Dark Nicolette

"Nicolette?" someone called into my room. I stirred from my sleep, which was actually quite pleasant, and assessed my surroundings. After the other Nicolette had been chained up, I had found the room Magolor had reserved for her and swapped places with her. I hated to admit it, but I was really jealous of her looks and her friends.

The room I was staying in was actually very pretty, with a small window showing the dark void of space to the left of my huge, super soft bed, and the wall was covered with striped blue and purple wallpaper. A creepy painting of some tall alien that looked a lot like Magolor hung over my bed frame, but the being had bulging eyes with yellow circles around them. He had the same ears as Magolor, too, but they were painted with different markings. It creeped me out, so I just ignored it. The best part of the room was by far the person who had just woken me from sleep.

"Yes, Meta Knight?" I said sweetly. The light from the hallway flooded over his sturdy frame, silhouetting him.

"Did you call us earlier?" he asked, taking a step into the room. He had his cape drawn around himself and kept it snug around him.

Darn, I thought. I really wanted to see his wings. They're so majestic.

"I don't believe I called you," I said innocently, throwing in a yawn for good measure.

Meta Knight smiled. I could see it in his eyes. "Perhaps you called me like you were accidentally calling me earlier." His eyes glinted in mischief, and I cocked my head, not knowing what inside joke he was talking about.

"Ah...maybe," I said after a moment of silence, then swung my legs out of the bed and stretched. "I've been sleeping down here. That battle really wiped me out. Dark Nicolette was really strong."

Meta Knight chuckled. "We've all taken some time to rest after the battle, but Dark Nicolette wasn't a match for you. She doesn't come close to your skill and power."

He came over and sat on the edge of my bed, and I couldn't help but pout a little. Of course I was strong! Nicolette was weak! I, Dark Nicolette, was obviously stronger!!

"Well, Amai had to help me fight her," I mused, leaning back on one hand and touching Nicolette's dragon necklace with my other. Meta Knight's eyes watched my hand as I fiddled with the elegant charm. He must've made this for Nicolette. "Dark Nicolette is by no means weak."

He looked away and nodded. "Alright fine, both of our copies are more powerful than I was expecting. I'll give that to them."

"You fought well, though," I said, giving him a smile. "Those sword beams use up a lot of energy, and you used them for hours. You are very strong."

His eyes flashed orange and it looked like he was blushing. I panicked, wondering what he was thinking. I would have to question Nicolette about his changing eye colors it later.

"Well...thank you," he said and rose to his feet. He offered me a hand as he said, "I also came to wake you, for we are nearing Ripple Star."

"Oh, okay," I said, taking his hand and standing. The light from the hall bounced off my armor as we walked toward the door. To be honest, I wasn't a fan of the golden and yellow color scheme Nicolette used. I prefered silver, purple, and black.

"Richard is coming to meet us," Meta Knight continued. "When he boards the ship, we'll give the Crystal shard to him. We also figured you might also want to say hi. And, if you don't mind, he requested to talk to you in private."

"Oh...of course..." I said slowly, reaching behind my long hair and feeling the radio I had tied to the back of my waist. Dark Mind told me that if I were to escape the Mirror World without him, then it was my responsibility to carry out NME's plan to destroy the Galaxy Soldier Army in whatever way I could. The Crystal shard would help me in my mission significantly. But I couldn't think of a way to get it smuggled out without anyone noticing.

"Yes, I would like to see him again," I whispered, "but one moment, please, I must get ready. I'll meet you all in the bridge."

"Oh, yes, sorry," Meta Knight said quickly and awkwardly shuffled past me, and when he was out of the room, I pulled out the radio and called that idiot Dark Meta Knight.

"Answer the radio please," I said sarcastically.

There was static for a moment, then I heard a gasp followed by, "We're busy. What do you need?"

"We talked about this," I said, sighing and wanting to slap the daylights out of him. How could he forget our plan? "I'd call you whenever I needed information. And I need some now. Who the gordo is Richard? I'm supposed to deliver the Crystal Shard to him and catch up with him or something."

"Why not just steal the shard?" Dark Meta Knight asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"And you're the one who says I'm too careless," I sighed, shaking my head. I heard Dark Meta Knight move the radio and repeat the question about Richard to Nicolette. I waited for a moment, but there was only silence.

"I don't have all day, dearie," I hissed, checking the hallway Meta Knight had walked down. I could hear faint voices at the end of it where it connected to the bridge. "Hurry up, DMK."

