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Chapter Text

"How much father...I'm tired of walking in the dark..." Whined a Snifit. She, along with a Toad, an Angel, and...Well actually she didn't know what exactly Nyx was but it probably wasn't a human, were exploring a long-forgotten cave near the remains of what was once Peach's castle. The cave had once been blocked off to prevent anyone from accidentally falling in. But due to the destruction of the castle and it now having a flesh pit in its place, no one was around to notice the group digging and discovering the cave.

The cave itself was dark, with a river flowing through it. Occasionally, she could make out columns or walls made of brick, telling her that this cave clearly had a purpose at one point. The only light source was the one from her angel companion's halo and his staff.

Said companion, Blanc, was shaking like a leaf, terrified of the dark "C-c-can we leave? I-I doubt it's here!" The angel stammered. His all-white attire: suit jacket, pants, and sneakers, made him stand out in the black and brown cave. Normally, he had his wings spread and headphones on, but his wings were pulled tight to his body and his headphones rested around his neck. One of his hands was clutching his cross necklace, the other holding his staff, a white bar with a yellow orb on both ends. The one on the top was larger, with small white wings on the side. It was giving off a slight glow, albeit it was shakey due to his own hands.

"It's here!" Nyx barked, starling a faint cry out of Blanc "We just need to keep looking. Nyx was their leader and the whole reason they were here in the first place. They needed people to help with their scheme.

"O-o-okay..." Blanc said, pushing some of his blond hair out of his eyes. Sakura rolled her eyes from under her mask. Honestly, she didn't know why Blanc joined, to begin with. He had the bravery of a wet paper bag. He's lucky he was a damn good technical genius, otherwise, she knew Nyx would've kicked him to the curb.

Not her though. As a former troop of Bowser, she had experience on the battlefield. She was promoted to a Snifit for good reason. She loved weapons, explosive ones being her favorite. So when her old boss turned from a fierce villain to essentially a joke, she was out of there!

It turned out to be the best decision she ever made. For one, she wasn't bound by her former boss' strict dress code, and that was shown in her appearance. While she kept the standard snifit look: poncho, shoes, mask, and belt, she had made her own changes to make it uniquely hers. The poncho was pink, with a white lace trim on the edge. Her shows were white with small pink bows on the front. Her belt was a dark pink ribbon, tied into a large bow on her back. Her mask still could fire bullets, or whatever else she wanted, but she had added eyelashes to the eyeholes, a light pink blush and straps attaching it to her head were white.

The other thing her quitting had given her was the freedom to do whatever the hell she wanted instead of getting some stupid princess in her opinion. She mostly spent her time blowing shit up and generally causing chaos.

So when Nyx had told her about their plans of world domination, she was in.

"We've passed that waterfall 4 times already. We've been going in circles. This is wasting time at this point." Chloro deadpanned.

"It's here I know it! We just need to find the entrance..." Nyx said, looking around the cave. The toad just rolled his eyes.

"I was under the impression this job was going to be dangerous and worth my time. Instead, I've wasted time I could've spent on a better job. You have 5 minutes. If nothing happens I'm leaving and taking the money with me." Sakura knew he was serious.

Chloro was a mercenary for hire. He'd do anything if you pay him enough. You wouldn't think such an unassuming Toad would be such a great fighter but you would be mistaken. He had a slash going down his face to prove it. His(hat??? Afro??? Honestly who knew) was dark green with brown spots. On top of it was a smaller ball, almost like a bun. He was wearing a dark green vest like most toads but his was long-sleeved and had both metal shoulder and wrist guards, turned darker, scratched, and dinged from both use and age. His pants were a similar green and his shoes were dark brown. He had on a brown belt that held a leather pouch on the left and three vials of some green liquid. His katana was still in his holster, kept on his back via a brown strap across his chest.

"Agh shut up! I can't focus with you all bitching!" Nyx threw their hands in the air, opening their tatter cloak and letting Sakura get a peak at his armor. It was nothing like she had ever seen: dark grey with black accents all over their body. Nyx ran a hand through their black hair in exasperation, careful not to reveal their covered left eye. Ever since she had seen them, she was curious what was under it. It must've been different from their normal green eye, otherwise, why was it covered?

"We would be finding it faster if you idiots actually helped instead of standing around uselessly!" Nyx yelled, pointing a tanned clawed hand at them accusatory. While it startled Blanc, making his yellow eyes widen in fear, it had no effect on Chloro, his teal eyes still dead looking as ever, or Sakura.

Nyx turned back around, grumbling and kicking a rock at their feet.

Tink!

That's not the sound rock makes against rock. And everyone else comes to the same realization, slowly turning to look at where the rock went. Blanc moved his staff, illuminating.....

A brick wall. Or was it?

Nyx ran a clawed hand around the wall, looking for something.

"What are doing?" Blanc asked, head tilted in confusion.

"Looking for a button-Found it." Nyx pressed down a brick, and from behind them, they heard the sounds of something sliding and suddenly being bombarded with light.

Blanc turned his staff off, it shrinking o the size of a pencil, and slipping it into his right shirt pocket since they could see now.

The group carefully stepped forward into the newly revealed chamber. The floor and walls were black with several grey tablets in the room. The light was coming from lava that had pooled in the room, leaking from somewhere in the back wall.

And in the middle was the thing they were looking for: a giant blue crystal with a crack in the center.

"Well what do you know. It was here." Chloro was the first to speak.

"These tablets...They talk about something called the god box...." Blanc said. He had flown up to one of the tablets, translating it for the others. Sakura was a bit taken aback he understood, but it made things easier I guess? Blanc flew to another tablet, wings flapping behind him as he read. He pushed his glasses back up his nose, revealing the smattering of freckles he had on his cheeks "This crystal, the nightmare stone, is linked to it. It has the ability to do unspeakable evil...." Blanc trailed off. Sakura isn't sure if the tablet didn't go into detail or if he didn't want to.

"Yeah, but the damn thing is cracked. So how useful is it gonna be actually?" Chloro said, He had walked over to inspect the crystal.

"Yes, unfortunately that happen quite a long time ago." Nyx said, trailing behind Chloro "But don't be fooled. It still has power. Although with the destruction of the God Box, it's limited."

"So it's still useless. Great, spent all this effort to get a shiny paperweight." Chloro deadpanned.

Nyx chuckled darkly, placing their hand on the crystal "Oh don't be so quick to judge my dear mushroom murder. This is only the first step of my plan. The God Box may be destroyed, but a conduct of its power still remains. All we have to do is find it and nothing can stand in our way."

"Easier said than done," Chloro mumbled. Nyx took out a tome from somewhere before flipping to a page. They began to chant in some language, the tome starting to float out of his arms as they continued to chant as characters of some ancient language began floating around them.

Sakura was transfixed at the sight. She was aware Nyx wasn't human; the clawed hands and pointed ears made that very clear, but this? This was otherworldly.

As soon as they finished, the crystal disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the tome floated back into Nyx's outstretched hands. They closed the tome, putting it back wherever it was.

"Where'd it go?!" Blanc asked

"Teleported it back to base. How else would we get it back?" Nyx said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world "And as for your comment Chloro, while it maybe be more difficult than getting the stone back, I have a plan." They began to walk out of the chamber, everyone following them.

"And that is?" Another dark chuckle

"We won't be the only ones looking for the conduct. Why go through the effort when we can just simply swoop in and take it for ourselves?"

"And how will we prevent them from getting it first smartass."

"Like I said, the crystal has some uses. We'll be able to watch them from it."

"Hmm. This may actually work." Chloro's expression hadn't changed but he had a pleased tone in his voice.

"Although....that's not its only use..." Nyx smirked, showing their pointed shark-like teeth "Before then....why not have some fun?"

Sakura smirked from under her mask.

This was going to be fun.

Elsewhere, the four were unaware that their actions were under careful watch.

On the edge of Bloopersville, was a closed circular fortune teller tent, purple in color with sliver moons and stars all over its surface and interior.

And inside, on the purple and silver trunk with a black tablecloth over it that is used as a table, sat a glowing crystal ball. In the reflection of its polished surface, there was the image of the four villains now making their way out of the cave.

"Hmm...It seems the hands of fate won't let that power be put to rest..." A black yukata sleeve with pale yellow stitching placed on the side of the ball "But I'm not the only one who doesn't want to see this play out." The image in the ball changed, now showing the remains of an abandoned, but not empty, fairgrounds. In the middle of it all stood the construction of something grand.

"Although the Meme guardians aren't aware of the full extent of its power, I know they don't wish to see the God Box's power resurface. Not after what it's done." The sleeved hand waved over the image, the ball now no longer showing anything.

"Hmph." They knew eventually this would happen. Why wouldn't they? The Overseer, as he's been called pondered these events and the future ones they've seen. Their dark purple cloak that covered his body was the same color as their tent but their own cloak was covered in tiny gold stars with some connected to each other with gold dashes, connected into different constellations. Although their face was covered in shadow, three things on it were visible. The first being his tiara: three strings of pale yellow beads with an opal in the center of their forehead. The other was their veil, which covered the area where their nose and mouth would be however no one had ever seen them.  It was light purple and although the veil moved as they did, it was never enough to reveal what was under it. The final thing that was visible on their lack of face was their eyes. Or rather, the glowing green orbs that were their eyes.

Said orbs turned into a curved line as they 'closed their eyes', lost in thought.

"They will come for me soon. The question is, will they listen to what I have the say..."

"Only time will tell." The ball's glow abruptly faded, plunging the tent into complete darkness.

Chapter Text

"Now guys, I need to head into the mall to pick up my mail at my P.O. box. You guys can stay in the RV while I go grab it" Four said, focusing on the road.

"Okayyy....then why was I asked to be here?" Meggy asked, leaning back in her seat "You said this was of the utmost importance."

"It is. I need you to watch Mario and make sure he behaves and doesn't do anything to get us banned from the mall."

"Hey!" Mario yelled "I would never! I can behave!" The Italian crossed his arms, and turning his head away.

"Mario...You once beat up Ronald McDonald for not serving spaghetti at the food court. The only reason you weren't banned was cause you were wearing a mask." Four deadpanned. Meggy facepalmed. She hadn't heard about this but she isn't surprised.

