The Kingdom Hidden in the Clouds

By StraightedgeEpyon

Summary: Shinji didn't know anything regarding his mother's side of the family, in fact he didn't know anything about her at all. Until one day he finds an item belonging his mother and then he discovers she was quite literally not from this world

I own nothing

beta read by bandit were wolf

Chapter 17

Going through the Dome and Racing on the Roads

(On earth in an Undisclosed location, SEELE meeting)

"This is truly unexpected. Never could we have imagined other powerful worldly beings other than the Angels, to invade Earth." said SEELE 02.

"Agreed. In less than five hours these Asarians destroyed the Angel, took over NERV HQ, subdued all personnel, and is holding Ikari prisoner. This does not bode well, for us." replied SEELE 01.

"According to our man on the inside, they may already be aware of our existence. Our entire goal is in jeopardy. Something has to be done." stated SEELE 03.

"And what exactly can we do? What can we do against powerful aliens? Especially when one of them can defeat an Angel with ease." said SEELE 04.

"Should we perhaps send him then?" asked SEELE 05.

"Don't be foolish! According to our agent, there are two Queens and a large contingent of warriors, all with enough strength to take on whole armies individually. These are beings with godlike power, capable of reducing us to ash in an instant." SEELE 01 said.

"Point taken. Still, how can we hope to combat them? We don't know what they want or why are they here."

"Or how long they've managed to keep themselves hidden from us."

"According to our agent, they've come to Earth looking for their long lost princess. Yui Ikari." SEELE stated 02.

"Then I would say their efforts are in vain. She was lost in the contact experiment with Unit 01 over ten years ago." said SEELE 03 with a chuckle

"Which would also stand to reason, they've also come for the Third Child. But he is missing along with the first child." SEELE 05 said

"This is not good news. Both children are essential for our plan." SEELE 02 stated

"Indeed, we must do something but what?"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance." a smooth dark voice echoed through the room, sending shivers through the spines of all the men present.

Before anyone could ask, a swirl of fire appeared from the darkness. There stood a dark cloaked armored figure in the middle of the room. The members of SEELE were in shock, at this entity that just risen from the depths of hell itself.

"W—Who- What are you?!" asked SEELE 02.

The dark entity merely smiled underneath his dark helmet.

"Someone who can help you." the figure replied

(NERV HQ Infirmary)

"I should have known you would do this sooner or later. "The hell were you thinking Misato?!" exclaimed Ritsuko in shock.

In front of her was Misato with a black-eye, busted lip, possible fractured or broken ribs and who knows what other injuries she may have sustained at the hands of the silent assassin Taki. Ritsuko sighed heavily getting the necessary supplies to treat her friend's injuries. While the doctor was doing that, the captain was thinking back to what led to her current state.

(Moments ago After Cia and Elena took Rei)

Taki and Misato were standing face to face in the hallway after the First Child and the Moors Princesses vanished from that very spot. What happened prior before her arrival, was easy for Taki to deduce. The only question was why did they take the blue haired mortal girl with them? Before the red clad woman could walk away Misato spoke up,

'Hold on!' the captain demanded, brandishing her gun on Taki, causing the latter to turn around.

'Do you know where they've taken Rei?!" she demanded.

Taki merely raised an eyebrow; not the least bit intimidated by her weapon but answered her question regardless.

'I don't know. Even if I did, I wouldn't say.' replied Taki, infuriating Misato further.

'Tell me what you have done with Shinji?! Where is he?! Talk right now or I swear to god I'll put a bullet between your goddamned eyes!"

'Is that supposed to be a threat mortal? I have faced opponents stronger than you and I defeated them all the same.' said Taki, reaching for her shuriken.

Both women stood very still waiting for the other to make a move. The purple haired captain gritted her teeth, while Taki's face remained passive.

Misato fired off her gun. From Taki's prospective, the bullet moved as if in slow motion. She slightly moved her head to the right, quickly tossed her shuriken throwing star slicing gun in half, disarming the woman who held it. Soon after, the Asarian assassin dashed forward at high speed and kicked her opponent hard in the mid section, then punched Misato in the face causing her stumble into the wall. Misato answered back with a punch of her own, barely fazing the assassin. Taki ducked another swing and hit kick to the stomach, driving Misato to her knees.

'Is this all you can do? Or do you need children like Prince Shinji to fight your battles for you?' Taki taunted.

'Shut the hell up!' Misato barked in anger. She got back up and swung furiously at the woman. Taki stepped back and caught her fist in a near bone crunching grip.