"Do NOT give me nicknames," he replied angrily.

"Your name is really long," I said with a shrug. "Take your anger out on her." I heard a few slaps and punches, then the radio moved again and Dark Meta Knight repeated my question.

Then feebly, I heard Nicolette moan, "Richard...is a man I know from my battle over Ripple Star..."

"I need more!" I hissed, and Dark Meta Knight proceeded to interrogate her. She resisted at first, but she was weak from the battle and torture.

"He's a friend I made a long time ago," she coughed. "He and I fought side by side in a battle not long ago. He's the commander of Ripple Star's army." I felt a strange vibration in my head, but it was sudden and short. Perhaps it was my katanas whispering to me. They did that sometimes.

Channeling my power into my katanas, I reached across the ship with my mind and plunged into Nicolette's head. I expected it to be wide open for searching, but she hadn't let her guard down. Her thoughts and secrets were guarded by a tough wall, and when I tried to pry into her mind, I was met with forceful resistance. Not only could she defend herself, but she could also attack and defend simultaneously.

"She's hiding something," I said into the radio. My eyes were glazed over in silver chi. "How close are you two?"

I felt another twinge in my head, this one painful and right behind my left eye. I grimaced, growing suspicious, but I heard her say, "He was originally a prince from another planet. His family knew my father's. We were separated for a long time, but reunited when we fought side-by-side over Ripple Star against Dark Matter."

"But how close are you?" I hissed and tried to enter her mind again. She reflected my attack back on me and I ended up prying into my own head. This insolent little girl! How dare she?! It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my brain and I nearly screamed in pain. This girl was so annoying.

"Nicolette?" someone suddenly called from the bridge. I saw Jecra's silhouette in the hallway when I peeped out my door. I sighed. "Nicolette, we've arrived!"

"Tear her down more, DMK," I said into the radio, then turned it off when Dark Meta Knight began to complain. "Coming!" I called to the others, then, after clipping the radio to my back, I ran to the bridge.

"Here I am!" I exclaimed, bursting into the bridge. Jecra, Amai, Meta Knight, and Magolor were all there, but there was another man standing with them with. I assumed he was Richard. His brown eyes immediately squinted as he smiled at me, and he pushed his brown wavy hair out of his eyes as he said, "Hello, dear Nicolette. I wasn't expecting to see you again! It's a pleasant surprise!"

"Indeed," I said hesitantly, pushing my hair behind my shoulders and planting my right hand on my hip. "It's..good to see you again, too."

"I heard things have been difficult since I last saw you," he said, approaching me. Meta Knight came and stood by my side, then slipped the Crystal Shard into my hand. His hand felt warm, and I felt all the more jealous of Nicolette.

"Yes, the tides of war are not turning as we would like," Meta Knight replied, "but we are still united. How is Ripple Star faring?"

"Very good," Richard said. "We've been spared any attacks from NME since you all came and freed us."

"Glad to hear," I said, growing tired of the chit chat.

"We've brought you a missing piece of your Crystal," said Meta Knight.

"Yeah...here," I murmured, and I reluctantly showed Richard the shard. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he took it from me.

"Thank you," he said and turned to Magolor. "And thank you for your willingness to return this to us." He turned his head back to me and smiled again.

"Great!" I said and clapped my hands together impatiently. This was taking far too long for my liking, and I was afraid of engaging in conversation with this man for fear of saying the wrong thing. He seemed to have a stronger relationship with Nicolette than she let on. "I don't mean to cut this short, but we must be heading back to base. We're needed...aren't we, Meta Knight?" I looked at Meta Knight and gave him my best smile, but he looked at me strangely.

"Oh...of course..." Richard said, looking at the floor, and he crossed his hands in front of his body nervously. Meta Knight prodded me toward him.

"Richard wanted to talk to you, remember?" he pressed, lowering one eyebrow.

I held back my sigh and said jovially, "Oh right, of course!"

"I'll make it quick since you seem to be in a hurry," Richard said and walked toward the exit of the ship. I glanced at Meta Knight, then followed him.

We walked out of the Lor Starcutter and onto a bright, colorful landscape toward a red and pink castle. I squinted against the bright sun and dodged the fluttering fairies coming to meet us. Richard looked oddly nervous, making me agitated. Something in my head twinged again, and I squinted one eye to stop the throbbing. What on earth was going on?