"Well he should've had spaghetti!"

Four sighed. He rested his head against the wheel for a moment before once again focusing on driving "Mario, please. This is not only the closest Mall but it has a post office. Until the castle is built it's the only place I can get my mail forwarded to. So please, don't mess this up for me."

"Who still mail? We have emails, it's much faster!"

"You're just saying that 'cause you can't read." Meggy snorted at Mario's offended expression.

"I can read!"

"Half of your emails are gibberish. You're lucky I've known you long enough to translate." Mario just humphed, still pouting.

Four just rolled his eyes fondly "We're here guys." Four said, driving into the parking lot. He switched the RV off after pulling into a spot.

"Hey Four, you mind if I go check out Dick's? I want to see if they have anything I could use for training." Meggy asked, getting out of her seat

"Yeah that's fine. Just take Mario with you and come back to the RV when you guys are done okay?"

"I don't need someone to watch me!" Mario complained.

"Calm down Mario." Meggy said, giving his head a reassuring pat "If you help me we can get spaghetti after okay?" At those words, Mario brightened up.

"Well then let's go!" Mario grabbed Meggy's arm before proceeding to backward long-jump straight into the mall right towards Dick's. Four could only facepalm.

"I should've left him at home." Four sighed, walking into the mall and pretending the knocked-over people weren't from his idiot of an avatar.

He walked into the post office, quickly heading into the back where the P.O. boxes were. Ever since the castle had been destroyed, he had shelled out for one of these boxes so he could get the stuff he (and Mario whenever he used his Amazon account) ordered. He quickly sought out box 34, and typed in his passcode (572011)

He wasn't expecting anything but noticed several envelopes in the locker. He took them out, looking them over "Let's see...my car's extending warranty...spam...more spam...Huh?" His hands paused over an envelope that had his name written on the front very fancy calligraphy. He flipped it over and holding it closed was a wax seal from a very, very familiar insignia. One from his past.

"Meme School?" Four was more confused than anything. He had graduated nearly twelve years ago. Why would they be sending him a letter, or not even an email. Clearly whatever this was for, it was important.

It's that thought in mind that had him speedwalking back to the RV he called home. He tossed the rest of his mail on a heap on the counter before sitting at the couch. He popped open the wax seal and opened the envelope, carefully pulling the letter out of it, and began to read the neatly written cursive.

𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓢𝓾𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓸 𝓖𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱𝔂 𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻,

𝓘 𝓪𝓶 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓪 𝓼𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾. 𝓚𝓲𝓻𝓲𝓴𝓸𝓾 𝓯𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 𝓱𝓪𝓼 𝓭𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓪 𝓫𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓯𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓵 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓼𝓽𝓾𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼. 𝓘𝓽'𝓼 𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓾𝓼 𝔀𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓷𝔂. 𝓗𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻, 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷.

𝓐𝓼 𝓘'𝓶 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓯𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂'𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓼𝓽, 𝓝𝓲𝓴𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓲 𝓚𝓲𝓻𝓲𝓴𝓸𝓾, 𝔀𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓷𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓵𝔂 𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓰𝓸. 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹𝓼 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓶𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓻𝔂. 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓪 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓻 𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝓱𝓪𝓭 𝓼𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓰𝓸. 𝓣𝓱𝓾𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓷𝔂 𝓲𝓼 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓪 𝓶𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓪 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓭𝓾𝓪𝓵 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓰𝓸𝓽 𝓪 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮.

𝓐𝓵𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝔀𝓮'𝓻𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓿𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓼 𝓭𝓾𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓾𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓪𝓼 𝓪 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮𝓻, 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓵𝓾𝓶𝓷𝓲, 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷. 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓝𝓲𝓴𝓸 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼, 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓭𝓾𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓸𝓽𝓱 𝓸𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓸𝓹 𝓼𝓽𝓾𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼. 𝓘 𝓯𝓲𝓰𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓯 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓱𝓸𝓷𝓸𝓻 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓶𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓻𝔂, 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾.

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓷𝔂 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓭𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓮 17𝓽𝓱 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓪𝓽 10 𝓪𝓶. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝓪𝔂 𝓫𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓹𝓵𝓾𝓼 𝓸𝓷𝓮, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓫𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓫𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓪 𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓼𝔂 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽. 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷 𝓪𝓭𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮

𝓕𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓜𝓮𝓲𝓻𝓷𝓪 𝓜𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓪
𝓜𝓮𝓶𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓲𝓹𝓪𝓵
𝓣𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓽𝓾𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓜𝓮𝓶𝓮

"Nikolai...That's a name I haven't heard in a long time..." Four said, voice thoughtful. Niko was a classmate of Four back in meme school. As the letter said, both of them were top students and friends...Well they were.

Niko's disappearance is still a complete mystery. He just suddenly disappeared from off-campus one day. No evidence has ever been found. Four has been interviewed in regards to it, but he wasn't much help. At first, he thought that Niko would eventually be found but after a few months he eventually faced the facts: Niko was most likely dead. The government already did, since after 7 years a missing person is legally considered dead and it had been 12.

Four isn't surprised his family did this. The Kirikou family were very wealthy; although their home location is neighboring Beanbean Kingdom, their company, dealing insurance, had locations pretty much everywhere. When Nikolai had first gone missing they had several TV segments, pleading for their son to be home. Four vaguely remembers similar segments over the years, not willing to give up. However, they stopped about 5 years ago, around the time Niko was declared legally dead. And now, they're doing all this.

Four had already made up his mind. He was going to the ceremony. However, he wasn't exactly sure if he was going to take anyone with him. The letter did say he could but who? Definitely not Mario, he couldn't sit still for 5 minutes and would most likely cause a problem or five.  But who? The only people who really knew Nikolai were Four and Three-

Three! He had almost forgotten about him! Three was also a student and a lot closer to Nikolai. If anyone should come it's him. Plus, Four enjoyed spending time with him. In general, a win-win!

With that thought in mind, he unlocked his phone and dialed Three's number.

"What you want?" Three asked as soon as the call went through. To most people, it would sound insincere but Four knew better.

"Hello to you too. Just wanted to ask you about something."

"Well? What is it?"

"You see, I got this letter in the mail. It's from Meme School."

"Oh." Three's voice held no sense of surprise like Four expected there to be.

"They're having this ceremony. It's about scholarships. And-"

"It's also a memorial for Nikolai." Three finished "I got one too."

"Oh! Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean you also were a student and you're a popular streamer and you knew Niko So do you wanna go-"

"I'm not going."

".....What?" 

"I'm. Not. Going." Out of all things he expected, Four didn't expect Three to say no. Especially not in such an irritated tone.

"W-why? Wasn't Nikolai your best friend?"

"It's exactly that reason why I'm not going. I know what this is about. It's not about Niko at all. It's just to make his family look better."

"Aren't you being a bit negative-" Three cut him off.

"I know how those people are. They don't give a shit about Niko and they never have. This is a pr stunt to make themselves look like they did. But I know the truth." Three said, voice wavering from anger. Four didn't know what to say. He didn't expect this. He always thought Niko had a good relationship with his family, he always had the latest tech and got an allowance. Then again, Niko never really talked about them, so he couldn't know if Three's words held water or not. But he seemed truly pissed at this, which made Four lean towards that he may be telling the truth. 

Obvious to Four's plight, Three contained "It's because Nikolai was-" He paused before contained "Is, my best friend that I'm not going. I won't dishonor his memory by going to this sham of a memorial. You can go, I don't care whether or not you do. But I won't. I refuse." Four was silent. He didn't know what to say "I have to go. Goodbye." Three hung up, the line going dead. Four didn't move, just glanced at the opened letter on the table.

"Should I go?" He thought. On one hand, he did wanna honor Niko. But on the other...with what Three said, it wasn't really about him. And although Three had said he didn't care what he choose, Four had a feeling that wasn't the case.

"Hey Four! We're back! And I got spaghetti!" Mario said, kicking open the door to the RV. He was holding a takeout box above his head, almost reverently.

"Hey Four-Is...is something wrong?" Meggy asked, setting her shopping bag on the counter next to Four's spam mail.

"Huh? Oh...yeah I'm fine...Just...Lost in thought." Four looked up, giving her a small smile, but Meggy just frowned.

"Ooo fancy, what's this?" Mario asked, swiping the letter off the table.

"Hey! Give me that!" Mario kept one hand on Four's chest to keep him away and the other holding the letter. Mario looked at the letter 

"Oh right....I can't read." Mario said, eyes going cross-eyed. Four facepalmed, dragging a hand down his face.

"Gimme that," Meggy said, snatching the piece of paper out of Mario's hand. Her eyes moved as she skimmed through the paper

"Hmmm....A memorial....Who's Nikolai?" Meggy asked, looking up from the letter

"He's...an old friend. Went missing nearly a decade ago. They're giving out scholarships in his honor. They want me there 'cause I'm an esteemed alumni."

"How come you never told Mario about this guy?" Mario asked, still cross-eyed.

"I never really talked about him because it's kind of a bad memory for me. He was my friend you know and he just....disappeared. Like with no trace. Not even a body or anything. Still years later it's a complete mystery."

"He sounds like he was a good friend. I'm guessing you're going?" Meggy asked. Four winced

"Actually...I'm not sure." Four said, heading to the driver's seat so they could get going.

"Huh? But he was your friend?" Meggy was confused, and so was Mario but he's kinda always confused.

"Well according to Three his family is just doing this to look good. They don't really care. So it's making me question whether or not it's a good idea or not."

"No offense to him, but Three's not the best judge of character." Meggy deadpanned, taking a seat and buckling up.

"Actually, he and Niko were really close back in meme school. They were best friends."

"Really? But wasn't that back when...."

"When Three was a huge bitch." Mario finished. 

"Yeah. What he said." Meggy said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, kind of. But despite that the two were really close. I always thought Niko was close to his family but apparently, Three knew that couldn't be further from the truth. I don't know if I believe that but he doesn't have a reason to lie, so I don't know what to do."

"In my opinion, I think you should go. It'll give you a chance to say goodbye. Even if the motives behind this memorial aren't genuine, yours are. That doesn't change." Meggy said, wistfully. although it was in her nature to try and help out, Four knew this advice was more feelings based than anything.

"Yeah! If this Nina guy was your friend, you should be able to say goodbye! Who cares about everyone else!" Mario said, trying to be supportive.