"Argh!"

Taki kneed her in the gut hard, then followed it up with another punch to the face, then hit a swift roundhouse kick to the head knocking Misato down.

'Stay down. You stand no chance against an Asarian warrior like myself.'

Misato cough up a little blood as glared up at Taki. She has had intense combat training, she was sent on several dangerous ops by her government and most of all she is the sole survivor/witness to Second Impact's devastation when it happened.

But none of that compares with this other worldly woman, a war harden assassin who's fought demon lords, and other warriors for centuries. Misato staggered to her feet slowly put both fists up, to continue the fight. Taki in response unlatched the sword off her back, letting it drop to the floor.

'Very well…'

Misato swung left and right sloppily. Taki sighed as she grabbed the back of Misato's neck and rammed her into the wall, shoulder first, then hit her with quick punches to the mid section fracturing or breaking a couple of ribs.

The captain ignored the pain and lunged at the dark haired woman gripping her abdomen area and rammed her into the steel wall.

Misato went for another punch but Taki blocked it, and kicked her off. Taki rolled on her back and performed an upside down double spin kick, then a snap roundhouse kick to the head, knocking the purple haired captain out cold.

Taki merely looked at the downed woman in pity; If she had been stronger, she could have been a worthy opponent or a valuable ally. She glanced at Asuka who stood there in fright, at how easily Misato was taken out.

'When she wakes up, tell her be grateful that the Prince cares about her. Otherwise, she'd be dead now. said Taki before walking away.

(Now)

Ritsuko was now tending to her bruises in the infirmary. The purple haired woman wincing each time she applied the gauze to her exposed arm, and upper body.

"Seriously, do you have any idea how much jeopardy you put us in?! It's going to take a lot of begging and pleading on the sub-commander's part for the Queen or the demon Queen not to wipe us all out!"

"I know, I know I screwed up! I just wanted answers about Shinji. They said he was here, but then he's not here now. Then those two girls whisked Rei away somewhere for some reason." Misato explained, wincing as soon as the doctor applied the alcohol on her wound.

"Now we have two children missing, and you get the hell beaten out of you. That's just great."

"Look, I know this is bad! Ow! But, she's the one who first took him and it didn't look like they would tell me if I asked nicely. I wanted to know where he is and why they took him."

Ritsuko gave an exasperated sigh. She started to bandage the captain's rib area. Then the door came open and in walked Kaji, his face full of concern and worry. Not just him the Maya, Makoto, and Shigeru came in.

"Oh god no… Katsuragi." Kaji said, hugging Misato's banged up body.

"Get off me you lecher! It hurts enough as it is!" snapped Misato.

"Captain, what happened?" Maya asked.

"I got into a fight with that ninja woman Taki. As you can plainly see, I got my ass kicked."

"Oh no!"

Makoto and Shigeru both snickered out loud, causing Misato to glare at them with a black-eye.

"Is something funny, gentlemen?" Misato asked, menacingly.

"Sorry captain!" both them snapping to attention.

"Taki could have killed you, Misato." said Kaji "Any idea as to why she didn't?"

"My guess is she didn't want to upset Shinji whenever or if ever he's found." the captain replied while Ritsuko finished bandaging her up.

"That kid. All of this is because of him." Kaji muttered.

"Once again we're in agreement Kaji. It is his fault." said Ritsuko irritably.

This quickly caught Misato's ire, "Hey-"

Before anything else could be said the phone in Kaji's pocket vibrated.

"Hold on I gotta take this." he said, excusing himself, much to confusion of everyone in the room.

Walking out of the room he answered

"Yes? No, the Asarians haven't made a move yet, I- What? Someone to deal with the Asarians? Who?"

(Mushroom World)

It was only a few hours since Kayura's attack on the castle, the Champions of the Mushroom Kingdom were being separately sent off distant lands in response to other simultaneous attacks that were just now taking place. Momiji was asked to stay behind to guard Princess Peach, since the castle was unprotected at the moment.

During which time, Mercury and Uzume opted to travel with the four Asarians, the Moors Princesses, the Gerudo, an Earthling girl and the Twilight Dweller. Mercury and Uzume were debating on which would be the fastest route to the valley of Bowser. The pair debated that giant land might be faster, but much more dangerous, as the terrain is ruled by literal giants.

Another alternative would be to go through the Soda Jungle, but they could easily get lost. Meanwhile, one of Peach's attendants pulled Rei to side and led her to a small mushroom shaped store near the castle.