"Remember this castle?" Richard asked, looking fondly up at the sparkly building. It honestly disgusted me.

"Oh, yeah," I lied, wrapping my arms around myself and trying not to vomit from all of the rainbow mushy-gushy sweetness. Suddenly, a fairy came to close to my face for my liking, waving and smiling at me, and I swatted her out of the way.

"Careful!" Richard exclaimed, catching the fairy. He gave me a bewildered look, and I half-heartedly made an excuse and apologized.

She was in my way, though, I thought to myself.

We walked up the steps of the castle into a large entryway, and then we turned left onto a flower-filled balcony. Golden snapdragons, red and yellow lilies, golden daffodils, and red roses were in pots and vases around the white pillars and fence. It looked like he had arranged it for Nicolette, and I laughed to myself. What imbeciles! So he was one of her lovers. And I was here instead of her.

"Do you like it?" Richard asked, watching me. "I-I actually decorated this place. Princess Ripple helped me. I modeled it after your armor...your favorite color is gold, isn't it?"

"Black is my favorite color, actually," I said. His face fell, and I looked him over. He didn't really seem like Nicolette's type, and he definitely wasn't mine. His crestfallen face brought me sudden happiness.

"Well, do you still like it?" he asked timidly.

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess..."

"Oh," he sighed, leaning on a white pillar. He was quiet for a moment, and I leaned against the pillar across from him, looking bored. Then he said nervously, "So, do you remember when you were last here and about to leave, I tried to ask you a question but you were interrupted by a radio call?"

"Sort of," I said vaguely, studying my fingernails.

"Oh, well, I was hoping to ask you it here," he said, and suddenly he was standing in front of me and down on one knee. I gasped in surprise. What was he doing?! "Nicolette, back on Arkiva, you were stopped before you could make a selection of a prince."

What is he talking about? I thought frantically. He reached out and took my hand, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to notice what he was doing. Then there was a rose in front of my face and he was looking at me with a sweet and innocent smile.

"I haven't stopped thinking about that day, and I won't rest easy until I know who your selection would have been," he continued. "I care about you deeply, Nicolette. I have ever since I met you. I just need to know: Would you have picked me to be your prince that day?"

Suddenly everything was clear. Nicolette was a princess, and once upon a time, she had to make a choice about marrying someone. Richard was one of her options. Something happened that made her not be able to choose, and they were separated. Richard loved her but never told her. And here he was now, confessing his love.

I looked down at the man kneeling in front of me. He had put his heart in his hand and was offering me everything. I couldn't help but wonder what Nicolette would do if she were here now. The twinging was still present, but not as painful, and blocking it from my thoughts suddenly made it cease.

It's a shame for Nicolette if she cares for him, I thought, then looked at the rose Richard was offering me. It hadn't been pruned of its thorns, and it reminded me of something important I needed to take care of back on the Enterprise.

I raised my hand and wrapped it around the flower over his hand, looking at him gently, and his face lit up with hope. His thumb was right over a thorn, and I placed my thumb over his.

"Nicolette, would you have taken me to be your prince?" he repeated as I leaned down close to him. "Will you take me to be your prince now?"

I smiled, and I was overcome with a dark desire. Suddenly, I didn't want to act like Nicolette. I wanted to act like myself. My grin twisted into a mocking smirk. "No."

Richard blinked, his smile faltering. "W-what?" he stuttered.

"No, Richard, I will never take you," I said, and pushed my thumb into his. The thorn beneath his thumb dug into his flesh and he gasped in pain. "How dare you even find the nerve to ask me such a question!" I pushed as hard as I could and I could the thorn squish deep into his thumb. His smile was gone and replaced with humiliated anguish.

"Nicolette-" he whispered.

"I don't want anything to do with you," I hissed. All warnings from Dark Meta Knight about behaving like Nicolette left my mind. I was sure Nicolette would turn him down, anyway. I was getting a kick out of the bewildered look on his face. "I have affections for someone else. Whatever made you think I would have chosen you?"

Tears streamed down the corners of his eyes as I let go of his hand, taking the rose with me. His blood was still on the rose, and it stained my fingers and glove. Giving him a mockingly pitiful smile, I flipped my hair over my shoulder and left him on the balcony, still down on one knee and staring at his bleeding hand. A frightened and wild look clouded his confused face.

"Goodbye, Richard," I said over my shoulder, walking out of the castle. "And good riddance."