"It's Niko...and thanks, guy. I needed that. I think I'm going to go after all. At least to say goodbye."

"Sounds good Four. Tell us how it is after-Augh Mario! Careful before you get sauce on me or the RV!" Four let out a chuckle, hearing the sounds of slurping from behind him. They were right. He would, just to say goodbye.

It was the least Niko deserved after what he had tried to do for him.

'I wonder what would've happened if I had listened...' Was Four's last thought before it turned to rage as he heard the sounds of spaghetti hitting a window.

Chapter Text

For about the 10th time, Four looked at himself using his phone's front-facing camera, smoothing out his hair.  It was a bit pointless seeing as he was keeping his hat, but he really wanted to look his best. He had swapped out his normal outfit for a light blue dress shirt, white dress pants, and a pair of black loafers. He could've left out his hat but it's iconic! Sure, this wasn't about him but he still was a guest of honor! He can at least look good AND make his presence known.

With a shaky sigh, he headed toward the back of the school. Even after so long, the school was the same. Same brick buildings. Same cobblestone paths. Same brick fences with steel poles. Meme School was one of the best times of his life. Why wouldn't it be? Not only was he a top student, but he was also popular. But looking back...he may have been a bit of a jerk, especially to Three...

'Wait....Three?' Leaning up against the opening to the courtyard was Three. He was wearing a dark purple dress shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a black trench jacket. He hadn't noticed Four, scrolling through his phone.

Four was completely taken aback. He hadn't expected Three to come at all. Not after what he had said and honestly? Four couldn't blame him at all for not wanting to show up.

But this was a pleasant surprise "I thought you weren't coming." Four said, coming to stand next to Three. 

"Yeah well...I changed my mind." Three said, putting away his phone. He crossed his arms, letting out a sigh. "Like you said, Nikolai was my friend. Just because I know this is a sham doesn't mean everyone else does. He deserves to have his memory honored. And even though I hate being a pawn in this public relations scheme...I still want to say goodbye." He looked down, expression somber.

"Hey, don't worry." Four gave his arm a reassuring squeeze "I came to a similar conclusion. I think you made the right call. Don't worry. I'm right here with you." He gave Three a smile.

"Yeah, thanks man. I needed that." Three said, smiling back "Come on. I'm ready to go in now." Four nodded, following him into the courtyard.

The courtyard was huge, about 3 acres of land. There were fences on the left and right but on the back was a forest that acted as a natural fence. The front area was paved while the back was just grass and left alone unless students were playing soccer or some other field game. Usually, there would be picnic tables, but all of that had been cleared away. On the paved area were hundreds of white folding chairs, all in neat rows. On the left side, the side opposite of the entrance were three tables, completely covered in individual white tablecloths. A variety of snacks were laid out on them. And at the front of it all was a folding stage. Four remember it was also used in their graduation ceremony. It was black with a fabric trim that hid the supports. Normally there would be steps and a ramp on both sides, but for today it was just on the right side as there was no real reason to put it all up. On that side, there were 6 chairs, all of which had someone sitting in them. In the middle, was a white podium with a mic. And on the left...

"Whoa...." There was Nikolai, or rather, a picture of him. There stood a white easel that had a picture of his old friend. Followers of all different kinds filled the area below the picture and weaved all around the legs of the seal. Next to it was another easel a wreath of white lilies and roses. It had a ribbon wrapped around it which was tied into a bow on the back. On the front, written in gold-lettered cursive was 'In memory of' It was extravagant, and to most it would be sincere. But to Four it looked...

"Off."

"Yeah. I thought so too." Four flushed. He hadn't realized he had said that out loud.  "I think it's because of the picture." Now that he mentioned it, the photo did look wrong. 

It was Niko in his meme school uniform. His jacket was also worn correctly. Niko hardly ever wore it like that, osten saying it made him feel trapped. So to see it all buttoned up just felt wrong. His normally curly brown hair had been straightened. Not just brushed, straightened. The beauty mark he had over his lip was also gone, definitely hidden on purpose.  Normally Niko had at least several accessories on. From his always-growing collection of hair accessories that changed each day, to having a pair of colorful (and even sometimes mismatched) socks, to the occasional jewelry he wore and the three pins he always had on his shirt collar (A rainbow infinity, a Pokeball and an invincibility star). All those things had been stripped away. His normally bright silver eyes were more like a dull grey. And although he was smiling, it was a small and almost somber smile. In all, the picture looked nothing like the boy he knew.

"Looks almost nothing like him, right?" Four nodded "Yeah. They care way too much about appearances. They expected him to act and look how they wanted him to. All professional and most of all obedient. The one good thing about not caring about him during meme school was that at least he could be himself." Three huffed. Four was silent. He didn't know what to say.

"Hey, look." Three motioned to the two seats closest to the middle on the left. Four could make out a sign that said 'Reserved' "Those are our seats. Come on." Three took the other by the hand, dragging him along. Four couldn't help but flush. Sure they've held hands before but that was during training. Three took the left seat and Four took the right.

Three made a face "Look at them." Four looked up from his phone and to where Three was pointing. He was pointing at the people who were sitting on the stage. The first one he recognized: the dark-skinned woman with a black wavy pixie cut in a navy blue pantsuit and black heels was Meirna Metta, their former principal. Next to her was a very well-dressed man in a black suit, red tie, and black loafers with black short hair. A long-haired blond woman wearing a very red fancy dress and heels, his wife if Four had to guess, was next to him. They were having a heated conversation about something. Finally, there were a group of people on their phones. The first one was another man with a short black mullet with a similar outfit to the first, but his tie was blue and he had his jacket unbuttoned. The next man had brown hair or similar length to Four's own, and was in a fancy green dress shirt with kaikki,s a leather belt with matching loafers. The last one was a woman with blond hair that had started to fade from the roots in a fancy pink blouse, pink dress skirt, and a pair of shiny white-heeled sandals. These 5 clearly had money and wanted to show it.

"That's his family. His parents and then his siblings." Four's face widened in surprise. Niko was about 16, but his siblings looked much older than him and Three.

"He was an accident." Three said, answering the question written on Four's face "They didn't plan on having him but they did. That's why he's so much younger than his siblings. They....told him that once."

"Oh...." Four didn't know what to say to that. Three wasn't kidding when he said that his family didn't care it seems...

The two sat in silence until the ceremony began. Meirna was the first to start off, walking up to the podium "Good morning students both former and upcoming. Today is a great day to not only celebrate wonderful new students but also to celebrate one student who never truly got a chance to grow. Thanks to the generosity of the Kirikou family for donating and helping enrich these students' lives. I shall now hand it over to Rika Kirikou to say a few words." Applause before the woman in the fancy dress came up to the mic.

"Thank you for those lovely words, Miss Metta. But this day isn't about us, it's about these lovely students of yours. My son was so happy when he got in, I can remember the joy on his face when he got his acceptance letter. Oh...I wish I could've seen how happy he would've been when he got his diploma..." She sniffed, whipping away her tears. Three made a disgusted face, not buying it. Four didn't say anything. "But let's not be sad. Today is a day of joy."

Four's not sure how long it's been. Each person in the family had prepared a speech. Honestly, it was starting to be boring for Four. Not only was some of the info wrong, but he's willing to be his entire youtube channel that they still think minion memes are top-tier humor. They were more about themselves rather than their lost son/brother.

It was during the second brother's third target that Four glanced at Three and was caught off guard by what he saw. Three was looking down at the floor, expression dejected, almost regretful. He saw a few tears.

"Hey...you okay?" He whispered.

"Yeah, I just....miss him you know." Three's voice was meek and shakey. The last time he talked like this was back in the castle..."Niko was the first person who was there for me. Despite everything I did, and I was a really shitty friend at times, he still wanted to be my friend. No matter how much I tried to push him away, he didn't give up. He was my best friend....and I took him for granted. I didn't even realize what I had until....he was gone."

Three looked so forlorn and it broke Four's heart. He was really torn up over this. In an attempt to try and comfort his guardian partner, he took his hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Three didn't do anything but didn't make a move to try and get Four to let go. Four wasn't sure what to do. He had an idea but...'Should I?' What he wanted to do was definitely way too close for just friendship but Three looked so upset.

"You know...I made a promise to him back in meme school. That no matter what, I wouldn't let my anger turn me into a villain. It was one of the few times he got serious with me. I...fuck." Three sniffed, whipping away his stray tears "I...think about that a lot. It didn't even take me a year to break that promise. It was the one thing he asked of me and I couldn't even do it. What kind of friend does that?" and at that, Four made up his mind

He scooted his chair closer to Three, laying his head on the other's shoulder. Four could feel his cheeks heating up but pushed that aside. Three looked at him surprised, also flushed.

"You looked like you needed some comfort." Four whispered. Three's expression turned from surprise to a small smile. 

"Thank you. I did need this." Three still looked upset, but not as much. He let Four rest his head there, still holding his hand. 

Four isn't sure how long they were sitting there, finding comfort in the other's presence before Three broke the silence "You know back then...he would try and convince me to drop the feud with you."

"Really?" Four was only half surprised to hear that.

"Yeah. Said it was dumb and mostly me being jealous. I told him he was way off base, but I think he knew I was full of shit. He always managed to see through me..."

"He tried that with me too." Three's eyes widen, turning his head to look down at Four

"Really?"

"Yeah. Told me I should apologize for always one-upping you. I always said no when he asked, that I didn't have anything to apologize for but he said he knew that if I did it would fix things....I wish I would've listened..." Four trailed off. It was always that one lingering thought he had. What would happen if he had taken Nikolai's advice? Would he and Three never have been at each other's throats? Would they have gotten along even before finding out they were meme guardians? Would they have become friends sooner?

"Yeah...me too." Seems Three had a similar line of thinking. The silence between them was heavy and Four said the first thing he thought of in a desperate attempt to get rid of the sour mood hanging in the air 

"Do you think he's still alive?" Three's breath hitched and Four realized he fucked up. However, Three responded before he could take it back.

"I'd like to think he is. But being realistic? It's pretty unlikely after so long."

"Yeah...your probably right."

"Even if he was, I doubt he would ever want to see me again. Not after what I've done..."

