Iota and Kappa gets into fighting positions.

The only thing we led you to is your defeat, foxface!
Your plans to revive Beta Devil are, like, totally bogus, man.
King will NEVER have his way!

Iota slams his fist into the ground, causing a bunch of spike-like roots to pop up from the ground in front of him, stabbing a few of the Basher-bots! Kappa then attacks the group with a large tidal wave!

---

...Ok, according to the map, the Fountain of Youth should be right over...

Iota and Kappa arrives.

...Here. Great, and there seems to be no sign of King's cronies being here.
Cool. But what now, bro?
We stand guard. And when they come, we'll do whatever it takes to keep them from getting a single drop from the fountain.

Thanks, Cranky. Come on, Kappa, let's go before the creep from King's group gets there.
Sure thing, bro.

Kappa follows Iota as they exit the hut.

...

---

A computer screen shows Iota and Kappa leaving from Surge's point of view.

...What could those two possibly want with the Fountain of Youth...?
I believe they're trying to stop King from resurrecting Beta Devil.
WHAT!? Why would King try to do something so foolish!? Does he seriously believe he holds the power to control Beta Devil?
Is there something that can be done to prevent this?
...Not on this side. But that means that, for the first time since Stanley and Imajin...
...This is a job for our Heroes Division.

---

...I don't trust this. I don't trust YOU.
Oh come, now. What makes you think I'd be so untrustworthy?
Perhaps it's the fact you want to cover the entire world in Darkness.
Oh, please. That's all in the past... andalsothefuturebut my point still stands.
Hey, wait. If you're still a villain, and have been previously erased from existence when the Discorded Adventures universe collapsed, how did you avoid the same fate as all the other villains who escaped from the Dead Zone portals?
Dead Zone whatnow?
Oh, uh, nevermind. I guess he found his own way out of the Void...

Listen. I know I'm not a good person, and I know I am unwilling to change my ways. But I don't really care much for Beta Devil, either.
(How does he know about King's plans...?)
So you can either bait them with this, or keep looking for prehistoric sap on your own. Your choice.

...Uh, actually, I'll have to stop you guys right there. They already got a different amber from a museum.

it! I TOLD you we should've just gone to a museum!
How unfortunate. Though, since I have nothing else to do with this Amber, I suppose I'll just give it to you, anyways.
Wait-
YES, I heard what he said. YES, I can break the 4th Wall now. And YES, you should stop asking so many questions.

Darkrai gives Zeta Light the Old Amber.

Wait, what are we supposed to-
Don't care, not my problem.

Darkrai warps off.

Ah, don't worry... I have an idea on what to do with this.

---

*Here is a recap of what Coda's group exactly is, for Ch4s3's viewing pleasure.

No, no, what?, and maybe some other time.
Do you happen to know anything about where to find the Fountain of Youth?

---

Sans suddenly appears at the front door in response to the Break Impostor's knocking.

Giving each other a look of confusion, Iota and Kappa walks in.

We're not here as part of... whatever the hell you're talking about. We're here to ask you about-

Iota notices a chained-up figure in the corner...

...
...Dare I ask?

---

...And how do you know this is what he meant by "Crystal Eye"?
Well, it's the only Crystal Eye that showed up on Google Search that wasn't some sort-of random eye product or something. So, unless he's referring to something else...
...Hm...?



Delta Paradox and Eta Cosmic walks into Crystal Man's boss area.

If you say, "I was expecting you", I will literally kick your into the next millennia.
...I knew you would say that.
. . .
I literally cannot deal with this. Eta, you talk to him.

Eta Cosmic steps forwards.

Greetings! We are here on behalf of Beta Team to protect you from an oncoming threat sent by your fellow Robot Master, King, who wishes to take your Crystal Eye from you. Maybe.
...Right. Of course. I knew that.
...Oh. Well, why didn't you say so when we came in?
(Ho boy...)
...Well... I just thought it'd be rude to interrupt, you know? ...Thanks for interrupting my meditation, by the way.
O-oh. Right, apologies...

