The apple rose, reached the apex of its narrow arc, and fell into waiting hands. They tossed it back up again, and let it fall to catch it again. Shimmering green eyes followed the fruit through its repeated ascents and descents.

"Bored," declared Morrigan. "Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored." She had lain herself across one of the loveseats in the hotel's lobby, and was attempting to amuse herself the best she could in public. The next time she threw the apple skyward, it was splattered into a fine mist by a well-aimed bullet. A trail of smoke rose lazily from the end of an oversized revolver, held aloft by a lanky arm. The weapon's operator frowned, removing the lollipop from between her lips to speak.

"If you're bored, why don't you go make more advances on our pilot?"

"I think he's still recovering from meetin' me," the succubus sighed. "He went and locked himself in his machine and I haven't seen 'im since."

The woman with the gun lowered her weapon. "You do know he's-"

"I know exactly what he's doin'. It means I've accomplished my purpose, aye?"

"You are an odd bird," muttered the woman, folding her long, shapely legs over themselves in her seat. "But I think that's why I like you."

"Aw, ain't that cute?" cooed Morrigan, fluttering over to her companion's couch. "Ye want to know the reason I like you?"

"Am I interrupting something?" asked the blue, spiky creature pushing his way through the door. Morrigan hopped off of the woman's couch and floated down to greet the new arrival.

"Well, if it isn't Sonnae the brush hog!"

"Sonic," he clarified. "the hedgehog."

"I daen't care what yer name is, you cute lil' fuzzball. I'll take ye and stuff ye between-"

"LOOK!" he cried in distress, holding up his hands. "I'VE GOT THE CLUES!"

"That's just divine, darling," called the other woman on the couch.

Sonic scowled. "I don't need any of your antics, either, Bayonetta. I do what the boss says and the rest of ya can keep your hands off me, you hear?"

"Just set them on the coffee table," instructed their boss, appearing behind Sonic and giving everyone in the room a scare.

"Would you STOP doing that?!" yelped the hedgehog, zipping to the indicated table and placing the clues as ordered.

"No. I will not stop doing that," said the elfish creature flatly. "However, I do believe I have found something that will make our cooperative experience much more productive."

"Is it something to keep those two's hands off of everyone else?" asked Sonic dryly.

"As long as it's chains," smiled Morrigan. "Or bondage."

Their boss let its forehead fall into an open hand.

"No," it sighed. "It is none of those things."

Everyone made disapproving noises.

"It is, however, a name. From now on, you may address me as Poppy Short."

Morrigan looked confused. "But yer nae't actually related to that firecracker 'Olly, are ye?"

"No. But it was something clever I picked up while I was stuck inside her head. An old nickname. While I normally would not approve of such informalities, I do believe it will streamline communication, which will be necessary for this sort of operation."

"I wonnae have 'spected ye to give yerself a name, though."

"I have a real name. But you mortals would butcher the pronunciation."

"Whatever," moaned Sonic, dashing to an unoccupied couch. "You're Poppy now. Woo-hoo."

"I can understand your lack of enthusiasm," said Poppy. "So perhaps I can pique your interest with the next order of business. You girls, get to opening those clues. Sonic, go and find everyone else."

"I'm on it," replied the hedgehog, zipping out of the room and leaving a clearly-defined blur behind.

Poppy crossed its arms and tapped a foot in mock impatience, its vast intellect stewing with thoughts.

I can lie to those fools for as long as I want. But the spell of that unicorn did something to me, and now I cannot escape this form. And worse, now I am acting without thinking. I laughed back there. And now I have given myself a name to help these insects communicate with me? No, I cannot defend these decisions as rational. My current directives stand, however. Perhaps I can humiliate that brother of mine before I am completely lost. Yes, I am sure that I can.