"Hey..." Four scooted his chair even closer until the two were touching "You know how Niko was. He always saw the good people. I know he would forgive you." He gave Three a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, your probably right." Three returned it, letting out a shakey sigh "You know, I'd do anything to find out what happened to him. He doesn't even have to be alive. I just...."

"Want to know the truth?"

"Yeah. But I doubt I ever will. I mean no evidence was ever found even after so long. You'd think they would find something."

"Yeah, but crazier things have happened. Who knows. Maybe one day it won't be a mystery anymore.

"Yeah...maybe one day." The two watched the rest of the ceremony in silence, but this time at least the atmosphere wasn't stifling. Tomorrow, they'll never talk about how close they were. But right now?

It was exactly what they needed.

Chapter Text

Four smiled, briskly walking. After the bittersweet day he had yesterday (although he got to essentially cuddle Three which was nice) he was excited to hang out with his old friends. He's had this hang-out set up for days. He's excited to see FM and X again.

Speaking of the latter, he slowly begins to come into view. Or at least the back of his head. Although, Fm is nowhere to be found.

"Hey X! Good to see you!" Four said, leaning over the bench. X is momentarily startled before his expression turns to normal

"Oh, hey Four." One thing Four hadn't expected from him and Three having to change from being recolors of Mario, was the fact that ALL recolors would also change as well. He still can remember the panicked phone call he had gotten from the two asking him, and he quotes "What the fuck happened and why do we look different?!" That was a fun thing to explain.

However, most people had gotten used to their new appearances. X's tan skin and dark brown hair were still the same but his hair had become so curly he didn't bother wearing his hat anymore. His eyes were no longer blue but rather brown. His mustache is smaller, almost shaped like an X. He kept the green overalls and brown shoes but had watched his teal shirt for a similar color polo. His gloves were black with a teal X on the back of the hand. The legs of his overalls were rolled up, showing off a pair of yellow socks with white polka dots, a gift from FM. It matched Cube, his pet penguin's shirt. He was basically their son. Now that he noticed, the penguin was sitting in X's lap, fast asleep.

"Where's FM? I thought we were gonna catch up?" Four asked, confused by the other's disappearance.

"Got held up with work. Said he would be coming later." X said, letting out a noncommittal hum, letting Four know that X was used to this happening. Dating a cop has its problems and emergency call-ups and having to stay late to work on cases is one. Honestly, Four is partly responsible for like 60% of his workload. He should probably apologize for that...

"Okay. Well ready to go?"

"Yep. Come on Cube." Cube let out a small quack, hopping off the bench.

The two walked off, talking about what's been happing with them. Four told X about the castle destruction but it turns out he already learned that from FM. At least neither of them knew he was the one behind it. He'd rather keep that to himself. He told him about his plans to build a new castle and X told him he should probably make sure to get permits for it so Hal won't get on their case. That got a chuckle out of Four. The conversation continued like that, the two occasionally letting out a laugh.

Honestly, Four missed this. Just hanging out with his old friend, checking out the shops and just spending time together. It was nice.

It was outside a party store that X's phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, checking who it was.

"Oh, It's Fm. I'm gonna take this, can you watch Cube for me?"

"Yeah of course!" X nodded, walking to the side of the store to get some privacy. Four just stood outside the store, hands in his pockets. It was rather remote, near the outskirts. The owner must really want their privacy. Nothing wrong with that.

'Wow, X is talking awhile.' Four thought, humming a tune. He looked down to check on Cube who was peacefully sitting by his feet. When he looked up something caught his eye.

He didn't know how he didn't notice it before, but there was a circular fortune teller tent, purple in color with sliver moons and stars all over it set up. In front of it was a giant line. He watched as some exited the tent, their expression shaken before the next person in line went inside.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Fm isn't gonna be joining us today." X said, sighing "His boss needs all hands on deck. Apparently, the current situation is getting worse and he wants it solved." Four could tell from his tone of voice he wasn't happy, but he wasn't looking at him.

"Hey, you know what is with the tent?" Four said, pointing at the huge line.

"Oh that? I'm surprised you've never heard of them. That's The Overseer."

"The...Overseer? What's their deal?"

"They're a fortune teller. Super mysterious." X placed a hand on Four's shoulder "No one has seen what they look like because they are always covered by their cloak and their face is covered in shadow except somehow their veil, tiara, and eyes although I've heard they're more like glowing green dots that pierce into your soul. Recently they've been traveling from place to place to offer their services. They never stay in a place longer than 3 days. Supposedly, they can see the future."

"What? See the future? What a load of crap. No one can see the future. Anyone who says they can is just a liar or a straight-up con artist."

"Four...." X's expression was one of exasperation "You...do remember I can technically see the future....right? You know...my omen sight? The thing I used to use to sense when something dangerous is going to happen?"

"Oh...oh right!" Four flushed, embarrassed. X had a strange power where occasionally he could sense when something bad was going to happen. But it was unpredictable and he couldn't control when or what he saw. "I didn't forget!" He did. Honestly, it's been so long since he's seen him have a vision that he completely forgot that was something his friend could do "But that's different. You're not full of shit. This dude is."

"Yeah well...so far They've never been wrong. Every prediction he's made has come true."

"What!? That can't be true. They have to have been wrong at least once...right?"

X shrugged "Don't know what to tell you. It's the truth. Although...some people say that they've seen everything that has or will happen. That they know every little detail about someone, including their dirty little secrets. That they know everything about this universe, even some things about other universes. That's why they're called The Overseer. Because they've overseen everything."

"Okay...but why if you have the power to see the future, waste it like this?"

X shrugged again "Money maybe. Although from what I've heard, the cost varies depending on what you ask of them. If the request is pure or genuine, it's usually a dollar or even less. But if it's a selfish request, then it's more expensive. Plus, there are some things they won't do. They won't reveal other's personal secrets unless it's something major."

"So they have morals...." Four stared at the tent, watching people go in and out. He didn't know what to make of it. Someone who could see the future? Could that really be true? Sure, X could but he couldn't control them. His visions just...happened. But this person could not only control their own powers, they were using them as a commodity to be bought and sold. Sure they seem to have good intentions, wanting to help others, but they were still charging for it "Hey, what do you think of this? I mean, you can also see the future. What do you think of them?"

"Honestly...I'm a bit jealous." X sighed, flushing slightly as if almost embarrassed to admit that "I don't have control over my powers like they do. Sometimes I can't even tell if I'm having a dream or it's a vision. It's...a bit discouraging actually."

"Maybe you should ask them for advice. Sure, they'll probably charge you but maybe they could help you out." Four said, trying to cheer up his upset friend.

"Yeah, I've thought about it. FM suggested it to me when we first heard about them. And when they set up right in our neighborhood...Well, I'm on the fence about it. But at least I still have a day to decide." X tugged Four's sleeve "Come on, we should get going. Come on Cube." X gently nudged the penguin Four hadn't even noticed fallen asleep while they were talking. When he didn't wake up X bent down to pick him up and carry him.

"So, what was the situation that's holding your boyfriend up?"

"Oh you haven't heard? Wow, you're more out of the loop than I thought."

"Hey! I've been busy trying to build a castle and make videos! I don't have time to watch the news."

X just rolled his eyes in amusement "Recently out of nowhere, people have been falling into comas. There's no rhyme or reason for any of it. They just.... fall asleep and don't wake up. No one knows how or why it's happening.

"Maybe it's poison? Like it's a bio-attack or something." Four added, trying to help offer a possible solution. X just shook his head no.

"First thing they've checked. No poison. There's no common thread between the victims and the illness affects people randomly no matter their gender, age, or species. They haven't found a cure either."

"Wow...That's insane. What's wrong with them?"

"They don't know. Right now all of them are at Mushroom kingdom hospital in a special wing while they study them to try and help them somehow. And....." X paused, eyes looking around to see if anyone was by them. Once he confirmed that they were alone he continued in a much quieter voice "Don't tell anyone I told you this. This info is private but I'm telling you because maybe you could make sense of it, but their brain activity is...weird."

"Weird? Weird how?" Four was now very interested. He and X have seen and been through a lot of weird shit so whatever this was it was something.

"According to the top neurologist, their brainwaves are comparable to ones from sorrow and pain. These people are being tormented by...something in their minds. Whatever is doing this, this isn't some disease or virus that exists. This is something completely otherworldly. Do you have an idea what it could be?"

Four thought long and hard before responding "....No. Sorry, I can't think of a single thing that could cause this."

"It's okay. It's not your fault." X sighed, frowning "FM is trying to convince them to look at things from a more supernatural angle rather than the usual methods."

"Makes sense. We've been through enough supernatural crap for us to automatically go that route...or at least I do."

"Yeah. To tell you the truth, that's part of the reason he wanted to invite you out today. Sorry man." X said wincing "He was hopeful you could help find some kind of evidence. So far, no one is taking him seriously. Hal is at least on his side but still wants to be through. I think it's stupid. FM says it's a pride thing but I think they're stupid. They're wasting time they could be using to actually help these victims and their families but won't bother looking because 'it doesn't make sense'" X said the last part with air quotes, careful to not drop Cube "Like anything does in this place. I used to live with a mentally unstable mushroom person who spent the money he didn't use on rent to buy crack and turned into a goddamn mermaid. Literally, none of that made sense, but it happened! Sometimes I wish it didn't because my god, he was insane, but it did!"

"Why did you even let Ben live with you in the first place?"

"I put a roommate application on Craigslist." Four made a face that looked like he ate a lemon. X also looked like he regretted his life "Yeah I know, it was really stupid but at least he paid his rent on time. Plus I don't live with him anymore.

"Yep. Just with Fm"

"And our son," X responded, refusing to Cube who was still asleep.

They continued their outing, saying goodbye when it was over, promising to do this again with Fm next time.

Four went home, having many questions, but no answers.

At least....for now.

Chapter Text

Living in an RV had its perks. Your home is basically on wheels so you can go pretty much anywhere with a road and be perfectly fine. Combined with his portable hotspot, he could work any time. Sure, it could be a bit bigger but Four didn't really give a damn about that. The one thing he had issues with the size was the fact he could hear if someone was banging the hell out of his door. 

Like right now.