As I walked down the steps, swatting at fairies that flew too close to me, I saw a girl with glasses and braids step onto a castle balcony out of the corner of my eye. She glanced at the flower balcony where Richard was, then looked back at me, suspicion covering her face. I turned around and bowed to her, waving my hands like fairy wings, then smirked at her and left.

"What a beautiful flower," I said, looking at the red, bloodstained rose. "Now I need to get to the rose on the Enterprise."

...

I got back on the Starcutter and avoided talking to anyone about Richard. Meta Knight tried to ask about it, but I excluded the details and retreated to my room. Or, rather, to the dungeon. Dark Meta Knight really wanted to speak with me.

"He's growing suspicious of you!" Dark Meta Knight yelled at me as soon as I entered the dungeon. Nicolette was passed out on her chair.

"Who? Meta Knight?" I asked, sitting down backward in a chair Dark Meta Knight had pulled up to Nicolette.

"Yes, you halfwit!" he exclaimed. "What were you thinking, acting that way with Richard? Didn't you get the hint that he and Nicolette were close?"

"I was severing ties with him," I said innocently, batting my eyes. "Isn't that what Dark Mind wants us to do? Ruin Nicolette's reputation, relationships, and loyalties with the Galaxy Soldier Army? Make it seem like she's the traitor who put the mumbies vases on the Enterprise?"

"Yes, that's the plan," he sighed, "but you're supposed to do it in a way that doesn't arouse suspicion!"

"We need her friends to question her to start questioning her loyalty," I replied, crossing my arms over the back of the chair and looking at Nicolette's bruised and swollen face with contempt. "Good gordo, what have you been doing to her? She looks terrible."

"I've been extracting information for you," Dark Meta Knight grumbled, his red eyes flashing with resentment. He handed me an envelope filled with pages of his perfect handwriting. "This is a compilation of everything I've gotten from her. Most of it is about her ties with the GSA and her relationships with the other soldiers, but that's what you'll need to use to avoid drawing suspicion!!!"

I pulled out the pages and scanned through them, throwing them behind me after I had read them. She had a lot of friends, and almost all of them were in high places. I laughed to myself.

"What's so funny?" my cohort asked, crossing his arms.

"It's just so simple," I said, looking over a paragraph about her relationship with the leader of the GSA, Arthur. "She knows too many people. Granted, they've all known her a long time, but just a few little mistakes, a few careless tricks, and oops! They all turn on her. Especially with the state of the army right now, it won't take much to get them questioning her loyalty."

"What's the state of the army?" Dark Meta Knight asked, leaning on Nicolette's chair.

"Fearful. I overheard Meta Knight's radio call with someone named Joanna a few minutes ago. She said that there have been rumors of attacks on battleships across the galaxy and several have gone down. The planets the GSA has ties with are being overtaken by NME, and new alliances with planets are failing because no one wants to join the battle anymore. The GSA has stopped winning everything. And the mumbies mystery has started a domino effect of people accusing their friends to be traitors. It sets the stage so perfectly for me! All I have to do is arouse some confusion, pull a couple of pranks, and I'll have Nicolette framed! Then we give her to Arthur to deal with, free NME's spies, and break rank."

"Destroy them from the inside out," Dark Meta Knight mused. His eyes glowed.

"They really didn't even need us to start their scare," I laughed. "We didn't start the fire, but we'll definitely feed it!"

Suddenly, Nicolette's face twitched, but Dark Meta Knight and I were too involved in our maniacal laughter to really notice. It was probably just her body adjusting to her pain. But I felt the painful twitch in my brain again, slowly pounding just behind my eyes...

...

Hours later, the Lor Starcutter landed on the back of the Enterprise platform. Meta Knight radioed Arthur to let him know what had happened and the surprise passenger we had brought with us. He didn't make any comment to Meta Knight about what he thought, but he gave us permission to land. Magolor looked terrified to be back.

"Do you think they'll forgive me?" he squeaked, clinging to my arm. I rolled my eyes and tried to shake him off, but he was surprisingly strong.

"Sure, whatever," I sighed. The bridge gate opened from the hull of the ship and Jecra and Amai stepped out first, then Meta Knight, then Magolor and me. Meta Knight's mind was so open to me, all I had to do was some slight digging and I found all of his memories from his time on the Enterprise. I knew my way around this battleship like the back of my hand because of him, and I quickly relayed the directions to the prison cells to Dark Meta Knight. He took Nicolette out of the back of the ship and followed my instructions.