---

*Crystal Man's stage from Mega Man 5; As named by the currently unused field in Mega Man RPG Prototype proper.

We're staying? What exactly brought on this change?
Well, some... convincing words from Techno and Orchestra has made me realize something...
...I shouldn't be afraid to at least TRY to make up for what I've done. Even if I can never truly fix the things I've done, that doesn't mean I'm too far from redemption; All that matters is that I TRY.
...So basically you realized the one thing I've been trying to tell you for, what, 10 months* now?
...

---

Iota Forest and Kappa Whirlpool sits around, pondering.

...The things on King's scavenger hunt list truly is abstract, isn't it? And just how on Earth are we supposed to find the Fountain of Youth before his goons do?
...Bro. What if we just... Google it?
I highly doubt that it would be as simple as just searching it up on Google Maps.

Suddenly, Mario, Luigi, Stanley, and Imajin passes by.

...Huh? What are-a you guys doing here?
We're just brainstorming.
...Say, wait a second. You've been on several adventures, right? You wouldn't happen to know where the Fountain of Youth is, do you?
...Hmmm, nope, sorry. I can't say that I-a have ever encountered the Fountain of-a Youth during my travels. Though, if I-a did... Surely it-a couldn't hurt to be a year or-a so younger...
Why are you looking for the Fountain of Youth, anyways?
We need to stop this dude named King from collecting a few artifacts to revi-

Iota clasps Kappa's mouth shut with his hand.

Let's just say, "we need to stop King from collecting certain objects" and keep it at that.

The group looks at Iota in confusion.

...Hey, I've-a got an idea.
You think you might know where the Fountain of Youth is?
No. But I think I-a know someone who just-a might.
Well, alright, then. Who and where could this "someone" be?

---

...I shouldn't have needed to asked.



What exactly makes you think Cranky would know where to find the Fountain of Youth, anyways?
Well, Shaggy once told-a me about how Cranky once made a potion that reverses age***, so I figured he might-a know something. Good-a luck!

Luigi pulls out the Warp Whistle and blows in it. A whirlwind then appears, seemingly only picking up Luigi, and taking him back to the rest of Mario's group.

Dude, why didn't you tell Mario Bro and the others about King's plan?
Because, "dude", Mario and the others have enough on their plates already without having to worry about the possibility of Beta Devil returning. Now, come on, let's see what Cranky knows about the Fountain of Youth.

Iota walks up to the door and knocks.

---

*Essentially the length of time since Missingno. was brought back by Jazz (see The Chaos Zone Part I, Page 157, Post #10
**Reference: New Super Mario Bros. U, World 6
***Reference: Donkey Kong Country cartoon episode "Ape Foo Young"

...Look, I don't care about how much you like shorts*. As I told you before, I do not have any Pokemon. Not that they'd lose to a bunch of Rattata or whatever you have.

Zeta Light walks over to Digamma Bolt.

...Why are we even here, anyways? It's not like we'll find amber around here.
Well, it's gotta be around here somewhere, right? Let's keep looking, and maybe we can find some before King's posse can get a hold of i-
Looking for some amber, are we?
(That voice...!)

Zeta and Digamma turns to face the figure.

If it's Prehistoric Amber you're looking for...

The figure pulls out an Old Amber.

** ...Perhaps this could suffice?

---

As Dragon King dodges a pair of flaming kicks from Alpha Fire, he counteracts with a Big Bang Beatdown, which is followed up by a few Body Blows.

Meanwhile, Epsilon Snow dodges a few punches from Akira, before rolling behind him, standing back to back with him... before unleashing a Turnaround Goshawk Punch, hitting Akira hard!

---

Missingno. warps in to see the rest of the Jazz Armada- sans a particular Jazz Droid Mark-X- hanging about.

Ah, so you guys are here. I'm guessing now we wait for that Mark-X droid to get here before we pack up and leave Earth, right?