Four sat up, grumbling. checking his phone its....7:38 in the morning. Whoever this is they better have a damn good reason for waking his ass up other wise he's going to commit either murder, arson, or both. He got up, stretched, and walked to the door, his steps a bit too loud due to his basically slamming his feet out of anger.

"I'm coming I'm coming. What the fuck is so important-Ah! Smg1 and 2! What's up?" When Four slamed opened the door, he was treated with his meme guardian seniors. It was then and only then that he realized he still was in pjs: a shirt with way a couple is mystery stains and his Pepe boxers. Not a good look. And the fact both of them looked tense, their postures both rigid. Bad sign.

"Listen...Four." One started, arms crossed "We have something really important to discuss with both you and Three. Can you get him over here?"

"Yeah of course! Er...Give me a moment to get dressed please?" Four said, stretching the back of his head. The two nodded, and Four shut the door. He scrambled to put on his clothes, tripping and falling while trying to put on his overalls. He sent a quick text to Three, telling him to get his ass over here quickly. It's a matter of great meme importance. That should hopefully get his ass in gear.

Once he had made himself semi-presentable, he opened the door, motioning for the One and Two to go in.

"Is Three coming?" Two asked, moving aside some of the stuff Four had piled on the counter so he could sit there.

"I sent him a text telling him to get over here. He should be." Speak of the devil, in walks Three, clearly half asleep.

"I'm here...what is going on and why couldn't it wait till morning?" Three asked groggily.

"Shut the door. We need to talk. Privately." Three, now a bit more awake at the seriousness in One's voice, shuts the door behind him "Take a seat. Three shares a look with Four, the two sitting on the couch across from Two was sitting and One was standing.

"So...what's this about?" Three was the first to break the silence. One and Two shared a look before turning back to Three and Four.

"I'm just gonna rip off the bandaid...The God Box is back." One stated

"WHAT?!" Three and Four yelled at the same time, standing up.

"How?! That's impossible!" Four yelled. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Not after everything that damn box caused.

"We saw it get destroyed two years ago!" Three exclaimed, "There's no way!"

"I know, I know. But that's what happened. Two do you have it?" One motioned to his partner, who pulled out a strange-looking device. It looked like a scanner with a screen attached to it. It was a mishmash of random parts put together.

"When we hid the pods after defeating Smg0-Niles." Two corrected himself  "The first time, we went about trying to create something to seek out its corruption and other anomalies caused by its power. Although it was finicky...It worked."

"Wait, if you had this why didn't you use it before?"

"Because we were under the impression he was done with and no longer had a need for it. However...that wasn't the case." One said, slightly ashamed "Moving on...a few days ago we got a strange reading. It went off for a moment. It was faint, but it went off. Meaning somehow, somewhere, the God Box or something with its power is out there."

"Are you sure? It could be false reading?" Four nodded. It seemed more likely than the alternative. Plus he rather believe this than the other option...

"Impossible. We made this out of parts from the Gaurdain pods and it's powered by the same meme energy. It can't be wrong."

"So that means..." Four looked down. 'It's back...But wait...' "Wait, what do you mean by a moment?"

"It was brief...but it went off but hasn't again. We came here with you because we need your help investigating this anomaly, so we wanted to check out the location where it went off. If there is even a chance it could be the god box, we have to go after it. It must be stopped before it can balloon out of control. Are you ready?"

Three and Four looked at each other before nodding, expressions determined.

"Let's do this."

"Please don't tell me it's down in the eldritch goo pit." Four said, all his determination bleeding out as soon as they stepped through the portal. He was really hopeful he would never see this place again because every time he did, nothing but guilt filled him.

"No. But it's nearby. Look for a hole. It's underground somewhere." One said, looking at the scanner's screen. Two took a glance, before pointing 

"This way!" He ran ahead "Guys over here! I found a hole!" The trio quickly ran over to where Two was standing. Sure enough, there was a random hole in the dirt. 

"What the...." Three peered down the hole, trying to see...well anything. But he couldn't see anything but pure darkness "The hell is this?"

"Could it be a result of the castle collapsing?" Four asked, also looking down the hole.

"Unlikely. It's too far away and disconnected from everything. Plus look at this." Two gestured to an area of dirt with strange, almost slash marks in the soil "This looks like shovel marks. Someone purposely dug this hole."

"I wonder why." Three said "So what now. Do we jump in or..."

"Don't think we have a choice." Four gulped "On Three. One...Two...Three!"

Good news, the hole wasn't as deep as they thought.

Bad news, Four somehow managed to land on his face "Ow...." Three sighed, pulling Four to his feet.

"Well, this isn't what I expected at all." Two said, holding up a flashlight so they could see. 

"Is...that a river?" Three asked, noticing the water flowing from somewhere. 

"This must be a cavern of some kind." One said. The scanner's scream was thankfully backlit so he could see it without the flashlight. He pointed to a direction " This way. The group walked in that direction, being careful to not step in the water.

"it looks like something was built here." Two committed, noting that there were columns and some of the cavern's walls were made of brick  "Can't imagine what though."

"Four can you stop squeezing my hand so hard?" Three asked. He hadn't let go after helping Four up.

"No." Four said, voice slightly shakey

"Nothing is going to jump out and scare us." Three deadpanned

"You don't know that!" Four exclaimed, trying to hide behind Three who just rolled his eyes. Despite acting annoyed, he didn't make a move to stop him.

"Strange..." One said, looking at the wall in front of them and then back to the screen

"What's wrong?" Two asked.

"It says it is this way. But there's a wall in the way."

"There's probably a button or switch somewhere." Three said  "It could be anything. It'll probably take us a while to-"

"Found it!" Two pointed his flashlight to a very obvious button that stuck out like a sore thumb.

"...Or it can be like that. Sure. Why the fuck not." Three said in exasperation, throwing the hand that wasn't holding Four's in the air. Two pushed the button and sure enough, the wall slid upwards, revealing a hidden chamber.

"Interesting..." One said, walking into the chamber. It's a lot brighter thanks to the lava that's pooled onto the floor. 

"I think...I think I've been here before." Four said, looking around the hidden chamber. When he first looked around the cavern, he had an inkling that he may have been here before. That feeling only intensified when they discovered this place.

"Yeah...This place feels familiar to me too. I can't remember when..."Three added, searching his mind to try and figure out when he was her and maybe even why.

"Uh...It's on the tip of my tongue...." Four shook his head "Nope. I got nothing."

"Yeah, I can't remember either. It probably happened a long time ago. Probably related to some plot I had to get revenge on you." Three shrugged. Four was a bit taken aback by how nonchalant he was about it.

"It would be nice if you remember. Maybe then we could figure out what was supposed to be here." One was bending down, inspecting an indention in the middle of the chamber.

"Well whatever it was, it seems this place was made to protect or even hide whatever it was." Three said, walking up behind him.

"It's safe to say whatever it was gave off the strange reading. However, some things don't make sense." One said, standing up "If we assume the reading was when...whatever was here was uncovered, why isn't it giving off a reading anymore?"

"Maybe it's being hidden somehow?"

"Unlikely. But if that's the case...Whoever is behind this has to know enough about the God Box to know we would be looking for it. They're not going to go down without a fight." Two said, tone serious.

"Do....Do you think it could be Niles?" Four asked. The two senior guardians didn't respond.

"I...don't know. I thought he died along with Zero when the god box was destroyed, but now that it's back, we can't deny the possibility." One said. It looked like it took a lot to say it out loud. Considering what Niles not only did to their dimension and others, it's understandable.

"But what are they trying to accomplish? So far they haven't caused the kind of shit you'd expect from that damn thing. If anything, it's been quiet. Too quiet." Three crossed his arms and Four tried to pretend he wasn't upset he had let go of his hand "And how the hell are we going to find them if they're hiding their location."

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I don't think we have the capabilities to upgrade this scanner" One held it up "This thing is already a mess of scrap we managed to put together from spare Guardian Pod parts and it shows. Machines aren't our specialty...."

"What about Professor E. Gadd!" Four exclaimed "I bet he could help us! With his help, we'll have a halfway decent scanner! Err....no offense."

"One taken." Two said, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah but how long will that take? We need to find the source of the reading now. This God Box anomaly, whatever it is, is too dangerous to be left alone. We have to purge it as soon as possible."

"Well One, how the hell do you suppose we do that?" Two asked, annoyed with his partner "We don't even know what the hell we're looking for. How are we supposed to purge it if we can't even identify what we need!? It's not like anyone who knows what it is would tell us!"

"I know, I know okay?!" The two began arguing while Three and Four watched in slight amazement.

"....Wow. Didn't expect that." Three said. Four just nodded. They should probably stop this, but Two was technically right. The only people who knew what the anomaly is would kill them before ever telling them about it."

'Wait....There might be someone who CAN tell us!' Sure, it's a long shot and Four is still slightly convinced they're full of shit...But it's the only chance they have right now. And even a step in the wrong direction will get them closer to finding this anomaly.

"Guys...." No response. One and Two still were arguing.

"I got this." Three walked over and grabbed One's sash in his right hand, and the back of Two's onesie in his left before lifting them up so they were dangling about a foot off the ground. It was a lot easier than he expected.

"Hey!" 

"What the-!" 

"Listen you too. Four has something." The two stopped trying to get out of Four's grip and turned their heads to look at Four "Well?

"I think I may know someone who can tell us about the anomaly."

Chapter Text

"You can't be serious. A fortune teller? You know this guy is probably full of shit right? What kind of name is The Overseer?" Three said, his arms crossed and expression annoyed. Four didn't explain himself, he just asked Three to make a portal to the outskirts of Blooperville. It took 40 minutes of standing in line for someone to actually ask what they were doing here and what precisely Four had them doing here.

"Yeah, I have to agree. This seems like a waste of time." One added. Two nodded, agreeing with the others

"I know, I know." Four said, exasperated "I know it's a long shot but according to X, this they can see the past, present, and future and has never had a wrong prediction. They even know about other universes."

"Listen I know X is your friend and all, but he's probably exaggerating. No one can always be right." Three said, raising an eyebrow. Four knew it was a long shot, but they had no choice.

"Who knows how long E Gadd would take to fix the scanner. It could take days, even weeks. We don't have that kind of time. Who knows what kind of damage the god box could do during that time." He could see Three shiver thinking about it "If there's a chance, even a small chance, that they could help us, we have to take it. We can't let what happened last time happen again."