While inside Rei was introduced to a wide variety of items, ranging from a red Mushroom a green mushroom, a red flower, blue flower, an acorn, brown leaf, a Frog suit, and a white feather, a bee like mushroom, a metal cap, and a winged cap. Just about anything with its own effect was present.

"These are special enhancement items that our champions use when the kingdom is threaten." explained the aid "When consumed, absorbed or worn by a single person, they're granted special abilities."

"Fascinating." Rei whispered.

"Take your picks. You may take up to five, so choose wisely."

"I… Hmm…"

"What's the matter?"

"I... I don't-"

"Maybe I can help you." offered Uzume walking in.

"Ms Uzume?" Rei said.

"We're pressed for time. So let's see here, what would be a good fit for you." the brown haired woman murmured examining the items then the girl herself.

"Yes, I think we'll take the red mushroom, for super strength two red flowers for extra firepower, and a Starman for defense, and the leaf and acorn as well."

"Is this all necessary?" Rei asked.

"Of course it is. We're crossing dangerous territory, into a valley of despair and darkness. We'll need every advantage. I lost friends in that valley, so we must be prepared." stated Uzume.

Uzume paid for the selected items and even purchased a belt for storage, so Rei could carry the items around her waist.

The two returned to the group and it was decided they would pass through the Sparkling waters, then Vanilla Dome, and Rainbow Roads. There lied a short cut to the Valley of Bowser. The eight were led to a warp pipe that would take them to their first destination.

"Mercury!" called Ivy, getting the darker blue haired girl's attention.

"Yes?" Mercury answered

"I understand this is part of your region of the Mushroom Realm; tell me what can we expect?" asked Ivy.

"A fair question, Ivy. You can expect a large variety of sea creatures both hostile and neutral. Anything that's bloated, layered with spikes, breathes plasma or flies in an erratic pattern. Be very cautious of them." explained the Water Champion.

"I'm ready for anything." said Black Cat, grinning confidently.

"We shall see, Gerudo." said Uzume, before turning to Shinji and giving him another fire flower, much to his confusion.

"What is this?" the prince asked.

"Additional fire power for you as well. No offense, but you also don't seem to posses any special abilities or skill sets of your own. Only that staff you carry."

Shinji glanced down at his side, feeling embarrassed. He had forgotten that he even had it.

"That is not entirely true." Kitana, stepping forward in attempt to assure her Prince would not be a liability.

Before she spoke further, to her confusion, Shinji put up a hand and shook his head 'no', stopping her from speaking. As if he didn't want her to reveal his hidden powers to anyone else, yet.

"What do I have to do? Eat it?" questioned Shinji, getting a shake of the head from the veil woman.

"No. Just lift it up and let it absorb into your body. Then you'll gain its power. The same with the mushroom; eat it, and your strength increases."

Rei looked at the mushroom before looking at the woman again.

"If we're finished with the explanations we should get move on." Mercury urged taking point

Everyone else nodded and followed her to the pipe, Kitana and Shinji stayed behind for a bit.

"My Prince." Kitana started to say but Shinji held up a hand.

"I'm sorry Kitana, I… I don't want anyone else to know about my powers just yet. I'm still trying to figure out how they work, much less control them." said Shinji, as he looks down at his fingers, feeling a slight tingle going through them.

"I understand. Your powers seem to come in at random bursts, and as long as we've been moving you haven't had the time to properly learn control them." surmised his servant.

"Worst yet, I… I'm afraid I might accidently hurt someone, because I can't control them."

Kitana noted the obvious fear in her Prince's voice. This was a first for her. She had met individuals who weren't afraid of their power. In fact they reveled in it, and they never felt hesitant in using it however they please.

"Fear can be good thing my Prince. It helps you appreciate the importance of your power." said Kitana, "But, it's also important that you don't let the fear consume you."

Shinji nodded in understanding.

"Hey you two, enough dilly dallying! We need to get going!" called Mercury jumping into the pipe.

"Wait for me!" Uzume said jumping in after her.

Elena climbed in after her. Cia looked back at Kitana with suspicion before following her sister. Black Cat skillfully leapt in after her followed by Orchid then Kasumi, Ivy stayed back with Rei while the pair of Kitana and Shinji walked up to the pipe.

"After you." Ivy said to Kitana, in an almost mocking way.

The Twilit Dweller glared at her for a bit before climbing in. Ivy followed suit leaving just Rei and Shinji. Through all of these things going on Shinji eyed the outfit his fellow pilot was wearing.