As soon as we stepped off the Starcutter, we were surrounded by an armed crowd of Galaxy Soldiers and Star Warriors. Arthur stood at the front to greet us, but he had his sword pointed and Magolor and me. For a second, I froze, thinking he could tell I wasn't the real Nicolette. But then he spoke.

"I welcome you warmly, Nikki," he said, "but Magolor, not so much." A light purple old man with a star-shaped head came and stood beside Arthur. The Warp Star in his forehead glowed for a moment as he looked at Magolor, but then he looked at me. I suddenly felt apprehensive and shut my mind off from him. There was something strange about him, and the star glowed bright white for a moment as he stared at me. He was dangerous to me, I knew it as soon as his widened and he took a step back. He would have to be taken down, whoever he was. I didn't trust him.

"Let go of her, Magolor, and we won't harm you," someone said, and I looked to see a tall, handsome soldier with white hair pointing a long sword at the little alien glued to my arm. His amber eyes glinted with malice, and I recognized him from Dark Meta Knight's writings as Nicolette's friend Galeren.

"Nikki, protect me!" Magolor screamed, burrowing his head into my side. I looked at Meta Knight nervously, then down at the Halcandran.

"Mags, you need to let go," I said gently, walking toward Arthur. "They're not going to hurt you."

"Please, Nikki!" he begged, but I had already given him over to two muscular martial arts soldiers, and they quickly muscled him off of me.

"We must go through the procedure of questioning you, Magolor," Arthur said, sheathing his sword when he realized Mags wasn't fighting back. The little guy was limp with fear and from the look on his face, he felt betrayed by me. "No harm will come to you, but we need you to be honest. We will treat you well, as you have treated our soldiers well. But we must know your intentions. Take him to the cells." The two martial artists saluted Arthur and carried Magolor away.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Galeren said, and suddenly I was sandwiched between his arms. My face flushed since we were surrounded by a crowd of people all staring at us. Galeren, however, seemed completely oblivious to them all. "Arthur told us about your mission. Sounds like a missed an adventure."

He tilted my face up to his, and his smile was so gentle and obvious that I looked away in embarrassment. How many lovers did Nicolette have?!

"Yeah, well, I'm just happy to be back," I said, squirming away from him. He tilted his head and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

How would Nicolette handle this? I thought and gave him a nice smile. He seemed like he was more her type, and judging by his greeting, there might be a romantic connection between them. I saw Meta Knight's eyes flash green behind me, and then he walked away. I won't destroy this relationship for Nicolette...yet. I can use him to get the information I need to find my flower.

"What have I missed while I've been away?" I asked the tall warrior sweetly, and he perked up and offered me his arm.

"Well, I'll show you a new project I've been working on," he replied and led me away from the crowd. Jecra and Amai had left with Meta Knight, and the group of soldiers that had come to detain Magolor was throwing ropes and chains over the Lor Starcutter.

We walked into a huge lobby filled with windows, and I recognized it as the social hub I had seen from Meta Knight. In the center of a cluster of chairs and window seats was a box filled with a mess of wires, nuts, and bolts.

"What's this?" I asked as Ren started to fiddle with it.

"An intergalactic radio," he said and gave me a huge smile. "I made it for you. I know how much you love music, and the radio you have now is limited to just a few stations from nearby planets. This gives you access to any channel in the universe!"

"Oh, how wonderful," I said slowly as he closed the back of the box, hiding the electrical mess, and turned it on. An orchestral symphony filled the room. He closed his eyes, enjoying the music, but it sounded like a million cats wailing to me. I pressed my hands over my head and screamed, trying to drown out the ruckus.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" I yelled and ran at the little box, prepared to smash it. Galeren quickly did as I asked and swiped it out of the way.

"Nicole, what are you doing?" he yelled back, completely alarmed. "I thought you liked music. This is your favorite symphony-"

"I hate that!" I interrupted. My ears were warm and felt like they had been bleeding. "Don't ever do that to me again!" He took a step away from me, putting the radio under his arm protectively and turning his head. The look in his eyes told me he didn't trust me.

"Nikki, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine!" I spat. "I'm going to my room. See you later." I spun on heel and walked toward the NSF training room, rubbing my throbbing temples. Everyone in the lobby watched me leave.

Two young ninjas, a boy and girl, were waiting for me when I entered the dojo training room. 