Two and One shared a look. Four couldn't tell if it was them debating agreeing or just annoyance. Either way, it discouraged Four until Three spoke up.

"Well we've been standing here for so long and we're next. Might as well." One and Two nodded in agreement, making Four smile. He hadn't even realized their current place in line until Three had pointed it out.

One of the tent's opening flaps shifted, allowing an angry Toadette to walk out, cursing her boyfriend "How dare he go missing! He didn't even get the milk before leaving!

"I'm sorry, but sadly this is what the fates decided for him." A voice with a transcendent, almost ethereal quality cheerful voice spoke out. Despite it coming from inside the tent and level, the quartet could hear it clear as day "Next. Who here has come to seek knowledge that only I can provide? Oh, a popular youtube as well as the most-watched streamer? Please, come in." Three pushed aside one of the opening flaps, revealing this so-called 'seer of the future'. A dark grey, almost black yukata-sleeved hand beckoned to them.

The quartet shared a look, stepping inside. In the middle of the tent, sitting on its black tarped floor was The Overseer. In front of them was something they couldn't make out that was being used as a table, but it has a black velvet tablecloth with a glowing opal crystal ball with a golden stand in the middle of it. Shreowed in a dark purple cloak with golden stars and moons on it, the few things visible on their body were their beaded tiara, a purple veil that covered the lower half of their face, and glowing green orbs reminiscent of eyes. 

Said eyes were squinted, giving them appear happy. Their sleeved hands raised in a friendly gesture "Let me answer your questions." 

Once Three let go of the flap and it went back in its place, all the outside noise cut out, plunging the room into silence. The Overseer's eyes returned to their normal oval shape, lowering their hands. 

"I know why you're here. So I'll cut the theatrics." Devoid of any of the earlier cheer, a sleeved hand pushed their crystal ball to the side, resting their folded hands in its former place. Their hands wappered pitch black, the same color as their face "So let us cut to the chase."

"You....you know why we're here?" Two asked, a bit taken aback by the sudden change in attitude. They all were.

"Yes. I am." They said, tilting their hand to the left, eyes changing to appear as if they were closed "You're here to find out about the god box anomaly." They said as if they didn't just drop a bomb on the meme guardians. However, they weren't done "Specifically, you're worried it could be Niles, the true being behind eldritch SMG0, and all that it has done."

"How do you know about that?!" One asked frantically "How?!" 

"Calm yourself." The Overseer said, eyes normal with their hands raised in front of them "I know lots of things. Like how even if it was Niles, he wouldn't be the same as he was before."

"How can you be so sure? The guy was insane." Three spat. Four couldn't help but agree. 

"Not insane, corrupted. Despite what you may believe, Niles was a person with a noble goal of trying to recreate a universe for him, Zero, and Fred. He just went too far in trying to accomplish that as a result of the knowledge the god box had given to him. I'm not saying that what he did was wrong because it is. He still killed countless people and caused unbound destruction across multiple universes. That doesn't change, regardless of his motives for doing so. However...in the end, Zero was able to free him from its corruption and the two willingly passed on. So even if he did come back by some miracle, he wouldn't be the psychopath he was before." They clarified, looking at where their fingernails would be, almost as if they weren't taking any of this seriously. But their tone of voice made it clear they were.

"How...How do you know all this?" Four asked, completely blown away. It sounded like crazy talk. Like they were just spouting complete bullshit. But at the same time, he couldn't doubt anything they were saying. Their tone and attitude made it clear that they had total confidence in their words. You don't have that unless you're right or a professional liar. And considering they know the difference between Niles and Zero and The God Box...they're probably not talking out of their ass.

They giggled, eyes squinted again "That's only for me to know right now. One day, you'll learn the truth.

"So you know about other universes?" Two inquired, more curious if anything.

Their eyes changed, giving it a line at the top of each oval, making their expression look annoyed. Their elbow was still on the table, arm extended with their palm facing up "Sort of. I'm aware that they exist and the names of a few, but that is the extent of my knowledge. I don't know any intimate details if that's what you're after. The only universe I have extensive knowledge of is this one as it is my own."

"You really can see the future...Can you?" Four asked, almost mystified. Another chuckle.

"Yes, I can. And the past and present too. For example..." they pointed a sleeved hand at Four "When you go home, you will find your kitchen covered in batter from a failed baking attempt by your former inkling friend and your avatar."

"What?! Aw, come on!" Four yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation 'We just finished setting it up!' he thought.

 "Yeah this is cool and all" Three said, speaking up "But we're here to find out about the anomaly. Since you know about The God Box, you know why this is important."

The Overseer's expression turned to normal, folding their hands together again "Of course. I am well aware of the danger it has caused not only in this dimension but in countless others. I...." They paused, eyes downcast, upset, before turning to normal and continuing "I don't ever want to see anymore destruction or heartbreak as a result of it."  Their voice was stern, the most it has been this entire conversation.

"So you'll help us?" One asked. He and the rest of the group had perked up. They couldn't believe it. For once, they would get the jump on that stupid box. They would prevent it from doing any more damage.

Strangely however...The Overseer was completely silent. They just sat there, hands folded and arm's resting on the table.

"Your...Not going to tell us?" Two said, the smile on his face dropping.

"Well, you see...I would like to help you but-"

"But nothing!" One yelled, cutting them off "You just said you want to prevent the God Box from doing more damage! So why can't you just tell us where the anomaly is!?"

"Well if you could give me the chance to explain." They said, eyes back to looking annoyed "This anomaly you're looking for, is a person. And I refused to send 4 idiots after them when I know they will kill them."

"Why?!" Three asked, just as pissed as One "We're not going to kill the anomaly! We-"

"Are going to try and purge the energy out of The God Box out of them? Yeah, that's not going to fucking work." They said tone unamused with eyes to match. They were similar to his annoyed face but without the line on top "Here's the thing. You can't save them. The fact of the matter is when it comes to the God Box you have two choices." They held up two fingers "Accept it," They lowered a finger "Or death." They slammed their palm against their makeshift table.

"Your 'attempts'" They said with air quotes before placing their hands back on the table "to help them are just going to kill an innocent person who is just trying to move on after what has been done to them. And considering the people who are supposed to protect them are their greatest enemy right now, it's up to me to protect them."

"You need to tell us. Or else." One said, narrowing his eyes.

They chuckled, eyes looking almost amused "Or else what?"

"Or, we kill you," Three said, cracking his knuckles. Four was caught off guard by his choice of threat but it does work at least.

"Okay then. Do it." They said without hesitation.

"What." Three said, all his bluster leaving him.

 The Overseer leaned forward, right over their table "Kill me. Kill me right now. Do it. I'm waiting."

"Um...." Three trailed off. They didn't give him or any of them a chance to respond, leaning back and putting their hands behind their head as if resting it on them.

"See you can't bluff someone who knows you're full of shit. I can see the future. I know for a fact you guys aren't going to do shit."

"You don't know that!" Two said, still trying to act intimidating. It only got The Overseer to laugh again.

"It's pointless Meme guardians. You're the good guys remember? You won't kill anyone, much less me." With an arm, he gestured towards the front of the tent where they had entered from "Don't forget that there's a line of people outside waiting for me. Even if you did kill me, I doubt they would let you get away with it. So let's not promise things you can't go through with." The smirk on their face was obvious, even if they couldn't see it from under his veil.

"You're an asshole. You have to tell us." Four said through gritted teeth.

"See that's the fun part" They placed their palms where their chest would be, although it was mostly hidden by his cloak "I don't have to tell you shit. I'm under no obligation to say anything about this The only reason I am is because I do believe that you could help this person."

"Then tell us so we can." Two said

"Ha hah, that's funny. See I can't. At least, not right now.

"Why?!" One yelled, having reached his limit "Enough of your games! Just tell us where the anomaly is."

"See. This is exactly why I can't"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Four was confused, and from the looks of it he wasn't alone.

"What I mean is this: You can't teach those who don't want to listen.  You all think you know everything, but you're only scratching the surface of it all. There is so much more to this than you know, but I can't tell you if you won't listen to me. I know you won't belive me, so why should I bother? You won't listen to others who know better, and as a result, innocent people get hurt when they shouldn't have."

"No we!-" Two was cut off by them holding up their hand.

"Save it. It's happened before. You thought that Zero was the true force behind it all but that wasn't the case was it?" One and Two were faces slightly disturbed and Three and Four had similar looks. The Overseer contained despite this "In reality, he was just as much a victim in this as you, forced into Niles' schemes. And what happened? In the end, he had to sacrifice himself just for it all to end. So excuse me for acting this way, but you do have a track record of it.

".....This guy is full of shit." One said once he could actually bring himself to say something. He still looked bothered but was trying not to show it "They're lying. They don't know anything. We're wasting time here."

"Just because you don't want something to be true doesn't make it a lie~," They said in a sing-song voice, eyes filled with mirth. They were clearly enjoying this.

"Oh please. You're just a fraud. Not a single thing you've said has been true." Four said.

"Oh really? Nothing I've said is true? So are you saying Niles wasn't behind it all?" Four's expression changed from irritation to somber. he opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by The Overseer continuing "Exactly. Ask yourselves this: Why would I lie? Especially after everything I've said, why would I lie about this one thing? What would I gain from it? If anything it would ruin me. Don't forget, I'm known for always being right. A lie would ruin that and that's not good for business you know." They said, their tone turning snarky towards the end.

"We are leaving." One said through gritted teeth. Any energy he, or anyone else for that matter, had to argue or disproved them had faded. For now, they just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Aww...Okay, but can you do something for me?"

"What. What could you possibly want?" Three asked, exasperated.

"Next time you come here, bring me a pizza. Plain. I would ask for pineapple but I know your avatar-or rather that cardboard cutout, doesn't have that kind of pizza. It'll be your payment for both this session and that one" They asked, eyes amused

"Wha-We're not coming back!" Four said, more confused than anything.

The Overseer chuckled, before going back to being amused "You'll be back. I know you will." Their eyes glinted. The way they said it, it almost seemed like they were assured, that they were confident they would be back.

"We won't be back." Two said, finally finding his voice albiet it had an upset tone, still bothered by what they had said. Three opened the flap, now able to hear the noise outside again.