"Shinji?" Rei titled her head in questioning manner.

"I...I like your dress." Shinji said shyly.

Looking down at the outfit the blue hair girl smiled.

"Thank you…" she replied, with a light blush her cheeks

Shinji looked at the pipe with a bit of hesitation, while Rei climbed in.

"It'll be alright Shinji." the girl assured before sliding in.

Shinji merely sighed before climbing in after her. As Shinji slid in he felt himself going very fast. Faster than he had been with in Unit 01, or Misato's car, or one of the high speed trains on Earth. Shinji grunted in as he felt like he was being torn apart. His tunic was durable but it began to tear in some places.

He felt himself going up and down, all around, all the while seeing images of a mustached man in red fighting off a large fire breathing monster, then the same man fighting against a giant white glove in another time,

"What is...all ...this...!" Shinji found out feeling himself going up.

He could clearly see a light up ahead. He went through the light and emerged to the outside.

(Insert pipe sound)

"Whoa! Oomph!" Shinji grunted as he emerged from the pipe and landed on the ground.

It only took a second for Shinji to recompose himself before he took a look at where they were. It was a vast tropical area with many small and large land masses surrounded by the vast water. In separate areas streams of water were shooting up randomly. Schools of strange fish swam around and through bridges.

"Welcome to Sparkling waters." said Mercury.

"That is a ...lot of ...water." remarked Black Cat, almost nervously.

"Is this a problem for you Gerudo?" inquired Ivy.

"No… it's just that… I've never seen this much water before. My world has few water sources to sustain us, a large Nile, a few Oases. "

"Your world is a desert world, if I recall."

"I've been there. Too much sand, its rough and coarse, and it gets-" Cia began.

"We get it! Can we get a move on please." snipped Uzume, rather impatiently, "What the fastest route?"

"We would need to travel through Great Geysers, though another way would be Dragoneel depths... which happens to be underground underwater." explained Mercury.

Some of the group looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Traveling through Great Geysers seems like the best alternative." said Ivy, while everyone else nodded.

"Very well. Though, to the mortals, I strongly advise taking the items now." said Mercury.

Both Rei and Shinji hesitantly looked at the flower and the red mushroom. Rei put the mushroom up to her mouth and began chew. She found it to be quite tasty, and within a second she had eaten the mushroom.

"How does it taste?" asked Elena.

"How are feeling?" asked Cia.

"Wait for it." said Uzume.

The blue haired girl suddenly felt strange; as her muscles bulge out like a balloon before deflating. Every part of her muscles increased fivefold, Rei was filled with amazing stamina, and incredible strength.

"Rei how do you feel?" asked Shinji

"I feel Strong. Stronger than I have ever been." replied Rei looking over herself.

Shinji looked at the fire flower. It began to sparkle on the boy, causing him to glow bright white. Instantly, Shinji began to change inwardly and outwardly as his entire outfit suddenly changed to white with a little bit of black. He felt a powerful fire from within his body.

"Wow!" the Prince remarked looking at himself.

"Keep your eyes peeled. There are more items hidden in this region." Said Mercury.

With that, Uzume followed Mercury while everyone else, sans Ivy and Orchid.

"Hm." hummed Ivy

"What is it?" Orchid asked.

"Uzume, She's in a hurry to get to the valley. I suspect its more than just retrieving the power star." said Ivy.

"You see it too, huh?" said Orchid.

"She's hardly making an attempt to hide her anxiousness. We must watch her carefully." said Ivy walking forward.

"Agreed." Nodded Orchid.

The group began their trek. They made it to the first Geyser shooting from the water it filled as doublewide bridge to the other end. The group looked hesitantly at the water until Mercury jumped on it as if it were solid concrete.

"Come on, it won't last long." she beckoned moving along.

Cia floated forward across the large geyser, Kitana skillfully jumped across, Elena copied Kitana's action, and Shinji warily went across, followed by Rei, Kasumi, Ivy and Orchid. Black Cat, however, took too long and the geyser went back down. Black Cat was trembling.

"Hey! What's the hold up?!" Cia called.

"I think she's afraid of water." said Elena.

Uzume grunted.

"We have to move this along." she extended her hand towards the white haired Gerudo.

A swirl of air surrounded Black Cat and began to lift her up and levitated her across the way to the rest of the group. Without a word they began again. While Ivy hung back with a mocking smile directed at Black Cat.

"What?" Cat snipped.