The group looks to each other for a moment.

...There has been a... slight change of plans-
We're staying here on Earth! Isn't that great, Mister Missingno.?

---

Old Amber - (Nature/Earth) An ancient Pokemon fossil that, once revitalized by particular technology first made in Cinnabar Island, resurrects the Fossil Pokemon, Aerodactyl.

Big Bang Beatdown - (Impact/Explode) Dragon King attacks with a lunge punch, before jumping into the air and diving at the opponent with a dropkick that ends in a small explosion. Both attacks are shrouded in a green energy shaped like a dragon, and are reminiscent of a member of a wolf-like group of sorts****.

Body Blow - (Impact) A simple jab to the stomach.

Goshawk Punch - (Freeze/Impact) An icy variant of the Falcon Punch that was developed by Epsilon Snow during the events of The Absurd Roleplay. Recently renamed after the Northern Goshawk.
Variants: Turnaround Goshawk Punch

---

*Reference: Pokemon Red & Blue. The Youngster that states the iconic "I like shorts" line comes from Route 3.
**This isn't a robotic replica, but rather a robotic suit designed after Skull Man and created by... Well, that'll be brought up when it is important.
***Technically doesn't come from the Discorded Adventures (a defunct Discord roleplay based on MMRPG) Universe, but rather the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon universe that merged with Dimension 2 (a split of the timeline created by Beta Devil during his first initial arc). However, this is to showcase to those who are aware of Discorded Adventures (ie. RotomSlashBlast) that this particular Darkrai comes from that universe, and not the AJAX one (of which consisted of the original MMRPG roleplays within the old AJAX chatroom that would eventually be replaced with the Discord).
****To be more specific, Rouga from a fighting game called Big Bang Beat.

Bane and Fortem sits down underneath the tree.








*

(Event Music) ♫ Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon - Whoa! ♫


*
*
*
*

*

*

The two laughs for a while.

---

*References (In Order): Page 62, Post #11; The Beta Diablo battle (and the battle with Rotom Lucifer that occurred at the same time); The Chaos Zone Part I, Page 30, Post #7 and Page 311, Post #6; And Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon.

"The blue impostor" as they will be called until properly named simply runs into the barrier. A strange figure walks by, looking at him weirdly.

...I don't know what it is you're trying to accomplish, but this doesn't seem to be doing it.

The figure walks into the building without any trouble, joining in the line in front of him.

---

...Pikaaa... (...Wow...)

Pikason looks over a calm-looking village below. The sun appears to be setting, making for a rather beautiful scenery.




Pika pi? (Is that right?)
...
...

Pikason pulls out the Thunder Agate and looks down at it.

...Pi pika pi, pika pikachu... pika pika... chu... (...Back in my world, I took a lot of things for granted... Scenery, the sky... friends...)
...Pika, pi pikachu. (...When I bring it all back, I won't be doing so anymore.)

Pikason turns to Bane and Fortem.

Pika. (Thank you.)



Pikason turns back around, letting go of the Thunder Agate. Instead of dropping to the ground, however, it instead orbits around Pikason. The other seven agates spin around him, appearing one at a time. Pikason then focuses its energies, creating a dimensional rift in front of himself.



Chu. Pika, pika pi... (Seems like it. But hey, don't worry...)
...Pikaaaaa. (Knowing this world, I'll probably be back.)

Pikason hops into the dimensional rift, turning back to Bane and Fortem.

Pika, pikaaaaa! (See you guys later!)

Pikason closes the dimensional rift behind himself as Bane and Fortem waves goodbye (to the best of the former's ability).