"Sure you will. Oh, by the way, the pizza payment only applies when you want to know about you know what. For more...personal issues, regular monetary payment will do~ Buh Bye now~" They said, waving their sleeved hand, their ethereal voice going back to the cheerful tone it had been before they had walked in. Three heard One scoff, as the trio walked out.

"Well, that was eventful. Right Three...Three?" Three was still holding onto the tent flap, lost in thought. Its dark purple color matched with him quite well, although the silver moons and stars on it clashed with his edgy attire. Three seemed to be hung up on their last sentence

"Three!" Four yelled, which snapped Three out of it. He had let go of the flap in surprise "Come on, let's go."

"Ah. Sorry." The group headed back towards the castle, ready to plan their next move.

Meanwhile, Three considered something that may finally give him the answers he's been seeking.

Chapter Text

Chloro tapped his fingers against the couch's armrest rhythmically. He's not sure how long he's been waiting here. Not that it really matters. He's getting paid either way so who gives a shit.

Speaking of his employer, He has no idea where the hell Nyx is. Or Blanc. Not that he really cares about the latter. He couldn't really get a reading on him. He was a pushover, and way too soft for this kind of work. Yet he's still around. Not only is he still around, he's Nyx's right-hand man. It's still a mystery but he doesn't get paid enough to question it or even care.

If he had to guess, it's probably to do with that crystal they brought back. According to what Nyx says about it, the power it contains is beyond mortal understanding. Unfortunately, with the source of its power gone, they have to find...other ways to power it. So far all they've really done is put people in everlasting nightmares, using their souls for something. Nyx didn't really tell him and once again, he doesn't get paid enough to care.

At least the place they're staying at is nice. Some mansion. It belonged to some Splatfest champion. One-Shot Ken, he recalls. Although he eventually lost it and then some rapper got it. Chloro doesn't really listen to music so he couldn't even begin to guess who it was. Either way, he eventually flopped and lost the mansion too. It eventually sat as abandoned, making it the perfect spot for them to hide out in. Even if some of the statues were weird and the paintings looked like someone pasted their face over it.

Chloro sighs, resting his mushroom afro on the cushion and closing his eyes. He was prepared to just relax when he was startled by the sound of gunfire. He ended up falling off the couch, landing on the mushroom ball he had on his afro before falling on his side due to its roundness making it impossible to rest on. He gave an annoyed sigh, dragging his hand down his face before sitting up. He didn't bother to get his sword which was sitting in its sheath next to him, he had a feeling he knew who was doing this anyways. He followed the sound, eventually standing in front of a room with a very pink and glittery 'Keep Out or Die' sign on the door. Only one person here would have that. Sure enough, he opens the door to find...

Sakura shooting. With a Glock, not even using her mask. At the ceiling. 

She noticed Chloro, giving the Toad a wave "Hi!" She said, before going right back at it. He should be surprised, but somehow he's not. Sakura is...an interesting person.

By that, she prefers to shoot first and ask questions never.

"The hell are you doing?"

"Shooting the ceiling. Duh." The Snifit answered as if it was the most normal thing in the entire world.

"Why?" He asked, more exasperated than anything.

"I don't like the way this rag fucker was staring at me. So I was trying to get rid of his stupid ass face." With her hand that wasn't holding one of her many guns, she gestures at the walls. Now that he's looking he's paying attention, the wallpaper which had peeling in places, is decorated with the image of what he assumes is probably that rapper. Although right now it's been torn in places, mainly in the area where his face would've been. In some places, she had either used the furniture or a crate of hers to block it off. 

"Okay....but why just shoot the ceiling rather than what you've been doing?"

"I'm short, duh. Couldn't reach it. And unlike the walls, I couldn't stand on anything. So I decided to do what I usually do with a problem!" She said cheerily

"Shoot it?" Chloro deadpanned

"You got it!" Although any expression she would've made is hidden by her mask, Cholor can tell she was smiling. She went back to shooting it in the face.

"Okay but what if you break something."

"Eh. This place is abandoned. Who cares."

Another sigh. As the oldest here at 28, although he didn't know how old exactly Nyx or Blanc was, Chloro felt like a babysitter at times. He walked over to the Snifit, putting a hand on her arm. She stopped shooting, and he lowered it.

"You can't just always go in guns blazing without thinking about consequences."

"Why not?" She asked genuinely "You're a assassin right? Isn't that...kind like your whole job?" 

"I'm a Mercenary," He corrected "And maybe, but at least I think out any of jobs to make sure I don't get caught. Didn't you say you worked for Bowser? Did you just do this kind of thing with Mario?"

"Bowser was a tool." She snarled, throwing her arms in the air, and walking over to one of her crates before opening and digging in it "He never really had us do anything. Why do you think Mario was always able to beat us? He never really took things seriously."

"And yet, you're...trigger happy."

"Yeah well, I got inspired. There was this shy guy, Awesome guy. He had built this giant mech. I thought it was so cool and it made me consider other ways to fight. Thus, weapons." She said, holding up a much more powerful rifle.

"Don't even think about it," Chloro said, already seeing where this was going.

"Aw come on! What else should I have done then? You're short. You should understand my pain." Chloro usually would've been annoyed at someone making a dig at his height, but he wasn't as he knew Sakura wasn't doing it to be insulting. "What would you've done then?"

"Got a ladder." He stated. He could feel the blank stare she was giving him. "Or ask for help." Now that got him a snort.

"Don't you work alone? Why would you ask for help?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"I work for the highest bidder. I need to make money somehow. Usually that leads to illegal things. I just do what I have to to survive. If that means getting help then I do." Sakura was quiet, a bit surprised at his answer before huffing, crossing her arms "Look kid-"

"I'm 16!"

"And I'm 28. You're still a kid. I get you wanna act tough and shit but you're not the only person here. And if you step on everyone's toes then you're gonna end up like that." he pointed to the ceiling, still full of bullet holes. It was a bit harsh, but it seem to have gotten through to her.

Sakura sighed "Fine. I'll stop."

"Good. Now come on kid. Let's find a ladder. I saw one back in the library." She nodded, following the Toad. He knew this wasn't the end of her shenanigans but it's not her fault. She never really had someone monitor her much before. And since Chloro doesn't have much else to do, he can be it for now.

It beats hanging out with Blanc and Nyx at least.

".....Nyx?" They let out sigh

"Yes Blanc?" They asked, turning to the angel. Ever since they have gotten back Nyx has been down in the basement with the crystal. He has it set up and hooked up to a machine. All it needs is the power source and soon, they'll be in control.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The angel shyly asked. He looked up from the monitor on the machine. He had been working on its code, double-checking everything "I mean...all of this...what we're doing...is this the right thing?"

"Of course, it is my dear friend." Nyx said, taking Blanc's hands in theirs "After everything, we no longer have to be afraid. What happened last time won't ever happen again."

"But remember what they said." Nyx's smile turned to a scowl at the mention of that person "They told us the only way to fix it is to let go and move on."

"That fool is a hypocrite," Nyx said, letting go of Blanc's hands. Blanc tilted his head, confused. Of course, he would be. Nyx continued "They want to keep the power of the God box hidden because they believe it shouldn't be messed with."

"But..." Blanc wrung his hands together "Aren't they right? I mean...we both know what it did. It's dangerous. Maybe we shouldn't be doing this."

"But that's exactly why we should! Think about it." They wrapped an arm around the other, careful of his wings "If we have the power of The God Box, we can prevent what happened to us from happening to anyone else! Isn't that a good thing?" They gestured with their other hand, trying to convince the other, although it wasn't working.

"But...What about all those people we put in a nightmare..." Blanc said, looking down at the floor "They didn't deserve that." he blinked away his tears "They were innocent. We should free them-"

"Blanc, Blanc. Listen to me." Clawed hands were gently placed on his shoulders, Blanc looking up to look his friend in the eyes.

"I know, but sometimes sacrifices are necessary. I've told you this."

"But-"

"Think about how many lives we're saving. Not just here, but in other worlds? Isn't that worth a few casualties?" Nyx hoped they would be able to sell that justification, but it didn't work. Blanc sniffled, a tear running down his face.

'Shit.' Nyx needed him on board. He's the only person he knows who can work with technology AND not blow their cover. Without his support, their plan falls apart.

'And...He might tell them about all this...Not as if they don't already know.' They weren't afraid of Blanc betraying them. Guy's a pushover. They could beat him easily on the off chance he does somehow work up enough nerve to try and fight him. But if he tells them about this...

They already know they're most likely aware. Even after all the time they and Blanc spent with them, Nyx is still unclear about who they are and their motives. Although they did try to help, Nyx knows they would never approve of any of this. Which made the silence on their end ever more confusing and worrying. What exactly were they waiting for? They can see the future after all. They must know how this will play out, so why?

Regardless of whatever they have planned, any interference from them right now would ruin everything. They don't have a single leg up against them. They could come in at any time and Nyx would essentially be a sitting duck. They need something, anything before they could even consider facing them.

All the more reason to keep Blanc on their side. Also, they were friends, he guesses.

"Look. Blanc." Nyx carefully used their thumb to wipe away his tears "Once we find the last remaining source of the God Box's power, we can free everyone we've trapped. After all, we won't need them anymore."

Another sniffle "Y-you promise?"

"I promise. Once we have it, I'll personally free everyone. Okay?"

"...Okay." Blanc said, whipping away their tears with their sleeve "I'll get back to checking the code. But after we should check up on Sakura and Chloro. They're probably wondering where we are.

"Ah. Yes, you're right." Honestly? Nyx completely forgot about them. They don't really care about them to be honest, mostly just an afterthought. To them, Sakura was a trigger-happy pest and Chloro a money-grubbing snake. But they need all the help and firepower they can get, cause Blanc sure as hell ain't.

Speaking of him, the angel has cheered up slightly, humming to some tune. He's always been very sensitive, so knowing that their victims will eventually be released has brought him some relief.

Of course, he doesn't know that the holder of the God Box's power happens to be a person. They've been keeping that private from all of their associates for two reasons. One is, of course, Blanc. He would never approve, much less if he found out they had a similar experience to them, he could certainly not let Nyx use them as a battery. The second reason is well...