"Oh nothing; just be careful not to get wet." said Ivy walking along, ignoring the annoyed glare from the Gerudo.

Shinji looked back with a bit of concerned look on his face, then his eyes widened. A few small group flying red and white fish with Mohawks were flying above them and one of them was suddenly heading right towards her.

"Cat! Look out!" Shinji shouted, extending his hand out.

(Blip)

A medium size fireball shot out of his hands and hit the pudgy fish, killing it instantly.

"What?!" Shinji gasped.

"That's the power of the fire flower grants." explained Mercury.

"Huh."

"Just what are those things?!" Cia demanded pointing at the flying fishes

"Those things are Cheeps-Cheeps. Individually, they're easy to defeat, but they tend to attack in swarms." explained Mercury, "They'll only be more as we go on."

"So remain on your guard at all times." Urged Uzume.

"I'm always on guard." murmured Ivy.

"Prince Shinji…" Black Cat called to Shinji, blushing a little, "I… I'm not used to being rescued ...so ….thank you."

Shinji merely nodded while glancing at his hand feeling the fire power inside of him

(20 minutes later )

The group made it past the Great Geysers, towards the entrance cavern to Vanilla Dome. Sure enough, it was crawling with creatures; spiked turtles, big and small, Goombas crawling along the walls, piranha plants popping up from the cracks in the ground, and burly koopas dressed like football players. From the northwest up top corner they could see a large star; Mercury indicated that was where they needed to get to. Before they could set off to that direction…

"Ha, Ha…!" a spooky voice echoed throughout the cavern.

"What was that?!" asked Kitana, looking around, preparing for a fight.

"Ha, Ha…!" the voice laughed again.

Instantaneously Uzume and Mercury recognized that laugh.

"Oh! By the Stars, no! Not him!" said Mercury said in a frightened voice.

"Him?" Ivy asked.

"Only one of the most vile and evil creatures of the Mushroom world..." Uzume spat with venom in her voice.

Before anything could be said a gigantic white spherical creature suddenly appeared out of nowhere startling the group. It had black eyes small arms, sharp fangs, and a menacing mouth and a long tongue.

"Ah ha!" the creature cackled evilly.

"Big Boo." Mercury and Uzume said in unison.

"Big Boo? I thought he was a myth." said Elena looking at the ghost.

"You've entered into my domain; now you all will experience pain!" the giant ghost declared in rhythm, "Boos! Attack!"

On cue two groups of smaller Boos suddenly appeared surrounding and outnumbering the group, all cackling in a circling them. Ivy struck first with her chain sword, only for the Boo to turn transparent, causing the blade to pass right through it.

"What?" Ivy gasped.

"These Boos are ghosts! They turn transparent to avoid attacks!" explained Mercury, using her water power to push them back.

Kitana swiped her fan at the closest one only to have the same result. The Boo laughed and blew fire out its mouth, which she narrowly avoided.

"And they breathe fire." Mercury added.

"It would have been nice to know that sooner!" snapped Kitana.

The Boos scattered all around the cavern, moving in an erratic pattern, confusing and distorting the group. Some began attacking from behind and from the side.

"Gah!" Cia grunted being hit from the side.

"Opff!" Elena grunted in pain being rammed in the stomach.

Shinji fired several fire balls passing through four of the Boos, while Rei having no concept of fighting outside of Eva, she did her best to avoid being hit. A Boo came closer to Shinji and nearly chomped at him, taking a piece of his white tunic, and grazing his flesh. Cat powered up her aura and managed to blast some of them away, but not completely destroying them.

"This getting us nowhere! Yah!" Ivy grunted, swinging her sword.

"Agreed! we need to take out Big Boo!" said Uzume, using her wind to block an attack from a Boo, "With him gone, the rest will disappear."

Chomp!

"Argh!" Uzume suddenly grunted in pain as felt something bite her arm.

Sure enough another Boo latched on to her arm. She shook herself near into a frenzy trying to get off, in doing so the star that she had was loosen from her person, and bounced around.

"SOMEONE! HURRY AND GRAB THE STARMAN!" Mercury shouted, using her water as barrier now.

Cia and Elena both went after the Starman, but both sisters were stopped by Charging Chucks, who jumped in front of them, and attempted to ram them, only for Cia create a barrier to block their charge. Black Cat herself went after the Starman but was waylaid by a group of Bats. Ivy was still contending with Boos growing more and more angered every time she swung at them. Orchid and Kasumi were fairing no better. Kitana saw the Starman and went for it only for Spiked tops to block her way, and Piranha plants to pop up in her area.