Sonic raced back into the room with the other team members trailing far behind. He reclaimed his seat from earlier and crossed his thin arms and legs with a hmph. The two that followed were not in such a hurry. The first was a short, thin, and baby-faced man with well-defined muscles and a head of particularly erratic blonde hair. Over his shoulder was swung a gigantic slab of metal that could generously be described as a sword. He sunk into a recliner and kicked it back, planting his weapon in the floor next to him. The second was a teenager in a blue uniform jacket, who awkwardly found a seat as close to Morrigan as he could.

"How's my adorable le'l pilot doin'?" asked the Succubus.

"Oh, uh, fine," he replied shakily. "How about y-you?"

"Oll right," she said, floating up from the table and landing on the sofa's arm next to the boy. "Jest a le'l bored."

"Eheh-heh-heh," giggled the boy nervously.

The final member of the team, a man clad in a military-spec stealth suit loaded down with weapons and equipment, tread into the room silently and took up a spot along a nearby wall. He opened a water-tight storage pouch and drew a cigarette and lighter, taking a few dignified puffs before strolling over to where the rest of the group sat gathered around the coffee table.

"That's everyone," confirmed Sonic.

"Then we can proceed with our planning," said Poppy. "There are three different targets. What do our clues have to say about them?"

Bayonetta raised a wispy hand with a set of three clues balanced in her fingers. "Addresses. A ballroom, a foundry, and an office building."

Poppy closed its eyes for a moment, and began to synthesize a plan.

"The targets are in varied structures. These structures, regardless of the targets inside, will provide us with different challenges and threat levels. I will divide you into two teams. Each team will silence a separate target."

"But, there are three targets," noted Sonic.

Poppy's incomprehensible eyes opened, fixed on the hedgehog in an ambiguous glare.

"I will destroy the target located in the ballroom, which I have assessed to have the lowest threat level, on my own."

Sonic shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Your teams will consist of a long-range, close-range, and mid-range fighter. Sonic, Morrigan, and Haruto will compose team One. Your target will be the foundry. Make use of Haruto's machine's long-ranged weapons to draw the enemy out, then wear them down in melee combat. Cloud, Bayonetta, and Snake will compose team Two. You will infiltrate the office building, putting your subterfuge skills to use. Make sure to keep Cloud, your 'heavy-hitter', safe until you reach the VIW. Then feel free to 'cut loose'. Understood?"

"Infiltration," smiled Snake, exhaling a stream of smoke. "I love infiltration."

Sonic raised his hand. Poppy gave him a go-ahead nod.

"I don't mean to question your, ah, wisdom," said the hedgehog. "But how are we supposed to avoid getting caught out in the open? With just teams of three, we could get overwhelmed pretty easy."

"How interesting of you to raise that point," Poppy responded. "You are the last member of our team that would ever get overwhelmed. You care about the well-being of others."

"Well, sorry," snapped Sonic. "It's who I am."

"It is not a bad thing," said Poppy, which genuinely surprised Sonic. "If a team does not care about its members, then it is certain to fail. To answer your question, by traveling near Haruto's Valvrave unit, most other teams will avoid you. Only other mecha units would try and pursue, and the Valvrave is exceptionally maneuverable. You should be fine. However, if you wish to make sure, you could always scout the route to the foundry ahead of time."

"I think I will," grunted the hedgehog as he got up.

"Thanks, man," called Haruto from his seat.

"Don't mention it," replied Sonic.

He waved an open hand toward Bayonetta. "Hand me one of the clues with the address, will ya?" The woman nodded and tossed him a re-wrapped clue, and the hedgehog sped out the door.

"Ah, the wee creature," gushed Morrigan. "Selfless t'a fault!"

"If team Two doesn't plan on doing any scouting, then you had better head out," ordered Poppy.

"We don't," said Cloud, pulling his sword out of the floor. The rest of his sub-team got up from their seats and followed him to the door- except for Bayonetta, who paused on a squeaky floorboard.

"What's the matter?" asked the mercenary as he propped open the door with his arm.

"You put your sword in the floor."

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"Yeah. So what?"

Bayonetta lifted her other foot off of the floor slowly. "The floor is hollow," she continued.