---

*Reference: Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon

Besides... I don't exactly feel comfortable trying to pry into any sort-of friend groups of Sonic's. It just feels... Awkward.
...Hmph. But, of course. I'm sure it's hard to try and make friends with alternate versions of your own friends.
H-huh!? How did you know I was-
Please. Anyone with half a brain could tell you're just another Sonic this world dragged in. You hardly do anything to hide it.
...
...Tch, whatever. If you're not here to help, then just get out of my way.
Fine, fine. I'll let you return to your edgy brooding with possibly edgier inner monologue.
...
...Dense idiots. ALL of you.
Huh!?
You all keep on with your celebration over defeating Beta Diablo, proud with having saved the world... For what might as well have been ten seconds of peace.
But you all forgot something vitally important. Someone who STILL poses as a threat.
...Coda?
KOOPENSTEIN, you imbecile! We might've taken care of Beta Diablo and at least hindered Team Mecha- Because face it, we BOTH know they won't be gone for good*- and Coda might as well be easy pickings. But Koopenstein and his "Sometal"** are still active threats.
And if all you are going to do is waste around waiting for him- or someone ELSE, for that matter- to strike again, then I am clearly wasting my time with the lot of you.

Shadow pulls out the Green Chaos Emerald and looks down at it.

...Koopenstein tried to upset the balance of Chaos energies before***. He may still plan on endangering the entire world again... Or worse.
...
...I think I understand what you mean... But I don't think you're likely to find him anywhere around here.

Shadow looks back up.

...If you're not here to help, then you are serving merely as a distraction. Do so again, and you'll have OTHER things to worry about then psyching yourself up.

Shadow warps away via Chaos Control.

...Gee, what a spoil sport...

Ashura rushes off elsewhere.

---

Chaos Control (RECAP) - (Chaos/Time) Uses Chaos Energy to slow down or even freeze time around the user, to a point where it looks like the user is teleporting.

Chaos - An Artificial Element that derives from the use of Chaos Energy produced by specific objects (ie. Chaos Emeralds, Super Emeralds, the Master Emerald).

---

* Brash has stated before that he is kinda on-the-fence when it comes down to "killing" his characters, so the possibility of Team Mecha returning likely still remains.
**Shadow is unaware of Sometal's namechange to Somatic.
***Reference: The Chaos Zone, Part I - Koopenstein passed off a fake Chaos Emerald to Sonic and the others in order to clone the real deal, making multiple copies. This was reversed after Koopenstein backed off from his plans due to insert reason here.

A lone figure stands looming over the city... Quickly realizing that he is not alone.

...So, it's you. What could you possibly want with me?
Eh, not much. Just wanted to know where you ended up.
And now you know. So, unless you have something to say that's actually worth my time, you can go on your way.
Ah, I see. You're just here to brood. Well, Mr. Grump, you can feel free to join with Sonic and the others over at Tails' Lab when you're done being edgy.
Hilarious. And why exactly are you not with them?
...

---

Ashura is suddenly interrupted from his traveling by Missingno. warping in front of him.

Oh, hey! How's it going with you? Have you been doing alri-
Tell him.
...Huh? What do you mean by-
Do not play coy with me, hedgehog. He deserves to know. And it needs to come from YOU before it could come from anyone with ill intent. A certain C-O-D-A, for example.
...
...I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm just not comfortable with-
I. Don't. Give. A. . He's going to find out one way or another. Might as well do so in a manner where he couldn't possibly view you in a negative light.
...I... I don't know. I'm not sure how he'll rea-
You want him to trust you, right? What you did just about TRAUMATIZED him. And I KNOW it was nothing more than a freak accident. But anyone else that could've possibly known about it might not put you in a good light. And how could even HE trust ANYONE who would simply leave him in the dark about something this vital?
...
...

Missingno. turns around.

...I'll give you until the end of tomorrow. If you don't tell Shadow Digital a SINGLE thing about what happened in Wood Zone... I will MAKE you.

Missingno. warps away as Ashura stands for a moment in silence.

---

...There's... Something important I need to do. I'm just taking my time to mentally prepare myself for it.

---

*Reference: Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
**Reference: Sonic Adventure

! ! ! ! ! SQUAWK! SQUAWK! SQUAWK! SQUAWK! SQUAWK! SQUAWK! SQUAWK! SQUA-

Reggae realizes that Beta Shadow had already stopped.