"Oh wonderful." she proceed to cut them down.

'If there were a time for my powers to activate, it would be now!' thought Shinji, looking at his hands trying to feel something.

Suddenly a group of Boos surrounded Shinji and spun around him as if in a merry-go round very fast. Meanwhile, Rei was unknowingly, suddenly routed to the path of the Starman by bats; she managed to slip way, and the Starman went inside of her. The First Child was suddenly strengthened, even further than before. Her entire body was shining in a dazzling array of shiny colors.

Everyone and everything in the area stopped what they were doing as the light from Rei caught their attention.

(Insert Mario invincible music)

"What's this?!" Rei gasped, feeling empowered like never before.

"It's the power of the Star! It grants temporary invincibility. You won't have much time until it runs out! hurry towards Big Boo and take him out!" Mercury shouted.

Rei nodded and sucked in a breath and on instinct rushed towards the massive ghost, only with hordes of Boos to stand in her way. To her surprise, she literally ran straight through them, destroying them instantly. The power she was feeling was incredible. Her mind was in a complete haze and swell of colors. Big Boo rushed straight towards her with his mouth wide open, intent on devouring the girl whole.

"Rei, NOO!" shouted Shinji.

Big Boo gobbled her up, only for him to suddenly disappear in puff of smoke, leaving Rei completely unharmed. All the Boos suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. Add to that, the other creatures vanished as well. The eleven breathed a sigh of relief that their ordeal was over for now.

"Rei, are you alright?" asked Shinji full of concern

"I am f-fine, S-Shinji..." Rei stammered, obviously overwhelmed by the temporary power up, "That was exhilarating."

"Such as the power of the Starman. Come on we need to keep moving we have one more stop up ahead." Uzume said, taking point.

"We're not going run into anymore Boos are we?" asked Orchid

"If we linger any longer they'll return, and in greater numbers." Mercury informed

The eleven quickly headed towards the large Star portal, entering it without much resistance, unaware that they were watched by a certain woman clad in black.

(Rainbow Roads)

As they hoped the large Star gateway lead the group to the Rainbow roads, which were literally comprised of almost all Rainbows (Think the Rainbow Road in Super Mario Kart 8) with large buildings on the side and middle. The colorful roads all stretched for miles, in different directions, going up and down, all around.

"Rainbow Roads... On the east side is a secret pipe. Its best we get moving now." said Mercury, "These roads are... fast paced."

"Fast paced?" asked Rei.

As if answering the inquiry, the sound of engines got roared into the air, sure enough, a large group of short odd looking multicolored creatures wearing white masks were speeding down the roads in go-karts. Blowing past them all with incredible speed. Both Shinji and Rei were equally surprised that the Mushroom World had vehicles like on Earth.

Vroom!

Vroom!

Vroom!

Vroom!

Vroom!

"This is a raceway!" exclaimed Shinji looking at Mercury who nodded.

"What is a raceway?" Ivy asked.

"This is one of the areas where the Mushroom Kingdom holds annual race competitions, according Peach. It was inspired by an image from Earth many years ago." explained Uzume.

"I have never seen such things." said Kitana in an amazed tone.

"How exactly are suppose get to the east end through all of that?" Orchid demanded

"The racers will guide us but some of you will have to take some of the vehicles." said Uzume.

Cia didn't look worried but her sister on the other hand…

"Oh great." huffed Elena.

"What's wrong Princess Elena?" Rei asked.

"You see, our mother can fly and I learned to levitate when I was a little girl. Sadly, Elena lacks the ability." answered for her sister.

"I think I can fix that." Uzume said taking out a feather and handing it to her.

"A feather?" inquired Elena.

"Raise it up."

Elena did just that. Sparkles came out of the feather, causing the girl to glow bright for a few seconds. When the light ceased, a yellow cape was around her shoulders.

"The cape feather has the ability to grant flight, so it should be helpful. Give yourself a running start, then jump and you'll fly into the air." the veil woman instructed.

"What about the rest of us?" asked Orchid while Kasumi put hand on her partner's shoulder and presented her with two items with a cape feather and a leaf.

"I found them back at Vanilla Dome, under couple of blocks." said Kasumi.

Orchid took the feather, and instantly a cape appeared on her shoulders, while Kasumi let the leaf absorb unto herself. In a puff of smoke, a pair of Raccoon ears appeared on her head, and a tail on her backside.