"Most floors are," growled Cloud.

"There's something down there," she whispered.

Poppy suddenly snapped to attention, as if it was a marionette being pulled up by the strings.

"She is right. They are here. Prepare yourselves."

Immediately the floor underneath Bayonetta exploded, sending wooden planks flying as a wiry, skeletal, pitch-black arm with greedy claws shot up in an attempt to snag the woman's leg. Bayonetta, as an Umbran witch, was quite prepared, and immediately triggered the massive pistol that had been built into her suit as a high heel. The bullet severed the arm from its owner, and a splatter of dull green liquid threw itself onto the floor and began to smoke profusely. Bayonetta cartwheeled backward and drew her hand-held pistols as the Xenomorph used its remaining arm to hoist itself out of the floor, rising to its full, terrifying height in the lobby.

"Gaaah!" squealed Haruto. "I don't want to die! Morrigan, save me!"

The succubus snagged the boy by the collar and stuffed his face into her chest, raising her free arm and firing a Soul Fist to stagger the creature.

"Pardon me," she said. "But ey thocht ye said ye was immortal?"

"Mmph mph," confessed Haruto.

An armor-plated backhand sent Morrigan and Haruto tumbling forward. The Predator de-cloaked behind them, wiping the succubus' blood off of its gauntlet as its plasma caster unfolded over its shoulder. Snake's hand flew to his sidearm's holster, and in less than a second, a bullet severed the caster's plasma feed cable, rendering it useless.

"Thanks!" called Morrigan, spreading her wings and flying off of the floor, still clutching Haruto to her chest. She spun to face her attacker, jetted forward, and drove a dent into the Yautja's mask with her fist. Cloud rolled back through the doorway as the massive frame of Nightmare charged through it, showering the room in broken glass. The massive Buster Sword rose in time to halt a downward slash from Soul Edge.

"Ha!" roared the demonic knight. "I have not faced a sword like that in years!"

"Is that… a good thing?" asked the mercenary.

"Your soul will be delicious!"

"I guess not." Cloud rolled backwards , pushing his opponent away with a kick. He knew that the logical follow-up would be to rush forward with a horizontal strike, in order to force Nightmare off-center. He stepped forward, bringing his sword to the ready, when something snaked out of the floor and wrapped itself around his boot.

"What the hell?"

Something else wrapped around the end of his sword, pulling it out of his grip and flinging it to the far side of the room. Cloud was about to object again when another something coiled around his neck and pulled him to the floor. More black strands rose to restrain him, locking down his arms and remaining leg.

Poppy dove through the chaos to examine the struggling warrior, taking a close look at the bonds that were holding him down.

"It's… hair," it whispered. She raised a hand and stopped Nightmare's attack in mid-swing, giving the cursed warrior a disapproving look before flicking a wrist and sending him flying out of the building. Several more strands of hair rose from under the floorboards and attempted to restrict Poppy's arms and legs, but the elfish creature ripped them apart before they could tighten.

"Bayonetta, what do you make of this?" asked Poppy.

"It's not me," she hissed, firing another stream of bullets into the now-spongy-looking Xenomorph. "Why would it be me?"

"I did not say it was you," barked Poppy. "I merely thought this would be your area of expertise."

The witch shook her head. "Well, I don't know what to- look out!"

Despite Bayonetta's brief efforts, Poppy was not able to avoid the drill-like, spinning mass of hair that had accumulated just out of sight, which promptly extended forward and impaled the elf-like thing.

Poppy hacked up a stream of black, inky ichor.

This is bad. This form cannot respond as quickly as I would like. I am certain I can recover from this injury, but if I am incapable of protecting my team members-

"THE WORLD!"

A pulse of light flashed the room into negative colors, freezing the cacophonic battle instantly. Dio sauntered into the room, his green heart charms jangling as he walked.

"Nice place you had here," he remarked. "Well, nice enough. I would really appreciate something a little more high-end."

