed her arms and frowned at them, wondering what to do.

What would Papa do right now..? She thought, heart breaking at the sight of the poor little boy clinging onto the faceless granny beside him. That's it!

"Miss Traveler, please..!" Aiko's thoughts were interrupted by a voice. She turned, and was greeted by the boy's mother- a woman named Lila.

"Ah- Lila, I'm so sorry this happened.." Aiko tried to console her, but was suddenly gripped by both shoulders. "What-"

"Please help my little Matt!" Lila was in tears. "None of us left are any good at combat, and- and we don't know where the faces are! Please, you've got to help! Please free my baby boy!"

Staring into Lila's pleading eyes, she suddenly imagined what it would be like if Sam were the one begging. Acerola's, or even her own face, gone. Her usually-stoic tank of a father crying, as he was always emotional about his daughters' safety, as he begged a random stranger for help. Maybe even to save Max as well.

She placed her hands over Lila's. "I'll do what I can. I promise, I won't let this go on. I'll get them back and stop the Dark Lord at whatever the cost."

Lila's face brightened. "Oh, thank you..! Here, I have just the thing..!" 

She dug through her pockets and pressed a charm into Aiko's hands. It was a blue gem with the golden engraving of a closed eye, and it could be worn as a necklace.

"This is an heirloom from my family. It's a good luck and protection charm. It should help you.." Lila explained.

"Thank you. I promise, I won't return until I've saved everyone in town." The redhead swore, nodding as she put the heirloom around her own neck.

The remaining townsfolk waved her off as she ran out of town, following a gut feeling. They called well-wishes and good luck after her.

None noticed how the heirloom seemed to sparkle as she ran.

It seems fate has smiled upon Miitopia today... hasn't it, Senketsu?

Chapter Text

Aiko raced around Easin Hills, eyes darting across the fields and bushes frantically. Where was that stupid Darkrai..?! It had to be around here somewhere.

Wait, it can teleport. Fuck, Aiko realised. It could be anywhere by now. I'll never find it like this.

As she slowly started to resign to failure, she caught a voice on the wind. It was a familiar one, distorted ominously. The exact voice she was searching for.

There was Darkrai. Sure enough, the Dark Lord was mumbling to itself- almost as if waiting for someone. It seemed almost unaware of her presence 

"He's not willing to fight... How can I fix that...?"

"Ahem! Dark Lord Darkrai!"

The Dark Lord flinched, and flung an energy ball at Aiko that she just barely managed to duck under. "JESUS CHRIST-"

"OH-"

As both hero and villain heaved for breath after the sudden scare, Darkrai's eyes scanned every inch of the woman in front of it. It saw her red hair that faded to pink, in a low ponytail. It saw her almost kaleidoscopic green eyes. Its face twisted into an expression of what seemed to be disdain as it examined her features. It saw the satchel she clasped to her chest, it saw the light blue of her clothes.

It saw the amulet.

Its red eyes widened as it saw the gold-encased amulet, its blue gem with the closed eye sparkling almost tauntingly in the light. Its face twisted further into disdain, as if it heard a voice that went unheard by Aiko.

"Why do you have that?" It almost growled, its voice low and filled with rage. "Who are you?! Why do you have that... that THING?!"

It didn't take much to figure out that Darkrai did, in fact, mean the amulet that Lila had given her. Aiko put one hand over it, and noted how Darkrai seemed to relax ever so slightly when the gem was out of sight.

"I am Aiko, and I demand that you give back the faces you stole!" She stated calmly, a tone of determination lacing her words. "If not, I'll have some choice words for you!"

It took a moment for the Dark Lord to respond, as if processing her words. It summoned the faces it had stolen from Greenhorne Town. "Oh, you want.. these?" It asked. Aiko nodded. "Well, they're on the weaker side of the faces I've taken.... I'll give you one back for now. Just to play nice."

"... Really? Just like that?" It was that easy?

No. Nothing's ever that easy.

"You'll have to earn it. How good are you in a fight?"

The question stunned Aiko for a moment, and she could only watch as Darkrai summoned a silver slime monster. The faces around it swirled, and one fused to the monster- Matt's.

Darkrai seemed content. "That'll do.The weakest of the bunch. I'll see you around, Aiko... if you survive."

Before Aiko could process it or even object, Darkrai was gone. Her gaze turned back to the slime, which lunged at her in an instant-

Suddenly, she was elsewhere.

"What the-" She gasped. "Where's-?"

"Hello, my dear girl." A voice spoke out, though Aiko couldn't see the source. "Are you unharmed?"

"Who's there?!" Aiko asked, eyes darting around. The amulet was no longer around her neck, and was instead levitating a few feet away from her.

"Please don't be afraid. I am here to help." The voice assured. "My name is Andromeda. I am a... guardian spirit, of sorts. I have been dormant inside this amulet for years now, waiting for someone to wake me up."

"And- so I- you woke up for me?" Aiko stammered slightly, a little dazed. "Why?"

"Indeed I did. You set out to free the faces that Ce- Darkrai stole, correct?" 

Aiko did nothing but nod. Andromeda made a pleased noise.

"That is why! I have been waiting for someone to rise up and rebel against the Dark Lord's reign. And at last, you have arrived!" Andromeda sounded so happy to have a hero to travel with. "Of course, as you are now, you'll do not a thing to its monsters. But I can assist with that!"

Aiko blinked, and suddenly there were six glowing symbols before her. A sword, a staff, a wand, a dagger, a frying pan, and a microphone. She held her hand over each one, and Andromeda described each.

"The Warrior wields powerful swords, and is skilled at both attack and defense."

Aiko shook her head. She wasn't the best at sword combat.

"The Cleric is the go-to support role.They tend to the party's wounds with divine magic."

Too supportey for her liking.

"The Thief. Swift as the wind, with a repertoire of skills designed to confound enemies."

The hell was a repertoire?

"The Pop Star inspires the party with boundless energy and the magic of song. You can choose a masculine or feminine style."

Singing wasn't Aiko's favorite thing, really.

"The Chef cooks up cures and stirs up trouble in equal parts with a trusty frying pan."

Felt too home-makeish for her.

"The Mage deals stupendous damage, blasting away enemies with magical might."

Now that one... she could do. She took the wand sigil from its spot, and she felt herself obtain a new plethora of locked-away abilities. She now wore a robe tied at the waist, and a large-brimmed hat that slightly slipped over her eyes. She nudged it back into place.

"A Mage? How wonderful! This is just the thing you need, my dear!" Andromeda encouraged. "Now go- save the young boy!"

She was back in the hills now. It was as if time had frozen in her absence, as she dodged the Slime's attack and struck it in return. 

It managed to hit her afterwards, though, and she stumbled backwards. She hissed in pain, and readied her wand for another blow. It connected soundly once again, and she was struck in return.

One more, she told herself. And one more, she landed. The slime collapsed and disintegrated, and Matt's face flew free. Aiko sighed in relief, smiling as it went back home.

With not much else to do, she followed close behind with a silent vow to save the others as well. A vow to herself, to the victims, and to their loved ones.

A vow to Andromeda, as well.