"She's a Tanooki!" Shinji and Rei said in unison.

Kasumi checked herself out, not at all startled at her new appearance, even wiggling her tail, in an almost sensual fashion. As for Mercury, Cat, Shinji, Rei, Kitana and Ivy were left.

Before anyone could say anything, a horse like motorcycle, a blue kart, a red kart, a white kart, a three wheeled kart then another red motorcycle suddenly rolled in front of the group.

(Master Cycle, Blue Falcon, standard Red Kart, P Wing, a Tri Speeder, and Comet all from Mario Kart 8)

Seeing all this reminded Shinji of a few things. One; Misato's insane driving. The second is that on Earth, he was still too young to drive, and thirdly he didn't know how to drive at all.

Rei was of the same mindset. As was Ivy, Kitana and Cat, but they saw Mercury climb into the blue falcon, they decided to follow suit, with Ivy choosing the red Kart, Rei choosing the Tri Speeder, Kitana choosing the Comet, and Cat choosing the red motorcycle.

'Well I've piloted Unit 01, how tough can riding a motorcycle be?" Thought Shinji climbing on the bike.

Shinji glanced over at Kitana and Black Cat for help, but turned a little red due how hot and sexy they both looked climbing onto their chosen vehicles. Ivy for her part felt extremely foolish climbing on such a contraption.

"If the other Asarians catch wind of this, I'll never live it down." the busty woman murmured her breast pushing up against the wheel.

"Try not to fall off your kart." Said Cat to Ivy, mockingly. Ivy sent her own glare toward the Gerudo.

Uzume activated her wind powers preparing to launch herself into the air. Cia began levitating herself, while Elena and Orchid, looked at their capes with unease. Then Elena remembered what Uzume said about giving themselves a running start.

"Don't worry." said Kasumi, breaking Elena from her musing. "I've done this before; I'll help you both through it."

"You will? Oh, thank you." praised Elena.

"I appreciate it, my friend…" said Orchid.

"Follow my lead. Do exactly what I do." Kasumi instructed, taking her hand

"Here they come, Ready everyone?" Uzume asked the group. They all nodded.

The contingent of racers came up on their six, and the sped off merged with the racers, While Uzume and Cia took to the air. Elena, Kasumi, and Orchid all gave themselves a running start, after enough traction, they lifted off the ground.

"Oh… H-Hahaha…!" Elena laughed, finding herself flying for the first time.

"This...is...amazing." remarked Orchid, her tail fluttering while she held onto Kasumi.

Kasumi merely smiled at their reactions. Elena released Kasumi's hand to fly on her own.

"This is so fun! Now I know how mother feels!" Elena cried with joy.

On the ground, the others have managed to get the hang of their respective vehicles. The winds rushing through all of them, the feeling of exhilaration, the feeling of speed. Shinji, through his strife, and challenges for once in his life...was having fun.

"Hahaha!" Shinji laughed as he got the hang of riding a motorcycle. It was not a sad laugh, but happy one.

Rei was of a similar mindset; all her life she had never known what it was like to have fun. She took to driving a Go-Kart, like piloting Eva, but differently. She wasn't in battle, she wasn't being ordered. She was just going at high speeds.

The Twilit Kitana adjusted quickly to her cycle quickly and kept close to Shinji. Black Cat on her part was actively racing trying to move ahead of the pack. Mercury noticed this and chided her to stay with the group. As they passed through twists and turns all over the raceway, the mortals, Asarians, Twilit, and Gerudo managed to keep up and stay with the racers. Up above, Uzume saw the point where they needed to exit. She pointed down towards to the left the shining building down below the roadway

VROOM!

Vroom!

VROOM!

On the ground, Mercury glanced up at her partner and caught on, she gave a signal by waving her hand for the others to follow her. Rei caught on quickly and moved her Kart close to hers, Ivy had to literally take out some racers to keep up with the rest, Kitana, Shinji and Cat maneuvered past several although Shinji almost caused a collision when he drove too close to one of the racers. Mercury leveled off, and made it towards the exit, with Rei following suit, followed by Shinji then Kitana, then Cat and lastly Ivy. Within minutes the group assembled at the targeted building, from the ground and from the air.

"Wow! That was such fun!" Elena exclaimed, joyfully jumping around, "Now I know how you and mother feel when you're flying sister."

"Good for you little sister." deadpanned Cia at her sisters antics.

"This is the place Mercury?" asked Kasumi getting a nod from her.