...Sorry, didn't think you were done. Were done, SQUAWK!
Uh, no, just uh... Noticed you were physically here instead of speeding by for censorship purposes.
Yeah, you were swearing an awful lot, an awful lot! So I decided to just stop here instead of running back and forth, maybe stick around in case you want to vent. Want to vent, SQUAWK!
...So, uh, are you done, or...?
Eh, just one more. *Ahem*...

Beta Shadow pulls out a "Book of Swear Words", then flips through the pages. Stopping a particular swear he has not said yet, he reads it before speaking out...

SQUAWK! Right, that'll do it.

Beta Shadow and Reggae sits on the top of the mountain. Any avalanche that might've occurred during the process is stopped by a greenish barrier.

...So. What now? What now?
...Well, I'm sure the others are already working on a way to stop King, so what I need to do is train up here to prepare for if all else fails. I'm not entirely sure how enthusiastic everyone else is going to be to fight Beta Devil since we literally JUST did. And without all of those power-up items, there's no Beta Supremo.
...Thankfully, something is nagging at me that there won't be a "Beta Diablo" this time around, either, thank Kirby. So hopefully, Beta Supremo won't even be necessary this time.
...You're going to train at the top of Mount Everest? Mount Everest, SQUAWK?
Yeah, why not? It's cold, and the thin air makes it rather good for training purposes.



!

The two looks over to see two familiar faces...

Beta Shadow dodges the beam.

Nope.

Suddenly, the barrier around Little Papa Beta's activates, warping Luna Girl outside of the Pizzeria and preventing further access.

...Now if you'll excuse me, for a moment.

Beta Shadow warps out.

---

...

Beta Shadow takes a deep breath in.

GOD-

---

A single word can be heard around the globe...

FUCK!!!

...

Beta Shadow takes a deep breath in and out through his nose in order to avoid lashing out.

...Anything else?

Sans heads to... The front door.

---

Somehow, Sans walks in through the door.



...Uh-huh.

Beta Shadow types onto a laptop in his office.

(Alright, Google. Do your thing... There. Now, let's see...)



(...Uh-huh. I'm sure I could easily kick the out of any little kid's show character- assuming this is the right character-...)
(...But, eh, I'll just play along for now. Besides, it would probably put a bad spot on this place's reputation to beat up a little kid* in public, even if they're a villain. ...Unless there's some other character named "Luna Girl", but this is all I've got to work with.)

---

Back in the main lobby, Beta Shadow warps in front of Luna Girl.

Alright, what is this "important thing" you want to tell me?

---

*Assuming by appearance: The age is unmentioned in both wikis I looked at.

A skeleton pops up in front of the strange figure.






Sans chugs a bottle of ketchup.

A group of robots looks over to L.

Cool. We just ordered a pizza, so feel free to join us if you'd like. We, uh... Kinda have an extra seat at our usual table now, anyways.
Uh, yeah, about that. Back to the question I wanted to ask, how the hell did you DIE?
...Because Beta Devil stabbed me with his sword...?
He stabbed you in the CORE, you idiot. Your IC chip remained intact.
Ah right, that. Well, when he pushed that sword further into me, I think the sword was surging Anti-Omni energy through me... Or some kind of sinister energy. Whatever it was, it completely dissolved all of my inner systems and components, IC Chip and all.
...You think?
I was dying, ok? I could hardly focus on any of that due to the fact I was literally struggling to do anything outside of keeling over.
I dunno... I didn't see anything outside of him stabbing your Core. But if what you're saying is true... Then it was probably from an outside source.
The question is... Who...?

---

...Hee hee hee...

Finally. I was tired of not being able to find a new plotline.

Suddenly, a group of Jazz Droids approach Missingno.

SIR MISSINGNO., ALL FLOORS BELOW THE 99TH HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BEEN REPAIRED.
Good. Fix up this floor and the 100th while I go back to the Pumpkin Hill base. I'm done with this .