They just straight up have no idea where they are. The crystal can't show anyone them unless they know their name or even an alias. And considering they didn't even know they existed until a few months ago, it's very unlikely anyone does. They sure as hell can't ask them. Although....they have an idea of who it may be.

They just have to wait to see if their theory holds true.

Chapter Text

"Who do they think they are?" One said. After having walked away from the line of people going to meet The Overseer, which had gotten longer while they had been talking to them, they were heading towards their next destination. "Who are they to judge us? They don't know anything."

"I dunno One. They seem pretty aware of everything." Two said, a look of surprise appearing on One's face. Four was pretty sure he was mirroring it "I mean...they know about Niles, Zero, and other universes. Normal people don't know that."

"They're an asshole Two. Plus they could be lying!" Four added.

Two nodded "I know that. But like they said, why would they lie? They're right, they have nothing to gain from doing so. Plus considering everything they've said...I don't think they're lying."

"Then how the hell do they know all that? Future sight doesn't explain the things they know. Sure, maybe they know about the God Box because of that but it doesn't explain other universes."

Two shrugs "Maybe we ask them."

One and Four imminently say no "Plus don't forget, they're still an asshole." Four adds and One nods, agreeing with him.

"I know. But being an asshole and being a villain isn't the same. I'm just saying, they seem to want to help. Maybe we should ask them to explain."

"Absolutely not. Who knows their motives? We can't let ourselves get manipulated like before. Unless we can all be 100% sure they don't have some type of ulterior motive, we should assume they're the enemy." One said. Two sighed but nodded, reluctantly agreeing

Four didn't really know what to say. On one hand, One is right. Sure, The Overseer is an asshole and definitely seems to have a problem with how they've dealt with things and aren't afraid to show it. They're keeping the anomaly hidden on purpose and enjoy toying with the mem guardians. But...

Two is right. They don't have a reason to lie and don't seem to be either. And from their attitude towards the past destruction, they clearly don't want the power of The God Box to ever cause any more mayhem. And from their attitude, they aren't afraid to share it. Heck, they want to. They just think they won't listen. Listen to what? What exactly don't they know? Sure, he and Three may not know a lot but One and Two have been doing this for over a decade. Maybe they don't know everything, but they know a lot.

"Hey Three...Three." Three still seems lost in thought "Three. Pay attention." Four taps his shoulder, and that causes him to snap out of it.

"Huh? Sorry. What were you guys talking about?"

"What do you think? Do you think The Overseer is trustworthy?"

Three paused, before shrugging "I don't know. Maybe. Part of me still thinks they're full of shit. But the other half thinks that maybe there's some truth to their words. Sure they're a dick and definitely were messing with us, but they know they shouldn't. Heck, they know things we didn't." 

"Look. We can discuss The Overseer later. Right now we need to ask E. Gadd to improve our scanner so we can find the anomaly. At least we go one thing out of this." One said. Three nodded, opening a portal.

"And that is?" Two asked, hopping through the portal

"That the anomaly exists." One said, stepping through,

'And apparently, it's a person.' Four's mind supplied 'A person who's supposedly suffered under the God Box like us...That is if we can believe them...'

"This has been a lovely date professor." A metallic voice said. The newest version of E. Gadd's love bot is sitting across from the professor. The two are sitting in the lab, having a romantic dinner. Red tablecloth, candles, and a vase of roses decorate the table. The robot has a can of oil on its plate while E Gadd has spaghetti. 

"Well Lovebot 2.0...Why don't we-" E. Gadd's attempt to try and flirt with the robot is ruined by the sounds of his laboratory door opening

"Hey Egad-" Egad screams, throwing everything away, hiding it in another room before acting like nothing was wrong

"Ah yes, Smg4 my boy, what is it?" He asks, leaning against his desk, trying to act as if he wasn't just trying to rizz a robot that he made. Again. 

"Well you see, we need your help with something. Here." One holds out the scanner, handing it to E. Gadd.

The professor inspects the gadget. "Hmm? What's this?" he adjusts his glasses "Who made this, Mario? It looks like shit."

"Thanks. We know." One deadpanned. Two scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed 

"Machines aren't our specialty..."He says before One continues

 "It's a scanner. It senses for remnants of the God Box's power."

"God Box?" He asks, not looking up.

"Right. He doesn't know." One says sighing "How can explain this...."

"I think I got it. E. Gadd, do you remember that eyeball that threatened you to build that Sherk cloning machine?"

"Ah, yes I do!" The professor looks up, troubled "It wanted to open up this giant  USB thing, and kidnapped you and Mario to do it. And if I remember correctly, that thing, whatever it released almost destroyed the kingdom! But why are you bringing this up?"

"Yeah, that thing it released? It was created and powered by this God Box." Three said, arms crossed. Egadd's expression turned to horror.

"But we destroyed it. Or at least...we thought we did." One said "About a week ago, something registered on it before it disappeared. Meaning something with its power is out there and we need to find it as soon as possible before it can do any damage."

"I see. Do you mind if I take a closer look at this scanner?"

"Go ahead." Two says. E. Gadd nods, heading to his work table. He takes out his toolbox. The meme guardians follow, standing around the table.

"I understand the danger, trust me. I'd rather not almost get murdered by an eyeball of all things..." He says, beginning to take the scanner apart "But is it possible it's a false reading? I wouldn't be surprised if this thing someone how gave one."

"Impossible." One says, shaking his head "We made this from spare parts from our Guaurdain Pods and it's powered by meme energy" Egad looks up, confused.

"They're the same as that USB, except these don't have evil in them. Same power as well." Four clarifies. E. Gadd nods, focusing back on what he was doing.

"We also got confirmation that it isn't." Two adds, One's expression gaining a hint of annoyance.

"How?"

"Well...." Two trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence apparently.

"The Overseer told us. Said it exists and that it's a person. They know what it is but won't tell us. Says it's to protect them." Three finishes Two's thought.

"That is if they can be believed...." One said under his breath.

"Oh The Overseer? Why didn't you say so?! If he said so then it must be true!"

"You...know about The Overseer?" Four asks, not expecting that.

"Of Course! I've met him myself!" E. Gadd says, chuckling "He can see the future after all! I asked him for some advice, to know if a specific invention would blow up if I tested it and he said yes. So I made Luigi do it, and he was right! Blew him up sky high!"

"So is that why he crashed through the window of his house while on fire?" Four asked, "I thought Mario was lying when he said he didn't do that....."

"I mean he probably would do that." Three said, "And also lie about doing it so I don't blame you." 

"He has before. That's why I thought he was lying."

"Not surprised." Three sighed "I don't know how you've put up with him for so long sometimes."

"Enough about blowing up Luigi, what did you mean by he won't tell you where this anomaly, this person, is?"

"They say it's to protect it. That they're innocent and whatever we want to do will kill them."

"Well, will it?" E. Gadd asks, not even bothering to look up.

"It won't." One says a bit too harshly.  "We just want to get rid of the energy of the God Box from them."

"Hmm. Didn't he explain why?"

"Yeah." Two said, sadly looking down at the floor "Said that what we're trying to achieve will just kill them."

"Hmm. Listen, I'll be honest, I don't know much about all this, god box shit. I know machines. Or who The Overseer really is. But I think they have good intentions."

"They're an asshole." One said. It was clear he didn't agree.

"Now that I have trouble believing. From my visit and everything I've seen, he's more cheery, mystical, and theatrical than mean. Maybe there's more to all this than you're aware of. Maybe you should ask them to explain."

"Absoueltly not. They could be lying, trying to manipulate us. We don't need them."

"I'm just saying. Consider it. And as for this device." They haven't even noticed that E. Gadd had taken it apart and then put it back together "I can definitely improve this."

"Really?" Two asks, the mood shifting

"Yeah. Make it a lot more advanced. Maybe even able to do that energy purge thing you want to do. Just need a place to build it."

"You can do it in the castle!" Four said "It's the best place too. After all, everyone is there-AH SHIT!" Four's thought was cut off by him realizing something, dragging a hand down his face.

"What?! What's wrong?!" Three asked, concerned. One and Two had similar concerned expressions.

"We haven't told anyone else about this! What will they say?!" The other's faces paled

"Ah fuck." Three said, "That's not going to end well."

"That's putting it mildly." One deadpanned, face palming.

"Considering what happened, I don't blame them." Two sighed.

They probably should've thought of this much, much earlier. This wasn't a problem for just them but for everyone. Mario, Luigi, Meggy, Bob, Fishy Boopkins, Saiko, Tari...All of them had to deal with not only the God Box and Zero as well. Not to mention Melony-

Melony. What would she think? Out of everyone, she's suffered the most from it. Not only did it possess and force her to kill Axol, but Niles manipulated her just to use her. She didn't deserve to have to deal with all of that again.

"We have to tell them." Three is the first to speak up. His face is somber, but his tone is stern "They deserve to know. Plus...we may need their help."

"Yeah. I know. But they're gonna lose their minds." Four said, nudging the floor with his shoe.

"Or get mad at us for hiding all this." Two added.

"It's not like we meant to." One sighed "At first we just told you too just in case it was...Well him. I figured just having us meme guardians face him was the best. Especially considering the location. The pit is unstable, so more weight could've caused the ground to cave."

"And then I dragged you all to see The Overseer." Four winced "So I didn't help with that."

"Let's...Not tell them about The Overseer." One said. It seems like it took him a while to say, although it came only seconds after.

"Wha-" One cut Two off.

"This isn't a grudge or just me not liking them. It's just...All of them didn't know about Niles, except Melony, so we can't really explain why we think they might be telling the truth. Who knows how they'll react. As much as I hate to admit it...they may be right. For now, I say we keep it on the down low, okay?"

"You...have a point." Two says, sighing.

"Yeah. I rather not go into detail about Niles right now." Four says. Three nods, agreeing.

"Well while you guys were having that conversation, I gathered everything I need." E. Gadd says. The quartet turns around to see him pulling a wagon with a towering amount of machine parts, spare robots, tools, and other items.

"Ooooookay then. Three, portal time." Four said, giving him a smile

"I'm not your guy's chauffeur." Three says, but opens the portal to the showgrounds.

The Meme Guardians, and the professor, walk through, thinking they were prepared for what was next.

They were not.