"Hello, Sensei Nicolette," they said and bowed. I looked around, growing impatient. NME had said she would be here, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Rose?" I grunted. They looked at me, confused.

"She's...in the dungeon..." the girl ninja said, holding tighter to her short little katana. I looked at her blankly, and she added, "You know, where she went after we found out she had put the mumbies vases here?"

My eyebrows shot up. How had Dark Meta Knight not extracted that information?!

"Oh, yes," I said and walked past them and through a door in the back of the gym. There was a flight of stairs just through them that took me down into the basement of the battleship, where the prison cells were. Somehow, Rose had been discovered, which made my job slightly harder. On the bright side, I knew Dark Meta Knight had already found her. They would have a plan.

The dungeon was surprisingly well lit and clean. The door opened for me after I showed it my Warp Star, and I stepped through to find Rose and Dark Meta Knight talking over Nicolette. She was awake now, looking alarmed and angry.

"Ah, there you are," Rose greeted and gave me a creepy smile. I shivered even though we were on the same team. NME didn't say what kind of monster she was, but it was definitely something terrifying. "I've been waiting for you fools. Master said you would come sooner."

"It was you!" said a squeaky voice, and I turned around to see Magolor strapped down a few cells away. Dark Meta Knight had bound him like he had bound Nicolette with chains, clamping his wrists together to ensure he couldn't use magic. "You betrayed me! The real Nicolette was down here!"

"Yeah, welcome to the party," Rose said uninterestedly.

"I forgot he was down here," I said. "How did you hide from the guards?"

"Oh, we didn't," Dark Meta Knight mused, looking at the cell across from us. The two martial arts soldiers I had seen carrying Magolor were tied together and lying unconscious in the cell across from Nicolette. "I took care of them easily."

"How did they figure you out?" I asked Rose, looking down at Nicolette. She gave me a hard stare and tried to say something, but Dark Meta Knight had bound her mouth with an old rag.

"This little snitch got it out of my head," Rose replied. "I've been learning how her telepathy works, and she's so open and trusting that she told me everything. I accidentally revealed it to her one day that I put the mumbies here, and then I attacked her. The cameras got everything I was sent here. But snitches get stitches, isn't that right?" Nicolette yelled something into her gag, but Rose just snickered.

"You're the snitch, you lying traitor!" Magolor yelled at Rose. "I'd tear you apart into three different dimensions if I wasn't chained up!"

"Don't forget you're a traitor, too, Mags," Rose said with a glare, and Magolor quickly shut up. "Now, here's the plan, Dark Nicolette," she said to me, and pulled out a kunai and spun it on her finger, murmuring, "Man, you guys need nicknames. I'm calling you DN, kay?"

"No, not 'kay!'" I exclaimed, but she kept talking.

"You need to clear my name in order for this to work. Here's how: you're going to get into Yamikage's head and make him do something he would never do."

"Wait, what?!" I looked at her in astonishment, and Nicolette perked her head up at Rose, fear widening her eyes. "I can't force people to do something. My power only goes so far as to maybe compel someone to do something because they relieve something awful, but I can't take over someone's body."

"I know. Nicolette has told me many of her telepathy secrets over the years."

"Then how will this work?"

Rose cocked her head and smiled. "You really didn't know?" I looked at her in confusion. She laughed, then said with a smirk, "Yamikage is with us."

My jaw dropped.

"He's already in on the plan. He'll help fool Arthur into believing that you're controlling his mind, but you must make a scene of it. If you can convince Arthur of this, then Yamikage will convince Arthur that Nicolette forced me to attack her because I found out that she placed the mumbies here. Boom, she's framed."

Dark Meta Knight smiled. "That's...actually genius."

"I coulda thought of that," I spat.

"No, all you've been doing is ruining relationships with Nicolette's lovers that you're jealous of," Rose said, rolling her eyes. Nicolette groaned and tugged against her chains. They rattled as she twisted and pulled. "Move all you want, you're not getting out, Princess," Rose sighed.

"Go now, DN," Dark Meta Knight ordered. "The plan must go through quickly. We're already behind schedule for Nightmare. Yamikage will meet you in the Ninja Special Forces training room. He's gathering the ninjas, and they're going to join us."

"NME seems to have a strong hold here," I mused, and stood up to go. Nicolette screamed and glared at us, writhing and pulling against her bonds.

Rose smiled, the toothy grin growing almost to her ears. "Get ready, princess. The end of the Galaxy Soldier Army is at hand."