He crossed over shattered floorboards and walked to where Poppy was held in place by the spike of hair, her black blood frozen in mid-air. Dio flicked a drop, causing it to bounce away.

"I know the Master of Games will be very pleased to know that I've dealt with you. Can't have you getting too far ahead, now can we?"

Poppy remained frozen, an expression of shock and agony etched onto its face.

"You're really unlucky," continued Dio. "You may think that being on the receiving end of one of my apprentice's Ringlet Spikes is bad, but I found an abandoned construction site nearby, and I decided to leave you a gift on the roof. Actually, it's not on the roof anymore. Should be a few stories down. You'll get it soon enough."

Dio turned away from his target, took a few steps, and stopped. "Time will now flow again," he said.

As the inverted colors retreated, havoc charged forward, enveloping the lobby in chaos once more. Dio dodged a few stray bullets and turned to watch his target die. He was aghast to find that the creature that called itself Poppy was not where it had been, leaving behind an ink-soaked ringlet of hair.

"What? Impossible!"

"Not impossible, Dio," said Poppy, suddenly behind him. It snapped its thin fingers, and Bayonetta unleashed a storm of lead toward the vampire, who activated his Stand again. He stepped out of the path of the bullets, only to find Poppy at his side, shaking its head.

"You are not the only one who can manipulate time. And I suggest you use that Stand of yours to defend yourself."

Too shocked to disagree, Dio brought The World's ethereal form to his side, the Stand locking its arms around the vampire in defense. With a flick of Poppy's fingers, the strands of hair that had once impaled the elf-like creature snapped around the vampire's legs, immobilizing him.

"Good," smiled Poppy. "Time will now flow again."

Dio's time stop was undone by those words, returning the room to normal once more. Bayonetta was shocked to see her boss reappear in another location, and significantly less harmed.

"Poppy, you're-"

"Do not worry about me. Just take a few steps back."

Bayonetta obliged, noticing a distinct rumbling from the ceiling as she did so. "What's that sound?"

"It's a road roller," sobbed Dio.

The witch looked puzzled. "A what?"

"IT'S A ROAD ROLLER!" he cried, as the piece of construction equipment plowed through the ceiling and crushed him, drawing the attention of everyone in the room and bringing a close to the battle.

Snake scratched his head. "What the hell?"

"The Master of Games' team," explained Poppy. "Expect them to be our perennial rivals."

"Lovely," scoffed Morrigan, wiping glowing green Yautja blood off of her knuckles. "So wey'll be seein' 'em a lot?" She plucked Haruto out of her chest and set him on the ground.

"I d-didn't mind," he mumbled, seeming a little dizzy.

"O' course ye didn't," she cooed.

"I… uh… need to go check that no one sabotaged the Valvrave. I'll… uh, be boo- I mean, back." He stumbled off upstairs like a drunkard.

"That hedgehog sure picked a nice time to make his exit," noted Bayonetta.

"Coincidence, I am certain," defended Poppy. It noticed the mysterious hair-tendrils retract through the floorboards. "This apprentice of his intrigues me, though. Another maliakinetic. Interesting."

"Do you think they're still around?" grunted Cloud, pulling himself off of the floor. "'Cause I'd like to have a word with them."

"With a power like that, I wouldn't put them more than about sixty meters away," said Bayonetta. "Nobody could possibly top my abilities."

"Your actual maliakinesis is not particularly strong, Bayonetta," Poppy pointed out. "But thanks to your other abilities, the effect is greatly enhanced."

"Whatever," scoffed the witch. "I don't care about the technical mumbo-jumbo."

Poppy returned to order-giving mode. "Morrigan, I need you and Haruto to get out of here. I will accompany you to your destination to make up for Sonic's absence. As for team Two, you should head toward your target as well. I know for a fact that Dio is not dead underneath that primitive road-paving device, and no one should be left around here once he gets out from under it. Understood?"

Four nods confirmed that they did understand.

"Good. Let's move out."