The Jazz Droids proceed to fix up the current floor as Missingno. warps out. Everyone else who stayed behind reverts to their base forms.

...So... What now?
Well, there has been a certain question that has been burning in the back of my mind since Diablo was destroyed, but first... I've kinda had enough of a certain purple freakshow's presence, both his devil AND non-devil counterparts. Let's take this conversation somewhere with a little less Rotom.
I second that. With RSB apparently on-break to "get used to roleplaying again", I kinda want to leave before Rotom gets the chance to return to his usual status quo.

The Beta Team B-Team Come on, can't you at least come up with a better name than that? warps out.

I think it's about time we head out, too. I think we need to wind down a bit after being in those Super forms for so long. Right, Sha-

As Sonic turns to Shadow, it turns out that the edgy hedgehog has left the scene just as soon as Rotom Devil was destroyed.

...Do you guys ever get a read on that guy?
Not a chance.
Well, after this experience, I think the three of us-

Bass has left the scene already, too.

...Two of us need some time to rest.
Sounds fair. See you around, Mega!

Sonic offers a fist bump, of which Mega Man accepts. Mega Man and Proto Man warps off as Sonic's group rushes off.

As the last three to leave, Bane, Fortem, and Pikason groups up.



Chuu. (Finally.)



...Smooth, Fortem, smooth. Anyways, Bane, Fortem, and Pikason are warped out of the tower the same way Mystery Dungeon teams usually get out of dungeons.

Akira and Dragon King are in the middle of a sparring match. However, two voices can be heard in the distance...

...Revive Beta Devil? Seriously!? What the is the King of this world thinking!?
...But Walter is the president.
Ha ha, very funny. You know who I meant.
Well, shouldn't we be stopping him?

The two stop fighting to turn to the voices.

Now, whoever could that be...?

Two figures come into view...

We're here for training purposes. We don't know just who we will be up against in terms of King's Army, so we'll need to be prepared for the incoming threat.
...I also have a feeling that there is an equally dangerous threat looming just outside our field of notice. And should we fail to stop King from reviving Beta Devil, we will need to prepare for BOTH.
And here I thought we'd finally have our big break after defeating Beta Diablo...
Hello, there. I see you two are practitioners of the martial arts, as well.
Oh! Uh, I suppose you can say that... Sorry, I didn't notice anyone else was here-
Ah, no worries! We were in a bit of a sparring bout ourselves, but if you'd like to join, feel free.
You sure? We could go somewhere else, if you'd prefer-
No, no, I insist. After all, a true martial artist knows that they will always improve far greater when faced with new opponents than they ever would a familiar one.
...As a matter of fact... How about we make this a tag match? The two of us, against the two of you.

Dragon King turns to Akira.

I assume this arrangement is alright with you, Mr. Yuki?
私はこれに良心の呵責はありません.
(I suppose he has a point... I'd only get so much experience from sparring with Epsilon. If we are going against the unknown, we might as well spar with the unknown.)
...So, will you be accepting our proposal... Erm, what exactly are your names?
I am Alpha Fire, and he is Epsilon Snow. And we accept your challenge.
Yeah! Prepare for a cold defeat!

Alpha and Epsilon gets into fighting stances. Dragon King and Akira responds by getting into position themselves.

In that case... We will not be holding back!
自分を準備する!

---

I assume this arrangement is alright with you, Mr. Yuki?
I have no qualms with this.
(I suppose he has a point... I'd only get so much experience from sparring with Epsilon. If we are going against the unknown, we might as well spar with the unknown.)
...So, will you be accepting our proposal... Erm, what exactly are your names?
I am Alpha Fire, and he is Epsilon Snow. And we accept your challenge.
Yeah! Prepare for a cold defeat!

Alpha and Epsilon gets into fighting stances. Dragon King and Akira responds by getting into position themselves.

In that case... We will not be holding back!
Prepare yourselves!