"Yes. There's pipe in here that'll take us straight to the valley." she said, immediately going inside.

Uzume followed suit, along with the Moors Princesses.

"Well...That was quite exhilarating." Kitana said hopping off the bike.

"I wanna do it again." Black Cat said.

"That makes one of us." Ivy scoffed, happy to get off that embarrassing contraption and heading inside.

"She won't admit it, but she had fun too. Although she might have decapitated a few of those riders." said Orchid

"Wouldn't be surprising if she did." Kasumi added.

"Rei?" questioned Shinji, having noticed she was trembling.

"That… was... exciting." the girl breathed out, having never experienced a feeling like that before.

Shinji gave out a short laugh at her reaction to racing before following the others inside.

Inside the building they found the pipe which was connected to a wall. Without a word they entered inside one by one, and two by two.

(Insert Pipe sound)

(Valley of Bowser)

Instantly the group of eleven emerged one by one each. They found themselves in a barren putrid smelling desert adjacent wasteland that was shrouded under dark lightning filled clouds, which flashed every few seconds over a large dark castle surrounded by lava in the distance. From what they could see Koopas were all over the grounds. Skeletal walking Koopas (Dry bones) were on the grounds, crossing back on forth on the path.

"This is the Valley of Bowser." said Mercury walking to the ledge.

"I never thought I'd be back here again…" said Uzume walking, "A part of me never wanted to come back here again, after what happened."

Mercury looked at Uzume, knowing her reasons for being here.

"Uzume, you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened to Musubi. She made her choice, and saved all of us that day." said Mercury.

Uzume closed her eyes in remembrance of that day. Her friend Musubi along with the other Champions had been in battle against Evil-lena's forces. As they battled, Evil-lena herself appeared on the battlefield, with more of her minions. The Champions were overwhelmed, so they had no recourse but to retreat, with Musubi staying behind to fend off the evil horde. As the group escaped, Uzume tried to go back to help her, only to bear witness to a sword being shoved through her friend, courtesy of Evil-lena.

"I can and do blame myself! Had I been faster, I could have saved her!" Uzume said sadly, angry tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Hahaha! You save Musubi?" a voice echoed throughout the valley "You can't even save yourself."

The source came from a familiar airship descending upon them, with Kayura on the starboard side. Smirking arrogantly at the group, she turned her eyes toward Shinji, ignoring his entourage.

"Prince of Asario, on behalf of my Mistress, I bid you welcome to your new home." she said in a sinister tone.

"Where's the sword?" Shinji demanded.

"Why back at the castle with my Mistress. If you want it…" Kayura trailed off.

"You'll have to get past me." another voice said descending from the air.

A woman with pale white hair, wearing a half mask over her red eyes, wearing half a leg bodysuit with large black wings descended upon the group. An upon the hilltop above them, A reptilian woman with red hair landed behind them hissing venomously.

"Devi." growled Uzume.

"Hehe… Hello all. Welcome to your doom!" exclaimed Devi.

End Chapter

End Notes: Here is chapter 17, a merger of Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Mario Wii and Evangelion I also snuck a little reference to another game in there too . I was advised by another reader, to focus on the characters I've introduce and I've introduced a lot, hopefully I've given a little bit of background on Uzume, and her survivors guilt. Also I decided to let loose on the Taki/Misato fight, I've teased a confrontation between the two for sometime now, I just waited on the right moment to put it down. What consequences will there be for NERV? if any. Now SEELE is aware of the Asarian presence in NERV HQ and is currently making the preverbal deal with the devil. I'm sorry I kept you waiting but I didn't want to drag this out a couple extra chapter. How'd you all like the Rei power up, she now has super strength and stamina, but doesn't know how to use it, yet she will. How did you like Shinji's power up, although he has powers of his own, he can't call them forth at will, nor can he control them yet. That's why he's keeping it secret for now, but secrets have ways of getting out. Before I continue on, I wanna encourage everyone to stay hopeful, amid this crisis, times are getting tough now, with this virus spreading like crazy. Do you what you gotta do to stay healthy. Keep having hope, hope is a good thing maybe the best of things. And shout out to my reader Bandit Were Wolf, my boys Gunman, and TOAT. I hope you guys are staying cool and healthy. Next chapter will be the final confrontation, and maybe Uzume and Mercury joining Shinji's Harem I just need suggestions on how, and if Shinji should be the one to fight Evil-lena. Check out the poll of my profile, and Big ups to Bandit werewolf for beta-reading, please Read and review and stay Prime.